A Message from the Head of the Junior School – Friday, April 8, 2022

On By havergaljuniorschool

Dear Junior School Parents,

Thank you all so much for participating in in our Parent-Teacher Conferences over the last two days. These are another great opportunity to connect school and home, as we discuss your child’s strengths, challenges, and next steps. Should you have any questions or wish to follow up please do not hesitate to reconnect with your child’s teachers or to reach out to me. Your partnership is so critical, and we appreciate these conversations.

This week’s blog has lots of “need to know” information. So, grab a tea or a coffee, and enjoy!

Sincerely, 

Kate White – Head, Junior School

Today’s blog contains information on the following:

UPDATES

Potential Road Work on Rosewell on Monday, April 11

  • We have  been advised about potential road work on Rosewell, which will reduce traffic to one lane. If this occurs it will impact both our arrival and dismissal procedures.
  • We ask for your patience, as well as adherence to the directions of our security team, and those directing traffic on the road. 
  • If you have the option to walk, carpool, or park offsite on neighbouring streets we would highly encourage you to do so.

“Feel Good Dress Down Day” at the Junior School – Thursday, April 14 

The following is an announcement, written on behalf of our 6B Class. They have planned this as part of the Grade 6 Leadership work.

We would like to announce that on Thursday, April 14, 2022, the Junior School will be having a Feel Good Day! 

This is a special day where students are allowed to wear clothes that make them feel good, or that represents something that they love! For example, if you love curling up with a good book, you could wear your PJs and bring a favourite book. Maybe you love summertime,  and you could wear summer clothing and bring a beach ball! As long as it makes you feel good, students are invited to wear it and to bring something to represent what makes them “feel good.”

Students are invited to participate in optional activities on this day. This will include sharing why they wore the clothes they are wearing, or what item they brought, and to share what makes them “feel good.”  We have also arranged for students to have hot chocolate or hot apple cider.

Principal Updates 

Wishing a Fond Farewell to Tony diCosmo, Executive Director, Advancement & Community Relations

After almost six years in his role, Tony diCosmo has resigned as Executive Director of Advancement and Community Relations. His last day with Havergal is Friday, April 8th.

After leading the school through the successful completion of the Limitless Campaign, and as the school looks to the future as it emerges from the pandemic, Tony felt it was the right time to step away and pursue other opportunities.

I would like to thank Tony for his significant contributions to Havergal, specifically his leadership of the Limitless Campaign and the great work he has done with both our alumni and parent communities. His warmth and professionalism have made him a pleasure to work with and he will be missed by faculty, staff, parents, and alumni. 

Please join me in wishing Tony all the very best in his future endeavors. We’ll miss his warm and compassionate nature and are grateful for the significant contribution he has made to the Havergal community.

Seeking Your Input: Havergal’s Next Steps in Supporting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Havergal College is moving ahead with the recruitment of the new Executive Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). This is an important role in fulfilling Havergal’s commitment to fostering an inclusive culture for its community. We have engaged the executive search firm KBRS to support the recruitment process which will be led by Amorell Saunders N’Daw, Partner and EDI Lead. A brief overview of the consulting firm and the lead Partner is included below.

For this inaugural role at the College, we value input from students, faculty, staff, as well as Havergal College’s other stakeholders, such as families, and this feedback will be important for informing the position profile and priorities for the role. It will also be helpful in providing guidance and direction to the Search Advisory Committee. Given this, we want to hear from you about what you think the ideal skills, characteristics and competencies should be by offering you the opportunity to provide input on priorities for the role by participating in the attached survey.

KBRS will administer the survey and will provide the results to the Search Advisory Committee for consideration.  Rest assured that your privacy will be respected and the collection of information will be conducted in a confidential manner.

Please click on the link below to participate in the survey process:

DEI Survey

We look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts with us.

About KBRS:  www.kbrs.ca

KBRS is one of Canada’s largest independently-owned recruitment and human resource consulting firm with a team of more than 60 professionals and offices in Toronto, Halifax, Moncton, and St. John’s. Since 1975, KBRS has been helping Canadian organizations hire the best talent possible and brings a unique combination of experience in recruiting, EDI counsel and training and deep knowledge of the education sector to its work on behalf of clients.  Over the past three years alone, KBRS has led more than 250 leadership searches for colleges and universities nationwide.

Amorell Saunders N’Daw, BAA, M.Ed.A person smiling for the camera Description automatically generated with medium confidence

Partner & EDI Lead | asaundersndaw@kbrs.ca

Amorell uses her unique combination of corporate communications, governance and diversity and inclusion skills and experience to assist organizations in the search and recruitment process. Amorell has provided search and recruitment leadership and support to academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations. During a 12-year career at the University of Toronto Scarborough, Amorell served on hiring committees across multiple departments, providing advice about making the recruitment process more inclusive and diverse. A trained journalist who speaks English and French, Amorell completed her Master of Education degree at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, with a focus on adult education and community development.

Founder’s Day – Parents Welcome on Campus

As previously communicated, we will be celebrating Founders’ Day on April 21, 2022. This annual event marks the anniversary of the cornerstone being laid in 1926 at Havergal’s “New School” on Avenue Road. It holds special meaning because it provides an opportunity to reflect on the values and traditions established at Havergal since its founding in 1894.

You will have received grade-specific information earlier about how you can join your daughters on campus for part of this special day. Please check your inbox and mark the date on your calendar!

The Power of Girls’ Education

From time to time, I like to share articles and information with parents that support our mission and core values.  While you have made the conscious choice to invest in a girls’-centred education for your child, it’s good to have the facts about why education for girls and women must continue to be a priority across the globe.  In February, the World Bank updated their Girls Education Overview with statistics showing the impact of COVID-19 on girls education globally.  It’s a quick read and a great reminder that the investment we make in girls and women supports shared prosperity for all.  As a UNESCO School we are called to foster positive social change, and reminding ourselves about the importance of investing in our girls is an important way to live Havergal’s mission to prepare young women to make a difference. 

Updates from the Director of Wellbeing – Dr. Meagan Yarmey

Seeking Feedback: Finding the Balance: Navigating Conversations Around ‘Healthy’ Eating and Exercise  

  • Thank you for joining us on Wednesday March 30th for our evening panel with NEDIC. For those of you who were not able to attend the event, we have attached the video recording for your viewing. We hope the event was insightful and helpful as we partner to promote disordered eating awareness, prevention and treatment. Together, through health promotion, early intervention, and prevention efforts we continue to support the wellbeing of our community. You will find a list of resources provided to us by NEDIC below. 
  • We value and appreciate your input as we continue to develop presentations for our parent community. Please take a few minutes to complete the embedded Google feedback form to assist Meagan Yarmey, Director of Wellbeing.
  • Video Recording:

School Resilience Survey

Dear Parents/Guardians:

As part of the Havergal’s ongoing commitment to wellbeing as outlined in the Strategic Direction 2020+, we are conducting a School Resilience Survey. The pandemic has triggered unique and dynamic issues that can affect our students’ wellbeing and sense of connectedness to the school. To keep our community healthy, we are committed to taking proactive steps to ensure a positive school climate where students are able to flourish. 

Resilience is defined as the maintenance of positive adjustment in the context of exposure to significant adversity. A resilience survey can help us gather actionable data about our students’ mental health and wellbeing as well as their sense of connection with peers and adults at school. Results from the survey will enable us to make the most impactful changes to our programming as it relates to wellbeing by being thoughtful and responsive to our students’ needs, as well as helping to monitor progress.

To help support us in this important work, we have hired Authentic Connections. The questionnaires were developed from several standard measures that ask youth questions about their feelings and behaviors. No identifying information – including IP addresses – will be collected. Your child’s name will not appear anywhere on his or her responses, and questionnaires are all stored according to random ID numbers, specially allotted for this survey. The survey will be administered on May 3, 2022 .

  • Students in Grade 2 to 5 will be invited to complete the Children’s Resilience Survey (CRS), which is designed to take between 10 and 15 minutes, online during class time 
  • Students in Grades 6 through to 12 will be invited to complete the High Achieving Schools Survey (HASS), which is designed to take approximately 40 minutes, online during Homeroom/Form/Advisory time 
  • Participation is voluntary and students can skip questions they do not want to answer. 

If you do not want your child to participate, please complete this google form and submit by April 22, 2022. Thank you very much for your support in this endeavor, and for all you do to keep the Havergal College community healthy.

Sincerely,

Meagan Yarmey PhD

Director of Wellbeing

REMINDERS

Chartwell’s Ordering Form 

  • For the week of April 18, you are invited to submit your lunch orders by Wednesday, April 13 at 12 noon: Chartwell’s Order Form

Before & After School Co-curriculars

Parent Presentation: Supporting Teenagers’ Emotional Growth in Challenging Times: featuring psychologist Dr. Alex Russell 

  • You are invited to join us for an in-person event on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 in the Brenda Robson Hall to hear psychologist Dr. Russell speak about this important and timely topic.
  • This evening will offer parents an understanding of academic, social and emotional impacts of the pandemic, as well as clear and helpful guidelines to help support teenage children in the months and years ahead. While Dr. Russell will be speaking about teenagers, Junior School parents are also welcome to attend.
  • Doors open at 6:00 pm; the presentation will run from 6:30 – 8:00pm. The session will be live streamed over Zoom if you prefer to attend virtually, and will be recorded for viewing and reviewing.
  • Please RSVP here by April 8 and submit any questions you would like Dr. Russell to answer.
  • All guests must be fully vaccinated and pass Toronto Public Health’s health screening.

Covid Reporting

We have been receiving queries regarding Covid-19 and ‘what to do when’, so we would like to remind you of the following:

Reporting Absences

  • If your child will be absent from school for any reason, please input the absence into SchoolPass and be sure to include the reason for the absence in the notes field. Helpful instructions on using SchoolPass.
  • If your child is isolating due to Covid-19, please be sure to enter ‘isolating’ in the notes field. Only students who are isolating for covid reasons will be permitted to join Zoom.
  • If your child will be absent for multiple days, you can select all the days in the SchoolPass app. We recommend and ask that you do this if your child is going to be absent for multiple days due to isolation or for an extended absence.
    • Please do not select one day for an absence and then use the notes section to report they will be away for multiple days. Instead, please select all of the dates on the SchoolPass calendar and then put the reason in the notes field. 

DATES ON THE HORIZON

Dr. Alex Russell Parent Presentation (details above)

  • Wednesday, April 13th – 6:30 – 8:00 pm (in-person event)

“Feel Good Day” – Dress Down Day (details above)

  • Thursday, April 14
  • Students are invited to wear something that makes them “feel good”

Easter Weekend

  • Friday, April 15 – No School
  • Monday, April 18 – No School

Founders’ Day

  • Thursday, April 21
    • Number One Dress for Grade 6 students

PD Day

  • Friday, May 6 – No School for Students

Victoria Day Weekend

  • Monday, May 23 –  No School

House Shout

  • Tuesday, May 24 @ 1:00 pm 

Grade 6 Celebration – In Person, Grade 6 families invited

  • Tuesday, June 14 (4pm – 5:00 pm) 

JS Closing Ceremony – In Person, JS families invited

  • Wednesday, June 15 
    • Students at school 8:25 am – 12:00 pm
    • Ceremony takes place in Brenda Robson Hall from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
    • 12:00 pm dismissal

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