by Henry MacDougall
(click images to enlarge)

Welcome to April at King George Secondary! This month’s issue of The Dragon’s Pen will go over some important end-of-year happenings and review a big school trip to Quebec. Plus, there’s a push to put AED machines in all VSB schools.

IMPORTANT DATES IN APRIL

Collab Day: There will be a collaborative day on April 11th in the afternoon. Students will be dismissed early, at 1:45 pm.

Good Friday/Easter Monday Long Weekend: There will be a long weekend for Good Friday (April 18th) and Easter Monday (April 21st), meaning that the weekend will be four days long.

Block Rotation: The semester two block switch will happen on Tuesday, April 22nd. This means that the first and second, as well as third and fourth periods will switch places in the timetable. Your first class will now be your second, third will now be your fourth, and vice versa.

Semester Two Midterm Report Cards: The S2 midterms will be published on MyEd on Friday, April 25th. Midterm report cards will include both your grades as well as comments from your teachers indicating your work habits, and ideally, ways to improve in your class, and get the grades that you want.

Indigenous Focus Day: Monday, April 28th is Indigenous Focus Day, and is therefore a non-instructional day.

**KG students descending Mount Royal, towards McGill University** .

TRIP TO LA BELLE PROVINCE

This March, KG students from grades 10 to 12 took a one-week trip to Quebec, staying three days in Montreal and another three in Quebec City. Students learned about Quebec’s history and culture, visiting important Quebecois landmarks and dining at local restaurants. The trip was organized by Mr. Lindsay, and was available only to students who had taken his French class.

The trip began with all students meeting at YVR with their parents at around 7 p.m. on March 12. After students said their goodbyes, passed through airport security, and waited a bit for the flight to board, the nearly 40 students and five teacher volunteers left for an almost seven-hour red-eye flight to Toronto, followed by another early morning flight to Montreal. Almost instantly after the second flight touched down, the first day of the trip began.

All meals were included in the trip except for lunches, where students were turned loose to find their own lunch spots and dine with friends.

**KG students posing for a group photo in front of the famous Chateau Frontenac, overlooking the icy St. Lawrence River**.

Students went on hikes, and visited many sites, including old banks and churches, a ferris wheel, the famous Montmorency Falls, as well as many iconic Quebecois public art exhibits. Students also visited the Plains of Abraham, the site of a short but deadly battle between the French and English in 1759.

While in Quebec City, students on the trip were given a lot of independent free time in old Quebec City. Some chose to buy snacks or souvenirs, and others chose to do their own exploration of the area, visiting places such as the famous Chateau Frontenac hotel, and the Quebec City Ramparts, which were covered in snow.

Overall, the trip was a great opportunity for students to use their French outside of French class, and explore an unfamiliar place in an action-packed yet educational way. The level of freedom that students were given impressed me and added another level to the trip, as students could learn and explore whatever piqued their interest independently from the rest of the group.

For any KG French students who would be interested in taking the trip the next time it may happen, I highly recommend it. Thanks Mr. Lindsay.

GRAD FEES & DATES

For any grade 12 students who haven’t yet paid their grad fees, now is a great time! The grad dinner and dance will cost $150 and will take place on Friday, June 13 from 7 to 11:30 pm at the Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront. The grad ceremony will cost $110 and will take place on Thursday, June 19 from 2 to 4 pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Pay fees here.

AED MACHINES IN VANCOUVER SCHOOLS

In 2022, a Point Grey student sadly passed away from cardiac arrest during a basketball tryout. This sparked a student-led movement to bring AED (Automated External Defibrillator) machines to all Vancouver School Board (VSB) schools. Surprisingly, VSB facilities were not already equipped for this kind of medical emergency.

I reached out to our principal, Mr. Evans, and was connected to a VSB spokesperson. They said that earlier this year the VSB moved towards the installation of these machines, requesting funding from the provincial government. $250,000 was also authorized from contingency funds to ensure that all goes to plan, as the VSB aims to get AEDs in schools by the start of the 2025/26 school year.

Knowing that an AED can cost as much as $2,000 on its own, and that the VSB has more than 110 sites to install these machines in, cost is definitely a concern when considering that some money will also be needed for transportation and installation.

The plan to bring AEDs to VSB schools has not fully taken action yet, so this topic will likely be revisited near the start of the next school year.

The script cover for *She Kills Monsters.*

THIS YEARS’S SCHOOL PLAY
She Kills Monsters

This year, the KG Drama Department, led by Ms. Init, will be performing She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen, a dramedy about a woman who loses her family in a car accident, then goes on a quest to recover her little sister’s soul.

She Kills Monsters will be performed from Tuesday, May 6 through Friday, May 9 at 7 pm. Tickets will go on sale soon, likely costing $5 for students, and $10 for adults. Funds raised go towards the drama department.

Five years ago, in 2020, there were plans for the KG Drama Department to perform She Kills Monsters, but it was cancelled because of the pandemic. It’s good to see this play taken up again.

KG ROCKS

King George Rocks, the annual concert put on by Ms. Pearce and KG music students, will be happening again this year. KG Rocks is a showcase of the musical talent present at King George.

The ticket pricing model for KG Rocks will be $5 for students and $10 for adults. The concert is open to the public. Tickets will be available in the foyer leading up to the performance or directly from a student enrolled in a music class. All funds raised will go towards the music program, funding gear upgrades, fixes, and replacements.

KG Rocks will be on Wednesday, June 4, and Thursday, June 5, at 6 pm. Both nights will feature completely different bands with completely different songs, so if you’re a KG music enthusiast, make sure to grab tickets for both nights!

Thanks for reading and have a nice April!