Middle School Update
September 19, 2024
Upcoming Events
TONIGHT! Thursday, September 19: Middle School Parent Information Evening. Mingle with teachers at 6pm. Presentations begin at 6:30pm. Details below.
Tuesday, September 24: PVA event for new parents. Details below.
Friday, September 27: World Press Photo Exhibit Outing - optional for MS students. Details below.
Monday, September 30: Orange Shirt Day during Truth & Reconciliation Week. Details below.
Monday, September 30: Attestation day, official attendance verification day. Details below.
Monday, Oct 7-Tuesday, Oct 8: Class 7-1 overnight Outdoor Ed Trip
Wednesday, Oct 9-Thursday, Oct 10: Class 7-2 overnight Outdoor Ed Trip
Friday, October 11: Half Day of classes. Early dismissal for Grades 7&8 at 12:30pm. No lunch served.
Monday, October 14: Thanksgiving - School Closed
Tuesday, Oct 15-Wednesday, Oct 16: Class 7-3 overnight Outdoor Ed Trip
Wednesday, Oct 16-Saturday, Oct 19: U13 CAIS soccer tournament in Toronto
Thursday, Oct 17-Friday, Oct 18: Class 7-4 overnight Outdoor Ed Trip
Need to Know
Middle School Parent Information Evening will take place TONIGHT! Starting at 6pm, parents are invited to mingle with teachers in Coristine Hall and visit Middle School classrooms. Presentations will take place between 6:30 - 8:15pm. Please see the detailed schedule for more information. Throughout the evening, teachers will be referencing Grade 7 Course Descriptions and Grade 8 Course Descriptions that you are invited to review in advance. Presentations made by teachers will be shared with parents via email after the evening.
Before attending the Parent Information Evening, you may find it helpful to review your son's class schedule so you're familiar with who his teacher's are. This can be done via your mySelwyn parent profile, by selecting your son's name and viewing his courses under the Progress tab. Please contact Ms. Poulin if you need assistance logging in to your mySelwyn account.
Truth & Reconciliation Week and Orange Shirt Day: During the week of September 23-30, the school will be engaging in learning opportunities and activities based on the theme: Taking Truth to Action, inspired by programming from the National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation. Students and staff will honour the lives lost from Canada’s residential school system on September 30th by wearing orange shirts. Students may wear ANY orange shirt on Sept. 30 with their uniform pants and school shoes. If you purchase a shirt via this Google Form, they will be available for pick up in the front office. If you have any questions, please contact Eden Schwartz.
Phys. Ed. Clothing needed next week for Lacrosse Workshops: Grade 7 students need to bring SHS athletic clothing and running shoes on Wednesday, September 25 and Grade 8 students, on Thursday, September 26. As part of Truth and Reconciliation Week, Middle School students will have the opportunity to learn about the Indigenous origins of lacrosse and will get to play the sport with some Indigenous guests. All students will need to change into their Phys. Ed uniforms at lunch on the date of their activity, which is taking place between 1-2:45pm each day.
Grade 7 Outdoor Ed Overnight Trips: We're excited to offer this one-night, two-day "Into the Wild" trip for each grade 7 class in October. Packing lists, itineraries and consent forms will be shared in next week's MS Update. We provide the camping gear. (And we're already working on scheduling conflicts for U13 soccer participants!) For any questions, please email outdooreducation@selwyn.ca.
World Press Photo Exhibit Outing: On Friday, September 27 from 3-6pm, Middle School students are invited to join Ms. Corbie and Ms. Schwartz on this optional outing. The group will travel using transit, leave Selwyn at 3pm, visit the exhibit in the Old Port and eat together, before returning to Selwyn House around 6pm. Interested students should complete this form and bring $10 to Ms. Corbie or Ms. Beech (for the Exhibit) to reserve their spot. Next week, a consent form will be shared with parents of interested students.
Calling all debaters! If you want to learn and practice debating techniques and join some competitions this year, join the Middle School debating club! Thursdays from 3-4:30pm in MS-7 classroom starting on September 26. Please let Ms. Beech (beechv@selwyn.ca) know if you’re interested.
Crafting with Contactivity: Starting October 8, on Tuesdays from 3-4:30pm, Middle School students are invited to craft with polymer clay. Please sign up here! Other crafting options will be offered on Tuesday afternoons in the winter and spring. We are looking for students to join other Contactivity Programs this fall. For more information click on this sign up form or contact Ms. Segal (segalm@selwyn.ca).
Staff Directories are available in mySelwyn and on the Contact Us page of our website. Selwyn House staff members can be contacted via phone/voicemail and via email.
Spirit Day 2024! The PVA led event in partnership with Selwyn’s Senior School student leaders helped kick off the new school year with Selwyn Spirit! The sun was shining as families, staff and kids enjoyed carnival games, music, food and entertainment. A special shout out to the dunkees, Mr. Downey, Mr. Banerjee, Mr. McCarney, Ms. Littman, Mr. Sergerie and Mr. Brydges! And another shout out to our talented parents and kids who were breakdancing on stage! Congratulations to the Guessing Game winners Zach Beckerleg, Andrew Bolduc, Terry Liu and Haiyuan Wang! Thank you for attending, for lending a helping hand and for your generosity, as we raised funds for the Step by Step Child and Family Centre!
Terry Fox Run Follow-Up: Thank you to all the students and families who ran, cheered, and donated in support of our Selwyn House Terry Fox Run initiative. We raised just over $6200 for the Terry Fox Foundation to support cancer research, treatment, and care!
NEW Gryphon Fan T-shirt: now available at our Argyle Shop! Don't miss out on this opportunity to support our Selwyn House teams and look great doing it! Click here to get all the details about this student-designed t-shirt, including the link to place your order.
Reminders
"Focus" Homework Supervision for Grades 7&8. Contact Ms. Beech for more information.
Trip Brochure 2024-25 - click this link to see the grade-level and athletic trips for this school year.
PVA Invitation: The PVA (Parent Volunteer Association) invites all SHS new parents to join them on Tuesday, September 24 @ 8:15am for a coffee morning meet-up. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet other new parents. Meeting will be at Mouton Noir cafe at Westmount Rec Centre (4675 St- Catherine Street West Westmount H3Z 1S4). Sign up here.
Attestation day: Monday, September 30 is the official MEES (Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport) attendance verification day. On this day the school is required to report to the ministry the actual student attendance and subsequently register each student for the 2024-2025 academic year. Please avoid scheduling appointments on this day. Your child’s/children’s attendance will alleviate significant paperwork for families and the school. For questions, email Ms. Kelli Poulin (poulink@selwyn.ca).
514-931-9481