At UCC, everyone belongs. Celebrating Pride Week signals that our school is a safe space that is affirming of all students and their families. Pride Week allows us to celebrate love in all its forms, recognize that families look different, commit to being an ally for those who have been excluded, and ensure that all community members who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ feel welcome.

In the Prep School, we will be marking Pride Week with developmentally appropriate stories and activities with home form advisers, a Middle Years assembly with guest students from the Upper School and a primary community time buddy class activity connected to identity. 

Sarah Fleming

Head of the Preparatory School

Last week, our students had the privilege of participating in a highly engaging Literacy workshop led by the esteemed Colleen Ackford from Erin Kent Consulting. This workshop provided our students with enriching small-group read-aloud sessions tailored to foster a profound comprehension of literary elements, vocabulary and plot development.

Excitement is brewing among our Year 4 students as they eagerly anticipate their first Norval sleepover of the year. This upcoming excursion promises a myriad of team-building activities thoughtfully planned by the Norval staff. Importantly, this experience aligns seamlessly with our current unit of inquiry and ongoing science exploration. During their time at Norval, students will embark on a group hike and explore various rock formations.

As an integral component of our geological studies, Ms. Jojic recently graced both Year 4 classes with her expertise. She not only shared her insights on geology but also led captivating hands-on experiments. Thanks to her guidance, we now boast a class full of "rock experts." We eagerly anticipate more enlightening lessons from Ms. Jojic in the days ahead.

In the realm of inquiry, we are in the final stages of exploring Canada. Our students have delved into in-depth research on different Canadian regions, provinces, or territories and are preparing to deliver short presentations shedding light on their chosen focus areas. This unit has ignited many thought-provoking questions, ranging from the historical background of our nation to political boundaries. In our next inquiry unit, we will venture into the captivating realm of various civilisations and early societies.

Turning our attention to language and literacy, we have recently completed our read-aloud journey with The Lost Sketch. We are now poised to focus on non-fiction texts. In the coming weeks, our students will collaborate in small groups to study how literary features can help organize information and help locate and communicate information during research. At the same time, please continue to support your son in his goal to read for 20 minutes per evening. 

In mathematics, we have concluded unit 2 and ventured into unit 3, where we focus on exploring factors and multiples. Proficiency in multiplication facts will be paramount for this unit and the subsequent unit on Multiplication.

With the onset of cooler weather, please remind students to bring their jackets and outdoor shoes to school. Our practice is to provide outdoor recesses for our students unless inclement weather prevails.

Thank you for your continued support in nurturing the growth and development of our Year 4 students. We look forward to the exciting learning opportunities that lie ahead.

Parent Speakers in Year 4

In the past, we have been very fortunate to have parents whose backgrounds connect to our inquiry units come in and speak to our students. It can be a professional background or work you do through volunteering or personal experience. Most speakers will come into the Year 4 classrooms and share their experience for 20 to 25 minutes. It can be very informal like a “Q and A” or more formal where parents have put together a presentation. Either way, students love hearing and learning from “experts.” If you have any interest, please email Michael Bushey or Mark Ferley.

Below is a brief description of the units and examples of individuals who may be interested in speaking.

Early societies (November and December): Exploring connections to past societies
*Some ideas: historians, archaeologists, anthropologists or archivists

States of matter (December and January): Learning about the scientific method while exploring states of matter and properties of matter
*Some ideas: scientists or researchers

Communication (Throughout the year ending in April): Exploring ways we communicate
*Some ideas: artists, musicians, psychologists, individuals in film or television, writers, website designers, translators or individuals who have come to Canada as ESL speakers who may want to share their experience of learning a new language and experiencing a new culture

Biomes (May and June): Investigating different biomes around the globe and how humans interact and live within these environments
*Some ideas: researchers, scientists, architects or individuals in the environmental field

As the November long weekend is quickly approaching, this is a gentle reminder that the school will be closed on November 9 at 12 p.m. Students will return to school November 14. We hope you all enjoy some family time and the opportunity to relax and enjoy some time away from work and school.

Warmly,

Michael Bushey and Mark Ferley

Year 6 began the school year with a study of narrative writing. They have dug into classic short stories such as The Golden Pants and Snapshot of a Dog while learning narrative structure, new vocabulary and how authors use irony and tension to heighten the readers’ experience. Personal identity and the representation of pluralism in stories will be the focus of the second half of our unit. Students will read the graphic novel New Kid by Jerry Craft, and then craft their own narrative. 

Year 7 has started the year with an examination of fiction and writing. The students have written a number of “timed” passages and have shared many phrases or sentences aloud in class. The students have also read short stories with an eye on conflict, setting, character development and, in general, the structure of fiction. In the coming weeks, each class will complete a novel study and write an original work of fiction. 

Max Perren

Language and Literature Learning Leader

On Monday, Sept. 25, we held our inaugural Prep theatre club meeting. This club is open to Year 5, 6 and 7 students. The goal of our club is to create theatre opportunities for the Prep students. These are some of the various possibilities that we came up with:

• Booth training

  • Next meeting we will explore the technology and workings of the lighting and sound booth in Weston Hall. The goal is to train the students so that they can manage it during assemblies or performances. 

• Nuit Bleue 

  • The Upper School holds this arts night each February. Our club is hoping to come up with a fun and meaningful way to contribute. We will continue to collect ideas during our next meetings.

• Behind the scenes

  • We discussed the idea of shadowing an Upper School rehearsal or possibly connecting with a Toronto production to see what happens behind the scenes of performance.

• Special effects design

  • Many club members were keen to help create sets and special effects for upcoming Prep shows during our club time.

• Script writing

  • If time and interest remains, we are thinking of writing a script in the late winter/spring term and possibly bring it to life. 

If your student is interested in joining our club to enhance the theatre opportunities at the Prep or participate in any of the above, our next meeting will be Thursday, Nov. 2 from 12:10-12:35 p.m. Year 5 students can come during their lunch recess time and Year 6 and 7 students come with their lunch in hand (school or home) and eat during our meeting.

Jennifer Harper
Theatre Coordinator

Session 1 clubs end November 2. 

Session 2 will begin the week of November 9.

Click here to sign up for session 2.