GRAMMAR GAZETTE

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Dear Fabulous Nova Lower School Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you and your family doing well as we progress through the school year. Our students are fully engaged in their classes and activities, and it’s been inspiring to see the enthusiasm and sense of community building throughout our school. At this point in the school year, we are focusing on reinforcing good habits and continuing to create a nurturing atmosphere where every student feels empowered to learn and grow. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to make this year a success for all.

Please note the following upcoming events. Detailed information can be found below in the newsletter.

• Grandparent & Special Person Day - Friday, October 11 (registration closed, volunteers needed)
• Unity Day - Wednesday, October 16 - Wear ORANGE & Uniform Bottoms!
• Classical Education Parent Education Night - Wednesday, October 16
• No School - Thursday, October 17, Friday, October 18, & Monday, October 21
• Picture Retake Day - Thursday, October 24
• Winter Clothing Drive - Tuesday, October 22, through Friday, November 22
• Lower School Drama Performance - Friday, October 25, 6:30 PM
  
• No School - Friday, November 1
• Fall Conferences - Thursday, November 21, & Monday, November 25
• Give to the Max Day - Thursday, November 21
• No School, Thanksgiving Break - Monday, November 25, through Friday, November 29

Be sure to read this month's Gazette to learn more about upcoming events and school information, and, as always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or ideas.

Warm Regards,

Ms. Tousignant

Parking and traffic around Nova Classical can be tricky, particularly at morning drop off and afternoon pick up. For the safety of our students, staff, and everyone in the Nova Classical community, please follow the rules of all posted street signs and any directions from staff, including if you are asked to move.

Please do not stop, park, or exit your vehicle in carpool lanes at drop-off or pick up, and move quickly and safely through carpool lines at dismissal. Click here for Nova Classical Transportation and Silent Dismissal Information

Nova Classical Academy is pleased to invite the special people in our students' lives so that they can experience the unique nature of our learning community. Grandparents and special persons will be greeted in the Great Room at a welcome table for check-in and refreshments and then escorted to classrooms.

The RSVP is now closed, but we are still looking for volunteers; please sign up here if you're interested in being a reception guide or hallway host! Feel free to contact Ms. Gabor at vgabor@novaclassical.org with any questions.

On Unity Day, October 16, students may wear orange shirts/tops to show their support and to make a powerful statement, helping inspire everyone to act with kindness, acceptance, and inclusion on Unity Day, during National Bullying Prevention Month, and EVERY day. Students are expected to to wear uniform pants/shorts/skirts. Students and staff will have the opportunity to sign the Unity Banner during lunch.

Please visit the MN Classical Education Conference website to learn more about this event on Wednesday, October 16, from 6:00-7:30 PM at the DoubleTree by Hilton Minneapolis Airport.

Slow Road Photo will released student photo galleries on October 3. Each family should have received an email link to their gallery. Look for an email from Slow Road for instructions on ordering school photos.

Retake Day is scheduled for October 24. Any students who were absent on Picture Day will automatically be included on our list. Students who have a photo from Picture Day and would like to have a retake photo done can register register here for their retake. This link is also included in all of our email communications with the families.

If you have any questions or concerns about images or ordering, please contact Slow Road directly at hello@slowroadphoto.com or (612) 293-6327.

We look forward to meeting with you at Parent-Teacher Conferences in November!

• Thursday, November 21, 2024, 4:30-8:00 PM, in-person only. Stop by the NPTO-Sponsored Parent Lounge in the Great Room between conferences for refreshments!

• Monday, November 25, 2024, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM, virtual only via Google Meet

• Please note that all Special Education conferences will be virtual

• All conference slots are 12 minutes long and are booked through PickATime

Look for a reminder about directions in November's Nova News. Families will be individually emailed directions by early November.

Help us give the gift of warmth!
We, with the support of the NPTO, are collecting new and gently used winter clothing to be distributed to families within our Nova Classical community. From October 22, through November 9, donations of hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, coats, snow pants, and boots can be dropped off at Miss Stella’s office, Room 402 in the main office.

If your student is in need of winter clothing, please fill out this Google form. Donations will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. While we cannot guarantee that we will be able to fulfill all requests completely, we will do our best to help as many families as possible!

Save the date! This year's Nova Classical's Family Multicultural Night is scheduled for Thursday, April 10, from 5:30-7:30 PM.

Family Multicultural Night is an event hosted by Nova Classical's National Honor Society students and Equity Team and is centered on celebrating the wide and rich cultures of each and every member of our community. We will again be inviting community members to host booths spotlighting your culture! We are also asking every family that attends the event to contribute to the community potluck, so consider what dish, snack, or treat is special to your family that you might want to share. We are looking forward to gathering with the community in April!

If your child is absent and work has been requested to be picked up, it will be placed on the shelf in the vestibule for pick-up. Families are kindly asked to not enter the building if their scholar is too sick to be at school. This approach helps maintain a healthy environment for all students and staff. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Winter after school club registration opens October 28, 2024. Check out all the offerings on the Extracurriculars page of the Nova website.

K-12 Basketball information:

If your student is interested in basketball and you are not currently on the mailing list, please contact the coaches to be added.

Boys Program Head Coach: John Carrier jcarrier@novaclassical.org

Girls Program Head Coach: Mychal Morris mmorris@novaclassical.org

A reminder as basketball season is almost here! Students in Grades K-8 must to be accompanied by a parent/guardian to attend all home athletic events. Students in Grades 9-12 may attend events without a parent/guardian present, but must purchase an annual student pass for $10. The student pass will get an individual student into any contest hosted on campus for volleyball, basketball, or soccer. Family passes are also available to purchase. Events are found here.

Passes and can be purchased online in advance, with a credit card at the door, or with Apple Pay on your mobile device. The ticketing site is located at the GoFan link in the tool bar of the extracurriculars calendar or by the Quick Links on the extracurricular page of Nova Classical's website.

Libraries open doors for reading, research, and resources! Nova Classical Student IDs double as Library Cards again this year! Through our LibraryGo partnership with the St. Paul Public Library (SPPL), all students have active library cards that can be used to check out up to five (5) books and materials, and to access their online databases. Help your student use their account online or at checkout at one of the 14 SPPL branches.

• Account number: Nova Classical’s school number (2209190300) + (the scholar's 4-digit lunch PIN number)
• Password: Your child’s birthday written MMDDYY, for example, January 26, 2012 would be 01262012

If you have questions about this program, contact Ms. Gabor at vgabor@novaclassical.org.

Everyone is welcome at Nova PTO meetings! The next virtual meeting is on Thursday, November 7, 2024 from 7:30-8:30 PM via Zoom (moved to Thursday due to the election).

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 842 4045 9837

Passcode: enrich

JOIN US! The Great Gatherings Family Carnival is on Saturday, November 9, at Nova Classical from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Nova Great Gatherings Family Carnival Event Details Click the "Carnival Details" button

TICKETS: Carnival RSVP REQUIRED by October 31

VOLUNTEER:

• Carnival Day Volunteer Slots
• Carnival Planning Committee

Grade Level Fall Meet-Ups will be scheduled before the mid-October break. Keep an eye out for the flyers in your child’s take home folder. Fall Meet-Ups are organized by each grade level's room parents and facilitated by the Lower School Parent Advisory Council. For more information, please contact Missy Smyth by email at mrsmyth08@gmail.com.

Save the Dates!

1. Spirit Wear will be sold during Grandparent/Special Person day from 8:30-10:30 AM.
2. Great Gatherings Family Carnival on Saturday, November 9, from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM, at Nova Classical
3. Nova PTO Meeting: December 3, from 7:30-8:30 PM, on Zoom
4. Free Ice-Skating Event: Sunday, December 15, 3:10-5:10 PM at Schulz Area in St. Paul

Follow NPTO on Facebook, Instagram, or visit their website for more information!

Parents and Community Members:

Apply to become an active volunteer to help support our scholars and school community! Click here to view the always-current list of opportunities and links to sign up. We still need help with brewing coffee and setting out breakfast for next week's 10/11 Grandparent & Special Person Day. Sign up to help collect tickets, run a game, or more at our 11/9 Great Gatherings Family Carnival!

SoR Volunteering Network:

Our School of Rhetoric Students (Grades 9-12) are required to log 80 hours of community service to graduate. Please help us connect our students with opportunities in the community. Please contact Ms. Voelker, School Counselor, Grades 8-12, with questions or ideas.

Personalized labels through namebubbles.com or www.mabelslabels.com work great! The cost for a set of labels is usually less than replacing one lost item. If not using personalized labels, please write your scholar’s first name (or initial) & complete last name clearly on all items. There is often a designated “This Item Belongs To:” spot inside items for this purpose. When items are clearly labeled, we can get them back to your scholar quickly. If not, your scholar will need to look through the many items that end up in the Lost & Found.

Unlabeled uniform items may be difficult to reunite with their owners, because many items look alike and are often the same brand & size as one’s classmates. Thank you for helping us keep unlabeled, unclaimed Lost & Found items out of landfills!

October:

11: Grandparents/Special Persons Day

16: Unity Day

16: Classical Parent Education Night

17: No School (Staff Work Day)

18: No School (Building Closed)

21: No School (Building Closed)

24: Picture Retakes

25: Lower School Drama Performance at 6:30 PM

28: Board of Directors Meeting at 6:00 PM

28: Winter Activities Registration Opens

31: End of Q1 (LS) / Midterms (US)

November:

1: Enrollment Application Window for 2024-2025 Opens (for new students only)

1: No School (Staff Work Day)

5: Virtue Assembly @ 9:00 AM

7: Enrollment Open House from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM

7: NPTO Meeting from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM (Zoom)

9: Great Gatherings Family Carnival (NPTO)

15-16: Nova Classical Drama Production: Little Women

21: Give to the Max Day

21: Evening K-12 Conferences from 4:30 PM to 8:00 PM

25: Board of Directors Meeting at 6:00 PM

25: K-12 Conferences from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM

26: No School (Staff Professional Development Day)

27-29: No School (Building Closed)

December:

3: Virtue Assembly at 9:15 AM

3: NPTO Meeting from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM (Zoom)

15: All School Ice Skating Party 3:10-5:10 @ Shultz Arena in St. Paul

16-19: Lower School Book Week

19: Festive Sweater Day for K-12 students

20: No School (Staff Work Day)

23-Jan 3: No School (Building Closed)

See Full Calendar

Athletics Calendar