The first snow of the winter generated some excitement on Thursday!

Dear Brookes Westshore Families and Friends,

I hope everyone had a joyful and restful winter break filled with warmth and happiness! It was wonderful to see everyone back at school this week. Our students were eagerly looking forward to the upcoming learning experiences awaiting them.

A special note of gratitude goes to the host families who provided our Ukrainian students with a wonderful and supportive environment during the holiday season. Your generosity and kindness have made a significant impact on their experience, and we truly appreciate your hospitality.

This week, we had our 4^th school fire drill. Our students and staff showcased commendable preparedness and cooperation. The efficient evacuation demonstrated a safe learning environment and a sense of responsibility among our community. The Grade 5 class was the fastest to evacuate and take attendance – 2 minutes! The MYP2 class was the second fastest – 3 minutes 45 minutes, followed by our DP2 class – 4 minutes 35 minutes. Well done, everyone!

As we resume our school routine, we would like to remind everyone to drive slowly and cautiously around the school premises. Ensuring the safety of our students is a top priority. Your cooperation in maintaining a cautious speed in and around the school area is greatly appreciated, especially given the possibility of snow and potentially slippery road conditions. 

In the event of severe inclement weather, Brookes Westshore will follow SD62 (Sooke School District) school closure message as published on their website. Confirmation will be sent out via email about our school closure by 6:40 am.

Welcome back, everyone, and here’s to another year of endless possibilities!

With kind regards,

Dr. Rui Li

Principal

Creative Writing Contest

Are you an avid writer? Do you love writing poems or enjoy creating stories? Exercise your creative writing skills in the Brookes Westshore writing competition for house points and prizes! Prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in both categories of Grades 4-7 and Grades 8-12. They include $50 and $25 Russel Books gift cards and hundreds of house points!

Submissions are due Feb. 3rd. Please use this link or QR code below to find out more about the contest's prizes and rules, as well as to read the prompts, criteria, and submit your creative writing!

The Grad Photos will be on January 29th, 30th, and 31st. More details will be in next week's newsletter.

A friendly reminder that term 2 ASAs begin on Monday, January 15th. 

Please note that there will be no ASAs on the following dates this term:

• Wednesday, January 24th
• Friday, February 16th
• Monday, February 19th

DP Programme Update

This is a busy time of year for our DP2 students and we are all doing our best to support them as they complete university applications. I have encouraged all students to involve their parents in this process to ensure a smooth admission process. Universities keep students up to date on their applications and will respond to any questions that students/parents might have. The Ministry of Education sends transcripts to universities electronically via the BC Student Transcript Services. All DP students have access to this website and they know how to access their transcript and send it to a university of their choice.

The BC Literacy 12 assessment results are now on their transcripts and students can access their score via BC Student Transcript Services. We are very proud of the results of our current DP2 class as 27% of the class achieved a grade of 4 (Extending) which is 10% points above the results of other schools in the province. Well done DP2!

The IB academic programme for DP2 is in the final months and this is accompanied by the final assessments. First the internal assessments (IAs) are submitted for each subject which is marked by teachers and submitted to the IB.  The IB then moderates these results to ensure results are in line with schools worldwide. 

The Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and Extended Essay (EE) are submitted in early March and both essays are graded by an IB appointed examiner. We do not see the results of these essays until results are issued in July by the IB.

The Extended Essay (EE) is now completed, and students will have the opportunity to share their EE topics and research at the EE Exhibition on February 8^th in the Dining Hall starting at 11.20 am. We invite parents and DP1 students to attend this event and it means a great deal for students to share what they have learned, and they are all very proud of their accomplishments. This is a significant research project for high school students and the learning accrued from this process serves them very well in university. 

Mock Exams are scheduled for February 1st, 2nd and February 5th and 6th for DP2 students. There will be no classes during this time and students will be provided with study space when they do not have an exam. The mock exams provide students with the experience of an IB examination session to better prepare them for the May exams and it allows teachers to provide a more accurate predicted grade and feedback for students to prepare for the final exams.

IB examinations happen in May 2024 for our current DP2 students and their last classes will be the last week of April.  

Our DP2 students are very busy right now and I am certain that all parents of these students can concur with me.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the Diploma Programme.

Linda Bayes, DP Coordinator

Photo from last year's ski trip (thanks to Raymond)

School Ski Trip 2024

Everyone is looking forward to this year's ski trip to the Mt. Washington Alpine Resort on Wednesday, January 24th!

Pancake Breakfast 2023

A huge thank you to everyone who came along to our Pancake Breakfast with Santa at the end of last term. It was the second year we have run this event and we are so happy with the results. Not only did everyone have a great time (the pancakes were amazing!) but we also raised $2,373.98 for the Goldstream Food Bank! Thanks to everyone who made it such a memorable and enjoyable experience - especially to all the volunteers who worked their Santa hats off all morning!

In recognition of Black Excellence Day that takes place Monday, January 15^th, please take a moment to click on the link below to learn about some amazing Black Canadians.

https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/black-history-month/

Recruitment Drive in Hong Kong

Our Director of Recruitment, Sheri Onushko, will be traveling to Hong Kong from January 18^th to the 26^th to attend a Study Abroad Fair organized by FSS, one of our key agencies and partners in Hong Kong: 展覽資料 | fsshongkong.

Sheri will meet with families from the region to let them know about the advantages of a Brooke's education, and to engage with students who will not only thrive in our school, but who will also add their own unique personalities to our community.

If you know of any families who might be interested in talking with Sheri, please reach out to her at admissions@westshore.brookes.org.

MYP Science

The cold weather gave us a perfect opportunity to play with some science and make some frozen bubbles! Students took advantage of the cold temperature to make bubbles and watch the formation of crystals on the surface; and of course, we can't forget the fun that comes with popping them - instead of bursting, the bubbles shattered! 

Once the experiment was complete it was time to come inside and warm up under a blanket!

Our Grade 4's enjoyed some indoor soccer at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Center this week.

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.