May 30, 2011 - Fortnight of Successes

As usual, it has been pretty busy around here over the last couple of weeks! Friends of mine often comment to me at this time of year that I must be looking forward to summer, and, although I am, I often explain that the teaching profession is a little unique in that there is usually an incredible ramp up of activity before any extended break, and none more so than the mayhem leading into summer break. With AP exams, playoffs, regular exams and summatives, and the multitude of award ceremonies and graduations, there is plenty going on and a lot to celebrate before we head off into the sunset with another academic year in our rear view mirror.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have had an incredible amount of success in a myriad of areas of school life. On the athletics front, our Senior Track Team had a best ever 4th place finish at the CISAA Championship meet and our Middle School Track Team set a record number of points in claiming a 1st overall finish at their CISAA meet. An incredible 115 Middle School and Grade 4/M9 athletes contributed to that winning performance. On the rugby pitch, our U14 Rugby team capped a perfect season in which they only allowed 10 points the entire year, by defeating SAC 19-5 to capture the CISAA championships in front of a raucous Middle School crowd.

On the artistic front, the Junior School put on the hilarious musical performance, “Bugz,” last week which involved all of the students and faculty. The dancing and singing of the Grade 4 boys dressed as ladybugs stole the show! Also in the past two weeks, 40 HSC Senior Musicians travelled to Vancouver to compete in the National MusicFest Finals in Richmond, BC which is the largest festival in North America, with over 10,000 participants. Both the Senior Jazz Ensemble and the Senior Wind Symphony were commended and awarded Silver Awards for their efforts.

On the academic side, a large number of our Grade 11 and 12 students challenged themselves with a series of Advanced Placement exams. Over 160 exams were written in total, which is an all-time high. The exams are the equivalent of a first-year university course and students can earn advanced standing in university with good scores. In addition, we had two students Janelle van Leeuwen and Yiquan Lok, participate in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair held in Los Angeles, California. Incredibly, Janelle won a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Society Special Award worth $200 for her research on the effects of electromagnetic fields from landscape lights on the growth of garden plants. We also had a number of students participate in the Canada Wide Science Fair in Toronto led by Grade 8 students Adam Chen and Nick Dobrovolskis, who won the bronze medal and $1,300 for their investigation of mercury levels in sea salt.

On the service front, we had two groups make presentations in chapel on this past Friday. The Senior Environment Club raised about $500 to support the naturalized area of campus and made a donation to the Nature Conservancy of Canada to support the rehabilitation of Carolinian habitat on their Lathrop Property near Pelham. Also, our Colin Glassco Foundation Committee made a presentation of a cheque for $12,000, which will go to providing fresh water and breakfasts for hundreds of children in Africa over the next year.

Most importantly, despite the dreary weather, the spirit of the College remains high, the students are engaged and focused on doing their best, and when the curtain falls on an incredibly successful year, we can all enjoy a well-deserved break!

April 18, 2011

Those of you who attended the New Parents’ Reception in September may have heard me tell the tale of my wife’s and my experience volunteering as parents of children at our school in BC. If you are one of those people, feel free to skip to the end of this entry!

When my wife and I first moved to BC, so that I could take on the role of Head of Senior School at Southridge School, our son was only one-year-of age and our daughter was not yet on the scene. It wasn’t until our fourth year at the school that my son was old enough to attend the school in Kindergarten (BC does not have Junior Kindergarten). Although we loved the school from day one and volunteered at various events as faculty members, it wasn’t until we were able to volunteer as school parents that our attachment to the school community completely cemented itself.

It really began when my wife had her arm twisted into becoming the co-chair of the Southridge Country Fair, which is a like a huge amusement park and 500 family garage sales rolled into one. Kim and a small group of equally committed moms formed the organizing committee and as is often the case, the husbands were commissioned to lug things around and not mess things up too badly! It was over the course of that first Fair experience that we crystallized some friendships that I’m sure will be life-long.

I was never really the ‘over-enthusiastic, volunteer for anything’ type growing up, but there is something about rolling up your sleeves for a cause that is near and dear to your hearts (in this case, our kids’ school) that makes the time spent seem much more like fun than like work and we had an amazing time.

The following year a few other dads and I took on the task of chairing our annual school golf tournament and we had an absolute blast doing that as well. Even though it was as much of an excuse to hang out together a couple of days a week as anything else, we were able to exceed our fundraising goals for the tournament and create a really fun event for the school.

Why am I sharing this story again? We have a number of great opportunities coming up for members of our parent community new and less-new alike to get together to build relationships with one another, while supporting student programs at HSC. These include our Spring Fair and also the Parents’ Guild Fashion Show.

I hope that you will consider volunteering your time at one of these great events. You never know; you may make a friend for life!

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

March 29, 2011 - Science Superstars!

For over 50 years, the Bay Area Science & Engineering Fair (BASEF) has provided a forum for students in the Hamilton/Halton area to develop their scientific skills and prepare for national and international competition. BASEF draws students in Grades 7 through 12 from the City of Hamilton (including Ancaster, Dundas and Stoney Creek), the Regional Municipality of Halton (including Burlington, Oakville and Milton) in Southern Ontario as well as students from Haldimand, Norfolk and Brant Counties.

BASEF 2011 was held from March 23 to March 26 this year at Mohawk College where cash, prizes and scholarships worth more than $150,000 were awarded to student participants. Merit awards were awarded to students for outstanding achievements in research and for innovative design as it related to their scientific study.

I had the pleasure of attending the public viewing of the projects this past Saturday where a number of our Middle and Senior School students had projects entered. A vital part of 21st Century skills that are at the core of our strategic plan are related to students developing inquiry and research skills, being able to collaborate as part of a team, analyzing and synthesizing data, and most importantly, being able to communicate clearly and persuasively both in writing and orally. This was clearly on display with our students at BASEF.

I was able to stay for the awards ceremony concluding the event and represented HSC in handing out some of the awards that we sponsor. I was beaming with pride from the success of our students and the professionalism with which they conducted themselves. These students were incredible ambassadors for HSC and for their families!

The following is a list of our prize winners. Amazingly, two of the three winners of the all-expenses paid trip to the International Science Fair in Los Angeles are HSC students, Janelle van Leeuwen and Yiquan Lok with Janelle also winning the prestigious Best in Fair Award (with a beautiful polar bear trophy to boot!).

All of the winners should be proud and also grateful for the time and effort of their science teachers and parents for preparing them for this event. Well done!

Grand Awards

Dofasco Pinnacle Award – 1st-Best-in-Fair
– Janelle van Leeuwen (Will EMF Stunt Your Growth?)

Drs. Ranjan and Monalisa Sur Award – Best High School Project
– Janelle van Leeuwen (Will EMF Stunt Your Growth?)

Susan Joyce Memorial Award – Health Sciences
– Lauren Smith (Playground Prescription)

Trips to the National or International Science Fairs

Intel International Science & Engineering Fair Trip Award
– Yiquan Lok (Plants Purify Pee)

Intel International Science & Engineering Fair Trip Award
– Janelle van Leeuwen (Will EMF Stunt Your Growth?)

Canada Wide Science Fair Trip Award
– Adam Chen and Nick Dobrovolskis (What’s In Your Salt Shaker?)

Canada Wide Science Fair Trip Award
– Lauren Smith (Playground Prescription)

Canada Wide Science Fair Trip Award Alternate Trip Award
– Ishaan Kapur (Green Valley Homes)

Merit Awards

Gold Merit Award
– Adam Chen and Nick Dobrovolskis (What’s In Your Salt Shaker?)

Gold Merit Award
– Lauren Smith (Playground Prescription)

Gold Merit Award
– Yiquan Lok (Plants Purify Pee)

Gold Merit Award
– Janelle van Leeuwen (Will EMF Stunt Your Growth?)

Silver Merit Award
– Holly Dunne and Whitney Way (Keeping It Cool – The Effect Insulation Type Has on the Resistance of Heat)

Silver Merit Award
– Peter-George Vastis (Miracle Gro – Is it Really a Miracle?)

Silver Merit Award
– Ishaan Kapur (Green Valley Homes)

Bronze Merit Award
– Camille Intson and Alannah Hewitt (Music To My Ears?)

Bronze Merit Award
– Georgie Beeden (Waste Power)

Bronze Merit Award
– William Kelly (Hockey Is Your Head Worth It? A Study of Head Injuries and Concussions in Hockey)

Acquired Brain Injury Awards - First
– William Kelly (Hockey Is Your Head Worth It? A Study of Head Injuries and Concussions in Hockey)

Canadian Nuclear Society (Golden Horseshoe Branch) Awards – Intermediate/Senior
– Ishaan Kapur (Green Valley Homes)

Horizon Utilities Corporation Award
– Georgie Beeden (Waste Power)

ISEF Association for Women GeoScientists
– Janelle van Leeuwen (Will EMF Stunt Your Growth?)

Laurentian SETAC
– Janelle van Leeuwen (Will EMF Stunt Your Growth?)

Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories (OAML) Award
– Adam Chen and Nick Dobrovolskis (What’s In Your Salt Shaker?)

Primary Fluid Systems Earth and Environment Awards – First (A)
– Adam Chen and Nick Dobrovolskis (What’s In Your Salt Shaker?)

Primary Fluid Systems Earth and Environment Awards – Second (A)
– Janelle van Leeuwen (Will EMF Stunt Your Growth?)

Primary Fluid Systems Earth and Environment Awards – Third (A)
– Ishaan Kapur (Green Valley Homes)

Royal Botanical Gardens Award
– Janelle van Leeuwen (Will EMF Stunt Your Growth?)

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

March 1, 2011 - Turning Sparks into Fires

As many of you may be aware, Priority A of our Strategic Plan is the development of a more student-centred learning environment. Below are some of the principles of this that have been, and will continue to be, our focus:

• experimental, inductive, hands-on learning
• higher order thinking
• cooperative, collaborative activity
• more choice for students
• more reliance on descriptive evaluations of student growth
• more responsibility on students for their own goal setting and follow through
• more individual needs met for all learners
• more delivery of help to students who learn differently within the classroom

I’m sure that you can walk around the halls in each of the four schools in the College and find evidence of these things in place, but we want these principles to be more readily evident on a daily basis in an age-appropriate manner.

In order to further facilitate this shift “From Teaching to Learning”, we are giving careful consideration to our model for access to technology. Presently we have a number of mobile laptop carts, some dedicated labs with desktops, some student work areas with desktops, Learning Services rooms with desktops, and additional desktops in certain classrooms. The model to truly facilitate student-centred learning would be more flexible than this. When a student has a great idea and needs access to technology to further their research, it can be a frustrating experience to not be able to turn the spark of an idea into an immediate fire of creativity.

It can also be frustrating to teachers who would like to make the integration of technology into a lesson or unit a much more regular practice, but who are restricted by the scheduling or mobility of our labs. This is especially true if someone forgot to plug in the laptop cart overnight and the laptops are all dead!

As part of our investigation into how we can make better use of technology, we have been working with some Educational IT Consultants to explore why we are using technology and what our vision for the future could be. We have surveyed students and teachers to get a sense of how it is being used now and what they would like to see. We have also consulted with a number of parents who have some expertise in this area. As we flesh out the plans a little further we will be seeking further parent feedback as well.

What we do know is that our focus will not be on technology. Our focus will be on improving the learning experience for all students, and improved access to technology will be a part of that. There are a number of schools in North America who have rushed into hardware and tried to fit the educational plan around that. We are spending our time outlining our educational priorities first and then figuring out how IT can support that. Over the coming months, I will be communicating more formally with you about our vision for this program and will also be hosting some parent evenings to explain our rationale and answer questions.

I hope that you share my excitement for the vision of all of our students having the right tool at the right time to turn all of their sparks into fires!

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

February 15, 2011

For the most part, students and teachers (and probably parents) are pretty tired and drained by the time Friday morning rolls around and the focus is on getting through the day to begin the weekend: The proverbial TGIF feeling.

At HSC, we are so lucky to have a springboard into the weekend unlike any other that I have experienced in the three other independent schools that I have worked at, and that is our weekly Chapel Service. It is fairly uncommon in independent schools these days to have a commitment to a formal service like this with an anthem, prayers, and hymns every week. It is even more exceptional to have an ‘off-the-charts’ musical performance by a student each and every week.

This past week’s Chapel was somewhat unique because Mr. Andre Leblanc, a parent of three HSC students, was on campus as the “Head of College for a Day” and he led the Chapel. This provided me with an opportunity to be a spectator as opposed to a facilitator of the service. I had a chance to see just how engaged the students are, from the Junior and Montessori kids all the way up to the Grade 12s, as they sat attentively throughout the service. I think that in a busy world full of deadlines, incessant text messages, and general information overload, it is a chance for the kids to unplug for a brief period of time and just enjoy being a part of the College community.

I have yet to walk out of Chapel feeling less than 100% invigorated and lucky to be at HSC. So often in a busy school day, we focus on the headaches and heartbreaks and we lose sight of the fact that the vast majority of time spent here is exceedingly positive. I think that part of this energy boost also comes from being really impressed by the courage of our young readers and performers who get up in front of their peers and give it their all each week. I think that they find the courage because they know that they will have the unconditional support of their audience of faculty and friends.

We need to find a way to bottle the post-Chapel positive energy and break it out when we are having a tough day! In an effort to provide more opportunities for our community to experience this energy, I would like to invite more parents and friends to come to Chapel in the Page Gym at 8:45 a.m. on Friday mornings. For those of you who can’t attend, we are recording many of the musical acts and posting them on the HSC YouTube site, so please check it out.

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

January 26, 2011

It is certainly a busy and exciting time at the College with a number of initiatives underway in support of our Strategic Plan. As you may have read in a recent letter to the HSC community, we are beginning a major research project to try and get feedback on our programs in pursuit of our goal of becoming the leader in independent education in Canada.

A major part of that goal is how we plan to support Student Centred Learning in the school. We know that the pragmatic use of educational technology is going to be central to this initiative and will also be a part of all of our students’ futures beyond their lives at the College. This is an area that we are moving into very thoughtfully. We have engaged a consultant to work with our students, staff and faculty to develop a vision for how Student Centred Learning can be enhanced by these tools. We are examining our current practice as well as looking at which tools, be they laptops, tablets, iPads etc., would best meet student needs and would be able to be supported by the College. We are also examining best practices at a number of other independent schools, as well as looking at a variety of financial models to sustain the program.

The biggest advantage to Student Centred Learning, of course, will be the Transformation HSC project once it is completed. The creation of 21st Century learning spaces will allow for the kind of collaboration and creativity central to the needs of the students of today and tomorrow. The Learning Commons will support students as individuals and will allow them a space to discover and follow their academic passions. The Athletic and Community Centre will allow for flexibility in student timetables College-wide and will allow our teams to pursue excellence in the athletic realm as well. In addition, we will further embed the feeling of community that is a hallmark of HSC by allowing us all to meet together in one space.

To update you on the project, we have had two extraordinary Finance Committee meetings in the last two weeks to review our final costing numbers and fundraising numbers for the project in preparation for the Board of Governors meeting next Thursday, February 3. At this meeting the Board will be asked to make a decision about whether we can begin construction this spring for a September 2012 opening. We will communicate to the entire HSC community immediately following that meeting.

As I said, busy, but exciting times! Stay tuned….

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

January 14, 2011 - School Spirit

This past summer I received an e-mail from one of the school prefects, Brittany Davies, who informed me that she was chairing the Student Athletics Council, and knowing that the new Head had a passion for athletics, wanted to arrange a time to meet and discuss some ideas that she had.

I am a firm believer in the impact that co-curriculars can have on student success both while in elementary and high school and at the post-secondary level. Beyond teaching the obvious in terms of teamwork, collaboration, activity-specific skills and, in the case of athletics, the role of fitness in ones life, I believe that participating in these activities builds character.

The other ancillary benefit to athletics in a school is the impact that it can have on school spirit and this is what Brittany wanted to speak with me about. Entering her last year at the College, she had heard about the lifelong memories that some of our alumni had made by participating in athletics spirit days where they painted their faces, put on the ‘purple and green’, loaded on a bus and went off to cheer the Trojans on to victory. She wanted to have that experience and she wanted to help provide that for the rest of the Senior School as well.

In September, Brittany and Emma Evans met with our Director of Athletics, Ms. Sylvia Griffin, our Senior School Student Life Coordinator, Mr. Kris Zelinski, and me to discuss their plans for the Athletic Council. The focus was on how to generate more school spirit. We bounced around a bunch of ideas about spirit days centred around athletics and firmly threw the ball back in the students’ court to plan and execute with our support.

Many times, that is the last you hear of these big ideas from excited teenage minds, but I kept a close eye on some of their activities over the fall. The Athletics Board outside my office was regularly updated with notices of upcoming games and celebrations of victories across a number of sports. All of a sudden Athletics Council shirts popped up with “Taking Pride to the Next Level” on the back and HSC on the arm. There was some commitment there for sure.

The coup de grace, however, was the recent Athletics Spirit Day. The Athletics Council, under the leadership of Brittany and Emma, organized a day true to the ideal that Brittany had expressed back in September. There was face paint. There was a sea of purple and green. There was a busload of kids at the hockey game and there was a gym full of students at two volleyball games. It should be noted that they were all HSC wins!

We have spoken a lot about 21st Century skills at HSC and typically, the focus has been on the classroom. However, the skills that are so often mentioned: collaboration, creativity, learning to follow through, communication, problem-solving and critical thinking. were all embodied by these girls in this pursuit. When we allow students to follow their passion, take risks and be accountable, they often come through as these girls did.

Thanks for the memories, girls!

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

December 14, 2010 - Happy Holidays

With any school holiday there is always a ramp up to the ramp down and it is nothing different at the end of this busy term. Whether it is the preparation and rehearsals for the holiday concerts or just final assessments in class before the break, there is always a storm of activity before the calm of the holiday.

This first term for me at HSC has been extremely rewarding and I owe a debt of gratitude to all of the faculty, staff, parents, and students who have made the transition as smooth as possible for my family and me. I would also like to especially thank the Board of Governors for their tireless efforts on behalf of the College and in directly supporting me in my role as Head.

2011 promises to be an exciting year as we continue to work towards fulfilling the goals of our strategic plan “Making a World of Difference” and hopefully, through the support and generosity of the entire HSC community, we will see construction begin on the Michael G. DeGroote Senior School and the College-wide Community & Athletic Complex. HSC is striving to become the best independent school in the country and this mandate will be key to achieving that goal.

I want to extend to you all the best for 2011 and a safe, happy, and healthy holiday with your families.

Yours truly,

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

November 23, 2010 - Why the College-wide Community & Athletic Complex?

Over the course of the past couple of months we have continued to work on both the fundraising side and on the construction costing side to be able to provide the Board of Governors with enough information to make a decision in late January about whether or not we can move forward in a fiscally responsible manner towards an April groundbreaking on our new facilities. A couple of questions have arisen, which have been shared with me, about the necessity of building the College-wide Community & Athletic Complex, and also about any positive impacts that the Michael G. DeGroote Senior School will have on the younger grades. As a dad with children in Grades 1 and 3 at HSC, Senior School does seem like a long time away, but I know that the goals of Transformation HSC will benefit my kids long before they get to Grade 9.

The first, most obvious, benefit is that by moving classes out of existing Senior School facilities into the new building it will free up space and facilities for use by the Montessori, Junior and Middle Schools, as well as providing offices for our administrative support, some of which are presently housed in portables. This additional space would allow for these academic programs to flourish even more, and would allow our growing Middle School to ease some scheduling burdens in their timetable based on room scheduling challenges.

The construction of the College-wide Community & Athletics Centre would have numerous impacts related to Athletics and Physical Education from Early Ed to Grade 12. Having additional gym space would allow the younger students in the College more frequent access to the DeGroote and Page Gyms, while also providing much needed changing room facilities. It would also allow for a number of athletic fixtures to remain on campus.

I have the privilege this term to be helping Mr. Tom Stanton coach the U13 Boys’ Basketball Team. I went to my first practice this week with the team and not only did all of the boys (as well as several other teams) have to board the bus just after 3:00 p.m. to travel to an offsite facility, but they had a shorter practice in a facility that is not of very high quality. If you factor in the cost of travel and renting facility space and consider the risk inherent to the additional bus travel, it is not a model that we would like to continue. Our co-curricular program is extremely important to fulfilling the Mission of the College, and we cannot presently support that program with our own facilities.

The hidden issue with a lack of gym space is the impact that it has on the academic program through the limitations it puts on student timetables. Not only is there a real limit on the amount of PE that students have, but because of the limited gym space, all other courses need to be timetabled around PE. Neither the Senior School nor the Middle School have a timetable that best meets the needs of students because they are necessarily married to one another. I can assure you from experience that any marriage is about compromise!

We have a real opportunity as a College to have an absolutely first rate Senior School and College-wide Community & Athletic Complex which would set us apart nationally, both from an academic and a co-curricular standpoint. The sky would be the limit for HSC students.

If you would like to find out more about how we can make this dream a reality, please contact me or Ms. Adrienne Davidson in our Advancement Office to set up a time to meet.

Yours truly,

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

November 09, 2010 - "My Own Story"

As some of you may know, one of the ways that I have been trying to get to know the faculty, staff and Board of Governors is by conducting what are known as ‘appreciative inquiry interviews’ with anyone who is willing to sit down with me for a few minutes. Appreciative Inquiry is a process in which the power of individual contributions to a community can be examined through sharing personal stories related to positive experiences that people have had. The common themes that develop speak a great deal to the culture of the school and its strengths.  The principle of appreciative inquiry is essentially that focusing on weakness and trying to fix what is wrong” is reactive in nature, whereas recognizing and building on the strengths of an organization is energizing and allows for more strategic thinking.

The protocol that I developed was based on these three questions.

1. Please recall an event from your time at HSC that was a really positive experience or a personal highlight. It could be something that you were involved in directly and made a contribution to or something that you witnessed that made you proud to be a part of the College. Please don’t be modest.

2. Thinking back to the event that you described what conditions were present in the College to make such a positive outcome possible? Was there anything in place in terms of support, school culture or other things that you would consider to be unique strengths of HSC?

3. What was it about you as an individual that made such a positive event possible? Again, please don’t be modest!

Of the 100 or so interviews that I have conducted since July, I have yet to walk out of the interview without feeling completely energized, inspired and blessed to be at HSC. If I had to pick one theme that was most consistently evident from the answers to question two, it would be that HSC is a family that rallies around one another in times of need. Like any true family, there are times when we are tired, stressed and get on each other’s nerves. There are times when we aren’t all that nice to one another and maybe say and do things that we regret. When it truly matters though, like any true family, we are there for one another.

For many members of the HSC family, this past week has been the most difficult in their lives due to the passing of Curtis Josling. The pain, the anger and absolute grief of his passing was evident all week as we struggled to make sense of the senseless passing of a young man. As the week progressed, many students reflected on Curtis’ life and wrote those reflections down in a memorial book, on canvases and on Facebook focusing on how much Curtis continues to be a part of their lives as he looks on from above. What also happened is that the community rallied together in support of one another and of the Pollard-Josling family in a time of unimaginable sadness for them.

Grade 11 students in particular gave each other strength and were supported so compassionately and so professionally by Dr. Gina Ranger, Ms. Sage Kavander, Ms. Cheryl Deifenbacher and the Student Services team. In addition, they were led to believe that we would get through this together by Mr. Bob Neibert whose calm, well thought out, empathetic leadership was truly inspirational.

As horrible as it is for a school to go through a tragedy like this, as a member of our community, I now know what everyone was talking about when I heard their stories of the “HSC Family” this summer.

I now have my own story.

Yours truly,

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

October 25, 2010 - "Sir, what do you do all day?"

One of the great joys of my job are the small windows that I have each day in between meetings when I get to stroll around and take in the sights and sounds of classrooms, gyms, rehearsal spaces, and most importantly, hallways and student lounge areas. These casual interactions with teachers and students have always been a way for me to gain energy during the day and to make personal connections. Whether it is lunch at the Junior School tables or chatting with the Grade 12s in Student Services, I never cease to walk away from these interactions without a smile on my face and the feeling of being blessed to be at a school like HSC.

Last week, during one of my rounds, a very perceptive Grade 11 student said to me, “Sir, you seem to spend a lot of time just hanging around. What do you do all day?” After I finished chuckling, I explained that I wished that I could do more ‘hanging around’ because it is the work that a school leader does when it doesn’t look like he/she is working that can have the greatest impact on a school. What better way to influence the culture of school than to be a part of it? What better way to acknowledge what is important in a school than by attending to it? To me, what is most important is that all our students are having a great experience at the school. For me to have a sense of that, I need to engage in those conversations and visit classrooms. In other words, doing the work that doesn’t look, or frankly, feel like work! I do have to be careful with this, however, as my impromptu visit to a Physics 12 class last week found me being put to the test with the quiz that the students were writing! It was fun, but a reminder as to why I didn’t become a scientist.

Recently, I had the opportunity to go to a student-led meeting of the Colin B.Glassco Foundation club at the College. The presentation was led by a few Grade 12 students who were a part of resurrecting the club two and a half years ago. The students were genuinely proud of the work that they had done for the Foundation and of the fact that Mr. Glassco is an alumnus of their school. Over the last two years, the group has raised enough funds to support an orphanage in Zambia with drinking water and a breakfast program.

The students spoke passionately about the work, how they made personal t-shirts to send over to the students whom they sponsored, and shared some of the ideas that they have for fundraising this year. They truly are committed to using the Foundation to support their fellow students in Zambia but are also interested in raising global awareness at HSC and in the Hamilton community as well. As a teacher, I was floored by the professionalism of the presentation and by the sheer number of students who are so committed to making a difference, including a number of Grade 9s new to the club.

Please keep your eye out for the soon to be released HSC Glassco newsletter, which will outline some of the initiatives for this year, including the fashion show on April 1, 2011 themed “Peace, Love and Fashion”. Many thanks to Ms. Mancini for her support of this group.

As you can probably tell, I think that I pretty much have the best job in the world because not only does it not look like work to some, it doesn’t feel like work to me!

Yours truly,

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

October 13, 2010 - Owner’s Meeting

To me, this is a bit of an interesting term in the construction world for a meeting between the parties having something built (in our case, HSC), the architects of the building (in our case, Moriyama & Teshima) and the contractor of the build (in our case, Cooper Construction). On the Thursday before the Thanksgiving weekend, we had our latest Owner’s Meeting for the Michael G. DeGroote Senior School and College-wide Community & Athletic Complex, at the Cooper Construction offices.

The purpose of the meeting was to review the costing data to date on the architectural drawings that are now 60% complete, and to revisit the timeline for the construction project. The timeline outlines such things as when the contractor goes out to tender, when the application is made to the city for the building permit and when 95% costing will be done. Both the tendering process and the permit process will begin in the next few weeks. Our goal as the Transformation HSC Construction Steering Committee, is to be able to provide the Board of Governors with enough accurate costing data, by the end of the calendar year, for them to be able to make a decision early in the New Year about whether we can afford to start construction in April.

We, as a Committee, also had the opportunity to interview candidates for the position of Project Manager, who will be the College’s advocate and liaison with the architects and contractor as we navigate through the building process. All candidates have had extensive experience in the construction of schools at the secondary and post-secondary level and will be able to really help us manage the logistics of a school that is in session with a major new build, such as ours.

Of course, on the other side of the ledger, we are continuing our fundraising efforts led by Transformation Campaign Chair, Ron Foxcroft, and Director of Advancement, Adrienne Davidson. We are confident that, with the support of the HSC community, that we can generate enough support to put the Board in a position to make a positive decision in the New Year. The role of the Board is to keep the long-term financial viability of the College in mind with all decisions, and I am sure that they will make a very thoughtful and reasoned judgement at that time.

It is an exciting time at the College for sure and seeing the construction documents being fleshed out further and further is making the dream seem more like reality each day. If you have any questions about how you can support Transformation HSC, please contact Ms. Davidson at adrienne.davidson@hsc.on.ca .

Yours truly,

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca

September 30, 2010

Welcome to the first instalment of the Head’s Blog, our foray into a regular forum of electronic communication from the Head of College’s office. When considering the leap for the College into the world of social media we have taken a number of considerations in mind.

Firstly, what would we like the message about HSC to be? In many schools that rely on busing less than HSC, there is more of an opportunity for parents to be on campus and get a feel for what it is that makes HSC a special place. No social media will ever replicate that, but it is one way that we can give parents, alumni and friends regular updates about the amazing things that are happening here daily.

One of the things that I have noticed here in my short time is that there is a lot going on! If we can give parents timely and accurate information about the College and do things like quickly celebrating the successes of our students then that is a good thing. A blog, a Facebook presence, and a Twitter page are all ways to do this.

Secondly, we are certainly going to be very deliberate about how we use social media at the College and, like many things, we want to be good role models in the use of these amazing tools for our students. Our ultimate goal is to provide ways for our community to connect to HSC and to feel a part of life here even if you are from the Class of ’76 and live across the world.

Given that our website at www.hsc.on.ca is our prime portal to the outside world and the content on that page is secure and protected, we will only use these other media to direct traffic to the webpage and provide messages of general interest to the community. We will not be posting pictures of any school activities or using children’s names on our Facebook or Twitter pages.

I hope that you will take some time to read my updates in the Head’s Blog and will become a friend of HSC on Facebook or a follower of ours on Twitter. We will do our best to use this tool to help deliver on our commitment to excellent communication with our community members.

Yours truly,

Marc Ayotte
Head of College
headofcollege@hsc.on.ca