What's New
17th win at Ontario Student Classics Conference
At the Ontario Student Classics Conference in early May, out of the eighteen participating schools, the 45-strong UTS classics contingent clinched its 17th consecutive win. Mr DiSante points out that, “This time, though, it is extra special: we came 1st in Academics, 3rd in Athletics and 1st in Creative! It has taken us 20 years to achieve a first in the Creative events!“ Result highlights: UTS placed first for top academic school; third for top athletic school; first for most creative school; third for athletic points per capita; first for academic points per capita; and 4th for creative points per capita.
John Tory '72 presents award
On May 9, John Tory ‘72 presented the winners of the John A. Tory Shield for Intermediate Public Speaking with their certificates. In the picture: winner Anoop Manjunath with John Tory.
OFSAA badminton
In the OFSAA Badminton Provincial Championship, Mengtin Qui placed 4th in the Girls Singles and Darren Mak and Emily Lam placed 2nd in the Mixed Doubles. Mr Kennedy points out that these results are among the highest achievements UTS has ever had at an OFSAA Provincial Championship.
DECA International
After a lot of hard work in preparation for the international competition, the UTS DECA contingent did very well in Salt Lake City with more finalists than any other Ontario school. The final tally: UTS had two first place winners and five top 10 placements.
Chemistry Olympiad
Six UTS students scored among the top 20 students in Ontario in the Chemistry Olympiad exam. They have been selected to participate in the Provincial Chemistry Olympiad Camp at the University of Toronto. From the Provincial camps across Canada, 20 students will be selected for the National Chemistry Olympiad training camp.
Fabulous Physics
Seven UTS students have qualified for a weekend of intense physics training at the University of Toronto. It is remarkable that almost one-fifth of the 37 Ontario students selected are UTS students! From this camp, a few students will be selected to attend the Canada-wide camp to be held at the UBC later this month.
For the first time in recent history, some UTS students choose to participate in the “Physics Bowl” – a contest offered by the American Association of Physics Teachers. Approximately 10,000 students write the contest each year – primarily from the US. UTS garnered a 4th overall finish in Division 1 (students who have taken 1 year of physics); a 7th overall finish in division 2 (students with 2 years of physics); and 2nd place in region three (NY, ON, QC and the Maritimes).
Toronto Star reporter writes about UTS Jane’s Walk
A Toronto Star reporter joined the Jane’s Walk lead by UTS students. Read the article here:
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1174078--jane-s-walk-in-toronto-the-good-the-bad-and-the-future
Lunch with a Laureate
Portia Tang’s essay on soil contaminants earned her an honourable mention in the University of Toronto chemistry department’s Lunch with a Laureate contest. She was invited to attend a lecture series at the university and to have lunch with the key note speakers.
UTS Chess Teams Win Junior and Senior Toronto Team Finals
After 6 months of league and playoff chess, the UTS Senior Team’s season culminated on April 20 in the Toronto Team Final. This tournament represents the "Stanley Cup" for Toronto high school chess. The best twelve teams from all four quadrants of the city faced off and both the UTS junior and senior teams won their divisions.
Of great debates
On Saturday April 21, 36 of UTS’ finest debaters took part in both individual and team competition in the annual Lauren Bialystok tournament at UTS. In addition, three UTS students entered the Canadian Junior National Public Speaking Competition in Calgary recently placing 24th, 11th and 4th out of 63 participants from across Canada!
Empty Bowls
The student-run Empty Bowls event was held on April 27 to rasie money for the Daily Bread Food Bank. Students in the F2 (Gr. 8) art program donated their hand-made bowls for the Empty Bowls Soup Kitchen, organized by Alda Wu and Kristen Gracie, together with the UTS Clay Club. Visitors to the UTS Art Exhibition and music performances were invited to enjoy a bowl of delicious soup and to take home the bowl of their choice.
National Michael Smith Science Challenge
In February, approximately 1400 Canadian students (including 9 from UTS!) wrote the national Michael Smith Science Challenge, a competition for students who are in Gr. 10 science (or younger). Kuhan Jeyapragasan and Michael Liu were in the top 25%; Gloria Fang, Kelvin Ng and Jaichen Wang were in the top 10%; Anoop Manjunath was in the top 1%, and Gloria Wu tied for overall 2nd place!
Global Ideas Institute symposium
On April 17, UTS students joined teams from 10 other GTA high schools at the Munk School of Global Affairs to pitch their ideas about a real-world problem – "reinventing the toilet" – at the Global Ideas Institute Symposium. The symposium was the culminating event of 6 months of seminars, workshops, research activities, and dialogue. Team UTS (Angela Chen, Cydney Kim, Stephanie Lim, Sarah Liu and Jane Su) presented their proposal during their 10-minute pitch and answered questions. The day commenced with an address by David Peterson, Chancellor of UofT, followed by Professor Meric Gertler, Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science, Professor of Geography, and Goldring Chair in Canadian Studies. Professor Yu-ling Cheng (who won a Gates Foundation grant to tackle the toilet problem) and Professor Joseph Wong (Director of the Asian Institute, and our partner in the GII) each offered the students an update on their own research and provided feedback to each team. The students engaged in dialogue with them as well as with Professor Will Mitchell of the Rotman School of Management. Professor Janice Stein, Director of the Munk School, concluded the day with an interactive discussion related to the global challenges of innovation. (In the pic: the UTS team with Ms Evans, centre, Mr Farley and Ms Paradine).
Ontario High
School German Contest
A record 18 UTS students, along with peers from 4 different public school boards, participated in the Ontario High School German Contest on April 14. Our students excelled in all categories and garnered two 1st places (and many other placements besides): Alice Tan (students who have spent more than 21 days in a German-speaking country) and Tiffany Got (for students with only classroom exposure to German). Alice Fried came 2nd in this category, too. Tiffany wins an all-expenses paid trip to Germany this summer! (In the pic: The UTS team. Inset: Tiffany with the Consul General for Germany in Toronto, Sabine Sparwasser, and OCT CEO Michael Salvatori.)
Geo Challenge
A UTS student tied for a 6th place finish (out of an original 100,000 participants nationwide) in the Great Canadian Geography Challenge.
SOMA: Southern Ontario Model United Nations Assembly
Last week, UTS celebrated the 40th anniversary of SOMA which was organized by a Secretariat of 10 UTS students. 75 UTS students staffed the 3-day conference (held at UofT) and another 40 joined the 550 participant delegates from schools across the province. During the assembly – which ‘models’ the United Nations – various world issues were discussed. There were nine committees (including one in which delegates debated in French) and topics ranged from Biological and Chemical Warfare, and Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions to Human Rights Violations in Eritrea. Prior to the conference, delegates were assigned a specific country, researched the perspective of that nation and, while attending, followed 'their' foreign policy. This year’s assembly also dealt with two historical crises – essentially re-enactments of the United Nations’ reactions to historical wars: the Russo-Japanese War and the Second Punic War. Delegates in these committees were assigned a key character (rather than a nation) in the conflict and had the opportunity to manipulate the outcome of the conflict!
Reach success
The Senior and Junior Reach teams cleaned up at the City Division on April 12 and the Seniors move on to Provincials in May. The Senior team also hosted a Reach tournament on Saturday, April 14 at UTS for which they wrote all the questions.
Envirothon
Both UTS teams fared well in the city competition with their re-design of a green school with low environmental impact. Kudos to: Bridget Allen-O’Neil (Forestry specialist), Christopher Chang (Aquatics specialist), Tiffany Got (Special Topic), Karen Morenz (Wildlife specialist), and Ilana Tavshunsky (Soils specialist), who will go on to represent the Toronto Region at the Provincial Competition in early May.
Together in Toronto: Pelican Falls and UTS students
This spring students from UTS and Pelican Falls First Nations High School (PFFNHS) in Sioux Lookout are engaged in part of a pilot educational exchange program. The PFFNHS students were in Toronto recently and later this month UTS students will stay at PFFNHS, a boarding school for Aboriginal students who live in remote fly-in communities in Northern Ontario, run by the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council.
Alumni visitors
Journalist John Allemang ‘70, shared some insights with the S6 (Gr.12) Writer’s Craft class last week. Among many other things, he spoke about the potency of simple words and that in making stories memorable, fine detail is key. RIM engineer, Wen Chan ‘95, visited the S6 (Gr 12) computer science class to talk about careers in engineering. He emphasized the importance of math and science as well as creativity and intuition.
Bad
minton Champs
On April 12, UTS won the South Region Badminton Championship! As a result of our regular season league play we finished: Overall Team Champions, Girls Champions, 2nd place Boys and 2nd place Mixed.
Math and Melody
S6 (Gr. 12) student Melody Guan has qualified to take the 41st annual USAMO (USA Mathematical Olympiad) - a by-invitation-only competition. She also came 1st in Canada in the International Math Kangaroo Contest, Grade 12.
Battle of the Bands!
Geo videos - vote now!
Vote online for M3 (Gr. 9) videos in the Canadian Geographic Contest! (The winning video receives $2000 in tech stuff for the school!) The students made 1-minute videos promoting ways to reduce energy consumption and four UTS entries were selected for the national contest. Take a look:
http://energydiet.canadiangeographic.ca/home/video_gallery/423/mr-mendes-m3-01#the_title
http://energydiet.canadiangeographic.ca/home/video_gallery/52/mr-farley-m3-02#the_title
http://energydiet.canadiangeographic.ca/home/video_gallery/424/mr-mendes-m3-03#the_title
http://energydiet.canadiangeographic.ca/home/video_gallery/400/mr-farley-m3-04#the_title
Sci-Tech
Five UTS projects were submitted to the recent Toronto Sci-Tech Fair held at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. The results: one Bronze medal; two Silver medals (one with the LifeLabs Award for a project of excellence in Health Science); and two Gold medals (one with the Chemical Institute of Canada Award).
More chess success
In the Toronto Secondary School Chess League Individual Championship on March 30, Christopher Knox won all five of his games and tied for first place – both players were named co-champions. In the Ontario Team Chess Championship on March 31, both the UTS junior and senior chess teams won first place.
Toronto Brain Bee
Almost 100 students trooped into the UofT medical sciences building to compete in the Toronto Brain Bee. UTS was one of the largest contingents with 18 students in the pool. In round 1, of the 50 students selected, 18 were from UTS. In round 2, of the 10 students selected, 5 were from UTS. During the final round UTS garnered 3rd place and, in a ‘sudden death’ round for the top spot, UTS moved to second place.
UTS appoints Heather Henricks as Vice Principal
UTS is happy to announce the appointment of Heather Henricks as Vice Principal, effective July 3, 2012. She comes to UTS from the York Region District School Board (YRDSB) where she is currently VP at Thornlea Secondary School. Heather holds a B.A., a B.Ed., and an M.Ed. and is currently working on her Doctorate at OISE. Her career has been spent working collaboratively at the school and system level to facilitate changes in instruction and assessment aimed at increasing student success. She was Chair of the YRDSB’s Fusion Conference which brought together 300 students for an equity-themed conference. She has promoted social action and the formation of a large global citizenship club at YRDSB, and has been closely involved in the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) raising the profile of equity issues in her school and providing a safe environment for many students. She is passionate about the power of athletics to transform students’ lives and has recently returned to coaching school teams. She is a member of the York Region Athletic Association (YRAA) Executive and is a former OFSAA Co-Chair of OFSAA. We are delighted to welcome Heather to UTS and we know that the UTS community will welcome her with great enthusiasm.
Borderland Regions Student Exchange Project
Classics teacher, Mr. Eugene DiSante started this international collaborative project in 1999, in partnership with Liceo Scientifico "G.Marinelli", a high school in Udine, Italy. This spring 11 M4/S5 (Gr. 10/11) UTS students participated in the 5th iteration of this trip spending March break in Italy accompanied by Mr DiSante and art teacher, Silvana Michetti. They were warmly welcomed by their Italian host families. The trip focused on the study of the commonalities in the imperial management of colonies, as seen in Friuli with the ancient Romans, as well as with the British in Upper Canada. In addition, visits to Padua, Ravenna, Rome, Venice, and Vicenza, introduced our students to the architecture, art, food, and character unique to each of these cultural centres. It was a wonderful, broadening and enriching experience for all and we look forward welcoming the Marinelli students here in October 2012. In the pic: Marinelli and UTS students at the Mausoleum of Theodoric in Ravenna.
OBA Mock Trial Tournament
Six UTS law students took part in the Ontario Bar Association Mock Trial Tournament. They represented UTS well and in their second trial managed to successfully defend their client "Justin Pieber" on serious charges. In the end, however, the team did not advance to the final rounds (eventually won by Bayview Secondary).
Classics Success
In the Canadian High School Latin Sight Translation Contest, Sophia Ly won first place and Cydney Kim earned an honourable mention. S6 student Jessica Zung received hourable mention in the Junior Ancient Greek Sight Translation Contest – an impressive achievment as all other contestants were university students.
Concours Oratoire
Seven UTS students placed 1st in their respective categories and will go on to represent Independent Schools at the Provincial Concours Oratoire at Glendon College in May.
Chess Olympian on UTS team
The UTS Chess team has qualified for the Toronto Team Championship based on its strong league play this year and the team is eager to defend both its Junior and Senior titles. Team member, F2 (Gr. 8) student Jackie Peng, has been invited to play on the Canadian Women’s Olympic Team at the Chess Olympiad in Turkey this August. The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from over 125 countries compete against one another. Jackie is one of the youngest players in Canadian history to be invited to the Olympiad.
Tory Shield
M3 and M4 (Gr.9&10) students undertook various public speaking challenges before March break in the Tory Shield contest: interpretive reading of a published poetry or prose selection; a prepared after-dinner of persuasive speech; and an impromptu speech, newscast or spoken word performance. Anoop Manjunath won with his reading of The Man from Snowy River and his impromptu speech on immortality. Divya Santhanam’s reading from A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde garnered second, and Michael Liu came third with his impromptu spoken word about "Waiting for...Her".
Maximum city receives award
For the second consecutive year, UTS teacher Josh Fullan’s Maximum City program is the winner of the J.W. Ansley Award for Educational Research from OSSTF. The award comes with a $2500 grant which will be used towards expanding the program this summer during the weeks of July 16-26. www.maximumcity.ca
DSD2 German
Alice Tan and Julia Pomerantz have both passed the DSD2 (an internationally recognized certification of language proficiency) in German. This is equivalent to the English TOEFL and indicates ability to study courses taught in German at German universities: a remarable level of achievement for students who have spent little (in Alice’s case) to no (in Julia’s case) time in a German-speaking country.
Video Scripts selected
Five energy reduction video scripts, representing each of the M3 (Gr. 9) Geography sections, were selected by Canadian Geographic to compete in the finals of the Energy Challenge video contest. Each group won a Flip video camera to film their script. http://energydiet.canadiangeographic.ca/home/landing
Volleyball champs
The Senior Girls Volleyball team have won their first ever TDSSAA 1A-2A City Championship with a, 3-1, win over CW Jefferies at Humber College on February 22. Next up, 1A OFSAA championships, hosted by UTS!
Sears Ontario Drama Festival news
The UTS SODF entry, Over the Edge, written by one of our students, was very well received when it was performed on February 22, appearing on an entertaining program that included plays presented by students from Parkdale CI’s IB program, and our host school, Humberside.
Kid's Lit win
Some of our avid readers in F1 and F2 (Gr. 7 & 8) competed in the Kid’s Lit Quiz National tournament recently, a children’s literature competition for students 10-13 years in age, for the very first time. In 10 rounds (with 10 questions each), our two teams faced some tough questions and some tough competition - but one our teams placed first!
UTS alumnus, author Lawrence Hill ‘75, visits
Many thanks to our alumnus, author Lawrence Hill ‘75 (The Book of Negroes), for his wonderful visit last week at the invitation of the UTS Harmony group. In a special school-wide assembly Lawrence spoke about issues of identity and race in general, and his experience as a student at UTS (he was the 1975 school captain!), as well as his work as a writer. He also spoke to the M4 (Gr. 10) students regarding the character and depiction of Othello and encouraged our students to read current black literature.
Kid’s Lit
Last week, some of our avid readers in F1 and F2 (Gr. 7 & 8) competed in the Kid’s Lit Quiz National tournament, a children’s literature competition for students 10-13 years in age. In 10 rounds (with 10 questions each), our two teams faced some tough questions and some tough competition - but one of our teams placed first!
Writers in Writer’s Craft
Last week, Noah Shopsowitz ‘72 was the first of three scheduled alumni speakers in the S6 (Gr. 12) Writer’s Craft class. He discussed a recent class topic: screenplay writing, sharing his experiences of writing screenplay treatments. He spoke about the importance of generating an emotional connection and response from viewers and the creativity of both the writing process and the business plan.
Goin
g Global
F2 (Gr. 8) civics students have been investigating what it means to be a global citizen, researching the consequences of everyday choices and actions for the health and well-being of others in the global community. They created original websites and then presented their information in an in-class fair. A further requirement was that the materials used for the exhibit/fair have a ‘zero footprint.’
Transit forum
On February 1, UTS teacher Josh Fullan (with mic) and UTS alum John Tory ‘72 (left) were panel members for a discussion on transit in Toronto hosted by Liberal candidate Sarah Thomson and moderated by TTC Chair Karen Stintz. See story below for more details and a summary of the discussion:
http://www.thegridto.com/city/local-news/five-things-we-learned-about-the-state-of-transit/
Authoring Science
Kudos to UTS teacher Angela Vavitsas who has authored sections of two new books (published by Nelson Education): Biology 12 (Molecular Genetics unit) and Chemistry 12 (Energy and Rates of Reaction unit). Angela previously co-authored a Biology 11 text, another Bio 12 book and the College Chemistry 12 textbook.
SHOW 2012 - "Just Married"
Show was a huge hit! Here are some pics - courtesy of Grace Luo.
Visitors from Chile
On January 25, 30 principals from Chile spent the day at UTS. The group was on a trip arranged by OISE/UofT to learn about Canadian educational practices. The visitors had a full day which included presentations by UTS Spanish teacher Sra. Ana Maria Pereira-Castillo on how to implement an inclusive engaging pedagogy; student Isabella Chiu on the communicative and experiential approach in Spanish class; and student Cydney Kim on her research in to the Chilean 9/11 in 1973. Other activities included UTS teacher, Dr. Maria Niño-Soto, running activities which emphasized group work in her classes. Throughout the day there were lots of opportunities for UTS Spanish-language students to engage with our visitors and respond to questions about school life, their interests, work load, and so forth.
Toskan Casale
On Thursday, January 19, M3 (Gr. 9) students gathered for the annual Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) finalist presentations. Four student groups, selected by the whole grade, advocated on behalf of four different local, grassroots, social service chariti%
