A Message from our Head of School - Jerry Salvador

As you can see below it has been a packed week of activities and news at Brookes Westshore.

Our sports teams continue to inspire – congratulations to the junior girls volleyball team especially.

Our international students really stepped up this week to showcase Chinese culture and welcomed the entire school to a Chinese New Year’s celebration that culminated with a fantastic lunch of delicious Chinese food from Sage.

We had the great news that Maria in grade 12 will be studying at the University of Toronto next year – well done Maria!  We also have some great trips coming up on the calendar – particularly the ski trips to Mt Washington. Don’t forget to sign up!

If you have time tonight – why not join us to watch Aladdin in the dining hall (there is free popcorn and hot chocolate!)?

We continue to keep an eye on the latest information about the Coronavirus outbreak and to monitor the situation. As of 5 pm today the Ministry of Education and Health say "the risk is low within British Columbia and all necessary precautions are being taken to prevent the spread of infection." If further action is needed, we will communicate with you all immediately.

A Message from our VP of Academics - Linda Bayes

INTERIM REPORT CARDS

We are well into Term 2 and the Interim Report Cards will be issued on Friday, February 7.  The Interim Report is just a snapshot of a student’s progress and will identify the “work habits” and “achievement” levels for each subject. The work habits are assessed using the following descriptors. There will not be teacher comments on this report but you are welcome to email your child’s teacher directly if you require more information.

WORK HABITS

E: Excellent

G: Good

S: Satisfactory

NI: Needs Improvement

 ACHIEVEMENT

Exceeding Expectations

Meeting Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Below Expectations

 TERM 2 REPORT CARDS

On March 6, the Term 2 Report Cards will be issued to students and parents via ManageBac and will include grades and teacher comments for all subjects. The Term 2 parent teacher conferences are scheduled for International parents (via skype) on March 11 and on March 12 for local parents. More information about scheduling appointments for conferences will be released in February.

GRADE 12 IB EXAMINATIONS

Grade 12 students are very busy completing Extended Essay, TOK essay and Internal assessments for their IB subjects. The final IB Exams will be administered in May and follow the schedule outlined by International Baccalaureate Organization. The exams run over a three week period and will be completed on May 22.

We are working towards all Grade 12 students receiving a BC Dogwood Diploma. For the current Grade 12 cohort, the new BC curriculum requires that all students must complete a Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment, which all students have completed. 

GRADE 12 GRADUATION

The Grade 12 graduation ceremony will take place on Friday, May 22 and more information will be provided in February. We are currently working on the final details for this event. 

Personal Project Exhibition

February 20th 2020

2.30 to 3.30 pm in the Dining Hall

The Personal Project is an independent research-based project for all students in grade 10. It is a significant piece of work based on students' interests, initiative and creativity. The project focuses on one Global Context. 

The upcoming exhibition is a celebration of the work and an opportunity for the students to showcase their products.

Please join us for an exhibition of student-led inquiry, design and reflection.

Congratulations to Maria!

We had some great news this week - there was much excitement around the school! Maria - one of our Diploma Programme (Grade 12) students - has been offered a place at The University of Toronto to study Political Science through their early admissions process. This is an amazing achievement and recognizes her outstanding intellect and hard work over many years. We are so happy for you Maria!  

Mt Washington Alpine Resort Day Ski Trips

ALL THREE PERMISSION FORMS & WAIVERS ARE DUE BY FEBRUARY 10TH

Field Trip Form

School Waiver

Mt Washington Waiver

Dates: Saturday, February 29th & Monday, March 9th

Enjoy a full day of skiing at Mt Washington! Students can choose to either ski, snowboard or snowshoe and tube for the day!

All information and details about the trips has been sent through Managebac.

We would greatly appreciate receiving all forms as soon as possible!

Please note that there has been a change in the morning departure time, the morning bus will leave Brookes Westshore at 4:45am, students must be dropped off by 4:30am.  

If you have any questions please email  aijasalvador@westshore.brookes.org and I would be happy to help!

Hornby Island Camping for Grade 6 - 8 in May

We are very excited to announce 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.

Full details will be revealed soon, but 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. 

Chinese New Year

The whole school came together to celebrate the Chinese New Year - year of the rat. We had a fascinating presentation from some of our students from China about the history of the celebration and the traditional stories associated with this time of year. 

After the presentation all our student took part in activities and games that introduced us to aspects of Chinese life, arts and culture - from paper cutting and calligraphy to picking up peas with chopsticks.

We were delighted to share this time with our visiting students - they have been a great addition to our school community and we have been glad to welcome them and show them some Brookes' hospitality. 

With the challenges facing China at this time with the outbreak of the Coronavirus it was especially important for us to come together and celebrate this important time of year with our Chinese friends.

Weekend Activities

Another exciting weekend was had at Brookes Westshore! On Friday night, a group of students dressed all in white and went 'cosmic bowling' at Langford Lanes. It was a gutterly delightful evening filled with lots of strikes and spares!

On Saturday evening we walked to the Q center and watched a Grizzlies Hockey game! The team came out strong and on a mission. They won the game 6-2 through their hard work and determination. The students cheered their home team on through every goal, and after the game they even got pictures taken with some of their favourite players!

On Sunday, a group of students travelled to Chinatown to experience the Chinese New Year celebrations! Our students were joined by our new friends visiting from the Winter Camp Group; this made the day very special. The Winter Group shared their knowledge of Chinese New Year and some of these students even dressed up in traditional outfits. Afterwards, we enjoyed an authentic Chinese lunch and learned some very interesting facts at the Royal BC Museum!  Thank you for sharing your experiences, we had a blast!

Congratulations to our Junior Girls Volleyball Team

What a great start to the season for our junior girls volleyball team! With just a few weeks practice they have become a winning machine - losing only one set in a storming performance in their first ever tournament! 

Their initial nerves were soon forgotten in a great team performance. Everyone played their part and the result speaks for itself: 5 wins out of 6 sets!

Mr B stepped in for the injured Mr Turkington as coach and was amazed by the progress the team has made in such a short time. A shout out too to Lila and Fa for their support and coaching skills!

Congratulations to everyone involved!

Senior Boys Basketball

The Senior Boys had a very close game on Monday against St Andrews. It was a very emotional day for basketball players everywhere, with the passing of Kobe Bryant.

Our team displayed resilience and a mentally strong game. Though the game was very close at 4 points in the last minute, St Andrews pulled ahead in the very last seconds.

On Wednesday night, we played Royal Bay and this game also came down to the last minute of the game. The score flip flopped for most of the game with Royal Bay leading at the very end. Our Brookes players did not give up and in the last minute of the game with our pressure defence, we scored 6 straight points in 15 seconds! However, this game also ended in defeat with Royal Bay just squeezing by in the last seconds.

The Senior boys are on their way to Duncan Christian School next Friday for their South Island Championships!

My name is Olly Wood, and I am from Australia. I received a Bachelor of Education from the University of Queensland (Brisbane - my hometown) and began my teaching career there. It wasn't long before I ventured overseas and taught at IB international schools in Dubai and Singapore. My main teaching areas are MYP Physical and Health Education and Maths, and I love to be involved in coaching too.

My most recent memorable moments have been developing a yoga program for middle schoolers and leading an outdoor education trip to the mountainous province of Yunnan, China.

Being a Third Culture Kid (I lived in 3 countries before the age of 10!) myself means that naturally, I love working in a diverse and energetic environment. I love connecting with students and staff from various backgrounds and listening to their stories. Living on this great island means that I can't keep still!  So outside of Brookes, you'll find me on a trail, at a beach or at an epic children's playground (with our 2.5 year old son - Jasper). 

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