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Outside Volleyball Coaching

OPPORTUNITY FUND THE FUND THAT FREES US TO SAY “YES” Noodle Expo

Grade 6 Legacy Fund

Your support of the Opportunity Fund—Branksome’s area of greatest need—touches every corner of the student experience. From championship-level athletics and global learning to theatrical collaborations, debate, rowing and emerging AI tools, these opportunities enrich how students learn, lead, compete and create. Simply put, without the generosity of donors like you, these powerful enhancements would not be possible. Each gift is a reason we are free to say “yes,” opportunity after opportunity. IMPACT SNAPSHOT (2025–26)

2,278 4 2 1 gold medals

outside coaches supporting seven sports in Grades 4 to 12

number of completed sessions for JK to Grade 12 students using Flint AI, an adaptable learning tutor

159

Model UN delegates (72 individuals) representing Branksome Hall at conferences attended; with a record-breaking 19 delegates winning awards, showing hard work and dedication

silver medals

bronze medal

at the Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association championships.

semi-finalists at the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in Bristol, U.K., a trip funded by donor generosity

ATHLETICS “ OUTSIDE COACHING

Tom Antony with daughters Francesca, Grade 11 and Elle’25

Donors Deliver Gold Medals Now and Victories for a Lifetime

Did you know that 95 per cent of Fortune 500 executives participated in high school athletics? It’s no surprise: the “power skills” built on the court, field and water, such as teamwork, perseverance, grit, goalsetting and confidence, translate directly into lifelong leadership and career success. This year, generous donor support funded rowing equipment and travel, plus external specialized coaching for field hockey, soccer, volleyball, badminton and squash across Grades 4 to 12. This expert coaching elevates performance, strengthens teams and builds immediate confidence and belonging. Most importantly, the experience instills the discipline, resilience and transferable skills students carry far beyond the season. Hear it straight from the parents and faculty who had front-row seats for the action this year:

Many Wins: An Investment in Leadership Training “Donor support through the Opportunity Fund has elevated our volleyball program from simply providing opportunities to creating a remarkable experience for our athletes. The Fund lets us invest in high-calibre coaching—one of the most meaningful factors in a young athlete’s development. These coaches mentor, inspire and help athletes see potential in themselves. The real impact isn’t the wins; it’s the leadership, resilience and confidence students carry into every aspect of their lives.” — Katie Flynn, Director of Athletics

Incredible Impact: Gold-Medal Coaching “Bringing home Branksome’s historic OFSAA gold was a huge victory; we knew the team was good, but winning it all was unforgettable. The true triumph, however, was how donor-funded coaching transformed our daughters’ experience. Having top-tier experts, trainers and physiotherapy right at the school gave us incredible peace of mind. It allowed the girls to balance rigorous academics with elite athletics, using volleyball as a shared language. While some came in as strong individual players, they quickly learned this is a team sport—relying on each other for every bump, set and block. Philanthropy didn’t just fund a gold medal; it built a safe, elite environment where deep respect and community thrived. The team had such diverse backgrounds. They weren’t all friends, but the respect grew. They even made playlists together to practise, and volleyball became their shared language.” — Nicole and Tom Antony, parents of Francesca, Grade 11, Senior D1 Volleyball team player

ROWING

2025–2026 Season Highlights Thanks to donor investment, it was a standout year on the water: •

Third overall in team points at the 79th annual CSSRA National Championships (June 5–7, St. Catharines) at Canada’s largest high school regatta drawing 2,000+ athletes from across Canada and the US. •

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Seven national medals including four golds across junior and novice ranks Perfect finals record as all eight Branksome entries advanced to their respective finals

Competed at two of North America’s most prestigious events: a strong showing at the Head of the Charles Regatta (Boston) and a first-place novice 4+ finish at the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta (Philadelphia).

GRADE 6

LEGACY FUND DEEP FOCUS ON HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

“The Grade 6 Legacy Fund was such a cool leadership experience. We had the opportunity to make an exciting change at the Junior School that would impact everyone in the years to come. We shared ideas and we chose books from our own childhood to share with the Red Door Family Shelter; mine was about two sloths on an adventure. The Junior School has an Outdoor Classroom and play equipment, but an actual hands-on mud kitchen is different, not the same old slides and monkey bars. As a class, it was exciting to put new ideas and perspectives together to create a really fun playing environment. Every gift is part of something a whole community builds together and the whole Junior School will feel that for years to come.”

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— Lily, Grade 6 (with classmate Leah, right), whose class legacy of hands-on outdoor play and shared books is made real by the families who choose to give

The Grade 6 Legacy Fund for Health and Well-Being is a meaningful rite of passage and a powerful culminating leadership experience for our graduating Junior School students. Since 2022, Grade 6 students have helped shape the initiatives that define their legacy, creating gifts that strengthen social-emotional well-being, outdoor learning, imaginative play and community connection across the Junior School. Importantly, this year’s legacy will also become a learning experience in iCAST. Through cross-divisional design-and-build projects, Senior School design students will collaborate with Junior School students to build custom storage for outdoor learning materials. Grade 6 students entering Grade 7 will also have the opportunity to help bring part of their own legacy to life by building a custom platform for the Butterfly Garden and Lower Field—turning their gift into a real-world experience in design thinking, sustainability and engineering. Thank you to our Grade 6 families for helping build a lasting legacy of care and well-being for our Junior School students.

FROM IDEA TO

How Noodle Keeps Growing

INVESTOR

The Noodle business incubator is rewriting the script for Grades 4 to 12 entrepreneurial education. Spanning 47 companies in fashion, beauty, tech, sustainability and digital services, Middle and Senior School students are building real businesses from the ground up. And this September, expansion changes everything as Noodle moves into a permanent, state-of-the-art home: the Joel and Melissa Feldberg & Family Centre for Entrepreneurship inside iCAST.

2018 2026

13 students in five companies

140 students in 47 companies

companies received $13,000 in pitch money this year

They’ll rehearse pitches in the Enterprise Hub, work with Experts-in-Residence woven into the daily life of the school and tap the full iCAST ecosystem: the STEAM Studio for prototyping; Robotics Lab, Metal Shop and Wood Shop for building; Media Studio for professionalgrade content; and streaming technology to connect with innovators anywhere on earth. This real-world experience—from start-up loans to pitch funding to expert mentorship—is almost entirely donor-funded. At the start of their journey, students receive start-up loans of up to $500. New this year, if their companies generated a profit, students were expected to repay those loans, mirroring the real-world responsibility that comes with business investment. As their companies grow, students can pitch for additional funding; this year, more than $13,000 was awarded through the pitch competition to help them take their businesses further. Along the way, they build “AI-proof” power skills like resilience, adaptability and bold risktaking. Students don’t just study business. They live it.

None of it happens without our donor community—beginning with alum Mary LESSLIE Hallward’74, whose inaugural gift helped launch Noodle, and every donor who keeps investing in the next generation of women leaders.

At the Noodle Expo in April, Grade 10 founders Georgie and Maddie demonstrated their pitch for their venture, PASS, an app that turns phones into digital key cards and payment tools, effortlessly solving the problem of the forgotten student pass.

PROFESSIONAL ARTS MENTORSHIP AND REAL-WORLD CREATION Theatrical Collaboration with Red Sky Performance A student-led production, Nocturne, will be the inaugural performance in iCAST’s Studio Theatre. It weaves together film, visual arts, dance, music, theatre and media arts. It is grounded in interdisciplinary use of engineering, math and robotics. It includes exploration of sound and physical work, Design practices and emerging technology. Communication techniques in the piece are informed by the many languages studied and spoken by our students. Inspired by themes of migration, community and identity, Nocturne will transform various school spaces into a dynamic storytelling experience, fostering a sense of curiosity, pride and connection among our diverse community members. This work is supported by Red Sky Performance and aims to showcase the boundless possibilities of creativity and innovation.

AI-POWERED SUPPORT, STUDENT-LED GROWTH Through the Opportunity Fund, Branksome students in JK to Grade 12 are gaining access to Flint AI, a learning platform designed specifically for schools. Flint AI provides each student with personalized, one-on-one support through a 24/7 AI tutor that adapts to her needs—offering extra guidance when she needs support and greater challenge when she is ready to go further. For students, this means more confidence, deeper understanding and greater independence in their learning. Whether practising languages, exploring historical simulations, coding with AI or creating their own learning activities, students are using Flint AI to learn at their own pace, follow their curiosity and build the skills they need to thrive.

DEBATING AND PUBLIC SPEAKING:

Rebecca, Shazdeh and Asia attended the Junior National Public Speaking Championships in Vancouver in May, where Shazdeh placed 10th overall.

A WINNING REPUTATION

In an age when machines can draft, summarize and calculate in seconds, Debate builds skills that can never be outsourced: the confidence to think on your feet, find your voice and defend your ideas long after the trophies are shelved. The Opportunity Fund supported student travel to the 2026 World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in Bristol, UK, the Canadian Junior National Public Speaking Championships in Vancouver, B.C. and the Canadian Senior National Debating Championships in Truro, N.S. A signature program for the school, our success in this space is hard to match. Branksome students have been crowned champions of the world: Anna Gage took the overall title at the 2024 World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, and in 2025, Grade 12 student Helen Ziomecki claimed the same crown in Kuala Lumpur.

DID YOU KNOW?

Harvard and University of Virginia researchers found that high school debate delivers lifetime skills by permanently rewiring how students analyze information and communicate under pressure? By thoroughly researching complex issues, empathizing with opposing viewpoints and structuring logical arguments on the fly, debaters build a cognitive toolkit that prevents them from relying on emotion in stressful adult situations.

2025–26 HIGHLIGHTS •

Branksome hosted Re:Solved 2026, an international public speaking competition grounded in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, welcoming finalists from across the globe.

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Our students competed at the International Independent School Public Speaking Championships in Portland, placing in the top 11 among Canadian competitors and finishing fifth overall as a team.

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Our debaters reached the semifinals at the National British Parliamentary Debate Championships and earned a top-12 speaker ranking out of more than 100 competitors.

Leveling the Field: Merit Over Means

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“Debate demands that students give everything they have; it’s intense because it’s one-on-one or maybe at most a team of two. They’re putting all of themselves out there. It profoundly transforms young girls by teaching them to listen and lead with razor-sharp logic and assertive persuasion rather than yelling and interrupting and plowing information through, as we see in pop culture. The Opportunity Fund is an absolute game-changer. By entirely removing financial barriers, it eliminates the stress of affordability. Other schools may say, “I’d love to go, but we can’t afford it.” We can choose the best minds to compete because we’re alleviating that financial barrier.” — Grace Nolan, Debate and Public Speaking Coach

Driven to Debate: Building Tomorrow’s Leaders and Thinkers “Discussing current events on our drives home from school, I’m often outmatched by my daughter, Kaya. Inspired by Branksome’s Debate program, I support the Opportunity Fund to ensure all students can access these life-changing experiences. Beyond trophies, debate has fostered Kaya’s critical thinking, leadership and perspective. My gift helps more girls build the confidence and foundation they need to navigate a rapidly changing world, becoming the thinkers, leaders and caregivers of tomorrow.” — Holden Pan, parent and Opportunity Fund supporter

RECORD-BREAKING SEASON FOR MODEL UN This year marked a record-breaking season for Branksome Hall Model United Nations (BHMUN), reflecting the extraordinary growth and impact of a program that is becoming a true signature student experience. With donor support, more students can access transformative opportunities beyond the classroom—from conferences in Toronto, Montreal and The Hague, to Branksome’s own annual BHMUN conference. This year, 72 students proudly represented Branksome across 159 delegate positions, with 19 earning awards for their outstanding work. Importantly, students develop the skills that define thoughtful global leaders while also distinguishing themselves as they pursue post-secondary opportunities at prestigious universities around the world. By helping offset travel, accommodation and registration costs, while enriching the program through guest speakers and expanded coaching, donors are opening doors for students to see themselves as active global citizens—ready to lead, contribute and help shape a better world.

THANK YOU

10 Elm Avenue Toronto ON M4W 1N4 Canada

The Opportunity Fund is our most flexible resource, sparking creativity, building connection and growing confidence exactly where it matters most. Thank you for helping Branksome girls say “yes” to what’s possible! We’d love to stay in touch, so please reach out with any questions about your gift and the difference it’s making at Branksome to advancement@branksome.on.ca.