GRAMMAR GAZETTE

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Dear Fabulous Nova Lower School Families,

As the calendar year winds down, it’s a great time to celebrate the hard work, growth, and achievements our students have accomplished so far. The energy and dedication they bring to learning every day are truly inspiring, and we’re excited to finish the year on a strong and positive note.

This month is also an opportunity to reflect on the incredible support and collaboration within our school community. Whether through classroom activities, events, or simply being there for one another, the connections we share make our school a special place. As we look ahead to winter break, we hope it provides your family with time to relax, recharge, and enjoy time together. Thank you for continuing to be such an important part of our journey!

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

• Monday, December 16-Thursday, December 19: Book Week!
• Friday, December 20: No School - Staff Work Day
• Monday, December 23-Friday, January 3: No School, Winter Break
• Monday, January 6: School Resumes

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 concerns.

Warm Regards,

Ms. Tousignant

At the beginning of the school year, 5th graders can opt into a program where they volunteer to help younger students. We are thrilled to share that over 50 fifth graders hold either a voluntary "buddy" role or a chosen student leadership position! Our amazing 5th graders willingly serve as lunch helpers, spelling buddies, organization buddies, math class assistants, kindergarten class helpers, and as the team behind preparing and delivering morning announcements. A huge thank you to these dedicated scholars, as well as our Junior Coaches (which include 4th graders) and Student Proxeny officers. Your efforts are truly appreciated!

Book Week is December 16-19 this year. Parents are invited to attend the following events:

Battle of the Books – Monday, December 16 @ 2:30-3:30 PM

Students in grades 3-5 will be competing, answering questions about 12 books they've read as a team. The top 10 teams will advance to Round 2, taking place in April. Students that have ordered Battle of the Books shirts can wear them on this day. The shirts will be distributed the week before the event.

Book Character Assemblies – Wednesday, December 18

• Grades K, 3 & 5: 8:50-9:20 AM

• Grades 1, 2 & 4: 9:35-10:05 AM

Students are invited to dress as book characters! If they are not dressed as a book character, they should be in their uniform.

Enrollment application for the 2025-2026 school year is open. Please visit our website for information. All applications submitted by January 31, 2025, at 4:00 PM, will be entered into the enrollment lottery in February 2025. Current students do not need to reapply.

Students should be sent to school with the warmest outerwear possible. Per our policy, students enjoy outdoor recess as long as the temperature is zero degrees or higher or negative 5 degrees or higher with wind chill. It is imperative that your child(ren) come to school with the appropriate gear — coat, hat, gloves, boots, snow pants, neck/face warmer, etc. — so that they may stay safe and warm while at play. Thank you for your help ensuring your child is warm when playing outdoors during recess!

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 you are interested in sharing a performance (e.g., dance, music, skit, recitation, etc.) related to your culture, please email equitycoordinator@novaclassical.org to express your interest! Also, keep an eye out in the future for an opportunity to contribute funds to this years FMN!

Get Ready for SOS Days at Scholar Zone!

Our next SOS Days are right around the corner, giving your kids a perfect place to relax, explore, and have fun on their days off! With a variety of creative activities and plenty of free-choice time, it’s all about unstructured fun in a safe and welcoming space.

Upcoming Dates:

• Friday, 12/20/2024
• Thursday, 1/2/2025
• Friday, 1/3/2025
• Friday, 1/17/2025

Let your scholars unwind and enjoy their days off with us!

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.

Registration is now open for the new middle school, girls-only basketball team! Open to girls in grades 5-8. The season begins January 6 and ends mid-March. This program focuses on developing skills, learning strategies of the game, getting connected to Nova Knights basketball, and having fun! Students will be broken out into two teams based on skill level. More information can be found here.

K-4 Winter Basketball Starts January 11, 2025 – Sign Up ASAP! If you have a child in K-4 who's interested in basketball, Nova Classical offers Saturday morning basketball starting January 11 through March 3, 2025. These sessions are good for beginners and experienced players as we will be using a mix of skill building and live play. This winter the emphasis will be on playing 3-on-3 or 4-on-4, as well as building base skills like shooting, finishing at the rim, dribbling, passing, defense, etc. There are separate sessions for K-1 and 2-4, but they do fill up fast. Please click this link register.

Spring Club Registration opens January 27, 2025 – Offerings include Writing Club (Grades 4-6), Science Olympiad (Grade 5), KidCreate (Grades K-2 and 3-5), Astronomy Club (Grades 3-5), Chess Club (Grades 2-8), LS Drama (Grades 2-5). You can register on the Extracurriculars page of the Nova website or by clicking this link.

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.

The next NovaPTO Meeting is Tuesday, January 7, 2025, from 7:30-8:30 PM via Zoom only.

Meeting ID: 842 4045 9837

Passcode: enrich

Interested in joining the Lower School Advisory Council? There are still grade level reps needed! Email Missy for more information at mrsmyth08@gmail.com.

Save the Dates:

12/15/2024: Free Ice-Skating Event from 3:10-5:10 PM at Schulz Area in St. Paul

12/20/2024: Upper School Party at Dave & Buster's (purchase tickets here)

Click here to see the many ways you can volunteer with NovaPTO.

Follow NPTO on Facebook, Instagram, or visit their website for more information and get in touch with Nova Classical families when you sign up for the Family Directory!

The Nova Classical Board of Directors is seeking a Community Member candidate to serve through the remainder of this school year (through June 30, 2025). Community members cannot be a Nova employee or a parent/guardian of a student enrolled at Nova Classical, but could be the grandparent of a student. Community member candidates must reside in the state of Minnesota and be at least 21 years old.

Please contact Becky Lund, chair of the Governance Committee (governance@novaclassical.org), with questions or if you know of someone who might be interested in supporting Nova Classical at the board level.

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. Sign up to help make or distribute hot cocoa at the Free All-School Ice-Skating party or during school on the last day before winter break!

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!

December:

15: NPTO hosts the All School Ice Skating Party, 3:10-5:10 PM, at 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)

January:

1-3: No School (Building Closed)

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

16: End of Quarter 2 (LS) /Semester 1 (US)

17: No School (Staff Work Day)

20: No School (Building Closed)

27: Board of Directors Meeting at 6:00 PM

February:

4: Virtue Assembly @ 3pm

4: NPTO Meeting from 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM (Zoom)

6-7: One Act Play Festival

14: No School (Staff Professional Development Day)

17: No School (Building Closed)

24: Board of Directors Meeting at 6:00 PM

See Full Calendar

Athletics Calendar