Dear Northern Families,
We had a picture perfect day for our annual Student Activity Council Carnival. This year more groups contributed to the event making it a tremendous success. Great food, music, games and sunshine with school-mates. Thank you to SAC, the Buddies, BlackNSS, NISA, the Greek Club, GAA, BAA, and many more who made the day such a success. A special thank you to Ms. Beach and the team of staff volunteers who made this event run so smoothly.
Last night we had our last School Council meeting of the year. Thank You to all our council members who have put in personal time to advocate on behalf of families at Northern. It has been a pleasure to work with you!
Commencement Reminder:
Attention Graduates!
As you determine your plans for next year please email them to danielle.trotto@tdsb.on.ca
Don’t forget to buy your commencement tickets on School Cash Online - https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/
If you have any questions please feel free to email danielle.trotto@tdsb.on.ca
Trustee Rachel Chernos Lin is hosting a year end gathering and lunch on Wednesday, May 29 at Leaside Longo’s Loft (upstairs kitchen) located at 99, Laird Drive in the Leaside Village Plaza beginning at 10:00am – Noon. Details HERE .
Things to Know for Next Week:
Wednesday: Late Start @9:55am
Wednesday: GAC Meeting @6pm
Thursday: Northern Lights- Arts and Tech Night @6:30pm
Northern Lights- Arts and Tech Night:
Save the Date! Don't miss our combined Arts and Tech interactive exhibition on Thursday, May 30th from 6:30 - 8:30! Doors will open at 6:00. There will be performances, exhibits and workshops in Visual Arts, Ceramics, Dance, Drama, Music, Film, Photography, Architecture, Computer Science, Fashion, Tech Design, Animation, Construction Technology, and Robotics. Entrance is by donation, with a suggestion of $5. We look forward to seeing you at this incredible event!
Student Success
Peer Tutors Needed! Students interested in becoming a peer tutor for the 2024-2025 school year should fill out the 2024/2025 Peer Tutor Application. Applications close Friday, May 31st at noon. Becoming a peer tutor offers opportunities to earn volunteer hours, make new friends, take initiative and give back to the Northern community! No tutoring experience is required, but students are able to obtain their L2L certification through Peer Tutoring!
United Way:
Do you want to make a positive difference in your community? If so, join United way! United way is a great way to get involved at Northern, discover new opportunities and help those in poverty. To apply, join the google classroom using the code s6en4sw. All forms will be due May 28th at 11:59pm, be sure to sign up for an interview time as well!
Robotics Club – Community Outreach
The Northern Robotics Team, known as the Knight Owls, recently visited Westwood Middle School to introduce the broader community to robotics and other STEM concepts. Approximately 100 students gathered in the gymnasium, where the Knight Owls delivered a presentation and robot demonstration, introducing the students to the exciting world of the FIRST Robotics Competition. During the presentation, they showcased their competition robot from the 2024 robotics season.
Following the presentation, the Knight Owls led a workshop in the STEM Lab. They covered various STEM concepts and guided students in creating robots using VEX-IQ. The workshop culminated in a fun-filled robotics game, allowing everyone to actively participate.
If you’re interested in viewing photos from the event, you can find them here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1R1o8iDYsgqsCUUJG5PNE3L0AWL1VhY6M?usp=sharing
For more information about the Northern Robotics Team, visit their official website at https://knightowls.ca. Additionally, mark your calendar for the Northern Lights exhibit on May 30th, where the team will be running demos and providing opportunities to meet and support them.
Tennis News:
Congratulations to NORTHERN’s tennis team!! At the City Finals, Nolan Chow won gold, Theo Buck won silver and Jane Krutiakova won bronze!! These three outstanding players will be proudly representing our school at OFSAA. Yeah Northern!!!
EXAMS
Final exams run from June 19-24, 2024. The moratorium period begins on Thursday June 13th. There will be no excursions or athletic events during this period.
You can find information about the culminating activities and final exams for each course here (organized by grade) here: NSS Culminating and Final Exam Information Sem 2 2024
You can find a detailed exam schedule here: NSS Exam Schedule - Semester 2 2023-24
The schedule follows this format:
Students will follow their Day 1 schedule as follows for exams:
Wednesday, June 19 - Period 1 Exam
Thursday, June 20 - Period 2 Exam
Friday, June 21 - Period 3 Exam
Monday, June 24 - Period 4 Exam
ALL exams will begin at 10:00 am. Exam duration will vary by subject/year. Looking ahead, students should make sure they eat a good breakfast as they will eat a “late” lunch on these days once exams are over (late relative to our usual 11:40 am lunchtime).
Please take some time to look through our Exam ReadiNSS site for information and resources. More information will be added as exams approach – including some in person exam preparation sessions provided by our student services and special education departments.
CULMINATING TASKS AND EXAMS
Culminating activities and examinations carry the same importance and the same attendance requirement. Thus, attendance during culminating activities is mandatory. Some courses have culminating activities that take place over several days. Thus, attendance during culminating activities/summative evaluations is mandatory. A culminating activity is the final evaluation in each course which is worth 30% of the final mark. “This evaluation will be based on evidence from one or a combination of the following: an examination, a performance, an essay and/or another method of evaluation suitable to the course content” (p.41-Growing Success). Students who miss culminating activities or summative evaluations will be given a mark of zero for the portion missed with no opportunity to make up the missed work unless there is an extenuating and documented circumstance, such as a medical situation, court date, funeral etc. It is absolutely crucial that students do not miss any time during the end of a semester. Under Ministry of Education and TDSB regulations, there can be no accommodations made for students who miss the 30% culminating activities and summative evaluations at the end of a semester for personal reasons such as vacation or work. Students and parents should be aware that scheduled vacations at this time can significantly impact student achievement. With the exception of a medical emergency, all summative tests and assignments that are missed as a result of these absences will be assigned a mark of zero.
York University Registration Open House with Student Accessibility Services
York University bound students with academic accommodations and their families should attend this workshop and to register with their office over the summer (preferably May, June and July) to avoid delays and to ensure that their academic accommodations are in place for the first day of classes. To find out more about registering with Student Accessibility Services at York University, please visit our New to Our Office page.
Student Accessibility Services provides individualized academic accommodation planning and support to students with learning disabilities/disorders, chronic health and mental health conditions, neurodiversity (ADD, ADHD, autism), traumatic brain injuries, physical or mobility disabilities, and/or sensory disabilities.
Attend this session to learn about the supports and services offered through Student Accessibility Services at York University and how to register with us. Sessions will take place virtually (via Zoom). Students and parents or support persons are welcome to attend!
Dates:
Library:
Return your Overdue Books!
- It’s time to start hunting for those overdue books from the Northern Secondary School Library.
- Students who have overdue books will be receiving an email notification this week with a list of the titles that are overdue.
- All school library books are due before the end of semester on June 18th, 2024.
Upcoming Library Closures:
- Monday, May 27 - Periods 2, 3, 4 - NSS Ethics Bowl
- closed for class bookings and drop-in for students on spare
- open for Chromebook loans, printing
- drop-in open: 8:00-8:55am, 12:20-12:40pm, 3:-3:45am
Special Education Workshops (TDSB facilitated):
See information here: FLYER Parent Session May 28th AM Session - Google Slides
And here: FLYER Parent Session May 29th PM Session - Google Slides
ASD Summer Leisure Program
The ASD Summer Leisure Program will once again be running this summer from July 2nd to the 26th. The program is available to students going into Grades 4 -10 (currently students in Grade 3 - 9) who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The goal of the program is for participants to develop social skills, self-regulation strategies and skills on how to best prepare to transition to a new grade, class, and/or school.
Please share the ASD Leisure Program Parent Letter which includes the link for registration to the families of the students with ASD going into Grades 4 -10 (currently students in Grade 3 - 9). Registration deadline is Friday, May 31, 2024. Spaces in the program are limited and enrollment is on a first-come first-serve basis.
School Council:
1. GAC Event: Looking ahead to post-secondary - Wednesday, May 29th, 6:00-8:00 pm. Parents will be treated to a presentation by Northern Guidance. This is your chance to ask questions and come to a better understanding of how your student’s gifted profile may need to be considered in planning for post-secondary. This event will take place in the Northern Library and all parents and caregivers are welcome to attend.
2. Walking Buddies - Saturday, June 1st - 9:30-10:30 am Join other Northern parents for some fresh air, exercise, and conversation about school, kids, and life! Email nss.school.council@gmail.com for more details.
Northern Secondary School Foundation
The Foundation is pleased to offer over 40 Scholarships and Awards to Northern students . We are grateful to former teachers, parents and alumni who fund these awards through endowments or annual donations.
- scholarships and awards recognize academic achievement in math, science, social science, business, family studies, music, art and design.. Others recognize leadership in community service, environmental and humanitarian initiatives, participation in athletic and extracurricular activities, and perseverance in face of adversity.
If you are interested in honouring a family member or recognizing achievement in a particular area, we would be happy to assist you. We are hoping to find donors for awards recognizing achievement in engineering, technological studies including robotics.
Contact us at info@nssf.ca for more information
Guidance Updates:
- Exams are coming! Be sure to check out the WELLNESS and STRESS MANAGEMENT page of the NSS Exam Readiness Site. It is your one-stop shopping for all things NSS exams!
- OUAC Updates: June 3rd & Offers of Admission
Students must accept offers by June 3/24. OUAC recommends watching their video link for how to accept an offer. We've posted the video below so please watch it - it's only 3 min.https://youtu.be/vN34g9lgTxY
Students often make a mistake and do not finalize/submit their offer properly.
Students that have accepted an offer for one school can override by accepting another offer after. However, this may invalidate the original offer of admission and the student would have to reach out to the first school if they change their mind again and wish to go back to the first offer.
To OUAC’s knowledge, students should still continue to receive offers of admission even if they have already accepted an offer elsewhere (and they can still accept later offers to override according to the presentation - see video).
Students must reach out to institutions if they are planning on taking a summer course or repeating a course in the summer to clarify conditions of their offers. In many cases, universities won’t accept a course taken after June 30th unless the admissions team approves this.
NSS Post-Secondary Guide is here!
- Haven’t received an Ontario university offer?
Use the Admission Information Service (AIS)!
Starting June 5, 2024, Ontario high school students can use the AIS to find possible openings at Ontario universities.
- TDSB e-Learning Summer School Registration OPENS: Monday, April 22, 2024. For more info about TDSB e-Summer school go here
- TDSB In-Person/Remote Continuing Education Summer School information here. Registration for TDSB In-Person/Remote Summer OPENS Friday April 19, 2024.
- Graduating Students: be sure you have submitted your 40 Community Service Hours and your Opt Out of eLearning form (if you are not completing two eLearning courses) by mid May to ensure there are no issues with your graduation status. Please see your Guidance Counsellor if you have any questions.
- Scholarship Information:
- Seeking Scholarships has released their April Scholarship Report which has upcoming scholarship dates listed for students applying to post-secondary programs. It also has some great tips for preparing for interviews for scholarships, admissions to special programs, or for employment opportunities.
Northern students, teachers, and families can access from this link using the password, scholar58
Please note: This resource is copyrighted and only available to Northern families - please do not share outside of the Northern community. A copy of the report is posted on the Guidance Google Classroom for Grade 12 students.
NSS Scholarship Information Chart 2023/2024 where Northern-specific scholarship information and deadlines can be found (along with other common awards).
- IMPORTANT Volunteering Information:
PLEASE NOTE: Events and activities supporting a not-for-profit initiative are approved. If you are unsure if your activities supports a not-for-profit program, please see your Guidance counsellor for approval of the volunteering initiative.
For more information about the TDSB’s policy on Volunteering, click here.
Students: for volunteering information and opportunities, please visit your Guidance Google classroom or www.volunteertoronto.ca.
You can find the TDSB Community Involvement form here.
- Online Graduation Requirement – Information and Opt-Out Form
Looking for information about the new Ontario Ministry Online Learning graduation requirement? Please click here
Overview Info: applies only to students who entered Grade 9 on or after September 1, 2020. Students may withdraw/opt out of this new requirement and graduate with an OSSD if you have decided now to withdraw from the graduation requirement, please complete the TDSB Opt Out/Withdrawal Form and return it to your Guidance Counsellor.
- Mental Wellness Resources
Kids Help Phone: text 686868.
In an emergency, call 911.
Have a great weekend!
Adam Marshall
Principal
Follow me @PrincipalNSS