Dear Saint Ursula Community,
I hope that you have had a good week! Mrs. Grayson and I have started our classroom visits in the last week. One of our shared goals is to learn about teaching and learning at Saint Ursula Academy by spending time in the classrooms with our students and faculty. It is a true privilege of our roles to be able to witness firsthand the students’ experiences in the classroom. We are both so impressed by the high quality of instruction. Here are some common themes we are observing: teachers’ efforts to build classroom community and culture by facilitating sharing and meeting the girls where they are, emphasis on developing critical thinking skills, and high learning expectations coupled with appropriate scaffolds for success. The students are engaged and active participants in their learning. It is a joy to watch what happens when great teachers come together with high quality students and a strong curriculum.
On Thursday, September 7, we will hold our first combined Taste of SUA and Community Meet and Greet. Our hope is that parents, families, community members, and alumnae will join us at Taste of SUA, 5-7 pm, before the Community Meet and Greet, 6:30-8:05 pm. During the Meet and Greet, parents will have an opportunity to follow their daughter’s schedule and spend time with each of her first semester teachers to learn about the curriculum and classroom learning experiences. Your daughter will fill out this schedule for you during her Advisory bell on Wednesday, September 6, and send it to you electronically so that you can save it to your phone or print it for reference during the evening. It will be a fun and informative evening, so please plan to attend!
Just a few more things: please keep our Chief Information Officer Tim Wilking in your prayers. He is using his vacation time from SUA to do humanitarian aid work in L'viv, Ukraine, where he will be volunteering at L'viv Volunteer Kitchen. This Friday is also a Gold Bell Day meaning that classes start at 8:30 am. The students will use their Gold Bell time to learn about SUA’s Global and Community Service Learning.
Go Bulldogs!
Kathy Restle