Windermere Secondary School

Windermere Secondary School

3155 East 27th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5R 1P3

Telephone: 604-713-8180 * Fax: 604-713-8179

Website:

Wednesday, April 5th, 2017

School Goals:To increase classroom and community engagement to improve student success and learning.

To increase knowledge, acceptance, empathy, awareness and appreciation of Aboriginal histories, traditions, cultures and contributions among all students.

Acknowledging that we live, work, and play on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish people.

Dear Students, Parents and Staff,

We hope that the Spring Break allowed your families to relax and enjoy one another’s company. The year so far has been

remarkable in how our community supports student learning inside and outside of the classroom. I am impressed with

how our staff incorporates application in their lesson planning where students take the information they learn in their

classrooms and apply the information to real life scenarios. I had the opportunity over the course of the school year to

visit many classrooms and am impressed with the number of hands on assignments and projects that our students are

experiencing. Since the Winter Break, we had a number of examples of students applying their knowledge that

incorporated not only our immediate community, but our Family of Schools and the broader community as well. Application of knowledge is a powerful strategy in the learning process.

As we transition to provide information to families through the Family Portal in the MyEd online program, I would like to thank our parent community for their patience in this transition. The second term report card will be published online in the Family Portal for parents and guardians to view. The second term report cards provide families with a snapshot of their child’s progress. We encourage families to celebrate their child’s successes, but also take action if your child did not perform well. We encourage you to have conversations with your child’s teachers and counsellor to obtain more information on how your child can improve prior to the end of the school year. We have many supports that we offer students on a regular basis that can help your child improve. These supports include Homework Club that is available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 3:03pm in room 203 where Teachers and Peer Tutors are available to help. We also have Tutorial every Wednesday afternoon where students can visit any of their teachers for additional support. We all want our students to be successful and feel proud of their accomplishments, but they must play an active role in helping themselves improve.

The Counselling Team has been working with students through the course planning process where students have selected

courses for the 2017-18 school year. In an effort to include parents in this process, your child’s course requests for next year are also posted in the Family Portal and the Planning Guide that lists all the courses that students can select at Windermere is posted on the Windermere website. Please contact your child’s Counsellor if you have any questions regarding your child’s course selection. If your child will not be attending Windermere for the 2017-18 school year, please inform your child’s Counsellor.

Ms. Patenaude (Grade 8)

Mr. Greenshields (Grade 11)

Ms. Ng (Grade 9)

Ms. Lowe (Grade 10)

The Supreme Court ruling on Class Size and Composition will have an impact on the building of our 2017-18 timetable. We will keep our community informed as we learn more about specifics relating to how the terms of the agreement will be implemented. We will be working with the new parameters to best serve our students.

The reports below provide you with information on past and upcoming events. Please feel free to contact us at any time to learn more about our school, our programs and other opportunities we provide our students.

Rick Mesich

Principal

Windermere Community School

School Leaving Ceremony and Dinner /Dance Information

A letter was emailed to all parents and guardians of students in grade 12 regarding the upcoming Graduation events and expectations for attending these events. This letter can be viewed on the Windermere website at . In summary, the dates, times and venues for each event are as follows:

Dinner & Dance “Masquerade”

Friday, June 16th

5:00pm-12:00am

Pinnacle on the Pier Hotel (Lonsdale Quay)

138 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver

Tickets will be approximately $90, but could be less based on fundraising

$50 Deposit will be collected in early March

School Leaving Ceremony

Monday, June 19th

4:30pm start (Doors open at 4:00pm)

The Chan Centre

Gown and hat costs are part of the Grad Fee and will be distributed closer to the event

Each graduating student will receive 2 tickets and additional tickets will be available for $10.00each in June.

Honour Roll and Principal’s List Students

In an effort to recognize our student’s achievement every term, we celebrate those students who achieve both Honour Roll and Principal’s List standing (see Student Agenda for criteria). On January 16th, we had a formal assembly for both Honour Roll and Principal’s List students where they were recognized with a certificate for their individual achievement.

To recognize our top students, we invited students who achieved Principal’s List standing to have lunch with Mr. Mesich to acknowledge their outstanding academic success. We will be continuing this celebration for each reporting period.

Graduation Transitions 12:

The Graduation Transitions 12 assignments wereall due by Friday, March 31st in order for grade 12 students to achieve credit for this course. Students have been aware of the requirements for this courses since the beginning of this school year. Students are asked to submit all assignments on Edmodo or in Mr. Mirani’s letterbox. A list of students that have failed to meet Graduation Transitions requirements will be posted in mid-April. Graduation Transitions is a ‘pass or fail’ course with no letter grade assigned. This course is required to meet BC Graduation Requirements and must be completed prior to June 30th, 2017. Please see Mr. Mirani if you have any questions.

High School Science Week at St Paul’s Hospital’s Centre for Hear Lung Innovation –Allison Siapno’s,Grade 12 Student, Career Exploration Experience

Normally, a person would spend a week at the hospital because they had to and not because they wanted too, but I don’t always follow convention. Last November, I applied for a chance to be a part of a program offered by the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation at St. Paul’s Hospital. They were offering grade 11 and 12 students from across the Lower Mainland the opportunity to spend a week at St. Paul’s Hospital’s labs to learn about and experience the life of a medical researcher and about the methods and machines they use on a day to day basis. Candidates would have to miss a week of school and the thought would turn a lot of students off but I found the opportunity too amazing to turn down. The center only gives you a couple days to make a decision to make sure they’re prepared in case a student says no (their list of applicants is fairly extensive), so the day I received the acceptance email I plead my case to my parents to pursue this opportunity. Thankfully, they understood my passion and agreed to allow me to participate. The only condition was that I try to keep up with my school work.

The followingweek I was off to St. Paul’s to thoroughly take advantage of this experience. We were told to meet at the center at 8:00AM and were released at 4PM; it was as if we were new employees at the labs and this week was training for the job. When I arrived, I was happy to learn most of the students were from schools in the area and I was proud to represent Windermere. That week was one of the best and one of the most educational weeks I had ever experienced. I learned about specialized machines that separate and quantify enzymes and antibodies; the different types of cells in our blood and what certain amounts of them signify. They taught us how to prepare slides and samples and how to run specific tests using what we prepared. However, my favorite day was when they talked to us about bio banking, the process wherein they take nonfunctioning or damaged organs from transplants and log them in to study the diseases that afflicted the organs. The researchers set out several samples of these organs, including four cut up hearts and sections of lungs and just let us play. We got to examine and handle the organs as much as we wanted; I felt like a kid in a candy store for the whole day! I can’t believe that they gave us that opportunity and I’ll never forget that moment. All in all, I don’t think I’ll ever regret this decision, even though it wasn’t easy catching up on my schoolwork. I think the connections and experiences I gained outweighs that struggle and has taught me things I will gladly take with me as I move forward in life.

Poetry in Voice

A program where students recite poetry from memory, took place at Windermere during the month of February. Two students, Maya Lubell and Asia Przyborowska, tied as the school winners. Thank you to all the judges and students who participated.

Life Skills and the Best Buddy Program

The Life Skills class and the Windermere Best Buddies chapter have been very active this term. Students met at lunch throughout February to make friendship bracelets, then sold them throughout the school to raise more than $138 for the chapter! On February 23rd, in conjunction with Pink Shirt Day activities, the chapter organized speakers from BC People First to talk to more than 350 Windermere students and staff about using respectful and inclusive language.

To celebrate Best Buddies month in March, more than 40 students and families from the Life Skills class, Best Buddies and Windermere Alumni went to the March 9th Canucks game at Roger’s Arena. Although the Canucks lost in overtime, it was anamazing night and everyone had a wonderful time. Hopefully you saw Windermere students waving the Best Buddies flag on the large scoreboard!!

Keep an eye out for our 3rd Annual Best Buddies “Hooping It Up” competition coming to Windermere on May 8th and 9that lunch! There will be great prizes for top hoop throwers in different categories and some special surprises not to be missed!

Windermere and John Oliver Fine Arts Trip to New York City

Over Spring Break, Windermere partnered with John Oliver Secondary to put together an amazing trip to New York City that included 21 Fine Arts students and 3 chaperones from both schools. The school group flew to the City that Never Sleeps on the red-eye and proceeded to embrace wakefulness. We had an amazing 6 days in New York where the students experienced 2 Broadway shows (Aladdin, School of Rock), and an Improv show at the People's Improv Theatre. We also participated in several workshops lead by New York artists, including a Broadway song and dance lesson, hip hop class at the Broadway Dance Studio, and beginner Improv at the PIT. Students spent their time enjoying the landmarks (and shopping) of New York, and embracing the vibrancy and bustle of the city. Highlights included the Empire State Building, the High Line, Central Park, Canal Street, and Rockefeller Centre. It was an amazing trip!

Car Free Day and Ride Don’t Hide

May 10, 2017 will bring two events to Windermere Secondary. Leadership students will be organizing Car Free Day, with numerous events and speakers throughout the day. Please be advised that traffic patterns along Windermere Street and 27th Avenue will be affected. The morning of May 10th will also see a number of Windermere students participate in the Ride-Don’t –Hide event, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association to raise awareness of mental health issues. Interested students should sign up with Mr. Breden, Vice Principal, and complete the necessary requirements for participation.

Create Your Canada Competition

Congratulations to Gaelan Emo and June Lam for winning the Create Your Canada contest sponsored by Member of Parliament Don Davies. Gaelan and June will be travelling to Ottawa to hear Don Davies introduce their bill in the House of Commons this spring. They were chosen for their idea to create a tax incentive that will encourage food producers, suppliers and retailers to donate perishable food to charities. Congratulations June and Gaelan! To learn more about this competition, please visit

Vancouver Police Department Student Challenge

Over Spring Break, a number of Windermere students were selected from across the district to participate in the VPD Student Challenge. These students have varying interests in choosing a career in Policing. Four Windermere students, Elisha Aziz, Asia Przyborowska, Yu Han Zheng and Billy Wu participated in the Vancouver Police Department’s Student Challenge over Spring Break. The students were able to work with the Police Department conducting drills, simulations, investigations, and patrols. Some of their experiences included working with the Dog Team, the Mounted Police Unit and learned how to shoot guns at the Tactical Training Centre. The students spent three days at Timberline Ranch running in the mud and jumping over a 12 foot wall. For more information, read the student’s reflections on the Windermere website.

Windermere Student Selected for theCentre for Education in Mathematics and Computing Program at the University of Waterloo

Tegan Breker, grade 10 Windermere student, has been selected to attend the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing Program (CEMC) for girls at the University of Waterloo. Tegan will go to the University of Waterloo with all of her expenses paid from Saturday, May 13thto Saturday, May 20th. An explanation of the program from their website explains the program as such:

The CEMC Workshop in Computer Science for Young Women was designed to encourage young women considering computer science as a career for the first time. It is a unique opportunity designed to ignite enthusiasm for computer science in interested female students from across Canada who have had little or no previous exposure to computer science. The young women invited learn that computer science is about much more than using and programming computers. Through lectures, labs and hands-on activities, the workshop explores the foundations and applications of computer science that have a profound effect on the world today. Lasting friendships develop as participants stay in on-campus residences for one week and enjoy many social events.

To learn more about the CEMC, please see their website at

First Nations Family Night

On Thursday, April 6th, a joint First Nations Family Night will take place at Templeton Secondary School starting at 5:30pm where aboriginal students and their families from Templeton, Windermere, John Oliver and King George Secondary Schools will celebrate the achievements of aboriginal students in our communities. The program will include a traditional blessing that will be followed by dinner, performances and presentations. The presentations will honour students for their academic achievement, community service and leadership at school and in the greater community. The awards include:

Windermere’s Chief Bill Williams Student Achievement Award

Templeton’s Honourable Steven Point Student Achievement Award

John Oliver’s Wes Nahanee Student Achievement Award

King George’s Ernest LaRochelle Student Achievement Award

This is a tremendous event and we encourage everyone to participate.

Fine Arts Department

Band Program

The Band Program is in full swing, with our sights set on the year-end concerts, the Graduation Ceremony, and other performance opportunities. The Intermediate Band is preparing for a trip to Victoria on the May long weekend, where we will play outside on the Inner Harbour, collaborate with the Killarney Intermediate Band, and learn more about our provincial capital. We look forward to combining both bands for several pieces for the year-end concert. Meanwhile, there is lots of fun and lots of work going on in the Band room.

Guitar Program

This new course is going very well, with the students just finishing a fingerpicking unit and moving into a Blues unit. We continue to sight-read, learn popular songs, and experiment with new scales for improvising. We hope to have more Guitar students performing at the various concerts before the end of the year.