Fun and footsteps in the snow this week!

Dear Brookes Westshore Families and Friends,

Masquerade Ball Today!

The dining hall has been a very busy place today with the decorating and other preparations for the dance tonight. I want to thank our school community who generously support the students in the preparations for these events. They mean a great deal to our student community and the efforts are greatly appreciated.  Well Done, Brookes!!

Free Dress Day

MYP4 students are very excited about working together as a class to support the Ukrainian students who will be arriving this spring. On Friday, March 10th they are sponsoring a Free Dress Day for students. They will collect $5.00 per student. This is a wonderful opportunity for them to start getting involved in the community spirit to welcome our new students into Brookes. 

Report Cards

This is a very busy time of the academic year and students are preparing to complete summative assessments. Term 2 Report Cards will be issued on April 6th and parent conferences will be held the following week on Wednesday (for International Parents) and Thursday (for Local Parents). There will be more information shared with you on booking appointments after we return from Spring Break.

The last day of school before Spring Break is Friday, March 17th.  Classes resume on April 3rd. Please note that April 7th and 10th are holidays for Easter.

University Acceptances

I am having trouble keeping up with all the University acceptances our Grade 12 students are receiving. There are many students who have some very difficult choices to make in the upcoming month or so. This week Brandon was accepted to UBC - Engineering, Marcela accepted to University of Massachusetts Amherst - Engineering, Alex accepted to UVic and Western!

We have a very short time remaining with our Grade 12 students and they are busy preparing for their final IB exams in May.  We have started planning for their graduation and if any parents would like to be involved to help with grad, please send Andrea Salvador (asalvador@westshore.brookes.org) an email.

With kind regards,

Linda Bayes

Deputy Head of School

February was another busy month of continuous learning and growing. While reflecting on their achievements in the month of February:

• Grade 4 students were proud of the Charity Fair that they put on. They learned about how to use the design process to make something for their community. This required that they: ask, imagine, plan, create, reflect, improve, and share! – Grade 4 leader: Ms. Jesse Junck
• Grade 5 students feel they’ve progressed in general work habits this month: they’re handing in their work on time, communicating their ideas clearly, managing their time by being ready for lessons and activities, and coming up with compromises when conflict arises. – Grade 5 leader: Ms. Alexe Lodin
• MYP 1 (Grade 6) community is proud of their achievements in Art and Design. Particularly, making board games and improving drawing skills. Others are also proud of being Principled and completing tasks on time. – MYP 1 leader: Mme Julia Friedmann
• MYP 2 (Grade 7) class is proud to have contributed to the IB evaluation visit in February and feel it was a successful visit for Brookes Westshore – MYP 2 leader: Mr. Devin Gallery
• MYP 3 (Grade 8) class is proud of how they have improved their communication skills by learning how to communicate with other classmates to complete tasks in their classes. As well, MYP 3 students are proud of how they have improved their communication and cooking skills while completing their project for French class. MYP students had to create their own restaurant, design a menu, then create a video describing how to make a dish of their choice from their menu, in French. (See videos below) – MYP 3 leader: Ms. Kayleigh McIntosh

• MYP 4 (Grade 9) have begun to harness their communication skills and engage in student voice activities, including writing a new code of conduct for the use of devices in class. The year group are taking their service action projects to the next level with the Masquerade ball, and a new series of fundraising activities to welcome our Ukrainian students around the corner they are all very busy in our community! – MYP 4 leader: Ms. Kate Barton
• MYP 5 (Grade 10) students have completed their Personal Projects. This months-long project was an opportunity for students to indulge a passion and demonstrate the skills that they have developed through approaches to learning (ATL’s). For some students, this may have revealed talents and skills they didn’t think they had possessed until recently. This culminating MYP project is the perfect foundation for many of our students who will go on to complete Diploma Programme. Well done MYP5, we’re proud of you! – MYP 5 leader: Mr. Oliver Wood
• DP 1 (Grade 11) students have started their Extended Essay journey. They are currently formulating engaging and relevant research questions related to their chosen subjects and are meeting with their supervisors bi-weekly in an effort to make a positive beginning. – DP 1 leader: Mr. Matthew Healing
• DP 2 (Grade 12) Diploma candidates completed their TOK Essays and are now completing their PPFs before the submission to the IB. Meeting with all of them, they are eloquently relating their whole process of considering their question and writing the essay from different points of view. This is a great achievement. – DP 2 leader: Mr. Gary Ward

Thank you all for a great February of hard work and critical reflection!

Rui Li

Vice Principal of Academics / DP Coordinator

Klangnao, DP 2, talks about the IB and what it takes to excel as a student at Brookes Westshore.

DP2 student Ben presenting at the Royal Roads TEDx last week.

On Friday February 24th, five students from MYP2 and MYP3 attended the Math Challengers regional competition at Camosun College. Our team competed with other island schools in contextual math problems that challenged their knowledge and understanding of concepts. They were Risk-Takers at every stage of the competition, showcasing how Knowledgeable they are, had a Balanced attitude and Principled representation of the Brookes spirit. This was the first time for our team, and we hope to return next year! Congratulations!

The joy of graduation - class of 2022

Only 11 weeks until graduation! 

Graduation will be held on Friday, May 19^th. 

Families of graduating students can find full details and costs of the graduation ceremony and dinner here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Babysitting Course Brought to you by: First Aid Hero  

First Aid Hero is a Canadian Red Cross Training Partner, and all instructors are certified Youth Leaders. They are passionate about helping kids learn the skills necessary to keep them safe! 

Date: Saturday, March 11^th 9:00 am – 5:00 pm 

Course will take place at Brookes Westshore, in classroom #217 

We need a minimum of 12 students to sign up for this to run.   

Students aged 11 and up can sign up.  You do not need to be a student from Brookes to register, so if you have a friend who you think may be interested, please let them know.   

Cost is $55 (tax included)    

Please sign up by Tuesday, March 7^th.   

To register for this course, please email: Alanna Deegan at alannadeegan@gmail.com  

Parent Information Session

Dr. Li and Ms. Bayes will be holding a Parent Information Session for MYP 5 parents on Tuesday March 14 at 5 PM to go over the requirements for the IB Diploma and how it fits with the BC Dogwood for graduation. This is a very important session for parents to learn more about the last 2 years of high school for their child which will equip them to better support their child as they begin planning for their post-secondary learning.

DP1 - MYP4 Tofino Surf Trip Sign Up Opens Tuesday, February 28th!

Sign up next week for our most rugged West Coast trip of the year! Tofino is a beautiful surf town located 4 1/2 hours north/west of Victoria on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Students have been asking all year about this trip, as we had an incredible time last year! We will stay again at the stunning Ocean Village Resort, located right on Mackenzie beach! We will wake up to the sound of waves on the shore and will surf with professional instructors from Pacific Surf Co and catch waves together in a safe group lesson! If you haven't surfed before, no problem! We will learn from the best and stay warm in our full body wetsuits! We will also hike through ancient old growth forests and visit the local surf shops in town. 

Please note that the DP1 trip, will be staying an extra night as it is the long Easter weekend!

Sign up in Schools Buddy

The DP1-MYP4 Tofino trip sign-ups are now open through our Schools Buddy program! Sign up closes on March 18th, before spring break. 

Each Tofino trip is already half full, so please sign-up ASAP to hold your spot! The first 28 students to sign up for each trip will attend.

Trip Dates:

• DP1 - April 7^th - 10^th 
• MYP4 - April 21^st - 23rd 
• MYP5 - May 5^th - 7^th

There are limited spaces available for these trips, so please sign up right away to secure your spot!

If you have any difficulties logging into our schoolsbuddy program, please do not hesitate to email Ms Aija to help. Email: aijasalvador@westshore.brookes.org

Enjoy the photos from our trip last year!

Masquerade Ball - Tonight!

Masks are being prepared - we look forward to seeing you all there!

Activities March 3rd - 5th 

• Friday 7:00 - 10:00pm Masquerade Dance 
• Saturday 1:30pm Senior Home Visit 
• Saturday 7:30pm Homemade Tacos with Monse! Prepare delicious handmade tortillas!
• Sunday 1:00pm Ice Skating at JDF
• Sunday 7:30pm Wellness Meeting Floor 2 & 3. This is a mandatory meeting in the dining hall! 

Dorm students were focused on supporting our Senior Boys' Basketball team this weekend - making posters and traveling to Nanaimo to cheer on the boys!

Our Senior Boys' basketball team has qualified to the Provincial Championship tournament two years in row!  The team placed 2^nd at the Island Championships last weekend, falling just short to the 5^th ranked team in BC, the Nanaimo Trail Blazers. Brookes battled hard in the Island championship game, but Nanaimo's 6'9 post, and soon to be Island MVP, proved his ability to score and defend. 

Alex and Coen received First Team All-stars for their strong and dynamic play throughout the tournament. Tristan also played an absolutely phenomenal game in the finals, scoring continuous tough shots, while also having the difficult task of slowing down the Island MVP. He played fiercely throughout the game and our team fed off his energy. 

The team leaves to the Provincial Championships hosted at the Langley Event Centre on Tuesday of next week. Our game schedule will be released on Sunday afternoon during the live draw show where our team will receive their final ranking. 

All games can be viewed via streaming through pay per view. Here is the link if you would like more information about the tournament or would like to tune in and watch! http://www.bchighschoolbasketballchampionships.com/1aboys/

We are very proud of these student athletes, and we wish them all the best at the tournament!

GOOD LUCK BROOKES!

Do you have questions?

If you have a question about the school or just something on your mind, please feel free to contact our leadership team:

• Rui Li - Vice Principal and DP Coordinator
• Andrea Salvador - School Manager / Events
• Jacob Baumgartner - Community and Wellness Coordinator
• Melanie Moroz - MYP Coordinator