HAMBER ETERNAL DRAGON STARTS THEIR 26TH SEASEASON WITH A SURPRISING SON WITH A SURPRISING WIN!WIN!
The Eric Hamber Dragonboat Team
On the early morning of October 26, a group of enthusiastic dragon boat paddlers formed a cheer squad for the first Rock ‘n Roll Vancouver Half Marathon. With some clever and encouraging signs, noisemakers, and pompoms, they cheered on the hoards of runners at the 2 km mark. Marcus Leeson led the group in an awesome dance to our team theme song. With a lot of high fives, loud cheering, and passionate energy, the group won the marathon’s best cheer squad along with some prize money! The money will be used to support the team’s racing and practice fees. Special thanks go to Anika Cheng for making some amazing posters, Julianna Chow for lending us the fantastic pompoms, Will Chen for being a great sound crew and Olivia Chan for organizing and creating a winning cheer squad! Of course a shout-out to the rest of the crew for waking up so early and cheering and dancing for over 2 hours—all of you were incredible! The team is currently training new recruits every Tuesday and Thursday with land practices and Friday on the water. This year’s coaches are Dominic Lai, Jessica Tan, Coco Lau, Brendan Anderson, Russell Lee, and Shamus and Aidan Menard who are all alumni of the team. They are dedicated to transforming the team into great paddlers, and we greatly appreciate their willingness to spend so much time, effort and expertise in training the team. The team is eternally grateful for their commitment to them as a team and as individuals. Last winter, over 24 Hamber students tried out for the False Creek Racing Canoe Club’s World Club Crew junior dragon boat team entry. Nineteen of these Hamber paddlers survived the try-outs and made the final cut to represent Canada at the 2014 World Club Crew Championships in Ravenna, Italy. The rest of the junior team members were from various schools in the Lower Mainland. This team had the best performance overall and won all 8 gold medals in the Junior A division and 2 silver and 1 bronze in the Junior B division. They made the club (FCRCC) and Canada very proud on the world stage. Congratulations to all!
Table of Contents Serving Size 1 Season Servings Per Year: 3
Page Principal’s Message
4
Counselling Department
5
Learning Commons
6
Modern Languages
7
English Department
8
Science Department
9
Special Education
10
Physical Education
11
Home Economics
12 13
Robotics Business Education & Design
14-15
Extracurricular Activities
16-17
2014–2015 Calendar
Ms. Chan
Applied Skills Department Head
Mrs.Chan
18
Message From the Principal The start to this school year was delayed far longer than any of us would have wished for; however, once classes were underway, teachers and students together adopted a “down to business” approach from the first days and have been working hard to make up for missed days. It has been gratifying to see that all of the extracurricular activities that add so much to students’ positive experiences at school have continued unabated this year. Intramurals are going strong, we have close to
Alex Grant, Principal Winter 2014 Newsletter 4
70 clubs active in a variety of ways, the Fall sports season is wrapping up – congratulations to the Girls’ Field Hockey team who are City Champs and who had an outstanding experience at the Provincial Championship tournament – the Basketball season is about to start, Fine Arts performances are underway, and Student Council events such as the Halloween Dance are proving to be very popular. Although we were not able to have the traditional Grade 8 Camp this Fall, we have already begun planning for this event to occur in the Spring. Meanwhile, Student Council and our Peer Counsellors did a great job organizing the “Hamber Amazing Race” to help our newest students get to know one another and have a great time together. It is important for students to maintain a healthy balance of these kinds of activities with their academic commitments. Parents can support their children by regularly reviewing their progress and ensuring that they establish consistent routines for completing homework. If students are experiencing difficulty in any of their subjects, they should speak with their teacher and/or counsellor to find out about the availability of extra help. Report Cards will be issued on December 17th and parents are invited to attend
Counselling Department
Parent Teacher Interviews on January 14th to get more information about how to support your children. Details about how to register online for these interviews will be provided on the school website and in a notice included with Report Cards. The unexpected death of Social Studies teacher, Mr. Ted Ancell, was a great shock to all of us in the Hamber community. Our condolences go out to his family. It has been gratifying to see Hamber staff and students express their appreciation to Mr. Ancell’s family for all of his fine work over the years in support of our students and it has also been a comfort to see how our school family has pulled together to support one another in this difficult time. I hope that the Winter Break will provide all of you with the opportunity to rest, relax, and spend time with family and friends.
Mr. Grant Principal
Mr. Smith has organized a retreat for the Peer Counsellors to go to Camp Stillwood for a retreat to do some offsite training for one night. At Hamber, the peer counsellors are placed into applied skills, skills, learning assistance and other classes to meet with Grade 8 students and check in on them. On Tuesdays each week they receive a training class. They are trained to break confidentiality and go to Mr. Smith or another counsellor as needed. Grade 8’s attended a recent welcoming event at the school organized by Mr. Smith, Ms. Super, Mr. Bains, Mr. Mirani and Mr. Grant and assisted by the student council and peer counsellors. The Grade 8’s participated in teams in an amazing race format, then finished up with a pizza party and movie night. Guidance classes have begun for Grade 8, 9 and 10 students out of the physical education classes. Ms. Gates’ Grade 9’s and Ms. Kartsonas’ Grade 10’s have been using the brand new Mind Check resource called, “Stop wondering, start knowing- mental health school video resource.” The DVD depicts students from the Lower Mainland in first person testimonials about anxiety, panic attacks and depression. Students are discussing these mental health conditions and making plans for themselves to reduce stress. Each student has received resources to take home. Grade 8, 9 and 10 students have also had a lesson provided by Kelly Melseness our SACY worker about drugs and alcohol education. Grade 10’s participated in Take Your Kids to Work Day on November 5th in order to get a taste of a future career. Ms. Kartsonas will have a job share counsellor on Wednesdays this year to assist with her work as the team leader of the VSB critical incident team.
Our Grade 10, 11 and 12 counsellors have recently attended a SFU event. They will also attend a Langara and UBC presentation in November and December. Grade 12’s had an important assembly hosted by Mr. John Lam our career information assistant and Mr. Clive Smith the grade twelve counsellor along with Mr. Grant the principal. The assembly focused on important dates for Grade 12’s to be aware of, and explained the process for applying to college and university. All Grade 10, 11 and 12 students are advised to subscribe to Mr. Lam’s blog HamberTupperCareerCentre. wordpress.com for automatic updates with post- secondary admission, volunteer work and other opportunities. Ms. Kartsonas attended the American Universities event at West Point Grey Academy where fifty top US schools were in attendance. Grade 10 and 11 students from five public schools recently attended Hamber to write the PSAT exam. This exam is a precursor to the SAT exam and is a good predictor of the SAT 1 scores. Ms. Gates and Ms. Kartsonas recently attended the Kelty pinwheel series on suicide safety planning at the Kelty Mental Health Center at Children’s Hospital. They have both been involved at the district level working with revision to the Vancouver School Board’s guidelines for intervening with potentially suicidal students in elementary and secondary schools.
Peer Counsellors this year: Kamal Arafa Vicky Huynh Waverly Jang Duva Karunakaran Gigi Lai Alex Lee Sandra Lin Josephine Liu Mikaela Luke
Nick Milum Rosie Qi Tiffany Quon John Segui Dylan Shi Kathryn Shum Jennifer Wijaya Julian Woo Onyx Yu
Ms. Kartsonas Counsellor
5 Eric Hamber Secondary School
The Library Learning Commons of this space and to understand intellectual integrity when doing research. They learned to use efficient strategies for note taking, creating a Works Cited page and navigating websites and databases in research. Students were also encouraged to sign out a book using their GOcard. Students are reminded books must be renewed or returned after two weeks.
Mr. Appel and Ms. Lemmon in the Halloween spirit
With the start of a new school year, there have been big changes in the Hamber Library Learning Commons. After seven years as Department Head, Mrs. Joan Muir shelved her final book and retired in June. Her legacy at Hamber is substantial, and includes the creation and evolution of our Library into a Learning Commons. Congratulations, Ms. Muir, and enjoy your retirement! Stepping into her shoes as Teacher-Librarian Department Head is Ms. Stephanie Lemmon. Ms. Lemmon is joined by Mr. Rick Appel, who works part-time in the Library Learning Commons and also teaches two blocks of English.
National School Library Day was celebrated on October 27th across Canada. Canada is a fortunate country to have school libraries in all schools. At Eric Hamber, we celebrate reading every day with 20 minutes of silent reading. This year we also celebrated with a contest! All students who checked out books on October 27th were entered into a draw to win a $20 Chapters gift card. Congratulations to Gr. 8 winner Cedar Vasara, and we thank all Hamber readers for their love of reading!
Clubs The Library Monitors Club is organized by Ms. Lemmon and Mr. Appel, and has approximately 50 members. Each Library Monitor does one shift of 15-30 minutes a week working in the library. The Hamber Reads Club (sponsored by Ms. Lemmon) is a book club in which students suggest books to read and discuss. The club met in October, did a “wild card” sharing and selection of books, and are off reading until our next meeting in November. New members are always welcome!
Grade 8 Orientation Throughout the first month of school, the Library Learning Commons was busy doing orientations to welcome the new Grade 8 students. Students came with their English teacher to have a tour, to learn the rules
Modern Languages Eric Hamber is fortunate to have such a rich and diverse Modern Languages Department. Very few schools in Vancouver are able to sustain four separate language programs. Do you know which languages are offered at Hamber? French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese and we have over 40 blocks of language classes! • French: Mr. N. Francis, Ms. S. Mohammed, Ms. S. Leechik-Belonio, Ms. A. Manetta, Ms. S. Calman and Ms. R. Munteanu • Mandarin: Mr. X. Pu and Ms. C. Tan • Japanese: Ms. S. Hashigasako • Spanish: Ms. T. Goolieff We send best wishes to Ms. N. Buonassisi (French) and Ms. M. Lin (Mandarin) who are currently on maternity leave. As well, welcome to Ms. S. Calman who is filling in for Ms. Buonassisi and Mr. X. Pu who is teaching Mandarin this year in place of Ms. M. Lin. Finally, great to have you Mr. N. Francis! He was able to add one more block to his teaching load with a French 9 class.
Spanish Program Ms. T. Goolieff is happily back to teaching a full load of Spanish this year. Grades 10, 11, 12 and Beginner 11 are all using a new program called Avancemos. This textbook uses much more of a communicative approach than the previous textbook and was a needed resource improvement for our Spanish classes. Thanks for your support Modern Languages Department and Mr. Grant! Grade 9s are just getting started in their exploration of the Hispanic World. Check their maps in the background! Spanish 12 is diving into España and using a cultural exploration to perfect grammar such as commands, direct object pronouns and the subjunctive tense.
Ms. Lemmon
Learning Commons
Ms. Goolieff
Spanish Teacher
Winter 2014 Newsletter 6
7 Eric Hamber Secondary School
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
2014/2015
have not given up on the classics. Literature Class has been reading by aboriginal writers sharing their It is always exciting to form new Homer’s Odyssey (an epic that unique stories. relationships with students in Sep- It is always heart-warming to looks like a novel!) and exploring see students engrossed in such The English Department is tember. It is especially interesting ancient Greek culture and myth. novels as The Great Gatsby, The excited to be planning a speech to learn what students did during They will proceed on to The Alche- contest for term two– the Oratorithe summer, particularly in continu- Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, mist by Paulo Coelho and focus on cal – for the grade 10s and 11s. We or Pride and Prejudice. ing to boost their reading, writing, philosophy. My English 12 students also hope to have some well-known As a teacher and role model, and speaking skills. will be working on George Orwell’s members of the Vancouver commuI (Ms. Panesar) like to share my Hamber’s Sustained Silent Reading programme is a great opportunity for students to not only have a quiet time to read their December February April favourite books, but a1 great way 05 End of Term 04 PAC Meeting in Staffroom 7:00 pm 01 PAC Meeting in Staffroom 7:00 pm for students and teachers share 05 Fall Footlights 7:00topm 09 Family Day (School Not in Session) 02 Spring Footlights 7:00 pm their 06 literary tastes. It is7:00 always Fall Footlights pm 12 - 13 Musical: Grease 7:00 pm 03 Good Friday (School Not in Session) exciting to see what studentsTesting are 10 District Mini-School 17 First Offers for Challenge/Studio 06 Easter Monday (School Not in Sesreading and how theyConcert make their sion) 10 Winter Band 7:00 pm 19 Professional Development Day reading choices. At theCards start and (School Not in Session) 17 Term 1 Report Distributed 08 Term 2 Report Cards Distributed end of a block rotation (Homeroom at 9:45students am) (Homeroom at 9:45 am) 19 Acceptance Deadline of First Offers PhotoChoral courtesy of Ms.(at Leechik-Belonio are invited speak about theirat 9:40 am) to Challenge/Studio 18 HIPtoDay (Class Begins 14 Senior Concert Holy Trinbook(s) why it was selected, what ity) 7:00 pm 18 –Challenge/Studio Application 20 Musical: Grease 7:00 pm book choices with my students nity come did they most enjoy about it, and Deadline 24 Chamber Choir Concert (at Magee) Block Rotation – 4, 3,judge 2, 1 our two events. Nineteen Eighty-Four and17 Albert Another exciting would recommend it to their 7:00 pmJoseph 18they Winter Strings Concert at 7:00 too. pm I finished reading 27 Professional Development Dayevent for Camus’ The Outsider. The grade 11s Boyden’s The Orenda over Offers the to Challenge/Studio peers.19 Many students say that Not inHamber Session)students will be the Poetry Winter Assemblies andthey Last Day of 24 Second finished William Golding’s (School imtheAcceptance moment I Deadline in Voice Contest – this do select a bookBefore based Winter on another Instruction Break summer and at26 of Second 29 HIP Begins at 9:40 am)a Canadamensely dark Lord of the Flies andDay (Class have CervantesOffers Don Quixote student’s to Challenge/Studio 20 –recommendation 04 Winter Break – this the Grade 10s will be soon enjoying wide poetry recital contest which sitting on my desk, waiting to our Challenge, Studio and senior was probably one of the reasons the highly satirical AnimalMay Farm. 26 Junior/Intermediate Choir Night January be re-read. It was students will be participating in. why The Hunger Games, Game of Many second 26 momentarily HIP Day (Class Begins at 9:40 am) novel assignments 14 Fashion Show 7:00 pm 05 School Reopens David Hedaris’ More information will be given in Thrones and Twilight grew in such set aside to for27 later in(at theSt.year will allow 18 students Senior Wind Pop Concert Victoria Day (School Not in Session) 07 PAC Meeting in Staffroom 7:00 pm Holidays on IceJohn’s and Quixote our in next newsletter! popularity. At the moment some to choose Shaughnessy) 7:00 pm a book from a list 20ofPAC Meeting Staffroom 7:00 pm 14 Parent–Teacher Conferences definitely needs to be taken students are definitely impressed more recently acclaimed writers. 27 HIP Day (Class Begins at 9:40 am) Dismissal 2:03 pm) March home to be finished! with (Early John Green’s TheatFault in Our Popular choices include The Help, Ms. Panesar Professional Development 03 Intermediate and Kite Choir Con- and The Road. we read, Band The Stars,19 Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson Day In our classrooms Runner, English June (School Not in Session) (at Holy Trinity Anglican) pm addition19 appreciate andcert analyze a variety Series, and Veronica Roth’s DiverAnother7:00 exciting to our End of TermDepartment 3 Grade 7 Parent 06 Last of Instruction Before of excellent novels. TheDay World gent.20 Interestingly, someInformation students Evening novel choices will be books Head 25written Final Report Cards Distributed in Auditorium 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Spring Break 25 Last Day of Instruction 22 Grads of 2020 Day 9:00 am – 12:30 07 – 14 District Closure 26 Administrative Day pm 15 – 22 Spring Break In late 100 October, Mrs. Leechik-Belonio’s Creative Writing 11 students got into the spirit of Halloween. Before having an 22 – 24 Winter Drama Show: 23 School Reopens intense discussion about 25 theHIP reportedly haunted Vancouver, the lights went out and the eerie music resonated Lunches 7:00 pm Day (Class Beginsplaces at 9:40inam) the classroom. These creative writers huddled in cozy groups (some brought their own pillows!) to share 27 Winter Drama Show:throughout 100 Lunches 27 End of Term 2 their own imaginative, scary stories. They brought their chilling narratives to life by embracing the ancient art of story7:00 pm telling. Our special Halloween class wrapped up with a montage of world renowned Stephen King’s Pennywise the Clown 28 HIP Day (Class Begins at 9:40 am) 28 Block Rotation – 3, 4,and 1, 2all its old school, spooky glory. Happy Halloween!
English Creative Writing
Winter 2014 Newsletter 8
Hamber Science Department Begins Cloning Plants
these plants are produced in biotechnology labs from a small amount of tissue? We now have the ability to do this at At Hamber we can now clone exotic plants such as the Orchids, Venus Flytraps, Hamber. The techniques in cloning are very Sundews, and tropical pitcher plants! A similar to those used in the Microbiolgenerous donation from a local nursery has filled countertops in a science room in ogy Unit in Biology 11. Cloning begins with a seed or a small amount of tissue the new wing with boxes of equipment, chemicals, and culture bottles containing from a leaf, stem, or root. Sterilization with biocides (bleach, peroxide or other cloned carnivorous plants. You have probably seen plants for sale chemicals) kill off bacteria and fungi. It is then placed on nutrient gel in petri dish at the supermarket like poinsettias, Orchids, or Boston Ferns. Did you know that or baby food jars with growth hormones
added. The trick is to find the right combination of hormones. Hormones called Cytokinins will cause the plants to multiply while Auxins will result in root formation. With the correct recipe, one plant can be cultured indefinitely and produce thousands and thousands of descendants. When the flytraps are out of dormancy in the spring, we will remove them from the nutrient gel and plant them in real soil. More importantly, we will give away these plants to students who have helped in cloning. So join the Science Challengers Club that meets every Tuesday at noon as they undertake this exciting opportunity!
Christina Cheung Student
Ms. Leechik-Belonio English Teacher
9 Eric Hamber Secondary School
Special
Education The Eric Hamber Skills Development/Learning Strategies Centre continues to actively support student learning. We welcome to our team, Ms. Mysuria (Skills teacher) and Ms. Yiu (Resource teacher), who are strong proponents of adapting individual learning styles and equipping students with goal-setting, organizational skills, time management, and self-advocacy strategies. Current students are targeting on ways of improving academic and lifelong success with the teaching support of Ms. Lew, Ms. Mysuria, and Mr. Tso. Our learning environment is also bolstered by an astute and aware team of school and student support aides, Ms. Beugh, Ms. Demosthenes, Ms. Graham, Ms. Locascio, and Ms. Nathanson and, when available, student Peer Tutors. As a team, we strive to help students engage in their coursework and reach their learning potential. The Jr. LAC district program has had an exciting start to the year. We’ve caught up on current news and issues around the world like the Ebola outbreak, the Northern Gateway Pipeline controversy, and Virgin Galatic’s quest to bring tourist closer to space travel with the construction of their
new Spaceship Two. We’ve also had the great opportunity to attend the Writer’s Festival in Granville Island and listen to authors share their creative thoughts and personal readings on their latest novel. The Jr. LAC class also had their first cooking class and I’m happy to say that everyone’s fingers are still intact. Fruit Salad with whipped cream were enjoyed by all! The Sr. LAC district program has settled into their academic subjects. Students are working hard on both modified and adapted self-paced programs. Of particular interest, students in the LAC English class are completing a unit on the Holocaust. The class is learning about the topic through novel studies, diaries, a variety of other materials and field trips. The Sr. LAC class has enjoyed cooking with Ms. Ho and is proud of the Halloween cookies they have baked and decorated. The Lifeskills district program at Hamber is a specialized program for medically fragile secondary students who are physically dependent. Each student has different needs and goals. The program aims at providing an enriched environment through visual and auditory stimulation. The LA/LS district program is off to another good start for the new academic year. The class is getting settled
into various routines. Some activities that the LA/LS class have participated in include field trips, cleaning up the school garden and picking apples from the trees in the garden. The LA/LS class looks forward to the rest of the term.
Pe Department Here are the results from activities : Grade 9 Boys Handball Champions: Mounties
Ms. MacElhone
Student Learning Support
The Eric Hamber Physical Education Department would like to acknowledge the generosity of the family of the late Ms. Nora Mcdermott. Our new gymnasium floor looks amazing and will be enjoyed by countless Hamber students for years to come! Thank you McDermott family for your tremendous generosity in support of our Hamber students! Our third annual Griffin Cup competition is underway! This coveted prize is awarded to the winning house (composed of grade 8/9 PE classes) after a yearlong inter-class competition highlighted by intramural activities (handball, basketball, volleyball, and ultimate) and grade wide events including the indoor and outdoor track meets. Other Griffin Cup activities occurring this term will include Grade 8 Basketball intramurals, Grade 9 girls Handball, and of course the indoor track meet. We are looking forward to all the great activities planned for throughout the year!
Grade 8 Co-Ed Ultimate Champions: Millionaires
Mr. Overgaard
Physical Education Department Head
Winter 2014 Newsletter 10
Timmy Chin (top), Beza Chanyalew (left), and Jibran Hills (right) baking cookies in Ms. Ho’s class
11 Eric Hamber Secondary School
HOME ECONOMICS
ROBOTICS
Home Economics Update
Applied Skills
VEX-IQ Robotics Competition
Another batch of Grade 8s have completed their classic Hamber duffle bag after learning the fundamentals of using a sewing machine. The Term 1 Home Economics 8 students are now in the foods lab learning the basics of kitchen safety, sanitation, measuring and nutrition. They will experience magic of baking their own pizza and the classic mac and cheese. The LAC foods class are developing their kitchen skills and making breakfasts. The class looks forward to many more cooking adventures. Our Eric Hamber junior chefs in MFDN10 have discovered various forms of preservation including freezing and canning. Then they moved into baking some quickbreads like the delicious and healthy raisin bran muffins. Next stop is a unit on nutrition that will feature a buffet of healthy snacks and the planning of healthy, balanced breakfasts. Yummers! The Senior foods students perfected their knife skills, chopping up locally farmed fall vegetable into various salsas. With Global Gourmet as the theme this year, the students ate their way through France with dishes like soufflés, crepes, gougére and cheese tastings! Now these global gourmets have sailed to Italy via the kitchen for some homemade stuffed agnolotti pasta, risotto, olive oil tastings and tiramisu! Buon appetito! The textiles lab is always a place of action and we welcome twelve District Fashion Design students who are learning the ropes of production and pattern making to produce their own collection for the annual fashion show in the spring. The Textiles 11 students have completed the designer garment bag with its many different compartments that a runway model would love to have. The Textiles 10 have finished their stuffed bears and have produced either a skirt or a pair of pants. The “blood hounds” aka super enthusiastic Textiles 10 students have gotten into production of their second pair of pants and will be working on their jackets as the rest of the junior students will be finishing up their first skirt or pants. Congratulations to the “bloodhounds” for their enthusiasm and drive! Could there be another Ralph Lauren or Tom Ford in the making?
The Applied Skills department would like to welcome 2 new teachers to the team. Mr. Brian Yu is in the Tech Studies area and brings a strong passion for Tech Studies and robotics to our school. He is teaching Applied Skills 8, Electronics 10, Tech Ed 10 and Carpentry & Joinery 11-12. Ms. Stefanie Schoenfelder brings her enthusiasm for teaching in the Business Education area. She is teaching Applied Skills 8, Electronic Desktop Publishing 11 &12, Accounting 11 and Financial Accounting 12. The department also welcomes UBC student teacher Braydon Ng who will be under the tutelage of Mr. Peter Halim and Mr. Brian Yu in the Tech Studies area. He loves to work with wood and is ready to start working in all areas of Tech Studies. He will be returning to
Our Gr.8 Students won the first VEX-IQ Robotics Competition of the season, taking home A divisional title: Team Work Challenge Winner. See picture above.
Winter 2014 Newsletter 12
Hamber in February for his 10 week practicum. The department is currently working together on updating the Applied Skills pages on the school website. Please stay tune and see the transformation in the new year.
Help Hamber get new knives for the Food Lab! Students, Parents and Staff of Eric Hamber! The Home Economics Department needs your help. Safeway is doing a promotion, for every $10 you spend at their store they will give you a stamp. Safeway will exchange these stamps for Professional Henckel knives! We are collecting as many stamps as possible in order to replace our 1960’s knives!! It’s so easy. Just collect the stamps at the cashier and deliver them to the mailbox of Ms. M. Woods, Ms. N. Ho, Ms. J. Chan or Ms. A. Lee. The promotion is running from now until February 12th, 2015. Thank you so much for your support!
Ms. Chan
Applied Skills Department Head
New to Hamber this year: The VEX IQ Challenge, presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, provides elementary and middle school students with exciting, open-ended robotics and research project challenges that enhance their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills through hands-on, student-centered learning. The VEX IQ Challenge fosters student development of the teamwork, critical thinking, project management, and communication skills required to prepare them to become the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. See more: http://www.roboticseducation.org/vex-iq-challenge/
Gerard Cirera (12) and Stanley Shi (11) and their Robotics creation
The VEX-IQ League of B.C. is a competitive robotics league. Teams consist of students from Grades 4 to 9 (ages 8 to 14) whom compete in cooperation for the title of B.C. Championship team. Every year in April, one team from B.C. will be representing our region (Team Canada) at the VEX-IQ World’s Robotics Tournament in the United States. See more: http://vexiqbc.com/ See Mr. Yu in Electronics or email him at byu@vsb.bc.ca for more details.
Mr. Yu
Tech Ed Teacher
13 Eric Hamber Secondary School
Business Education & Design The Business Education 10 students have been using their creative and innovative thinking skills as they complete their submissions to the NFTE’s World Series of Innovation Challenge, an international competition where students work in groups to come up with a new, innovative product or service to address a market niche and for a chance to win a prize of $2500. A few of the challenges include developing a new beverage for Coca Cola, a small business app for Go Daddy and an app to improve school life for Microsoft. Last year, two groups from Hamber won a prize and we’re hoping to repeat the success this year! If any of our ideas make it to the finals, we’ll need your help in January 2015 with voting, so stay tuned! The Marketing 11 students have been working on developing promotional ideas and being prepared to work in our school store, The Griff. The Griff allows the students to practice what they learn in class and is opened everyday at lunch in the cafeteria to provide Hamberites with a variety of healthy beverage and snack items as well as school supplies and Hamber gear. Do go on down and help them practice their customer service skills! The Marketing 12 students executed a successful Griff Reopening the last week of October with “Horror Week” at The
Winter 2014 Newsletter 14
Griff. With a week full of different themes and activities, The Griff was relaunched. They are now teamed with Enactus from UBC to develop, produce and market a new sustainable product. They will be competing against five other Lower Mainland schools with their business idea, marketing strategy, execution and sales. We will end with a final presentation at UBC in February 2015 when a winner will be determined. Stay tuned as they will need your help in January.
T
BCIT Case Study Challenge Hamber business students have earned a spot to participate in the BCIT Case Study Challenge again this school year in January 2015. Students from 10 Vancouver and Burnaby schools will be preparing their case studies in January and then coming together at BCIT for a full day of fun and strategic competition.
Ms. Hayes
Business Ed Teacher In Business Education we have a large range of courses with wonderful educators teaching each! • Ms. Hayes: teaches Marketing 11 and 12 along with Business Education 10. • Mr. Albrecht: teaches Economics 12 and Applied Skills 8. • Ms. Schoenfelder: is the newest member to our Business Education department and she teaches Accounting 11, Financial Accounting 12, Web 10, Applied Skills 8, along with all of the Electronic Design and Publishing courses. In Electronic Design and Publishing 11 and 12 students use their creativity to construct original pieces of artwork. This year’s senior graphic design group have been working hard on a variety of different assignments. One in particular is the annual “winter escape” beach girl illustration. This assignment takes students away from the cold and allows them to immerse themselves in creating a bright illustration – while our days are getting darker and colder. See Faith Chow’s vibrant illustration shown above. EDP 12 students have been utilizing their Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign skills to produce this year’s newsletters. They have also started to refine their Illustrator skills from last year to construct their own individual Initial Logo and Business card. See Karmen Leong’s work on this page. This year’s Web 10 students have been learning the backbone of coding webpages. They have learned the basics of HTML and CSS. Everyone has
demonstrated a great start to the world of webpage coding and design. Students in Web 10 have also just started to explore the wonderful features and techniques of Adobe Photoshop. Check out our Spring Newsletter to see their work! Finally, in Ms. Schoenfelder’s room, her Applied Skills 8 students are becoming their own Entrepreneurs and are exploring the world of business hands on! This project is known as the HAMBERmall. It allows students to create their own businesses from the ground up. Starting with a partnership agreement and ending with a 3D store model. This project is student centered and allows students to take ownership of what to sell and the best way to attract their target market. Check out Justine Ma and Anita Nguyen’s innovative Store Model on Grand Opening day.
Ms. Schoenfelder
Business Ed Teacher
15 Eric Hamber Secondary School
Extracurricular Activities TEDxYOUTH@HAMBERSCHOOL Hamber’s very own TEDx event, TEDxYouth@HamberSchool, was held on November 14th. This independently organized TEDx event, operated under license from TED, featured ten Hamber speakers and performers: Jasper Chapman Black, Pascale Higham-Leisen, Hiro Ito, Duva Karunakaran, Zoe Luke, Zak Vescera, Simon Zhao, Sanaria Aljaf, Jonah Lee-Ash (Grad ’14), and Seven Taviss. The theme of this TEDx event was “Amp It Up”; it was a call for volume, passion, celebration, and things that deserved to be sung that often go unheard. The ideas and passions of everyone in attendance lit up the night. Attendees were exposed to a multitude of ideas worth spreading and given the opportunity to discuss them over dinner. Couldn’t make it to the event? The live talks and performances presented will be uploaded to the TEDx YouTube channel before winter break! The event would not have been possible without its seven-student planning committee and its teacher sponsor: Meghan Chen, Cherry Chun, Wilson Hsu, Alice Lee, Josephine Liu, Mikaela Luke, Tiffany Quon, and Mr. Mirani. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to our volunteers and sponsors, and everyone else who helped make TEDxYouth@HamberSchool possible. We hope to see you again in the near future, and that you will “amp up” what you believe deserves to resonate!
HAMBER’S REACH FOR THE TOP TEAM MADE IT TO THE NATIONALS Many of you probably don’t know that the two matching trophies in our trophy case are in fact the product of one of our school’s youngest competitive teams: Reach for the Top—a trivia quiz game for Canadian high school students. Despite only having a team for a mere two years, Hamber became the 2014 BC Provincial Championships in both the Junior and Senior categories, and are currently the seventh place team nationally. Although Hamber swept Junior Provincial tournament, the final game of the Senior tournament was very tense and exciting. We faced off against our arch-rival, Churchill, defeating them by a mere two points. The nationals, held in Toronto in May, was an enjoyable experience—we all enjoyed seeing the sights and sounds of the city. The top teams were from Ontario, which has over 500 Reach teams (in comparison to BC’s 30). The tournament, while long, also allowed us to meet people from across Canada. We even tied the then-reigning national champions--one of their closest games of the day! A big congratulations go out to our 2014 national team members: Hector Rathburn, Chris Sims, Zak Vescera, Sarah Sheppard, Jared Pattison and Ben Moir. Thanks also go out to David Zhang, our coach, Jerry Liu, our statistiThese student members have cian, and Mrs. Dowle, our sponsor. been busy doing quality control on The Reach for the Top club is back this year hundreds of BC Tourism vests that were with the help of Ms. Koblbauer and Ms. Ngo. altered and fixed. These repurposed vests will
SEAMS OF LOVE CLUB
Clockwise from left: Pascale Higham-Leisen (12), Simon Zhao (11), the TEDxYouth@HamberSchool Planning Team
Tiffany Quon
Lead Organizer
Mrs. Dowle
COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP CLUB SPREAD CARING The Compassionate Leadership Club is taking action to help those in need locally and globally. Ten of its members were fortunate to attend 2014 WE DAY at Rogers Arena on October 22. They bought back the theme of empowerment and are ready to show the world that youth can contribute to positive changes in our society—locally and globally. Halloween provided the theme for two projects. The Halloween Polaroid photos helped to raise funds to complete building a well in Asia, and club members went trick or canning on Halloween eve to collect canned food for the Vancouver Food Bank. Please support the club in their future activities and perhaps join them in making positive change. The club meets every Tuesday at lunch in room 139 or see Cherry Chun, the club president.
Winter 2014 Newsletter 16
Science Department Head
be donated to the homeless through the Union Gospel Mission—just in time to keep those less fortunate a little warmer in the winter. The club is currently producing cosmetic bags that will be donated to downtown eastside women in December. The Vancouver Aquarium recently donated their old uniforms that will be refurbished and donated to those less fortunate. This club is spreading care and love one seam at a time!
Ms. J. Chan
Applied Skills Department Head
17 Eric Hamber Secondary School
2014/2015
Calendar
Mr. Ancell was a great teacher and a great friend. You will be sadly missed by so many of the Eric Hamber Education Community. Goodbye, old friend!
DECEMBER
FEBRUARY
APRIL
05 End of Term 1 05 Fall Footlights 7:00 pm 06 Fall Footlights 7:00 pm 10 District Mini-School Testing 10 Winter Band Concert 7:00 pm 17 Term 1 Report Cards Distributed
04 PAC Meeting in Staffroom 7:00 pm 09 Family Day (School Not in Session) 12 - 13 Musical: Grease 7:00 pm 17 First Offers for Challenge/Studio 19 Professional Development Day
01 PAC Meeting in Staffroom 7:00 pm 02 Spring Footlights 7:00 pm 03 Good Friday (School Not in Session) 06 Easter Monday (School Not in Ses-
(School Not in Session) 19 Acceptance Deadline of First Offers to Challenge/Studio 20 Musical: Grease 7:00 pm 24 Chamber Choir Concert (at Magee) 7:00 pm 24 Second Offers to Challenge/Studio 26 Acceptance Deadline of Second Offers to Challenge/Studio 26 Junior/Intermediate Choir Night 26 HIP Day (Class Begins at 9:40 am) 27 Senior Wind Pop Concert (at St. John’s Shaughnessy) 7:00 pm
08 Term 2 Report Cards Distributed
(Homeroom at 9:45 am) 18 HIP Day (Class Begins at 9:40 am) 18 Challenge/Studio Application Deadline 18 Winter Strings Concert at 7:00 pm 19 Winter Assemblies and Last Day of Instruction Before Winter Break 20 – 04 Winter Break
JANUARY 05 School Reopens 07 PAC Meeting in Staffroom 7:00 pm 14 Parent–Teacher Conferences (Early Dismissal at 2:03 pm) 19 Professional Development Day (School Not in Session) 20 Grade 7 Parent Information Evening in Auditorium 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm 22 Grads of 2020 Day 9:00 am – 12:30 pm 22 – 24 Winter Drama Show: 100 Lunches 7:00 pm 27 Winter Drama Show: 100 Lunches 7:00 pm
28 HIP Day (Class Begins at 9:40 am) 28 Block Rotation – 3, 4, 1, 2
Winter 2014 Newsletter 18
MARCH 03 Intermediate Band and Choir Concert (at Holy Trinity Anglican) 7:00 pm 06 Last Day of Instruction Before Spring Break 07 – 14 District Closure 15 – 22 Spring Break 23 School Reopens
25 HIP Day (Class Begins at 9:40 am) 27 End of Term 2
sion) (Homeroom at 9:45 am) 14 Senior Choral Concert (at Holy Trinity) 7:00 pm 17 Block Rotation – 4, 3, 2, 1 27 Professional Development Day (School Not in Session) 29 HIP Day (Class Begins at 9:40 am)
MAY 14 Fashion Show 7:00 pm 18 Victoria Day (School Not in Session) 20 PAC Meeting in Staffroom 7:00 pm 27 HIP Day (Class Begins at 9:40 am)
JUNE 19 End of Term 3 25 Final Report Cards Distributed 25 Last Day of Instruction 26 Administrative Day
Edward Ellis Ancell 1944-2014 On the evening of November 12th, 2014, Eric Hamber Secondary lost one of its longest serving teachers on staff. Edward Ellis Ancell joined the Eric Hamber staff in December 1999 and worked for 15 years in the Social Studies Department. During his time here he taught over 3600 students in Socials 8, 9, and 10. Prior to Mr. Ancell’s arrival at Eric Hamber, he taught at Vancouver Technical, Prince of Wales, Windermere and Gladstone. Before that, Mr. Ancell taught senior social studies for the Central Okanagan School district in Kelowna. Mr. Ancell showed his unique awareness for teaching as he taught Social Studies at the junior secondary school level. He became the resident ‘expert’ in the Department for issues pertaining to Social Studies 8-10. Students of all ages and abilities came to realize Mr. Ancell’s unique gifts as an educator and his keen awareness in supporting academic success in all students. When not in school, Mr. Ancell was an avid motorist and was often seen in his Volkswagen convertible, Volkswagen van, and even his Harley Davidson motorcycle. Yes, Mr. Ancell rode a motorcycle! He also enjoyed dancing to music with family and friends. Mr. Ancell also furthered his own interest in environment studies. He was often seen supervising members of the environmental club Friday afternoons as they carried out their environmental tasks of recycling school materials. Mr. Ancell left us far too soon—too soon for him to enjoy his well-earned retirement. He was always willing and prepared to go the “extra mile” for his students.
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PAGE CREDITS: KL
Special Thanks : Chloe Stark & Tiffany Quon
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