All School News - December 11, 2025
MESSAGE FROM STRUAN ROBERTSON, HEAD OF SCHOOL
THE YORK SCHOOL BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING UPDATE
The Board of Directors met Tuesday evening to review progress on the Junior School renovation project, receive a preliminary budget update, and approve the updated Code of Conduct and committee mandates.
A heartfelt thank you to retiring Learning Strategist Maria Barnden
December 18 will be the last day that Learning Strategist Maria Barnden uses evidence-based strategies — including sensory tools like weighted stuffies and glittery thinking putty, and multi-sensory approaches like tracing sandpaper letters — to help Junior School students develop the foundational literacy skills that are essential for learning. After 41 years as a York School employee, Maria is retiring.
Maria says that teaching literacy and printing to individual students and small groups has been the most rewarding aspect of her career. “Children need strong reading and writing skills so that when they go to class, they can fully access the curriculum — to read, explore and discover with confidence,” she says.
As she looks forward to a retirement filled with travel and spending time with loved ones, including her parents, Maria says she will dearly miss all her friends at York. “This place has been my home and family for the past 40 years,” she explains.
The York School would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to Maria for her extraordinary commitment to our school and the role she has played in educating four decades of York students. We wish you a wonderful retirement!
Thank You!
Thank you to everyone who generously stepped up and made a gift to the Annual Fund on Giving Tuesday - 111 families and York staff helped raise an incredible $111,837. We surpassed our goal of 100 donors, so Mr. Robertson will dress up as Bolt in the spring!
You can still click here to give by December 31 and receive a 2025 charitable tax receipt.
Upcoming: Uniform Survey
At The York School, our uniform is designed to support learning and foster a sense of wellbeing and belonging. Uniforms help students arrive ready for school, reduce distractions, and reinforce being part of the TYS community.
Over time, we have intentionally evolved our uniform to prioritize comfort, practicality, and age-appropriate style. At the same time, we recognize an inherent challenge: in a diverse community, style preferences are not uniform.
As we continue to transition away from legacy pieces and review options for everyday and athletic wear, we are seeking parent and student feedback to inform small tweaks to our uniform guide (we are not planning major changes). To that end, in January, we will share a parent survey. We will also convene a student focus group to gather student perspectives.
Stay tuned!
Athletics
The Storm is in full swing in the Athletics world.
Huge congratulations to our CAIS U13 Girls Basketball. This was the first year we attended the tournament hosted by Havergal and Kingsway College. The team had an amazing show, earning a Silver Medal in Division 2 and playing a tough final game versus Holy Trinity School in Richmond Hill. Christina K. was awarded the MDP (Most Deserving Player) award for The York School.
After the break, TYS Athletics has a number of games including the “Battle of Farnham” Friday Night Lights where De La Salle will walk down the road to take on the Storm Varsity Boys. The goal is simple… let’s make this the most amped up event ever. Be there for the game at 6:00pm.
Go Storm!
Mr.D
HOLIDAY HOOPS & SOCIAL
One last reminder that Saturday, December 13, is our last alumni basketball before the holidays. Basketball will run from 2:00pm - 4:00pm followed by a social from 4:00pm - 6:00pm at St. Louis Bar & Grill. All alumni are invited to join.
Bringing The Temperature Down -
Concrete Tools to Support Your Child’s (and your own!) Emotional Regulation
Presented by: Emma Fogel, MSW, RSW
We are delighted to virtually welcome Emma Fogel, Registered Social Worker and the Practice Director of Emma Fogel Therapy Services, a paediatric and family psychotherapy practice in Toronto, to The York School.
Emma is a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, with additional certifications in Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and paediatric grief. While this session will be most relevant for our Junior and Middle School parents, all parents are welcome to attend.
Tuesday, January 27 at 7:00pm
