TFS - Canada's International School

TFS BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS, BUILDING OUR OWN CULTURE If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that our community needs each other. Every classroom, every space that is used by our students, every program, has been revisited and looked at with a different lens. For Cathy Yanosik, TFS Foundation President, who has been working with the school to develop its campus master plan, the shift has been palpable. "Gone are the days of building a fixed single-use space," she explains. "We need to be prepared for change, and we need the kinds of facilities that will enhance the great campuses we already have." Culture is a term that Ms. Yanosik uses with great pride. "With the school's main language as French, in addition to English, TFS has opened the doors to understanding the entire world of the Francophonie," she says. Having a Canadian or even North American perspective isn't taken for granted, because our families and teachers come from so many different places. "All the languages we speak, the different perspectives we have, and different people we have at the table is really unique. We have ended up making our own TFS culture." Creating spaces where every student can grow, explore and share aligns perfectly with TFS' pillars of academic ambition, all-round development and international perspective. "We know that one of our gaps is having gathering spaces and creating a sense of connectedness, not only within each branch, but between the branches," Ms. Yanosik explains. "When we are talking about international programming, about our teachers exchanging ideas across disciplines, and about creating a space where students can perform, be active and gather together, we are always trying to create the sense of being one school, with one mission and many perspectives," she says. 15 WE CAN BE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE OPEN TO TALKING TO ANYBODY When Maftuna B., a Level V student, started at TFS in Grade 7, she felt "super out of place." This is most likely a common feeling amongst students of any age, from any background, when they join a school as "the new kid." For Maftuna, though, it was a matter of finding the people who love what she loves, who helped her not only be comfortable in her own skin, but also take on the role of advocate for those voices that need amplifying. By joining the Classics club, and eventually becoming its president, Maftuna found some of her closest friends and started having the discussions about language, history and politics that make her light up. "I'm fascinated by Roman life and learning how to recite Latin poetry as it would have been done in Rome," she says. She was the youngest winner of the Consulate of Italy's trophy for senior Latin oral reading, adding to the multiple awards she and the TFS club have won at the Classics conferences they attend. Along with a fellow student, she helped organize a student exchange trip to Morocco in 2020, exploring Roman ruins and "dipping my toes into the culture." Now in her last year at TFS, she is setting her sights on studying health sciences at university, but also fully intends to keep studying global politics and Classics. She loves spending time in the Level V lounge, where "my whole grade can go when we need a moment. It's always super welcoming and I feel like I belong there." The idea of every student feeling like they belong is important to Maftuna, who is on both the student-led and whole-school committees for equity, diversity, inclusion and justice. She especially wants to help give voice for students who have felt "othered," such as students with visible and invisible physical disabilities, or neurodivergence. She explains, "When students are exposed to different cultures and identities, they become amazing humans who have a growth mindset and are open to learning about different perspectives. I think we can make the world a better place."

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