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 the last few years have proven the value of the program. Previous placements have included a surgical internship at a leading specialty hospital 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 Grade 9-12 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