Annual Report
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ANNUAL REPORT & DONOR TRIBUTE 2015-16 1 A CARING KCS COMMUNITY Paul Vessey, KCS Chair of the Board of Governors’ 2015-2016 Closing Speech: I fell in love with this school eight long years ago when my daughter Brigid suggested to me one morning during her first week at KCS that Miss Murphy thought I was old enough to let Brigid walk by herself down the hall to her grade one class, and my daughter Brigid apparently agreed. I discovered immediately KCS was pretty good at educating me as a parent in addition to educating my daughter. The love affair only grew over the years as I discovered an educational environment where everyone cares. Parents, teachers, administrative staff, volunteers, and of greatest importance, our students. The entire place thrives on the singular concept of continuous improvement. Every year as I drive home from these closing ceremonies I could honestly say the school was a better place than the previous year. I always had the confidence, as I do now, that next year will be even better. How does KCS consistently improve upon itself? It starts with leadership. Derek Logan and his senior administrative team are never satisfied with the status quo. Over the years I observed this team put on a clinic on how to be effective leaders. There is one leadership quality in particular I observed consistently over the years that always impressed me. They rarely made decisions by choosing the easy path, which invariably involved little personal or organizational risk. When appropriate they took the tougher route, sometimes controversial but always seemed to work out in the longer term to make a big difference in the quality of our school. This trait is common to people in our world that truly innovate, and one I hope our graduates and students take with them as they build upon their KCS education. When I first agreed six years ago to take on the Chair’s role here at KCS I reached out to a number of Board Chairs of Independent Schools in Toronto for advice and counsel. I got this advice from one of the most respected and tenured Chairs from a prominent Toronto Independent School. Paul, he said, “Buildings, libraries and fields are important, but give me a group of highly motivated, professional teachers that love their vocation and a tent, and I can deliver an exceptional educational experience.” No greater truth has ever been spoken and we are blessed here at KCS. There are teachers in Ontario that appear to be far more interested in what they themselves get out of their vocation than the joy of teaching and the rewards of making a difference in a child’s life. I can assure you we have none of that here; we have a group of the best here at KCS. I think I can speak on behalf of the children and parents to thank all our teachers for everything you do. Your love of your vocation and our children is obvious and you all should be proud of what you do and accomplish. The face or front line of any school is the first people you meet, in our case the staff of our 2 administrative team. If you happen to be one of the families that have left the important project on the kitchen table in the morning, gym clothes in a bag by the back door, medicine in the bottle beside morning orange juice, running late to pick your son or daughter from school you quickly learn how helpful, cheerful and supportive they all are. On behalf of everyone here, particularly the children and their parents, we all thank you. You are wonderful, and you leave an amazing impression on everyone coming into our school. I want to thank all our families. We have a very special community here at KCS that supports and makes possible the kind of school we have. I cannot express enough thanks to all those that give of their time to support school activities and operations. I want to particularly acknowledge the Parent Network, the members of Board sub committees and the Board of Governors who give so much of their time and energy to support our programs and operations. I also want to thank those families that provide additional financial support to the school. We are an independent, non-profit organization. The only dividends we pay are the education and experiences our children receive. A special thanks to those folks that supported annual giving or made special gifts for various initiatives. Your generosity will be felt not only by your own children but also for future generations coming through KCS. Thank you to all of our supporters. Finally our graduates. I have watched most of you grow up from children to the young adults you are today and you are an impressive group. This past year we have observed some pretty impressive athletic accomplishments, some great acting, some robotic creations that would impress a mechanical engineer, some art that could easily adorn galleries in Yorkville, some great literature and some great music. I know all of you will continue to be wonderful ambassadors for KCS as you move on to the next stage of your education. Congratulations on your graduation. The only thing I would ask is that you stay in touch with each other and with KCS. Carry the school rules forward with you, stay resepctful, remember your manners and always try your best. PAUL VESSEY, Chair of the Board of Governors Kingsway College School As we strive to be the defining force in developing lifelong learners, our students are our greatest ambassadors for all we accomplish at KCS. I invite you to read our Annual Report and Donor Tribute that touches on just a few of these great accomplishments. 3 4 2015-2016 HIGHLIGHTS: ACADEMICS EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM • In 2015-2016, KCS offered two full-day classes for both JK and SK and one half-day class in PK • A new leadership position was introduced in the form of ELP Lead Teacher, which Lise Russo assumed. Lise was a valuable new addition to the leadership team and acted as a source of support and guidance to this new division • A PK consultant was contracted who provided invaluable guidance to the whole ELP program • Significant PD was pursued by all faculty in the area of Reggio-inspired learning MAKERSPACE • The Maker Movement is an exciting new phenomenon where tinkering, building, creating and inventing are allowed to flourish. It includes everything from woodworking in SK to robotics, electronics, sewing, music composition, book writing and more • KCS added two 3D printers, littleBits electronics for the library and science lab, clubs delivered by our new partners, MakerKids and woodworking tools for multiple grades KCS BY DESIGN • KCS By Design was introduced as a unique leadership opportunity for students in grades 7 and 8 • Interested students started working with faculty and staff to brainstorm and act on ways to make KCS the best it can be • The KCS by Design program used design-thinking process to introduce effective change and a dedicated Wiki to communicate • Future Design School delivered a workshop to interested students and faculty on the design-thinking process. Through the process, the group chose the design challenge: how do we better enable differentiated learning at KCS 5 2015-2016 HIGHLIGHTS: ARTS MUSICAL PRODUCTION OF SHREK JR. • Our entire school put on a full-blown stage production of the popular Broadway show Shrek, modified for younger performers • Students from grades 1 through 8 took on a number of roles – both on stage and behind the scenes – and worked together to focus their collective artistic energy • The successful performance of Shrek Jr. involved students in grades 4 to 8 as well as students in grades 1 to 3, who were involved in a special chorus musical prelude to the show • Over 240 students, staff and parents were involved in the production ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM • The 2015-2016 KCS Artist in Residence was Canadian contemporary dance-theatre artist Meagan O’Shea • Meagan has been helping children all around the world discover the joys of dance and theatre for twenty years • Using a combination of physical and cooperative activities, Meagan helped our students learn new movement and dance skills • In addition, her work is designed to help children develop their presence, listening skills, and collective leadership abilities • The year’s Artist in Residence program culminated in grades 1 to 7 performing a school-wide flash mob for parents, staff and fellow students MUSIC THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL • Cross-curricular programming integrated musical education into all areas of the academic curriculum • Integration of technology, such as Garage Band composition program and noteflight.com notation program allowed students in grades 6 to 8 to further enhance personal compositions • KCS Sound Library, available for staff and students, houses over 85 original compositions composed by KCS students • Seventy-eight students had the opportunity to stand in centre field at the Rogers Centre to sing the National Anthems and mark the official start of a Blue Jays game • More than 90 students participated in the Conference of Independent Schools Music Festival (CISMF). KCS had the highest number of participants in this prestigious musical festival in 2015-2016 6 2015-2016 HIGHLIGHTS: ATHLETICS SPORTS AND OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAMMING • Twenty-two sports teams were offered with remarkable participation rates in the individual sports of Cross Country and Track and Field, boasting the largest teams in the CISAA • KCS offered specialized instruction from outside teachers in the area of yoga and interpretive dance • CISAA Coed Cross Country: We have won the CISAA Coed Cross Country Championship six