Torch Time

Torch Time is a great opportunity for students to improve their learning and success at school! Each week, Torch Time is built into the timetable. Based on our motto, “The Torch Held High”, this is time set aside for students to improve their learning and themselves. Sometimes teachers and parents will assist in directing Torch Time. Sometimes students who are in good standing can direct that time themselves. Either way, MCHS expects that our students will strive to be their best.

Torch Time is considered instructional time, and students should prioritize using it to further their studies. During Torch Time, teachers are available to provide structured intervention (help) to support students in their learning. Students who choose not to make themselves available for Torch Time because of work or other reasons may not have access to teacher support outside of class time. 

In previous years, a mindset developed for some in our school community that school was over at 2:45 and Torch Time was optional. This is not the intention of Torch Time at all!

Students earn their way out of Torch Time by being in good standing: regularly completing their assignments to an acceptable standard (passing at minimum) and submitting them on time. If a student falls behind in submitting their assignments, their teacher will help them create a plan during Monday's Torch Time, advising them where to sign up for assistance and how to best use their time to ensure their work is completed. As most assignments have deadlines, and there will come a point in time when they will no longer be accepted, Torch Time offers an ideal opportunity for students to get assistance and catch up to meet their deadlines.

During Torch Time, MCHS will offer a variety of regularly scheduled Torch Sessions, such as:

• Homework Help - Daily core subject sessions, with complementary subjects covered at least once per week
• Open Gym - Physical activity time
• Library - Open for quiet independent work
• Small Groups - Collaboration space in a number of school areas available each day
• Custom Sessions - Weekly sessions added by teachers, based on the needs of their class (e.g. a session on Google Sheets for Science students struggling to track data in a spreadsheet)

Most weeks Torch Time will also give students opportunities to learn about and contribute their thoughts on non-curricular topics, such as:

• High school program planning
• Monitoring graduation progress
• Post-secondary exploration
• Responding to school wide issues
• Participating in "Belonging at Memorial" equity education
• Other fun stuff

Students are expected to fill their schedules with Torch Time sessions for the full week each week, and their attendance will be tracked and reported in PowerSchool. Torch Time is mandatory on Mondays, and students will remain in their Block 4 class with the primary task of registering for that week's Torch Time sessions with the aid of their teacher.

Teachers may identify certain students as requiring additional help or skill development, and can schedule them into an appropriate session. Parents can also log into their PowerSchool account, sign up their kids for sessions and monitor their attendance. If a teacher or a parent registers a student, the student cannot unregister themselves and is required to attend. 

The videos below detail how students, parents and guardians can sign in to PowerSchool and sign up for Torch Time sessions using a computer or mobile device.

When a student is in good standing and their level of achievement is meeting the expectations of their teachers, their parents and themselves, it may be appropriate for them to spend their Torch Time off campus working toward self-improvement in another aspect of their lives. With the permission of their parents, students meeting these criteria are permitted to sign up for the "Off-Campus with Parent Approval" Torch Session (to track their attendance), and then spend their Torch Time off school grounds.

Remember:

• It is important for parents to have regular conversations with their kids about family expectations for the use of Torch Time.
• Students who remain on school grounds are expected to attend an on-campus Torch session.