“I looked forward to coming to school every day. It helped so much with everything. School at the hospital saved me from failing classes and gave me motivation as I was getting better. I wouldn’t have graduated without the Stollery school.”
“I have no words to express how grateful I am for the support of the Stollery School and the guidance of the teachers when I was an in-patient. Without the hospital school, I wouldn’t have been able to graduate or pass math!!”
“Our family really appreciated the help of the Stollery School over the eight months that we were here. Our son was able to complete high school courses, and the teachers even helped transition him back to his school and figure out credits for PE 10.”
“I really appreciated the help that the teachers gave me while I was an in-patient. They made sure that I was completely caught up in physics and math (I got 100% on both of the math quizzes that I missed). I just wanted to recognize the importance of the teachers’ work at the Stollery.”
“During my time here at the Stollery Hospital School, I managed to maintain my average as well as continue my education in French. Since French is my first language, this allowed me to continue school as if I were at my home school. To add, the Stollery School has one-on-one teaching. This was very important for me since I tend to ask many questions and have ADHD. I’ve also grown to love the teachers here, as they are so devoted to their students and clearly love their job. If I were to be honest, this school has probably been the most enjoyable one I have attended out of my 12 years of education.”
“My attendance at the Stollery has made a huge impact on me to be honest. Through coming here, I have been able to upgrade my courses and have benefited greatly. I can focus on school, mental and physical state all at the same time. I now have an idea on what I want to do after my upgrading for post-secondary. I am so thankful for the Stollery Hospital School.”
“The Stollery Hospital School has impacted me in a great way. When I came to the hospital, I thought I would get behind in all of my subjects and fail everything. After I knew there was a school at the hospital, I was so excited! Not only is it a good distraction from being in the hospital, I can stay caught up with my schooling. The teachers are also amazing and are understanding if I am having trouble, am in pain, or just having a bad day. They move at my pace, and never force me to do work when I can’t – they make school really fun. The Hospital school has impacted me in an amazing way and has helped me so much!”
When a teacher showed up at a patient’s hospital room last year, the patient was surprised and relieved. Then 16, the student had just been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and was in the midst of Grade 11 math and physics classes. Medical treatments, tests, and sheer exhaustion kept her in bed for much of her 12-day hospital stay. By then, she had already missed two weeks of high school, and worried about falling behind. A Stollery teacher toted a white board and worksheets into her room, and picked up where she had left off.
“It helped a ton. They say that stress actually makes my disease worse. I care a lot about my schooling."
-then 17 year old patient, who has been accepted to study nursing in university
“My daughter as had many Stollery hospital admissions. It has been especially hard for her to miss her school friends and to keep up with her classes. We have noticed that while being in hospital can be such a scary and difficult time for all family members, it's often comforting for children to have the routine of school continue. The location and activities may be different but the sense of normalcy helps everyone.”
“We really appreciate that mom or dad can walk their child to class, pop in for a visit, or even stay to help out or provide support.”
“As an added bonus, it feels great for the kids to get back to school and be able to say that they didn't fall behind!”
“The kids really seem to enjoy the direct attention from their teacher and the activities are personalized and fun!”
“Another wonderful benefit of attending the Stollery Hospital School is being able to make new school friends who can understand some of the challenges medical issues bring both physically, emotionally and academically.”
“We all certainly wish our children didn't need to be in hospital but it's great to be able to give them some sense of being regular kids, even if it's just a little homework!”
