Promises made by Globeducate students about changes they will make to ensure a positive impact on the future of our planet are on display in the centre of the Blue Zone at COP26 in Glasgow for the next two weeks. In addition, some of our student-directed films will play alongside the Globeducate manifesto film.

As part of Globeducate, our school benefits from a unique partnership with WWF and we are committed to developing as an Eco-School. Over the last two years, as Globeducate began working to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals set for 2030, students have taken part in activities with WWF experts. Through this important relationship, Globeducate students were invited to contribute “promise leaves” to the WWF Tree of Promises, occupying centre stage in the COP 26 Blue Zone, used for key negotiations, between 31st October to 12th November. 

The tree’s leaves display promises from our students, and broadcast in the same space will be student-directed short films from three Globeducate schools - ISN Nice, Nobel Algarve British International School and Agora Portals International School. These messages of hope are directed at the decision makers of our planet's future.

Being invited to be part of this global event is not only proof that we are doing the right things. It is also evidence that we are doing things right. Our students have a voice. And they can, and will, Shape the World. 

To our teachers, students and families: Thank you for making this tree grow in force, and let's keep urging ourselves to Shape the World. 

If you would like to know more, please read the full story on Globeducate’s website.

There will be NO CLASSES this Friday, November 5 due to a marks meeting. 

Stonar School hosted the annual Globeducate Student Leadership Summit for three days in October, bringing two senior students from 23 schools together for a three-day, online symposium. Students from Canada, Europe and India joined the event – the first time it was held virtually rather than at Stonar in England – to develop their leadership skills, both in theory and practice. Toronto Prep School student and student council Co-Vice President, Malcolm Crysler-Howard, took part in the virtual event. 

Guest speaker Dr. Lucy Walker from Britten Pears Arts joined Stonar School Staff to deliver inspiring talks, workshops, questionnaire evaluations and feedback. Dr Walker curates exhibitions and writes about the life and works of musicians Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, and has presented study days at concert venues and opera houses in the UK and internationally. She spoke about how leadership comes in many forms and styles.

Headmaster of Stonar, Matt Way, opened the event with a session on leadership theory – drawing on his own military career experiences and on leaders as diverse as Tito and Shackleton. Students were challenged to think about the characteristics of a good leader and the session was followed by an analysis of Belbin´s leadership styles. The students had all previously completed a questionnaire which was then used to identify where their dominant leadership styles lay. Zoom break-out rooms allowed smaller groups of students to discuss what they had learnt about themselves, and each other, and how to build an effective leadership team. 

David Wicks, a former Colonel in the British Army and current Head of Science at Stonar, spoke about leadership in action and importantly defined the difference between leadership and management. David also stressed the importance of honesty and integrity as the basis for any successful leader. More break-out sessions had a focus on planning presentations on an inspirational leader of their choice – the students did not disappoint in their choice of leaders with a wide range being chosen, from Michelle Obama and Jesus to Stalin and Colonel Gaddafi!

The second day began with a workshop on public speaking led by Jamie Dyde, Head of English at Stonar; many of the students having already noted that communication was a key skill for any potential leader. Following more group work, Dr Lucy Walker listened to the fantastic presentations. All students participated in the presentations and the confidence with which they spoke, the engagement they had for the subject matter, informing their research with the leadership theory they had learnt the previous day, ensured that the presentations were lively, informative and delivered with style. As well as providing constructive feedback, Dr Walker praised the students and left the event questioning what her own leadership style may be. Prior to Dr Walker’s keynote speech, students participated in a fun scenario planning event, where they had to use their leadership skills to plan for survival, or escape, on a deserted island. 

Head of Sixth Form, Charlotte Bennett, who has organised this event for many years said, “It was a pleasure to host an event for such a talented and personable group of young people. They were, without doubt, leaders of the future. The original seed of an idea for this event came from a past Head Pupil at Stonar when she was studying languages at A Level; she saw a potential opportunity to work with other student leaders from the group. It is this creative thinking, the desire to work towards joint goals and the development of individual confidence, alongside fostering positive relationships with our Globeducate family, that the Head Pupil Event strives to achieve. We have many immensely talented young leaders within our schools and this opportunity for them to work together and learn from each other can be a hugely rewarding experience.”

Oanh Crouch, Education Director for Globeducate, said: “My thanks to the Stonar team for organising such an incredible leadership summit for the students. Within a changing world, never has it been more obvious that we need to expand upon the traditional concept of leadership and to embrace the notion that leadership is multi-faceted and manifests in many styles and in a variety of ways.  I have no doubt our leaders of the future have come away from this experience with much to add to their repertoire of skills.”

Due to parent-teacher interviews, there will be a HALF-DAY of classes tomorrow on Thursday, November 11. Dismissal will be at 12:21 PM. There will be NO CLASSES on Friday, November 12. 

Saturday club is cancelled this Saturday, November 13.

The Robotics Team consists of creative and ambitious Gr. 7-12 students that are eager to build sophisticated robots that pull off extraordinary missions in major tournaments. Led by their TPS Coach, the team won a very competitive grant process and secured $5K. The grant will be used to purchase advanced robotics equipment, and for registration fees in tournaments across the province. This grant was provided by the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization which is based in the United States.

With the aim of getting into the FRC, the world's largest international robotics competition, the team invites students from all walks of life as they draw upon building talent and confidence in different areas such as designing robotics, coding robots, fundraising, media and marketing, team leadership and community leadership. Students are encouraged to join in on the action! 

Saturday Club will proceed this weekend as normal on Saturday, November 20, but with Ms. Philip supervising in place of Mr. Fitch. 

A COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for children between 5 and 11 years old. Toronto Public Health invites parents and guardians to a webinar that will help them make an informed decision about getting their children vaccinated. 

Presented by Dr. Vinita Dubey (TPH Associate Medical Officer of Health), this webinar will cover: 

• Risks of COVID-19 in children 
• Information on COVID-19 vaccines and children 
• Facts about vaccines and fertility 
• COVID-19 vaccination and schools

The webinar will also include a question and answer period. 

NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED. CHOOSE FROM ONE OF THREE SESSION DATES:

Teams from seven Globeducate schools in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal have made it through to the global final of the WWF´s Wild Wisdom Quiz Live Challenge on the 2nd December, all securing positions in the top five per cent from their national leader boards. 

The quiz, a concept designed by WWF-India, went online for the first time in its 13-year history this year with a first round in November. Seven Globeducate schools competed with more than 2000 school teams in 50 countries and each now enters two students, aged 13 to 14, to progress to the final, taking place at 2pm GMT for the greatly anticipated one-hour event.  

The top three schools will win grand prizes including a virtual safari experience based in South Africa and all participants will come away with a completion certificate. The top 10 individual performers will also win a prize. 

Students earn points for interacting with live content, completing badges, testing themselves, and participating in live quizzes both in their class and at home. Congratulations to: Agora Portals International School and Granada College, Spain; Nobel Algarve British International School in Portugal; Southlands British International School and RIS Rome in Italy; and ISN Nice and Cours Hattemer in France.

Oanh Crouch, Globeducate Education Director, said: “Further evidence that our schools’ involvement with Climate Action and SDGs is having impact on our students. With seven of our Globeducate schools representing France, Italy, Portugal and Spain in the Wild Wisdom Quiz Live International Finals, it is testament to our commitment to environmental initiatives. Congratulations to all the students, teachers and schools on making this happen. All of Globeducate will be cheering you on.”

Matt Larsen-Daw, WWF-UK´s Education Manager, said: “Globeducate schools have been enthusiastic participants in this global challenge, with a number of shortlisted schools making it into the final! As ever, we are always delighted to see students from these schools so actively involved in sustainability education activities and, having shared their promise leaves and film at COP26, it is very clear that there is genuine passion and motivation in Globeducate students to get clued-up on important issues for the future of the planet and civilisation. We wish all of the students taking part in the final the very best of luck.”

We are happy to announce that we’ve partnered with Greenr to help TPS with their sustainability mission and to help all of you show off your eco-habits!

Climate change is something we would all like to do something about and Greenr is going to help us learn new habits to reduce our impact on the planet one day at a time. 

To start things off, we will be running a competition throughout the entire school starting on Monday December 6th. Students will be competing within their school houses and the winning team will be awarded with a certificate. 

Good luck teams!

It’s that time of year again! We are asking our generous TPS community to help us with our annual Holiday Drive, running from December 1st to December 14th.

You can help those in need by donating canned food, gift cards, personal hygiene products, and diapers. The best gift cards, in any denomination, are: grocery (any), Indigo, Toys R US, Sportchek, and Cineplex.

Donations can be dropped off to your first period teachers. 

Thank you to all of our TPS families and our TPS community for making the Holiday Drive such a success this year! We had over 1100 food items donated and over $5500 in gift cards. 

And a special congratulations to Ms O’Dwyer’s first period class for raising almost $900 in gift cards! 

Thank you all for being so charitable this season and helping those in need. 

January 3, 2022

Dear TPS Families,

We hope you have had a relaxing, safe, and healthy winter break. After assessing the current COVID situation, specifically within the TPS community and generally in Toronto, we have decided to resume classes virtually from Wednesday, January 5th to Friday, January 7th. All classes will be online ONLY in a synchronous format.

There will be NO IN-PERSON learning until we further reassess the situation at the end of this week. We feel this decision will ultimately allow us a safer, healthier, and more permanent return to in-person instruction. Furthermore, as examinations are fast approaching, taking this in-person pause will allow for a greater number of our students to write their finals under good health.

Please see below for our abbreviated class times, and documents that include online protocols and Zoom instructions. To attend virtual classes students must download the Zoom client application using their TPS email (instructions are attached).

Morning extra help: 9:00 – 9:55

Period 1: 10:00 – 10:50
10 minute break.
Period 2: 11:00 – 11:50
Lunch: 11:50 – 12:30
Period 3: 12:30 – 1:20
10 minute break.
Period 4: 1:30 - 2:20

Afternoon extra help: 2:30 – 3:00

Homework Club: 3:00 – 5:00

Thank you for your continued support. We will keep you updated with any changes. All the best.

Pete Tsimikalis
Principal

This is just a reminder that all TPS Clubs, except for Mindfulness Club this Thursday, will be cancelled until further notice. 

This is a reminder that exams for this semester will be ONLINE and OPEN BOOK.

TPS will implement a Hybrid Learning Model for our Winter/Spring 2022 Semester. This means students will have the option, on a daily basis, to either attend classes in-person at school, or virtually online in a synchronous manner via Zoom.

Please see the attached letter from TPS for more details. 

Each year, schools all over the world raise awareness of Safer Internet Day and aim to educate students on safe internet use – building on existing work and messaging they learn in their ICT or Computer Science lessons. 

Popular topics include: cyberbullying, hate speech, safe searching, gaming forums and exposure to paedophiles, image sharing, self-presentation and online validation, online challenges, and more practical issues such as password safety to prevent loss of personal data, though students quickly get tired of endless warnings about what they should not do on the internet. Schools also have the responsibility to address the benefits as well as the risks involved with internet use – what Safer Internet Day encourages is the development of digital media literacy – it is about understanding how different media work. Education has a key role in preparing young people for a world that is increasingly centred on media but safety is just a part of the picture.

The theme of the 19^th Safer Internet Day is “Better Together”, with actions taking place across the globe. A landmark event in the online safety calendar that now reaches approximately 200 countries, the campaign has achieved many things including a network of Safer Internet Centres and committees, and multilingual resources, including online games, to empower young people, teachers and families. 

We ask TPS students, staff and families to reflect today on their internet use and to consider practices that can make them and their peers safer online. 

• For more information, visit the Safer Internet Day homepage
• For a list of useful resources, please see the Safer Internet Day Resources page

After School Homework Club is cancelled today. Saturday Club is also cancelled this weekend.

There will be no classes this Friday, February 17 or Monday, February 21 due to the Family Day long weekend. Enjoy!

Are you feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or just need a break? The TPS Jack Chapter is offering a fun bracelet making session in the wellness room tomorrow morning at 8:30 am to 9:30 am. Be sure to stop by and make something!

All Grade 10 & Grade 11 students will be writing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test at Toronto Prep School on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.  Details regarding the OSSLT, Mock Test and Workshops are available on Edsby for all Grade 10 and Grade 11 students.

Regular classes will be cancelled on this day; however, we are planning a mandatory trip to the Toronto Zoo for all Grade 7 & Grade 8 students.  In addition, we will be hosting virtual information sessions throughout the day for our Grade 9 and Grade 12 students that include topics such as: Orientation into Grade 10, Transition to University, Being Mindful and The University/College Experience. 

More details about the Grade 7 & Grade 8 Zoo Trip and virtual information sessions will be available on Edsby in April.

Dear TPS Families,

In conjunction with the lifting of restrictions and changes to “public health and workplace safety measures” announced by the province today, we have decided to modify the Hybrid Learning Model that we implemented in January.  We are pleased to announce that TPS is returning to our traditional, fully in-person educational model beginning Monday, March 28^th, 2022.   

This means that when students return to school after the March Break, attending class via Zoom will no longer be an option.  In addition, assessments will revert to the conventional closed book approach.  

All other COVID safeguards that we have adopted including daily assessment, wearing masks, plexi-glass dividers, hand sanitizing, etc. will remain in place until further notice.

We feel this change to in-person learning for all students will benefit their mental health and well-being and allow for greater educational gains.      

Please feel free to contact me via Edsby if you have any questions or concerns. 

All the best,

Pete Tsimikalis

Principal

We're super excited to share that the TPS Robotics Team (Team #8735) won the "Highest Rookie Seed Award" at the FIRST Robotics Competition. The mission, called RAPID REACT, was extremely challenging, and required two alliances of three teams where each competed to score their cargo balls into the lower hub and the upper hub. The robots are programmed to initially run autonomously, followed by human drivers taking over, and then attempt to climb an inclined monkey bar. 

The TPS team ranked #1 in the first round that had a total of six participants, and were humbled by the reality of electronic malfunctions, followed by yet another win. Mr. Zuberi, the team's founding coach, was extremely proud of his team of students, Cameron Whiddon, Elijah Perlmutar, Peter Therrien, Ryan Gorodezky, Paul Booth, Zachary Grande, Justin Patterson and Jessica Gillespie. It was an extraordinary team effort as members were actively building, repairing and enhancing their robot, and also strategizing at the same time. This was their first time participating in a FIRST competition, and they have done a wonderful job at planting a seed for a STEM community. 

We just wanted to wish all of our students, parents, and staff a wonderful March break! Here are a couple of quick reminders:

• There will be no Saturday Club this weekend. The next Saturday Club session will be held on April 2nd after we return from March break.
• Check your Edsby inboxes for an important message from Pete Tsimikalis regarding changes to the COVID-19 Masking and Screening policies. Set to be implemented later this month.
• The first day back to classes will be Monday, March 28.

Finally, make sure to check out the Toronto Prep School Facebook and Instagram page stories for a special message from school principal, Pete Tsimikalis. If you have yet to do so, follow, like, and subscribe to the TPS social media accounts. 

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• Soundcloud

See the attached letter for information regarding Toronto Prep School's Intramural Basketball Program-that will be happening in April 2022. The program is recreational and open to all students.

The online waiver and more information regarding the program can be found on the TPS Intramural Basketball Edsby page.

Today is Earth Day 2022 and next week is Earth Week! Earth Day is a time set aside to celebrate the Earth, learn about the environment, and promote conservation.

TPS will continue to tackle Co2 emissions with our next schoolwide Greenr Competition. Last time, we managed to offset 105 tones of Co2 emissions as a community. Specifically, by supporting the BioCogen Rice Husk Power Project and the Cikel Amazon Rainforest Protection project.

Pitting school house against school house, the next Greenr Competition starts next Monday on April 25th! Who will emerge victorious; Minotaur, Pegasus, Centaur, or Phoenix? Check your Edsby inboxes for instructions on how to download the Greenr app and participate.

We have a number of events and activities planned for next week, kicking off with Meatless Monday on April 25. Take the challenge and help the environment by going meat free for a day. 

Want to get in shape WHILE helping out the planet? Take the Earth Day Network's Solo Cleanup Challenge, and do a little "Plogging".

Plogging is a term invented by Erik Ahlström referring to the act of picking up trash and litter while jogging. It is a portmanteau of the Swedish term plocka upp, which means "to pick up," and jogging.

We are askng students and staff to do some solo neighbourhood trash pickup today or this week.

You can even submit your plogging efforts on the Earth Day Network website.