FIRST SEMESTER ENDS
Snow Days Interrupt Plans

by Henry MacDougall
(click images to enlarge)

A lot happened at King George this January, ranging from club activities to extreme weather events! This month also marks the start of the second semester. Isn’t it crazy how fast this year is going by?

SNOW DAYS! There were two snow days in a row this January, precipitated by a single snowfall early in the morning of the 17th. Since much of the snow had melted by the time school was back in session lots of students ended up with wet socks from their commute.

Two snow days in a row is a very rare occurrence, something I haven’t seen in quite a while.

The first day back on Friday was also a collaborative (collab) day, so the students had an early dismissal at 1:38 p.m. A collab day is when either the first or fourth period is removed so teachers get time to learn new skills.

Considering it was the second to last week of the semester, January 15 to 19 was an unexpectedly light school week as a result of the snow days and the collab day.

PERSONAL PROJECT FAIR: The Personal Project Fair took place on January 25. Personal projects are a major assignment given to all Grade 10 students in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program (MYP). The fair is held in the school gymnasium, with each grade ten student getting the chance to present their work.

The project is completely self-directed, giving students an opportunity to learn a topic that they previously knew little about or learn an entirely new skill. A big part of the project is the “product,” the culmination of all the year’s hard work. For some this may be a video game, a robot, or a sketchbook full of drawings. The possibilities are limited only by each student’s imagination!

The Personal Project Fair is an opportunity for all grade ten students to show off their hard work to visitors, including teachers, parents, KG students, and students from the local elementary school Lord Roberts.

International Baccalaureate is an organization that develops and oversees education programs for student-centred learning. The Vancouver School Board offers IB programs in select schools. King George and its feeder elementary schools follow IB's MYP, which runs from grade six to grade ten and encourages students to "make practical connections between their studies and the real world, preparing them for success in further study and in life."

INTERACT CLOTHING DRIVE: The KG Interact Club is running a clothing drive this winter to help unhoused people in Vancouver parks. This is in cooperation with the Vancouver Park Rangers, who are tasked with enforcing park regulations and often have to tell unhoused folks to pack up their gear during the day or follow other bylaws. Rather than buying things for unhoused people out of their own pockets, Park Rangers are working together with Interactors to get crucial warm clothing to those in need.

There was a small hiccup in the fundraiser caused by the two snow days, but the fundraiser is now back on track.

If you’re interested in helping out those in need this winter, you can drop off clean/unused winter essentials (scarves, hats, socks, gloves, and underwear) in boxes spread throughout the halls of KG. Monetary donations are also welcome; there is a tin in the office where you can donate money.

JANUARY SPIRIT WEEK: The student council ran a Spirit Week event from January 15 to 19, where all KG students and staff were invited to dress up with a daily theme to show off their school spirit. However, Careers Day and Throwback Thursday were interrupted by the double snow day, and as a result Adam Sandler Day had very little participation.

Spirit Weeks tend to have very low participation at our school, and perhaps as a counter measure the student council could post some outfit inspiration ideas for each day of the spirit week on their Instagram.

Themes from January Spirit Week 2024 - IG: @kgstuco

SEMESTER TWO: The first semester has officially ended! Students were given two days to hand in missing work or complete unfinished tests before the start of the second semester. Final report cards will be released on February 9.

COURSE SELECTION: Course selection for next year will be taking place online again this year. Each grade will receive an in-person information meeting sometime in early February during a FIT period. These will instruct students on how to fill out their course selection.

COMING NEXT MONTH: Check back next month, when I plan on focusing on the School Liaison Officer presence at our school. My plans to release that story this month had to be postponed due to personal issues involving the officer. Sometimes life does get in the way!

On top of that, I will also be looking into the “Glowing Wall” light installation on the Denman side of King George. This art piece was installed in 2015 by Stefan Zubovi, a former KG student. The installation was made to commemorate KG’s 100th anniversary nearly nine years ago, but now some of the lights no longer appear to be working. Check in next month for all that and more!

SUPPORT YOUR WEST END - COAL HARBOUR COMMUNITY MEDIA

The West End Journal, including “The Dragon’s Pen”, is made possible by local advertising and monthly contributions from our Faithful Readers Circle. If you would like to support your community media, please visit our fundraising site here to contribute any amount from $5 a month up.

If you have a business in the West End / Coal Harbour neighbourhood, check out our advertising rates and information page here.

Thank you!
Kevin Dale McKeown
Editor & Publisher
editor@thewestendjournal.ca