May 4, 2011

Well, it really and truly is spring and our planning for this year’s International Spring Fair started while the snow was still flying, some months back.

We have great things planned for Spring Fair this year (May 14) and we have added several new activities and sporting events, which we hope will bring out many more families than in years past. Our objective is to have something for everyone; Senior, Middle, Junior and Montessori students (not to mention the grown-ups!). Faculty and staff are also greatly involved this year (as always) and we hope to have many more returning alumni present as well. One of the biggest changes this year will be location! Due to the recent and hugely anticipated construction, the Spring Fair will be conducted behind the College, on the fields adjacent to Mohawk.

As with any, and all, of our Parents’ Guild events, the planning is only a part of the total.

We are in need many more volunteers and donors to pull it off and to make it a great success! A successful event is not only determined by the funds raised, but by the fun had by all, and to be honest, the sense of community it ultimately achieves! I believe that both of these are measurable to an extent, but without the help and continued support of our wonderful HSC families, neither is possible.

As my time as Parents’ Guild President nears its end, I have been thinking about what we set out to achieve this year, and I hope that our attempts to connect with our HSC families have been successful. As Marc Ayotte, Head of College says in his current blog, volunteering is a way of connecting to each other, to our community and to our school, and life-long friends are made through what can sometimes otherwise be mundane and/or thankless work. I spent part of this morning with several moms in the Transportation office basement, sorting through stacks of Christmas decorations and old Fair Day “stuff” looking for our much needed Fair Day signs. We spent the entire time laughing. Thankfully, we found what we were searching for, and as I was driving out of the parking lot I started thinking that if I’ve done nothing else with my time on the Parents’ Guild, I’ve at least met the warmest people and made the best of friends. We realize that not everyone has the ability to take time out through the day to volunteer, but there are so many other ways to help here at HSC and the Parents’ Guild (and Spring Fair) is only one.

So, whether you are looking to volunteer or planning on a great day out, or both, please look out for Spring Fair event, location and volunteer details in our parent e-news, school newsletters, media screens and the HSC web site. We are looking forward to a fabulous event and know that all who attend (and volunteer) will have a wonderful time!

The next, and last Parents’ Guild event of this school year will be our Fashion Show and Luncheon, held at Liuna Station on June 1. You should have received your invitations in the last mailing, so please, complete your forms and book your tables now! If you did not receive an invitation, forms are available by clicking here.

Thank you again for your invaluable support and “Get Connected!”

Warmest Regards,

Stephanie Smith
HSC Parents’ Guild President
2010/2011

March 9, 2011

Alice in Wonderland reception   Fair Day 2010

This past Saturday the Parents’ Guild held a small reception for the Middle School production of Alice in Wonderland and we had a lot of fun! Our objectives were to support the Middle School and our wonderful arts programs, introduce more parents to the PG and to raise some funds. We accomplished all three and it was quite a success! The production was fabulous in every way and the addition of some yummy homemade goodies provided by the Parents’ Guild Committee only enhanced the afternoon! We hope to organize more of these events for each of the four schools wherever and whenever we can in the future. As most of you know, Spring Fair is coming on May 14 and we have lots of great activities planned. The fair will have an international theme this year and will include great food from different countries, bouncy castles for the little ones, the return of the Garden Centre, a Senior School Car Show, the “Jar Bazaar” (a new addition this year that came as a suggestion from one of our new parents), Student Vendors Village, games competitions and many more exciting events. We have a great committee of very hard working parents, but we still need volunteers to help make this day a huge success! As we get closer to the date, we will publish a list of jobs and shifts to make things easier! We really hope you’ll get involved with our upcoming events and really get connected! Have a wonderful and safe March Break. Stephanie Smith Parents’ Guild President 2010/2011 stephanie.smith@hsc.on.ca

February 3, 2011

Welcome to our new Parents’ Guild blog!

We are very happy to have this new vehicle for communicating with our HSC families and we hope that you will find these messages helpful and informative!

We have had a fairly successful year so far with our various fundraising events such as HSC-bay which raised $27,000, our Tuition Raffle which is well over $10,000 and our Student-to-Student Uniform Sale which is also nearing the $10,000 mark! While we may be short of our fundraising goal this year, we hope that with the help of the HSC community, all of our upcoming events will be well attended and well supported! The money raised by the Parents' Guild does go back into the classrooms and does greatly benefit the learning environment here at HSC!

As you know, we did not have Winterfest last November and many of you expressed disappointment at its absence. Because we have experienced a significant decline in volunteers, we made the decision last year to remove it from the calendar. It really is a huge undertaking, requiring time and commitment from our Parents’ Guild members and HSC families. We would love to be able to hold a similar, revamped event next year, but we will need many more volunteers to make it a great success.

Alongside of our fundraising events, we have been focusing on connecting with our families and with the College. We were involved for the first time with Homecoming and this last October we held our first Movie Under the Stars for the Montessori and Junior Schools, and we are continuing with plans to host intermission at the upcoming Middle School musical. We will also hopefully, be involved with Family Community Day and Earth Day. Details of these events will be forthcoming.

We are now in the process of organizing our all important and much anticipated Spring Fair which takes place on May 14. If you would like to help in the planning or would just like to volunteer that day, please contact us at theparentsguild@hsc.on.ca. We promise, you will have a great time! Please watch out for volunteer and event updates in the Parent E-News and of course, right here!

Planning is also underway for our very popular Fashion Show and Luncheon taking place on June 1. We are looking forward to this end of year event for a number of reasons, not the least of which is seeing the return of our HSC Old Girls! It has become a wonderful way for these ladies to get together at what is a lovely afternoon of food and fashion. We hope to have a record turnout this year! We will be hosting our Annual General Meeting immediately before the fashion show at Liuna Station.

This year’s goal for the Parents’ Guild has and continues to be, connecting and collaborating with our families here at HSC. It is not all about raising funds, even though this is terribly important. As parents, we know the demands of family life and the huge cost of raising a family, but we hope that by offering a link to the College and to other parents we can all see the benefit in supporting HSC not only to raise those funds, but to realize our great potential!

Best wishes,

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