Dear Northern Families,

Our last full week of school is over! Hard to believe. Two full days of class Monday and Tuesday (moratorium) and we are into exams proper. Work hard this weekend!

We had our annual Grade 8 Welcome Night on Wednesday. A big shout out to all the student leaders who participated on stage, giving tours, answering questions, sharing information about clubs, and providing food in the cafeteria. It was a great welcome to our incoming class. Thank You.

In recent weeks a number of local businesses have reached out to local schools about student behaviour and thefts. These businesses do this out of a courtesy because they do not want to have police involvement. For all our students, please represent yourself, your family, and the school appropriately if you are visiting local businesses. Thank You.

Big News! Northern is a GOLD Ecoschool! This year our school's environmental association, NEMO, worked hard to run initiatives, educate our community, and make Northern a little more environmentally conscious. As part of this process we kept track of all the eco-related classroom and school wide initiatives that were happening around the school. Here is the Ecoschools website if you'd like to learn more about this national certification program. NEMO is proud of our results this year and we look forward to next year where we will build on what we've done in 2023-2024.

The 2024 Summer Well-being Guide is now available! The Guide has resources, community connections, events and ideas for students and parents/caregivers/guardians to promote mental and physical wellness during the summer months. The resources are culturally responsive with many resources for students with disabilities/special education needs.

 

Things to Know for Next Week: NSS Exam Schedule - Semester 2 2023-24

Monday-Tuesday: Moratorium- regular schedule

Wednesday: Day 1, Period 1 Exams @10am

Thursday: Day 1, Period 2 Exams @10am

Friday: Day 1, Period 3 Exams @10am

Friday: National Indigenous People’s Day- Summer Solstice

 

 

SEA Claim Returns:

If your child/ward has a SEA Claim laptop/chromebook from the Special Education Department please remind them to return it to room 112 asap.

(not 1:1 chromebooks)

 

Congratulations! CBC First Page Student Writing Challenge

We are proud to announce that Anya Thadani, a grade 9 student at Northern, has won the CBC First Page Student Writing Challenge in the grades 7-9 category for her entry Fixed. The story is about people having the ability to control their health and bodies. Ms. Wellsman, Anya's drama teacher, encouraged her students to participate in this renown competition. Students were asked to imagine how current affairs events and trends - from virtual reality and the ethics of artificial intelligence to climate change and genetic editing - have played out in the year 2174. Anya entry was chosen from over 1,500 submissions. If you are interested in reading more about this prestigious announcement, please check out this article CBC First Page Competition Winners.

 

Northern Pride Week:

Northern celebrated the beginning of Pride Month with a week of festivities and education. After days of fundraising, Northern's GSA raised $223 for the charity Rainbow Railroad (https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/about) . Thank you to all of the Northern community for your support for the 2SLGTBQ+ community here and abroad."

 

Summer Solstice/ National Indigenous People’s Day Event: (NO exam excusals!) Please note tickets need to be booked to attend- see here: https://agakhanmuseum.org/programs/summer-solstice

The Toronto Council Fire invites Northern Secondary teachers, students, and wider community to the Aga Khan Museum on Thursday June 20^th and Friday June 21^st to celebrate the Summer Solstice and National Indigenous People’s Day.

This beautiful event is not very far from the school. The daytime portion of this event from 10am – 4pm is specifically intended for Northern Secondary school-aged youth. We are featuring a diverse array of fun and celebratory performances, cultural workshops, and engaging teachings. Additionally, students will have access to the Museum for free. In the attachment you will find a Teachers Package which will be helpful for teachers and seeing the event linkages with the Ontario curriculum.

 

Support for Exams and Culminating Activities from the TDSB:

Preparing for Exams and Culminating Assignments - At the end of the school year, secondary students are working on course culminating assignments and preparing for Semester 2 exams. For some tips and resources to help, including access to free 24/7 online tutoring support through Paper, check out the Exam and Course Culminating Fact Sheet.

 

Special Education (Ms. Kearney):

Parents/Guardians of students with assistive technology/computer accommodations on their IEP, please ask if your child/ward has filled out the Exam Computer Accomodation survey I emailed them? I need to know if they do or do not need a computer. If they have questions please tell them to come and see me in room 112.

 

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

 

EXAMS

Final exams run from June 19-24, 2024. The moratorium period begins on Thursday June 13^th. 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.

 

Library:

Chromebook REMINDERS

Students in grades 9, 10 and 11: You are expected to take care of your TDSB-assigned Chromebook and plan to use it effectively in classes. Ask yourself:*

• Where is the Chromebook? Do you have the charger? Where is it plugged in every night?
• How do you remember to charge the device every evening? Can you set a reminder for yourself?
• Do you remember to bring it to school when you need it? Can you set a reminder for yourself?

*Parents, please help your adolescents with this planning and follow-through, especially during the last couple of weeks of the school term.

Upcoming Library Closures:

• Thursday, June 13 - Periods 1, 2, 3, 4 - EQAO Math Practice
• Monday, June 17 and Tuesday, June 18 - closed during class time in Periods 1, 2, 3, 4 - for EQAO Math testing
  • (no Chromebook loans, printing, or drop-in for students on spare)
  • open: 8:00-8:55am, 11:40am-12:40pm, 3:00-3:45pm
  • students should be arranging to print, exchange books, during drop-in hours

Return your Overdue Books!

• Keep searching for overdue books from the Northern Secondary School Library.
• All school library books are due by June 18th, 2024.

Lost and Found

• Are you missing a favourite hoodie? trusty water bottle?
• The Library hosts two totes of medium- and large-sized lost and found items. The totes do not have wallets, keys, electronics, jewellery or glasses.
• Items remaining after June 18th will be donated to charity.
• Come to the Library to look for your missing items!

 

Northern Secondary School Foundation:

As we come to the end of a very successful school year, we would like to thank the parents, guardians and staff for their support of the Foundation. We started the school year with a successful on-line auction that enabled us to provide financial assistance to several school club and teams.

We will award over 40 scholarships at Commencement and the Awards’ Assembly.

A special thank you to the parents who supported the Knight Owls-Northern’s highly competitive Robotics team.

The Foundation would welcome expressions of interest in joining our Board of Directors. Please contact us at info@nssf.ca for more information.

 

Guidance Updates:

1. 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!
2. 2024-2025 Semester 1 e-Learning Registration is OPEN.

A list of courses being offered can be found here.

Registration may continue until September 20, 2024 BUT classes will fill up early

Please check out this information flyer and poster for more information.

3. 2024-2025 Saturday International Languages School Registration is now open. For more information about dates and registration, please click here.
4. TDSB e-Learning AUGUST Summer School Registration is still open. Registration closes July 4, 2024. For more info about TDSB e-Summer school go here.
5. The BCTI STEAM Summer Camp is offering a dynamic program that focuses on mechatronics, programming, and engaging outdoor activities. Camps run from 9 AM to 4 PM and are organized into three different age groups to ensure age-appropriate learning and fun.

For more details and registration, visit: STEAM Summer Camp - Humber College

6. OUAC Updates:

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.

7. 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.
8. Scholarship Information:

Thank you to all the students who applied to an NSSF Scholarship. Students will be notified about their application status closer to commencement (which takes place June 27, 2024).

9. 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).

10. 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.

11. Students, are you LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES? Be sure to check out your Guidance Google classroom: Gr 9 Google Classroom: x6sh4ue; Gr 10: 4ixv2jl; Gr 11: kmv6fcz; Gr 12: twdxca6.
12. 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.

13. Mental Wellness Resources

Kids Help Phone: text 686868.

In an emergency, call 911.

 

Have a great weekend!

Adam Marshall

Principal

Follow me @PrincipalNSS