Dear CIS Ontario Community,
The Winter edition of the CIS Ontario newsletter is here! Our quarterly publication is designed to be a celebration of our member schools and CIS Ontario inter-school programs and events and to share news from our sponsors. To celebrate the end of the Winter term, grab a cup of coffee or tea, find a comfy chair and settle in to read the news from your CIS community.
Shared in alpha order, keep reading all the way down to The York School story to learn how students experienced a 're-wilding' as they tackled the challenge of winter camping. If you're reading this on March 8, International Women's Day, take a moment to be inspired by our community of women who came together at the annual CIS Ontario Women's Network Event to connect, empower and support one another.
Get ready to be energized by the creative and innovative programs and the extraordinary students in our community!
Now that you're inspired, what are you waiting for? Join the CIS Ontario online community on our Member Portal, a resource for employees in our member schools, for a customized experience as you engage with peers from other member schools. A number of Group Dashboards are now active. They are online areas where you can collaborate and find resources based on your position or role. Log in by using your first initial, period, last name (e.g. j.smith) username and then select Forgot Username or Password to set up your account. If you need assistance, ask Sheri for help.
On behalf of the CIS Ontario team, I extend our best wishes to everyone in our community a safe and healthy March Break.
Warm regards,
Executive Director
CIS DANCE FEST 2020 “Dance is the hidden language of the soul” – Martha Graham
I was deeply moved by the performances from our Ontario schools at this year’s CIS Dance Festival. Dance numbers ranged from hip hop to lyrical ballet to contemporary, each carrying a powerful message of social justice, positivity, empowerment or courage. Watching these young people express themselves through movement, trust one another on stage, and share in that special energy that is created through the Fine Arts, was extraordinary. As a Head of School, I can often find myself pulled away from these events by the sheer volume of work elsewhere. I was honoured to have been there to witness the commitment, talent and pure joy on that stage and be reminded that how a student chooses to express themselves and their perspectives is indeed, “the hidden language of the soul”. Dance on, CIS Ontario. Dance on.
Erin Corbett Head of School, Montcrest School
APPLEBY COLLEGE Appleby College Students Attend KUNÉ Workshop
On January 17, Appleby welcomed musicians from Canada's Global Orchestra, KUNÉ, for a workshop entitled Melodic Improvisation from Around the World. Senior music students participated in a workshop designed to explore the influence of Islam on the music of various countries. Musicians from Turkey, Iran, Greece, and Pakistan led the workshop, provided in-depth explanations about their instruments and style of playing, and performed for students. Students also had the opportunity to learn improvisation techniques. The session culminated in a full group improvisation where students and KUNÉ created an inspiring piece of music.
BAYVIEW GLEN All Systems Code: East Ontario Champion’s Award Winners
In September, team All Systems Code decided to tackle one of Toronto’s biggest city planning issues: preventing pedestrian fatalities at intersections. In 2019, 43 pedestrian lives were lost due to car accidents at intersections; this is a really important problem that the team is trying to solve.
After three months of thinking, diagramming, building and programming, the team came up with potential improvements to Toronto’s current traffic light systems. The team titled the solution: Pedestrian Avoidance Warning Systems (P.A.W.S.). With mentor guidance, the team programmed a working traffic light that warns drivers of pedestrians crossing at intersections. They implemented a fourth light (see prototype) that flashes when pedestrians are walking. This solution was so successful that City Hall invited them to share their project twice. At the second meeting in front of the Infrastructure and Planning Committee, the team impressed the City Councillors and civic employees so much, that a motion was passed by the city to study the team’s solution and see if a 10-intersection pilot project is feasible. In addition to their P.A.W.S. project, the team created and programmed an impressive robot and worked together to share their expertise within the FLL community. The team won 1st place out of 20 teams at the FLL regional competition. Like teams Architech and Ctrl-Z, they also represented our school at the robotic East-Ontario Championships and won a 3rd place Champion’s Award. The team is now in talks with a major insurance sponsor to help fund further prototypes for the P.A.W.S. project and is scheduling meetings with traffic systems engineers to drive it forward.
As the team moves towards an international competition in May, look out for more updates on this story through CIS Ontario and online at bayviewglen.ca/news and at @bayviewglen_toronto on Instagram.
THE BISHOP STRACHAN SCHOOL Student Led and Organized Diversity Leadership Summit
Over the past few months, students at the Bishop Strachan School (BSS) have been working hard to plan a student-led diversity leadership summit called “You Belong.” The idea behind the summit was formed after five students were selected to attend the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) in Seattle this past December. After returning from the conference, the students were eager to bring back what they had learned to the inter-school community to create an event and space where all students, regardless of their identity, could feel their experiences and voices mattered.
SPONSOR NEWS: Dana Hospitality LP Fill HALF YOUR PLATE
As many guests look to the New Year for healthier eating choices, Dana Hospitality is proud to have joined the Half Your Plate program to bring enhanced personalization opportunities to our 160+ cafés across Canada. The emphasis on filling half your plate with fruit and vegetables aligns well with the latest Canada Food Guide and their partners also include: the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
CRESCENT SCHOOL Crescent School Students Create “Course Conversations” Videos
Students have a new resource to help them choose from the 80 credit courses offered in Grades 9-12 at Crescent School. Filmed and edited by Grade 11 Media Arts students, the Course Conversations video series is “the next best thing to having the teacher there with us to answer students’ questions,” says Kathy Porteous, one of Crescent’s Guidance and University Counsellors. Each video features a faculty member briefly describing one of the courses they teach. The Course Conversations debuted at a course selection information meeting in January, and are also posted on the school website.
GREENWOOD COLLEGE SCHOOL Taking a Bite Out of Stigma
Greenwood’s Mental Health Awareness Week was full of activities reminding students and staff that mental health should always be prioritized. The week consisted of mindful colouring, Q&A sessions, therapy dogs and more!
The Greenwood community also took a “Bite Out of Stigma”. Students and staff decorated cookies with words that are often associated with mental illness and then took a bite out of them to demonstrate that these words should never define who a person is.
ELMWOOD SCHOOL Learning to Lead
Ask girls how they feel about leadership and 92 percent of them will tell you they believe that anyone can acquire the skills to lead. Yet according to the “Change It Up!” report from the Girl Scout Research Institute, only 21 percent believe they have what it takes. Elmwood students have developed a conference for middle school girls aimed at changing that.
The Lead Like a Girl Leadership Conference is a completely student-driven initiative with students from Grades 9-12 planning and executing the event, from theme development, conference design and budget management to promotion, logistics and media relations.
FUTURE PRIZE CO-HOSTED BY CIS ONTARIO & FUTURE DESIGN SCHOOL CIS Ontario Future Prize 2020: Middle Schoolers Tackling Climate Change
As the first month in the most pivotal decade in the fight against climate change comes to an end, a group of bright and creative minds gathered to exchange ideas and propose solutions on how to combat climate change — no, we’re not talking about Davos, we’re talking about CIS Ontario Future Prize 2020.
United by the challenge statement: “How might we leverage technology to help solve climate change within our local community?” 28 teacher-student teams from across CIS Ontario Schools came together at Upper Canada College for the 4th annual CIS Ontario Future Prize Challenge.
HAVERGAL COLLEGE Hackergal Hackathon at Havergal
On November 11, Havergal hosted its fifth Hackathon in partnership with Hackergal (a non-profit organization focused on hosting coding events). This year, schools across Canada participated in the nationwide event dedicated to supporting the education of girls in coding and computer science, in which thousands of students participated in at the same time, on the same day.
Guest speaker Vanessa Kermen, CIBC Release Manager, talked to the group about how she works with teams of programmers to develop new apps and updates to banking systems as well as the gender gap and the advantage of knowing what coding is.
SPONSOR NEWS: SAGE Dining Services Alternative Proteins — Can a Burger Save Us?
Recently, there’s been a proliferation of alternative meat products in the market. These are different from traditional meatless options, such as black bean burgers or soy hot dogs. Backed by venture capital and celebrity endorsements, these new alt proteins, with names such as Beyond Meat® and the Impossible™ Burger, have shown up in restaurants, grocer’s freezers, and — of course — television. You may have even been asked to serve them from students and parents. But are they worth all the hype? Here at SAGE Dining Services®, we were curious, so we went beyond the marketing slogans and looked at the evidence.
HOLY TRINITY SCHOOL The Heart of Assessment
The nature of assessment – what it means and how to create meaningful ways to assess student learning – has been under continuous renewal by educators and stakeholders who care deeply about student learning. For educators, placing relationships first and at the forefront of classroom instruction is imperative, as is relinquishing the role of “purveyor of all knowledge.”
Explore what Katie Young, a Holy Trinity School educator, reveals to be at the heart of assessment. Read the Full Article Here
CIS ONTARIO WOMEN'S NETWORK EVENT The 3rd Annual CIS Ontario Women's Network took place on Wednesday, February 5th, 2020 at host school, Trafalgar Castle School.
Attendees experienced several Ted-Talk style presentations, a Q&A session, and break-out discussion groups with our panel - Shauna Barnes, Jalynn Bosley, Leslie McBeth and Dr. Leanne Foster as we explored the theme: Authenticity, Acceptance & Alignment: Owning your own Journey. This inspirational evening carried on the Upper Canada College host's founding tradition of strengthening our relationships within the CIS Ontario community while continuing the building of a network of women in education to connect, empower & support one another.
HOLY NAME OF MARY COLLEGE SCHOOL HNMCS Robotics - Innovative Leaders of STEM
Holy Name of Mary College School Robotics (HNMCS Robotics) breaks the stereotype of robotics being a strictly science based club. Welcoming students with all types of interests to come and learn new skills, HNMCS Robotics is so much more than robots and coding; it is a community within our school that allows girls to come together to learn, create and bond. This school year featured several STEM related activities, both on and off campus.
THE MABIN SCHOOL Imagining My Sustainable City at The Mabin School Grade 6 students at The Mabin School recently presented their project “Imagining My Sustainable City” to their parents and teachers. Guided by professional architects (including former Mabin parents!) from the firm No.9, students worked intensively to envision a new community space for Toronto. They visited the site, learned about the principles of sustainable architecture, created a design that met the needs of the community, and then built a scale model of it. The project demanded all 6Cs: Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Citizenship, and Character and is the perfect culmination of 8 years of building critical 21st century, changemaking skills.
2020 CIS ONTARIO THRIVE STUDENT LEADERS SYMPOSIUM The 3rd annual CIS Ontario Thrive Student Leaders Symposium was hosted by TMS School on February 22, 2020. Grades 7-12 independent school student leaders presented and collaborated in workshops and facilitated discussion sessions on relevant, actionable and impactful leadership-related topics. This year's theme was Insight, Innovation, Impact - three words we all hope to use to describe our student leaders and their influence on our school communities. Each team of students left with action plans to lead their peers with creativity and care. Sessions such as "Making School Spirit Like the Movies", "How to Launch a Club or Initiative," and "Creative Problem Solving" allowed students to bring their unique issues to the table and do real work to envision future success. These valuable takeaways were matched only by the value of meeting and collaborating with peers from other perspectives, experiences, and communities at the conference itself. Whether the participants were current leaders or young hopefuls, the conference allowed them a time to reflect on their goals for leadership and empowered them with tools to take action in their schools.
MONTCREST SCHOOL The Third Path Faculty Book Club
As a school we have been engaging with a framework called the Third Path - a resource developed in 2018, to provide language and validation to the work we do so well at Montcrest. We have always prided ourselves on providing a caring and nurturing environment - that warmth and sense of ‘family’ is what our visitors on campus most often remark on. The Third Path Book Club started in earnest this October, when over 50% of our faculty voluntarily decided to get together for what we in education-speak call “A Professional Learning Community”, more commonly referred to as a Book Club.
SPONSOR NEWS: Tracker Networks Inc. Law Symposium Session Discusses Risk Management Trends in Independent Schools
Did you miss the recent session on Enterprise Risk Management at the Feb 6th Head's Network Law Symposium in Toronto?
Jason Doel, COO of Tracker Networks, provided an overview of current trends in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), along with best practices for right-sizing ERM within independent schools. Tracker Networks works with over 1000 ERM users in 39 countries, including Holy Trinity School. Their team has experience maximizing value from ERM programs, while minimizing program overhead and expense.
A summary of the presentation and an optional free trial can be obtained by sending a request to success@trackernetworks.com.
RIDLEY COLLEGE Healthy Living Top of Mind
On January 25th, the 'Ridley Builds Resilience Through Sport' event brought the community together to learn more about fundamental movement skills, healthy living and the upcoming Summer Games — which will be held in Niagara in 2021. The day began with an inspiring talk from Olympian, Sarah Wells and concluded with the launch of "Catch the Spirit," the 2021 Summer Games’ educational campaign.
ST. MICHAEL'S COLLEGE SCHOOL Initiating Important Conversations and Key Connections: ParenTalks
With a range of timely topics, accomplished guest speakers, and themes aligned to the academic calendar, ParenTalks, now in its first full year at St. Michael’s College School (SMCS), continues to make an impact. “It was introduced as a new way of further connecting our current parents to topics of relevance to their sons,” says Frank Trentadue, Director of Student Affairs. “The vision was to foster regular, intimate and meaningful conversations for parents to help them gain new insights into their child’s high school journey,” he says. Featured topics have included: building healthy relationships (Dr. Debra Pepler), helping a child reach their potential (Karl Subban), and mental wellness (Dr. Mark Broussenko). A family physician present at each ParenTalks provides an evidence-based perspective.
TRAFALGAR CASTLE SCHOOL Inspiring Women in Aviation
At Trafalgar, we believe in extending learning beyond the classroom to allow our students to connect with their curriculum in real-world situations. Not only does this supplement learning but it leads to unforgettable experiences for our girls.
Most recently, our Grade 10 Design Technology and Grade 11 Physics students attended “A Day of Aviation,” hosted by the Women in Aviation group at Air Canada. For the second year, Trafalgar students were treated to a day filled with educational activities led by inspirational women at Canada’s largest airline.
CIS ONTARIO CONNECTS UNCONFERENCE 2020 Teachers, administrators, innovators and changemakers gathered on January 27, 2020 for the 3rd annual CIS Ontario Connects Unconference. It was a positive and enriching day of professional learning, sharing and discussion. The expertise of CIS Ontario educators was leveraged in four compelling areas of future-thinking pedagogical inquiry. Facilitators engaged participants through provocations designed to generate and incubate ideas and best practices. The themes explored were; Future Readiness, Wellness Dashboard, UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and Gamification.
TRINITY COLLEGE SCHOOL Students Master New Skills in Trinity College School Woodworking Club
Since 2017, students in the Trinity College School Woodworking Club have used traditional hand tools to create beautiful timber-framed projects, including a shed and pergola for our campus. Under the guidance of faculty member Ty Bailey, this year, the club expanded its repertoire of skills and focused on hand carving bowls and spoons out of maple and white birch, repurposing the wood from trees felled on campus last year. Students completed 15 hours of work using tools such as hook and frost knives, Swedish carving axes and bowl adzes to complete their authentic pieces of craftsmanship.
VILLANOVA COLLEGE The Villanova Electric Car (VeC) Project
In the 2018-19 academic year, Grade 11 and 12 students in the STEM physics program undertook a special project and the first of its kind at the school - the Villanova Electric Car (VeC) Project. Students designed an electric car and competed in the Waterloo Electric Vehicle Challenge, finishing in second place amongst first year competitors. This year, the project has been split into two teams. A racing team whose goal it is to make improvements to the existing car with the intention of racing again in the Spring, and a design team whose goal is to design the next model targeted for completion over a 3-year development cycle. This is all thanks to our Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program; an exclusive, four-year academic enrichment program for students who demonstrate an interest and aptitude in these fields.
THE YORK SCHOOL The RE-WILDING
Renowned outdoor educator Kurt Hahn said: “There is more in you than you think.” Read about the re-wilding of The York School students and what they experienced when they exchanged concrete for forest. By author Sara Gardner, our Integrated Canadian Experience (ICE) Teacher in Humanities and English.
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