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Despite it being the last weeks of school, the Upper School has not slowed down. A series of important assemblies took place in Laidlaw Hall, including the spring sports assembly led by our new Athletics Steward, where team captains presented Dr. Aitken with trophies, reflected on their experiences and conveyed thanks to their coaches. Dr. Aitken and Ms. Dobie also received the Year 7 students from the Prep into Laidlaw for quick introductions before the cohort got into House groups and went on tours with their mentors. Then on Monday, we honoured colleagues achieving milestones and several students reflected on the impact of faculty and staff departing this year. 

The Prefects’ Cup — the annual house competition that spans the entire year — wrapped up with Jackson’s claiming first place. This year the Houses engaged in a particularly competitive race with Scadding’s and Howard’s following closely behind. Our sports teams are slowly arriving at the end of their seasons, with many teams including tennis, track and field, badminton, and baseball capturing CISAA championships. We wish the best of luck to those teams and individuals representing the college at the OFSAA provincial championships beginning next week! 

This week will wrap up with final projects being handed in as well as our Year 10s heading up to Norval for some end-of-year bonding.

June exams information shared with all Year 8–11 students

All morning exams begin at 9 a.m. and afternoon exams begin at 1 p.m. 

Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the exam start (8:45 a.m. or 12:45 p.m.) in order to be seated and begin on time. Wait outside of the exam location until you are invited inside.

Exam schedule

Location 

• Y11 Exams will be written in the Old Gym (seating plans will be posted outside the entrance)

• Y8–Y10 Exams will be written in the Lett Gym (seating plans will be posted outside the entrance)

• Students with accommodations will write in Room 230 and will receive communication directly from the CFL

Other Details

Dress: UCC Spirit dress (casual with UCC top) — this is a departure from prior years as usually school uniform is required for all exams.

Supplies: Exams must be written in either pencil, dark blue or black pen. Pencils must be used for multiple-choice questions. You may bring a pencil case, but it must remain under your seat during the exam. Depending on the exam you may need a ruler and an eraser.

Water bottle: You may bring a water bottle, but it must remain on the floor at all times.

Backpacks: Must be left in your locker.

Electronic devices: No electronic devices, except calculators (when approved), may come into the exam room. This includes cell phones, Apple watches, wearable technology, etc.

Best of luck on your exams and please let me know if you have any questions.
Ms. Berndsen

Library loans are due back by Monday, June 3, 2024

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We would appreciate your assistance with checking in with your students as to whether they have any library materials to return to the Macintosh Library. All items are due back to the library by June 3, 2024. If the library is closed, items may be returned via the wall slot next to the Student Centre Elevator.

If items are not returned, families will be billed on the June statement at $30 per item (or higher if it's a reference item). Items may be returned after the deadline, but refunds will not be processed at that point.

All students are regularly reminded to return items via emailed overdue notices and have been contacted by us regarding the date above.

Thank you,

Macintosh Library Staff

Year 9 | New course offering: Fast Track Mandarin

UCC will now be offering a new Fast Track Mandarin course for Year 9 students. This Fast Track course is based on the increasing demand for Chinese language learning and is intended for students who have achieved the required level of listening and speaking skills after the placement test, but still need to work on their reading and, especially, writing abilities.

The objective of the class is to undergo intensive learning for one year in Year 9, and then transition into the Mandarin B Standard-level class in Year 10.  Students will have an opportunity to switch to Spanish in Year 11 if they decide not to continue with Mandarin in the DP years.

The course outline, as well as the summative assessments, will be modified accordingly at the beginning of the course, but gradually be aligned with the B Standard-level by the end of the year.

For specific course inquiries or to register for the placement test, please email Ms. Cathy Cai.  We are requesting all students interested in pursuing this offer to register for the placement test by no later than Monday, June 10, 2024. 

Year 11 | Optional trip to Norval from Monday, June 17 to Tuesday, June 18

Immediately following the exam period. 

Reminder: This immersive experience is centred around themes of resilience, survival, and leadership skills. Over the course of two days and one night, students will participate in outdoor activities aimed at fostering problem-solving and leadership abilities. If your child is interested in joining this enriching excursion, kindly complete this permission form by Friday, May 31.

Year 10 highlight | UCC ball initiative

I am thrilled to share with you an impressive initiative led by Year 10 student Josh Golger. Just recently, Josh organized a basketball tournament between students and teachers, raising an impressive $2,200 for the Canadian Cancer Society and the SickKids Foundation. This event, which began as his MYP Personal Project, blossomed into a highly successful and engaging sports event, or in his own words “what started as a personal project has now evolved into a UCC athletics legacy.”

Congratulations | University of Waterloo Chemistry competition

Two of our Year 12 students, Tommy and Navid, took on the challenge of the University of Waterloo Chemistry competition, the Chem13 News Exam, during a busy IB exam week. The exam, designed for Grade 12 students in their second high school chemistry course, covers topics from IB HL chemistry and the Ontario curriculum. Both Tommy (Y12 HL chem) and Navid (Y12 SL chem) ranked in the 90th percentile in Canada. Notably, Tommy placed in the top 50 out of 1,834 participants worldwide. Congratulations to both for their outstanding achievements and for showcasing exceptional results for UCC! 

Congratulations | Reach for the top results

Congratulations to the UCC Trivia Team for placing 9th in the country in the Consensus Trivia Nationals! The team performed its best in over a decade by making it to the national stage this weekend. Well done Andrew ’25, Cedric ’24, Jeremy ’25, Noah ’24, and Will ’24! 

Having previously placed 3rd in the national qualifier, UCC advanced to compete against the best secondary school teams from across the country, showing a great effort and also having the 6th highest points-per-game of any team. We would also like to congratulate the team for winning 1st  in the Uptown Toronto Reach for the Top trivia regionals, where the team would have played in their provincials if not for a conflict with IB exams. 

The team, led by Cedric and Will, organized successful weekly practices and an inter-house trivia tournament at the college this year. We would also like to offer special thanks to our faculty advisors Ms. Monir and Mr. Rapps for their help and support. Let's go Blues! 

Outdoor experiential learning programs in the fall

As we look ahead to the new school year we are thrilled to share some new opportunities in the Upper School. 

For the 2024–25 academic year, along with our Norval Outdoor School programming, the Upper School has partnered with ALIVE Outdoors to provide an outdoor experiential program for all students in Years 9 to 11. 

ALIVE Outdoors works with several Independent Schools in Ontario and contracts with well-established camps that many of our families may be familiar with. The program will highlight curricular and co-curricular themes that aim to foster student connections through shared experiences and learning. This Outdoor Experiential Programming will take place from Monday, October 7 to Thursday, October 10, 2024. 

Year 9 students will engage in a four-day, three-night experiential program in and around our Norval Outdoor Campus led by our Norval Team, and accompanied by UCC Faculty. 

Year 10 and 11 students will travel to camps where they will participate in a four-day, three-night program run by ALIVE Outdoors. They will participate in various outdoor activities that build personal skills and community connections. UCC Faculty members will accompany students at camp.

Y9 Program: Norval Outdoor Campus area (4 days / 3 nights)

Y10 Program: Camp Pine Crest, Bala, Ontario (4 days / 3 nights)

Y11 Program: Camp Wanakita, Haliburton, Ontario (4 days / 3 nights)

Note: Year 8 students will continue to enjoy Norval programming, as planned, for Sept. 9–12.

During the week of October 7, Year 8 students will be on campus for a special IB Middle Years Programme interdisciplinary learning experience week. Year 12 students will also remain on campus, and use this time to work on Diploma Programme-specific tasks, work closely with the University Counselling Office on their applications, and participate in other programming designed to meet their needs during a busy term.

Please note that the cost of each trip will be approximately $1,100, which will be billed to student accounts in the fall. If there is an extenuating circumstance where your student is unable to attend their trip, please contact Joe Smith (Y9/10) or Andrew MacDougall (Y11) by June 14. Please note that there will be no alternative programming on campus during the trips as the majority of faculty will be trip supervisors or will be facilitating the Year 8 and Year 12 programs.

Please save the date and stay tuned for more information.

Year 8–12 | Used book intake

The UCC Parents’ Organization (PO) will be hosting used textbook intake on June 14 from 8 a.m.–1 p.m.

This year we are working with a new supplier, UofT Bookstore, for our used textbook intake. Upper School families will have the opportunity to resell their used textbooks to UofT, provided the textbooks will be used in the UCC curriculum in the upcoming academic year.

The funds for used books purchased by UofT will be deposited on the seller's debit card

The following options are available to Upper School families with day students in Years 8–12:

1. Drop off used textbooks at the Upper School on June 14 as a donation, with proceeds from the sale of their books donated to the UCC PO. 

2. Deliver used textbooks to the UofT bookstore representative, who will be on campus and receive an immediate e-transfer to the seller’s debit card from UofT in the amount of the resale proceeds. 

3. Parents may return used textbooks directly to one of the three UofT bookstores in Toronto and receive proceeds in the form of an e-transfer from UofT.

4. The books will be accepted for buyback and must be on a predetermined buyback list, so must have the same ISBN, title, and edition. The books must also be in reasonable condition, with no watermarks, stains or missing pages, and the spine intact.

The collection will take place on campus on June 14 at the following locations:

1. In front of the Clock Tower. This location will be a full-service drop-off location where a UofT bookstore representative will be available in person and families can choose to either receive payment for their textbooks immediately via e-transfer or donate the proceeds to the PO. 

2. The top of the roundabout at Kilbarry entrance. This location will be a self-serve drop-off location only, where a table will be set up for Upper School families to drop off textbooks and donate the proceeds to the PO. 

Please remember to also drop off any used uniform and spirit wear items too! The Used Blues Shop (TUBS) is accepting blazers, grey flannels, blue polo shirts, khakis, white or blue dress shirts, ties and any house, UCC or Blue Army spirit wear.

UCC Marketplace to close last day of May

If you’ve been putting off sizing up your son’s Spirit Wear, don’t wait much longer. The website to purchase Blue Army trucker hats, sweatshirts and t-shirts for the 2023–24 school year is Friday, May 31. You can also find UCC Yetis, pjs, tote bags and game day chairs. Please click here to make purchases before then. Pick-up will be arranged before summer break. 

Last call for lost items

The Used Uniform Shop (TUBS) will be closing for the year on June 1. From Monday, June 3 to Friday, June 14, lost and found items will be displayed in the basement across from the physiotherapy office for the final Lost and Found parade of the school year. All unclaimed items will be donated to charity on Friday, June 14. 

Note: Please see reception for any valuable items. 

Donate used uniforms on June 14!

If you’re looking to purge your son’s closet before summer, TUBS can help you out. The Used Uniform Shop will be accepting donations for spirit wear as well as gently used uniforms on Friday, June 14 between 8–9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Donations will be accepted at the front entrance and north lot drop-off areas. 

The annual used uniform sale takes place on Tuesday, September 3 and Wednesday, September 4. Feel free to email us at tubs@uccpo.ca if you have any questions or if you wish to volunteer next year. 

PERU EXPEDITION | March Break 2025

UCC + Operation Wallacea – Biodiversity and Climate Change Scientific Research Expedition

Dear parents and students, 

We are providing our high school students with the incredible opportunity to spend one week with international professional scientists to conduct hands-on wildlife conservation and climate change science research with Operation Wallacea. Operation Wallacea (Opwall) is a network of academics from European and North American universities, who design and implement biodiversity and wildlife conservation management research expeditions. 

Opwall will provide students with the opportunity to apply aspects of their high school material in the field in Peru during March Break 2025! This school expedition offers students opportunities to meet other high schools and to network with professional environmental and wildlife conservation scientists, participate in real-world scientific fieldwork research projects and be trained as research assistants.  

Please find a recording of the Information Session about the school trip for families that could not attend the presentation last week.

Please note that this trip is open to everyone currently in Grades 9, 10 and 11.  There are only places available for 14 students.

Students will have the following survey opportunities: 

Primates, large mammals and game birds, Macaw Surveys, Wading bird surveys, Understorey birds, River Dolphin transects, Fish surveys, Butterfly and moth surveys, Habitat surveys, Nighttime caiman surveys, Fishing Bat surveys, Night-time amphibian floating meadow surveys, Amazonian Wildlife and Conservation course.

In the meantime, please watch the official school trip video for further information.

Students are already reserving spots but we can host more. To confirm your spot, please fill in the booking form.  Once you fill in this form, you will be given information to provide a CAD400 deposit that is refundable until the school finalizes the group.

Please contact Mr. John Sweetman and/or Mr. Nathan Adams for further information.