University of Toronto Schools

How do we evaluate students when it is so easy for them to use Generative AI to produce their assignments? Which truly human skills can we help students cultivate? How can we fundamentally reorient how we think about achievement and skills, and shift towards assessing the process instead of the product?

Earlier this year, the Eureka! Institute at UTS gathered a small group of UTS teachers together for a conversation about the existential questions on the minds of educators in the AI era. The synthesis of this conversation became the basis of a research paper presented in April at this year’s American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in Los Angeles by Eureka! Director Dr. Kim Mackinnon, Research and Innovation Associate Dr. Christine Balt and AP Research and Biology Teacher Alan Kraguljac.

We are a community of practice, and the Eureka! Institute brings a unique vantage as one of a few research institutes on site at a school in Canada, positioning teachers as key contributors to public knowledge and education. Along with the presenters, the paper was also co-authored by UTS Drama Teacher Melissa Shaddick, UTS Lang Innovation Lab Program Director Natalie Cannistraro and former UTS teacher Isabella Liu, and shared at AERA as part of the session, ‘AI and Action Research: Coding Robots, Literacy, Youth-led Assessment, Tensions and Possibilities.’

“The presentation synthesized those initial big questions that teachers have about how they might change the way they assess students now that GenAI can now do all the things that a supposedly good student can do,” says Dr. Christine Balt. “The question becomes: ‘What can a human do that GenAI cannot do well?’ We identified skills such as listening, critiquing, and empathizing, and then entertained how assessment would need to change to appraise students’ demonstration of these capabilities.”

Shifting from product to process in assessment comes with its own set of challenges, says Dr. Balt. “How do you assess things like listening and empathy? That’s the next question.”

Table tennis team culture has taken root at UTS with over 75 students taking part recreationally and about 30 players on our competitive team. In the fall, UTS ran an intramural league for students, and in the winter our stronger players led clinics for beginner and intermediate players, building up the strength of our entire team and testing their prowess with in-house tournaments.

“Not only does the friendly competition within our team help everyone improve, but our spirit and love for the game is also shared,” says M4 (grade 10) student Lucas.

This year, nine players qualified for OFSAA, more than ever before.

The dynamic duo of Lucas and M3 (grade 9) Kenny, both national team players, took teamwork to the next level in the OFSAA Varsity Boys’ Doubles Competition.

They dominated the first two sets in the finals before succumbing to their opponents in the third set. From the side of the court, Coach Mary Hall reassured them, and tried to get them to settle down.

“Throughout the game, there was a lot of communication between Kenny and I,” Lucas says. “What spin to serve, what to do after the serve, where to receive – but there was also a lot of encouragement and reassurance, and I think that was what allowed us to stay strong and confident in the face of adversity in the final.”

The fourth set was tight. They were in the lead 10-7, when they lost a point and it became 10-8. Lucas and Kenny thought about calling a timeout to collect themselves, but instead decided to ride the momentum as the pressure was on their opponents, who missed the ball, securing the OFSAA gold for Lucas and Kenny.

For Coach Hall – who has coached various sports teams at UTS over 22 years, including tennis and badminton – it was her first time seeing her team members win OFSAA. What a wonderful reward for her decades of dedication and hard work leading our athletes!

An oUTStanding commitment!

Every student, every family member, every member of staff, every alum who has ever walked through our doors has helped make this place what it is. Our people make us truly oUTStanding.

So oUTStanding, in fact, that Mr. Dannetta made it permanent. Yes, that is a real tattoo. As his career of 23 years winds down this week, Mr. Dannetta leaves with his favourite phrase to celebrate the school and its people etched in ink on his arm.

Congratulations on your retirement, Mr. Dannetta! We’ll continue to make you proud!

The Graduation of the Class of 2026 was a time for reflection on the years they’ve shared together and a call for the graduates to use all they've learned at UTS to make a difference in the world.

Co-valedictorian S6 Max, who was one of the 2025-26 co-captains and co-founded the UTS Cybersecurity Club, told his fellow graduates: “It is now time for all of us to take responsibility in building our futures, and to be honest, that scares me. You see in 10, 20 or 40 years from now, we'll all live in a world where Sherwin may be a talented brain surgeon; Diara, a globally renowned architect; and Jerry on the Supreme Court of Canada, but at the moment I can't help but wonder, will we actually ever become mature enough to be brain surgeons, architects and judges?”

But he said it is a good thing they don’t all have our lives figured out, “because it is somewhere in not knowing that we discover the parts of ourselves that we appreciate the most.”

UTS 2025-26 Co-valedictorian Jacob described how he came to UTS because of the stories his neighbours William A. Fallis '71 and his daughter Jane Cooper ’15 shared about “the magic of UTS” – the community, the SHOW, the Harry Potter-style House system and more. But when Jacob came to the UTS in the fall of 2020, it was the heart of the pandemic and online and hybrid school. The magic didn’t happen right away but began to take root in community, riding the 63 Ossington bus to Humbert, in his clubs such as the Diplomacy Club and Model United Nations Society and outdoor education trips, with skiing, biking and late-night conversations. Last year, as an S5 (grade 11) leader at Camp Couchiching he saw how shy the F1 (grade 7) students were when they arrived, not knowing what to expect from the House sorting ceremony.

“I remember the anticipation and nerves they all experienced, and their sheer happiness afterward. It was the happiness most in our grade did not get to experience, but that we were so incredibly happy to create for them… that was the UTS magic.”

He urged his fellow graduates to go out and engineer that kind of magic for others. “Let that be the legacy of the Class of 2026! Thank you so much, and thank you, UTS, for making me the person I am today.”

The Graduation Ceremony began with the processional of the Class of 2026 in bright blue robes, entering the Withrow Auditorium accompanied by the beautiful sound of original compositions by class members: First Flight by Max, and Elysium by Emma and Jessica, played by UTS Chamber Strings.

The Invocation came from retiring History and Philosophy Teacher Vince Dannetta, who
quoted stanza 4 from Pulitzer-prize winning poet Mary Jane Oliver’s poem Sometimes.

Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.

Mr. Dannetta spoke about the value of wonder, and the joy he feels from sharing his wonder with others, calling on our new graduates to do things in life that are meaningful for them and share their experiences with others.

UTS Principal Dr. Leanne Foster’s message to graduates aptly invoked Latin from Roman philosopher/statesman Marcus Tillius Cicero’s De Officiis treatise on moral obligation.

“Non nobis solum nati sumus.”
We are not born for ourselves alone.

Dr. Foster said Cicero’s argument was that our gifts and abilities are not our possessions, but held in trust for others. “Cicero's words ask you a harder question than ‘How well did you do?’ They ask, ‘For whom did you do it, and what will you do with it?’”

Graduates are living in a world changing faster than ever before, said Dr. Foster, and will face complex challenges such as climate inequality and the fracturing of public trust that will require them to be people of integrity who feel the weight of others in every decision they make. “The quiet decision to act in service of something larger than yourself is not an accident. It is a discipline and a habit of mind, something chosen daily in small rooms with no audience.”

She called on our graduates, that when the day comes that they have the opportunity to use what they have been given for someone other than themselves, that they be a person of integrity and strength, take that chance and be a person of consequence.

In the interlude, Chamber Strings played Europe’s The Final Countdown, arranged by S6 Jeff, setting the mood for the end of the ceremony – congratulations to the Class of 2026!

Today our students gathered in our Withrow Auditorium for the final assembly to celebrate the extraordinary year we shared in the life of our school! Dr. McLeod and the Jazz Band set the mood with evocative jazz performances. The Glee Club captured the essence of our school with their joyful rendition of Shakira’s Try Everything, their voices rising in chorus: “I won't give up, no, I won't give in / 'Til I reach the end, and then I'll start again.”

Classics, Vex Robotics, Science Fair and DECA shared their achievements, awards and reflections on the year, with Vex Robotics presenting a flag emblazoned with Mr. Jones’ face to thank their staff supervisor.

F1 drama students shared a moving video, We are From, created collectively by their grade, celebrating the many different things that make them who they are.

The House Cup went to a triumphant Cody, while Crawford won the Athletic Pennant and Althouse won the LIT Pennant.

Many awards were presented to many of our students, honouring their co-curricular involvement and the way they lead and bring our community together.

The Nesbitt Awards, presented to students who uphold high academic standards, contribute to student life and school life and who will carry the UTS name and reputation into the future, went to S6s (grade 12s) Brianna (silver) and Jacob (gold). Brianna also received the Class of 1973 award, voted on by her classmates.

There was much sharing of gratitude, and some tears, as students gave speeches to thank retiring teachers Krista Winston, Liz Straszynski and Vince Dannetta, as well as Vice Principal of Student Life Garry Kollins, who received a standing ovation.

We may be saying goodbye for now, but we will always be part of the UTS community
together! Wishing all of our students a fantastic summer!

What are you hoping to learn or grow in this year?
What kind of person do you want to be?
What fears or challenges are you ready to face?
What dreams are you chasing, big or small?

At the start of this school year, we asked our F1 (grade 7) students to write themselves a letter based on these questions. This month, during our F1 Community Reflection Week, we gave them their letters back and asked them to take a moment to reflect on what they were focused on at the beginning of the year, and how that had changed over the course of the year.

They’ve accomplished so much, and come so far in their first year at our school! Overseen by Head of Middle School Royan Lee, Community Reflection Week is fun with a purpose: we aim to strengthen the sense of community as a grade through the power of shared experiences and joy.

As part of the experience, our F1 students conquered a design challenge, explored the great outdoors at High Park and Christie Pitts Park, and experienced the thrills of Canada’s Wonderland.

One morning they were led by three of their peers and an F2 student in an impact project the students developed at the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) Middle School Leadership Conference in Calgary, Alberta. From arts, crafts and board games to relay races in the gym, the morning featured a line dance lesson, with the class dancing in unison, turning into a dance party – an expression of pure joy!

How do you get the DNA out of the banana?

Special guest Dr. Stephanie Xie P ’31, the Allan Slaight scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and three members of her research team for the Xie lab, led Ms. Sankey’s F1 (grade 7) science class through the rigours of DNA extraction. After mashing the ripe banana, they followed a process using salt, dish soap, ethanol, a filter and patience to end up with banana DNA on a Petri plate! While the students were waiting for the extraction to take place, they built models of the double helix in DNA with licorice, marshmallows and toothpicks.

While this class was all in good fun, DNA is a very serious matter in the work of Dr. Xie and her team, who through their studies of blood production aim to discover novel cancer prevention strategies by understanding how stress promotes aging and cancer risk. Dr. Xie is also an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

We were thrilled to have research scientists visit our classroom and teach our students. It helps make the learning real. Today we might be extracting DNA from a banana, but this is just the beginning!