March 7, 2024

Written By UTS

Fostering Brilliance

Listening truly is learning! This week’s online Community Forum was a wonderful opportunity to hear what is foremost on your minds as UTS parents, and to better understand your questions and concerns. Thank you to the more than 200 guests who joined me. 

Many of the questions were addressed at the event or will be answered in the Frequently Asked Questions document to come. Others are works in progress for deliberation and planning, as we continue to evolve our school for the now and for the future. A few are very specific questions and I will answer those directly with parents. 

Creating these open channels for communication and encouraging dialogue in our community are so important. We are a diverse community where different experiences, ideas and beliefs come together. We are united, however, in our deep commitment to nurturing a place of learning for each and every one of our children, a place where they feel seen, heard and respected. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us and for sharing what’s on your mind. For those of you who weren’t able to attend, I invite you to watch the Community Forum recording. We are also developing a Frequently Asked Questions document to share with you in the near future.

I wish you and your families a wonderful and restful March Break, and look forward to Coffee Mornings for parents later this month and in April, where we can continue to build upon these conversations together on the journey towards mutual understanding.

Staffing Announcements

UTS is undertaking some organizational changes to enhance our continuously evolving strategic priorities.

As you know, Garth Chalmers will begin a new role in British Columbia as the Head of School at Brentwood College School effective July 1, 2024. 

With Garth leaving, there was an opportunity to review the academic leadership team at UTS and make some changes to ensure that the needs of our community of students, parents and staff are effectively prioritized. 

On March 1, 2024, Dr. Kimberley Tavares was appointed the Deputy Principal of UTS. Dr. Tavares will oversee the entire academic team, including the new positions and changes in roles for current members of our academic staff.

The following is a table of all academic roles, with our incoming staff in italics (introductions provided in this document), and existing staff with their responsibilities and titles as of July 1.

Upcoming Late Starts

A reminder, that tomorrow (March 8) will be a late start for the Staff Appreciation Breakfast.

As well, the first day back after March Break (March 25) will also be a late start for Teacher Professional Development.

Report Cards

Report Cards will be available on the Parent Portal the last week of April 2024.

More instructions and details about the specific date and time the links will be published on the portal will be posted in future UTS Updates.

Summer Camps Registration Now Open

Looking for your challenge? Find it at UTS summer camps.
Register for UTS Summer and March Break Camps here. Camps range in ages from Grade 4 to Grade 11, and offer everything from App Development and Parliamentary Debate to Global Health and Urban Design. Please email camps@utschools.ca for more information.

Measles Update

With March Break fast approaching, many families may have vacation plans. Due to travel and the potential of people missing their measles vaccinations during the pandemic, measles is on the rise. 

Measles is a very contagious viral infection and the virus can spread easily to others through the air when they come in contact with droplets of an infected person or the air when an infected person has breathed, coughed or sneezed. Symptoms include a red rash, fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and feeling tired. Click here for more information. 

All individuals should consider getting vaccinated before they travel especially if they are not up-to-date or have never had a measles infection. The vaccination is available at your local doctors office or a public health clinic for school-aged children. If you have questions, please contact Toronto Public Health at publichealth@toronto.ca or 416-338-7600 (TTY: 416-392-0658), Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Parent and Guardian Coffee Mornings with Dr. Foster
March 26, April 3 and April 4

You are invited to join UTS Principal Dr. Leanne Foster and other UTS representatives for coffee mornings at the school from 8 to 9 a.m. Click on the links below for the event specific to your grade. We look forward to seeing you!

Additional Grad Photo Dates

Lifetouch will return to UTS April 9 to 11 to capture graduates who missed the February dates.

Sign ups will open after March break.

Flame Fresh Lunch Menu

Here are the March menus from Flame Fresh including the list of ingredients.

For March in addition to the regular menu they are offering a vegetarian menu in hopes of ensuring there are options for everyone.

Please check out their tasty new vegetarian options. 

Mindful Munch Lunch Menu

UTS is also offering a hot lunch menu through Mindful Munch, which is brought to you by Basil Box! You can see the March menu here.

Please place your order for March here.

UTS Charity Week

Lunchtime events are taking place this week, with proceeds going to support a Food Pantry program, a collaboration between Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed the People) and the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

Raffle tickets can be purchased for $3 (see here for raffle prizes) and vegetarian samosas will be available for sale tomorrow, $3 for 1, $5 for 2, or $10 for 5.

All sales take place in the atrium/kitchen and are cash only!

Lost & Found

A reminder that all lost and found items that are not retrieved by March 31 will be recycled or donated.

Lost and found is located at Main Office / L1 student commons.

UTS Shop - New Items

The UTS Shop is the place to go for UTSers to show their school pride! 

Get ready for those upcoming road trips with your new UTS licence plate frame! 

Stay safe with UTS - introducing our RFID pouch - a sleek and secure solution for safeguarding your essentials. This pouch features two compartments, an internal key chain, and RFID protection, ensuring the utmost security for your car fob and cards. Functionality and style available at the UTS Shop!

Calendars

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