THE DRAGON'S PEN

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OCTOBER AT KING GEORGE
Dates to Note, a New VP, And a Mystery Object

by Henry MacDougall
(click images to enlarge)

The leaves are beginning to fall at KG. Someone forgot their bike helmet! 

Welcome to October at King George! This issue of The Dragon’s Pen will go over what’s new at KG as we go into Fall. This includes important dates, information (and opinions) on new scheduling changes, and upcoming events regarding clubs at KG. 

IMPORTANT DATES IN OCTOBER

  • PICTURE DAY … Picture day will be happening on October 7th. But don’t worry, if you miss this day, retakes will be happening on November 5th.  

  • INTERIM REPORT CARDS  … 2024/25 Semester One Interim Report cards will be published on MyEd on October 11th. As always, if you need assistance with MyEd, it’s best to reach out to the office at King George Secondary.  

    Interim report cards show a snapshot of how a student is doing in their courses, complete with (sometimes) personalized comments. This offers a great opportunity to glimpse what you are doing well, and what you could do better in your courses, in order to finish your course with the grade that you want. 

  • COLLAB AND PRO-D DAYS … This month, there will be one collaboration day happening on October 4. This is a morning collab, which means that students are invited to sleep in while teachers have a meeting. School starts at 10:10 a.m..  

    There will be a Professional Development Day on October 25. Professional Development (Pro-D) Days act as a day off school for students; for teachers and staff, a day to learn new teaching strategies to apply to their work. 

  • CLUBS DAY … For the first time in a couple of years, the student council will be hosting a clubs day! Clubs Day will be happening on October 3 during the third and fourth periods in the cafeteria.  

    Many KG clubs will be showing up with poster boards, activities, and even snacks to attract new club members.  

    On the topic of clubs, if you are interested in joining some but haven’t already, now is the time! It’s not too late to join one of the many clubs offered at KG and meet new friends, learn new skills, and gain a better sense of belonging in your school. 

WELCOME TO OUR NEW VP

This year, KG welcomes a new vice principal, Ms. Clark. Before moving to KG, Ms. Clark worked as the vice-principal at Churchill Secondary and, previously, as a drama teacher at Van Tech.  

Ms. Clark introduced herself to students in four separate assemblies in the gymnasium, each for a different grade (or in the case of the last assembly, a group of two grades). On top of an introduction to KG’s staff at the assembly, students were also reminded of KG policy on the reporting of absences, academic honesty, and a general reminder to respect your peers at school.  

The schedule for the 2024/25 school year at KG.

SCHEDULING NOTES

The assemblies mentioned in the previous paragraph only took place during afternoon Flexible Instruction Times (FITs), which is something I thought to be quite interesting.  

Morning FITs, unlike those in the afternoon, take place before the first two periods. This is a very unorthodox way to approach “Flexible Instruction Time”, as the majority of students of King George, being teens, will obviously sleep in through their Monday and Wednesday FITs, losing valuable instruction time.  

This can be problematic, as this schedule is still relatively new, two hours and forty minutes (10.6 percent of total instructional time every week) is being thrown away in the name of giving students snack breaks, neighbourhood walks, and extra nap time.  

I do often see students in classes during FIT, but no class is ever at their full capacity, even with the overcrowded state of our school. Keep in mind that before the addition of FITs, students would be in class during these times. The aim of FITs may be genuine in trying to help students study what they need to most, but I believe that the average student simply gets to learn less in school as a result.  

On top of this, teachers are also allowed to take one FIT off every week. The 40 minutes of instructional time lost is equivalent to around 2.5 percent of the entire week.  

On the PA announcements, there have been many reminders to students to stay out of the halls during FIT. These announcements often acknowledge that students are welcome to leave the school premises for a “mental health break” of sorts, but if so, they are not to reenter the school while FIT is still happening. The use of the term “mental health break” for Flexible Instruction Time is new this year, and I am curious if FIT will receive a new name to better match what it now represents. For example, maybe FAT (Fresh Air Time) would be a better acronym, or maybe even SSPCBT (School Staff Paid Coffee Break Time). 

On a serious note, students should not be treated this way. From my perspective, it looks like there is an ongoing erosion of academic time for the average student.  

Another new scheduling change that was introduced this year affected the general day-to-day schedule. The most major change is that classes now start and end at times that are easier to remember. For example, in the past lunch break would begin at 11:32 a.m., and class would be dismissed at 3:06 p.m., times that were for sure hard to get used to. These have been changed to 11:35 a.m. and 3:05 p.m. respectively. 

INTERACT CLUB NOW RECRUITING

The KG Interact club is once again recruiting new members this year, with plans for promotion in the foyer during lunch times as well as a booth at the upcoming clubs day event. Those interested in joining the club are welcome to drop by for an information session on October 10 during lunchtime in the school library. The aim of the session is to go over the guiding principles of the club so that students know what they are signing up for. 

For anyone who is curious about Interact, the Interact club is a service-oriented group with weekly meetings at lunch. You may recognize the club from its previous projects which include their annual winter clothing drive, as well as their celebration of Cultural Diversity Week last year, giving out samples of snacks from around the world from a table in the KG foyer. 

Pipes of unknown purpose, next to KG field. 

MYSTERY OBJECT NEAR KG FIELD

A recent addition to the KG campus is a mysterious system of exposed piping outside the field. There is some fencing around the “thing”, and my best guess is that a box will eventually be put around the piping, covering up whatever the purpose is of this mystery object. I will follow up next month if I get more information on what this is for. 

Thanks so much for reading and have a great October!