March 17, 2023

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Staffing Updates

This year, unlike any other year, we have seen an unusual number of teachers leave UTS for positions outside Toronto and the Province. Earlier this year we said our goodbyes to Vernon Kee and Daniel Genesee. In January, Katherine Joyce, had confirmed that her adventures in the North are not yet over, and that she decided to stay in the Northwest Territories for the foreseeable future. We also received notice from Janice Keene and Laura Ross that they are moving away and will not be returning in September of 2023. Most recently we heard from Cassy Postma and Michael Knox that they have accepted positions at adjoining schools, St. Anne’s and St. Andrew’s in Aurora. For both, the new positions bring them closer to their families and drastically reduce commute times.

You will have seen the number of postings we advertised since late January. We are fortunate in that we are experiencing great interest in UTS from highly qualified candidates. The Academic Admin Team has been working hard to shortlist and interview candidates from a long list of applicants. Although we typically announce the new hires in May, when all positions have been filled, we thought it would be good to update you where we were able to finalize a hire for a vacant position.

We are happy to report that:

The two CWS vacancies have been filled. They include Chris Walasek, who has been teaching CWS at UTS for a number of years in an LTO capacity, and Gowsiga Thirunavukkarasu, who worked at UTS as an Associate Teacher from 2017 to 2020, and comes back with teaching experience at TDSB and BSS.
We have hired Adnan Zuberi for the Computer Science-Math position. Adnan currently teaches at Branksome Hall. He is passionate about coaching and inspiring students in advanced robotics projects and brings with him a good deal of experience managing artificial intelligence programs and activities.
The 40% German sections open for Nicola Townend’s one-year leave of absence will be covered by Miriam Swatuk. Miriam is a Teacher Trainer, Language Instructor and Workshop Facilitator at the Goethe-Institut. She comes to UTS at the encouragement of Nicola.

The Academic Team will continue with its current interview schedule and we hope to be able to announce more hiring decisions in the coming weeks.

UTS Charity Week Silent Auction

UTS Charity Week is a week-long fundraising drive that brings together the UTS community in support of an important Canadian charity.

This year, the Charity Week will take place from April 24 to 28 in support of Interval House, as voted upon by the student body.

Please click here to learn more about the work that Interval House does to support women survivors of domestic violence and their children.

We are looking for donations for the annual Silent Auction and would love your support! See last year's auction offerings here.

Please complete this form before April 5 with information about the items you'd like to donate. Donations and/or cheques can be dropped off to the Admissions Office (Room 254) from now until April 7. Please fill out the form more than once if you are donating more than one item.

Thanks for your support!

Charline Wan + SOCs (Akshita, Curtis, Daniel, Fiona, Maya)

Fun Fact Bingo!

Last week, the three fun facts challenged all respondents. Thank you for your entries and answers!

Yogita, Negar, Garth, Charline and Mike F. guessed correctly that Raymond studied Zoology at U of T and then went on to study Fashion Design at FIT Suny.
Cat guessed correctly that Jennifer has run three marathons, including NYC and Boston!
Shawn guessed correctly Liz S.’s secret talents as a scuba diver and chainsaw operator!
The Comms office will have cookies on Monday, March 27 - you are welcome to come and say hello in Room 256 to claim your “I Got 1/3 Prize”. Will anyone guess all three staff this week?

This week’s fun facts are: