Northern Secondary School

December 8th, 2023

Monday, December 11, 2023 08:23 AM

Dear Northern Families,

For those of you celebrating Hanukkah “Chag Sameach!”.

Just two weeks to go to the break and some exciting events coming up. Please note the Upcoming Week notes below as there are two days impacted with alternative schedules. Tuesday’s class schedule will look like this:

Period 1 9:00 - 9:35

Period 2 9:40 - 10:15

Period 3 10:20 - 10:55

Period 4 11:00 - 11:35

  1. long ago School Council hosted Paul Davis who spoke about cellphones and social media. Cell phones in schools continue to garner attention- you can read the latest on the TDSB and cellphones in this ARTICLE.

The easiest way to figure out your exam schedule is to just look at the days below…however, I am attaching the EXAM SCHEDULE this week with courses that actually are running exams. Please remember changes may occur up until next Friday to this schedule/ list. Exams will be written in the regular classroom. Students with IEP accommodations will have access organized through our Special Education department heads. Exams will range from 1-3 hours in length INCLUDING additional time. This means the longest exam would be 2 hours and additional time (1.5 time) makes that 3 hours. All students will have access to this additional time if required. This approach is to remove as many barriers to success as possible.

Exams: First semester exams will be held from Wednesday January 24th to Monday January 29th. Students will follow their Day 1 schedule as follows for exams:

Wednesday January 24th- Period 1 Exam

Thursday January 25th- Period 2 Exam

Friday January 26th- Period 3 Exam

Monday January 29th- Period 4 Exam

ALL exams will begin at 10am. 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 11:40am lunchtime). Teachers have shared with students if there is an exam for their classes. There may be changes to this up to and including Friday December 15th, but there will be no change to the four day cycle laid out above. As an example, if I have math period 2 on a day 1, I will write my math exam Thursday January 25th at 10am.

On December 12th we will be holding our annual open house for prospective students and their families. Timing-wise this is a change for us from January, but it makes sense with the semester system. On December 12th we will end the day at 11:35am to welcome several of our feeder schools for an afternoon at the school. The same evening we will welcome families and students from a broader cross-section of the city.

CULMINATING TASKS AND EXAMS While we are a few months away from the end of the Semester, it is important to remind all families of the following information related to culminating activities 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.

Upcoming Week:

  1. Tuesday: Early Close @11:35am (grade 8 welcome event)
  2. Wednesday: Late Start @9:55am
  3. Wednesday: Winterlude Arts Night @7pm

 

GOOD EATS PROJECT FOOD DRIVE:

The Northern Good Eats Project is working with Bread Food Banks Ontario to run a Food Drive from December 11th to 15th. We will be accepting any non-perishable items and you can find us in the Front Foyer everyday from 8:30am-8:55am and for the whole lunch. Please check it out and bring any donations if possible! Thank you.”

 

MODEL UN

This weekend, Northern’s Model UN Team partook in Monarch Park’s debate tournament. Our delegates debated with passion and persevered through a very long 8 hour debate session. All those on the team should be proud of their efforts.

Also, special congratulations to our very own Alexander Koutakos for finishing 1st place in the tournament!

 

Library:

1) Book Return and Renewal Raffle for Students

Hi Parents and Guardians!

Please help your Northern Student look for their overdue Library Books and return them to the library. There are no library fines for students to pay and they are welcome to sign out new books! We want to get some of our missing titles back in the Library. ????

If they return or renew a book between Monday and Thursday this coming week, they are eligible to enter our RAFFLE!

2) Chromebooks (aka 1:1 Devices)

Did you sign up your grade 9, 10 or 11 student to receive a Chromebook? (also called the 1:1 Device Program)?

If your teenager has not yet received their Chromebook, they can pick it up in the Library Learning Commons any day of the week, outside of class time, during afternoon Library Drop-in times:

→ Monday to Friday, 12:20-12:40 pm (the last 20 minutes of lunch)

→ Mon. Wed. Fri., 3:15-3:45 pm

→ Tues. & Thurs., 3:15-4:15 pm

 

Music:

Winterlude is back! Come see Northern's amazing music classes and ensembles perform at 7:00pm on Wednesday December 13th! Tickets will be going on sale soon. Be sure to follow our instagram @NSSmusic for all the information!

Music Merch is here! Order at bit.ly/musicmerch23 before Friday December 15 to get your NSS Music T-Shirt!

 

Northern Math Contest:

Registration is open for the Canadian National Math League #3 Contest.

It will occur on Tuesday, December 12th and is completed online. If your student is interested in writing please have them join the Google Classroom using code kzwovat and register before Friday, December 8th.

 

Student Success:

Peer Tutoring- Peer Tutoring is now available! We are able to offer tutoring support in all compulsory subjects for Grades 9 and 10. Students, please complete the Tutee Registration Form in order to be matched with a Peer Tutor this semester.

 

School Council:

1. Thank a Teacher. As the calendar year draws to a close, we encourage all Northern students and families to think about Northern staff who have made a difference to them this school year and consider sending a note of thanks. Who has really made an impact for you?

3. Awards for Teaching Excellence: The nomination period for the Prime Minister's Awards for teaching excellence is now open. To nominate an outstanding teacher, review the process here (https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/pm-awards-teaching-excellence-stem/en): Deadline: January 11, 2024.

4. Call For Volunteers. NSS Council has a variety of committees that welcome your input and support. Committees welcoming volunteers include the following:

  • Academic Resource Committee
  • Education Committee
  • Fundraising Committee
  • Gifted Advisory Committee
  • Social Committee/Parent Buddies
  • Website Committee

For more information about our committees, please visit our website. If you are interested in participating in any of these committees, please send and email to nss.school.council@gmail.com

 

Guidance Updates:

  1. Guidance Week-in-Review:
  • TDSB e-Reg opened for both eLearning and Remote Night School. See below for more details.

Guidance Week Ahead: Guidance has been supporting student needs and have been prepping for our upcoming “Welcome Grade 8s Event” December 12, 2023.

  1. Semester 2 Night School Registration and Course Offerings:

Continue to check our website for updates as all of our information you can find here: https://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/conedsecondarycreditprogram/

Registration Opens: December 1, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. and Closes January 19, 2024.

  1. TDSB eLearning Semester 2: Registration OPENS December 5, 2023 at 10 am.

For more information and course offerings click here.

Options are filling up fast! Don’t wait to register!

  1. 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.

  • for volunteering information and opportunities, please visit your Guidance Google classroom or www.volunteertoronto.ca.
  1. Post Secondary Updates:
    1. Do you have questions about how to access accommodations at your post-secondary school? This chart lists each university's policy/needs around what is required to get accommodations: https://caddac.ca/wp-content/uploads/Post-Secondary-documentation-Requirements-Chart.pdf
    2. NSS Post-Secondary Individual School Lunch Visits 2023/24
    3. NSS Post-Secondary Guide is here!
  1. Scholarship Information:
    1. NSS Scholarship Information Chart 2023/2024 where Northern-specific scholarship information and deadlines can be found (along with other common awards).
    2. Seeking Scholarships has released their November Scholarship Report which has upcoming scholarship dates listed for students applying to post-secondary programs. It also has some great tips this month for writing scholarship essays

Northern students, teachers, and families can access from this link using the password, scholar58: https://seekingscholarships.com/the-scholarship-report-2/

Please note: This resource is copyrighted and only available to Northern families - please do not share outside of the Northern community.

  1. 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.

 

Have a great weekend,

Adam Marshall

Principal

Follow me @PrincipalNSS

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