Hello Parents,
When a Friday is combined with a Fall Activity Day at UA, the decibels seem to fly off the charts. What a fun, action-packed day it has been! Our House Senior Action Team (or SAT) planned the activities for Middle and Senior house teams today while the Junior School had their own house and activity challenges. SATs may be new to you, but it is part of UA’s student leadership program. We have 5 SATs made up of Grades 8–12 Students and each SAT has a different focus: House Teams, Community Engagement, Social, Sustainability and DEIJB (Diversity Equity Inclusion Justice & Belonging). Students are able to join a SAT team and plan initiatives, events and education for the student body. The Social SAT as well as 6/7 Entrepreneurship took the lead on Halloween events this year too, having activities planned that were fun and (just the right level of) spooky!
Also this week, we were also able to honour many of our major donors, past directors and Board Chairs at our Innovators & Leaders Celebration. It was a fabulous evening featuring our talented Wind Ensemble Section Leaders as entertainment. Being able to acknowledge and celebrate those who have given their time and funds to move Urban Academy forward over the years was a pleasure. This year, our community is coming together to raise funds for an Activity Bus, again an initiative that will help increase the access students have to field study, excursions and extracurricular events. After a flurry of donations today, I’m happy to say we are about 25% to our $150,000 goal. If you haven’t yet contributed, we are hoping for 100% parent contribution, so please consider how you may be involved by giving through Canada Helps or by contributing a Parent Equity Unit. Thank you to those of you who have already done so!
Next week, on November 8, Jesse Miller from mediatedreality.com will be at UA for a Parent Ed event around Technology & Our Youth. What is too much screen time, how do we manage social media and where does gaming fit in are all areas he will discuss. Please join us.
Coming up on November 28, our new Robotics Teams (made up of 74 middle schoolers!) is getting support from Piva Modern Italian Restaurant which is the host of Jazz at the Anvil Theatre. This community jazz series donates part of its ticket sales to non-profits, and for the Itamar Erez concert on November 28, the UA Robotics Team will be the beneficiary of those funds! Our hope is that the UA community comes out to that evening of world-class jazz, helping us to support an incredibly popular and growing robotics initiative that requires the purchase of a lot of new equipment at Urban Academy! Get your tickets.
And finally, a few logistical details and reminders:
- Due to the serious allergies of some students, this is a friendly reminder that this is a nut-aware zone. Please do not send snacks and lunches that include nuts.
- As we near the holiday time, we would like to remind parents that they are required to complete an extended absence request form for any absences of more than 3 days. If this is the case for your family, please let your homeroom teacher know and they will provide the appropriate forms.
Thank you for supporting your children in another action-packed week at UA that has been full of adventure, community, learning and fun!
Yours in Developing UA,
Ms. Sonja Kennedy
