Torch - Spring 2016

Principal’s Message

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The values are signposts to help guide us and shape our decisions.

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W hen I first arrived at Havergal College in 2014, one of my first tasks was to start developing a strategic plan for the school ( Havergal 2020: Our Vision is Limitless ). I knew that in order to live and own that plan, it had to align with the other statements established at the school: our mission and our values. We had a mission statement, but we needed to make sure it still reflected the true ethos of our school. We had a list of values, but they had not been examined in a long time. So we started a process to get these key messages working together. It took nearly a year to get feedback from our stakeholders and hone the direction of the strategic plan. A committee of governors, parents, faculty and administrators then focused on the framework of the plan and on the vision of the school. It was an equally important and involved process to craft a list of characteristics that truly reflect the values of this community. We did that by putting together a working group of staff and faculty. We also consulted with students. Together, we fine-tuned the precise wording of our mission statement and our values. The four core values—integrity, inquiry, compassion and courage— now truly underpin our mission statement and guide us, even on a daily basis. Each of these carefully chosen words reflects what we aim for at Havergal. They are not a benchmark for us to judge the girls or the curriculum. The values are signposts to help guide us and shape our decisions. I believe, for a lot of our girls, these words will resonate Focusing on Our Values Helen-Kay Davy

even more after they graduate. These are our values, and we are all lifelong members of this learning community. Integrity is about respecting ourselves, respecting others and owning up to our mistakes. Our students are young and they will sometimes fail and need to find a way to move past their mistakes, not hide from them. Inquiry very much drives our learning process at Havergal. We are passionate about the foundations of knowledge, but even our younger girls are encouraged to explore what learning really means and to ask bigger questions. Compassion drives the community aspect of our school. We are raising girls to be citizens of the world—empathetic citizens who can see beyond themselves. And courage, while the last value on our list, I think pulls them all together. So many of our girls are courageous every day in ways that not everyone sees…at home, in their school work and in their community work. When we have courage, we speak up for ourselves and others; we are able to take risks and try new things. These values have given us a renewed focus at Havergal. We can now move forward with ideas in our classrooms and in our community that truly align with our common goals. These characteristics are going to influence how we speak to each other in the hallways and will drive research on the part of our faculty. Havergal’s values will influence learning at our school today and the lives of our alumnae for many years to come.

TABLE OF CONTENTS | SPRING 2016 • TORCH 3