Northern Secondary School

December 17th, 2021

Wednesday, December 29, 2021 02:46 PM

Greetings Northern Families,

This is a long bulletin, so I will keep the commentary brief. It is winter break already after a tough fall in many ways as we continue to navigate the pandemic and learn to adapt to yet another learning model. I am incredibly proud to be the principal of this school- always have been- but this fall has been particularly special. Student willingness to keep this space safe by following protocols that we are all growing tired of was an indication of the character you all have. Through your efforts you have helped keep your families and friends safe, and helped create a safe space for our staff to work in. Kudos to you and your families for being nothing short of awesome this fall. I am already excited to get back in January!

Rapid Test kits were distributed yesterday in class and again today to students who had spares. Please make use of them as necessary.

A big thank you to School Council for the coffee/ tea/ baked goods on Wednesday for our last staff meeting of the year. It was a really nice treat to arrive to for everyone.

Please see the newest: Trustee Chernos Lin Newsletter

Ever wanted more information about Northern Athletics? Please visit our new Athletics Site . Thank You Mr. Gallo for putting all this content together.

Ever wanted to see the daily announcements? Well here is another option for you. Click HERE to get the NSS Air QR code. Scan it daily for the latest news. (starting again in January)

BIG NEWS! Northern Robotics Club

We will be competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition in March! If you are interested in joining our team please fill out this form.

Parents: If you are interested in supporting/funding our team please email our teacher advisor Mr. Wong at stephen.wong@tdsb.on.ca Your donations will go towards covering the expenses related to this competition including the material costs to build the robot.

Here is the link to our website: https://www.crimsonrevolution.com

Additionally, if you have related technical experience/manufacturing capability and would like to share them with the team, please email Mr.Wong. To learn more about FIRST here is their website: https://www.firstroboticscanada.org/

For the psychology department’s most recent newsletter please click: HEARTS AND MINDS

2020-2021 Yearbooks are still available! Interested? Please click here to purchase.

Alpine ski and snowboard team. Please ignore any emails/ messages you have received. The athletics information management system is new and should not have sent out correspondence yet.

Thank You to everyone that has made a payment for the Student Activity Fee. We do rely on this support to run the wide variety of Arts, Athletics, and other co-curriculars at Northern. TO make payment please visit: https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/ This will cover printing costs for students (library), the yearbook, and subsidize student arts/ athletics/ clubs outside of the classroom. The link will remain open so please help support Northern’s Extra-Curriculars!

Please input your proof of vaccination for us to access in case of cohort dismissal, for athletics etc. There are two options for how to complete this task below:

How to Attest to Being Vaccinated via App on your Smartphone

· Log into the TDSB Health Screening App

· Click on the “My Vaccination Status” menu item, followed by “Update Vaccination Status”

· Carefully read each question and answer appropriately

· Upload proof of vaccination* (vaccine dose administration receipts or equivalent documents)

· Click on “Add Attachment” to upload proof of vaccination

 

How to Attest to Being Vaccinated via Health Screening Web Portal

· Access "Safe Return to School and Work" Portal via https://tdsb.service-now.com/tswp

· Click on the “My Vaccination Status” button, followed by “Update Vaccination Status”

· Carefully read each question and answer appropriately

· Upload proof of vaccination* (vaccine dose administration receipts or equivalent documents)

· Click on “Add Attachment” to upload proof of vaccination

 

School Council Update

 

NSS Council is happy to report that our teacher appreciation breakfast event this past Wednesday was a great success. It was exciting to see everyone in positive spirits and ready for the holidays! Thanks to all who helped out with the event.

 

We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and we're looking forward to seeing you in the new year at our next Council Meeting: Thursday, January 13, 2022 @6:30 PM

 

From the ESL Department:

 

This year, the annual TDSB ESL Speech Competition, hosted by Dr. Norman Bethune C.I., took place virtually through video submission with over 20 schools participating, including Northern.

 

A huge shout-out goes to the following Northern students for being nominated by their classes for best speech:

 

Wanda Galang for her speech "I Made a Deal with my Mom (because I really want a Pomeranian)"

Radin Khansari for his speech "Why I Love Exercise"

Princess Garvida for her speech "Bullying"

Sandra Kan for her speech "Factors Affecting my Choices"

Daniel Jafari for his speech "Global Warming"

Juan Hernandez Pardo for his speech "The Art of Setting Goals"

 

Special congratulations go to Juan Hernandez Pardo for winning fourth place as a finalist for ESLE in the board-wide competition. Way to go Juan!

 

 

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

On December 6th we commemorated the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women by honoring the victims of the Ecole Polytechnique. Northern remembered Anne-Marie Edward, Anne-Marie Lemay, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte, Barbara Daigneault, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Michèle Richard, Nathalie Croteau and Sonia Pelletier by participating in a moment of silence at 1pm.

Thank you to No Means No, FemNSS and Social Justice Club who organized daily announcements and an awareness campaign to educate the school community about gender based violence. On December 6th the above groups along with the Boys Soccer Team combined efforts to sell White Ribbons and committed to working towards a saf(er) space. Thank you to everyone who supported this amazing team effort. We raised over $300 for Sistering, an agency that supports vulnerable women and trans people. If you are interested in supporting Sistering please visit https://sistering.org

 

 

From Northern's Feminist Club (FemNSS)

The Feminst Club would like to thank everyone who donated to our Period Product drive. Products were donated to Bleed the North. Additionally we are proud to announce that during the month of December FemNSS has begun addressing period poverty at Northern. Free menstrual products have been placed in many washrooms and we have been overwhelmed with the messages of support this initiative has received. If you are interested in joining FemNSS visit our instagram page @femnss

 

 

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) 2021/2022

 

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) is the formal evaluation and credit-granting process whereby students may obtain credits for prior learning. Prior learning includes the knowledge and skills that students have acquired, in both formal and informal ways, outside secondary school. Students may have their knowledge and skills evaluated against the expectations outlined in provincial curriculum policy documents in order to earn credits towards the secondary school diploma.

 

The 2021/2022 PLAR Challenge process will kick off with a Virtual PLAR Information Session for Families on January 17, 2022. Please share the information below with your school community.

· PLAR Information Session Flyer

· PLAR website

 

Winter 2021-22 Well-Being Guide for Students, Caregivers and Families:

 

This is the TDSB Winter 2021-22 Well-Being Guide with many resources for students and caregivers. The English version is attached. This guide has been translated into 18 languages and we hope it can reach many students and caregivers.

 

Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence:

The 2022 Prime Minister’s Awards competition is open!
Educators play an important role in helping to build the next generation of Canadians. We all remember an educator that changed our lives. The Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence, Teaching Excellence in STEM, and Excellence in Early Childhood Education honour exemplary teachers and early childhood educators who are preparing youth for the innovation economy.
Prime Minister’s Awards recipients can receive:

  • A certificate from the Prime Minister
  • National recognition and promotion of their best teaching practices

Consider nominating an educator for a 2022 Prime Minister’s Award! Download your nomination package and poster today by clicking on the image above or visiting our website.
Looking for inspiration? Check out some previous teaching and early childhood education award recipients.

Graduation Photos:

Grad Photos and retakes will take place starting January 10th. Please book an appointment online following the link and steps below:

https://booking.edgeimaging.ca/portal/book/NEH

Click “Classic Sitting” or “Yearbook Only Sitting”

Choose date and time of your liking, click “confirm and pay now”

Enter student, contact and billing information and “click confirm and pay”

**Please note, due to Covid- no props that are held will be provided. We highly suggest students bring their own to make the session more personalized. Props could include- fake flowers, a rolled-up paper and ribbon as a scroll, an old school photo, a hard cover book, a small item that shows of your personality or interests.

**Please come prepared in a white collared shirt or blouse and tie.

**A black graduation gown, sash and graduation cap will be available for each student to use. We are following all health and safety guidelines set out by the TDSB and TPH.

**Your confirmation email will confirm the location of your session will take place

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Guidance:


Reminder to students: There is much more to explore in our Guidance Google classrooms!

Gr. 9 code: kmv6fcz; Gr. 10 code: twdxca6; Gr. 11 code: hfg74ws; Gr. 12 code: u565fkg

  1. PLEASE NOTE:

TDSB ELearning has announced that many of their course offerings are going to be assigned by lottery - please see their message below.
If you have signed up for one of the 'lottery' classes OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR selected CLASS AT NIGHT SCHOOL to ensure you get the course in semester two. Click here for TDSB Night School Information.

******************************************************************************************
Please see the following message from the TDSB e-Learning team:
The following e-Learning courses have insufficient capacity to meet student requests for Semester 2 courses.
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BOH4ME
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HSB4UE
HZT4UE
MCV4UE
MDM4UE
PLF4ME

SBI4UE
SCH4UE
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Recognizing the high demand for specific courses, e-Learning has reassigned teachers where possible to address capacity issues; however, the e-Learning program has a set number of classes and does not have the ability to add additional classes.

To address the approval process in the fairest way possible, e-Learning will conduct a lottery for a space in these high demand classes. In consideration of the challenges students encountered in submitting course requests, e-Learning will include students requesting these courses prior to 4:00 PM on Monday, December 13, 2021.

Students will be placed on course waitlists according to the order in the lottery. The waitlists will remain in place and students added to classes as spots open up through to February 23, 2022.

 

Semester 2 e-Learning Day School is OPEN.

For more information book an appointment with your Guidance Counsellor and/or click here.

 

Semester 2 Night School registration is OPEN.

For more information book an appointment with your Guidance Counsellor and/or click here.

 

 

  1. Friendly, Gentle "Nudge" from your Guidance counsellors -

Graduating students: Now that we've all met and chatted about your plans for graduation and post-secondary...get those applications to OUAC and OCAS done and sent!!! Don't delay! Even though the deadlines aren't until January 13 (OUAC) and February 1(OCAS), we highly recommend you complete your application and send it as soon as possible!

 

  1. Volunteer Spotlight:

Volunteer Toronto is hosting a series of workshops to help with volunteering. On January 11th, 7:00-8:00pm they will be hosting a resume building workshop. Click here to register.

 

  1. Scholarship Spotlight:

January 14th – STEAM Awards - $25000

https://steamhorizonawards.ca/

 

January 18th - Schulich Leader Scholarships

  1. https://www.schulichleaders.com/apply?section=studentA Message from your Northern wellNSS team:

WellNSS is an association whose main priority is to spread awareness about mental health and mental illness. Our goal is to foster a community where discussing mental health is encouraged, to offer resources and strategies to promote mental health, and to reduce the stigma around it. We have planned future events in the following months that focus on reducing stress, helping students change how they see themselves and their mental health, and bringing people together.

If you’re in Grade 9 and you saw a sticky note with a positive message on your desk on Wednesday December 15th, they’re from WellNSS! WellNSS just wanted to congratulate you all for getting through your first semester of highschool! We understand how difficult it must have been to begin highschool under these new circumstances, and we wanted to let you all know that you’re doing great! Keep up the good work!


WellNSS is super excited to announce that we will be collaborating with Guiding Minds this winter! Started by a Northern alumni, Guiding Minds is a youth-run not-for-profit dedicated to supporting students on various educational pathways while educating them about mental health. We are looking forward to holding student-run workshops and hearing some speaker presentations throughout the winter! At our next virtual general members meeting, on Wednesday January 5th at 3:45PM, we will talk about our plans and gauge interest from students about how they can get involved with Guiding Minds, so if you are interested in helping out with the events in any way, message @northernwellnss on instagram.

Every Wednesday, WellNSS posts on instagram, @northernwellnss. We are calling this initiative, WellNSS Wednesdays! Our weekly social media posts focus on providing mental health resources in and outside school, posting tips for mindfulness, and overall educating the students about mental health to eliminate the stigma.

 

  1. Canadian Mental Health Association Toronto

Click here to access a fulsome reference of mental health resources in Toronto, gathered by the Canadian Mental Health Association: Toronto (CMHA)

 

Lumenus Community Services:

Provides a registered psychotherapist , Dale Callender, on-site, full time at Northern, to work in partnership with the existing school support services. The service uses an early intervention model and supports students by allowing them easy and immediate access to mental health and counselling services provided through the In-School service. Dale Callender works in collaboration with TDSB staff in order to customize supports to enhance the mental health services that they may need and wish to access. This program allows Northern priority access to Lumenus’ mental health service program, and offers students a seamless referral process to other community programs as dictated by their individual needs. If anyone would like to consult and /or set up a time to talk with Dale, you can contact him via his email at dalecallender@lumenus.ca.

 

During the holiday time, please see these resources that can be used for support; The “What’s up Walk in” drop in counselling will be open the following dates and times;

 

Friday December 24th 10-2pm 1-866-585-6486

 

Monday December 27th 10-6pm 416-967-1173 x 222

 

Tuesday December 28th 12-8pm 416-967-1173 x 222

 

Wednesday December 29th 9:30-5pm 1-866-585-6486

 

Thursday December 30th 9:30-8pm 1-866-585-6486

 

Friday December 31st 11-3pm 1-866-585-6486

 

Other resources:

 

Gerstein Crisis Center – 416-929-5200 gersteincentre.org

 

Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 kidshelpphone.ca

 

LGBT YouthLine 647-694-4275 youthline.ca

 

Trans Lifeline 1-877-330-6366

 

Thank You, and have a great winter break,

Adam

Follow me @PrincipalNSS