Promises made by Globeducate students about changes they will make to ensure a positive impact on the future of our planet are on display in the centre of the Blue Zone at COP26 in Glasgow for the next two weeks. In addition, some of our student-directed films will play alongside the Globeducate manifesto film.

As part of Globeducate, our school benefits from a unique partnership with WWF and we are committed to developing as an Eco-School. Over the last two years, as Globeducate began working to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals set for 2030, students have taken part in activities with WWF experts. Through this important relationship, Globeducate students were invited to contribute “promise leaves” to the WWF Tree of Promises, occupying centre stage in the COP 26 Blue Zone, used for key negotiations, between 31st October to 12th November. 

The tree’s leaves display promises from our students, and broadcast in the same space will be student-directed short films from three Globeducate schools - ISN Nice, Nobel Algarve British International School and Agora Portals International School. These messages of hope are directed at the decision makers of our planet's future.

Being invited to be part of this global event is not only proof that we are doing the right things. It is also evidence that we are doing things right. Our students have a voice. And they can, and will, Shape the World. 

To our teachers, students and families: Thank you for making this tree grow in force, and let's keep urging ourselves to Shape the World. 

If you would like to know more, please read the full story on Globeducate’s website.

There will be NO CLASSES this Friday, November 5 due to a marks meeting. 

Stonar School hosted the annual Globeducate Student Leadership Summit for three days in October, bringing two senior students from 23 schools together for a three-day, online symposium. Students from Canada, Europe and India joined the event – the first time it was held virtually rather than at Stonar in England – to develop their leadership skills, both in theory and practice. Toronto Prep School student and student council Co-Vice President, Malcolm Crysler-Howard, took part in the virtual event. 

Guest speaker Dr. Lucy Walker from Britten Pears Arts joined Stonar School Staff to deliver inspiring talks, workshops, questionnaire evaluations and feedback. Dr Walker curates exhibitions and writes about the life and works of musicians Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, and has presented study days at concert venues and opera houses in the UK and internationally. She spoke about how leadership comes in many forms and styles.

Headmaster of Stonar, Matt Way, opened the event with a session on leadership theory – drawing on his own military career experiences and on leaders as diverse as Tito and Shackleton. Students were challenged to think about the characteristics of a good leader and the session was followed by an analysis of Belbin´s leadership styles. The students had all previously completed a questionnaire which was then used to identify where their dominant leadership styles lay. Zoom break-out rooms allowed smaller groups of students to discuss what they had learnt about themselves, and each other, and how to build an effective leadership team. 

David Wicks, a former Colonel in the British Army and current Head of Science at Stonar, spoke about leadership in action and importantly defined the difference between leadership and management. David also stressed the importance of honesty and integrity as the basis for any successful leader. More break-out sessions had a focus on planning presentations on an inspirational leader of their choice – the students did not disappoint in their choice of leaders with a wide range being chosen, from Michelle Obama and Jesus to Stalin and Colonel Gaddafi!

The second day began with a workshop on public speaking led by Jamie Dyde, Head of English at Stonar; many of the students having already noted that communication was a key skill for any potential leader. Following more group work, Dr Lucy Walker listened to the fantastic presentations. All students participated in the presentations and the confidence with which they spoke, the engagement they had for the subject matter, informing their research with the leadership theory they had learnt the previous day, ensured that the presentations were lively, informative and delivered with style. As well as providing constructive feedback, Dr Walker praised the students and left the event questioning what her own leadership style may be. Prior to Dr Walker’s keynote speech, students participated in a fun scenario planning event, where they had to use their leadership skills to plan for survival, or escape, on a deserted island. 

Head of Sixth Form, Charlotte Bennett, who has organised this event for many years said, “It was a pleasure to host an event for such a talented and personable group of young people. They were, without doubt, leaders of the future. The original seed of an idea for this event came from a past Head Pupil at Stonar when she was studying languages at A Level; she saw a potential opportunity to work with other student leaders from the group. It is this creative thinking, the desire to work towards joint goals and the development of individual confidence, alongside fostering positive relationships with our Globeducate family, that the Head Pupil Event strives to achieve. We have many immensely talented young leaders within our schools and this opportunity for them to work together and learn from each other can be a hugely rewarding experience.”

Oanh Crouch, Education Director for Globeducate, said: “My thanks to the Stonar team for organising such an incredible leadership summit for the students. Within a changing world, never has it been more obvious that we need to expand upon the traditional concept of leadership and to embrace the notion that leadership is multi-faceted and manifests in many styles and in a variety of ways.  I have no doubt our leaders of the future have come away from this experience with much to add to their repertoire of skills.”

Due to parent-teacher interviews, there will be a HALF-DAY of classes tomorrow on Thursday, November 11. Dismissal will be at 12:21 PM. There will be NO CLASSES on Friday, November 12. 

Saturday club is cancelled this Saturday, November 13.

The Robotics Team consists of creative and ambitious Gr. 7-12 students that are eager to build sophisticated robots that pull off extraordinary missions in major tournaments. Led by their TPS Coach, the team won a very competitive grant process and secured $5K. The grant will be used to purchase advanced robotics equipment, and for registration fees in tournaments across the province. This grant was provided by the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization which is based in the United States.

With the aim of getting into the FRC, the world's largest international robotics competition, the team invites students from all walks of life as they draw upon building talent and confidence in different areas such as designing robotics, coding robots, fundraising, media and marketing, team leadership and community leadership. Students are encouraged to join in on the action! 

Saturday Club will proceed this weekend as normal on Saturday, November 20, but with Ms. Philip supervising in place of Mr. Fitch. 

A COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for children between 5 and 11 years old. Toronto Public Health invites parents and guardians to a webinar that will help them make an informed decision about getting their children vaccinated. 

Presented by Dr. Vinita Dubey (TPH Associate Medical Officer of Health), this webinar will cover: 

• Risks of COVID-19 in children 
• Information on COVID-19 vaccines and children 
• Facts about vaccines and fertility 
• COVID-19 vaccination and schools

The webinar will also include a question and answer period. 

NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED. CHOOSE FROM ONE OF THREE SESSION DATES:

Teams from seven Globeducate schools in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal have made it through to the global final of the WWF´s Wild Wisdom Quiz Live Challenge on the 2nd December, all securing positions in the top five per cent from their national leader boards. 

The quiz, a concept designed by WWF-India, went online for the first time in its 13-year history this year with a first round in November. Seven Globeducate schools competed with more than 2000 school teams in 50 countries and each now enters two students, aged 13 to 14, to progress to the final, taking place at 2pm GMT for the greatly anticipated one-hour event.  

The top three schools will win grand prizes including a virtual safari experience based in South Africa and all participants will come away with a completion certificate. The top 10 individual performers will also win a prize. 

Students earn points for interacting with live content, completing badges, testing themselves, and participating in live quizzes both in their class and at home. Congratulations to: Agora Portals International School and Granada College, Spain; Nobel Algarve British International School in Portugal; Southlands British International School and RIS Rome in Italy; and ISN Nice and Cours Hattemer in France.

Oanh Crouch, Globeducate Education Director, said: “Further evidence that our schools’ involvement with Climate Action and SDGs is having impact on our students. With seven of our Globeducate schools representing France, Italy, Portugal and Spain in the Wild Wisdom Quiz Live International Finals, it is testament to our commitment to environmental initiatives. Congratulations to all the students, teachers and schools on making this happen. All of Globeducate will be cheering you on.”

Matt Larsen-Daw, WWF-UK´s Education Manager, said: “Globeducate schools have been enthusiastic participants in this global challenge, with a number of shortlisted schools making it into the final! As ever, we are always delighted to see students from these schools so actively involved in sustainability education activities and, having shared their promise leaves and film at COP26, it is very clear that there is genuine passion and motivation in Globeducate students to get clued-up on important issues for the future of the planet and civilisation. We wish all of the students taking part in the final the very best of luck.”

We are happy to announce that we’ve partnered with Greenr to help TPS with their sustainability mission and to help all of you show off your eco-habits!

Climate change is something we would all like to do something about and Greenr is going to help us learn new habits to reduce our impact on the planet one day at a time. 

To start things off, we will be running a competition throughout the entire school starting on Monday December 6th. Students will be competing within their school houses and the winning team will be awarded with a certificate. 

Good luck teams!

It’s that time of year again! We are asking our generous TPS community to help us with our annual Holiday Drive, running from December 1st to December 14th.

You can help those in need by donating canned food, gift cards, personal hygiene products, and diapers. The best gift cards, in any denomination, are: grocery (any), Indigo, Toys R US, Sportchek, and Cineplex.

Donations can be dropped off to your first period teachers. 

Thank you to all of our TPS families and our TPS community for making the Holiday Drive such a success this year! We had over 1100 food items donated and over $5500 in gift cards. 

And a special congratulations to Ms O’Dwyer’s first period class for raising almost $900 in gift cards! 

Thank you all for being so charitable this season and helping those in need. 

January 3, 2022

Dear TPS Families,

We hope you have had a relaxing, safe, and healthy winter break. After assessing the current COVID situation, specifically within the TPS community and generally in Toronto, we have decided to resume classes virtually from Wednesday, January 5th to Friday, January 7th. All classes will be online ONLY in a synchronous format.

There will be NO IN-PERSON learning until we further reassess the situation at the end of this week. We feel this decision will ultimately allow us a safer, healthier, and more permanent return to in-person instruction. Furthermore, as examinations are fast approaching, taking this in-person pause will allow for a greater number of our students to write their finals under good health.

Please see below for our abbreviated class times, and documents that include online protocols and Zoom instructions. To attend virtual classes students must download the Zoom client application using their TPS email (instructions are attached).

Morning extra help: 9:00 – 9:55

Period 1: 10:00 – 10:50
10 minute break.
Period 2: 11:00 – 11:50
Lunch: 11:50 – 12:30
Period 3: 12:30 – 1:20
10 minute break.
Period 4: 1:30 - 2:20

Afternoon extra help: 2:30 – 3:00

Homework Club: 3:00 – 5:00

Thank you for your continued support. We will keep you updated with any changes. All the best.

Pete Tsimikalis
Principal

This is just a reminder that all TPS Clubs, except for Mindfulness Club this Thursday, will be cancelled until further notice. 

This is a reminder that exams for this semester will be ONLINE and OPEN BOOK.

TPS will implement a Hybrid Learning Model for our Winter/Spring 2022 Semester. This means students will have the option, on a daily basis, to either attend classes in-person at school, or virtually online in a synchronous manner via Zoom.

Please see the attached letter from TPS for more details.