Prep School AUGUST 10, 2023
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Prep School Highlights
Prep School Highlights
Tuesday, Sept. 5
Orientation for new students
Wednesday, Sept. 6
🕓 First day of classes
THIS WEEK AT PREP
THIS WEEK AT PREP
Prep Leadership Team | Sarah Fleming, David Girard and Gareth Evans
Dear Prep Families,
A warm welcome to the 2023–24 school year! We hope you and your children are having a wonderful summer, spending time with friends and family and getting outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. We're looking forward to launching a new school year — there is such a sense of hope and possibility each September as we welcome new and returning students to campus.
This summer communication is designed to include information to help you prepare for the school year. You'll notice the Major Dates are linked above. This year, to support your planning, we have included all the conference days and early release days. The full Prep calendar for 2023–24 will be available on Bluenet on August 31 — information on how to subscribe will be shared in the August 31 issue of Heads Up.
Importantly, the updated 2023–24 Family Handbook is here for your reference. Please take the time to review as we make updates yearly, and there is important information for students and families.
The UCC campus has been buzzing with activity this summer with our summer camp program. We're excited for the return of students, beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 5 with New Student Orientation, and Wednesday, Sept. 6 with the first day of classes for Years 1 to 7. Our SK students will participate in family interviews on Sept. 6 and 7.
Focusing on your children and their unique learning needs is our core business. Each day, in every way, we work to offer transformational learning experiences that support the development of the head, heart and humanity of each student. Strong home-school partnerships are essential for a thriving school experience for your children. We look forward to cultivating connections with students and families — starting with greeting them as they arrive on campus in just a few weeks!
We'll continue to reach out as a Prep Leadership Team each week in Heads Up to keep you connected with learning and wellbeing at the Prep.
Your partners in education,
Sarah Fleming, Head of the Preparatory School
David Girard, Assistant Head of Primary
Gareth Evans, Assistant Head of Middle
Helpful reminders for September
Helpful reminders for September
Tuesday, Sept. 5: New Student Orientation Day
Only NEW Prep students (excluding SKs) will participate in the orientation.
Please arrive between 8:30 and 9 a.m.
Dismissal on this day is 11:30 a.m. for new students in Years 1–6
Dismissal on this day is 11:45 a.m. for new students in Year 7
Wednesday, Sept. 6: First full day of classes for all Year 1 to Year 7 students
Please arrive between 8 and 8:30 a.m.
SK students: Family interviews will be conducted on Wednesday, Sept. 6 and Thursday, Sept. 7 with a half day of school for SK students on Friday, Sept. 8.
Dismissal
The Prep Dismissal times for the 2023-24 school year are as follows:
SK–Year 2: 3:10 p.m.
Year 3–4: 3:25 p.m.
Year 5: 3:40 p.m.
Year 6–7: 3:50 p.m.
Wednesday Late Starts
Beginning Sept. 13, classes at the Prep will have a start time of 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, with student drop-off beginning at 9:15 a.m.
We will offer a supervised Before School Program on Wednesday mornings (with student drop-off from 8 to 8:30 a.m.) for families who may need earlier drop-off. This program will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 13 and be offered at no additional cost to families. Please see the article in Heads Up on the Wednesday Before School Program for more information and registration.
Uniform
The Prep School Dress Code is outlined starting at the bottom of p. 25 of the Family Handbook. There have been some adjustments to the Prep uniform, which simplify the requirements for families, introduces a weekly spirit wear dress day, and provides more appropriate footwear options.
You can view illustrations of the Preparatory School uniform items: SK–Year 4 and Years 5–7
Other ordering options are available here.
Textbook Ordering
Year 6 and 7 families should follow these instructions to order textbooks.
Lunch
The Prep lunch information can be found in the Hot Lunch article below.
Class lists
Families will receive notification of your child’s class by email on Wednesday, Aug. 30.
REGISTER | Hot Lunch Program
REGISTER | Hot Lunch Program
SK–Year 3 (lunch begins at 11:40 a.m.)
All SK students eat lunch in their classroom.
Year 1–3 students will eat in Weston Hall.
Parents may elect to send a lunch from home or sign up for the hot lunch program.
Home lunches must be nut/peanut free.
There is an optional milk program for students who bring their own lunch.
There is a snack program, which is available to SK students.
Year 4–5 (lunch begins at 11:40 a.m.)
Students will eat in the Dining Hall.
Parents may elect to send a lunch from home or sign up for the hot lunch program.
Home lunches must be nut/peanut free.
There is an optional milk program for students who bring their own lunch.
Year 6–7 (lunch begins at 12:10 p.m.)
Students will eat in the Dining Hall or Weston Hall.
Parents may elect to send a lunch from home or sign up for the hot lunch program.
Home lunches must be nut/peanut free.
There is an optional milk program for students who bring their own lunch.
Lunch Options
With the cooperation of Aramark, our food services provider, we offer all students the following three options at lunch:
The hot lunch program (includes beverages)
The menu, which operates on a three-week cycle, offers soup, one main entrée, one vegetarian entrée, a sandwich/salad bar and dessert every day. Milk and water (and chocolate milk as an occasional treat) are available. Students are permitted to line up for seconds.
The milk program (for those who bring their lunch from home)
Students may bring their lunch and enroll in the milk program, which offers milk and chocolate milk on occasion.
Lunch from home
Parents may opt to send lunch with their child. Thanks to the Prep Parent Organization, microwave ovens are available for all students. Students are expected to take home uneaten food in order to help parents gauge what is being eaten.
Expectations
Prior to registering for the hot lunch program, we would ask you to review a sample menu and consider whether a lunch brought from home or the hot lunch program best meets your child’s needs. Students will be encouraged to make sound nutritional choices and will be expected to finish with little or no food waste. They are always welcome to try an item and return for more. As students try different menu items over the course of the first menu cycle, there may be some waste. After this time, students will be expected to make good decisions about what and how much they take.
To ensure the safety of all students, parents are expected to ensure that any food items sent from home do not contain traces of any kind of nut or shellfish. Please discuss the importance of this strict requirement with your child. Your co-operation is essential and most sincerely appreciated.
PLEASE NOTE:
If you subscribe to one of the programs, the charges listed below are added to your child’s account on a term-by-term basis. Once registered at the beginning of the year students remain registered unless the parents advise the Prep Office by email.
There will be no credit for days remaining in a term if a parent withdraws from the program during the term, or days missed because of any absence.
Parents who sign up for the hot lunch program do not sign up for the milk program.
Bag lunches will be prepared for field trips as required for hot lunch registrants.
It is also important to note students cannot sign up part way through a term.
If you decide to register for the hot lunch program, you must sign up via your child's student profile page.
Here is the link to instructions on how to access your child’s student profile page.
REGISTER | Before School Program
REGISTER | Before School Program
Beginning Sept. 13, classes at the Prep will have a start time of 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, with student drop-off at 9:15 a.m.
To support this schedule change, we will offer a supervised before-school program on Wednesday mornings (with student drop-off from 8 to 8:30 a.m.) for families who may need earlier drop-off. This program will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 13 and be offered at no additional cost to families. It will be wellbeing focused and include activities such as mindfulness, physical games and homework club. The programming will be structured, age-appropriate and feel like an extension of the school day for those who attend.
If you decide to sign up for the Before School program you must sign up via your child's profile page.
Here is the link to instructions on how to access your child's profile page.
REGISTER | VEX IQ Robotics
REGISTER | VEX IQ Robotics
We're pleased to announce that VEX IQ will begin this fall for Year 6 and Year 7 students. VEX IQ is a competitive robotics program that gives students the opportunity to design and build robots that will participate in the newest VEX IQ game, Full Volume.
The nature of the program will require a significant commitment from participating students.
The group will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Upper School. Students wishing to participate in the competitive circuit (which we encourage but do not require) can also expect 3 or 4 weekend competitions throughout southern Ontario during the school year. There is an expectation that students will attend build days regularly — and while occasional absences are unavoidable attendance should be considered mandatory throughout the core build period of the season (September to March).
We can support up to 10 teams — depending on the interest level we may have to institute an application process. There is no cost to participate on the team, but there may be costs associated with competitions and team clothing throughout the year.
Please indicate your intent to participate in VEX IQ robotics by completing this form.
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