October 24, 2019
Dear Urban Academy Families,
Our intermediate boys’ soccer team did extremely well at their recent tournament at Southridge. On Monday of this week, in a torrential downpour, they played well in four games, winning two and conceding two. They have had an excellent season and their sportsmanship and enthusiasm is wonderful to see. Thank you to our hardy and determined parent drivers, your support is very appreciated.
Our Parent Education evening went well. “Raising Resilient Kids” was the topic presented by Dolphin Kids. Parent Education workshops were identified on our annual community survey as an area of interest for our families and our Board of Directors has taken this on, supported by PAX. Thank you to Abi Shu and Mrs. MacLeod for spearheading this initiative.
Our Grade 9-12 students who are registered in our Model UN course are headed to Whistler this weekend for their first Model UN conference. It is being held at the Chateau Fairmont and approximately 200 other students of the same age will attend. West Point Grey Academy is the host school and our students will have opportunities to learn about the parliamentary procedures of the UN and debate a number of key topics. The course is under the instruction of Mr. Gow and the students are embarking on a number of skills that will really support senior course learning.
Our middle school Leadership Group is off to Keats Island this weekend as well. We are part of the ISABC Leadership program for students and each year the group convenes at Keats for training and to set projects and direction for the year. This group is under the guidance of Mr. Leclair and will come back ready to serve their own community as well as contribute to the larger Leadership work with other ISABC schools.
Mr. Twaites, our Athletic Director, is looking for someone in our community who may be able to assist him with refereeing responsibilities for the upcoming basketball season. If you are skilled in this area and are interested, please contact Mr. Twaites at m.twaites@urbanacademy.ca and he will be happy to discuss the opportunity with you. Remember that volunteering at UA includes the extended family so it may be that you have someone in mind here other than yourself as a parent who could help.
Our teachers are part of the province-wide Professional Day tomorrow, October 25. This is the one day in the year when there is an abundance of very affordable and accessible professional development open to all teachers from all systems. Our teachers are registered in a wide range of excellent sessions, furthering the work we are doing in mindfulness, mathematics and science, literacy and technology.
Thank you to all who have responded to our Annual Appeal – we are off to an excellent start! If you have not had a chance yet to commit your donation, please take a moment to do so. Your generosity fuels so many learning opportunities for our students and is deeply appreciated.
Have an enjoyable weekend with your family.
Mrs. Cheryle Beaumont
Head of School
