This week was bustling with all of our Outdoor Ed activities. There was everything from skating and skiing (of all kinds) to mountain explorations to biathlon. Some students stretched their abilities, and grew a little bit of grit as they encountered all kinds of weather and travel, but these experiences are the ones to remember as they look back on their schooling in years to come.
From a Development perspective, I would like to share with you some updates that you may find helpful. With the support of our Parent Volunteer Coordinator (thank you Harm Hayre!) we have been looking at the volunteer opportunities available and hearing the concern of families trying to get to their 20 hours. As a result, we will be reducing the volunteer hour requirement to 15 hours per family starting now. There will still be a number of opportunities coming up, but we wanted to alleviate some of the concern about reaching that number. If you are completing hours outside of the Sign Up app, please keep note of them as you will be asked to input your volunteer hours in May. Thank you, as always, for the many many ways parents consistently step up to serve and enrich our community!
Another update that I am very excited to share is the incredible strides we have taken as a community in our goal to raise $150,000 for an activity bus. Due to the generosity of our families, we have raised $131,887 for the ‘Let’s Get Some Wheels’ Appeal. We will continue to work toward raising the $18K balance in order to move forward on that project but the Appeal is now complete. If you do wish to help us move the needle closer to the goal, you are always welcome to contribute.
We have a few major social events for parents coming up. First is the 90’s Throwback Night on February 9 at Sapperton Taphouse. Something magical happens when a great 90’s tune comes on, so we encourage parents to tap into a little nostalgia and join in the party. Another fantastic first for UA is the inaugural Parent Child Social coming up on Saturday, February 24 for students in Grades 1-5 and their parents. Games, food, dance, sports and friends will abound and it sounds like a great way to spend an evening. Thank you to PAX for all these creative event ideas!
The Gala will look a little different this year as ‘A Night in Monte Carlo’ will be held at an entirely re-imagined Urban Academy on May 4! The committee is already running at full steam with getting things rolling, but they have a few early requests. If you are affiliated with a restaurant that may be willing to help provide some of the food as a sponsor, or if you have items to contribute to the silent or live auction, they would love to hear from you! Sponsorships are also very welcome! Just reach out to gala@urbanacademy.ca if you can help in any of those ways. We are fortunate to have the community we do at UA, and we appreciate the roles all of you play as parents, cheerleaders, volunteers and participants!
Finally, best of luck this weekend to our delegation of 36 Senior Students taking part in the Vancouver Model UN Conference downtown! We know, as always, that they will make UA very proud!
Yours in Developing UA,
Sonja Kennedy
