A budget for school trips, textbooks
Don’t forget that tuition is not the only financial hurdle to clear.
Typically, uniforms must be purchased. However, some schools allow students to wear certain colours, but don’t dictate where they buy their clothes, says Gabriele Pulpan, principal of Olivet School.
Other schools will have jackets, ties, kilts and other clothing items that may be optional.
School trips also cost extra and there are a number of them each year at Olivet School, Pulpan says.
“We believe in learning outside of the four walls of a classroom,” she says. These are typically half- or full-day trips and are always to local attractions.
At St. Michael’s College, some students have to factor in travel costs if they join certain teams or clubs, admissions director David Fischer says.
And while students have to buy their textbooks, they can purchase them used and can also sell their old books to younger students at a year-end book fair, he says.
Some schools also have after-school programs akin to daycare that have costs over and above tuition, such as at St. Clement’s School, says director of admission Elena Holeton. Some schools also have fee-based lunch programs.