The first Fun Friday of 2023 and Just Dance in the Dining Hall

It was wonderful to see everyone back at school this week after a restful break.  Students were eager to get back to learning. 

Wednesday, January 18th is the Brookes Westshore school-wide ski trip - there are over 150 students going up to Mt. Washington! For those students who are not going skiing, there will be classes (but we understand some may be staying home on this day).  

Congratulations to Marcela who has been accepted to Penn State University to study Human Centered Design and Development - Bachelor of Science.  She was also accepted to the University of Massachusetts, Industrial Engineering with a scholarship.  We are very proud of Marcela!

Graduation photos for the Grade 12 students are scheduled for January 30th -February 1st. Students will be transported to the photography studio for their photos. The time for each student's photo session will be posted next week.

The Grade 12 Diploma students held an Extended Essay Exhibition on Thursday where they had the opportunity to share their EE with parents, teachers and students. I was so impressed with the student presentations and in particular, the level of knowledge they were able to share with us. Well Done Diploma Students!!

Blue Monday

This upcoming Monday has been recognized as the dreariest day of the year. We recognize that the return from winter break and the west coast weather can sometimes be a challenge for students and staff. We have so much to look forward to this week, but we are making sure to get ahead of things on Monday by having a special treat at break: firepits and hot chocolate at lunch, and some special furry friends visiting throughout the day. 

Reenrollment

Many new families have expressed interest in joining us next year at Brookes Westshore.  With this in mind we would like to start the re-enrollment process for our current families next week. Re-enrollment notices will be sent out through our application system, and we appreciate your prompt response to ensure your child secures a spot in our classes for the 2023-24 school year.

Mr. Woods' class - right back into instruction on Monday with electrical circuits.

Our school has partnered with the Federation of Independent School Association in BC (FISA BC), the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU) to measure and promote children’s social and emotional development, health, well-being, and assets through the Middle Year Development Instrument (MDI) and the Youth Development Instrument (YDI).

The MDI and YDI is a self-report questionnaire that asks children about their thoughts, feelings and experiences, to gather information about the lives of children both in school, in the home and in the community, from their own perspective. The survey questions align with the BC Ministry of Education’s K-12 curriculum, which includes a focus on promoting children’s personal and social competencies.

Grade 8 students are invited to complete the MDI during class time during the week of February 20th -24th, 2023.

Grades 10-12 students are invited to complete the YDI during class time between late February and early March 2023.

For more information, please see the message sent to parents this Wednesday on ManageBac. If you do NOT want your child to participate, please fill out the withdrawal form at the end of the parent/guardian informed passive consent letter and return it to me at ruili@westshore.brookes.org by February 10, 2023.

Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns about the MDI or YDI or contact the MDI project staff at mdi@help.ubc.ca and/or the YDI Team at ydi@sfu.ca.

Parent/Guardian resources can be found at the following websites.

YDI: Parent/Guardian Resources – CHART Lab

MDI: Parent/Caregiver Info – Human Early Learning Partnership (ubc.ca)

Warm regards,

Rui Li 

Vice Principal of Academics

School Social Media Channels

Thanks to everyone who follows us on our social media channels - it is a great way for us to let you know what is happening and to share our school's activities and adventures with the widest possible audience. Your likes and follows help us reach new families and build our community across the globe.

If you'd like to help us reach further, and haven't yet followed us, please connect with us on Instagram @brookeswesthore, or on our Facebook page.

To keep up to date with our sister schools around the world, and see the work of the Brookes Education Group, follow them on Facebook and Instagram @brookeseducationgroup.

Host Families for Japanese Students

We have been asked by one of our Japanese agencies to see if any of our families would be interested in hosting two Grade 9 Japanese students for 8 days in February (15th - 23rd) while they are visiting Victoria.

The students will be doing a variety of activities and ESL classes while they are in Victoria (ESL classes are at Lambrick Church). 

Here is a draft schedule of the program including pick up/drop off times, and also a document to describe requirements for host families.

If we have at least 3-4 families interested, we have negotiated a pick-up/drop-off at our school to reduce driving times.

Remuneration to host two students for eight nights is $920.

Please respond to Sheri and include toa@normantours.com if you have an interest in welcoming Japanese students to your home for this short-term group.

Grade 12 Extended Essay Presentations

This week the grade 12 DP students presented their extended essays to the grade 11 students in the Dining Hall. The extended essay is a research paper of up to 4000 words, giving students an opportunity to conduct independent research or investigation on a topic that interests them. Through the research process for the extended essay, students develop skills in:

• formulating an appropriate research question
• engaging in a personal exploration of the topic
• communicating ideas
• developing an argument. 

Participation in this process develops the capacity to analyze, synthesize and evaluate knowledge.

The presentations were a great success, and the students did a great job of communicating their passion, and their new insights into the subject they have researched. Our Grade 11 students will certainly benefit from the example of their peers when they come to write their own extended essays. 

You can see the range and depth of the research questions from these examples:

To what extent are cognitive empathy and emotional empathy impaired in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

To what extent has modern architecture and city planning adapted to the prospect of climate change?

How did Netflix change the market structure the of entertainment industry?

Pancake Breakfast

Just before the end of last term, and the break for the holidays, we hosted our first ever Pancake Breakfast at the school. It was a great success - over $1600 through ticket sales is being donated to the Goldstream Food Bank - thank you!

We had a great turnout at both sittings, with school families, community members, neighbours and local dignitaries all sitting down to a delicious breakfast together. Santa was there, as well as the Gryphon - the kids loved seeing them and had a great time with our student volunteers. The band played throughout and kept the atmosphere festive and full of energy. 

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who came along, who worked to make it such a success, and who support our school community!

Our Senior Boys basketball team played in their first game since returning from the break on Thursday. We won 79-65 against the Belmont Bulldogs. It was a very physical game, but our team persevered through the adversity of this tough opponent. We closed out the fourth quarter strong, outscoring Belmont by 15 points. Player of the game went to Alex Buhr who led the team in scoring with 26 points.  Go Gryphons!

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