The PILLARS pickering college fall 2020
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pickering college fa l l 2020
PILLARS
the
resilience
CONTENTS As part of our distance learning Artstravagangza week, our Senior School visual arts students were tasked with recreating a famous masterpiece using only materials and props found at home. The Quarantine Masterpieces turned out great and demonstrate just how unique online learning can be.
32
Power of Community:
Thomas Tam ’95 has Cover photo
been doing his part courtesy of
during the pandemic to Alex Au Yong,
support the community. Grade 5 teacher
6
Though the move to online learning presented
some challenges for our teachers, it also provided
them with some unique opportunities.
27
Despite not being
able to be together
on campus to mark
such a big milestone
in our graduates’
lives, we wanted to
celebrate each and
every one of them—
Congratulations to
the Class of 2020.
24
Grade 11 student Tam Nguyen shares his experience of
what it was like to head home to Vietnam amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic, “This 14-day quarantine definitely
taught me to stay positive and to make the most out of
every situation. We must all stay strong and help one
another get through this challenging time.”
4 Head Shots 6 Feature: PC Pivots to Virtual Environment 8 PC Power of Community Donor Profile
10 Student Life 24 Boarding Life 26 Grade 8 Graduation 26 Kindergrad 27 Congratulations, Class of 2020
30 Alumni Connections 36 Feature: Resilience of Community 38 Three Cheers For Our Volunteers
44 Pickering College Association 46 Upcoming Events
HEAD SHOTS
Reflecting on resilience and beyond with Peter Sturrup, Head of School
4
The theme of this issue of The Pillars is “Resilience” and the following pages are filled with
examples of the resilience of our students, staff and families over the last six months. It is
inspiring to see the capacity of our students of all ages to rise to the challenges of these
times. Given the way the world has changed over the last six months, the ability to be
resilient might be more important than it has ever been before.
I was particularly struck by the story of Grade 11 student Tam on page 24. You notice
that as he explains the many upsetting, impersonal and undignified actions he is
subjected to as he returns home, he expresses an underlying current of calm, strength
and positivity that carries him forward. This is the personification of resiliency.
Resilience is the capacity to recover successfully from difficult circumstances; the
ability of something to bounce back. There are scores of books, articles, blogs and
podcasts focusing on resilience and what can be distilled from all of this expertise are
some simple lessons: that being resilient does not just happen, it must be actively
engaged; that resiliency is a learned behaviour, and anyone can learn to be resilient;
that the skills are simple and readily available to each of us at any time; and that
being resilient requires very ordinary processes, all we need is a willingness to put
them into action.
To be resilient requires the acceptance that we will all experience trauma in our life
and that we must therefore be ready to work through the trauma rather than asking
“why me?” It is the ability to choose to be grateful for the things you do have rather
than focus on what is wrong. Resiliency is the capacity to take time each day to be
still, silent, calm and reflective rather than filling your mind with distractions that
mask the pain. It is the decision to act in a way that allows you to move forward
rather than being consumed with that which caused the pain. Acceptance, gratitude,
calm reflection and deciding to move forward are simple skills we all possess.
The story of Tam reveals a young man who has learned and embraced the power of
resilience. You read it in the acceptance of his circumstances, the gratitude for his
friendships, and his calm, reflective approach to combat his fear and uncertainty.
What an inspiring story that puts into perspective the value of what he has learned at
Pickering College.
Resiliency is about bouncing back, but bouncing back means returning to your
original state. As Tam reveals, real resiliency is about going past where you were to a
new and better place; a place that comes from learning from adversity, and becoming
a better person who is better able to help others to learn as well. Each of us has the
capacity to learn these skills, we just need to be open to the opportunity.
Peter Sturrup,
Head of School
5
Resilience
Strong sense of community maintained during pandemic new normal
Fortunately, Pickering College’s foresight UNIQUE CHALLENGES AND
meant the school could hit the ground OPPORTUNITIES
March 6—the last day running. “A major learning curve was adapting to
the use of the new technology, especially
of winter term. The “I think what’s amazing is we had one for our teachers, students and for the
hallways humming with day of training to get the faculty up and
running, and then we had our program
parents who needed to assist some of
our younger students access the online
the excitement of staff launched by the Tuesday of our return platforms,” says Downer. As a result, the
(from March Break),” says Bartlett. school offered families several technical
and students as they support sessions to answer any questions
gear up for their annual “We started that day with something they might have about using Google
for everyone—we phased in a bit more Meets, Edsby or Microsoft Teams.
two-week March Break. synchronous to the younger grades—but
kids were logging in, uploading their work The move to online learning presented
But beneath the excite- and ready to go.” some unique challenges for our teachers,
ment and the well though it also provided them with some
PREPARED TO PIVOT TO LEARNING unique opportunities.
wishes, 2020 was already ONLINE
Part of the reason why Pickering College “The biggest challenge for the teachers
proving to be anything was able to pivot to learning online with would be taking what they traditionally
but a typical year... relative ease is because the school piloted taught in person and transferring it to an
a similar model a couple of years ago with online experience while still maintaining
the Global Online Experience (GOE) week. the engagement of the students,”
In 2018, March Break and Easter weekend says Downer. “They would have to be
were fairly close together. So, rather than rethinking and reworking their lesson plans
having students come back to campus to adapt to online, and that was certainly
A t this juncture, a previously unknown
virus—then called the novel
coronavirus— was beginning to sweep
for the four days in between, the school
piloted an online learning week.
challenging and time consuming because
you’re looking at what could be a very
different pedagogy—a different practice of
across the globe. Countries including “GOE showed us what wouldn’t work teaching.”
China, Spain and Italy had already locked for international students—we knew we
down their citizens in a desperate attempt couldn’t use Google as the platform as our
to curb the spread. students in China couldn’t access it if they
were at home,” says Bartlett.
That Friday morning, Kim Bartlett, Senior
Director of Teaching, Learning and Armed with this knowledge, the school was
Strategic Partnerships, held a hastily-called in a better position to prepare for virtual
faculty meeting before school began for learning, instead investing in the Microsoft
the day. Her message was simple: bring Teams platform for our Middle and Senior
home everything you might need in order School students, which could be accessed
to be able to teach from home upon from any country in the world. Our Junior
returning from March Break … just in case. School students were already accustomed
to using Edsby as a learning management Our Music Department however, took
At the time it may have seemed a bit platform, and began making additional use this challenge head on and as a result,
overly cautious—there were barely any of Google Classroom. developed some of the most fun and
identified cases of COVID-19 in Canada engaging lessons and projects. Though
and all those who had gotten the virus did “We customized it to each age group,” our students were learning and playing
so from international travel. Not even one says Janet Downer, Assistant Head of their instruments at home, our teachers
week later, the World Health Organization School, Academics. “There was enough combined individual videos into beautiful
declared a global pandemic and the experience with tech in the classrooms to compilations that showcased our students’
province of Ontario suspended all in-person allow for that fairly smooth transition to talents and skills, all of which can be found
classes for the weeks following March Break. online teaching and learning.” on PC’s YouTube channel.
6
COMMUNITY AND CONTINUITY and them constantly checking in—that believes, it was that PC was able to
Building that sense of community gave me the feeling that they really cared reach a greater audience, including our
when isolated at home, isn’t without its and I didn’t want to let them down. Life international families who otherwise
challenges, but it’s something the school threw us a curveball and it was time for us may not have been able to participate. In
worked hard to maintain during this to step up and go to bat.” addition, our graduates received special
time. To provide students with a sense of packages hand delivered by Ms. Downer,
normalcy, the school continued to host Subramanyam says one of the most Mr. Schneider, Mr. Sturrup, Ms. Clement
Morning Meeting, ran a very successful fun assignments he worked on during and a number of faculty members. Two
online Coffee House Social, Artstravaganza learning from home was one for health teachers even drove the PC buses to
week, talent show in Junior and Middle class. He and his classmates created make the deliveries—Mr. Birt and Ms.
School, a ‘get outside’ challenge, and had and edited 5-10 workout videos, using Downer! Boarding students received
the continued involvement of the student high-energy music. “I found that to be a their package by mail over the summer,
committees who organized various spirit really creative way to take physical activity which included a lawn sign featuring
days and challenges. online,” he says, adding that he created their graduation photo.
and followed a workout schedule using
“One of the things I really appreciate—the the videos. POSITIVE PARENT FEEDBACK
whole sense of community—is the fact that From parents, the feedback we received
PC kept the show going on,” says Shyam Student wellness remained front and about learning online has been
Subramanyam, Grade 9. “The Morning centre throughout distance learning, with overwhelmingly positive. A survey of
Meetings at 8:30 made it feel like it was daily live fitness classes led by faculty parents revealed that most of them feel
all the same, just everybody sitting in their phys-ed teachers, and conditioning and PC has done a good job of keeping
own rooms instead of sitting in the gym. weekly yoga sessions led by a certified students engaged academically and that
And, I felt like the sense of community yoga instructor. As well, mental health their children are well prepared to return
has been seamless—there’s no lack of initiatives were led by the Learning to school in the next grade.
community with the switch to online.” Services team of Penny Lawson-Cameron
and Stephanie Forgie in conjunction with “I feel that Pickering has been best
Subramanyam says the Microsoft Teams the continued support of the school’s in class in quickly pivoting to online
platform was particularly helpful for social worker Danielle Sugar (profiled on learning. The communication from
staying motivated and connected with his page 22). the school throughout the COVID-19
situation has been outstanding.
STUDENTS ARE ENGAGED AND Connecting families to Morning
ADAPTING TO CHANGE Meetings has allowed parents to see
“I’m so impressed with our students,” and hear the tone from the school
says Bartlett. “Attendance rates have leadership which has been supportive
been just phenomenal—they’re engaged, and transparent,” said one PC parent.
they’re willing to try things, so you
talk about resiliency, I think that’s a big “We are extremely pleased with the
one. On a personal note, I had 100 per work done by faculty and staff to deliver
cent attendance in my Grade 12 class. an engaging program. We feel that
They were good about building an continuing to engage students in regular
online learning community and working classroom instruction, programs and
together, and I think that’s impressive.” related assignments is important,” said
another PC parent.
As the transition of moving learning
online was happening during the spring LOOKING FORWARD
term, that also meant that many of Our faculty and staff are ready for
our important academic milestones whatever this school year brings. The
had to go virtual. In addition to the teachers spent their summer replanning
Global Leadership Program culminating and reorganizing their courses right from
projects (My Key Idea, Expression of the start so they can respond to an in-
Self, Puma’s Den, Capstone Pitches), person, online or a hybrid learning model
the school felt it was important to in the fall, says Bartlett.
maintain as much normalcy as possible
by moving special ceremonies including “Our teachers have really risen to the
Kindergrad, Grade 8 Closing Ceremony occasion and they are learning every
and Grad Celebration to Zoom in day how to improve use of technology,
order to mark our students’ important different tools for their teaching,”
achievements. Bartlett says. “They have formed their
own online learning community,
teachers and classmates. Being able “It was a challenge to rethink those supporting each other, helping each
to instantly message them with any events—how do you make it special and other, teaching each other, and I think
questions was “literally almost the same meaningful for everyone without doing that’s really raised the bar for each of us,
as in person,” he says. “What really got it in person?” says Downer. If there was but we also have that support and are
me through was talking to my teachers an upside to using this format, Downer working well together.”
7
Making a difference for students in
need of immediate financial assistance
As the broad impact of not be enough for the upcoming year. Recognizing the steep personal cost
for a student when their educational
We needed help from our community to
the pandemic continues, meet the growing needs of our families. journey is disrupted, the Pickering
There were students at risk of not being College Management Team joined the
we have all experienced able to return to our school in the fall. Board of Directors in donating to the
some changes in our lives, fund. Above all, we are most grateful
In May 2020, the Pickering College for the meaningful response we have
neighbourhoods and Board of Directors made a commitment received from our community of current
to support our students and families and past parents, grandparents, faculty
communities. This burden in an unprecedented way. Every Board and staff, alumni and friends. We
weighs heavily on those member made it their personal mission may be a small school, but we have a
to help our students continue their large and thoughtful extended family.
facing the unknown— educational journey at Pickering College Everyone has come together to help
and inspire our entire community keep students at Pickering College,
living without assurance to do the same, by launching a students who are part of the very fabric
of job security or financial COVID-19 relief fund, called PC Power that make Pickering College a unique
of Community. The initiative is one and extraordinary school. We are proud
stability. of the most significant campaigns in that the PC Power of Community Fund
the school’s history to raise funds for is providing more support to more
A s PC families began feeling the
repercussions of the growing global
health crisis, Pickering College saw an
financial assistance. All donations to the
fund provide immediate assistance to
students with the greatest financial need.
families and students, when they need
it most.
increase in requests for financial support Because of the PC Power of Community Although the journey is not over, we
from families enrolling in the 2020-2021 Fund, families facing financial hardship know that our post-pandemic legacy
academic year. Although the school have access to more of the help they will be one of compassion and resiliency,
annually distributes financial aid to 19 need to support their child in the 2020- thanks to the continued generosity of the
per cent of students, we knew this would 2021 academic year. PC community. The people are Pickering!
8
“The objective of PC Power of Community was to ensure that no family was
left behind due to their change in financial circumstance. We wanted to
ensure that their children would not lose their place at PC as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic. When the students needed us most, we wanted them
to know we were there.”
–Kelly Mason, Chair, Board of Directors
sharing that the skills obtained at PC have
continued to serve him throughout his
career and life. Active in hockey, track and
the championship football team, the Gold
House member says,“PC students not
only get an education, but a family, social
connections, and a variety in activities,
experiences, and sport—not only more
academically but in life skills as well.”
Now retired, McLaren received a degree
in engineering at Queen’s University,
then completed a master’s in mechanical
DON MCLAREN ’76 BELIEVES IN THE SPIRIT OF PC engineering at the University of Toronto.
A s the people of Pickering come
together in support of the PC Power
of Community Fund, one donor in
McLaren Math Endowment Fund.
Created in honour of his parents Doris
and Keith, the Fund is a testament to
Without a doubt, the McLarens are
a PC family with a long and special
particular stands out, based on his deep the extraordinary role his parents had in relationship to the school. As yet another
connection and significant contributions the school community. McLaren’s father, Pickering College connection, he and
to the school. “I was raised to believe that the late Keith McLaren, was a Pickering Kristy celebrated their 40th wedding
philanthropy was important,” said Don College teacher, coach and assistant anniversary on June 21—a wedding that
McLaren ’76 after he and his wife Kristy headmaster known as “Booker” for his PC’s very own Charles Boyd officiated.
directed their most recent donation to the commitment to doing everything by
PC Power of Community Fund. the book. He is also remembered at the Noting that his time at PC was “a gift,”
school through the annual Booker’s Run. McLaren says it is his connection to and
Following McLaren’s first donation in belief in PC, along with its effective use
1980, subsequent donations include McLaren understands very well the of his contributions that compels him to
the establishment of the Keith “Booker” value of a Pickering College experience, continue giving.
Thank you for standing alongside our students during these challenging times.
If you would like to make a donation to PC Power of Community, please visit www.pickeringcollege.on.ca/poc.
9
JUNIOR SCHOOL STUDENT LIFE
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
Members of the Junior LEGO combination of moulds of belugas from the “whale from fighting crime in York
Robotics Team participated some real animal footprints. jail” off the Russian Pacific Region, to shark finning, to
in the FIRST LEGO League They learned that animal coast last year. Targulyan the Great Pacific Garbage
Qualifying Tournament tracks can tell us many offered the students insights Patch, to changing your
at St. Maximilian Kolbe things including where the into the matter by answering diet; changing your
Catholic High School. This animals live, how tall they their thought-provoking world, just to name a few.
year’s challenge was CITY are, as well as what they questions. 4 Our students have been
SHAPER, which required may be doing. The students preparing themselves
teams to choose and solve then made dens for their Members of the Junior and through many different
a real-world problem for animal and used the moulds Middle School Chess Club learning experiences and
the innovation project. Our to make tracks leading into participated in the first ever challenges that make up the
students looked at how their dens. 2 Pickering College in-house Building Blocks of the Global
they could improve the chess tournament. In the Leadership Program, and
primary playground. They As a kick-off to their early Meeting Room, students earning their key into the
also built and programmed societies unit, the Grade 4 from Grade 1 to Grade 6 Middle School, which is the
an autonomous robot students learned about gathered enthusiastically end result of all their hard
using LEGO Mindstorm Egyptian culture and to display their chess skills. work. 6
technology to solve a set of history through a variety of This tournament was an
missions in the robot game. games, models, scrapbooks, opportunity for our students Grade 5 students welcomed
Throughout the experience, presentations and even to showcase their abilities in guest speaker Tony
students were encouraged to a visit from the Pharaoh a structured and competitive Van Bynen, Member of
exhibit the core values that Ramses II showcased by the setting. 5 Parliament for Newmarket-
are central to FIRST LEGO Grade 11 students through a Aurora. The students
League and celebrating gallery walk assignment. 3 Grade 5 students presented asked questions about the
discovery, teamwork, and their My Key Idea projects as federal government and
gracious professionalism. 1 The Grade 4 and 5 classes part of the Global Leadership its pandemic response
had the opportunity to take Program within the Junior plans. The question topics
The Grade 1 class made their part in a Skype video call School. Throughout the varied from future vaccines,
way across the snowy field with Oganes Targulyan, course of the school year, to travel restrictions, to
and created life-sized prints Greenpeace Russia research they have been working on education. Thank you to Mr.
of some of the forest animals coordinator. Targulyan was investigating, writing, and Van Bynen for sharing his
they have been learning the lead rescue organizer sharing their thoughts on insights about the role of MP
about. The students made who led the efforts to a topic that is important to with our students. 7
tracks in the snow using a free the captive orcas and them. The topics ranged
10RYAN HE
A thirst for more knowledge
Organized, determined, and diligent—
three words you might use to describe
Grade 5 student, Ryan He.
As a young man with an exceptional work
ethic, Ryan makes it a priority to always
plan ahead, and double check his work.
Over the last two years of being a student
at Pickering College, Ryan has exemplified
a keen interest in both science and math.
He has also participated in a number of
extra curricular activities including soccer,
skating, chess club, LEGO robotics and 3D
designing.
Although math comes somewhat naturally
to him, Ryan often likes to deepen his
understanding of mathematical concepts
by frequently participating in and
accepting challenges whenever possible.
External to PC, Ryan has enrolled in three
other online math courses. This allows him
to continue his interest in the subject while
further improving his skills.
Before a math test or competition, Ryan
will prepare by completing old tests,
“These help a lot because I can look at the
answers, see what I did wrong, and figure
out how I can improve.”
Throughout his time at Pickering
College, Ryan is most proud of his recent
accomplishment in the Grades 5-6
Caribou Math Contest, where he ranked
111th out of over 17,600 participants
worldwide—scoring in the top 1 per cent.
Ryan believes that much of his success
comes from his number one rule of
remaining positive. Instead of focusing on
the feelings of fear and stress when faced
with challenges, Ryan always remembers
to stay confident as he tells himself, “I can
definitely do this.”
11W hen the pandemic hit and classes
moved online, it would be fair
to say our Junior School faculty had a
good starting point this past term.”
The term began with teachers initially
posting assignments online for students
monumental challenge before them. to complete. As everyone became
Finding ways to engage our school’s more familiar and comfortable with the
youngest learners in an online setting was platform, the Junior School moved to a
not going to be easy. live class format which both students and
teachers appreciated.
According to Grade 5 teacher, Alex Au
Yong, PC’s students in the Junior School “I was really apprehensive about that first
had been well prepared for having live class—but once I had done it a few
comfort with technology and navigating times it was better, and then we would
moderated online learning platforms, meet almost twice daily as a class,” says
which made navigating Edsby— Grade 3 teacher, Sarah Demarco. “Once
the school’s learning management I introduced individual meetings with
platform—a natural progression. students or small groups, as a teacher
I felt like I was back in the classroom
teaching again.”
The face-to-face interaction, even
virtually, meant students could see and
interact with their friends. “They missed
seeing their friends, so they were there at
every class to see them,” says Demarco.
“After five minutes of chatting, I would
say ‘okay time to mute your mics,’ and
they did it right away. On the last day, no
one wanted to hang up in Google Meets
because they knew they wouldn’t see
“From a family’s point of view, Edsby in each other for a long time.”
the younger grades would have been
more of an informational portal (prior to In addition to promoting a sense of
March Break), not an essential teaching community, the online environment
tool like you see in Middle and Senior led to some unique and innovative
School where deadlines, projects and projects for students. Grade 4 teacher
links are essential to support their learning Mrs. Romkema readily embraced the
in many cases,” says Au Yong. “It’s not opportunity to try out some new
perfect but I think it has been a useful and technology with her students.
12Engaging PC’s
youngest learners
“John Krasinski (from The Office) launched “The speeches they had to present were For Demarco, she observed that the move
the Some Good News podcast that he’s on camera and recorded, so I think the online enabled some quieter students to
done every week. One of the cool things challenge there is they’re also being asked shine and push their own boundaries. “I
we did was have the class watch an to demonstrate new tech skills that normally have one student who is an extremely
episode of that and then they recorded are hard even for high school students quiet child. But in January when we were
their Some Good News stories using a
program called FlipGrid,” says Romkema.
“I just tried it during the last week—I wish
I had tried it sooner because they loved
it and it was a really great way to get an “Overall the students adapted very well.
oral presentation mark and media literacy
all in one.” Technically they are very competent. They
Students throughout the Junior School like being online and it’s been successful in
had the opportunity to learn new
technology. In Grade 3, students wrote all the parts that we see and moderate.”
and created My Pickering College videos, –Alex Au Yong, Grade 5 Teacher
detailing what they loved and missed
about the school and what it means to
them. They also participated in online
field trips with Demarco that included a
virtual nature visit to a pond and a year-
end virtual trip to Canada’s Wonderland.
in comm tech,” says Au Yong. “Overall the doing our conferences, one of her goals
In Grade 5, one of the milestones of the students adapted very well. Technically was to improve her public speaking,”
Global Leadership Program—My Key they are very competent. They like being explains Demarco. “I would say on the
Idea—also moved online which presented online and it’s been successful in all the Google live classes, she was participating
additional learning opportunities for parts that we see and moderate.” all the time, she did the video for My
students. Pickering College and when she sent me
Looking back over the 12 weeks, Au Yong the video I was shocked by her expression
thinks the school delivered the kind of and enthusiasm because that doesn’t
high quality program PC’s families and come across in the classroom in person.”
students have come to expect.
For whatever the new school year brings,
“We were able to maintain a really the Junior School faculty are ready and
dynamic program online, still fulfilling eager to see their students.
curriculum objectives. I would say looking
back in some areas, we were doing more “I was really grateful for being able to
than if we had been back at the school, teach live,” says Romkema. “Before we
but we lost some things that we just moved to that model, I wasn’t sure I
didn’t have, not having co-curriculars, the would be able to sustain what we were
sports, the special events,” says Au Yong. doing with posting lessons and not
“But we did gain in some areas too— having any connection—that was so hard.
writing was one area where I can see a lot Being online lifted our spirits as well. It
of kids got a lot of benefit and more of actually reminded me how much I like
my time and feedback.” teaching.”
13MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT LIFE
2 3
1 4 5 6 7
Three Grade 6 students popsicle sticks, toothpicks student Harrison Frank, who
travelled to Upper Canada and string. Their bridge had won the overall competition. 5
College where they competed to be 35 centimetres long
for Future Design School’s and 15 centimetres wide. Our Grade 7 students
Future Prize. These students The students first had to participated in a virtual Pillar
had the exciting opportunity complete a blueprint design, Day where they worked
to create solutions to real then in small groups, decide towards developing skills
world climate change issues in which of their designs they related to the Adventure
a collaborative competition. 1 actually wanted to build. Pillar. Such skills include
Some bridges held over 20 exploration, personal
Our Grade 8 students kilograms! 3 development, courage,
experienced an idyllic resilience, and initiative. Our
As part of our Canadian winter on their During these unprecedented students were tasked with
Middle School Puma annual trip to St. Donat, times, it’s important to take reflecting on how they have
Challenge, students Quebec in late January. a step back and appreciate been building these skills,
were tasked with From the moment the class the little things that you while also considering their
decorating kindness arrived, the trip was filled are thankful for in life. As learning, their growth, as well
rocks—a smooth with experiential education. part of PC’s Grade 8 Puma as their future plans. 6
rock or stone that This nonstop action was Challenge, our students took
emcompasses a highlighted by downhill the time to reflect on what Grade 8 students have
positive message. skiing and snowboarding, makes them grateful. 4 participated in a number
After decorating these skating around a kilometre- of workshops and sessions
rocks, our students long ice-skating trail, and The Middle School Public in preparation for their
placed them in various enjoying the thrills of Speaking tournament culminating project, the
locations for others nighttime tubing. Speaking in took place online for the Expression of Self. These
to find. The daily French, students ordered their first time. Each student projects represent a student’s
Puma Challenge was meals and asked questions attended a live meeting ability to identify, develop
organized with great during historical lessons and where they performed and communicate their
support from student snow sport instruction. 2 their speech in front of a passions and interests in order
leaders, and helped group of judges from our to answer the questions,
keep spirits high and The Grade 7 students used community. We recognized “Who am I?” and “What can
students connected the concepts learned in the top three students in I do?” Our Grade 8 finalists
online. their form and function each grade and the top three showcased these projects
unit to build a cost-effective overall in Middle School. during a virtual Zoom
model bridge with only Congratulations to Grade 8 meeting. 7
14ZACK
DA PONTE
His energy is strong and
his personality is vibrant
One could describe Zack Da Ponte as a
passionate and ambitious young man.
Though he has only been a student at
Pickering College for two years, Zack
seizes every opportunity that comes his
way.
Participating in a wide range of extra
curricular activities such as track and field,
cross country, volleyball, and basketball,
Zack has also joined the Middle School
Jazz Band. “Not only do I love music class
itself, but I also love Jazz Band and the
opportunities that come along with it—
last year, we got to perform at a Marlies
game!”
This year, Zack decided to run for Student
Committee and was acclaimed as the
incoming Junior and Middle School
Student Chair.
External to Pickering College, Zack
spends his time engaging in stop motion
animation, enjoying the fact that it allows
him to bring things to life.
At times, Zack admits that his competitive
nature motivates him to do better, “I
want to make myself proud and achieve
everything to its fullest—sometimes that
does mean trying to come first in contests
and competitions but not always,” he
says. “I really just want to be the best that
I can be.”
Along with being the incoming Student
Chair for the Junior and Middle School
Student Committee, Zack is most proud of
his achievement in Booker’s Run—placing
first with the fastest time for his grade
group two years in a row.
“All I can really say is chase your dreams,
because dreams won’t chase you.”
15Making
“I mmediately we embraced the half
day, recognizing right off the bat that
it was going to be really hard for Middle
School-aged kids to sit online in front
of Chromebooks all day, at least in an
academic setting,” says Arnold Massey,
Grade 8 teacher.
Instead, the Middle School adopted a model
that incorporated 30-minute classes along
with a daily homeroom check in, Morning
Meetings on Wednesday and Friday,
with the afternoon available to pursue
their interests and organized activities.
“It made us jump outside our comfort
zones—I certainly took a few steps out of
mine,” says Massey, of the move to the
online-only format.
Middle School is a time “It’s funny because it’s something that we
where our students ask our students to do all the time—this
is how you learn, you learn by going
explore who they are and outside your comfort zone. And then this
their place in the world. provided us with the opportunity to do
that—without a choice—and we had to
Much of the programming practice what we teach,” adds Andrea
Cleland, Grade 7 teacher.
is hands-on, social and
interactive. On a practical level, there were a number
of new skills that had to be learned by
So when learning moved both the teachers and the students to
make online learning work. In Middle
entirely online following School, students made use of Microsoft
March Break, our faculty Teams, Google Classroom and Edsby
to stay connected … though not a
in Middle School had replacement for the value of face-to-face
to reimagine what that interactions for this age group.
looked like for our learners “The social component is so incredibly
important for Middle School students,”
in Grade 6–8. says Cleland. “And so that was really
hard to replicate. At first, being on
camera was really something that the
students weren’t that interested in, so
16Strides
Middle School students—and teachers—learn and grow.
I think that was probably the biggest School grew stronger as each grade
challenge to overcome.” got to see what the other was doing.
Participating in events such as the Talent
Microsoft Teams proved to be very helpful Show, the Puma Challenge, and sharing
in keeping students connected not only their hobbies and interests online with
with teachers but with each other. Our classmates, helped to cement this sense
Middle School faculty members also of community even more. A number of
needed to come up with innovative ways the Middle School’s events also moved
to check in with students without the online including the Middle School
benefit of having in-person conversations Speech Competition, the Expression of
like in the classroom. Using the chat Self, and the Grade 8 Closing Ceremony,
feature and allowing students to use which were open to a broader audience
emojis to answer questions about how online.
they were feeling, helped to provide a
starting point for the faculty to open up The personal growth in students
conversations. continued, with many making strides in
independent learning, time management,
The online platform did allow for some organizational skills, and self awareness.
new and creative ways for students to
express themselves artistically, which has “The kids recounted how much they
proven to be an unexpected benefit. had learned about their own learning
during this time, and that was really nice
“The kids having the time and the to hear,” says Wurangian of her Grade 6
freedom to explore their creativity, class. “They learned that everyone has a
especially with the different tech pieces— different perspective and they don’t have
they were really open to trying new tech to follow whatever their friends do—I
pieces alongside me—they were really thought ‘wow, good for you, because we
able to take off with that and create some as adults can’t do that sometimes!’”
pretty impressive work,” says Jacqueline
Wurangian, Grade 6 teacher. Cleland adds, “A few parents said to us
how proud they were of their children—
Cleland agrees, adding that it also they would wake up in the morning and
allowed her to have more of a window go downstairs, they knew where to go
into her students’ lives because they were what to do, and they were responsible
sharing in different ways that wouldn’t for that. And I think that is also a point
typically happen in the classroom. In where parents are realizing how capable
French class, Grade 7 does a cooking unit their children are. Our students really dug
every year—but this year her students in, they figured things out because there
were cooking at home and sharing their wasn’t an alternative—they really did a
videos. One student was even learning great job with that.”
how to make her grandmother’s bread.
Whatever the new academic year brings,
Despite the physical distance, the the Middle School teachers—and
sense of community within the Middle students—will be ready.
17SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENT LIFE
1 2 3 4
5 6 7
PC’s departments of Math and From the Cold was chosen a wide range of artistic and Scotia Plaza in support of
Science ran a STEM (Science, to receive a $2,000 donation talented student and staff Prostate Cancer Canada. Our
Technology, Engineering and from Pickering College performances. This event students climbed as part of
Math) week which included thanks to the hard work of was a great opportunity Lamerac Financial Corp’s
a friendly STEM competition. Abbey Fung, Isabella Tan, for our community to team which raised $75,000
Our Senior School students Tony Ni, and Yoyo Zhang, get together virtually and for the cause. 7
had 30 minutes to create a in developing innovative support our PC members
soda bottle car, with a goal solutions to advocate for and who put themselves out As the only Canadian school
to design and build a car promote their vision and there. 5 that is a partner of Facing
that would travel the longest goals. 3 History and Ourselves, a
distance after being released YAO (Youth Action non-profit international
on a ramp. 1 Grade 10 History students Organization) hosted an educational and professional
as well as our Grade 12 open mic night which development organization,
The Grade 11 LEAP Politics class, welcomed featured many performances Pickering College received a
(Leadership, Explorations, guest speaker and retired from students and staff special invitation to attend
Adventures, Perspectives) mainstream journalist Frank members. This year, YAO has a virtual conversation with
class spent several weeks Moritsugu. During his chosen to primarily support Samantha Power. Power
preparing for their winter visit, he shared about his 360°kids, an organization is a professor at Harvard
camping trip with Lure of the upbringing and childhood that works to improve the Kennedy School and Harvard
North by setting up canvas in Western Canada, as well lives of homeless and at-risk Law School, former U.S.
tents outside, making wood as some of his personal children and youth in York Ambassador to the United
stove fires, and learning about stories and experiences Region. From the open mic Nations, and a member of
firewood preparation. 2 of the Second World night initiative, as well as a President Obama’s cabinet,
War. This guest speaker collaboration with the Arts portfolio of Multilateral
In Grade 10, students provided our students with Council to sell candy grams, Affairs and Human Rights,
work towards their PLACE the opportunity to further YAO has raised $485 to and Pulitzer Prize-winning
(Partnering for Local understand how Japanese- support 360°kids. 6 author. During this virtual
Action and Community Canadians may have been conversation, our students
Engagement) Projects affected during the war. 4 Nine Pickering College learned about politics, her
where they work in groups students climbed the stairs time in the White House
to identify and collaborate Pickering College held its first of TD Canada Trust Tower, and the UN, and had the
with a local social justice ever online Senior School RBC Bank Plaza, Bay Adelaide opportunity to ask their own
organization. This year, Inn Coffee House Social featuring Centre (east and west), and questions.
18KAE
ISHIKAWA
A prototype of
self-improvement
As an international boarding student from
Japan, Kae has had to manage family
milestones from a distance, reach out of
her comfort zone to make new friends,
and navigate through new cultures, all
while learning a new language.
“Before coming to Canada four years
ago, I didn’t know anything about the
country—I hadn’t learned anything
about Canada and I had definitely never
lived with people from other countries.
Everything was just different.”
In Grade 9, Kae decided to volunteer in
the Aftercare Program and join Drama
class as a way to help her improve her
language skills. She ended up volunteering
with Aftercare throughout all four years
of Senior School, and later joined Theatre
Club in Grade 12, where she was cast
as Ariel in the drama production of The
Tempest—a challenging role that required
many dance solos.
As she became more confident in speaking
English, Kae sought out additional
opportunities to become involved in
school life. Last year, she was the recipient
of the Boarder’s Cup nominated by
her peers and presented to a boarding
student who exhibits the qualities of a
good citizen, concern for others, and the
desire to bring out the best in others. Kae
was also on the Senior School Student
Committee as Firth House Head Proctor.
Throughout her time at Pickering College,
Kae has developed a deep interest in
learning how different cultures affect
people’s lives.
In the fall, Kae will attend the University of
Toronto for social sciences. “I would have
never thought I would be going into social
sciences, but I owe it to my experience in
Canada.”
19Collaboration
SENIOR SCHOOL FACULTY AND STUDENTS LEARN TO THRIVE IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
&
W hen learning moved online
following March Break, our Senior
School faculty hit the ground running,
together and I need your feedback
and I need your support’—you really
depended on that team effort between
maintaining our connection and our
relationships and making sure that
everyone was in a good place to learn
quickly reimagining their courses to be the teacher and the students to play and go forward. I think the biggest
delivered entirely online while keeping along, to participate, to be willing to challenge was to recreate your classroom
students engaged. try new things and to not be afraid online and then try to envision how you
of failing. I think that it was a good can maintain that collaboration and
“It truly was a test of resilience for experience for the students to see their connectivity with the students—and I
sure, on behalf of the teachers and teachers approaching a learning curve think we actually did that really well.”
the students, but I think that we were with a positive attitude and with their
well prepared for the adventure—it’s best foot forward.” That virtual face-to-face connection has
like we had our canoe and our paddle played a critical role in keeping students
and we were ready to go, we hit some Lindsey Stefanovich (née Rife), Head of engaged and motivated to learn. Even
rapids along the way, but it’s been a real Science, agrees. Overall she has found though students knew that this term
adventure,” laughs Heather Suters, Head it to be a really “positive and uplifting wouldn’t count towards the year’s overall
of Modern Languages. experience,” with everyone demonstrating academic performance, they continued
a lot of empathy for one another. One of to show up and do the work with
With the unexpected move to online the most critical pieces of the puzzle has enthusiasm.
happening in March, Suters says it been connecting with students to ensure
was a true test of everyone’s patience they’re doing okay. Josh Armstrong, Senior School faculty,
while adjusting to the new reality. “In says his courses continued to have nearly
September you have time to get things “My content could be delivered in all the 100 per cent attendance throughout.
going, we have a plan to lay things out, ways I delivered it, but my live lessons were According to Armstrong, an interesting
but when it happens at this time, I kind all about me connecting with the kids,” unexpected benefit of learning online
of had to take a step back and say the says Stefanovich. “Yes we learned things has been that using this platform has
expectations have changed. I now have and we had lessons and we did activities, enabled quieter students to better
to give my students time to readjust to a but that live component was really about contribute and be heard.
new environment and new routine.”
With the implementation of a new digital
classroom setting (Microsoft Teams),
it also meant a learning curve for both
teachers and students as they got
acclimated to this new way of teaching
and learning.
“I think we all felt in a very vulnerable
position—at least I did—because I had
to be learning this new technology and
teaching them at the same time,” says
Suters. “There were moments where
I had to be very honest with them
and say ‘I don’t really know what I’m
doing so we’re going to figure this out
20Connection
“Students with quieter voices got a presented from home, including public Looking forward to the next academic
chance to really come to the front. service announcement videos, yoga year, there are still a lot of unknowns.
So for someone who had an idea and instructional videos done in Spanish, But the move to online has really
then wanted to speak, it was really easy and problem-solving simulations. shaken things up for our faculty and
for them to pop up on the screen and reinvigorated their approach to tackle
everyone in the class got to hear what The spirit of community also remained whatever next year brings.
they were saying,” says Armstrong. strong as is evidenced by the
Suters agrees, adding that she has enthusiastic participation in spirit- “This whole experience has given us
observed elements of online learning building events including a Coffee an opportunity to look at the content
that have “clearly worked really well for House Social, the get outside challenge, we were going to deliver and think
some students. So how can we use this student committee events, and even about fresh ways of delivering it,”
in the future, even when we are back the election of next year’s student says Armstrong. “There’s something
in the classroom, to ensure that those committee. refreshing about looking at a piece of
students continue to have that piece?” content—that you’ve already put a lot
“Completing the Global Leadership of work into—and saying ‘how can I
An additional benefit, according Program in Senior School—the Puma’s update this to make it better?’ and ‘how
to Stefanovich, has been increased Den and the Capstone—were a huge can I make it more connective and use
opportunity for students to get one- piece of that community, broader technology better?’”
on-one feedback, help and attention. beyond the students,” says Stefanovich.
Through Teams, students can instant “For Puma’s Den, Grade 9 students had This virtual learning experience has
message their teachers and work to connect with their group members, demonstrated that the key to success is
collaboratively in small groups. “It was basically independently, with some keeping students engaged and excited
really nice to have that live immediate check-ins from me. The fact that we about learning, which takes an incredible
connection.” were able to pull that together and amount of creativity and planning by our
their families could watch and be a part faculty. But as has been demonstrated in
The online platform also lent itself to of it was an incredible opportunity to the spring term, they are more than up
some unique projects completed and show the spirit of PC.” for the challenge.
“I’m incredibly proud of all of my
colleagues for taking the bull by the
horns and using every ounce of energy
we have to put forth a program that is
exciting and fun, engaging, innovative
and really has kept the motivation of
the students all the way through the
end,” says Suters. “I think Microsoft
Teams made that possible along with
the support of the administration, the
faculty and the staff.”
21In Convers
Danielle Sugar School Social Worker
Danielle’s position was created to enhance the excellent health care team at
Pickering College. Working in collaboration with the Registered Nurses,
she provides direct support to students and acts as a resource to the teachers.
Her experience with counselling, behavioural intervention, crisis support and
facilitation is an asset to the PC community.
Q. What’s your educational background?
My professional experience includes nearly 15 years with the York Region District School
Board in a variety of positions within the Board including direct service planning, solution-
focused student counselling, coaching, behavioural intervention, adolescent mental health,
service resolution, client centered planning, conflict resolution and crisis support. In addition
to Pickering College, I work at Southlake Regional Health Centre in the Eating Disorders
Inpatient Program (Adolescent Mental Health) as a counsellor which includes providing
treatment planning and one-to-one counselling. My educational background includes a
“The best thing about degree in Child and Youth Care with extensive training and certification in mental health,
my job is that there is positive behavioural intervention, and various modes of counselling, facilitation and crisis
no ‘typical’ day. Every support. I am in the process of applying to pursue a Masters of Social Work part-time in early 2021.
day has new challenges
and I feel so lucky to Q. List five adjectives that describe yourself.
be a part of such a Committed, passionate, organized, funny and supportive.
remarkable team of
people to address those Q. What are your interests outside of work?
challenges. I also work Spending time with my three young children, music, film, animal rescue/fostering, hiking, travelling.
with such an amazing
group of caring, Q. What is something most people don’t know about you?
skilled and talented I was a volunteer with the OSPCA where I thoroughly enjoyed working with dogs who were
staff that love what being rehabilitated so that they could be adopted to caring homes. I have always loved film
they do. I have also and would love to be a film critic.
developed really lovely
relationships with both Q. What are you currently reading for enjoyment?
students and staff Untamed by Glennon Doyle.
and this has made my
role this year a truly Q. What is it that drew you to social work?
rewarding one.” I love being part of a multidisciplinary team that allows me to learn from the knowledge and
experience of my colleagues while at the same time allowing me to be a resource to them
regarding the mental health and behaviour of an adolescent clientele. Working in this field
has allowed me to connect with students and offer support for their social, emotional and
behavioural needs.
Q. If you weren’t following this particular career path, what would you be doing?
I would love to have studied film or journalism or open a rescue for elderly animals to be
adopted/fostered.
Q. Describe a typical day for you at PC—what does that look like? (pre-pandemic)
One of the things that I have loved about working at PC is the ability to have students reach out
through email to set up appointment times. There are days when I see students all throughout
the day as well as days where I might go into a classroom to provide a workshop or lesson. In
addition to appointments that have been pre-scheduled, there were students that may come into
the Health Centre to seek immediate support. The nurses and myself worked very closely so when
there was a particular situation where they might feel the student may need to talk, we would
22ation with:
spend some time each morning to update one another to make sure that this student had the
support that they required. I was also in close communication with staff, in particular Learning
Services, Guidance, the Assistant Head of School, boarding staff and both of the Middle School
and Senior School Directors. This worked really well for us. We would check in weekly to update
one another and also provide information around reaching out to particular students for support.
Q. How has your role changed now that students are learning from home?
Although circumstances have changed, I believe that my role has not changed considerably. I
continue to reach out virtually to students that I have been seeing throughout the year as well
as students that continue to reach out to me to talk. Most of the boarding students are now
back in their home countries, so we need to collaborate to find the best time for both of us to
communicate and this has been successful. I am also in close contact with the team to discuss
any issues that may arise. Much like my time at PC, the team continues to work together to
collaborate and implement proactive strategies to best support the students, such as Mindful
Monday messages and Wellness Wednesday sessions that specifically focus on mental health,
mindfulness and well-being.
Q. What kinds of programs/initiatives have you introduced to PC, both in person
and virtually?
One of the best initiatives that we have at PC has been the open communication and service
navigation between our teams. For example, when a student may go to speak with the
Guidance Counsellor, it is through that discussion that the Guidance Counsellor may contact
me to inform me of a student that they believe would benefit from more support. Throughout
the year, I have presented several workshops and presentations on topics that include Mental
Health Awareness, Stress and Anxiety, Mindfulness and in-classroom workshops on team
building and conflict resolution.
This year I have developed and implemented social skills groups for Middle School girls, as well
as supported several restorative sessions between students. As mentioned above, I have been
participating in weekly Mindful Monday messages to students and hosted several sessions for
Wellness Wednesday to support positive mental health.
Q. How have the students benefited?
I hope that the students have become comfortable with me and my approach to support
them in areas of their life that might be causing them anxiety, stress and could affect their
ability to concentrate on their academics. Students are free to contact me directly, either in
person or virtually for a chat or counselling. I have also developed and delivered a number of
presentations on emotional well-being and mental health.
Q. Tell me about the importance of student mental health and well-being—how
does it impact individuals and the school overall?
A student’s mental health and well-being is paramount to their success, both academically
and emotionally. This is especially true for our residential students, some of whom are already
dealing with the anxiety of living away from home and their loved ones.
Q. What is the biggest challenge you have faced this year and how did you
overcome it?
Aside from the pandemic which was everyone’s biggest challenge, a significant challenge for
me was to try and connect with the students early on in the school year so that they would
feel comfortable enough to contact me if they needed support. It was also a personal goal for
me to connect with the teaching staff and my colleagues on the Health Care team so that I
could be a resource to them.
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