Hello Families,

I hope you all had a restful long weekend! It’s hard to believe that spring break is only two weeks away. Most educators share the feeling that the second term always goes by so quickly, and one reason for this may be that we tend to pack it with lots of activities at school. This week was certainly no exception!

Here are some of the highlights of what’s been happening at Urban Academy over the past week. On February 22nd, our Junior School celebrated 100 days at school with different learning experiences in their classes. We also had our final round of open houses in Kindergarten classes, where parents were invited to the classroom so that the students could take them on a tour of their learning environment and present their work. It was wonderful to see our young learners proudly and confidently share their learning with their parents, which shows the tremendous growth they have made in the first 100 days of their formal schooling.

We also had an exciting visit from Urban Academy alumni, Annie and Karen, who are currently studying at UBC. They brought along a couple of their thunderbots for our students to experiment with, which was a real treat!

The highlight of this week was certainly our Pink Shirt Day assembly.  Pink Shirt Day is an annual event to embrace inclusion, celebrate diversity, and stand up to bullying. This year, the Government of B.C. celebrated Pink Shirt Day with the theme “Belonging and Empowerment.”

On Wednesday, Urban Academy students and staff wore pink to demonstrate their commitment to kindness, inclusion, and acceptance. The assembly, led by the middle school SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) team was truly a showcase of inclusion, with Kindergarten to Grade 12 students singing together and cheering each other on. We are immensely thankful to Urban Academy’s performing arts team for their dedication to teaching empathy and inclusion through such powerful learning experiences.

As we continue in our journey to cultivate equity in our education systems, the importance of empathy as a tool for change is felt more than ever. Equally important is allyship, being courageous and going from being “bystanders” to “upstanders”, that is, to stand up for those who have been wronged. This is the message of Pink Shirt Day and what we are striving for here at the UA.

Thank you for your ongoing support, and I wish you all a wonderful weekend.
Khatereh Dadar