Prep School August 14, 2025
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Prep School Highlights
Prep School Highlights
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 to 7 students
Arrival between 8-8:30 a.m. and no late start
Friday, Sept. 5
🕓 Half day for SK students, 8–11:30 a.m.
👕 Spirit wear dress
Sunday, Sept.7
Norval New Family Open House, 1– 3 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 8
🕓 First full day of school for SK students
THIS WEEK AT THE PREP
THIS WEEK AT THE PREP
Prep Leadership Team
Dear Prep Families,
A warm welcome to the 2025-26 school year! We hope you and your children are having a wonderful summer, spending time with family and friends and staying cool in this hot weather! We’re looking forward to launching a new school year—there is such a sense of hope and possibility each September as we welcome new and returning students to campus for a new year together.
This summer communication is designed to include information to help you prepare for the school year. Linked here for your planning are the Major Dates, which include all parent/student/teacher conference days and early release days that are used for faculty and staff professional development. The full Prep calendar for 2025–26 is now available on Bluenet — information on how to subscribe is available here. In addition to reading Heads Up, subscribing to the UCC Family Google Calendar is the best way to stay on top of all the events and activities that happen each week at the Prep.
Importantly, the updated 2025–26 Family Handbook is here for your reference. Please take the time to review, as we make updates yearly, and there is important information for students and families.
It has been a busy summer, and we have many updates to share!
Firstly, we are thrilled to announce that Junior Kindergarten is coming to UCC in September 2026! This reflects our commitment to offering the full two year Ontario kindergarten program for students, reducing transitions for families, and offering a strong start for our youngest learners. Please read more in the article below and reach out to Admissions for more information.
The construction work for the new Math and Science Learning Community has also been underway. It's an enormous undertaking to create such a transformational learning space, and we have been informed that the project will not be completed until well into the Fall. We're working to relocate some classes during that period, and we have been assured that the construction noise will not impact learning throughout the day. We're in regular communication with the project manager and are eagerly looking forward to welcoming in students later this year.
The UCC campus has also been buzzing with activity this summer with our summer camp program. We're excited for the return of students, beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 2, with New Student Orientation, and on Wednesday, Sept. 3, for the first day of classes for Years 1 to 7. Our SK students will participate in family interviews on Sept. 3 and 4. SK will have a half day on Sept. 5 and the first full day on Sept. 8.
Focusing on your children and their unique learning needs is our core business. Each day, in every way, we work to offer transformational learning experiences that support the development of the head, heart and humanity of each student. Strong home-school partnerships are essential for a thriving school experience for your children. We look forward to cultivating connections with students and families — starting with greeting them as they arrive on campus in just a few weeks!
We'll continue to reach out as a Prep Leadership Team each week in Heads Up to keep you connected with learning and wellbeing at the Prep.
Your partners in education,
New Student Orientation Day
New Student Orientation Day
This year, we have 139 new students joining us in the Prep School!
Creating a welcoming culture is important to us, and we intentionally design a thoughtful transition for new students joining our community. As a part of that plan, new students (excluding SKs) will participate in New Student Orientation Day on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
This is a partial day, which allows students a soft entry to their new school and their new school year. They will meet their Form Adviser and fellow new students, see their classroom, tour the school, and participate in a variety of team-building activities.
In addition, students in Year 6 and Year 7 will meet student leaders who are eager to share their insights and experiences at UCC. These student leaders will also continue their mentorship of their new classmates throughout the upcoming weeks as they learn to navigate the Prep and establish new friendships.
In Primary classrooms, form advisers are thoughtful and intentional about ensuring the new students have mentors and guides throughout their first few days and weeks.
We are confident that our orientation will support students with their transition to our school community.
Year 1 to Year 4 students should wear regular dress uniform. Year 5 to Year 7 students should wear warm weather dress. Please see the Family Handbook for the uniform description.
Arrival for New Student Orientation Day is between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Please enter the Prep at the entrance to the Eaton building by the main office.
Dismissal from Orientation Day is 11:30 a.m. for new Year 1–6 students.
Dismissal from Orientation Day is 11:45 a.m. for new Year 7 students.
Your partners in learning,
Sarah Fleming, David Girard and Gareth Evans
The Prep Leadership Team
JK is coming to UCC!
JK is coming to UCC!
We’re thrilled to announce that, beginning in September 2026, Upper Canada College will introduce Junior Kindergarten (JK) as the new entry point to the Prep School. This reflects our commitment to offering a strong start for our youngest learners and will strengthen the UCC community for generations to come.
The Ontario school system begins with JK, and many families face the challenge of starting their child in one school only to transfer to UCC a year later — a process that can be disruptive. By introducing JK, we’re creating a more streamlined and welcoming beginning to the UCC learning journey. As the Kindergarten program in Ontario is two years, adding JK will allow us to intentionally design a full two-year experience as well as increase opportunities for multi-age groupings in Kindergarten, which is well supported by research. There is also a new Kindergarten curriculum being released in 2025–26, so our launch timing will align well with the new program. Younger learners also bring energy, curiosity and joy that benefit the entire school community.
We’re thoughtfully preparing for this exciting step. Planning includes dedicated space, staffing, curriculum development, and a clear admission process — all informed by research, best practices, and feedback from faculty, staff and community experts.
Recruitment for the first JK class will begin in the fall of 2026, with applications opening on September 2, 2025. Families interested in learning more may contact admission@ucc.on.ca.
Thank you for your continued support as we expand the UCC journey. We look forward to welcoming our inaugural Junior Kindergarten class next year!
Warmly,
Sarah Fleming
Head, Preparatory School
Melody Miu
Vice Principal, Enrolment Management
Helpful reminders for September
Helpful reminders for September
Tuesday, Sept. 2: New Student Orientation.
Please see notes above.
Wednesday, Sept. 3: First full day of classes for all students in Year 1 to Year 7
Please arrive between 8 and 8:30 a.m.
Uniform:
Year 1 to Year 4 students wear regular dress
Year 5 to Year 7 students wear warm weather dress
See the Handbook for a description of the uniforms
SK students: Family interviews will be conducted on Wednesday, Sept. 3 and Thursday, Sept. 4, with a half day of school for SK students on Friday, Sept. 5. The school will be reaching out to schedule family interviews.
Regular Arrival / Dismissal Times
The Prep arrival time for students during the 2025-26 school year is:
SK-Year 7: 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
The Prep Dismissal times for the 2025-26 school year are as follows:
SK–Year 2: 3:10 p.m.
Year 3–4: 3:25 p.m.
Year 5: 3:40 p.m.
Year 6–7: 3:50 p.m.
Wednesday Late Starts
Beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 10, classes at the Prep will have a start time of 9:20 a.m. on Wednesdays, with student drop-off beginning at 9:10 a.m.
We offer a supervised Before School Program on Wednesday mornings (with student drop-off from 8 to 8:30 a.m.) for families who may need an earlier drop-off. This program will be offered at no additional cost to families.
Uniform
The Prep School Dress Code is outlined starting at the bottom of p. 20 of the Family Handbook.
You can view illustrations of the Preparatory School uniform items: SK–Year 4 and Years 5–7
Other ordering options are available here.
Textbook Ordering
Year 6 and 7 families should follow the instructions included in the whole school section of this edition of Heads Up to order textbooks. An email with instructions was also sent to families when the textbook site opened.
Class lists
Families will receive notification of your child’s class by email at the end of August.
Register | Before School Programming
Register | Before School Programming
Wednesday late start/ Before School Program (BSP)
On Wednesdays, the school day begins with a later start time. Students have home room time with form teachers from 9:20 - 9:30 a.m on Wednesdays. This late start time allows whole school professional development for faculty and staff, and a wellbeing sleep in time for students.
Please drop off your child between 9:10 - 9:25 a.m. on Wednesdays.
For families who cannot accommodate the late start, the Before School Program (BSP) is offered at no charge.
In order to plan effectively for numbers and to keep accurate safety lists, we ask that if you are going to regularly use BSP that you register here.
If your child will only require it occasionally, we will be able to accommodate on a drop in basis, and you do not need to register.
Participants in BSP should arrive between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. to allow for organized activities and consistent programming. Those arriving between 8:30 and 9:10 a.m. will be joining programming in progress, which can be disruptive, so we appreciate your attention in this matter.
BSP Coordinator
Lunch information
Lunch information
With the cooperation of Aramark, our food services provider, we offer all students the following three options at lunch:
The hot lunch program (includes beverages)
The menu, which operates on a three-week cycle, offers soup, one main entrée, one vegetarian entrée, a sandwich/salad bar and dessert every day. Milk and water (and chocolate milk as an occasional treat) are included.
Bag lunches will be prepared for field trips as required for hot lunch participants.
Registration and fee information are below.
The milk program (for those who bring their lunch from home)
Students may bring their lunch and enrol in the milk program, which offers milk (and chocolate milk on occasion).
Registration and fee information are below.
Lunch from home
Parents may opt to send lunch with their child. Thanks to the Prep Parent Organization, microwave ovens are available for all students.
A reminder that we are a peanut/nut-free school and ask that lunches be shellfish-free as well.
SK–Year 3 (lunch begins at 11:45 a.m.)
All SK- Year 2 students eat lunch in their classroom
Year 3 students will eat in Weston Hall
Home lunches must be nut/peanut and shellfish-free
There is also a snack program available to SK students
Year 4–5 (lunch begins at 11:45 a.m.)
Students will eat in the Dining Hall
Home lunches must be nut/peanut and shellfish-free
Year 6–7 (lunch begins at 12:15 p.m.)
Students will eat in the Dining Hall or Weston Hall
Home lunches must be nut/peanut and shellfish-free
Register | Hot Lunch Program
Register | Hot Lunch Program
Fees for the Hot Lunch Program, Milk Program and Snack Program are listed in the table below.
To register, please sign up via your child's student profile page. To access the profile page, follow the instructions here.
Please note:
If you subscribe to one of the programs, the fee is added to your child’s account on a term-by-term basis. Once registered at the beginning of the year, students remain registered unless the parents advise the Prep Office by email.
There will be no credit for days remaining in a term if a parent withdraws from the program during the term or days missed because of any absence.
Students cannot sign up part-way through a term.
Expectations
Prior to registering for the hot lunch program, we would ask you to review a sample menu here and consider which option best meets your child’s needs. Students will be encouraged to make sound nutritional choices and will be expected to finish with little or no food waste.
SK–Year 5 | Technology
SK–Year 5 | Technology
Dear Primary Families,
At Upper Canada College, we use technology to nurture creativity, spark imagination and learn from failures. We strive to develop highly effective, self-directed, and ethical learners who make a positive difference to their life or the lives of others. Last year, we opened the Brenda & Reid Chen Innovation Lab, a vibrant and engaging learning space that empowers students to utilize technology across various subjects as they engage with design and construction, coding, robotics, 3D printing, and other innovative tools.
All students in the Prep school receive a school-owned device for the duration of their time at the College. Students in SK - Year 4 will receive an iPad for use at school while students in Year 5 receive a laptop to use at school. None of these devices go home. Technology is an important tool in the day-to-day life of our students. All software on these devices is appropriate for student learning outcomes and the devices are fully managed by the Information and Innovation team.
Students are expected to use technology as guided by the Family Handbook and the Prep School: Acceptable Use Policy for Technology (SK–Year 5) which will be shared with families shortly. Students will also be provided with a formal digital citizenship program exploring topics such as online interactions, cyberbullying, and digital privacy. Our Technology Guide for Parents at the Prep School outlines key logistical information for September as well as suggestions for managing technology and setting healthy expectations in your home. Please review each of these documents as a family prior to the start of the academic year.
A reminder that you will be asked to sign the Prep School Acceptable Use Policy for Technology which will be available on Bluenet in the coming weeks. Please review the Family Handbook in conjunction with the Acceptable Use Policy for Technology as a family prior to the start of the school year
Best wishes,
David Girard
Assistant Head, Primary
Joanna Martin
Technology Integration Specialist, Primary
Kathleen Peak
Executive Director, Information and Innovation
Year 6 and 7 | Technology
Year 6 and 7 | Technology
At Upper Canada College, we use technology to nurture creativity, spark imagination and learn from failures. We strive to develop highly effective, self-directed, and ethical learners who make a positive difference to their life or the lives of others. School laptops are an important tool in the day-to-day life of our middle division students. It is critical that the laptops are used appropriately as a tool for learning. In order to ensure the smooth functionality and security of the laptop, the College manages the Year 6 and 7 laptops with restrictions against non-academic software use. The laptop assigned to the students is equipped with all of the necessary software to successfully support their learning. Any additional software that is required for academic purposes will be made available through the College’s software distribution process. Students have the access rights to connect the laptops to their home wifi and printers.
Students are expected to use technology as guided by the Family Handbook and the Prep School Acceptable Use Policy for Technology (Year 6 and 7) and with support from the Prep Administration and the Information and Innovation Team. Students will be supported with a formal digital citizenship program exploring topics such as online interactions, cyberbullying, and digital privacy. Our Technology Guide for Parents at the Prep School outlines key logistical information for September as well as suggestions for managing technology and setting healthy expectations in your home. Please review each of these documents as a family prior to the start of the academic year.
Year 6 and Year 7 students will sign a copy of the Prep School Acceptable Use Policy for Technology. Their teacher will review it with them. In addition, parents must also sign the Prep School Acceptable Use Policy for Technology, which will be available on Bluenet in the coming weeks. Please review the Family Handbook and the Acceptable Use for Technology as a family, before the beginning of the school year.
Best Wishes,
Gareth Evans
Assistant Head, Middle
Sarah Barclay
Technology Integration Specialist, Middle
Kathleen Peak
Executive Director, Information and Innovation
Sign up | Become a Parent Volunteer with the PPO!
Sign up | Become a Parent Volunteer with the PPO!
As we prepare for another exciting year at the Prep, we invite all parents to be a part of our vibrant school community by joining the team of dedicated volunteers.
This is a wonderful way to build new connections, directly impact your child's UCC experience and contribute to the overall growth of our school. There are several fun and diverse volunteer opportunities available at the Prep to suit your schedule. To explore current opportunities and sign up, please click here.
Thank you for volunteering!
Order | Prep t-shirt bundle
Order | Prep t-shirt bundle
The PPO is proud to launch a limited-edition three-shirt bundle to support the meaningful awareness days we observe as a school community:
Purple Shirt – Rowan’s Law Day (September 24): Honouring concussion awareness and safety.
Orange Shirt – Truth and Reconciliation Day (September 30): Featuring a powerful mural design by Indigenous artist Philip Cote.
Pink Shirt – Anti-Bullying Day (February 25): Promoting kindness, inclusion, and respect.
Each bundle includes all three shirts for $38.99, and with every purchase, $1 will be donated to each of the following organizations:
• Concussion Legacy Foundation
• Indigenous Spirit Fund
• Kids Help Phone
Please place your order through UCC Marketplace by September 11. Let’s wear our values proudly and support these important causes together!
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