Dear Brookes Westshore Families and Friends,

Our recruitment team has a request. They work very hard behind the scenes to connect with, and talk to, families and students who would make great additions to our community here. What would really help them is if these families could talk directly with our current families. Your perspective is invaluable in helping families make the important decision to educate their child with Brookes Westshore. If you are willing to chat informally with a prospective family about the school, coordinated through our recruitment team, we would be very grateful. It would be for about 30 minutes to an hour only. Please email us here if you are interested or have more questions. Thank you!

Term One report cards will be issued on December 9th, and we will hold our parent teacher conferences on December 14th (for parents living outside the country) and December 15th for our local families. A Schools Buddy invitation to book an appointment for a conference will be sent out the week of December 5th.  These conferences will be held virtually, and parents will be given the opportunity to meet with 2-3 teachers.  All students will have early release from school at 1405 on December 15th only, to accommodate the conferences.

Thank you to all families who have made generous donations to the Toy and Food Drive. This was organized by some of our Grade 12 students, who were also responsible for the Spirit Week which was a tremendous success.  All students and staff had so much fun dressing according to the themes. We will continue to accept donations for the next week.

The last day of school before the Winter Break is Friday, December 16th.  We will conduct classes as usual for the morning, serve all students their lunch, after which they can be dismissed. We understand that it might be difficult for some parents to pick their children up at 12.25 and so we will make supervision arrangements until 3.20 pm

With kind regards,

Linda Bayes

Deputy Head of School

Food Bank donation drop off in the foyer.

Our DP2 (Grade 12) students are about to finish their Extended Essay (EE), which is a piece of 4000-word independent in-depth research on a topic chosen by themselves. The Extended Essay is a valued component of the Diploma Programme. It helps to prepare students for success at university, to develop research, thinking, self-management and communication skills, and to reflect on what they have learned throughout the research and writing process. Our DP2 students will celebrate their EE achievements and share their experience with the DP1 (Grade 11) students in January through the EE exhibition. DP2 parents are invited to this exciting EE exhibition and more information will be shared with the parents early January.

Here are some examples of EE topics from our DP2 students.

• To what extent do lack of friendship and family attachment styles contribute to the feelings of loneliness in children?
• To what extent has modern architecture and city planning adapted to the prospect of climate change?
• To what extent does poverty influence the separation anxiety of children living in North America?

With kind regards,

Rui Li

Vice Principal

A message from Graham Brown

I am very excited to let you know that Brookes Westshore students will once again have the opportunity to visit our Brookes UK school over Spring Break 2023.

I'd also like to announce that, for students in grades 6 to 10, we will be offering an exchange opportunity to spend a full term (April to July) at the Brookes UK school. 

For parents there will be an information session on Tuesday, December 6th at 7pm in the school boardroom. If you are interested but cannot attend, information will be sent out after the meetings. In the meantime, please email me to indicate your interest.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Graham

CEO Brookes Education Group

School Wide Ski Trip to Mt Washington Alpine Resort

Join us for a full day of fun in the snow on Wednesday, January 18th! This trip is always a favourite for our students (see photos for past year's trips)! We will ski or snowboard for the day at Mt Washington, Vancouver Islands local ski mountain.

All information, details and registration can be found in Schoolsbuddy. Please read all of the details carefully as there is important information about our students' skill level and whether you will need a lesson or not as well as Gr 4-6 supervision packages.

Registration opens today at 5:00pm and will close December 14^th at 8:00pm. It is very important that registration is complete by December 14th, as we need to finalize our numbers for the trip before the winter break.

Please email Ms. Aija if you have any questions about the ski trip and please email Mr. Grant or Ms. Aija if you have any problems logging into your schoolsbuddy account. 

We look forward to seeing you all up on the mountain!

Creativity in the art room

The IB Diploma Programme visual arts course encourages students to challenge their own creative and cultural expectations and boundaries. It is a thought-provoking course in which students develop analytical skills in problem-solving and divergent thinking, while working towards technical proficiency and confidence as art-makers. In addition to exploring and comparing visual arts from different perspectives and in different contexts, students are expected to engage in, experiment with and critically reflect upon a wide range of contemporary practices and media.

Our students have been working hard on their artwork over the last few weeks in MYP 4 and the DP. You can see some examples of their sketches and finished works here - working on the human form unit, and the nature unit.

Thanks to artists Laura, Matteo, Meghan, Lada, Tish, Mayu, and Adam.

Last weekend the dorm students enjoyed watching a Victoria Royals hockey game and visiting the Christmas market at Bilston Creek Farm in Metchosin, among other activities.

Spirit Week 2022

This week ended with a "dress as your teacher day'. As you can see from the photos - the students had a lot of fun dressing up!

A gallery of Galleries? Can you spot the real Mr. Gallery?

Updated information about upcoming events.

This weekend Brookes Westshore has a float for the much-loved annual Victoria 39th Peninsula Co-op Santa Lights Parade on Saturday November26th at 5.30pm.  Staff and students will be walking beside our decorated bus as part of the parade - please come along and support us!

Friday, December 2nd - Movie Night with fire pits in the courtyard and hot chocolate to keep us warm! Movies to be decided.

• 3.30 pm to 5 pm Grades 4 to 8
• 7 pm to 10 pm grades 9 to 12

Thursday, December 8th - Winter Concert from 6.30 to 8 pm. Showcasing our talented students, we will open up areas of our school for short performances by our students - individually and in groups. Enjoy a hot chocolate and spend time in each 'venue' supporting students and enjoying the festive atmosphere.

If you would like to come and watch the students perform - please RSVP here (link now working - apologies). See you all there!

Saturday, December 17th - Brookes Westshore's first Pancake Breakfast.  Everyone welcome! See top of newsletter for details.

Book your spots here.

The Grades 6/7 basketball finished their season on a high and won their final 2 games, against Dunsmuir and Spencer. It was one of those days where our players put on a shooting and passing clinic.

It was wonderful to watch the team gel together so nicely, and last night’s performances were proof that our squad has really progressed in such a short period of time. We’re already looking forward to next school year’s season!

The Brookes Senior Boys' volleyball team will be playing at the BC CHAMPIONSHIPS this week.

We wish them the best of luck!

Yes - that is Everest in the background!

Introducing Sandra Healing

My name is Sandra Healing, and I am from Durban, South Africa. After graduating I spent a couple years in Cape Town and then decided to move further afield to Guangzhou, China, where I lived for a decade before moving to Victoria this summer. While abroad I was able to travel regularly, especially in Asia, and discovered my love for scuba diving and Asian cuisines. I am adjusting to this new chapter in Canada and appreciating the clean air, ocean and forests that we have in abundance in BC.

I have a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Africa and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Nottingham. I decided to pursue a career in education after teaching English in China and realising my passion for working with young learners. After qualifying as a teacher, I worked at the British School of Guangzhou as a homeroom kindergarten teacher. I am currently an educational assistant while I transfer my credentials in Canada and am enjoying working with a wide range of students in an IB environment.

Powerful Youth is Back for 2023!

Powerful Youth seeks to build a global community of passionate young people who are equipped with the tools to create profoundly positive change within themselves and their communities.

Held during the summer months at Brookes Westshore and Brookes UK, the Global Leadership Academy is an award-winning leadership training program that brings together youth from around the world to build valuable leadership skills, self-confidence, and global perspective.

Using an experience-based learning approach, the two-week program includes hands-on activities, engaging projects, and community service to help youth create meaningful change in their lives and the lives of others. 

Brookes Westshore students are eligible for a 20% discount to attend GLA UK (ages 14-18) and a 50% discount to attend GLA Canada (ages 12-18). A scholarship program is available for students requiring additional financial aid. Visit www.powerfulyouth.com for more information about dates and prices, and to apply online.

Dorm students can enjoy the following activities this weekend:

• Thursday 7.30 pm - Bowling Night
• Friday 1 pm - 3D Arctic Movie at the Imax
• Friday 2 pm - World Cup soccer in the Dining Hall
• Friday 5 pm - Dinner at 10 Acres restaurant and the Victoria Gingerbread Competition
• Friday 8 pm - Chocolate and caramel fondue night
• Saturday 2.30 pm - Victoria Santa Parade with Brookes Westshore float
• Sunday 2.30 pm - Oak Bay Village Christmas light up and live music

Please sign up for all activities in activities book! 

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 Business Manager / Events
• Jacob Baumgartner - Community and Wellness Coordinator
• Melanie Moroz - MYP Coordinator