Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

SCHOOL LIFE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

C O - C U R R I C U L U M

Community Engagement

“Report of Social Work” Ludemus , 1915

By the time the school celebrated its centennial, Havergal’s reputation for community service was well established and it was one of which the school could be very proud. However, the strategic planning process the school had just initiated meant fresh eyes and perspectives on every aspect of the school, including the community service program. In March 1994, BTI , the student newspaper, published an article by Susan Cheng that shared the results of a survey about community involvement in the Upper School. What was heartening was the fact that 90 per cent of students claimed a “general and genuine” interest in community service, but the survey did reveal a gap between their interest and their actual participation as volunteers. The school could, of course, point to the success of a wide range of fundraising events and groups like the Interact Club. However, the finding raised a lot of questions, the most significant of which was, of course, about how to close that gap. How could Havergal help students take those crucial steps? What was holding them back? It was definitely not a lack of awareness of social issues: students eagerly and actively explored such difficult topics in the classroom and outside it, and Havergal had long invited to Prayers speakers whose experiences broadened students’ perspectives. However, one of the most memorable visits to Prayers occurred one September day in that centennial year, when students were introduced to five-year-old Shane Smith and his mother, Joanne Milner. When he was four months old, Shane contracted meningococcal

The Coverly Chronicle cover from Ludemus , 1915.

Steeped as Miss Knox was in the Anglican tradition of mission work, it seems safe to assume that she took to heart the biblical exhortation “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required.” That this belief informed her decisions about the school is clear from even the most cursory look at Havergal’s history: a commitment to community service has been fundamental to its philosophy from its founding. For example, the pages from the 1915 Ludemus outline the impressive efforts of the Coverley Club, which was organized and run by Old Girls:

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