Slideshow of images from the end of year celebrations.

Dear Brookes Westshore families and friends,

As we reach the end of another successful school year, I want to take a moment to extend my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful school community.

Thank you to all students for your hard work, enthusiasm, and resilience. You have faced challenges with courage and have achieved so much – well done, everyone!

Thank you to all parents for your trust and partnership in your child’s education. Your support and involvement have played a crucial role in our students’ success!

Thank you to all staff for your tireless efforts and passion. Your dedication and compassion are the heart of our school community!

Cellphone Policy

I also want to express my gratitude to everyone who participated in the recent survey regarding our cell phone policy for next year. Your feedback is invaluable and will help us shape policies that best serve our students’ needs. The survey results and new cell phone policy will be shared with our community later.

Mental Health and Wellness

Meanwhile, I am excited to share with you that we will be implementing Mental Health and Wellness Program in the next school year to further support our students with effective strategies to promote positive peer interactions and emotional well-being (see more information below).

Learning Update

Term 3 Learning Update will be issued through ManageBac on Thursday, June 27th. All parents and guardians are encouraged to download a copy from ManageBac for your own files.

As we look back on this year, we celebrate our collective achievements and the strong, supportive community we have built together. I wish everyone a well-deserved restful and enjoyable summer! I look forward to seeing everyone back on September 3rd, refreshed and ready for another fantastic year!

With deepest gratitude,

Dr. Rui Li

Principal

Singing O Canada!

As we take our well-deserved break from school, I want to celebrate our growth as IB Learners by reflecting on the attributes of character I have observed taking place in all corners of our campus. Each of you have contributed to our vibrant community in many positive ways, including... 

As Inquirers, you demonstrated curiosity and a desire to learn more about the world around you. 

As Thinkers, you tackled problems with creativity and critical thinking. 

As Communicators, you expressed your ideas and collaborated with peers and teachers alike. 

You were Principled when you acted with integrity and fairness.  

You were Caring when you showed empathy, respect and service for others.  

You were Open-Minded when you appreciated our diversity and valued different perspectives. 

As Balanced learners, you managed your academics, ASAs, and personal activities with confidence.  

As Knowledgeable learners, you dove deep into your lessons and appreciated their connectivity to your experiences in the real world. 

By being Risk-Takers, you have embraced challenges with perseverance.  

By being Reflective, you have thoughtfully considered your experiences as opportunities to grow. 

My hope is that you continue to represent these attributes as they guide you today, tomorrow and always. 

Thank you for showing up each day and doing your best. Have a restful and well-deserved summer. If today is your last day at Brookes, I wish you the very best in the next chapter of your educational journey. If you are returning in September, I look forward to seeing you again as we continue to strive to be the best versions of ourselves. 

With kind regards,

Melanie Moroz

MYP Coordinator

Mental Health and Wellness Program

At around the age of 12-13 there is a developmental change that happens, where children have increased social conflicts, mood swings, and a need for greater independence. This is a normal developmental phase that happens to children in every group environment because they are going through puberty and are experiencing their hormones raging. Hence, the middle school years are without a doubt the most challenging for any child as it is the where the maturity levels of youth become the most evident. Typically, these social issues begin to resolve themselves around the age of 15, as children become more mature and have finished going through puberty and have learned to interact as older, more mature individuals.

We understand that this developmental phase can be very difficult for children and also challenging for parents to navigate through, so we have come up with a plan to help support these transitional gaps by implementing a program for Grades 4-10.

From September our School Counselor, Ms. Kat, in partnership with teachers, will be working in the classroom with students (once a week for Gr. 4 - MYP2 students and once every two weeks for MYP3 - 5 students) to equip them with the skills and understanding they need to navigate these complex years. 

At the elementary levels the work will include an introduction to skills such as emotions management, empathy, kindness and problem solving.  For the middle school years, we will focus on teaching skills in recognizing and addressing bullying and harassment, emotions and their connection to decision making, as well as managing relationships and social conflict. The high school level activities will put all these skills together and translate them to real world issues to better help students discover who they want to be and how to self-care in difficult situations.

Our team looks forward to continuing to support students through these transitions with empathy and effective strategies to promote positive peer interactions and emotional well-being.

MYP1 trip to the Salish Sea Centre

Last week the MYP students went on a field trip to the Sidney Aquarium to complete a formative assignment for their IDU in Design and French. The goal was to use the rich diversity of the Salish Sea as presented by the Aquarium in conjunction with bilingual inquiry and connection. Students also enjoyed seeing the resident octopus out and about and interacting in the touch pool.

In MYP 1 Science, students have been learning about how NASA engineers design rovers to explore the surface of Mars. We studied Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance rovers to determine what features they all had in common, then, students build their own Mars rovers with these features (and some extras!). Photos are of “Mr. Munchy”, the “Mars BRO-ver”, and more!

On Wednesday the MYP5 hosted the BC First Peoples Activity Fair for Grade 4/5 and MYP1 classes.

Student Leadership Council

This week saw the traditional handover from one group of SLC leaders to another. The red tie of office has passed to a new generation of leaders. We look forward to their energy and ideas for the new school year.

On Monday MYP1 students helped to clean up our local beach - great work!

MYP2 enjoyed a trip to Horne Lake Caves this week. 

Congratulations to Finn for winning The Day’s Global Young Journalist Awards 2024 award with his cartoon: Deepfake Shield!

"People used to worry about getting their wallets stolen, but in today’s society you need to worry about getting your FACE stolen. Maddie solves her anxiety of being victimized by identity theft in her own original way -with her DEEPFAKE SHIELDTM."

https://theday.co.uk/global-young-journalist-awards/

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.