School life in Canada has been very different in some ways, and in other ways very familiar to school life in Australia. Walking to school in the dark and snow has been so strange for us, but the never-ending lunch box preparation is an all too familiar experience! There are no cafeterias in schools in Alberta, much to the kid’s disappointment!

Here are the kids experiences of life at a Canadian preschool, elementary and junior high!

Preschool

I love preschool! At preschool we do running and playing. Sometimes we play outside. By Imogen.

Elementary

We don’t have a school uniform in Canada. But we DO in school in Australia! I think because in Canada they have to wear snow clothes because it SNOWS in Canada but NOT in Australia. In Australia the buildings are apart. But in Canada the BUILDING is ONE WHOLE BUILDING! In Canada they have INSIDE shoes AND OUTSIDE shoes! In Canada they have MORE THAN ONE EXCURSION/FIELD-TRIP. But in Australia we only have ONE excursion/field-trip. My school in Canada has a boot room! EVERY SINGLE MORNING THEY SING O CANADA! My favourite field-trips were skiing and going to a farm.

Different words at school:

Excursion = field trip

Toilet = washroom

Texter = marker (I was asking for a TEXTA and a teacher thought that I wanted something “textured”!)

Lunchbox = lunch-kit

By Isabella.

Junior High

At my school in Canada we start school at 8:15 am and end at 3:10 pm. We have 6 lessons each lasting for 50 minutes except on Thursdays which lasts for 40 minutes. On Thursdays school ends at 2:00 pm. At lunch time we eat inside for 20 mins and then are forced outside for the reminder of lunch. We have to go outside if it’s -20 or higher. The lessons we have are math, language arts, social studies, science, physical education, french and 2 options which can be active living sports performance, robotics, drama or environmental outdoor education.

Jack