November 2011 - Mini Gryphon.indd
Transcription
November 2011 - Mini Gryphon.indd
Vo lum e 3 Is s u e 3 Nove m b e r 20 1 1 IN T HIS ISSUE : BACK TO THE 1950s! If you didn’t k now it was the 50 th day of school on Thursday, November 17th, you would have felt like Mar ty McFly in Back to Future, walking through Meadowridge’s halls. What began in the Kindergar ten class as a tradition to mark the 50 th day of school has spread throughout the school with teachers and s tudents reliving the 1950s with poodle skir ts, rolled up sleeves, leather jackets and some classic hair ribbon. See page 15 for more pictures of the fabulous f ifties at Meadowridge. From the Headmas ter 2 Annual Giving Update 4 People Making a Dif ference 6 Student Achievements 8 Librar y Update 9 Gr yphon Council Update 10 Around Meadowridge 12 Athletics Update 16 Facilities Update 17 Alumni Update 18 M E A D OW R I D G E S CH O O L 1 2 2 24 - 24 0 t h St r e e t M a p l e R i d g e , B C V4 R 1 N 1 w w w.meadow r idge.bc.ca t : 6 0 4 . 4 67 . 4 4 4 4 | f : 6 0 4 . 4 67 . 49 8 9 Meadowr idge Schoo l Page 2 | NOVEMBER 2011 FROM T HE HE A DM A ST ER On R isk, Playgrounds and Growing Up to be Capable Imagine: An adult is hit by a soccer ball on a playground, and unfor tunately suf fers a concussion. What would you do, if you adminis tered a school? An adminis trator in a public school in Toronto faced this issue recently, and so banned the use of inf lated balls in the schoolyard. In some schools, games of tag and other chase and elimination games have been banned, following par ticular complaints of injur y or the bruising of self-es teem. Some places have even removed playgrounds, because there is some fear that children may hur t themselves. At our school, we are ver y aware of risk, and – because of that awareness – we will not be banning tag, banning balls, or removing playgrounds. A friend of mine, Stephen Smith, who teaches and writes at Simon Fraser University (phenomenology and Physical Education) notes that risk is an impor tant component of development in children. It is through the taking of risks that children learn to be competent, to overcome fear, to work with others, and to measure their own abilities and learn new ones. When children play outside, they are often ver y shrewd judges of their own capabilities; they will only go so far up the rope climber unless they are cer tain of their own capacities. Their sense of their own selfwor th is developed through increasing their competence, not through avoiding challenge. What is ver y interes ting is some recent evidence and thought regarding the essential role of risk in childhood development. From the New York Times: After obser ving children on playgrounds in Nor way, England and Aus tralia, Dr. Sandseter identif ied six categories of risk y play: exploring heights, experiencing high speed, handling dangerous tools, being near dangerous elements (like water or f ire), rough-and-tumble play (like wres tling), and wandering alone away from adult super vision. The mos t common is climbing heights. Climbing equipment needs to be high enough, or else it will be too boring in the long run,” Dr. Sandseter said. “Children approach thrills and risks in a progressive manner, and ver y few children would tr y to climb to the highes t point for the f irs t time they climb. The bes t thing is to let children encounter these challenges from an early age, and they will then progressively learn to mas ter them through their play over the years.” Page 3 | NOVEMBER 2011 Sometimes, of course, their mas ter y fails, and falls are the common form of playground injur y. But these rarely cause permanent damage, either physically or emotionally. While some psychologis ts — and many parents — have worried that a child who suf fered a bad fall would develop a fear of heights, s tudies have shown the opposite pat tern: A child who is hur t in a fall before the age of nine is less likely as a teenager to have a fear of heights. By gradually exposing themselves to more and more dangers on the playground, children are using the same habituation techniques developed by therapis ts to help adults conquer phobias, according to Dr. Sandseter and a fellow psychologis t, Leif Kennair, of the Nor wegian University for Science and Technology. “Risk y play mirrors ef fective cognitive behavioral therapy of anxiety,” they write in the journal Evolutionar y Psychology, concluding that this “anti-phobic ef fect” helps explain the evolution of children’s fondness for thrill-seeking. While a youthful zes t for exploring heights might not seem adaptive — why would natural selection favor children who risk death before they have a chance to reproduce? The dangers seemed to be outweighed by the benef its of conquering fear and developing a sense of mas ter y. Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN t he nex t 25 year s. “Paradoxically,” the psychologis ts write, “we posit that our fear of children being harmed by mos tly harmless injuries may result in more fear ful children and increased levels of psychopathology.” At our school, too, we ensure that we teach children how to be inclusive, how to sor t out the inevitable issues that arise on the playground, and how to take measured risks. We think that risk should be transparent, and also that the appearance of removing risk is actually much more dangerous than making sure that risk is unders tood and managed. When a playground is perceived by ever yone to be safe, then actual risk may increase. Our playground equipment is, or course, designed with proper fall zones, appropriate sur faces, and manageable equipment. But we will never claim to have removed all risk. It would not be hones t or educationally sound, and we want our children to grow to be capable adults who are able to take reasonable risks. It is jus t a par t of a healthy life. Mr. Hugh Burke, Headmas ter This ar ticle was originally published on the Headmas ter’s Blog. Read more at: meadowridgeheadmas ter.wordpress.com Meadowr idge Schoo l Page 4 | NOVEMBER 2011 A NNUA L GI V ING D ONOR S Thank You For Contr ibut ing! Mr. and Mrs. Rafael and Lisa Acosta Mr. and Mrs. Don and Linda Hincks Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Oltita Agaf itei Ms. Cindy Hops Mr. and Mrs. Ron and Cathy Antalek Mrs. Carrie Hughes-Grant Ms. Rebecca Awram Mr. and Mrs. Ty and Jadina Ir ving Mr. and Mrs. Jose and Paula Barbosa Ms. Lynelle Johns Mr. and Mrs. John and Terr y Becker Mr. and Mrs. Bruce and Judy Johnston Mrs. Kristal Bereza Mr. Terr y Jung and Ms. Audrey Lum Ms. Christine Bickle Mr. Kevin Kennedy Mr. Michael Biswas and Ms. P. Dawn Shaw-Biswas Dr. Seoungjoon Kim and Mrs. Inhwa Sung Prof. Nicholas Blomley and Ms. Jessie Hill Mr. Hyeok-Sang Kwon and Mrs. Ji-Yeon Ahn Mr. Rhys Clarke and Mrs. Julie Bournival Mr. Oh Hyon Kwon and Mrs. JiSoo Jeon Mr. Hugh Burke and Ms. Eva Boyd Mr. and Mrs. Al-Karim and Zain Lalji Mr. Gang Chen and Ms. Ping Li Drs. Ockie Lampen and Kathy Robson Mr. Xiang Jing Chen and Mrs. Xiao Ming Yang Mr. and Mrs. Tom and Rhonda Laurie Mr. Richard Choi and Mrs. Angie Lee Mr. Daniel Le Page Mr. Roy Choi and Mrs. Jeong-Mi Ryu Mr. Gye Ju Lee and Mrs. Whal Ran Park Mr. and Mrs. Shahir and Reeshma Premji Mr. and Mrs. Jeff and Katherine Craw ford Mr. Lance Leger and Ms. Sarah Ward Mr. George Read and Ms. Fay Kingwill Mr. and Mrs. Jim and Elizabeth Davies Mr. and Mrs. Darrell and Kim Lester Mr. Avio Diniz and Ms. Patricia Lapointe Mr. and Mrs. Matthew and Wendy Dockerty Dr. Mitra Maharaj and Mrs. Jacqueline Ainswor th Mr. David Riddell and Mrs. Karen WilbyRiddell Mr. Terr y Donaldson Drs. Samir and Sangita Malhotra Mrs. Chantal Schutz Dr. and Mrs. Bill and Barbara Durno Mr. and Mrs. Riaz and Fairous Mapara Mr. and Mrs. Justin and Jennifer Simpson Exper t Electric (The Brunet ta Family) Mr. James Marriott Mr. and Mrs. Rajindar and Sheila Singh Mr. Jay Fraser Mr. Gareth Mason and Ms. Carolyn Treger Mr. and Mrs. Dennis and Norma-Jean Spika Mrs. Hallie Fraser Ms. Jennifer Maynes Mr. Scott Spurgeon Drs. Deepu and Reena George Ms. Glenda Mensah Mr. Kevin Sun and Ms. Feng Li Drs. Joe and Diana Germain Ms. Sherrie Metz Mr. Preston Tan Mr. Bob Gill and Mrs. Diana Car withen Miss Cori Barker and Jake Barker Mr. and Mrs. Rick and Susan Waugh Mr. Kenneth Go and Mrs. Connie Chow-Go Mrs. Christy Mooney Mr. Dan tenBrink and Ms. Leah Zeballos Mr. Mansour Gorji and Mrs. Nastaran Kasravi Mr. and Mrs. Vassen and Lovana Moothoo Mr. and Mrs. Julian and Marilyn Turner Dr. and Mrs. Daniel and Kimberley Buchanan-Gouws Mr. Michael Nice and Ms. Danielle Noel Mr. and Mrs. David and Lyn Tyler Mr. and Mrs. Patrick and Barbara Niwa Ms. Michelle Vally Ms. Maxine Gracey Mr. David Noble Ms. Tamara Warner Mr. and Mrs. Alan and Marlene Graveson Mr. and Mrs. Stephen and Margot Olah Mr. and Mrs. Matthew and Jennifer Watt Mr. and Mrs. War wick and Carolyn Green Ms. Angela Pallister Mr. and Mrs. Rick and Susan Waugh Mr. and Mrs. Craig and Natalie Gunning Mr. and Mrs. Scott and Lisa Park Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence and Tracey Welsh Mr. and Mrs. Carl and Shirly He Dr. and Mrs. Parin and Bhavna Patel Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Kalie Whitaker Mr. and Mrs. Peter and Kelly Fr y Mr. and Mrs. Philip and Nicola Pitzey Mr. and Mrs. Dean and Samantha Wiens Mr. and Mrs. Don and Linda Hincks Mr. and Mrs. Igor and Katerina Pogrebinsky Mr. Kyle Jeans and Ms. Krista Zambolin Drs. Mur thy and Anu Korada Mr. Michael Schutz Page 5 | NOVEMBER 2011 Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN t he nex t 25 year s. A Test for Parents true false (Please ans wer true of false) 1. You believe in our Mission. 2. You are grateful for your child’s education and want to give back. 3. You want your school to be sus tainable and grow s tronger ever y year. 4. You want to build your community. 5. Your children’s teachers do so much more than they are expected to do. 6. Your children benef it from the gifts of others. 7. You want to make a dif ference in the world. 8. You can make a donation through your MEID. 9. You k now that the school we have today was born out of the charity of those that came before. 10. You feel good when you give. 11. You are excited by the projects and enhancements giving funds make possible. 12. You enjoy the taxable benef it you receive when you make a gift. 13. You want your children to have a new school bus, a conser vator y, a green house, or a recording s tudio this year. 14. You want your children’s education enhanced. 15. You want to make it possible for our school to purchase additional land to secure the future of the school. 16. You want to leave a legacy. Scoring: If you answered true to one or more ques tions you are well suited to join our community of Annual Giving donors by making a contribution today. Meadowr idge Schoo l Page 6 | NOVEMBER 2011 PEOPLE M A K ING A DIF FER ENCE Dr. Danie Gou ws Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them. W. Clement Stone Once his father’s s tudies were complete, it was back to South Africa where church and s tate continued to be inseparable during school days. He describes his school as “almos t militaris tic”, a situation he found oppressive. These experiences resonate with him and are clearly some of the reasons why he has chosen a During Dr. Gouws’ formative years, the f igures of South African political life, were Afrikaner Broederbond (Brotherhood) secular school, run by parents and not members of the Afrikaner Broederbond. government, for his own children. Gouws’ father, on the other hand, was a Jimi Hendrix was at his height and the liberal and was vocally anti-Government. world was an exciting place. Gouws “The things we accept as ever yday like described himself as rebellious, with freedom of speech were not common. It a twinkle and a smile that I believe was too hazardous. It was unusual to say belies the memories of pas t deeds. But was alive and well in the Transvaal, exis ting as a secret, exclusively male organization dedicated to the advancement of Afrikaner interes ts. Between 1948 and 1994, many prominent Meadow r idge School is for tuna te to ha ve a communi t y of wonder ful individuals w ho help our school to thr ive through their generosi t y and subs tantive wor k. We are gra teful to so many for their ongoing suppor t and contr ibu tions. This year we would like to showcase some of your fellow communi t y member s w ho make i t a pr ior i t y to give back and make a dif ference. too much.” rebelliousness aside, he was obligated to Dr. Danie Gouws grew up fulf ill his requirement for militar y ser vice. in an orphanage in Pretoria, When asked what he took away from South Africa but not in the his experiences in South Africa, Danie sense you may think. is direct, “You need to make a choice to “My mother was a social become your own person. Either you tag worker and this was where along with the masses or you decide what she worked and we lived.” you want, what you believe in, and then Surrounded by 50 other do something about it.” children along with his After his militar y ser vice, Danie went on siblings, he describes it as “an to Ar t School. His parents were always interes ting life”. suppor tive of his education. His reference His parent’s pursuit of fur ther framework was always dif ferent, having education and the political his parents working at the University of conditions of the time saw Cambridge and Har vard, and it was not them travelling quite a bit. unusual that he would embrace learning The family moved to England, in all its facets. He s tudied Fine Ar ts and where he learned English sculpting, but after f inishing his degree he and then on to the United decided to move into medicine. States so his father could He at tended Medical School at complete a Pos t Doctorate at Stellenbosch University. “The medical the University of Pit tsburgh. sys tem is dif ferent there in that once During this time, he at tended you have graduated you are deemed Colfax Public School populated a Medical Of f icer. Your residency is by primarily Or thodox Jewish spent working in a hospital moving from families; an environment rich depar tment to depar tment so that you with religious over tones. are able to gain experience in multiple Page 7 | NOVEMBER 2011 Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN t he nex t 25 year s. areas.” He wor ked in obs tetrics and didn’t want to miss the anes thesiology. oppor tunity.” They f inished It was 1986 and things were in turmoil in South Africa. It was time to look at options. A chance to leave South Africa presented itself. He was able to move to New Zealand to practice medicine. The oppor tunity came with permanent residence. It was the per fect situation and the application process in May jus t as the door closed in June. “We got in under the wire. There was a lot going on at that time. I thought Kim was going to kill me.” he k new that, if need be, he could always “Maple Ridge was a simple come home. In New Zealand, he was the choice. We had jus t sold only doctor for 3000 people in the area. our house in Yorkton and “It was a maternity hospital as well. A helicopter would come in early hours of the morning and I would get on, not k nowing where we were going. There was a lot of rescue wor k.” I wondered if he enjoyed f lying. “I’m actually a pilot.” At this point, not a lot surprised me about Danie…f lying, sculpting, delivering babies, emigrating. Dr. Gouws volunteering at the Welcome Back Fair. we had what I thought was a good sum of money to buy a new one. When we f irs t s tar ted we were taking a We quickly realized that we were going wait and see approach. The school was to be living fur ther out if we wanted to close to going under. I had experienced af ford the house we wanted.” When they that with my daughter’s Montessori. It’s f irs t arrived in British Columbia, Gouws a traumatic thing when that happens wor ked in Kitsilano, Eas t Vancouver and but the whole concept of community is Prince George, but this was not what he that you accept the good with the bad. wanted. When asked about why he and Nothing is per fect and I believe that the his wife chose Meadowridge, the answer school is bigger than the individuals in it.” In New Zealand, Danie met his future comes quickly. “It was about values. I wife, Kim Buchanan. She was a teacher in grew up in a paradoxical environment. a small school. “She could have taught in Respect was demanded but we were not Auckland but chose the position for the given any. As s tudents we were dismissed adventure.” He felt claus trophobic and and children were not ack nowledged for wanted more options. Kim is originally who they are. I did not want this for my from Ontario so a move back to Canada children.” made sense. Danie insis ts that it was his idea, though. It was logis tics that brought them to British Columbia. “As a new doctor to Canada, you mus t work on the Prairies to s tar t and you can only practice for four months in a calendar year. Then you mus t leave. So I organized it so that I did the las t four months of the year and the f irs t four months of the following year. By the time I was done, I had been licensed.” He went on, “I bought a practice in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Within 11 months, we had a new business, a new baby and a new house.” Then he caught wind that British Columbia was changing their regis tration rules for doctors. “I Meadowridge of fered an open, thought ful community which s trongly values a bread th of education within a respect ful environment. It f it. “I notice that the dialogue has changed since my early days. For example, f inances were not explained to us as new parents. That has shifted. I think if expectations are spelled out then you can plan appropriately. The school should not be about what is af fordable, it should be about what is expected.” Given what Danie is like, what his family is like, and what his life has been, we k now that what is expected is…well… a I asked Danie to comment upon the lot. Like many parents at Meadowridge, school, to speak of how he has come to Danie is himself both a par ticipant and a be so involved: leader, and has chosen to spend his time “I was originally asked to par ticipate and talent in the ongoing work of building in Governance. I k new I wanted to be a community of high expectations, and involved and have always felt it impor tant a school of warmth, acceptance, and to put more in than you expect to get respect for all our children. He wants out. Additionally, my work is ver y narrow our school to do things right, but, more and specif ic and I f ind it rewarding to impor tantly, to do the right things. be surrounded by people that do other things.” “The school has changed for the bet ter. Ms. Chris tine Bickle Director of Advancement Meadowr idge Schoo l Page 8 | NOVEMBER 2011 S T U D EN T ACHIE V EMEN TS Meado w r id g e St u d e n t P hil a n t h r o py Meadowridge received a call this month from the BC Children’s Hospital. They wanted to let the school k now that over the years Meadowridge s tudents have donated over $25,000 to their organization. With this number reached there will now be a plaque at the BC Children’s Hospital in honour of the donations from Meadowridge s tudents. As wonder ful as this achievement is it is not surprising, because it is not out of the ordinar y. Each month we see our s tudents donating and raising money for a variety of causes. In September over $1,480 was collected for the Terr y Fox Foundation. In October the Halloween Fun Night raised $1,158 for Covenant House. This pas t month, s tudents collected an amazing 2620 pounds of food and raised over $700 for the Friends in Need Food Bank. Meadowridge s tudents are among the mos t philanthropic, caring, and ref lective s tudents. This value is integral to our school community, and our students’ effor ts show that it exists not only in our academics, but also the events they choose to organize. The effor t with which they raise money and collect food and other items for charitable organizations is inspiring to ever yone around them. NIMA Grade 6 Congratulations to Nima who will be get ting his black belt in Taek wondo on November 26th. Nima trains in Pit t Meadows and has been training for eight years with his sis ter. Nima has def initely earned his black belt with his busy schedule. He goes to the s tudio four times during the week, with Friday being his sparring day, and he even trains on the weekend. To help with his Taek wondo training Nima runs f ive kilometers ever y week on the dikes. One of his favourite par ts of Taek wondo is the grappling and pat terns. Taek wondo has even taught him how to break boards, which he says is really fun! Congratulations Nima! Page 9 | NOVEMBER 2011 Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN t he nex t 25 year s. L I B R A R Y U P D AT E The Librar y is the hear t of the Meadowridge community and our hear t felt thanks go out to our dedicated volunteers. Since September our team of volunteers has grown to over 20. These volunteers can be seen running the circulation desk, shelving books, tidying shelves, gathering books for classroom teachers, preparing displays, and sor ting books to donate. In the f irs t two months of school, our team has accumulated over 100 hours of volunteer time. It is to their credit that the Librar y is running so smoothly. If you see any of our dedicated volunteers please be sure to thank them for their commitment to the Librar y! Our Excellent Librar y Volunteers: Zahra Dhanani Inhwa Sung Anna Zhang Soo Par k Kumi Grosspeitch Ji Young Par k Kirs ti Hardie Hyun Kyung Kim Shawn Dyer Jung Young Ji Seema Rawal Ji Yeon Ahn Natalie Valentine Kate Noh Sue Rumble Amy Kim Shannon A ziz Yung Hwa Cho Jisoo Jeon Sophia Kook Veronica Lee Hyun Ji Lee Chr ys Han STA FF PICK OF T HE MON T H We are excited here at the librar y as we are beginning our “Staf f Picks” display highlighting s taf f members’ favourite books. Each month we will pick a s taf f member to highlight and will display a picture of them with one of their favourite books. The favourite book can be one from their childhood or one that they are enjoying right now. All books picked by s taf f will be available at the librar y. We are excited to have Junior Kindergar ten teacher, Ms. Johns, as the f irs t “Staf f Picks”. Ms. Johns has chosen Still Alice by Lisa Genova, as her pick. A bou t St ill Alice: Still Alice is a compelling novel about a 50 year-old woman’s sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer’s disease. This is the debut novel from author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph.D in neuroscience from Har vard University (Summar y from w w w.amazon.ca) Meadowr idge Schoo l Page 10 | NOVEMBER 2011 G R Y P H O N CO U N C I L U P D AT E The pas t month was f illed with many exciting events at Meadowridge! The Can Drive f inished and it was incredibly successful, with the entire Meadowridge community raising over 2620 pounds of food and over $700 cash. All the donations went to the local Friends in Need Food Bank, and with this cold winter beginning to set in, they were ver y thankful. The f inal point s tandings for the can drive were Alouet te with 1005 points, Whonnock with 1128 points, Kanaka with 1138 points, and Fraser wining with 2501 points! Congratulations Fraser! The annual Halloween cos tume contes t and the Kiss the Mons ter event had the Meadowridge community really get ting into the Halloween spirit a couple weeks ago. With a variety of ghouls and goblins walking throughout the halls, there were some fantas tic cos tumes and several winners for a variety of categories including scaries t and bes t teacher! This year’s BYOB3 (Bring Your Own Big Banana and Bowl) saw many s tudents par ticipating with enthusiasm! For bringing in a BIG banana, reusable bowl and spoon, s tudents were able to enjoy a delicious ice-cream sundae on a Friday afternoon. There were some ver y big bananas! UPCOMING EVENTS The Autumn Har ves t dinner is rapidly approaching! Seniors from a variety of seniors homes in Maple Ridge will come to Meadowridge for an evening of fantas tic food, per formances and much more! Students have been preparing for a while now, from organizing the per formers to get ting the decorations ready. The seniors are sure to have a wonder ful time! The f inal house point s tandings are as follows: Fraser is f irs t with 6295 points, Alouet te is second with 6197, followed by Kanaka with 6128, then Whonnock with 5548. With many Chris tmas events around the corner, there is lots of oppor tunity for change! Tyler Goudal, Media Gr yphon Page 11 | NOVEMBER 2011 Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN t he nex t 25 year s. Meadowr idge Schoo l Page 1 2 | NOVEMBER 2011 A RO UND ME A D OW R ID GE . . . On Wednesday, November 9th the Dhillon and Sodhi families visited the Grade 4 class in celebration of the bir thday of the Firs t Mas ter in Sikhism. They provided a delicious lunch as well as explained the impor tance of the celebration. On Wednesday, November 16th the Grade 2 class par ticipa ted in a science wor k shop! The wor k shop was abou t mak ing science fun, and did i t ever. The s tudents lear ned abou t phases of ma t ter and chemical reac tions. Then they per for med ex per iments on solids, liquids and gases. Page 13 | NOVEMBER 2011 Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN t he nex t 25 year s. Las t Tuesday, November 8, 2011, Swaraj’s mother, Mrs. Aravindhan, visited the Grade 5 classroom to share her immigrant experiences and s tories. Her professionally created Power Point presentation provided details about her entire immigration process, her decision making process and the challenges she faced as a new immigrant to Canada. As a wrap-up activity, Mrs. Aravindhan put s tudents into smaller groups to act out “real-life” immigrant scenarios. Each s tudent took on the role of an immigration of f icer who either accepted or denied various cases for immigration by following the prerequisites or criteria. Mrs. Aravindhan’s visit helped answer many ques tions and helped the class to bet ter unders tand their central idea, “Human Migration Transforms Our World”. Thank you, Mrs. Aravindhan! On October 28th, Dr. Diana Germain and Dr. John Kim visited the Kindergar ten class to speak to the class about the impor tance of taking care of your teeth. Dr. Germain brought them all the necessar y dentis t masks and gloves and spoke to s tudents about keeping their teeth clean by brushing and f lossing. Dr. Kim gave s tudents the chance to model proper brushing on a special s tuf fed animal. Thank you Dr. Germain and Dr. Kim! Ms. Yeoh’s class celebrated the Mexican holiday Día de los Muer tos (Day of the Dead) by baking pan de muer tos (bread of the dead) and decorating skull cookies. Meadowr idge Schoo l LES T W E FORGE T . . . Page 14 | NOVEMBER 2011 Page 15 | NOVEMBER 2011 Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN t he nex t 25 year s. T H E FA B U LO U S F I F T I E S ! Meadowr idge Schoo l Page 16 | NOVEMBER 2011 AT H L E T I C S U P D AT E Congratulations to our Junior Girls’ Volleyball team on a ver y successful season! Our girls f inished 3rd in the GVISSA Championship Tournament held at the Harr y Jerome Spor ts Center on November 3rd. The girls brought home a bronze medal and a trophy for our showcase. Jessica Jacob was named an “All-Star” for the tournament. Congratulations Jessica! Our girls worked hard all season and really improved their volleyball skills and level of cour t play. We are ver y proud of the girls for the exemplar y manner in which they represented Meadowridge School. We thank our coaching team: Mr. Clar ke and Mrs. Brookshaw for a job well done! Go Gr yphons! Congratulations to our Senior Boys’ Soccer team on f inishing second overall in their league! They played a hard-fought f inal game that ended with a f inal shoot-out. We are ver y proud of our team for the exemplar y manner in which they represented Meadowridge School. It has been an outs tanding season. Following the game, Mos t Valuable Player (Alan) and Mos t Spor tsmanlike Team was awarded to Meadowridge. We thank our coaching team for an outs tanding job: Mr. Spurgeon, Mr. Singh and Mr. Le Page. Page 17 | NOVEMBER 2011 Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN t he nex t 25 year s. FA C I L I T I E S U P D AT E Traf f ic Flow Not ice The school periodically reviews the ways in which we go about our day to tr y and cons tantly make improvements. One area that is looked at, but dif f icult to f ix, is the traf f ic f low. Sometimes parents are rushed, do not unders tand expectations, or don’t realize how their actions impact others, disrupting the traf f ic f low and generating a sense of frus tration. The school recently received an email from a concerned parent. “Good afternoon Mr. Bur ke, I am writing this e-mail after an upset ting incident this morning in the kiss and go area. This morning, when I arrived, there was a car par ked in the kiss and go area. My children exited the car and this other car was s till par ked; not even running. I got in my car to leave, was unable to, because the spot was tight with the car in front of me. […] I felt I should inform the parent they were not allowed to par k in this area. I thought they may be new, and not k now the rules. I k nocked on the car’s window and had to ask the father to open his window as he seemed reluctant to do so. I asked him “do you k now that you are not allowed to park here?” His reply was “yes I k now” and then he rolled his window up on me. As I was not prepared to back up to leave my par king spot (I believe it is dangerous backing up with kids all around), I waited behind him till he turned on his car and moved for ward. When I exited the end of the Meadowridge driveway, he was s till par ked there! with solutions, please do not hesitate to ask. If you deem it suitable, on my available mornings, I would like to volunteer to help guide the parents in the kiss and go area. I feel a s trong need to address this concern that I have had for the three years our family has been at Meadowridge. I have mentioned it before, and I f ind it ver y unfor tunate that it has not completely changed. Remember, the school mot to “learning to live well, with others and for others, in a jus t community” does not only apply to the s tudents who at tend our school, but to the parents as well. If there is a way I can help to come up If we, as role models, fail to follow the rules set out by our school, how do we expect our children to do so?“ To help address this issue, we will dis tribute a notice outlining the changes to the signage and traf f ic f low. Hopefully these changes will help the morning dropof f and afternoon pickup become more ef f icient and safer for ever yone. Mr. Pat Niwa Meadowr idge Schoo l Page 18 | NOVEMBER 2011 A LU M N I U P D AT E What makes Meadow r idge dif ferent? After a lengthy tour of Lower Canada College, a Montreal independent school established in 1904, Mr. Burke and I exited on to the street intersecting the campus which spans nearly 4 city blocks. Immediately he asked me what I thought. I was impressed by the facilities (including a new full-size ice rink with a lounge for the spectators), and my initial response was one of deep admiration. The Quebec school’s histor y is written on plaques on ever y wall in the hallways and their pride is displayed clearly across each banner earned throughout the years. As we walked down the road and chatted a bit about the tour, conducted by the Headmaster, I took a deep breath of the unusually warm November air and with it gathered a hint of perspective. As we sat down at a small coffee shop and continued chatting, my memor y wandered and revisited not just the tour, but what had transpired over the two days before it, and moreover the 25 years before that. The school –Lower Canada College – was impressive, but… “A school is a school, is a school” Mr. Burke said as we shook hands and par ted ways; this saying stuck in my mind and replayed itself the entire walk back to my hotel. “ In t h e s to r i e s of our A lu m ni w e f in d w ha t ma ke s M e a d o w r idge d i f fe re n t ; fo r u s a s c h o o l i s a s c h ool, bu t o u r s c h o o l i s a home.” Ref lecting on this statement, the trip thus far and fur thermore the shor t but successful histor y of our school to date, I couldn’t help but wonder, what makes Meadowridge different? Two days earlier, the two of us walked up Toronto’s Younge Street towards York School, a Kindergar ten to grade 12 International Baccalaureate School just outside of the city centre. Similar to LCC, York school is situated in a geographically competitive area which poses both benef its and costs in consideration of the school and its community. 60 years younger than its Quebec counterpar t, this school has yet to see the development of its Alumni to the same ex tent and is conf ined to strict campus limitations ( which increasing land costs are not helping). For example, they have just spent over ten million dollars to buy and renovate a small off ice building, some f ive blocks away, into a junior school. Never theless they are beginning to see the success of the PYP Programmes and are consistently full in the Upper School. Overall, it was a nice and insightful visit in respect to many things. Ref lecting on this experience, evidently the same saying can be applied: a school is a school, is a school… Yet they are different, and each has a unique character. York School, and Lower Canada, and Meadowridge are all excellent schools, and so what makes our school unique? That evening and the nex t we hosted two separate, yet similar, Alumni events in Toronto and Montreal respectively. Altogether we had the oppor tunity to reconnect with 18 Alumni and 2 past staff members over two nights f illed with great food, a few drinks and an over whelming amount of conversation. Considering some of these past students spor ted their graduation caps less than 6 months earlier, the sheer volume of stories and accomplishments that were shared delighted me. I suppose there is a lot to be excited about, but the level of involvement and the success of our alumni seemed to be a natural continuation, as they were coming from Meadowridge. Another realization was how highly acclaimed were the crowd that we had, as a school, helped to produce. We have long known that our school holds high academic standards, but to be surrounded by so many young people, passionate about the things they have decided on and set out to do, not only solidif ied this reputation, but was truly remarkable. Page 19 | NOVEMBER 2011 Represented among the Alum were many bachelor degrees, multiple masters midway, a couple of professional degrees completed, and promising careers proliferating. The more recent graduates are working steadily towards their f irst degree, and by all repor ts were ver y well prepared for the educational expectations that they have encountered. “ We h a v e l o n g k now n t h a t o u r s c h o ol h o ld s hi g h a ca demic s t a n d a r d s , b u t to be s u r r o u n d e d by so ma ny y o u n g p eople, p a s s i o n a t e a b ou t t h e t hin g s t h ey ha ve d e cid e d o n a n d set ou t to d o , n o t o nl y solidif ied t hi s re p u t a t i o n, bu t was t r u l y re ma r k a ble.” The cross generational connection I saw unfolding was what I found most rewarding. In many cases, coming from such a small school in their time, most of the Alumni knew each other and had shared Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN t he nex t 25 year s. experiences as students. Yet, in some instances, conversations were created between two complete strangers and spiralled along as they recounted teachers, events, and essentially shared experiences. There was an innate connection which one could not be asked to expect, but conversely could not be surprised that it occurred. Each of these individuals had been a par t of something at an inf luential time in their lives, and even if this experience doesn’t directly affect their days today, it has helped shape them for ever y tomorrow. At this point it was clear that what made Meadowridge special just as much then as is true now, are the people: students, staff and parents alike. There are schools, good and bad, old and new, all like one another in some respects although distinctly different in par ticular ways. They share cer tain issues, create common goals and ultimately strive for the success of their students. Schools are also communities containing things that we resonate with. The doors to Meadowridge have seen several locations across two different campuses over our brief but fruitful histor y. Throughout this time we have witnessed many students enter these doors and after a period of years leave through them. The successes they achieve after wards are not only common but commendable, and are signif icant for a school of our age. We are now seeing the f irst wave of our illustrious Alumni come back through those doors, to a place that feels like home, in a community that has grown but not changed, despite its differences in construct and detail. Meadowridge’s progression has been positive, but the people and principles that built this place are something we can be especially proud of. It is my pleasure to be among them and to have the oppor tunity to reconnect this outstanding association of Alumni to a school that they are proud to have attended. The school is equally as proud of having each and ever y one passed through our doors and go on to greater things. Our histor y is displayed throughout the school, but more appropriately through these achievements and will continually to be created as they accumulate. In the stories of our Alumni we f ind what makes Meadowridge different; for us a school is a school, but our school is a home. To the Alumni of our school the doors are always open, whether from our f irst graduating class or our last, including anyone from anywhere in between, we welcome you back at any time. I look for ward to seeing you all at the annual event in June and for those of you back east, again nex t fall. Mr. Daniel Le Page Director of Admissions and Alumni Relations At tention Parents: Re-Regis tration Information December is tradi t ionally the t ime of year w hen we tur n our a t tent ions to re-regis tra t ion and new admissions for the upcoming school year. Wi th this in mind, we wanted to remind you of the process for ensur ing tha t your child/ren ha ve secured placement for September, 2012. A s in previous year s, re-regis tra t ion will be completed online through our Parent Por tal. I t’s easy, ef f icient and can be completed in the comfor t of your ow n home. This year the por tal will open on Tuesday, Januar y 10 th and will remain so unt il midnight on Tuesday, Januar y 31s t, 2012. If you are new to Meadow r idge this year, you may ha ve ques t ions abou t this procedure. We encourage you to give us a call or s top by the Ad vancement Of f ice for more infor ma t ion. This is also the t ime of year w hen we receive the major i t y of applica t ions for placement, especially in the PYP grades. If you, or someone you k now, is consider ing the school for another child, do not delay in sending in the required documenta t ion pr ior to our New Student A ssessment Day on Sa turday, Febr uar y 4, 2012. Our week ly open house held on ever y Fr iday from 9:0 0 am to 11:0 0 am is also a grea t t ime to ga ther infor ma t ion. Student ambassador s would love to see you. For more infor ma tion abou t re-regis tra tion, contac t: Mr. Daniel Le Page | daniel.lepage@meadow r idge.bc.ca | 604.467.4444 ex t. 179 w w w.meadow r idge.bc.ca