Thanksgiving Wishes

Dear Parents,

As we welcome Thanksgiving weekend, I want to thank you for your engagement during the first month of the year.  We know that sending your daughter to Havergal takes commitment on several fronts. Your support of the girls, our program, and our community makes providing an exceptional student experience possible. Whether attending games, performances and events like Celebration Saturday, sharing your constructive feedback, supporting our philanthropic initiatives or dedicating your time to the school, your contributions are deeply valued and positively impact our community.

As a learning organization, we endeavour to build empathy in our students for the challenges within our local and global community contexts. As we approach Thanksgiving weekend in the Upper School, we have taken time to learn, reflect and pray for the pain and suffering of others – those who are living in fear for their safety, subject to discrimination, hate and isolation, and those in our community who will not have enough to eat, even during this time where we celebrate the bountiful Harvest. This past week, we spent time in Upper School Prayers reflecting on how we can honour the various worries, wonders, joys and sorrows that each of us might carry into the school each day. We recognize people in our community continue to feel the impacts of global conflict and human suffering. It is imperative that we seek ways to support one another, recognizing that we all deserve to feel safe and to be treated with dignity. 

As we celebrate this Thanksgiving weekend and give thanks for our blessings, I ask that we hold those in our community who are impacted by conflict or hate, who are isolated or lonely, and those who are struggling here in our local community close in our hearts and minds. 

We wish you and your family a safe and joyful Thanksgiving and to those observing, a meaningful Yom Kippur.

Dr. Katrina Samson

Today’s edition of The Weekly contains information on the following:

UPPER SCHOOL (Gr. 7 – 12)

• Parent Speaker Series: The New Science of Finding Your Way
• Half Day and Early Dismissal on Tuesday, October 29 
• Parents Entering Lates and Absences on Veracross

MIDDLE SCHOOL (Gr. 7 – 8)

• MS Gator Games: Registration Open Now
• COSSOT Dances
• In Form This Week

SENIOR SCHOOL (Gr. 9 – 12)

• Canadian University Fair
• Music Retreat
• Take Our Kids To Work Day
• In Grade Programming This Week

HCPA

• Ivy Market
• Used Textbook Collection and Returns

NEXT WEEK IN THE UPPER SCHOOL

UPPER SCHOOL

Parent Speaker Series: The New Science of Finding Your Way

As part of our Parents as Partners Speaker Series, on Tuesday, October 29, Havergal is delighted to welcome the authors of How to Navigate Life: Dr. Belle Liang & Tim Klein. Their research and talk will focus on helping our kids find purpose and its vital connection to their wellbeing, and ours. The talk will be from 7 – 8:30 pm in the Legacy Theatre and will have relevant takeaways for parents of students of all ages (Grades JK – 12). Registration for the event can be found here.  

Our guest speakers will also be working with our students from Grades 7 – 12 during their day and running professional development with our faculty. This commitment to fostering purpose in students at Havergal and embedding its principles in our programming is a part of a year-long partnership with Liang and Klein and we welcome your partnership on this key next step in our commitment to wellbeing.

Half Day and Early Dismissal on Tuesday, October 29

We are thrilled that our teachers will have the opportunity to engage in professional development with Dr. Belle Liang & Tim Klein on Tuesday, October 29, prior to their presentation with our families. Students will be dismissed at 12:20 pm on this day. Blocks B and A will take place in the morning.

Parents Entering Lates and Absences on Veracross

Please ensure you are excusing any lates or absences for your daughter using the Parent Portal on Veracross (see the image on the right). Students may not excuse their own lates or absences. All unexcused absences or lates are followed up by the Head of School.

Thank you for your partnership!

MIDDLE SCHOOL

MS Gator Games: Registration Open Now

MS Gator Games are starting soon! 

Date: Thursday, October 24
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Each student is invited to bring one parent/guardian or significant adult with them to participate in the event. Parents may register their attendance by clicking on this link. Registrations will close on Thursday, October 22 at 12 pm.

Event Plan

• 5:30 pm: Arrival through the Gator doors
• 5:45 – 6:00 pm: Warm up in Gym A/B
• 6:05 – 6:25 pm: Activity #1
• 6:30 – 6:50 pm: Activity #2
• 6:55 – 7:30 pm: Socializing with finger foods and  awards at the Biowall

Dress in comfortable clothing as you will be active. This year, the MS Gator Games will consist of the following options for activities:

• Benchball – Gym A/B
• Scavenger Hunt – Full School
• Ultimate Rubber Chicken Frisbee – Lower Pitch Field
• Disc Golf – Baskets on South Quad and around Ratcliffe Field
• Tail Tag – Ratcliffe Field
• Beach Ball Volleyball – Gym C

You are encouraged to dress in theme! There will be finger foods and drinks available after the games. There will be a slide show and awards given by the sports council. Some sample awards include: 

• Best Dressed Alike/ Twins 
• Most Competitive
• Most Spirited
• Dress as Your Favourite Athlete
• “Coolest” Sports Jerseys
• …. and More! 

We look forward to hosting you and having some fun while being active.

Any questions? Please email Carla Di Filippo, Director of Athletics.

COSSOT Dances

Branksome Hall Dance

Branksome Hall will be hosting their first dance on Friday, October 18. Selected students and their parents will be notified on Tuesday, October 15. Parents will be sent a registration link to confirm their child’s participation. 

RSGC Dance

On Friday, October 25, RSGC will be hosting their COSSOT dance. Interested students should register their interest by completing the Google form that was sent to them on Wednesday, October 9. It can also be found here. Selected students and their parents will be sent the registration form on Monday, October 21 to confirm their child’s participation.

As a reminder, students are chosen to attend the dances through a lottery system. We carefully review the participants to ensure every student has a fair opportunity to attend.

In Form This Week

Our highly anticipated Grade 8 assemblies return this week, with students from Forms 8A and 8B hosting the Middle School assembly under the theme Fall into Middle School. These assemblies give students the opportunity to plan, create, and execute an event, all while sharpening their public speaking and leadership skills. Whether they choose to take centre stage or work behind the scenes as executive producers, ensuring everyone has a role—big or small—each student plays a part. No matter how they participate, these assemblies are always a fun and valuable experience, filled with helpful tips for learning and growing.

SENIOR SCHOOL

Canadian University Fair

Date: Tuesday, October 15
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Location: Brenda Robson Hall 

There will be a meeting with various Canadian University representatives. For a list of the universities attending, please click here.

Music Retreat

We are looking forward to our annual Music Retreat at Campfire Circle from Wednesday, October 16 to Friday, October 18.  For everyone joining us, remember to bring bedding and weather appropriate clothing for the Fall temperature. We leave at noon on Wednesday and will be back at Havergal in mid-afternoon on Friday.

Take Our Kids to Work Day

On Wednesday, November 6, it is Take Our Kids to Work Day for Grade 9 students.  Please use the Parent Portal if your child will not be at school that day.

In Grade Programming This Week

Our Grade 9 students will be working on their time management skills and be introduced to different tools that they can use as their workload increases over the course of the upcoming years. Community building continues with our Grade 10 community. Our Grade 11 students will be led through stress management activities with their Grade 11 student representatives. Finally, our Grads will learn about the benefits of their lifelong connection to Havergal and will be invited to join our Old Girl/Alum portal called Havergal Connections. Through this portal, they’ll be able to seek advice directly from young alumni as they prepare their university applications and make important decisions about where to apply and attend. They’ll also explore how Havergal Connections serves as a key resource for staying connected to the alumni network throughout their lives.

HCPA

Ivy Market

Save the date for Ivy Market that is taking place on Tuesday, November 21. We all look forward to seeing you there!

Used Textbook Collection and Returns

Used Textbook Collection and Textbook Returns are on Monday, October 21 from 7:30 – 11:30 am in the Ellen Knox Library. More detailed instructions were sent out in the HCPA’s October issue of News You Can Use.

NEXT WEEK IN THE UPPER SCHOOL

Monday, October 14  

• No Classes (Statutory Holiday – Thanksgiving Day)

Tuesday, October 15    

• High Holiday Prayers and Reception at 8:40 am in the Brenda Robson Hall  
• Canadian University Fair at 6:30 – 8:30 pm in the Brenda Robson Hall

Wednesday, October 16  

• Music Retreat leaves at 12:30 pm

Thursday, October 17    

• CAIS Soccer, Head of the Charles Regatta

Friday, October 18      

• Music Retreat returns at 2 pm