Message from Head of School - Jerry Salvador
It’s been another busy week at Brookes Westshore. As the students settled into their new academic programmes, this week they added an ambitious activities programme to their busy academic schedule. Students were engaged advocating for political prisoners by writing letters through Amnesty International. From Archery to Chess, Debating to Ecobricking, our students were actively participating in a full range of activities.
On another note, there is a new activity coming to Brookes Westshore. Jessica Pickersgill will be offering a Music Club. Choir, song writing, instruments, harmonies—a smorgasbord of musical activities in an hour and half per week. Keep an eye out for this fun activity on Thursday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. There is still time left for students to sign up for the Music Club.
On the global stage, we have a small delegation of Westshore staff heading to Saint Petersburg at the end of this month to attend the school’s official Grand Opening. We’re excited to reunite with the group of students and teachers who spent several months with us last year at Brookes Westshore attending classes and joining our active community. We’re looking forward to sharing in their celebrations of the opening of Brookes Saint Petersburg.
Keep an eye out for future newsletters which will include a special segment covering all the special events going on at the various Brookes Schools from around the world. Connectivity is one of our pillars, and we want to keep you connected to the Brookes Global Community.
A Message from Vice Principal of Academics, Linda Bayes
The student is the center of all IB programmes and teachers design curriculum and activities to help students develop the attributes of the IB Learner Profile. The awards presented to students throughout the year and at the end of the year will be based on the IB Learner Profile. Currently, Grade 8 students are designing posters to highlight each of the profiles.
We will be holding a parent information evening every 6-8 weeks to provide the opportunity for parents to learn more about IB Programmes and the curriculum at Brookes. Some of the sessions will be general and some will be more specific to MYP (Middle Years Programme) or DP (Diploma Programme). Parent handbooks have been developed for each of the programmes and they can be found on the ManageBac Parent Association page in files.
Parent Information Session Dates:
- Tuesday October 1: 6:30-7:30 “What is an IB Education?”
- Tuesday October 22: 6:30-7:30 “What is the Personal Project?” - interesting for all parents, but particularly focused on grade 10.
Grade 6-8 students spent their lunch hour at the Juan de Fuca playground.
New Furniture ArrivalNew student desks have arrived and the classrooms are being designed to better accommodate inquiry based learning across all grade levels.
Attendance
We are using ManageBac to record attendance and this provides parents the opportunity to view their child’s attendance record on a regular basis. The after school activities have been added to school timetables in a 5th block and teachers are taking attendance.
October 25 is a Province wide professional development day for teachers. There will not be school on this day.
Thursday September 26th is the Terry Fox Run
This year we are proudly supporting The Terry Fox Foundation in its ongoing work to fund innovative and progressive cancer research programs.
We are asking that each school community member raise 5 dollars towards our run.
Students received a presentation from a group of Diploma students during community block this week, and we are ready to participate and raise some funds for Cancer Research.
Our amazing teachers have kicked off the fund raising campaign with a promise to support every student who finishes the run with a donation - 50 cents per student will soon add up!
We are asking every family to support our students' efforts to raise much needed funds to support people living with cancer around the world.
By joining us, or making a donation, your kindness will impact the lives of so many people living with cancer.
Click here to support our students' initiative. Thank You!
Please share the link provided above with family, friends, and colleagues. You can also take a picture of the scan code below and save it to your camera roll on your smart phone. This way potential donors can easily scan it and donate - so easy! Happy Fundraising!
Introducing Janet Kinsella - IB Biology and CAS Coordinator
Janet Kinsella has been teaching IB Biology for more than 25 years. Her love of travel inspired a career in international education. Janet has taught in IB Schools in China, the Philippines, Lebanon, Turkey, and Alberta. At Brookes Westshore, Janet continues to teach Biology and in her role as CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) coordinator, hopes to inspire students to pursue personal growth and interpersonal development through their individualized CAS program. She has a passion for encouraging student leadership in service, and how this can be applied to the local community.
Dorm Students are Having a Ball
- Aija Salvador
On the weekend, the dorm students dodged balls, lit up the sky with moon lanterns and zipped high above the coastal temperature rainforest.
On Friday night professional players and coaches from dodgeball BC visited our campus to teach the students how to play the game of dodgeball. We had over 40 students participate, and many other students watched and cheered!
On Saturday, a group of students went to the Harvest Moon Lantern Festival at Gordon Head Recreation Centre (cover photo of the newsletter). The evening featured live traditional Asian dance and musical performances by community groups; lantern making and a sampling of mooncakes and traditional green teas.
Lastly, on Sunday our students zipped above 100 acres of rainforest with a magnificent view of mountains and ocean. We are already excited about this weekend’s upcoming activities!
After School Activities Update
- Mr. Brad Rudner, Activities Director
Our first week of After School Activities (ASAs) has launched successfully with the majority of students already fully engaged in a variety of enriching activities to keep them active, creative and in service. While we are still ironing out scheduling conflicts and requests/waitlists, the general excitement and participation is off to a great start.
All the
students ASAs will be displayed in ManageBac on their timetable which includes their record of attendance and will also be populated by feedback, reflections and reports as the term progresses. You can track and encourage your children in their chosen activities with this visibility and support them in developing into well-rounded and successful young leaders. It is truly a pleasure to see them strive to expand their growth.
University Counsellor’s Corner
with Ibi Venczel
One of the most important services that a university counsellor offers the school community is to support parents and students in the transition to the next stages after graduation. Choosing the next steps requires finding the right fit for each student. At Brookes, I educate parents and students on the post-secondary school options, the multiple application processes and guide students’ to research varied pathways to realize their future goals.
CANADA
All of our grade 12 students are applying to Canadian universities this year and a number are also applying to several other countries as well. On Oct. 1, 2019, our grade 12 students will be attending the Canadian University Event at Oak Bay High School to meet with 45 universities from all over Canada. Permission slips will be coming home for domestic students early next week and should be returned to their advisor on Thursday, Oct. 26th. For more information on the event, please visit Canadian University Event BC. All parents are welcome to attend.
UNITED KINGDOM
This year, a number of grade 12 students are applying to UK universities through the UCAS system. The IB program is highly recognised and regarded in the UK as a rigorous curriculum that prepares students for university. The UCAS organisation also provides a support guide for parents that explain the application process and how parents can help.
Please find below guides that will help you understand further UCAS and how UCAS recognises the IB. These guides can also be found in several other languages.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A number of grade 12 students are also applying to US universities. Many US universities prefer IB graduates because of their critical thinking skills, strong curriculum and CAS activities. The CollegeBoard organization provides valuable information to parents on the US application system. I recommend parents create an account with the CollegeBoard at www.collegeboard.org to familiarise themselves with the application process, and to further support your child achieve their future university aspirations.
Important Dates
October 1st, 2019
Canadian University Fair at Oak Bay High School, 8.30 am to 11.30 am. Over 40 Canadian Universities attending.
October 15th, 2019
Deadline for Oxbridge, and medical / veterinary / dentistry applications to the UK.
US University Fair at Brookes
Representatives from 10 US universities will be speaking with our grade 11 and 12 students about their school and the US admissions process.
Time: 9am – 10 am in Brookes Dining Hall
All parents are welcome.
November 1st and November 15th, 2019
Popular Early Decision application deadline for some US institutions. Also Canadian university application deadline for scholarship pool.
November 30, 2019
University of California application deadline (USA)
December 1, 2019
Mandatory Brookes deadline for students regarding:
- Regular Decision application – for some US Universities
- All Canadian university applications
Student Health and Wellness -
Sandra McManus, School Nurse
Immunizations for Grade 6 and 9 students will take place at the school on Friday, November 15. The Health Centre will be sending out immunization consent packages for these students in early fall.
Students in grade 6 will be offered immunizations with the consent of a parent(s), guardian or representative. For students in grade 9, please discuss the information in the consent package and involve your child in the decision to provide consent to immunization. This is a great opportunity for adolescents to start making decisions about their own health.
Although a child may be immunized with the consent of a parent/guardian or representative, a grade 9 student can make an informed decision regarding immunization regardless of parental consent or refusal. This is referred to as “mature minor consent.” The Public Health Unit has provided me with a link for a short video presentation on mature minor for Grade 9 students. It is available at: https://vimeo.com/231149258 or by going to www.islandhealth.ca/immunization-info.
We will send out an email to all Grade 6 and 9 parents when the immunization consent packages are ready to be picked up and taken home.
Message from Brookes Communications
There are so many amazing stories to tell about Brookes Westshore - sometimes we can't keep up! We have been looking at ways to improve our communications so that you, our students and families, feel deeply connected and fully involved with all that happens here. With this in mind, and as a first step, the Gryphon Gazette will now be sent out every Friday.
We hope that this will help to keep you up to speed on all that is happening at Brookes and to give you plenty of notice for any and all important upcoming dates. We will be introducing new staff in the Gazette (and re-introducing returning staff!), offering more in-depth information on the IB programmes, and we are also exploring ways to include more student voices and perspectives. We hope you like it!
If you have any questions, ideas or feedback please don't hesitate to contact me, James Boxshall at jboxshall@westshore.brookes.org.
Thank you!
Due to a change in BC Provincial Exams, please find our updated Academic Calendar on our website.
Important Dates
Thursday September 26
Terry Fox Run
Monday October 14
Thanksgiving holiday (Offices closed)
Wednesday October 25
Professional Development Day (School Open, No Classes)
