Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion THREAD FOR CANADIANS!

Hi I grew up in Vancouver! It's a great city! I think there is a school for gifted kids there called the Choice School. You can look them up and start there for resources. They also have a lot of private schools that are quite good. There is a pretty big Asian population there and the majority of them take education very seriously so there if you just ask around you should be able to find lots of great programs your kids might enjoy! I hope you guys love it there.

Another Canadian here. My sons went to preschool in Vancouver, Primary (Kindergarten) in Halifax and are now in Alberta. Vancouver, around UBC area had a really high gifted population. Their 3 yr old play-based preschool had approximately 1/4 of the kids who could already read & one of the non-reading 3yr olds used to get together with my sons to play Monopoly Jr, Chess and other board games. It was a lovely fit.

My experience in Halifax was that they readily labeled the boys gifted, and "approved" an IPP (without being asked), but then they told me they didn't do them for the first few years. My reading later indicated that the schools' funding depends on the # of approvals, not how many kids are actually getting extra help.

Alberta seems to be another kettle of fish all together. There are gifted schools, but none in our area with French Immersion. In the end, the boys (now grade 3) aren't getting any extra help and while they have almost finished the language arts resources from the grade 6 room, there is not a single plan in place for what will be done when they've finished that.

Thank you everyone for your great advice and the website infos! The more I learn about it all the more I feel that homeschooling may be the easiest especially for the younger grades.

Hey Guys, Im a bit different cause im not actually a parent, but whatever. I Live in Ontario, Canada and I am in PACE (Program for Academic and Creative Extension) You need a 98th percentile score to join I made it with 99.7.

Thanks for the thread, kalhuli! Nice to have a "Canadian corner" here.

Licorice, there is also the Silbury School in Vancouver for a gifted school option. It is my understanding that homeschooling legislation in BC is among the best in Canada; the legislation in some other provinces/territories (Quebec, Yukon, and Alberta, for instance) involves much more onerous requirements in terms of reporting, school board supervision, mandatory adherence to provincial learning outcomes, and so on.

chenchuan is right that US AP courses are available in some places here; you could try your province's distance education branch for access. There are also testing centres in some provinces for GCSE/A level exams, if you'd prefer a UK credential.

Nice to see everybody here!

peace
minnie

It's great to have a Canadian thread. I'm from Ontario too. I don't know much about gifted programs because we've been homeschooling since K....

Annaliisa

I called the Bowmore school in east Toronto (Beach) and spoke to the principal last week. The "gifted" program starts in 4th grade but it isn't accelerated. Different taxonomy in teaching the curriculum etc, etc.

She said you have to get an evaluation to get accelerated and very hard. Even to get into this school. -- probably better than our citywide OLSAT and lottery of all the 99th percentile scores for the seats available.

Ren in NYC

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!!!

DD8 just left for Orlando this morning, all decked out in red and white. She was most upset to miss our community parade today. When I tried to reassure her that Disney would put on a MUCH better parade tonight, she would hear none of it. "But Mom, it won't make my heart swell with pride like a Canada Day parade would." She has big plans to visit the Canadian pavillion at Epcot so she will still be able to celebrate.

Enjoy your day with your families!