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Dear Prep Families,

On Tuesday, the Prep hosted the annual Blue Ties Breakfast! Thank you to all the fathers, mothers, grandparents, mentors and friends who attended! The opportunity to come together to celebrate community, friendship and tradition is a special one. Mr. Evans participated — for the first time — in the tie exchange and was proud to wear ICE’s tie on stage! We would like to extend our gratitude to all the parent volunteers who support bringing events like this to our community.  

Some of our Year 7 students will mingle with their peers during Havergal’s dance/social tomorrow evening. All of the COSSOT schools attend and it makes for a wonderful evening. Students not attending the Havergal dance/social will have an opportunity to have their name drawn from a hat to attend Branksome’s dance/social on Friday, Nov. 20. All Year 7 students will attend our dance/social on Friday, March 5, 2027.

Finally, a BIG congratulations to all our theatre performers who were on the Weston Hall stage this week! It was a real treat for audiences to be entertained by such humorous and talented student performers!  

Please note students in Year 5 to 7 will be required to be in First Dress on Wednesday, Nov. 11 for our Remembrance Day Assembly. Students in JK to Year 4 will wear regular dress.

Once again, thank you for your support and dedication to UCC. Your involvement truly enriches the educational experience for all our students.

Sincerely, 

Gareth Evans, David Girard and Michael Bushey
The Prep Leadership Team

Update | SK

Do we have to be the same to belong?

This is one of the big questions our SKs have been exploring through their Who We Are unit of inquiry. As the boys get to know themselves and one another, they are discovering that the things that make us different are just as important to our community as the things we have in common.

Pride Week provided a meaningful opportunity to deepen this thinking. We explored the idea that everyone has the right to feel proud of who they are, and that we can help others feel proud through our words and actions. We brought these ideas into our literacy learning through three rather unusual pumpkins! In The Bumpy Pumpkin, Stumpkin, and Spookley the Square Pumpkin, the boys encountered characters who didn't quite fit in. As we compared their experiences, we considered how others responded to their differences and the impact those responses had. The SKs noticed that the stories seemed to share a common message: “It's okay to be different!” 

We have been paying particular attention to the Learner Profile attribute of being open-minded. The SKs are discovering that people can enjoy different things, make different choices, and express themselves in different ways, and that being open-minded means approaching those differences with curiosity and appreciation.

But what does this look like in the everyday life of a kindergarten classroom?

Sometimes, it looks like a child proudly sharing a favourite interest during a Passion Presentation, while his classmates listen attentively, ask questions, and learn something new about him. Other times, it looks like Playdough Club, where the students' individual interests help shape the materials and invitations to play in our classroom. These experiences help us create a community where children's identities are not only recognized but actively contribute to our shared learning.

It can also look like a colourful collection of portraits! Inspired by illustrators Constance Moore and Todd Parr, the SKs have been experimenting with different artistic styles and materials to represent themselves. As they make creative choices about how to portray themselves, we are exploring the idea that there is no single way to express who we are. The SKs look forward to sharing these portraits with families during our upcoming three-way conferences.

Our conversations about identity have even found their way into mathematics! We have been exploring data collection and graphing, using aspects of our identities and interests as inspiration for the information we collect and represent. We have explored topics such as favourite games and favourite colours. Soon, students will develop their own survey questions, collect information from their peers and represent their findings in bar graphs. It's a wonderful opportunity to discover more about one another while developing our mathematical thinking!

Across all these experiences, a common message is emerging. We don't need to be the same to belong. In fact, the different interests, perspectives, and experiences we bring to our classroom are what make our community special. We are excited to see where the students' questions, discoveries, and growing understanding of themselves and one another will take us next.

Anna Crawford, Breanna Radlein, and Katie Rockburn

Update | Year 1

Year 1 has had a wonderful transition into fall and we are now experts with the routines and practices that come along with being a Year 1 student! 

In our current unit of inquiry, Stewardship, the students of 1M are exploring how human actions can impact the health of our planet. Below you can see one of the students’ favourite moments of exploration in this unit: Trash Talk! Within this provocation, the students of 1M had a chance to look into how we, at the Prep, sort our garbage and WHY things need to go in specific bins.

Students brought this learning into practice with their Animal Recycling Project, which they completed last week. Each student used materials they already had at home to create an animal of their choice. 1M is now the proud location of a recycled zoo! 

In math, we continue to use our understanding of number bonds to inform further learning around addition. The students of 1M just started creating their own Addition Stories, which we will document visually through stop-motion videos! Students also learned a new game recently to practice their addition skills. 

As we transform into authors for our first writing task of Year 1, each student has chosen a small moment that they will stretch into a story over four pages. Students will work, page-by-page, to keep their readers engaged and curious to hear more. Stay tuned for an author’s celebration once they are all published! 

I look forward to more excitement as we enter the colder months,

Anna Marshall

Year 1 Form Adviser 

Update | SK to Year 7 Physical Education 

We have been blessed with fantastic weather during the fall term again this year, with very few weather-affected days. As we look towards our winter units, and anticipate the readiness of the field bubble, hopefully conditions will be favorable to be outside for another week or two.

As we inevitably head indoors for the winter term, the breadth of our program expands with the introduction of skating (all students), gymnastics (Years 6 and 7), Ultimate Frisbee (Year 6), various net games (e.g. table tennis, pickleball, crossnet and modified volleyball) in Years 3–7, and basketball in Year 4.

All students will get the opportunity to use our ice rinks at some point between now and March Break and will require skates, a helmet (with cage) and gloves. A neck guard is also recommended. 

Mark Baxter

Update | Year 6 and 7 French 

Year 6 students are wrapping up their first unit, Je me présente, and getting their appetites ready for our second unit, which explores food and its role in culture. Students will learn how to place an order at a restaurant in French, interpret menus, and discover significant cultural dishes from different French-speaking communities. In Unité 2 : Bon appétit, students will read menus and recipes, write about their favourite holiday meals, and learn how to order at different types of restaurants. This unit will assess Criterion B: Reading and Criterion D: Writing. Bon appétit!

The Year 7 Standard French students are concluding their first unit on communities and getting ready to explore the world of fashion en français! While we know that we should not judge a book by its cover, we can communicate a lot about ourselves through what we wear; whether it is your favourite musician or your favourite team's jersey the clothes we wear matter. Students will examine school uniforms from around the world and explore the cultural, environmental, and practical reasons behind our clothing choices. In Unité 2 : Les vêtements et la mode, Year 7 students will be assessed in Criterion B: Reading and Criterion D: Writing.

Bon courage à tous et à toutes!
Mr Stephen Kupfer

Update | Year 6 and 7 Language and Literature

As the leaves continue to fall and October shifts to November, our first units of study are heading towards their exciting conclusions. Students have started branching out from assigned reading to their own choice of novels in independent reading time. Furthermore, at the conclusion of these units, there will be opportunities for students to share what they have learned in a summative project as outlined below. 

Year 6: Creativity meets analysis — Designing a graphic novel scene

After reading and exploring the novel New Kid by Jerry Craft, students have been starting to experiment with symbolism, inclusive acts and graphic novel features in a formative (practice) four-panel comic strip. In this task, they imagine themselves as an animal who is challenged to support another animal in the “food chain”, building on symbolism in the book. This assignment, and the feedback they will receive, will support their invention of a deleted scene from the novel as the unit summative. 

Year 7: Young people as agents of change

Our first unit of study has focused on unearthing the specific genre features of dystopian novels. Dystopian heroes are mostly teenagers: young people with the power and agency to change that which is unfair in their world. Our students are digging into theme and symbolism this week using graphic organizers to help them collect important evidence from their novels. These strategies will support them in using their newly sharpened analytical skills to draft and write a literary essay this month. 

Tia Chambers

Winter Gear Drive from Nov. 9 to Dec. 11

This holiday season, the UCC Prep community is proud to support Thorncliffe Park Public School, the largest elementary school in North America, with 1,350 students in Grades 1–5. Approximately 95% of students speak a primary language other than English, and many are newcomers to Canada for whom adjusting to local winters can be especially challenging.

Winter Gear Drive

We are collecting new or gently used winter clothing and gear for children in Grades 1–5, specifically focusing on:

• Snowsuits, winter coats and snow pants (clothing sizes: 5–12)

• Boots (sizes: 10–6), hats, mittens, scarves

Donation boxes are located in the Bitove Lounge.

Involve your child!

We encourage families to participate together! Consider reviewing your winter gear at home with your child to find items they have outgrown. Alternatively, taking your child shopping to select a new winter coat for a student in need is another wonderful way to involve them in giving back.

Every item donated will support a child or family in our neighbouring community. Together, we can make a meaningful difference this winter.

Riley Carter

Community Engagement and Service Learning Coordinator

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