To the Class of 2021

Dr. Foster’s Commencement Address to the Class of 2021 on Trafalgar Day: A few years ago – it was before COVID so it feels like more than a decade ago – we set out to create a new mission statement for our school. An organization’s mission is an important thing. It explains the reason that […]
Imagine the Unimaginable


You were found in unmarked graves Acts of genocide Your precious lives taken With spirits so strong We heard your cries To go home Rest well little ones And fly high with our ancestors We will not forget you You are sacred By Leah Gazen, MP Winnipeg Centre I imagine her playing […]
Choose to Challenge


“Sugar and spice and everything nice….” You know the rest, don’t you? That message, delivered to girls from the time they understand the tacit meaning of pink and blue, underpins and undermines the long and frustrating fight for gender equality. “Choose to Challenge”, the campaign theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, reminds us that […]
A Place for Joy


Last week, I listened to Parts 1 and 2 of the four-part podcast Test Kitchen. Hosted by Sruthi Pinnamaneni and produced by Gimlet Media, the series investigates accusations of a toxic and racist workplace culture at Bon Appetit magazine. Before Part 3 could be produced, it was announced that Sruthi Pinnamaneni and fellow Host PJ […]
For There is Always Light


I don’t know one person who hasn’t heard the name Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate whose words touched the hearts of a nation, if not the world, at the inauguration of President Joe Biden. Her indelible delivery, so poised and resonant, was made all the more impressive when you understand the speech […]
Momala Harris


She is the first Indian-American, the first Black and the first female to be elected Vice President of the United States. She is the daughter of Dr. Shayamala Gopalan from India and Dr. James Harris from Jamaica. She is Kamala Devi Harris, aka “Momala”. There are many facets that make up the totality of Kamala […]
We Need the Bad to See the Good


Thanksgiving this year was different in a number of ways. Our very small gathering opted for baked salmon instead of roast turkey, we couldn’t visit Grandma because long-term care homes in Ontario are closed to visitors for the foreseeable future, and FaceTime kisses instead of in-person hugs were how we celebrated the First Birthday of […]
Dear Trafalgar Castle School Prefects of 2020-2021


Today, we come together to celebrate the installation of our 2020-2021 Prefects, a group that has already this year, both collectively and individually, demonstrated why they were chosen to fulfill this important role. This ceremony is a time to affirm our school’s commitment to leadership – a commitment to leadership by young women and for […]
Let the Marathon Begin!


It’s been a rollercoaster of emotion and a marathon of preparation since we said farewell to our students in March and welcomed them back this month. The Lower School students joined us on campus on September 9th, and any sense of tentative caution on their part quickly gave way to happy skipping through the halls […]
What We Give


In the midst of the pandemic madness that encircles our lives, I find myself asking the question: “What would Winston do?” I’m referring, of course, to Winston Churchill. There are countless world leaders, past and present, who I could call upon as my muse, but there’s something about Churchill’s British sensibility of “stay calm and […]