Branksome Hall News

She took a virtual portfolio of $30,000 on the stock market to $62 million in just 11 weeks — an accomplishment that makes any hedge-fund manager envious. Grade 7 student Abby placed second, beating out more than 100 students from seven countries in Explorer Hop’s Global Investment Competition. (Although the winnings aren’t real, the first place winner did take home $500.)

Emily MacLean has been appointed the new Head of the Junior School at Branksome Hall, effective July 1, 2021.

Pandemic learning has its ups and downs, but for Junior School students, a virtual author visit is the equivalent of an interactive television show with a famous personality. This means that for young readers, an author visit is more magical and engaging than one might expect.

Although 2021 has only just begun, Branksome’s talented student debaters are at it again. Competing in four tournaments over the past four weeks, the virtual platform was no match for these determined groups, who returned with impressive results in all categories. 

In these unpredictable times, the number Pi (Greek letter “π”) is a constant—a mathematical one, at least. Many people know it’s defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, but far fewer can recite its endless decimal representation. The record for its memorization is somewhere around the 70,000th digit.

Home cooking has taken centre stage, both as a pandemic necessity and creative outlet. Branksome Hall is no different—as the Virtual Baking Club has been one of the bright spots in a challenging year.

It’s been almost a year since Holly Clarke first rode her bicycle indoors for six hours straight, as part of her “Toronto Hustle” cycling team’s 24-hour, indoor stationary bike marathon to support frontline healthcare workers, last April.

“How can I be a better teacher?” It’s not just Branksome Hall students who pursue the “growth mindset” values at the pedagogical core of an International Baccalaureate school. Consider Geography and Design teacher Allison Campbell-Rogers, for example.

After urging workshop participants to set an intention for an act of small change, Esie Mensah immediately had her workshop participants rise from their Zoom boxes and get moving. The renowned choreographer, born in Hamilton, Ont. to parents who immigrated from Ghana, incorporated her signature, flowing movements into a segment of the workshop she calls Afro-healing.

Instead of dealing with jet lag, our 14 Model United Nations (MUN) delegates—who attended The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) conference in January—had to rise at 6:30 a.m. to get online.

Branksome Hall is pleased to announce that Anima Leadership has been selected to conduct a comprehensive third-party Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) audit of the school’s environment, policies, plans and documents. The audit is a critical foundational component of its DEI strategy. 

When marketing expert Lindsay STRANSMAN’08 stepped up to volunteer in 2019, she had a question for her friend Melanie ARGIROS Breder’08 (now President of the Branksome Hall Alumnae Association): Why didn't our Alum Trivia Night have a Branksome-specific category?

Certain academic terms such as ‘post-colonial’ have entered the mainstream, but what do they really mean and how can people work together towards a ‘decolonial’ end where systems of oppression are effectively challenged and collapsed?

Agile, empathetic and steady leadership is needed more than ever in this extraordinary time. Branksome Hall is pleased to announce today that it is establishing a new Centre for Strategic Leadership, to build leadership capacity and development opportunities for our faculty and staff. Deputy Principal Karrie Weinstock will take the helm as Head of the Centre, and Junior School Head Amanda Kennedy will move into the Deputy Principal role, as of July 1.

Children’s laptops are the most essential learning tool right now, given the need to pivot between virtual and in-class learning this year. For under-served public schools, whose communities are facing increased economic hardship due to COVID-19, it’s just not possible for parents to step in and help out.

“Dear 2020, I think we should break up.” Surely Grade 10 student Elizabeth speaks for many in a prose poem that earned her First Prize from the Conference of Independent Teachers of English (CITE). Her work was selected from the entries of more than 90 students from 20 independent schools.

Intellectual curiosity is a powerful tool that can be applied to almost anything. That was abundantly clear this week at Branksome Hall, as the Grade 10 Personal Project Showcase hosted parents and students in the Open U virtual space, January 26 and 27. Virtual visitors enjoyed the opportunity for informal visits to individual “rooms,” with pre-recorded video installations.

In recognition of outstanding community initiatives and strategic leadership, Branksome Hall’s sister school in South Korea, Branksome Hall Asia earned “International School of the Year Award” at the prestigious ISC Research International Schools Awards 2021, streamed live on January 17.

As students scroll their way through social media posts, with fewer real-life socializing opportunities to provide a reality check due to the pandemic, unrealistic female bodies and impossible beauty standards can be more damaging than ever before.

It was a lesson in Indigenous spirituality, healing plants and self-care tools to navigate the pandemic, as Ojibwe Anishinaabe Elder Shelley Charles joined Grade 12 students in their Theory of Knowledge class on January 13.

When the pandemic is over, the first thing Nabila AZAD ’07 wants to do is safely travel home to Toronto and visit her parents.