Family Handbook 2018-19

Student Leadership 

Havergal recognizes that leadership comes in all shapes and forms and ensures that each student in  the school has leadership opportunities. Havergal celebrates five domains of leadership, which  include: formal leadership, informal leadership, intellectual leadership, leadership of the self and  leadership in the community. It is our responsibility to prepare students for leadership and to  develop their skills and personal characteristics to be successful, effective leaders.   Beginning in Junior Kindergarten, our youngest students are expected to take responsibility for  their own belongings (e.g., hanging up their own coats, putting away their own lunches, packing  their own bags), rather than having the teachers do these things for them. In older grades, students  often rotate jobs within the class, helping their own community group run smoothly (e.g., watering  plants, ensuring all classroom materials are in working order, handing out papers). In doing these  seemingly simple tasks, students start to see themselves as capable problem‑solvers, rather than  passive observers of their environment. As students move through the Junior School, opportunities  for self‑reflection abound to help students develop their ability to identify their strengths and  challenges and set achievable goals. When this happens, they are better able to take responsible  risks, exhibit flexibility in their thinking and exude confidence in what they do.  Formal leadership roles in the Junior School come with maturity and experience. In these roles,  students have hands‑on experience working with a team, speaking publicly, coordinating events,  setting agendas and reflecting on successes and failures in order to make necessary changes  moving forward.   All students are expected to support the leadership of those in formal roles who have the  responsibility to carry out specific duties such as School Prefects, Senior Year Presidents, House  Captains, Co‑Curricular and Community Partnership Heads and Boarding School Junior Dons.  Leadership opportunities also exist within our peer mentoring programs, including our Big  Sister/Little Sister Program (linking Middle School students to girls in Grades 10 and 11) and our  Havergal Buddies Program (connecting new Grade 9 to 11 students with experienced Havergal  students in the same grade). 

Click here  for the Five Interconnected Domains of Student Leadership poster. 

Last Updated August 17, 2018 Havergal College Family Handbook 2018–19

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