Prepared for Life

Kristen Crouse and Shawn Butler sit down to talk about high school - and what our Grade 8 students can expect after they graduate from Montessori Academy of London. 

Welcome to the Prepared for Life Podcast from Montessori Academy of London!

In our first official “Prepared for Life Podcast,” Academic Director Kristen Crouse and Junior High teacher and Upper El/JH Coordinator Shawn Butler walk us through “High School: What to expect after MA.” Kristen and Shawn kick off the episode by talking a bit about what was happening in the world when THEY graduated high school. :) Then they launch into the big question our Admissions coordinator gets when parents of Toddlers and preschoolers are inquiring about Montessori: “How do the students transition from Montessori to high school?”

For some insight, Shawn reached out to a number of recent graduates for their perspective on the transition to high school. (And yes, we will be hiring MA alumnus Joseph to write some of our marketing material to help us sell our “superior education.” LOL) One of our alumni, Alec, even mentions the value of reaching out to future classmates and the Thames Valley District School Board’s two-day “High School Here We Come” session that is available to incoming Grade 9s each summer.

Kristen talks about the high school diploma requirements, which includes 30 credits, a Grade 10 Literacy test (one of the things that have been impacted by COVID), and 40 hours of community service.

The types of courses available in Grades 9 and 10 are reviewed by Kristen, as well as the different streams for Grades 11 and 12, based on the destination the student will choose after high school (university, college, university or college, workplace, or open.

Kristen and Shawn then talk a bit about the semestered versus not-semestered programs available in London, and enriched and other specialized programs, such as the WISE program at Western and SHSM skills programs.

Something to keep in mind: this is based on “business as usual” - before COVID modified how high schools share information, give tours, etc. However, as we learn more about how high schools will package information, we’ll share details with Grade 8 parents to help them make decisions for next year! As well, the JH teaching team is always available to answer questions. In the meantime, here is the one-page sheet Kristen mentions; it's a PDF summary of the high school requirements and information Kristen and Shawn shared.