Message from Admissions

Maggie Houston-White, Executive Director of Strategic Enrolment Management, and Emily Simms-Brown, Director of Admission

November is upon us, wrapping up fall term sports, seeing our first Exchange students of the year head home and celebrating all our students have achieved this term. While the days are a little shorter and a little cooler, there is a sense of anticipation and joy at Havergal as students gear up for concerts, our Middle School Play, winter sports and of course, our Junior School and Upper School Carol Services, which are always a highlight. 

Thank you to all of our applicant parents who joined us for our Parents as Partner Series, “Fostering Purpose in Our Kids,” with Dr. Belle Liang and Tim Klein, authors of How to Navigate Life. The interactive evening resulted in a lot of great questions and conversations. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. We are looking forward to continuing our work with Dr. Liang and Mr. Klein through our year-long partnership in support of our commitment to fostering purpose in students at Havergal.

Our most recent issue of our parent newsletter, Inside Havergal, speaks to the work of HC-X, our innovation hub. HC-X plays a key role in supporting our students to be future ready through unique programming and creating professional development opportunities for our faculty that ensure Havergal remains a leader in education not just nationally, but globally; not just now, but for years to come. 

We hope you enjoy the latest version of Inside Havergal and don’t forget, our application deadline is December 1, 2024. 

Maggie & Emily

Financial Support Applications for 2025-26

Deadline to Apply: January 3, 2025

Our Finance Department would like to remind applicants that students entering Grades 7 to 12 in September 2025 may apply for Financial Support in the form of a Tuition Bursary.

Separate from any application for admission or re-enrolment, applications are submitted via a third-party company, Apple Financial Services.

New and returning student families must complete their application by Friday, January 3 each year to be considered for the following school year. Late applications may not be accepted as funds are limited.

Message from the Vice Principal of Experiential Education and Innovation

Garth Nichols

Grounded in research from the educational sector and beyond, HC-X is Havergal’s innovation hub. Featuring unique courses and learning experiences, HC-X allows students to practise future-ready skills and faculty to grow from innovative professional development opportunities. 

It is essential that HC-X factors in our mission of preparing young women to make a difference because our world is changing in many ways. You may have read about the V.U.C.A. world (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) and the forces that are accelerating the speed of innovation. Through courses and programming, HC-X is able to respond in ways that allow us to examine what good preparation for the future looks, sounds and feels like. Our HC-X team is able to research and network within and beyond the educational sector and bring that research into practice with our students; in many ways, we bring the future to our students’ doorsteps, providing them with the opportunity to consider the difference they can make in their community and the world around them.

For example, the proprietary course Digital Wisdom allows students to explore their digital world through the lens of anthropology, psychology and sociology. The focus is on identity development in a world shouting at young people about what to be, say and do. Havergal students in Grades 5, 6, 7 conduct case studies, self-reflection and experimentation as they consider digital forces. In Grade 7 and 8, they take part in scenario-based learning with a Generative AI platform, Ametros, to interact directly with, and reflect on, GenAI and its role in their own lives.

Another example is the proprietary course TC-9, students are asked to challenge the UN Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) #13: Climate Action. Throughout the course, they explore their relationships with the land through a transdisciplinary approach combining science; data science; Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing; and more. Students meet and network with community leaders and organizations doing great work to challenge #13 and other UNSDGs. Throughout the process, students activate their own agency and practise what it means to make a difference in the world through their own action project.

Our students in Grades 9 to 12 can pursue cutting edge curriculum and learning they are interested in through our Digital Micro-Credentials program.We offer digital microcredentials in pre-med, architecture, law and contemporary finance—where students explore ESG investments, capital markets and cryptocurrencies.

HC-X is putting our students in the driver’s seat of their learning, supporting them with resources and networking skills and by introducing them to incredible people, partners and places to broaden their perspectives and experiences to understand, engage with and experience the future. 

Garth

Digital Microcredentials as Experiential Learning Opportunities

Adam Caplan, Director, HC-X

Digital microcredentials are like a good bracelet stack—it’s not about the individual bracelets, but how the collection of them shows up. This is how Modern Mentor Rachel Cooke describes the trend of these bite-sized learning experiences. 

Digital microcredentials are bite-sized certifications that offer students new learning pathways to explore their interests and passions. Following a trend emerging in the corporate world of work and learning, microcredentials are increasingly being adopted by educational institutions to prepare students for the future workforce. 

Microcredentials offered through the HC-X, Havergal’s Innovation Hub, sit alongside the regular academic curriculum as opt-in experiences. These micro-learning experiences offer a focused approach to skill development in specific areas and provide students with “smaller denominations of learning” than traditional courses or full academic programs. 

For HC-X, our digital microcredentials also target fields of study not typically covered in existing academic courses. Students have the opportunity to develop their interests in areas such as PreMedical Studies, Artificial Intelligence, Design Thinking & Entrepreneurship and Contemporary Finance—each taught in partnership with organizations that bring graduate students from acclaimed institutes as instructors to our participants in Grades 9 to 12. This year, we’re excited to expand these offerings with two new microcredentials: Intro to Architecture and Future Lawyers, further broadening the array of opportunities for students curious about these dynamic and growing fields.

Microcredentials empower students to explore their interests in a personalized way. Over time, credentials can be “stacked” to form a unique narrative of a student’s interests and accomplishments. They allow students to craft a story of curiosity, dedication and growth across diverse subject areas. Students receive their digital credentials through a blockchain-based digital wallet and can easily share the evidence of their accomplishments with others throughout their education and career journey. 

For more information about HC-X Digital Microcredentials, please contact Adam Caplan or visit microcredentials.havergal.on.ca.

The Importance of Technology Integration for Young Learners

Paula Carson, JS Technology Coordinator

In the Junior School, we are committed to providing students with opportunities to engage with technology in meaningful ways. Intentional integration of technology supports the development of digital literacy skills, strengthens opportunities for personalized learning experiences, student agency and engagement. It also enhances opportunities for critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and real-world connections. 

Teachers in the Junior School have been developing new programming to support the development of technology skills, digital literacy and digital creation. One example is in Grade 5 Health and Physical Education, where students recorded videos of themselves practising their dribbling and passing skills during their basketball unit. This activity supports students to self-assess their performance and set goals for improvement. 

Additionally, students are developing their digital creativity skills through projects that enhance content-specific learning in the classroom. In Grade 1, students are documenting signs of the changing seasons through digital photography and poster creation. Meanwhile, Grade 4 students are exploring habitats around the world by designing digital posters to inform others. Looking ahead in the school year, students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 will have opportunities to participate in digital escape rooms, movie making, podcasting, robotics, coding and more. 

Classroom discussions and activities about digital citizenship are a vital part of our curriculum. Students learn to differentiate between how devices are used at school and at home, promoting responsible and purposeful use of technology. Throughout the school year, students will learn about online safety, media balance, digital communication and how artificial intelligence works. Students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 are also learning how to utilize digital resources, such as by using Canvas, our learning management system, to access learning resources and submit assignments. 

By integrating technology into our curriculum in intentional and meaningful ways, we aim to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment that prepares our students for the challenges and opportunities in the digital world. 

The HCPA’s Ivy Market

Get ready to kick off your holiday shopping in style at the HCPA’s Ivy Market! Join us on Thursday, November 21, from 10 am to 5 pm, where you’ll find a curated selection of local vendors offering unique HC gift items. While you shop, indulge in a complimentary hot beverage at our Holiday Cafe Corner and enjoy festive music performed by our talented student performers. It’s the perfect way to get into the holiday spirit!

In addition to the Ivy Market, the HCPA will be raising funds by selling Robyn’s Frozen Cookie Dough and showcasing exciting new items from the HCPA Marketplace team.

We look forward to seeing you on November 21! 

Allison Campbell-Rogers

HC-X Innovation Educator

The HC-X Team at Havergal is thrilled to welcome Ms. Campbell-Rogers to our community! She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in education in Grades 7 to 12, with 25 years of experience at Branksome Hall. Ms. Campbell-Rogers has held key roles such as Instructional Lead & Teacher of Design, IB Diploma Geography Teacher and Service Learning Lead. 

As a lifelong learner and a people person who believes in the power of relationships to drive positive change, her most recent learning has focused on integrating systems, futures and design thinking into curriculum, which inspired her to pursue a Master of Design in Strategic Foresight and Innovation at OCAD University. 

Last spring, she completed a major research project investigating how space design influences pedagogical approaches—an emerging research area involving VR and innovative learning environments. 

In addition to her impressive work in teaching and learning, Ms. Campbell-Rogers has a track record of helping faculty navigate change and promoting a culture of growth and collaboration. She is passionate about building strong relationships to launch school-wide initiatives that make a lasting impact.

Outside of the classroom, Ms. Campbell-Rogers loves spending time with her husband and sons, often at the hockey rink, but she also enjoys the great outdoors with activities like biking, cross-country running and skiing. She treasures opportunities for travel, good food, friends and quiet Sunday afternoons with her Siberian forest cat and a newspaper.

Ms. Campbell-Rogers is already jumping into adventures by coaching one of our cross-country teams, sharing her passion with our students.

Message from Admissions

Maggie Houston-White, Executive Director of Strategic Enrolment Management, and Emily Simms-Brown, Director of Admission

The school year at Havergal has started with many opportunities for connection, celebration and community, three key elements of what makes our school so special. As you explore Havergal and all it has to offer, we thought you might enjoy a chance to read some of the articles from our first edition of Inside Havergal that highlight what our opening weeks were like and where some of our focus will be this year. Our Principal’s Message, in particular, highlights so much of the excellence that defines Havergal and our bold plans for the future in our strategic plan, Empowering Excellence. 

It has been such a pleasure to have so many families visiting our campus over the last couple of weeks and experiencing our students, faculty and staff in action, seeing how a typical day at HC is anything but typical. We are looking forward to welcoming families to our Open Houses later in October—register to attend here. 

Save the date: we are looking forward to our continued work with Dr. Belle Liang and Tim Klein, authors of How to Navigate Life. On Tuesday, October 29, Belle and Tim will be working with our faculty and students during the day and hosting our Parents as Partners speaker series that evening. Their research and presentation will surround the connection between purpose and wellbeing and how we, as parents, can support this personally and practically. All applicant families will receive an invitation in the coming weeks. 

We hope as you continue to learn and discover the Havergal difference, you will continue to ask questions, connect with the Admission team and feel confident in the knowledge that we are here to help you find the right school for your daughter and your family.        

Best wishes, 

Maggie & Emily

Principal’s Message

Dr. Katrina Samson

Welcome to our first edition of Havergal Highlights for the 2024-25 school year. I hope the summer brought time with family, relaxation and a healthy dose of sunshine. If you are anything like me, you tuned into the Paris Summer Olympics in August. I love the Olympics! My family often jokes, “It’s Olympics season; Katrina’s going to be over there crying for two weeks.” And they’re not wrong. When Summer Macintosh won her first gold medal, I was driving, listening to the radio commentary on her race with tears in my eyes hearing of her first gold medal. Watching the parents, the partners, the coaches—and knowing the hours of support, the sacrifices and the pride—gets me every time. As well, I’m amazed by the diversity of athletes, from an 11 year old to a 65 year old, from all around the globe, all in pursuit of a common goal: excellence.

I’ve been thinking about what the Olympics teach us about the pursuit of excellence. It’s a topic that resonates beyond sports. What can we, as parents and a community, learn about the pursuit of excellence from Olympians?

At Havergal, we’ve been discussing excellence a lot. It’s the foundation of our strategic plan and at the core of our mission. We come in everyday committed to teaching, modelling and inspiring excellence in your children. But excellence is too often misconstrued as perfection. Pursuing excellence is not about being perfect. It’s about giving one’s best effort, learning from our experiences and aiming to be better today than we were yesterday.

Excellence is setting bold, ambitious goals and persevering through challenges. It’s understanding that both successes and failures are temporary and that hits and misses are part of the journey. Perhaps most importantly, excellence is not a solo pursuit—it’s a team effort. Much like Olympians who lean on coaches, family and teammates, our children need a strong support system to pursue their own excellence.

Excellence also calls for collaboration. The word “compete” comes from Latin origins meaning “to strive together.” At Havergal, we strive together for the success of every student. We’re not just pushing individual accomplishments; we’re genuinely invested in one another’s success.

So, what does excellence look like for your daughters here at Havergal? It’s about ensuring they know we are on their team, supporting their growth and helping them become the best versions of themselves. Excellence also means working with intention, both as educators and as a community, to bring out the best in one another. Each of us, whether student, teacher or parent, has something to share and learn.

As we bask in the excitement and energy a new school year brings, my hope is that we—parents, educators and students—come together to inspire excellence by supporting one another, being open and constructive in our feedback and reminding our girls that pursuing bold dreams is done step-by-step with the support of a strong committed community. 

As parents, you are an essential part of Team Havergal. Together, I know we’ll foster an environment where excellence is encouraged and all children feel supported in their journeys to reach their full potential.

Katrina

Helping Manage Distractions and Support Relationship Building

Lindsay Norberg, Deputy Principal

Fostering strong relationships and connections within our community is essential to the Havergal community. To support this goal and align with our philosophy on the role of technology in learning, we have updated our Digital Device Policy.

After consultation with faculty, parents, students and staff, the school updated and clarified its policy regarding the use of digital devices on campus during the school day. 

The focus of the policy is to:

We are excited to announce that Jake Ernst will speak with our Middle School students about responsible device use. His presentation, scheduled for October 1, will provide valuable insights and guidance on this important topic.

In addition, parents are invited to a special session with Jake Ernst on Monday, September 30, where he will address how to support healthy device habits at home. More details about both presentations will be shared in the US Weekly.

How can families support this policy? 

We encourage parents to partner with us in fostering a balanced approach to technology use both at school and at home. By working together, we can help our students cultivate healthy digital habits, build strong connections within the Havergal community and enhance focus and wellbeing.

Havergal’s Approach to Generative AI

Garth Nichols, Vice Principal of Experiential Education & Innovation

This year, Havergal has launched a Generative AI Framework 1.0. This framework was developed to support our entire community in understanding how Generative AI will be explored, integrated and managed within our Teaching and Learning philosophy. 

The framework has a version code of 1.0 because we will be reviewing this document throughout the year, taking in feedback on how our approach is supporting the learning experiences. If changes need to be made mid-stream, they can. 

The foundation of the framework is that this latest digital transformation remains very human. We are putting the relationship between the educators and the students at the core of the approach. Our faculty will examine when, where, what and how Generative AI can support teaching and learning processes. Additionally, HC-X faculty have been experimenting and learning about Generative AI alongside our students in our Digital Wisdom classes, which all students in Grades 5 to 8 participate in at Havergal. 

In June and August, our faculty took part in professional development by Diversity Research and Future Design School. This provided us with a shared language and combined experiences to grow and learn from. We are excited about the possibilities that Generative AI can provide as our students continue to learn the skills of critical and creative thinking, constructive doubt and strong research and writing skills. 

For more on our approach to Generative AI and how we are integrating it into the teaching and learning experiences, please reach out to me at [email protected] or to Adam Caplan, HC-X Director, at [email protected].

Celebration Saturday

Maggie Houston-White, Executive Director, Strategic Enrolment Management

Saturday, September 28 was a day of community at Havergal College as our students, employees, parents and Old Girls/Alums put our mission—preparing young women to make a difference—into action to show our support for and dedication to our Community Partners.  

This annual event is not your typical fun fair: yes, there is cotton candy and inflatables and many ways to have fun, but it is more than that. It is students, parents and our broader community thoughtfully planning activities and programs that not only highlight the work of each of our Community Partners, but also emphasize how our support of their programs enrich us all. 

Parents play such a key role in this event, from the leadership of the members of the HCPA to all of the parents who volunteer their time and talent to the event. Our students see in each volunteer a role model and we as a school see a partnership that we value and are so grateful for. 

Did you know?

While Ellen Knox may not have envisioned gigantic cookies or a creative haunted house when she asked her students What will you do?, I have no doubt she is filled with pride in seeing our community making a difference every year in so many ways at Celebration Saturday. 

Alexandra Zourntos

Associate Director of Admissions, Senior School

Ms. Zourntos joined Havergal College in 2022 as Associate Director of Admission, Senior School. Focusing on Grade 9 day applications, Boarding applications and international recruitment, her role encompasses the things she enjoys most about education: connecting with families to provide an excellent admission experience and building relationships in different countries as she represents Havergal on the road.

With a career in education that has spanned roles in teaching, guidance and admissions, the best part about teaching for Ms. Zourntos was connecting with students and guiding them toward their goals. However, a passion for curriculum within her courses was the missing piece. She was seeking a way of working with students directly, but outside of the classroom, in an administrative role. An opportunity arose to organize and execute experiential education programs around the world and, with an existing affinity for international education and travel, she spent years leading students throughout South America, Europe and Oceania. She later spent a year in Brazil teaching and spearheading an exchange program for students in Porto Alegre while assisting in recruitment efforts in neighbouring states.

Upon returning to Canada after working abroad, Ms. Zourntos eagerly accepted the position of guidance counsellor at a private school. She loved being able to make an impact on students in the areas of academics and wellbeing. This role included admission responsibilities, which led her to transition into leading the admission efforts for the campus. Fast-forward to today, she has found the perfect mix at Havergal College supporting students, maintaining international exposure through recruitment travel and building relationships with key stakeholders. She leverages her knowledge of the Ontario curriculum to gain a deeper understanding of students’ needs and provides maximum effort and enthusiasm to ensure families feel welcomed, informed and inspired throughout their admission experience.

Coming up on the 2024-25 travel docket for the Admission Team, Ms. Zourntos will be representing Havergal in Vietnam, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Jamaica, Mexico, UK and Barbados.