I hope everyone received the first edition of the Urban Academy Roar magazine this week. If not, please check with your oldest UA child — perhaps it is still in a backpack! I am so impressed with the quality of the publication — the stories and the photos provide insight into so many of the amazing things our students experience daily. A huge thank you to Ms. Kennedy and Mr. Salazar for their work in bringing this project to life. I also wanted to personally thank everyone who has supported our Annual Appeal. We have had a fantastic response this week that will make a difference for students and staff!
Staying on the topic of philanthropy, our much anticipated Activity Bus will soon be a reality. It will provide more opportunities for our classes and teams to explore the Lower Mainland for field trips and competitions. The only reason the bus, like the playground and learning spaces that have come before it, has been able to happen is because of the generosity of our UA community. Additionally, with the funds we have already raised this year, you will start to see work begin on the garden project over at the UA Rousseau House. The team will be preparing a section of the front yard for the garden beds to be built and set up. This is another project made possible through your generosity. If you have not yet given this year, we would love to get to 100% parent participation and you can give online here.
This week as some universities had their reading break, it was very nice to see some of our alumni come back for a visit. From all accounts, they seem to be happy and have adjusted well to university life. Ms. Herman was very excited to hear feedback from a number of her former math students that they felt incredibly well prepared for first-year calculus and are doing very well in their courses. It is wonderful for teachers to get this kind of positive reinforcement from former students. It goes to show that UA is doing great work in preparing our students for their future studies!
Our current grads, the Class of 2025, had an overnight visit to Vancouver Island visiting UVIC and Vancouver Island University. The students were able to tour both schools, visit with UA alumni and get a first-hand sense of what university life looks and feels like. In between tours, the group visited the Malahat Skywalk, Ogden Point breakwater, and Goldstream Provincial Park to see the salmon run. This annual trip is a great way to help prepare our seniors for the next step in their educational journey.
Finally, we are very pleased to have submitted our Self-Study to CAIS. The document has been almost two years in the making and consists of over 1000 pages of information about Urban Academy. A big thank you to Ms. Dumortier who led the self-study process for us. Now we eagerly await for the Peer Review Team to arrive at the end of January for the accreditation visit.
Yours in education,
Mr. Mike Slinger
Head of School