A coeducational, international day/boarding school in Ontario, Canada
May 2021 Newsletter
A MESSAGE FROM
Head of School, Mr. Scott Murray
Hello Fulford families,
I’m just going to come out and say it…the month of April was tough. I want to give a massive shout-out to all of the students, staff, and families for the support, patience, and understanding this past month. An extra special thank you to all of our online students who really ramped up the positivity and participation this past month to help support all of us that have had to reenter the stay-at-home zone. Your energy really kept a lot of us going. I’m incredibly grateful and proud of each and every one of you.
We are getting close folks, we are now under two months from the end of the school year, and though it may feel like that’s a million miles away at this point, it’s going to get here in a hurry. I look at the calendar and am shocked to see that April is over and that, as the great N*Sync once said “It’s gonna be May” (if you are too young or too old to understand that reference I apologize. Go to YouTube and look it up). May is generally my favorite time of the year. The trees have leaves again, the days are warmer, and I can leave the windows open at night to sleep. Personally, I also get to look forward to the opening of fishing season (yes we will get out fishing kids as soon as it’s legal to do so, I promise), the golf courses drying out (see previous promise), Star Wars day (May the 4th be with you!), and the last long weekend of the school year on Victoria Day (though I think its probably time to change the name on that one), colloquially known as the May TWO-FOUR weekend. This long weekend usually signifies the unofficial start of “summer” and cottage season. For our students, it also means that we are in the home stretch, less than a month to go. Get your assignments and projects in and be ready for final assignments and exams. For our graduating students it means…3 more weeks of high school. As exciting and terrifying as that is. May is an exciting month, and fingers crossed it will also be a positive one.
I know we are all tired and ready for the pandemic to be over. This is the time to reach out to one another and remember, that we are all in this together. Lean on each other, support each other, be there for each other. You are building and developing friendships and relationships that are going to last for the rest of your lives. We used to say to our students, make the most of these last two months because you may never see each other again. Let’s be honest, if we have nothing else positive to say about 2021 so far, that statement is blatantly not true. You WILL see, chat, stay in touch with your friends as often as you want. The world is getting smaller every day. We WILL stay in touch, we WILL see each other again in some way. Just enjoy yourselves over the next few months as much as you can and don’t worry about losing touch. We have the technology.
Please, all, stay safe, stay positive, stay connected.
A RECAP FROM
Dean of Students, Mr. Devin Payne
Once again I find myself writing about another lockdown which has restricted the free time and freedom of the students. Unfortunately this year has continued to be a difficult one for our students as restrictions have really limited their experiences in their weekend activities. I must say I am still truly impressed with the positive energy displayed by our students even though they have had to work through a very difficult year. As we move toward the final stretch of the school year, I encourage all students to keep pushing toward the end of the tunnel. We are almost there! Keep up the hard work and the great attitude! One positive I have experienced this past month is connecting with some of our wonderful Alumni who are currently going through similar struggles around the world with their online post-secondary studies. I am always inspired to connect with our former students and see how much their lives have changed since their time at Fulford!
ADMISSIONS UPDATE
2021 Summer Programs
Hello Fulford Families,
With summer quickly approaching maybe you have considered what this summer will look like for your family. As a friendly reminder, there are options for your child at Fulford Academy this summer. This includes our 7-week summer program will be offered both on-campus and online to students in Grades 6-12. This is a great opportunity for students to continue to develop English proficiency and successful completion of the program can result in earning an ESL credit towards the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Also available this summer is Fulford Academy’s online 7 week credit program which allows high school students the opportunity to earn as many as two credits towards their OSSD. Credit courses offered are subject to enrolment so if you’re interested in some additional credit this summer, or perhaps you need to make-up a class, please do not hesitate to connect with our Admissions team!
Soon the Admissions team will be reaching out to all of our families with the 2021-2022 enrolment package. This will provide you with details about the upcoming school year, including our 2021-2022 calendar and enrolment forms that need to be reviewed, signed, and returned to admissions@fulfordacademy.com.
For families who are already looking to secure flight arrangements to Canada for our summer program, or Fall program, Fulford Academy is pleased to share that our families can receive a 15% discount on Air Canada flights. This discount is available for current Fulford Academy students for flights up to September 30th 2021, but the ticket must be purchased by June 30th 2021. If you are interested in taking advantage of the Air Canada discount, please contact our admissions team and we will be happy to provide you with the promo code.
Have a great May everyone!
ONLINE
Summer Program Options
Hello Fulford Online Families,
This has been a busy time of year for our online learning community as the Admissions Team has been actively reaching out to families about re-enrolment for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year. For any families who have not yet re-enrolled, be sure to connect with our Admissions team: admissions@fulfordacademy.com. For online students entering our Grades 11 or 12 program in the Fall, be sure to connect with our Online Academic Coordinator about course selection! Once your course selection is confirmed, we will reach out to you to complete your registration.
If you have ever considered an on-campus program at Fulford Academy please do not hesitate to connect with us. On-campus programs are available at Fulford Academy this summer and we hope to welcome many of our online students to campus this Fall! We encourage you to visit our school website to find out more information, or email us directly and we will be happy to chat.
Wishing everyone a fabulous May!
GUIDANCE UPDATE
Celebrating our Graduating Class!
It is an exciting time for our graduating class, as they have been receiving offers from schools all across Canada, United States, as well as overseas. To date our graduating class has received a total of 50 offers from 25 different schools in Canada, United States, and Dubai, with current scholarship offerings totalling $122,500.
Additionally seven of our graduating students have formally accepted offers and will be heading off to University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University, University of Toronto, MacEwan University, Carleton University, Bishop’s University, Canadian University of Dubai, and Algonquin College in the fall.
June 1st marks the deadline for university acceptances as senior students will need to confirm or decline their offers for Fall 2021.
STEM+A
A Unique UNESCO Opportunity
With the United Nations declaring April 21 as World Creativity and Innovation Day, Fulford Academy’s students participated in a week-long STEM+A project to honour this occasion. As a UNESCO school, Fulford is committed to the organization’s Sustainable Development Goals. In this spirit, students used video conferencing tools to design plans and diagrams for sustainable indoor gardens – these gardens would assist families struggling with food insecurity, and are built from recycled materials. The event was organized by math/science teacher Mrs. Kristen Murray, who also presided over the student groups’ presentations to the entire school – they came up with some truly innovative and creative designs!
RESIDENTIAL/STUDENT LIFE
Looking Forward to Spring!
As another month passes the residential department is looking forward to the warmer weather that spring will provide. We are in the process of planning an “Outdoor Movie Night”, and will be setting up a projector and speakers for everyone to enjoy.
We are currently changing our morning routine in hopes to get students ready for classes. Students will now travel to the school for weekday breakfasts and dinners. Our goal is to ensure that all students are receiving the proper nutrition. On top of the nutritional needs of our students, we are looking forward to seeing more physical activity and outdoor time weekly at the school. We are now encouraging students to become more active during these hard times, and we hope that the fresh air will lift their spirits.
Our residential team will continue to offer walks and hikes in our local area. We will also continue offering internal clubs and activities to promote more social interaction within the dormitory.
The residential department would like to wish all of our departing student’s good fortune and safe travel home. Whether they are moving forward with post-secondary opportunities or choosing to return home we wish everyone the best.
Overall our ultimate goal has not changed, the residential department will continue to support all of our student’s needs. We would like to once again thank all the families who have trusted us with taking care of your children.
Stay safe
The Residential Team
Student Leadership
Activites in action
Math Contests:
In April several students competed in math contests hosted by the University of Waterloo Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing. Myron and David competed in the Euclid contest. This contest is for graduating students and is part of the criteria used for entrance scholarships to The University of Waterloo undergraduate programs. Delaram, Lizzy, Hadi and Alan competed in the Fryer contest, which was held the week following the Euclid. The students are eagerly awaiting the results. Looking forward to May, our grade 7 and 8 students will have the opportunity to show off their math skills as they compete in the Gauss Math Contest, also hosted by the University of Waterloo. Good luck and congratulations to all our participants.
Youth Climate Action Summit:
Coming up in May, three of our senior students, Salma, Mone and Rachel, will join Ms. Shannon Shackles and participate virtually in the Youth Climate Action Summit organized by the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network. In this 2 day summit, the students will collaborate with other students from different schools to discuss issues related to climate change and how they can become leaders in their schools and communities in the fight against the effects of climate change. We look forward to hearing what they learn and how we can contribute positively to fighting climate change in our community.
UNESCO:
On May 21 we will be celebrating World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. We will be collaborating with Beşiktaş Sakıp Sabancı Anatolian High School, from Turkey, and Mr Nishida’s students from the Organization for Career Education & Support in Japan to share different aspects of the multitude of cultures represented at our schools. It will be an opportunity to celebrate our diversity and how passionate we each are about our cultural heritage.