A Message from our Head of School - Jerry Salvador

We have a wide range of events going on at Brookes Westshore. For you to get a better understanding of how learning takes place in and out of the classroom, read this week’s articles in the Gryphon Gazette.  

See how we… 

• use Rice Krispies to engage with family history.
• build financial literacy in math class through trading stocks and shares.
• bring Day and Boarding students together to support local sports teams.
• link Brookes students to Canadian universities.
• engage in the democratic process by hosting an all candidates’ meeting.

Brookes Family Members - please join us for these events:

Halloween Dance (October 30th from 5:30 to 8:00 pm)

We would love to see you at our Halloween dance. Please dress up and have scary fun with our community. Keep an eye open for volunteer opportunities.

Royals Hockey (Saturday November 2nd)
Come along with us to support the Royals.

All Candidates Meeting (Wednesday 16th, 10:00 to 11:45 am)

Join our students in the political process by asking our local political candidates about their policies at our all-candidates debate.

Brookes Westshore is a hub of community activity – Join us! Be Brookes!

A Hunger for Learning with Ms Colosimo and Grade 6

The grade 6 class is currently working on a project to research the history and geography of a place that is important to their family's history. As part of this assignment, students created maps out of Rice Krispy treats, and used icing and other snacks to create the geographical features.

Math with Mr B

As part of their “There’s Strength in Numbers” Unit, Mr. B’s math class is learning about relationships between numbers and financial literacy. Students are seen purchasing, selling and calculating dividend payouts in a live simulated stock market. Mr. B says that the “Stock Ticker Game” is always a big hit with students and helps them as they prepare for their summative assessment in which students create an investment portfolio.

Join Us to Watch the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League on November 2

On November 2nd, all students are welcome to attend the Royals Hockey game at 7:00pm at the Save on Memorial Centre. We will leave by bus from Brookes Westshore at 6:00pm.  If your son/daughter would like to attend this event, please email aijasalvador@westshore.brookes.org and confirm by October 15th. We have a group discount and the tickets will be $10 each. Please bring $10 to the front desk by October 15th and we will book your ticket for you! If you would like to be a parent volunteer for this event, please include this in your email and we will provide a ticket for you free of cost. Thank you!

This week our grade 8 and 9 students continued the hard work that last year's grade 10 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.  Their 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.  
 

Eva Campbell was born in Ghana to a Ghanaian mother and Barbadian father and grew up in Ghana, Jamaica and Barbados. She studied Visual Art for her Masters at the University of Victoria and has painted various themes involving the people and portraits over the years. Some of her paintings were influenced by living in Ghana, the Caribbean and Canada where she was interested in the identity and culture of the people she painted.  She illustrated the children’s book “The Matatu” written by Eric Walters and published by Orca Books which received the Smithsonian Children’s Africana Book Award in 2013 and which was nominated for the Golden Oak Award and the Ontario Library Association Silver Birch Express Award. In 2018, she illustrated the book “Africville” illustrated by Shauntay Grant and published by House of Anansi Groundwood books which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Picture Books. She also illustrated Light a Candle by Godfrey Nkongola and Eric Walters published by Orca Books in 2019. Eva taught IB Visual Art at Pearson College for 8 years before coming to Brookes Westshore.

Biography: Grandmother’s Garden, oil on canvas, 4ftx3ft, 2014

The Best Thing I’ve Done This Year
by Camilla, Grade 10

Definitely the best thing I’ve done this year, is making the decision of coming to Canada for a year and choosing Brookes as my school and my place to live.

Why?

I’ve always wanted to study in another country because I know lots of people who’ve had that experience, and all they talk about are wonders.

Having the opportunity of studying in another country is something that not everyone has, so I really have to make this experience worth it.

I chose Brookes because when I saw it the first time in some videos and posts, I knew that was the place I wanted to study. It looked new, friendly, homely, and so much fun.

The fact of living far away from home, might be hard at first, but soon or later, everyone needs to become independent and this experience is totally preparing you for it.

Thanks to this big event, I met new people from different countries that I’m pretty sure they’ll be my friends for a long time.

I’m sure this experience will help me grow as a better person and will definitely help me to expand my horizons.

I have no regrets at all, in fact, I think this is the best decision I’ve made in my whole life.

A Week of Dorm Activities with Ms Aija

First off, we would like to thank our students for their incredible school spirit and participation at last week’s recreational activities. On Wednesday night, over 40 students attended the Pacific FC soccer game at the Westhills stadium. It was great to see our local students join us at the game. This event was special for our community and school because we helped support the Mustard Seed and Goldstream Food Bank. Together, the Brookes students helped #feedtheisle and donated over 100 non-perishable food items! Way to go Brookes!

On Friday, we had another great turn out, almost 40 students attended the University of Victoria’s Men’s basketball game. We cheered loud for our home-town team, and made signs to support these dedicated athletes! We are excited to attend future games this season! Go Vikes!

On Sunday, Ms. Jessica led students through a relaxed, autumn themed paint night at Brookes! These paintings turned out beautiful and they now decorate our student’s rooms!

Thank you for all of your participation, donations, creativity and school spirit! We look forward to weekend!

University Counselor Corner with Ibi Venczel

Our Grade 12 Brookes Westshore students attended The Canadian Universities Event (CUE) on Oct. 1, 2019 at Oak Bay High School. 

The university fair brought together over 45 of Canada’s finest post-secondary institutions to showcase new programmes, scholarships and reach out to students applying for admissions in the fall of 2020. 

The event introduced students to new programmes and universities to consider, while other students were finalized their university application list after having enjoyed in-depth discussions with the university recruiters.
 

Buy Your New Brookes Jacket Today

The Brookes jackets have been so popular that we have decided to put in a second order!  If you are interested in a jacket, please come by the uniform room at lunch time or email asalvador@westshore.brookes.org to make an appointment.  All orders must be received latest by Friday October 18th.  Jackets should be ready for pick up November 4th. Puffy jackets cost $83.75 including taxes.  Rain jackets cost $140.40 for youth sizes and $153.30 for adult sizes including taxes. 
 

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