Engagement at HSC

While 2020–2021 was far from a typical year, our community demonstrated their unceasing commitment to learning with joy and living with purpose.

The resilience of our community members shone as we navigated a new virtual terrain. This past year was challenging, but we continued to create meaningful ways to engage our community. Everyone—faculty and staff, students, their families, volunteers and donors—showed continued generosity, not only towards our fundraising efforts but also with their talents and professional contributions. As a result, our students thrived in the ever-changing COVID-19 climate.

Pg. 12 Artwork by Peri Giacomelli

Engagement

at HSC

Lessons Learned from Ndaba Mandela

Students bring important questions to light

On February 26, 2021, more than 1,300 people logged on to Zoom to join in a once-in-a-lifetime live presentation featuring Ndaba Mandela—the grandson of South African political leader and revolutionary Nelson Mandela. Organized by HSC student-led groups the Black Students’ Association (BSA) and E2@HSC in collaboration with Empowerment Squared (E2), the event was both inspiring and actionable, helping spark year-round conversations about civic engagement, inclusion and diversity at HSC and beyond. BSA President and Grade 12 student Oyin Aderibigbe was among the group of students that kicked off the event. In her welcoming remarks, Oyin highlighted the theme of Black History Month: More Than a Movement, and called on our community to think about the Black experience beyond the month of February. “I encourage everyone to consider what lessons you can take away from this event and how you can apply them in your life to make positive changes every day,” she said. In his address to virtual viewers, Ndaba highlighted the important role that young people can play in building equity and making positive change in the world. “It is up to each and every one of you to make active contributions to your community.” Ndaba answered questions from viewers on a range of topics including anti-racism, political activism and social change. Informed by a childhood spent sharing meals with his grandfather Nelson Mandela, Ndaba offered viewers insight on ways to move forward as global citizens, reminding us that by coming together, people have the power to make real and lasting change. “It’s important to recognize our common interests and work together to put pressure on governments to change the systems that oppress all marginalized groups.”

In addition to Ndaba’s keynote address, the event featured the artistic talents of Eddie Lartey from the Hamilton Youth Poets as well as HSC’s Grade 11 student Peo Boitumelo, who shared a powerful vocal performance of Cynthia Erivo’s song “Stand Up”. Over the months leading up to the conference, Matt Bolis and Ife Aderibigbe, the executive leaders of E2@HSC collaborated with Lisa Marie and Joana Fejzaj at Empowerment Squared on fundraising initiatives in support of the HOPE project in Liberia. HOPE supports economically and socially disadvantaged Liberians through digital literacy, financial literacy, and basic entrepreneurship skills, as well as provides them with holistic psychosocial counselling and seed funds to experiment with self-employment. “It was an enlightening experience to have been able to be mentored by Lisa-Marie and Joana,” shared Matt. “I learned essential outreach and business skills from them that will be an asset to my educational journey.” Together, Matt and Ife contacted a list of companies in and around the Hamilton community who were eager to support the cause. Ultimately, through student-led sponsorships and donations, the team raised more than $1,300. And the fundraising did not stop there. After the event, Matt heard there is not an adequate clean source of water in Paynesville, Liberia, where the HOPE project will be facilitated. He collaborated with Flow Hydration to secure roughly 1,860 bottles of Flow alkaline spring water to be sent to Liberia.

Pg. 14 (left)

Ndaba Mandela

Pg. 14 (right) Artwork by Inayah Kamran Pg. 15 (top left) Artwork by Nour Abdelghaffar Pg. 15 (top right) Artwork by Sofia Nella Pg. 15 (bottom) Artwork by Macy Johnston

Strategic Plan

HSC puts a high priority on giving back

Our mission as a College is to teach the whole child. This is why, since August 2019, we have been working to define a clear path forward for both the students and staff of HSC. Members of the HSC community have spent many hours working to update and develop our new strategic plan, and with their help, we have created the best vision to support our Joyful, Engaged and Inclusive Community. This process has been lengthy because, as a College, we have prioritized transparency and inclusivity over expedience. We pride ourselves on being forward-thinking, adaptive and inclusive. HSC’s Towards 20/20 launched in 2015 and provided us with an ambitious and successful fiveyear strategy. Accomplishing that strategy allowed us to move our organization forward and make targeted improvements across the College. The new framework operates around four central and interlocking themes: Resilience and Wellbeing, Purposeful and Sustainable Learning Environments, A Whole College–Inclusive and Connected, and Personalized Learning. No one theme stands alone, and each theme ultimately supports our goal of a Joyful, Engaged and Inclusive Community. Each of the four themes works with three goals in mind: Enhancing the Learning Experience; Reimagining Time and Space; and Diverse, Inclusive, Equitable, Lifelong Community. This strategic framework is the basis of how, as one College, we will move forward. Strategic Themes:

Resilience and Wellbeing

The development and nourishment of the whole child, with attention to the wellbeing of our entire community, will be our daily focus.

We will focus on implementing and prioritizing programs and practices that focus on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of students, faculty and staff. When we can direct our focus on these areas and channel our energies towards maximizing our potentials, we reach a state of body and mind that allows us to feel invigorated, motivated, successful and ready to face all of life’s challenges with confidence. When this happens, we have reached that enviable state of wellbeing that enables us to perform at our very best.

Purposeful and Sustainable Learning Environments

All of our learning environments enhance the College experience in purposeful and sustainable ways.

Prioritizing environmental sustainability on both the physical campus and in operations decisions is just one way in which we plan on creating a purposeful and sustainable learning environment. All spaces on campus are potential learning spaces and sources of creativity. We understand that educating students on a sustainable future is essential to the fate of our society. This is why we intend to use the entire 50-plus acre campus as a learning environment.

PERSONALIZED LEARNING

Strategic Goal:

Enhance the Learning Experience

A WHOLE COLLEGE–INCLUSIVE AND CONNECTED G

Joyful Engaged Inclusive Community

G G

PURPOSEFUL AND SUSTAINABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Strategic Goal:

Reimagining Time and Space

RESILIENCE AND WELLBEING

Strategic Goal: Diverse, Inclusive, Equitable, Lifelong Community

A Whole College–Inclusive and Connected

A connected community, offering a seamless educational experience from 18 months to 18 years that fosters a sense of belonging.

At HSC, we strive to build, deepen and truly value our relationships. We understand that relationships and connections across the College can have a significant impact on our community members as a whole. In many ways, we work to create an inclusive campus for all of our students, and that commitment remains steadfast. We recognize, celebrate and honour our diversity and ensure that all members of our community feel safe and welcome. Personalized Learning

Enhanced student engagement through authentic experiential opportunities.

Understanding that students aren’t always best served when being constrained by their age, HSC will emphasize the importance of self-reflection and selfevaluation, with a focus on student progress and the mastery of skills. In addition, we will allow students to engage in interdisciplinary and cross-grade learning opportunities, and allow students to learn at their own pace and in ways best suited to their wellbeing, academic development, and personal goals and aspirations. This next chapter for HSC is exciting. The best learning happens when students are excited to come to school, have opportunities to explore their passions and participate in deep learning experiences that challenge them. We look forward to watching this strategic plan come to fruition over the next five years.

Montessori School

Expanding lessons on Indigenous and Black lives in Montessori School

Students enrolled in HSC’s Montessori program are encouraged to explore and learn through personalized and self-directed activities using materials developed specifically for their age and stage of development. Among its many goals, the Montessori curriculum aims to cultivate values of moral development, respect for others, empathy and peacefulness. So it’s no surprise that an initiative to foster diverse and inclusive learning opportunities, specifically about Black and Indigenous life in Canada, has been well received in both HSC’s Montessori classrooms and by others across the country. Montessori School Principal Ms Danielle Hourigan describes a conscious move to bring more attention to the lives of Canada’s Black and Indigenous people: “We saw a need to expand on the once-a-year, month-long focus on Black History by offering materials that would allow year-round learning about experiences both past and present.” One of their first moves was to develop materials that would share lessons on Black History and culture from a Canadian lens. “A lot of the existing text and materials that cover Black History topics come from a U.S. perspective,” explains Ms Hourigan. “So we decided to customize our own materials.” Modelling the materials after existing Montessori methods, Ms Hourigan worked collaboratively with faculty, staff and students to create custom “Who Am I” flashcards, featuring prominent Black Canadians, as well as a timeline that shares the history of Black people in Canada, from slavery in New France to today’s Black Lives Matter movement. Ms Hourigan describes the need to design these materials to match existing tools in the classroom. “The Montessori program has a variety of civilization and evolutionary timelines, so we created the Canadian Black History timeline in a similar fashion so children can connect historical descriptions with the images to place them in a larger historical context.” The timeline and flashcards come with control booklets so the kids can check their work.

In the same vein, faculty have adapted the Montessori civilization timeline to reflect Indigenous Nations. They plan to apply lessons on the fundamental needs of humans (e.g., food, shelter, clothing, arts, transportation etc.) across different Indigenous groups. For example, students will learn about traditional forms of shelter for Six Nations, Haida, Inuit, Métis and others to compare and contrast how the needs were met in differing nations. Ms Hourigan points to the flexibility of the materials as an added benefit. “These streams can be studied horizontally, by looking at all the needs from, say, an Inuit perspective, or vertically by looking at food for all the nations.” This work will augment Indigenous materials already being used in the Montessori classes. Depending on a student’s stage of learning, the materials can be used in different ways to spark further exploration. As Ms Hourigan notes, “the ‘Who Am I’ cards were used by younger students as a jumping-off point for additional research on prominent figures, whereas older students used the timelines to pick and choose events of interest to research.” The popularity of the materials with HSC students inspired Ms Hourigan to share the learning kits with Montessori schools across the country to support awareness and understanding of the Canadian Black experience.

Pg. 18 (left) Artwork by Casa student collaboration Pg. 18 (right) Artwork by Austyn Graci Pg. 19 (top left) Artwork by Casa student collaboration Pg. 19 (top right) Artwork by Casa student collaboration Pg. 19 (bottom) Artwork by Annabel Gough

Junior School

New hands-on programs enrich learning for HSC’s youngest

HSC’s Pre-Kindergarten (PK) students are reaping the benefits of the David Tutty Joy and Innovation Fund with the launch of three new programs in the Junior School: the wellness garden, outdoor wonder wagons and Zumbini. Marlo Flewwelling, the lead Early Childhood Educator for our PK students, has seen firsthand the excitement and wonder from students as they dig into the wellness garden. “They have been very enthusiastic about planting, watering and watching seedlings sprout into foods for them to eat,” says Tmea Strifler, PK teacher and program coordinator for the wellness garden. With the wellness garden, children learn by doing and are taught valuable lessons on harvesting food and enjoying the fruits (or vegetables) of their labour. The garden also provides an opportunity to teach students about whole foods and explore the many varieties of flavours and textures that can come from the ground. For some, foods they would otherwise turn their nose to on the plate become a much more appetizing treat when they get to pick them fresh off the vine. In another move that takes advantage of HSC’s outdoor campus, teachers have welcomed mobile libraries of sorts called wonder wagons to extend literacy activities beyond the classroom. “Our outdoor wonder wagons have enriched students’ learning by providing various seasonal activities and materials,” says PK teacher and program coordinator Laura Macri. “The children have been very engaged while using the new materials, and as a result, we’ve witnessed an increase in their language, gross motor and social development.” Similar benefits have come from the introduction of Zumbini classes (like Zumba but for children) in which the students interact with instruments and explore movements through lively and upbeat music. Aayesha Ahmed, PK teacher and Zumbini instructor, explains that the combination of music and movement nourishes a variety of childhood development areas, such as intellectual, social-emotional, motor, language and overall literacy. The children learn to dance, sing and move with their whole bodies using instruments, scarves and rhythm. “As soon as the instruments come out, the children have big smiles on their faces and are ready to learn and explore,” describes Ms Ahmed. Combined, these added programs have allowed for immense enrichment to the PK curriculum. Each program offers a unique opportunity for students to learn outside of the box. “The entire PK program is overjoyed to be offering these exciting new programs,” says Ms Flewwelling.

Pg. 20 (left) Artwork by Ella Adams Pg. 20 (right) Artwork by Hasanayn Merali Pg. 21 (top left) Artwork by Sloane Richter Pg. 21 (top right) Artwork by Miles Sarraino Pg. 21 (middle right) Artwork by Arthur Wilson Pg. 21 (bottom) Artwork by Arohi Banerjee

Middle School

Inspiring creativity and confidence: putting students @theHelm

“Middle School students love to tell stories,” explains Mr. Adrian Hoad-Reddick, Middle School principal and faculty co-lead for @theHelm – HSC’s

Middle School student-led publication. The magazine was given its name as both a reference to the helm on Hektor’s head and its connotation to being in charge. As the title suggests, @theHelm is produced by students, for students. Launched six years ago as an online project for a Grade 11 writing class, @theHelm has since blossomed into a cherished creative outlet and community connector for the Middle School community. With seven issues published during the 2020–2021 school year, @theHelm’s editors tapped into the talents of HSC’s young poets, short story writers, cartoonists and photographers to deliver a publication that continues to grow with each new issue. Ms Ona Gutauskas, Middle School French teacher and the other faculty co-lead for @theHelm, was blown away by the increased interest from students throughout the year. “We never intended or expected to publish a collection over 25 pages long,” she says, adding that they had to start capping each issue at 32 pages. “There is no shortage of ideas.” The team has since exceeded the self-declared maximum with March (34 pages), April (36 pages) and May (40 pages) issues. @theHelm is a digital-first publication, giving its student editorial team the opportunity to learn valuable writing, editing and proofreading skills. Though participation is optional, Mr. Hoad-Reddick and Ms Gutauskas tracked student engagement to award year-end certificates, house points, and custom pins for multiple contributors. “Once students see their work featured in a professional format, they quickly gain the confidence to continue creating,” says Ms Gutauskas. @theHelm also serves as a springboard to celebrate student creativity in other outlets. The Middle School began featuring recitations of student poetry on the video announcements each week and used the magazine as a means to promote

creative writing contests and opportunities, including a call for submissions to the CITE writing competition, the New York Times Student Editorial Contest, and the Royal Ontario Museum’s #mypandemicstory initiative. Most of the feature articles and story ideas come from student interests. Video gamers critique new games. Avid readers share recommended reads. Budding chefs cook up recipes. And some students offer thoughtful opinions on topics such as the merits of a meat-free diet. As Mr. Hoad-Reddick notes, a lot of this year’s content proved a testament to the times. “One issue featured Zoompers (Zoom-bloopers) on the front page with student testimonials of embarrassing moments in online classes,” he says. In another feature, Grade 8 student Jacey Goldberg beautifully captured the COVID-19 story from a student’s perspective in her poem titled, “I Remember…” and followed that up with another poem reflecting on her Middle School experience (including the COVID year). Our Middle School teachers also help champion submissions, forwarding potential contributions, like exemplary student artwork. With help from learning services specialist Tracy Espinola, recent @theHelm issues feature “The Crow’s Nest”, a wellbeing section with advice for students on dealing with stress and tips for keeping a positive mindset. @theHelm proved to be the ideal COVID-19 co-curricular, with manageable online shared Google documents and asynchronous scheduling. This allowed students to complete assignments on their own schedules. “We were always delighted to receive unsolicited articles in the form of stories, poems and visual art,” says Mr. Hoad-Reddick. “It validated @theHelm as an ideal creative outlet for students struggling through the pandemic. I have to admit, it helped to sustain me, too!” The ISSUU link for each edition of @theHelm can be found on the Middle School myHSC resource page, where PDF editions are also available in the download section. Printed copies are also posted in the covered hallway adjacent to the Heaven building. Mr. Hoad-Reddick also keeps a colour paper copy in his office for the days when he can welcome visitors again.

Senior School

Senior School students find their fit in competitive health science club

In October 2019, then-Grade 11 student Emily Foxman kicked off the inaugural meeting for HSC’s Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Chapter–a group made possible with help from the

David Tutty Joy and Innovation Fund.Founded in 1976, HOSA now has over 200,000 active members worldwide and over 2.5 million alumni. As a Chapter member, HSC students are given the opportunity to explore facets of the healthcare industry and learn about its many careers by preparing for and competing in one of 30 unique events. Emily describes it as the ideal extracurricular program for science enrichment: “Many of us are interested in science but may not necessarily know how that can translate into a post-secondary career, and HOSA is a great resource for us to find our fit.” During its first year at HSC, HOSA was limited to just eight members as a test run to see if students liked the group’s activities and if the commitment was manageable for Senior School students. Evidently, HOSA was a hit and, after opening it up to the entire Senior School, membership grew to nearly 40 students. Although HOSA centers around health sciences, students with interests in many other subjects have found their niche within the Chapter. For example, there is a competitive event called Medical Math, which has attracted many students who plan to pursue postsecondary education in mathematics, bioengineering and computer science. Or take the Behavioural Health competitive event, which caters to topics in psychology and sociology–a perfect bridge to the arts and sciences. Even Senior School students with an interest in law and humanities can join in, with an event called Medical Law and Ethics. HOSA allows students to explore what they want, enriching their coursework beyond the more linear curriculum goals. Emily also points to the unique breadth and flexibility of HOSA as a factor for its success. “We are an inclusive Chapter that encourages curiosity, leadership, and learning, no matter what your educational passion may be.” Though registered as a team, HSC’s HOSA Chapter allows members the

opportunity to compete independently in their chosen specialty. Fields of interest range from Dental Terminology and Biomedical Laboratory Science, to Epidemiology and Researched Persuasive Speaking. There are also teamwork events for those students who enjoy working collaboratively. Finally, months of preparation, study and review culminate in the annual Leadership Conference, where HSC students compete in their chosen event against other secondary school students from across Canada. While the pandemic forced all competitions online, the group was able to compete in the fall and spring conferences–while normally there is only one conference, this year they offered two. In both conferences, HSC members gained recognition for their achievements, with Vikram Arora placing second in Medical Math in the fall conference and fifth in Medical Math in the spring conference, and Matt Bolis placing tenth in Researched Persuasive Thinking in the spring conference. When asked about how HOSA factors into her plans for the future, Emily is confident that her involvement will prove beneficial in her aspirations to become an emergency medicine physician. “Although there is still lots of time before that, I stand solidly in my belief that medicine is where I can make the biggest impact on the world [and] no matter where I end up, I am confident that my experiences as Chapter President of HOSA and a general member of HSC’s community have prepared me well for the road ahead.”

Pg. 24 (left) Artwork by Lucie Osborne Pg. 24 (right) Artwork by Hayley Mun Pg. 25 (top left) Artwork by Rianna Mercer Pg. 25 (top right) Artwork by Christina Ferraro Pg. 25 (bottom) Artwork by Tom Voss