We sat down with Kathryn Barnes to learn more about our new Senior School Principal.
 

The York School is a renowned International Baccalaureate school in Toronto. Contributing to that reputation excites me as does being in a progressive, inclusive school environment. York’s values also resonate with me - the idea of curiosity and challenge and also creating an inclusive and welcoming environment while building a connection to community. 

My prior role had a more narrow focus - developing faculty relationships and thinking almost exclusively about the academic side of things. While that position honed my skills as a learning leader and in connecting with faculty, I truly missed being present for all aspects of school life. As the new Senior School Principal at York, I will be involved in all aspects of school life and in defining and celebrating what it means to be a great school. As well, and building on my learning strategies background, I am very passionate about inclusive education and the well-being of our students – which, of course, is one of The York School’s foundational pillars. 

As wellbeing and belonging are one of our foundational pillars in our Strategic Plan, perhaps you can share some of your thoughts on how important this is to education.  

Ensuring that all of our students feel a sense of belonging and connection to York’s community is critical. To help build and sustain those connections we also need to equip our students with skills like resilience, grit and determination. I think when young people feel like they belong to the community or they feel that sense of connection to their school, the academic side of things follows naturally. There are so many opportunities here at York for students to find that sense of belonging, and to leverage that connection with an amazing academic program - it's a win-win.

My first school was Holy Trinity in Richmond Hill, which is actually very similar to York. It was co-educational and founded at about the same time. While not an IB school, Holy Trinity has the same roots and grew in much the same fashion as The York School. I loved that school and still feel very connected to the community there. Moving to UCC was an opportunity to grow and try something new. It enabled me to lean into learning as a leader, and 12 years later, I felt it was time to try a new challenge and to join a community that feels a little bit more connected to my roots as an educator. I'm actually quite passionate about co-education. And so that idea of gender inclusiveness and a smaller school with a connected sense of spirit and creativity is very exciting to me.
 

I am going to be curious and open-minded. At the start, it is really about getting to know York while making sure that I have no preconceived biases. I'm going to bring my past experience but I'm also excited to learn why The York School has been so successful. My first year is going to be about curiosity, listening and learning and becoming a part of this great community.

I'm the mom of three boys. I have an 18 year old son entering second year university and a son in grade 12. I also have a little one in grade 1. We are busy but, in my spare time, I really try to focus on my family. I love to cook and we have a lot of kitchen parties centered around the dinner table. I also swim to stay active so you'll probably find me in a pool or doing some sort of other physical activity. 

I truly value having a partnership with parents and so I want the community to know that I really value those partnerships and that I’m keen to learn from them. Parents are such an important part of the school experience and the ability to work in partnership with parents is critical in understanding the developmental progression that students experience throughout their high school years.