December 5, 2024
Course Selection Information
Course selection information sessions for students are coming up in December.
F1: During Buddy Sessions in December
F2 to M4: On December 12 during grade-wide assemblies – details will be shared with students
S5: During Guidance Seminar Class in December.
Virtual course selection sessions for parents and guardians will take place in January.
F1 and F2: January 20, 2025
M3: January 21, 2025
M4 and S5: January 16, 2025
More information will be available via Google Classroom for students and MyUTS for parents and guardians ahead of the parent evenings in January.
Social Work Update
Earlier this week students received an email about how to access Social Work at UTS and information about changes occurring.
As Marleen Constantin starts maternity leave this Friday, December 4, please join us in welcoming Avi Magidsohn to the Social Work Team who will be filling Marleen’s leave and at UTS Monday to Friday.
Stephanie Stavro-Pearce and Joelle Therriault remain available to support students as needed.
To book an appointment, students can email social.work.staff@utschools.ca, email any Social Worker directly, and/or visit their appointment calendar and choose a time that works.
We remind students that like physical health, we all have our mental health to care for and consider.
If you have or questions, please do not hesitate to connect.
Read The Root, the UTS Alumni Magazine
This issue of our alumni magazine, The Root, celebrates the careers and communities of 12 alumni making their mark in culinary and vinicultural arts and sciences, as well as restaurateurs, brewmasters and cider makers. Find out how sustenance becomes a fine art, sustainability serves as a bottom line, and historic traditions of wine, beer and cider making are reinvented for the modern age. Read The Root.
Winter Donation Drive
December 9 to December 17, 2025
The Student Outreach Coordinators are organizing the annual UTS winter donation drive from December 9 to December 17.
Each year, UTS students vote on a charity to support. This year, we are collecting items for Covenant House, one of Canada’s largest agencies serving youth who are homeless, trafficked or at risk.
We invite you to donate items including:
Hygiene items
New socks and undergarments
Gently used clothing (sized to fit age 16-24)
Non-perishable food items
Collection bins will be placed in the Fleck Atrium. Thank you for supporting Covenant House!
Frankfurt Exchange Program
Virtual Information Night: December 10, 2024 at 6 p.m.
Trip dates: June 18 to June 28, 2025
M3 to S6 students are invited to take part in the Maximum City program with our partner school in Frankfurt, Germany from June 18 to 28, 2025. Students live with host families and attend the program with their German counterparts. A unique cross-cultural learning experience, the program engages with pressing challenges facing communities through award winning, hands-on, expert-led learning. The approximate cost ranges from $3,800 to $4,000.
There will be a Zoom information meeting for interested (or simply curious) parents on Tuesday, December 10 at 6 p.m. Complete this Expression of Interest form to receive your calendar invitation and Zoom link.
For more information, view our 2023 Program Video, or contact Richard Cook at racook@utschools.ca or Nicola Townend at ntownend@utschools.ca.
UTS Winter Concert
Tuesday, December 17, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
All co-curricular music ensembles and the M4, S5 and S6 music classes will be performing an assortment of music to celebrate the end of the term and the winter holidays.
For families and guests to the school, tickets are $5 when purchased through SchoolCash Online. Sales will open on December 1 and close at noon on December 17. Tickets purchased at the door are $10.
All families are encouraged to bring an item to donate to our Winter Donation Drive in support of Covenant House (e.g. toiletries and personal hygiene items, gently used clothing and non-perishable food items).
UTS Partnership with CALIPER (SickKids)
Wednesday, December 18, 2025
UTS is excited to once again partner with the SickKids CALIPER Project. The CALIPER Study is a nation-wide initiative at SickKids that seeks to improve the diagnosis and care of children with medical concerns. The goal is to establish reference intervals (normal ranges) for blood test interpretation in children.
Click here for more information.
Caliper will be at UTS on Wednesday December 18. Participation in this initiative is voluntary for UTS students. If your child is interested in participating, please complete and submit the forms at this secure link (the secure link will take you to SickKids consent page).
Children and adolescents up to age 18 are eligible to participate. Parent/guardian consent is required for an individual under the age of 16.
CALIPER participants will receive:
$10 honorarium
Two community service hours
Choice of a CALIPER t-shirt or teddy bear.
Participation takes ~15 minutes and requires:
A small blood sample (~ 1 tbsp)
A short health questionnaire
Informed participant and parental/guardian consent (if less than 16 years of age).
For questions, reach out to school nurse Adi Sood.
TCard for Evans Library and U of T Libraries
Our students have the opportunity to use not just the physical, digital and space resources at the Evans Library at UTS, but also the amazing physical and digital resources provided through the U of T Libraries, as well as study spaces such as Robarts.
To access all of these resources, students need to present their TCard to Library staff. Starting in January, Evans Library staff will require students to present their TCard to check out materials. We will no longer make exceptions or accept student cards, emails, name etc. Students are already required to swipe their TCard to get into Robarts or to check out materials from U of T Libraries.
All new UTS students have received their TCard, or received email instructions from Evans Library staff about how to get their TCard. Students get one TCard for their entire time at UTS. If the card is lost, they will need to follow instructions in the Student Portal to have it replaced.
Please help your students access the amazing educational resources available to them by ensuring they have their TCard and bring it to school every day.
December Lunch Menus
Please see the lunch menus for December below:
Session for Parents and Guardians featuring Paul Davis
Thursday, January 9, 2025
UTS and UTSPA are pleased to co-present Paul Davis, an IT expert with over 33 years of experience, to speak to our parent and guardian community about online safety. Join us on Thursday, January 9, 2025 at UTS for this in-person event.
This session will cover important topics such as social media, digital footprints, smartphones and online security. Paul provides essential knowledge to help young people make informed and safe choices online. We are excited to offer this important learning opportunity for UTS families. Click here to register.
M3 Ottawa Tour
Registration Deadline: January 17, 2025
Dates: April 30 to May 2, 2025
Organized by: Brightspark (TICO-registered tour operator specializing in student group travel)
What’s Included:
A unique opportunity for UTS students to participate in an educational and enriching tour of Ottawa
See letter for parents/guardians and registration instructions here
Supplementary bursary is available for eligible students
For further details, please reach out to studentlife@utshcools.ca.
UTS Bursary Fund
’Tis almost the season! Honour your child’s teachers! Are you looking for the perfect way to honour a UTS staff member this holiday season? Make a gift to the UTS Bursary Fund in their honour and help UTS students at the same time.
Personalized notification messages will be sent to honorees – please make your donation by December 16!
Gifts of Securities
Making a gift of publicly traded stocks, bonds and other securities is a tax-smart and easy way to support UTS. All direct gifts of securities are exempt from capital gains tax which makes them a popular donation vehicle. As a reminder, the Office of Advancement will be closing on December 20 and will reopen on January 6, so if you are planning to make a gift of securities in 2024, we encourage you to send your completed donation form by December 6 to ensure settlement before year's end.
UTS Shop: Order in Time for the Holidays
Place your order by Friday, December 6 for shipping or by Monday, December 16 for in-school pick-up.
Note that labour action by Canada Post may impact these deadlines.
