School Profile 2015

SCHOOL

PROFILE 2015 – 2016

St. Margaret’s School | Confident girls. Inspiring women.

Our School ESTABLISHED 1908 ENROLMENT 2014–15 Total students:

343

Foundation Years (JK–Grade 4) 105

St. Margaret’s School (SMS) is an all-girls, independent, day and boarding school located in the city of Victoria, on the scenic west coast of British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1908, SMS provides empowering education for girls from junior kindergarten to grade 12 (boarding grades 7–12). An international centre for girls’ learning and leadership development, SMS is Canada’s first girls’ STEM School and Western Canada’s only all-girls boarding school.

OUR MOTTO

Middle Years (Grade 5–8)

84

Senior Years (Grade 9–12)

154

Avg. class size

16

Girls here are challenged to achieve their full potential and contribute to society in a meaningful way. We embrace our motto “Service with Love” in both individual pursuits and shared responsibilities.

Student:Teacher ratio

8:1

OUR VISION

Total boarding students (Grade 7–12): 127 37% of school population Canada

17

N./S. America

21

International

89

Enrolled in International English Language Program (IEL) 40 Countries of origin

10

ACCREDITATION SMS is accredited by the BC Inspector of Independent Schools.

AFFILIATIONS Independent Schools Association of British Columbia | Canadian Accredited Independent Schools | Federation of Independent School Associations BC | National Coalition of Girls Schools (NCGS).

SMS is incoporated as a non-profit under the Society Act of BC. HEAD OF SCHOOL Cathy Thornicroft

Servite In Caritate ~ Service with Love

Confident girls ~ Inspiring women This is a school where girls who want to change the world become women who do. Our committed staff, beautiful campus, and innovative curriculum create a nurturing environment that challenges students become lifelong learners to achieve their academic and leadership potential.

OUR MISSION Empowering her to set her own course and shape her own dreams SMS values diversity and inspires excellence of mind and strength of spirit. Students here are challenged to take responsibility for their own learning experience; to develop individual worth, academic excellence, personal wellness, and a connection with nature; and provide service to their local and global community.

CAMPUS & FACILITIES Our picturesque, modern campus is located at the intersection of urban and rural areas on Vancouver Island, which offers numerous advantages: our tranquil 22-acre property boasts access to extensive recreational sites and trails, while located less than 20 minutes from the city’s downtown core. Superior facilities include a LEED-certified building (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), modern residence houses, culinary arts room, and athletics centre. Other special places on campus include a greenhouse, dance studio, outdoor classroom, tennis courts, and our very own slice of West Coast forest.

EXTRACURRICULAR At SMS, girls don’t just get equal opportunity, they get every opportunity. Girls take the lead in Student Government and on our Steering Committee. Clubs at our school include jazz and rock bands, environmental, debate/model UN, multicultural, outreach, Tech Girls (robotics), theatre production, visual arts, and more. In addition, there are options for private lessons in music, speech arts and driver training.

Our Academic Program

SENIOR LEVEL COURSES: 2015–2016

SMS is Canada’s first and only girls’ STEM school: our rigorous, university preparatory program is delivered with an inquiry-based approach (STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics but refers to a project-based, interdisciplinary model of learning). Accelerated learning, selfdirected projects for credit, and Advanced Placement (AP)* exam preparation are options available to challenge our students and help them prepare for the next phase in their education. *Advanced Placement (AP) is a standardized curriculum developed by an American company, The College Board, and may be referenced and recognized by post-secondary institutions.

Experiential learning is an important part of our educational approach: leadership is a formal curricular element starting in Kindergarten, and all students participate in peer mentoring, public speaking, the Duke of Edinburgh Program program, outdoor education, community service, and more.

Our Program of Distinction (PoD) is an elective, capstone project completed through independent study over the course of the senior years. Introduced in 2015, students are mentored and recognized/credited for pursuing excellence in their own chosen field such as Leadership, Fine Arts, Athletics, or Ecological Stewardship. To complete a PoD, students prepare and present a type of thesis and defend it before a panel of school officials and community members.

EXAMINATION RESULTS PROVINCIAL EXAM

ST. MARGARET’S

SUBJECTS

2013 AVG. 2014 AVG. 2015 AVG. IND AVG.

OTHER SCHOOLS BC AVG.

English 12

67.26

69.51

75.63

65.05

68.38

Social Studies 11

78.08

73.85

70.23

71.90

71.12

English 10

71.90

65.05

70.03

66.11

67.04

Math 10

85.93

84.29

82.34

77.22

70.59

Science 10

80.46

82.53

75.20

73.37

69.62

ATHLETICS & WELLNESS SMS Physical Education emphasizes broad participation in order to foster enjoyment of physical activity as a benchmark for lifelong healthy living. The experience of belonging and working together as part of a team is not limited to just a few elite athletes: 95% of elementary students and 70% of secondary students represent our school on one or more athletic teams.

Competitive athletic teams include basketball, cross-country, field hockey, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Students also keep active with extracurricular sports like intramurals, house challenges, ballet, CrossFit training, cycling, Jazzercise, sailing, tennis, triathlon, and yoga.

AP Calculus (AB) AP English Literature and Composition AP Human Geography AP Studio Art Beginning Band, 11 & 12 Beginning Choir, 11 & 12 Biology, 11 & 12 Calculus 12 Chemistry, 11 & 12 Choir, 11 & 12 Communications, 12 Comparative Civilizations, 12 Concert Band, 11 & 12 Drama, 11 & 12 Economics, 12 English, 11 & 12 Fitness for Life, 11 & 12 Food and Nutrition, 11 & 12 Foundations of Mathematics, 11 & 12 French, 11 & 12 Graduation Transitions, 12 History, 12 Independent Project, 11 & 12 Information / Communications Technology 11 & 12 Intro to Investing, 11 Intro to Japanese, 11 Intro to Spanish, 11 Japanese, 11 & 12 Law, 12 Leadership, 11 & 12 Mandarin, 11 & 12 Media Arts, 11 & 12 Money Matters and Intro to Investing, 11 Outdoor Recreation, 11 & 12 PE / Rec. Leadership, 11 & 12 Photography / Yearbook, 11 Physical Education, 11 & 12 Physics, 11 & 12 Pre-Calculus, 11 & 12 Psychology, 11 Raquet Sports, 11 & 12 Social Studies, 11 Spanish, 11 & 12 Visual Arts, 11 & 12 Visual Arts 3-D, 11 & 12 Writing, 12

Our Graduates One hundred percent of SMS graduates receive offers of admission from post-secondary institutions of their choice. Each year, a few students tend to choose to take a year off (a gap year) for travel or work. Of the 33 scholarships offered to our graduates in 2015, the largest single award was a full-tuition scholarship for Arts & Science at Boston University, valued at $52,000.

THE CLASS OF 2015 43 graduates 145 offers of admission $278k in scholarships and awards FIELDS OF STUDY Our guidance department provides resources and one-on-one advising to help students explore career paths, post-secondary programs, scholarship opportunities, and their own strengths and interests.

DISCIPLINE (NUMBER OF STUDENTS) *

Social Social Sciences Sciences(5) (5) Economics Economics(4) (4) Business Business/ /Commerce Commerce(4) (4) Sciences (3) Science (3) Math Math(3) (3) Communications Communications(3) (3) Arts Arts & & Science Science (3) (3) Media Media(3) (2) International InternationalStudies Studies(2) (2) University Nursing (1)Transfer (1) Humanities Humanities(1) (1) Hotel HotelManagement Management(1) (1) Food Food&&Nutrition Nutrition(1) (1) Engineering Engineering(1) (1) Computer ComputerScience Science(1) (1) Art Art History History (1) (1) Architecture Architecture(1) (1)

* These numbers reflect the 37 graduates who applied to schools by June 2015. Three students are taking a GAP year to work, travel and volunteer. Another three students applied to schools in Australia and Japan, whose admissions decisions were still pending at the time this document was published.

St. Margaret’s School |

St. Margaret’s School

1080 Lucas Ave, Victoria, BC, V8X 3P7, CANADA

UNIVERSITY PLACEMENTS You will find our graduates at universities all over the world.

LOCATION

ALL OFFERS

CANADA UK USA JAPAN CHINA AUSTRALIA

75% 6% 16% 1% 1% 1%

FINAL CHOICE

77% 8% 5% 5% 2.5% 2.5%

A shortlist of the 50 prestigious institutions who accepted our students in 2015: Boston University Cardiff University Carleton University Emily Carr University of Art & Design Hong Kong University of Science & Technology King’s College London McGill University McMaster University Michigan State University Newcastle University Pennsylvania State University Queen’s University School of the Art Institute of Chicago Simon Fraser University University of Alberta University of British Columbia University of Calgary University of California - Davis, LA, SD University of Guelph University of Exeter University of Illinois at Urbana University of Lancaster University of Leicester University of Manchester University of Miami University of Michigan University of Sheffield University of Southern California University of Toronto

Confident girls. Inspiring women.

1.250.479.7171

www.stmarg.ca