Torch - Spring/Summer 2019

Message from School Leaders

What Will You Do? 125 years of empowering girls and young women begins with one question.

By Michael Simmonds and Kate White

“ Our students— the women of

tomorrow—must see themselves as agents of change.

“

Michael Simmonds, VP School Life & Student Wellness and Kate White, Head of Junior School.

I magine a scene: it’s Toronto, 1894. Havergal College has just opened its doors at 350 Jarvis St. The girls gather in the school, getting their first glimpse of one another and their teachers. Some are nervous, all are excited, their minds full of questions and possibilities. In the first school assembly—called Prayers then, as it is now— Principal Ellen Knox welcomes the girls. An intuitive and insightful educator, she knows their minds are filled with questions: “Who will my friends be? What will I be learning?” She makes sure to address their practical concerns, but there is one question hanging in the room she doesn’t attempt to answer. Instead, she speaks it aloud. “What will you do?” Whatever lies on the horizon for the first class of Havergal graduates—and every class thereafter—it is understood that each girl will do something. She will take action. She will make a difference.

We ask the same question today. However a girl replies, just the act of posing it communicates something important: no matter the year of your birth or expectations of your era, you have the power to shape your future and the future of others. This is a message that Havergal communicates to its students every day. They hear it in casual conversations and in curricular expectations. They hear it when they make choices about what to pursue in their learning, leadership, activities and service. They hear it when a classmate takes a stand or shares a story. They hear it when they support a friend, help out in the community or start something new. The consistent message that the students hear is that they have the power to contribute and make change. But it’s not just talk—together, we also walk the walk. In addition to being intentional about how and what we communicate, we also provide opportunities for girls to direct themselves, lead others and take action. When asked what they will do, we want our students to

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