Friday, February 28, 2025

On By Havergal Upper School

A Message from the Heads: Cissy Goodridge & Deirdre Timusk

Dear Parents and Students

This week at HC was jam-packed with student-led initiatives, guest speakers, and performances.

The week began with a thought-provoking message from Shreya Gupta, a Grade 10 student, author, and humanitarian.  Shreya shared her personal experience with bullying, which inspired her to write two books and left the school with a challenge: “to keep trying, creating, and doing, to make the world a better place.”

February 26 marked Pink Shirt Day, where our Grade 12 students collaborated with Middle School students on a crafting activity following a presentation on bullying. This activity helped continue meaningful conversations about what they had learned.

On Thursday, our Middle School students led Prayers and challenged our Senior School students to an engaging game of “Are You Smarter Than A Middle Schooler?” The Middle School students emerged victorious, leaving our community with a deeper appreciation of what it means to be a Middle School student at HC.

In athletics, we proudly hosted several CISAA Championships this week. Our winter sports program saw impressive participation with over 425 students across 27 teams. Every team qualified for CISAA playoffs, with Havergal securing nine CISAA championships! While we celebrate these achievements, we’re equally proud of our Gators’ team spirit and sportsmanship.

During the lunch hour, there were several activities for our students to participate in. Some of these included cultural lunches put on by our Hellenic and BIPOC clubs, as well as the Senior Drama Performance.

Finally, the Senior School’s production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda opened last evening, captivating our community. Our students showcased their talents both on stage and behind the scenes, delivering outstanding performances. Congratulations to the cast and technical crew for their dedication in bringing this wonderful show to life! Tickets are still available and can be purchased on the portal under HC Box Office.

Cissy Goodridge, Head of Middle School

Deirdre Timusk, Head of Senior School

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

UPPER SCHOOL (Gr. 7 – 12)

MIDDLE SCHOOL (Gr. 7 – 8)

SENIOR SCHOOL (Gr. 9 – 12)

HCPA

REMINDERS

NEXT WEEK IN THE UPPER SCHOOL

UPPER SCHOOL

March Update Report Card Available: Wednesday, March 5 – 4 pm

Your daughter’s March ‘Update Report’ is available through a link on your Parent Portal beginning at 4 pm on March 5. The information below will help you locate your daughter’s report.

●  Log in to the Havergal College Parent Portal

●  Once on the Veracross Parent Portal landing page, look for the “Reports” tab under “My Children” and click on the September – March link.

●  Be sure to save/print a copy of your daughter’s report. Look for the ‘Print to PDF’ link in the upper right hand corner of the report.

The Update Report includes a measure of student progress, learning skills and a short comment.  This comment reflects what the teacher feels is most important for that student at this time. Report card grades are determined by examining a student’s assessment data. Students and their families must recognize that this report is a snapshot of student progress that may shift over the next few months and that ongoing live data is available through the gradebook. As a reminder, students should review their assessments and the teacher’s feedback to see how they are doing in each course. They can also check the gradebook in Canvas regularly to see their most current mark.

Grade 7 and 8 Art and Drama Courses: For Grade 7 and 8 Art and Drama, which run for part of the semester, a report card mark and comment will be added for classes that have completed the course by the time the report card is issued.  Classes who are midway through the course or who have not started the course will have a report card mark and comment on the final report card.

Grade 10 Careers and Civics Half Credit Courses: For Grade 10 Careers and Civics, the update report card will contain the mark for the course that has been completed by the time the report card is issued. The final report card will contain the marks for both courses.

If you have any questions about this report, please do not hesitate to contact the subject teacher for clarification.

REMINDER: Spring Athletics Registration Opened on Thursday, February 27

Below are some important reminders to help you with this season’s registration. 

  • Parents may register by visiting the Parent Portal. Registration is now open and will close on Friday, March 7, 12 pm. 
  • ONLY PARENTS may complete registration – This registration allows parents to log on and provide permission via an eAAR approval process for the teams that your Upper School child(ren) would like to try out for.
  • Spring Tryout Schedule – The tryout schedule is below and can be found on Veracross. The season schedule will be finalized on April 9, 2025. When you click on the link below, make sure you are looking at the third tab – “SPRING 2025”. 

Spring 2024 -2025 Schedule 

  • Students may only register to try out for TWO teams (this does not include Coach Mentor, OFSAA Badminton, Learn to Golf or Triathlon) – please consult with your child/children to confirm the two teams that they would like to try out for before you complete the online registration.
  • Please note there is no reminder email of when specific tryouts take place. It is the responsibility of the students and parents to look at the schedule to know when and where the tryouts are occurring. 

If you have any questions, please email Carla Di Filippo, Director of Athletics.

Locker Clean Out

Students may only leave books, shoes and their shelving in their lockers over the break. Please encourage your daughter to bring home all uniform items. It’s a great opportunity to come back to a fresh and clean space for the spring term.

Ramadan Mubarak

Ramadan begins tonight (February 28) and continues through March 29. This sacred month is one of deep reflection, spiritual growth, acts of service, and meaningful connection with family and community. We want to ensure that students observing Ramadan – especially those who are fasting – feel supported throughout the month. Please encourage your child to let their teachers and coaches know if they are fasting or need time for prayers etc. so we can support them in the best way possible. During Ramadan, the Chapel will also be available during lunch and breaks for prayer, rest, or quiet time.

We look forward to celebrating Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr together at US Prayers on Thursday, April 3, and JS Prayers on Friday, April 4. Please keep an eye out for an invitation to the Parent reception following Prayers—we’d love for you to join us!

Wishing all who are observing a peaceful and meaningful Ramadan!

Lent Resources and Ash Wednesday Short Service on Wednesday, March 5 in Chapel

In the Christian Calendar, many Christians participate in the Season of Lent, which is the 40 days prior to Easter.  Rev. Ruch will be sending out weekly emails with Lenten Resources for anyone who is interested.  Please email her and she will add you to her list.  These emails will begin on March 5 (Ash Wednesday) and finish at Easter. 

There will also be a short service at 8am in the Chapel on Ash Wednesday (March 5) and parents are invited to join us.

Travelling for March Break? Measles is just a plane ride away

Measles continues to spread in many parts of the world and in Canada. If you are planning to travel over March Break, get the best protection for you and your loved ones by staying up-to-date with your routine vaccines, including the measles vaccine.

These vaccines are available from your healthcare provider or at a Toronto Public Health (TPH) community clinic for school-aged children, by appointment. Visit TPHbookings.ca for more information.

If you are unsure of your child’s vaccination status, check their yellow card (Ontario Immunization Record), TPH’s Immunization Connect Ontario (ICON) or by speaking with their primary health care provider.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

1000 Can Drive continues!

We are nearing our goal, however we have not reached our goal of bringing in 1000 cans for the North York Harvest Food Bank. Over the weekend, if you haven’t already done so please consider sending in four cans of soup, pasta sauce and pasta with your child.

In Form Next Week

Our students will be  participating in the Win@Social program. Grade 7 will explore AI ethics and plagiarism in schoolwork, while Grade 8 will focus on managing online hate and hurtful messages by “controlling the controllable.” Learn more  HERE: with suggested responses.


Interested in further reading? Read HERE to learn more about what bullying today looks like for our students.

SENIOR SCHOOL

Grade 12 Parents: Reminders of Special Upcoming Events

Please take a moment to update your calendars with these exciting events Havergal is hosting to honour the Class of 2025.

In Grade Programming This Week

Leading up to March Break our grade 9s have challenged our Grade 11 students to a friendly game of benchball. The grade 10 will be taking part in a follow up session to a wellbeing presentation from a few weeks ago. Finally, our Grads will be discussing accepting university offers, residences options, and hearing from their Senior Year Presidents.

HCPA

Gator Gala – Tickets on Sale Now: Saturday, April 5

Join us for Kaleidoscope of Cultures on Saturday, April 5! All Upper and Middle School students and adult guests are invited to a fun night with a DJ, Bubble Tea, Mocktails, a 360-degree photo booth, and more! 

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE! – Ticket Deadline March 10

Donate to the Gator Gala:

– Items Needed: Snacks, beauty products, gift cards 

– Monetary Donations: Help buy essentials 

– Suppliers: Recommend wholesale suppliers 

For donations contact Christine Kwok at christinekwok@gmail.com. 

To support the Silent Auction, contact Jenn Ocampo-King at JenniferOcampo.King@tdsecurities.com or Michelle Yang at michelle3yang@gmail.com. Thank you!

Mom’s Night Out: Thursday, May 22

Mark your calendars for the HCPA’s Moms’ Night Out (MNO) on Thursday, May 22. 

Watch for the official invitation in early April.

REMINDERS

Extended Absence Reminder

If your daughter will be absent for three or more days, please contact the Head of Middle School or Head of Senior School for approval. They will initiate the support process to help manage the extended absence.

NEXT WEEK IN THE UPPER SCHOOL

Monday, March 3

  • Spring Sports Registration is open

Tuesday, March 4

  • Spring Sports Registration is open

Wednesday, March 5

  • Spring Sports Registration is open
  • Update Report Cards available, 4 pm 

Thursday, March 6

  • Spring Sports Registration is open

Friday, March 7

  • Spring Sports Registration closes 12 pm 
  • Boarding School Closes 6 pm 

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