Reflections of Havergal: 1994-2019

O V E R V I E W

Whole-School Traditions “Traditions help to maintain the identity of the school and to provide a link between all those who have been here.” —BRENDA ROBSON, FORMER DEAN OF STUDENTS AND CURRENT STAFF MEMBER

in boarders’ bedrooms in the early years of the school. Some, like the library parties held at the Jarvis Street school to mark a special occasion, were more formal. Some of the most memorable events at Havergal have become traditions that give shape and meaning to each school year. In the Fall 2013 Torch , Susan Pink quotes Brenda Robson in an article titled “Traditions: Linking Our Past With Our Future”: Traditions help to maintain the identity of the school and to provide a link between all those who have been here. They bond us through shared experience … Although we have had some traditions from the school’s inception, we are also constantly updating and adding new traditions to school life. It’s an ongoing process; however, it’s not just about the little changes. It’s about preserving the essence of who we are as a school by ensuring that our mission lives on in everything that we do. Through tradition, we can keep the essence of the school running through its veins. Of particular importance are the events in which the entire school takes part. The learning goes deep: we share our joys and sorrows, and we appreciate the ways in which these experiences root us and make us strong.

Havergal Hall in 1894 at 350 Jarvis St.

Precious indeed are the occasions on which the community comes together to create and reflect, to celebrate and play, and sometimes to mourn. From the school’s earliest days, there have been many such gatherings. Some were informal—and even unsanctioned, such as the infamous midnight suppers

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