NOVA NEWS - September 2024

Dear Nova Classical Community,

Welcome to the first edition of Nova News for the 2024-2025 school year! We’re thrilled to have about 1,050 students enrolled this year, including over 100 new faces joining the Nova Classical community. As we kick off this academic year, it’s a great time for all of us—whether you're new or returning—to reflect on the core values that make our school unique and what it means to choose Nova.

Our school is guided by a set of beliefs that our Board has affirmed in the strategic plan:

• We believe we learn not for school but for life.

• We believe in the core virtues: justice, fortitude, prudence, temperance, and wisdom.

• We believe students learn how to learn in Nova Classical Academy’s classical education model.

• We believe supportive relationships between students, staff, and families are necessary for students to reach their full potential.

• We believe in fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment.

• We believe ethical and prudent financial decision-making ensures the continued existence of our model.

In addition, Nova Classical Academy promises to be an inclusive community with a shared commitment to an exceptional, foundational education that teaches thought and expression of the mind and heart, resulting in compassionate and articulate graduates poised to engage as thoughtful global citizens.

These beliefs and our promise to you are what we call the Nova Choice. We take this commitment seriously as we work together to nurture and develop each student’s potential. We’re excited to embark on another incredible year with you!

It’s a Great Day to Be a Knight!

Dr. Brett Wedlund

We invite our community members and students to share their stories, achievements, and upcoming events for a chance to be featured in Nova News! Whether it's highlighting a student group, activity, or special event, we welcome your submissions.

To ensure a smooth process, we've developed some guidelines for coaches, advisors, teachers, staff, students, and parent volunteers. These guidelines are designed to help streamline submissions and ensure we capture the best of what Nova Classical has to offer.

Please see the attached guidelines for more details on how to submit your items. Remember, you can also have your events or activities considered for our social media channels by emailing them to socialmedia@novaclassical.org and contact@novaclassical.org.

We look forward to showcasing the amazing things happening in our community!

The City of St. Paul has started work on the city's new multi-sport turf field at Victoria Park, across the street from Nova Classical! The groundbreaking ceremony was celebrated on August 9, and crews have been getting right to work creating the multi-sport turf field as a first step in developing this 40-acre public park.

We are working with the city to use Victoria Avenue together and appreciate your patience and excitement for this community upgrade! For more information on the field and construction updates, check this project updates page from the St. Paul Parks and Rec website.

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

Click here for Nova Classical Transportation and Silent Dismissal Information

Slow Road Photo is excited to capture this year's scholars at our annual student Picture Day this year on September 18, with retakes on October 24. Look for an email from Slow Road for instructions on ordering school photos.

If you have any questions or concerns about images or ordering, please contact Slow Road directly at hello@slowroadphoto.com.

Save the Date! Please join us for Parent Education Night on Tuesday, October 8, from 5:30-7:30 PM. We'll be having mini-learning sessions on subjects such as classical education; how to help your child at home with Latin, math, and reading; best practice for studying and organization; and more!

To RSVP for this event, please click here.

Fall activities and athletics are off to a flying start! Come out and support your classmates at any of the upcoming events. Events are found 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 either, volleyball, basketball, or soccer. Family passes are also available to purchase.

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.

Boys Basketball Information

Nova Knights boys basketball will be starting up fall activities soon for students in Grades K-12. If your son is interested in basketball and you aren't on our mailing list, please email Coach Carrier at jcarrier@novaclassical.org to be added to our mailing list. We will be sending out details on fall workouts, as well as information for the upcoming winter basketball season. Please reach out to Coach Carrier with any questions.

Be on the lookout for Winter Registration in the coming weeks.

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 find because they 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!

On August 11, the Saint Paul Parks officially broke ground on the Victoria Park project at a special ceremony attended by Mayor Carter. We're thrilled to share that our very own Activities Director, Christian Rovn, was invited to participate in the ceremony!

Nova Classical has been a proud partner in this project from the start, and we're excited to see how this new space will bring even more opportunities for our students and community in the years to come.

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 need help running our NPTO's 9/28 Bookfair and our 10/11 Grandparent & Special Person Day. Sign-ups are posted here.

SoR Volunteering Network:

Nova Classical Families, do you know of a non-profit that needs help in our community? Do you have a connection with an animal shelter, museum, or park cleanup group? SoR Students 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.

Highlights from the August 19 Board Meeting:

• Facilities Director Jesse Prins presented an update to the Board on the Schematic Design Process for the land owned by Nova located north of the building between Kay Avenue and Mercer Street. The Building Expansion Committee plans to bring a finished plan to the Board in November and will provide monthly updates to keep the Board and community informed. The November presentation will include a site plan and estimated costs as well as timeline options. The committee is also working with Piper Sandler for financing options, which will also be presented in November.
• The Board approved Board Goals for the 2024-25 academic year.
• The Board will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, September 9, at 7:00 PM. The next regular Board meeting will be on Monday, September 30, 2024.

For meeting minutes and agendas for upcoming meetings, visit the Board section of Nova Classical's website.

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.

Please complete the 2024-2025 Educational Benefits application which is now available in Infinite Campus. If you prefer, you may also download the application on Nova Classical's website. While you're there, please pay any outstanding balances in your student's food service account.

Did you know? Breakfast and lunch are free for all students, K-12. Milk is included with meals served at school. Milk is .45¢ with meals sent from home. Grab-and-go breakfast is served from 8:15 AM until 10 minutes after the arrival of the last bus (e.g., bus arrival at 8:40 AM means breakfast is served until 8:50 AM) or until 9:00 AM, whichever comes first. Students are welcome to eat in the lunchroom, if they prefer, until they are dismissed to class.

Why is completing an application still important?

Educational Benefits provide a variety of benefits to your student(s) and to our school, including important funds that provide programs and services to all of the students in our school community. Our school benefits only when applications are completed by the families of enrolled students, regardless of benefit status. So, complete your application today!

September breakfast and lunch menus are available on Nova Classical's website.

NEW Directory Feature: Opt-in to carpooling! Stay in touch with Nova Classical families. Sign up for the Family Directory to get and stay connected!

Meetings Nova PTO meetings are held virtually the first Tuesday of each month from 7:30-8:30 PM. Upcoming meetings are scheduled for

• 2024: October 1, November 7 (moved due to election), and December 3
• 2025: January 7, February 4, March 4, April 8 (moved due to Spring Break), May 6 (in person), and June 3

NPTO Zoom Meeting Link

• Meeting ID: 842 4045 9837
• Passcode: enrich

New Nova Spirit Wear is finally here! Visit our online store at novapto.org or visit us at Nova Classical on Thursday September 12, from 5:30-7:30 PM, during the Nova Classical Lower School Information Night to get your spirit wear.

Upcoming Events

• Tuesday, September 17 from 4:00-9:00 PM -- Dine Out to Donate at A-Side Public House. 15% of proceeds go to NPTO.
• Saturday, September 28 -- NPTO Bookfair at the Har Mar Barnes & Noble in Roseville

  Come see Nova Classical teachers as they share their favorite stories at the Barnes and Noble store. Volunteers will pull books from our teachers' classroom library wish lists and run a raffle. Spirit wear will be available as well. If you can't make it to this event, but want to purchase books to support our school, you still can! Use the code 1279535 during your online checkout to support our NPTO.

Great Gatherings Family Carnival

Join the conversation on our upcoming Carnival Team Planning calls schedule for:

• Thursday, September 5, at 07:00 PM. Join via Zoom with Meeting ID: 746 3754 0844 and Passcode: letsgo
• Sunday, September 15, at 7:00 PM. Join via Zoom with Meeting ID: 710 7908 9128 and Passcode: letsgo
• Wednesday, September 25, at 7:00 PM. Join Zoom with Meeting ID: 772 7927 3112 and Passcode: letsgo

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

September:

2: No School (Building Closed)

18: Picture Day

27: Homecoming Parade

28: Book Fair (NPTO)

30: Board of Directors Meeting at 6:00 PM

October:

3: No School (Staff Work Day)

4: No School (Staff Professional Development Day)

8: Parent Education Night at Nova Classical at 5:30 PM

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

28: Board of Directors Meeting at 6:00 PM

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

November:

1: No School (Staff Work Day)

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 (NPTO)

21: Give to the Max Day

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

Did you know that you can follow Nova Classical Academy on social media? Stay in the loop by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!