December 18, 2025
The AI Beat
by Adnan Zuberi, Director of AI Integration
January PD
Gratitude
Before I officially retire, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you, whether I worked with for years or just a few months. You have helped to give me a fulfilling and creative - and sometimes exhausting - career.
I’d especially like to thank the members of the English department and the CWS department who are passionate about their subject, their students, and their colleagues. I learned so much from each one of you.
And I’d like to thank everyone who helped with my amazing send-offs over the past few weeks. I am still walking on air and I will be going over each of these celebrations again and again in my mind - maybe as I soak in a hot tub at the Vettic Spa!
Thank you all. Enjoy a well-deserved break. (Even if it’s not as long as mine!)
Maureen
Best Buddies Donut Sale
Dear Staff,
It’s that time of year again!
Students at UTS who are involved in the Best Buddies Canada Program are excited to share a meaningful opportunity to support our broader school community.
In partnership with Heydon Park Secondary School, our Best Buddies partner school, we are hosting a donut fundraiser to support their Outdoor Education Program.
Please click the link here to purchase your donuts or to make a donation today! Thank you!
Reminder - Staff Tickets for SHOW
SHOW 2026 - Windows to the Soul is taking place on Friday January 16 AND Saturday January 17, 2026. Please let us know if you would like to attend by filling in this FORM. Order your tickets today!
PA System Feedback - We Hear You!
Thank you to all those who have provided feedback on the PA system. On January 5, the Facilities department is planning to work with contractors with expertise in these types of systems to optimize the system based on what you have shared. If you haven’t had a chance to provide feedback, here is the feedback form. Main take-aways include hearing that on L1 and Floor 1, the pre-announce (ding-ding) is too loud in teacher staff offices. There is a feedback sound that is jarring especially in teacher staff offices on L1 and floor 1. On L3 the announcements are too quiet. The volume, pre-announce and sound in classrooms is generally good, maybe a bit too quiet. The sound in hallways is also too quiet. In the library, the conversations in the main office are audible. We will be working on fixing the pre-announce and feedback, looking at options for an auxiliary from which we could play music (to eliminate the feedback)and ensuring that during announcement traffic and conversations in the main office are limited. Thanks for your collaboration!
2026-2027 Calendar Consultation
The Academic Administration wanted to share the general plans for the 2026-2027 breaks and PD days. We would love your opinions, comments and suggestions and are collecting your feedback through this form. The form will be open until Friday, January 9 at 4 pm.
Winter Well-Being
During winter break, experiences of stress and pressure can ride alongside moments of joy and relaxation. Students and received this School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO) resource with ideas about navigating the break while caring for themselves and others and we have relayed this to parents. Staff may like to take a look at this SMHO resource for the care and keeping of our own well-being.
Here are a wide range of community resources if support is helpful or needed over the holidays.
In December we say goodbye to Avi Magidsohn who has completed his contract. In March we will welcome back Marleen Constantin from an extended maternity leave. If you have any questions, we’ll be back in the new year when school re-opens and would love to hear from you, so please reach out to social.work.staff@utschools.ca.
Warmly,
Steph and Joelle
SHOW Support in January
We are looking for some supervision support for SHOW on the evening of Friday, January 16th and/or Saturday, January 17th. Please reach out to Student Life if you are able to help us out!
Volunteer interviewers for admissions interviews in January
Each year, almost 120 staff and alumni participate in and greatly contribute to the selection of the next cohort of UTS students through our Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs).
Interviews will take place on the morning of Saturday, January 24th. By popular request, staff will have the option to attend interviewer training on a weekday prior to interview day (schedule TBD).
Your help is hugely appreciated. Additional details are in the sign up form. Please RSVP here. We welcome the diverse perspectives of all UTS staff, including teaching, non-teaching, and administrative staff!
It's a whirlwind of a day, but it's a fun one. You'll get to meet a dozen or so applicants to UTS, as well as catch up with some alumni from years past. We'll also feed you, of course. Questions? Please drop by admissions!
UTSPA Funding Requests
The UTSAPA request form is open to school activities that would like support for funding. The form can be found HERE and the deadline for this submission period is Friday, January 9, 2026. Good luck to all the applicants!
