Issue link: https://publications.tfs.ca/i/1484703
Parents' Handbook 2022– 2023 25 Community Engagement and Student Life TFS is thoughtful about developing students not just as learners but also as individuals and citizens. Using an all-round approach, we aim to equip students with key life skills such as compelling public speaking, high articulacy in the expression and justification of ideas, debating, logical reasoning, self-confidence, emotional intelligence, balance-seeking, team spirit, creativity, initiative and entrepreneurship. In addition, we promote a sense of citizenship among our pupils based on the four primary values of integrity, discernment, respect and engagement. Key to this is the school's motto: Students who reflect, citizens who act. A growth mindset is fostered by systematically encouraging connections to other experiences at TFS, be they co-curricular activities, arts, sports or other programs and activities outside the classroom. Our ultimate aim is to ensure that all TFS students become well-rounded, young people of good judgment, well- prepared to be productive citizens. As well, TFS provides mentorship, assemblies, societies, excursions including day field trips, overnight, international trips, exchanges, international competitions and co-curricular activities, which are highly valued by the community, as they meaningfully connect teaching and learning inside and outside the classroom. Also under the umbrella of student life is athletics, with a focus on developing healthy minds and bodies, and on the pursuit of athleticism, integrity and teamwork through physical activity and skill development. CITIZENSHIP AND MENTORSHIP Our citizenship priority encompasess many areas of school and student life. In all instances, our goal is to look at how we can best equip our students so that they can contribute to society and work towards the common good and, ultimately, the betterment of humankind. Aspects of this include fostering moral integrity, empathy, self-confidence, leadership qualities and public speaking skills in our students. Mentor groups are created across all branches and grades to allow students, along with their mentor-teacher, to discuss a range of social and ethical issues at local, national and international levels, in an age-appropriate manner. Through dialogue and the exchange of ideas and opinions, students develop discernment, and a more sophisticated and complex view of the world. Our mentoring program, in concert with the assemblies and co-curricular activities that support TFS' strategic plan, actively promote the TFS values of integrity, discernment, respect and engagement and nurture the students as individuals and citizens. ASSEMBLIES Assemblies, which are theme- and values-based, are an important feature of school life, making a positive contribution to students' self-development and encouraging them to reflect upon TFS values. During assemblies, high expectations of appropriate pupil behaviour, based on self-discipline and attitude, are emphasized. Content-rich and relevant to the age and stage of the students, assemblies provide essential, dedicated time for learning about contemporary, thought-provoking issues and events that are school- based, local and international. In the end, assemblies heighten the awareness of the needs of others, raise self-esteem, and create a sense of purpose within the TFS community.