Dear UA Families,
The Urban Academy staff are reenergized after a couple of weeks of intensive planning, meetings, professional development workshops, and idea generation, and we are excited to welcome you all back to school. One of our key focus points this week was about connection and belonging. We have heard it so clearly from UA families how much you appreciate the connections that teachers have with your children, and we have worked to keep that at the forefront of our minds. On Tuesday, we were led in a fabulous professional development workshop on communication that we know will be greatly beneficial this year.
We are excited to share with you our new Community Handbook (PDF), which answers questions families may have, and is to be used as a reference book for all things UA. The Handbook reinforces that Urban Academy is a place that values all members of our community and where everyone is respected, included, safe, and supported to be their authentic selves. It also details how we all – families, students, and staff – can nurture connections, and provides guidance on how we continue to support each other throughout the year.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday, September 3 to launch our year with a bang. On Tuesday, there will be formal Meet the Teacher sessions in the afternoon where you will get a glimpse of all the amazing opportunities our students will experience this year. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect/reconnect with families, friends, and staff at our Back to School Celebration. We have had a beautiful summer in the southwest of BC and that is supposed to continue into next week – a perfect way for us to transition into the first days of school! It should be an enjoyable afternoon to visit the Rousseau Outdoor Space and buy something delicious from the food trucks in the newly paved play area. We will have to stay off the grass as it is still growing and getting strong.
I am grateful to be a part of the UA community. I continue to marvel at how compassionate our teachers are, and how they purposefully focus every part of their day on how to honour the individual and build community at the same time. How fortunate are we all to be a part of such a community?!
Wishing you a wonderful long weekend of sunshine and family time. We can’t wait to see you all on Tuesday.
Yours in gratitude,
Brenda Ball