Celebrating the 2024-2025 School Year

There was plenty of activity happening both onsite and off-site to mark the end of Greenwood’s 2024-2025 school year. 

During the final evaluations period, Grade 7s had three teambuilding sessions with Everblast Play. The students worked together to overcome various fun challenges and develop stronger bonds. To celebrate the end of the school year, the Grade 7s also took a field trip to SkyZone - an annual tradition here at Greenwood.

On Tuesday, June 10, the Grade 8s were celebrated during our annual Celebr8 event. Families were invited to attend as the students reflected on their past two years and looked ahead to the next step of their adventure: high school. This year, the students also created artwork that was on display during Celebr8. The Grade 8s worked with South African-Canadian artist Anji Woodley to create the Two Word project, a mixed medium artwork. Each student chose one word to describe their Grade 7 and 8 years and one word to represent their feelings about high school. They then created an art piece for each word.

On Wednesday, June 11, the Grade 11 students had their Leadership Day retreat at the Toronto Islands. This annual event helps the Grade 11s prepare plans as they take on leadership roles at Greenwood the next school year. In the evening, we hosted a Grad Reception for the Class of 2025 at Greenwood. 

On Thursday, June 12, we recognized students who won the Arts Award, Athletic awards, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Bronze Level recipients, Leader by Example award, Service Learning Award and Spirit of Adventure Award. See a full list of award recipients here.

Finally, our annual Celebration Day was held at the Elgin Theatre on Friday, June 13. To start the program, the school choir performed “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield accompanied by Victoria Biancaniello ‘26 on the piano. During the Celebration Day event, we honoured the recipients of the Student Growth Award, the Roundtable Award, the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards as well as the Character Awards (Civic, Intellectual, Performance and Moral). Graduating students Kalina Mehta ‘25 and Samuel Parsons ‘25 shared their Greenwood stories, reflecting on how their time here helped shape their growth and connections. 

The outgoing Heads of Student Leadership, Kylie Armstrong ‘25 and Charlie Waghmare ‘25, presented their final address to the crowd and presented the Heads of Student Leadership ties to incoming Headship, Alice Celik ‘26 and Mason Kohler ‘26, who surprised Kylie and Charlie with bouquets. The Senior Guitar Club performed a cover of “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac. Celebration Day concluded with a dramatic House reveal that Onyx won the Greenwood House Cup.

In the afternoon, the graduating Class of 2025 donned their caps and gowns for their Graduation Ceremony. To start off the ceremony, Coco Muradali ‘25 and Alex Viola ‘25 presented their personalized Land Acknowledgement followed by Ms. Thomas’s congratulatory address to the Class of 2025. Zac Raheel ‘25 presented a thank-you to Greenwood staff for helping to make his and his peers’ Greenwood experiences memorable. During the ceremony, the Grad Affairs executives Alexa Fiorelli ‘25, Phoebe Gregson ‘25 and Ben Stotland ‘25 announced the Leaving Class Gift in support of their class fund to help support Student Financial Assistance. This fund will give future students the opportunity to attend Greenwood and have the same amazing experience they had. The Graduation Ceremony concluded with Nathan Warrillow ‘25 delivering his valedictorian speech.

Thank you to all who joined us for Celebration Day and the Class of 2025 Graduation Ceremony. Details regarding how to view the event photos and video is available in the latest email issue of Life @ Greenwood.

Recipients of the Student Growth Awards demonstrated tremendous growth academically and/or in school life. This year’s recipients of the Student Growth Awards are:

The recipient of the Civic Character Award contributed greatly to the common good and exemplified this pillar of character. This year’s recipients are Kalina Mehta ‘25, Danielle Tylman ‘25 and Andrew Wilkins ‘25 for their work behind-the-scenes on numerous arts and music events as well as their desire to go above and beyond on several projects.

Students who’ve achieved the Gold level for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards were recognized at Celebration Day. Mel Edgell ‘25, Lucy Lapowich ‘25 and Nicole M. ‘25 were presented with their gold level pin.

The Roundtable is Greenwood’s parent/guardian association. Each year, we present this recognition award to our parent/guardian volunteers who made a significant impact to the Roundtable. This year, we recognized Liz Easton, Jennifer Peel and Lin Smyth.

This character award recognizes students who embody a passion for learning and possess open-mindedness and curiosity. This year’s recipients are:

This character award recognizes a student who shows resilience, diligence and initiative in the pursuit of a goal. This year’s recipients of this award are the members of the OFSAA Gold-Winning Senior Girls Swim Team: Mel Edgell ‘25, Davis O’Connor ‘25, Ainsley Parker ‘25 and Nikita Wood ‘25.

This character award was created by the first graduating class of Greenwood. This award celebrates the moral character of an individual in the graduating class. This year, the recipient of this award is Alec Farah ‘25.  

This award recognizes a student from the graduating class who demonstrates superior academic performance, original and creative thought, and exceptional achievement in a broad context. This year’s recipient is Lucy Lapowich ‘25. 

This award is presented to a graduating student who achieved the highest academic average in both Grade 11 and 12 at their respective high school. This year’s recipient is Lucy Lapowich ‘25. 

This award is named after Greenwood’s first director of Outdoor Education, Rex Taylor and recognizes a Grade 12 student who shows exceptional leadership and contributed significantly to the Outdoor Education program. This year’s recipient is Mel Edgell ‘25.

The Greenwood Grizzly Award recognizes a graduating student who strives for excellence, encourages others and demonstrates engagement and leadership across all school pursuits. This year’s recipient is Claudia Schmid ‘25.

Photos from the events listed here are available on Pixevety.