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!