Everyone had a great time on the BC trip over Spring Break!

Dear Brookes Westshore Families and Friends,

Welcome back! It is wonderful to see all the smiling faces back on campus this week, refreshed and ready for the final stretch of the school year. We hope everyone had a fantastic spring break!

We are thrilled to share that Ms. Julia, our MYP2-4 French teacher, welcomed a beautiful baby girl last weekend! We send her and her family our warmest congratulations and best wishes! Meanwhile, we are very excited to welcome Ms. Melissa Donich, who joined our team this week to take over Ms. Julia’s classes. Ms. Melissa has a background in French and Environmental Education. She is looking forward to working with the students this term.

This week, our DP2 Visual Arts students showcased their incredible talent in the VA Exhibition, which is our annual special event to celebrate students’ creativity, dedication, and hard work over the past two years. Thanks to all parents who came to celebrate with your child. A special thanks to our DP VA teacher, Ms. Campbell, for all her support and mentorship, guiding our students in bringing their artistic visions to life.

Our ASA team has been working hard this week to finalize the schedule, and we are excited for the new session to start next week. A huge shout out to Ms. Brooklyn and Ms. Aija for their hard work!

Term 2 Learning Update is issued today. All parents/guardians are encouraged to download a copy from ManageBac for your own files. We also encourage parents/guardians to take time to review them with your child, not just to look at the grades but to reflect on their learning journey and celebrate their growth in term 2.

Finally, I am so looking forward to seeing you all at the Silent Auction on April 25th. It will be such a fun evening - with great items to bid on and the always delicious appies provided by Lisa and her team. And of course, it is one of the best ways to show our support for our Ukranian students and help them to spend time with their families this summer. If you haven't got your auction tickets yet - please click here and I hope to see you on the 25th!

With gratitude,

Dr. Rui Li

Principal

Parent-Teacher Conferences

A reminder that Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTC) will be held virtually next Thursday (April 10th) and the following Thursday (April 17th). Both days are an early dismissal day at 2 pm with no ASAs (apart from the Golf Academy which runs until 3.45, for 4 pm pick up at school).

PTC sign-ups are now open, and parents can book a time through SchoolsBuddy (see instructions below). Gr. 4 and 5 parents will not be able to book a conference with HR teachers on SchoolsBuddy because you will have the student-led conference.

Here are the instructions for conference signups:

Open SchoolsBuddy app or go to https://brookeswestshore.schoolsbuddy.net 

1. Go to Activities & Clubs
2. Once signups are opened, a Parent Teacher Conferences button event will be available to join.
3. Select times and book. Each teacher can typically be booked for a 12-minute block.
4. You should receive a confirmation email with your booking time.
5. When it is time to join the conference, you can access it from SchoolsBuddy in your calendar. There will be a Join Meeting button when you are ready to join.
6. The conference will end after your scheduled time without obvious notice.

For a detailed overview of what to expect, see the official documentation here.

Lost and Found

We have many black puffy jackets in the lobby, please come and look and see if any of them are yours.

Join us on the 25th and bid on some unique and stunning items!

We have been overwhelmed by the positive response from the community - particularly to the Check News item last week (if you missed it, you can watch it here).

We have received some amazing items for the auction - including a night for two at the stunning Owls Perch Treehouse in Sooke (with a welcome basket and champagne thrown in!). Thank you so much for your generosity!

Baggins Shoes got in touch to offer our Ukrainian scholarship students a pair of custom Converse high tops each! And, if that wasn't generous enough, they are putting another custom pair into the auction for families to bid on! 

There is also the chance to bid on a Powerful Youth Program for 13- to 17-year-olds in the summer. The Powerful Youth Program is a dynamic leadership training program - in just two weeks, students will embark on a journey of personal growth and leadership development. 

A huge thank you to Ms. Lynn Allaire for coming in today with this lovely quilt for the auction!

Silent Auction Tickets

Tickets for the auction are $25 a person, childcare is available, and we love to have a full house on the day!

Bring a friend, or your family, or a group of coworkers! It is a great evening, and all for a very good cause, and you might make the winning bid on something really special! Click here for tickets.

If you can't make it to the auction but would like to support the Ukraine Scholarship Fund, please donate via e-transfer to finance@westshore.brookes.org.

Mother’s Day Student Bake and Craft Market - Friday, May 9, 2025

SIGN UP AS A VENDOR BY APRIL 18TH - CONTACT US OR SIGN UP WITH THE QR CODE

Do you have a special skill? Are you an aspiring entrepreneur? Do you want to earn extra pocket money and work for charity? Consider applying as a vendor and make products to sell for our market! The market is a great way to practice creating a business, handling materials, and making profits while doing something you love!! Ask us if you have any questions.

Contact: hloubser@westshore.brookes.org or talk to an SLC member!

• All products will be reviewed by the SLC to ensure they are appropriate. We can offer guidance along the way!
• No vendors are needed for the tables. SLC members will sell the products and count how many are sold. However, you can still attend the market to talk to customers about your products!

Vendors can either:

• do the market for free for CAS or service hours (very good service and creativity!) and we will give the proceeds to charity.
• do the market for money but we will take 5-10% off of each product to give to charity.

Product Ideas:

• Art
• Cards (for Mother’s Day)
• Handmade soap
• Candles
• Bath bombs
• Crochet or knitted items
• Well-made crafted items
• Artisan products
• Baked goods (ensure you have a list of ingredients)
• Various small businesses

Attention, Future Architects and Creatives! 

Design Victoria’s Family Day Educational Event is here to inspire you—and it’s going to be epic! 

When: SUNDAY 4th MAY Where: The Rotunda, 1515 Douglas St.

Join us for an unforgettable workshop led by talented professional architects, and guess what? Ms. Barton, our beloved creative mentor, will be right there guiding you through the magic of design! Together, you’ll use recycled materials to create mind-blowing architectural models. 

Check out all the details here: Family Day Event 

Let’s turn trash into treasure! 

We need YOUR help to save clean recyclables—like cardboard, plastic containers, bottles, and more—to build stunning architectural models. From soda cans to cereal boxes, every bit of clean recycling can spark ideas and shape new designs.

So, start collecting and let’s make architecture that’s as green as it is gorgeous. Bring your clean recycling to Ms. Barton by Monday April 28th. Let’s design the future together—one recycled masterpiece at a time!

Spread the word. The more, the merrier! 

DP students have been delighted that Royal Roads is being used as a film set for the upcoming Descendants 5 movie. Samantha, Maria and Marla even managed to snag a quick photo with one of the movie's stars - Kylie Cantrall!

Cancer Care Action Plan

BC has launched a Cancer Care Action Plan to better prevent, detect, and treat cancers.

As part of the prevention strategy, Island Health students in grade 11 and 12 will be offered an additional opportunity to catch up on HPV vaccination, a safe and effective way to prevent a variety of cancers. Public Health will be providing an opportunity for grade 11 and 12 students who remain eligible for childhood & school-age immunizations (excluding COVID-19 and influenza vaccines) to be immunized at an upcoming school-based immunization clinic on April 29th, 2025.

A letter with more information will be sent home with Grade 11 and 12 students shortly.

Please discuss the information in this letter with your child, as students in grade 11 and 12 will be offered the opportunity to consent to or refuse immunizations on their own behalf through the mature minor consent process. Children under the age of 19, who can understand the benefits of getting immunized, possible side effects after receiving the immunization, and the risk of not getting immunized, can legally consent to getting the immunization or refuse it.

For more information visit HealthLinkBC: The Infants Act, Mature Minor Consent and Immunization.

Please contact the local Health Unit at if you have any questions.

Grade 6 and 9 immunizations

Consent packages for grade 6 and 9 students were sent home from the school in the fall. Public health nurses will be returning to offer grade 6 and 9 immunizations in school-based clinics with the consent of a parent/guardian/representative on April 29, 2025.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended in grade 6 as part of the B.C. immunization schedule to prevent 6 types of cancer. 

The B.C. immunization schedule for grade 6 students is 2 doses 6 months apart. Grade 9 students who have not received the HPV vaccine remain eligible.

Please contact the local Health Unit at if you have any questions.

The Senior Track and Field Team (Laila, Lyla, Maya, Rylan, and Emma) competed in their first meet yesterday at the UVIC track. Students participated in Long Jump, 200M, 3000M, and Discus. Go Gryphons!

Please click here for workshops and resources for parents from Ms. Kat (School Counselor).

Lunch Menu

If you would like to know what is on the menu next week for our delicious lunches, please click here.

Follow our dining team on @brookesdiningwestshore for mouthwatering images of our breakfasts, lunches, and dinners!

Term Two Events and Activities

• Term 2 Learning Update will be issued on April 4th.
• Finding a Balance with Digital Technology with Shannon Husk at 4pm on April 8th (more details and registration coming next week).
• Parent-Teacher conferences will be on April 10th and 17th from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. Early dismissal at 2 pm and no ASAs on both days. 
• Earth Day Community Block - April 22nd (guest speakers to be announced)
• Silent Auction in support of the Ukrainian Scholarship Fund - April 25th from 7 pm to 10 pm in the Dining Hall

Key dates of 2023 to 2025: Key Dates 2024 / 2026 - Brookes Westshore

Please find our School Accessibility questionnaire here.

Safer Schools information: erase Family Sessions (saferschoolstogether.com)

Your comments and feedback are welcome! Please click here to leave a comment, ask a question, or raise an issue. Thank you!

Do you have questions or concerns?

If you have a question about the school or just something on your mind, please feel free to contact our leadership team:

• Rui Li - Principal
• Andrea Salvador - School Manager
• Jacob Baumgartner - School Culture Director
• Melanie Moroz - Academic Director
• Linda Bayes - DP Coordinator & University Counsellor
• Martin Staffolani - Executive Director of Recruitment

Please consider posting a review

If you have a minute, it will really help us to reach new families if you could consider posting a positive review online on Google or here (you will need to log in to the OurKids website to leave a review here).  Prospective families love to hear from current parents about your real experiences here!

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.