Imprint: December 2022 Issue

Message from the Head of School

Welcome to the winter edition of Imprint! I am so pleased to invite you to read this review of this past fall at Stratford Hall. In these pages, you will find colourful stories about our signature programs: internationalism, sustainability, DEI, outdoor experiential education, athletics, the arts, and design! In the classroom or beyond, Stratford Hall faculty create outstanding learning experiences for students, inspired by the IB Learner Profile and connected to East Vancouver, Canada, and the world.

When I learned in January that I would become Stratford Hall’s fifth Head of School, I felt so much joy in joining this unique educational institution on Commercial Drive. Founded in 2000, Stratford Hall has made remarkable strides in only 22 years. The wisdom and dedication of our founders, Elaine and Harry Lee, Cindy and Jeremy Leung, as well as the leadership of founding Head of School Jim McConnell, set a bold, ambitious direction for the school. Our faculty and staff are so glad to have landed at Stratford Hall, where they can collaborate with remarkable

colleagues and enjoy the privilege of teaching your children.

No other school could better align with my personal and professional values. Supporting academic achievement, nurturing personal interests, and developing a vibrant social fabric are exactly the right aims for a school today. Clark Park and Trout Lake, Commercial Drive, and the many not-for-profit organizations in East Vancouver provide our students with remarkable resources to extend their education.

We practice diversity, equity, and inclusion within and beyond our walls. Every student, staff member, and family is valued and respected no matter—or for—their race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or ability. We teach students to become inquirers, thinkers, risk-takers, and communicators, principled, open-minded, caring and balanced, knowledgeable, and reflective. When they arrive at university, our students report being incredibly well-prepared to navigate the expectations and requirements of tertiary education.

In the last five months, I have focused on three things: relationships, learning, and strategy. Relationships are the core of any educational community. I have held an individual meeting with every staff member, asking them how they chose Stratford

Hall, why they stay, and how we could improve. I have worked closely with our likeable and highly capable Board of Governors, who exercise their fiduciary responsibilities with talent and dedication. I have asked our senior leaders what it means to work on a team, particularly when the going gets tough. I have asked our students what lights their fire, what causes them worry, and what their peers need. I have listened to families as you have shared your hopes, dreams, and concerns for your children.

Designing powerful learning environments is our core business. We attract outstanding teachers, who share their expertise and experiences with students and colleagues. We support their development through a rich professional development programme. When your students arrive to class every day, they are

invited to ask significant questions, design methods of inquiry, collect the necessary resources, compare insights with their classmates, draw conclusions, and present to their peers. The IB provides the best, modern framework for teaching children to develop their approaches to learning and engage with the world.

Last spring, the Board invited me to join in the development of the Bridge Strategic Plan, which guides the school for the next 18 months. Through careful review of community feedback, successive revisions with a board committee, and the input of School leadership, we developed and shared a plan that will reaffirm our identity, reignite our culture, and reinforce organization. Projects such as refreshing our mission, vision, and values, enhancing our culture of philanthropy, developing the

middle building, and supporting student and staff well-being will further strengthen this outstanding institution and community.

Stratford Hall is a remarkable school. Thank you for entrusting your children with us.

Richard Kassissieh Head of School

Fostering Global Citizenship

BY: MEG CHAMBERLIN Senior School Principal

At Stratford Hall, we believe that every child has the power to make a positive impact in their local and global community, and we create student experiences and opportunities that support the development of ethical and active global citizens.

UNESCO states, “Global citizenship education equips learners of all ages with those values, knowledge and skills that are based on and instill respect for human rights, social justice, diversity, gender equality and environmental sustainability and that empower learners to be responsible global citizens.”

We see the characteristics of global citizens echoed strongly through the language of the IB, particularly across the goal of international mindedness and the learner profile characteristics of being open-minded, caring, and reflective inquirers. Furthermore, our ability to critically self-analyze, recognize our connections to others, and empathize with another’s experience are fundamental.

Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion club; Gender Sexuality Alliance; Action and Wellness Council; Action Now club; and Model United Nations are just some examples of co-curriculars focused on learning about the experiences of others, taking an active stance as allies to marginalized communities, and being changemakers for a better world. Our staff are also fully engaged in professional development and collaboration in areas fundamental to global citizenship, including through our staff committees focusing on Indigenous Perspectives, Anti-Oppression Education, Neurodiversity, and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

This fall, our students have embarked on learning about a wide range of local and global issues through community engagement activities, including: food waste and diversion with Food Stash; homelessness and food insecurity with Help Change My City and New Fountain Shelter; climate monitoring projects with UBC researchers; restoration work with Metro Vancouver Regional Parks; and invasive species removal with Stanley Park Ecology Society. Sabres are also engaging regularly in exploring cultural understanding, including recent field trips to híwus feasthouse to learn about Indigenous ways of life; a visit to the Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden, as well as a guided tour of Chinatown to support the literary analysis of Jade Peony.

Understanding one’s own personal identity and biases is central to the ability to self-analyze; students gain experience in self-reflection through application of approaches to learning on an everyday basis in the classroom and through advisory lessons and group circle discussions around pertinent social issues. Furthermore, all MYP and DP students take part in service learning activities, which are thoughtfully designed to be collaborative, authentic engagements with our community, both internal and external. A few examples are our continuum buddy programme and upcoming exchanges with Queen Alexandra students, MOSAIC (supporting English Language learners), and our annual Care Package Drive with New Fountain Shelter. Through these experiences, students gain a greater understanding of their environment, their connection to each other, and the impact of their choices on others. Ultimately, our approach to global citizenship education is reflected in the IB mission statement which “aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect” (IBO, 2022).

Sustainability in Action

BY: LISA BLACHUT Sustainability Coordinator

What does sustainability mean to you?

It’s a broad term that can refer to social, economic, or environmental well-being, both now and in the future. The area of focus for my role, as Stratford Hall’s Sustainability Coordinator, is to implement ways to reduce our school’s environmental impact.

I believe that environmental sustainability is a lens we can all learn to look through. It is a way of considering our daily actions, whether it relates to being a student, a teacher, a parent, or a community member. So far this year we have made progress on our sustainability plan, which was informed by the comprehensive Sustainability Audit completed last year. I am delighted to share some of the initiatives that demonstrate how we are thinking and acting sustainably every day at Stratford Hall.

On November 2, we participated in our sixth-annual community clean up, a continuum buddy event that saw everyone from Kindergarten to Grade 12 cleaning up garbage in the neighbourhood. Our students and staff are committed to being good stewards of our local parks and green spaces, and I know that this extends to every other day of the year as well.

Students have been taking action to educate our community about sustainability. The Junior and Senior Earth Cubs worked together to present at the recent whole school assembly about sustainable holidays. They spoke about re-thinking gift giving, recycling holiday lights and decorations, and reducing food waste at holiday meals. Another aspect of thinking sustainability is practicing gratitude for all that we have, considering our needs versus our wants, and supporting those who are less fortunate during this time.

The Junior School Earth Club is also improving awareness of our recycling program. Did you know that we collect

used pens and whiteboard markers in all three buildings?

At the end of each school year, these items are brought to an organization called TerraCycle, which makes them into recycled bins and chairs. So far we have collected more than 4,000 used pens since we joined the program in 2021.

Our faculty are also teaching sustainability in many ways across the Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum, and we are working on comprehensive plans to include these themes more intentionally in all classes. We also are continuing to highlight professional development opportunities for our staff that are focused on environmental sustainability.

As part of our teacher meetings during the November break, we hosted a stuff swap of clothing, books and housewares, which is just one simple way to reduce waste and consumption.

Sustainable action is happening within our community events as well. The SHPA recently hosted the Winter Fair, and they were committed to buying local, reducing packaging and minimizing the disposable waste of decorations. The SHPA will also be supporting our Senior School students in attending the inaugural ISABC Climate Change Conference which will be held on UBC Vancouver campus in February 2023. This is an exciting opportunity for our students to connect with students from other ISABC schools from across the province.

Looking ahead, there are many other initiatives for our school. We will be installing an industrial-grade composter that will transform all of our school’s green waste into finished compost for the rooftop gardens. We are considering environmentally sustainable infrastructure and building practices for the future plans for the middle building. In the meantime, we are taking steps to make our existing use of energy, water, and paper more efficient. We are continuing to encourage sustainable commuting for staff, and will be considering a carpooling program for

students and staff in the future. Please reach out to me if you have any other ideas for environmental sustainability at our school.

Every day at Stratford Hall, I see examples of taking action to reduce our environmental impact. It is a way of thinking that can be as simple as remembering to pack reusable cutlery with your lunch, or thinking twice before making a purchase. I know that we all care for the planet and we can all play a role in making our community more environmentally sustainable.

Thank you for your support, and for thinking sustainably every day.

There’s Magic in Theatre...

BY: CARA TENCH MYP/DP Theatre Teacher

I am gathering magic within the halls of Stratford Hall. There are pockets of it everywhere. I see it in the smiles of everyone that I pass. I feel it whenever someone shares a story about our community. I am witnessing magic unfolding through each lesson and project. There is a twinkle in our eyes that tells me we are ready to share this magic with each other once again.

Magic is such an important part of theatre. There is something so special about creating for an audience that witnesses and connects with the performers. Theatre is ephemeral. One performance can never be like the one before. We, both actors and audience, enter a world that lives for just that one moment. Sharing in the magic that is created together when we gather. How lucky are we to be present at that one moment in time.

As we embark on a new school year, one where we can once again gather within a theatre, Stratford Hall is ready to create some magic. And, if the excitement brewing in the halls is any indication, our community is more than ready to embrace the resurgence of performances. The students are eager to jump back onstage, display their skills and showcase their passions.

Throughout my first term at Stratford Hall, students embraced many facets of theatre making: improv games, scene work, script analysis, creation of radio plays, sound design, foley art, prop building, direction, and design. We shared personal stories through building playbills and took the stage in scripted scenes. Students supported the Jam Bar shows with lighting design and created plans for Spring productions. I am so grateful to be part of this community. Stratford Hall students are eager to learn, colleagues are

bursting with support, and there is such a high level of motivation for new offerings and collaboration.

One of the exciting new ventures is the start of the Senior School musical! A mighty cast of 13 will be taking the stage at the Vancity Culture Lab on March 8 and 9 with our production of the Broadway hit, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Planning for the musical started as soon as the teachers returned back in the fall. Auditions shortly followed and rehearsals began with dancing, singing and acting filling the classrooms. This cast and crew of talented students are taking on fun and fabulous roles and designing all the pieces of the puzzle of bringing a script and score to life.

The time has come to walk through the lobby, take your seat in the house and greet everyone at the stage door. Gathering in a communal space where we can feel the warmth of the stage lights and witness the creations by our students will be such a welcome change after spending the past few years apart. We cannot wait to open our doors to bring you back into the theatre. We are ready to share our love of the stage with each of you. We know that you have been waiting to be a part of our audience. And, a part of the magic.

Let’s Design an Idea!

BY: ANDREA RYAN & MEG PEÑAFIEL Idea Lab Coordinator | PYP Design Teacher

The Idea Lab is both a physical hub where students and teachers gather, as well as the home of our design program. A typical day is anything but typical as Kindergarten to Grade 12 students use the space to come together as a community of makers, tinkerers, and dreamers. We celebrate and foster a robust curriculum, student-driven initiatives and a sense of community.

Our planned curriculum runs from Kindergarten to Grade 10 with a new explicit design elective in Grade 9 and 10. Our design program intentionally teaches the concept and idea that everything designed can be redesigned, the importance of strong collaboration skills (and how these skills can be developed and practiced), and that creativity can be learned. Our goal for the design program is that students develop this creative capacity and their ability to be problem finders and solvers. We hope that they leave armed with the knowledge that they can redesign and make the systems and things they engage with better, and that they can do so working effectively with others. Students learn to use the design cycle as a way to approach and tackle a variety of problems.

In our classes we harness the power of brainstorming rules and explicit creative thinking warm ups and routines. We play improv games together to practice our “Yes... And...” approach to problems and ideas. We practice deferring judgment and building on each other’s ideas.

This year, Kindergarten and Grade 1 students are bringing stories to life through the use of green screen technology. They are also practicing learning more about a client, through effective interviewing skills. Learning about another person helps them develop their empathy and capacity to consider another person’s needs and desires. Grade 2 students are learning how to test and prototype as they design table caddies. Grade 5 and 8 are pursuing personal passion projects as they practice setting short and long term goals, giving and receiving effective feedback, and building and testing prototypes. Grade 9 and 10 students are considering design problems while keeping sustainability concerns at heart while designing and making products to sell at the winter fair. For example, some students explored how kids can express themselves given the constraints of wearing a uniform, sleep issues amongst students, and the impact of disposable cutlery and fabric in our landfills. Other students are designing and building personalized chocolates for the various school councils. All students are practicing their prototyping skills, learning how to harness the power of paper engineering. Paper engineering is a robust approach that helps students bring their ideas to life, test their solutions, get feedback and then improve their designs. Within all these units, students are not only learning and practicing new skills, but they are also learning about their own capacities as designers and their abilities to solve problems.

In addition to the work we do formally within our classes, we also strive for the Idea Lab to embody the approach of “Yes... And...” outside of our formal design program. When students want to undertake a project of their own, start a club, build something, or even approach a school assignment in a new and different way, we strive to always

say “Yes. Let’s figure out how.” This has resulted in a wide variety of things happening in the Idea Lab. We have young students learning first hand how to build and program a robotic car. One student spends his lunch hour designing, prototyping and coding different features. He’s learning the power of perseverance and determination. Another student was introduced to Hummingbird Robotics during their design class and wanted to extend their learning outside of class hours and comes in every Tuesday at lunch to learn from others. He has started building a digital cardboard arcade. We have students who drop in to use the green screen and recording equipment for their English assignments. They are challenging themselves to consider new and creative ways to share their work. We have students using the Idea Lab kitchen as they hope to build community within their club or class by cooking together. Other students have made logoed mugs for their community tea station initiative. Art students are learning Adobe Illustrator so they can create new works of art using the laser cutter, and Adobe Photoshop so they can manipulate physical collages and then enlarge and reprint them using the wide format printer. The Idea Lab helps students and teachers reconsider what they can do, providing the tools and resources they need to explore. Saying “Yes... And...” means there is always the opportunity to learn and grow and try something new.

Finally, the Idea Lab, at its core, is a space that facilitates community. With its big open space, kitchen and multiadjoining rooms, we often have events and activities

scheduled that bring a wide variety of people together. This year, we hosted events for StoryFest, Design challenges, spelling bees, and buddy events. We hope that students, teachers and community members see the Idea Lab as a hub where they feel safe sharing their ideas, feel supported in making their ideas come to life, and where they can come to connect creatively with others in the community.

The Idea Lab and Design team are always considering how we can best support our students within the Idea Lab and our program. What can we be doing differently? What can we modify? What can we add? What skills and competencies do our students need to be prepared for the everchanging future that we should highlight? What ways can we better infuse 3D design, modeling and building while harnessing the power of the circular economy? What are the implications of AI and how do we harness it effectively and ethically? How can AR and VR be used effectively to augment or enhance teaching and learning? What is the intersection of design with diversity, equity, and inclusion? How do we better use a human-centered design approach as teachers, so we can better consider the needs of our students?

Design and the Idea Lab are both an approach and a space. We are excited to share them with our students and community. We feel passionately about them and excited to work to make them as robust and effective as possible. We look forward to inviting you into the space as we offer parent workshops in the new year.

Outdoor and Experiential Education

BY: ABI CRATON & MITCHELL TAYLOR OEE Teacher | OEE Coordinator

We have had a stellar launch to Outdoor and Experiential Education (OEE) at Stratford Hall this year, with a full return to our overnight September Retreat programming. These retreats are instrumental for students and teachers to collaboratively build classroom culture and the curricular framework for the year. Our focus is providing experiences that foster interpersonal relationships and connections between students and cultivate strong bonds within advisor groups. We are excited that this important part of our program has returned, and we look forward to our grade-wide camps at the end of the year.

Our biking and cooking programs aim to teach students important life skills and develop a deeper connection to the world around them. Both programs are also focused on fostering independence. Our biking program requires

students to take charge of a group and make important decisions while riding through the city, like which route to take, where to ride, and how to respond to traffic. We hope that this program empowers students to take control of their transportation, relying less on parents to drive them to social, athletic, and school events.

Our cooking program focuses on student choice, allowing students to explore the kitchen, use sharp knives, hot pans, and cook with spicy peppers. We tell the students that learning how to cook provides the independence to choose what they want to eat. Cooking is also an incredible place for students to develop their negotiation skills. We provide students with a demonstration, then present a wide variety of ingredients to make their own creation. We often hear students negotiating how much spicy

pepper to add, what vegetables to incorporate, or the type of seasoning they wish to infuse. Our cooking program teaches vital independent living skills which they will use wherever life takes them. It also provides practice for interpersonal communication skills like negotiation, selfadvocacy, collaboration, creative expression, and risk-taking which are vital in the adult world.

Another huge addition to our OEE program is the new indoor climbing facility in the Big Top. Rock climbing is one of the core activities in our program, as we believe it is a safe environment for students to push their perceived limits, foster resilience, and explore what it means to be a risk-taker. Like all our OEE programs, the intention of an activity goes far beyond teaching technical skills. For example, in Grade 7, students explored setting personal criteria for success. We believe climbing is a perfect activity to foster internal motivation and the development of strategies to achieve personal goals.

The new climbing wall has greatly improved our Grade 9 climbing program with all students learning how to belay and successfully challenging the belay test at a local gym. These students can now walk into any gym and pass the climbing exam which grants access to the gym.

The addition of the climbing wall has also advanced both our Climbing Club and the inception of rock climbing as an ISABC sport. We have successfully launched the first ISABC Climbing Festival Circuit with events taking place in January at Brentwood College and at the Richmond Oval on February 10.

Looking to the future, we expect graduates of Stratford Hall to excel in whatever field they choose. Graduates will become people of influence who shape policy and governance. They protect and take care of things they care about. In our OEE program, we seek to provide students with positive lived experiences in the beautiful green spaces and wilderness around the Lower Mainland. We hope that this exposure will foster a deeper connection and positive relationship with the land so when they are in places of influence, they can advocate for the protection and stewardship of our local mountains, forests and water ways.

Hopefully this provides a better look into the philosophy of our OEE program. We do so much more than take students kayaking or climbing, and the learning goes so much deeper than how to cut an onion or ride a bicycle.

Alumni Spotlight:

Thanh (Jenny) Lieu ‘22

I’m Jenny, and one of the most recent 2022 graduate bunch! Currently, I’m pursuing a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Management at UBC, and intending to major in Film Studies with minor in History in the following year. After Stratford Hall, I embarked on many new adventures. I visited home in Vietnam, performed quite a lot in a band as a vocalist and pianist, took on cycling, and started working in the film industry as a production assistant.

As fun as some of these new “adulting” experiences may be, there are many apparent struggles: networking and branching out of my circle. At first, it was intimidating to break my bubble to meet new people and gain more insights into the hands-on industry I wish to pursue in the future. However, my two years at Stratford Hall had prepared me well in terms of social skills and emotional awareness. Most importantly, it has fostered my love for writing, so I am currently working as a marketing executive for a music club and a cultural arts club at UBC, and on the side, a freelance writer for magazines.

Right now, I think it’s safe to say that I am thriving in my journey, and I am so grateful for my family, friends, and my teachers at Stratford Hall, who are now my life mentors. You will find me at Stratford Hall on Fridays as I am now one of the after school chess instructors in the MYP, and just know I’m always down for coffee hopping and chatting!

Sabres Athletics Term 1 Update

BY: BOBBY NISHI Athletics Director

This is our second year back to competitive school sports after COVID-19 and our first year with no restrictions. In Term 1, we have had the opportunity to battle for trophies and banners in GVISAA, ISAA, and ISEA Cross Country, Soccer, Swimming, and Volleyball Championships. It has been refreshing to travel to other schools for league games and have the choice of wearing or not wearing a mask while playing. It was great to see the return of the Western Canadian Independent School’s Volleyball Championship (WCISVC) hosted by York House School where we played some of the top Independent School’s from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.

Another highlight this term was when we hosted the Senior Girls Volleyball Sea to Sky Zones at Stratford Hall. The bleachers and mezzanine were packed with screaming students across all grades and teachers. The taiko drum and the Sabres mascot were out, and parents were cheering on the athletes. The team did not disappoint and came up with a thrilling victory over King David High School. Some other highlights of Term 1 were the Grade 7 Soccer team who came in third place at the ISEA Soccer Championships.

We had excellent participation in Term 1 from all of our student athletes. There were 234 registered participants from the Junior and Senior Schools combined. We also had 20 dedicated teacher coaches and two Grade 12 student coaches (Simon Gunasekera and Ilyas Kherani) who worked on improving the skills and spirit of our athletes. We have just started Term 2 athletics and will be running basketball and Grade 3 - 7 swimming. The season started off well with the Grade 7 Girls Basketball team winning silver and the Grade 7 Boys Basketball team winning the Consolation Finals at the 7-Slam Basketball Tournament.

Go Sabres!

Grade 7 Girls Basketball won Silver at the 7-Slam

Grade 7 Boys Basketball

In the Junior School

BY: DR. MICHAEL PALMER & JORDAN HANNAH Junior School Principal | Interim Primary Years Programme Coordinator

In September, the Junior School welcomed 11 new faculty and staff along with 32 Kindergarten and eight Grade 1 students now known as Stratford Hall ‘lifers’. New students were also welcomed in Grade 2 - 5. In late September, students re-ignited their community spirit and met their Senior School buddies at the annual Terry Fox Run. In addition, weekly community blocks and assemblies brought Junior School students and teachers together for learning and fun. In October, students made multiple visits to the Vancouver Writers Fest on Granville Island and celebrated a school-wide love of reading during the annual Story Fest.

Clubs and After School Care started up with a bang with more than 60 students joining a club or after school care (ASC) each day of the week. Students were eager to sign up for choir, fencing, chess, musical theatre and more. Term 1 and 2 Athletics also drew large numbers of Junior School students who joined soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming, and cross-country. These teams saw more than 75 students in Grade 3 - 5 participate in weekly practices and competitions. Our Junior Sabres success can be attributed to the leadership of Bobby Nishi, our Athletics Director, and a dedicated team of teacher coaches who work hard to ensure everyone on the team feels included and fun.

Our Kindergarten to Grade 3 Music program has a new instrumental focus. In her role as Kindergarten to Grade 3 Music teacher, Dr. Ada Niermeier had students performing on the recorder and singing at the Remembrance Day ceremony, assemblies and at an Admissions Open House. Soon Grade 3 students will move on to the plastic clarinet (dood) and plastic flute (toot). Under the leadership of

Mr. Grealy, our Grade 4 and 5 students have been learning stringed instrument skills on the ukulele. We were fortunate to see all of our students’ talents on display at the Junior School Winter Concert.

Student life was rekindled in the Junior School with the start up of Kindergarten to Grade 5 Student Council. The council is composed of 12 students: two from each grade. The council met each week and worked hard to determine the best use of a $500 grant from the BC Association of IB World Schools (BCAIBWS). Other leadership opportunities in the Junior School include Learner Profile Crew, Assembly Leaders and Recess Crew.

In the Senior School

BY: MEG CHAMBERLIN, GARETH JONES, MARK PULFER & DR. BENEDICT HUNG Senior School Principal | Senior School Vice Principal | Middle Years Programme Coordinator | Diploma Programme Coordinator

The launch of the 2022 - 2023 school year has been an exciting one, not least because the emergence from the pandemic has allowed our students to re-engage in so many of the community activities that have been missed over the past two years, including overnight programming and interscholastic athletics. It has been wonderful to see more faces emerging from behind masks; the smiles of our students have uplifted us all.

Our year began with September retreats, reinforcing the strength of student and advisor connections and the importance of wellness as a foundation for our year together. Retreats are designed to foster strong community connections within each grade and particularly with students who are new to Stratford Hall. The Grade 6 students are new to the MYP and so their retreat was focused on introducing them to the MYP programme as well as having a lot of fun with their new friends and teachers!

This fall, we were so excited to launch the incredible new climbing wall programming, which is embedded thoroughly into OEE and clubs. Furthermore, we wrap this calendar year with our incredible miniterm; this is a week off-timetable to engage in incredible experiential opportunities that provide students with deep dives into skills and opportunities that do not fit well into our typical timetable. Each grade has a unique calendar; some of the highlights are explorations into podcasting, escape room building, improv, digital storytelling, academic course deep dives, field trips to Britannia Museum and Hiwus feasthouse, and community connections with our partners, including Queen Alexandra.

The IB Evaluation

In October, we underwent the IB Evaluation visit where six experienced IB educators visited our school virtually in order to help us develop along our educational journey in partnership with the International Baccalaureate. This visit was the culmination of an eighteen month long process during which we completed a self-assessment of every aspect of the programme at Stratford Hall. Through this process we investigated our strengths and stretches which will help us further develop the programme into the future. The most gratifying aspect of the evaluation process was that the visiting team saw the school for who we are. This is best described in their words that are directly excerpted from the evaluation report:

“The school has successfully evolved from its early beginnings in the PYP to having become a full IB certified continuum school for over almost fifteen years. It has very much involved itself successfully in various aspects of the multicultural, mixed demographic neighborhood in which the school is located, and it has matured into a highly principled, ethical learning community, truly embodying the IB’s mission and values.”

- PYP, MYP, DP, Multi-programme evaluation visit report, October, 2022

Diploma Programme

The DP students, once again, began their year with a cross-grade retreat to foster strong bonds and build a more supportive community. The message of companionship from the retreat continued to our students’ on-campus experience. While our Grade 11 students, who are still relatively new to the Diploma Programme, were adjusting well to the newer expectations, our Grade 12 students had a tremendously busy term from unpacking the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) prescribed essay titles to completing their Extended Essays. We also introduced two new English courses in the DP, Literature and Language SL and HL, to broaden our course offerings and to meet the diverse needs of our students. Furthermore, our 2024 graduates have begun their work toward fulfilling the new Indigenous graduation requirement, which provides a critical lens for exploration into truth and reconciliation.

Middle Years Programme

New to the MYP this year is the option of an applied design course for Grade 9 and 10 students as well as the fact that our career education course is now in the regular timetable. In the MYP this year our IB programme development plan is focused on interdisciplinary learning and interdisciplinary units. Interdisciplinary units are a requirement of the IB programme and there has been some exciting work that has been done in this regard. The Grade 10 students have led the way with their ‘Power to the People’ unit that examined how the development of the skills of debate (Language and Literature) can help make positive change within a democratic society (Individuals and Societies). In Terms 2 and 3 there are interdisciplinary units planned in Grade 6 to 9.

Student Life

It has been a strong start to our school year in Senior School Student Life. As always, Student Life exists to promote student wellbeing, as reinforced through our Advisory program and co-curricular activities. During faculty orientation, all were involved in professional development from the Vancouver Association of Restorative Justice (VARJ). VARJ provided professional development on leading and facilitating Advisory Circles, which promote student belonging. Throughout the term, Advisories have met in circle to discuss timely and relevant topics as part of our social and emotional learning (SEL) skill and character development program. In cocurriculars, our student-led Councils and Clubs have had a significant impact on student wellbeing. Our Councils have brought our community together for staff vs student games, food drives, spelling bee competitions, design challenges, arts workshops, Jam Bars, and spirit events. Our Clubs have extended student learning beyond the classroom. The Act Now Club visited New Fountain Shelter, Model UN traveled to Seattle for a conference, the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Club has connected with other GSA Clubs across the province, and the ROAR Zine has produced another best-in-class publication. Lastly, our student leadership speaker series has successfully brought our student leaders together to promote deep thinking about leadership styles. Guest speakers Chris Egi and Angela White sparked curiosity and action in each of our student leaders as they become further compelled to take ownership of Student Life here at Stratford Hall.

Annual Fund Kick-Off

Jam Bar Pumpkin Run

Senior School New Student Orientation

Opening Assembly

Welcome Back BBQ

Welcome Reception

Welcome Reception

Grade 12 Breakfast Winter Fair

Annual Fund Kick-Off

Terry Fox Run

Witnessing Ceremony

Orange Shirt Day

Grade 12 Winter Luncheon

Stratford Hall is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We value each other’s identity and well-being. Together, we learn and grow by embracing and respecting multiple perspectives, experiences, and cultures. Our differences are our strengths.

The Pride flag was originally designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker. It consists of six horizontal lines representing life (red), healing (orange), sunlight (yellow), nature (green), harmony/peace (blue), and spirit (violet). In 2018, Daniel Quasar added on the half size stripes representing trans folks (light blue, light pink and white), and marginalized People of Color (brown, black). The arrow points to the right to show forward movement, while being along the left edge shows that progress still needs to be made.

Gala

You made a difference in 2021-2022

$819,791

Total amount raised

Thank You!

To the Stratford Hall community for your commitment and trust to the School. Your generous support enables every single student access to the best educational and co-curricular resources. It allows the School to enhance the opportunities offered in order for all Stratford Hall students to strive for excellence and reach their fullest potential.

Setting Us Up for Success

the next 6-18 months. Very soon, we will be starting work on our long-term strategic plan that will set us on a path for the next five years and beyond. We will be engaging all our stakeholders, be consultative in this process, and report progress to our community.

What a busy year we have had that has been full of change. This past year, as we have started to come out of COVID and transitioned out our last Head of School, we have found a new Head of School, developed and presented a Bridge Strategic Plan, filled our classes with students, broken all of our prior fundraising records, enhanced the PYP Rooftop, and installed an amazing Climbing Wall! In spite of the many challenges felt by many schools across the country, we have thrived. This couldn’t have happened without our dedicated community.

Our staff have shown their resilience, commitment, and determination. Our families have done their best to keep their families healthy and thus keeping everyone else in our community safe as well. Our volunteers have done countless hours to enrich our school lives.

Now that we are well into transitioning in our new Head of School, we will start to take larger steps as we move forward, gaining momentum along the way. As a starting point, we have already started implementing our Bridge Strategic Plan that was presented back in October. Keep an eye out for changes as we reach our strategic goals in

Finances are another thing on the Board’s radar. There certainly have been a lot of challenges that we have faced in the recent past. Added costs from COVID, high inflation, and making sure our staff are paid fairly and competitively are always on our minds. We want to make sure that we phase back in student programming and staff professional development. Our Finance team is focused on ensuring our expenditures are prudent and strategic. We want to look at new ways to use existing funds as well as find more efficient ways to spend. For more details, please stay tuned for our Let’s Talk Business meeting in January.

With all that said, what I am most excited about is being able to see everyone’s faces and watch everyone interact once again. We gathered on the rooftop for a Welcome Back BBQ. We can now cheer on our kids while they play sports and applaud them when they perform in a school play or concert. Parents can even dress up and attend a gala! Our school has also been putting an emphasis on community wellness to help us emerge from the past and prepare for the future in a most positive way!

See you all at our next event or at pick-up time!

Ron Cheung Board Chair

Message from the Head of School

allow us to enrich the social fabric of the school and offer a greater variety of electives, teams, clubs, and arts groups.

We are preparing to increase funding for tuition discounts (a.k.a. “financial aid”) severalfold next year, so that we may provide more students with access to a Stratford Hall education. A robust tuition discount program is both a moral imperative for pluralism and good financial strategy. Founding Head of School Jim McConnell and the early Board of Governors started the bursary fund 20 years ago. We will now leverage these invested funds while increasing its rate of growth, to the benefit of current and future generations of Stratford Hall students.

Welcome to our Annual Report! To fulfill our educational purpose, we take great care to run an effective business. Thoughtful stewardship of finances, long-range planning, and regular oversight ensure that students reap the maximum benefit from our resources. Like most independent schools, we have a few outsize financial instruments: tuition and grants make up 93% of our revenue. Payroll and facilities constitute 81% of our expenses. Everything else we do fits into the remaining 19%.

As a result, donations of money and time make a strong school truly transformational for your children. Tuition allows us to hire and retain outstanding teachers who love working at Stratford Hall and are entirely dedicated to your children’s success. Fundraising and volunteering allow us to enhance the program in tangible ways: design classes, science labs, guest speakers, craft fairs, orchestra, theatre development, professional learning, sports teams, and much more.

The Bridge Strategic Plan includes the development of a long-range financial plan. Deliberate attention to tuition, payroll, programs, reserve policies, and investments will ensure a prosperous future for the school. Construction of the middle building and growth of our student body will

Thank you for supporting Stratford Hall. It makes a huge difference. Special thanks to our volunteers on the Audit and Finance Committee, Board of Governors, Stratford Hall Foundation, Stratford Hall Parent/Guardian Association, and Society.

RICHARD KASSISSIEH Head of School

Our Volunteers

Thank you to all our volunteers who give their time ensuring Stratford Hall is and continues to be the amazing school that it is.

Board of Governors

The Stratford Hall Board of Governors is voted on or appointed by the Stratford Hall (School) Society. The Board is responsible for overseeing the strategy of the school: setting priorities, approving annual budgets, and appointing the Head of School. The Head of School is responsible for ensuring that the school runs in a manner that supports Stratford Hall’s mission and vision. The Board meets monthly throughout the school year (more frequently if required) and includes a subset of five committees: Audit & Finance, Governance, Head of School Relations, Risk Management and Strategic Planning.

Ron Cheung, Chair

Shaneeda Jaffer, Vice-Chair

Elisabeth Finney, Secretary

David Nicolay, Treasurer

Liz Fei

Derek A. May

James Paterson

Sean Pearson

Jim Williams

Foundation Board of Trustees

A second organization, also under the Society’s Act of BC, is the Stratford Hall Foundation. The Foundation holds major capital assets and conducts capital fundraising.

Fayaz Manji, President

Ming Jang, Secretary & Treasurer

Fiezal Babul

Society Members

Shamsh Kassam

Graham Kedgley

Elaine Lee

Harry Lee

Cindy Leung

Jeremy Leung

Dr. Jim McConnell

Board Committee Members

Jodi Evans

Alexandra Flynn

Emi Hashimoto

Greg Oyhenart

Victor Pang

Joe Philbrook

Jennifer Renaud

SHPA Executives

Myriam Dumont, President

Lara Aknin, Secretary

Andrew Norden, Treasurer

Gloria Chui, Grade Representatives Coordinator

Carolyn Williams, Events Coordinator

Janis Sun, Volunteer Coordinator

Alumni Association

Allison Lee, ‘10, Chair

AJ Merani, ‘14

Class Representatives

Kelley Allen

Tim Au

Jana Berengel

Zoe Brown

Helene deMonye

Cindy Duric

Lily Gao

Beverly Ginder

Balpreet Grewal

Lou Guerrero

Jennifer Gunasekera (Staff)

Ginger Guo

Navi Kahlon

Ada Kang

Farzana Kherani

Jennifer Law

Marie Louie Jang

Ryoko Norden

Marlane Press

Satpal Rai

Lisa Wells

Karen Winstanley

Jane Xu

Jennifer Yang

Cristiana Zachau

Corrine Zhao

Joe Zhu

Crossing Guards

Kelley Allen

Kelly Au

Keith Chan

Kandy Du

Elisabeth Finney

Dave Howard

Cindy Hua

Anita Hui

Steve Naylor

Andrew Tsui

Kylie Williams

Karen Winstanley

Simon Wong

Parent Learning Sessions

Lou Guerrero

Marie Louie Jang

Financial and Fundraising Model

Not-for-Profit

Stratford Hall, under the name Stratford Hall (School) Society, operates under the Societies Act and is a registered Canadian charity.

Tuition

Tuition and government grants cover the day-to-day expenses and operation related to the delivery of a Stratford Hall education. Tuition does not cover maintenance and campus improvements, classroom equipment and supplies, funding for extra-curricular activities and state-of-the-art technology.

Stratford Hall Foundation

The Stratford Hall Foundation is a separate registered Canadian charity that manages all capital assets and administers fundraising in support of new facilities.

The Annual Fund

The Stratford Hall Annual Fund is an investment in the future of Stratford Hall. Tuition fees cover the day-to-day expenses and operations related to the delivery of a Stratford Hall education.

Education Investment Deposit (EID) Gifts

All Stratford Hall families are required to place an Educational Investment Deposit (EID) with the school. Families are encouraged to donate all, or a portion of, their deposit to the school in advance of their last child’s departure. Families who donate their entire EID will be granted membership into the Stratford Hall Leaders’ Circle.

Endowment

Endowments will ensure that students will continue to benefit from your support in perpetuity. The principal amount of your donation will be invested. Once the investment has grown significantly, generated income will then support Stratford Hall programs, student scholarships and bold programmatic initiatives. Endowed gifts may also lead to recognition opportunities that honour or memorialize a person of the donor’s choosing.

Stratford Hall (School) Society Stratford Hall Foundation

Combined Balance Sheet for the Year Ended June 30, 2022

2022 $ 2021 $

Assets – Current

Cash 5,373,323 6,645,066

Short-term investments 6,302,361 2,469,995

Receivables 29,507 3,308

GST rebates 169,869 166,980

Prepaid expenses and financing 141,069 126,583 12,016,129 9,411,932

Investment in 3060 Commercial Drive Nominee Ltd 1 1

Tangible capital assets 33,524,655 34,461,244 45,540,785 43,873,177

Liabilities – Current

Payables and accruals 1,428,071 1,676,346

Deferred revenue 8,229,856 5,556,181

Deferred contributions 66,454 77,935

Educational investment deposits 7,129,000 7,073,000

Current portion of long-term debt 761,254 729,365

Current portion of capital lease obligations 17,979 16,316 17,632,614 15,129,143

Long-term debt 17,140,029 17,901,283

Capital lease obligations 38,282 57,313

Interest rate swaps 719,436 1,008,198

Security Deposits 19,788 20,690 35,550,149 34,116,627

Fund Balances

Unrestricted

7,708,812 7,792,747

Restricted 2,206,212 1,913,753

Endowment 75,612 50,050 9,990,636 9,756,550 45,540,785 43,873,177

Giving and Gratitude

Each year, our community comes together to further our mission by making financial contributions to the school through the Stratford Hall Annual Fund. These gifts are beyond the cost of tuition and provide additional resources that allow Stratford Hall to be extraordinary. While tuition funds our mission, annual giving and campaign commitments inspire our vision for tomorrow -the school we aspire to be.

What a year.

This 2021-2022 school year witnessed a milestone. Our Annual Fund crossed $500,000 and total donations amounted to over $800,000.

Thank you.

The Annual Fund is the bedrock of any independent school. The fund has a positive, immediate impact on all our students and staff. It enables our staff the tools and extra resources needed to prepare your child to be an effective contributor to society and even tomorrow’s leaders. It also allows for ongoing professional development for all staff.

As we are a not-for-profit organization, your investment in our school has a tremendous impact. Every last cent of your contributions is invested in our incredible programs, people and spaces. This is the independent school difference.

This unique year was no exception for Stratford Hall, an independent school that is a not-for-profit organization and operates with a volunteer Board of Governors. In fact, Stratford Hall is a registered Canadian charity and complies with the regulations set forth by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Our community was built on a foundation of volunteering - our students participate in community service, our alumni are making a difference around the world, and our parents model this community-tocommunity building right here at Stratford Hall. The amount of time that our parents commit to support and grow our community is humbling.

It is with my utmost gratitude that I share with you how our staff have continued to go above and beyond in their commitment to the school this past year by donating to the Annual Fund, alongside parents, to foster development and community.

I am equally pleased to share the names of many others who give so generously and the variety of ways our families invest in our exceptional school. We are incredibly grateful that our community supports Stratford Hall - financially, as ambassadors and through volunteering, and by choosing Stratford Hall for their children’s education.

With gratitude,

Isabel Sankaran-Wee Director of Advancement

Gifts from Our Community

Our capacity to continuously enhance our facilities and enrich our programs is made possible due to your generous support of the Stratford Hall Annual Fund.

The Annual Fund empowers our teachers with the tools and extra resources needed to prepare your child to be an effective contributor to society and tomorrow’s leaders. As the school progresses to offer added opportunities for students, we must count on the Annual Fund to keep tuition affordable while maintaining a high quality educational program.

Thank you for believing in Stratford Hall and for supporting us every step of the way.

Every donor impacts the story of every student at Stratford Hall.

We are beyond grateful to you for your generosity and commitment to our school. We are and will continue to be better together!

We greatly appreciate each gift given in support of the Stratford Hall Annual Fund, and we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this listing. Please notify Aldrich Tan, Advancement Services Manager, of any inaccuracies or omissions by contacting him at aldrich.tan@ stratfordhall.ca. We regret any errors.

FOUNDERS CIRCLE

$5,000 - $9,999

Anonymous (3)

Adam Gu & Eve Sheng

Amanda Wang

BC Perio Dental Health & Implant Centres

Benjamin Lian & Carrie Ju

Byron & Josephine Jung

Cheung Family

Claire Liu and Family

David Nicolay & Kate Keeler

Frank Jiang & Sophie Yi

Fuzhong Ye & Wei Li

James & Kelly Reynolds

Jedi Lu & Sabrina Su

Jianhua Shen & Tianqing Yao

Julian & Cynthia Lee

Liliana & Amit Venugopal

MakeWay Foundation - through the generosity of the Lau family

Ming, Marie, Andrew & Caleb Jang

Nghi’s Family

Ryan & Jesse Kaltio

Spencer Ko & Coco Xu

Stephen Macdonald & Elizabeth Vassar

Thomas Dai & Lily Gao

Tianpeng Wang & Grace Shu

HEAD’S CIRCLE

$2,500 - $4,999

Anonymous

Ah Yong Family

Ally Huang

Amanda Lee

Andrey & Sandy Kong

Annis Law & Francis Fu

Brian Chow

Brian Hong & Cindy Shi

David & Katia Coleman David & Summer Telio

Derek & Nadine May

Dr. Sundeep Grewal & Dr. Balpreet Grewal

Feng Liu & Liz Fei

Hannah & Tyler Chin Hynes Family

Jaffer Dandekar Family James Wang & Karen Chan Jasmin Zou

Jerry Zhang & Connie Wei Jim & Carolyn Williams Jodi Evans & Sue Blackwood

John Lo & Kandy Du

Julie Deng Kul & Jas Shahi Lee Family Lei Xu

Nathan Mah & Mimi Cheung OJ Xu & Anna Dai

Patrick Wong Qian Ada Kang Ronald Chan Sai You

Samson & Jennifer Hui Shamsh & Karima Kassam Susan Christie

The Flynn-Leibu Family Tony Li & Nicole Zhao Wenbin Li

Wilson Guo & Ginger Li Xu’s family

Yuedi Huang & David Zhang Zuoyong & Chen Wang

Staff

Adele Armstrong *

SABRES’ CIRCLE $1,500 - $2,499

Anonymous (4)

Aiden Wu Brian Mai & Eva Zhang

Brian You & Lydia Liu

Chai Family

Elena Antipova Elisabeth Finney & Rick Ramsay Hennessy Hammock Hsu Family

James & Paula Paterson Johnson Xing & Athena Gao Kaveh Afshari & Andrea Tegzes

Kelly Au & Vincent Liu Lily Huang Long En & Cindy Hua M & E Wang Family Mike Zhang & Jie Lian Pei Wang

Qian Family Rain Chen & Weiying Sun Richard & Kin Yang Rowena Sooch Sabrina & Fiezal Babul

Jamie & Saukok Tiampo Sean Pearson & Lauren LeBoldus Tanya & James Fairweather Tim Au

Tom Syer / Tamara Little Tony Xu & Beryl Wang Vincent & Jaden Ma Wai Family Watson‘s Family Xiaowei Yan Xuming & Jessica Zheng Yupeng Chen Zoe & James Brown Staff Isabel Sankaran-Wee

FRIEND’S CIRCLE

$500 - $1,499

Anonymous (6)

Andrew & Valerie Tsui

Anita Hui & Anthony Chu

Cheyne & Maryam Cragg

Craig Yamashiro & Lisa Mah

David Peterson & Mary Ellen Sanajko

David Vu

Douglas Qi & Lily Yang

Eddie Yu

Elan & Noam

Frank Chen

Hannah Chan Hui Jin James Li

Jeff Gravistin & Nancy Mitenko

Joe Zhu & Michelle Zhong

Kevin Leung & Emi Hashimoto

L.Lorico & E. Low

Meg Andersen Mikhail Juma

Patty Perry Saran

Philipp Postrehovsky & Victorine Ssozi

Ritchie & Jennifer Renaud

Steve Kamachi

Whitman Lee Williams Family Staff

Anonymous (2)

SUPPORTERS CIRCLE

<$500

Anonymous (4)

Alex Phung & Rachel Choi-Phung Chi Zhang & Angela Chen

Christian & Yvonne Schilling

Costa Byers Family

Quincy Seto

Helen Hodgson

Jennifer Kramer

Julia & Dave Robbins

Rachel Richardson

Rebecca Wong Roy Li & Gloria Chui

Steven Cross & Shelina Rayani-Cross Sue & Mark Groesbeck Tony Meng & Cynthia Chen Student Eric Lu Staff

Anonymous (7)

Aldrich Tan

Allison Cornish

Amanda Lempiere

Amanda Peacock * Anne-Marie Butler

April Campanella * Boyd Grealy

Caitlin Shepard * Chris Brogan

* Staff who are parents 2021-2022

Dan Lin

Denise Brabban

Ellis Herbert Feda Ghaleb

Gareth Jones Gillian Louie Grzybowski Family * Guadalupe Gomez Gwen Perkins

Hazel Chee Jennifer Gunasekera * Judy Bai

Kirsten Morozov * Lisa Blachut Mariah Chan Mitch Ms. V. Nancy Kartsonas Olivia Law Pauline Chan Rimi, Simran & Sukh Sandhu * Robin Ma Skipper

Gifts from Education Investment Deposits (EID)

To date, more than 100 Stratford Hall families have donated their EIDs, helping to reduce the school’s debt load. Donating your EID not only supports the school’s financial position, but also generates a tax benefit. This benefit, if invested well over the 13 years your child attends the school, can earn enough funds to mitigate much of your gift. For details on EID donations, please feel free to contact Isabel Sankaran-Wee, Director of Advancement.

Leadership Circle

Anonymous

Elya McCleave

Eric Xiao & Michelle Zhang

Jacky Song & Bianca Bian

Jonathan & Janis Sun

Keith Zhang & Kylie Cai

Nathan Mah & Mimi Cheung

Russell Yu & Tiffany Sun

Others

Anthony Xu & Paris Yin

Dave Howard & Shalini Verghese

Dennis Lai & Yvonne Chan

Derek & Nadine May

Getu Zelleke & Shewaye Assefa

Matthew Cooperwilliams & Carolyn Oliver

Raymond & Michele Dar

Stefan Buitelaar & Joely Collins

Steven Cross & Shelina Rayani-Cross

Endowment Gift

Your gift to endowment will ensure that students will continue to benefit from your support in perpetuity. The principal amount of your donation will be invested. Once the investment has grown significantly, generated income will then support Stratford Hall programs, student scholarships and bold programmatic initiatives. Endowed gifts may also lead to recognition opportunities that honour or memorialize a person of the donor’s choosing.

Dave Sangha Fund

The purpose of this endowment shall be to award $1,500 to a deserving Grade 12 student who demonstrates leadership and service to the community.

2022 Recipient: Georgia Cooperwilliams

S tratford H all P arent A ssociation SHPA Update

BY: TIM AU Co-Chair, Stratford Hall Parent Association on behalf of SHPA Executive Leads

Because of SHPA events, BC Gaming Grants and the portion of class funds allocated to SHPA, we have been able to supply library book bags for PYP students, orange shirts for Orange Shirt Day, House shirts for Spirit Days, and student bike racks.

Acronyms are awesome. You can toss them out at people, seem extremely knowledgeable, and then react with surprise when they don’t recognize it. One acronym near and dear to your heart is hopefully SHPA or the Stratford Hall Parent Association. Yes, it’s a mouthful, so you can see why we use the acronym. Simply put, all parents and guardians of Stratford Hall students are part of the SHPA.

We see the mission of the SHPA as to provide a sense of community and belonging across the diverse and unique culture at SH and be the bridge between parents and school, by providing a voice for the parents and communicating the school’s vision to the parents.

Remember that Welcome Back BBQ hosted by SHPA on the MYP Rooftop that served up 550 plates of food? That was community building at its finest! SHPA treated the teachers to a catered Indian buffet with raffle prizes during World Teacher’s Day on October 5. SHPA members not only volunteered their time at the Terry Fox Run and Photo Day, but they also organized the Winter Fair, Parent Learning Series, End of the Year Carnival, and additional staff appreciation events.

Personally, I’ve been at Stratford Hall for nine years, and since before Day 1 of Kindergarten, I have been wowed by the generosity of the parent community. My involvement with SHPA is an effort to repay the kindness and immense hearts of those who have come before, by doing all I can do today. If you would like to get more involved with the SHPA, just send us an e-mail at shpa@stratfordhall.ca. It may take a while for us to get back to you (there are many things in the air, and we’re just volunteers), but we will get back to you.

I would like to take this time to introduce my co-chairs for 2022 - 2023, Janis Sun and Gloria Chui. Not only are they amazing parents with an incredible talent for managing complex events, but they also have such foresight in picking patient spouses. Please thank Jon, Roy, and Kelly for us if you see them, otherwise we won’t be able to come back next year.

Special thanks to the other SHPA Executives: Lara Aknin, Andrew Norden, Amanda Lee, Lauren LeBoldus, Nicole Li, Cecilia Tang, and Amy Zhang, the legion of volunteers that give up their precious time to volunteer, and especially the grade representatives. This year’s events could not have happened without all of their support. I’d like to also thank Myriam Dumont, Carolyn Williams, and Stacy Kerr, who have all stepped down this year, but were instrumental in helping the SHPA make it through the COVID years.

We are so excited to be able to collaborate more with the school this year. You may notice little things like parents stepping up for TeamSnap managers or tweaks to our events with an eye to Stratford Hall’s goals.

Looking forward to giving back to the community.

Staying Connected

BY: ALLISON LEE, ‘10 Chair, Stratford Hall Alumni Association

The last year saw the Alumni Association Committee continuing our efforts of creating a tighter knit alum community. In addition to continuing our Instagram spotlight series where we highlight alumni achievements and provide valuable updates from the school, we created a new goal for ourselves of developing opportunities for alumni to give back to the Stratford community.

After a year of brainstorming, strategizing, and planning, we launched the inaugural Alumni Mentorship Program with a kick-off event in November 2021. In collaboration with Gareth Jones, Senior School Vice Principal, the program paired together ten Grade 11 students with seven alumni mentors. Our alumni volunteers ranged in career professions, industries and roles and included a lawyer, nurse, clinical counsellor, and filmmaker. As the academic year progressed, our mentors helped guide students throughout their Grade 11 academic journey with topics discussed ranging from how to choose an Extended Essay topic, to the big question of what happens after university?

After our program came to a close in September 2022, our mentors and mentees had virtually met four times throughout the year. From all participants, we received valuable, positive feedback and after a successful first year running this pilot program, we are excited to currently be in the works of planning for our second mentorship year beginning in early 2023.

What was even more exciting, is that the second in-person alumni event hosted this year, the Fall Homecoming in November, saw a number of alumni of all graduation years. Solidifying old and new connections while creating further opportunities for alum to contribute and get involved in the school community, we were excited to welcome them back and look forward to continuing to do so in the future.

Stay connected with the Alumni Association

Junior School Roundup

BY: DR. MICHAEL PALMER Junior School Principal

The Spring of 2022 marked the beginning of a ‘return to normal’ in the Junior School and for Stratford Hall. On April 14, we came together and re-ignited our strong school spirit at the 18th Annual Track & Field Meet at Swangard Stadium. It was a beautiful sunny day made all the more amazing as parents joined in cheering on from the field and stands.

Again in April, the Junior School hosted the first in-person student-led conferences in the classrooms and hallways of the PYP building where students shared their learning experiences and proudly showed off their accomplishments to parents, caregivers, and grandparents.

In May, the Grade 5 Exhibition was moved off-line and into the corridors of the PYP building, MYP building, and the Idea Lab. The exhibition marks the ultimate learning experience in the PYP. Our Grade 5 students proudly showed depth of understanding about local and global issues including health and well-being, world hunger, life below water, clean water and sanitation, and more.

We are very proud of our Grade 4 - 5 OEE program and students were extremely excited to attend their end of year camps in May and June. The spring camp experience is a valued tradition in the Junior School as students look forward to hiking, climbing, canoeing, campfires, and being together in an environment that promotes independence and collaboration.

Our Kindergarten to Grade 5 Spring Concert was another highlight in the Junior School. Ms. Zhao and Mr. Grealy produced a program that thoroughly entertained everyone.

We were fortunate to have Haisla Collins, Indigenous Artist in Residence, working with our students last year. In the Junior School, Haisla focused on teaching our students about the traditional uses and process of making a button blanket. Haisla worked with Grade 1 - 5 students teaching them sewing and beading skills. Students contributed by working on small pieces that Haisla collected and stitched onto the button blanket. We are honoured to now have the final piece in our school.

Sabres Summer camp was a big hit this year. The camp is a great way for our incoming students to meet new friends and for returning students to stay connected with their classmates. This year, we introduced an academic camp for Junior School students entering Grade 4 and 5 to practice numeracy, reading, and writing skills. Both camps were well attended, and our after school care (ASC) staff is looking forward to the summer camp as it reopens next year.

Senior School Roundup

BY: MEG CHAMBERLIN Senior School Principal

The 2021 - 2022 school year was framed by our theme: Celebrate our Diversity, Raise our Voice. With student agency at the centre, we launched our new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion student club, providing more opportunities for students to take agency over days of recognition and celebration throughout the year. We joined the rest of the country in honouring the first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. As we explored our commitment to First Peoples Principles of Learning, we also welcomed our first Artist in Residence, Haisla Collins, an artist of mostly Tsimshian, Nisga’a, Gitxsan, and Celtic ancestry living and working in Vancouver. Together with our students, Haisla led the creation of the large mural, “Where the Realms Meet” which is now mounted in our MYP Gym for all to enjoy.

International Baccalaureate (IB) results

For the May 2022 session, the IB made some adaptations in response to the impact that COVID-19 continues to have in the delivery of the Diploma Programme in various regions across the world. Stratford Hall celebrated another year of fantastic accomplishments by the IB graduates from the Class of 2022. All students on the Diploma track earned the IB Diploma, with one student earning the IB Bilingual Diploma.

Stratford Hall DP Average Point : 34.77

For the last six consecutive years, the average DP total points achieved by Stratford Hall students were at least 2 points higher than the world average. In terms of the individual course results, Stratford Hall students earned at least 0.33 points higher than the world average, and on average they also earned nearly 2 DP bonus points each.

The Class of 2022

The Class of 2022 demonstrated a high success rate in their applications. A total of 40 students made a grand total of 251 applications across the country and internationally last year. 161 offers were received throughout the year. Of the 40 students who applied, 25 of them were able to gain entrance to their firstchoice program or school. These programs included Business, General Arts or Sciences, Product Design, Film & Media, and many others. In the course of these applications and admissions, over $300,000 in a variety of scholarships were also offered to the Class of 2022.

Queen’s University Simon Fraser University St. Francis Xavier University Toronto Metropolitan University University of British Columbia University of Toronto University of Victoria Waterloo University York University Western University University of Calgary United States

Parsons School of Design (The New School) SCAD

University of Arizona International

Queens University, Belfast University of Kent University of Winchester

Staff News

Service Awards

We are pleased to acknowledge the service of the following individuals:

20 years

Kirsten Davidson (left) Carmen Stephen-Patel (right)

10

years

Lupe Gomez (right)

Dragana Radmanovic (left)

5 years

Adele Armstrong Denise Brabban

Dave Knight

Mark Pulfer Sukh Sandhu

Isabel Sankaran-Wee

Amy Starkey

Aldrich Tan

Carla Valenzuela

(L-R:

Farewells

We are grateful for the dedicated service of our former faculty and staff members and wish them well.

Nana Botchway

Chris Brogan

Maia Brundage

Allison Cornish

Dean Croy

Catherine Daniel

Lauren Davies

Katherine Djacic

Jennifer Gunasekera

Carly Han

Melony Kananga

Katie Lacey

Brandon Lieu

Lissa Machado Jones

Natalie Mannella

Dawn Marcoux

Kyle Nystad

Krista Pederson

Dragana Radmanovic

Caitlin Shepard

Amy Starkey

Skyler Todd

Adam Underwood

Rachel Voth

Lucida Zhao

Temporary Staff

We appreciate staff members who served the Stratford Hall community this year as temporary teachers, co-op students and staff.

Daniel Anderson

Lynsey Brown

Pauline Chan

Jason Kwan

Kathryn O’Leary

Kelli-Ann Oakey

Melliza Quetua

Matthew Wells

New Full-time Hires

Welcome and congratulations to our new full-time staff members in the 2021-2022 school year.

Leah Frenette

Diploma Programme

Administrative Assistant

Gaven Gill Junior Accountant

Jaffna Hobbs Grade 4 Teacher

Heather Main Junior School Counsellor

Alexandra Ormond

Kindergarten – Grade 1 PE and Junior School Resource Teacher

Aaron Thrasher Facilities Manager

Han Sol Won Junior School Resource Teacher

Barron Yerxa IT System Administrator

Caitlin Shepard, Dragana Radmanovic, Kyle Nystad, Chris Brogan)

Save the Date

January 9

Classes resume after Winter Break

January 18

Let’s Talk Business 8:30am & 6:30pm

February 2

Junior School 3-way Conferences (Goal Setting) 4:00-7:00pm

February 3

Junior School 3-way Conferences (Goal Setting)

ALL DAY

February 17 ISABC Pro-D Day NO CLASSES

February 20

Family Day SCHOOL CLOSED

February 21

International Mother Tongue Day

February 22

Pink Shirt Day

February 23

Senior School Parent-TeacherStudent Conferences 4:00-8:00pm

February 24

Senior School Parent-TeacherStudent Conferences ALL DAY

March 8 SMASH Fair

March 8 & 9

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” School Musical

March 10 Junior School Grandparents & Grandfriends Day March 11-26 Spring Break

March 27

Classes resume after Spring Break

April 4

MYP Personal Project Showcase / DP Arts Showcase

April 7

Good Friday SCHOOL CLOSED

April 10

Easter Monday SCHOOL CLOSED

April 28

Junior School Student-Led Conferences ALL DAY May 19 Whole School Early Dismissal 12:00pm May 22 Victoria Day SCHOOL CLOSED May 27

Graduation Convocation

May 28

Graduation Dinner and Dance

June 2 PYP Exhibition June 9 End of the Year Carnival June 14 Junior School Sports Day June 22

Closing Assembly 2:00-3:00pm

OUR MISSION

Stratford Hall educates students to the highest global standards through the programmes of the International Baccalaureate. Excellence and confidence are developed through a challenging academic curriculum with further emphasis on creativity, action and service. We foster a strong pluralistic community built on integrity and respect.

OUR VISION

Stratford Hall strives to be a global leader in the International Baccalaureate community. Our students will gain a deep understanding of the world around them, and they will act on their connections to the outside community. They will excel to the best of their abilities, and graduates will be equipped to achieve their chosen goals. This is accomplished by acquiring and retaining the best teachers, and by a commitment to a balanced and enriched curriculum. The success of Stratford Hall is deeply rooted in the establishment of a supportive, knowledgeable and committed community.

FOR THOSE WHO EXPECT MORE THAN A TRADITIONAL EDUCATION