This week, Year 3 has been buzzing with activity as students prepare for our Forces Fair on Thursday, Dec. 4. It's an exciting way to end our science-focused unit of Inquiry into the forces of friction, magnetism and gravity. Year 3 families are welcome to join us on Monday, Dec. 8 at 2:45 p.m. The Forces Fair will happen in the Wilder Library and the Brenda & Reid Chen Innovation Lab on the second floor. Students will share the games they built as a wrap-up to our Forces unit. 

Our upcoming Year 3 unit of Inquiry will introduce students to entrepreneurship, exploring how creativity and imagination can help create products that meet others' needs. This unit will also delve into different perspectives on money, emphasizing key financial skills such as budgeting, saving, and ethical spending. As part of the unit, students will design a product to sell at a fictional Year 3 market. They will develop presentation skills to pitch their products to "investors" and practice advertising techniques for the market. Using pretend currency, students will apply financial literacy by earning, saving, and spending. 

In language, our class is reading and discussing Zetta Elliott's Dragons in a Bag, an engaging fantasy book that introduces students to a mix of urban life and magic. As we read, we're working on essential critical literacy skills by making connections and expanding our ideas using details from the book. Later in the story, a character briefly mentions the Civil Rights movement and segregation, which we used as an opportunity for an age-appropriate class lesson to discuss what segregation (the historical practice of separating people by race) was and why it was unfair, focusing on themes of fairness and equality.

Design in action: Year 6 and 7 wrap up their digital media units

Our designers are just finishing off their first units of the year!

Year 6: Media and My Message

Our Year 6 students have completed their unit on graphic design. They developed photography and editing skills, practiced visual design principles, and then collaborated to create powerful slideshows promoting community wellbeing. This unit provided valuable technical skills applicable across the curriculum, so please ask your son about his learning! Look out for these inspiring videos, which will soon be displayed on screens around the school.

If you think back to your own school days, assessment may have meant one thing: a test, a mark, and perhaps the occasional congratulatory sticker. In the Middle Years Programme, however, assessment is far more dynamic. At UCC, it's designed to help students understand how they learn, not just what they know. As shared in our recent Prep family information session, the goal is to build skills, confidence, and independence in every learner.

One of the clearest messages about MYP assessment is that it's not a “gotcha” moment. Rather than surprising students with a single high-stakes test, teachers use a complete learning cycle that includes diagnostic tasks before learning begins, formative check-ins throughout a unit, summative assessments at the end, and metacognitive reflection once the learning is complete. This process helps students see learning as a continuum rather than a single event.

Another defining feature of the MYP is that it is criterion-based. Instead of averaging points into percentages, teachers look at specific skill areas within each subject. For example, in mathematics, students are assessed on their Knowledge and Understanding (Criterion A), their ability to Investigate Patterns (Criterion B), their Communication skills (Criterion C), and their Application of Math in Real-World Contexts (Criterion D). Every MYP subject has four equally weighted criteria assessed on an eight-point scale, for a total of 32 possible points. Over time, this approach helps students understand not just how well they performed, but what they can do and how they can continue to grow.

The total out of 32 is matched to a grade band, and students receive an overall course level from 1 to 7. A common point of confusion is what this 1–7 overall course grade actually represents. An overall Level 5, for instance, does not equal 50 percent. Instead, it indicates that a student is producing generally high-quality work and demonstrating a secure understanding of concepts. A Level 7 reflects consistently sophisticated, often innovative work. The descriptors accompanying each grade make these levels far more meaningful and transparent than traditional percentages.

Importantly, MYP assessment recognizes that students demonstrate learning in a variety of ways. Teachers gather evidence from products students create, observations of how they work, and conversations in which they explain their thinking. This triangulation of data offers a richer and more accurate picture of learning than any single test or assignment could.

Perhaps the most significant shift for many families is the emphasis on growth. Teachers use holistic, best-fit judgement, paying attention to patterns over time rather than calculating strict mathematical averages. A challenging early assignment will not weigh down a term if later work shows improvement. This approach supports both academic progress and student wellbeing, encouraging learners to focus on growth rather than perfection.

Finally, MYP assessment is tightly connected to the development of broader skills, such as social, self-management, communication, research, and thinking skills. These Approaches to Learning skills are built into every course and intentionally cultivated to help students become capable, adaptable, lifelong learners.

If you have questions about how to interpret your child’s feedback or would like to learn more about the MYP assessment framework, we invite you to explore the resources below and connect with us anytime. We're here to help you and your child navigate this system with clarity and confidence—and we promise, it's much friendlier than the report cards many of us remember.

UCC MYP Assessment Resources

• MYP Assessment Google slides 2025–26 for families

• MYP Assessment Handbook (for students/families) 2025–26

• UCC Assessment Policy: reviewed June 2025 for 2025–26 school year

• MYP IB Resources

• MYP Assessment Video

In partnership,

The Academic Team 

Jordan Small

Director of Academics 

Emilia Martin

MYP and Personal Project Coordinator

Festive Marketplace is just around the corner on Friday, Dec. 12. 

There are many ways you can support Festive including volunteering. Find out more on our Festive website!

Donate auction items 

We’re looking for electronics, tickets, trips and experiences, gift certificates and more.

We’re also looking for smaller items we can turn into gift bundles. If you have any NEW toys, home décor and housewares, sports items, fashion and accessories or gift cards you’d like to donate, please drop them at the Upper School Reception, clearly labeled “For Festive Auction.”

You can also donate items here. Thank you for donating to Festive!

Festive Marketplace is just 3 weeks away, and one of many highlights is our Festive Bake Sale. We’re looking for cookies, cupcakes, squares, brownies, loaves or anything else you’d like to contribute, including gluten-free baked goods. All items should be nut-free.

For those who don’t have time to bake, reach out to your local bakery. We’re grateful for any and all homemade and store-bought baked goods.

Please complete this form to let the Bake Sale Committee know what you’re planning to bring. 

For further information about the bake sale, including volunteering and drop off information, please see here.

Our annual food drive for the Churches on the Hill (COTH) Food Bank launches on Monday! The food drive will run until Friday, Dec. 12. 

The COTH Food Bank, located just around the corner from UCC, is one of the top 10 largest food banks in Toronto and currently provides food parcels to 1,100–1,200 people each week, including support for 55 babies. 

The COTH team has shared a list of the items that would best support their current needs. Please see below for class-specific items.

Initiatives will be taking place at school to discuss and promote our food drive. It feels good to help others, and we are confident our students will eagerly rise to the challenge with enthusiasm and compassion.