Our most successful Terry Fox runners and fundraisers got to "Soak A Senior" on Wednesday!
Dear Brookes Westshore Families and Friends,
It is hard to believe we are already into October! The start of the school year has flown by, and we have seen so much growth and connection within our community. From camping trips to hands-on class activities, students have developed deeper bonds with their peers and teachers. Our various parent information sessions have provided valuable opportunities to engage with the families that make our school community so special. We appreciate your participation in these sessions, which help to strengthen the partnership between home and school. These connections are key to building a collaborative approach to education, ensuring that every student receives the guidance and support they need to succeed.
As we continue to build these strong connections within our school community, it is also important to focus on how we assess and report on the academic progress that supports student growth. During this academic year, we issue 5 learning updates on student achievement. Two of these reports are called Interim Learning Updates, which provide teacher’s comment on a student's performance related to their Engagement and Work Habits. There are no grades provided in the interim updates. The first interim learning update will be issued on October 18th. The first Term Learning Update, which includes grades and comments based on student achievement, will be issued on December 6th.
With gratitude,
Dr. Rui Li
Principal
Fun Friday last week saw the first appearance of our school Gryphon mascot!
"The Teenage Years - Roadmap for Parents"
On October 17th our school counsellor, Ms. Kat will be running a workshop called "The Teenage Years - Roadmap for Parents" in the Dining Hall from 9 to 10 am. All parents and guardians of students in MYP 1 to 3 are welcome to attend. Ms. Kat will talk about the nature of the teenage brain, what constitutes typical behaviour for teenagers, and offer some strategies that will help families navigate challenges and support their teenagers to keep them safe and healthy. Please RSVP to events@westshore.brookes.org.
Grade 4 and Grade 7 Foundational Skills Assessments
The BC Ministry of Education recommends that all students in grade 4 and grade 7 complete provincial literacy and numeracy assessments each fall. The data collected is used to inform schools, districts and the province about how well students are prepared for academic success and assist in the planning of curriculum and core competency criteria. These assessments will be completed in school later in October, and feedback will be available in early January. Note that the outcome of these assessments will not impact a student’s grade in their courses. More information can be found here.
BC Graduation Assessments
There are 3 assessments required to earn the BC Dogwood Diploma – Literacy 10, Literacy 12, and Numeracy 10 assessments. Our Grade 10 and 12 students will be writing these assessments during the week of October 28th. They are done online, and students will use their own computers to complete the assessments. The grades from these assessments are scored on a 1-4 scale. Here is a link to an Information for Parents Brochure which helps to explain the BC assessments more completely. The grading scale for these assessments is:
- Emerging
- Developing
- Proficient
- Extending
Fun Friday October 11th: Puppy Palooza
Every year we invite our community pets to come to the school and spend time being adored by the students from. If you have a friendly and cuddly dog and would like to be included in this year's Puppy Palooza on Friday October 11th from 11:35 to 12:55 am please contact Mr. B at jbaumgartner@westshore.brookes.org
Parent-Teacher Conferences
The Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on November 6th from 15:30 to 17:30 and November 7th from 14:15 to 17:30.
November 7th will be an early dismissal day at 14:00.
There will be NO ASAs on these two days. The conferences will be virtual, and the sign up on SchoolsBuddy will open in late October. More information to come.
Our Recruitment and Admissions team are heading into a very busy time as they travel the world to meet with prospective Brookes families and let them know about the many exciting aspects of our school, and the unique environment we enjoy here on Vancouver Island. If you know of a family who has expressed an interest in a Brookes education, or a student who you think would thrive in our school, please let them know we would love to talk with them. Please ask them to reach out to Sheri Onushko (sonushko@westshore.brookes.org). With your ongoing support we will continue to build and strengthen our school community
Nuestro equipo de reclutamiento y admisiones está muy ocupado viajando por el mundo para reunirse con posibles familias de Brookes y darles a conocer los muchos aspectos interesantes de nuestra escuela y el entorno único que disfrutamos aquí en la isla de Vancouver. Si conoce a alguna familia que haya expresado su interés por la educación en Brookes, o existe algún alumno que crea que podría prosperar en nuestro colegio, háganos saber que nos encantaría hablar con el estudiante. Pídales que se pongan en contacto con Sheri Onushko (sonushko@westshore.brookes.org).
Con su apoyo continuado seguiremos construyendo y fortaleciendo nuestra comunidad escolar. Gracias a todos.
作为布鲁克斯学校的一名教师，现在的校长，我最开心的事情之一就是看到我们学校这些年以来建立起的特别强烈的共同归属感。我们努力的安排工作，欢迎来自世界各地的新家庭。 在得知我们学校受到我们现有家庭和朋友们的强烈推荐时，我们刚到十 分欣喜。我衷心的感谢帮助我们找到新学生，以及帮助我们建立并加强学校共同归属感的每个人。
我们的招聘和招生团队即将进入下一个非常繁忙的时期，他们将周游世界与有意向加入布鲁克斯的学生和家庭会面。我们的团队会告诉他们有关于我们学校的许多令人兴奋的方面， 以及我们在温哥华岛上享有的独特环境。如果您认识一个对布鲁克斯教育 有兴趣的家庭，或者您认为有学生适合在我们学校蓬勃发展， 请让他们知道我们很愿意与他们交谈。请他们与Sheri Onushko (sonushko@westshore.brookes.org) 联系。在您持续的支持下，我们将继续建设和加强我们的学校这个大家庭。 谢谢。
Last weekend the dorm students had a great time making pizza!
MYP2 The Royal Game of Ur
The MYP2 students are learning about the civilization of Ancient Mesopotamia in Individuals & Societies. To bring this period to life the students learned about the ancient board game, The Royal Game of Ur. The game was popular across the Middle East among people of all social strata, and boards for playing it have been found at locations as far away from Mesopotamia as Crete and Sri Lanka. One board, held by the British Museum, is dated to c. 2600 – c. 2400 BC, making it one of the oldest game boards in the world.
Visiting the University of Victoria
DP1 and DP2 students went to the University of Victoria for a chemistry laboratory tour and a campus tour on Thursday afternoon. Students walked through a graduate studies chemistry lab, attended presentations on transition to university and Careers in STEM (Science, Technology. Engineering, and Math), as well as a tour of the whole campus. Visits like this help our DP students have a better sense of what they want to do for their post-secondary education!
The outdoor skills ASA is focusing on building various firestarters. First attempt was using an egg carton, small, shredded pieces and wax. And they got to roast mini marshmallows while waiting for the wax to melt.
On Thursday, the Junior Cross-Country Team attended a meet at Beaver Lake. Noah and Nikita in MYP2 had their best races of the season, with Noah breaking into the top 15 runners. The MYP3 students ran competitive races, too, with Penelope earning a seventh-place ribbon. Well done, team!
The Junior Girls’ Volleyball team hosted Royal Bay and Victor Brodeur on Thursday. Our first game was against Royal Bay. Our girls played hard but lost 13-25 and 14-25. Two former Brookes’ students, Victoria and Neve, were playing for Royal Bay. It was great to see them! Our second game was against Victor Brodeur. The two teams were very balanced, and the games were close. In the first set, Victor Brodeur got off to an early lead, but our team battled back, and buoyed by good serving managed a come-from-behind victory 25-17. In the second set, Victor Brodeur again got off to an early lead. Our team bounced back and were able to catch up. In the end, Victor Brodeur finished strong to win the second set 25-16. Thus, the match was a 1-1 draw. The team’s coaches were very pleased with the team’s effort and positive spirit.
The Senior Boys' Soccer Team took on St. Andrews on Thursday night at JDF and kept their scoring streak going, now at 3 games in a row, losing a tightly contested affair. After going down by three goals in the first 15 minutes they showed remarkable spirit by continuing to push and work hard as a team, creating more than enough chances to take the lead and limiting the other squad to very few chances.
The senior girls’ volleyball team had three games last night. They played Glenlyon-Norfolk, St. Margaret’s, and St. Andrew’s. They won all three games! Congratulations!
You can watch recordings of some earlier matches on our YouTube channel here.
Diploma Programme Update
Our DP2 Full Diploma students are currently finishing off their Extended Essay (EE). The EE is a 4000-word research paper where students are challenged to provide primary research and acknowledge sources in a scholarly manner. They develop research, writing and critical thinking skills which serve them well in the future.
The EE is a research paper that students write based on a Research Question which they develop, and which is focused on one of their DP subjects. Students can also choose to write an interdisciplinary EE which involves the knowledge and understanding of two subjects and is based on an issue of global significance.
Our current group of DP2 students have some wonderful Extended Essay research questions that demonstrate how much they have developed over the years. They are ready for university or whatever post-secondary avenue they pursue.
The DP1 students have settled into the programme and are successfully meeting the rigorous learning demands associated with the IB Diploma Programmme. Teachers are excited at how the DP1 students are so actively engaged in their learning.
Grade 6 and 9 Immunizations
Immunization packages for grade 6 and 9 students were sent home last week.
If you have not already done so, please return the completed consent form to the school in a sealed envelope by Monday, October 7th.
Grade 6: Students in grade 6 will be offered immunizations at school with the consent of a parent/guardian/representative. Parents must give consent in order for their kids in grade 6 to be immunized.
Grade 9: Students in grade 9 will be offered immunizations at school. Please discuss the information in the consent package with your child and include them in the decision to provide consent for immunization.
By law in BC, students in grade 9 can make an informed decision about
immunization regardless of their parent/guardian/representative decision to consent or refuse immunization.
For more information visit HealthLinkBC: The Infants Act, Mature Minor Consent and Immunization.
Immunizations are provided by Island Health Public Health Nurses.
Immunizations will be provided at the school for grade 6 and 9 students the morning of October 22nd, 2024
For more information on school aged immunizations, please visit https://immunizebc.ca/children/immunization-schedules/school-age-children-teens
Please note that Covid-19 and Influenza vaccines are not offered at school-based clinics.
If you have any questions, please contact the West Shore Health Unit at 250-519-3490, or email wssookeschoolteam@islandhealth.ca
Term One Events and Activities
- Thursday, October 17th - MYP1 to MYP3 The Teenage Years, A Roadmap for Parents
- Thursday, October 24th - Halloween Dance (MYP3 to DP 2)
- Friday, October 25th - Pro D Day - No classes
- Thursday, October 31st - pumpkin carving and Halloween costume contest
- Friday, November 8th: Remembrance Day Community Block
- Saturday, November 30th: Times Colonist Santa's Parade
- School Spirit Week: December 9th to 13th
- Saturday, December 14th: Pancake Breakfast
Key dates of 2023 to 2025: Key Dates 2024 / 2025 - Brookes Westshore
Lunch Menu
If you would like to know what is on the menu next week for our delicious lunches, please click here.
Follow our dining team on @brookesdiningwestshore for mouthwatering images of our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners!
Please find our School Accessibility questionnaire here.
Safer Schools information: erase Family Sessions (saferschoolstogether.com)
Your comments and feedback are welcome! Please click here to leave a comment, ask a question, or raise an issue. Thank you!
Do you have questions or concerns?
If you have a question about the school or just something on your mind, please feel free to contact our leadership team:
- Rui Li - Principal
- Andrea Salvador - School Manager
- Jacob Baumgartner - School Culture Director
- Melanie Moroz - Academic Director
- Linda Bayes - DP Coordinator & University Counsellor
- Martin Staffolani - Executive Director of Recruitment
Please consider posting a review
If you have a minute, it will really help us to reach new families if you could consider posting a positive review online on Google or here (you will need to log in to the OurKids website to leave a review here). Prospective families love to hear from current parents about your real experiences here!
Brookes Westshore acknowledges that our school is on the traditional lands of the Xwsepsum (Esquimalt) and Lekwungen (Songhees) ancestors and families.
With gratitude, we live, work and learn here where the past, present, and future of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, faculty and staff come together.
