Principal’s Message

Inside this issue

This Month in .............................. 2

Remembrance Day Ceremony .... 2

We Day ....................................... 3

Staff Contacts .............................. 3

Halloween………………………………...4

Student Led Assemblies .............. 4

Dry Grad 2015…………………………..4

Principal’s Message con’t ............ 5

Professional Development Day ... 5

VIU Advising………………………………6

Upcoming Dates

November 7: Remembrance Day Assembly 11:15am

November 4: Communications 12 e-exam 9am-12pm

November 10: Mid-Term Break

November 11: Remembrance Day

November 14: Report Cards

November 20: Whole School Assembly 8:45am

What makes a school a “real” high school? Often the quick answer to this question is a description of a large building with

hundreds, if not thousands, of students, lots of teams, clubs, and various other

activities. Often, as well, there is an unspoken understanding that this kind of

school is ‘normal’ and therefore better. But is it?

When I attended high school many years ago, there really was no option. The

only kind of high school for the vast majority of students was the kind described

above. Today, however, there is a wide selection of choices and what was once

considered ‘normal’ is now only different….one of many choices.

So if there is no ‘normal’ anymore then how do we determine what a “real high

school” is and how do we measure what is better? The Fraser Institute would

have us believe that better is easily determined by looking at a school’s provin-

cial exam results. Yes, this is important, but like most important things in life

the true story is rarely that simple. Choosing a school , choosing a profession,

choosing a place to live, choosing friends, choosing partners and many more big

life choices are always complicated and multi-layered.

If I’ve learned one thing in my almost 30 years as an educator, it’s that success

in school and life beyond is some parts academic achievement and many parts

social fit, personal needs, worldview, mindset and whether there is a feeling, on

the part of individuals, that their attendance at school or work matters to others

and makes a difference to them personally and to the school or workplace as a

whole.

So having said this, it begs the question “Is The High School better?” There’s an

easy answer to that: yes, no and maybe. Yes, for those students who thrive in a

small setting where anonymity is impossible and where they have easy access to

teachers both in and out of class, and who enjoy an environment where every-

one knows each other, their voice can be heard and listened to and where diver-

sity is considered normal and also interesting. No, for those students who thrive

best in the hustle and bustle of a large school with multiple opportunities,

should they choose to take them. Maybe for those students who aren’t sure yet

where they fit and what kind of environment best suits their learning and social

needs and also for those students who seem able to fit in anywhere.

(continued on page 5…)

October 2014

Lockers are part of being a ‘real’

high school :). Our lockers are

ordered! Installation is planned

for December. Yay!!!!

Remembrance Day Assembly

The High School will be holding

a special Remembrance Day

Ceremony assembly on Friday,

November 7th at 11:15 in

Building 200, Room 203.

All members of The High

School and VIU community are

invited.

The Remembrance Day Cere-

mony assembly will be emceed

and developed by Mr. Butler’s

Social Studies 11 class. Emcees

for this assembly will be Rin

and Josh.

Leadership 10/12

Leadership students have been exploring the qualities of a good lead-

er. As part of this exploration the students have been working in pairs

to investigate the attributes of a leader of their choice. Bill Gates, Tu-

pac Shakur and Mayor Stubbs (you need to look this one up!) have

been chosen. Students have been making short movies outlining the

lives of their leaders and explaining and evaluating the leadership

qualities this person exhibits (or cat...yes, you need to look up Mayor

Stubbs).

The Leadership class is also starting to work on follow up plans to the

amazing We Day experience of October 22nd.

“I LOVE kale chips!”

This Month in…

This Month in...

Foods and Nutrition 12

What are superfoods? Can they really improve our health or are they just a trend? Student groups researched and presented different "superfoods.” (examples: quinoa, beets, bee pollen, hemp hearts, kale, salmon, cocoa, etc.) They then cooked 4 recipes to further explore the superfoods discussed in class.

Recipes: 1. Chickpea, Quinoa and Roasted Yam Salad with Balsamic Dress-ing 2. Quinoa and Apple Salad with Curry Dressing 3. Oven-roasted Spicy Chickpeas 4. All-dressed Kale Chips

2

Staff Contacts:

All staff emails use the

format first-

name.lastname@viu.ca

Catherine Brazier

David Butler

June Cumming

Isabelle Gutmanis

Sayuri Kubota

April Lum (on leave)

Caitlin MacDonald

Mike McCarney

Christine Mitchell

Jennifer Mitchell

Tricia Young

Our on-call staff can be

reached by leaving a

message on June, Jen-

nifer or Catherine’s

emails.

Mike Muir

Graham Giske

Edna Hess

We also respond to

phone calls!

250-740-6317

We Day in Vancouver

On Wednesday, October 22nd, Ms. Brazier, Ms. Jennifer Mitchell and 20 students gathered at

Departure Bay ferry terminal at 6am to make the trek to Rogers Arena to participate in the 7th

annual We Day.

We Day was started by Craig and Mark Kielburger, founders of Free the Children, as a way to

gather youth together and inspire them to take action and make the world a better place. We

Day is also a time to celebrate the differences youth are making in their world, both locally and

globally. The We Day movement is certainly ambitious with lofty ideals but has had a definite

impact on individuals and groups of youth throughout North America. As Margaret Mead fa-

mously said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the

world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

For more information about We Day go to http://www.weday.com/what-is-we-day/

For many of the schools in attendance, We Day is the culminating celebration of year long ser-

vice projects. For other schools, such as The High School, this We Day was an inspiring kick-start

to our upcoming year of service. The students who attended have come back fired up and many

are already planning ways to tackle one important local issue and one important global issue.

One Deep Learning Capstone group has changed their research focus as a result of We Day.

The entire Leadership class —all 6 of them :)—attended We Day and will be spending time work-

ing on plans for the whole school to engage in meaningful action to make a difference. They will

be presenting their ideas at the November 20th assembly and asking for other students to join

them.

The power behind We Day is that the issues of concern come from the students themselves.

Service projects are not chosen by adults and presented to students as a menu to pick from.

Students are also expected to thoroughly research their issue so that they engage in informed

action rather than purely emotional action. Learning what it means to be an active citizen is

woven throughout everything that We Day promotes. Sometimes the difference that youth

make in the world is a result of the difference they make in themselves. Very powerful indeed!

More updates on The High School’s year of action will be in forthcoming newsletters.

3

Celebrating We Day with 20,000 youth,

Halloween at The High School

Once again, the theme of stu-

dent leadership emerges. Tra-

ditionally, the teachers at The

High School have planned and

organized the student Hallow-

een party. This year that task

has been handed to the stu-

dents.

Students organized a great

afternoon of food, games and

music on Friday, October 31st.

Student Led Assemblies

Each month, The High School communi-

ty gathers for Assembly. These assem-

blies are meant to celebrate student

work, foster whole school communica-

tion and provide opportunities for stu-

dent leadership.

At The High School our assemblies are

open to all members of our school and

university community. This includes

family members, homestay hosts, VIU

employees...anyone who has an inter-

est in what’s going on at our school.

Our first student led assembly was on

October 23rd and was led by Grade 12

students Fiona and Josh. These two

students did a masterful job and have

set the standard for subsequent stu-

dent emcees. Student emcees spend

time discussing the assembly

with the principal and receiving

support and instruction on

some of the skills needed to

lead a large gathering. Students

then prepare and practice prior to

“taking the stage.”

We were all very proud of our first em-

cees and are looking forward to sup-

porting other students as they take on

this important leadership role.

Upcoming Assemblies & Emcees:

November 20th: Rin and Tannaz

December 18th: Giovanna and Alice N.

All Assemblies take place at 8:45-9:30

in Building 200, Room 203 (lecture the-

atre).

4

Charlotte explaining the process of the bridge

building project in Design & Technology.

Dry Grad 2015

Planning for Nanaimo- Ladysmith Dry Grad 2015 has begun! The Dry Grad society was successful in filling all of the required positions at our Annual General Meeting in October. We are still looking for a volunteer willing to act as a “co-chair” for our Kitchen Committee. This is ideal for a parent/ family member of a younger student who is willing to help out with Dry Grad in future years. The out-going Kitchen coordinator will act as a mentor for this year’s event in the hopes of passing the torch for future year’s events! The Dry Grad Society meets on the last Thursday of every month (excluding De-

cember) in the Woodlands Secondary School library at 7pm. Meetings are open to the public and we welcome parents and family of current and future graduate to attend. If you are interested in volunteering on the night of the event please contact volunteer coordinator Kristina Leigh at volunteers@nanaimodrygrad.ca. a full list of volunteer areas can be found online at nanaimodrygrad.ca. General inquiries may be directed to Rebecca Leigh, Entertainment Coordinator at en-tertainment@nanaimodrygrad.ca or 250.816.0728”

‘Izzy,’ she would say, ‘did you ask a good question today?’ —mother of Isidor I. Rabi, Nobel laureate in physics—

The teachers go to school….

On Friday, October 24th, the teachers at The High School spent

the day immersed in learning more about Inquiry and Concept

Based Learning. Our purpose was to spend time learning about

and discussing ways to bring authentic inquiry into our class-

rooms and especially into our Deep Learning Capstone projects.

It was a full day, led by a wonderful facilitator, DJ Thompson, who has

a wealth of experience in inquiry learning and is a trainer for the Inter-

national Baccalaureate Organization. We were very fortunate to get

his time and to tap into his expertise.

It is easy for a school to assume that

students who are at the school are

there because they feel a fit. While

that seems an obvious assumption,

it is also a dangerous and compla-

cent one. Student fit to a particular

kind of high school can change over

time and also as the result of circum-

stance. Individual experience affects

feelings of positivity and of negativi-

ty. Good schools pay attention to

the experience of individuals.

It is important that any high school

actively solicit the input and feed-

back of its stakeholders: students,

teachers, staff, parents, families,

host families and so on. It is only

through a continuous effort to listen

and learn from a school community

that schools can honestly claim to be

good and are able to focus on con-

tinually getting better. Listening

and learning is as simple, and as

challenging, as suspending judg-

ment, trying to be aware of our as-

sumptions, asking questions and be-

ing curious before jumping to con-

clusions.

It is vitally important to me, and I

know to The High School staff, that

our school is known for its open

communication and willingness to

hear ideas, suggestions and, yes,

even criticism. We can’t promise to

be all things to all people...it would

be destructive to try. We can, how-

ever, open our ears, open our minds,

and open our hearts to work with all

of our community to make The High

School a great school for those of us

who love it and choose to be here.

My invitation to all of you is...be in

touch, offer suggestions, share your

concerns. And by all means, tell us

what we’re doing well :)! 5

October 24th Professional Day

Principal’s Message (Continued from page 1)

Coming home from a long, ex-

citing day at We Day.

On Friday, October 17th, Jennifer Merner, an Educational Counsellor

in VIU’s Advising Centre, came to speak to The High School’s Grade 12

students. Jennifer talked to them about the process for applying to

VIU.

Jennifer gave all of the students her contact information and invited

them to set up individual appointments to discuss their post-

secondary plans.

While the Advising Centre mainly works with domestic (Canadian) stu-

dents, Jennifer also invited international students to meet with her.

She will then direct them to the appropriate VIU advisor to complete

their application.

Jennifer’s contact information is: Jennifer.merner@viu.ca and 250-

753-3245.

VIU Advising THE HIGH SCHOOL AT

VIU

The High School at VIU is an

independent school certified by

the British Columbia Ministry of

Education to offer Grades 10

through 12 leading to the BC Dog-

wood Graduation Diploma.

The High School at VIU is unique-

ly situated on the campus at Van-

couver Island University and

enjoys the use of the facilities,

services and resources offered by

the university.

The High School accepts applica-

tions from students in the local

area around Nanaimo and inter-

national students from around the

world.

The High School at VIU

900 Fifth Street,

Nanaimo, BC

V9R 5S5

Phone: 250-740-6317

Fax: 250-740-6470

www.viu.ca/highschool