Academic Endeavors

On Tuesday morning, Mrs. Wendy Milne awarded Academic Colours for the second time this year. She also drew attention to some of the amazing academic endeavors students have been involved in over the past few weeks.

 

See the list of Academic Colours winners here.

 

Mrs. Milne's speech is below:

 

 

It gives me great pleasure this morning to announce the latest recipients of Junior and Senior Academic Colours. But before I do, I wanted to share with you some of the other academic highlights that have occurred over the past few weeks.

 

As you know, thanks to Mr. Robertson’s Headmaster’s Gathering Address last week, AP exams are happening, and over the two week period, 142 students will write 280 AP exams. While many wrote one or two, we have seven students who will complete five or more exams during the two weeks. Thank you for your support of them in their preparation for these exams.

 

From the Guidance Office, we are excited to announce that six students will receive a $1250 voucher towards their post-secondary studies for winning a Dogwood District Scholarship. These Scholarships recognize graduating B.C. students for excellence in their chosen area of interest or strength. Please join me in congratulating the following students:

 

Cassie C. for Classical Music, vocal

Megan C. for Leadership

Christina S. for Leadership

Mostyn F. for Leadership in Sports

Kelsey M. for Performance in a Team Sport

Tai W. for Performance in a Team Sport

 

In the Languages Department, two of our students applied for and were awarded the B.C. China Award for Excellence in Chinese. This is a collaborative scholarship programme offering up to fifty awards annually for deserving second language learners. Each $500 award is jointly-funded by the B.C. Ministry of Education and the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver. As non-native speakers, Dendy A. and William K. have worked hard to overcome the challenges of learning Mandarin and have learned to appreciate Chinese culture and are worthy recipients of this scholarship. I would like to ask them to stand to receive our congratulations.

 

Also in the Language Department, in April, 105 students wrote their DELF exams (Diplome d'etudes en langue Francaise) which are a Language Diploma from the French Ministry for National Education to certify the language skills of persons whose mother tongue is not French. The students are assessed on written comprehension, written expression, oral comprehension and oral expression. A particular thank you is extended to Mr. Receveaux and Mr. Candelaria for administering these exams.

 

In the Mathematics Department, over 100 students took part in the University of Waterloo Mathematics contests. The Pascal, Cayley and Fermat contests (Gr 9,10,11) are a one hour-long multiple choice test while the Euclid contest for seniors is a 2 1/2 hour written response test. I would like to thank the teachers who helped prepare their students for these test, and Mrs. Dalrymple for overseeing this endeavour by the department.

 

Pascal Contest (Grade 9) winners:

 

Tied for 3rd – Crystal D. and Nathan G.

2nd – Alan L.

 

Cayley Contest (Grade 10) winners:

3rd – Christina S.

2nd – Colin W.

1st – Kevin T. MEDAL

 

Fermat Contest (Grade 11) winners:

3rd – Anderson Z.

2nd – Leo X.

 

Euclid Contest (invited senior students):

3rd – Graydon M.

2nd – William K.

 

 

In the Socials Department, there has been a number of great events throughout the year like Shawnigan House Of Commons and the Grade 10 Model UN which have been highlights for students. More recently, Mary N. attended the National Commonwealth Conference in Ottawa last week. This Conference invites 100 students from across the country to learn about the Commonwealth and international affairs. This year’s theme was Immigration, Migration and Refugee Issues. Mary attended cultural events, had one-on-one conversations with High Commissioners, Canadian MPs and Senators, and got to participate in a mock heads of government meeting. Please join me in congratulating Mary on this opportunity, and feel free to chat with her if you want more details about her trip.

 

In the Science Department, four grade 8s, Cole R., Ines M., Katelyn M. and Candice L., joined Ms. Robson at the UVIC Ocean Science Symposium where they learned about deep sea hydrothermal events, the arctic ice in Canada, and then constructed remote operated vehicles that had to maintain buoyancy. As well, many of you stopped by the Quad yesterday to see Mercury transit the sun, while in grade 9, many students are developing challenging research projects involving use of the observatory. The grade 8s and 11s have been working on rockets, and Mr. Mayes has just received an invitation for a group of our students to return to the Japanese Super Science Fair next November. If you are interested in more information about this international science fair that is held in Kyoto Japan, please see Mr. Mayes.

 

In English, the junior classes held a public speaking showcase recently. After writing their Provincial this Friday, the grade 10s will be hosting a spoken word poetry slam. Meanwhile, the grade 11s will complement their studies for the Canterbury Tales with a pilgrimage walk on May 27. The grade 12s, after completing their BQ research projects, will have a “This I believe” showcase evening.

 

Just yesterday, Ms. Boudreau found out that Shawnigan Lake School placed 3^rd in the Poetry Institute of Canada & Young Writers competition. Three students in particular, Ethan G., Melanie J. and Jacob P, are also “Award of Excellence” Winners.