St. Michaels University School
St. Michaels University School
This boarding school is located in the city of Victoria in the province of British Columbia, and is usually referred to as SMUS. Its history begins in 1906, and almost seventy years later, a university school merged with St.Michael’s school to become a single educational institution. St. Michael's University School now has over a thousand students enrolled each year, including international students. According to the 2012 ranking, the students of the St. Michaels School were among the best in the whole country, as their average grade was 3.68. Many renowned composers, actors, ministers, and even one of the co-founders of Flickr graduated from the St.Michaels University School.
Currently, it offers boarding to students in its six boarding houses, each named after one of the university school's founders. As for location, the senior and middle schools of the St. Michaels University School are located in the municipality of Saanich, while the junior school is situated in Oak Bay.
Programs
The St. Michaels School provides students with education from kindergarten to the Grade 12. For example, in the Senior School, or from the Grade nine to twelve, students can study the subject of Modern Languages. They may choose to learn French, Mandarin, or Spanish. Students choose a language at the Grade 9 and gradually progress through the very end of school. Aside from theoretical studies, the St. Michaels University School hosts cultural events related to the language learned, such as Lunar New Year for Mandarin students.
International students can also learn Theatre Arts at the St.Michaels School. During the Grades 9 and 10, students learn Drama, and the next two years are dedicated to Directing, Script Development, and Theatre Company. The enthusiasts in theater have a chance to take part in the Senior School musical held each year, where more than a hundred students show their talents and skills as actors, dancers, and musicians.
Visual art and design is another fascinating subject that can be studied at St. Michael's University School beginning in Grade 9. Here, students learn Painting, Drafting, Art Studio, 3D Applied Design, and even 2D Design. Those who are interested in the field of Visual Art can participate in the Photo Club of the St. Michael's University School and the Yearbook Club. Most enthusiastic students can continue their education in Arts and Design at the university level. For instance, it can be the Emily Carr of Art and Design. Here, graduates of the St.Michaels School can go for the program of Bachelor of Fine Arts and major in Visual Arts. Students take such courses as Mobile Art Studio; Ceramic Design; Material Investigation; and Drawing Studio. The Emily Carr University of Art and Design is also located in the province of British Columbia, but in the city of Vancouver, a city brimming with life and full of students from different countries.
The Middle School period of the St. Michaels School is dedicated to studying such subject areas as Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies; Math and Science; Exploratory and Life Skills; Humanities, Languages, and Library; and Outdoor Education.
For example, the Exploratory classes help students find something that they would like to take up as a hobby, an area of research, or even a profession in the future. Each year of the Middle School the St. Michaels School offers students to take three subjects among the following: ukulele; woodworking; calligraphy; forensic science; gardening; cooking; filmmaking’ leadership conference planning; survival skills; and others.
The area of the Library at the St.Michaels School involves students’ visiting a library as a part of their classes. Teachers-librarians often organize various events and workshops dedicated to developing students’ literacy, writing, and oratorical skills via book talks, games, and book lovers’ clubs.
The St.Michaels University School provides students with an opportunity to take Computer Science as an elective as well. Here, they will acquire the essential skills in programming and coding languages. For some people, it becomes a start for future university studies in programs connected to Computer Science.
Accommodation
The St. Michaels University School offers the opportunity of boarding for the students from Grade eight to Grade twelve. Local students live together with the international students, who came from over twenty-five different countries, as a single, united community. It’s a boarding school located in a city, meaning in an urban setting, which makes the school an even more unique place to live and study. It helps young students become self-reliant, independent, and more confident by living on their own from a young age and building friendships with other students. Moreover, they will have to coexist together, thus learning to be more flexible, compassionate, and social.
All the rooms at the St. Michaels School boarding houses are shared between two students. Each room features a private bathroom for them and, of course, two separate beds, tables, and wardrobes. All of the rooms are light and designed in such a way that every student feels comfortable. Students are allowed to decorate their rooms the way they want, but some items are prohibited from being brought into a room: candles, TVs, and stoves for every student, and video games and mini-fridges for the younger students. The last two things are allowed for the students of older grades at the St.Michaels School.
Moreover, the highest level of security is provided to all the residents, as all the rooms are accessible only with keycards and the buildings are constantly monitored. Each boarding house of the St. Michaels School is comprised of twenty-one rooms, a common room with a TV, board games, and computers, and a kitchen where each student can prepare themselves a meal.
Some students can find it burdensome to share a room with someone else, but the experience of the St. Michaels University School proves otherwise. The St.Michaels University School carefully matches every student according to their preferences, sleep schedules, lifestyle, and study habits, which the university gets to know via a questionnaire that every student fills out during the application process. Sharing a room with a roommate during the school period helps students get prepared to live with a neighbor while studying at university. Boarding at the St. Michaels University School is a great way to enrich students’ intercultural experience, as students from two different countries are frequently paired with each other.
A dining hall of the St. Michaels University School is located just several minutes away from the boarding houses and it’s claimed to feature the most spectacular menu among all the boarding schools in Canada. The St. Michaels University School cares about the health of its students, that’s why it provides filling meals and a versatile menu for each meal. Students with special preferences in food or a dietary are served according to their needs. By the way, international students at the St. Michaels University School often use the opportunity to visit shops and cafes located near the campus to grab a snack or spend their leisure time.
In terms of leisure and weekends, the St. Michaels University School organizes a variety of activities both on and off campus for borderers. Students frequently visit beaches, museums, and theaters; they frequently go kayaking and whale watching; they participate in volunteer events and organize movie nights.
There are many extracurricular activities at the St. Michaels University School, including sports and music classes.
International students who wish to become a part of the St. Michaels University School boarding community need to pay CAD 79,130 for an academic year. It includes the tuition fee, transportation, meals, and even most of the entertainment events held on weekends. If a student needs to take additional classes in the English language, they’ll need to pay for them on top of that. It’s CAD 11,000 for the grades from nine to ten and CAD 5,000 for the grades from eleven to twelve.
By the way, international students can receive a 5% discount for every other sibling enrolled at the St. Michaels University School. The university school can also award an international student a scholarship, if they study in the Grades 8-11 and show high academic achievements.
Future Prospects
After completing the St. Michaels University School, international students will be well-prepared to go for an academic program at one of the post-secondary institutions in Canada. Actually, with the high level of knowledge gained at the St. Michaels University School, students are free to opt for any university or college in Canada or outside of it.
After completing a full-time program at a post-secondary institution of their choice, international graduates can stay in Canada for a much longer period by becoming permanent residents of the country and even citizens. Obviously, with such a solid foundation of knowledge gained at the St. Michaels University School, foreigners can travel anywhere in the world and achieve other academic credentials and successfully find employment.
In case, if you need help with Custodianship and Homestay in order to study in Canada, please fill in application below or contact us directly.
