Good Evening Northern Families,
Thank you to everyone for bearing with our unusual schedule this week- a few more odd ones ahead with the OSSLT. More details are below. There are many sports wrapping up at the moment- congratulations to all our athletes and coaches on your successful “winter” seasons!
- Thursday April 28th we will hold our first in-person assembly in several years. This is going to be an environment that students are not used to. For our grade 10’s that are attending here are some guidelines: Sit with your class in assigned seats. Phones turned off and out-of-sight. Bags/ coats left in classrooms- do not bring them to the auditorium. We request that non-religious hats and hoods be removed so that engagement with our guests is maximized. No headphones. Be respectful of the speakers and other students in attendance. Listen and reflect- we hold assemblies because we believe there are essential messages students should hear. While masks are optional, we encourage you to consider wearing one and will have them available in the lobby on the way into the auditorium should you wish to use one. We are looking forward to many more of these in the future!
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.
Next Week:
- 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- Staff Meeting: 10am Late Start.
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.
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 27th and will be held at the Arcadian Court. Prom tickets will first be sold Monday, April 25th in the first floor foyer. Tickets will be sold April 25th, 26th, 28th, 29th and May 3rd through 6th. Only Cash or cheque will be accepted with no post dated cheques accepted. The tickets cost $120.
Guest forms must be filled out and submitted when purchasing the tickets. For any further questions, check out our instagram @northernprom2022 or email the ESD through zoey.wallhouse@student.tdsb.on.ca
Commencement is scheduled for Wednesday June 29th at 1pm. Commencement will take place at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall.
Conversation Starters: (follow-up and a new starter)
Follow Up: What is a systemic barrier?
Some thoughts: Systemic Barriers deserve far more than a couple of sentences where the author is trying to be brief but informative. Essentially, limits or restrictions to full participation/ engagement that are built into policies/ procedures/ traditions. They are all around us- reflection is really key to identify and remove them.
This Week’s Conversation Starter: What is an Attitudinal barrier? How might these limit our ability to reflect on the thoughts above?
We are the Robotics Club: The Crimson Revolution:
Team 8884 and we participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)! Over the past 4 months, we have designed, built, and programmed our robot “Sharpie”! We had a busy competition schedule since the end of March (two Sunday district matches as well as the Ontario Provincial Competition from April 14 to 16). We received the Highest Rookie Seed as well as Rookie Inspiration Awards.
As our FIRST Robotics Competition Season is over, we are preparing for a new competition called the CETA Robotics Exhibition Game. We would like to invite new members to join us as we embark on this exciting new project! This competition involves software, electrical, and mechanical aspects. All levels are welcome! Check out our website as well as the NSSF Newsletter (April 2022) to learn more about our team and purpose. Check out some details HERE.
Badminton: Congratulations to the Northern Badminton Team who won the Overall Combined and Overall Girls South Region Champions for the regular season.
During the regional championship last night, Grace & Matthew won the gold medal for mixed doubles, Dhillon won Girls Singles Silver medal and Fiona & Maddie scored Bronze for Girls Doubles. The gold and silver medalists will be representing the south region at the city championship next Tuesday! Good Luck Red Knights!
Great news from the Moderns Department!
We are so proud to announce that Lauren Altomare (gr. 12) placed 3rd in all of Canada at the Poetry In Voice / Les voix de la poésie 2022 National Finals on Thursday evening in the bilingual category. After the recitations, Lauren had the opportunity to meet with the judges (published poets) who all gave her glowing feedback for her French and English recitations. Included in Lauren's prize is money for Northern's school library for the purchase of poetry books. Congratulations! Félicitations! You can read more about the contest and Lauren's achievement here:
https://www.poetryinvoice.com/news/press-releases/announcing-winners-poetry-voiceles-voix-de-la-poesies-2022-national-finals
As a national finalist, Lauren was also interviewed by the CBC, where she was invited to share a book recommendation. Please see the article here:
https://www.cbc.ca/books/what-is-a-book-young-canadians-should-read-in-2022-4-canadian-teens-from-poetry-in-voice-share-their-picks-1.6424658
From the Music Department:
Attention all Northern Musicians! The Music Council will be hosting Northern's first-ever outdoor spring concert, the Sounds of Spring. Whether performing a duet, rock medley or saxophone solo, all students, staff and Northern musicians are invited to perform! Auditions will be conducted from May 2nd to May 6th in Room 227 at lunch. You can sign up using the form bit.ly/soundsofspring2022 which is also linked in the Music Council Instagram bio @nssmusic. Let's turn up the music Northern!
Operation Smile:
Hey Northern! Operation Smile is running a used book sale. Check out the books we have available, ranging in over fifteen genres, on Instagram @operationsmile.booksale . Follow the instructions on our Instagram page to purchase a book. All proceeds will go directly to Operation Smile, to help kids in developing countries with cleft lips and cleft palates. The book sale ends May 1st. Happy reading Northern :)
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
SAC Elections
For all students interested in running for an elected position on the SAC next year, there will be a mandatory general information meeting on Monday, April 25th after school in the auditorium. This is a phenomenal opportunity for students in Grades 9, 10, and 11 to get involved in a leadership opportunity and have a voice in our student government. We can’t wait to see everyone there!
Yearbook
Northern grads! Please fill out the Superlative google form to pick your choices for this year's most likely to's. When nominating your peers, it is not required to pick a student for each option, but try to submit as many as possible. The form will be due Monday, April 25, so get your submissions in!
Guidance:
- Full Disclosure & 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.
- **UPDATE** TDSB SUMMER SCHOOL: Continuing Education (In-person) and eLearning REGISTRATION HAS BEEN DELAYED
e-Summer and Continuing Education advised schools on further
modifications that need to be made in e-Reg to provide a more stable registration
experience for students and counsellors.
Registration will likely begin for ConEd on May 2 and for e-Summer on May 9.
Differences between ConEd and ESummer Programming: Comparison Chart
TDSB eLearning website July session and August session tabs for important dates.
TDSB Continuing Education Summer School page
- 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!
- “Mandatory” Online Learning Requirement **UPDATE**
Answers to FAQs:
- Please DO NOT submit a paper copy to the school. Complete the Permission Click form here: Complete Your Form
- Students may withdraw/opt out of this new requirement and graduate with an OSSD.
- “Opting out” WILL NOT affect a student’s eligibility to take TDSB eLearning courses throughout high school.
- No explanation or reason is needed to opt out/withdraw.
- Students can ‘opt back in’ at a later date if they decide to do so.
- If you have decided now that you want your child to opt out/withdraw from the graduation requirement, please complete the Permission Click form: Complete Your Form. It will go directly to your child’s school.
- Please visit the online learning graduation requirement web page for more information.
- Volunteer, Jobs & Programs - Lots and lots of opportunities being posted everyday! We are sharing summer opportunities for students in our Guidance Google classrooms.
Gr 9: kmv6fcz, Gr10: twdxca6, Gr 11: hfg74ws, Gr 12: u565fkg
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 26, May 4, 11)
OSSLT Day F/H
(April 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 weekend!
Adam
Follow me @PrincipalNSS