Teaching & Learning: Senior School

Three students study together in the library.

Preparing our graduates with the skills and confidence to be future-ready for whatever comes next.

In the Senior School, our focus is to empower students with the skills needed to adapt flexibility in an ever-changing world. The program meets and exceeds the expectations of the Ontario Ministry of Education. All courses are university-preparatory and are at the advanced level. In the Senior School classroom, emphasis is placed on synthesizing and evaluating information to gain a deeper understanding of each subject area. Students construct meaning and understanding as they consider conflicting interpretations, arrive at their own informed opinions and actively participate in cross-discipline learning. Our teachers are specialists in their area and they find innovative ways to engage students in rigorous academics through collaboration, networking, research, inquiry and dialogue.

As students progress through the Senior School, they have increased choice and flexibility in the design of their program, with the constant element being academic rigour. Havergal offers several Advanced Placement courses, exposing students to university-level material in their Grade 11 or 12 year.

Future Ready

Empowered for an Ever-Changing World

Havergal works tirelessly to ensure students are equipped with the skills and resilience needed to be agents of change as they enter the world beyond the school. The Senior School offers a unique education based on leading instructional models and tailored to the learning needs of students. The fluid and adaptive program allows us to select those approaches that best serve our students while reflecting our core values of integrity, inquiry, compassion and courage. Key educational strategies of guided inquiry, increasing self-direction and project-based learning spark discovery, foster resourcefulness and encourage cross-disciplinary thinking.

Two students discuss their work with a teacher.

Confident and Resilient Decision Making

Faculty work collaboratively to support students in becoming confident and resilient decision makers with the ability to adapt and thrive in a variety of environments. They support them as they develop the tools and mindsets needed to take action and demonstrate flexibility and agility–skills that will prove invaluable for them to lead in our ever-changing world.

A student sitting in front of a laptop asking a question during class.

A Culture of Thinking

Critical thinking and learning to gain understanding are valued, visible and actively promoted. With their knowledge and skills, students initiate authentic, real-world learning. They become critical consumers of ideas and have a voice in shaping their environment. They develop an attitude of inquiry that motivates change and growth. In a culture of thinking and understanding, teachers and students continually explore and reinvent learning.

Two students smiling and actively engaged in class.

Learning Support for Success

Havergal provides a web of support for all learners. The school has developed a tiered approach to learning support. We recognize that all students have a unique learning style. By differentiating instruction and understanding different learning needs, teachers create nurturing and welcoming learning spaces for students to be successful.

Two Senior School students type on laptops in a classroom.

Advanced Placement (AP®)

AP Capstone™ is a new program for Havergal, which officially launched in 2019. AP Capstone™ is a diploma program based on two year-long AP® courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. These courses are designed to complement other AP® courses that an AP Capstone™ student may take. AP Seminar and AP Research use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the critical thinking, research, collaboration, time management and presentation skills students need for university-level work.