HEADS UP August 14, 2025
HEADS UP August 14, 2025
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Tuesday, Sept. 2
🕓 New student orientation day
Wednesday, Sept. 3
🕓 First day of classes
Sunday, Sept. 7
New Family Open House
Norval Outdoor School, 1–3 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 2
🕓 Orientation day for new students (Year 1–7), 8:30–11:45 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 3
🕓 First day of classes for Year 1–7 students (arrival between 8-8:30 a.m., no late start on this date)
Friday, Sept. 5
🕓 Half day for SK students, 8–11:30 a.m.
👕 Spirit wear dress
Monday, Sept. 8
🕓 First full day of school for SK students
Tuesday, Sept. 2
🕓 New student orientation day
Wednesday, Sept. 3
🕓 First day of classes
Friday, Sept. 5
👕 UCC spirit dress wear
Year 9-11 course change requests open
Dear UCC Families,
Welcome to this special summer edition of Heads Up. We hope the information provided is helpful as you begin to think about September and setting your child up for success this fall. In this issue, you’ll find important information about orientation and back-to-school schedules, along with key dates and uniform and textbook details for the 2025–26 school year.
Our updated Family Handbook is here — please consider this your resource on school routines, academic and co-curricular programs, student expectations and school policies. The handbook includes our Community Code of Conduct, which is designed to foster a positive College climate in which all community members feel safe, supported, included and accepted. Please ensure you and your child review it together before the return to campus.
I want to extend a warm welcome to some new but familiar faces to our Senior Leadership Team; Andrew MacDougall has transitioned into his role as Head of the Upper School, and Melody Miu moved into her new position as Vice Principal, Enrolment Management over the summer. Additionally, Damion Walker has been appointed Assistant Head of the Upper School, Student Life and Leadership, and Jordan Small will begin his new role as Director of Academics.
Construction is well underway at the Prep for the new Math and Science Learning Community, which we’re eagerly anticipating will be completed later this fall.
There’s much to look forward to, and we hope you’re enjoying the remainder of your summer vacation while you anticipate all the learning and growth your child will have this year at UCC. Heads Up will now resume every Thursday afternoon, so please keep an eye on your email so you can stay up to date on College information.
We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Tuesday, Sept. 2!
Warm regards,
Sam McKinney
Principal
New and used textbook purchases can be made directly through the University of Toronto (U of T) Bookstore rather than at the College. Textbooks are ordered using the U of T Bookstore’s online ordering system, available here. The online ordering system is active from August 1 through to the end of the school year. Textbooks and course materials can be purchased online to be shipped to your address, or you can shop in person at their downtown location at 214 College Street. You can also request to have your order delivered to other University of Toronto campuses for pick up, this includes U of T Mississauga (UTM) or U of T Scarborough (UTSC). Click here to check the hours and addresses.
Boarding students may request that their orders be shipped directly to the College for distribution upon arrival in September. Please add the school address to the shipping address when the order is completed. The address is: 200 Lonsdale Road, Toronto, ON M4V 1W6. This option is for Boarding students only.
If your course is not listed, there is no required text to be ordered. Any course materials needed will be communicated by your student’s teacher in the first week of school. U of T Bookstore will ship your order immediately. Publisher back-ordered books will ship as soon as they’re available.
It’s important for you to place your order as early as possible to help ensure your student has the textbooks needed to start the school year. Ordering early gives you the best selection of used books.
Orders will be shipped by UPS. It’s very important that you include a delivery address where someone will be available during business hours to sign for your shipment. Please consider using a business address rather than your home address for delivery, where appropriate.
Payment can be made by debit or credit (VISA, Mastercard, American Express).
Additional information
The U of T Bookstore will carry a stock of UCC books throughout the academic year and may be ordered at any time. They can easily handle book returns if a student changes a course, and the books must be unmarked and in pristine condition to receive a full refund. There will be no restocking fee on books returned by Friday, October 10. For assistance, please contact U of T Bookstore directly at uppercanadacollege@uoftbookstore.com.
For Upper School students, please refer to the Course Requests tab in Bluenet for a list of student course enrolments. This is viewable in both the Student and Parent/Guardian Bluenet accounts.
Did you know that UCC has a second campus? The entire community is invited to welcome our new families at an open house at the Norval Outdoor School on Sunday, Sept. 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. The property has 450 acres of forest and fields, with the beautiful Credit River flowing through the middle. If you’ve never seen Norval before, this is your chance to come out for a visit!
This is a great opportunity to see what Norval is all about first-hand. Our main lodge, Stephen House, will be open with food and refreshments available and the Norval teachers will show you around and answer any questions about your child’s upcoming class visits. Dogs on a leash are welcome outside.
Directions to Norval: Take Highway 401 west to Winston Churchill Boulevard. Follow Winston Churchill Boulevard north and go through the village of Norval. Continue straight ahead. The entrance to the Norval property is on your left, 1.2 kilometres north of the village stoplight. The drive takes about 50 minutes from UCC in light traffic.
A registration link will be available soon. Contact Katarina Bojic in the Association Office at 416-488-1125 ext. 2077 for any questions.
Please note that this event is rain or shine. Please dress appropriately for the weather.
This year’s Forest Hill/Upper Canada College Terry Fox community run will take place on Sunday, September 14. There's a lot of fun planned for a great morning with friends and family while raising money for cancer research.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. with a warm-up at 8:45 a.m. There will be a special guest speaker to welcome the participants at approximately 8:55 a.m.
The 10 km run starts at 9 a.m. sharp; the 5 km run will begin three minutes afterwards. Participants are welcome to walk or run either routes.
Participants can look forward to:
Fun and dynamic pre-run warmup led by the Midnight Runners, a group of enthusiastic athletes who will run the route with family-friendly music
Live music (a trumpeter will send off the runners and an acoustic band will play after the race is completed)
Fresh coffee and bagels before the race, and pizza and snacks at the end
A fire truck (subject to availability) for families to sit in and take pictures
A designated games area on UCC’s Prep field
For more details, including how to donate, please visit the website. Also, be sure to follow us on Instagram @terryfoxrunucc!
The organizers welcome UCC families and Upper School students to volunteer for pre-race setup on September 13, race morning support or post-race afternoon cleanup. If interested, please email Ryan at ryanjsaunders99@gmail.com.
Mark your calendars for Association Day!
UCC’s annual homecoming and community celebration is happening on Saturday, September 27, and will be filled with entertainment, athletics, food and activities for the whole family.
Featured events include the New Family Breakfast, the Parade on the Avenue, Prep Soccer Fest, KidsZone, Alumni Sports, the Wookey Market, A-Day Archives Lounge, BBQ Lunch, Boarders’ Brunch, 25 and 50 Year Tie Celebrations (for alumni from years 1975 and 2000) and the varsity football game against Bill Crothers.