Middle School Update
March 2, 2023
Upcoming Events
Thursday, March 2: Parent-Teacher-Student interviews via Zoom from 1:30-8:00pm
Friday, March 3: No classes for Middle School
Friday, March 3: Parent-Teacher-Student interviews via Zoom from 8am - 12:00pm
Monday, March 6 - Friday, March 17: Spring Break - no classes for students
Monday, March 20: Ped Day - no classes for students
Tuesday, March 21: Students return to classes
Tuesday, March 21 - Friday, March 24: Francoparty Week. Contests and recess activities all week long!
Wednesday, March 29: Parent Academic Information Evening at 7:00 pm - Grade 8 parents only (details below)
Need to Know
Middle School announces February Veritas Students of the Month: We are proud to honour students each month, nominated by teachers in recognition of going above and beyond Veritas culture. Congratulations to the students: William Lacasse (7-1), Erwan Arzel (7-3), Cameron Beecher Schnarch (7-2), Laszlo Sontag (8-1), and Liam Vella (8-1). We thank them for their outstanding contributions! Wear your Golden Tie with pride!
Parent-Student-Teacher Interviews continue tonight until 8 p.m. and tomorrow from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m via Zoom. If you were unable to arrange Parent-Student-Teacher interviews for whatever reason, you may contact the teachers you would like to meet with and arrange a Zoom meeting or telephone call at a later date. All Zoom meeting passwords are set as 123456. Students are expected to attend the Zoom interviews with their parents. For any issues with your bookings or Zoom links, please contact Ms. Beech or Ms. Poulin.
March Break Camps: Are you an experienced badminton player looking to challenge yourself? Sign up for Badminton camp this March break! To register, click here.
Important Dates 2023-24: The SHS Important Dates for 2023-2024 are available!
2023-2024 Parent Academic Information Evening on Wednesday, March 29 @ 7:00 pm. This presentation is for parents of students currently in Grade 8. Grade 8 parents will first meet with Mr. Banerjee, Head of Senior School, regarding the transition to Senior School and then hear about Grade 9 course option selections for 2023-2024. Students are welcome but not required to attend; presentations will be made to students at school. For more information contact Ms. Brenda Montgomery.
Inside and Outside footwear required! Students are outside in the snow for recess every day! Dress shoes and gym shoes should be kept for indoor use only. Outside shoes or boots are required and are left in the lockers after each recess. If you need to update your footwear over the break, please do so!
Get organized for Term 3! Term 3 is worth 60% of the overall grade. We encourage students to take advantage of our tutorials in math, science and (for Grade 7 only) French & geography. Focus (supervised after-school homework room) is available on a drop in basis from 2:50-5:50pm Monday-Friday. For more details and fees contact Ms. Beech. A locker shelf may help your son get organized! We recommend this eco-friendly shelf for our 15” Middle School lockers. It also helps to keep locker contents above the puddles made by winter boots!
Math League Competition Winners
Top Score in Math League Competition
Scholastic Challenge Practice Round Winners (William Cohen missing)
Math League Competition Winners: Congratulations to everyone for their participation and to our winners! For context, students with a score of over 14 should be commended, and VERY few students on a national level achieve a score of 24 or higher. We are very proud! In Grade 7: Jacques Hu (26 points) and David Liu and Charlie Shein (24 points each). In Grade 8: Nathan Chen (29 points), Vojtech Blasch (27 points), and Oli Morin (24 points).
Congratulations MS Scholars! Several students took part in the Scholastic Challenge practice test, showing their curiosity for knowledge and enthusiastic spirit! Congratulations to Yuri Meng who earned the top score, to Zev Pollack and William Cohen who tied for the top Grade 7 scores, and to Ryan Benchetrit-Morrison, the first to complete the optional challenge! All Grade 8 students participated in the national online challenge last Friday morning. Results will be shared later this spring.
Intensives: Students met with their intensive groups this week for the first time. Excitement is growing for the upcoming week of experiential education April 3-6! Look for consent forms and other course information that will be shared by Intensives course leaders in the coming weeks. If you’d like a reminder, click here to check out the MS Intensive courses.
Chess Tournament: Students who signed up for the House Chess Tournament should keep an eye on their emails on March 20 for the rules and first round of matches!
New extra-curricular activities (ECAs) to join after the break! Debating will be held Tuesdays from 3-5pm and Videography on Thursdays from 3-4pm. Full details for the recent additions are available in the Middle School school life opportunities document. Visit this calendar to see at a glance all we have to offer!
Sign up required for Videography ECA! Are you interested in filmmaking, social media, and storytelling? Email Ms. Beech to sign up now for this five-week course, held Thursdays from 3-4pm between March 23-April 27 (no class April 6), focused on the fundamentals of videography and social media platforms. Students will learn essential skills while also working on a project that documents a personal interest.
A new episode of the Gryphon Podcast is online! This month the podcast features interviews with Mr. Roy and Ms. Corbie about Intensives and a conversation about vacation plans with George Antoon. You’ll find this month’s podcast and the previous podcasts HERE.
Summer Camps: Looking forward to summer vacation? Have a sneak peak at all the camps that are being offered at SHS this year! Registration for all summer camps will be available soon. Click here for a preview at what’s to come!
Reminders
Visit MS Updates from the previous weeks for news you may have missed such as:
Visit our Covid Corner for the latest health & safety guidelines
School Life Opportunities for MS Students (including tutorials, clubs and athletics)
Looking for volunteering opportunities? Click here to see how you can make a difference!
Public Health - InfoSanté priority line for parents (in English and in French).
Red Cross Babysitting Course: Sign up here! Ms. Beech will contact interested families the week of March 27 to confirm registrations. Click here for a course outline or consult this website.
The Argyle Shop is closed for inventory between February 23-March 3 and will remain closed during the March break. The online store will also be closed for orders from February 23-March 20, 2023.
Join us on April 27, 2023 for the Known & Loved Gala at Maison Principale. There are only 89 tickets remaining! If you cannot join us, please consider becoming a donor/sponsor and help us reach our goal of $200K to endow the Hannaford/Doherty Mental Health and Wellness Fund. This fund will provide annual training and certification by Mental Health First Aid Canada to Selwyn House School teachers and staff.
514-931-9481