Interview with Fieldstone School PARENT, Dwayne and Uchenwa Genus
Dwayne and Uchenwa have a son who attended Fieldstone School, King's College. They wanted their son to learn both the Ontario and Cambridge curricula during high school. He received a lot of support from his teachers and did very well. They appreciated the small class sizes and personalized education. They felt that Fieldstone School was the best fit to truly challenge their son and bring out the best in him.
Highlights from the interview
Fieldstone is a school that lives its values and its principles. It's a school that believes in academic excellence. We've seen that. We've seen those standards. The first thing that distinguishes Fieldstone from other schools would be the whole Cambridge experience. I think it's a very excellent experience to allow you to have a very international style of education along with the Canadian style. It challenges individuals and makes sure that they're reaching their highest potential. Our son managed both the Cambridge and the regular Canadian curriculum. That was done seamlessly, we thought.
When our son came to the school, he was able to transition very well, excel in the classes, and he just had a great time. So we know we made the right choice. He got a lot of support from teachers for that period, and he was able to do exceptionally well. I think all in all, he responded excellently to the experience and he enjoyed it. I think it has fortified him. It's made him a stronger, more mature student and person, and he's looking forward to university next year.
What I most appreciated about the school was the very detailed reviews in the progress reports and definitely the parent-teacher interviews. We appreciated how the teachers presented themselves, they communicated with us, and kept that lines of communication open for us. That was really important. We really appreciated that because that's not something you find everywhere. It takes time and effort to make sure that you understand the students in your class and make sure that you're communicating that with parents and making that connection with parents as well.
What surprised us most about the school was the different recognitions that you could achieve at the school. Our son was able to definitely gain confidence by winning a lot of awards. So we were happy to see that. Fieldstone has supported our son through the Duke of Edinburgh program as well, and that's been great. Our son has won several awards through Grades 11 and 12.
The small class sizes enable teachers to give proper attention for students to have access to the teachers, to have their attention as well, and to learn in a very calm and collected environment. Each child is different and they really take the time to make sure that the child has a proper learning plan in place and a proper academic plan to graduate. We really liked that unique approach. The small class sizes and the attentive teachers have really been, I think, what we appreciate most and what our son appreciates most about the school.
We found teachers who are very motivated, highly qualified, and able to really help bring the best out of our son and help him to achieve great standards. The attentiveness and ability of teachers really draws the best out of their students. The teachers are of very high standard. It's very academic, a competitive environment, which is what we want. So Fieldstone has certainly allowed him to do that.
Fieldstone is a global school. They have a lot of international students as well as Canadian students. I remember one parent reaching out and just saying a big hello and that he was so glad to meet us and that if we were ever down on his side of the world to actually stop by. I thought that was very touching, a very nice and friendly community.
We were very satisfied with the interactions that we've had with teachers at Fieldstone King's College School, as well as the administration there as well. They took the time to sit down with us, answer all of our questions, and really start working on a plan, an academic plan for our son to be able to go through and graduate. They have a lot of experience at Fieldstone with guiding students through, whether it's universities in Canada or universities in the States.
Fieldstone really was the school that was the best fit to really challenge our son, to bring out the best in him, create lifelong study habits, and strong study habits and skills. It's really about finding a school that will bring out the best in your child.
