Simone Gravesande – Intentional Magic

If you walk the halls of The Mabin School in Toronto today, you won’t just see an administrator managing a budget or checking boxes on a provincial mandate. You will see a specialized form of intentional magic that transforms an educational institution into a sanctuary of possibility. At the center of this transformation is Simone Gravesande, a woman who understands that to lead is to heal, and to educate is to empower

Most professional biographies begin with a list of degrees, but to understand the “Simone Effect,” you must start with the moment the system told her she wasn’t ready. After years of leading summer camps and positioning herself for a life in the classroom, Simone’s first application to teacher’s college was denied. Simone did not shrink from the rejection but used it as a detour toward destiny.

She entered the Teacher Apprentice Program (TAP), a space designed for marginalized Black educators to sharpen their blades. It was here she met her rockstar, Dr. Avis Glaze, a Black leader whose knowledge of strategy and classroom impact left Simone star-struck and soul-stirred. This denial from teachers’ college her first try allowed her to work with master teachers she never would have encountered otherwise. It taught her a truth she now imparts to every student at Mabin: You always end up where you’re supposed to be.

Simone Gravesande does not lead from an ivory tower. Her council, though not formally named in the school’s bylaws, reflects a deep alignment with the psychological insights of Dr. Amos Wilson and the cultural empowerment of Marcus Garvey. She understands that for an African Caribbean woman (hail up Guyana) leading in the independent school world (a sector historically lacking in diversity) her presence is a political and social act of courage.

“Coming to Mabin has set me in a position to present myself as a different example of what a principal can look like,” Simone reflects. She remembers being eight years old and wondering if women could even be principals, as the only leaders she saw were men. Today, she ensures that the children in her care don’t have to wonder. She is the vivid proof that power and empathy can coexist.

At Mabin, they talk about “Mabin Magic.” To an outsider, it looks like stars aligning. To Simone, it is strategic. She has replaced generic academic achievements with a culture of intentional magic; the deliberate, reflective work of ensuring every child meets their full potential, even when learning is a struggle.

Her leadership style is one of radical transparency. She invites her staff to be vulnerable, to say “I don’t know,” and to take risks. By creating structures where adults can be learners, she mirrors the very environment she wants for the students. She asks her teachers to shape “Little humans who will see injustice and seek to make change.”

The Ontario Principals’ Council labeled her a Difference Maker for her administrative efficiency, and because she works at the intersection of education, social justice, and mental health. Whether she is drawing from her 17 years of experience in the Peel District School Board or applying the complex theories of her PhD in Change Management at OISE, her focus remains on the measurable emotional impact on the individual student.

She recalls a time after teacher’s college when there were no jobs available. Instead of waiting, she took a role at a newswire, developing transferable skills in time management and performing under pressure. This period was her psychological training ground. It taught her that a leader must be able to process and organize information with the precision of a journalist and the heart of a healer.

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper’s Woman Empowered often focuses on the best of the best, and Simone Gravesande fits this mold precisely. She is a culture-shaper who understands that the Mabin Magic only works if the leader’s own bucket is full. She has learned the hard way that time is not promised, and that a legacy is built leaving every community better than you found it.

As she looks toward the future of The Mabin School, her goal is to maintain a collaborative, positive, and nurturing environment, and also to build legacy energy, a force that persists long after the school bell rings. She tells her younger self, and the students she mentors, to trust the path, even the detours.

If you walk into her school, you will feel like you are in a workshop of the future. You will trust her, because she is real, not rehearsed. Simone Gravesande is more than a principal; she is a protector of possibility, a community pillar, and exemplifies a new era in Canadian education