A Message from our Head of School - Jerry Salvador

After all the excitement of the election and our ‘all candidates debate’ last week it was interesting to see how our students, and students all across Canada, voted in the mock elections of Student Vote. Clearly the environment has become the key issue in our world and our students are fully behind action on the climate crisis – voting overwhelmingly (53%) for the Green Party.

Giving young people a voice and building character are central to the Brookes vision. Sometimes it might be uncomfortable for teachers and adults to hear what they have to say – but it is vital that we listen. See below for our student Amy’s short essay on “Our Future” – an important message for all of us.

We have also been building connections with our neighbours. Royal Roads University students ran an amazing dynamic workshop on diversity with our students this week which was a vibrant success.

Finally – our younger students followed up the removal of invasive species by planting indigenous plants around our campus, supported by the Victoria Green Team.

Thank you to all parents who attended the Personal Project Information Session last week. Lots of great questions from a large group of Grade 9 and 10 families. We appreciate and value the opportunity to share the program with parents.

Another great week of community, character and creativity at Brookes Westshore!

PS: Don’t forget to join us for the upcoming Halloween Dance (October 30th from 5:30 to 8:00 pm - see below for more details!)

Join us! Be Brookes!

Cultural Diversity with Royal Roads University Students

The dining hall at Brookes Westshore IB School was abuzz with laughter, dancing, chatting and games on October 17th as the Grade 11 students took part in a cultural diversity rotating station activity with 35 pre-master’s students from neighboring Royal Roads University. Thirty stations, each with a unique activity related to a different culture, were set up around the dining hall. The Grade 11 students visited as many stations as they could in the last hour of their school day. With a “passport” in hand, the Brookes students engaged in singing, playing cricket, learning magic, wearing sarees and robes, getting hennaed, having their fortune told, and answering quizzes. In culturally diverse pairs, they learned and tried various international children’s games, spending a few minutes with each university student. Their passport was “stamped” after completing each station’s task – a great souvenir of the event.

Angola, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Colombia, India, Iran, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan were the countries represented by the Royal Roads pre-master’s students. Coupled with the diverse Grade 11 students, the atmosphere in the dining hall felt like a global celebration. With such a wealth of ethnic groups, languages, customs, and even accents, both the high school and university students left the event with a new appreciation and understanding of their international neighbours.

Planting Native Species

This week our grade 6, 7 and 10 students continued the hard work that last years' students started. With the help and leadership of Green Teams Canada, students spent the morning learning about invasive species and are helping to restore the creek back to its natural state. The earlier hard work of pulling out invasive species has tremendous benefits to the natural environment and our school and is a wonderful service project for the community. 

Students have been working hard to support our local Out of the Rain charity during our ASA (after school activities). Students have been fundraising through activities like the Basketball Shoot Out, Casual Day, and selling Mexican style chips in order to raise funds to feed homeless youth in our community.  We managed to raise over $250 and last week and we cooked our first meal for 30 youth.  Such a great way to support local youth in need, to build our community and strengthen our students' understanding of the world around them.

"Our Future" by Amy in grade 10

I’m constantly told that my generation will be the world’s saviour. As much as I would like to believe that that’s a compliment, it’s not; it’s an escape. An escape to a better world, yes, but also an escape from the world that the past generations have caused. Uninhabitable conditions for some, distress for many, and risk for all. But even with that on everyone’s conscience, the burden of cleaning up that exponential mess lies on our generation, which for the most part consists of young adults and teenagers like myself and my peers.

Despite the fact that we’re in charge of taking action, we lack the opportunity to. We’re taught to be active members in society, but when will leaders, parents, teachers, and adults in general start being inclusive? When we eventually muster up the courage, and do take action, we’re ridiculed, or called irrational, simply because we’re young people. Is this the way to build our future society? To bring people down for trying?

Our ideas need to be taken seriously, our opinions need to be considered, and we need to be treated as what we are: the future. It’s riding on our shoulders, so it’s a necessity that we have a strong foundation.

A Week of Dorm Activities with Ms Aija

Another great weekend has come and gone! Last weekend our dorm students participated in activities where they got spooked, saw incredible creatures, and found treasures. On Friday night, a group of students visited downtown Victoria and participated on a ghostly walk tour. The guide walked us through the most haunted places in Victoria! We learned about old and historic spooky stories that go along with each haunted place!

On Saturday, we submerged ourselves into nature and visited the Raptors – Birds of Prey Centre! This facility in Duncan has predatory birds such as eagles, owls, hawks, falcons and more! Students got a close-up view of these animals during a fly show, where these amazing birds flew right over our heads and also sat on our leader’s arm, right in front of us!

Lastly, on Sunday, students went geocaching throughout the grounds at Royal Roads University. We found the treasure and we all celebrated with treats! The weekend came to an end but we will always treasure the memories and photos!

Next week, we are looking forward to celebrating Halloween and seeing you all at the Halloween dance on October 30th! Can’t wait to see your costumes!

[Above] Students in grade 6 creating play-doh geographical features and exploring how they affect the lives of the people who live near them. Students talked about how geographical features affect things such as access to resources, safety, climate, and others. [Below] Students in the Nature Journaling ASA. 

All families are encouraged to join us at the Halloween Dance on October 30th! Doors will open at 5:30pm, please arrive at the front bridge entrance where we will lead you into this spooky event. We will serve hot dogs, salads, drinks, snacks and treats at 5:30 pm. 

Followed by dancing and Halloween activities!

Come find us at our escape room! Do you think you have what it takes to escape?! Also make sure to wear your costume and snap a few photos at our Halloween photo booth! We will have a small concession stand with Halloween treats and snacks, run by “Out of the Rain”, a group of our Brookes students that raise money for the homeless! Please bring cash if you would like to purchase any Halloween treats!

If you will not be attending this event, please drop off and pick up at the front bridge entrance at 5:30 and 8pm.

See you all there! It’ll be scary if you miss it.

Due to a change in BC Provincial Exams, please find our updated Academic Calendar on our website.