A Message from our Head of School - Jerry Salvador

I wish you all a safe and healthy Spring Break. This has been an amazing term of activities and academics for Brookes Westshore. Our students have worked hard and deserve a good rest over the break. In spite of the pressures everyone is feeling over the COVID-19 outbreak, we have still managed to enjoy ourselves.

The ski trips were a huge success – everyone from beginners to experts had an amazing time on Mt Washington. The weather could not have been better and the sense of community was palpable as students from around the world enjoyed sharing their skills and encouraging each other to greater feats of daring!

I was also touched by the grade 9 work with elders in our community this term. The stories that came out of this project have really touched our hearts. I hope that you will be able to view some of this work at the beginning of next term in the lobby. Once again, all the best for the Spring Break and I look forward to resuming life at Brookes at the end of March.  

Useful Links for information on COVID 19

Information about COVID-19, including advice and guidance to schools, is regularly updated on the BC Centre for Disease Control site. Please routinely check this site and its resources:

http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID19_schools_childcare_guidelines.pdf

All joint statements from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix are posted here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/ministries/health

The Provincial Pandemic Coordination plan:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/reports-publications/pandemic-provincial-coordination-plan.pdf

KIDS and COVID-19 QA:

http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/coronavirus-(novel)#For--schools--and--childcare

Ministry of Health response plans:- https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/pandemic-influenza

Novel Coronavirus Q&A from HealthLinkBC: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-feature/coronavirus

BC Centre for Disease Control:

http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/coronavirus-(novel)

Quiz Night

Friday night last week saw a dedicated group of trivia lovers spend a very enjoyable couple of hours answering the devious questions set by My Tim Snieder and Ms Kate Newman. There were snacks to fuel the brain and delicious cheesecake to compete for. Some mysteries were cleared up (JK Rowling's middle name is Kathleen) and some disputes resolved (Great Britain is made up of three countries, not four). All in all a fun evening for staff, students and parents and perhaps the start of a new Brookes tradition?

Grade 9 Community Project

This term the Grade 9 students visited the Jesken Aerie - an assisted living facility in Goldstream for older members of our community. The Grade 9 students visited with residents every week for six weeks. There was an amazing connection across generations as they shared stories, played games and made new friends. The students had prepared for the visits by asking the elders of their own families to share stories. Through storytelling the students learned of their own family history, and connected these stories to those of the residents of the Jesken Aerie. They learned things that they had never known - of time spent in concentration camps, of perilous sea crossings to get to Canada and of going to school on horseback. The students put together scrapbook pages of the stories they had heard, and of the lives they had learned about. A big thank you to the Jesken Aerie for making us feel so welcome and sharing your stories with us (and beating us at Wii bowling!)

Ski Trips 2020

The past three weekends have shown that not all learning takes place in the classroom! Our students spent their weekends skiing at the Mt Washington Alpine Ski Resort, our local Vancouver Island Mountain.

We believe it’s important to provide our students with the opportunity to learn hands on skills inside and outside of the classroom. The weather and snow conditions were impeccable. Students participated in ski and snowboard lessons with professional instructors. Snowshoeing was our newest activity, which allowed us to submerge ourselves into the beautiful natural scenery of Strathcona Park!

Across all three trips we had over two hundred participants take part in the ultimate Canadian winter experience! The physical literacy and hands-on applications of skiing, snowshoeing and snowboarding can provide a spark of adventure and an active lifestyle.

It is always such a special moment to watch our students learn new skills and grow as individuals. This special group showed a positive attitude and determination throughout the trips and most importantly had fun!

After hearing the feedback from our students, it is safe to say that we are all looking forward to next year’s ski trips!

We would like to say a special thank you to all our staff and chaperones that attended these trips and made them possible!

International Week: Monday April 14th- April 17th

International week is coming this April! This will be a week-long celebration of different cultures and a wonderful way to learn about diversity. 

We will have lunchtime activities, international lunches, community block presentations and a talent show to end off the week. Each advisor group will be choosing a different country to represent and preparing a lunchtime activity, an act for an international talent show or a small presentation for the community block.

If students would like to do something on their own, or in a group outside of their advisor group, we would be thrilled to have them participate as well.  Students, please contact asalvador@westshore.brookes.org of you would like to sign up for this event. 

Graduation 2020 - Friday May 22nd

Planning for the 2020 Graduation celebrations is well under way. Students and staff have been working hard to make it a day to remember. We will have the formal ceremony at the school in the early afternoon, followed by a reception in the dining hall. The evening dinner will be held at the Church and State Winery in Saanich. Further details and invitations will be available after Spring Break. 

With the challenges of the COVID 19 outbreak only likely to intensify we are putting in place contingency plans to live-stream the ceremony should it be necessary. 

Hornby Island Camping for Grade 6 - 8 in May

Our grade 6-8 students will be embarking on an excellent camping adventure to Hornby Island on May 6th-8th!

Hornby Island, also known as "Little Hawaii" (see the photo!), is located off the east coast of Vancouver Island within the Juan de Fuca strait. We will be staying at the Tribune Bay Outdoor Education Center and taking part in the many activities they offer.

These activities include: kayaking, paddle boarding, rock climbing, rappelling and more! This trip will give us the opportunity to step outside our comfort zones, learn more about ourselves and nature, and celebrate the great year we have had with each other.

Please schedule these dates into your calendar!

If you would like to learn more about Tribune Bay Outdoor Education Center, please visit their website at www.tribunebayoutdoored.ca. 

Weekends at Brookes

This weekend boarding students were thrilled to be able to participate in the Quiz Night hosted by Mr Boxshall and Mr Snieder on Friday Night, as well as the last Mt Washington Ski Trip on Monday. 

On Saturday, another activity was hosted at Brookes by Sharon March, an artist from Langford, who led a paint night for our students. She led us through an acrylic pouring class. This unique technique creates beautiful abstract art work and is a type of fluid painting. The students loved this different style of art and now have their colourful creations decorating their rooms. Who knows, maybe we found the next Pablo Picasso at our Paint Night! 

We hope everyone has a great spring break, and we are looking forward to more activities when you return!

Congratulations to Lila!

Grade 12 student Lila has been offered a place at the University of Toronto. Lila has been at Brookes Westshore for four years and we are delighted by her success! Not only is she an excellent student, she has great skills as a volleyball player and will undoubtedly be a key player for UofT before long!

As Mr Turkington, her volleyball coach says: "Lila was a key player on our senior girls' volleyball team. She is a very dedicated athlete, always looking to improve as a player. She played in the setter position, a specialist position that requires a particularly good tactical awareness with good hands, as setting is one of the most challenging of skills. She took on a major leadership role both on and off the court. She also volunteered to be an assistant coach for the grade 6-8 girls' volleyball team. She did a wonderful job teaching the younger players and being a good role model and mentor. She will be greatly missed by all next season."

Congratulations Lila!

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