GRAMMAR GAZETTE

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Dear Fabulous Nova Classical Families,

Welcome to 2024! I hope you had a restful, relaxing, and rejuvenating winter break! It is always nice to have some time to slow down, reflect on the past year, and look forward to the excitement of a new year.

The end of 2nd quarter and the halfway point of the school year is Friday, January 19. There is no school on Monday, January 22. We hope to have Quarter 2 report cards in the mail by Friday, February 2, so be on the lookout for those.

I also want to highlight a couple upcoming community events - Equity Family Education Night on Thursday, February 8 and Family Game Night on Friday, February 23! More information about these events can be found below.

Please see below for more news and notes from the Lower School!

Warm Regards,

Ms. Tousignant

Nova Classical is excited to announce upcoming non-uniform days:

Tuesday, February 6: Virtue Assembly - Spirit Wear Day

Tuesday, March 5: Virtue Assembly - Sprit Wear Day

Nova Classical Lower School students may wear bottoms of their choice (they do not need to be uniform bottoms) on these days. If students are not wearing spirit wear or school colors, they are required to be in their uniform.

Need spirit wear? Nova Classical works with the following vendors:

• Game One (password: novaknights)
• BSN

The Nova Equity Team is hosting an equity-focused family education night on Thursday, February 8, from 6:00-7:30 PM. All families are welcome! Food and babysitting will be provided.

There will be a social hour followed by thoughtful study and conversation. For planning purposes, please complete this brief form if you plan to attend.

As always, feel free to email equitycoordinator@novaclassical.org with any questions that you have!

Our Lower School Parent Advisory Council would like to invite you to our 2nd Annual "Family Game Night" on Friday, February 23! It will include a potluck taco bar dinner, board games, gym games, bingo, and plenty of fun! NPTO will also be selling spirit wear and giving families an opportunity to sign up for the family directory.

You can also meet an author! Mrs. Gleason, Kindergarten Teacher, has written a book! Come by, say hello, and check out her latest book, "Penguin's Journey Home"! We are looking forward to a wonderful time!

Read all about it here to RSVP, sign up to volunteer, or to bring an item for the potluck!

Enrollment application for the 2024-2025 school year is open. Please visit our website for information. All applications submitted through January 31, 2024, at 4:00 PM, will be entered into the enrollment lottery in February 2024.

Current students do not need to reapply.

As a Great Gatherings raffle item, Lower School Principal, Ms. Tousignant, offers "Principal for a Day" as something a family can win. This year, Lenny in 2nd grade won this prize and was Principal for a Day before winter break. He did a lot to help Ms. Tousignant throughout the day, including helping with morning announcements, making special deliveries to Dr. Wedlund, attending important meetings and sharing his ideas with various school staff, handing out bookmarks during our "book drill", setting up for an after-school event, and working on some scheduling. He also enjoyed a special lunch with his brother, Rex! Thanks for your help, Lenny!

Registration for Spring Clubs opens Monday, January 29, 2024, and closes February 16, 2024.

Spring Clubs run Tuesday, February 20, 2024 - Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Check out the Extracurriculars page of our website for more information!

Thank you for sending your scholars to school with the necessary items (sweaters/jackets, cold weather gear, and water bottles/food containers) to stay warm, fed, and hydrated! Unfortunately, some of these things don't make it back home to you. We’re here to help!

Lost an item?

1. Encourage your scholars to look in the Lost & Found area by the recess door. There is a purple bin with recently lost items as well as organized, categorized shelves with older lost items. Upper School scholars may also find lost items on a table outside of the district office on the second floor. Valuable and/or little items (such as AirPods, jewelry, and glasses) are kept in the front office. Please have your scholars see Ms. Anna for these items.
2. Please contact Ms. Ann Anderson at aanderson@novaclassical.org if your scholar is having difficulty finding an item.
3. Please help us by labeling all of your students items. If it is a pair (e.g. shoes or gloves), label both. Please label items with a permanent marker and use both a first name (or initial) & full last name. Personalized clothing 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.

We 💛 your labeled items! When items are labeled, we will try our very best to get them back to your scholar at school. Unlabeled uniform items, because they look and are often the same brand & size as a classmates, are difficult for scholars to find. Thank you!

Spelling Bee: Grades 3-8 Students

• Week of January 8: Classroom Bees
• Thursday, January 25: School-wide Bee
• Week of February 5: School-wide champion takes online test
• Thursday, March 7: Regional Bee at Fridley High School Auditorium

National History Bee: Grades 4-8 Students

• Wednesday, January 10: Online Regional Qualification test for Top 22 qualifying students
• Thursday, February 15: School-Wide Bee for Top 22 qualifying students

Science Olympiad: Grade 5 Students

We can bring up to 15 Nova Classical 5th-grade students to compete in the State's Science Olympiad tournament on April 13th. Sign up to learn about the 20 STEM events and work as a team to prepare for a fun day of SCIENCE! This program is run as a spring club; registration opens on January 29! Check out the description on the activities website.

Kudos to all of our History Bee contestants! Over 150 4th-8th grade students took a written exam to qualify for an online exam to qualify for the Regional History Bee. Ten Lower School students have qualified for the online exam and will also compete in our school bee in February. Congratulations to:

4th Grade: Harriet B.

5th Grade: Seraphina E., Eleanore C., Charlier G., Sal P., Lincoln B., Ben H., Ebenezer G., Natalie H., and Calvin C.

We want to celebrate your scholar!

Has your scholar done something outside of school that is worthy of celebration? Have they received a special medal or award? Made a difference in their community? Something else extraordinary? Submit the details on this form to be considered for morning announcements and upcoming newsletters!

January 22: Ski Outing at Buck Hill ~ Contact Matt for additional details

Our next meeting is Tuesday, February 6 at 4:15 PM and will be virtual.

Sign up for the Nova Classical Family Directory at novapto.membershiptoolkit.com. There are lots of exciting incentives in store, including a prize for a lucky Nova community member who signs up for the directory between now and February 19. Gift cards and prizes such as tickets to the MN Orchestra will be given away! Opt in and win today!

There are still lots of Great Gathering spots available! Connect with community by joining us at these fun events, just to name a few: Kindergarten Puppets on 1/27, Old vs. New Wine Tasting on 1/27, 2nd Grade City of Ember Party on 2/15, Pickleball Doubles Mixer on 3/2, and more! You can view and purchase remaining gatherings here.

Check out all of NPTO's dates and information here!

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

Parents/guardians and community members are invited to volunteer to help in the classroom, as a room parent, or at school and NPTO events such February's Lower School Family Game Night, or other upcoming events! Please click here to browse and sign up for opportunities.

All volunteers must have an up-to-date background check on file. Apply to volunteer with us, today!

Have you ever wondered if it is an A, B, or C Day? Can't remember when picture day is? Subscribe to our calendar to always be in the know!

Click the link here for instructions to add our calendar to your personal calendar.

January:

15: No School (Building Closed)

22: No School (Staff Work Day)

25: SoL Information Night (for current 5th graders)

29: Board of Directors Meeting @ 6:00 PM

February:

6: Virtue Assembly @ 3:00 PM

6: NPTO Meeting @ 4:15 PM

8: Equity Team: Family Education Night

9-10: US One Act Play Festival

16: No School (Staff Professional Development Day)

19: No School (Building Closed)

23: Family Game Night

26: Board of Directors Meeting @ 6:00 PM

See Full Calendar

We celebrated our love of books and reading the week before winter break. Students participated in book drills, Battle of the Books, activities within the classroom, assemblies, and ended the week by dressing as book characters! We love reading!

5th grade scholars had a wonderful time attending two field trips this week! They learned all about force and motion at a special presentation by the Physics Force at the University of Minnesota. They also got to attend an African Drumming concert at Macalester College. It was even more special because some scholars got to be on stage for demonstrations or performances. A great time was had by all!