40 Forest Avenue, Mississauga, Ontario, L5G 1L1, Canada
159 Glebeholme Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, M4J 1S7, Canada
1982
2022
1500
10
JK to 12
JK to 8
Coed
Coed
Day
Day
English
English
Academic
Arts
Traditional
Progressive
16 to 19
10
In-class adaptations
$15,965 to $23,200
$11,000
No
Yes
0%
0%
None
None
$0
$0
100
1
0%
0%
100%
90%
JK, SK, K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
JK, SK, K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Rolling
Not available
Not available
Not available
Yes
Yes: grades K - 8
No
No
information not available
information not available
Mentor College and TEAM School are closely associated, something that brings unique strengths to both. They are overseen by a single administrative body, and they share some facilities, services, and extracurricular programs. The benefits are in a shared infrastructure and organizational efficiency. The facilities are modern and robust, as are student services and transportation. There is a robust, rich program of extra-curricular activity, something that, again, is a benefit of not only the school's size, but also the intra-school associations and programs. That said, the division of the campuses gives each—high school, intermediate, and primary—its own sense of propriety and identity. It's a unique model, one that gains both the benefits of a large student population, as well as those of smaller communities of students. In numbers, this is one of the largest schools in Canada, though the lived experience of the families that attend doesn't bear that out. Frequent and casual communication between parents and teachers, as well, underscores a personal, student and family-centered approach.
View full reportAurora Alternative Micro School (AAMS) is a small JK to Grade 12 school with a unique approach to education. AAMS boasts small class sizes and low student-to-teacher ratios, which promotes engagement and interaction, and which provides the opportunity for fun activities like cooking. Even for a small school, it has a remarkably close-knit and intimate community where all kids feel like they belong. AAMS also offers personalized learning, in combination with a traditional curriculum, to capitalize on children’s innate curiosity and love of learning. Finally, the school prioritizes the development of critical thinking, artistic expression, confidence, and leadership skills in all of its students, from kindergartners to older teenagers.
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"Mentor College provides a strong academic program for its students. A caring environment rich in personal attention has been established, and this positive atmosphere both allows and encourages students to think and reason for themselves. The school places emphasis on communication between the teacher, parent, and student. The homework book, monthly teacher phone call, and regular assessment ensure that this communication is clear and current. Located in Port Credit, Mississauga, the High School (Grades 9 to 12) and Intermediate (Grades 5 to 8) levels are housed at the Main Campus. An adjacent Primary Campus is home to the JK to Grade 4 students. The facilities include an indoor pool, artificial turf field, seasonal dome, multiple age and grade-appropriate gyms, science labs, and music rooms. Co-curricular trips to the school's Outdoor Education Centre in Muskoka enhance in-class learning in the upper grades. Extracurricular activities abound, and include learning opportunities in sports, music, drama and special-interest clubs."
"Aurora Alternative Micro School ! A holistic educational experience in Toronto's East End catering to the Primary, Junior and Intermediate grades. We offer a direct, expansive and heartfelt learning opportunity. At Aurora, we combine traditional pedagogy with relational, outdoor and child centred philosophies."
"Mentor College offers a consistently high quality of education from JK through to university entrance. Students benefit from this continuity as they progress through the grades and transition from the Primary to Intermediate to High School Divisions."
"Our school is aimed at families es who are seeking a real and relational alternative to traditional and systemized education. At Aurora, we believe in creating community for our students and families. We have created an organic and alive curriculum weaving together parental and student voice with a host off teaching philosophies. Our motto 'where all is possible' really is the nucleus of the school's intention."
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"At Mentor, we pride ourselves on providing clear and consistent communication. The monthly phone call by the child's homeroom teacher (beginning with an introductory call in early September) provides parents with steady, clear, two-way communication. The homework book is another key component that begins in JK and continues to Grade 12. Evaluations take place throughout the entire school year and every student receives a detailed, formal progress report three times per year."
"Families choose Aurora Alternative as they see their children thriving with other students of differing ages and feeling the joy of learning and living. Not only are students exploring traditional reading, writing and mathematical skills, they are given space to cook, create, play, and suggest avenues for their own learning. We also explore the city and visit all that Toronto has to offer."
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"We believe that the Mentor extracurricular program offers a club or team for just about every interest. There are clubs, teams, and special events at Mentor that have been running for decades. Many of these groups were initiated by a student or staff member's passion and knowledge in a specific area. Most clubs, teams, and events are grade/division-specific and schoolwide events like the Culture Show and the charity Fashion Show bring together students of all ages."
"Aurora Alternative focus is to create relational, critical thinking, and emotionally articulate individuals. Through drama, play and group building activities student are given opportunities to think about themselves as learners and as vulnerable human beings. Students learn their strengths and also where they are meet challenges, frustration and disappointment within themselves and in relation to other. Aurora Alternative also really focusses on the joy of learning."
"Families are pleased when they discover how long Mentor College has been in existence. For over 40 years, Mentor has had a steady presence in Mississauga - preparing generations of students for success in university and in life. Parents are also reassured by the fact that all of the members of our leadership team - from director Mr. Macdonald to the principals - were at one time teachers in a Mentor classroom."
"Aurora is a vibrant learning experience where parents can drop off their kids and know that they are happy, nurtured and growing. We believe in creating leaders and we have many Grade 9- Grade 12 students who volunteer and teach activities based on their passions. We encourage Aurora students to share their passions with the belief that students are teachers."
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Hello and thank you for taking the time to visit the Mentor College page at the Our Kids website. I am sure you will like what you see when you read about our school. Mentor College has been offering excellence in education since the school's founding in 1982. With our high standard of academics, extensive extracurricular programme, and superb teaching staff, we are able to prepare students for success in post-secondary education and beyond! If you would like to know more about the school, I kindly invite you to our next open house. Please click on the "Events" link for the next open house date. If you cannot make it on that day, one of our principals will be more than happy to meet with you and your child on a more convenient date.
As a passionate educator of 30 years, I have been inspired by the many countries I have lived in and visited. Having taught in London, England for 15 years as a French/Spanish and Comparative Religions High School teacher, I thrived in the multiculturalism of a city bustling with immigrants and refugees. The students I met, filled my heart with their courage, determination and joy. I was inspired by their desire to improve their life circumstances through the gift of education. In those classrooms, student respect was earned as many of the systems that they had relied on had failed them. Finding ways to engage them was a challenge, but what a delight when their curiosity was tweaked and their trust was gained. It was here that I began to understand the power of learning and the importance of relationship. I learnt that there is no end to the possibility and potential here.
I also had grown up hearing stories and reading articles about Summerhill school, revolutionary in their mission to impassion and engage young minds and hearts. I wanted to bring this energy and philosophy to the urban classroom. I was fortunate enough to teach in Paris for several years, complimenting my understanding of teaching in a diverse and inner city environment , but with a fresh twist. Added to this mix, my travels to Israel and life on Kibbutz opened my eyes to the importance of nature as an inherent teacher and impressed on me the value of community and camaraderie. This was accentuated in New Zealand where I furthered my understanding of ecological literacy and the interconnectedness of life and learning. As a parent of a child in TDSB’s alternative outdoor education Equinox Holistic Alternative school, the years of accompanying school trips to the Evergreen Brickworks and the Pine Project helped me see, first hand, the deep rooted impact of this type of enrichment.
My travels brought me to Toronto which is where I now call Home. I have been working for the TDSB initially as a Grade 5 /6 French Immersion and Core teacher and also a Grade 7 and 8 Core Homeroom teacher.
In addition, I graduated from the Transpersonal Therapy Centre in 2008 and have a small practice where I work with individuals and families. As well, I have facilitated many groups for adults working with personal growth, movement and meditation.
All these experiences, the places and the people, are integrated into the fabric of who I am as a human being and who I am as a teacher.
Progressive
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Traditional curricula tend to be very content-based and rooted in the core disciplines. It is a structured approach that involves the teacher delivering a unified curriculum through direct instruction. Students usually learn by observing and listening to their teacher, studying facts and concepts in textbooks, and completing both tests and written assignments - which challenge students to not only demonstrate their mastery of content but their ability to analyze and deconstruct it critically. Class discussions are also used to create critical dialogue around the content of the curriculum.
Progressive (sometimes called "in- quiry-based") curricula attempt to place children's interests and ideas at the heart of the learning experience. Instead of lessons being driven by predetermined pathways, progressive curricula are often "emergent", with learning activities shaped by students' questions about the world. Instead of starting with academic concepts and then tying it to everyday experience, progressive methods begin with everyday experience and work back to an academic lesson. Teachers provide materials, experiences, tools and resources to help students investigate a topic or issue. Students are encouraged to explore, reflect on their findings, and discuss answers or solutions.
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Discovery Math
Discovery Math turns traditional math on its head: it frequently begins by introducing a novel problem to students, and works its way back to “discovering” a method of solving the problem. The goal is to ground mathematical procedures and algorithms firmly in their applications, and to challenge students to think critically about how they might go about solving the problem right from the beginning. Generally associated with the “Chicago Math” movement and related Everyday Math textbooks (Grades 1 to 6), Discovery math spends less classroom time mastering established algorithms and more time getting students invested in and thinking critically about novel mathematical problems and concepts. In this sense Discovery Math aims to establish conceptual and applied understand before procedural understanding.
Students will develop their confidence with math skills and explore the magical world of numbers. We will start with an introduction to the abacus and the origins of counting. As students grow, the math curriculum will focus on the principles of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. At Aurora, we will make math learning as experiential as possible and create opportunities to integrate math skills into real world situations. All students will be given in a workbook for their particular age level which they can use at home. Students will also have access to computers and are able to learn coding through programs such as Scratch and Scratch Junior.
Jump Math
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Process approach
The process approach to teaching beginner writing aims to get students writing “real things” as much as possible and as soon as possible. The goal is to create the right environmental conditions to encourage a love of writing and a motivation to write well. With children invested in the writing process -- through assignments children find meaningful -- students are then given feedback on how they can improve.
progress developmentally, the curriculum transforms to meet their changing inner requirements. Literacy and Languages At Aurora, we aim to nurture the love of reading and writing. Students will develop their ability to express their ideas; we start with letters, continue to forming words and sentences and then by the end of the primary years, students will be able to see their work grow in sophistication as their vocabulary and grammatical understanding develops. The school offers a broad and vibrant Library cultivating creativity, curiosity and imagination. Each year students will write their own stories and will have them formatted and printed into a bound book. Students will also have spacious time to play, as it is our experience that students love of storytelling starts and is integrated through this sacred time. Basic French and Spanish will be introduced during these years. Be prepared for a trip to the local French bakery!
Inquiry
Inquiry-based science emphasizes teaching science as a way of thinking or practice, and therefore tries to get students “doing” science as much as possible -- and not just “learning” it. Students still learn foundational scientific ideas and content (and build on this knowledge progressively); however, relative to expository science instruction, inquiry-based programs have students spend more time developing and executing their own experiments (empirical and theoretical). Students are frequently challenged to develop critical and scientific-thinking skills by developing their own well-reasoned hypothesis and finding ways to test those hypotheses. Projects and experiments are emphasized over textbook learning. Skills are emphasized over breadth of knowledge.
Science is all around and within us! With this in mind, the science curriculum will focus around these units. Animals and their habitat Food and Health Compounds and experiments Making structures The science curriculum will be supported by Scientists in the School and the Toronto Wildlife Association visits.
Evolution as consensus theory
Evolution as one of many equally viable theories
Evolution is not taught
Evolution as consensus theory
Evolution as one of many equally viable theories
Evolution is not taught
Zoology
Not applicable
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Ancient lit
English lit
World (non-Western) lit
European (continental) lit
American lit
Canadian lit
Ancient lit
English lit
World (non-Western) lit
European (continental) lit
American lit
Canadian lit
Thematic
The Thematic approach organizes the curriculum around certain themes or cultural universals. Students might spend time focused on food. Then they might focus on transportation or government, and so on.
At Aurora, students will develop an understanding of the world around them through an understanding of countries and continents and stories of people’s culture sand experiences. Students at each age will be invited to create a family tree and share stories of their own personal family history and the geographical paths that have brought them to the present day.
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Communicative
The communicative method of language acquisition emphasizes the use of the target language in authentic contexts. The approach commonly features interactive group work, games, authentic texts, and opportunities to learn about the cultural background of the language. Drills and quizzes may still be used, but less frequently than with the audio-lingual method.
We offer French and Spanish.
Hebrew
ESL
Spanish
Russian
Latin
Japanese
Italian
Greek
German
French
Chinese-Mandarin
Chinese-Cantonese
Hebrew
ESL
Spanish
Russian
Latin
Japanese
Italian
Greek
German
French
Chinese-Mandarin
Chinese-Cantonese
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Creative
Creative arts programs are studio-driven. While historical works and movements may still be taught to add context to the program, students mainly engage in making art (visual, musical, theatrical, etc). The goal is use the actual practice of art to help educate students’ emotions, cognition, and ethos.
At Aurora, we see the arts as an evocative and powerful gateway for self expression. Students will delve through the realms of their imagination using as many mediums as possible; (clay, acrylics, baking, play dough, sand sculptures, water colours, wooden and magnetic tiles. In fact, there is no end to the kaleidoscope of possibilities here!) Students will each be given a sketch book to harness and explore their creativity.
Acting
Dance
Drama/Theatre
Graphic Design
Music
Visual Arts
Acting
Dance
Drama/Theatre
Graphic Design
Music
Visual Arts
Light integration
Computers are used in the classroom from time to time, but integrating technology into everything students do is not a dominant focus. Digital literacy is understood to be a legitimate skill in the 21st century, but not one that should distract from teaching the subject at hand, or more fundamental skills and literacies. The idea is today’s students, being “digital natives”, are likely exposed to computers and new media enough outside the classroom: the role of the school, rather, should be to develop competencies that may otherwise get missed.
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All students have access to a laptop and explore graphic design and Scratch.
Web design
Robotics
Computer science
This will be an integral part of the school day and students will be encouraged to move their body, play together and learn new skills. We offer volleyball and tennis lessons. We have many parks in the area with a range of green spaces, beach, creek and woodland areas.
Play-based
Academic-based preschools and Kindergartens are the most structured of the different types, and have a strong emphasis on math and reading readiness skills. These programs aim to expose children to what early-elementary school is like. While time is still allotted to free play, much of the day is built around explicit lessons guided by the teacher. Classrooms often resemble play-based ones (with different stations set up around the room), but at an Academic program the teacher leads students through the stations directly, and ties these activities to a whole-class lesson or theme.
Play-based programs are the most common type of preschool and Kindergarten, and are founded on the belief young children learn best through play. Largely open-ended and minimally structured, play-based programs aim to develop social skills and a love of attending school. “Pre-academic” skills are taught, but in a more indirect way than at, say, an Academic program: through children playing in different “stations” set up around the classroom, which children choose on their own volition. Stations often contain an indirect lesson or developmental goal. Play-based classrooms are highly social and active.
At Aurora, we focus on a play based approach for our young learners. We provide a range of learning centres revolving around imagination and creativity that helps our students develop healthy relationships with their peers. We also encourage outdoor play and inquiry.
Student-paced
Broadly-speaking, the main curriculum -- like that of most schools -- paces the provincially-outlined one. This pace is steady and set by the teachers and school. The curriculum might still be enriched in various ways: covering topics more in-depth and with more vigor than the provincial one, or covering a broader selection of topics.
The main curriculum pace is non-standardized and is HIGHLY responsive to the pacing of individual students, (via differentiated instruction, differentiated assessment, etc). In theory, some students outpace the default/normalized curriculum, while others spend periods "behind schedule" if they need the extra time.
Supportive
A school with a “supportive” academic culture focuses more on process than short-term outcomes: academic performance is a welcomed side-benefit, but not the driving focus. This does not mean the school lacks standards, or has low expectations for its students: a school can have a supportive academic culture and still light the fire of ambition in its students. It does mean, however, the school provides a less intensive culture than schools with a “rigorous” academic classification, and is focused more simply on instilling a love of learning and life-long curiosity.
A school with a “supportive” academic culture focuses more on process than short-term outcomes: academic performance is a welcomed side-benefit, but not the driving focus. This does not mean the school lacks standards, or has low expectations for its students: a school can have a supportive academic culture and still light the fire of ambition in its students. It does mean, however, the school provides a less intensive culture than schools with a “rigorous” academic classification, and is focused more simply on instilling a love of learning and life-long curiosity.
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"We intentionally avoid all forms of public distinction between students in terms of academic performance."
Intellectual
The goal is to cultivate "academically strong, creative and critical thinkers, capable of exercising rationality, apprehending truth, and making aesthetic distinctions."
Balanced
Equal emphasis is placed on a balance of priorities: intellectual, emotional, social and physical cultivation.
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At Aurora, we aim to nurture your child academically, emotionally, spiritually cultivating a capacity to develop secure and healthy relationships. We believe in this way, that as students come to understand themselves holistically that they can forge a healthy and happy life in the world.
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Badminton |
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Baseball |
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Cross-country skiing |
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Cycling |
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Downhill skiing |
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Equestrian |
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Fencing |
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Field Hockey |
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Figure Skating |
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Football |
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Golf |
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Gymnastics |
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Ice Hockey |
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Ice Skating |
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Lacrosse |
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Martial Arts |
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Mountain biking |
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Racquet Ball |
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Rowing |
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Rugby |
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Running |
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Sailing |
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Skateboarding |
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Snowboarding |
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Soccer |
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Softball |
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Squash |
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Swimming |
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Tennis |
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Track & Field |
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Volleyball |
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Weightlifting |
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Wrestling |
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Archery |
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Curling |
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Ultimate |
Ballet and Classical Ballet
Yoga
Yearbook
Student Council
Scouting
Science Club
School newspaper
Round Square
Robotics club
Radio club
Poetry/Literature club
Photography
Paintball
Outdoor Education
Outdoor Club
Online Magazine
Musical theatre/Opera
Math Club
Jazz Ensemble
Habitat for Humanity
Foreign Language Club
Environmental Club
Drama Club
Debate Club
Dance Club
Computer Club
Community Service
Choir
Chess Club
Band
Audiovisual Club
Astronomy Club
Art Club
Animation
Ballet and Classical Ballet
Yoga
Yearbook
Student Council
Scouting
Science Club
School newspaper
Round Square
Robotics club
Radio club
Poetry/Literature club
Photography
Paintball
Outdoor Education
Outdoor Club
Online Magazine
Musical theatre/Opera
Math Club
Jazz Ensemble
Habitat for Humanity
Foreign Language Club
Environmental Club
Drama Club
Debate Club
Dance Club
Computer Club
Community Service
Choir
Chess Club
Band
Audiovisual Club
Astronomy Club
Art Club
Animation
0%
0%
$0
$0
100%
90%
JK, SK, K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
JK, SK, K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Rolling
Not available
Not available
Not available
Yes
Yes: grades K - 8
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
We accept families and students who are looking for an alternative to mainstream and traditional education. Students will be looking to share their interests and curiosities and develop their critical and creative skills. Families will be looking for a more scared and holistic educational experience.
There will be a yearly $200 fee for supplies.
40 Forest Avenue, Mississauga, Ontario, L5G 1L1, Canada
159 Glebeholme Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, M4J 1S7, Canada
