Torch - Fall/Winter 2019-20

Message from the Heads of Schools

The core classroom in the Junior School, the Form in the Middle School and the Teacher Advisory group in the Senior School are warm and welcoming mini-communities within the larger Havergal world. Within each, new girls enjoy the comfort and familiarity of daily contact and year-long relationships that grow and strengthen as they continue to settle into school life. As an additional support, new girls throughout the school can opt into “big sister” programs, and each Teacher Advisor group is composed of students in Grades 9 through 12. Our veteran students love to lend their hands and hearts to younger girls finding their way. Smaller communities within the school are also formed through the House program, club membership and extensive co-curricular options. Each new student belongs to a mixed-grade House, with fellow members becoming, as some girls put it, “your squad.” In addition, as we know that students involved in activities outside the classroom feel more connected to their peers and their school, we actively encourage new girls to join groups that spark their interest. All Grade 7 students belong to a club each session—selecting from options as diverse as dance, robotics, photography and Mandarin— so they can pursue their passions and meet like-minded friends. In the rest of the school, girls can opt into a similar array of clubs, as well as the arts, athletics and leadership activities available to all. The unique structures we have in place to onboard new students and families exist because it takes time for girls to feel secure in a new place and to make new friends—in fact, quite a lot of time. A University of Kansas study found that it takes about 50 hours to form a casual friendship, 90 hours to transition to being a friend

Students at this year's Middle School Club Fest.

and more than 200 hours to become close friends. 3 Those are big numbers! That’s why we’re deliberate and intentional when it comes to helping new students navigate the social landscape and make connections for life. And we know our approach works. As one Grade 9 student said last year when surveyed about her experiences, “I wish I worried less about making friends when I arrived.” We would love all our new girls to worry less, but we know that they do. It’s human nature. We also know that, in time, they will find their place and feel the power of belonging.

3 Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , Vol. 36 (4), April 2019, pp. 1,278–96. Accessed via https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0265407518761225.

Grade 7 students bond at Kilcoo Camp.

14  HAVERGAL COLLEGE