Preparing for the Future
You might recall that a key part of my transition plan includes building relationships through one-on-one meetings with faculty and staff. So far I have had 56 different conversations all of which have been incredibly rewarding and interesting. I have gotten to know so many great people and learned so much through this process.
One conversation I was keen to have was with our Head of Guidance, Mr. Ian Carswell. I really wanted to understand the profile of our SJK graduates. Mr. Carswell has worked at SJK for the past 12 years and an important part of his role as Head of Guidance is university counselling. What you may not know about Mr. Carswell is that he is a graduate of Harvard University. He was a varsity athlete and received the 1997 Bingham Award presented to the best male athlete at Harvard University. In fact, he still holds the record for the outdoor 5,000m (13:43.78) event, the Distance Medley Relay, was a member of Canada's National Track & Field and Cross Country Teams and is in the Harvard Athletics Hall of Fame. Impressive to say the least! He is certainly well qualified to assist our Grade 12 students at this important point in their lives.
In our conversation, we touched on a number of facts and figures about SJK graduates that I found very interesting. I thought I would share a few of them with you:
One conversation I was keen to have was with our Head of Guidance, Mr. Ian Carswell. I really wanted to understand the profile of our SJK graduates. Mr. Carswell has worked at SJK for the past 12 years and an important part of his role as Head of Guidance is university counselling. What you may not know about Mr. Carswell is that he is a graduate of Harvard University. He was a varsity athlete and received the 1997 Bingham Award presented to the best male athlete at Harvard University. In fact, he still holds the record for the outdoor 5,000m (13:43.78) event, the Distance Medley Relay, was a member of Canada's National Track & Field and Cross Country Teams and is in the Harvard Athletics Hall of Fame. Impressive to say the least! He is certainly well qualified to assist our Grade 12 students at this important point in their lives.
In our conversation, we touched on a number of facts and figures about SJK graduates that I found very interesting. I thought I would share a few of them with you:
- 100% of SJK grads earned their way into best fit post-secondary opportunities
- 88.5% - average of SJK's Class of 2019 top 6 courses, which is used as the primary measure for post-secondary admission in Ontario
- 66 different post-secondary institutions to which SJK grads have matriculated over the past 10 years (in 7 different countries no less!)
- 65 first-year university credits were granted to 2019 Grads prior to beginning their studies because of their IB Diploma
- 41% of students from the three most recent graduating classes entered STEM-related post-secondary fields (46% of males, 35% of females)
- The national average is 18.6% (combined male & female)
- 12 SJK grads are currently competing on a varsity athletics team at university
- The top 5 (in order) post-secondary destinations for SJK Grads: Western, U of T, Waterloo, Laurier, and Queen's
- 2 SJK grads in the past 7 years have been awarded the prestigious Queen's Chancellor’s Scholarship
- SJK is the only SAT (& PSAT) test centre located in Waterloo Region
I found our conversation fascinating and I enjoyed learning about how well-placed our DP2 students are as they prepare for this important transition to post-secondary education. We know that our students, parents and teachers value the learning that goes on every day at SJK but we also know that the end of the journey is always in sight. It’s comforting to know that we have such a great team in place to support our students to ensure that at the end of their time with us, they have exciting opportunities ahead.
On a related note about preparing for the future, we have two admissions events approaching in mid-November. If you know anyone who would be interested in attending our Junior Kindergarten Open House on November 19 or SJK Information Evening on November 21, please let them know and share this invitation with them. We would love to meet them!
I hope you have a wonderful break,
Ms. Cheryl Boughton
Head of School
On a related note about preparing for the future, we have two admissions events approaching in mid-November. If you know anyone who would be interested in attending our Junior Kindergarten Open House on November 19 or SJK Information Evening on November 21, please let them know and share this invitation with them. We would love to meet them!
I hope you have a wonderful break,
Ms. Cheryl Boughton
Head of School
St. John's Kilmarnock School
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