How to Apply

Junior Preschool (for students who are 19-35 months by the first day of school in September 2024)

• Applications open: October 25, 2023
• Admissions assessment: none required

Preschool (for students who are 36 months of age by December 31, 2024)

• Application deadline:  January 31, 2024
• Admissions assessment: February 22 or 23, 2024

We look forward to meeting you! 

Junior Kindergarten (for students who are 4 years of age by December 31, 2024)

• Application deadline:  November 24, 2023
• Admissions assessment: December 13 or 14, 2023

We look forward to meeting you! 

Kindergarten (for students who are 5 years of age by December 31, 2024)

• Application deadline:  November 24, 2023
• Admissions assessment:  November 29 or 30, 2023

We look forward to meeting you! 

Grades 1 - 12

• Applications open: October 25, 2023
• Assessment:  Scheduled after this date, upon receipt of a completed application

We look forward to meeting you! 

Grades 1, 2, 3, or 4 - Embark early transitional immersion

• Applications open: October 25, 2023
• Assessment:  Students may be invited to an admissions assessment upon the admissions team's review of the application documentation

We look forward to meeting you! 

The admissions process varies at different grade levels but starts with the submission of a completed application. Please complete the following steps to submit an application.

Step 1: Complete the application form and application fee payment.

Step 2: Provide supporting documents and information in the CFIS Enrolment portal.

• Upload recent head-and-shoulders photograph.
• Upload copy of the birth certificate or passport, and parent work permit if applicable. 
• Upload relevant medical or educational reports, such as psycho-educational assessments, speech-language therapy reports, or occupational therapy reports.
• Enter the email address of a non-family member referee that has worked with your child. A confidential questionnaire reference form is emailed to the referee to complete by the application deadline (not required for Junior Preschool). 
• Preschool, JK, and Kindergarten applicants: Complete the early childhood development form. Parents are invited to share insights into their child's development by also completing the comment sections. 
• Applicants to Grade 1 and higher: Upload French immersion or francophone school report cards. At minimum, this includes the last full year report card as well as the current mid-year report card. 
• Applicants to Grade 3 and higher: Student completes an applicant questionnaire in French and English.

Step 3: Participate in the admissions assessment.

A key part of the admissions process includes getting to know your child. Applicants are invited to participate in an age-appropriate and grade-level evaluation and an interview with CFIS faculty. These take place at Calgary French & International School. Junior Preschool applicants do not need complete an admissions assessment.

• Preschool and Junior Kindergarten applicants spend approximately an hour engaging in a group, play-based setting in a CFIS classroom accompanied by a parent.
• Kindergarten applicants spend two hours unparented in a group, play-based setting in a CFIS classroom.
• For Embark applicants, an admissions assessment may be offered after an initial review of the application documentation.
• For applicants to Grades 1-12, applicants spend half a day or a full day, dependent on grade-level, in a CFIS classroom of their current grade. This process also allows them to explore some of the school's physical spaces, interact with CFIS students and teachers, witness the welcoming school community, and experience life at the school. 
• For applicants to Grades 5-12,  there is a virtual component to the admissions assessment that takes place before the in-person admissions visit at the school. This involves the applicant completing written grade-appropriate academic assignments in French Language Arts, English Language Arts, and Mathematiques while over video. The length of time varies by grade-level. 

Step 4: Review by the Admissions team.

For applicants to the early childhood programs, except Junior Preschool, the admissions team looks at applicants' areas of development in communication, gross and fine motor skills, social-emotional development, emotional regulation, cognitive development, and self-care. For applicants to Elementary and Secondary, the admissions team looks at students' demonstration of academic abilities, language fluency, character and citizenship qualities, the potential to contribute to the mission of CFIS, and executive functioning strategies enabling them to be successful learners at our school. 

After all documentation, observations, and assessment results are reviewed by the CFIS admissions team, the enrolment office notifies families of decisions made regarding the application. Enrolment decisions are based on the entirety of the applicant file. All enrolment decisions are final. 

Please note, the application process is not intended to suggest a diagnosis of child development or be a long-term predictor of success. As such, detailed feedback is not provided to parents following the enrolment team's decision.