which Mississauga middle school is best?

Honestly, if she has a good group of friends, send her to the same school as them. I say this is as the parent of a daughter just graduating from U of T and headed for grad school. We had the same sort of choice when she was in middle school and we kept her at the school with the middling reputation but she and her friends excelled there and then in high school together because they supported each other. The one girl in their group who was moved to another school had serious problems adjusting and finding decent friends at the new school and went off the rails on the high school.

Now if your daughter doesn't have an already well-established good friend group and/or there's not a good number of them going to the same school, your options are more open. At 11 though, I would definitely give your daughter some say in the matter. If you plan on moving her, see if you can arrange with the principal of the other schools for a quick visit and take her along.

Mental health in middle & high school is huge and directly impacts on grades. A good solid friend group can help with that and keep your child happy and healthy and doing well academically.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I should have mentioned that we are moving to Mississauga from Toronto in June, so my daughter will be new in any school we choose that's why I said she has options. Making friends is honestly my number one concern for her; I am wondering whether it would be better to enroll her in the English school that is a walking distance from our house so she would be able to form friendships with kids in the neighborhoud, or whether to go for the Francophone school that is academically superior but needs bussing? The final choice is definitely hers, but since she will be a new student in any of the schools anyway, she is at an equal distance from all of them. We intend to visit all 3 schools later this month to get a feel for each. My stomach is tied in knots with anxiety that she might not be able to get along with the kids in whatever school she ends up in. Adolescence is a difficult age for making friends.

inssaugasoon wrote: ↑ Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I should have mentioned that we are moving to Mississauga from Toronto in June, so my daughter will be new in any school we choose that's why I said she has options. Making friends is honestly my number one concern for her; I am wondering whether it would be better to enroll her in the English school that is a walking distance from our house so she would be able to form friendships with kids in the neighborhoud, or whether to go for the Francophone school that is academically superior but needs bussing? The final choice is definitely hers, but since she will be a new student in any of the schools anyway, she is at an equal distance from all of them. We intend to visit all 3 schools later this month to get a feel for each. My stomach is tied in knots with anxiety that she might not be able to get along with the kids in whatever school she ends up in. Adolescence is a difficult age for making friends.

IMHO (as someone who moved a lot when I was younger), this is the perfect time to make a move if you have to make one. You have two years for your daughter to get settled in a new school and make friends to go to high school with. I personally would keep her in the neighbourhood since the neighbourhood will likely decide where she can go to high school. Academically superior (from EQAO results) is not always the best. My daughter's academically superior primary school (before we moved) was clique-ish and had a very cold atmosphere whereas her academically inferior (judged again through EQAO results which didn't take into account the number of ESL students in the school) new school was warm and friendly with fabulous teachers.

You're definitely doing the right thing by visiting all three. Contact the principals and get them to do a little walkthrough for you so you get a real feel. Also, do some quick research on where each of the school feeds for high school so you know what the situation will be in two years. You'll want to put her where she can stay with the friend group she establishes over the next two years.

If she has a current friend group, I would highly suggest making sure she can keep in touch with them in some way, whether it's by messaging app on a tablet or texting on a phone or phoning or playdates or whatever. When I was a kid when you moved, you maybe snail mailed each other for a while before you gave up but these days kids are able to keep in touch and maintain friendships in ways we never could. It's a really positive thing to not have all your eggs in one basket. I know my daughter still has her high school group of friends (who have known each other since grade 3), a work group of friends (from when she was a camper and then worked at the camp as a teenager), and now a university group of friends.

Good luck with everything. It sounds like you're doing a great job. Just make sure your daughter knows she can come and talk to you about anything, including her mental health, anxiety, friendships, etc.

By the way, as far as the actual schools, you might want to also post in parenting - most education issues regarding younger kids are discussed there.

Thank you so much for the words of support and encouragement.