2012-2013 School Year

Students from Kindergarten to Grade 12, including ILC, who do not qualify for the BC government grant, pay an additional $2,500.

Discounts are applied to fees in K-12 only as follows:

Two Children enrolled: The younger child receives a 5% discount

Three Children enrolled: The second child receives a 5% discount and the third a 10% discount

Four Children enrolled: The second child receives a 5% discount, the third a 10% discount and the fourth a 15% discount

Other Mandatory Costs

$1,000: Capital Fee. This fee is payable per family and provides funds for the renewal of capital resources. It removes the ‘desperation’ from our events as the need to meet particular targets is now removed.

$500: Non-classroom Fee. This fee is levied per student to pay for the many out-of-classroom activities, such as field trips, sports team fees, academic teams and transportation for these teams, agenda books, and yearbook. The fee makes up the global budget for these activities across the entire school.

$250 (Grades 4 & 5), $450 (Grades 6 to 12): Experiential Education Fee. This fee is for the Project Discover Program, our outdoor challenge experiences that are integral to our work here and which greatly increase self-awareness,  confidence, capability, social skills, teamwork, diligence, and respect for each other and the environment.  This fee is an equitable distribution of the program costs and enables participation but is not dependent upon it.

$300: Application Fee. This fee accompanies new applications and is designed to defray some of the costs of the admissions process.

$2,995: New Family Fee. This fee is payable only by families new to the school, so is paid only once. It is designed as the new family’s share of the resources and goodwill of the school and demonstrates a commitment to our school.  A family who has paid this fee, left the school, and is now returning, does not pay this fee again.

$50 to $150: Consumables. There are some workbooks, paperbacks etc. that are needed but are not re-usable.  The amounts are not certain but will rarely exceed $150.  This fee is only payable when the consumable goods are purchased and distributed.

$400 to $800: Uniforms. These are supplied by Top Ten Schoolwear and priced by them.  You pay them directly for items purchased.

$1000 to $1250: Bus Fees.  These are not fixed for next year, but they will be in this range.

Bonds.  All enrolled families are required to invest at least $25,000 in Southpointe Academy Bonds.  These bonds pay interest of 3% per annum and can be held inside RRSP’s.  All details are clearly presented during the interview for admission.

Given the high demand for places, it is best to apply as soon as possible. 

Enrolment for September entry begins in the preceeding January.

We listened to our parents when we decided what to offer and how to offer it. We feel, therefore, that we are in tune with what parents value in education and schooling.

Class size matters to parents. From Kindergarten to Grade 3, we aim for classes of 15.From Grade 4 to Grade 8, we aim for 20 per class, though we stress this is not a guarantee. From Grade 9 on, where there are more electives, our teaching groups are organized with maximum effectiveness in mind, and so vary in size from 6 to 24. Perhaps the best indicator of our commitment to students is our student/teacher ratio of 1:9.

Parents like to be, and need to be, partners in their children’s education, so you need to know what is happening at school. We report to parents by phone every three weeks; we hold scheduled Parent-Teacher meetings four times a year; we report in writing three times a year; we hold pot-luck dinners so parents can get to know each other and also chat to the CEO & Headmaster and Team Leaders; we arrange private meetings on request; we run Parent Academies designed to discuss and/or explain the things we do; we publish a weekly newsletter, ‘Midpointe’, and we update our website – where you can find the latest information and the current calendar – daily.

Parents need to know that their children will be happy at school, so we give great importance to the pastoral care of our students, with a system that involves, as age-appropriate- homeroom teachers, advisors, case conferences, counselling, health education etc.

Parents need to know their children will be safe at school, so we do not tolerate bullying, disruptive or disrespectful behaviour, coarse or foul language etc. We do have regular fire-drills, a fully certified First Aid Responder and on-site access to a medical doctor. We also take a pro-active approach to stressing inter-personal skills, appropriate manners etc. through Grade meetings, assemblies and the like.

Parents need to know that their children are being prepared for the world that is rather than one that was. We believe that students should be aware of their world, so we have an established Global Education Program that gives our students access to China, New Zealand, France, Spain and Australia, with other locations to be added soon.

We teach French and Spanish currently and courses are available both academically and conversationally, starting in Kindergarten.

Over 30% of employment opportunities are now in Arts-related fields, so we stress the Arts, the study of which is mandatory in every grade.

We recognize that health matters, so we have mandatory PE, inter-mural sports, competitive sports with other schools, and health education units.

We live in a technological world, so we have two mobile computer labs, a secure wireless network, laptop-equipped teachers, smart boards in some classrooms, and a number of IT related courses.

Parents need to know that the people caring for their children are appropriate in character and performance. Our teachers are committed and well-qualified. They strive, through both internal and external Professional Development, to better themselves. They create a vibrant, positive, ‘can-do’ environment in which children flourish. They also expect effort and determination from their students.

In short, our school has experienced leadership, fine teaching, enriched programming, and great expectations of all its students –together with a profoundly visceral belief that all students can learn well enough to enter, and succeed in, university. We believe we are worthy of your consideration.

Simply download and complete the Admission Form from the link below and submit it to Anne O’Halloran at the school. Please complete the form fully.

When we receive the form, we shall contact you to arrange any necessary interviews to ensure that what we offer and what you expect are properly aligned. All our procedures are conducted in a friendly, non-threatening environment so as not to stress our candidates (or their parents!)

Attachments

•   A P P L I C A T I O N F O R M -12-13