November 19, 2021
Dear UA Parents,
It is hard to comprehend the devastation that has occurred just down the road from UA. Watching the news and hearing all the stories this week has been difficult, as these types of events usually happen further away from home and have minimal impact on our day-to-day lives. The flooding around the province, the closure of the highways, and the disruption to the supply chain have impacted all of us in one way or another. Many of us are connected in some way to folks directly impacted. At the same time, I am hopeful when I hear the stories of how strangers and entire communities have come together to support one another in their time of need. It is nice to be reminded that there is still a lot of humanity in the world. Thank you to all of those British Columbians who have stepped up to help, without question, both neighbours and strangers. I hope all our UA families and extended families are safe at this time.
Last week our house teams elected their first-ever student leaders. This week the group had their first meeting and were tasked with coming up with a name for the group. I am pleased to share that they chose ‘Lion Leaders’ as the group name. Our newly minted ‘Lion Leaders’ are also taking on their first leadership event which will see them organize a Home Clothes Day for the school in an effort to fundraise for the relief effort for those affected by the flooding around the province. You can expect to see more details about this upcoming event next week. It was great to see the compassion coming from our UA students and their desire to help.
Today we also heard from the Federal Government that Health Canada has approved the Pfizer vaccine for children. This news has been eagerly anticipated by many in our community. It is the next step in ensuring our school remains healthy and will certainly help move COVID-19 from pandemic to endemic status. I do encourage all eligible UA students to get vaccinated. Parents, if you have not done, so please register your students for the vaccine so that when it is available you will be contacted and able to take your children in for the vaccine.
The UA AGM took place this past Tuesday. For those of you who couldn’t make it or who would like to review the materials, the Annual Report & Financial Statements are on the UA website and the recorded AGM can be found here.
Some families may already have plans for the third week of the winter break. But for those seeking care, our Out of School Care will be running from Tuesday, January 4 to Friday, January 7. There is also a Sport Discovery Camp running out of Urban Academy and Hume Park for children ages 5-14. Further details can be found in the attached document. PAX has also set up Babysitting and Stay Safe courses which will take place on January 7, details for that and many other upcoming activities are listed below.
Yours in education,
Mr. Slinger
