Mr. B and Theo (grade 4) are VERY excited with the new wireless microphone - heartfelt thanks to the families who generously donated to get us this great piece of kit!
Dear Brookes Westshore Families and Friends,
The term 2 Interim Reports will be issued today through ManageBac and all parents should receive a notification when they are ready. These reports provide a Work Habit and Achievement level for each subject but will not include teacher comments. On April 6th, 2023, the Term 2 reports will be issued which will contain teacher comments and grades for each subject. In the meantime, if you have any questions about your child’s academic progress, we encourage you to contact the teacher and/or the IB Coordinator.
All Grade 4 to 8 students continue to make their visits to the public library every cycle and the students have been telling me they love the visits. We encourage at least 30 minutes per day of reading for students in these grade levels and we provide a daily reading time after lunch. I hope they are bringing some of their library books home to share with their families and to read at home as well.
The graduating class of 2023 had their graduation photos taken this week - this is our first step in our graduation preparations. Our Grade 12 students are very busy at this time of the year, and they haven’t had much opportunity to think about their graduation in May, but we will be starting to meet with them on a regular basis to proceed with planning the graduation.
The graduation ceremony will be held on May 19th in the afternoon. More details will be provided in the upcoming couple of weeks.
We have finished the final preparations for our IB Evaluation Virtual visit from February 15th - 17th. Once the visit is completed, I will be able to share with you the feedback we receive from the IBO.
February 20th is Family Day in BC and there not be school.
Spring Break starts on March 18th and school resumes on April 3rd.
With kind regards,
Linda Bayes
Deputy Head of School
Some of the students who helped out at the Pancake Breakfast this winter visited the Goldstream Food Bank this week to present them with a cheque for $1700. Thanks to everyone who took part, volunteered and made this event such a success! Your dollars are making a real difference to the lives of local families in need.
It has been lovely to see everyone’s smiling face after the winter break. While reflecting on their achievements in the month of January:
- Grade 4 students are most proud of their reading levels! Everyone has been practicing regularly and improving greatly. We are nearly ready to begin our small group novel studies! – Grade 4 leader: Ms. Jesse Junck
- Grade 5 – A great thing that came up in our monthly reflection this week was the ski trip and how so many of us were risk-takers that day, by trying skiing for the first time or being brave and doing it again with little practice. – Grade 5 leader: Ms. Alexe Lodin
- MYP 1 (Grade 6) students are proud of getting in more assignments collectively on time, their achievements in art and also sports ASA's. Art has been a particular favorite and the students can be seen drawing, sketching, and coloring all around! – MYP 1 leader: Mme Julia Friedmann
- MYP 2 (Grade 7) students are proud of persevering through the month of January and re-establishing school routines after a long and enjoyable winter break. – MYP 2 leader: Mr. Devin Gallery
- MYP 3 (Grade 8) students are proud of how they were able to return to the routine of school after winter break, and “surviving” the cold weather! As well, MYP 3 students feel they have been working well together, being understanding of different perspectives, and are all part of a group that supports one another. They feel they are respectful towards each other most of the time and do well to apologize and restore friendships after disagreements. Finally, MYP 3 have done a great job cleaning up after themselves and maintaining a neat and functional classroom. – MYP 3 leader: Ms. Kayleigh McIntosh
- MYP 4 (Grade 9) group have a number of great service projects coming to fruition. From Bird habitats to Masquerade balls with a wide range of other thoughtful, meaningful community contributions in-between our year group have exemplified the principled, caring attributes of an IB Learner. As they start to brainstorm their ideas for next year's personal projects, I am excited to see their individual passions come to the fore! – MYP 4 leader: Ms. Kate Barton
- MYP 5 (Grade 10) students have been busy meeting deadlines for their Personal Project, and they are now entering the final stages of their journey in completing their final reports. You are almost there, MYP5! – MYP 5 leader: Mr. Oliver Wood
- DP 1 (Grade 11) students have been working hard to improve their time management skills and are making steps in the right direction. They have also recently completed a survey about CAS involvement and are using this feedback to make progress toward completing their IB Core requirements. – DP 1 leader: Mr. Matthew Healing
- DP 2 (Grade 12) students have been working very hard to complete their Extended Essay (EE) and Internal assessments (IA) in various subjects during the month of January. They have also been working hard for mock exam preparation and university applications. Hang in there, DP2 students, you can do it! – DP 2 leader: Mr. Gary Ward
A big thank you to all staff for their support for the students to quickly get back to the routines after the winter break. I look forward to seeing continuous student growth and development throughout term 2!
With gratitude,
Rui Li
Vice Principal of Academics
Adelyn and Simona (grade 5) discussing the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarism!
Here ye! Here ye!
You are hereby cordially invited to the Brookes Westshore
Masquerade Ball
on
Friday, March 3rd, 2023
Arrive in your best garments and be prepared to witness the most magnificent evening of the century!
- Grade 4 - 5: Mask making at Lunchtime (other grades are welcome too!)
- Grades 6 & 7: 3.30 pm to 5 pm
- Grades 8 - 12: 7 pm to 10 pm
Grade 8 - 12 Tickets in advance at the front desk: $8 / Tickets on the door: $10
Two of our school's best runners - Max and Declan - running for Terry Fox
Times Colonist 10K
The TC 10k is a great challenge for those looking at staying fit and motivated over the winter months and into Spring. This year's race is on Sunday, April 30th. We are hoping to enter a school team.
We are looking for students, parents, families and staff members to join.
If you are interested in participating in the race, please add yourself to our school team ‘BROOKES WESTSHORE’ when you register online. If we have 10 or more people registered by March 23rd, we will receive race shirts with our school's name and logo on it!
You will also get a $5.00 registration discount by joining our school team! We hope to see you out there on race day! Spread the word.
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Sask at esask@westshore.brookes.org.
Senior Boys Basketball - last league game!
Cheer on the Senior Boys Basketball team in their final league game of the season at Belmont High School on Monday, February 6th! The game will be played at 7:30pm. Come support the team and wear your blue and white!
After School Snacks for students doing an ASA
Starting this Monday, students who have an ASA after school are welcome to go to the dining hall to enjoy some fruit as their after-school snack. The snack counter will be open between 3:20pm- 3:40pm.
Girls Basketball ASA
Shout out to our Girls' Basketball ASA! This team has been working exceptionally hard and this is the largest girls' basketball team that Brookes Westshore has ever had! This ASA has become very popular, and we are proud of their commitment, determination and the positive team atmosphere that has been created by the team! Here are some photos of the team refining their dribbling and finishing skills yesterday.
Fencing ASA - en garde!
Fun Friday Dodgeball
Keep your eyes open for the upcoming Fun Friday Dodgeball Tournament!
Enjoy some images from around the school as students get to grips with their classes.
All eyes on Mr. T for the Individuals and Societies block
Mr. Gallery starting a PHE class with students in the gym.
The grade 12 students are studying hard in preparation for their mock exams - a stressful time for them (see below for some helpful stressbusters)
Stressbusting with Nurse Mel
With the IB mock exams approaching here are five tips on managing your stress:
- Plan a timetable to keep track of workload.
- Eat well and exercise (don’t skip meals)
- Good brain food: fresh veggies and hummus, berries, bananas, dried fruit, oatmeal, yogurt with granola
- Yoga, walking, free fitness apps/YouTube (blogilaties, Yoga with Adiene, growingannanas, Madfit)
- Drink water …not sodas (6-8 glasses of water per day)
- Take a break from social media.
- Limit caffeine intake (caffeine increases stress levels)
Activities for February 3rd - 5th
- Friday 7:15 Camosun College Basketball Game
- Saturday 1:00pm Self Care Education Trip: Visiting Sephora, shoppers drug mart, London drugs, etc (Skin care, make up, hygiene)
- Saturday 8:00pm Volleyball game in the gym
- Sunday 11:00am Indoor Soccer at Pacific FC
- Sunday 2:30pm Golf Driving Range
- Sunday 3:00pm Mario Kart Tournament Cm Rm 1
Last Sunday was hot-pot night - a great chance for dorm students to come together, cook some delicious food, and connect with each other.
Senior Boys Basketball Tournament in Campbell River
Last weekend, the Senior Boys basketball team challenged themselves in a AAA/AA basketball tournament. All of the teams at this tournament are highly ranked and from larger school from Vancouver Island and the Mainland. In our first game, we were up against Westview school, a basketball academy school from Maple Ridge. The players from this school take basketball as an academic course for credits and learn about basketball theory as well as practicing during school hours. Our team battled hard against this fine skilled team but lost in the end by 3 points. Alex was awarded player of the game at the tournament as he scored 34 points with 13 points coming in at a crucial time in the 4th quarter.
The team relaxing between games in Campbell River.
If you would like to watch our full game footage against Edward Milne, click on the video above.
In our second game, we played Edward Milne and won handily 68-45. This game was a real team effort, as everyone on the team played an important role and 11 out of our 13 players scored! Logan was awarded player of the game by playing physically and scored 12 points in the 3rd and 4th quarter.
In our final game, we were matched up against the tenacious Highlands team from Comox. The Highlands have an intense full court press that puts a lot of pressure on our team to get the ball up the court. We won the first half, but the Highlands had a big 3rd quarter out scoring us by 12 points. We fought back in the 4th quarter to bring the game within 4 points. Unfortunately, we ended up losing the game by 6 points, but we proved to be resilient with our never give up attitude. Vigo Gamez won player of the game with his surge of energy in the 4th quarter and massive play making on defense and offence.
Even though the team lost 2 games, this tournament proved that we can play at a high level and with highly ranked teams from much larger schools. This was a great test for our team, we learned a lot and we are very proud of the results from this tournament.
The boys will be fundraising for their trip to Provincials in the coming weeks - keep an eye on the Gazette, and around the school for details!
Having the team together for a road trip is always fun too - and a great way for the students to get to know each other and connect away from the school environment (food is always a highlight - they are always hungry)!
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
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.
