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Two Weeks Ahead - End of Year Note
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Dear Parents and Armbrae Community Members:
It has been a busy couple of weeks since we last saw each other at the Celebration of Learning and Graduation Ceremony. Last week, we had a very productive series of professional development workshops. And this week we are closing out the 2022-23 school year, and starting our summer programming.
I would like to thank you again for a terrific year and for your consistent support for the Armbrae community. As we move into the summer season, our communications plan is as follows: today will be the final edition of the Two Weeks Ahead; and we will send out two detailed summer newsletters on July 26th and August 16th.
In the meantime, enjoy a safe and happy summer.
Cheers,
Steve.
General Announcements
Report cards will be released this Friday.
Homestay Opportunity
We have a current grade 11 student who is looking for a homestay for the upcoming school year. If you are interested, please reach out to Suzanne Morrision.
Halifax Pride
Halifax’s annual pride parade is happening on Sunday, July 23rd @ 2 PM. Come out and walk with us, get some exercise, and help us show our ongoing support for inclusion. The parade begins at the corner of Robie Street and Cogswell Road. If you are interested in purchasing a t-shirt, please fill out this form. If you have any further questions, please reach out to Melanie Cleary at m.cleary@unb.ca
Golf Tournament
Save the Date! Friday, September 29th
Armbrae will be hosting their 3rd Annual Golf Tournament at Osprey Ridge Golf Club on Friday, September 29th. Keep an eye out for registration and more information to come later this summer!
International Summer Camp Opportunity
The International Language Institute is offering a summer camp programme for students who are improving their English as a second language and interested in exploring Halifax. For more information click here.
Foundation Years and Lower School
Thank you for a fantastic year! As you head into the summer, please be sure to check the Lower School myArmbrae Site for important information such as uniform requirements and school supply lists! A reminder to current Grade 4 and 5 parents that students will need their own device next year. For more detailed information regarding our 1-1 Computing Plan, including advice from Mr. Rhinelander as to which device may be best for your child, please refer to the email I sent or visit our website.
Grade 2 Classroom Library: We are looking to build our Grade 2 classroom library with picture books and age appropriate chapter books. If you have books at home that your children have outgrown, we would greatly appreciate the donation. Books can be dropped off over the summer to the main office.
Summer Reading: If you are looking for some good books to read over the summer, please check out The TD Summer Reading Program at the public library. It is a fantastic opportunity for students of all ages to set personal reading goals for the summer and have lots of fun! For students in Grades 4-6, The Woozles Battle of the Books reading list can be found on Lower School myArmbrae Site. You will also find a Summer Reading BINGO Challenge–good for all ages!
Lower School Musical
In 2019, our Lower School Musical was Peter Pan. Our current Grade 9 class had the lead roles in that musical. Peter Selinger (father of Sophie and Leila) has put together a recording of the musical and it is available to watch or download by clicking on the following link: https://www.mathstat.dal.ca/~selinger/pan/
Middle School
As we transition from school to summer, I wanted to reach out to you to make a few suggestions, review expectations, and prepare you to look ahead.
Supply Lists
The Middle School myArmbrae site has a number of important documents for your perusal:
- The Grade 7 Orientation Informational Slides
- The Middle School Guitar Requirements
- The Readers Rumble Reading List
- Grade 7 & 8 Supply Lists
Readers Rumble
Are you going to be in Grade 7 or 8 next year? Looking for some great summer reads? Armbrae Academy has teamed up with Agricola Street Books to launch a citywide Middle School reading competition, slated for April, 2024. Click here for the exciting book list, curated by Oona Craig. It’s also posted on the Middle School myArmbrae site. Happy reading!
Bayside Trip
Please save the date for Bayside this fall: September 14 & 15th. The approximate cost is $150.
Laptops
As your child enters Middle School in September, they will be required to bring their own device to school. This device may be a chromebook or a laptop; an iPad is not recommended due to its limitations in some educational sites. Middle School students will continue to focus on writing skills and paper and pencil written activities. However, students will also use more technology such as Brightspace, Edwin, Google Docs and Google Slides and will use the internet on a more regular basis for research assignments. It is important to note, Armbrae will not be lending Chromebooks to students next year. For more detailed information regarding our 1-1 Computing Plan, including advice from Mr. Rhinelander as to which device may be best for your child, please visit our website.
Smartphones
As you know, we will be partnering with Yondr - a San Francisco based company that deploys a pouch system to create socially acceptable phone-free spaces. Yondr is well known within the education and entertainment industries for working with schools and artists to create smartphone free environments. Check out this video to learn more about the Yondr system.
We have had feedback from families who are concerned about children going off campus for lunch without access to their Smartphone. Please note that we are working with Yondr to better understand what processes are in place at their partner schools to allow students to check out/in of their phone at lunch. Please stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
At this age, it can be very distracting for students to receive messages while they are working. Before coming to school in September, we encourage you to look closely at your child’s device with your child to turn off notifications for various messaging apps during school hours. We will spend time the first week of school teaching students the various ways to set their devices to “do not disturb mode.” If you must reach your child during the school day, please phone Mrs. Langille at the front office.
Upper School
Please save the date for class trips this fall: September 14th & 15th. Students depart from school the morning of the 14th and return to campus by the end of the school day on the 15th. Grades 9 & 10 will be returning to Sherbrooke Lake Camp and Grades 11 & 12 will be heading to Camp Mush-a-Mush. The approximate cost will be $100 per student.
The Upper School Supply list for next year can be found here along with some helpful hints for organising your belongings for September. Uniform requirements can be found here - please ensure that you order the appropriate uniform items in time for them to arrive before school starts in September.
Student timetables are sent out via email ahead of the first day of school along with information on the course change request process.
Auxiliary Programmes
Join us for Wowzer Wednesdays: 1:30pm-2:30pm in the AARC
WOWZER Wednesdays will present a unique, fun and interactive family performance fit for all ages! Open to all community members.
Admission: $5 a child (free for children under 2)
- July 5th: Mad Science
- July 26th: Mr. J Magic Show
- Aug 5th: Wontanara Drum and Dance
- Aug 23rd: SuperHero Storytime & Face Paint
Osprey Summer Camps
Discount code for camps WELOVEARMBRAE
Summer Academy Discount code for Armbrae families SUMMERLEARNING2023.
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Armbrae Academy
Oxford Campus: 1400 Oxford St, Halifax, NS B3H 3Y8 ~ 902-423-7920
Coburg Campus: 6430 Coburg Rd, Halifax NS, B3H 2A6 ~ 782-641-3834
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