IN SCHOOL
“We wanted to streamline how transgender students can access help informing their teachers of their new pronouns or names or how to navigate sports teams or changing for gym, because it's really intimidating for them to have to ask,” says S6 (Grade 12) Laura, an executive on the UTS Gender Equity Committee (pictured right). Laura and their fellow executives, S6s Anasofia (pictured centre) and Kismet (left), as well as executives on the UTS Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA), played an instrumental role in re-drafting the Policy and Procedures on Respecting and Accommodating Transgender Students, working in tandem with UTS administration and school lawyers Borden Ladner Gervais. “I appreciate seeing how UTS culture continues to evolve,” says Anasofia. Kismet says, “This policy is an accumulation of the efforts of the Committee, the GSA and UTS to build up trans-inclusivity over time and will be a legacy for future UTS students.”
True learning is a collaboration. Math teacher Andrew Wilson was selected as a 2021 University of Chicago Outstanding Educator, thanks to a gracious nomination from Qi Zheng ’21, who is studying there. UTS teacher Isabella Liu won the 2022 Beaumier Award for High School/CÉGEP Chemistry Teachers from the Chemical Institute of Canada. “I use chemistry as a vehicle to provide my students with opportunities to think critically and reflect on what's presented to them,” she says. UTS Health and Physical Education Teacher Mike Didier was named Ontario University Athletics Coach of the Year for his other job: Head Coach of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues Baseball team.
Black History Month took on a new incarnation at UTS as Black Futures Month this February, symbolizing how we look to drive future progress. With two assemblies, dynamic events and workshops like a performance of Things My Foresisters Saw by Leslie McCurdy, a spoken word workshop with Desiree McKenzie, a student art exhibition and more, it was a month of learning and celebration of Black culture and achievement. The closing assembly included a question and answer session hosted by UTS Black Equity Committee Executive S6 (Grade 12) Leyat and M3 (Grade 9) Cici, with Dr. Carl James, author of Colour Matters, and UTSAA Director Dr. Jessica Ware ’95, Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History. Artwork entitled Exploring Africa’s Past, Present, Future by M4 (Grade 10) Grace.
6
THE ROOT | SPRING 2022
