The OMS Bursary Program allows OMS to maintain a diversity of students and families in its community by providing financial assistance to those who would not, otherwise, be able to remain at OMS.
No more than 50% of tuition will be covered by the bursary and the bursary will not be available to those who are not yet students of OMS. (As families can claim Toddler and Casa tuition as a childcare deduction, and city subsidized spaces are available, there is diversity of students entering the school.)
The bursary committee may make exceptions when a child is transferring from another Montessori school if funds are available and our own OMS families’ requests have been met.
Criteria
The criteria will be applied in the following order of priority.
1. Financial need
2. To finish a three year cycle in a class
3. The length of time the child has spent at OMS
Financial Need
Financial need will be determined by Apple Financial Services, an external company that will assess the family's finances and determine the amount of money the family can afford to pay for tuition. Applying parents will pay $90 per application to Apple Financial Services.
Bursary Committee
A Bursary Committee consisting of at least two Montessori staff and the School Director or designate will review the applicants and determine eligibility based on the above criteria.
The name of the family applying for the bursary will remain confidential. Each application will be assigned a number. The application form will include the information required by the criteria. The documents from Apple Financial Services will be assigned an application number as well so that the committee is able to consider that information in a confidential manner.
Timeline
The deadline for a bursary application is December 23, 2011. Once a decision is made, someone from the committee will contact the applicant families in order for the families to meet the re-enrolment deadline of January 20, 2012.
The Funds
The primary source of bursary funding will be from donations to the Bursary Fund. All donations are eligible for a tax receipt. Fundraising will also come from the fundraising activities of the school. The percentage of the profits of each fundraising event that will be directed to the Bursary Fund will be determined and publicized prior to the event.
The bursary funding is placed in a treasury account. Some of the Fund will be used directly for bursaries; some will grow the capital in the Fund. Eventually, the interest on the capital will be used for the bursaries.
If you wish to make a contribution to the OMS Bursary Program, please drop a cheque to the office payable to "OMS" indicating the donation is for this program. Thank you!
Obtaining the Application Form
In previous years, applicant families could access the application form on the OMS website or obtain a hard copy in the office. This year, to allow for more anonymity, this will no longer be an option. Applicant families are directed to obtain the application on the Apple Financial Services website at www.applefinancialservices.ca
The Application Process
Families will go to the Apples Financial Services website at www.applefinancialservices.ca.
Families will create a parent account registration.
After the email address provided is verified, a response will be sent with the subject line “Account Set-up”
Families will then go into the online application.
At the end of the process, requests will appear for the uploading of tax information, i.e. T4s, current year’s pay statements, etc.
Once the information is uploaded the payment section will appear and the $90 application fee will be required. Payments can be made by credit card (Visa & MasterCard).
