Students Making Connections Across the Grades BY MELANIE VAN DE WATER, DEAN OF STUDENTS
One of my most cherished novels growing up was Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie. I connected to the feeling of this small community in the American Midwest where everyone knew each other – parents, children, community members and teachers. Not surprisingly, as a child I found it difficult to believe that children of all ages could learn together under one roof. How was this possible? In the novel, there was one schoolhouse in the community, often with one teacher. In today’s day and age, with so many types of learning opportunities, this one-room schoolhouse feels like a thing of the past. But in fact, HTS is rather special in being one of the very few leading co-educational independent schools where all students in Kindergarten through Grade 12 learn in the same building, under the same roof. There are several aspects of this type of learning that can be beneficial for learners and teachers, creating that community feel within the walls of HTS. Having students of all ages under one roof provides an opportunity for connection. This is often seen in our weekly Chapel services. Three mornings per week, our school community is led in Chapel by our school Chaplain, Father Crowther. Our Prefects walk the younger students
in, holding hands as they join other students and staff to participate in talks on empathy, respect, integrity and courage. The entire community is a part of the same messaging on our values and traditions. Many of our graduates say they look back on Chapel as a pivotal part of their HTS education. At alumni reunions, it is common to hear former students break into renditions of Chapel songs as they reflect on what they remember most from their time at HTS. There are purposeful connections between ages across all divisions. During Middle School Flexible Learning EXperience (FLEX) periods, the Middles to Littles program pairs up our Middle School students with Kindergartners as reading buddies. Our wellness program is led by students in Grades 5 through 12, who work together to provide messaging on health and well-being to our school community. Our experiential learning opportunities take these connections outside the school walls, pairing our senior leaders with students in Grades 4 through 8 during our Breakaway Trips with ALIVE Outdoors, and during the winter overnight programs at the Bark Lake Leadership and Conference Centre and Camp Wanakita.
CORRIDORS | 7
