Our History

With an impressive history spanning over 23 years, Edelweiss Preparatory School has stayed true to its original mission to support and encourage a child’s lively intellect; promote independance and self confidence; foster social competency and inspire a love of learning. Children enjoy a positive and nurturing environment where they are encouraged to try new things, think original thoughts, share of themselves and get along with others.

Where did the name “Edelweiss” come from? Well, “edelweiss” is a small white flower that grows high in the Alps and it is said that if a man really loves a woman, he will go higher up the mountain to get the edelweiss flower - going the “extra mile” for love. That’s part of our philosophy at Edelweiss - to go the “extra mile” for the love of all the children. In the 1950’s this flower became famous all over the world as synonym for Austria with the song Edelweiss from the Sound of Music Musical. Edelweiss is our school song.

• We began as Edelweiss Educational Preschool in 1988 with 12 students.
• In January 1995, we changed our name to Edelweiss Preparatory School to reflect the addition of Kindergarten and the further enrichment of our program. The Edelweiss program was designed to meet the learning needs of average and above average children.
• We are licensed with Alberta Children’s Services for our Preschool and Jr. Kindergarten and are accredited and funded by Alberta Education for our Kindergarten.
• We have always operated in the Cambrian Heights community building since we began in 1987 and continue to operate Preschool, Jr. Kindergarten there
• In 2003 we began an Elementary school and our Kindergarten and Grade 1-4 programs were located at 599 Northmount Drive N.W. Our Grade 3 Provincial Achievement tests from June 2006 placed us 2nd for Math and 3rd for Languague Arts for the Standard of Excellence category for Accredited Private Schools in Calgary.
• Due to a problem with our Elementary School lease, and not being able to find another suitabley zoned location for our Elementary School in NW Calgary, we closed the elementary school for September 2007.
• We were featured on CFCN news in a feature on the uniqueness of our school in 1995.
• Parts of our Christmas and Graduation Concerts have appeared on the news over the years.
• In 1999, we added a Cultural Awareness program to our Kindergarten curriculum. An article in the Mirror was written about this special program.
• In 2003, we added a Spanish program for our students.
• We continue to operate our Preschool, Jr. Kindergarten and Kindergarten at 600 Northmount Drive NW (our original location).
• In January 2007 we were awarded “BEST PRESCHOOL 2007” from Calgary’s Child Parent’s Choice Awards.
• In January 2008 we were awarded “BEST PRESCHOOL 2008” from Calgary’s Child Parent’s Choice Awards.
• In March 2009 we were awarded “BEST PRESCHOOL 2009” from Calgary’s Child Parent’s Choice Awards.
• In 2009 our teachers were all trained in the award winning Handwriting Without Tears curriculum and it was implemented into our programs.
• In 2010 we were awarded “BEST PRESCHOOL 2010” from Calgary’s Child Parent’s Choice Awards.
• In 2011 we were awarded “BEST PRESCHOOL 2011” from Calgary’s Child Parent’s Choice Awards.