Cookies, Couches, & Conversations
Despite spaghetti for lunch and the consequently huge lunch line, the December 7th town hall meeting had a great turn out. Also adorably named “Cookies, Couches and Conversations”, the town hall meeting is organized by Student Council, and provides a platform for students to have a conversation with a panel of formal leaders at Havergal. For those of you who missed the meeting, here is a brief recap.
The format of the town hall saw an update from that of last school year-- rather than an entire 45 minutes of students posing questions to the panel, the meeting carves out the last 15 minutes for panelists to ask the audience. This change made the meeting feel more like a dialogue, and less like a news conference.
The panelists oversee many aspects of the school: Ms. Massie directs the new build and other campus projects; Catherine Thomas represents the student body; Skylar Banks works towards sustainability at the school; Ms. Norberg leads the senior school; Mr. Nichols designs student engagement and experiential learning; Ms. Wade guides student leadership and wellness initiatives.
Addressing the new build, Ms. Massie said that it will be finished in 2019-20. The junior school has all the permits needed from the city, while the upper school construction is still waiting on one. When asked whether the boarding school is included in the new build, she said that currently boarding is given no monetary grant or plan for renovation. She brought up, however, examples of regular renovations such as “painting”, “installing AC” and “re-upholstering the furnitures in the common room”.
Many in the audience were curious about relatively new initiatives, such as Day 9 and TA programs in house. A student asked Mr. Nichols to define experiential learning, and to address student dissatisfaction with more lecture-style Day 9 options. Mr. Nichols asked for students to participate with an open mind, and described experiential learning as “learning by doing”, such as solving a math problem. He was also asked about how the school processed Day 9 feedback-- a detailed document organizing the feedback by grade and by experience, and then discussions with a team of adult leaders including Ms. Davy, Ms. Houston-White, and the vice principals. He pointed out that six Day 9s so far since the inception of the initiative have received vastly different feedback. As for the new efforts in TA this year, such as student-led sessions, Ms. Norberg revealed that the motivation was to emphasize and foster bonding. She gave examples of specific TAs: Mr. Nardi’s tradition of making a TA playlist, and Mr. Fredenburg’s activity of filling out the Proust Questionnaire together.
As well, there were students who asked for clarifications about fundraising procedure, inconsistencies in uniform regulations from teacher to teacher, as well as the content of Catherine’s meetings with Ms. Davy.
When asked about plans to improve mental health in class, Ms. Wade said that there is an effort to make sure the school is not sending mixed messages by verbally prioritizing mental health but causing distress for students due to stress and little access to support. She gave an example of how students have to negotiate with teachers to avoid overlapping academic assignments. While answering a question about the possibility of students organizing to attend science competitions, Ms. Wade and Mr. Nichols again emphasized the point about mental and wellness. They said the school considers each student initiative or club proposal carefully, in order to protect students from the draining experience of overcommitment.
In terms of sustainability, Skylar told the audience that she and her council are trying to bring a long-term culture shift at Havergal, instead of organizing big events. For instance, to save energy, they are planning to put humourous sticker reminders on light switches.
When it was time for the panelists to pose questions, Catherine asked for people’s thoughts on a potential “coffee with Catherine”, where students can meet with her and express their needs. Skylar invited ideas about how to make people more passionate about the environment. In response, audience members proposed incorporating sustainable actions into the house point system, brushing up on Havergal’s waste sorting knowledge, and much more.
Cookies, Couches and Conversations is a great way for anyone to not only learn about, but also potentially shape the direction of the school’s future. If you missed this first meeting of the year, make sure to go to the upcoming ones! Meanwhile, if you have any concerns, ideas or worries, talk to student council, student leaders or adults in the building.