Branksome Hall News

From November 10 to 13, 2022, 30 enthusiastic and motivated Model United Nations (MUN) club members from Grades 9–12 and three faculty advisors travelled to Montreal to attend the Secondary School United Nations Symposium (SSUNS), the club’s first in-person overnight conference since January 2020.

Branksome Hall and the Munk Debates are pleased to announce Re:Solved. The first online worldwide public speaking and debate competition on a universal theme, Re:Solved is open to all 13–18-year-old students in secondary school who like to challenge conventional thinking.

On Saturday, November 5, Branksome Hall played host to our first-ever Model United Nations (MUN) conference, and it was a spectacular day of learning and leadership. More than 50 students from Branksome Hall and Greenwood College School attended the event, held in the Athletics and Wellness Centre, and BH MUN student leaders Anna Gage, Yara Bhaloo and Ari Wilder showed great skill in facilitating discussion, debate and mentorship. This was a "learning conference," planned and organized by these students, to help MUN members develop the confidence they need to excel at upcoming symposiums in Montreal and The Hague.

The Branksome Hall community was thrilled to welcome internationally recognized educator and author Rachel Simmons to the school on October 27 for employee professional development and an evening talk for parents and donors, as part of the Branksome Speaker Series on Well-Being.

After nearly 25 years of passionate, visionary and innovative leadership, Karen Jurjevich has informed the Board of Governors that she will be stepping away from her role as Principal in June 2024. Until that time, and while we conduct a comprehensive search for her successor, she will remain fully engaged in the leadership of the school. Karen is committed to ensuring a smooth transition to the new Principal.

Students, employees and parents attending Branksome Hall’s 94th Senior and Middle School Installation ceremony on September 22, 2022 will be thinking about Bernise WONG’13’s keynote speech for a long time to come.

The Branksome Hall community is saddened to learn of the passing, on September 21, 2022, of Peter Oliver, Oliver and Bonacini co-founder and longtime Branksome Hall friend and partner. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and to the Leacock Foundation community, with whom Branksome shares a more than 20-year history.

Math Instructional Leader and Teacher Edith Louie has taught mathematics at Branksome Hall for 24 years and her cheerful nature and skill at math instruction are valued by the whole community. Recently, Ms. Louie’s talents have been recognized with a province-wide honour: the René Descartes Medal.

When the crisis in Ukraine started earlier this year, the world watched in horror at what was happening to Ukraine and its people. Naomi, a student new to Branksome this year and originally from Ukraine, also felt the same. They—Naomi goes by they/them pronouns—knew that they wanted to do something to help and they decided to take action and travel to Poland to volunteer at the Ukraine/Poland border.

Grade 11 student debater Hao has had quite a year! This world-class debater has attended many of the big competitions (alongside her debate partner Elizabeth): the Western University High School Debate Tournament, the National British Parliamentary Championships, the Provincial Debating Championships and even the prestigious Cambridge Schools Debate Finals Competition, where the duo placed 22nd out of 64 teams. Now, a long-held dream for Hao is finally coming true: Hao has been selected to join the Canadian National Debate Team. This is an exceptional accomplishment; Hao is the first Branksome student since 2016 to have reached the highest level of high school debating.

Branksome Hall is pleased to announce the appointment of Mona Malone as its new Chair of the Board of Governors, effective September 2022. Ms. Malone’s appointment as Chair follows two years as Vice-Chair of the Board and four years as a board member.

Branksome Hall’s longtime partnership with Sunny View Public School is one that is unique, collaborative and much-loved. Sunny View, a Toronto District School Board public school, serves approximately 80 students from all over Toronto who have significant medical, physical, cognitive and behavioural complexities.

On the weekend of April 30 and May 1, 17 members of the BH MUN team attended the Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly (SOMA XLIX), hosted by UTS and the University of Toronto. This event was especially meaningful and exciting as it was the first in-person MUN conference attended by the BH MUN team in more than two years.

Branksome Hall’s Noodle program is one-of-a-kind. It helps students to conceptualize their most innovative and inspiring ideas and bring them to life. Our full Noodle program culminated in the fall with the final competition seeing Happiness Battery win the $10,000 prize to further their business. Although the official Noodle program is over for this year, the program is still providing mentorship and guidance through the “mini Noodle” format.

“I am someone who is not supposed to be a writer but I found my way there.” Sharing a series of childhood photos, tracing her birth in a Thai refugee camp in 1978 to her upbringing in Toronto, award-winning writer Souvankham Thammavongsa spoke to a packed theatre of DP1 and Grade 10 students on April 28.

Seasoned Grade 12 debaters Mare and Maylee attended the 34th World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, held on April 9 and 10, and brought home some impressive results. Hosted virtually by Country Day School in Newmarket, debaters and public speakers from all over the world tuned in to compete at this well-respected competition.

This year has been a big one for student debaters Hao and Liz, who have attended many debating tournaments together. In March, they attended the virtual Senior Provincial Debating Championships, placing 4th out of 36 teams.

When you hear her sing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” Portia White (1911-68),  the first Black Canadian to become an international music star, seems to have your spirit in her hands. It’s no wonder that her soul-stirring contralto conquered audiences the world over, including two Royal Command performances and enshrinement on Canada Post’s Millennium stamp series in 1999.

“Highlighting the vast gender inequality in many aspects of the world, this day is an opportunity for our community to highlight the many strong women who have made big impacts on breaking the bias,” said Head Prefect Amonda.

As we continue to follow the evolving situation in Ukraine, we offer our heartfelt sympathy and support to all the people impacted by the events unfolding in Eastern Europe.

Fashion, visual arts, medicine, business, entrepreneurship and STEM. These vastly different topics can spark excitement in students of all ages and now, they will come together at this year’s first Motivate, Inspire, Connect (M.I.C.) Youth Conference, being held virtually on Saturday, March 5.

After beginning an exploration and commitment into diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the fall of 2020, a clear curricular connection between DEI and the concept of social-emotional learning emerged.

With over 600 delegates from 33 countries, this year’s World Affairs Conference (WAC) was one to remember, uniting students from around the world. Making it even more memorable is the anniversary WAC is celebrating—40 years to be exact.

If you’ve noticed Olympians wearing headphones before a big race it’s completely intentional, based on the latest in brain science. Music lights up seven regions in the brain, elevating mood and increasing concentration—the same seven regions that shut down when you’re depressed. So, it makes sense to listen to music when you do homework, but only if it’s music you’re familiar with.

What if recess was more than just a time for play? What if it was an opportunity for students to use and enhance skills that they are learning in a formal classroom setting? “A Well-Played Recess,” an action research project undertaken by our lead social worker, Dr. Carolyn Mak, as part of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools Global Action Research Collaborative, did just that. With the research support of the Chandaria Research Centre, the study looked at how recess is often experienced by students at a girls' school.

“Writing reminds me of the power of language. Often it can be hard to share an experience with others who have never had the same feelings as me, but stories have that unique power to connect the author with her readers—that's also why I love reading others' works as sometimes, I can see myself in them,” explains Cindy, Grade 11.

Jenny made a structured comic about the journey of artistic creation. Kennedy created a short film about the effect of social media on teenagers’ body image. Daria coded an app to assist children with autism. Kimiko designed and created a kimono!