May 13, 2022
COVID-19 Update
UTS reported 4 confirmed COVID-19 cases among in-person staff and students during the week of May 9-13.
These numbers are updated every Thursday and can be found in the document below.
Upcoming Events
Fire Drill Monday: Monday, May 16 at 12:30 p.m.
Gauss Math Contest (F1 & F2): Wednesday, May 18 from 9 - 10 a.m.
Factor - Inwentash Survey: Wednesday, May 18 during the final 30 minutes of Block F.
GSA & AEA Presents: Miss Nookie Galore Wednesday, May 18
Lockdown Drill Thursday, May 19 at 11 a.m.
Department Coordinator Meeting Thursday, May 19 at 3:30 p.m.
Asians and Mental Health Panel (131) Thursday, May 19 at lunch
Reel Asians: Asians in the Arts (344) Friday, May 20 at lunch
New Dates for Return to Bloor Events
Due to the current construction labour strikes, the Return to Bloor Open House event planned for the weekend of June 17-18 will now be held the weekend of September 16-17.
The Return to Bloor community-wide Open House will be held on Saturday, September 17 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
The date is noted on the UTS Calendar.
Message from UTS Social Work
As a follow-up to last week’s message from the UTS Social Work team, Steph and Joelle invite any interested staff to join us for a check-in this coming Monday May 16 at 3:30 p.m in Room 135.
Our goal is to hold space for the ongoing grief support staff are providing by sharing information, being available to consult, and act as a resource for you in your day-to-day work.
Please come join us. Thank you for continuing to support our students and community.
Please feel free to reach out to us at any time by dropping by Room 340 or emailing social.work.staff@utschools.ca
Staffing Update
We would like to welcome a new member of our teaching staff to UTS.
Adria Lee will be teaching within the CWS department until the end of the school year.
Adria is an MT student at OISE, who completed her practicum here at UTS.
Welcome Adria!
F2 Sustainability YLLT Programming
In addition to the F2 curricular connections to Sustainability, Cresencia and Richard, along with our awesome team of staff and student mentors - CYPJ, FERM, MCLJ, NEZO, STRE, Kateryna Paschenko (OISE MT), Adria Lee (OISE MT), Shreya Shah (S5), Grace ML Ko (M4), Anna Reso (S6) - will be facilitating the following programming, to support the sustainability campaigns the F2 student teams are bringing to UTS students and staff throughout May and June.
May 12-13: Online Synchronous Sessions
F2 students continued with Sustainability Year-Long Learning Theme (YLLT) programming, online via Zoom on these PTI dates:
May 12: 10:30 - 12:30 p.m.
“7Rs of Circular Fashion” workshop facilitated by: Kelly Drennan (Founder - Fashion Takes Action)
Collaboration time to work on sustainability campaigns
May 13: 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.
“The Circular Economy” - Guest speaker: Frances Edmonds (Head of Sustainable Impact - HP Canada)
Collaboration time to work on sustainability campaigns
All F2 students are expected to participate in this online Sustainability learning as part of their UTS Foundation Diploma requirements.
To see how sustainability is being woven across F2 courses this year, check out this curriculum map that F2 teachers have put together.
F2 Teachers - You’re invited to springboard off of either of these guest speakers’ talks for extension or further discussion in your classes. These talks will be recorded and will be shared with you.
June 6: Crawford Lake
As part of the F2 Sustainability YLLT, all F2s will be visiting Crawford Lake all day on June 6.
This will affect Block B class (a.m.) and Block C class (p.m.) that day. F2 Block B and C teachers have already been notified.
Here is the itinerary for this June 6 field trip.
F2 Teachers - You’re invited to use this F2 experience as a springboard for extensions, learning activities or discussions in your classroom.
If you would like to come on this field trip with us, please let Cresencia know.
Continued Masking at UTS
A gentle reminder to all staff that UTS is continuing with its mandatory medical masking policy for all staff and students.
Staff (and students) are required to wear their masks in the classrooms and hallways at all times. If you notice students are not masking, please ask them to do so.
Staff are allowed to have their masks off under the following conditions:
if they are eating at their desks
in a space (staff room/office) by themselves - however as soon as someone walks in, they have to put their masks on if not actively eating.
We encourage all staff and students to take advantage of the warmer weather during their break and lunch time. This would also allow for increased opportunities for mask breaks.
Parent Update
New in this update: Information on additional dates for parents interested in tours of the renewed 371 Bloor St. W building, a notice to parents about two upcoming surveys for students this month along with required parental consent forms, details on an upcoming workshop for students to learn organization strategies, studying techniques, and test-taking tips from S5/S6 peer tutors, ticket information and concert dates for our upcoming music nights.
Silver Lining
Every week, we will close the Staff Update with a little silver lining that highlights the lighter side of life. So far the theme has been pet photos, but any cheerful content is welcome!
Submit Silver Linings here or in the Staff Updates Google Doc.
This week’s share is from Negar Shayan .
