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Two Weeks Ahead
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A Message from Mr. Clarke
Dear Armbrae Families and Community Members:
Of course, this bi-weekly newsletter is titled “Two Weeks Ahead”, but every once in a while it is worth reflecting on what has just happened.
At assembly this morning, we celebrated the successes of many of our students that were involved in activities this past weekend. To catch you up, last weekend was the kind of weekend you are striving for in an independent school. We hosted both the Junior and Senior Provincial Debating Championships, as well as the Division 2 Provincial Boys Volleyball Championship. Meanwhile, our Girls Volleyball team earned the Bronze medal at the Division 3 Provincial Girls Volleyball Championship in Bridgewater, and our Boys Division 1 Basketball team won the Halifax Grammar Classic tournament. Please read on for the list of Debating winners and a short recap of the Amazing Shake.
Board of Governors Update
On November 8th, our Board Chair Jill Hennigar invited applications from passionate community members who were eager to join our Board. Applications closed on November 14th, and we were thrilled to see such a high level of interest from our community.
The Board is also committed to multi-year succession planning, so there were two goals in running this application process. First, was to identify individuals who were interested, had the time, and complemented our skills matrix to move into a Board position. Secondly, we wanted to find people to support the board and the school by joining a sub-committee.
At this time, we are excited to share with you that four new Governors have been appointed: Carolyn Bragg, Ron Lovett, Kim Stewart, and Victor Zhu. The full Board now includes 12 Governors in total, and you can check out the bios of our new and returning Board members on the Leadership section of our website. Again, thank you to everyone that expressed interest in this kind of volunteerism and welcome aboard Carolyn, Ron, Kim, and Victor!
Cheers,
Steve.
Important Upcoming Dates:
December 7-9: Osprey Winter Classic Basketball Tournament
December 13th: Career Cafe at Coburg (8:00am-10:00am)
December 13th: APA Upper School Parent Social at Coburg (6:30pm-8:30pm)
December 14th: Winter Celebration Showcase: Primary- Grade 8 (2:00pm & 6:00pm shows)
December 14th: Middle School Showcase (12:40pm)
December 15th: APA Holiday Kickoff
December 18-January 1: Holiday Break
December 20th: Annual Alumni Night (6:00pm-8:00pm) RSVP
General School Announcements
APA Holiday Gift Basket
The Armbrae Parents’ Association first annual Ultimate Holiday Gift Basket is here!
We’ve put together a prize package worth over $900, including a $250 AirBNB Gift Card, a $100 gift card to Mezza, cosmetics, wine and spirits, and fun holiday items! Perfect to pamper yourself or share with others this holiday season. The Raffle closes on December 14th. This raffle is in support of the Armbrae Academy Parents’ Association and is one of our major fundraising efforts this year. The funds raised by ticket sales are crucial to ensuring the APA can continue its work supporting the Armbrae students and parents with tuition assistance through their scholarship and bursary fund, invest in important school equipment such as musical instruments, visual art supplies, and upgrades to Armbrae’s technology systems. By purchasing tickets, you are helping the APA with all these important causes as well as allowing the continuation of the fun events throughout the year hosted by the APA; the welcome BBQ, harvest breakfast, winter fun day for students, and more. Please spread the word to all your friends and family by sharing the link by email or on social media! We hope you will help us get the word out to as many people as possible to ensure we reach our goal. Click here to purchase your tickets and share with your friends. Thanks for your support!
Lunchbox Inclement Weather Policy
Given that we had our first snow day of the year, it’s worth letting you know how we handle hot lunches when school is closed.
- By 8:00AM, Armbrae notifies all food vendors and Lunchbox that the lunch orders for that day are cancelled.
- Lunchbox will then credit your account within 3 business days.
Amazing Shake Finalists
Thank you to all our community members for making the 4th Annual Amazing Shake a tremendous success. We took great pride in the engagement and participation of all our students, and collectively observed notable growth in their skills from last year. Congratulations to Isaac Leigh, Morgan Clarke and Sehajleen Kaur for being our finalists and to Sehajleen Kaur being the overall winner.
Armbrae Invitational Debate
Congratulations to the Armbrae Debate teams who competed in the Armbrae Invitational Debate Tournament. We extend our gratitude to all community members who volunteered, contributing to the success of the event. Junior and Senior teams swept the finals - with some amazing results. Congratulations to the Top 9 medal recipients: Omar Abdel Wahab, Jack Harrington, Wyatt Clarke, Hannah Muchangi, Olivia Feng, Allie MacSween and James Burke as well as to our junior finalists, Allie & James and Olivia & Hannah, and additionally to Jack & Wyatt for making it to the senior final as well. Congratulations team!
Middle School Mitten Tree
The Mitten Tree is coming along nicely. We are accepting donations until Wednesday, December 13th. When school ends the mittens will be donated to Adsum House.
Foundation Years
Thank you so much to all families for their donations to Feed Nova Scotia! We had so much fun stuffing the bus for a great cause.
Winter Celebration Showcase:
Armbrae's second annual Winter Celebration Showcase is quickly approaching. Please join us on Thursday, December 14th. There will be a matinee performance at 2:00pm and an evening performance at 6:00pm. Tickets are not required for either show, but typically grandparents and friends come to the matinee and parents come to the evening performance.
Please note: all students from Primary-Grade 6 are expected to attend both performances. We will be celebrating the arrival of winter, Indigenous Earth Celebration, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Lunar New Year and Ramadan. If your family celebrates one of these holidays and would like to contribute to the writing of the introductions, please reach out to Jessica Barry at jbarry@armbrae.ns.ca. The dress code for the Celebration Showcase is formal wear in white, black and/or metallic colours. Grade Four can also wear the colour red in celebration of Lunar New Year.
Holiday Kick Off!
The APA will be hosting the annual Holiday Kick Off on Friday, December 15th. Students in the Lower School will have a blast at the different holiday themed stations and Middle School students will be decorating gingerbread houses before the gift exchange. Thank you in advance to all the parent volunteers who make this afternoon so much fun for the students! Please note that all students are allowed to wear any holiday themed clothes on this day so break out those Christmas or Hanukkah sweaters!!!
Middle School
Congratulations to our students for actively engaging in the Future Design School (FDS) Design Sprint yesterday. I was struck by the level of their engagement and collaboration within their groups, as well as their inventive and critical thinking approach when addressing a sustainability challenge impacting Halifax. Their poise and confidence during the presentation of their pitches was impressive. Please check out the photos and videos posted on the Homeroom App. Sarah Prevette remarked that a number of our students sought her out as well as members of her team to thank her and shake her hand!
All Middle School students who haven chosen to participate received their classmate's name and some gift suggestions today for the Middle School Secret Holiday Gift Exchange. Each student participating must purchase and wrap a gift, for under $20, and deliver it to their homeroom by Tuesday, Dec. 12th. The gifts will be exchanged during our Holiday Kickoff on Friday, Dec. 15th.
Armbrae's Second Annual Middle School Winter Showcase is fast approaching on Thursday, December 14th. The Grade 7 Collective Creation Drama Performance will begin at 12:40pm in the AARC followed by the Grade 8 Guitar Performance right afterwards at approximately 1:45pm. Parents are welcome to tour the Art Show before and after the guitar performance. Grade 8 students are expected to wear their Number 1 uniform and Grade 7 have organized various costumes for themselves. Prepare to be entertained!
Upper School
Career Cafe
Students in Grades 9-12 will participate in our annual Career Cafe on Wednesday, December 13th. The event will take place in the Coburg Dining Hall and students are to wear their Number One Uniforms. Over the course of the event, students will hear from keynote speakers and have an opportunity to learn more about various careers from four different guests in a small roundtable discussion format. Thank you to all of the parents and community members who have volunteered to attend and share their experiences with our students!
APA Parent Social
On Wednesday, December 13th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm, the Armbrae Parents’ Association is hosting a parent social for Upper School parents at the Coburg Campus gymnasium. Please join us for an opportunity to connect with fellow Upper School parents, enjoy a hot cocoa bar and listen to holiday music, as well as the chance to see the Coburg Campus (if you haven’t had the chance yet)!
In addition to the Holiday Kick Off activities happening at the Lower School, we will also be assembling holiday treat bags that will be given to the Upper School students before they depart for their holiday break.
Please come and help assemble treat bags, feel free to bring a peanut-free snack to share, or just show up for some hot cocoa and a relaxing night before the holidays with fellow Armbrae Upper School parents.
If you have any questions about the night, please contact Kate Britton at
britton.kate@gmail.com.
We look forward to seeing you there!
The Armbrae Parents’ Association
Auxiliary Programming
- CAS Newsletter HERE
- Holiday Camp Registration is open!!! We will be offering camps from Dec 18-22nd.
- Register HERE Armbrae student discount WELOVEARMBRAE
- FLYER
Athletics
Volleyball
- Provincial Tournaments: The Boys Volleyball team hosted the Division 2 Volleyball Provincials and our boys placed 6th in the Province.
- The Girls Volleyball team went to Bridgetown for Division 3 Provincials last weekend and won the bronze medal.
- Congratulations to both teams!
Basketball
- The boys team played on Monday night and won against Bayview High School
- The boys participated in the CAIS Tournament in Montreal and placed 3rd out of 24 teams in the country.
- The girls played in the Halifax Grammar Classic and placed third!
- The Senior Boys Basketball Team won the Grammar Classic.
- Thursday, December 7, we are hosting the Armbrae Classic. We play at 2:00pm and 7:00pm on Thursday.
- The Senior Girls Basketball Team is off to Moncton for a Tournament.
- Please check the school calendar for practices and games
Well done, Ospreys!
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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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