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Winter celebrations | Festival of Lights

Over the course of the year, we’re celebrating the diversity of our community and the different significant events that occur, including religious and cultural observances through school gatherings and celebrations. Assemblies in particular are a long-standing and beloved tradition at UCC — a time for students and colleagues to come together for learning, celebration and community-building. 

During November and December at the Prep and Upper School we honoured many of the celebrations that occur in winter, including Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. Students reflected on cherished traditions in our community and the shared themes of light, connection and community that we will carry across our school year. 

Warmest wishes as families come together to mark these significant occasions. We look forward to welcoming students and staff back to campus in the new year.

Festive Marketplace | Thank you!

The Parents’ Organization and Prep Parents’ Organization would like to send a warm and appreciative THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the Festive Auction and Festive Marketplace!

It was heartwarming to see everyone celebrating the season and supporting this annual initiative that directly benefits our students. Whether you enjoyed watching student musical performances, participating in the ever-popular Snowball Grab or the gingerbread house draw, sampling the delicious treats at the bake sale, or simply connecting and catching up over a coffee and some holiday shopping, we were thrilled to see both students and parents enjoying all that Festive has to offer!

It takes a tremendous amount of support from generous individuals and businesses to make our annual Festive Marketplace and Auction a huge success. Thank you to all the people and companies for helping us raise in excess of $86,000 this year. 

Festive Marketplace 2024 by the numbers:

• 33-person Festive committee

• 66 vendors

• 11 student clubs

• 102 student volunteers

• 164 parent volunteers

• Countless UCC staff

• 871 auction participants

• 213 auction items

• 83 plates of baked goods

• 600 snowball grab prizes

• 500 candy cones

• 15+ musical performances

• 4 class art projects

• 2 gingerbread houses

Festive would not be possible without the dedication and collaborative spirit of our parent volunteers, student volunteers, and the generous partnership of UCC staff in administration, faculty, Advancement, Communications, Facilities, Housekeeping, UCC Press and Aramark. We're also grateful to our Snowball Grab sponsors: PizzaPizza and Chestnut Park Real Estate Brokerage (Jennifer MacGregor and Michelle Way)!

We look forward to seeing everyone at 2025’s Festive Marketplace!

Using GenAI at UCC

During this academic year, the College employee community has a focus on developing literacy around generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and exploring productive applications to enhance teaching and learning and business operations. This initiative includes professional development and action research in the classroom.

Students may use certain tools that have been approved by the College with guidance from their teachers and are engaging in age-and-stage appropriate conversations around the ethical uses of GenAI. Parents should note that the specific tools being used vary by age, course and assignment.  

As an employer, the College has a policy that encourages inquiry and judicious use of approved GenAI tools within parameters of transparency, accountability and high standards of privacy and information security. The College will continue to use a variety of means, including peer review and digital tools, to ensure accuracy and clarity of message in our communications.

Additionally, we are looking forward to hearing from Martin Kon ’89 at our Founder’s Dinner Monday, Feb. 24. Martin is the president and COO of Cohere, the leading independent, data security-focussed enterprise AI company and will share his learnings and perspectives in his keynote at the event.

2024 charitable donations | Tax receipts 

If you haven’t yet made a gift to the College, there’s still time to make a donation and receive a 2024 tax receipt. Gifts to the UCC Fund support a variety of initiatives across campus and help us provide transformational learning experiences to every student. Please consider directing your support to an area meaningful to you.

Gifts by mail must be postmarked before December 31 to receive a 2024 tax receipt. Due to the ongoing Canada Post strike, we encourage to give in one of the following ways:

Online (Canada)

Online (international)

In person: You can drop off donations in person with staff at the Prep or Upper schools until December 19. After that, cheques can be dropped off at the William P. Wilder ’40 Arena & Sports Complex.

By phone: 416-484-8629

Gifts of securities must be received by our broker’s associate Tara Ross (tara.ross@scotiawealth.com) on or before Monday, December 23, 2024. You can access the share transfer form here. 

If you have questions, please contact Alicia Murji or giving@ucc.on.ca.