Parent and School Councillor, Sylvia G, says the guiding principles at Emerson revolve around what is best for the kids, and are always centred on how things can be made even better for the students.
“Emerson is an amazing place, and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to put our son into a school where he’s thriving,” she says. “Maison is comfortable in an environment that allows him to learn at his own pace.”
Maison initially attended a mainstream primary school and had hoped to follow his older brother to the same college, so his start at Emerson was a little rocky as he adjusted to the knowledge that he wouldn’t be attending his brother’s school.
The family looked at a range of schools for Maison before deciding on Emerson, which stood out from the others because of the extensive opportunities available to students. After a three-day orientation, Maison himself made the decision to attend Emerson, and since then has never refused school.
“He always wants to be there,” Sylvia says. “I think it has a lot to do with the fact that he feels genuinely seen and heard, as do I as a parent, and he feels like he belongs.”
Maison’s favourite parts of school are cooking, woodwork, basketball and art. Sylvia says when he started at Emerson, he could only draw stick figures, but through the school’s art classes and particularly the use of stencils, Maison now regularly displays artwork on his bedroom walls.
“He was so proud, that first time he brought home a piece of artwork that wasn’t a stick figure,” Sylvia says.
This is Sylvia’s second year as a parent member of the School Council. She says it is inspiring to see the passion and vision for the school, led by principal John Mooney, and to know that the kids at Emerson are in such good hands.
“It is comforting to know that the team at Emerson always have my son’s best interests front and centre.”
[interviewed June 2026]
Photo credit: photo supplied by Sylvia G with permission to use granted
