Good Evening Northern Families,

It is a big weekend for gatherings with family and friends. I hope everyone has a chance to make some connections. For those celebrating- Chag Sameach, Ramadan Mubarek, and Happy Easter!

Congratulations to the Crimson Tide First Robotics Team who received the Rookie Inspiration Award at their competition last weekend. Good luck this weekend at Provincials!

Congratulations to the Northern Squash team who recently won the Jim Mason High School Championships (this year’s provincials). Read the story HERE. Thank You athletes and Mr. Gana for your hard work and dedication!

School Activity Fees: We need your help! We have had 652 families contribute to our School Activity Fees this year. We currently have 1811 students registered at Northern. In order to continue providing the excellent co-curricular activities AND produce a high-end yearbook, we need your support. Please visit: https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/ to “purchase” your “Student Activity Fee”. Thank You!

Daily Announcements: A reminder that you can find daily announcements by scanning the QR Code shared last week or visiting the school website HERE and scrolling down to NSS Air – Daily Announcements.

This week’s schedule is important to Review:

Monday- Holiday.

6109173589. OSSLT Schedule: Period/ Block E 9:00-11:35, Period/ Block G 12:20-2:55. These schedules allow for writers to complete entire booklets of the test in one sitting.

Wednesday: Credit Rescue: Wednesday is a Credit Rescue day AND A 10AM LATE START DAY. This is to support students in a failing/ at-risk position. You should have received an invitation to attend from your teacher if this applies to you. This is a fantastic opportunity to get direct support from your teacher to improve your achievement. Only students invited to attend need to be at school Wednesday.

Thursday- OSSLT Schedule: Period / Block E 9:00-11:35, Period/ Block G 12:20-2:55. These schedules allow for writers to complete entire booklets of the test in one sitting.

Friday: Regular Day.

Trustee Rachel Chernos Lin’s current newsletter can be found HERE.

Day of PinkNSS

 

Thank you to all the staff and students that participated in Northern's annual International Day of Pink celebration. Northern was a sea of pink on Wednesday and we could not be prouder of our communities commitment to creating saf(er) spaces. It's with enthusiasm that we look forward to the GSA's Pride Week activities in June. Thank You Ms. Leishman for your leadership creating safe spaces!

 

Grade 10 Holocaust Remembrance Assembly - Save the Date

On Thursday, April 28 Northern will host Michelle Glied-Goldstein, founder of Carrying Holocaust Testimony. Ms.Glied-Goldstein will share her father Bill Glied’s remarkable story of his survival during the Holocaust. This initiative was developed to enable descendants of survivors to share their family member’s survivor testimony and ensure that important historic evidence is passed from generation to generation.

The assembly will take place from 12:30-1:40 for all grade 10 students. The presentation will be 45 minutes long followed by a 15-20 Q and A session. More information to follow.

 

Grade 12 News: Prom is scheduled for Friday May 27^th and will be held at the Arcadian Court. Details will be shared with grade 12 students so keep an eye and ear out for announcements! Commencement is scheduled for Wednesday June 29^th at 1pm. Commencement will take place at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall. This space will allow us to accommodate guests for all our graduates.

Conversation Starters: (follow-up and a new starter)

Follow Up: What does “Intent vs Impact” mean? Which is more important? Who is more important in these situations? The person speaking or receiving the message? What can we do to avoid these pitfalls?

326149. thoughts: As young adults maturing into adulthood during our high school years there are added expectations placed upon us. We have had enough life experience to have higher expectations placed on us for thoughtful care in how we speak and engage with others. We are expected to think about consequences/ impacts of our actions and words. We are no longer able to say “I didn’t mean to” and be excused for our conduct. We need to consider the impact of our words in this case. It takes intentional practice- we don’t naturally think of how our words are received- it is a skill we develop as we mature.

This Week’s Conversation Starter: What is a systemic barrier?

 

Buddy Program - Applications for 2022-23

Buddies applications are open! If you are interested in applying to the Buddies program for the 2022-23 school year, you can apply using this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfavUaw4ivr9aXNtnwas0rqrKSHmvvXbRrDPYi6tczvA3IBig/viewform?usp=sf_link. The Buddies are a group of students who help new students transition to high school and in the Northern community, and they aid in the running of various school events. Applications are due by the end of the day on April 19th. We welcome everyone to apply!

 

Student Activity Council (SAC):

SAC Elections:

The elections for our student government are coming up! This is an amazing opportunity for students to take on a leadership role and get involved at Northern. There are numerous positions, and some qualifying criteria, all of which can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/119rvfher5ZhVRjmxKWOlw5VR0TWXEqKI?usp=sharing

 

Elections Committee:

A crucial part of SAC Elections involves the Elections Committee. This is a group of Grade 12 students that oversees the running of a fun and fair election. This is a great opportunity for students to get involved in one more leadership opportunity before graduating. Applications are due April 18th, and can be found here: https://forms.gle/rLgzLzu8SpqKrvfh6

 

Yearbook

Are you a graduating student? Make sure you fill out the Grad Quote google form here if you want your quote included in the yearbook! Remember, school appropriate quotes only.

 

Calling all Northern Students! Want your voice to be a part of this year's yearbook? Please fill out our undergrad surveys ASAP! The survey just takes 2 minutes! All responses are anonymous, but only school appropriate short answer responses will be included. Make sure to only fill out the survey for your grade.

Grade 9 survey

Grade 10 survey

Grade 11 survey

Grade 12 survey

 

 

OSSLT:
• This semester 575 students are enrolled to write the OSSLT
• Students enrolled in grade 10 or 11 English this semester will be participating
• The English teachers have communicated the dates, times and locations they will be writing.
• The student’s writing not assigned to an English class who are scheduled to write received an email from Tiffany Peel last week communicate the dates, times and location they are writing
• The teachers will be scheduling a Practice Test to familiarize students with the format and built-in assistive technology
• Parents/Guardians/Students can go to www.eqao.com to access a practice test and additional resources.
• Should parents/guardians/students have any questions they can contact Tiffany Peel (tiffany.peel@tdsb.on.ca or 416-393-0284 x20011)

 

 

Guidance:

1. Marks Maintain Date: May 6, 2022

If you are in grade 11 or 12 and are eligible to drop a course, you MUST contact your Guidance Counsellor no later than April 27, 2022.

 

2. NSSF Scholarships, for Northern Students Only! Due: April 30th
   Only TWO weeks left to apply!
   The NSSF Scholarship Applications are open!
   Because these scholarships are only for Northern students, you have a great chance of being selected!
   Read the Scholarship Descriptions to find the scholarship criteria.
   You can apply to up to three scholarships!
   Apply soon so you don't miss out!
   https://nssf.ca/scholarships/
   And remember, you can find many more scholarships on our NSS Scholarship Document:
   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1diPKE9Vps_weEtm_xdSBeXQ_qDW3pG7hQdMlO2qBpCc/edit?usp=sharing

 

Other NEW Scholarships listing for 2022-2023 are on the grade 12 Google Classroom. Be sure to check them out!

 

3. Mandatory Online Learning Requirement

*Please note: More information on how/when to submit the Opting Out Form will be shared soon. Thank you for your patience!

The Ontario Ministry of Education has introduced a new graduation requirement for secondary students to complete two e-Learning credits as part of the 30 credits required for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). It applies only to students who entered Grade 9 on or after September 1, 2020 which means that they are now in Grade 9 or Grade 10.

Students may withdraw/opt out of this new requirement and graduate with an OSSD.
Students working towards an Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC) or a Certificate of Accomplishment (CoA) are not required to complete this new graduation requirement. Students who are completing an OSSC or CoA may choose to enrol in e-Learning courses.

Opting-Out of the e-Learning Graduation Requirement
Students may withdraw from the online e-Learning requirement. A parent/caregiver/guardian or student (18 years of age or older or 16 or 17 years of age and withdrawn from parental control) may withdraw by submitting the TDSB Opt Out/Withdrawl Form to their school. No explanation or reason is needed to opt out/withdraw.
For more information, visit the TDSB Online Requirement webpage

 

4. TDSB SUMMER SCHOOL: Continuing Education (In-person) and eLearning

 

UPDATE: eLearning Summer School: Registration opens April 26th at 10am. Please check the TDSB eLearning website July session and August session tabs for important dates.

 

Continuing Education (In-Person): Registration opens April 19, 2022 at 9 am and information will be released in the coming weeks on the TDSB Continuing Education Summer School page

 

5. The Corsage Project WILL be running for 2022!
   
   The Corsage Project is a non-profit organization that provides free formal wear and accessories to high school students unable to purchase their own prom or graduation attire, as well as, providing scholarship opportunities for those in need.
   
   The Corsage Project only accepts female-identifying students referred by their schools or through social service agencies. These students will be formally invited to attend our ‘Boutique Ball’ on Saturday, May 14th, 2022 at Rosedale School of the Arts. Attendees will be able to select gowns of their choice and accessories to match.

 

For more information, please see your Guidance Counsellor.

 

 

6. Summer Opportunities: Volunteer, Jobs & Programs

We will be sharing summer opportunities for students on our Guidance Google classrooms.

Gr 9: kmv6fcz, Gr10: twdxca6, Gr 11: hfg74ws, Gr 12: u565fkg

 

7. Carlton University: Enriched Support Program

Sometimes grades don’t tell the whole story.

Join Carlton’s info night (April 21, May 19, June 2, June 16) to learn more about the Enriched Support Program; a program that supports students with potential to succeed at university, but who may not meet the traditional entrance requirements.

For more information email: esp@carlton.ca, website: carlton.ca/esp

 

Guidance Counsellor assignments:
Melanie Stassis – A, S, U-Z – melanie.stassis@tdsb.on.ca
Leslie Usin-Rojas – B-E, T – leslie.usin-rojas@tdsb.on.ca
Jennifer MacPhee – F-H, K, L - Jennifer.macphee@tdsb.on.ca
Andrew Primmer – I, J, M-R – Andrew.primmer@tdsb.on.ca

HISTORICAL:
OSSLT: Grade 10 and 11 students will be writing the OSSLT starting in late April. In order to accommodate the requirements of the test (it is all online this year) we are going to have 8 modified schedule days as follows:
MODIFIED OSSLT DAY SCHEDULE
OSSLT Day E/G
(April 19, 26, May 4, 11) OSSLT Day F/H
(April 21, 28, May 5, 12)
9:00-11:35 Block E or Block F
11:35-12:20 LUNCH
12:20-2:55 Block G or Block H

Students writing the test will do so over two days. Details for students required to write the OSSLT will be shared directly at a later date. This information is being shared with ALL students because the entire school will follow the modified day schedule to accommodate the test.

Mid-Term Report Cards: Issued electronically on April 29th

Lumenus Community Services:
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.

Have a great long weekend!
Adam
Follow me @PrincipalNSS