Beyond theClassroom.
With opportunities to get involved in clubs, trips, and volunteering in the community, learning doesn’t stop at the classroom doors.
Experiential education is integral to SCS. It may be as close as an SCS classroom, or as far away as a volunteer opportunity halfway around the world. At SCS, the opportunities to learn through experience are as varied as our girls.
The Experiential Education Circle
Our experiential education philosophy follows a circular path:
Preparation
The setting of goals, identification of desired outcomes from the experience.
InteractionÂ
Decision making; exploration of community differences and similarities; resilience.
Reflection
Achieving learning outcomes, in a measurable and meaningful way; reciprocity for both communities.
ReintegrationÂ
Reintegration of learning back into the SCS community; empowering the SCS culture.
The SCS Approachto Experiential Learning
This approach means that:
- Our girls interact with a network of 100 independent schools across the world through Round Square, participating in conferences and service partnerships.
All Grade 7, 8 and 9 students participate in full Middle School experiential education retreats, to develop leadership and team building skills. - In addition to our Grade 3 to 6 students being involved in offsite experiential education opportunities such as a week at Black Creek Pioneer Village, Camp Wanakita and Norval, our entire Junior School is very involved with our local community through visits to local seniorsâ residences and choral performances at local churches.
- Experiential education is integrated into the curriculum. Native Studies students, for example, travel to Moose Factory for firsthand interaction with the Moose Cree First Nation community. Students have also completed a Geography credit in Iceland, a science credit in South Africa, and learned about Art History in Italy.
- Our girls demonstrate a commitment to the completion of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. SCS graduates the most Gold Awards in Canada.
Students of all ages, faculty, and staff have the opportunity to engage with partner organizations in our local community
The SCS Mission
Our approach to experiential education is another way we live our mission.
- The passion to learn about – and from – other people and places is ignited.
- The courage to challenge personal boundaries and step outside comfort zones is strengthened.
- The curiosity to explore new places, ideas, and activities is inspired.
- Our experiential education program includes volunteering at local organizations and schools; travelling to Moose Factory in Northern Ontario to further our partnership with the Moose Cree First Nation; international exchanges; outdoor adventure and cultural trips; credit courses abroad; and meeting and working with people in other countries and on different continents as part of Round Square service trips and conferences. It also includes discussions with alumnae who return to SCS to share their experiences; guest speakers in the classroom; our annual Career Day; and co-operative education positions.
- Community involvement, work projects, exchange programs, leadership and adventure excursions take our girls around the world.
Round Square
Round Square is an association of schools on five continents. This network shares and follows six pillars, or IDEALS, of learning: Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership, and Service.
Round Square aims to help students prepare for life by having them face it head-on and experience it in ways that demand courage, generosity, imagination, principle and resolution.
The Round Square philosophy aligns seamlessly with St. Clementâs Schoolâs mission. Round Square membership allows our girls to uncover the passion to learn about people and places, the courage to challenge personal boundaries, and the curiosity to explore.
As the first girlsâ school in North America to be accepted as a full global member of Round Square, we have access to a worldwide network. Membership allows us to regularly arrange local and international student and teacher exchanges, as well as community service projects. Our girls have travelled across the globe with Round Square, including international service trips to Kenya, India, Nicaragua and Cambodia, and participation in regional and international conferences, such as the African International Round Square Conference in South Africa.
Through participation in Round Square experiences, our students gain insight and perspective, and develop enthusiasm for further understanding of world issues.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, founded by Prince Philip, aims to equip young people with life skills to make a difference to themselves and their communities by encouraging personal discover, growth, self-reliance, and perserverance.
Through the internationally recognized Awardâs three levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold) students in Grades 9-12 have the opportunity to develop in four areas:
- Service: intended to advance a sense of community and social responsibility
- Adventurous Journey: aims to cultivate a spirit of adventure and discovery, and an understanding of the environment
- Skills: develops cultural, vocational and practical skills
- Physical Recreation: encourages improved performance and fitness
The Residential Project (an additional requirement at the Gold level) aims to broaden horizons through a worthwhile residential experience.
Foreign Exchanges
Exchanges offer our girls the opportunity to become immersed in a different country, culture or language. Ranging from one week to four weeks, they are open to students in Grades 7-12.
St. Clementâs School students host during Term 1, and are guests during Term 2.
Our girls benefit in many ways from exchange experiences, including:
- Demonstrating the courage to travel to, and live in, an unfamiliar place
- Serving as ambassadors for their country and community
- Assuming leadership roles shaped by lessons from the experience
- Returning home with a greater sense of the world and a deeper understanding of themselves and their culture
- Making lifelong friends, not only within the host country but also with other students from around the world
- Sharing their learnings with the wider SCS community
Mentorship & Tutoring
Horizons
Students in Grades 9-12 have the opportunity to provide mentorship and tutoring to younger students at a JK – Grade 5 school in Toronto. The community is characterized by a richness of cultural backgrounds and languages, with more than 25 different countries of birth and languages represented.
Through the school year, SCS students go to the school once a week for collaborative games and activities, followed by one-on-one tutoring. Our girls act as mentors and role models to the younger students, while at the same time broadening their understanding of a diverse community and developing their own leadership skills. New friendships can last a long time.
LINCWell
LINCWell is a full school approach, designed to craft a school experience for each of our girls that is characterized by Learning, Individualization, Nurturing, Creativity, and Wellness.
Academics
Our commitment to excellence in learning means being in tune with the world around us, and always looking ahead.