October 19, 2023

Written By UTS

Fostering Brilliance

What does it mean for a school to be a brave space for students? A brave space for families? A brave space for staff? What does a brave space even look like or sound like? I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently as we continue to tackle the challenge of helping students better understand the damage done to a school community when respect declines and hate seeps in.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if schools were safe spaces where nothing can hurt us, where we feel no discomfort, where everyone agrees. Sadly, I don’t think that type of school (or workplace) exists. Sometimes in schools, children encounter things that make them feel unsafe – an unkind word, a thoughtless act, a moment of anger or microaggression. Sometimes they experience intentional acts meant to harm. These sometimes random, often unforeseen, hopefully unintentional but nonetheless harmful things cause them pain, make them angry and diminish their feeling of safety. 

A brave space, on the other hand, is one that acknowledges the unfortunate but inevitable reality of discomfort. A brave space teaches that disagreements are unavoidable, and focuses not on rescuing the child from whatever difficult emotions may arise but on building individual and collective resilience by fostering positive intent and putting systemic support in place. A brave space allows silenced voices to be heard, ensures those most often excluded are given a seat at the table, and knows that growth comes out of moments of adversity. 

Leaders in brave spaces see challenges as opportunities for connection. They never hide from disagreement or try to defend their position. They use the difficult moment as a vehicle to listen respectfully and deeply in the service of understanding. Leaders in brave spaces hold themselves accountable for the impact of their words and actions in the space they lead, while gently holding others to account, as well. They understand the work to be challenging, exhilarating, sometimes exhausting, often frustrating, but always essential.

As parents, we want nothing more than to save our children from distress. It pains us to watch them struggle, and if you are anything like me, moving to “problem-solving superhero” mode on their behalf happens almost instantaneously and instinctively. We want to fix the problem because watching them struggle is hard.

I often think back to toddlerhood, the time when my daughter’s learning was all about falling down and getting back up, about the block tower tumbling to the ground, the fingertip burned in the birthday candle flame. (We have that last one on video and I still feel like I should have seen it coming.) Had I saved my daughter from the fall, the tumbling blocks, the flame, I would have deprived her of learning. She wouldn’t be the resilient problem-solver she is (although she might not have a lasting fear of candles.)

Author Barbara Colorosso writes on parenting, and her books have been around for decades. Her notion of allowing for “non-catastrophic failure” always stuck in my brain – this notion that failure (apart from anything that is truly going to cause immense harm) should be allowed to happen because that is where learning takes place. In some ways, I see this idea sitting gently in the middle of brave spaces because without acceptance that failure is a part of our children engaging bravely, we will never allow them the opportunity to grow.

I’ll end by sharing what researcher and author Brené Brown sees as the components of brave spaces: grace, no judgement and the ability to practice. I hope our families will join us in creating a brave space at UTS that allows us to make a difference in the lives of our children and holds us up to others as a model of high achievement, not only in academics, but in empathy and compassion, as well. 

CORRECTION: Last week I wrote that Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School was closed on Friday, October 13. While the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre was closed that day, the school was open and serving its community of students. I thank Dr. Amy Platt, Principal at Paul Penna, for notifying me of the error, and also for offering such a warm welcome to me as a new neighbour. 

Dr. Leanne Foster

UTS Principal

UTS Calendar

Late Start - October 25

Please note there will be a late start on October 25.

No students should be in the building until 10 a.m. 

Online Parent Teacher Interviews

Online Parent-Teacher Interviews will be offered on November 9 and 17 through pickAtime. Parents will be able to book appointments from October 26 at 9 a.m until November 3 at 11 p.m. Student schedules will not be visible until booking opens on October 26.

Click here for instructions on how to book your Parent-Teacher Interviews.

To request translation services for Parent-Teacher interviews, please complete the Translation Service Request Form. 

If you have questions, please email pickatime@utschools.ca

F1/F2 Service Saturday

This is a reminder that all F1s and F2s are asked to be at UTS on Saturday, October 28 from 10:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for Service Saturday.

Students will be partnered with an organization and in groups of 20 will build empathy and do collective community service, gaining four hours of volunteer service. Pizza lunch is served; however, students are encouraged to bring a snack and water bottle. All students are asked to enter at the Washington Street entrance.

Also on Service Saturday, we are supporting the Bethany Church Food Bank. Please bring in any non-perishable items to support this cause - no amount is too small! Items to donate are appreciated: rice, pasta, tomato sauce, tuna, soup, peanut butter, cereal, anything that people have in their own homes. Questions? Reach out to catherine.wachter@utschools.ca.

F1 Organization Workshop

For those F1s who missed the first two organization workshops, slides have been posted into the F1 Guidance Google Classroom. 

They can also be found here for parents (access via UTS student email) to peruse so that they can continue to support the conversation at home.

UTS Language Exchange Program

Attention all F2 and M3 students interested in participating in the nine-week reciprocal exchange program to France, Spain, Switzerland or Germany during the 2024-25 academic year, as well as F2 to S6 students interested in summer exchanges: there will be an online information meeting for parents and students on Tuesday, November 7 from 5 to 6 p.m. 

The meeting will be hosted by a representative from International Student Exchanges - Ontario. If you would like to attend this meeting or to receive more information, please RSVP to Mme Shayan through this Google Form so that she can send you the Google Meet invitation/link.

October Lunch Menus

We offer two daily lunch ordering options. Please find the daily options for October lunches here.

Please find the Zero-Waste options here.

UTSPA General Meeting

As parents of UTS students, you are invited to attend the UTSPA General Meeting on November 15, which will take place in the Multi-Purpose Room from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

General Meetings hosted by UTSPA often include panel discussions and special guest speakers that provide valuable insights and information.

Stay tuned for more information about the General Meeting.

Build Your Own Air Purifier Workshop

On behalf of UTSPA, the Sustainability Committee is planning a DIY workshop for parents and students on building your own air purifier, or Corsi-Rosenthal box.

Click here to indicate your interest in this workshop; participants will be responsible for purchasing their own supplies (you will be given more information on what you will need, and the cost of parts for air purifiers can range from $80 to $190 per unit). 

You will have the opportunity to have guided instruction on how to build your own purifier with other UTS families, and receive valuable information about indoor air quality.

Postsecondary Application Updates

S6 students will be working with counsellors on their out of province/country applications during our scheduled Guidance Seminar class this week.

Families are also reminded that U.S. applications must be submitted by the student (through the Common Application or college portal) by the posted institutional deadline (typically November 1 for early applications).

Check out the UTS Shop

The UTS Shop is open! Enjoy this cozy time of year in full UTS style. Stay dry with a UTS umbrella, keep warm with a UTS toque, and more!

Visit the UTS Shop today!

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