St. Michaels University School

• McGill University

McGill University student review

St. Michaels University School - St. Michaels had a very strong academic program. The school offered a variety of courses in different subjects (i.e. sciences, math, languages) including AP and advanced versons. The science program was also impressive. The biology program offered trips to Bamfield, a well-known research station a few miles north of Victoria on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. One of the science teachers, Mr. Michael Jackson, is a noted scholar of the Galapagos Islands and he organized biannual school trips to the islands, which many of my friends went on and found fascinating. Additionally, St. Michaels had a relatively intense physical education program, with PE classes mandatory even in grade 12. The classes were small, the largest class that I was in during my time at SMUS was probably no larger than 22 students and the smallest around 8 students. We had meetings with our "homeforms," which were small groups of students assigned to each teacher, essentially like a homeroom. We met every other day, after chapel services or assemblies, and discussed various school matters such as council elections, upcoming events, etc. The faculty at SMUS was particularly attentive. All teachers provided hours outside of class to meet with students and discuss any problems we might be having with class material. Tutors were also available through the school to assist us. Most teachers also held tutorials before exams to help us with especially difficult material prior to testing. We had many interesting speakers come to visit the school, one that stands out in my mind was Kim Campbell's visit in 2005. She discussed her time in office and gave her opinions on currents events, such as American foreign policy and the war in Iraq. SMUS's facilities were quite extensive. We had two gyms and four large playing fields. Schaffter hall, built. …read more »