Dear UCC Families,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Elizabeth Kennedy as our new Director of the Wernham West Centre for Learning and Student Services. In this role, Liz will collaborate with colleagues across the College to deliver exemplary student support programs and services to meet the learning, physical and social-emotional wellbeing needs of our students.

We welcome Liz to UCC from the Prince Edward Island Department of Education where she currently serves as the Provincial Program Lead responsible for coordinating student services in mental health and wellbeing for schools across the province. Prior to moving to PEI, Liz worked with the Halton Board of Education for 20 years as a Principal and Vice-Principal with a focus on equity, inclusion and special education. She began her career as a special education and classroom teacher working both in Canada and internationally.

Liz holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University, a postgraduate certificate in education from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and a Master’s in Education Leadership from the University of Prince Edward Island. 

Please join me in welcoming Liz to our school community. She’s looking forward to returning to Ontario this summer with her family and beginning her new role with UCC in August. 

Warm regards,

Dr. Julia Kinnear

Academic Dean

Head of the Preparatory School

There will be no classes from Monday, March 11 to Friday, March 22, 2024. Classes resume on Monday, March 25, 2024. 

During this time, Heads Up will not be in circulation. We hope you have a wonderful March Break!

The College's calendar of school holidays and key dates is available at the following link: Major Dates 2024–25 Calendar.

Do you know a volunteer who has made a significant contribution to College life? If so, the UCC Association would like to know by midnight on March 20, 2024.

The Harold A.D. Roberts Circle Award is given annually in recognition of substantial contributions or special service by members of the UCC community, either through short-term involvement or long-term commitment. It recognizes those who go above and beyond the call of duty to significantly improve the UCC Association and the College. 

This award complements the John D. Stevenson Award and expands the ability to recognize outstanding contributions to UCC. The 2023 recipients were Barry Hill ’62, Matt Flynn ’96, Sarah D’Souza, Zachary Schwartz ’05, and Dr. Samantha Nutt.

Nominations are welcome from all members of the College community in written format. They should include information about the nature and time of the nominee's volunteer service and the reason for the nomination. Please click here to fill out the online nomination form.

All nominations will be reviewed by the awards committee and the recipient(s) will be selected by the Association Council. Nominations must be submitted by midnight on March 20, 2024.

With the March Break ahead of us, the UCC Health Centre team would like to remind families about staying safe and healthy while travelling.

Recently, TPH announced an investigation of a confirmed case of measles linked to travel. This virus continues to spread in many parts of the world. If you are planning to leave the country over March Break, get the best protection for you and your loved ones by staying up-to-date with your routine vaccines, including the measles vaccine.

We encourage you to stay up-to-date with your child’s routine vaccines. They are available from your primary health care provider or at a TPH community clinic for school-aged children by appointment. Visit TPHbookings.ca for more information. If you are unsure of your child’s vaccination status, check their yellow card (Ontario Immunization Record), TPH’s Immunization Connect Ontario (ICON) or by speaking with their primary health care provider. 

To learn more, visit toronto.ca/immunization or contact TPH 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.

Please join us for our annual Norval Maple Madness Open House on Sunday, March 24 from 10–12 p.m. or 1–3 p.m. 

All members of the UCC community are welcome to attend and tour the sugar bush, learn how trees are tapped, see sap boiled into syrup and even get a taste test. 

Back at Stephen House, we will have pancakes and sausages with real Norval maple syrup, plus an assortment of other goodies and refreshments.

At this time of year, our trails can be quite muddy and often slippery. Rubber or snow boots are recommended. Come dressed for the weather, and we suggest bringing towels or a change of clothes for the drive home. Dogs on leashes are welcome to join (but won’t have access to the indoors)

Click here to register or contact Amanda Vieira-Hasz in the Association Office at 416-488-1125, ext. 2038.

Parking information
There is limited parking on the Norval Campus. Please consider coordinating with fellow attendees to share rides and reduce the number of vehicles on the grassy area. Additionally, we recommend using vehicles with four-wheel drive if available.

Directions
Take Highway 401 west to Winston Churchill Boulevard. Follow Winston Churchill Boulevard north and go through the Village of Norval. Continue straight ahead. The entrance to the Norval property is on your left, 1.2 km north of the village stoplight. The drive takes about 50 minutes from UCC in light traffic.

From the theatrical phenomenon of “Barbenheimer” to surprising releases like Poor Things, to foreign films like Fallen Leaves and Anatomy of a Fall, it is another great year for cinema!

In the spirit of celebrating the motion pictures, The College Film Club would like to invite you to participate in the annual UCC Oscar Pool. As we near the day of the awards (March 10) you can have a little fun and try to pick the winner for each Oscar category. 

Points will be accumulated for each correct guess, with the scores weighed differently depending on the relative prestige of the category.

It's free to join and we have wonderful prizes!

3x$50 Toronto International Film Festival gift cards will be awarded to the highest-scoring individual in each category:

1) Student 

2) Staff and faculty 

3) Community (parents, Old Boys, etc.)

Please feel free to share the link below with your UCC community contacts.

Go to our UCC Film's website to enter. You are free to use your UCC email as long as you don’t choose Google login since IT does not allow registration of this website. Here is the full set of instructions if you run into any problems.

A couple of quick notes: 

• Picks can be changed up to the start of the ceremony's broadcast.

• You must use your full name (first and last). Anyone using abbreviations or nicknames will be ineligible for the prizes.

If you want to catch up on a few films, many of them are available right now at TIFF. 

In celebration of Greek Heritage Month, we are excited to announce that The Hellenic Culture Club, along with their parent volunteers, will be hosting our second annual Panegyri (Greek Festival) on Thursday, March 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Upper School Student Centre. Building on the success of last year's event, we anticipate this year's festival to be even more vibrant and engaging!

The Panegyri will feature a variety of activities, delicious Greek cuisine and informative tables. 

Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks as we finalize the schedule and offerings for the day. We encourage all members of the UCC community to mark their calendars and join us for this cultural celebration and create lasting memories together. 

OPA!

Christos Paschalidis
Hellenic Culture Club Supervisor