Hello UA families,
This week we held our annual autumn Parent-Student-Teacher conferences. We have heard how much families appreciate the connection points with UA teachers. As we continue on the journey of empowering students with their learning, we hope to see more and more Middle and Senior School students attending these October sessions with their parents/guardians and leading the learning conversations.
Each week at UA can feel like a whirlwind because of all the opportunities for students to experience learning. In addition to the scheduled classes, students participated in learning outside of the classroom; on field trips to the Michael Smith Laboratories at UBC, to UVIC and VIU for a post-secondary exposure journey, to the Britannia Mines, and to Piva restaurant in the last week alone. Not to mention the 72 Grade 4-7 students who enthusiastically took part in their first after school Robotics Team practice this week. Today we have 32 Senior Students making their way to UBC for our first Youth Model United Nations Conference of the year from Friday to Sunday. Next week students will again take their learning outside the classroom at the Museum of Vancouver and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute during their Discovery Days. (I’d be remiss not to note how much easier these trips would be with a UA Activity Bus!) We are also grateful to our staff who plan and execute these amazing experiences for our students, and for students who are keen to experience the many opportunities offered to them!
Speaking of our wonderful staff, we are proud that they role-model lifelong learning. Last Friday’s professional development day saw our staff attending curricular conferences and workshops to enhance their learning; and in some cases, our staff were teaching other teachers from around the province.
The theme this week seems to be learning, and on that note, we would like to remind you about an upcoming Parent Education opportunity. Jesse Miller from MediatedReality will be our guest educator for parents, speaking about “Technology and Our Youth.” To get a bit more insight into Jesse’s work take a listen to News 980 (Apple Podcast, Spotify) from this past week when he was interviewed with regard to the lawsuit that has been brought by 33 States against Meta (Facebook/Instagram) over their use of analytics and how they target youth on social media. Interesting information, and we’re looking forward to hearing from him on November 8 in our UA Theater. We hope to see you and feel free to invite guests, so get your tickets today!
Gratefully,
Brenda Ball
