Upper School College Blog – Thursday, February 17, 2022

On By Havergal Upper School

Dear Parents,

What a week! The halls of Havergal are still reverberating with the cheers and laughter of the students this week. Spirit Week helped to bring some fun and excitement to help get everyone through the winter.

The week opened with every student being greeted by a valentine on their locker, and the fun and games kept coming. You can see below the images from this week which show our students having fun and smiling, even through their masks, while playing bench ball with great enthusiasm and vigour. 

Hockey Day was a wonderful experience and it was so great for the Class of 2022 to be able to experience it in person for their last time as students. 

Each grade met several times to practice their cheer in order to win the cheer-off on Thursday. Seeing the students of each class all together in one space planning, practising and cheering was such a delight to witness. These moments in time help our students create the memories and bonds that will last a lifetime. 

This week’s US Blog contains information and updates on the following: 

We hope you enjoy a lovely Family Day long weekend. 

Sincerely,

JJ Patterson, Head of Middle School

Deirdre Timusk, Head of Senior School

Latest News

Updates on COVID-19 Protocols & School Visitors

As the province eases some of the COVID-19 public health measures, Havergal will be implementing a gradual and safe approach to having visitors on campus. All visitors will still be required to complete a wellness screening and provide proof of vaccination along with valid photo identification upon entry to the school. 

Guests will now be permitted to visit the school for appointments and Prayers. For athletics, performing arts, and other Havergal group events there are slightly different protocols based on the capacity limits of spaces. 

  • Athletics – If you are attending an athletics event, you will need to check in at the Athletic Centre doors by completing an online Wellness screening and showing proof of vaccination (with ID). Please note that spectators are permitted into the building a maximum of 30 min before the athletic event.
  • Performing arts and other events – If you are attending performing arts or another Havergal group event you will receive instructions from your event organizer regarding entry, screening, and proof of vaccination requirements, as they may vary depending on the size of the event and the space where the event is being held.

Next week following the February Break, we will begin a rotational schedule that allows three grades to experience Prayers in-person, together in the Brenda Robson Hall. Two grades will be seated on the floor and one grade will be seated in the gallery, to help maintain appropriate physical distancing. We are looking forward to having students attend Prayers in person in the coming weeks!

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us protect the wellness of our school community and ensuring we are taking every precaution to keep students learning in person on campus. 

Additional Resources

Restricted Access to Classes via Zoom – starting February 22, 2022

Starting Tuesday, February 22, 2022, accessing classes via Zoom will only be available for students isolating due to COVID-19 or those with a medical/visa accommodation.

  • If a student is away due to COVID-19 isolation, families should communicate this to the school by putting a note/reason in SchoolPass that says “isolating.” It might take up to 24hrs for teachers to make their Zoom links available to a student depending on when we get the information. Assessments will be written in person unless the teacher requests otherwise. 
  • If students are going to be away for longer than 5 days, please contact your child’s Head of School to discuss the situation. Extended absences will include access to class materials on Veracross and asynchronous work only. Access to zoom links will not be permitted.

Senior School Plays

The Senior School is putting on two plays this year, both of which are running this week at 4pm and 7pm. 

  • The Orphan Train, our 9/10 play,is the story of a few of the 250,000 orphans that were transported from New York City and other large urban centres to homes in the midwest to get adopted. The Orphan Train is at 7pm on Thursday (Feb 24) and at 4pm on Friday (Feb 25).
  • 13 Past Midnight, our 11/12 play,is a murder mystery farce that will keep you guessing and laughing until the end. 13 Past Midnight, is at 4pm on Thursday (Feb 24th) and Friday (Feb 25) at 7pm.

If your child would like to see the shows in person they can buy tickets to the 4 pm shows in the Temerty Commons at lunchtime, find Ms. Morris in the English/Drama office, or they can buy them at the door. Tickets will be charged to the students’ accounts. Tickets are limited. We hope you will choose to celebrate the reopening of live theatre with us in the Legacy theatre this week.

The Earth Prize: Finalists

Congratulations to the Gators, Emily in Gr. 11 and Errita in Gr. 10, who have been named as finalists in The Earth Prize. The winner of this global environmental sustainability competition will be announced on March 25th and could potentially win $100,000 to be split in half between the winners and the school.  Other schools in the finals are Eton College in the UK and the International School of Zug and Luzern in Switzerland.  Good luck, Errita and Emily!

Leadership Information

With leadership season upon us please find here a few resources to help clarify the process. 

  • A letter for grade 11, grade 10 and grade 9 with basic information and dates. 
  • Here is the LINK to the video presentation from Wednesday night’s parent presentation.

Thank you to all the parents who attended. We hope it was helpful. If, after viewing the presentation, you have any feedback please share it with us here.

OSSLT (Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test) – Wednesday, April 27

On April 27, all Grade 10 &11 students will write the OSSLT in the morning and have in-person classes through the afternoon. This will not impact the Middle School classes and Grade 7 & 8 students will have in-person classes as per usual. However, due to restrictions and limitations on space throughout the testing period, Grade 9 & 12 students will have remote learning for the day. 

Book Drive for Children’s Book Bank

Get started on your spring cleaning early by donating to Havergal’s Book Drive which will be running from February 21st to March 10th! All donations will go to the Children’s Book Bank, an organisation that provides children and teens in need with access to literature. The Book Bank has asked for new or gently used books for ages up to 17 and is in need of graphic novels, comics and manga. There will be boxes around the school where students can place their book donations.

The Book Bank does not accept: Adult books, textbooks/school workbooks, books printed more than 10 years ago, self-published books, magazines, or damaged books.

We would really appreciate parent volunteers to help us drive the books down to the Children’s Book Bank, so please let us know if you are interested and we will send you further details. Feel free to email gshepherd@havergal.on.ca if you have any questions or would like to drive. 

Dates on the Horizon

March 3 & 4: Parent/Teacher Conferences

Photos from the Week

Anything But a Backpack!

Hockey Day!

Benchball Games!

Family Feud!

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