The Urban Academy Times

In This Issue

Welcome Ms. Dhaliwal

Grade 1 Canadian Symbols

Grade 4 Light & Sound Art

Kindergarten Fabric Art

In Other News

2015 Gala
Congratulations Mrs. Kirk
Welcome Ms. Crowley
Upcoming Events
Follow Us!

2015 Gala

Thank you to Jennifer Thompson and the Gala committee for putting on a fabulous event! The Tribute to Bollywood was our biggest and best Gala yet!

Also a huge thank you to our community for your support. With your help, the gala raised over $47,000 for the school!

Congratulations!

Congratulations Mrs.Kirk on the birth of her new little boy. Ashton Clifford James Kirk was born April 3, 2015 at 6:35am, weighing 6.10lbs and measuring 51 cm. All is well with baby and mama.

Welcome Ms. Crowley!

As Urban Academy continues to grow, the Admissions Team has had to grow as well to keep pace.

We are very pleased to welcome Ms. Kerri Crowley to the team in the role of Admissions Officer.

She hails from Ireland and has a background in marketing and public relations.

Please be sure to say 'hi' and help her feel at home in the Urban Academy community!

2014/2015 Issue: 3

April Issue

It has been a very successful second term. Our students led a successful Science Fair, with three Senior School students off to the Regional Science Fair at UBC this week. Our graduating students are well into preparing for their final term and applying to a range of post-secondary institutions. They have heard back positively from a number of schools already and so are becoming very focused on their futures!

Our Gala Committee hosted another fabulous Gala for our school community, raising funds for our current programs as well as tucking a good portion away for our new school. Guests enjoyed a wonderful evening of food, music, dancing and connecting with friends and neighbours in our school community. Our Parent Auxiliary has also been busy with their Clothing and Bottle Drive, Gift card fundraiser and movie nights for the younger set.

We are looking forward to our upcoming Artastic celebration. This will be our first showing of our student art work in a professional gallery. The Braid Street Gallery will host us on Thursday, April 16 from 6:30- 8:30 and again the following day. It is a wonderful opportunity to see our student's work on display, as well as that of a number of community members. Please join us to enjoy the outstanding artwork presented in this exceptional setting.

April and May promise to be busy as we prepare for our French Appreciation Week, our traditional Mother's Day Tea and our Spring plays. Staff are also planning camp for both the Senior and Junior Schools. Urban Academy is in the process of welcoming a number of new students for September and we are deep into our plans for our new school expansion. It is a full and productive time at Urban Academy and we are all engaged in the future of our school. Our expansion project is on to public hearing in May.

Thank you to our community for their support and work with us on behalf of our students. They are an energetic, thriving group and it is very gratifying to see their growth and development.

Mrs. Cheryle Beaumont

Head of School

Welcome Ms. Dhaliwal!

Ms. Dhaliwal joins us as a Kindergarten teacher, covering for Mrs. Kirk while she is on maternity leave. Please welcome her to the Urban Academy community!

Ms. Dhaliwal has a diploma in Early Childhood Education from Langara College and a BA in Education and Psychology from Simon Fraser University. She also obtained her teaching certificate at SFU.

She has worked with students from infants to twelve-year-olds for over 9 years. Some of these experiences include being a youth camp leader, an infant/toddler and 3-5 daycare program caregiver, family childcare worker, youth program coordinator, a nanny and a Kindergarten to Grade 3 teacher in a small rural community in Northern BC. In her spare time Ms. Dhaliwal enjoys being outdoors and travelling.

Grade 1 Canadian Symbols

Grade 1A have been discovering facts about where they live. They have learned about the symbols that represent Canada, and the various wildlife that live in different parts of Canada.

As a part of this unit they will have a field trip to Fort Langley to see the Fort and visit the museum.

The children are continuing to investigate the history and aboriginal peoples of Canada. They are currently designing and painting their own totem poles.

Mrs. Churton

Grade 1A Teacher

Grade 4 Light & Sound Art

During our Light and Sound Unit of Inquiry, grade 4 students explored the properties of light and sound. Through experiments, self-directed research and arts infusion, students were able to investigate things

like: how light travels, how light reflects and refracts, how sound is transmitted and how pitch and volume relates to vibrations.

For their final project, students worked with a partner to design an art piece that incorporated their knowledge of light and sound. This open-ended project allowed students to explore their creativity, as the only guidelines were that their project had to demonstrate at least one of the properties of light or sound. Most students were able to incorporate properties of both light and sound, which showcased their strong understanding of our unit. It was amazing to see all of the different projects! Some of the projects included were: a disco ball, a shadow dog park and a musical instrument.

Students presented their art piece to the class and we discussed each piece in detail. We proudly displayed students' art pieces in our classroom.

The following quotes showcase some of the students' feelings about our unit:

"We did a lot of experiments which was fun and we learned a lot. It was really hands on which was nice and the project was a nice way to close the unit." - Samaya

"I liked how it was independent and it was really open. We got to choose what we wanted to do. It was fun." - Flynn

Ms. Corlin

Grade 4 Teacher

Kindergarten Fabric Art

In Art, the students have been introduced to the concepts of line, colour, pattern, and shape. We took an assortment of fabric scraps and used our imagination to create wonderful works of art. We connected this art lesson to our literacy lesson on story telling. Once each student had completed their piece, they told a story of what their artwork represented within their story.

Anika-"This is a bed, it is for a queen that is why it is so fancy."

Krisjan-"This is the person in my story, he is wearing lots and lots of clothes."

Mrs. McBride

Kindergarten Teacher

Event Update

A big thank you to everyone who has already stepped in to helped plan, set up, or participate in UA events! Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

April 2015

13th: PAX Flower Fundraiser Begins

15th: Run for Water Assembly

16th: Artastic! Art Show at 100 Braid Street Studios

27th: French Appreciation Week

May 2015

8th: Mother's Day Tea

13th: Run for Water

18th: Victoria Day Holiday - No school

21st: Senior Spring Play

22nd: PAX Friday Night Movie Night

29th: Junior Spring Play