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At 8:45 a.m., 'O Canada' is played to signal the beginning of classes for our elementary students. Recess and snack breaks are staggered in the morning for various groups of students, as are lunch and recess in the afternoon. The school day ends at 3:15 p.m., at which time all elementary students go outside to the playground until their parents arrive.
High school students follow a full year (non-semestered) academic program — with six classes during the day, each 50 minutes long, on a four-day rotational cycle. Lunch is an hour long, and the school day begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. An optional study hall is available for students beginning at 8:00 a.m. until the beginning of the normal school day.
Students must bring their own lunch to school each day. Elementary students eat their lunch in their classrooms. For older students, there are two separate cafeteria areas and two lunch periods, one for junior high students and the other for senior high students. Gr. 11 and 12 students are permitted to leave campus for lunch and they must sign out at the office before leaving campus.
Yes. Many students take the TTC back and forth to school. Sheppard and Victoria Park buses stop close to the school property and the Don Mills subway station on the Sheppard subway line is within easy walking distance of the school.
No. Home pick-up or drop-off is not provided for students.
Each school year begins the day after Labour Day in September. Normal holidays are Thanksgiving Day, two weeks for Christmas, Family Day in February, seven weekdays for March Break, Good Friday, Easter Monday, and Victoria Day. Four P.D. days are generally scheduled during the school year in October, November, February, and May to coincide with the holiday weekends of Thanksgiving, Family Day and Victoria Day. Details of the exact dates of all non-school days are provided at the beginning of each school year with a posted school year calendar.
A normal class size is 20 - 25 students, usually fairly equally split between boys and girls. There is one class at each grade level from JK - grade 5, and there are two classes at each grade level from grade 6 - grade 9. Class sizes for elective courses in grade 10-12 average 15-20 students.
Interested families are provided with an information package which answers many questions and includes an application form that can be completed and returned to us with copies of report cards/transcripts from previous schools attended. After receiving an application, a meeting is arranged with the administrator or principal, who will answer your questions and give you more information about the application process. A grade level readiness assessment is given to all applicants before the school makes a decision about whether or not a space will be offered to the student.
There is a one-time, non-refundable $150 registration fee that must accompany an application to NTCS. Once a student has been offered a place, a $1,000 capital fee is required. Tuition is generally paid through a pre-authorized withdrawal from your bank account, beginning in July of each year. A second child in a family pays a $100 registration fee, no capital fee, and receives a 40% discount on the full tuition fee. A third child in a family pays a $100 registration fee, no capital fee, and receives a 60% discount on the full tuition fee.
Other costs to anticipate at NTCS are school and gym uniforms (approx. $450) and textbooks (Grade 7-12 only, approx. $500-600/year).
The school certainly hopes that parents will take an active interest in the work and progress of their child, encouraging them to maintain disciplined work habits and to make a strong effort to be involved in all aspects of the school program -- academic, athletic, artistic, and other extracurricular activities. Ongoing communication with individual teachers is encouraged (by visiting the school, by phone, or by email) to ensure that parents are fully informed of their child's progress, particularly when concerns arise. Parents are encouraged to access the NTCS online calendar to keep up-to-date about school activities and their child's Google Classrooms to keep informed about their child's schoolwork. Attendance at some school functions throughout the year is strongly encouraged. Parental involvement assisting with supervision for occasional field trips is very helpful.
NTCS is an interdenominational Christian school that adopts an evangelical worldview in all of its activities. All of the staff are committed evangelical Christians. The staff endeavours to "teach by precept and example" Christian values that are important to Christian families trying to raise their children in a humanistic, pluralistic society. As a staff, every effort is made to support the Christian values that parents are building into their children at home and in their church community.
It is the school's goal to expose its students to the Biblical principles and truths that should guide their daily lives. NTCS aims not just to educate, but to develop Christ-like character in its students.
Teachers are carefully selected to be well-qualified, enthusiastic, Christian teachers of young people. NTCS's teachers hold university degrees, teaching qualifications (Ontario College of Teachers certification, or equivalent from other provinces/countries), and some have formal Bible school or seminary training. Most importantly, teachers are teaching in their area of subject specialty, so they can make the academic program as interesting and challenging as possible. Staff members are carefully chosen to be Christian role models for young people and to be in a position of authority over them.
NTCS is an inspected school with the Ontario Ministry of Education (MOE). The school is not "approved" by them, as that is not their function. The Ministry registers schools and then inspects those that offer credits at the high school level to ensure that the school is meeting the general standards of operation as prescribed by the Ministry of Education. NTCS is inspected biannually by the Ministry of Education and has always received very positive and encouraging reports from them about its policies, procedures and general operations.
An extensive sports program with many opportunities for students to get involved is provided. Elementary and junior high sports teams typically involve tryouts and practices leading to one-day tournaments, while high school teams normally play a series of games in a season, leading to a playoff round. Students must balance their interest in sports with their academic obligations and involvement in other extra-curricular programs, but many opportunities are there for those interested and willing to commit themselves to the sport and the team.
NTCS offers ESL credit courses each summer for international students to assist them in improving their English level to prepare for September admission. No night school courses are offered, although high school credits earned at night, or in the summer, at other Ontario Ministry of Education inspected public or private schools are accepted as credits toward a student's Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
The staff is sensitive to the issue of homework load, realizing that an undue burden of homework can put stress on the whole family. In most classes, time is given to start homework assignments, and many students who use this time wisely will get much of their assigned work finished at school, leaving only small amounts of work to be completed at home. In addition to daily homework, more substantial projects and assignments will need to be worked on, and completed, at home. These are given well in advance of their due dates and can be completed in a timely manner when organization and good time management skills are practised by the student. A general guideline is that a student should be prepared, on average, to do about 10 minutes of homework per grade (for example, a grade 7 student should plan for about 70 minutes of homework daily).
Each teacher is encouraged to handle individual disciplinary problems within their own classroom. If the behavioural problem becomes an issue that is negatively affecting the learning environment of the entire class, or involves a persistent violation of school rules, that student will be referred to the Principal's office for further disciplinary action. If individual student behavioural problems are significant or persistent, parents will be informed and a meeting will be arranged with the Principal to discuss potential solutions.
Chandos is the NTCS outdoor education camp facility on Chandos Lake in the Kawarthas, north of Peterborough. It is a beautiful rural property with comfortable cabins, a main dining lodge, and several other buildings. The school uses the property extensively during the school year. In the summer, Chandos operates for seven weeks as Camp Ke-Mon-Oya, a full residential camping program for children from ages 8 - 15.
Scheduled events include a new student Orientation on the Thursday before the first day of school, a Get Acquainted Night in the first week of school in September, Parent/Teacher Interviews in late November and an Open House in February.
Other significant events are: fall Chandos trips in September for grade 3 - 10, winter Chandos trips in January for grade 3 - 9, a school wide ski trip in February/March, a grade 8 Science Fair in March, a Festival of the Arts in May, including drama presentations and a band/choir concert, and senior kindergarten, grade 8 and grade 12 graduations in June.
All students at NTCS use the computer labs with a personal user I.D. This allows for all network and internet activity to be monitored, logged, and traced to a specific individual. Hardware filtering and proxy servers which monitor all network traffic help us to avoid spyware, viruses, and undesirable content, such as accidental website hits and pop up banners. An internet filtering appliance is also installed and sits between the internet and the school computers. This allows filtering of material that may be considered inappropriate or should not be accessed by the student body (Facebook, YouTube, etc.)
It is essential that a student have access to a home computer so that projects and assignments can be worked on at home. Internet access is required as there are many excellent resources available which can be used for schoolwork. Google Classrooms are also established for each of the elementary grades and for every course in the high school. A secure NTCS email address is provided for each student to communicate with their teachers and classmates.
It is difficult to make comparisons with other schools because of the wide variety of factors that shape each school's academic environment. The concept of an "academic standard" is not clearly defined. NTCS prefers to judge its program based on the success of its students in post-secondary studies. With over twenty five years of graduating students to a wide variety of universities and colleges around the world, NTCS is confident that its program prepares its graduates for success in the post-secondary institutions that they attend.
High school courses are taught at the "university-bound" or "academic" level of difficulty. Students completing these courses are eligible to enter all varieties of post-secondary schools. Certainly, most students are university bound and the goal of the program is to prepare them for successful entry and completion of a university program of their choice. NTCS's experience is that its students have no difficulty with their university admissions applications.
In general, most post-secondary institutions like to admit students from private schools because they know it is more likely the students have had solid academic training, developed generally strong study habits, and have come from homes where education is valued. These students are, therefore, better prepared to endure the rigours of the university experience. Most of our students are accepted into all the universities to which they apply, many with scholarship offers. Even more importantly, NTCS is pleased to hear of the successes of its graduates in their university studies. From these personal visits and reports, NTCS is confident that its high school program prepares graduates academically, socially, and spiritually for the demands of an independent university lifestyle. The goal is to prepare NTCS students with the skills necessary -- not to merely gain acceptance to the universities of their choice, but to successfully complete their university program.
The application process is guided by the principal and the guidance head to ensure that all relevant information about students and their grades and courses is supplied in the correct way to the Ontario Universities' Application Centre and the Ontario Colleges Application Service. The process begins in October and continues throughout the school year with students and the school office updating the Application Centres periodically with completed course information through their web-based computer systems. Generally, students begin to receive early offers of admission from universities and colleges in March, with others normally coming in May and June.
Yes. Through the guidance office, many universities and colleges are invited to NTCS to personally present their programs and distribute information to interested senior students during the lunch time period. Senior students are encouraged to attend the annual universities fair at the Metro Convention Centre in the fall where they spend the day visiting representatives and collecting information from dozens of post-secondary institutions. NTCS also encourages students to attend the CCUT Fair (Christian Colleges and Universities Tour) where many Christian post-secondary institutions across Canada come together to recruit high school students.