The MYP4 trip to Tofino was an amazing success! See below for more details.

Dear Brookes Westshore Families and Friends,

The May 2023 session of IB exams has started at Brookes and they will run until May 19th, the day of graduation.  Students all have an examination schedule, and the morning exams start at 0830. Students should be here at least 15 minutes before the start of their exams to get themselves organized and sorted for the exam.  It is such a stressful time for students, and they need our continued support for the last three weeks here at Brookes.  Please notify the frontdesk@westshore.brookes.org if you anticipate a late arrival due to traffic problems. The rules and regulations set by the IBO are very strict and students must write their exam at the designated time. 

Class of 2023

The Class of 2023 are well prepared for these exams, and I want to acknowledge the hard work and sacrifices they have made towards their studies.  Well done!!

Shout Out to Finn (MYP 5)

I also wanted to let you know that Finn has been accepted into the Islands Youth Parliament (IYP). Congratulations Finn!

Parking Safety

Please remember that our parking lot is a busy place and be mindful of kids crossing behind cars to walk to the bridge. Please drive slowly and cautiously. 

Also, please try not to block our neighbour's driveways when you park on Colwood Crescent. Thank you. 

With kind regards,

Linda Bayes

Deputy Head of School

Happy times in Tofino!

As we approach the end of April, I would like to thank our teaching and non-teaching staff who have been working tirelessly to ensure that our students receive the best possible education.

Thanks to our students who have demonstrated good dedication to their studies and participating actively in class.

Thanks to our parents who have shown continuous support and involvement in our school community. While reflecting on the achievements made at school in April:

• Grade 4 are proud of becoming historians and writing biographies about famous figures in Canadian history. – Grade 4 leader: Ms. Jesse Junck
• Grade 5 students feel they are stronger communicators. They shared that it’s obvious in the vocabulary they’ve gained in inquiry and math, and also that they’ve noticed arguments arise a lot less in social settings because they’re able to better listen to one another and find solutions. We’re also proud at how we’re crushing the division part of our operations unit in math! – Grade 5 leader: Ms. Alexe Lodin

• MYP 1 (Grade 6) community is very proud of their efforts, planning and participation in their first Service Project of leading the Earth Day Fun Friday. Also, they are having a blast with Drama and preparing for a full-length play! – MYP 1 leader: Mme Julia Friedmann
• MYP 2 (Grade 7) students are proud of all the preparation they have been doing for their upcoming Service Project to help support the BC Children’s Hospital. The students have been organizing logistics for their organized events, created advertisements and informative presentations, and are generating excitement around the event. We look forward to sharing more with everyone soon. – MYP 2 leader: Mr. Devin Gallery
• MYP 3 (Grade 8) are proud of how they have continued to build their social skills through organizing a food drive for the Mustard Seed. MYP 3 students have received many donations and put their communication skills to practice as they presented their progress at the Service Fair. Well done MYP3! – MYP 3 leader: Ms. Kayleigh McIntosh

Janet in DP2 talks about the IB Learner Profile and life at Brookes Westshore.

• MYP 4 (Grade 9) had a wonderful April! Organizing and welcoming our community to the BBQ Fundraiser demonstrated the year group's ability to be caring and principled IB learners. The Tofino trip was fantastic fun and I really enjoyed getting to know students in nature's classroom and see them enjoy the beautiful west coast surf. This demonstrated they are all risk takers and open-minded about new experiences! MYP 4 continue to approach their academic studies and service action projects with enthusiasm, and I am excited to hear of their plans for next year's Personal Project already bubbling up in conversations! – MYP 4 leader: Ms. Kate Barton
• MYP 5 (Grade 10) students are proud of themselves for all the hard work they put into their Personal Project. Congratulation, MYP5, finally, you are done! During the Personal Project exhibition and celebration, students showcased their projects to peers, teachers, and parents. The exhibition serves as a valuable experience as it allows students to share their knowledge and passion with others and receive feedback on their work. The Personal Project is a significant accomplishment, and we commend MYP5 students for their hard work and dedication. Well done MYP5! – MYP 5 leader: Mr. Oliver Wood
• DP 1 (Grade 11) students have returned from spring break rejuvenated and are doubling down on meeting their social and academic goals. They have begun their Extended Essay journey and will be completing their initial official meetings with supervisors this week, followed by their first reflections on their process. The third semester will be a very busy time of the year for our DP1 students, and we wish them luck! – DP 1 leader: Mr. Matthew Healing
• DP 2 (Grade 12) students have finished all their internal assessments during the month of April. Wish them good luck on their IB May exam for the next 3 weeks!! – DP 2 leader: Mr. Gary Ward

Overall, April has been a busy month of great achievement at our school. I look forward to continuing our journey together and building on these successes in the months to come!

With gratitude,

Rui Li

Vice Principal of Academics / DP Coordinator

Surfing lessons on the beach in Tofino

Ukrainian Student Scholarship Fund

Tonight, we will be gathering with over a hundred families and friends to celebrate and support the Ukrainian Student Scholarship Fund. 

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has put so much time, effort and passion into this event. We are truly grateful to be part of such a generous and supportive community. 

Together, as a community of students, families and staff, we have raised $17,064 - and the auction hasn't even started!! Thank you all!

Remember - donations are still open!

If you didn't make it to the auction, please consider a donation - click here for our fundraising page.

As a follow up to last week's post about the DP Visual Arts Exhibition here is a video with Raymond, a DP2 student, about his experience of DP Visual Arts and the Exhibition. 

DP2 French students enjoy a delicious parfait as they prepare for their exams.

Surf's Up!

MYP4 Tofino Trip

The school trips to Tofino are a highlight of the school year, and all students look forward to MYP4 for the surf trips to begin! Our first stop was at the Old Country Market in Coombs. We visited the goats on the roof, the local shops and grabbed a famous doughnut from Billy G's doughtnut shop. The next stop was Cathedral Grove, an ancient old growth forest filled trees over 800 years old! We enjoyed the old growth loop and ventured on to our final stop at the Ocean Village Resort. On Friday night, students enjoyed the indoor swimming pool, a BBQ and fire on the beach. We roasted marshmallows and smores around the fire and shared stories.

On Saturday, we woke up excited for our surfing lesson! For many students this was their first time learning to surf, which made for a special experience. Pacific Surf Company met us at the beach and taught us everything that we needed to know to create a safe and fun environment. During the lesson students' confidence grew, and classmates cheered each other on as they caught waves into the shore. After the lesson, students expressed how they had fallen in love with the new sport and were excited to try again next year already! We love hearing this feedback and providing students with new experiences where they are challenged and encouraged to try something new.

On Saturday and Sunday, we visited the small towns of Tofino and Ucluelet. In Tofino, we explored the local surf shops and visited the Roy Henry Vickers Art Gallery, a world renowned Canadian First Nations artist. In Ucluelet, we hiked along the Wild Pacific Trail and the view was breathtaking. We carved through the forest paths along the ocean and in the background off of the coast, you could see several majestic islands with a light fog covering them. This was truly a West Coast experience! 

We are excited for the MYP5's to share this amazing experience on May 5th!

A hike in the west coast rainforest.

Service as action is a foundational element of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP). It seeks to develop caring members of the community who act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and their environment. Service as action requires students to engage with their local community through community or personal projects and provides opportunities for students to explore, design, implement, and reflect on their efforts to positively impact their local environment. Through service as action experiences, students learn the value of community participation and gain a deeper understanding of the issues facing their immediate surroundings.

This May, the MYP 2 students and the Brookes Westshore school community want to help the kids at BC Children's Hospital get out of their hospital gowns and back into their jeans by participating in Jean Up, BC’s most important fundraiser for the BC Children’s Hospital.

MYP 2 will plan and present informative sessions about the BC Children’s Hospital during the first week of May and stress to our school community the importance of this event. As a school we will stand in solidarity for this cause by wearing jeans on Friday May 12^th. Additionally, on May 12^th MYP 2 will organize a BC Children’s Hospital informative scavenger hunt and the winning team will receive an amazing prize!

MYP 2 will be organizing a Walk-A-Thon on May 15^th and May 17^th and the students will be working hard to collect donations for this event. The students have a goal of walking 130 km as a group, which is the total distance from Brookes Westshore to the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.

International Agents visiting in May

Our Executive Director of Recruitment, Martin Staffolani, has been hard at work connecting us with students and families around the world. It is vital to the Brookes experience that our school has a range of nationalities and languages in all the grades from 8 and up. International students enhance the experience for all students and bring their unique cultural and national perspectives to the classroom.

A key aspect of this work is building strong relationships with the best student recruitment agencies in each country. On May 9th, in partnership with our neighbour Royal Roads University, Martin is hosting a group of 60 agents from around the world - Nepal, Spain, Colombia, Uganda, Vietnam and more. This is called a FAM Tour (FAM for Familiarisation).

The agents will visit our school, take a tour of Victoria, and learn all about Brookes Westshore, the IB, and life on Vancouver Island. We know they will be delighted with what we offer here and will take that enthusiasm back to their countries.

You can hear why Nina and Kura (DP2 students and President and Vice President of our Student Leadership Council) chose Brookes Westshore.

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