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Summer Newsletter #2
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Dear Parents and Armbrae Community Members:
As the summer begins to wind down, I trust that you and your family have had time to enjoy your own summertime traditions, and that you’ve been able to get into that zone where time and routines don’t really matter.
This edition of our summer newsletter is not meant to interrupt this special time, but to gently prompt you to begin thinking about going back-to-school. More detailed information will be available in the first edition of the Two Weeks Ahead for the 2023-24 school year coming out on August 30th.
For now, I’d like to share with you news of three new strategic appointments that I am extremely excited about:
Deputy Head of School - Ally Read
In her new role as Deputy Head of School, Ms. Read will oversee the implementation of school-wide strategic priorities and work with our teaching faculty and other members of the administrative team to support excellence in teaching and learning across the school.
Ms. Read has fifteen years of experience as an educator, having previously taught high school English and Career Education as well as building the Armbrae Guidance program in her role as Head of University Guidance. For the past four years, she has combined this with her leadership as the Director of the Upper School.
Ms. Read holds a Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Acadia University in Wolfville and a Bachelor of Education from Western University. Prior to this, she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in English and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree with dual majors in Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Management, both from Saint Mary’s University.
Director of Finance and Operations - Alyssa Hill
Alyssa Hill, mother of two and current Armbrae parent, joins the Armbrae staff to take on a new role for the school: Director of Finance & Operations. To this role she brings ten years of financial advisory experience in both the private business and non-profit sectors - having served in various roles at Taylor Leibow LLP Chartered Accountant, McCay Duff LLP and most recently KPMG as Senior Manager.
Designated as a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Business Valuator, she offers insight and guidance to our school community as we move forward under our strategic plan and uphold our standards for excellence.
Head of Career & University Guidance - Michael Maki
Mike is originally from British Columbia, and joins us with 20+ years of experience as a University Advisor and Head of Guidance and University Counselling at some of the top schools around the globe including International School of Nido De Aguilas, Chili, Ridley College, Ontario and most recently the International School of Beijing, China. In total, Mike has worked at campuses in five different continents, and brings with him a truly global perspective.
Mike is looking forward to building on our already excellent Guidance programming, and he brings to Armbrae an impressive track record of success in matriculating students to the best universities in the world.
Mike earned his undergraduate degree from Simon Fraser University and graduate degree from University of California. Mike joins Armbrae Academy with his wife, Nicole, who will be teaching elementary at Armbrae and their daughter, Meleigha, who will be attending grade 12. Mike and his family are eager to be in Halifax and to be joining the Armbrae community.
Congratulations to Ally, and welcome to both Alyssa and Mike. These three appointments will be key to realising Armbrae’s strategy over the next few years, and to unleashing the potential in our children. I could not be more excited about these developments and about the level of talent and expertise they bring to our community.
That’s it from me for now. Please enjoy the rest of this edition, and the final few weeks of summer.
Cheers,
Steve.
General Announcements
New Student Orientation: Wednesday, August 30th
- 10:00am - 11:00am - Preschool & PrePrimary Orientation
- 11:00am - 12:00pm - Grades P-12 New Student Orientation
- *All students in Primary are welcome to attend.
- Everyone will meet in the AARC.
Other Back to School Dates:
- August 21st-25th: Last week of summer camps
- August 30th: New Student Orientation & Used Uniform Sale (10:00am-1:00pm)
- September 5th: First Day of Classes
- September 8th: CAS Fair & APA Welcome back BBQ (3:15pm-5:00pm)
Lunch Box: Ordering Lunches 2023-34
We are excited to be working with Lunchbox to make ordering lunches for your child(ren) as easy as can be! A detailed email will be sent out next week with the ordering information and instructions.
Mabel's Labels
If you are looking to start getting organised for the school year, use Mable’s Labels! Click “Support a Fundraiser”, type in Armbrae and part of the proceeds of your order will go back to our fundraising efforts for the school.
A Message from the Admissions Department
We are delighted to welcome new families to Armbrae and excited to see returning families back from summer vacation. We can hardly wait to get started and are ready to welcome our new families at our orientation on August 30, 2023.
It is important to note that we have new students starting in almost every class this coming school year, so we are happy to tell our new families, you are not alone. I encourage our Armbrae community to welcome new families and offer them any assistance they may need as they begin this new school year.
We look forward to welcoming everyone on campus in September. In the meantime don’t hesitate to reach out to the Admissions Office if you have any questions! See you all soon.
A Message From The Advancement Department:
Golf Tournament: Save the Date!
Our 3rd Annual Osprey Golf Tournament in support of our Annual Fund Campaign will be hosted at Osprey Ridge Golf Club on Friday, September 29th. There are lots of ways to get involved! If you are interested in volunteering or sponsoring the tournament, please reach out to mjackson@armbrae.ns.ca. To register a team, click here. All funds raised will go towards our Annual Fund Campaign including our Scholarship and Bursary Fund. Looking forward to seeing you on the links!
A Message From The APA
A Call for used uniform items & Sale - August 30th
- Drop off any used uniform items to the main office by Wednesday, August, 23rd.
- The used uniform sale will be taking place on August 30th from 10:0am-1:00pm.
Foundation Years and Lower School
Uniform requirements and school supply lists can be found on the Lower School myArmbrae Site. Please remember that all students entering Grades 5 and 6 will need their own device in September. 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.
Middle School
The Middle School myArmbrae site has a number of important documents for your perusal:
- Grade 7 & 8 Supply Lists
- The Middle School Guitar Requirements
- The Middle School Uniform Requirements
- The Readers Rumble Reading List
The Technology myArmbrae site has more detailed information regarding our 1-1 Computing Plan, including advice from Mr. Rhinelander as to which device may be best for your child. As you know, we are partnering with Yondr this year. Students will be expected to put all their Smart devices in their pouch during the academic day except if they leave campus at lunch. 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.
Bayside Trip
Please save the date for the Middle School Bayside trip happening 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. The approximate cost is $150.
Upper School
Class Trips:
Class trips this fall will take place from 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.
School Supplies, Uniforms & Schedules:
- The Upper School Supply list for the upcoming school year can be found here along with some helpful hints for organising your belongings for September.
- The Technology myArmbrae site has more detailed information regarding our 1-1 Computing Plan, including advice from Mr. Rhinelander as to which device may be best for your child.
- 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.
A Message From The Auxiliary Programme Department
We hope you have all had a fantastic summer! The Auxiliary Department has had a blast with our summer programs, and we wanted to share some highlights with you.
Firstly, Osprey Summer Camp was a huge success with a total of 310 campers joining us over the course of 9 weeks. It was wonderful to see both familiar and new faces on campus, and we enjoyed getting to know each and every one of our campers. We are especially thankful to those who came for multiple weeks and made our summer even more memorable.
Additionally, our Summer Academy offered various credit and non-credit courses over the span of 8 weeks. We are proud to have had 38 students take advantage of these incredible learning opportunities. We hope that you all had a valuable and enriching experience during Summer Academy.
As we approach the end of our summer programs, it's time to start looking ahead to the new school year. In the coming week, be on the lookout for an email with information on how to register for BeforeCare and Afterschool activities. We have exciting and engaging options planned, so don't miss out!
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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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