Frequently Asked Questions

Does Bishop Carroll follow Alberta Education Guidelines?

Students at Bishop Carroll study and complete the prescribed Alberta Education curriculum. Through the support of a strong and effective Teacher Advisor system, students at Bishop Carroll are empowered to tailor a program of studies that accounts for their unique abilities as individual learners.

Our model allows students to self-direct on any given day, which subject matter they are choosing to work on and their learning is assessed when they feel they have mastered the content and are ready.

This means that if a student excels in understanding of a particular subject matter they can forge ahead on their own. If a student requires more time to fully comprehend a topic of study, they can take this time to do so. This flexibility also means that if a student has extra curricular activities that are heavier at particular times or days, they can manage and plan their work load around these outside demands.

Within this flexibility, students at Bishop Carroll are expected to plan for completion of all required grade level courses to be on track to graduate in three years from Bishop Carroll High School.

Numerous accomplished athletes, politicians, performers, and academics have experienced tremendous success since graduating from Bishop Carroll High School. Specifically, Mark Tewksbury, Dr. Curtis Myden, Erica Morningstar, Yuri Kisil, Erin Chan, and Hayley Wickenheiser competed in Summer Olympic events like Men’s and Women’s Swimming, Women’s Synchronized Swimming, and Women’s Softball. Moreover, Tyler Seitz, Hayley Wickenheiser, Carla MacLeod, Anastasia Bucsis, and Taylor Henrich participated in such Winter Olympic events as Men’s Singles Luge, Women’s Ice Hockey, Women’s Long Track Speed Skating, and Women’s Ski Jumping. Additionally, Alana Ramsay competed at multiple Winter Paralympic Games. Several Bishop Carroll graduates earned gold, silver, and bronze medals while establishing new records throughout their athletic careers. Major League Baseball (MLB) player Michael Soroka has pitched for the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago White Sox, and the Washington Nationals since crossing our graduation stage. Professional wrestler Natalya Neidhart has earned several championships as the longest-signed female World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) member. Canadian professional stock car racing driver Cameron Haley achieved various accolades while competing at National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).

Alison Redford, the first female Premier of Alberta, and Danielle Smith, the current Alberta Premier, both graduated from Bishop Carroll within the same decade. At the municipal level, Jeromy Farkas served on Calgary City Council for four years.

Furthermore, Lindsay Ell pursued a career as a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and television (TV) personality after graduating within two years and serving as our Valedictorian. Poet, singer-songwriter, and musician Matt Blais earned multiple YYC Music Awards and functioned as a Calgary Songwriter in Residence. Lisa La Touche is a tap dance artist, a choreographer, a director, and an educator in global destinations. As an Alumna of The Second City Toronto, Clare McConnell is a Canadian Screen Award nominated actor and comedian who pursues dramatic roles on TV shows like Star Trek: Discovery and Murdoch Mysteries. Similarly, Julie Nolke is an award-winning comedian, actress, writer, and YouTuber. Lastly, Nick Blais is a scenographer and a theatre designer who oversees set, costume, lighting, and production design for Canadian theatrical productions.

In addition to being a longtime faculty member at The New School’s Faculty of Music Production & Sound, Curtis (Robert) Macdonald is a composer, sound designer, audio producer, and Audible’s Associate Director of Production. Author Genki Ferguson released Satellite Love: A Novel to widespread critical acclaim. Two-time New York Times best-selling author Jeremy Gutsche is an innovation expert, a keynote speaker, a TV host, and CEO and founder of Trend Hunter. Hannah Chan-Hartley, PhD is a public musicologist who communicates about Classical Music to global audiences through her writing, public speaking, and visual design. Finally, the Canadian government appointed award-winning lawyer Oliver Ho as a Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta in Calgary.

Is Bishop Carroll meant only for students who easily excel in academics? How are students supported?

We have a diverse student body with students that have varying academic aptitudes, strengths and challenges.

What successful Bishop Carroll students have in common, is a strong internal motivation and ability to self-regulate their actions. Planning and organizing are skills that can be learned with the support of their Teacher Advisor but successful Bishop Carroll Students have a drive to meet their own goals.

Students are fully supported by their Teacher Advisor and through our Academic Resource Centre. All incoming students participate in a one month orientation which includes guided and supported time-management training. With the assistance of a Teacher Advisor, Bishop Carroll students learn to plan, organize and complete short- term, mid-range and long-term goals. These goals are determined in a collaborative manner with the Teacher Advisor during weekly scheduled 15 minute meetings.

Aside from academic self-direction, what can a Bishop Carroll student look forward to experiencing?

Unique to Bishop Carroll is the opportunity to create personalized projects that meet the outcomes for various courses to earn credit in more than one course.
A nationally recognized music program including various choir, band and strings programs.
A Visual Arts program with unlimited opportunity to explore your passions without time or bell restrictions.
A Design lab providing interdisciplinary opportunities with Art, Theater, Drama, Film Studies, Web Design, Construction, and Fabrication possibilities.
Our PE program is unique in that students self-direct the activities they wish to explore and participate in to earn their PE credits.
Opportunities to participate in a full complement of High School sports.

As a parent, how will I know how my child is progressing?

Each student at Bishop Carroll is assigned a Teacher Advisor (TA) who becomes the adult in the building who knows your child best and supports them daily. Mandatory TA appointments occur weekly in order to monitor student progress, develop goals and celebrate successes. Teacher Advisors keep in regular contact with parents. Communication occurs through phone calls, e-mails, regular progress reports and parent-teacher conferences. Become familiar with Brightspace, our learning management system.

How well do Bishop Carroll students perform?

As is the case for all Alberta high school graduates, students of Bishop Carroll must write government diploma exams. As all students in the province write these exams, results can be used as indicators of the success of the students, and Bishop Carroll consistently performs well above the provincial average in all major academic areas with 91.6%* of Grade 12 students eligible for Alexander Rutherford Scholarships

Why do Bishop Carroll students do so well?

Student success is due to many factors. Bishop Carroll’s unique learning model allows academic success to be more attainable for all students. While our system provides students with more flexibility and freedom, it also demands greater responsibility and dedication. The outcome is a personalized education program that is fun and rewarding.

In preparing for the future, students are in control of their learning thus promoting maturity and personal accountability. Our students complete their work and assess when they are confident and ready, thus promoting success and self-esteem. In addition, students progress through course material at a pace and level that is matched with their ability and not that of their peers.
Bishop Carroll students manage their own learning and seek help from an adult when needed. Purposeful contact with teachers helps to build positive working relationships, promotes self-advocacy, improves emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills which are highly desired at post-secondary institutions and by employers.

Does Bishop Carroll offer Advanced Placement (AP) classes?

The Advanced Placement Program allows students to undertake college level academic learning in select courses and gives them the opportunity to show that they have mastered the advanced material by writing AP exams.

At Bishop Carroll, through independent study and continuous progress, interested students can accelerate their progress in the normal program, complete the required subjects and write Diploma Exams in November or January. This then affords them the opportunity to prepare, under the guidance of the subject teacher, for the AP exams that are administered each May.