Month: October 2021

Upper School College Blog – Friday, October 29, 2021

On By Havergal Upper SchoolLeave a comment

Dear Parents,

This past week we have been preparing for Halloween here in the Upper School. You will be able to see some photos of the amazing doors the students put together in their form/advisory groups at the end of the blog and on our Instagram pages. 

While the doors are works of art, it is not only the finished product that is the purpose of the activity.  It is the process of planning and decorating which requires collaboration and communication between members of that form/advisory group that is truly at the centre. These moments make up part of our larger strategy to support your child as we move through this pandemic.  The community and friendships that are built in their form/advisory group will give students yet another place to find support and camaraderie.

The US Blog contains information and updates on the following: 

Sincerely,

JJ Patterson, Head of Middle School

Deirdre Timusk, Head of Senior School

Update Report Card – Monday, November 8 @4 pm

Parents and students will be able to access the update report card on Monday, November 8 at 4 pm through Veracross. For details on the report card format and how to access the report, please click here.

Winter Athletics – Coming Soon!

Winter athletics registration will open on Tuesday, November 2 and will close on Monday, November 8th. If your child wishes to try out for a winter sports team, be sure to look for an email from Carla Di FIlippo, Athletics Director, with registration details. The registration link will open November 2 and parents are required to complete the registration. Tryouts will take place between Tuesday, November 16th and Tuesday, November 30th. Please reference either the Veracross Calendar or the Havergal 2021-2022 Schedule (tab 2: Winter 2021-2022) for tryout times and locations. The following winter sports will be offered:

  • Alpine Skiing – U14, U16/U20
  • Badminton – U13, U14, U16, U20
  • Curling – U20
  • Hockey – U14, U20 D1
  • Nordic Skiing – U14, U20
  • Rowing – U16, U20
  • Rugby Training – U16, U20
  • Swimming – U13/U14 and U16/U20
  • Volleyball – U13D1, U13 D2, U14 D1, U14 D2, U16D1, U16D2, U20
  • Yoga 

Take Home PCR COVID-19 Tests

This week we have launched our Take Home PCR Saliva Test Kit Program, in partnership with SickKids Hospital. These kits are available to any students, or household members who have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, have a risk/close contact identified by TPH or who are part of an identified cohort or outbreak. Please contact the Upper School nurse at ext. 4712 or covid@havergal.on.ca if you would like to pick up, or drop off a kit. Kits are to be dropped off to a Health Centre nurse, or at the Junior School Main Entrance; the sample is then sent by courier to SickKids for testing. Please see this document for details on the program: Take Home COVID-19 PCR Saliva Testing Program. 

SickKids Hospital COVID-19 Vaccine Consult Service

SickKids Hospital is offering a COVID-19 Vaccine consult service that is available to all children and families in Ontario. It is a by-appointment phone service that provides a safe, judgement-free space to have an open conversation. Please see their FLYER for additional details.

Donation for Remembrance Day Poppy

On Monday, November 8, Remembrance Day Prayers will honour all those who have served in Canada’s Armed Forces. The annual Poppy Drive is tirelessly administered and steered by older Canadian Veterans with whom Havergal has had a relationship for over a decade. We will be distributing poppies to all students in Grades 7 through 12 during Form and TA. Students are invited to donate money to the Canadian Legion at the time of poppy distribution. If you would like to learn about the ways in which the Poppy Fund Drive supports veterans and their families, please visit this link: Poppy Trust Fund.

Students in the Building after School

After school, students are welcome to remain in the school building should they need to remain until their pick-up time. They can work in the Resource Centre (RC) or their Form/Advisory room. At 6pm, there will be an announcement asking that any students who are still in the building report to the security desk in the front rotunda where they need to remain until departure.

The Middle School Study Buddies Program

The Study Buddies program is a student-led program where students in the Middle School can access academic support from a Senior School student mentor across various subject areas. Study Buddies provides time and space for students to work on homework and projects, and to get feedback, organizational, and study tips.  This is a mentorship program where students collaborate and learn from peers while making meaningful connections along the way.

Led by Ashley Tang and Madison Myers, the mentors are available Monday – Thursday from 3:45 pm – 5:00 pm for drop-in sessions at school and by Zoom appointment at other times. Middle School students have received the Study Buddy mentor schedule and slide show this week via email. Follow the Study Buddies Instagram account where we provide study tips, celebrate success stories, and offer updates @hcstudybuddies. If you have any questions regarding the program, please reach out Carrie Steele, Middle School Guidance Counsellor and Learning Support Specialist.

Parent-Teacher Interview Feedback Form

Thank you for attending the Parent-Teacher Interviews held last Thursday and Friday. We welcome your feedback in an effort to continuously improve our events and experiences for our parents. Please share your feedback through this Form. The form will remain open until Wednesday, November 3.

Dates on the Horizon

Nov 2 – 8 Winter Athletics Registration is Open 

Nov 8 @4 pm Report Cards available via Parent Portal on Veracross

Nov 10 @6 pm Boarding School closes for Mid-Term break

Nov 11 – 15 (inclusive) Mid-Term Break – school is closed

Upper School College Blog – Friday, October 15, 2021

On By Havergal Upper SchoolLeave a comment

Latest News

Parent-Teacher Interviews

When do they take place?

  • Thursday, October 21 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm 
  • Friday, October 22 from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm 

Registration

  • Opened: Tuesday, October 12 at 6:00 pm
  • Closes: Tuesday, October 19 at 6:00 pm 

Will Parent-Teacher Conferences be held at school, or on Zoom?

  • All Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held over Zoom.
  • You will receive your Zoom links through the Pick-A-Time site once you are registered.
  • All Zoom links for this event will have the same password: 1451

How to sign up:

  • In order to sign-up, please go to Pick-A-Time 
  • A ‘Forgot Password’ link is available on the Pick-A-time website if needed.

Assistance:

  • For assistance with Pick-A-time, contact our Service Desk at 416-483-3843 ext.6663 between the hours of 7:30am -5:00pm, Monday to Friday.
  • PickAtime does not permit the scheduling of back-to-back appointments. However, if you are the parent of two or more students that have the same teacher or if you are the parent of three or more Upper School students please contact Ms. Ladak (sladak@havergal.on.ca) by Friday, October 15 before noon and she will help you to book the appointments.
  • If you wish to meet with your student’s Guidance Counsellor, please email them individually by Friday, October 15 to book an appointment.

Clubs are starting!

On Tuesday, October 19th, all Middle School (Grades 7-8) and Senior School (Grades 9-12) clubs will begin. Registration for clubs opened up following Club Fest where club leaders were given the opportunity to showcase their club to all students, and registration closed on Tuesday, Oct 12th. Middle School students are required to join a club and Senior School students are strongly encouraged. 

Getting to Know Our New Students

In order to welcome new students to the Havergal community and allow them to get to know the Head of School, the Grade 7 &  9 students, and any new students in other grades, will be invited to a 1:1 meeting over the next several weeks. These meetings help to grow and develop connections so that we are able to support your child as part of our circle of care. 

From the Green & Gold Shop

The long-awaited locker shelves and master locks are back in stock. Please let your child know these items are available to purchase to help organize and secure their belongings. The Green & Gold shop welcomes their visits before and after school, and during lunch. The hours are as follows:

8:00 AM to 8:30 AM

12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

3:30 PM to 4:00 PM

Terry Fox Run/Walk

Wellbeing Prefects Hillary & Erin led the Terry Fox Run on campus this week for both the Middle and Senior School. Students returned to their advisory groups after the run to watch a Terry Fox video and have small group discussions.

News from Form & Advisory: Cultural Appropriation & Allyship

Over the next few weeks students will be taking part in interactive DEI lessons in their Form and Advisory classes on Cultural Appropriation and Allyship. These lessons will touch on what these concepts mean, how students’ identities are situated in relation to their understanding of these terms, what they look like societally and in our school environment, and what students can do to address issues related to these topics. As we work towards building a more equitable and inclusive school community, it is imperative that we learn how to be better allies and advocates to marginalized folks and the issues that impact them. Please reach out to Raagini Appadurai, Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at rappadurai@havergal.on.ca should you have any questions. 

Take Your Kid to Work Day

Traditionally, for our Grade 9 students, early November means a trip to the office with a parent or family friend to learn more about a career. This year the Grade 9s will be taking part in an online version of this day during their advisory period on November 10th and having small group discussions. 

School Photos

Your child’s school photograph is now available for purchase. The link where you can view and order your child’s photograph is www.echophotography.ca/havergal2021. Your password will be your child’s student ID number. If there are any issues with the link, or if you have any questions, our school photographer, Mr. Cameron Hubbs, at cameron@echophotography.ca and he will be more than happy to help. 

Dates on the Horizon

Oct 21, 6 – 8 pm, Parent Teacher Interviews

Oct 22, 8 am – 3 pm, Parent Teacher Interviews

Oct 22, No classes for students due to PT Interviews

Nov 10, 6 pm, Boarding School closes for break

Nov 11 – 15 (inclusive) Mid-Term Break – school is closed

Upper School College Blog – Friday, October 1, 2021

On By Havergal Upper SchoolLeave a comment

Latest News

Parent/Teacher Conferences

The first Upper School Parent/Teacher Conferences of the school year will take place virtually via Zoom on:

Thursday, October 21     6:00pm – 8:00pm 

Friday, October 22        8:00am – 12:00 pm & 12:30 – 3:00pm 

The online conference booking system used by Havergal College is called pickAtime. To access or create a pickAtime account please CLICK HERE.  Please make sure to select the “Upper School” option in the drop down menu when making your selection.

  • pickAtime sign-up will open on Tuesday, October 12, at 6:00pm 
  • pickAtime sign-up will close on Tuesday, October 19, at 6:00pm
  • If you need to make any changes after this time, please contact the teacher directly to coordinate. 
  • pickAtime does not permit the scheduling of back-to-back appointments. However, if you are the parent of two or more students that have the same teacher or if you are the parent of three or more Upper School students please contact Ms. Ladak (sladak@havergal.on.ca) by Friday October 15 before noon and she will help you to book the appointments.
  • If you wish to meet with your student’s Guidance Counsellor, please email them individually by Friday, October 15 to book an appointment. 

In order to have the best possible experience at the upcoming event, it is strongly recommended that your Zoom application be updated to the latest version. The following information and links have been provided by our IT department for your use:

For assistance with pickAtime, please contact the Service Desk at servicedesk@havergal.on.ca and they will assist you. Their hours of operation are from Monday – Friday 7:30 am to 5 pm.

Gentle Reminders re: SchoolPass & Morning Arrival Time

  • When entering an absence, early dismissal, or late arrival in the SchoolPass app, it is important to use the ‘Notes’ field to provide a reason. This information is critical for our school records and it allows us to know how the school can best support your child.
  • If your child is absent, their wellness screening must be completed for each day they are absent, regardless of the reason for absence. This is important so we have up-to-date wellness information for our community.
  • Please leave a little extra time to get to school so your child is able to scan in before heading to class.

Finally, we wanted to let you know that we experienced a system error this morning with SchoolPass. You may have received an automated email from SchoolPass. Please disregard this email.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Truth and Reconciliation Week & Orange Shirt Day

There is a branch of psychological research that has confirmed the benefits of “autonomy support.” When you unpack this term simply it means that humans fundamentally need to experience a sense of agency and ownership of their work. The role of schools, says Alfie Kohn, author of 14 books about schools including The Schools Our Children Deserve,  is to “give students chances to make meaningful decisions.” This past week of Truth and Reconciliation activities was a showcase for the meaningful decisions the students at Havergal are capable of making. Over 30 students from grades 7-12 worked together in teams to design two separate Prayers, five days of lunch activities and the advising curriculum for all of the Upper School students. Their work helped to educate students about the importance of learning about the truth of the Indigenous experience as well as how to move towards reconciliation. Thank you to Neve ‘24 and her mother, Kathleen Padulo, for speaking at Prayers this past week. 

Terry Fox Run

Wellbeing Prefects, Erin Howard and Hillary Shaba, have been planning the Upper School Terry Fox Run and advisory period. Students will take a short run/walk on HC property and spend the advisory period reflecting on how cancer continues to play a big part in the lives of so many people. Middle School will run Oct 5 and Senior School Oct 6.

Food services reminder

Please submit your child’s food order by 12 pm every Wednesday for the following week using the online Upper School School Lunch Ordering Form. Use the same link each week and direct any questions to chartwellsfood

Library Resources

The Havergal Upper School library is in full swing to support our students’ reading and research needs. Upper School students are able to work in the library space before and after school, at lunch and during spare periods. In addition to monitoring the wearing of masks and ensuring students are physically distanced, our safety protocols include cleaning tables/chairs and library spaces regularly throughout the day. Our library program strives to meet the different needs and interests of our students and to develop lifelong, independent, and information literate learners who love to read! Students are able to browse and borrow print books. In addition, your Havergal library offers many fantastic digital resources. Our library website is accessible once you have logged into the Havergal Community Portal.  The Library Websites link on the side menu takes you to a page where you can choose to visit either the Junior or Upper School Library Website. Please contact Ms. Genevieve Shepherd, Head of Library (gshepherd@havergal.on.ca) if you have any questions.

Community Partnerships

Students in Grades 9 – 12 will have a chance to learn about our Community Partnerships at Club and Community Partnership Fest during House time on Tuesday, October 5. Sign-up for Partnerships will open later that day at 5 pm. Please note, we are working with our partners to identify how best to operate this year given COVID-19 safety protocols. For descriptions of our partnerships click here. For any questions, please contact Anastasia Wowk (awowk@havergal.on.ca).

Toronto Public Health Update re: Cancellation of In-School Immunization Clinics

Further to the US Blog update on Sept 17, Toronto Public Health has asked that we send this information along to parents regarding the cancellation of in-school immunization clinics for grades 7-12 students for: 

  • Meningococcal-ACYW to prevent meningitis
  • Human papillomavirus (HPV) to prevent cancers
  • Hepatitis-B

People & Program Evening Feedback

Thank you for using the google form to provide your feedback on the People & Program evening. If you have missed any teacher presentations, please use Veracross to access the recordings located on each class page.

Reminder from the Green & Gold Shop

If you have been notified that your order is ready for pick-up, your child is welcome to visit the Green & Gold Shop before or after school, or during lunch to collect their items.

Upcoming Dates

October 8 PD Day, no school for students

October 11 School Closed – Thanksgiving Day

October 12-19 Sign up for Parent/Teacher Conferences 

October 21, 22 Parent/Teacher ConferencesOctober 22 No school for students due to Parent/Teacher Conferences