Spring Fire Drills

Fire Drill season is upon us again as we round out the final three drills of the six annual drills required by the Ministry of Education of Ontario. The construction on the Huron-Washington Parkette is anticipated to start in May, so we will plan for one drill April 10 and another the week of April 20. For the last drill, we will likely have to assemble on an alternate site near the Robarts Library. At the April 29 staff meeting, we will go through the new protocols for the Parkette.

Specific instructions about class attendance protocols and practices will be shared before the April 10 Drill.

Welcome Back Marleen

Please join us in welcoming back School Social Worker Marleen Constantin from her maternity leave. Marleen will be back as of today. When you see Marleen, be sure to say hello and welcome her back to the UTS community!

Postsecondary Updates

Week of March 23 to 27

The S6 counselling team wishes to thank every member of the UTS community for their support of our current S6 students throughout their time at UTS.

The spring season means that our students will be hearing back from universities regarding the outcomes of their applications. For students with open Ontario applications, it may be that they will not receive a response until May 28, and so the April OUAC transmission will be particularly important. For those applying to the U.S., most responses will be received this week and next, and the anticipation is both exciting and nerve-wracking.

To date, our students have received a variety of outstanding responses from Canadian, British and American institutions, including some attractive scholarship offers. While we are confident that all S6s will receive a positive response from at least one institution of their choice, we also know that the nature of admissions, particularly for international and U.S. destinations and highly competitive Canadian programs, means that some students will receive disappointing news. Overall, most students will receive a number of competitive offers, and some may feel “stuck” trying to decide which one to accept.

Given the level of emotion that can surface with processing and evaluating outcomes, we kindly remind faculty not to discuss postsecondary results with students in the classroom or during co-curricular times. Instead, counsellors continue to encourage students to approach faculty, particularly their referees, to share their updates privately and in person.

Thank you, once again, for your commitment and care of our students. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Café and Jazz Night
March 30

On Monday, March 30 we will have an exciting double bill event featuring first, Cafe in the MPR (4 to 6 p.m.), and then Jazz Night in the Jackman Theatre (6 to 8 p.m.).

Cafe, run by our S5-02 music class features an assortment of casual student bands, singers, soloists and other small ensembles.

Jazz Night will feature our three amazing Jazz Bands, led by Jeff McLeod and Ian Tulloch. This year we are also so lucky to have Canadian Juno-nominated jazz saxophonist, Alison Young perform as a guest artist alongside our Jazz 1 band. We last heard Alison perform in the Fleck Atrium with our all-girl jazz combo, in celebration of International Women's Day on March 6.

U of T Jazz Band Visit
March 31

Through our developing partnership with the UofT Faculty of Music and Professor of Jazz, Shirantha Beddage, the U of T Jazz Band will be visiting our school on March 31, Period 3. They will be performing a set from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Jackman Theatre. We invite any teachers to bring their classes to watch. If you are anticipating a "light" day, you could take attendance with your class then join us for 45 minutes of smooth jazz tunes. Please let Lyris Pat know if you are intending to bring an entire class to come so we can ensure sufficient seating.

Building Skills For Challenging Conversations

March 31 - Join IRL in Boardroom

Facing History & Ourselves is offering online sessions to develop skills needed when working with young people and challenging conversations arise. Feel free to register on your own (links below)!

If being online isn't your thing, join me in the boardroom (2-221) from 4 to 5:30 p.m. for our own mini-viewing session with snacks and IRL conversation. Be sure the snacks will meet your after-school snacking needs, fill in this form!

On your own/online only: Tuesday, March 31 | 4 - 5:30 p.m. ET | Cost: Free OR Thursday, April 30 | 7 - 8:30 p.m ET | Cost: Free

The first session is timely with it falling in advance of Pink Day. Many of us (staff from across many departments) will be in classrooms and hallways where unexpected questions and comments could come up. This session is a great way to gain and/or practice skills to navigate those moments. Additionally, a great resource from Egale Canada to help the ongoing work of stepping up for marginalized groups and more specifically 2SLGBTQ+ peoples is available here.

Egale Canada is also hosting a free online workshop on addressing transphobia on March 26 at 4:30 p.m. It is a great scenario-based session. Register here.

Questions about additional resources or upcoming Day of Pink? Reach out to your Pink Day pals: Chris Walasek, Iorek Merkley, Julie Klein or Nas Khan.

Senior Strings and Wauwatosa West
April 1

In Period 4, students in our Senior Strings Ensemble will be participating in a music exchange with the Wauwatosa West High School Strings Ensemble, from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Senior Strings and Wauwatosa West will be attending a shared clinic with U of T Instructor of Violin Tanya Charles. We will be sharing and working on the UTS commission “pinaskiw” by our Composer-In-Residence Cris Derksen, last performed at our National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Assembly, as well as a piece by Haitian-Canadian composer Christopher Ducasse. Students in Senior Strings may approach teachers about being excused from their Period 4 class. If it is not appropriate or possible for them to miss their class, please kindly let them know that they are expected to prioritize class.

Staff Appreciation Breakfast

April 1

On behalf of UTSPA, you are invited to the Staff Appreciation Breakfast on April 1st in the Multi-Purpose Room during the late start. No April Fool’s jokes ‒ just delicious food to celebrate you!

UTSPA Funding Requests

The UTSPA request form for school activities deadline has been extended! The form can be found HERE with the submission period going to Friday, April 10. Good luck to all the applicants!

The Entrepreneurial Mindset

April 15, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Presented in partnership by the UTS Alumni Association (UTSAA) and the UTS Parents' Association (UTSPA).

Join us for an engaging evening as we bring together a panel of alumni who have turned bold ideas into thriving realities. Whether you are a student dreaming of your first start-up, a parent interested in the future of industry or a member of our alumni community navigating your own professional path, this conversation offers a front-row seat to the realities of modern entrepreneurship. The panelists will share lessons learned and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Click here to read more about the panelists and register for the event.

2026-27 Draft Calendar Dates and Timelines

The Important Dates and Closures 2026-27 document, shared with Staff in January, includes the anticipated first and last days of school, Professional Development Days, December Break, March Break and other holidays.

Between now and May, we will be convening a Staff Calendar committee before final calendar publication.

Late Starts, Parent-Teacher Interviews and other important dates and closures will be shared with families in May.

Registration now OPEN: Eureka! Institute @ UTS Practitioner Research Symposium

Registration Deadline: April 27

Symposium Date: May 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at UTS

Please join us on May 9, 2026 for a full day of presentations, conversations, and workshops at the Eureka! Institute at UTS Practitioner Research Symposium!

The event will showcase the research of independent and public school teachers, teacher candidates, graduate students and university faculty who are grappling with the most pressing issues facing K-12 education today.

Register here by April 27

Three-Part Next Gen Men Leadership Learning for Selected Students

This spring, a small group of students will participate in a leadership learning series with Next Gen Men focused on healthy masculinity, relationships, influence and student leadership in shaping school culture.

April 10 to May 19 (see Dates and times here.)

List of student participants

We will communicate directly with students and work to minimize disruption as much as possible.

Interested in ordering lunch?

Reminder that you can order through Basil Box and have something warm and delicious delivered and waiting for you in the Main Office. Life's too short for a sad snack at your desk.

Order here

UTS Book Club

The new read for the UTS Staff Book Club is Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent. All are welcome to join in the discussion on this novel Thursday May 7 @ 4:30 p.m. in the new staff room.

Bike Room Update

Some bikes have been left in the same spot in the bike room for a long time, including over March Break.

The bike room is meant for safe keeping of your bikes during the work day, not for storing bikes for days or weeks. While occasional overnight use may be necessary due to weather or schedule changes, it is not intended for ongoing storage, which limits available space for commuters (especially as not all bikes fit in all the spaces).

Please take your bike home or move it if it has been there for a while to ensure active cyclists can store their bikes during the day indoors.

Thank you in advance for working together to keep our bikes safe and make our mornings a little easier!