Roundtable Q&A Discussion About The Rosedale Day School (2020)

I really loved all of my teachers and was super grateful for the relationships that I was able to build because of the class sizes and overall smaller school size. But since leaving The Rosedale Day School, I would definitely say that I took that for granted. And now I’m at a much larger school, and I'm still very close with a few of my teachers. My class-to-class relationships are very different; I’m not as close with the same number of people who are in the same way.

I think that the aspects that differentiate The Rosedale School most from other schools are the community, size, and the relationships that are able to be built, but also the types of classes that are offered. Especially towards the end of my time there, there was super progressive and interesting content in the courses.

If the Rosedale Day School were to be represented as a single person in only three words, I would say that their personality would be supportive, outgoing, and caring. I know personally, I was in a super nurturing environment growing up at The Rosedale Day School. It's the only school I've ever known for 10 years. And I definitely loved the big family.

Unlike any other school I've ever seen or experienced, the teachers and faculty at The Rosedale Day School care an incredible amount about their students, and the students' success. From my experience, I know that they will do anything that they can to ensure that the students thrive and do the best that they can.

There are so many reasons to choose The Rosedale Day School, but the common theme that we've been seeing is the community, and it's honestly ... something I've never seen before anywhere else. I've never heard anyone talk about a school in the way that I hear students and parents talk about The Rosedale Day School.

I always say that the teachers and the staff, they know your kid. The Rosedale Day School really knows your kid. They know that my daughter is a super fast runner, and that she can be really grumpy in the morning. And they know that my son is a little precocious and doesn't eat any fruit … they know your kid, and I'd never, ever experienced that.

For me, the biggest impact on my daughter, who's in Grade 4, is this sense of confidence she has. … She is so confident in herself because The Rosedale Day School finds what is special about your child, and nurtures that. And it's a beautiful thing. She's not afraid to ask questions. It's provided such a safe space for her. Because of the small cohort, she's been with some of the same kids since she was in Senior Kindergarten.

The students grow together, and they're so safe together. They treat each other almost like siblings. … My daughter has had new children come into her class every year, and they are all so warmly accepted. She's also learning great empathy, because some of them are quirky, and some might not be your best friend, but you deal with it and you learn ... and you accept them. And with my son ... he's just happy to go to school, and that's a wonderful thing. The fact that he likes school … is a wonderful thing. I'm happy that his love of learning will continue.

The extracurriculars at The Rosedale Day School are outstanding. There is something for everyone, all the kids. It just instills that sense of community and fosters competitiveness amongst the children, and asks them to be their best selves. It's a really special thing.

My daughter … just loves being able to go to The Rosedale Day School and be with her friends, build those relationships, and foster that community. My son's favourite thing he would talk about is recess. But again, the fact that my five-year-old is happy to go to school is a wonderful thing. That they like to go to school, I think that says it all.

I would say The Rosedale School is warm and safe. … The kids feel safe in their cohorts. What they've done for the health and safety of the kids this year, in particular, has been outstanding. But it's always been a safe space for kids to be who they are.

The Rosedale Day School had their online learning platform up and running, and they've adapted starting in September this year. But even in prior years, the teachers are always adapting, always changing. ... The teachers are constantly learning. … That inquiry-based learning is unbelievable, and they completely follow through with it.

I keep going back to the kindness that my kids show, the empathy that they have, the incredible sense of community that has been fostered in the past and continues to be fostered at The Rosedale School. I think the parents really push the school, the faculty, and staff to be forward thinking, to continue to grow and push our children, with rigorous academics and competitive sports. So it's really well-rounded. So I just appreciate it so much.

We are gushing about the community and the extracurriculars, but the academics are quite rigorous at The Rosedale Day School. Everyone is held to the standards of a school that offers such a good balance of those very important things.

I was able to go in and help out with pizza lunch, learn everyone's name, and be a part of the community. There is so much opportunity for parent involvement.

Every year that my daughter has been at The Rosedale Day School, there have been new students in her class. She says everyone is always included and incorporated into the class environment. The teachers care so much about fostering those relationships. Because the classes are small and there is a single cohort, they become like siblings. And everyone is so accepted for who they are, their quirks, what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are. Any child’s specific personality will be accepted, and the children are kind and empathetic.

The Rosedale Day School takes the kids on the subway, and they go to the ROM. We love that. We also love that it was accessible. It's right on the subway line. It's easy to get to. It was a really good fit for our family.

The Rosedale Day School is a metropolitan school. Even though the facilities, for lack of a better word, didn't compare to the other bigger private schools, there was a warmth, there was an openness. The teachers seemed so caring. And we loved that they used the city. 

There are smaller class sizes, absolutely, but when it comes to the output of the students and the output of the teachers, they have such a big vision that was such an amazing thing, actually, to be a part of... So it's great.

I did not expect the tenacity of the teachers to keep on inspiring themselves and grow within their own cohort. So seeing the amount of teacher learning that happens at the Rosedale Day School is phenomenal. Recognizing the world that we live in is changing moment by moment. We want to make sure that the faculty has the latest technology, the latest knowledge, and they definitely invest in that. I was really surprised and grateful to see it.

The biggest impact on my son is having him blossom in terms of being able to be a public speaker, plus his confidence to be a leader. It is definitely a foundation of The Rosedale Day School to help each child find their own leadership path or their own pathway to grow. I definitely see that within him. He's a Grade 7 now. And he began in Grade 2. Obviously, when he started a new school, he had concerns and fears about fitting in, and I'm proud to say that he's not only fitting in but also leading the school.

What's amazing about The Rosedale Day School that I've seen through my son is that through the extracurriculars, I'm able to see and sense that he's able to apply what he's learning in the classroom and certain nuanced things that they're talking about into those moments as well. The context of what he's learning is being applied all across the whole tapestry of the school, and that's pretty amazing as well.

For the values of the Rosedale Day School, I'm going to say forward thinking … It really is the foundation of how the school operates. I think they are preparing kids for the future, recognizing what the future needs will be for them, and helping nurture them to get there. So nurturing obviously is a part of that as well. Values of the school community I see are togetherness and openness, which is amazing.

The vision of the school in terms of preparing your child not only academically, but socially, and caring for their well-being, is bar none. So, again, the big vision, married with the smaller class sizes, is going to be powerful.

You want to make sure that you send your child to a location that looks like the city and prepares them for the real world. I'll say confidently and proudly that The Rosedale Day School looks like the city of Toronto, which is phenomenal for someone who wants to have their child immersed in a diverse environment. Not only to be around like-minded students or like-minded friends. There are a lot of different personalities, a lot of different types of kids at The Rosedale Day School.

What's neat about the school is that there'll be a tailored approach based on your child's comfort, and it's incumbent upon us as parents as well to prepare a child accordingly.

What I found fantastic is that the faculty at The Rosedale Day School were engaged with us as parents to help build the program, and they sought feedback constantly to improve.