Month: May 2022

A Message From the Head of the Junior School – Friday, May 27, 2022

On By havergaljuniorschoolLeave a comment

Dear Junior School Family,

It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the recent horrific mass killings in both Buffalo, New York, and Ulvade, Texas, as well as the second anniversary of the murder of George Flloyd. While some of our younger students may not be aware of any of these incidents, there are likely many others that are. As parents, it can be difficult to determine how to best discuss these kinds of tragedies with our children, if at all, depending on their age and stage. As such, we wanted to provide you with several resources to support you in determining how to potentially engage in this discussion within your family.

As a school, Havergal remains committed to supporting all of our students in all aspects of their wellbeing. In the Junior School, your child’s homeroom teacher remains your primary contact, should you have any concerns or questions. Ms. Watt (Assistant Head), Ms. Charlton (Interim Assistant Head), Ms. McGeown (Child and Youth Worker), and myself are also here to support.

Warmly, 

Kate White – Head, Junior School

Today’s blog contains information on the following:

UPDATES

Junior School Gator Day is Back on Friday, June 3 (12:35 pm – 3:00 pm)

What is Gator Day?

  • Gator Day extends back to 1935 where students participated in various outdoor activities with their houses for a chance to win the “Gator Day Cup.” It is a day that is filled with competitive spirit, house pride, and most importantly, FUN! We are thrilled to bring it back!

Need to know information:

  • Students should come dressed in
    • A Havergal House shirt or t-shirt in your house colour
    • Havergal shorts, leggings or sweatpants
    • Running shoes.
  • Please also bring:
    • Sunscreen
    • A hat, and hair tie. 
    • A labeled water bottle 
  • Are spectators permitted?
    • Not yet! We look forward to welcoming families back to the event next June!

Uniform Reminder & Updating

As we approach the end of the school year and look ahead to the fall, we wanted to connect with you regarding the Havergal uniform. Havergal chooses to have a uniform to denote pride in membership in our community. In addition, the uniform signals that we expect that our students will distinguish themselves in intellectual, artistic and athletic achievements, in service to others, and in leadership to the community, rather than in dress.  

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have shifted the uniform requirements to adapt to the needs due to the COVID-19 guidelines that had to be put in place. Additionally, students have grown over the past two years and we have found that their uniforms have not grown along with them and some items are in need of replacement. 

As we plan ahead, we are writing to seek your assistance and partnership to ensure that your child has all of the necessary uniform items for September 2022. Here is the link for the list of uniform requirements for your review. In addition, please find here the Online Store Information and a link to the website to order new pieces for your child. 

Please note that the Green & Gold store is closed from June 17 – August 8. 

In order to ensure the necessary items are available prior to the start of the year, please place orders for new items before June 17.

REMINDERS

Chartwell’s Ordering Form 

  • For the week of May 30, you are invited to submit your lunch orders by Wednesday, May 25 at 12 noon: Chartwell’s Order Form

Before & After School Co-curriculars 

Celebration Saturday is Back! Save the Date – Saturday September 24

  • We are excited to announce that Celebration Saturday, our community event and fundraiser for our community partners is back! All students JK – 12  participate in this special day and we hope families, friends, and neighbours will join us for fun, food and festivity as we gather as a whole school community to celebrate our mission in action. We will be  looking for volunteers to help with the stalls, bbq, ticket sales and of course our famous silent auction!  Stay tuned for details and mark your calendars for this event – you won’t want to miss it!

DATES ON THE HORIZON

Grade 6 Celebration – In Person, Grade 6 families invited

  • Tuesday, June 14 (4:30 – 5:30 pm) 

JS Closing Ceremony – In Person, JS Families Welcome to Attend

  • Wednesday, June 15 
    • Half Day Schedule: 8:25 am – 12:00 pm
    • Ceremony takes place in Brenda Robson Hall (Upper School) at 11:00 am
    • 12:00 pm dismissal

Full Report Card

  • Wednesday, June 22

A Message From the Head of the Junior School – Friday, May 20, 2022

On By havergaljuniorschoolLeave a comment

Dear Junior School Family,

The May 24th  weekend often feels like the beginning of the last stretch of the school year before heading off on summer holidays. As we head into the weeks ahead, I invite you to take some time to reflect upon all that has transpired over the course of the year. What are the biggest lessons learned, what challenges have been faced and overcome, what are they most looking forward to in the weeks ahead?

While we are thoughtfully preparing for end of year celebrations, I am conscious of helping our students to also stay present in the moment, and enjoy these final days together.  

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and sunny long weekend!

Warmly, 

Kate White – Head, Junior School

Today’s blog contains information on the following:

UPDATES

Agenda Cover Contest Details – Due Tuesday, May 24 

  • This is a reminder that it is that time of year for a drawing competition. It is for the cover of the 2022 – 2023 school agenda cover.
  • The selected cover will be featured on next year’s Junior School agenda 
  • The cover must include:
    • This title: “Havergal College Junior School Agenda”
    • The Year: 2022-2023
    • Original artwork about the Havergal community, Havergal Houses, and colourful
    • Your signature and grade level
  • Please also note:
    • The picture must be drawn in a portrait layout, not landscape.
    • The due date is Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
    • Drop your submissions to white mailbox outside of the Art Room.
    • Direct questions to Ms. Mastri at rmastri@havergal.on.ca

Celebration Saturday is Back! Save the Date- Saturday, September 24

  • We are excited to announce that Celebration Saturday, our community event and fundraiser for our community partners is back! 
  • All students JK – 12  participate in this special day and we hope families, friends, and neighbours will join us for fun, food and festivity as we gather as a whole school community to celebrate our mission in action. 
  • We will be  looking for volunteers to help with the stalls, bbq,  ticket sales and of course our famous silent auction!  Stay tuned for details and mark your calendars for this event – you won’t want to miss it!

REMINDERS

Chartwell’s Ordering Form 

  • For the week of May 30, you are invited to submit your lunch orders by Wednesday, May 25 at 12 noon: Chartwell’s Order Form

Before & After School Co-curriculars 

GO-VAXX Mobile Vaccine Clinic at Havergal on Saturday, May 21

  • On Saturday, May 21, GO-VAXX mobile vaccine bus will return to Havergal’s Upper School parking lot (1451 Avenue Road) from 10 am to 6 pm to provide Pfizer first, second, third and booster doses for those ages 12 and up, as well as paediatric Pfizer vaccines for children ages five to 11. Vaccinations are available to everyone—students, parents, faculty and staff, Old Girls/Alums—as well as friends, neighbours and beyond. All are welcome!
  • GO-VAXX is a partnership between the Ontario government and Metrolinx, whereby GO buses have been converted to serve as mobile vaccine clinics to provide a safe, reliable and convenient option for people to receive their COVID-19 vaccine.  
  • Walk-ins are available, while supplies last. To book an appointment, visit the COVID-19 vaccination portal or call the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900. Bookings are available starting Friday, May 20. Visit Ontario.ca/vaccinebus for more information.
  • Go-Vaxx Flyer 

Library Book Returns

  • The official due date for all student check-outs is Monday, June 6th, but it would be very helpful if any books that students are finished with could be returned sooner rather than later.
  • If you would like a list of your child’s check outs, please email Ms. Rodd at erodd@havergal.on.ca 

DATES ON THE HORIZON

Victoria Day Weekend

  • Monday, May 23 –  No School

House Shout – House Dress Down Day

  • Tuesday, May 24 @ 1:45 pm 
  • All students are invited to wear their House colours
  • The whole school comes together outside and presents cheers in their Houses.
  • Arrival and Dismissal times remain the same.

Grade 6 Celebration – In Person, Grade 6 families invited

  • Tuesday, June 14 (4:30 – 5:30 pm) 

JS Closing Ceremony – In Person, JS Families Welcome to Attend

  • Wednesday, June 15 
    • Half Day Schedule: 8:25 am – 12:00 pm
    • Ceremony takes place in JS Gym at 11:00 am
    • 12:00 pm dismissal

A Message From the Head of the Junior School – Friday, May 15, 2022

On By havergaljuniorschoolLeave a comment

Dear Junior School Family,

What a wonderful week of sunshine and heat! Our Track and Field Trip had another fabulous day competing at York University, and made us all proud, not only by their skills but by how well they represented themselves and the school!

I also wanted to say thank you for taking the time each week to carefully read the  JS blog.  This is one of our primary means of communicating with you, so that you are up to speed on all of the “need to know” information. We do this to help keep all the information in one place, parents are not inundated with multiple emails, and information is easily found, as opposed to searching through your inbox. Many families have found it helpful to bookmark the link for ease of reference. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Warmly, 

Kate White – Head, Junior School

Today’s blog contains information on the following:

UPDATES

Student Wellbeing Survey – Feedback and Next Steps

On May 3, students in Grades 2 to 5, 6 to 8 and 7 to 12 participated in three separate wellbeing surveys – known as the School Resilience Survey – designed to collect information to help us assess the future needs of our wellbeing programming. 

Thank you to those parents who reached out to engage in conversations and share feedback on the survey. We sincerely appreciate your feedback and will bring these key learnings forward for future initiatives.

Purpose of the Survey

The goal of the survey was to: 

  • Assess student perceptions and experiences 
  • Identify strengths and weaknesses of key grade-level wellbeing indicators 
  • Better understand the concerns of children growing up in our community
  • Learn how best to continue promoting positive development among our students

To help support us in our journey, we worked with an independent third-party team of industry-leading scientists, clinicians and consultants at Authentic Connections, who are committed to helping high achieving schools measure, track and improve wellbeing and resilience. 

Authentic Connections and Survey Measures 

The School Resilience Survey is an extension of the work of Dr. Suniya Luthar – Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer of Authentic Connections – to study and promote positive youth development. Dr. Luthar is Professor Emerita at Columbia University’s Teachers College, where she served as professor and senior advisor to the Provost. She was also previously on the faculty at Yale University’s School of Medicine. 

The Authentic Connections surveys (Children’s Resilience Survey and High Achieving Schools Survey) measured how our students are doing on important indicators of mental health,  learning efficacy, sense of community connectedness, risk-taking behaviours and relationships such as student-parent, peer to peer and student-teacher. 

All individual responses were entirely anonymous; no identifying information – including IP addresses – were sent to the Authentic Connections research team or Havergal.We are not able to share a copy of the surveys due to the fact that we do not own the rights to share or distribute the survey.

Survey Findings

The survey findings will provide us with a list of next steps to drive meaningful improvements at Havergal and help us determine programming that will meet the specific needs of our students. We believe the themes will offer valuable insights to both parents and teachers when identifying and addressing issues and concerns.

If you have any further questions please reach out to Dr. Meagan Yarmey, Director of Wellbeing. 

Amazing Race – Sunday, May 15 (1:00 pm – 4:00 pm)

  • Event Day Itinerary
    • 12:30 pm – Registration and swag pick up in Brenda Robson Hall 
    • 1:00 pm –  Opening Ceremony
    • 1:20 pm – Race begins
    • 3:00 pm – Race ends and party begins
    • 3:30 pm – Race results announced 
    • 4:00 pm – Event concludes
  • Please note the following:
    • Please park in the Upper School parking lots, and if possible, on the surrounding streets, or walk if you can.
    • There will be no food served before the event, so please try and have some lunch beforehand.
    • Professional photographers will be set up in the hall to take a picture of you and your child(ren) as a keepsake from the event. Please ensure you take your photos before 1 pm as the booth will close when the race begins. Your photos will be ready for pick-up following the race.
    • Wear running shoes, moveable clothing and please bring sunscreen. Washrooms will be available to use inside the Upper School.
    • Be Green and please bring your own re-useable water bottles. 
    • Lastly, leave your humility at home. We expect some great dancing and participation from everyone! Let’s all celebrate a return to in-person gatherings and the arrival of spring with some great Havergal spirit.
  • Questions? 

GO-VAXX Mobile Vaccine Clinic at Havergal on May 21

  • On Saturday, May 21, GO-VAXX mobile vaccine bus will return to Havergal’s Upper School parking lot (1451 Avenue Road) from 10 am to 6 pm to provide Pfizer first, second, third and booster doses for those ages 12 and up, as well as paediatric Pfizer vaccines for children ages five to 11. Vaccinations are available to everyone—students, parents, faculty and staff, Old Girls/Alums—as well as friends, neighbours and beyond. All are welcome!
  • GO-VAXX is a partnership between the Ontario government and Metrolinx, whereby GO buses have been converted to serve as mobile vaccine clinics to provide a safe, reliable and convenient option for people to receive their COVID-19 vaccine.  
  • Walk-ins are available, while supplies last. To book an appointment, visit the COVID-19 vaccination portal or call the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900. Bookings are available starting Friday, May 20. Visit Ontario.ca/vaccinebus for more information.
  • Go-Vaxx Flyer 

Library Book Returns

  • It’s time to start thinking about returning our library books! The official due date for all student check outs is Monday June 6th, but it would be very helpful if any books that students are finished with could be returned sooner rather than later.
  • If you would like a list of your child’s check outs, please email Ms. Rodd.

REMINDERS

Chartwell’s Ordering Form 

  • For the week of May 23, you are invited to submit your lunch orders by Wednesday, May 18 at 12 noon: Chartwell’s Order Form

Before & After School Co-curricular Schedule & Highlights

DATES ON THE HORIZON

Amazing Race 

  • Sunday, May 15 (details above)

Victoria Day Weekend

  • Monday, May 23 –  No School

House Shout – House Dress Down Day

  • Tuesday, May 24 @ 1:00 pm
  • This is a much-beloved tradition at Havergal that we are happy to bring back! The whole school comes together outside and presents cheers in their houses.
  • Arrival and Dismissal times remain the same.

Grade 6 Celebration – In Person, Grade 6 families invited

  • Tuesday, June 14 (4:00 pm – 5:00 pm) 

JS Closing Ceremony – In Person, JS families welcome to attend

  • 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

A Message From the Head of the Junior School: Friday, May 6, 2022

On By havergaljuniorschoolLeave a comment

Dear Junior School Parents,

It was another fantastic week in the Junior School! Our Grade 6s invited students to House Breakfast throughout the week, where we celebrated each of the ten houses, culminating in a House Colour Day on Thursday. A special thanks to Chartwells for making this so special. After a number of early morning practices, our Track and Field Team went on their first meet, competing with other schools at York University. It was so exciting to see them load the buses and then return to the school beaming from the experience. Grade 6s also went on their second field trip, where they challenged themselves by “Tree-Top Trekking.” Finally, we were thrilled to welcome our new families to a cocktail party in the JS Dining Hall! The sense of community I felt this week was truly inspiring.  

Warmly, 

Kate White – Head, Junior School

Today’s blog contains information on the following:

UPDATES

Morning Gator Care: Monday, May 9

  • Since our dining hall is serving as an examination hall on Monday, May 9, we are moving our morning Gator Care service down the hallway to the Art Room.
  • Please park, as usual, in the back parking lot and make your way along the back pathway; green signs will lead you to the relevant doorway just past the dining hall.
  • Gator Care will be back in the dining hall that afternoon.

REMINDERS

Chartwell’s Ordering Form 

  • For the week of May 16, you are invited to submit your lunch orders by Wednesday, May 11 at 12 noon: Chartwell’s Order Form

Before & After School Co-curricular Schedule & Highlights

  • Athletic Highlights:
    • Tuesday May 10th
      • Gr. 4-6 mini track meet at Lawrence Park (7:00 – 8:45 am)
      • Please be mindful as this will conflict with Tuesday’s Wellbeing time 
      • 6A will be dismissed from the track meet at 8:15am so they can be back for their Studio Day which starts at 8:30 am
    • Thursday, May 12th 
      • Track Meet @ York University
      • Dismissal from class @ 8:35 am 
      • Bus Departs @ 8:50 am (from Rosewell Ave) 
      • Bus Returns 4:15 pm
      • Students may come dressed for the track meet

DATES ON THE HORIZON

Celebrating Eid

  • With this special month drawing to a close, we would invite our students who observe to wear celebratory dress on Friday, May 13.

Victoria Day Weekend

  • Monday, May 23 –  No School

House Shout – House Dress Down Day

  • Tuesday, May 24 @ 1:00 pm
  • This is a much-beloved tradition at Havergal that we are happy to bring back! The whole school comes together outside and presents cheers in their houses.
  • Arrival and Dismissal times remain the same.

Grade 6 Celebration – In Person, Grade 6 families invited

  • Tuesday, June 14 (4pm – 5:00 pm) 

JS Closing Ceremony – In Person (JS families welcome to attend)

  • 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