The Sterling Hall School

The Sterling Hall School ANNUAL REPORT 2007-2008 THE MISSION OF THE STERLING HALL SCHOOL The Mission of The Sterling Hall School is to offer a secure environment for the education of boys in mind, body and spirit. Our supportive community and small classes nurture and challenge our students to become critical thinkers, self-directed learners and successful contributors. The Sterling Hall School Registered Charitable # 11925 7657 RR 0001. The Sterling Hall School Foundation Registered Charitable # 82344 7271 RR001. Board Chair’s Message The 2008 / 2009 school year is now under way and, in my fourth year as your Chair, I continue to be inspired by the talented and committed members of the Board of Governors with whom I am honoured to serve. This past year our Board committees have been particularly active in their various responsibilities. Despite our Governance Committee being relatively recently established, we are making great strides in this area. The committee has been looking at best practices as identified by the Canadian Independent School community to ensure that SHS achieves excellence in all levels of governance. Through the leadership of Sally Hannon, our goal has been to maintain our unique school culture and enhance our Board’s effectiveness. Good governance practices allow us to make effective decisions with a focus on getting things done with the least amount of road blocks. This year marked the official close of our very successful “Discover the Future” capital campaign. This campaign led to the creation of The Discovery Centre which provides facility excellence in the areas of science, art, technology, and music. These new facilities have enhanced our sons’ educational experience and also provided our teachers with superior tools and classroom environments in which to teach. Our capital projects do not exist in order for us to build for building’s sake and are much more than bricks and mortar. Our facilities’ expansions have always focused on providing our boys with what they need to prepare them for their futures. Congratulations to Bill Wilder and his Advancement team for a very successful campaign. We are pleased to welcome David Fleck and Jeff Moody as the newest members of this committee. We also welcome Maria Jordan to her new role as Executive Director of Advancement and are excited by the energy and enthusiasm she brings to our school in this important role. Through the direction of Perry-Anne Lupyrypa, the Strategic Planning Committee has struck The Sterling Hall Secondary School (SHSS) Task Force. This task force has been conducting surveys and meeting with constituents; all with the goal of determining the feasibility of a high school for our community. Their focus continues to be its economical sustainability as well as the effect a secondary school may have on our current programs and the overall SHS experience. The Strategic Planning Committee was also instrumental in the development of the SHS Strategic Plan. As a board, we continue to implement and execute the direction set by the plan.A copy of the SHS Strategic Plan is available via the school website. We welcome new Board member Alison McDonald to this committee. Working closely with the SHSS Task Force, the Property Committee, headed by Denise MacDonald, continues to look for ways to adapt the use of the adjacent land and how it may enhance the future of our school. The purchase of this land was a strategic decision of the Board made in order to give us options for the future, although no immediate plans have been determined. Eric Lo and his team continue to ensure that our technology platform is a useful aid to learning and assists in the education of our boys. Our philosophy on technology is to learn from other educational institutions and adopt only those pieces that we feel are useful for our specialized teaching methods. 1 Despite the current unfavourable economic trends, The Sterling Hall School remains in excellent financial position, as the pages in this Annual Report reveal. Under the stewardship of the Chair of the Finance Committee, John Stevens, we have been able to manage our funds in a fiscally responsi- ble way. Your Board is acutely aware of our need to be financially accountable to our constituents. As we continue to look to the future, our focus is to have the resources available to ensure the con- tinued financial health of SHS no matter what growth profile we pursue. We are pleased to welcome Robert Poile to the Finance Committee and look forward to his contributions. As we continue to grow, the faces of our school continue to change. I would like to welcome the newest members to the Board of Governors: Roberto Drassinower, Jeff Moody and Alison McDonald. We look forward to their valuable input in the coming year and beyond. I extend a very special thank you to our departing Board Members, Ken Gordon and Donna Poile, who throughout the years have demonstrated dedication, effectiveness and affection for The Sterling Hall School. In all our varied roles and responsibilities, the Board of Governors is honoured to serve you and our community. We are committed to the preservation of The Sterling Hall School culture and experience for our boys and families. You are at the right place ~ spread the word! Kevin Sullivan SHS Board Chair BOARD OF GOVERNORS Back Row (left to right): John Stevens, William Wilder, Greg Watson, Kris Isberg, Arnold Temple, Steve Tuchner, Roberto Drassinower. Middle Row (left to right): Alison McDonald, Adrienne Waterman (President, Parents Association), Marc Boyman, Alison Noble, Sally Hannon, Eric Lo, Robbie Pryde. Front Row (left to right): Perry-Anne Lupyrypa, Kevin Sullivan, Denise MacDonald. Absent: Jeff Moody. 2 Principal’s Report “What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is in the end of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.” This quotation is attributed to John Ruskin and although it perhaps paints too broad a picture, there is nonetheless some strong truth associated with its intent. Which takes us directly to what the role of education and good schooling is in these early 21st Century years. It has become clearer and clearer to most that the pouring of knowledge into students’ heads anticipating that this will guide them through their lives is no longer appropriate. And yet, regurgitating of facts remains in too many schools which should be spending their time develop- ing skills in their students. The ability to think for oneself and to think critically, to present an argu- ment clearly, to understand how to communicate with others and work closely as a member of a team – these are examples of skills and attitudes that become more and more profound as our world shrinks and contact with those who might be unfamiliar becomes more the daily expectation. It really is no longer what you know that counts; it is rather how you use what you know and who or what you are that dominate. There is no question that these qualities should be the secret potion replac- ing mundane translations, dates in history or arcane chemical formulae which all have their place but in today’s world, they are relegated to the back burner – where they belong. Today’s approach to education demands curriculum that is transparent, authentic and relevant and teachers who believe implicitly in the philosophy espoused above. At SHS, we are fortunate indeed to have a wonderful team of teachers who are passionate, enthusiastic and encouraging and enjoy coming to work every day. Or so they tell me! Put them with a strong community, good students striving to better themselves and facilities and programs that have evolved beautifully over the years – I assure you that there’s something going right in our halls. Let me also assure you that we do contin- ually reassess what we are doing as we attempt to offer the best experience that we can to your sons. Every year, a considerable sum is spent by The Sterling Hall School offering Professional Development opportunities to the Faculty. The chart on the pages that follow highlights our Faculty’s recent participation – all activities promote “best practices” and enrich the professional lives of our teachers and thus your sons. Out of the many areas that could have been selected, I chose two: 1. Presenting workshops at conferences and 2. Special opportunities and achievements in education. The lists are quite remarkable and speak loudly to the interested and talented teachers with whom I am fortunate to work and who teach your sons. I also wish to draw your attention to the recently published first SHS Strategic Plan. Two Strategic Reports came out in 1997 and 2001, but they were not plans in that they did not project into the future. They concerned the current school and its origins. But by this year, SHS was most definitely ready for a Strategic Plan. Do please read and enjoy our Strategic Plan – a document with initiatives, goals and strategies that should endure for five or more years. And then it will be time for the second edition – taking SHS up to and beyond the 2013 date referred to in the plan. Many deserve to be mentioned for their 3 work but I shall single out three. Perry-Anne Lupyrypa (mother of Aiden, Garet and Brennan) chairs the Strategic Planning Committee of the Board of Governors, having taken over the reins from Reid Bowlby (father of graduates Chris and Matthew and current student Scott). These two were the force behind the creation of much of the text. The draft version was then handed over to Cathy Reeves.

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