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Dear Prep Families,

This has been a week of celebration at the Prep! In the classrooms and hallways, on the walls, in performance spaces and on the fields — everywhere we see the culmination of a year of student learning and our student’s curiosity, persistence and dedication to growth. 

A highlight this week has been the outstanding arts performances we have witnessed from students across the Prep. Our Primary Spring Concert on Wednesday showcased our SK–Year 5 students’ talents in visual art, dance, ukulele, recorder and song and concluded with the hit SK–Year 3 musical “Friendly Neighbourhood Helpers.” 

Our Year 6 and 7 concert on Thursday evening, and the performances on Friday’s Generations Day round out this week and have served to highlight our students’ creativity and the sheer joy they take in their learning. 

We are ending the week smiling and with deep gratitude for this vibrant learning community of students, families and teachers.

Your partners in learning,

Julia Kinnear, David Girard and Gareth Evans

The Prep Leadership Team

Year 7 Niagara Trip | FAQ, packing list, and a new waiver

Once again, we are excited to offer a year-end trip for our Year 7 students to the Niagara Region. The trip will be on June 5, 6 and 7. If you haven’t already, please download, print, and return this completed Jet Boat waiver to your child’s form adviser.

New this week:  We also need parents to complete this online wild play waiver. 

Please review this document for a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) pertaining to the trip, including a suggested packing list.

Here is a link to our final itinerary that was included in the permission form.

Year-end pizza lunch and parties

As the school year comes to an end, Prep students can look forward to year-end celebrations including the annual PPO sponsored pizza lunch on Tuesday, June 11. Remember to look out for details about class parties aligned with this pizza lunch from your child’s form teacher.

REMINDER | Year 7 Graduation is on Tuesday, June 18

As mentioned in previous editions of Heads Up and indicated on our calendar, the Year 7 graduation ceremony will occur on Tuesday, June 18 at 6 p.m. in Laidlaw Hall and will run for approximately 75 minutes. The ceremony will be followed by a reception in Massey Quad. Students are asked to arrive at the Upper School at 5:30 p.m. wearing First Dress. An official invitation was emailed to Year 7 families earlier this week.

Hoops and Jump Rope for Heart is back!

Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops for Heart return to the Prep on Wednesday, June 5 and Friday, June 7! In partnership with the Heart&Stroke Foundation, the Community Service Leaders and the Phys Ed. Department have been hard at work organizing this event.

SK–Y6 Students are asked to make a donation to the Heart&Stroke Foundation, and we encourage $2-$10. UCC's goal is to have 100% participation.

HOW TO DONATE:
1) If you would like a tax receipt: families must donate online by using this link, and then clicking on Donate to the School.  

2) If you are not interested in a tax receipt: please send cash to be collected by the form adviser or make an anonymous donation using this link. 

For this event, our School Community will raise funds and awareness for the Heart&Stroke Foundation, be active, learn about healthy lifestyle choices, and have fun! Students will participate during their scheduled phys ed/games period. Students should wear their regular phys ed clothing and be prepared to be outdoors (hat, sunscreen, water bottle).

Please see the detailed schedule below for when your child will be participating:

• 6F and 6T will participate in Hoops for Heart on Wednesday, June 5 during their phys ed period.

• 6L and 6T will participate in Hoops for Heart on Friday, June 7 during their phys ed period.

• Y5 will participate in Hoops for Heart on Wednesday, June 5 during their games period.

• Y3 and Y4 will participate in Jump Rope for Heart on Friday, June 7 during their phys ed period.

• SK, Y1, and Y2 will participate in Jump Rope for Heart on Friday, June 7 during their phys ed period.

MYP Language and Literature Update

Summer is almost upon us! With this change in season comes the all-important question: what books will we read this summer? We thought we would rely on the expertise of our students and teachers in the Language and Literature department to compile a list of our favourite reads. Please enjoy the following recommendations from our Year 6 and 7 teachers and students: 

Let’s start with some trends. Some things we noticed about our students’ suggestions are:

• The range in reading interest is broad with students selecting titles from traditional literature, all the way to light-hearted middle-grade comedies.

• Fantasy genre took the top spot with series such as Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus earning many mentions.

• Students are intrigued by Dystopian titles such as James Dashner’s The Maze Runner and tend to stick with the entire series once the first novel has captured their attention.

• Many students were surprised at how much they enjoyed a title assigned in class, especially those with historical fiction or social justice connections to our world today.

And without further ado, here’s our list!

Mr. Berney | The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

Mr. Perren | Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds. Ed: Billy Collins

Ms. Trelford | King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender, Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar

Ms. Chambers | Safe Harbour by Christina Kilbourne

Jayden 6T | The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins, Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee, Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

William 6T | Skulduggery Pleasant Series by Derek Landy

Chen 6T | Once Series by Morris Gleitzman

Phillip 6T | Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Arjun 6T | Percy Jackson Series, Heroes of Olympus Series, both by Rick Riordan

Tejas 6T | Pandava Series by Roshani Chokshi

Denis 6T | City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, Diary of Wimpy Kid Series by Jeff Kinney

Eric 6T | Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock

Aiden 7P | The Inheritance Games Series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Albert 7P | Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Paton and Nigel 7B | The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner

Oliver 7B | Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker

Deva 7B | Miracle on 49th Street by Mike Lupica, The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Allain 7B | The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

Tom 7B | The Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan

Yiming 7B | 1984 by George Orwell, Restart by Gordon Korman, The Bloom Trilogy by Kenneth Oppel

Carson 7B | To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Owen 7B | Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Thomas H. 6F | The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan, The Bodyguard Series by Chris Bradford, The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, Refugee by Alan Gratz, Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

Oliver 6F | Refugee by Alan Gratz

Masaru 7C | The Wings of Fire Series by Tui T. Sutherland, Warriors by Erin Hunter

Dengyi 7C | The Bloom Trilogy by Kenneth Oppel

Michaela Trelford

Learning Leader, MYP Language and Literature