Good afternoon HCI,

In this week's bulletin I am asking you to partner with us here at HCI. I would ask that you please speak to your HCI student(s) about how our washrooms are being treated. The majority of our students are using the washrooms appropriately; while a small group of students are using the washroom as a place to socialize for a lengthy amount of time, while sitting on the floor and/or to vape. Administration and School Based Safety Monitors (SBSM) regularly sweep the washrooms to ensure safety, but we cannot be everywhere at all times. This week alone, a repair had to be made due to vapes being flushed down the toilet. This repair was in excess of 600.00 and this was not the first time this repair had to be made. While your child may not be in the group of students that are causing damage; we cannot solve what we do not know about. I would invite you to have regular conversations about what is happening in the washrooms and how your child can be a citizen of the HCI community. If you have further ideas of how to best approach this issue, I would invite you to join the school's Caring and Safe Schools Committee, the next meeting is December 9th @ 4:30 in the HCI library.

Please see below for important updates for the coming week.

Week At A Glance

HCI Whole School Calendar

HCI Semester 1 Exam Schedule (2025-2026).pdf

Save The Date

Wednesday, December 10th --> Humberside's annual Winter Music Night "Snowflake Serenade" is fast approaching. This year's music night features performances from semester one classes, Stage Band, Humberside's Harmonizers and more! There will be some familiar movie & show tunes that you can hum along with at your seat. And there will be a bake sale at intermission! We kindly ask for cash donations as our December concert is a "Pay As You Wish" entry :) We look forward to serenading you with music on December 10th!

Humberside Celebrates

Here at HCI we have numerous field trips running each week, which provides real life and hands on enrichment to the curriculum. Here is one such trip, as described by Mr. Skinner, “Earlier this week the Grade 12 Latin Class was welcomed by McMaster University (Mr. Skinner's alma mater). We became Classics students for a day and attended 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year undergraduate lectures in Greek Art, Roman History in the time of Nero, Introduction to Classical Myth, and Greek Historians. Students were happy to realize they could keep up with the pace and content of university level classes, and to see that Classics is thriving beyond our corner of Humberside.”

School Business

PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition)--> The PLAR Challenge Process is a process whereby active TDSB secondary or Continuing Education students may obtain credits toward the Ontario Secondary School Diploma for knowledge and skills that they have acquired outside of the classroom. Students are responsible for initiating the challenge process, and for independently satisfying all the performance requirements associated with the specific course challenged. The first mandatory step in the process is January 14, 2026 when the PLAR Challenge applications will be available in secondary school Guidance Offices or online. More information my be found through this link: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/High-School/Guidance/PLAR from this date.

HAC Highlights of the Week

Winter Sports Update--> We are now officially in our winter sports season! For any questions related to athletics, please email Mr. Seidu ([email protected]) or Ms. Nic ([email protected]). Stay tuned for more updates on instagram @hci_hac.

Intramurals--> Our volleyball intramural season is going into playoffs! All successful teams will be contacted by Monday November 24th.

HCI Spirit Wear--> Spirit Wear orders have been placed! If you purchased any clothing, please stay tuned for more updates. We are anticipating to receive orders within the next 3-4 weeks.

School Council

Next Meeting on Tuesday, November 25

The next School Council meeting is on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at 6:30pm in the school library. Please view the agenda HERE.

We've already had some great "Just Ask Jessica" questions answered at our first two meetings this year, on topics like the school grounds, chromebooks, the cafeteria, and parent-teacher conferences. You can find answers to the questions in our meeting minutes. If you have a question for Principal Pearson, submit it to us by email at [email protected].
We will group and summarize relevant questions for Ms. Pearson before our next meeting

Direct Donation Fundraising Campaign

Thank you to everyone who has already donated! There is one week left to donate to the Humberside School Council fundraising campaign. We are fundraising to directly enhance the student experience and support vital school programs.

We are asking for your support to fund some great new initiatives, including:

• Arts: New instruments for our concert performances.
• STEM: Partial funding for the competitive Robotics team.
• History: Materials to help preserve the Humberside archives.
• Classroom Enrichment: Technology for in-school learning opportunities.

Ready to contribute?
Click here to donate through School Cash Online:
https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/457/153/false/true?school=579&initiative=29
Please note the deadline for donations is November 30, 2025.

All donations are voluntary and eligible for a tax receipt.

Have a fantastic weekend,

Jessica Pearson

Principal