Testimonials & Reviews
Our Kids Insider Alumni Interview — Emmanuelle from Canada Class 2021
Our Kids Insider Alumni Interview — Amir from Iran Class 2020
“First of all, I would like to thank all the staff of J. Addison School for allowing me to receive a good education and for helping me to become an outstanding student. But graduation is not just about me. It is a celebration of our collective achievements and successes as a class. These achievements are proof of our hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence. We should all be proud of what we have accomplished, and never forget the lessons we have learned along the way. As we embark on new journeys, we will face challenges and obstacles, but we must never forget the values we have embraced and the lessons we have learned during our time here. We must continue to work hard, strive for excellence, and be passionate in all our endeavors. Let us use the skills and knowledge we have gained to make a positive difference in our communities, our country, and the world.”
“Being an international student from Iran, I was provided with the best educational experience and assistance from J. Addison School. Emphatically, I must express that the faculty and staff were very patient and helped myself as well as my fellow peers to learn as much as we could. Also, having the opportunity to participate in a wide range of extra-curricular activities over the past two years as a former boarding and day student created a spirit of inclusion at J. Addison School, which I truly enjoyed! Honestly, I owe a great deal of gratitude to J. Addison School as I was able to graduate with my desired academic average and get into the university of my dreams by working hard and trying my very best. Indeed, thank you J. Addison School for your incredible assistance in contributing to my personal success and for making me who I am today.”
“I didn’t expect to get to the end of the school year so soon. At the same time, we have accomplished a key life milestone. I have to express my sincere gratitude to the school administration, teachers, and dorm counsellors. Without their support and love, it wouldn’t have been possible for me to be standing here giving this speech. Graduation is a time for us to reflect on the past and look onward to the future. It might be the last time we are meeting in school, but I believe that no matter where we go in the future, we will never forget those memories that we have shared at J. Addison. Our efforts this year have been appropriately recognized, and we should be pleased with our contribution. Regardless of where we are from, we are all friends, mentors, and fellow students at J. Addison.”
“I can speak for all of us when I say that we are truly very lucky to be able to be in such a good school here at J. Addison School. I would also like to thank all of the basketball coaches at J. Addison for believing in me, and allowing me to chase my dreams of playing basketball at the next level. I moved here from Surrey, British Columbia in August 2022 to play at this elite level and what a season it was. I am honored to have had the privilege to play alongside all of my brothers on this basketball team under a great coaching staff and school. The memories we created will last forever and ever. My advice to everyone is to live and love life to the fullest at all times. To cherish every moment you have with your friends and family, and to be grateful for everyone who has helped us in our journeys. Our time is limited, so we must not waste it living someone else’s life.”
“My experience at J. Addison School was transformative as an international student athlete from the United States of America. I must express my sincere gratitude for the immense support that my fellow student athletes and I have received from the school community. Equally important, I am extremely grateful to the dorm administration for providing interactive activities to build a sense of belonging as a boarding student, such as making homemade waffles or pizza. Moreover, I can attest that studying at J. Addison School was the best decision that I made, as it provided myself with the opportunity to focus on my studies while playing basketball as well as becoming a well-rounded individual.”
“J. Addison School has incredible teachers and staff members who helped me throughout the year. My experience at J. Addison School was unique and wonderful, I enjoyed every moment and I am very grateful to the dorm team. Everyone always helped and guide me to be a better person. I am so grateful.”
“If I had to sum up J. Addison School in a single word, it would be “unforgettable”. During my time at this school, I made many wonderful friends who I will never forget, and the instructors and staff were always supportive and there for me so graciously. J. Addison School is a place where if you bring the effort, you will undoubtedly succeed, and the students’ achievements will be surely recognized and appreciated. This place was a bridge for me to a brighter future, where I could achieve and pursue my aspirations. I sincerely thank J. Addison for all of their support and assistance.”
“My journey in J. Addison had gone in a blink of an eye. J. Addison taught me to believe in my passion and desire, as well as how to be resilient when encountering obstacles. My experience here was truly rewarding and unforgettable. I am really grateful for all the lifelong friends and supportive staff that I’ve met here, they made my transition to Canada easier and adaptable. Thank you JAS for transforming me into a better individual and accompanying me along the way. Without their encouragement, I wouldn’t have achieved my post-secondary goals.”
“The time I have spent at J. Addison School is one of the most important parts of my life. Since J. Addison became my home away from home, with supportive and loving friends who have become my family, and the counsellors who have become my mentors. As we know starting a new life in another country is not easy, especially for international students, but the J. Addison dorm staff made this transition so easy by helping us with everything. I enjoyed my time in the dorm since there were a lot of activities like making waffles, ice cream, hanging out at the mall with friends, etc. All these memories that I made at J. Addison will be a part of me. I will use all that I’ve learned that my professors taught me. I personally want to thank J. Addison School for these amazing two years with good teaching and wonderful staff.”
“During my two years at J. Addison School, I can undoubtedly attest that it was a positive and life-changing experience, which I will never forget. Moreover, I would like to thank the hardworking faculty and staff for always being supportive as well as encouraging, especially Mr. Laffin and Coach Francis. Equally as important, I will miss engaging with other students from all over the world, basketball games, student life events and the opportunities to take part in community outreach activities. Overall, I believe that J. Addison School has prepared me for the challenges that I will encounter in the future, and it has helped to shape me into the person I am today.”
“The memories that I’ve made at J. Addison School will always be in my heart. I am truly grateful to the awesome teachers and dorm staff, who have helped me to become a well-rounded individual. During my time at J. Addison School, I was able to take part in a wide range of student and dorm life activities, which has led me to pursue a career in Culinary Arts at George Brown College. In addition, I can state that this school has built my self-confidence and character to succeed in my post-secondary life.”
“J. Addison School was my first study abroad experience that created a sense of ease because the faculty and staff explained thoroughly about the expectations of the school and boarding life. One of the greatest aspects about J. Addison that I will forever miss, is the multi-cultural environment and the opportunities to learn different languages. Additionally, the positive interactions within the school environment created a nurturing experience where I felt contented, safe, respected and loved. I can indicate that the academics, athletic training in basketball and extra-curricular activities have fully prepared me for the next chapter of my post-secondary life.“
“Personally, I am enormously appreciative to all of the staff and students at J. Addison School, who have made my experience for 1 ½ years such a great joy. Since entering this school, I was able to gain many valuable life-long skills to positively develop as an individual such as leadership, communication, relationship building and problem solving. J. Addison School has also taught me that the pursuit of academic and personal success requires hard-work and discipline. This institution was my first international home that provided a strong foundation for me to realize that I am more than capable to confront any obstacle that may arise in my life.”
“When I initially came to J. Addison School in September 2018, I felt a tremendous fear from leaving my home country of Costa Rica. Nevertheless, that fear subsided by the warm reception and care from faculty and staff, which made my transition to be such a positive undertaking. Over the past 3 years at J. Addison School, I was able to meet students from various countries such as Peru, Iran, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, China, Canada, Italy and the Bahamas. More importantly, I`ve cherished the many lessons that I`ve learnt at this school, which I will continue to apply to my daily life such as self-discipline, maintaining self-respect, helping others in the community and making well-informed decisions.”
“It was a new experience for me since it is my first time to be separated from my parents and study in an English-speaking environment. I think this experience gave me three valuable things: the knowledge taught by my kind teachers, the ability to speak English, and friendship with many fellow students here. I feel so lucky that my parents decided to send me to study in J. Addison school where I harvest so much joy. I will never forget the time I spent here.”
“My experience at J. Addison School allowed me to learn skills, as well as make memories that I would not have received anywhere else. Despite being conflicted between pursuing the sciences or the arts, the teachers at JAS were fully supportive and helped me get the resources needed to succeed in both paths. They acted as my pillars and assisted in developing my future – both academically and personally. It is for this, that I will be forever grateful. I thank J. Addison School for building me to be the person I always dreamed to be and directed to success.”
“It was a great experience at J. Addison School as I met a lot of friends and teachers. I improved my English at the school while also improving my confidence in speaking with others. In this way, JAS has helped me to become more brave and optimistic about the future as I will be attending OCAD University. Also, my art teacher Ms. Lesa helped me a lot with my portfolio and improved my media and visual arts skills which allowed me to gain admission in my desired school to pursue a career in graphic design.”
“My experience at JAS has been quite food in many ways. Academically, JAS provided me with decent quality education and socially, supported me in many aspects of daily life. JAS as a private school intended to help international students, played great influence on me. It provided a more welcoming environment for foreign students. With that being said, the school still taught its students how to behave and helped them in Canadian education system, getting people ready for university and college.”
“My experience at JAS has been life changing. It has changed my way I view the world at large. As a person I’ve developed my character and confidence. My moving experience was surprisingly easy and smooth. I expected it to be hard being the first time being away from my family. The dorm staff made the transition period easy. My best memory at JAS would be Halloween night because I got to bond with new friends while experiencing a new holiday event.”
"I left my hometown to Canada last year. JAS is the school that I chose in China. As a private international school, I enjoy getting along with people who come from different areas and countries. It is JAS who gave me a great experience of living abroad before going to university. I made a lot of friends here and know some teachers who directed me and inspire me a lot. As for my dorm, the facilities there is satisfying and dorm staff always helped me. Thank you J. Addison!"
“My experience at J. Addison was amazing, all of my teachers were great and made sure I am on the right track with my academics. As for the dorm, the staff were all supportive and always made sure I’m doing good in school. Growing up an only child was a little hard having no one to talk to, but in JAS that changed. Here we call each other family. JAS has made me a better person since the day I stepped in. Because of the size of the school, everyone gets recognized. With all that being said, I want to thank all my teachers, staff, guidance counselors that helped me throughout this year.”
“As an international student, studying at JAS is an unforgettable experience. The teachers in the school are very warm-hearted and gave me a lot of help in the process of studying. I also met many friends whom come from all over the world. Living in the dorm of JAS is also impressive. In order to provide us with a good environment for learning, the teachers of dormitory department have made great efforts. I am very grateful for their efforts and every bit of life with them is my best memory. Now I’m going to continue study at UTSC, but I’ll come back and see you often. I will miss you all.”
“I was always afraid I might waste my livelihood in some way. We only get to be 17 once, and I was afraid JAS wouldn’t turn out to be what I expected. In reality, it was very different from what I expected, yet, never was I disappointed with the experience I had at JAS and even though I sometimes wonder about the consequences of other possible choices, looking back at how much I have transitioned, I cannot see myself picking them if I had the option to go back. I met many people here. Some came and left but some always stay deep in my heart. To those who were kind to me, put up with me, and helped me get to where I am today, I will never forget you and am in your debt. I cannot repay my debt today; therefore, I am looking forward to do so by being a good person and doing the best I can to make this world a better place.”
“My experience at JAS had its ups and downs. Socially, it was very different because of the many different cultures and language barriers. Academically, it was very beneficial for me as class sizes were smaller and I was able to get more help and one-on-one support. JAS has changed me as a person because it has shown me punctuality, dedication, time management, respect and how to be a better me.”
“J. Addison School has wonderful teachers that helped me to develop essential skills such as leadership, decision making and problem solving that are important for my future studies and career. As a dorm student, I participated in many events organized by the dorm team. They did a great job by providing us with various forms of entertainment during the weekends while keeping us safe during the pandemic.”
“My experience in JAS was extraordinary and I would say that it is very easy to make friends here. JAS developed me into a better person mostly in the aspects of socialness, openness to different experiences and time management. JAS helped me achieve my post-secondary goals by providing a sufficient amount of support in terms of both academically and mentally, I feel that the staff of JAS has always been with me throughout this stage of life, guiding me until the end.”
“Despite the unexpected circumstances we faced due to the pandemic, my experience at J. Addison was unique and memorable. I felt warmly welcomed since the first day, and was able to build special friendships with both day and board students that I know will last forever. Being part of the basketball team helped me to build habits that will help me in my future as a professional, especially when it comes to time management. Responsibility, accountability and integrity are the values that reign within the culture of our team, and to that I account its success. Thanks to the moments I lived here, I feel prepared to embrace my future endeavors both as a student-athlete, and for that I am beyond grateful.“
“J. Addison School was the first place I stepped into when I came to Canada and was the best place in my personal opinion. The staff of the school, were super supportive and helpful. It provided me with the opportunity to take part in a wide range of extracurricular things that I have always been dreaming about. Personally, I realized there was always room for self-improvement where I felt like I could succeed. I must commend JAS for giving students like myself the awareness and opportunity for real world experiences"
“My experience at J. Addison School was unforgettable. JAS has helped me reach my goal of playing Division 1 basketball through the Elite Girls’ Basketball program, which held me accountable for keeping my grades up. Also, I got to meet such a diverse group of individuals, made new friends and learned words in different languages. The friends I made at JAS are friends I will have for a lifetime and I am more than sure that I will come back to visit this amazing school in the future.”
“At the tender age of fourteen, my parents made the most courageous and emotional decision to allow me to study abroad. Canada boasts one of the highest world rankings in regards to safety and education. With the support of close family members and friends in Canada, we began to search for a suitable environment considerate of a young international student. Overall, J. Addison School exhibited the greatest opportunity to harbour growth and learning in a caring and centralized environment. J. Addison’s teachers readily became my nurturers and pillars of support. The staff members were passionate and every meticulous decision they made contributed a role in better developing my future, both in personality and educational advancement. Additionally, small classroom settings were optimal in facilitating individualized learning between teachers and students while also creating a close-knit bond through student interactions. My most memorable moments include being a part of Student Council as a junior representative, co-writing and pursuing the female lead role in the school’s first crafted play, reminiscing the sweet memories in creating the school yearbook and best of all, actively involving myself in meaningful community volunteer work. I truly appreciate how easily the staff engaged us in active participation wherever opportunities arose. During my J. Addison experience, I learnt to venture out of my comfort zone and initiate steps towards self-development, community-development and social-development with my peers. The wonderful people I met at J. Addison School have genuinely become my brothers and sisters in this journey of studying and exploring in Canada.”
"As an immigrant from China, J. Addison had given me the emotional and educational supports; it felt like I was living at home. Even though J. Addison School is a small private school, its small size allowed me to receive full attention and guidance from the teachers. My English was not very good when I came to this school, but the teachers had helped me improve my English speaking and writing skills tremendously. J. Addison School had successfully prepared and guided me to my dream school. After I finished my High School Education, I went to the University of Toronto, I double majored in Sociology and Media Studies. During my undergraduate years, I maintained a close connection with a few teachers at J. Addison School, they provided me with guidance even during my undergraduate years. Currently, I have received several offers from various Graduate Schools in Canada, and I will continue to pursue my dream as a teacher.”
“Moving to J. Addison School from a public high school was one of the best decisions that I have made in my education career so far. The school provided me with the necessary tools that really prepared me for university and which allowed me to fly while being in Wilfrid Laurier. The people that I’ve met at J. Addison School were incredible, they were all very talented individuals who had great minds, and most of all, they pushed me to work harder and harder every single day in order to achieve my goals of getting into a top business school in the country. I am very glad that I have picked J. Addison over other schools in the area, and if I had to make that decision again, without a doubt I would pick J. Addison School in a heartbeat. It was because of J. Addison School, I was able to pick the right school for myself and really become confident about my future. Thank you so much for everything that you have done for me, I will not forget the school when I grow up.”
“Thanks to all the teachers and staff of J. Addison School. Thanks J. Addison for changing me into a good student. To my fellow graduates, I wish you the best in the years to come. ”
University Acceptance: York University
Personal Philosphy: "Whatever the future holds for me."
“I would like to say thank you to all of my classmates, you guys are a lot of fun. Also I would like to say thank you to the teachers of J. Addison for helping me to become successful in my academic studies. One of the major lessons I have learnt from the teachers is the importance of achieving your goals. I won’t forget what this school did for me, NEVER!!!!!”
University Acceptance: York University, McMaster University, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto
Personal Philosphy: “Dare to Dream.”
“I am thankful for everyone that I’ve spent my time with these two years at J. Addison School. I want to thank all the people I’ve laughed with, played with and spoke with. They’ve made my last two years of high school amazing, years that I will never forget.”
University Acceptance: York University, McMaster University, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto
Personal Philosphy: "Success is my only OPTION!!!!"
