Dear Parents,

Welcome to your weekly Havergal College Upper School newsletter, appropriately called “The Weekly.” You will receive this every Friday afternoon and we recommend that you bookmark this page using this updated link. In it you will find news – and reminders – about upcoming events in the Havergal Community. Please read it each week in order to stay up-to-date with registrations for excursions, co-curriculars and student social events. You will be able to easily access previous editions of this newsletter in our Parent Portal.

We are very excited to welcome all of our returning families and students back to school and we extend a warm welcome to our new families who are joining us.

We look forward to seeing you back on campus in the coming weeks at our People & Program evenings and at Celebration Saturday on Saturday, September 24. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. 

Today’s edition contains updates on the following: 

• COVID-19 Update
• Reporting Student Attendance – Change in Procedure 
• People & Program Evenings
• Senior School (Grade 9-12) Trip Information
• Grade 7 Excursion to Kilcoo Trip Information & Registration
• Space Camp
• Athletics Registration
• Arts Registration
• Celebration Saturday
• Wellbeing – Supporting Your Child’s Transition Back to School
• Chartwells Update
• Dates on the Horizon

Best regards,

Cissy Goodridge, Head of Middle School 

Deirdre Timusk, Head of Senior School 

Latest News

COVID-19 Update

We are looking forward to a full return to school and programs. A couple of key highlights as we head into the 2022-2023 school year:

•  Vaccination Policy – All students (age 5 and older as of July 1, 2022) and employees are required to meet the Ontario Health definition of fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Please note, booster shots are not included in the government’s definition of full vaccination.
• Mask Friendly – Havergal continues to be a mask friendly environment. However, unless directed by Ministry of Health guidelines, students or employees are not required to wear masks.
• As you may be aware the Chief Medical Officer of Health made changes to the isolation requirements for COVID-19. The focus has shifted from just COVID-19 symptoms to address considerations for other respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses that are likely to circulate over the coming months.
• Anyone who is feeling sick or has any new or worsening symptoms of illness, including those not listed in this screening tool, should stay home until their symptoms are improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours for nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea) and they do not have a fever, and seek assessment from their health care provider if needed. The presence of symptoms, particularly respiratory symptoms, increases the risk of transmitting to others.

Reporting Student Attendance – Change in Procedure

We introduced SchoolPass last year as an all-in-one resource including attendance reporting. Unfortunately, this integration did not work effectively. Instead, we will be using Veracross for reporting student attendance for all students in JK to 12. This system provides an easy way for parents to directly report student absences, lates or early dismissals with no need for phone calls or emails.

• A link for reporting attendance is available directly on the Parent Portal homepage. We recommend you bookmark the link.
• If a student will be arriving late, leaving early or absent for the day, parents must notify the school in advance using the link above in Veracross. If a student is absent from school and there is no record in Veracross, the Junior School Office or the Day School Office will be in touch with parents by email and/or phone.

Instructions for using Veracross can be found here. It is important to review these instructions and be familiar with how to report a student absence through Veracross.

People & Program Evenings

Senior School – Thursday, September 8, 6:00 – 8:15 PM, light refreshments at 5:30pm

• Grade 12 parents have a meeting with the Head of Guidance, Heather Johnstone and Grade 11/12 Guidance Counselor Jennifer Mandala from 8:20 pm to 9:00 pm about Post Secondary Planning & the University Admission Process.

Middle School – Monday, September 12, 6:00 – 8:15 PM

• Grade 7 parents have a meeting with the Head of Middle School, Cissy Goodridge, to learn about the upcoming overnight excursion to Camp Kilcoo from September 21 – 23.
• Grade 8 parents have a meeting with Languages Teacher, Alex Denis, to learn about the winter excursion to St. Donat.

Senior School (Grades 9-12) Trip Information: Wednesday, September 14 – Friday, September 16

Students will depart from both the Junior School and the Senior School as per the schedule below. On Friday, September 16, you will receive an email once the buses have departed the camps, with their anticipated arrival time. Please find a packing list here. If you have any questions please contact Deirdre Timusk.
If your child is in Grade 9, please complete and submit this waiver for Camp New Moon. If your child is in Grade 12, please complete and submit this waiver for Campfire Circle Camp. These should be returned to Ms. Danto’s office in B10 as soon as possible.

Grade 7 Excursion to Kilcoo

The Grade 7 overnight excursion to Camp Kilcoo will run from September 21 – 23. Camp Kilcoo is located on Highway 25, just south of Minden.  This excursion is a wonderful way for the Grade 7s to get to know  each other through unique camp activities.They create memories with their peers, and bond with the Grade 12 student leaders who will be accompanying them. Below, you will find an information letter which contains the registration link to the excursion. Please join us in the Brenda Robson Hall, for the Kilcoo Parent Information evening, on September 12, following the People & Program event.

Kilcoo Parent Letter Fall 2022 including link to registration and camp waiver

Space Camp 2022 – 2023

An opportunity for students to participate in Space Academy (Grades 7 & 8) and Advanced Space Academy (Grade 9 – 12). This is a highly engaging STEM experience that requires no previous experience or expertise in STEM. It is a fun program emphasizing learning and leadership. Read more about the program and application HERE.

Athletics Registration

On Wednesday, September 7, you and your child will receive an email from Carla Di Filippo with the fall sports registration details. Only parents can register their children for fall sports. Registration for these programs closes on Monday, September 12 at 12:00 pm. The athletics tryout schedule is available on the Veracross parent portal under “My Calendar” or can be viewed by clicking THIS LINK. Tryouts take place over a  two week period: September 12 – 16th and 19 – 23rd. If you have any questions, please contact Carla Di Filippo, Director of Athletics, at cdifilippo@havergal.on.ca. 

Arts Registration

Arts registration and auditions will be held during the weeks of September 12 – 16 and September 19 – 23. A registration link will open on Monday September 12 and close on Friday September 23. Sign-up information for Choir and Drama can be found outside of room B03 and the Theatre, respectively.

Celebration Saturday, September 24, 2022

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at Celebration Saturday – a fundraiser for our wonderful community partners.  Join us on Saturday, September 24 from 9:00am – 1:00pm for House and Grade games, House Stalls, a Junior School midway, BBQ, Marketplace, a Silent Auction and more.  Watch for a communication with more details the week of September 12.  We hope to see you there!/

Wellbeing – Supporting your children with back-to-school transitions

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of going back to school. It’s a time of excitement and transition – a new grade, new friendships, new concepts, maybe even a new milestone. As parents, getting the new school year off to a good start is something we all want: It impacts our kids’ attitude, confidence, and performance both socially and academically. There are lots of reasons to look forward to the upcoming school year and we have a few suggestions below to help promote a happy and successful school experience for all. 

Plan ahead – It’s important to ensure that your child has a balance between school, study, extracurricular activities, family time, and their other interests. Decide with your child what their priorities are, dedicate time to them, and then map out time for them to spend how they like. 

Provide structure and predictability – Develop and stick to healthy weekday routines. Having a specific morning, evening and sleep routine during the school year can help ease worries and uncertainties. If possible, provide consistent after-school activities that they can look forward to. Practicing and role modelling these routines yourself will also help reinforce consistency and what is expected of your child.

Talk with your kids – Asking kids about what they are looking forward to about the upcoming school year, or what they think might be different than previous years, can offer clues about how they’re feeling. Should your child identify things they are anxious about, talk about ways to address the issue and practice coping strategies to manage their anxiety, such as taking pauses, deep breathing, or finding opportunities to take a break. Try to remember to keep your own anxieties or opinions about the school year out of the conversation.

Take care of your physical and mental health – Promote healthy eating habits, fun physical activities, family time, and relaxation. Consider journaling as it’s been found to positively impact our mental health and wellbeing. 

Here is an article written by Dr. Lisa Damour, Executive Director of Laurel School’s Center of Research on Girls for the New York Times, on 

How to Support Teenagers as They Head Back to School

Our Middle School families might be interested in reading this article on What to Expect in Middle School: Strategies for Parents from Dr. Lisa Damour

We are looking forward to an exciting new year.

Dr Yarmey

Director of Wellbeing

Chartwells Update

Our food provider, Chartwells, will begin using reusable containers for meals taken out of the dining hall, and china plates for meals eaten in the dining hall, both with silverware. There will be drop-off stations available, where students can return their containers anytime during the day.

Dates on the Horizon

Tuesday September 6

• Professional Development Day for Employees
• Boarding Students arrive and move in
• No school for students

Wednesday, September 7

• Orientation Day Grade 7 and new students all day
• Opening day Grade 8-12 in the afternoon
• Photo Day for all Upper School students
• #1 Dress (Uniform)

Thursday, September 8

• #1 Dress (Uniform)
• First Day of Classes: Day 1, 8:30 am 
• Parents: People and Program Night – 5:30 pm, refreshments; 6 pm, presentations

Friday, September 9

• Late Start: 9:30 am 
• Day 2