Students in these grades experience rapid development, and TFS supports their changing social and emotional needs, as well as their academic ones. It’s also the time when our students transition into independent learners, as they enter our Senior School.

Formal guidance classes start in Grade 6 with a curriculum that includes peer relations, health and well-being, and developing skills such as time management, and organizational and study strategies, among other topics. Outside of class, our counsellors are on hand to meet small groups or on an individual basis, to address student needs. There are five guidance counsellors dedicated to the Senior School student population.

Becoming a senior student can be overwhelming, as well as exciting. Interests bloom and ideas about possible careers begin to take shape. Guidance classes now focus on topics specific to future academic and career directions.

Individual counselling becomes increasingly important, allowing students and their families to become more knowledgeable about course selections, summer and experiential learning opportunities, scholarships, university programs and, finally, making the all-important decision about where to go to university.

Recognizing the connection between personal well-being and academic success, TFS hosts two third-year nursing students, who are completing their community health practicum, each fall and winter term. The nursing students’ main focus is health promotion, focusing on subjects such as nutrition, substance abuse and stress. They interact with the Senior School students inside class and out, through presentations, informal discussions and bulletin boards.

Centrally located in the Senior School, the Guidance Department is well-loved and much-used by our students.

The counselling services provided include:

•     Career
•     Academic
•     Personal
•     Health and wellness

Many forms of support are available to our learners, such as peer mentoring, the Learning Centre and the Testing Centre.

The Learning Centre provides support to students with identified and non-identified learning needs, and assists them in developing effective learning strategies. It is staffed with Learning Strategies teachers and is supported by the school’s psychoeducational consultant.

The Test Centre is a supervised location offering specialized accommodations – such as extended time, use of a computer and Spell Check for tests – to students with formally identified learning needs.

In addition to our counsellors, the Guidance Department is home to a host of other resources. The library contains an extensive collection of academic calendars, viewbooks and general information about universities at home and abroad.

Dedicated computers are loaded with software such as Career Cruising, School Finder and Scholarship Finder (for Canadian universities), and SAT practice tests. Scholarship and financial aid information and applications are also available.

The department oversees all standardized test preparation at the school. The PSAT is undertaken by all Grade 10 and 11 students (Level III and IV), and support and resources are available for those taking the TOEFL, SAT and ACT tests, including test registration information, booklets, preparation courses, mock exams and workshops.

Our Guidance Departments hosts numerous special events and programs around careers and university selection.

These include: visits from over 70 university liaison and admission officers each year; university evenings focusing on the application process, admissions criteria, and academic programs for Canadian, American and international universities; campus visits; career lunches with our alumni, and an online mentorship program connecting our alumni with students in Grades 11 and 12 (Levels IV and V).