On Monday Oct. 27 show your spirit and support of our Toronto Blue Jays by wearing blue and white.  

Halloween is an exciting time for children. At school, we make plans with the belief that the day should be safe, fun and productive.  

Students may wear a costume, casual orange and black clothes or regular uniform on Oct. 31. It’s best that students wear running shoes with their costume. Wearing casual clothes underneath is also wise as students often take their costumes off at noon to preserve them for evening activities. 

The wearing of costumes should be age-appropriate. No large props or weaponry, please, as they prove challenging in a school context.

Please remind students that in preparing their costumes it is not a competition and that we encourage them to make use of regular household materials to construct a costume with some flair and creativity. 

This year we are going to have an SK–Year 5 parade with students safely visiting stations held by Ms. Fleming, Mr. Girard, Mr. Evans and other members of faculty. Students will collect candy to bring home. A huge thank you to the PPO for supplying the candy!  

Years 6 and 7 will also receive a candy treat package supplied by the PPO that teachers will distribute.

Please speak with your form adviser if you have any questions.

With our thanks and excitement for Halloween,

David Girard and Gareth Evans

Assistant Heads of the Preparatory School

Dear Families,

This is a quick reminder about Halloween treats that will likely be coming into the school. Please remember we try to provide an allergen safe school for all students and staff. Please do not bring in any food or treats that may contain any nuts. All treats or foods that are coming into the school must be labeled as nut-free. 

Thank you very much for your attention to the safety of all members of our community!

Gina Suva and Judy Hinds                         

Prep School Health Centre

We're excited to share some fantastic news about upcoming adventures and classroom activities. 

First, students will soon have the opportunity to participate in a special outdoor trip to the Norval Outdoor School, and they're eager to explore and learn. The boys will challenge themselves on the low ropes course, where they will need to trust and work together to complete complex tasks. They'll also participate in the ‘Enviograme’ scavenger hunt, helping them learn about environmental sustainability while solving puzzles and exploring the campus. One of the most exciting parts will be harvesting apples and pressing their own apple cider, which promises to be both fun and educational. Additionally, they will visit bee hives to learn about the essential roles of bees and get to taste some fresh honey. In the evenings, they will enjoy playing night games like manhunt, gathering around the campfire for a cookout, and strengthening their friendships through outdoor activities. Overall, this trip promises to be a memorable experience that fosters team growth, develops new skills, and creates lasting happy memories.

Back in the classroom, we’ve been exploring inquiry-based lessons on different forms of government. The boys are learning about various systems, including democracy, dictatorship, and monarchy, developing a solid understanding of how governments work and influence society.

In literacy, students have been immersed in novel studies and participating in our Writer’s Workshop. Some are crafting thoughtful paragraphs, while others are using their imaginations in our "Write Club." This variety of writing activities encourages both critical thinking and creative expression.

In math, we are finishing up Unit Two, which focused on patterns in the base-10 place value system and ways to represent large numbers. Students have been estimating and calculating multi-digit whole number algorithms. They were also introduced to traditional multiplication and reviewed partial quotients division. In Unit Three, students will build on previous fraction concepts to understand fractions as division. They will use visual models to estimate, add, and subtract fractions and mixed numbers, and check the reasonableness of their answers. Finally, they will explore strategies for solving fraction problems.

Our fall athletics season is also coming to an end, with the boys competing in soccer finals and cross-country this week. Looking ahead to winter, students can look forward to participating in hockey, swimming, basketball, or intramural sports. These activities provide great opportunities to stay active, develop good sportsmanship, and enjoy school spirit.

We want to thank all our parents for your continued support. Partnering with you helps ensure your child’s success in school. We truly appreciate all that you do!

Lisa Brooks, Paul Faggion and Hailey Verity

Year 5 Class Teachers

In Year 5 Design, students have embarked on an exciting fabrication unit focused on woodworking! 

The project began with an introduction to the design cycle, emphasizing how every stage, from defining a need to creating a solution, is grounded in empathy. Students conducted empathy interviews at home with their families to learn about what they would like designed on their custom charcuterie boards, including preferences for wood type, design elements, and functionality.

After gathering insights, students explored different types of wood, comparing domestic and imported options while considering sustainability, environmental impact, and cost. They calculated the amount of wood required for their projects and determined the total cost of their orders. With this knowledge, students made thoughtful selections from a beautiful range of woods such as cherry, maple, and oak.

Students turned their family interviews into hand drawn design sketches, which will later be engraved onto their boards using the laser cutter. Throughout the unit, they are documenting their learning journey digitally in Book Creator, from research and sketches to reflections and progress photos.

Before entering the build phase, students completed a safety orientation in the Hixon Design Lab, learning how to work responsibly with tools and materials. They are now busy measuring, cutting, rasping, and sanding their boards as they bring their designs to life just in time for the winter holidays.

Stay tuned to see the beautiful finished products that showcase not only students’ technical abilities but also their empathy-driven design thinking.

Joanna Martin
Technology Integrator & Design Teacher

Fall marks the transition from summer to winter with cooler temperatures and shorter days. The students are filled with excitement and optimism for the year ahead and this is one of the best times of year at the Norval Outdoor School.

Every student in the Prep school comes to Norval in the fall. For some, it's an introduction to UCC’s second campus, and for others, it's a return to a familiar place like a camp or cottage. It's a time for bonding with classmates and creating memories that will build a successful class culture for the year ahead.

The Year 7 “Values Trip”

The first students to visit Norval in September are the Year 7s. This is an intake year for UCC, so Norval welcomes a number of new students to our outdoor campus for the first time. The four day trip focuses on the boys becoming one class, one group of amazing students leading our Prep School. It's similar to a team retreat or training camp preparing our classes for the year ahead. The focus of the trip is on our UCC values. Each class participates in activities linked to the values of community, learning, pluralism, wellbeing and service. During their time at Norval, the students worked with an archaeologist from The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations to identify the arrowheads found on the Norval property. They also worked with a flint knapper from Six Nations to make their own arrowheads and hiked 10 kilometres along the Credit River footpath to the town of Glen Williams to work with soap stone carvers from the Artist Mill. While here, they also had time in the Norval Garden working hard to prepare it for the SK and Year 1 programs. The students tested their leadership and teamwork skills on our low and high ropes course and were incredible leaders. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do in the year to come.  

The Year 5 "Adventure Race" 

All the Year 5 students travelled to Norval in September for the Norval Adventure race.  Working together in small groups, students navigated their way around the Norval campus completing a number of challenges. The primary goal of the day is to give the students an opportunity to get to know each other while having fun working together. Each Adventure Race team is composed of new and returning students. The students who have been to Norval before draw on their familiarity with the property to help navigate the group from station to station.

The Year 6 “Trust Building Trip”

The Year 6 students travel to Norval for a special trust-building trip. It's easy to believe in one another, but it is much more difficult to trust each other. The Year 6 students go through a number of activities to help build trust with their classmates. Activities include the Inuit Blanket Toss, William Tell, and three low rope elements.   

The SK "Passions Trip"

The SK Passions Norval trip is designed to connect with the SK Inquiry into Identity, as well as to introduce the students to the people and places at Norval. During the visit, the students met all of the Norval staff and learned about the passions and strengths they bring to the community.

The Year 1 "Brain Trip"

In this brand new Norval program, students experienced a sensory walk through the Norval property where they explored the five senses and learned about how their brains process the world around them.

We have welcomed almost every student from SK to Year 9 at Norval during the fall. It's a great reminder of how amazing this time of year is and how important Norval is to help give all our students the foundation they need to have a successful year at UCC.

Brent Evans 

UCC Norval Outdoor School Director

All Lost and Found items will be laid out in the Prep basement across from the Hixon Family Design Lab from Monday, Nov. 3 to Thursday, Nov. 6. Students and parents are encouraged to come check out the display and retrieve their missing items. Any unclaimed uniform items will be donated to the Used Uniform Sale, and non-uniform items will be donated to charity. 

The best way to find lost items is to label them! Check out the Mabel's Labels PPO Fundraising link here.