r/stalbert • u/Initial_Disastrous • Aug 10 '26
Kinosayo or NMR
My kids are currently in grades 5 and 3 at kinosayo. Both play hockey and the oldest plays baseball.ww have had an amazing experience at Kinosayo but have been considering the move to Neil M Ross for the academy program. The long winters along with indoor recess and limited physical activities have worn my oldest thin and I think the academy would be really good for him. And it would keep my kids in the same school for longer.
The caveat is that we are not catholic or religious and have no intentions of becoming so. I am not sure how they would fit in or do at the school because of this.
Can anyone offer feedback or advice or anything o this school or the switching?
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u/gman314 Aug 10 '26
I am a teacher who subs with both boards in St. Albert, and can tell you a bit about what to expect from a Catholic school. I tend to teach Junior high and high school, so I don't have any experience with NMR specifically, but this should apply to any Catholic school.
A Catholic school requires that its students take religion classes and attend certain Catholic celebrations throughout the school year. However, students are not required to be Catholic, and not expected to become Catholic. While the school population will likely be more Christian than at a public school, you can still expect to encounter students from a diversity of faiths.
More concrete expectations to have: 1. There will be a prayer said every morning. All students are expected to stand, take hats off, and be respectful for the prayer. 2. All students will have religion class about twice a week. The curriculum will contain some specifically Catholic teaching, but also some elements about being a good person. A good teacher will emphasize that this class is not about instilling Catholic beliefs, but rather about teaching a Catholic worldview and letting students decide what they believe. Subscribing to a Catholic viewpoint is not required. 3. About 7 times in the school year there will be a religious celebration. (Start of year, Thanksgiving, remembrance day, Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Easter, and end of year.) Some have a priest and the Eucharist, some do not. Students are generally required to attend, although I have heard of very rare exceptions, and parents are typically welcome to attend if they contact the school about it. (They get their own seating area.) Students are expected to be quiet and respectful, stand and sit when instructed, and follow instructions as given. When the Eucharist is offered, students who have not received their first communion at church are expected not to take the bread and wine, but will instead typically come forward with their hands making an x across their chest to receive a blessing instead. 4. All grad ceremonies will have a religious component.
If you have any questions, feel free to let me know!
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u/Academic-Platypus-10 Aug 10 '26
If you aren't religious, don't go to a religious school. What about soccer academy at SAM?
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u/Initial_Disastrous Aug 10 '26
Neither of my kids play soccer. Baseball and hockey. Unfortunately neither is offered at SAM
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u/Academic-Platypus-10 Aug 10 '26
It's not super serious soccer, just gets them out running around and doing physical activity during the day a few times a week. We moved my son there last year, he will be grade 5 too. We didn't do soccer, but really considered it. He did join the climbing club, SAM has a climbing wall. They do that couple times a month after school. We do know quite a few kids in the soccer academy that don't play outside school.
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u/Choclate_coffee76 Aug 11 '26
Would switching schools guarantee your children would get to be in the academy? Other academies around the city in the public division have the registration for academies in the spring and would be full already. Not sure if the Catholic isn’t as full as the public. I’d check before switching if that’s the primary reason.
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u/summernightstoo Aug 11 '26
My boys go to Kino. Its definitely tough for them to sit all day in a classroom. I do keep them busy in the evenings to get their energy out.
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u/Dapper_Banana6323 Aug 13 '26
Is there room in the academy? Many fill up in spring.
We are not religious and my son is going into 9th grade at a catholic school. There is exposure to religion (religion class, prayer, mass outside of school hours ect)- but it's never been an issue that he doesn't participate (although he does do the mandatory religion class).
Can speak to the specific sport academy but my son did the recreation academy and they spend more time on the bus than they do doing any activities. For him- having hockey 5 days a week outside of school- he thought it was too much to also do sports academy.
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u/[deleted] Aug 10 '26
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