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Dear Prep Families,

This week the College welcomed internationally recognized Professor of Developmental Psychology and prolific author Dr. Niobe Way to campus as this year's Casey Fellow. For four decades, Dr. Way has studied friendship and human connection, and has published several books that focus on boys, their friendships, and the importance of listening with curiosity. While at the College, she delivered sessions for students, faculty, and the wider community. We were particularly fortunate to have Dr. Way join us at the Prep to speak with our Years 6 and 7 student leaders to unpack quotes from her research — the boys spoke openly about their desire for deep friendship, the importance of friendship for mental health and what might get in the way of connection. The Allyship Council members and Colour House Captains engaged respectfully with the quotes Dr. Way shared, unpacking their meaning and articulating the connections to their own lives.  

It's clear from her research that deep friendships are linked to positive mental health for adolescents. It's also clear that as young boys become young men, there is a crisis of connection when young men struggle to find the friendships that they want and need as they grow up. As a boys' school, it's essential that we empower our students to nurture close and healthy relationships, giving them the social and emotional skills to maintain them.  

In addition to Dr. Way’s visit, we had two special Assemblies this week. Yesterday, the Primary division hosted an assembly where we featured student performances and shared this assembly video; today, in an entirely student-driven fall co-curricular assembly, Year 4–7 boys celebrated their learning and accomplishments as athletes and actors!  

You will see in this issue that students are actively engaged in learning across the Prep. There is also much anticipation and excitement about forthcoming festive celebrations. Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in these last few weeks before the winter holidays.

Your partners in learning,

Sarah Fleming, David Girard and Gareth Evans

The Prep Leadership Team

Year 7 dance 

The Prep is hosting a dance and activities on Friday, Dec. 6, from 7 to 9 p.m.
All Year 7 students are strongly encouraged to attend. The Prep also invites students from Havergal, BSS, Branksome Hall, St. Clement’s, St. Mildred’s, Crescent, Sterling Hall, and Trafalgar Castle. Students cannot invite guests.

To ensure students' safety and appropriate conduct, UCC Year 7 form advisers and Stewards from the Upper School will be chaperoning the dance from 7 to 9 p.m. Please arrange your child’s transportation to and from this event within this timeframe. The pickup time is critical.

While all Year 7 Prep students are invited, we must receive a completed permission form to generate our guest list and collect relevant information in case of an emergency. 

If you haven’t already done so, please complete this permission form for your child.

Sincerely,

Gareth Evans

Assistant Head of the Preparatory School: Middle Division

Update | Year 4

Dear Parents,

We hope you are all doing well! Here’s a quick update on what we’ve been covering in class, what’s coming up, and a few reminders.

Exciting trip to the ROM
We had an exciting trip to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)! It was a wonderful opportunity for the students to experience history and culture hands-on. The exhibits sparked great discussions, and the students asked insightful questions. It’s always so rewarding to see their curiosity come to life in such a setting. We also learned a lot about behaviour outside of the classroom. Please have a conversation with your son about upholding behavioural expectations when representing the college. 

Fall sports season and winter basketball
As we transition to winter sports, our focus shifts to basketball. Please remember to have your child bring indoor court shoes and shorts to wear for practices and games. Dressing appropriately is essential to ensure they are comfortable and able to move freely during their activities.

Upcoming:

• Greek God Presentations: As part of our upcoming unit, students will be presenting on the Greek gods. We encourage them to think about possible presentation costumes to bring their chosen gods/goddesses to life. This is a fantastic opportunity to work on oral presentation skills, which are a vital part of effective communication. These skills will serve them well in future classroom activities and beyond.

• Unit 5 Division in math: We are starting Unit 5 on division. Division is a foundational concept in mathematics, and in this unit, we will introduce the concept of division as the inverse of multiplication. We’ll focus on developing an understanding of how division relates to repeated subtraction and equal sharing, and we’ll move into using division facts to solve word problems. The goal is to strengthen both the students' computational skills and their conceptual understanding of division.

• Math Minutes: Our Math Minutes practice has been extremely beneficial. This quick daily review encourages students to challenge themselves to improve their recall of math facts and to increase their speed of computation. Paired with our focus on conceptual learning, this practice has significantly contributed to their overall mastery of math concepts.

• Creative Writing: We will continue to develop our creative writing skills. Students are working on expressing their ideas through storytelling, focusing on character development, plot, and descriptive language. Writing regularly will allow them to grow as confident writers.

• Science: We are gearing up for an exciting Unit of Inquiry focusing on matter, with a particular emphasis on the changing states. This aligns with the expectations of the Ontario Science Curriculum and will provide valuable insights into the world of matter.

General Updates:

• Colder weather: Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the colder weather conditions. We’ll be going outside for recess, so it’s important to have jackets, hats, gloves, and scarves ready for the season.

• Locker visits: Students should visit their lockers in the morning to drop off their winter clothes and boots. This helps ensure the classroom remains clean and organised as the colder weather sets in.

• Healthy snacks: As we approach the holiday season, please encourage your child to bring healthy snacks to school. Fueling their body with nutritious foods is especially important, particularly after Halloween and as we head into the winter months. It helps keep their energy levels up for learning!

• Festive Marketplace: Mark your calendars! The Festive Marketplace will take place on Dec. 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Hewitt Athletic Centre. It’s a great event for the whole family, and I encourage you to attend if possible.

Thank you for your continued support in making this an enjoyable and productive school year. 

Mark Ferley and Michael Bushey
Year 4 Form Advisers

Update | Science programs

Dear Prep Families,

The warmth of fall is changing into the cooler air of the winter as we continue to explore a range of topics in our science labs. Please find below a summary of the Year 6 and Year 7 science programs.

Year 6

Students have been diligently working through their second unit of study, "Heat and Temperature", where they have had the exciting opportunity to learn through a variety of hands-on labs. Year 6 students showed great focus and determination when working with the Bunsen burners, where they were investigating the “heating curve of water.” This required teamwork, constant communication and precision in order to gather accurate temperature readings. Students took the temperature of icy water every minute until it reached a boil, all while managing the flame and stirring constantly. 

Students are now competing to create the most efficient insulated can. They are working in pairs to determine which order of materials will conserve the most heat when boiling water is poured into the can. May the best design win!

In the new year, families of Year 6 students can look forward to their child getting some experience in the kitchen! They will be learning about sustainable food practices and following a recipe in order to analyze its impact on the environment.

Year 7

Our students completed their first unit of study, “Foundations of Science,” and gained a deeper understanding of the scientific method. This includes the role of independent, dependent, and control variables. They used paper helicopter templates (link here) to investigate the effect of either rotor width or rotor length on the descent time of the helicopters. After collecting the data, they averaged their trials and created a graph summarizing their findings.

In our current unit, "Atoms and Elements", we are studying the fundamental principles of atomic structure, including electrons, protons and neutrons. The idea of chemical change was introduced with a demonstration of “elephant toothpaste.” (Please use this link to see a video of the demonstration.) Next, we explored the structure of the atom using this simulation; students were able to explore the role played by electrons, protons and neutrons in the atom. Our exploration of the atom continued as we created Bohr and Lewis-dot diagrams to visually represent the electron configuration of elements, using the 2-8-8 rule to fill the orbitals.

We completed our study of atoms with an introduction to ionic bonding and the naming conventions for ionic compounds. Don’t be surprised if the next time your child is thirsty, they ask for a large, cold glass of dihydrogen monoxide (or H2O).

Sincerely,

Mr. Kerry Dupuis and Ms. Sydney Frank

Prep School Science Teachers

Update | Health & Life Skills

Friendship, problem-solving, wellbeing, skills for working together and technology are the focus of Health & Life Skills classes these days.  

In Senior Kindergarten, we have been talking about how to be a good recess friend and what that looks, feels, and sounds like. Year 1 students have also been talking about friendship and specifically, how it looks to show empathy. They created empathy bead bracelets that connected with the city’s celebration of Taylor Swift.

In Year 2 the class has been talking about big and small problems and responses that fit the size of a problem. They had fun sorting scenarios and playing "size of the problem" jeopardy!

Year 3’s also reviewed the size of the problem, discussed being a good friend and how it might look when someone feels left out. An activity where everyone wrote one nice word about each classmate helped us build our classroom communities.

Year 4 students are exploring concepts around healthy eating including an examination of the Canada Food Guide and conversations around healthy habits like mindful eating, how we enjoy food during social times and times of celebration, and balance and moderation in food choices.

Year 5 classes have been using the "wheel of wellbeing" as a way to think about the interconnectedness of the many aspects of wellbeing. Students have considered what they can do in different areas to contribute to their wellbeing and have discussed what to do when there are challenges.    

In Year 6 we have just started a unit addressing how our actions impact others with a focus on skills for working together. Through a series of fun group activities and challenges, students will work on communication, decision-making and problem solving skills.   

The Year 7’s "Personal Safety & Injury Prevention" unit addresses technology use and in particular digital habits, cyberbullying and sexting.  Among other things, students have set goals around a digital habit and are looking at decision-making and the potential impacts of technology choices.  

Martha Boyce

Prep Counsellor

Health & Life Skills Teacher and Coordinator

Donate | Churches on the Hill Food Drive

C.O.T.H. Food Drive continues at the Prep! Each home form has two high-need items. Students can either choose to donate either item independently or partner with a classmate to share the cost of an item.  

The food drive will take place from Nov. 25 to Dec. 13. Please consider donating and participating in this initiative.

Thank you,

The Prep Community Service Council