GETTING READY: Prepskills owner Joanna Severino, right, helps Upper College student Seyon Rajadurai, who sought her company’s assistance when applying to his school, explore postsecondary scholarship options he can apply for south of the border. ERIC EMIN WOOD/TOWN CRIER

Prepskills helps students prepare for private school Prepping forentrance exams the — although move not all educators are avidup fans

ERIC EMIN WOOD gram at a neighbouring school closer to sense,” Severino says with a chuckle. ship, which continues to renew itself Town Crier his Markham home. But after he “started “When a family calls us and indicates provided he keeps his grades up. to fall off track a bit” his family started their interest in a particular private While not all educators are ready to hen Seyon Rajadurai decided looking at private schools again. school, we really ask them to broaden apply the “dreammakers” label to the four years ago that a transfer Enter Joanna Severino, a certified their scope when they can.” Prepskills model — UTS admissions from public school into the teacher who founded Prepskills 13 years Rajadurai enrolled in both the SSAT director Garth Chalmers points to a lack Wprivate school system offered a brighter ago following a battle with Hodgkin’s preparation course and PrepEssentials. of “empirical evidence” for or against future, he hedged his bet in two ways. lymphoma, which had forced a change In the end, not only did all three of his — Andrea Camhi, now in Grade 12 at His first step in charting a new course in direction of her own. chosen schools accept him, but each one girls school , was applying to three schools: Universi- For $1,800–2,500, Severino’s com- offered him a scholarship as well. says she would “definitely recommend it ty of Toronto Schools, Crescent School pany sets out to prepare students for After getting to pick among three to other students.” and . His second Canadian admis- respected schools, Rajadurai and his Camhi was offered Prepskills services was enrolling in two courses offered by sion tests, offers PrepEssentials classes mother Kalaselvadurai had a 45-min- through her former Montessori school, Prepskills, a company that helps students that prepare students for U.S. college ute consultation with Severino, where along with a group of other Grade 6 stu- prepare for the often-difficult admission entrance exams and each September puts he was urged to examine just what he dents who were applying for admission tests that can be a barrier between them on a networking event, PrepConnect, hoped to gain from his new school. to . Lessons in writing and their chosen school. that gives students and their families an He says he went with UCC for two essays and taking tests, being taught Rajadurai, now 15 and in Grade 10 at opportunity to meet a group of private main reasons: its athletic program to manage her test time by prioritizing UCC, had been in private school up to school admissions officers. (his mother admiringly notes that he’s answers and building her vocabulary Grade 3, then enrolled in the gifted pro- “I consider us dreammakers, in a become a soccer star) and its scholar- WELL-ROUNDED, Page 11 10 GUIDE TOWN CRIER NOVEMBER 2014 Well-rounded students sought using flash cards all served to support book, do some practice tests… and work her application, she says. between each practice test on whatever Her older sister Rebeca had availed of went right or wrong.” Prepskills services before her. David McBride, UCC’s vice-principal Chalmers and other admission of enrolment management, said seeing directors of local schools remained “well-rounded students” and not just test neutral about the benefits of prep cours- scores are what private and independent es. Chalmers emphasized that it’s the schools take into consideration when school’s policy to neither endorse nor accepting students. advise families against enrolling their “We want to see a couple years of children in a course. consistently good grades,” McBride said. “We don’t have any empirical evi- “We want to see extracurricular involve- dence that any student who goes ment, and we place a lot of emphasis on through a prep course of any kind does the interview with both the boy and his any better than they would do if they family. prepared on their own,” Chalmers said. “We want to see well-rounded stu- “To be honest, I advise that parents get a dents.” Open House

TOPS: Sylvia Duckworth receives the 2014 Prime chedule Minister’s Award for Teach- S ing Excellence from Ste- phen Harper. Visit our private and independent PHOTO COURTESY THE PMO schools and see for yourself! School Date Time Contact Prize-winning teacher Appleby College Sat., Nov. 22, 2014 10am–2pm 905-845-4681 Sat., Jan. 24, 2014 10am–2pm www.appleby.on.ca Arrowsmith School Wed., Nov. 12, 2014 7pm 416-963-4962 ERIC EMINcredits WOOD hersurprised ITby their teacher’s team honour: they Wed., Dec. 17, 2014 7pm www.arrowsmithschool.org Town Crier trip over each other for a chance to declare how “amazing” she is. De La Salle College Call for information 416-969-8771 f you take Sylvia Duckworth at her “The stereotype is that boys don’t like www.delasalleoaklands.ca word, being declared one of the top 10 French, but that’s not the case with my educators in the country had nothing classroom,” Duckworth says, the one Hawthorn School Sat., Dec. 6, 2014 2pm 416-444-2900 Ito do with her. moment pride enters her voice. www.hawthornschool.com The Crescent School French teacher, Conducting her class like a choir, she one of 10 national recipients of this year’s begins her lessons by speaking the most Holy Name of Mary Sat., Nov. 15, 2014 10am–2pm 905-891-1890 Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching basic vocabulary with gestures, while the College School www.hmmcs.ca Excellence, credits her win to Accelerative students respond in unison. Her Grade 3 Tues., Nov. 25, 2014 6pm–8pm (Grade 9 information evening) Integrated Methodology, a system she uses students soon learn irregular verbs their to teach French to the midtown Toronto public school counterparts won’t hear until Hudson College Sat., Nov. 8, 2014 12noon–4pm 416-631-0082 all-boys school’s Grade 3–5 students, and Grade 5 — and they don’t start writing Sat., Nov. 22, 2014 12noon–4pm www.hudsoncollege.ca its cutting-edge classroom aids. anything down until Christmas. “A lot of teachers don’t use technology It’s all part of the AIM program, which Newton’s Grove School Call for information 416-745-1328 because they don’t have the resources,” creator Wendy Maxwell designed by dis- says Duckworth, who began teaching at tilling the French language to its most [email protected] Crescent in 1996. “Whereas I have a great commonly-used words, resulting in what Royal St. George’s College Wed., Nov. 19, 2014 7pm 416-533-9481 IT team that lets me pick up the phone Duckworth calls a “loud, energetic, ram- and, five minutes later, they’re in my class- bunctious” class that appeals to the boys’ Information evening www.rsgc.on.ca ro om .” sensibilities. Duckworth received the award on Oct. “My success in the French room has St. Clement’s School Fri., Nov. 21, 2014 8:30am–11am 416-483-4414 7 from Prime Minister Stephen Harper very little to do with me and much more www.scs.on.ca himself, and while events of the day lim- to do with the program I use,” Duckworth ited his time with them his wife Laureen says, noting that Maxwell herself, a former The Linden School Fri., Nov. 14, 2014 9am–11am 416-966-4406 ably took over. teacher at , won a www.lindenschool.ca “She had us eating out of her hand,” Prime Minister’s Certificate of Teaching Duckworth says admiringly. Achievement in 1998. “I feel really hum- For their part, her students weren’t bled that I won this award years after her.” NOVEMBER 2014 EDUCATION GUIDE TOWN CRIER 11