Welcome to 2021!

Students enjoyed fun activities during the first week back from the Winter Break. Special community-building initiatives were incorporated into their virtual learning schedule to help everyone reconnect with each other and start 2021 on a positive note.

Greenwood House Captains also revealed the current House standings. See photo below!

Check out below what our Grade Reps loved about the first week back.

Grade 7 Reps Reflection
Written by Coco Aylward and Carter Goldblatt

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first week back from Winter Break was fully online. Even though this was not preferred, we finally got to see our fellow classmates without their masks on. Almost every day of the week we participated in different OE activities including Kahoots, trivia games and more! The teachers were amazing at keeping us engaged throughout the whole week despite the many distractions at home. The week was overall very stress-free and flowed really well. Greenwood did a great job at adapting to a challenging situation.

Grade 8 Reps Reflection
Written by Mel Edgell and Kylie Armstrong

It has been awesome integrating fun OE activities into each day because it gives our minds a break. Learning more about well-being allowed us to understand ourselves better and doing fun OE related activities gave us so many flashbacks that made us feel as if we were at OE! Our teachers were so supportive in ensuring that we were stress-free and in a positive learning environment. Greenwood is so amazing at keeping everyone entertained and engaged in online class work and discussions.

Grade 9 Reps Reflection
Written by Katie Britt and Evan Edgell

Online school can be a challenge for everyone but Greenwood makes it work! There were plenty of activities that allowed for a gradual transition back to school and into the evaluation period. From winter OE themed activities to an Arts Afternoon on Friday, it was a good time and a great chance to hang out with our peers. Additionally, our teachers kept it light on the homework to let us ease our way back into the rhythm of virtual learning. No matter how long we are stuck at home, we’re confident Greenwood will manage online learning well!

Grade 10 Reps Reflection
Written by Gil Carter and Ellie Deegan

The first week back from Winter Break was completely online. Each grade was given fun activities in order to make online learning social and engaging, even though we are not in the building. We all enjoyed doing an escape room with different kids in our grade. This allowed our grade to communicate and have fun even if we can’t see each other in person. We also had House meetings which were fun because we had the chance to get to know students in different grades. One of our favorite activities that we did was a ‘gratitude talk’ because our class had a lot of interesting and important discussions. Overall, the first week back has been great because of all the opportunities we had to socialize virtually. 

Grade 11 Reps Reflection
Written by Zoe Caldwell

Leading up to the days returning to school from Winter Break, there were some mixed feelings about how it would be. Obviously we would prefer to be at school in the building or at Winter OE. However, much to our surprise, we had a week of organized activities throughout each day. These activities varied from leadership meetings, listening to slam poetry with Britta B. and making origami plants with Grade 12 leaders. All these activities were very engaging and although we were not together in person, with having cameras on it almost felt like we were back at school a year ago. One of our favourite activities we did were the House meetings. The House buddy groups have really been a great way of integrating many grades in small groups and getting to know new people. The Grade 12s are doing a great job at making this school year as normal as possible. 

Grade 12 Reps Reflection

Written by Stewie Bain, Liv Arbess, Sam Ketcheson, Lexi Grossman and Audrey Korngold

Liv Arbess
During our first week back from Winter Break, Greenwood staff organized a variety of activities to set the tone for our time online and away from the building. The community-building activities were a lot of fun and truly gave me Greenwood’s warm, inclusive and fun environment even in an online setting. I definitely enjoyed seeing people unmasked during the activities such as the Grade 12 leadership activity on Tuesday, the House meets and especially Arts Afternoon. Our visit from spoken word poet, Britta B, was a massive success and definitely started dialogue in our community. I heard amazing feedback from a lot of the Grade 12s which definitely showed that the engagement was high that week. The community activities were a great way to kick off the New Year. Even with the setback of being online, the school found a way to bring people together. 

Stewie Bain

Starting school again in an online environment is always a difficult thing to get used to but having a wide array of activities and initiatives gave me a sense of normalcy. Being able to partake in activities like House meetings and buddy groups was amazing. Seeing my House buddy group rush to complete our ‘goat puzzle’ was a fun experience and of course seeing Nahanni come out on top was great. Watching everyone get so involved with our visit from Britta B was awesome! She brought new perspectives and challenged us to be creative. Being a part of a community that is still able to unify from across the screen, really shows the strength and ability that Greenwood has. I am looking forward to seeing what other initiatives and activities are planned in the coming weeks even if they are online.

Audrey Korngold
After a long break from school, it is often a struggle to get back into the rhythm of things in terms of classes, assignments, and thinking about final evals. The activities laid out each day were both refreshing and provided an ease back into the school environment. While it is favourable to be in the physical school environment, when the whole grade is online it takes away the cohort structure we have become accustomed to and allows us to feel as though our grade is whole again. I felt this through the Grade 12 leadership activity in a very impactful and comforting way. In addition to this, with the world moving around us and constantly giving us bad news, it was very uplifting to have such a special guest, Britta B, come and showcase her talents and her positive outlook on life. These activities were a step in the right direction towards learning to embrace virtual learning and collaboration and I very much look forward to future activities like these. 

Lexi Grossman

Our Winter Break this year felt longer than it normally does. Usually people go away, see friends or have awesome New Year’s plans. While we didn’t have those experiences this year, we all still looked forward to banding back together during the first week of online school to rejoice as a community. We are all very fortunate to be able to have the opportunities we do: going to a fantastic school with amazing and supportive teachers who are there for us every step of the way. After being online for the majority of our Grade 11 year, we are no stranger to being confined to our homes to learn remotely. Coming back with everyone online felt a bit upsetting at first but we know that the Greenwood community is strong and unbreakable. Without our Winter OE experiences, there were many opportunities to spice up our first week back to promote community and inter-grade bonding. We were fortunate enough to have Britta B share her experiences and stories with us through her artistic medium. A variety of students participated in meaningful discussion surrounding her thoughts. We were also given an allotted time to band together with our House buddy groups so we could reconnect with each other and tackle a challenge for House points. Our first week back was a positive experience and we will come back stronger than ever to face whatever is thrown at us as a Greenwood community. 

Sam Ketcheson
With Winter Break ending and an uncertain timeline ahead, the addition of new community activities made it easier for students to get more involved in the school environment again. If we had introduced fewer or no community activities, students likely would have felt as though they were simply logging in and out of classes with no school community feel. By introducing daily community activities, it gave students a community feel to add to their day-to-day lives and kept the Greenwood community strong. The removal of in-person attendance also allowed for one small benefit: the removal of cohorts. The way grades were split up almost made some students feel that they were missing out on many of their friends and activities. It made the grade feel disconnected. By having all online courses, it allowed for the removal of cohorts and brought back a full-grade feeling that most students craved especially in our final year of high school. Through these uncertain times, it is essential to continue running full-grade and full-school activities to keep spirits up as much as possible. 
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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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