January 27, 2023
“The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished.”
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
Stephanie Stavro-Pearce will begin parental leave on February 13, 2023. Her last day at UTS will be February 10. We wish Stephanie all the best on her leave and the arrival of her baby.
We are pleased to announce that Rachel MacEwan has been hired to cover Stephanie’s position while she is on leave. Rachel holds a Master's of Social Work and a Bachelor of Music Therapy. She has clinical social work experience with child, youth and family therapy, and is a certified music therapist. She is also a graduate research assistant at University of Toronto.
AEDI - Whole School Student Completion of Panorama Equity & Inclusion Survey
On February 9, period 2 teachers will be asked to distribute and supervise students as they complete the 2023 Panorama Survey.
As done in 2020, this equity and inclusion climate survey is designed to give us a sense of and pulse on how students are feeling, relative to equity and inclusion in the school community.
The online survey should take no more than 30-40 minutes to complete. Hijab, will provide more details to period 1 teachers in the coming days.
Please let Kim know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you in advance for your support as we continue to implement the Glaze recommendations and work to make UTS an even more inclusive space.
Equitable Approaches to Deeper Learning: A Learning Conversation Series
We had our 3rd conversation on Wed. Jan. 25, where Chriss Bogert and Richard Messina (VP & Principal of Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study) shared about powerful ways they are using Knowledge Building with students; to foster habits of mind where knowledge is continuously and collaboratively improvable through curiosity/playing with ideas, inquiry, experimentation, discourse (in-person + asynchronous), awareness of whose voice is missing and intentionally inviting these voices.
It was a very inspiring conversation!
We invite you to check out the session materials and video recording.
Next convo is Fri. Feb. 10 (7:30-8:30 am) - Usha James (Executive Director @ Critical Thinking Consortium) will share about ways to foster Critical Thinking for equity in learning.
Please see the Learning Conversation Series’ schedule for more info.
Job-Embedded PD Opportunity for Teachers
Teachers - if you’re interested in 1:1 support through a Critical Making Support Triad - please submit this interest form by January 20 - teachers get support sessions:
Preliminary meeting to discuss curricular ideas for integration of Making and areas of interest
Explore making activities that align with topics discussed in the previous meeting
Design and plan for classroom implementation
Meeting before classroom implementation (if needed)
I-Lab shoulder-to-shoulder support with Aakriti + Sean (as many sessions as needed)
Reflection Debrief sessions with Teachers with Rubaina + Aakriti + Sean + Cresencia
Student Vaccination Clinic
Toronto Public Health will be on site on March 1st to offer a catch-up clinic for mandatory school vaccinations to M3-S6 students.
Please do not schedule any assessments during that day.
Parent Updates
In this update you will find information on the upcoming course selection deadline, our 2023 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Student Survey, Tuition Forum materials, Grad Photos, SHOW performance times and tickets, a call for mentors for the UTS Timeraiser Startup Accelerator and more.
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.
Our newest feature was suggested by JPL after she watched Sherly hit the light switch with a “Silly Slammer” a gift from Linda C. It is called, “How do you keep the lights on”? Entries are welcome.
