Middle School Update
May 30, 2024
Upcoming Events
Friday, May 31: Last day of Phys. Ed. classes for all Grade 7&8 students
Monday, June 3: Middle School Athletic Celebration 3-4:30pm in Coristine Hall. Details below.
Wednesday, June 5: No breakfast service
Wednesday, June 5: Grade 7 Cookie and Lemonade Fundraiser at 3pm. Details below.
Thursday, June 6: Grade 8 science lab exam during period 4 (1:30-2:45pm)
Friday, June 7: Last day of breakfast service for students in Coristine Hall
Friday, June 7: Last day of classes, special schedule of activities, 12:30 dismissal
Friday, June 7: Special dress day - House t-shirt and SHS athletic shorts or pants in place of the regular uniform.
Mon-Wed June 10-12: Middle School Exam Period. Detailed schedule and guidelines below. Exams between 9-11am, no lunches served.
Tuesday, June 11: Volunteer Appreciation Tea at 8:00am. Details below.
Thursday, June 13: MS Closing Celebration for Grades 7&8 students and parents at 4pm in Coristine Hall.
Sat-Mon June 15-17: Middle School All-Star Trip with Outdoor Education department
Need to Know
Middle School announces May 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: David Diaconu (8-2), Preston Garcia de la Vega (8-3), Aaron Wang (7-1), and Jasper McIver-Lisinski (7-3). We thank them for their outstanding contributions! Wear your Golden Tie with pride!
June 7 - Special Last Day of MS Classes: Students will start the day as usual at 8:15am in their period 1 classrooms. We will hold an awards assembly from 8:30-9:30 for all MS students and staff, followed by a special MS activity organised by the staff. Students are asked to wear House t-shirts and SHS athletic bottoms to school that day in place of their school uniforms. Dismissal will be at 12:30pm, after a special early lunch service.
Locker Clean out: We’ve started to clean out lockers! Send reusable bags to school with your son next week so he can bring home the contents of his locker.
All library books are due back by Monday, June 3. After this date, we will email parents about overdue books. Books that are not returned by June 14 will be billed.
MS Study Challenge: This is the final challenge! Students can participate in the previous study challenges as well! Follow this link and complete this week’s MS Study Challenge.
Congratulations to all Grade 7&8 students who wrote the Gauss Math competition on May 15th. We are incredibly proud of the students for trying something new and working so hard!
Top scores in Grade 7: Matej Blasch, Marc Wu, Leo Vainberg
Top scores in Grade 8: Leo Huang, Mikko Walker, Jacques Hu
Lost and Found! The lost and found items from all around the school are now displayed in the hallway near the front entrance of the Lucas Building ready to be picked up. Photos of some of the items can be found HERE. Be sure to check if anything belongs to your family so you or your son can pick them up as soon as possible. Any items remaining on June 20 will be donated.
Student Initiative - Lemonade & Cookies (fundraiser for Colorectal Cancer Society): Several Grade 7 students have organized this fundraiser and would like to invite the Selwyn House Community (students, teachers and parents) to join them next Wednesday, June 5 after school near the Veritas sign for a Lemonade & Cookies Bake Sale. Items will be $2 each, and all proceeds will go to the Colorectal Cancer Society in memory of Ms. Elisabeth Lapointe (the mother of Édouard Lapointe-Ratsch in 7-3) The boys began this fundraising effort in 2023 and hope that you can join them once again for some yummy treats, music and togetherness.
Volunteer Appreciation Tea & Coffee: Save the date! All Selwyn House parent volunteers are asked to join us on Tuesday, June 11 at 8 - 9:15 AM for a special celebration. Whether you volunteered an hour or 100 hours of your time, we are gathering under the tent in the west courtyard to thank you. Interested in volunteering opportunities at Selwyn and want to find out more? Please stop by!
The MS Dance was a success! We are extremely proud of how our students participated with enthusiasm and class last Friday at the Long Time No Sea MS Dance. We will be donating 600$ to La Dauphinelle domestic violence shelter with the money raised! Many thanks to Ms. Corbie for organizing this event - a highlight of the Middle School social calendar! - and to several staff members for supervising. A big shout out to Blaise Amalfitano and Noah Vadish (Grade 9) and Mr. Hodgins who kept the vibe going all night!
Congratulations to the newly elected Middle School Leaders for 2024-25: Matej Blasch, Harry Garschagen, Emirhan Balta, Kameron Clarke, Gabriel Lazanis, Adi Raisman, and Ryan Pitfield. We applaud all of the students who applied and completed the application process. We will all to contribute to a great Middle School year!
Grade 8 Laptop Return: All Grade 8 students must return their laptops and chargers on the day of their final exam, Wednesday, June 12. Technicians will collect the laptops and chargers from students in their exam rooms that day. Please read this letter from Mr. Trudeau, Director of Technology, for more information regarding laptop requirements for Senior School. It is expected that Grade 7 students will keep their laptops and chargers over the summer and use them again for their Grade 8 year. A Grade 7 student can hand in his laptop and charger on June 12 if repairs are required (you must email the tech office to inform them if this is the case). All laptops and chargers currently on loan must be returned to the tech office by June 12 as well.
The 26th Annual Old Boys & Friends’ Golf Tournament was a great success! On May 27, 143 players, 14 cocktail guests, and staff braved the weather and had a fantastic day and evening. Through their participation, and that of our sponsors, prize and auction donors, and online auction bidders, $74,000 was raised to support the Old Boys’ Endowment Fund, the Old Boys’ Trip Fund and the Old Boys’ Speaker Series. A portion was also directed to the newly formed Gryphon Fund announced at last week’s Athletics Celebration. A very special thank you for the tremendous support of our tournament sponsor 11:11 Charitable Foundation. On behalf of the Old Boys & Friends’ Golf Committee, a huge round of applause to all those involved. A shout-out to Mother Nature for providing moments of dryness and to the PVA bakers for making us all feel at home!
Reminders
Visit previous week’s Updates for news you may have missed, such as:
- Important Dates for 2024-25
- Summer Camps: see our camps webpage here.
End of Year Reminders:
MS Exam Schedule Exam June 10-12 only between 9-11am. No lunches served.
- Grade 7 Exam/Assessment Prep Sheets
- Grade 8 Exam/Assessment Prep Sheets
Middle School Closing Celebration for Grade 7&8 students, parents and staff on Thursday June 13 from 4-5pm.
Middle School Exam Guidelines: Please carefully read these Guidelines for the MS Exams, being held June 10-12 from 9-11am. It is important that students are familiar with the expectations and protocols. Reminders: Exams begin at 9am each day. Students will only be allowed into the building at 8:50 a.m. and must leave when they've finished their exam each day. Students are expected to be dressed in full uniform. No lunch is served on exam days.
Phys. Ed. Selection for students entering Grade 8 in September: Please find a complete list of the intended MS phys. ed. offerings for 2024-25 here. Please note that all options are subject to change. We ask current Grade 7 students to discuss the phys. ed. options at home and complete the Fall Phys. Ed. Course Selection Form by Monday, June 3. Winter and spring phys. ed. selection will take place next year, in advance of those terms. Current Grade 8 students made their Grade 9 phys. ed. selection for all terms in early April.
Middle School Athletic Celebration: Selwyn House is thrilled to celebrate the 2023-24 athletic year in a year-end ceremony with all MS students, staff and coaches from 3-4:30pm on Monday, June 3 in Coristine Hall. Parents are invited to join us as we honour award winners and share memories from the year. A light reception will follow the ceremony. Parents are asked to RSVP here by May 31 if you plan to attend. All Grade 7&8 students are expected to attend in full uniform with blazer.
Valley of the Birdtail Book Event - June 4 - Sign up to attend! June is National Indigenous History Month and Selwyn parents are invited to meet author and Old Boy Andrew Stobo Sniderman, Class of 2001, who co-wrote Valley of the Birdtail: an Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation. Please join us on Tuesday, June 4 at 7pm for refreshments and food from Screaming Chef Cuisine (Chef Ryland Diome ‘06) and a talk about the themes of the book as we explore reconciliation and calls to action. You don’t need to have read the book to join! Please sign up here. Friends and neighbours are also welcome to attend! If you would like to read the book, there are a limited number of copies available at reception for $20 cash. Donations for Selwyn’s Indigenization Program are welcome via this link or at the door. We hope you can join us :)
MS Closing Celebration! We are delighted to celebrate the end of the year with Grade 7&8 students and parents from 4-5pm on Thursday, June 13! Each student is invited to bring a maximum of 2 guests. After a brief closing in Coristine Hall, light refreshments will be served. Students must be wearing their full school uniform, including the SHS blazer. We expect all Grade 8 students to attend and arrive between 3:30-3:45pm to receive instructions. Grade 7 students are highly encouraged to attend. Please inform Ms. Beech if your son (and guests) WILL NOT be able to join us for this event.
514-931-9481