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How Meadowridge Does Community

At Meadowridge School, community is something we build together every day. It starts the moment new students walk through the door. Instead of just throwing them into the mix, we organize events, sort them into houses, and find ways to connect everyone, no matter their grade or background.

Connections are made and sustained year-round, from cultural celebrations and spirit days to school dances and buddy programs. Teachers and staff keep it going, too. They get to know students outside the classroom through sports teams, school trips, clubs, and service. Even our families get involved, attending school events, supporting school initiatives, and hosting celebrations. And behind it all, our school leaders make sure everyone has a voice and a place. We pride ourselves on being a school where every student is noticed and known. At Meadowridge School, community is not accidental, but it’s also not complicated: from daily interactions and events to celebrations, we each find a place of belonging.

Ms. Bereza on Community

The word community comes up regularly when speaking about Meadowridge. Students say this is their second home, a place where they feel safe and supported, free to be themselves, a place to belong. The need to belong is a fundamental human desire. I am sure that we can all remember a time when we were in a situation where we didn’t feel like we belonged, where we might have felt like an outsider. Conversely, the times when we have felt a part of a community, a piece of something bigger than ourselves, are the times that bring back wonderful memories.

I was hired at Meadowridge in 2005, and I clearly remember my first day of school with the students. I arrived to see the principals outside saying good morning and shaking the hand of every single student. This had such an impression on me. Every person in the community was valued, regardless of whether they were a Junior Kindergarten student or the Head of School. This practice continued until we had to cancel it due to COVID; however, the importance of having it return never left my mind.

This year we are so excited to have brought back our individual greetings of each student.

You will see members of the leadership team outside, rain or shine, greeting the students as they arrive. This individual moment with each student, sends a clear message of their importance and value to our community. Students greet us with handshakes, high fives, fist pumps, or a simple look in the eyes and a hello. They choose what they are comfortable with, but the outcome is the same. These hellos lead to relationships, which lead to the strong and valuable community that we all value.

Deputy Head of School

Buddy Programs: Connecting across the continuum

Happening during the Community Block, the Middle School Buddies Program pairs up Middle School and Elementary School advisories. Every student from each class is designated a buddy who they will meet with throughout the year. Through a range of activities like crafts and reading to playing outside, the students build a strong connection. For Middle School students, mentorship and care are nurtured. For our Elementary School students, a sense of belonging and safety.

Every one of our Grade 12 and Kindergarten students participate in the long-standing Kinderbuddy Program. Each year, a Grade 12 and a Kindergarten student are matched up and spend the year getting to know each other through events, meet-ups, and meaningful activities. Kindergarten students get to watch as their Grade 12 buddy crosses the stage at the end of year, and sometimes, their own Grade 12 buddy comes back to Meadowridge to watch them graduate 13 years later.

COMMUNITY BLOCKS: DEDICATED TIME TO CONNECT

Each week, the High School Community Block brings students together to connect and catch up. This dedicated time varies in format—some weeks its assemblies, others advisory or study sessions. When assemblies are held, different advisory groups take turns leading, hosting, and planning, promoting leadership and engagement for all students.

Each week, the Middle School Community Block hosts an assembly, a social, a buddy meet-up, or an advisory. Members of the Junior Council host assemblies, which build community by celebrating student successes and showcasing happenings around the school. The council also hosts socials, which bring students together in a shared game or activity.

The Elementary School Community Block hosts assemblies, buddy meet-ups, house activities, and time for service in action. Happening weekly, the block brings together students across the Elementary School to work together, make connections, and strengthen each student’s sense of community. More than that, it also lets Elementary Teachers form relationships with students outside of their class.

INTEGRATED INTO THE CURRICULUM

Once a week, advisory in the Middle School is dedicated to a new program called Every Monday Matters. The national curriculum develops students’ social-emotional skills, which helps students treat themselves and others well. The program kicked off with a lesson in giving compliments. Students practiced in class, then ventured out into the school to compliment a staff member.

The Middle School Explorations Program is an example of community-building on campus and beyond. Students across the Middle School engage in meaningful service that benefits the local food bank.

One of the core pillars of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) is the Learning Community, a principle woven throughout the Elementary School experience. This pillar emphasizes the rich, shared learning that happens with and from others. Whether on field trips with experts, during family activities, or in class with guest speakers, students are intentionally provided opportunities to learn alongside others.

Mr. Donaldson on Community

Mr. Donaldson on Community Meadowridge is proud of our focus on community with students, faculty, staff and families all playing a critical role. Our community is not just individuals learning and working alongside others. We are a collective of unique individuals who come together in a supportive environment that fosters our growth, learning, and development as life-long learners.

At Meadowridge, we aim to develop a sense of belonging for all by getting to know, care for, and support others. Belonging is not just a destination, but rather a continuous effort to include diverse and unique identities in equitable ways so that each person can thrive and grow. Belonging is the feeling where individuals don’t just fit in, but rather add their uniqueness to the community.

Our focus with students is on building relationships so that meaningful conversations about identities can happen. Our pastoral care of students in all divisions centres around students as individuals. Our pedagogical practices, too, include differentiating so that each student has an opportunity to be successful. Student life programs, including co-curriculars, clubs, athletics, local and international trips, are designed and implemented so that all students can find places and spaces to enhance feelings of belonging. Our faculty and staff are critical to ensuring that students have an emotional attachment to their school. To do this valuable work, they, too, need to feel that Meadowridge is a place of belonging for them. We work to be a place which is a “home away from home” for faculty and staff. Many have their own children enrolled in our school, which enhances that feeling of belonging.

Parents and families are key members of our community as well. We are committed to finding ways to ensure that Meadowridge is much more than a place where their children go to school. Social and cultural events are held so that whole families feel a sense of belonging. Our open-door policy results in seeing parents meeting friends in our theatre, volunteering throughout the school, and learning alongside their children. The cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of all our community members is very important and we are diligent in our efforts to create a belonging space for all.

Director of Strategic Programs

Purpose-Built Spaces for Connection

While events and learning are important, so too are spaces. Across the school, you’ll find spaces designed for community building. Whether it’s the buddy bench in the Elementary Playground—where students can sit if they need a friend—or the Middle School Atrium where comfortable seating and game boards encourage conversation and connection. 

CONNECTING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

The September Week Without Walls is dedicated to community-building, providing new and returning students and teachers with a unique opportunity to connect beyond the classroom at the start of the year. Through camping, hiking, paddling, and exploration, they form lasting relationships strengthened by shared experiences and accomplishments. At the end of the year, the June Week Without Walls trips strengthen these friendships through curricular explorations and shared adventures.

The House System connects our entire community through a shared sense of identity and purpose. Throughout the year, house challenges, spirit days, and activities connect students across the continuum and invite staff and parents alike to don green, orange, red, or blue and get involved too.

Student-led clubs nurture community and student collaboration. For our student organizers, the clubs are a chance to practice mentorship and leadership while building relationships with and being positive role models for club members. Through their involvement as members, many students are inspired to become leaders themselves in later years.

The Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) program brings together students across the Middle School and High School with one shared passion or interest. As club members, students learn alongside peers from all grades, and together they form a tight bond while exploring 3D rendering, debate, robotics, or any of the many other clubs offered. With many clubs hosted by students themselves, members also learn from peers from all grades.

The After School Care Program is a community of its own, where students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3 get together to explore and form friendships. With cocurricular and athletic offerings for our older Elementary students, the After School Care Program is meant to provide the same experience for our younger learners. Each week has a new theme, sparking friendships as students dive into activities together.

FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY

Our community thrives through a year filled with holidays, assemblies, and gatherings that bring together students, families, and friends. These special occasions are chances to connect, share, and celebrate.

From catching up after summer at the annual Welcome Back Picnic to honouring cultural holidays like Lunar New Year, Nowruz, and Diwali and celebrating the 12 days of Christmas at our holiday assembly—these moments nurture the close-knit community we cherish.

EVENTS FOR STUDENTS BY STUDENTS

The Senior Gryphon Council hosts events and plans initiatives that increase school spirit and build connections. While the Council is itself a community, its work is felt across the community overall, from lunchtime socials and open gym sessions to school dances.

SHARED JOURNEYS, SENSE OF COMMUNITY

At a school like Meadowridge, a surprising place where community is nurtured is on the buses. Through these shared journeys, students form friendships with peers of all ages, along with the bus drivers who help foster a sense of belonging each day.