Strategic Plan Update 1 - April 2023

APRIL

We are pleased to provide the HSC Community with our first progress report on our new Strategic Plan. The Plan culminated from many months of community consultation and research and we are excited to share the progress that we have made to date. I’m very proud of the work of our faculty, staff and students to bring the plan to life with the common goal of making our great College even better.

Marc Ayotte, Head of College

PERSONALIZED LEARNING

Enhanced student engagement through authentic and experiential opportunities.

PURPOSEFUL AND SUSTAINABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

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

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.

A WHOLE COLLEGE–INCLUSIVE AND CONNECTED

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

PERSONALIZED LEARNING

strategic Goal: Enhance the Learning Experience

A WHOLE COLLEGE–INCLUSIVE AND CONNECTED

PURPOSEFUL AND SUSTAINABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Joyful Community Inclusive Engaged

strategic Goal: Diverse, Inclusive, Equitable Lifelong Community

strategic Goal: reimagining time and space

RESILIENCE AND WELLBEING

THEME ONE: PERSONALIZED LEARNING

Enhanced student engagement through authentic and experiential opportunities.

Our aim in this area is to create more authentic and experiential learning opportunities for all students, allowing them to find, engage with and seek solutions for real-world problems. Personalized learning is the cornerstone of our Montessori program and is integrated into the class design, curriculum delivery and selfdirected learning. Building on what we’ve learned through our explorations of project-based learning, our years of great opportunities in our E-Week program, and our growing network of community partners, we are preparing to take

these opportunities to the next level. To aid in this effort, we have created a new position for 2023–2024 called the Chair, Experiential Learning. The chair will provide program leadership and strategy development to enhance the overall ability to build experiential learning capacity across the College in line with the four pillars of the Strategic Plan. Within the area of personalized learning, one of the key areas of interest and growth is the development of more cooperative experiences for students. HSC’s co-op program is in its infancy and a handful of successful placements over

Grade 8 E-Week at Camp Timberlane

Co-op program placement at TEAD

the last few years have proven the value of the program. Previous placements have included a surgical internship at a leading specialty hospital in India and a partnership with Jamaica’s National Commercial Bank to place two students looking to learn more about international business and commerce. This year, four excellent, capable students have been chosen through a rigorous application process. Areas of post-secondary interest for this year's students are Psychology and Athletic Therapy. One will take place at TEAD Equestrian Association for the Disabled, one at McMaster David Braley Athletic Center, and the remaining two at St. Joseph Healthcare and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster. Further, HSC has secured a partnership with Hamilton Health Sciences to open up experiential education opportunities for students across the network of healthcare providers in the area. In the next few years, we hope to expand the co-op opportunities for Senior School students and continue to look at less formal experiential learning opportunities for our younger students.

E-Week Program

Experiential learning week offers all students from Grades 5-12 various experiences, from outdoor education to curricular, athletics, the arts, or service trips each year. Students can map their experiential education pathway by choosing from various options each year after their Grade 9 Onondaga camp experience. The purpose of experiential week is to provide students with opportunities to build relationships, to learn through experiences outside the classroom and enhance student engagement.

The options available are designed through the lens of the strategic plan.

A diverse, inclusive, equitable lifelong community

» Community connections - Fostering relationships between students, faculty and the wider local, national and international communities.

» Pluralism and culture - Prioritizing the learning experience with the inclusion of widely diverse voices and/or experiences

Reimagining time and space

» Experiences outside the traditional classroom setting

» Learning opportunities designed with a focus on sustainability

Enhance the learning experience

» Empowered student learning

» Wellbeing as a daily focus

» Boundless campus

» Authentic experiential opportunities that enhance student engagement

Montessori School Project-Based Learning

THEME TWO: PURPOSEFUL AND SUSTAINABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

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

As we endeavor to meet the goals in this strategic plan, we will design learning environments that will enhance the College experience in purposeful and sustainable ways. Our newly formalized Environment Prefect role was introduced for the 2022–2023 academic year, which, along with our Green Teams, has supported us in achieving our Eco Schools (ecoschools.ca) Platinum status. We know that all spaces on campus are potential learning spaces and sources of creativity and inspiration. We want these spaces to be flexible, dynamic, and adaptable to student needs and promote connections, ease of movement, and accessibility across the campus. For example, the culinary arts kitchen was recently revamped using re-purposed equipment from alumni donors. In addition, armour stones were installed in selected locations across the campus to provide more student gathering spaces as they explore the outdoors as an extension of the classroom. A key

part of working towards our vision for purposeful and sustainable learning environments was the completion of our Campus Master Plan. For more information, visit hsc.on.ca/cmp.

As we recognize the critical importance of our environment and the existential challenges of the global climate crisis, HSC is prioritizing environmental sustainability in our physical campus and our operations decisions, evident through our transition to electric ground equipment and work to formalize a green purchasing policy. We are working towards making HSC a leader in Canadian education for practicing, learning, and teaching environmental sustainability. HSC is one of 21 schools across Canada that have joined the Climate Action Accelerator Program (CAAP). For more information, visit https://doornumberone.org/ climate-action-accelerator-program/. This is a

three-year commitment in which HSC’s team of faculty and staff is developing and implementing a high-impact, whole-College climate action plan. The team has opportunities to share their learning virtually with other schools across the country and learn and collaborate with them. Check out this great CAAP video created by our very own John Hannah. Watch carefully for a cameo by Mark Mitchel too! It’s a great highlight reel of many of the projects happening across the campus. The College has also established a 2019 GreenHouse Gas (GHG) baseline to measure our sustainability efforts. The CAAP facilitators have decades of experience working in all aspects of schools, with experts contributing to topics ranging from GHG inventories to climate change education and risk, to governance considerations and promoting a ‘Whole College Approach’ to sustainability and regenerative practices.

Campus Master Plan

New armour stone for student gatherings

Culinary Arts kitchen renovation

THEME THREE: 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 are developing practices to amplify wellbeing and embed it into our school structures and daily routines. Ensuring our community is physically active every day, demonstrates gratitude, is open to learning, is mindful and present, and is actively open to caring for others and themselves will be the start of centring wellbeing at HSC.

The second annual GLOW (Gathering Lessons on Wellbeing) took place in January. Designed and led by the wellbeing team, school life coordinators, and our Wellbeing Prefect, GLOW provides

students with a full calendar of activities focused on their social and emotional wellbeing. Highlights included getting outside, taking part in Cosmic Yoga, and a GLOW with your senses wellbeing fair.

The Montessori School has focused its efforts this year on Social Emotional Learning (SEL). In November, Montessori faculty PD centred around SEL activities. They hosted a parent night in February with Mrs. Gina Ranger that looked at SEL through a Montessori Lens. In addition to the school-wide wellbeing room, classroom

HOW ARE YOU

Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

GLOW (Gathering Lessons on Wellbeing)

teachers have created mindful corners to give students a space to calm their bodies and minds when needed. They adopted the WELL program to expand wellness experiences in a group setting. To enhance their self-assessment skills, students engage in reflective opportunities embedded in their lessons and follow a self-navigating rubric to assess their own work and plan goals.

The REACH character education framework in the Junior School has been revamped with more inclusive language incorporating the Indigenous Ways of Knowing and the College-wide focus on pluralism. For example, respect is now taught through the lens of being a global citizen who respects our unique differences and respects the earth. When students learn about honesty, students hear about how to use their voices to speak up for what is right and stand up for others. In addition, Grade 4 student leaders can visit the younger classrooms to talk about REACH and what it means. Mrs. Ranger provided workshops for students and parents throughout the year with a focus on resilience. Finally, classrooms have also been equipped with mindfulness tools that allow students the opportunity to focus on their wellbeing.

The Middle School has expanded its FLEX time offerings to include House intramurals which not only allow more opportunities for students to be physically active but also allow students to develop a sense of community with their housemates. In addition, the Middle School Leadership Team has been reading Well Aware - Developing Resilient, Active, and Flourishing Students by Patrick Carney. We are developing a school wide implementation plan of SEL using the

CASEL framework. This includes piloting monthly Wellbeing Wednesday afternoons that focus on specific SEL activities that are customized by the grade level teams to address the unique needs of each grade level. For more information, visit hsc. on.ca/casel.

In the Senior School, the Student Success Centre has revamped its model to have students work with the same guidance counsellor during their time in the Senior School. This model allows counsellors to know and understand each student and family better and enable them to best support student needs. On Wednesdays, in the Senior School, flex time is dedicated to Wellness with student-driven activities such as walking, running, intramurals, yoga, etc.

REACH

FOR THE STARS

RESPECT: I value the things that make me unique. I understand that we are all connected and celebrate our differences. As a global citizen, I care for and respect our world.

EFFORT: I always do my best and never give up, even when things are difficult. I know that even when I fail, it gets me closer to reaching my goals.

ATTITUDE: I choose to be brave, positive, curious, passionate, and grateful. I understand that everyone deserves to feel included. I adopt a growth mindset.

CONTROL OF SELF: I am in control of my thoughts, feelings, and actions. I always try to make good choices, exercise humility and take responsibility for the impact I have on others.

HONESTY: I value the truth. I know when people are being treated unfairly and I can and will act when I see unfairness. I use my voice to stand up for others.

Junior School REACH character education

THEME FOUR: A WHOLE COLLEGE –INCLUSIVE AND CONNECTED

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

HSC offers a seamless educational experience for students from 18 months to 18 years. This experience’s key aspect is fostering a sense of belonging among our entire community, including students, staff, faculty, parents, and alumni. One of the ways that we build our community is through our College events. We are thrilled that 2022–2023 has seen a return to so many cherished events on the HSC calendar, such as the Remembrance Day Service, Carol Service, the Staff/Parent/Alumni Musical, and Spooky Carnival. Throughout the pandemic, however, we also realized the power of technology to expand our reach and connect to others virtually. As such, we have continued offering virtual events when appropriate, such as a live stream of major College events and virtual parent nights.

Spooky Carnival

Alumni Holiday Reunion

Staff, Alumni and Parent Musical

Alumni Hockey Tournament

Carol Service

Remembrance Day Service

GOAL ONE: ENHANCE THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Within our plan, students will find choice and latitude in our curriculum, timetabling and programming to engage in their interests and passions, take age-appropriate risks and try new things. As we work toward this vision, it is important to reflect on the full range of outcomes that we want for our graduates. Once this is in place we can work backward as we explore ways to enhance the learning experience and make HSC learners stronger academic students who will have the emotional intelligence and learning skills to excel beyond HSC. The Empowering Learners committee has been focusing on creating a Portrait of a Graduate and has sought feedback from many stakeholders. A draft has now been created and we hope to launch the Portrait of a Graduate in the coming months.

We aim to make wellbeing a critical part of all we do and be at the forefront of all decisions—striking a balance of academic rigour and wellbeing. In response to this goal and to meet the needs of our students coming out of the pandemic, Mrs. Gina Ranger offered professional development on emotional-focused coaching as part of our year-long focus on “Celebrating Learners”, which was launched in Links to Learning in August. Mrs. Ranger has subsequently visited each school for follow-up training on emotion coaching and how to use this technique to empathize with students and help them to overcome a difficult emotional situations.

In order to enhance the learning experience for students and to continue to offer a world-class level of education, we support and empower our

faculty to grow as a community of professional educators committed to career-long personal and professional growth. In support of this effort, the Faculty Goals process was revamped for the 2022–2023 school year. The newly launched Reflective Professional Growth Plan includes a few options for faculty that support them in their professional development. These options include peer observation, reflective journaling, joining an Action Research Team, or taking part in peer coaching. We will continue to collect feedback from faculty on this process and make more improvements for subsequent years. In addition, we have begun to collect feedback on the evaluation process and will begin working on a Profile of a Faculty Member to support our goals in this area.

As we work toward the goals outlined in this plan, we know the importance of establishing a robust network of local, regional and global partners to provide long-lasting and sustainable learning opportunities for our students and teachers. We are fortunate to have been able to work with the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) not only through E-Week activities, but also as expert resources in many of our project-based learning (PBL) activities. In addition, we have partnered with local post-secondary schools such as McMaster University to support their demystifying medicine program, and Mohawk College to learn from them about sustainable gardening. Finally, we have expanded our work with Empowerment Squared. What began as a service-focused fundraising partnership has expanded also to include English Conversation Circles and other learning and leadership opportunities for students.

E-Week at RBG

College partnership with Empowerment Squared

GOAL TWO: REIMAGINING TIME AND SPACE

Our goal is to reexamine our schedule to empower student learning and enable coordination across schools. Our aim is for the daily and weekly schedules to allow us to specifically focus our attention on student, faculty, and staff wellbeing. As part of our effort in this area, the Middle School has a committee that is researching the purpose of our home form model and best practices to enhance what we currently do. We also have a College-wide timetable committee that is examining the timetable and researching best practices to allow for more flexibility, better alignment across schools, and more purposeful collaborative time.

To exemplify environmental sustainability in our practice and design and use of spaces, we have installed Naturalpod furniture in some of our Junior School classrooms and created a living wall. In addition, as we have recognized the enormous impact of outdoor learning on student and faculty wellbeing and achievement, we have installed doors in the Elementary Learning Commons and the Junior and Montessori Schools

that take students directly from classroom spaces to the outdoors, and we have created a new outdoor learning area in Early Education.

As an Eco-Schools Platinum School for the past two years, we are well on our way to making HSC a leader in Canadian education concerning practicing, learning and teaching environmental sustainability. This December, we hosted a successful Biodiversity EXPO where Grade 6 students presented their ideas about improving the biodiversity of our campus to many experts and visitors. Students have re-established three vermicomposting hotels and hope to add the green bin contents from the Middle School to keep them going. The goal is to feed our aquaponic turtles with extra worms from these systems to close the circle and link the two systems together. In the Junior School, the entire science curriculum has been redesigned to teach the curriculum content through a lens of gardening. Students have received the gardening curriculum well and are excited to learn about seeds, soil, planting, vermicomposting, and much more.

Montessori School outdoor classroom

Junior School natural pod furniture

Junior School gardening

Middle School Biodiversity Expo

GOAL THREE: DIVERSE, INCLUSIVE, EQUITABLE, LIFELONG COMMUNITY

Our school—like our community, region and nation—is increasingly diverse. We recognize, celebrate, and honour our diversity. As we actively focus on becoming a more pluralistic community, we have highlighted days of significance on our media screens, celebrated a variety of cultural events during Chapel, such as Hanukkah, Lunar New Year, Truth and Reconciliation, Black History Month, and increased the number of affinity groups we have on campus. While these celebrations enhance student awareness of diversity, integrating pluralism into the everyday curriculum in all four schools leads to a clear understanding of inclusivity. Our goal is to have each member of our community have a lifelong personal connection to the College and feel supported, included and appreciated for their contributions.

HSC offers students and families an integrated learning experience from early childhood through high school. We know that our younger students learn differently from those at the higher level and we are working to develop a curriculum scope and sequence for pluralism that is age and

stage appropriate. In addition, we are prioritizing the inclusion of widely diverse voices in our curriculum, programs and projects. For example, our English department recently completed an audit of the list of texts that were used in their classes, and the Junior School has created a draft Social Justice Continuum. When a gap was seen in the Montessori materials, we created our own materials to recognize Canada’s Indigenous peoples and Black History. In addition, two student representatives from HSC’s Indigenous Students and Allies Association presented their ideas about Truth and Reconciliation to the Board in the fall and made some suggestions to help the College move forward.

This winter, we expanded the number of multifaith/prayer rooms by opening a new space in the Middle School, located in the Heaven Building. As a community, Middle School students, faculty, and administration co-constructed shared essential agreements for the respectful use of this space. HSC prides itself on a feeling of belonging and community, and we will endeavour to continue to build lifelong connections with our alumni as

integral members of our community. It was a joy to welcome back so many alumni at the holiday reunions after Carol Service.

To best ingratiate our newest students and parents in our community, HSC’s Admissions and Enrolment team has introduced a comprehensive New Family Campaign, which includes personal welcomes from key areas of the College, parent and student orientations, an informational landing page and a special HSC spirit gift delivered to their door. From this special first welcome begins a lifetime of affinity. Our parents become key partners in the learning experience for their children and we are developing parent education opportunities that help parents partner effectively and appropriately in support of the shared goals and values of the HSC community. Some recent examples are presentations by recognized author and expert, Jennifer Casa Todd, on Raising Digital Leaders and HSC College Counsellor, Mrs. Gina Ranger on Social Emotional Learning from a Montessori Lens. Beyond graduation, alumni are a network that continue to enrich and expand the value of an HSC education through mentorship programming and co-op opportunities. It was a joy to welcome back so many alumni at the holiday reunions after Carol Service and to see the camaraderie of alumni new and old during HSC’s annual alumni golf and hockey tournaments. It is through these ongoing touchpoints that we offer a continuum of dedicated programming to create affinity, engagement and a lifelong sense of inclusion and value.

Black History Month Chapel performance

Fall Orientation

HILLFIELD STRATHALLAN COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC PLAN COMMITTEE

Marc Ayotte Head of College

Zahra Valani

Co-Chair – Director of Constituency Relations

905-389-1367

Carrie Annable '97 Co-Chair – Chair, Academic Strategy

Liz Davidson Director of Finance

Danielle Hourigan '82 Principal, Montessori School

Eleonor Kerr

Director of HR and Operations

Jason Caruana

Deputy Head of College

Linda Watson

Director of Technology, Innovation and Integration