School Leadership

Shetal Patel is the current vice-principal at Kendellhurst Academy. What she loves most about her job is seeing the happy and hardworking students each day and the team of teachers who are constantly collaborating and engaging with them. Kendellhurst Academy aims to foster a nurturing environment where the students feel safe, have fun, and learn. Though the school is small and close-knit, they offer amenities that larger private schools offer, ensuring that the community can enjoy all types of activities and extracurriculars. Kendellhurst Academy’s Virtue Program helps students learn the values of the school and practice them daily during interactions with their peers and teachers. Their enriched and tailored program caters to students of all abilities, and ensures that all of them receive a top-tier education.

• Highlights from the interview

  • I love the environment at Kendellhurst Academy. I love the atmosphere in which we are constantly communicating with the students, the teachers, but more importantly, the parents. We have that communication daily, and that's what I still love about where I'm at. Our students love being at our school, it's hard for me to send them home every evening.

  • Our children love being at Kendellhurst Academy, they love that they feel safe, they're having fun, and they're learning at the same time. It's a place that they call home, and a place that I call home, too.

  • The collaborative piece from the administrative side is what brings Kendellhurst Academy together. I love the team of teachers that we have at Kendellhurst Academy. With a collaborative effort, we plan together, whether it's a school event or the lesson plans.

  • I've been in the industry for over 20 years, and I found that everyone at Kendellhurst Academy is happy and they feel like they've done something great each day. The most important part of being at Kendellhurst Academy to me is the way everything flowed on a day-to-day basis. You can see the smiles on the faces of our students and teachers, and those connections that they're making. We're really teaching the whole child.

  • Kendellhurst Academy really fosters nurturing. Our pedagogy is, ‘Nurturing the mind and the spirit.’ You can really see that on a day-to-day basis when you walk in, through the tone of the school, the atmosphere that you have within the classroom, and the learning that's happening. It's not just about students raising their hands and answering questions, it's about how they engage in the lesson.

  • In the morning, our teachers walk into each other's rooms, not only to prepare for the lessons of the day, but to share ideas and talk to one another. A typical day at Kendellhurst Academy starts off with staff and students getting ready for what's going to come in the morning. It's about walking into the building and not just getting down to the nitty-gritty, but making those connections with the teachers on a daily basis. We always ask ‘How's it going? How's your night? Did you get enough sleep?’ to make those personal connections. 

  • Kendellhurst Academy is a small boutique school with large-school amenities.

  • When the students come in, we greet them and their parents every day. We look forward to those morning connections. We make sure that we call every parent by their name and recognize who they are. We want the parents to feel the connection when they come to Kendellhurst Academy. We love seeing extended families too. We have aunts and uncles that come at drop-off and pick-up and things like that. Once everyone's in the building, safe, and where they need to be, the day starts. 

  • Kendellhurst Academy has a Virtues Program, which is a great program. The program was created based on cross-cultural studies, and it was worldwide, culminating in the most common values in different cultures. We highlight 52 virtues throughout the year. This week, it happens to be ‘tact.’ So we talk about what tact looks like, the teachers will incorporate tact into their daily lessons, and we talk about it for a week.

  • Sometimes Kendellhurst Academy breaks routine, when there's a beautiful day outside, or if we have something planned as a school-wide event.

  • Kendellhurst Academy has an enriched Ontario curriculum, so we are teaching one year ahead.

  • Kendellhurst Academy is high school accredited, recognized by the Ministry of Education, so once students get to Grade 8, they have a chance to take Grade 9 classes for math and English with us. Then, once they graduate, they have an opportunity to jump right into Grade 10 classes in high school. When they take the one-year-ahead program for math and the language, the children are that much further ahead.

  • Kendellhurst Academy does many extracurricular activities and after-school clubs. We've got floor hockey competitions, and I take the students myself to go ice skating several times through the winter months. So for about eight to ten weeks, we go ice skating, and it's nice. I love having those moments with them where we can do different things. We get to experience different communities. Kendellhurst Academy also has a ski program, so our kids can go on a day trip to Blue Mountain. Our owners are very avid ski competitors, so those are the things that they've implemented. They want the students to experience those types of events.

  • Students starting early on at Kendellhurst Academy can expect that they will be challenged academically, taken care of holistically, and they’re going to love being at our school.

  • Parents come to Kendellhurst Academy because they want to see their children succeed and know that their children are loved and cared for.

  • Students get to experience all these things at Kendellhurst Academy that they won't get at a public school or any other school. Kendellhurst Academy offers a wide variety of events, and more importantly, it all ties into academics.

  • Our staff loves staying at Kendellhurst Academy because they are encouraged to receive what they need to put on the fabulous lessons they do. If there are any materials, books, or items they need, we make sure that they have them. We prepare them to be able to let us know what they would need in advance. The school provides so many different things overall, and our teachers love that. They love to be that creative and use the resources that we have. The beauty of having the different campuses that Kendellhurst Academy has is that we make sure that those items are shared. If there's something that we need that one of our other campuses has, we'll make sure that we can get it to them when they need it.

  • One of the things that I love about coming to Kendellhurst Academy is that if there's an exciting new idea, once it's on the table for discussion, it's always executed beautifully because we as a team make it happen.

  • Kendellhurst Academy wants to promote democratic and global citizenship values within our students. Our students go on to make a difference, not only in their lives but in the lives of others. Those are the values that you'll find within our school and students. We as teachers also try to implement those values within ourselves on a day-to-day basis.

  • You can sense the core values in the students that Kendellhurst Academy promotes every single day through our Virtues Program and the lessons that we teach. Kendellhurst Academy’s Virtues Program helps promote a sense of community within the classroom, and it eliminates bullying as well. When there is a disagreement of some sort, students think of different ways that they can use these virtues as a skill set to communicate with each other to help foster that sense of community and friendship and being a part of a team within the school and the classroom. You can sense that even when they're playing together, whether it's outside at recess or on a team in a sporting event. 

  • Kendellhurst Academy alumni love to come back, and it's not just about saying ‘Hello,’ but they'll come back and take on leadership roles. They might come back as our junior camp counselors to help run the summer programs that we have. They might be earning volunteer hours for their high school, but it's great to know that they want to come back to Kendellhurst Academy to share their growth and their experiences of where they are. They like to talk about their experiences with our students, as well as about what they can expect in high school. It's amazing to see that growth and listen to them giving those inspirational words to our students who are graduating.

  • Kendellhurst Academy is open to serving all types of students at our school. Our curriculum offers a vast array of different programs that would meet the needs of the individual students while being academically focused in order to be successful. We have many parents who come from different programs and schools. They want to find a place where their children are going to love coming to school. I always say to our parents that are seeking a new environment, ‘You're coming to us because you really want to see your child not only succeed, but have that love for education.’ Our job is to ensure that our school can offer all of that and more. When students don't enjoy the experience of where they're at, that's when they're really turning toward something different.

  • If you want to see your child loved and in a safe environment, and make some wonderful friends along the way, come and see what we have to offer, and call Kendellhurst Academy your home. We're ready to have you, wherever you've come from, and we'd love to see how you can flourish and grow within our program.

  • I have yet to meet a student who hasn't excelled at Kendellhurst Academy. Our teachers are wonderful in making sure that the program is covered and aligned to meet the needs of all the students. There's always a level that a student can achieve, and we give the one-on-one attention that our students need, whether it's through homework, clubs, or independent learning. 

  • Kendellhurst Academy ensures that our students have the ability to learn and grow at their pace, and at the same time, gain the knowledge and skills that they need in order to be successful.

  • Something that I love about Kendellhurst Academy is that we promote the individuality of our students and help them foster that as they grow at their own pace. I watch them go from students who are just learning to read to students who are learning to write essays. There are so many different levels, and you can really see that growth within the students and the achievements over the course of the years that they're with us.

  • Kendellhurst Academy has a very diverse group of students and families, and we really foster the background of celebrations and holidays. It ties in with our Virtues Program that stems from the vast cultures and values within our school. I love the fact that there is such a variety of culture within our schools because it really allows us to learn who we are and where we come from. The students really enjoy the additional information that they may not have learned or practiced otherwise.

  • What I love about Kendellhurst Academy is that our families almost immediately make connections, whether it's through the students or not. The relationship between our administration and parents is probably the core start of coming into Kendellhurst Academy as a new family member.

  • The connection is so strong between Kendellhurst Academy teachers and parents because of their day-to-day interaction, and those connections are really important to us. I'd like our parents to know that it's not only about making the connection because I'm an administrator but more because I really want to get to know our families.

  • We do have conflicts that arise at Kendellhurst Academy on different occasions, and what we like to promote in our students is being able to practice different virtues, whether it's respect or kindness.

  •  Kendellhurst Academy’s teachers are great at having conversations encouraging critical thinking and coming up with various ways for students to express their feelings. If the students feel that they need more time to process, we certainly allow that time. Sometimes that means coming and sitting with me, being able to express their feelings about what's happening, and talking through their emotions. We want to ensure that students know that we all have disagreements, but we want to make sure that they understand where we're going with those disagreements. What can we learn from those disagreements, and how can we better manage them? We're a team, a community, we want to maintain that community, and we also want to be able to express our feelings and thoughts. Our Virtues Program allows us to foster that and get the children to think deeply about how they can make better choices in the school.

  • Kendellhurst Academy teachers are always giving and nurturing to ensure that the students are cared for and loved.

  • We foster love within the classroom by showing kindness and caring. Kendellhurst Academy is quite generous in watching the children develop their needs and making sure that we go above and beyond to give them what they need to succeed in school.

  • Kendellhurst Academy is a wonderful place, and every teacher has their own personality traits that contribute to what Kendellhurst is today.

  • Kendellhurst Academy is located in the heart of Streetsville, which is a close-knit community itself, and everyone knows each other. The neighbours know each other, and the neighbours living around the school know the school and the families. Some of our families live within walking distance of the school, and some live just within the Streetsville community. Of course, we've got many family members who travel quite a distance to come to our program, which speaks volumes about what we offer. There are a wide variety of businesses within Streetsville that know us well, and they're welcoming to the lessons that we want to do when we're trying to incorporate the different venues up and along Queen Street. We try to utilize many local businesses in things that we do within our classrooms, and our teachers take advantage of that. They will use the community and what they have to offer, whether it's the local library, the local Rec Center just down the street, a park that we're using to do a science activity, or just going out for a nature walk.

  • Parents come to Kendellhurst Academy because we have an amazing technology program, the one-year-ahead program, and we have an art-infused curriculum. When you're looking for a school that fits everything that you're looking for, consider all of the ways that your child is going to grow and if they will be happy where they're at. I always tell parents, ‘It's not just about you selecting a school that you feel is best for your child, but it's also making sure that the child is happy, and they love going to school.’ 

  • We want to make sure that when a child leaves every single day, they're happy, they have a smile on their face, and they love what they've done that day.