Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

SCHOOL LIFE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FACULT Y

The impact of Havergal teachers is felt, of course, well beyond the walls of the classroom. Without the eager participation of both faculty and staff, the school’s extensive co-curricular program would not be the success that it is. In the Fall 2009 Torch, Dr. Sue Groesbeck stated that “our Havergal students are taught how to think, how to learn and how to question. Most importantly, they discover themselves and the possibilities in the world around them through great teaching, resulting in an exceptional Havergal education.” The passion of Havergal’s teachers is felt in each of the following recordings, in which a number of faculty members shared their reflections on their favourite experiences in the classroom and outside it.

The Havergal Centre for Professional Development

For several decades, Havergal has welcomed its faculty back in August to take advantage of workshops on innovative pedagogical practices, and for a number of years now, the school has opened its doors to educators from other schools. Known as Havergal College Summer Institutes for Teaching and Learning, they are, as Seonaid Davis, Vice Principal, Teaching & Learning, explained in the Fall 2012 Torch , “intended to support our own curriculum initiatives and to meet the professional development needs of our teachers.” Now called the Havergal Centre for Professional Development, the academy has welcomed educational thought leaders from around the world who offer a wide variety of inspiring learning experiences. The school has also explored other avenues of professional development, with teachers attending international conferences and workshops close to home. From 2009 through to 2011, a group of Havergal teachers was able to draw on the talents and skills of three professional coaches, two of whom were two Old Girls, Elizabeth Lancaster 1981 and Martha McDermott Westlind 1990. As then Vice Principal Christine Shain explained in the Spring 2011 issue of Torch ,  We recognized that an employee’s own capacity to link pedagogy with personal transformation has a direct impact on the quality of the educational experience for students. To enable every girl to be self-efficacious and globally capable, we must assist our faculty and staff in enhancing the confidence and competence that comprises their own self-efficacy. In that same article, Ms. McDermott Westlind offered her succinct take on the value of coaching: “Through coaching, participants will identify and build on their strengths so that they can use them to achieve key professional and personal goals and leverage them in any environment.”

My Favourite Lesson: Grade 12 English Andrea Charlton, Social Sciences teacher

Integrating Dance at Havergal Renata Duda, former teacher

My Favourite Lesson: Grade 6 Social Studies Jesse Grosman, Grade 5 teacher

My Favourite Lesson: Grade 12 French Sandra Nelson, Head, Languages

Teaching Economics Denise Hartford, Social Sciences teacher

Why I Studied Mathematics Sindy Shetzen, Mathematics teacher

Reflections on Havergal Phyllis Greenberg, former teacher

The impact of Havergal teachers is, of course, felt well beyond the classroom. Without the eager participation of both faculty and staff, the school’s extensive co-curricular program would not be the success that it is.

REFLECTIONS OF HAVERGAL  121