NOVA NEWS - March 2025

The 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 Academic Calendars are now available on our website!

This is a night of celebration that thrives because of the involvement of our amazing community.

Please visit our newsletter to RSVP, contribute to the potluck, volunteer, host a cultural booth, share a performance, or make a monetary donation. We hope to see you there!

Questions or concerns? Reach out to equitycoordinator@novaclassical.org.

Summer sports camp information will be posted on the Extracurriculars page on March 15, 2025! Registration will open March 17, 2025. Don't miss out!

Volleyball 101 and 102 registration closes March 7 @ 4:00 PM on the Extracurriculars page. Don't miss out! These clinics are open to students in grades 3-6.

We are thrilled to announce that four of our incredible Nova Classical scholars have been named Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program! Congratulations to Sean Borrell, Rachel Jeong, Sophia Lee and Thomas O'Keefe! Their hard work, dedication, and academic excellence have earned them this prestigious recognition.

We are proud to be recognized as a Blue Shirt School for our commitment to prioritizing safe, healthy play and recess every day! At Nova Classical Academy, we recognize the importance of active play in fostering social growth and building meaningful relationships. As a long-time partner of Playworks, we've found tremendous value in their strategies and approach to creating positive recess experiences. That's why we’ve dedicated a Recess Lead to support all recess supervisors and our Junior Coach program. With students enjoying two recesses each day, recess is a fundamental part of our approach to social-emotional development. Principal Brooke Tousignant shared, “I’ve seen a more proactive approach to recess with adult interactions. It’s been huge in helping build relationships and creating a student support network.” Way to go, Nova Classical community!

​Kudos to our Middle School Science Olympiad teams, the Nuclear Knights and Arborescent Atoms, for competing in last weekend's State tournament at Bethel University. Special recognition goes to Johann Winter and Nuree Wong for placing 2nd in Wind Power, Graham Lohse and Michelle Liang for placing 3rd in Metric Mastery, Sophie Gabor and Rhea Krishnan for placing 3rd in Crimebusters, and Sophie Gabor additionally placed third in Optics at the state level! The entire program improved phenomenally from last year's inauguration of the program at Nova Classical. We can't wait to see what next year will bring! Way to go, Nova Knights!

Way to go, Eli Andre, for competing in the Nordic Skiing State Tournament!

Nova Classical's Mock Trial B Team has officially advanced to the State Tournament after a hard-fought victory against Centennial HS on Thursday evening at the Hennepin County Courthouse! A special shoutout to Nina Aamodt and Nick Odegard, who were recognized as Outstanding Attorney and Witness for the round! Here are the talented team members that advanced: Nina Aamodt, Ares Drake, Nicolas Odegard, Lila McNellis, James Garske, and Atticus Fleischhacker. We are so proud of their dedication, teamwork, and hard work.

We had over 180 students take a written test to qualify for both the Nova History Bee and the Regional Finals in April. We had 24 students qualify and compete in our school bee. At the end of 3 rounds of questions, Josh G. was crowned our school champion, with Seraphina as our runner-up. Congratulations to these history buffs on a job well done!

Our NCA Robotics program competed at the Minnesota State FTC Championship, showcasing their incredible skills and innovation!

• The Argonauts—Cora V., Anne T., Liam S., Anneka O., Winston Z., Rhea K., Logan O., and Vanessa D.—won the Gear Up Award for their outstanding video.
• Tempest—Thomas H., Leo T., Rei Y., Ethan Y., Lyle G., Fred L., and Kenji W.—advanced to the second qualifying round with a strong performance.

A special congratulations to Thomas H. for earning a Stratasys Leadership Scholarship!

Congratulations to Senior Anne Tsai, who has been juried into the EYA Juried Gallery Art Show at the Landmark Center!

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 our upcoming community events a success! We need volunteers and food donations for our Lower School Family Game Night and Multicultural Night. Please contact Ms. Gabor, Community Engagement Manager, for any questions about volunteering or background checks.

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.

Highlights from the February 24 Nova Classical Board Meeting:

1. Nova awarded the first Nova Classical Spotlight Award to senior Angelina Kabanuk. The award recognizes individuals who exemplify Nova Classical Academy’s commitment to academic excellence, virtue, and a thriving school community. Angelina is the founder of Nova Classical’s chapter of Letters of Love, a MSHSL Triple A Award nominee, captain of the Mock Trial and Volleyball teams, and a member of Una Voce and Harmonia choirs. She is an inspiration and a person who has made our school community stronger.

2. The Board had a conversation with Beth Topoluk from Friends of Education, Nova Classical’s authorizer. Ms. Topoluk shared with the Board about the authorizer’s role in general and the relationship between Nova Classical and Friends of Education in specific.

3. The Board approved a revised FY25 budget that has Nova finishing the year at $105,000 better than projected.

4. The Board approved a contract with Ivy Camps to provide programming during Summer Scholar Zone this year.

5. Executive Director Dr. Brett Wedlund presented to the Board an analysis of Extracurricular Activities at Nova, a working item connected to Nova’s Strategic Plan. After much discussion, the Board requested the administration further explore offering more programs to K-2 and offering instrumental music as an extracurricular.

The next regular Board meeting will be on Monday, March 24, 2025.

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

The Nova Classical Board of Directors has five of its nine seats up for election this year:

• two parent seats, each for a three-year term;
• two teacher seats, also each for a three-year term; and,
• one community member seat, for a two-year term.

• To nominate yourself, please fill out this Google Form.
• To nominate someone else, please send an email to governance@novaclassical.org.

The nomination period begins March 1 and runs until 4:00 PM on April 11, 2025.

Upcoming Events:

• Mar 12: Oula Dance Fitness With Ms. Tousignant 5:30 PM. Purchase tickets. Adults Only.
• Mar 14: Lower School FAMILY Game Night & Taco Bar 5:30-8:00 PM. Click here to RSVP, sign up for volunteer AND the Taco Bar.
• Mar 14: Favorite Things Party 7:00-9:30 PM. Purchase Tickets. Adults Only.
• Mar 22: Self Defense Class 2:30 PM. Purchase Tickets. Ages 10+. Adults welcome.
• Mar 22: *A tradition since the beginning* Nova Ladies' Night Out 7:00-10:00 PM. Purchase Tickets. Adults Only.
• April 8: NPTO Meeting 7:30 PM (Join the Zoom Meeting. ID: 842 4045 9837. Passcode: enrich)
• April 17: Kindergarten Movie Night 5:15-7:00 PM. Purchase Tickets. Only for Nova Classical Kindergarten students.

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

NovaPTO is revving up for Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week (May 5-9) by collecting monetary donations and readying a crew of volunteers. Participating with NPTO in Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week is optional.

• Click here to donate money using the NPTO online store by selecting "Teacher/Staff Appreciation"
• Click here to sign up to volunteer.

March:

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

7: No School (K-12 Conferences and Staff Work Day)

10: No School (Staff Work Day)

24: Board of Directors Meeting at 6:00 PM

28: No School (Staff Work Day)

31: No School (Building Closed)

April:

1-4: No School (Building Closed)

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

10: Multicultural Night from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

18: No School (Staff Work Day)

22: Board Candidate Forum from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

28: Board of Directors Meeting at 6:00 PM

May:

2: No School (Staff Professional Development Day/Building Closed)

5-9: Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week

6: NPTO Meeting from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM (in-person with dinner and childcare)

16: Boosterthon Fun Run & Color Run

19: Board of Directors Meeting at 6:00 PM

23: No School (Staff Work Day)

26: No School (Building Closed)

June:

4: Last Day of School

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!

Did You Know You Can Contribute to Nova News & Social Media?

We invite our community members and students to share their stories, achievements, and upcoming events for a chance to be featured in Nova News and/or Social Media! 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!