Welcome to the HSC Parents’ Guild Web Page.  This year will definitely be one of change, not only in relation to the Parents’ Guild, with a new name and a new Constitution, but to the College as a whole as we warmly welcome a new Head of College and the bulldozers as well! As the new President I am excited about sharing the Parents’ Guild’s plans for the coming year.

By way of introduction, my husband Phil and I have two boys at HSC, Oliver is entering Grade 9 and Alexander is entering Grade 11. Our family has been part of the HSC community for the past seven years and we love it!  When the boys joined HSC, I joined the Parents’ Guild. As parents we have developed such a high regard for HSC; it is this regard that has kept me involved with the Parents’ Guild these past seven years and what continues to inspire me in the role of President.

The Parents’ Guild plans and organizes many events throughout the year to enhance the learning environment at HSC.  In the past the Parents’ Guild as a whole, with the generous contributions and support of the entire HSC community, has raised funds to furnish each of the four schools with SMARTboards, SMARTtables, computers on wheels (COWS for the uninitiated!), athletic equipment and innovative teaching and instructional tools.

As with many Guilds and Associations, we face the challenge of full community engagement and active participation. Unfortunately, at present, all the planning and organizing for our many events is done by only a handful of dedicated, extremely talented and slightly overworked parents!  We need more volunteers to help with our fundraising and friend raising. Every parent or guardian of a child currently enrolled at HSC is a member of the Parents’ Guild, we urge each of you to contribute to the success of our mission by volunteering, attending and donating to our major fundraising events.

Our new Strategic Plan - “Connecting and Collaborating”  - contains several important goals for the Parents’ Guild to pursue over the next couple of years. Click here to learn more about our Strategic Plan.

Our main goal this year is to connect and collaborate with HSC’s unique and diverse community.  To this end, we hope to improve our communications through the introduction of the HSC Facebook Page and regular Parents’ Guild webpage updates, including the possible addition of a Parents’ Guild Blog.  We want to foster an exchange of ideas and to encourage greater parental involvement! 

We are planning to continue with some of our most popular events this year as well as working more closely with established College events, like Homecoming and Earth Day.  We will be focusing much of our fundraising attention on HSC-Bay, our on-line auction, and on our annual Tuition Raffle. We hope that many more supporters will become involved and donate unique and exciting items to this year’s auction. The Student-to-Student Uniform Sale will also play a significant role in our fundraising efforts again this year, as will our popular Fair Day, or rather Spring Fair, on May 14, 2010. Our first Student-to-Student Uniform Sale of the new school year takes place on August 26, 2010.  To bring our Montessori and Junior School families together, we will be hosting an Early Education Social in October 2010.

I would like to encourage you to become involved. We welcome your support in the manner that works best for your family! Your contributions and fellowship help strengthen our school community.

Please check this page regularly, as we will strive to update you on our plans, activities and progress throughout the year. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at theparentsguild@hsc.on.ca

I look forward to meeting many more of you at either our monthly meetings (the first Thursday of every month), or at our community events.  Please note that you all are welcome to attend the monthly Parents’ Guild meetings – their time and location are marked on the HSC online calendar at www.hsc.on.ca under “Community Events”

Best wishes,

Stephaine Smith
2010/2011 President
HSC Parents’ Guild
stephanie.smith@hsc.on.ca