Shooting Hoops & Strengthening Friendships

Building strong cross-grade relationships is key to a healthy school environment. Our inaugural Boys’ Group Basketball Bonanza was designed to do just that.

Held on Friday, March 8, this event brought together our Grade 7 and Grade 11 Boys’ Groups for an intramural basketball tournament. Greenwood’s Boys’ Groups, as well as our Girls’ Groups, give students a structured, yet open, forum to discuss issues affecting their gender. Grade 7 students played in the tournament while Grade 11 students acted as coaches and referees.

“This was a friendly tournament, with the emphasis on grade collaboration, rather than results,” said Grade 11 Boys’ Group facilitator, Connor McFarlane. “We’re all in this together.”

After dividing into four teams, Grade 7 students joined up with their Grade 11 coaches, who led them through the tournament. The Grade 11s organized players, ran the benches and gave their squad a pep talk before each game. Whenever a Grade 7 student made a basket, executed a great pass or blocked a shot, it was often the Grade 11s who were the most excited.

“More Grade 11s than Grade 7s came out today, which is great to see,” said Connor. And that’s saying something - the tournament was very popular with players.

It was wonderful watching bonds form and strengthen between older and younger students. The Grade 11s stepped seamlessly into a leadership and mentorship role, and their Grade 7 players clearly enjoyed getting to know their older peers.

Connor’s hope is that this collaboration is the first of many. “It’s a great way to create more cohesion between groups,” he says.
 
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Greenwood College School

443 Mount Pleasant Road
Toronto, ON M4S 2L8
Tel: 416 482 9811
We acknowledge with gratitude the Ancestral lands upon which our main campus is situated. These lands are the Ancestral territories of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Anishinabek and the Wendake. The shared responsibility of this land is honoured in the Dish with One Spoon Treaty and as settlers, we strive to care for the land, the waters, and all creatures in the spirit of peace. We are responsible for respecting and supporting the enduring presence of all First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. When away from this campus we vow to be respectful to the land by protecting and honouring it. We will create relationships with the people and the land we may visit by understanding the territories we enter and the nations who inhabit them.
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