Dear Brookes Westshore Families and Friends,
Another wonderful week of learning at Brookes Westshore. I am so impressed to see students engaged and motivated to do their very best on the final assessments for the year. IB assessment is based on criteria, and teachers assess the summative assessment tasks based on these criteria. Once they determine an IB grade, they use a conversion table to determine the BC Letter Grade (for Grade 6-9) and % Grades (for Grade 10-12). We do not average the grades from the three terms, and it is the students' most recent and/or best achievement that teachers will use to determine final grades for the year. The final report cards for the year will be issued on June 27th via ManageBac.
The end of the school year is approaching very quickly, and students are very excited about their upcoming summer vacation. We will be holding the annual Celebration of Learning on June 23rd and we would love parents to attend. To accommodate students and parents in the dining hall we will be holding 3 separate ceremonies. The times for each ceremony are:
- 9.00 - 10.00 am: Grade 9, 10 and 11
- 10.15 - 10.45 am: Grade 4 and 5
- 10.50 - 11.35 am: Grade 6, 7 and 8
Students will receive a 'grab and go' lunch at 12.00 on June 23rd and will be released for the summer.
With kind regards,
Linda Bayes
Deputy Head of School
DP 1 TOK students presented their projects to their peers on Thursday.
IB Diploma Programme: Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
The IB DP Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is a unique and integral component of the IB curriculum that encourages critical thinking, reflection, and exploration of knowledge across disciplines.
TOK aims to develop students’ understanding of the nature of knowledge, the ways it is acquired, and the methods of evaluating its validity. Through engaging in TOK, students are challenged to question their assumptions, consider different perspectives, and analyze the influence of personal and cultural biases on knowledge production. They explore fundamental questions about the nature of reality, ethics, language, and the role of evidence and reasoning in shaping our understanding of the world. By examining and connecting knowledge from various areas of study, TOK promotes intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness, and a holistic approach to learning.
This Thursday, we successfully hosted the TOK Exhibition (see below for details and photos), which provides a unique platform for our DP1 Full Diploma students to showcase their thought-provoking projects. During the event, we had the opportunity to engage with our students and witness their intellectual growth and development firsthand.
The TOK Exhibition is not only a testament to their academic achievements but also a reflection of their ability to analyze, evaluate, and question different areas of knowledge. Well done, DP1 diploma students and Mr. Healing!
With gratitude,
Rui Li
Vice Principal of Academics / DP Coordinator
TOK Exhibition 2023
TOK (Theory of Knowledge) is a challenging and required component of the core of the Diploma Programme within the IB Framework. This course provides an open environment for students to explore both historical and contemporary ideas related to our pursuit and understanding of knowledge. A common theme in our class discussions is “How do we know what we claim to know?” We explore this central idea from a number of diverse perspectives, comparing and contrasting ways of knowing through a variety of different lenses. We argue, we consider, we debate, and we deliberate in an effort to better comprehend what it means to “know”.
While this course should be much greater than the sum of its parts, ultimately students are evaluated on two final assessment tasks, the TOK Exhibition in DP1 (Grade 11) worth 33.3% of their final grade, and the TOK Essay in DP2 (Grade 12) worth 66.6%.
The TOK Exhibition itself is an empowering and introspective assessment task, that allows students a large amount of freedom to express their understanding of a year of learned concepts and content.
The theme of this summative assessment is for the students to demonstrate “How TOK manifests in the world around us.” Students choose a prompt from a list of 35 knowledge questions provided by the IB, and then they explicitly connect 3 objects from their own lives to this prompt, while relating both the prompt and objects to our TOK learning.
Our Exhibition Showcase on Thursday, June 8th provided these exceptional learners with a platform to share their heightened insight into the incredibly diverse concept of “knowledge in the real world.”
MYP 2 have finished their needle felting sculpture unit on myths, fairytales and nursery rhymes. We did a show and share on June 8th with snacks to get the full storytelling affect. Can you guess the sculptures?
Here are some pictures from Monday's visit to the Trillium Retirement Home. The students led 2 games this time: "hot potato" with a sharing fact in each layer and "rhythm master". This visit concluded their service project from this year, but since they have made such wonderful connections, I hope we can continue to be involved in some way next year!
On Monday's field trip to the BC Forest Discovery Centre students got to study the history of the logging industry in Canada, modern day sustainability practices and experience real-life living arrangements for BC loggers and their families. The train ride at the end was definitely a highlight!
As part of Pride Week our Smile Club organised a Cahoots and a Family Feud quiz at lunchtime on Thursday. Students were eager to take part and the atmosphere was alive with laughter and friendly competition.
On a scorching spring day at the University of Victoria, three Brookes athletes showcased their talent and determination in the Lower Island Middle School Track and Field Championships. Our athletes had to qualify in lead up meets to attend this final meet, and what a performance they put on!
First, Max, a long-distance specialist, effortlessly ran the 1200 metre final, keeping a consistent pace throughout to finish 4th place. Next, Kinglsey, an “alternate” sprinter. Without knowing he was running the race until minutes before he was entered into the 100m final as a last-minute competitor in lane 8. He started strong and kept his momentum until the finish line with a top 3 finish!
Lastly, Amelia, who had to wait patiently for at least 5 hours to run the 200 metre final, and what a brave performance she put on! She stuck with the fastest runners until the end, and with a 4th place finish, the gap between her and 1st place was only 1 second!
Congratulations to our amazing student athletes!
An early morning visitor to our campus enjoying the beautiful summer sun.
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.
