Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

SCHOOL LIFE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CURRICULUM OVERVI EW

learning is learning by doing and then reflecting on the experience. It is active learning, and it involves the construction of knowledge and skills. As Garth Nichols explained in “Experiential Learning at Havergal” ( Torch , Fall 2017), At Havergal, experiential learning allows our students and faculty to rethink when and where learning occurs, how it happens and how deep and personal the learning can be. As we focus on the question “What will you do?” experiential learning allows us to think about what it is that we are doing that prepares us to make a difference. Our faculty and students are prepared to take on this challenge because our classrooms provide incredibly strong academic and critical thinking foundations from which to launch experiential learning opportunities. So powerful is such learning that Havergal has adjusted the school year calendar to make certain that time is allotted to such activities. As Nichols further explains: New [in 2017] are Day 9 opportunities, allowing our students to dip their toes in the water of many adventures. There are four of those non-timetable days throughout the year … providing our students with curated, co-created experiences designed to deepen and extend our learning outside of the traditional classroom routine.  According to Emily Su, writing in the BTI in December 2017, students are alert to the rich and various possibilities.

In fact, as early as 1981, classrooms in both the Upper and Lower Schools were equipped with computers that students used in computer science classes, and Havergal’s Strategic Plan 1994–99 affirmed the vital importance of helping students “develop the knowledge/content and skills they need to thrive in a globally oriented information age.”  In Dr. Winn Barlow’s letter to parents in November 1994, she included the first computer newsletter, and in the 1994–95 edition of Ludemus , she gave students the following assurance: Technology is now making its impact on the school; this past year saw the introduction of [the] Internet as a tool for students to communicate with other areas of Canada and the world. Lego Dacta, Adobe Illustrator and Page Maker are some of the tools you are learning to use in your classes to enhance your skills. We shall continue to integrate technology into the curriculum in the future so that you can be aware of and comfortable with the technology that is so much a part of today’s work place.  In the five years following the centennial, changes came with impressive speed. Email and voice mail were introduced in 1995. In 1998, Havergal launched its first public website and alumnae email a year later. By the century’s end, the school was making enthusiastic use of 170 computers and five pod rooms.

“A Warm Welcome to Experiential Learning” BTI , December 2017

Day 9 Activities

The notable advances in teaching and learning at Havergal since 1994 have been facilitated in large measure by astonishing developments in technology.

One of Havergal’s earliest adventures in experiential learning, year unknown.

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