A beautiful rainbow above our school - thanks to Mr. Wood for the photo!

Dear Brookes Westshore Families and Friends,

This week we celebrated the Lunar New Year on Tuesday, and on Friday watched the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics during lunch (see photos below).  It is so important that we support our international students to feel at home here, as well as offer our local students the opportunity to learn about other cultural practices from around the world. Our diverse student population is matched by our staff – who have collectively lived and worked in over twenty countries – across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and North and South America.

With so many countries represented at the school, it seems as if someone is always cheering on one their country’s athletes. We are truly an international school! But, of course, there is always an added surge of cheers and a communal feeling of pride when our Canadian Olympians stand triumphantly on the podium.  Go team Canada!

With kind regards,

Jerry Salvador

Head of School

Fun Friday - watching the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony at lunchtime

Term 2 Interim Reports will be issued later this afternoon and everyone will be able to access the report via ManageBac.  I urge all parents to download these reports and file them away for your personal records. The interim reports are a very brief report which describes the students work habits and overall achievement in each subject.  The Term 2 reports, which will provide grades and teachers comments will be issued on March 11th, 2022.

The DP2 (Grade 12) Interim Reports will also include their IB predicted grades which will provide some indication as to how a student is expected to perform on the May IB Exams. Most of the students in DP2 have completed their university applications and I am now busy submitting IB predicted grades and transcripts to many universities. It is a very exciting time for them. I have started meeting with DP1 (Grade 11) students to discuss planning for their university applications and I hope to have a parent session later in the year once COVID 19 restrictions are lifted. 

Earlier this year Brookes purchased a very high end projector and speaker system for the dining hall and we were able to take advantage of this wonderful equipment today and students were watching the Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies.  We plan to project the Olympics at lunchtime over the next 2 weeks.  Students just loved the Opening Ceremonies and it was wonderful to see them so engaged.  

Anti-Bullying

Anti-bulling is our monthly theme for February. Our student leadership council has been working very hard to prepare presentations and plan interactive activities to further promote anti-bullying practices at our school. Throughout February, they will post videos and messages in the morning announcements, as well as go to classes to further raise students’ awareness of anti-bullying. Their goal is to help and support students to understand:

• the different types of bullying
• what to do when involved in a bullying incident (sharing resources)
• the difference between bullying and conflicts
• cyberbullying (responsible use of social media)
• how to set boundaries to protect ourselves
• inclusion and international mindedness

Photo from early 2020 - the last time we all went skiing together!

School Ski Trips (updated)

Due to technical difficulties with SchoolsBuddy, we will be sending out sign up forms for the ski trips through ManageBac or here

If you have already signed up through SchoolsBuddy we will be in touch with you directly by email to check your booking – you do not have to sign up again.

In light of this complication, the closing date for ski trip signups will be pushed back to February 18^th.

 Our apologies for the inconvenience!

Trip Dates: 

• Saturday, February 26th 
• Saturday, March 5^th
• Friday, March 11th 

If you have any questions - please email Aija:

 aijasalvador@westshore.brookes.org

Local Parents, please note that lessons on the Saturday trips are not included in the Ski Packages and parents must book these lessons on their own. If your child is a beginner rider/skier (ridden/skied fewer than three times), lessons are mandatory. Please email Aija Salvador with the confirmed lesson and time and she will ensure that your child goes to their lesson on time. 

If you need any help with booking lessons, please don't hesitate to email Aija, she would be happy to help! 

We are looking forward to hitting the slopes soon with you all!

Pro D Day

February 18 is a Professional Development day for teachers – there will be no school on that day.

ASA Contact

Please email frontdesk@westshore.brookes.org with ASA related messages.

Grad. Portraits

Graduation Portraits have been pushed back to February 28th to March 2nd. Students should be in formal uniform for their portraits. Graduation gowns and hats

The students in IB DP biology class measuring the effect of pH catalase enzyme activity. 

Students in the invasive species ASA have been removing Daphnia, Scotch Broom and a lot of Blackberry from the banks of Colwood Creek on Campus. On Saturday we delivered 2 truck loads to the Waste Station for disposal. Students will continue to remove the invasives from Campus for the rest of the year.

Junior Boy's Volleyball action from this week

Ice Skating at Juan de Fuca Rec Centre

On Monday 31^st January, Grades 9’s and 10’s exchanged Blocks 4 and 5 in the classroom for an afternoon on the ice. And, what a fun afternoon it was too! There were plenty of smiles and laughter to be had, and it was just great to see the students connect with one another and enjoy one of the many perks living on Vancouver Island. Next up is skiing at Mount Washington!

Lunar New Year

A group of our DP1 students  planned something special to celebrate the Lunar New Year this Tuesday,. Sage Dining also prepared a special Chinese lunch on Tuesday. Everyone was encouraged to wear something red, pink, or gold. Activities during lunch break included:

• Paper cutting 
• Chinese Calligraphy 
• Making paper firecrackers and paper lanterns 
• Jian zi (Chinese hacky sack) 

Dorm Activities for February 4th, 5th and 6th

Friday 7:00 pm - Homemade Empanadas with Ms. Brenda

Friday 8:00 pm - Dorm Volleyball Game

Saturday 2:00 pm - Hike and Explore with Mr. Carlos

Saturday 8:00 pm - Haircuts by Ms. Thia

Sunday 1:00 pm - Ice Skating at JDF