RDS Annual Report 2022-2023

The Rosedale Day School

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

To be an educational community of inspired learners and leaders prepared to adapt confidently and engage responsibly in our changing world.

Values

We are guided by and adhere to our values of integrity, diligence, respect, and involvement.

Mission RDS inspires and develops the authentic character and potential of each child.

A Message from our Head and Chair

The 2022/23 academic year saw the pandemic fade and students and staff return to the banquet of sports, clubs and activities that make up the fabric of the RDS experience. During the year, we continued to work on the goals identified in our Strategic Plan, Meaningful Learning for Life. Highlights of this work included:

Launching the Student Success Centre and appointing Ms Julia McCuaig as the inaugural Coordinator Implementing the Really Great Reading Program for JK - Grade 3 Launching our parent education program with 2 sessions. Facilitated by external experts, one focussed on student anxiety and the other on the future of education.

Re-establishing the RDS Parent Guild to act as the volunteer hub of the School who help coordinate events to enhance the RDS community Re-engaging with our young alumni after a pandemic-induced pause

RDS also wrote the internal report required for re-accreditation with the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS). CAIS member schools go through a thorough accreditation process every five years, requiring the School to address 130 indicators of effective practice across 11 standards of school life.

In early May, the School welcomed a team of colleagues from fellow schools for the external review portion of our accreditation process The visiting committee was very impressed and Ms Nancy Richards, CAIS Chair and Head at St Mildred's Lightbourn School wrote:

“ everything about the visit demonstrated that Rosedale Day School is a school that supports resilience, joy and authentic learning in all it does. The Peer Review Team is inspired by this unique urban school that enables access to world class facilities”.

The core of RDS, reflected in our mission, “RDS develops and inspires the authentic character and potential of each child” remains unchanged. We strive to be a close, caring community with meaningful relationships at the centre of our teaching and learning. This was echoed by Ms. Richards who added,

“The Rosedale Day School is built on meaningful connections and friendships and it was evident that each child felt valued, supported and engaged within this inclusive community. It is a testament to the entire Rosedale Day School community that the onsite visit so easily conveyed the warmth, vibrancy and joy of this very special place”.

We are very grateful to our community, who support us in so many ways throughout the year Each gift of time, talent or treasure ensures that our community remains an innovative and inspiring place to learn

Thank you for your support of RDS!

John Reid Head of School

Cathy Simpson (Clare '13 & Mitchell '18) Chair, Board of Directors

RDS Leadership

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sarah Ahmed, CPA Controller

Nicole Blair Assistant Head of School

Tory Boeckh Director of Student Life

Patrick Fordyce Director of Enrolment Management

John Reid Head of School

Alana Bell Secretary

Debbie Champion, CPA Treasurer

Sze-Linn Choong Current Parent

Leverett Binks - Collier RDS Alumnus

Barbara Kochman Alumni Parent

Courtney Gibson Current Parent

Cathy Simpson Board Chair & Alumni Parent

Minard Tapawan Alumni Parent

Sandy Ward Current Parent

The Bottom Line

Commitment to Institutional Stewardship

As a not-for-profit independent school, RDS is dependent largely on tuition fees for revenue. In 2022/23, tuition fees comprised 87% of total revenue. Contributions from our community provided approximately 2% of total revenue and were used to help fund projects that would otherwise not have been possible.

The money we raised this year went towards priorities identified in our Strategic Plan, including our STEAM Program for students from JK - Grade 8, and upgraded classroom technology as well as invaluable professional development for our teachers

Staff salaries and benefits account for approximately 67% of total expenses. This allocation of expenses is typical among independent schools. The breakdown of operating revenue and expenses for the 2022 - 2023 fiscal year is:

Annual Giving

The ability to continue to enhance our programs is made possible by your generous support of the Annual Giving Campaign and Art Show

It is through the generous contributions of our community that we were able to raise over $84,000.

Our programs benefited from the following enhancements: a new Gryphon costume, two new 3-D Printers, updated student technology, additional soft furniture in classrooms and the funding of our teachers' wish list items.

Donors

Anonymous

Linda Alton

Ryan Andal

Giorgia Anton

Paul & Clare Arena

Eleanor Arnold*

Laura Arth*

Laura Bae

Bruce Barber

Carly Basu & Sarah Carter*

Kit Chan

Shuting Chang

Clarrisa Collingridge

Patricia Davidson

Mariella Ferreyra

Nancy Garrow*

Charles Grizzle*

Le Horne*

Regine Jeudy

Nenita Kuhn*

Yoko Lawless*

Virginia Marentette*

Vineet Malhotra

Kathleen Martin*

Blair Milroy

John Mingay*

Martha Mitchell

Judith Murillo*

Patrick Nobbs*

Pamela O'Rorke*

Jocelyn Paul*

Amit Patra

Ekaterina Pesegova

Erica Procter

Shahdab Qadri

John Reid

Ella Richard*

Sidhartha Sharma

Roland Shaw

Joanna Simon

Diane Simpson

Ksenia Smorgonskaia

Martin Steinlehner

Paul Tamaki*

Justin & Debra Thornton*

Kathleen Ng Cheong Ton

Thuy Tran

Zhen Wang

Robin Weaver*

Matt Wilson

Michael Wray

Roxy Zapala

*Indicates gifts directed to The Sharon Stewart Bursary Fund

The Annual Art Show

On Thursday May 11th, 2023, The Rosedale Day School proudly presented our 21st Annual Art Show & Fundraiser at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club It was a huge success and a wonderful opportunity to gather as a community. We are grateful for the generous support from the parents, staff, alumni parents and friends of the school.

Donors

Anonymous

Grace Andal

Clare Arena

Syed Ashfaq & Shahdab Ferdaus Qadri

Martha Binks & Leonard Collier

Mark P. Brennan

Christine Chan

Lisa & Graham Collingridge

Robert Dixon & Mariam Bahar Azimi

Michelle & David Epstein

John William Robert Graber & Ramandeep Kaur Sarai

George Jia

Jim Kim & Erica Yeu

Paul Lau & Thuy Thi Tran

Vineet & Trish Malhotra

Kevin McGee

Martha Mitchell

Claudia Mutis

Linda Ngo & Gnanaraj Shanmugarajah

Laura & Fredrik Nystrom

Geeta & Hitesh Pandya

Ekaterina Pesegova

Antony & Kristin Pierri

Orlando Pinzon & Joanna Simon

Pradhan Prabhakar & Menaca Chandramohan

Erica Procter & Sandy Ward

David Rosen & Ilyse Glickman

Samantha Schieman

Ryan Taylor

Aileen & Makoto Trotter

Laura Trought

James Wilson

Amber & Matt Wilson

Coral Yan

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the donor information in this report. We apologize for any errors and ask that you please notify us if there is a typo.

Our founder and former Head of School, Mrs. Sharon Stewart, passed away on October 24, 2022. Sherry’s passion in life was early childhood education and she firmly believed in the philosophy that Quisque infans singularis est - “each child is unique.” After working at several schools in Toronto, her dream became a reality when she founded her own private school based on this mantra. The Rosedale Day School (RDS) was established in September of 1995 with a staff of four and 23 students spanning JK to Grade 2 Since its founding, RDS has grown into a thriving educational community with more than 170 students and 30 dedicated, creative teachers and staff Sherry retired from RDS in 2010, but her legacy of excellence in teaching in the elementary grade levels remains

In her retirement, education remained in her heart. She continued to be an active member of the RDS Community by providing strategic guidance and attending school events. She was always very proud to see young smiling faces walking along Bloor Street in their RDS uniforms. Sherry was a passionate and visionary educator who wanted her school to be a place where all teachers and all students knew each other and everyone was kind, thoughtful, and enjoyed learning. As a community, our ongoing commitment to upholding the RDS values of integrity, diligence, respect, and involvement is a fitting tribute to her legacy.

A Tribute to Our Founder, Mrs. Sharon Stewart