CONNECTS MAY 2012
TENNIS TEAM WINS BC CHAMPIONSHIP BAMFIELD MARINE CENTRE WESTERN CANADIAN PUBLIC SPEAKING COLLINGWOOD SCHOOL
Bamfield Marine Centre
IN THIS ISSUE May 2012
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WRIGHT ON...Hogwarts comes to Collingwood PUBLIC SPEAKING CHAMPIONSHIPS SALMON RELEASE BAMFIELD MARINE CENTRE GRADE 5/6 SCIENCE FAIR ALL TARTAN ALL THE TIME
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KILOMETRES FOR KIDS NORTH SHORE RUGBY CHAMPIONS TENNIS TEAM BC CHAMPIONS
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THE VISIT K-3 SPRING CONCERT SERIES THE PORTABLE ART SHOW
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SPRING DANCE SHOWCASE KELSALL WINS FILM AWARD HEAD BOY AND HEAD GIRL MAILEY/IRWIN ROWING DUO BALAGNO OFF TO SPRUCE MEADOWS PIANO STAR KEVIN MENG SULLIVAN INSPIRES LEARNING THROUGH MUSIC CAMPBELL IN SMITHSONIAN EXHIBIT ANAHEIM MUSIC TOUR GRANDPARENTS DAY KAMRAN KHAN PROJECT
Wright On...Hogwarts comes to Collingwood In a Sorting Ceremony presided over by Dumbledore
the House Basketball tournament. You can imagine
himself, our new House System on the Morven
how the dynamic of the annual Public Speaking will
campus was officially launched this spring. A year in
change for the speaker and the audience when
the making, this new way to organize and innervate
every student’s speech counts for House points.
the School caused considerable excitement among
Finally, all students can find a spot within the
students and staff. What House was I in? Who else
leadership architecture of their House because
was in my House? Who was my House Counselor?
there will always be lots to organize and promote.
What’s my House Colour? These questions were all
In Grade 12, all the Grads will have an opportunity
answered on April 30th. Here are some other
to lead and take on responsibilities, because under
questions that parents may want answered.
the direction of their House Counselor, they will be running the House!
What is a House System? It is a way to group students above and beyond their normal grade
What happens to our Adviser system? The Adviser
cohort connecting them to a smaller division of the
System gets rolled into and in effect reinforced in
School much like the Province of BC existing within
the House System. Every teacher has also been
the Federation of Canada.
placed in a House and all the teacher’s advisees are in that House. Advisers will have far more
What are the advantages of a House System?
opportunities to get to know, support and advocate
Organizing our students into Houses will open up a
for their advisees through various House meetings
plethora of new opportunities in student
and events. Moreover they will forge a 5 year
friendships, leadership, mentoring and intramurals.
relationship and see their advisees literally grow up
Six coed Houses, made up of students from Grades
at Morven.
8 to 12 will each have its own identity, and in time,
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its own traditions. There will be opportunities for
Who are our House Counselors and what do they
students to meet, support, mentor, play and work
do? Allison Bernat, Amy Camblin, David Hughes,
with students from other grades. The move from
David Pool, Kevin Waterhouse and Alexa Grivakis for
grade centric to a vertically integrated system opens
2012-13 then Pattie Metheral have been appointed
up tailor-made opportunities for inter-house sports
House Counselors. They are responsible for the
competitions and other activities like House
overall care and welfare of each student in their
Debates, one act play festivals, track and field
House. They will work closely with the team of
meets, House service projects, social events and
Advisers assigned to their House to direct, support,
outings. Many Collingwood students will never
monitor and guide the educational career of
make a School team, but with a House System every
every student in their House. They will chair regular
student will be needed to play for their House in
House meetings and assist the Grade 12’s in their
House in organizing the House for competitions, events or excursions. Finally, in an effort to “divide and conquer”, the House Counselors, working with Lisa Evans, will help maintain high standards of discipline, deportment and dress across the School – House by House. What’s this about a House Cup? Yes, there will be a annual Inter House Competition which will end up with the top House that year being awarded the House Cup and perchance a special treat from Dumbledore! The House Transition Committee, a group of students, teachers and administrators who have already done Trojan work to get us this far, are still meeting about the terms of reference for the House Cup and how points are to be awarded. Is there any change to uniform? The school uniform will remain the same except we are replacing the Middle School and Senior School ties with newly designed House ties. As well every student will be asked to purchase a House t-shirt for inter-house sports. In the future, some Houses may choose to design other apparel incorporating their House colour, but in the meantime everyone will need to purchase from Cambridge and Co, our uniform supplier, a House tie and a House t-shirt for September. What are the names of the Houses? The Houses will all be named after people who played a significant role in the founding and building of our School. They will be announced before the end of the year.
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WESTERN CANADIAN PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION Collingwood School, with its glowing tradition
junior section of the after dinner speech (humor-
of excellence in public speaking, embraced the
ous) section Emily Kelsall placed second and Zach
challenge of hosting the Western Public Speaking
Yamaoka came third. In the interpretive reading
Championships - for the third time in a
event Safir Jazayeri came second and Emily Kelsall
decade - with great vigour. Our hosting of
placed third. In the most intimidating section- the
talented students from 14 schools on Saturday,
impromptu section (where students have only two
April 21, was a real Collingwood family affair.
minutes to prepare before speaking for three to
Many alumni, past parents and faculty judged,
five minutes) Safir Jazayeri took first place honours
and our student volunteers, organized by Ms.
and Rhys Mann finished second. In the persuasive
Thureau, moderated the rooms with great
speech section Ben Basran was third. Overall, our
efficiency. In addition to our splendid hosting,
junior speakers performed exceptionally well too.
our speakers, coached by Ms. Julia Clarke, did us
In their section of 34 speakers the following results
proud.
were obtained: Emily Kelsall took second place, Rhys Mann came third, Safir Jazayeri was fourth and
Our grade 8’s were superstars, as they have shown
Zach Yamaoka finished fifth. Our seniors were not
themselves all year. Just as proof of the kind of
slouches either: In the senior persuasive speech
achievements they have been racking up, let us
section William Li was second and Samantha Loren
briefly recollect the Regional Championships at
third, and William won the title of second place
Burnaby Mountain Secondary in February 2012. At
senior overall.
this large tournament of 120 debaters, Zach Yamaoka placed first, Emily Kelsall came second and Rhys Mann third. (A clean sweep- wow!) As teams, Emily and Rhys garnered the first place team cup, and Zach Yamaoka and Jordan Angus accrued second place medals. Their other accomplishments- including Zach Yamaoka’s third place finish in public speaking at the Provincialsare too many to enumerate beyond this sampler, but needless to say, expectations were high for this group at the Westerns, and they did not disappoint! Our juniors won a veritable flood of Western Public Speaking Championship honours. In the
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WATERSHED PROJECT: SALMON RELEASE INTO BROTHERS CREEK During the Grade 8 cross-curricular Watershed Project and field trip back in November students tested water quality and learned about the variables needed for a safe and healthy salmon habitat. As an extension and part of the DFO’s Oceans, Habitat and Enhancement Branch - Stream to Sea education program, 50 coho salmon were raised in a tank in Ms. MacKeen’s science classroom since January. Students observed the salmon hatch from eggs, and change from alevin into fry. Each day, students monitored the temperature of the water, and on a weekly basis took pH and ammonia readings. In April, when most of the salmon had developed into swim-up fry, students began feeding them small amounts of krill each class. After a month of feeding, the fry were ready to be released back into a tributary of the Capilano River. On Wednesday May 16th and Thursday May 17th, during their science classes, Mr. Parker and Ms. MacKeen’s grade 8 science students took part in a field trip down to Brothers Creek to release the salmon fry. While at the creek, students surveyed the environment to determine if it provided a good salmon habitat, and measured the temperature, pH and ammonia levels of the creek water. After they determined that it was a safe and healthy place for the salmon to further develop, students took turns carefully releasing their salmon fry. Thank you to Bev Bowler at the DFO for providing the fish tank and salmon eggs, and to TD Friends of the Environment for providing grant money to purchase the cooling system. Also, thank you to Jessica Richmond for spearheading the Watershed Project and driving the bus to and from Brothers Creek. John Reid (Head of the Middle School) and Jessica Richmond (Explore teacher) have been invited by the Association for Middle Level Education to present on this integrated curriculum project at their annual conference in Portland, Oregon in November 2012. To read more on the Watershed project, please see the November 2011 issue of Connects.
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SCHOOL LIFE
BAMFIELD MARINE CENTRE
At 5:45 am on April 18th, 27 Biology 11 students met their teachers at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. On arrival at Bamfield Marine research station on Vancouver Island, they had all forgotten about the early start to the day and were ready to experience some inspiring marine biology. Over the period of four days students reinforced what they had learned in the classroom with visits to different beaches and rock pools, as well as workshops where they could experience and touch live specimens. There were many highlights including: designing and performing a small research experiment using the live invertebrates in the Bamfield whale lab, doing quadrat studies at Brady’s Beach between low and high tide marks (a few gumboots were filled with water during this activity), learning interesting characteristics about seaweed and even tasting fresh nori (used in sushi) off the rocks, pulling up ropes from the docks to observe organisms that have made these their home, venturing into Grappler Inlet to measure salinity and temperature and compare this to the open ocean, dragging plankton nets to collect phytoplankton and zooplankton to be examined in the lab later and venturing out in the dark to stir up the water and observe bioluminescence off the dock. The students all collaborated to create a blog which parents could follow while they were at Bamfield (click here). Teachers and students returned home having thoroughly enjoyed this awesome ‘Biology boot camp’ experience
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GRADE 5/6 SCIENCE FAIR Continuing with the annual spring tradition, Grade 5 and 6 students worked diligently this term on their Science Fair projects. This year’s Science Fair was another clear example of the quality of work our students are capable of as they put forth tremendous effort and enthusiasm with their final projects. The diversity of topics was impressive, ranging from whether the height of a waterfall affects the amount of electricity produced in a hydro generator, to the acidy levels of water affecting marine life, to whether gender affects memory within learning. Through a process of discovery learning, students uncovered a topic and presented their findings in a 5-minute presentation for their classmates. This was followed by a celebration night for parents at the Wentworth campus. Well done to all the budding scientists on another excellent Science Fair.
ALL TARTAN ALL THE TIME We Did it! We are thrilled to report that as of May 31 we have exceeded our Tartan Fund goal of $250,000 and that a record number of donors have joined our annual campaign. Our very sincere thank you to all parents, faculty, staff, and alumni families who supported this year’s campaign. The success of the campaign depended upon our community coming together to support the school, and your response to Tartan Week was absolutely incredible! A special thank you to over a dozen of our parents who generously offered to double their donations if we reached our goal by May 31. If you haven’t already made your Tartan Fund donation for this year, it’s not too late - our year-end isn’t until June 30 and we welcome your donation. Click here to make an online donation Click here to download a Donation Form Thank you as well to everyone who contributed to the fun during Tartan Week - our dashing Men In Kilts (Rodger Wright, John Reid, Ian Kennedy, Roger Hatch, Peter Davidson and Senior Students Will Dean, Christopher O’Neill, Noah Dibley, Hunter MacKay, Yang Qu, Jesse Shaw, Kyle Burtwell, Carter Lim, and John Choi), fiddler Mark Sullivan, piper Viet-phi Vo, and dancers Tory Jardine, Natasha Darc and Emma MacRae. Click here for a short video of some of the fun!
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SCHOOL LIFE
KILOMETRES FOR KIDS
As part of BC Youth Week 2012, Grade 11 student Julia Tikhonova organized a successful walk to raise money for the BC Children’s Hospital. On Saturday, May 5th, many people came out for Kilometres for Kids – a 5km walk from the Ambleside Youth Centre to the Beach House restaurant in West Vancouver. “It was great to see families walking to raise funds and awareness for a great cause. There were many people of all ages. This event was a time for us all to connect and to appreciate each other, as well as the unique and beautiful place we live in. We had many participants and volunteers. I obtained sponsors for the event including the City of West Vancouver, BC Youth Week and Scotiabank, who also brought a team of members to do the walk. The Mayor of West Vancouver, Michael Smith, also came and participated in the event, and wrote a letter of support for the event. Stephen Harper and Christy Clark also wrote great letters of support for the walk. After completing the walk, there was a BBQ for everyone to enjoy, as well as snacks and fruit. This is the third event I have organized to raise awareness for important causes. This one was aimed at family participation, so I was really pleased to see people of all ages interacting. Later that evening, there was a talent show put on by West Vancouver and the Kay Meek Centre, called Amplifier. This event showcased youth talent, and all the ticket proceeds from Amplifier went towards the Kilometres for Kids walk.“ -Julia Tikhonova
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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ATHLETES!
SENIOR BOYS RUGBY WINS NORTH SHORE AA CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS TEAM WINS 5TH STRAIGHT BC PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
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ARTS
THE VISIT, BY FRIEDRICH DURRENMATT From May 16-18, Collingwood’s Performing Arts department presented The Visit, a tragi-comic play by Friedrich Durrenmatt. Samantha Loren brilliantly played the zillionaire Clara Zachanassian who returns to the town she left in disgrace eons ago, determined to seek revenge against Anton Schill played by Alex Lara. Claire (Sam) agrees to give the citizens a billion dollars if they kill Anton Schill (Alex), a man who seduced her years before. At first, the townspeople, under the direction of Burgomaster (Erik Friedman) and teacher (Leigh Sawchyn) refuse the offer. They talk importantly of Europe’s culture and humane traditions. Gradually, a play about revenge becomes one about moral compromise. By the end, the citizens have consented to murder in the name of justice.
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Kudos to Michael Wener and Michael Schaldemose for their direction and leadership in another terrific production
K-3 SPRING CONCERT SERIES The music department at Wentworth has been very busy over the last few months preparing for their K-3 Spring Concert series. In total there were 7 performances, 3 different shows, amazing sets and props, and many excited musicians! The Kindergarten and Grade 1 students took us on an adventure to Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale land of “The Selfish Giant.” They sang, they played xylophones, they danced, they spoke! And most importantly, they taught us that when we share beautiful things with people we love, we have a lot more fun! The Grade 2 students toured us through our own backyards and across the country as we explored First Nations music from all different areas of Canada. The show, entitled “My Heart Soars”, featured poetry by Chief Dan George, a First Nations poet from right here in West Vancouver! Accompanied on the piano by Ms. Cheryl McHugh, the program included choral singing, drumming, xylophones, and even a song accompanied by tone chimes! The Grade 3 students took us to the other side of the world when they presented “My African Idea”. The program included both songs and poetry from all different regions of Africa. Students sang in Zulu, English, Nigerian, Afrikaans, Bantu, and Ga. Each class was featured playing a marimba song; there was lots of two-part singing, and even South African dancing! The Grade 3 show was supported by Mr. Erik Olson on the piano and percussion. A huge thanks to Mr. Dennis Lee and Mr. Aiden Chafe for creating our sets and organizing our costumes for all three shows.
PORTABLE ART SHOW
Goodbye art portables! On May 22nd, the Visual Art department hosted their annual student art show in the beloved Art portables that are soon to be demolished as part of the Morven redevelopment plans. It was a fantastic evening featuring amazing student and alumni art, food and refreshments, a photo booth, button making, wall painting, a mockumentary and music by our very own teacher Mr. Soril a perfect send off the art portables!
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SCHOOL LIFE THE STREETS OF NEW YORK: SPRING DANCE SHOWCASE
On April 26 and 27th, Collingwood Dancers took to the stage at the Kay Meek Centre to showcase a year in dance. Students from Grades 7 -12 performed numbers with a ‘Streets of New York’ theme. With performances from Fame to Studio 54, New York State of Mind to New York Fashion week, it was a high energy evening of dance. Thank you to dance teacher Cara Tench and all our dancers for such a great show!
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EMILY KELSALL RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS AWARD AT FILM FESTIVAL The winners of the 17th Annual EyeLens Film, Video and Animation Festival have been announced and our own Emily Kelsall has won the Screenwriting award for her film, “What I Really Want”. The Festival was held on April 21st at Oak Bay Secondary in Victoria and showcased top talent from BC’s emerging filmmakers. There were over 140 videos entered, all of which were produced at The Gulf Islands Film and Television School (GIFTS) during the year 2011. Emily, like other EyeLens winners, is an up-and-coming media artist who braved the rigours of a GIFTS media intensive and produced stunning work in a short period of time. During acceptance speeches, the majority of winners, many of whom were first time filmmakers, noted a desire to return to GIFTS and produce more projects. They are people to watch out for! “What I Really Want” is a silent film that tells the tale of a teenage boy who wants to buy a beach ball, but doesn’t have the funds. It seems that everyone around him has a beach ball, except him. He wants it so much he even has a picture of the ball hanging on his wall. As he laments his situation he remembers that in fact he does have the money for it hidden under his bed. Once he retrieves the cash, he heads for the store only to find it has already been sold. Heading home completely deflated, he gets hit in the back with……..a beach ball. We won’t reveal who’s thrown it at him or what the outcome is. Recently, Kelsall’s film was shown at the Amplifier 2012 competition at the Kay Meek Centre in West Vancouver. She said it was incredibly gratifying to see it on the big screen and hear the audience sigh “awwww” at the conclusion of the film. You can view Emily’s film at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqPkRQAzTF4 G.I.F.T.S. will be making appearances at local North Shore libraries to show the award-winning films and to answer questions about their programs. They will be giving away a free scholarship at each library they visit. The final library visit is: June 5th, 6:30-8pm, North Vancouver District Public Library, Lynn Valley Main Branch, 1277 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver. The Gulf Islands Film and Television School is a unique rural film camp on Galiano Island, BC, offering media intensives with a focus on developing new filmmakers. Congratulations to Emily, for this amazing accomplishment!
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SCHOOL LIFE
MAILEY/IRWIN ROWING FORCE HEAD BOY AND HEAD GIRL Congratulations to Hailey Reeves and Adam Wray who were elected as the incoming Head Girl and Head Boy for the 2012/2013 school year.
Madison Mailey and Annabel Irwin won first place in the double at the Shawnigan Lake Regatta. Madison and Annabel will row for Collingwood in the double at the Canadian Nationals in Ontario this weekend. Carlo Quicho is also competing at Nationals in the single. We wish them all the best of success!
BALAGNO OFF TO SPRUCE MEADOWS Grade 11 student, Taylor Balagno is doing big things in the equestrian world. In March, she spent 4 weeks show jumping at HITS – an international show jumping competition in Thermal, California. She competed in the under 18 category against Junior Amateur and Pro jumpers from Canada and the US. Next month, Balagno is off to Spruce Meadows for the Continental where she will compete against the top Junior Amateur jumpers in
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photo: Julia Hindy
Canada. Congratulations and good luck Taylor!
MENG OFF TO NATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION Grade 4 student Kevin Meng is becoming quite the accomplished pianist. Kevin recently competed in the Canadian Musical Competition in Vancouver. After preparing for 10 months, Kevin competed at both the local and provincial levels and passed these two rounds with an 89% and 86% qualifying him for the National competition this July in Toronto. Kevin studies with the Royal Conservatory and will be working on his Grade 10 level this summer. Congratulations Kevin and good luck!
INSPIRING A COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS THROUGH MUSIC AND EDUCATION Mark Sullivan, Grade 3 teacher and a leading Canadian educator in Music education and performance, travelled to Northern Manitoba to work with the Frontier School Division on May 3, 2012. A unique group of Instructors from coast-to-coast were selected to work closely with children and teachers in the small community of Norway House, MB as a means of further supporting and inspiring a community of learners through Music and Education. The Frontier School Division is aware of the vital importance of the interconnectedness of all levels of home, school, community, and society. Their focus is on building, preserving, and maintaining relationships and partnerships; whether it is a classroom or a boardroom, a home or a community. The Frontier Fiddlers is an organization that has been a source of motivation for otherwise underprivileged youth. It has served as a model for students to achieve an education, empower their community, and imagine a world outside of their relatively secluded community. Through music, children have been able to receive funding to attend University programs and interact with other communities in Canada. Mr. Sullivan was excited to be part of this team as it coincides with his vision of uniting a global community of learners through collaboration and their shared experiences. He is looking forward to further pursuing this meaningful connection for Collingwood and subsequently, engaging his students in the cultural significance of these communities.
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SCHOOL LIFE
CASCADE CAMPBELL AT THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM Our very own Grade 4 student, Cascade Campbell is the face of imagiNATIONS - an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. Campbell was selected to represent the young Indigenous women of the Americas and is currently featured on a column exhibit at the museum. The four-sided spin column features four images of Campbell in her traditional Coast Salish regalia, Collingwood uniform, sporting wear, and casual wear. Campbell’s images can also be seen in subways and on billboards throughout New York City and Washington DC where the museum is currently marketing the project! Congratulations Cascade on being selected as an ambassador and for representing Indigenous women and Collingwood School so well. Read about the imagiNations Activity Centre here: http://nmai.si.edu/visit/washington/imaginations/
ANAHEIM MUSIC TOUR
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From April 18th to April 22, 50 Middle School music students departed for Anaheim, California to compete at the Heritage Music festival. The choir was awarded a silver place among middle schools in the choral category while the band received a gold place among Middle School jazz bands. The adjudicators were very complimentary of the performances of both groups. The group also managed to visit Universal Studios and catch Billy Elliott on stage at the Pantages Theatre! Thank you to chaperones: David Buchan, Michael Perkins, Benila Ninan, Andrew Shirkoff and Fiona Morris.
GRANDPARENTS DAY Grandparents’ Day is a favourite Wentworth tradition, when grandparents and special friends come to see their grandchildren in action at the school. On May 18th, grandparents began arriving around 8:30 a.m. to see their littlest grandchildren in the JK classrooms. The subsequent visits for Grades K – 2, Grades 3 -4 and Grades 5 – 6 began with an assembly that showcased the musical talents of the children as well as the Gold public speaking finalists. There is nothing more heartwarming than watching grandparents and grandchildren seek each other out at the end of the assemblies to head off for the classroom part of the visit! Each grade and classroom had arranged something special for the grandparents – from craft making, story-telling, to biographical questionnaires and presentations. The children were clearly very proud to show off their work, classroom, friends and school to their grandparents. A very busy and successful visit for all!
KESHAVJI RAISING AWARENESS ONE UNIFORM AT A TIME Tariq Keshavji’s latest service project is the Kamran Khan fundraising project. His goal is to raise as much money as he can to purchase school uniforms for students in Pakistan. On April 15th, Keshavji (Grade 8) was shocked to read an article in the Province about a 13-year old boy from Shabqudar, Pakistan named Kamran Khan. He was a scholarship student, a good kid, and like so many, his mother could not afford to buy him a school uniform. Because of this, Khamran set himself on fire and later died of his wounds. Since then, Keshavji has been on a mission to raise awareness of the challenges facing families in third world countries. He has been in contact with the head of the Education Department in Pakistan who has agreed to purchase and distribute new uniforms with the money Keshavji has raised. To date, Keshavji has raised $1200 through family and friends and hopes to raise $2000 by early June.
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Thank you... for making the first ‘Tartan Fund Blitz Week’ a success!