The York School Fund - Donor Impact Report

DONOR IMPACT REPORT THE EVOLUTION OF 3D PRINTING

DONOR IMPACT REPORT SPRING 2018

S.T.E.M. LEARNING ENHANCED 3D PRINTING WALL

EQUIPPED TO SAVE LIVES EIGHT DEFIBRILLATOR TRAINING UNITS FOR GRADE 9 FIRST AID EDUCATION

INSPIRING YOUNG MINDS AT THE JUNIOR SCHOOL BRINGING AUTHORS INTO THE LIBRARY AND NEW MUSIC EQUIPMENT INTO THE CLASSROOM

THE YORK SCHOOL FUND www.yorkschool.com

ATHLETICS

EQUIPPING YORK SCHOOL STUDENTS TO BE THEIR BEST

WELLNESS SUPPORTING THE WHOLE CHILD

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THANK YOU FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL Dear York School Community, This impact report highlights just a few of the many ways donations to The York School Fund improve the experience for our children. Junior Kindergarten through to our recent graduates, all our students have had opportunities to shine through your commitment to building a strong annual giving programme.

This year five key areas were identified, based on priorities within our Strategic Plan 20/20. Funds were provided to support Athletics & Wellness, the Junior School, the Arts, Experiential Learning, and S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). In addition, funds were applied to support the Head’s Initiative programme.

The Head’s Initiative programme provides our teachers with access to funds at any time during the school year. This keeps our school offerings in classes and clubs, for faculty, staff and students, nimble and responsive to opportunities as they arise. In this way students get the best educational experiences and teachers are encouraged to take advantage of opportunities that support their success as educators.

The projects funded through The York School Fund have been inspiring and have all come to fruition due to your support. Some of the projects include the development of a 3D Printing Wall in our Middle & Senior School, a fully-equipped athletic conditioning facility, an array of worldclass coaches providing athletic expertise to enhance the performance of our Gladiator teams, new art tables and musical technology for the creative minds at the Junior School and some incredible speakers, poets and experts bringing talks to our parents, students and staff.

2017-2018 has been a year of tremendous growth at The York School.

Thank you for helping us shine with your support of The York School Fund. I hope you enjoy the stories on the following pages, illustrations of your profound impact on our community.

With gratitude, Conor Jones Head of School

3D PRINTING WALL

BUILDING A MAKER CULTURE

The growth of 3D printing at The York School in recent years is a testament to the power of annual giving and the compound impact it has on our students as a complement to their education. It began with the purchase of one 3D printer several years ago through annual donations. That purchase grew to a fleet of four printers housed within the Schad Lab and one at the Junior School. This year, thanks to a gift to The York School Fund from the Rose family, we were able to replace an aging 3D printer

The York School is the first to purchase specialized storage units, thanks to our Director of Learning Innovation and Technology who was tracking the progress of their development and identified them as the next step in the 3D printing landscape for the school. Storing the printers in this way has many benefits. First, they improve safety by eliminating noise and off-gassing through a filter system.

Second, they showcase student projects and print jobs in action to passersby, bringing everyone into the maker experience and process of 3D printing.

THE YORK SCHOOL FUND

The dream was to make this technology accessible to everyone and thanks to your support, schoolwide 3D printing has come to fruition this year. For example, a film student designed and printed a lightsaber on a 3D printer, now displayed in the new storage units which was used in a student film project. Grade 4 art students designed and printed their own handles for use on stamps that were then used to paint a mural at the Junior School. Grade 5 students working on bridge projects print their structures right here in our hallways and students in Grades 10, 11 and 12 have used the printers and storage for independent projects.

3D printing is humming throughout the whole school and on display for everyone’s benefit due to the sustaining support of annual donors. with a brand new one that features the latest in 3D printing technology and therefore increases our overall bandwidth for students to design and see those creations come to fruition.

Our 3D printing programme reached new physical heights this year thanks to the support of our community.

PRIORITY / STEM

“Traditional printers print ideas on paper; 3D printers print ideas in plastic.”

–Justin Medved, Director of Learning, Innovation & Technology

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EQUIPPED TO SAVE LIVES

SPOKEN WORD POETRY

THE YORK SCHOOL FUND

With a generous donation from The York School Fund, the Grade 9 Physical Education department purchased eight Automated External Defibrillator training units (AEDs) to be used in an adult CPR curricular unit. With the increased presence of AEDs around Canada and demonstrated benefit to the survival rate of individuals in cardiac arrest, this training allows our students to be equipped to save a life.

With this important first-hand training in the use of AEDs, we are giving students the confidence and knowledge to jump into action should the need arise. Donations funded the permanent installation of an additional AED unit at 1320 Yonge St. this year.

On November 21, donations allowed Grade 10 students to be joined by a special group of performers who helped them find their unique voices through spoken word.

“The Uncharted” is a Toronto based, award-winning poetry collective that has performed internationally. In conjunction with a unit entitled “Find Your Voice”, the group performed for Grade 10 students and then worked with them in small groups to help them develop their own spoken word poems. This immersive experience brought the curriculum to life for Grade 10s, encouraging a deeper engagement with the subject matter.

AED

PRIORITY / EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Meeting these artists, who began exploring poetry as self expression when they were in high school, provided students with positive role models through which to explore this genre of writing.

It allowed our teachers to bring the spoken word lesson to life, getting students to actively participate and explore this medium.

Students felt empowered by this opportunity to share passions, ideas and be voices for their generation.

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THE YORK SCHOOL FUND

JUNIOR SCHOOL LIBRARY SPEAKER SERIES

MUSIC TECHNOLOGY CLUB

The Junior School Library hosted a great slate of special guests this year thanks to annual donations. On November 27, author and illustrator Barbara Reid visited with students in JK to Grade 2.

Ms. Reid shared her books as well as her unique plasticine art technique, giving students an opportunity for hands-on activity.

On June 6, the Junior School Library will cap off the programme with a visit from Adrienne Kress, award-winning and internationallypublished Canadian author, in conjunction with the Grade 3 to 5 Book Fair.

In the winter and spring terms, donors helped a Junior School faculty member share a passion for electronic music production with students through a unique extracurricular opportunity with specialized equipment. Experience creating music electronically can be pivotal to an understanding of synthesis and rhythm.

With the help of The York School Fund, we purchased a set of electronic music equipment to teach Junior School students how to explore this discipline themselves through a Music Technology Club.

A special thank you to the Cloth family whose generous support this year helped to fund these visits.

Students had the chance to work with a variety of digital and analog tools including synthesizers, samplers and rhythm boxes.

This experience ignited such excitement that the students took the lead and brought in their own experimental ideas and instruments. The resulting learning provided a truly exceptional opportunity for our students.

To ensure the legacy of these esteemed visitors and the inspiration they bring to our students is kept alive, framed artwork by Raina Teligemier, Dav Pilkey, Kevin Sylvester and Ashley Spires - all previous visitors - will be displayed in the library.

PRIORITY / THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

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GLADIATOR FITNESS CENTRE Thanks to annual donations, we outfitted our new, state-of-the-art fitness centre with world-class equipment. This investment allows our student-athletes to participate in sport-specific development programs that teach them a variety of sophisticated exercise modalities, at the same time ensuring that they work out safely for their developmental level. The equipment allows our entire community to engage in physical activity in a shared space.

Our new fitness equipment has allowed the athletic department to implement a full strength and conditioning programme without sacrificing practice time in the gymnasium, which is significant for an urban school with a small footprint. Donors have allowed Gladiator Athletics to grow immensely and our coaches and athletes are seeing the benefits everyday.

PRIORITY / ATHLETICS

THE YORK SCHOOL FUND

WORLD-CLASS COACHING

The York School Fund had a huge impact on our athletic program this year by supporting a host of professional coaches who work with our athletic teams across all divisions throughout 2017-2018.

This ensemble of experts includes national team athletes who are professionally certified and trained coaches, giving our Gladiator athletes some of the best development opportunities in the Conference of Independent Schools Athletics Association (CISAA).

These coaches allow athletes to reach their full potential, exposing them to national standards and advanced techniques.

Our Gladiator Athletics Programme continues to build teams that compete at a high level within the CISAA and has earned us 25 championship placements over the past five years.

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MUSIC EQUIPMENT UPGRADE Thanks to The York School Fund, Middle and Senior School Music faculty purchased a host of new equipment to take York School musical practices and performances up a notch. These upgrades included top-of-the-line Wenger stands, a deluxe percussion workstation and 2 high-tech conductor stations to integrate technology into music lessons.

These tools are enhancing the experience in the music room in a number of ways. Students have better storage and organization for percussion instruments, sturdier music stands and the ability to receive more immediate feedback with on the spot recordings, improving their overall potential for success as performers.

Faculty members are enjoying a highly functional workstation which includes iPad stands, enabling them to instantly record students and play music back, illustrate musical passages for teaching purposes and play various performances as examples of professional-level playing.

The ability to integrate audio-visual elements into classes allows teachers to be successful in their lessons, therefore setting our students up for success in their musical endeavors.

PRIORITY / THE ARTS

THE YORK SCHOOL FUND

JUNIOR SCHOOL ART ROOM TABLES

Art classes at the Junior School got a huge boost this year with the addition of three custom-built, solid wood tables that are movable, collaborative and hugely functional for storing a wide range of creations in various formats. Art teachers can move the tables to create small groups, large surfaces for collaborative projects or more traditional configurations to help with lunch and after school programs. The storage flexibility has made a huge difference, accommodating traditional art pieces or 3D sculptures while still allowing an open work space for new projects.

This investment in high quality furniture is giving faculty a more functional space within which to teach and work more collaboratively with students, while giving students the flexibility to create on a surface that can bring life to their ideas. Facilitating lunch and after school programs extends the impact beyond regular school hours, making these a welcome enhancement to the art room and Junior School.

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PREVENTING SUBSTANCE ABUSE

SUPPORTING MENTAL HEATH

THE YORK SCHOOL FUND

The York School Fund allowed the Grade 10 Physical Education department to invite two youth presenters to speak to our students and share their personal experiences on the subject of mental health. Inviting youth to speak directly to youth contributes to reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and encourages our students to be open minded and caring citizens of the world.

Donations funded a unique, cross-divisional Wellness initiative this year that addressed a critical issue for adolescent development that is rarely discussed as broadly in schools. We engaged two facilitators from FCD Prevention Works, a non-profit substance abuse prevention organization. This three-day school-wide series of workshops at the end of March addressed issues of substance abuse and addiction through the lens of prevention and myth debunking.

The speakers shared their experiences from before and after a mental health diagnosis. Student feedback was positive and encouraging during both the Q&A and debrief sessions after the presentation. It was was beneficial for students to hear from people close to their own ages and backgrounds who have struggled with mental health, sharing how they were able to cope, receive help and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Donations have allowed our students to hear that they are not alone, that there is help available and how to be supportive to others struggling with mental health-related issues.

Prevention experts conducted sessions, primarily focused on Grades 8 to 10 as a critical age group for this topic, while also leading sessions with faculty members at all levels, administrative staff and Middle and Senior School parents.

Our community was impacted by these sessions in a multitude of ways. Students engaged in open, non-judgemental conversations that challenged common notions about substances such as the idea that “everyone’s doing it.” Parents gained tools to help engage with their children around this sensitive topic and faculty felt better prepared should they ever be engaged in these conversations with students. Thanks to The York School Fund, our entire community has become more aware of the risks and better equipped to prevent substance abuse.

PRIORITY / WELLNESS

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