October 21, 2021
Dear UA Parents,
Tomorrow is the Provincial Pro-D Day which will see our teachers participating in a number of workshops that are offered on this day. They will be joining teachers from around the province in a day dedicated to learning. Most of the workshops will be online again this year, however, I am looking forward to some in-person sessions hopefully by the end of the school year.
I hope everyone who wanted to, was able to participate in the parent-teacher conferences over the last few days. This is the second year in a row that we have used Zoom as the platform for the conferences. I know many are tired of Zoom, but we have found a much higher rate of participation in the conferences, often with two parents being able to attend even if they are not in the same location. Thank you to all parents and teachers for taking the time to touch base about your children.
Yesterday, I was fortunate to be asked to be a judge for our first-ever Entrepreneurship 6/7 “Lion’s Den” (think Dragon’s Den that we know well in Grade 2). The groups that presented did a marvelous job as they pitched the panel of judges to see which product may actually have the opportunity to be marketed to the UA community with the support of our UA PAX. It was a very tough decision for the judges, but we made our pick and will now await the final product marketing plan to see if it will get out to the UA community.
I was excited to approve the final plans for our Gr 11/12 trip to Vancouver Island in the first week of November. Our oldest students will head over to the Island with our University Counselor, Mr. Gow, as well as Ms. Marsh to tour a number of the universities on Vancouver Island including UVIC and VIU. Trips like this are part of our senior school university prep program. It will be followed up with a senior school parent info night on November 18 (more info to come).
We also want to say a big thank you to everyone who has already participated in this year’s ‘Finishing Touches Appeal’. Donations are coming in, and I want to encourage every family to participate at whatever level they are able to be able to put the finishing touches on our facility. Together we will reach our $130,000 goal! There are many ways to give, but an easy way to do it is through our page at Canada Helps if you would like to contribute online.
Don’t forget to use the time this weekend to get your Halloween costumes organized. I am looking forward to seeing all of the costumes on Friday.
Yours in education,
Mr. Slinger
