December 16, 2022
“One of the most powerful truths we can offer our children is the knowledge that we’re all learning. None of us have arrived; we all have room to grow. This frees our kids from expecting perfection from themselves—or anyone else—because they know that life is a journey.”
Have a quote you would like to submit for next week’s Staff Update? Click here to share the words of wisdom that inspired you most recently.
Staffing Announcement
Sarah Behl will join the Office of Advancement on January 9, 2023 in the position of Senior Development and Community Relations Officer.
Sarah is currently Advancement Associate at St. Clements School and joins UTS with a wealth of independent school Advancement experience. She will support UTSPA and also many fundraising initiatives for the school.
Please give Sarah a warm welcome when you meet her in January!
Retirement Party
To celebrate Linda Coopman’s retirement after over 16 years at UTS, all staff are invited to L’Espresso Bar Mercurio on Friday, January 13, 2023 from 4 to 7 p.m.
Please join us to wish Linda all the best on her next adventures!
Return to Work Declaration
A reminder to all OSSTF teachers to complete the 2023 Return to Work Declaration sent via email to Lily McGregor by January 31, 2023
Staff Meeting
There will be a staff meeting on Monday, December 19 at 4 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room.
Staff PD
Staff PD will be held on January 9 and 10 - breakfast and coffee will be offered starting at 8:30 a.m., with sessions on both days start at 8:55 a.m. and running until 3:30 p.m.
January 9 will be department AEDI work in the morning for all staff. Teachers will also be working on Academics in Departments in the afternoon.
On January 10, teachers will have a selection of CoLab sessions on Digital citizenship and Student support in the morning followed by work in Department in the afternoon.
Admissions Stage 2 Interviews
Admissions Stage 2 takes place on Saturday, January 28 and we need your help to interview prospective students. This year’s admissions interviews will be held in-person for the first time in two years.
Our day will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and lunch will be served.
Anyone interested in should sign up by January 9.
Student Work Over Winter Break
Teachers, please remember that students should not be assigned work over the break.
Roborium
The after-school Roborium will be open Monday-Thursday until December 22 and resuming in the new year on Monday, January 16.
During the school day, the Roborium is only available for those students with ESPs.
Please use this booking form to submit your requests for Roborium testing.
Fridge Clean Out
Please remove any food from the fridges prior to leaving on December 23rd.
Caretaking will be cleaning the fridges over the break and all food left behind will be discarded.
Lang Innovation Lab: Laser Cutter Workshop
Thank you to those who attended the first laser cutter workshop with alum Naomi Boyd ‘17.
For those who missed it/were unable to attend, a recording of the workshop can be found here.
In addition, a virtual training session with Trotec (the laser cutter company), can be found here.
If anyone has any questions or ideas regarding the laser cutter or specific projects, Naomi is available for consultation by email at naomidboyd@gmail.com, or you can stop by the Lang Innovation Lab to discuss with Sean Hayto.
Class Reunions
Staff are invited to attend three upcoming class reunions. The Classes of 2020, 2021, 2022 are coming back on December 21 and 22 for separate Homecoming reunions.
Alumni always enjoy seeing staff at these events, and we encourage you to drop in.
Please fill out this Google Form to indicate which events you plan on attending.
Please note, the Class of 2021 and 2022 will be having luncheons at UTS. The Class of 2020 will have an afternoon tour UTS and a social at The Fortunate Fox.
Notes From Guidance
Starting this week, all of our early U.S. and U.K. university applicants will be hearing back from their international institutions of top choice.
For some, they will receive news of an offer; however, others may receive deferrals or declines. Counsellors have asked students to share application updates with their teacher referees, although we understand that some students may be uncomfortable doing so particularly if the news they received isn’t positive. We recognise and appreciate the amount of effort teachers have dedicated to supporting S6 university applications, and we thank you for this. Acknowledging our collective excitement and good will, we still ask that we please refrain from inquiring about any student’s university application outcomes, especially in public settings. As always, if you have any questions, please contact a member of the Student Services team.
Final note to S6 Teacher Referees: Please ensure that any remaining letters of support / documentation are uploaded into Naviance before 8:30 a.m. on Monday, December 19. We recognise that Naviance indicates a January deadline; however, counsellors need to check, double check and send all school documentation by December 21.
Looking ahead: S6 mark updates for Canadian and U.S. applications are due Wednesday, January 25 at 9 a.m.
Athletics Calendars
Parent Updates
In this update you will find information on picking up lost and found items before the December break, end-of-year housekeeping, a UTS food drive, a Canadian universities panel for S5 and S6 students featuring UTS alumni, and more.
COVID-19 Case Counter
COVID numbers are updated every Thursday and can be found here in this document.
Silver Linings
Have a silver lining you would like to submit for next week’s Staff Update? Click here to share something that brought you joy recently.
This week’s share comes from Negar Shayan.
