Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

Community Partnerships

In 2002, Havergal, with the assistance of the Stephen Leacock Foundation, began forging long-term relationships with a Get Ahead Project (GAP) school in Whittlesea, South Africa, and Derrydown Public School in Toronto. The Triangle of Hope, as this partnership is known, has at its base a profoundly important principle, one that Ms. Robson articulated on a number of the occasions she spoke to students in the Upper School. The Triangle of Hope is, she stressed, a partnership in the deepest sense of the word: everyone who participates has gifts to offer, and each partner can learn valuable lessons from the others. It was meant to be and is indeed a “three-way street.” The years that immediately followed saw the creation of similar projects, a number of them at the Junior School. In her feature article in the Spring 2009 edition of Torch titled “Focus on Social Involvement: Students Make Meaningful Connections,” Young Um reflected on some of those ventures: In 2005–06, five local and global organizations committed to children’s education were selected to build enduring relationships in the Junior School: FreeSchools, Camp Kirk, Art Heart, Triangle of Hope and Dixon Hall. Through Awareness and Education Prayers and Informed Action Events through the Junior School House Community Initiative, the girls develop a deeper understanding [of] and strong connection with our school community and the lives of the people that these special organizations serve. “Get Ahead Project” Chronicle , 2004

Students use creativity as an outlet at ArtHeart Community Art Centre, 2011.

allocated to house activities in the Senior School and to form activities in the Middle School would now be devoted to community service. In the Junior School, she notes, a team of teachers would continue to support the girls as they plan and carry out their community service initiatives. As Lois Rowe, then Middle School teacher and community service adviser, stated when interviewed for an article in the Spring 2005 Torch , “It helps when girls have a say over what they do. This leads them to an honest commitment, encouraging them to work harder. It also helps them figure out who they are and what they can do in the world.” The impact of the expansion of the community service program was felt on three significant co-curricular programs: community partnerships, exchanges and excursions. Each encouraged students to explore the world beyond the ivy and involve themselves in meaningful ways in the communities they encountered.

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