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.

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.

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

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

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!

The travelling exhibit explores Canada’s role in the world through the lens of a 25-year collaboration between Canada and the Aga Khan Development Network.

Two words sum up the exhibition and accompanying address by Aga Khan Foundation CEO, Khalil Z. Shariff:

Truly inspiring.

According to the Aga Khan Foundation, Bridges that Unite challenges visitors to confront typical assumptions about what international development is and what it can achieve.

Mr. Shariff talked about how small community organizations have been catalysts for social change. He encouraged us to consider and rethink notions of international development. To become solutions to global problems, starting at a grassroots level.

In his address, Mr. Shariff described Bridges that Unite as an opportunity for people to come together as communities, to debate and discuss and explore and collaborate:

Together, these are the ingredients for a rejuvenated leadership for Canada in the world, one that we can all be proud of and I’m hoping that the last 25 years, that past is only prologue and that our children’s children will look back at our generation and say, “That was a Canada that led—that was a Canada that took its ideas and ideals and changed the world.”

What Mr. Shariff speaks of dovetails with the outcomes of an Elmwood education: inquiring lifelong learners, engaged global citizens and confident caring leaders. To these ends, our Grade 8 Humanities classes will visit Bridges that Unite on Friday, January 29 and will engage in dialogue on global issues and quality of life around the world.

If you are looking for a thought-provoking, interactive and inspiring experience, I encourage you to visit the exhibition as well. It’s on display from January 28 – February 28 at the Canada and Science Technology Museum here in Ottawa.

As you are aware, one of the aims of Elmwood School is to create compassionate, engaged global citizens. I saw an example of this earlier this week when the whole school came together to raise money for the Haiti Relief effort. As a member school of the Conference of Independent Schools, we collaborated with 11 other schools across Ontario to contribute to this worthy cause. I am proud to tell you that our community raised a total of $2300 which, when combined with the efforts of the other schools, meant that a total of $23,000 was raised.

This money will go to the ShelterBox initiative. Each ShelterBox is an actual box filled with emergency supplies. It contains a 10 person tent, thermal blankets, a camp stove, water containers, water purification tablets, cooking utensils and basic tools. It can house a family of ten for up to a year.

While I’m proud that our girls helped do their part, there is still so much that needs to be done. If you want to learn more about ShelterBox and make a donation to the cause, please visit their website.

Margaret Mead said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Cheryl

CFRA radio can be found at 580 on your AM dial.

Regards,
Cheryl

I shared with the Middle and Senior School students in Assembly this week a video that someone had passed on to me. I thought you might find it interesting as well.

It’s a video of Carla Harris, a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. She is addressing members of 85 Broads, a global women’s network, at a breakfast. 85 Broads was originally founded in 1997 as an exclusive network for women who worked for Goldman Sachs at 85 Broad Street, the investment bank’s NYC headquarters. It now includes over 20,000 women from a variety of fields and backgrounds.

In the video, Carla Harris shares one of her key learning experiences from early in her career. She speaks about the power of language and how what we say about ourselves affects how others see us.

After watching the video I challenged the girls to think about the three adjectives they would like people to use to describe them when they are not in the room. I specified when they are not in the room because all the important decisions about their careers will be made about them at those times. Compensation levels, promotion opportunities and new assignments are all determined without them present.

Of course the words one uses to describe one’s self must be authentic. If they are, I believe they can be tremendously powerful. I encouraged the girls to start using the three words they have chosen to describe themselves right away.

I think we must never stop telling girls that they have the power to make a make a difference in their own lives. As the Native American proverb says, “You already possess everything necessary to become great.” At dinner tonight, or on a car trip this weekend, I encourage you to start a conversation with your daughter, and help her discover what it is that makes her great.

Cheryl

This year brings with it a new decade, yet my thoughts harken back to the 1980’s and a high school writing assignment entitled, “The World in 2010.” Somehow, my prediction of flying cars did not materialize. My surmise that neon would fall out of fashion however, was correct.

Fast forward to today—I recently discussed a Grade 9 and 10 Civics assignment with Ms. Grass, our Humanities Instructional Leader. Elmwood students reflected on the last decade and what they personally face over the next ten years. Topics included 9/11, natural disasters like the 2004 tsunami, and the advent of social media such as Facebook and YouTube. From their personal standpoints, the next ten years focused on the transition from high school to university and young adulthood, eliciting both feelings of hope and anxiety.

What became apparent is the world’s heightened pace of change is the norm for our students. They live, see and expect change. However, their personal feelings towards the next ten years reveals the human condition remains constant.

The education your daughters receive at Elmwood provides them with the foundation to not only navigate the perpetual sea change, but to lead it confidently, compassionately and responsibly. I see that every day in their manner, their work and their achievement; they are aware of themselves and their broader community.

I hope you enjoyed your recent holiday—while mine was certainly restful, I’m ecstatic to see everyone again.

Wishing you a prosperous and Happy New Year,

Cheryl