December 23, 2022
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
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.
School Access During Break
A reminder to staff that the school will be locked during the break and there will be no access for staff to the building.
Vaccination Policy
UTS has updated our Vaccination Policy.
The Policy strongly recommends that our community receives recent and up-to-date vaccines against COVID-19, the seasonal flu, and any other pandemic for which a vaccine is available and recommended by the Health Canada and/or the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health.
This Policy applies to all teachers, staff and students of the School who attend in-person for the 2022-23 school year and has been extended to cover the 2023-24 school year.
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.
Here is the agenda and the forms for sign up for CoLAB sessions.
Notes From Guidance
Students who require references in support of applications due in January (postsecondary or otherwise) were asked to connect with teacher referees prior to the December break.
Students understand that teachers are under no obligation to write or submit references between December 23 - January 9, unless there’s teacher agreement.
Perspectives on Fostering Equitable Approaches to Deeper Learning in K-12 Education
Access slides, video recording, and resources from the December 22 Learning Conversation (“Setting the Context & UTS Examples of Deeper Learning”) are available here. Hosted by Kim Mackinnon and Cresencia, this conversation set the context for this new conversation series, and highlighted some UTS classroom examples of deeper learning from Richard Cook, Mita Bhattacharyya, Jen Kelly, Kristen Chen, and Charlotte Speilman.
In addition to some UTS colleagues, our incoming Principal Leanne Foster, and our research collaborators in Japan (Hajime Shirouzu, Moegi Saito, Masaru Yamazaki) joined the conversation.
This was the first of six learning conversations about Perspectives on Fostering Equitable Approaches to Deeper Learning in K-12 Education.
The next conversation will be on January 13, at 7:30 am via zoom. Calendar invitation to all educators will be sent shortly.
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.
Parent Updates
In this update you will find information on our updated vaccination policy for staff and students, dates and ticket information for SHOW performances, a housekeeping note for students before the end of the year, the January lunch menu, 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.
