by Henry MacDougall
(click images to enlarge)

RENAMING VANCOUVER SCHOOLS

It was announced at the end of January that the local elementary school, Lord Roberts, would be renamed to something more appropriate. The Lord Roberts in question, a British General with little connection to Canada or Vancouver, ran concentration camps in South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). The school was named after Lord Roberts in 1900.

When deciding on a new school name, a place-based name — such as “West End Elementary,” for example — will be prioritized according to Vancouver School Board (VSB) documents, and “generally, schools will not be named after individuals.”

Lots of other schools also take their names from old British colonial figures, who don’t necessarily relate to education, the nearby area and its history, or the school itself, and have their own record of misdeeds (see Lord Kitchener). It’s only very recently that there’s been a process for Vancouver schools to be renamed. Lord Roberts will be the third school to be renamed and the first under the VSB’s new permanent policy. Read more from the VSB about this process in an earlier issue of The Dragon’s Pen, here.

INTERACT CLUB CLOTHING DRIVE

Early in February, the Interact Club’s clothing drive succeeded in bringing boxes and boxes of clothing to people without homes living in tents. This clothing drive, which is a joint effort with the Vancouver Park Rangers, had been in the works since December. Steve Anderson, a long-time Park Ranger, mentioned the ongoing need for clean socks and hopes this drive will inspire all Park Rangers and City employees to be a little more kind. The rules and regulations enforced by the Rangers can sometimes restrict the homeless in a variety of ways. The entire event was a really nice gesture, especially during the cold winter months.

The Interact Club is a public service club sponsored by Rotary International. The club is aimed at helping out in the community, mainly through volunteering. Sign-ups for the club are now closed and will open up again early next year.

A TALK WITH SPENCER CHANDRA HERBERT

I met with our local MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert at a lunch with a club in our community. I asked him a few questions and he gladly answered them for me.

On the rebuilding of King George, Herbert said that the new building would be built where the field is right now, with school still in session. The new school would also include multiple new areas and better amenities.

However, he also mentioned that this project is at a lower priority level compared to other planned projects, such as the Aquatic Centre, or other schools in need of seismic upgrades. A lot of the time, projects of this type are simply “pushed down the road,” he said. Herbert mentioned that it can be a challenge to push for a project of this scale, especially when the people who care the most (parents and students) are constantly moving on from the school.

Because of all this, there is no scheduled timeline for the project.

He said that it would be nice to get a trustee to visit the school and see for themselves what improvements we are needing. I think that students would also appreciate this, as lately our school has felt more and more cramped.

In addition, there just aren’t enough opportunities for enriched learning in my opinion. We don’t have as many electives as other schools in our area, and our Mini School only spans two grades, compared to others in our area that cover the entirety of high school.

He also added that anyone is welcome to reach out to him with questions at his email address: s.chandraherbert.MLA@leg.bc.ca.

KING GEORGE SPORTS

So far, 2023 has been amazing for all the sports teams at KG!

Groups such as the Girls basketball team and our wonderful volleyball teams earned great success and support from our community.

The 2023 Provincial Champions, the King George Dragons.

And congratulations to the King George Dragons, who won the 2023 BC AA senior boys basketball championships! They beat Brentwood College going away by a score of 63 to 33 on March 11 at the Langley Events Centre. I reached out to Dragons’ Coach Darko Kulic with some questions, which he graciously answered.

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

TWEJ: Would you say that the team worked harder this year to ultimately achieve the win?

Kulic: I wouldn’t say that the team worked harder necessarily than others, as we have been blessed with wonderful hard working teams throughout the years. I would say the big difference this year is myself and many of our players are returning from last year’s team, which had such a wonderful run but unfortunately ended earlier than expected. That really taught us a new level of focus and determination. We made sure to understand “time and place.” We would still have fun and be goofy but only when the time was right. So I would say that the effort was the same but the attention to detail and staying on task was extraordinary and this is through our wonderful alumni history teaching us the do’s and don’ts.

Coach Darko Kulic keeps an eye on the action. (*Photos courtesy of @vchanvisuals)*

Would you like to give any shoutouts to players who made sacrifices or worked extra hard this year? It is, as a coach, always difficult to mention a player or two as everyone 100 percent contributed to the big puzzle. But I will give you a few.

Rishin Uppal: Captain and leader, as a grade 12 student putting in wonderful work off and on the court to juggle a busy school schedule and keep his wonderful grades up while always ensuring to be at every team function is phenomenal. He was an Alex Burrows on the court, and we loved him, but he is that much more important off the court, mentoring, tutoring and training his teammates to be better versions of themselves.

Jose Zuluaga: A phenomenal basketball career at KG capped off with a wonderful story. Years ago when I was coaching his brother Miguel in 2012, Jose came with about 50 kids and teachers to Kamloops to our provincial tournament to cheer us on. This was the fifth place game and our school wanted to show us love and support. After the game, which we had won, I saw Jose and he told me “coach one day I want to play for you, and I promise you we will make KG history and win it all.” Now that is so magical that his promise actually came to be. He is a wonderful player but much more than that he is kind, caring, and determined. Jose played the end of this year with two injuries which would have kept professionals out, but working with his brother and family he gutted it out for the love of the game, community and keeping his promise to them both alive.

In this video you can see MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert congratulate the Dragons in the Legislature.

Our underclassman: Darko [Karac], Nyce [Bakare] and Faisal [Shawwa]… grades 11, 10, and 10… impossible to tell that they are in those grades by how well they play. The future is very bright as most of our awards this year went to those three, and that is exciting for the school’s future as all three are not graduating. More importantly, they have embraced the LOB culture of hard work off and on the court and will lead the team into the future.

Would you like to add any other insights or details about this awesome season? 34 and 1, winning Provincials and Sea to Sky’s (Zones), Cities plus three other tournaments. At KG we have been spoiled with the quality of players we get, but this was a special group off and on the court and one that has set the bar very high with winning our school’s first ever provincial title. Hopefully many more to follow as the rest of the teams get encouraged and see that it’s possible.

The KG Dragons at the game on March 11th, Credit to @kinggeorgebasketball on Instagram