Headlines - Cheryl Boughton's Blog

Dear Parents,

I’m excited to announce that New York Times best-selling author, educator and coach Rachel Simmons will present to parents Get Real: An Interactive Workshop at Elmwood School on Wednesday, April 7 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Students from Grades 6 to 12 will participate in Simmons’ workshop in the afternoon.

Simmons, through her books, workshops and curriculum, helps girls become young women with integrity, self-awareness and personal authority. In her book, The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence (on which this workshop is based) Simmons argues the “Good Girl” is an unachievable ideal which compromises a girl’s true potential. As prologue the book flap states:

“…in lionizing the Good Girl we are teaching girls to embrace a version of selfhood that sharply curtails their power and potential. Unerringly nice, polite, modest, and selfless, the Good Girl is a paradigm so narrowly defined that it’s unachievable. When girls inevitably fail to live up—experiencing conflicts with peers, making mistakes in the classroom or on the playing field—they are paralyzed by self-criticism, stunting the growth of vital skills and habits.”

Simmons’ book also “offer[s] a map to girls’ crucial inner resume and the strategies you will need to guide your daughter from Good Girl to Real Girl.”

“A Real Girl stays connected to a strong inner core of her thoughts, feelings and desires. She is able not only to listen to who she is but to act on it. She maintains a critical balance: she can manage the needs of others without sacrificing the integrity of her own. Where a Good Girl might meet someone and automatically hope she is likeable, a Real Girl will reflect on what she thinks and feels about the other person before deciding what to do next.”

I’ve heard amazing things about Simmons’ Get Real workshop—it’s educational, interactive and fun; teaches practical strategies to be authentic in relationships and helps girls learn the skills to express their needs, accommodate others and take healthy risks.

This workshop is a great opportunity to interact with one of the leading scholars in the field of girls’ relationships. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to rvsp@elmwood.ca or call (613) 744-7783.

Please download the Rachel Simmons poster (pdf) for more workshop details. It’s open to the public, so feel free to forward this information to your respective networks.

I look forward to seeing many of you there and wish everyone a wonderful March Break.

Cheryl

Rachel Simmons @ Elmwood School
Get Real: An Interactive Workshop
Wednesday, April 7
7 – 9 p.m.

Please RSVP to rvsp@elmwood.ca or call (613) 744-7783.

I read in a recent study that open, intimate and validating mother-daughter relationships result in daughters having an elevated self-perception and seeing themselves as successful. On its own, this may seem like a motherhood statement, but the study’s underlying research discovered meaningful correlations between a strong mother-daughter relationship and feelings of competency, self-esteem and success for daughters.

A mother is the first supportive female in a daughter’s life, providing the foundation upon which she grows, achieves and believes.

Speaking of the bond between mother and daughter, one event I know many students and moms are looking forward to is the Mother/Daughter Getaway March 27 – 28 at Château Montebello. Thank you to Leah Acland, Wanda Brascoupe-Peters, Kathryn Tremblay and the rest of the PFAC team for organizing this great event. The itinerary is packed with fun activities including dog sledding, skating and hiking for outdoor enthusiasts; curling, yoga, swimming and the spa for those who prefer indoors. In keeping with the theme of open relationships, I understand the dinner will include a fun, interactive component where both mother and daughter may learn a few surprises about each other. I look forward to hearing the stories from both students and moms upon their return!

Events like the Mother/Daughter Getaway help nurture validating relationships. They create lasting memories and allow mother and daughter to strengthen their mutual bond. Enjoy your special time together—it’s the most valuable gift you can give.

Cheryl

P.S. Thanks as well to Karen Haebe, PFAC and all parents who contributed a dish to last Friday’s staff luncheon. The meal was absolutely delicious! The Elmwood faculty and staff appreciates your generosity and thoughtfulness.

As I watched Olympian Maëlle Ricker receive the first female Canadian gold medal on home soil at Wednesday evening’s medal ceremony, I could not help but admire the athletes on the podium. Here were three confident, inspiring, strong women who have worked tirelessly at their craft, pursuing it with passion, conviction and dedication. As Ms. Ricker stood singing O Canada along with 24,000 spectators, a groundswell of pride swept through me.

My thoughts then turned to the very confident, inspiring and dedicated young women here at Elmwood who recently returned from their Silver Duke of Edinburgh dog sledding expedition. Over the course of four days, a group of Senior School students braved minus 30 temperatures, chopped their own firewood, cooked their own meals, camped in cloth tents and of course, dog sledded through Algonquin Park.

Hearing the girls speak about their experiences reminded me just how valuable the Duke of Edinburgh Program is. A self-directed development program for 14 – 25 year olds which is filled with activities that students can do in their spare time, it requires participants to set and achieve personal goals for themselves in four areas: Community Service, Skills, Physical Recreation and Adventurous Journey. Elmwood students achieve more Gold Awards, the highest standard, than any other school in Ontario—a notable achievement considering our relatively small size.

The Duke of Edinburgh Program allows our students to take on great challenges and supports them in developing confidence, leadership and service to community. Their experiences translate into success in all areas of their lives, be it academic, social, artistic or athletic.

If you are interested in learning more about the Duke of Edinburgh Program offered here at Elmwood, please feel free to contact Ms. Derbyshire, the program coordinator at ederbyshire@elmwood.ca. Or better yet, the next time you’re at school, speak to the girls themselves—I’m sure they would be happy to share their experiences with you.

In the words of our student blogger Juliet, an intrepid “Duke of Ed” participant herself:

Our days were spent running up and down hills all while holding onto the sled, going through forest trails, ducking branches from all angles, and enjoying a serene and peaceful landscape all around us. Around 3 o’clock each day we would get back to our campground to start chopping down trees then sawing them into wood to stock the stoves to keep warm at night. We also cooked our own food, fed the dogs, put hay down to keep them warm, and had the occasional dance party to warm ourselves up…

The trip was a wonderful experience that brought us all out of our comfort zones and showed us what we’re capable of.”

Cheryl

Dear Parents,

Each month I receive a newsletter from MyDaughter, a website that provides expert opinion and advice on raising and educating happy, fulfilled girls. The site is run by the Girls’ Schools Association, whose members represent the leading girls’ schools in the UK.

Sheila Cooper, Executive Director of the Girls’ Schools Association states, “Our daughters have expectations and choices that we never had. They will expect to participate fully in shaping tomorrow’s world. As parents we need to ensure that they are well prepared for their global responsibilities as well as their personal challenges and opportunities.”

In keeping with that spirit I’d like to share some resources from MyDaughter’s latest newsletter with you:

Heads’ Tips on Parent-Teacher evenings
Although our main interviews have already taken place, this article provides some useful questions to ask at your next parent-teacher meeting.

Protecting and supervising your daughter on the internet
Focuses on sharing and talking about your daughters’ online experiences, and encourages parents to know their way around the internet too.

Why haven’t I got a boyfriend?
Help your daughter to appreciate her own quality and to wait for the right person and the right time.

Wishing you a pleasant Family Day long weekend,

Cheryl

I recently read a National Coalition of Girls’ Schools blog post by Sally Reid, who teaches at Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She makes interesting and salient points about girls and mathematics.

As I read the post, I noticed some parallels between Ms. Reid’s school and Elmwood. She sees first-hand the advantages of a single-sex learning environment for her students, especially in math. Ms. Reid states at her school, “The best math student is a girl, the most outspoken math student is a girl, and all the kids in the Calculus class are girls.” This is also the case at Elmwood.

The research is clear; single-sex learning environments significantly contribute to increased confidence and success for girls. We see it every day at Elmwood where 75% of our Grade 12 class is currently studying Calculus. Year on year, more than 50% of our graduates go on to study math, science and engineering at university. This is statistically significant considering that although women now account for a significant majority of undergraduate students at Canadian universities, female enrollment in engineering, math and science faculties has never exceeded 20%. Research also shows that women who pursue non-traditional careers earn 150% more in their lifetimes.

This confidence and success is not relegated to our graduates; Elmwood Junior School students have achieved outstanding results on the CAT 3 test for the third year in a row. This is a national standardized test that enables Elmwood to compare the academic performance of its students with that of boys and girls in the same grade throughout Canada.

In November, our Grade 3 and Grade 5 classes sat the CAT 3 test. The girls wrote the test “cold”—they were not coached or prepared because doing so could distort the outcome. The results of the CAT 3 test are impressive. On average, students in Grade 3 and Grade 5 performed a full 18 months above grade level in Reading, Language and Mathematics.

As Sally Reid quite rightly says, confidence in math and success are directly proportional. Girls need to be in an environment surrounded by confident, competent role models. The bottom line: If she has a strong foundation and believes in herself, she’ll have what it takes to succeed in mathematics and she will reach her full potential.

Cheryl

P.S. I’m looking forward to seeing some great dance routines at this weekend’s Father-Daughter Dinner and Dance!