Toronto schools for girls

amother

Emerald

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 4:38 pm

Can anyone give me insight about Toronto schools? We may be moving there in the summer and would need to enroll our daughters in both elementary and high school. We have spoken to a few friends there who have told us to look at Bais Yaakov & Eitz Chaim for elementary, and either Tiferes or Bais Yaakov for high school.

We are coming from out of town. BT family. Haven't been in a large community before & expect to have to conform some in terms of dress, etc. Husband wears coloured shirts. I usually wear a sheitel but definitely have left the house in berets & snoods before. No tv, no movies, pop music, pop culture, etc. Internet is filtered & extensively supervised. Kids definitely read secular books but again, it is highly monitored.

Any info greatly appreciated!

amother

Tan

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 5:49 pm

The Bais yakov elemtary is very strict. Like for example they care how the mothers are dressed. Eitz Chaim is more modern. Some kids who go to eitz Chaim go to Tiferes bais yakov high school. Let me know if you have specific questions.

Gerbera

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 5:59 pm

Please feel free to PM me and I can help you out. You may find it difficult to get into BYES due to classes being full and lack of space.

Are you looking into moving to Thornhill or the Toronto south community? The commute is something to bear in mind as the Eitz Chaim girls school is closing in Thornhill as of June unfortunately.

Eitz Chaim is a mix of Chabad, yeshivish, modern Orthodox, Bnei Akiva etc. You will see graduates attend Bnos Beis Yaakov, Tiferes Bais Yaakov, BY and Ulpanot. There are politics involved in graduates attending BY at the moment.

I grew up here and am a graduate of Eitz Chaim and then BY High School. My girls attend Eitz Chaim.

I don't feel comfortable posting too much info detailing things about the schools on a public forum but am happy to discuss privately and to answer questions!

amother

Dodgerblue

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 6:05 pm

If you are considering Thornhill - Ohr HaEmet https://www.jdohss.org/ attracts both Ashkenzi and Sephardi families.

Gerbera

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 8:14 pm

amother wrote:

If you are considering Thornhill - Ohr HaEmet https://www.jdohss.org/ attracts both Ashkenzi and Sephardi families.

If you are looking for a social network with similar hashkafot to your family this is not the school. Speaking as a former family - again, happy to discuss via PM.

amother

Emerald

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 9:28 pm

Gerbera wrote:

Please feel free to PM me and I can help you out. You may find it difficult to get into BYES due to classes being full and lack of space.

I don't feel comfortable posting too much info detailing things about the schools on a public forum but am happy to discuss privately and to answer questions!

Thanks. Sent you a PM.

amother

Emerald

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 9:29 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks. We have friends with daughters in both schools and probably fall in between them as far as hashkafa goes, so we weren't sure which schools would be best. I know it will depend on space in the classes as well.

Last edited by amother on Mon, Dec 17 2018, 10:34 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Oak

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 9:33 pm

I went to eitz Chaim and bnos Bais yaakov, which is to the right of plain Bais yaakov HS.
you sound to me like you could do either eitz Chaim or Bais yaakov elementary but as above poster said, byes is a very full with 5 parallel classes per grade. As far as high schools, Tiferes sounds a little to the left for you. I would look into BBY or BJHS (Bais yaakov HS)

amother

Oak

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 9:34 pm

SomeoneNew wrote:

Eitz chaim is a "community school". Bais yaakov is a yeshivish Bais yaakov. You can most definitely wear a snood. But you have to cover your hair. And knees. Etc. Wherein eitz Chaim you don't.

amother

Emerald

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 9:48 pm

amother wrote:

Our rav said to start with Bais Yaakov HS. One of his daughters went to Bnos Bais Yaakov so I'm guessing he thinks it's too far to the right for us. I would probably agree with that.

Size at BYES is definitely daunting. Do you know how big and how many classes there are per grade at Eitz Chaim? I guess the other concern we had is that one of the people we spoke to made it sound like if we send to Eitz Chaim then Tiferes may be our only choice for high school.

amother

Emerald

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 9:49 pm

amother wrote:

Eitz chaim is a "community school". Bais yaakov is a yeshivish Bais yaakov. You can most definitely wear a snood. But you have to cover your hair. And knees. Etc. Wherein eitz Chaim you don't.

No issue as far as dress goes for Bais Yaakov. Smile

Current school is more of a community school so while it might not be our first choice, it would likely be more like what we are used to.