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October 2016
Inside this issue
On Fridays/Off Fridays ................ 2
Parking at VIU ............................. 2
Chromebooks.............................. 2
Inspired by Nature ...................... 3
Upcoming Dates.......................... 3
New Student Spaces ................... 4
Annual THS Whister Trip ............. 5
Kenya Trip………………………………….5
Calling in Sick……………………………..6
Teacher Contacts……………………….6
Problem of the Week Winners!….7
Message from the Principal School start up this year can only be described as ‘magical.’ We
tried a different format for start up with the first two weeks as ori-
entation and setting the stage for a successful school year. Our workshops and
activities were focused on two important areas:
1. Getting to know each other from the start.
2. Learning to use our Chromebooks in a consistent way school wide.
All of the teachers have noticed a marked difference in the early school culture
this year with much more natural integration of international and Canadian stu-
dents. This has definitely come from spending time at the beginning mixing stu-
dents into groups and facilitating activities to help them get to know each other.
One of the culminating activities was a small group activity called “Who Are
We?” where each group created a 2 minute film introducing each other and
highlighting each person’s uniqueness. On September 16th at a whole school
Assembly we showed all the films. It was so much fun and the students thor-
oughly enjoyed seeing each other’s films. There has now been a call for the
teachers to create one of their own!
Aside from the workshops and activities intended to support our new Chrome-
book initiative and to facilitate students getting to know each other we also had
sessions on safety procedures in the event of fire, earthquake or lockdown
events. On October 20th we will be involved in the province-wide Great
Shakeout earthquake drill. Our school will definitely be a model of preparation
on campus!
We are now well into the school year and all that entails. As the fall season pro-
gresses and slides into winter, colds and flu will descend. Please help us keep
your children and homestay students safe by calling us (250-740-6317) or email-
ing (lyn.johnson@viu.ca) when you know that your teenager will be away. This
will also avoid the necessity of us bothering you at work to confirm the absence.
Catherine Brazier
October 2016 Volume 1, Issue 1
Parking at VIU
In the past, The High School
at VIU has provided visitors
with a parking pass when at
the school on business of
any kind. Unfortunately,
due to the rise in cost of
these passes ($8 each even
if only used for 5 minutes)
and the increased numbers
of people who are visiting
at THS we have had to stop
this practice. Parking is
available in the General Lots
close to the school . Short-
term parking permits can be
purchased at the dispensers
in the lots.
We have been using our new
Chromebooks on a regular basis
in classes for over a month now
and so far it has been an absolute
success! We have had no wire-
less glitches, very few misplaced
Chromebooks (found very quickly
after some considerable panic on
the part of the student…) and
teachers who are excited to learn
more and more about the
useful power of these little
machines and the suite of
applications for education that we are using.
During the first 2 weeks of school all the students went through a workshop
called “The Care and Feeding of Your Chromebook.” In that workshop stu-
dents were assigned their Chromebook and learned about how to keep their
Chromebook safe and secure in order to avoid a $350 replacement bill.
They also discovered that Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education
(GAFE) use cloud-based computing which means that student work is always
accessible from any computer, laptop or even internet capable phone. This
means that the dog can never eat their homework...even if it eats the de-
vice :).
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke
On Fridays/Off Fridays
Chromebooks
I am writing this newsletter in the
afternoon of our first “Off” Friday.
Happily, no one missed this day in
the school calendar and showed up
to school by accident :).
We are trying this new school calen-
dar this year to see if this format
reduces the high absence rate we
experienced on the half day Fridays.
The Off Fridays allow plenty of time
for scheduling non-specialist ap-
pointments and create some extra
long weekends for family trips. We
hope that this calendar works well
for your family.
During the Off Fridays the teachers
will be at the school and involved in
a variety of curriculum development
and planning work.
Students who would like extra help
are welcome to come to the school
on an Off Friday and work with their
teacher. Students are encouraged
to contact their teacher first to en-
sure that they available at the time
the student is arriving.
2
The dog tried to eat my homework...
Upcoming Dates
Thursday, October 20 Assembly,
8:30 in Building 200/203
Thursday, October 20 VIU campus-
wide earthquake drill : Great BC
Shakeout
Friday, October 21 Provincial Pro
-D Day (no school for students)
Friday, November 4 Off Friday.
Please remember that teachers are in
attendance. Any students who would
like extra help are welcome to make
arrangements to meet with their
teacher(s) on any Off Friday.
Thursday, November 10 Remem-
brance Day Service led by Social
Studies 11 class; 10:30am in Building
200/203
Friday, November 11 Remem-
brance Day—school closed
Friday, November 18 Term 1 Re-
port Cards issued
Friday, November 25 Off Friday
Friday, December 9 Off Friday
Thursday, December 22 Last day of
classes before Christmas break.
Friday, December 23 VIU campus is
closed for Christmas break
Monday, January 9 First day back
after Christmas break
“Inspired by Nature” is the new program and brainchild of teachers Caitlin
MacDonald and Laura Filgate. Inspired by Nature is an integrated course of
studies following a flexible schedule and linear format. At the end of the
school year students will receive credit for Environmental Science 11 and one
of either Art Foundations 11, Art Foundations 12 or Studio Arts 12 for a total
of 8 credits.
Inspired by Nature asks students to look at their world a little bit differently
by using an Art lens to observe Science and a Science lens to create Art and to
recognize where the two disciplines merge and meld into each other. An
inquiry-based and project-based approach is the core of the program.
Students meet every Monday in Block D and receive instruction in prepara-
tion for Wednesday afternoon’s field experience. On Wednesdays students
meet from 1:40 to 5:00 and spend most of that time outside exploring partic-
ular environments around us. Given the rich biodiversity surrounding VIU it is
very easy to find field locations that provide a depth and breadth of learning
opportunities.
3
New Student Spaces
Over the summer there
was a flurry of activity to
create new student
work spaces and reno-
vate some old ones as
well.
The principal’s office has
been converted into a
meeting room that can
also be used for small
group instruction. This
space has seen a great
deal of use since school
started.
The old photocopy room
and bookroom have
been converted to a
quiet study space and
calm seating area. It has
been named the “Zen
Den.”
The student lounge has
been given a considera-
ble facelift with Ms. Fil-
gate spending many
hours this summer
sourcing furniture and
then creating seating
areas for socializing.
And, yes, those are fire-
places. One at each
end!
And now that we have
Chromebooks we have
no need of our old com-
puter lab. This room is
being renovated for the
second semester as a
brand new Foods class-
room. So still some ex-
citing changes to come!
4
Imagine sinks and counters...
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
As is the well-established tradition, Sayuri Kubota
and David Butler will be taking students on a ski/
snowboard excursion to Whistler. This year’s trip
will be a 1 night trip with a full day on the mountain.
Students will leave THS at 2pm on Thursday, Decem-
ber 8 and return on the 7pm ferry on Friday, Decem-
ber 9.
The cost for the trip is $250 which includes transpor-
tation, accommodation, lift pass, equipment rental,
lesson and most meals.
For more information please contact
Sayuri.kubota@viu.ca
David Butler and Christine Lynch are
working to arrange an overseas trip
for interested students in March to
Kenya. The trip will take place from
Saturday, March 18 until Tuesday,
April 4th.
As you can imagine a trip to Africa is
not inexpensive. Airfares to the con-
tinent are significant although David
has managed to find some excellent
group fare prices. At this time it is
estimated that the full cost will be
$4500. With fundraising that price
can be reduced.
This amount includes return airfare,
all in-country transportation, all ac-
commodation, entrance fees and all
meals.
The planned itinerary is:
1 week at Peponi School with
accommodations in the school’s
residences. Peponi School is
located in Ruiru, about 3km
from Nairobi.
www.peponischool.org
1 week Community service ex-
perience with Developing World
Connections, a non-profit organ-
ization based in BC.
www.developingworldconnectio
ns.org
A safari adventure
A trip of this magnitude can only
happen if a minimum number of
students sign-up. We still need a
few more students to commit in
order to make this trip of a lifetime a
reality!
As Ms. Lynch keeps saying:
“Lions!!!! Tigers!!!! Zebras!!!!
5
Annual THS Whistler Trip
Kenya Trip
Sickness happens. We understand that and know
that sometimes students need a day or more to re-
cover before coming back to school. If your child or
homestay student is ill please help us by:
Calling Lyn Johnson at 250-740-6317
Emailing Lyn at lyn.johnson@viu.ca
We require an adult to contact the school in order for the student to be ex-
cused. This is very important to keep any school “skipping” behaviour in
check. It is also very important for us to know that you are aware that your
child or homestay student is away so that we know they are safe.
Please take the time to contact us if you know your child or homestay student
will be absent or late. We appreciate that call or email before 8:30am.
Calling in Sick
Teacher Email contact Subjects taught semester 1
Tricia Young Tricia.young@viu.ca English Language Learning—
Preparation 11, 12
Christine Lynch Christine.lynch@viu.ca English Language Learning—
Preparation 10
Mike Muir Mike.muir@viu.ca English 11, Communications 12
Hamish Thomson Hamish.thomson@viu.ca Design & Technology 11, A&W
Math 11
Megan Simmer Megan.simmer@viu.ca Math 10, Pre-Calculus 11, 12
Natasha Kruse Natasha.kruse@viu.ca Social Studies 11, Global and In-
tercultural Skills 12, PE 10, Plan-
ning 10 (Sept.-Nov. 10)
David Butler David.butler@viu.ca Social Studies 11, Global and In-
tercultural Studies 12, PE 10,
Planning 10
Caitlin MacDonald Caitlin.macdonald@viu.ca Science 10, Media Arts 11/12,
Environmental Science 11
(Inspired by Nature)
Ruby Forrester Ruby.forrester@viu.ca Replacement for Caitlin October
24-December 9
Laura Filgate Laura.filgate@viu.ca Art Foundations 11/12, Drama
10, Inspired by Nature
Sayuri Kubota Sayuri.kubota@viu.ca On leave semester 1
Catherine Brazier Catherine.brazier@viu.ca Graduation Transitions 12
Making it All Add up in Math Class
The new BC curriculum has an increased emphasis on student’s development of mathematical habits of mind
and flexible thinking in the face of novel problems. Here at THS, students are honing their problem-solving skills
engaging with the Waterloo University Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing “Problems of the
Week.” These weekly problems set by the faculty of Canada’s premier university mathematics department are
posted by grade level and mathematics topic, and they are challenging! Problem C is set for grades 9-10 , Prob-
lem D is set for grades 10-11 and Problem E is set for grades 11-12.
I am excited to announce the inaugural winners of the “Problem Solvers of the Week Award.” Lucas De Souza
solved Problem C and Ian Proudfoot solved Problem E. Congratulations! Keep puzzling!!!
Ms. Simmer
Ian
Lucas
Math class...where it all happens!
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