by Henry MacDougall
(click images to enlarge)

NOVEMBER IN THE LEADERSHIP CLUB

Last month, members of the Senior Leadership Club were busy with all sorts of volunteering and fundraising activities at the West End Community Centre (WECC). Firstly, the Club held a two-day concession fundraiser for the WECC’s craft fair.

Snacks like chips and muffins, as well as drinks like hot chocolate and coffee were sold to raise funds. Some volunteers also stood outside with signs for the fundraiser or handed out flyers for the craft fair.

If you aren’t yet familiar with the Leadership Clubs, they are groups hosted by in partnership with the nearby WECC. Students who join a senior or junior leadership group take part in fun weekly meetings and organize program fundraisers.

In November, the Senior Leadership group also had a meeting focused on buildings resumes, a very useful skill for students who will soon be out in the working world.

There is a paid event offered for members of the leadership groups; $30 for three fun out-trips planned late in winter break. If you are interested, please reach out to Jessica at WECC for more information and instructions for payment. Online registrations will be available.

THE INTERACT CLUB

The Interact Club has successfully recruited their members for this year, as well as finished their elections for executive leadership roles. The club is currently brainstorming ideas for projects that they can take on.

If you’re not familiar with Interact Club, it is a public-service oriented group sponsored by Rotary International. Interact has more than 10,000 clubs worldwide, focused on building a healthier community through volunteering.

The club makes all decisions within a four-pronged test, which goes as follows:

Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Is it beneficial to all concerned?

These questions are applied to any decision made in Interact to ensure that the club is spreading positivity. New members are always welcome!

MIDTERM REPORT CARDS

Midterm report cards were published in November, and can be accessed through the MyEducation BC portal, here.

As usual, if you have trouble accessing your or your child’s MyEd account, you can reach out to the KG office for support. Please note that MyEd may require you to update your password.

If you are accessing MyEd on a mobile device, after signing in you will land on a simplified page. To access the page with report cards, you may need to tap the navigation button at the top left, then tap “View Full Site” to be directed to the page with all your information.

On top of report cards, students can access other tools such as their schedule.

A screenshot from the KG Student Council Instagram account reveals of shortfall of followers.

SCHOOL SPIRIT WEEK

As usual, the Student Council held a Spirit Week at KG this November. Each day of the week students were invited to partake in a display of school spirit, with themes like Pyjama Day, Jersey Day, and Twin Day.

However, I’ve recently been noticing that our school spirit is quite low. From general conversations to a lack of participation in School Spirit weeks, I believe that a lack of pride in our school has been growing in recent years. From reduced electives, when compared to other Metro Vancouver high schools, to our modest two-year mini-school program, KG is clearly not one of the best VSB schools. But I still believe that our small community creates a learning environment that is hard to find elsewhere.

A likely factor in our Spirit Week’s low engagement is the toned-down presence of announcements. The schedule for announcements has been tweaked to only occur twice a week, and I often hear them less than that. The reasoning behind this change is said to be the new FIT schedule, as lots of classes are now shorter. The idea behind it is that the announcement could possibly be a distraction to the kids from their much-needed learning time.

Personally, I am strongly opposed to our new FIT schedule, as it doesn’t seem to have any real positives aside from letting kids sleep in longer! The consequence of fewer announcements is that fewer students are informed about what goes on around their school, and as a result social media may be used more to fill this spot. However, unlike with announcements, school-related news posted on social media — on the KG Student Council Instagram account, for example — only reaches some students, meaning that not everyone will up to date on school events.

Quite ironically in my opinion, our school’s motto is “Magni Animo,” or “Great in Spirit.” Hopefully our school spirit can recover!

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE

Parent-Teacher conferences are coming up, occurring over Microsoft Teams on December 7. Parents, ask your students to sign into their Microsoft 365 accounts to access your meetings.

HOLD-AND-SECURE INCIDENT

An earthquake drill was planned for the afternoon of Monday, November 20, but this was cancelled after a hold-and-secure incident during fourth period. When I asked about the incident a day later, I was told that a person with a mental illness had entered the school, prompting the hold-and-secure announcement and the person’s removal.

For clarification, hold-and-secure situations are different (and much milder) than a traditional lock-down situation. In a hold-and-secure situation, students will close doors and windows, but will often continue their work. If necessary, a hold-and-secure may turn into a lock-down if the situation escalates.

WINTER BREAK KEY DATES

Winter Break will start later than normal this year, with the last day of school before the break being December 22. School will be reopening on January 8.

BLOCK ROTATIONS

Block rotations occurred this November, meaning that students’ first and second period classes, as well as their third and fourth period classes, are now flipped.

The intention behind the block rotation is to change up the order of classes to make sure that students can perform well. For instance, a student may miss their first period class often due to lateness, and this block switch ensures that this hypothetical student will have more balanced attendance in each class.

Nary a sprinkler in sight at King George.

THE STATE OF KG’s FIRE SPRINKLERS

Following a fire at a Port Coquitlam elementary school, it’s become a talking point that lots of Metro Vancouver schools don’t have fire sprinklers, as they were built before sprinklers were made mandatory.

Taking a short walk around KG I found no fire sprinklers, and a conversation I had with Jess from WECC revealed that the community centre may also be lacking sprinklers. Of course, a reconstruction of KG is planned within the next couple years, but these components are very important for the safety of students in the event of a fire.

Curious about the status of fire sprinklers at neighbouring (yet to be renamed) Lord Roberts Elementary, I reached out to a former teacher of mine there and the current Roberts PAC chair. However, at press time I still have not received a response from either of them.

THE KG DRAGONS ARE BACK!

The new KG Senior Boys Basketball team was recently announced on the King George Basketball Instagram account. Their first game of the season was on November 27, and the team started off strong, winning 84-60.

Good luck Dragons. I’m looking forward to another great season!