Spirit Magazine - Winter 2008 'The Value of Our Guiding Principles'

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Spirit

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Influence Pgs 2-5 Community Pgs 6-8 Alumni Pg 9 Contribution Pgs 10-11

A SOUTHRIDGE SCHOOL COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

Winter 08 / Issue 20

The Value of Our Guiding Principles s part of our last strategic planning process, our community developed a set of guiding principles to act in concert with our school’s vision and mission. Our guiding principles articulate the elements of Southridge that have enabled it to experience such a high degree of success in a relatively short period of time.

Our principles were developed through stories generated by an appreciative inquiry protocol. They are distinct to Southridge.

In looking to the future of our school, our guiding principles offer us a unique source of insight and strength. Not only does our school have a clear articulation of its purpose through vision and mission statements, but it also has a lucid delineation of the essence of the pathway for our community to follow on our way to achieving its purpose. Interestingly, the pathway is defined by what already exists in our community – our guiding principles. And these very principles are the source of our collective strength.

Committing to the power of our community calls us to think and act honestly with one another based on a common understanding of our community’s truths – our values and guiding principles. Southridge is positioned to act as a catalyst in the fulfillment of our community’s collective contribution to

the world – both individually and as a living institution. Contribution requires the willingness and courage to step into the dynamic of life through sharing gifts and talents in relationships. As members of the Southridge community we inherit the contributions of others, and we are challenged to actively pass on the spirit of contribution by thinking and acting proactively based on our community’s truths. And our success as a community will be realized when our children grow to instinctively judge their own success based not on the quantity of their achievements, but on the quality of their contributions.

Both individual and community truths lead to a fabric of trust. To think and act proactively on a personal level requires making decisions based on a set of personal values and principles. Of course, when faced with decisions and situations that require a resolution, it is our adherence to our values and principles that enable us to act in ways that are strong and true knowing that we have upheld the essence of who we are.

To think and act proactively from a community perspective requires an identical orientation; however, the implications of truthfulness go beyond the independent self. They take on a different quality because the effects of our collective thoughts and actions reflect and influ-

ence the core of who we are as a community. Thus, the trust that results from individual, principled-driven, community-oriented decisions is interdependent – we all have the privilege and responsibility to choose how we influence our community and the world.

As you read this edition of the Spirit, I encourage you to orient your perspective to witnessing how all of us work together at Southridge to strengthen our world.

- Drew Stephens GUIDING PRINCIPLES / As members of the Southridge community, each of us has both the privilege and responsibility to choose how we influence our community and the world. / We commit to the power of community.

At the foundation is the trust born of knowing that our values are shared and lived. / Contribution is at the heart of what we inherit and pass on.

INFLUENCE

WE SHARE A COMMON LANGUAGE BAHASA JIWA BANGSA. Language is the soul of a nation.

- an Indonesian proverb

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It’s never easy to learn a new language, but what joy and power it brings to do so. At first, there are the stumbling baby steps, the awkward exchanges, and the frustrating stutter of impatience. The sentences jerk out, the words drop like hard-edged stones, and one’s expressions are so over-simplified they sometimes feel false. But then, gradually, the phrases become more liquid, the communication less conscious. There is that warm sense of connection you feel when another person understands you and responds quickly with words that ring true and familiar to your ears and mind. And finally, there is fluency, where the words flow so easily and naturally from the heart. What a gift to learn a language together, to discover, create, and share a common language, to be united in both journey and goal.

LANGUAGE IS THE ROAD MAP OF A CULTURE. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.

- Rita Mae Brown, American writer We have a common language at Southridge, and like the quotations here suggest, that language reflects our soul.

It tells the story of our foundations and paves the path for our future growth.

When we first began to work with the International Baccalaureate programs in the Junior School, we encountered the Learner Profile – a list of ten characteristics, attitudes, or values – to which we could all aspire. The words weren’t unfamiliar, but the idea of making them an integral part of our shared language was. We hung posters and pictures. We translated them. We incorporated them into lessons. We built assemblies and events around them.

As members of the Southridge community, each of us has both the privilege and responsibility to choose how we influence our community and the world.

As with any new language, many of us stumbled over these words in the early days. Using them sometimes felt forced, and seeing them everywhere was almost overwhelming. But we wanted those words! We wanted the ideas and the meaning behind them. We wanted the culture they represented. So we practiced, and little by little, letter by letter, we learned to speak them, and we learned to speak them well. It took time and practice, like any language. But what a joy it is now to have those common words to express our feelings and ideals, and what power it brings to be able to do so. I love those moments where an older student will say to me in the art room, “I really want to be more of a communicator through my artwork this year,” or a Gr 5 child asks my advice about how to stay more balanced in times of stress. I know exactly what they mean when the group of primary students tells me they have been caring and principled on the playground.

J.G. Fichte, a German philosopher, said, “The language of a people is its soul.”

Now that we have really learned it, it has become our true language. It isn’t an add-on. It isn’t something we do for the IB organization. It’s where we came from and where we are going. This is our common language.

- Jackie Reyes

THE JUNIOR SCHOOL PROMISE Young people understand what it means to make a promise. Different words may be used to articulate the definition but most understand it to be an agreement by one person to another. In the Junior School all students sign and verbally agree to our Junior School promise

which is found in all student prep or agenda books. The promise is a declaration of intent to help uphold our school values: truth, tolerance, compassion and respect. These promises are voluntary commitments made by individuals to themselves and to others.

The Junior School promise encompasses three different aspects: the student promise, the teacher promise and the parent promise. The student portion not only articulates the promise but also outlines the student needs that must be met in order to sustain that promise throughout the school year. The teacher and parental component to the promise represents a commitment to help meet those student needs so that the student promise can be maintained.

During the first two months of school, as the Head of the Junior School, I meet with all the students to discuss needs and meeting needs in an appropriate way. The promise is signed and witnessed by me, finalized by a handshake which is a symbolic gesture of agreeing to meet each other’s needs in an effective way. These promise sessions have been rewarding and students from Kindergarten to Gr 7 appear to implicitly understand the importance of upholding the Southridge School promise.

- Laurel Middelaer

We believe at the school that character development is the bedrock of all the children’s education. We also believe that Senior School students are capable of having an intellectual discussion about values and ethics. In the spring of 2005 we began working with the Institute for Global Ethics, an organisation which is committed to educating young people in this area. With them, we developed a process that would engage every student in the Senior School in the formulation of a Code of Ethics which would be for the students and by the students.

At the start of the 2005/2006 academic year, each advisory group was provided with a series of ethical dilemmas that required them to consider many right vs. right scenarios and to think deeply about what was important to them and what they would have done in those situations.

After a number of those sessions, pairs of advisory groups worked together,

STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM

brainstorming the values that they felt an ethical person would possess. Most groups came out with 30 to 40 different values. The next task was to negotiate the list down to eight values that the entire group could agree on. This was the fun part.

As I toured around the groups during the half day activity it was amazing to see the passion and eloquence with which the students spoke about why “their” value needed to be on the list.

The next task was left to the Grad Class of 2006. Their job was to further negotiate the list down to the top four or five values for the school. The five that they came up with were Respect, Integrity, Compassion, Honesty and Responsibility. On the day we were doing this, Craig Kielberger from Leaders Today was standing in the Great Hall

watching us go through the exercise. No pressure there!

Having chosen the list, the next job was to describe what this would look like to us on a daily basis at Southridge.

The Grad Class went through a similar negotiation process to flesh out the values with some ethical behaviours that Southridge students should aspire to.

The result was an excellent, realistic and thoughtful document that the students should be proud of.

We revisit the Code of Ethics often in assemblies and in our day to day language. Each year, the students and advisors review the Code and sign a copy of it, committing to try and live up to it every day. There is a copy hanging by the front desk of the Senior School; I encourage you to have a look and see the product of this student initiative.

- Marc Ayotte

The main purpose of our student exchange program is to provide students with rich opportunities to appreciate and experience different cultures. By attending a different school in a different country, students can begin to appreciate not only cultural differences, but they can also recognize the similarities that young people share, no matter where they live in the world. Southridge now has exchanges with seven schools in Scotland, Australia, Spain and India and last year sixteen Southridge students participated in student exchanges. These exchanges have given our students rich experiences abroad and have also given our student body at Southridge the opportunity to share experiences with students from around the world. We see our student exchange program as an important component in our efforts to instill a strong sense of internationalism and global citizenship in students.

- Trevor Julian Last spring, in Gr 11, I participated in one of my most memorable Southridge opportunities, a student exchange to Spain. The idea of going to school in a different culture and undergoing the challenges of a language barrier intrigued me. El Limonar International School of Murcia, Spain, was a wonderful place for me to open my eyes to the culture of Spain and improve my Spanish. I made many long lasting friendships over the six weeks of the exchange and I learned to see a bigger picture of the world.

- Megan Brockman One of the first exchange students to Spain “I felt Southridge is a special place because of the relationships the students enjoy with their teachers; friendly yet respectful. The teachers here really care about their students.”

- Australian exchange student

Shaping our relationships are the values of truth, tolerance, respect and compassion.

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entoring in any school setting is a critical element to the success of a school. This mentoring involves many formal and informal relationships and can be between younger and older students, more experienced teachers with teachers new to the school and/or the profession, and very often between teachers and students.

Some of the more interesting formal relationships that we establish between students are Buddy programs and our Peer Tutoring program.

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The Buddy program has many different opportunities for students to help each other out. Every student new to the Senior School is a part of a Buddy Group with another new student and at least one older returning student. This Buddy tours the school with the new students

to show them around and give them some insights into the day to day operation of the school. Most importantly though, they are there to make them feel welcome and help them with their integration into the school.

are available for drop in sessions each day at lunch. We also have a few senior students who volunteer as Organizational Tutors to help some of our younger students learn to be responsible for their own organization by working with them to develop skills.

In the past couple of years we have also expanded our Peer Tutoring program in a couple of ways. We have Mathematics Peer Tutors, usually our senior honours students, who are matched up with, typically, a Gr 8 or 9 student for some oneon-one help that is critical to the younger students’ success. These tutors also

I think that the common theme of mentoring at the school is that it is a meaningful and fulfilling experience for both parties involved. Our mentors and tutors do this because they want all students in the school to enjoy the success that they do and they understand that the student who is being mentored will one day become the mentor of a younger student.

- Marc Ayotte

BUDDIES Students love to have Buddies. This is an opportunity for older children to mentor, teach or work with younger children.

Kindergarten students have senior school buddies for special seasonal activities.

This happens about four times a year and is a highlight for both Kindergarten children and their high school Buddy.

They have picnics, make crafts, carve pumpkins and generally have fun together. The Kindergarteners also have Gr 4 buddies who work together with them on puzzles or read a book on a weekly basis.

Gr 3s look forward to helping out the Gr 1s. They work with them in the computer lab, listen to them read, read to them or play math games. The Gr 3 students are excellent teachers; they are patient and feel very proud to share their skills.

For the first time they are the teacher and leader instead of being the younger Buddy. Gr 2 students are paired with the Gr 6s and enjoy a variety of activities together.

We also have opportunities for students from MYP grades to be tutors. They are matched with a younger student once per cycle during their lunch time (PYP students’ quiet reading time) to be peer teachers, under the direction of the homeroom teacher.

Chem 12 classes will be putting on magic shows involving chemical tricks for primary classes and the band and drama groups occasionally put on special performances for the primary students.

This provides an uncritical and enraptured audience for the older students and model students for the younger children to look up to.

- Rowena Raber BIRTHDAY BUDDIES Birthday Buddies are new this year.

Gr 12 students are matched up with a Kindergarten Birthday Buddy who shares the same birth month as them and each month the students in K and 12 who

have birthdays celebrate by having cake and ice cream together in the Junior School Great Hall. Conversation focuses on favourite colours, brothers and sisters, pets, and interesting facts about one another. The Gr 12 students and Kindergarten students really enjoy this special time and it is hard to tell who is more excited about this: the Ks or the Grads!

Innovation and Excellence in Teaching Southridge teachers are the key reason our students are achieving at such a high level. The manner in which they connect with students, their expertise and dedication to their profession ensure that Southridge is a top academic school in British Columbia. They are making great strides towards the goal of innovation and excellence in teaching for all students.

The use of technology in all grades is a great tool that teachers use to help students learn. SMART Boards in each classroom allow the teachers to use the newest educational technology. The laptop program which begins in Gr 5 gives teachers the ability to use a great variety of resources and teaching strategies and ensures that students have immediate access to the school network and resources for research.

The IB program in the Junior School is providing the impetus for a high degree

of innovation from Kindergarten to Gr 7.

Both the Primary Years Program (PYP) and Middle Years Program (MYP) use inquiry as a primary teaching strategy. Inquiry facilitates a student-centred approach to learning and encourages students to pursue their interests within units of instruction that have been designed by teachers. The IB program has also given teachers access to outstanding professional development and support which has enabled them to try new strategies and techniques in the classroom. These new strategies complement the existing expertise and experience of our Junior School teachers.

attended by teachers from ISA schools across B.C. The math department faculty are recognized across the province as leaders in using SMART Boards for instruction in math. Other great examples of teaching at Southridge include the social studies department hosting its first Model UN, the English department running an outstanding full day public speaking competition, and the music program holding a retreat at Manning Park, all of which took place last year.

- Trevor Julian

In the Senior School, students achieve outstanding results on external measurements such as provincial exams and Advanced Placement exams which rank the school at the top of the province. This fall, the science department organized a professional development event that focused on critical thinking which was

PRIMARY SUPPORT TEACHER Supporting learners happens in many different ways. Parents, teachers and peers can all help to support learners and help each individual student to grow.

Collaboration between members of the Southridge community helps to ensure that we are looking at the many sides of a child and we can draw on strengths and interests to ensure positive experiences for our learners.

The role of the primary support teacher is to work in the classrooms with teachers and students to establish relationships that will enable each student to meet his or her potential. The support teacher works to help primary students attain a fluent repertoire of literacy and numeracy skills by the end of Gr 2. She also works to address learning differences in students in Kindergarten to Gr 4.

Students need to develop “tools” for their “toolbox”. They need ways to know how to deal with their particular learning style. For example, some students are more visually oriented and

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need to see things to really understand the concept. Others are happy to have information shared verbally. Some children love to feel things and are tactile learners who really benefit from experiences with manipulatives and “real life” teaching experiences such as fieldtrips.

The learning support teacher works in a variety of settings: sometimes in the classroom, other times in the resource room, and at other times in other locations such as the great hall or the library.

Small group instruction is used to explain a concept or review recently taught information.

The essential thing is for the students to come away from a session with the support teacher with a feeling of selfconfidence. Building self esteem is of the utmost importance.

- Samara Ridley Thomas

We act, knowing our children are watching.

COMMUNITY

We commit to the power of community. At the foundation is the trust born of knowing that our values are shared and lived.

ADMISSIONS A school community is far more than the sum of its parts; its ethos cannot be measured or communicated through facts and figures or ratings and rankings.

Instead, the identity, and perhaps the strength, of an educational institution largely lie in its mission and the values its community upholds. But schools by their nature are communities in constant flux; and for smaller schools this can mean a significant impact, on a yearly basis, on the school culture and the values-oriented experience of students and parents who are members of its community.

Each year, the Southridge School student community (along with the respec-

tive parent community) changes with each graduating class departing and each group of new students filling spaces.

Because of this, in order for a school such as Southridge to maintain its identity, and its strength and closeness as a community, it becomes critical that it frequently reaffirm, communicate and uphold its values and guiding principles – with all members of the community, but especially those who are new. The first opportunity that Southridge takes to communicate these to new families is through the admission process. Families who request information receive the

school’s prospectus and other materials which aim to share the emphasis on values as well as the guiding principles.

Through the interview, there is another opportunity for families to question and consider more carefully the school’s principles, and the resulting commitment that is called for in this community. The process emphasizes the critical importance of each individual embracing and living the guiding principles of the school, and the resulting positive experience and benefit to the school, its students and all community members.

- Hilary Lehn

Meet the Leaders Breakfasts 6

As we have done for the past three years during the first few weeks of school, we invited our new Southridge parents to the Morgan Creek Golf Club to meet the leaders of our school. Parents gathered in small groups of ten to sixteen on six separate occasions. Our focus for the mornings was to address the guiding principles of our school and to define the purpose of Southridge through a description and discussion of our vision and mission statements. It was also an important opportunity to introduce the parent-school partnership that is so important in our community.

The theme for the 90-minute breakfast meetings was relationships.

Relationships are understood to be the source of trust at Southridge. And trust is the element of power that enables us to think and act with a common understanding of shared purpose. We wanted to present an opportunity for our new families to initiate relationships with our school leaders so that when occurrences arise that require communication and discussion in the future, the ability to initiate dialogue will be more natural.

Mr. Ayotte, Ms. Middelaer, and I all shared personal stories of why we each moved to Southridge and why we each find it such a meaningful place to work.

All of us feel that Southridge is a place where the mission and vision state-

Grandparents Every year the primary students put on a musical and the students invite their grandparents to come and watch. The Gr 3 students serve cake and tea to all the visitors before the musical and after the performance the grandparents are invited back to their grandchild’s classroom for a brief visit. In Gr 1, as part of the Families unit, Grandparents are invited to come into the class to share their stories and experiences from the past.

The children are very proud to introduce their grandparents and to show off their

school. Likewise, the grandparents enjoy answering the many questions that are posed by their grandchildren’s inquisitive friends.

- Rowena Raber

ments are lived on a daily basis. It is a place where we feel we can live our own lives according to our own individual personal and professional values and principles. We feel there is a clear alignment between what we hold to be meaningful and what is important at Southridge. In this way, Southridge acts as a vehicle for personal fulfillment for each of us.

I always feel good after one of our Meet the Leaders Breakfasts because they initiate thoughts and dialogue about the ingredients of our community that enable it to live its purpose and strengthen our world.

- Drew Stephens

I know our Junior and Senior Schools are emotionally connected because of the things that are happening in Kindergarten – and I’m not just talking about the Birthday Buddy parties where Gr 12 students share cake and ice cream with their Kindergarten buddies. I’m talking about piggy banks and sandwiches.

One day in early October, Mr. Weaver was walking by Ms. Julian’s Kindergarten classroom when he was invited in for a small, spontaneous presentation. You see, one of Ms. Julian’s students had brought in his own piggy bank (with his own money that he had saved) and wanted to make a personal contribution to Africa Night – our community fund raiser for the Senior School service trip.

All 47 of his coins were counted out and selflessly given to Mr. Weaver, one of the two teachers traveling with our students on their international trip. The boy who made this contribution did not know

JUNIOR SCHOOL & SENIOR SCHOOL

CONNECTIONS

Mr. Weaver or any of the students planning to attend the trip, but he understood that something of significance was happening and he wanted to make a difference. It was as if he knew what kind of world should exist, and his deliberate act of giving actually created it. It proved to him (and the rest of us) that Southridge students do not need to wait until graduation to make a difference in the world.

Our mission statement happens in the here and now.

And just in case we need any more proof that our Junior and Senior Schools are emotionally connected and that our kids do strengthen the world, here is more

evidence from the Kindergarteners. The Senior School has a wonderful program that places our students at a soup kitchen in Whalley every Friday afternoon at lunch time to serve and help with the many tasks that require volunteer attention. Inspired by the soup kitchen orientation toward serving the greater good, our Kindergarten students thought it would be a great idea to participate as well, and they decided to make fresh sandwiches that would be brought to the soup kitchen with the Senior School students. Striking again at the heart of what Southridge is all about, our students are living proof that the world doesn’t need to change at all; it just needs to be strengthened. And our kids are doing it - together as Junior School and Senior School we are strengthening the world.

- Drew Stephens

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GLOBAL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY In August 2007 Southridge School hosted 38 students and four leaders at the second Global Leadership Academy. The academy is a joint effort between our school and Leaders Today / Free The Children organizations. Participants benefited from a week of intensive, but fun, learning activities related to leadership training, social issues, global awareness and volunteering opportunities.

Connections were made with the local community through an environmental cleanup, a visit to the Surrey Urban Mission and while hosting a BBQ for Semiahmoo House. Participants felt the hands on volunteer activities were an especially powerful learning experience.

The Leadership Academy program presents an outstanding leadership training opportunity to not only our students, but also those in the local and extended communities throughout Western Canada. Last year participants came from Southridge, the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the interior of British Columbia and from Alberta. New and stimulating friendships were forged which made parting on Friday evening especially difficult for many of the participants. As with the first Global Leadership Academy, the feedback from this year’s participants was a ringing endorsement of this joint initiative.

- Wayne Camire

“I found this to be an incredibly mind opening and rewarding experience. I had my doubts at first but it completely erased all of them by the end.”

17 year old student from Victoria “I feel smarter, more open minded, great and so, so, so happy I came here.”

16 year old student from Plamondon, Alberta “I feel empowered and ready to take on the world, one small action at a time.”

16 year old student from Bonnyville, Alberta “This has got to be the most amazing experience of my whole life! I have made so many friends and have learned so much about myself! This beats my trip to London, Greece, and New York combined.”

16 year old Southridge student

By providing a light-hearted place of serious purpose, one where our students can take risks in finding their potential, they find joy.

COMMUNITY CARING

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CARING? CARING: An adjective to describe a person that is kind, compassionate, empathetic, and charitable. CARING: a verb that puts legs on each of those words. That’s right. Caring is kindness in action. Compassion on the move.

Charity as a way of life.

Southridge is a caring community.

Together, through hard work, vision, and personal sacrifice, we have made a huge difference in the lives of many people in our own neighbourhood, in our own country, and in countries that are thousands of miles away.

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It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the pain and suffering in the world or overcome by the dire needs of people all around us. Families are hungry and homeless. Children are without parents, and disabled people, abandoned.

Schools are without books and hospitals are without desks. Sometimes it feels like no matter what we do, no matter how much we give, we can’t possibly make a difference when these needs are so great. But I can assure you that we are each making a difference; far more than we know.

Here at Southridge, we are going to keep talking about those needs and exploring those challenges with our stu-

KINDNESS Every month students focus on a different theme from the Code of Ethics and undertake activities that explore and highlight this theme. The Random Act of Kindness week in February helps students to think about others but this is not limited to one single week. This year, if students witness one of their peers doing a good deed, or thinking about others they can tell the school captains who will recognise that action at an assembly by presenting the student with a kindness award.

dents. And, as we raise awareness, I truly hope and expect that we will keep witnessing the desire in our students to reach out in compassion and to care.

I hope to see more sandwich making, more bake sales, more bottle drives.

However, I don’t have to personally give to each and every one of those initiatives in order to care. In fact, I can’t. Perhaps no one could. What inspires me is that I am part of a community that cares so deeply and that continues to respond to the needs of others less fortunate than themselves. I am so proud to belong to a family that encourages its children to use their own two hands to reach out to others. I love playing for a team that makes enthusiastic room for the creative energy of those who would see their kindness in action. In short, I am happy I have so many opportunities to care.

When you think you can’t make a difference, think again. It isn’t just the changes our students have made in the lives of children in Haiti or Zambia. The difference I see every day is the difference parents have made in the hearts of their children right here at Southridge. By modeling and encouraging compassionate action, they help to fill young people with a great hope that the world can be changed and improved, and that they themselves hold the awesome power

to make those changes happen. If we do not feel both hopeful and powerful to face the future, then the problems of the world will overwhelm us for sure.

And when I see so many caring actions taking place around me every day, it also makes a difference in me. My heart, too, stays hopeful – soft and strong at the same time – which is the very best way for a heart to be, I think. For it is this kind of heart that also helps us to care right here in our Southridge hallways and classrooms and in our own homes – with a smile, a pat on the back, a word of understanding and empathy.

And the caring goes on and on. Kindness in action. Compassion on the move.

Charity as a way of life.

- Jackie Reyes

ALUMNI

ALUMNUS

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Seeking Your Passion: Interview With Sally Higgins

Dr. Sally Higgins (99) is most recently at Children’s Hospital as part of a five year residency to become a plastic surgeon. She admitted to feeling a little tired at the end of her work week but also that she so loves her work that she is energized by it. Clearly she feels lucky to be able to follow her passion and to be able to make a difference in the lives of her patients through her work.

So why is she excited and determined to become a plastic surgeon? Sally recollected the time during her medical studies that she worked with a plastic surgeon who performed a rhinoplasty to reconstruct the face of a victim of domestic violence. She was keenly aware that not only did the disfigurement remind the woman daily of the abusive life she had suffered, but the restorative surgery helped her psychological healing as well.

It is this holistic aspect of patient care that appeals to Sally, whether it involves dealing with birth defects, post-cancer reconstructive surgery, or the treatment of burn victims. In each situation she enjoys the often extended involvement with patients as they plan and work through the treatments which sometimes involve multiple surgeries. She offered that the development of the relationship with patients often proves to be as psychologically therapeutic as the surgical procedures are physically therapeutic. In fact, she feels that the primary appeal of medicine for her is the relationships formed with colleagues and with patients.

Sally believes that founding Headmaster Alan Brown contributed greatly to her growth while she attended Southridge and she continues to feel strong ties to our school. She suggests that finding one’s passion is an active process and she urges students to expose themselves to as many aspects of study and non-academic pursuits as possible, especially those which provide some internal spark of excitement. She has sometimes been surprised at the interests and opportunities which resulted from using even downtime to pursue such activities rather than doing something that simply fills time. Reluctant to see herself as a role model, she does feel that she tries to conduct herself in a manner which allows her to feel proud of herself. Her family and her school are certainly proud of her accomplishments to date, but even more so of the person Dr. Sally Higgins has become.

Andrew Bendl, Lane Baumeister (07), Natalie Kahl (07), Jessica Clark (07)

Karen Schmelcher (05), Larry Geddert, Nisha Bakshi (03)

- Wayne Camire

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Supreet Maan (05) was inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society for academic excellence (top 15% of her faculty). She is studying Life Sciences at UBC and currently plans to go into medicine.

Many of our alumni have the opportunity to participate in exchange programs through their universities. Here’s where their studies have taken them: Mike Willms (04) Erica Lambert (05) Sara Hamanishi (05) Chelsea Lee (05) Jeff Walls (05) Lola Sienema (05) Carla Hector (05) Taryn Casey (05)

Prague South Africa New Zealand Australia Switzerland Holland Perth, Australia France

MISSION STATEMENT Southridge develops well-rounded graduates with a deep sense of personal integrity who have the moral character, love of learning and self-confidence Trevor Julian, Parm Singh (04), to realize their full potential in a post- Kenny Sahota (05) secondary environment and in society at large.

Ryan Wilson (02), Jim Ison, Oliver Browes (02)

Membership in the Southridge community has always called us to shift our emphasis to “we” from “me”.

CONTRIBUTION

Contribution is at the heart of what we inherit and pass on.

I invite you to think about a time when you made a contribution – however large or small – and felt good about your part in doing something to benefit others. At the time of your contribution, I am sure you felt that there was a need to be filled and that you were simply doing what any other person would have done. I can guarantee you that there was something about you, though, that enabled you to make the decision to contribute. There existed a core factor about you without which you wouldn’t have been the giving person that you were (and are).

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One of our Gr 12 students, Nick Sabatino, had been working diligently for weeks coordinating the installation of our new lighting system in the Alan Brown Great Hall. Among the many tasks that Nick coordinated was the arrival of the lighting equipment and the man-lifts on the day before the installation was to occur.

The installation date had been set a few weeks earlier, and Nick had arranged for an alumnus, Haafiz Dossa, to help with the difficult job of mounting the lights, wiring them, and setting the computer system to control their movements.

Nick and his crew were preparing for Africa Night. Many other students were depending on them to have the new lighting system ready in order for the fundraising event to succeed.

A week earlier, Ms. Miller had been asked by Nick to construct a new ramp for the Great Hall so that the manlifts could be lowered into the pit area.

Unfortunately, the day before the ramp was to have been completed, Ms. Miller hurt her back and was unable to complete it. Wanting to support Nick so that he could complete the installation, honour his commitment to Haafiz Dossa, and prepare for Africa Night, I phoned a Gr 6 parent while he was at work (at 2:00 pm) to see if he was willing and able to come into the school that afternoon and compete the construction of the ramp for the next day (a three or four hour time commitment).

The parent graciously accepted the opportunity to contribute, came to the school right after work (5:30 pm), took the necessary measurements, transported all of the wood home to his workshop, constructed the pieces to the ramp (with enough thought and care to ensure it would support the 3000 pound man-lift and could be taken apart for storage), brought the pieces back to school, and assembled the finished product by 8:30 pm.

What was it that enabled this contribution of time and talent? Beyond completing a task that required attention, this parent sincerely wanted to help Nick succeed (even though he did not even know Nick very well at all), connect with the school, and strengthen his relationship with our community. What he may not have realized is that his involvement facilitated the contribution of Haafiz as well as the contribution of Nick in supporting Africa Night, which led to the contribution of over one hundred others who gave of their time and talent so that our group of Senior School students could make their contribution to the world on behalf of Southridge for schools in Africa. Simply put, one good, honourable, local act of contribution enabled a global contribution that allowed our school and our students to make a difference in the world.

The act was a living example of our guiding principle that states contribution is at the heart of what we inherit and what we pass on, and it helped the Southridge community strengthen our world.

- Drew Stephens

Over the past year, there have been an increasing number of opportunities for Southridge students to get involved and make a difference in the world. These have included working locally, such as our weekly visits to The Surrey Urban Mission soup kitchen, and internationally, with our overseas service trips to Ecuador, Costa Rica and India.

Each week, a different advisory group gives up their Friday lunchtime to travel to the Surrey Urban Mission in Whalley and volunteer at their soup kitchen. A simple drive up King George Highway takes students into a world much different from their own, where people who are homeless, hungry, and down on their luck gather for a free lunch. Southridge students help to greet arrivals, serve drinks, distribute food, or wash up in the kitchen. Although the visit is brief, stu-

SERVICE TO OTHERS

dents come away with an appreciation of the plight of the homeless and poor in our own city. For some, this was their first contact with those in such dire financial straits, and the students were able to see that the homeless are just people like themselves.

This past summer, ten Southridge students and two teachers were able to go farther afield into our global village, travelling to Ecuador for two weeks. Ms Szymczak, Mr. Burrage and the students spent time volunteering in Quito, and then worked at the school we helped build in a remote Andean village. One highlight of the trip was a cultural conference, in which our students made presentations about different aspects of Canadian life to what was supposed to be the schoolchildren but quickly grew into the whole village!

The travellers also painted and repaired the school facilities at the request of the community. The amazing experience wrapped up with a leadership and social action retreat in the cloud forest, during which participants planned how to transfer their experience into action upon their return.

Along similar lines, a group of ten Southridge students and two staff will venture to India this spring. They will be working in Delhi and Udaipur, building a school and doing other local volunteer work. Undoubtedly, it will be another experience to remember, and another chance for our students to truly show they can already make a difference in the world.

- Daryl Weaver

ELEMENTARY STUDENTS PLANT SEEDS OF INSPIRATION In October, a total of 96 Gr 2 and Gr 4 students pitched in planting 200 native trees and shrubs, from snowberry bushes to Oregon grape and Sitka spruce, in one corner of a new five-acre park at 160 St and 32 Ave. It was a project that took root earlier this year, when a group of children, dismayed by the construction that has cleared many of their neighbourhood trees decided they wanted to make a difference. Interestingly the backdrop to the morning’s tree planting was the rumbling of dump trucks and the roar of machinery, courtesy of an under-construction housing development.

Natasha, Jordan and Joel Aisenstat started out wanting to raise enough money

to plant one tree. The fruits of that effort, a lilac tree, grace the Southridge property. The seeds of inspiration their initiative sowed have blossomed beyond expectations. Not only did the children’s initial fundraising collect enough to plant 30 additional lilac trees, donations since word got out about the project have climbed to $1,200 - a total that includes a personal boost from Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts and $500 from a former tree farmer. To boot, the City of Surrey has pledged to match the funds, meaning even more green projects will be planned and carried out. It’s news that’s music to nine-year-old Natasha’s ears.

“I didn’t expect this to go this big,” she said over the dump truck din. “I thought some people in the group would just say,

‘we planted a tree, we’re done.’ It felt really good to have everyone listen. Even though we’re small, we can still make a difference.”

Edited and reprinted with permission from the Peace Arch News

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JUNIOR SCHOOL PROMISE I PROMISE TO… / Attend school regularly and come prepared to learn / Work hard to do my best in class and in all that I do / Help to keep my school safe / Ask for help when I need it / Respect myself, others, and my environment / Help create a positive school climate

SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENT CODE OF ETHICS /

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I NEED… / Teachers and adults who care about me / People who believe I can learn / Schools that are safe / Respect for my culture and for me as an individual / A family and community that supports me / Time with caring adults

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Respect means to us: / Actively listening / Fulfilling commitments / Abiding by the rules / Playing with sportsmanship / Being polite and friendly

2656 - 160th Street, Surrey, B.C. V3S 0B7

Responsibility means to us: Thinking before you act / Being a good role model / Being self-motivated, self-reliant and self-regulating / Thinking globally / Taking initiative and following through / Staying organised / Not abusing alcohol, drugs or tobacco / Taking care of the school /

Integrity means to us: / Showing up / Truly believing in and living up to your values / Believing in what is right, not what is popular / Self-honesty / Being true to your word Compassion means to us: / Giving part of your life for others / Going out of your way to help / Accepting people as who they are regardless of stature / Being humble and patient / Stepping in to stop unkindness Honesty means to us: / Accepting the consequences of telling the truth / Being able to accepts one’s faults / Standing up for truth / Not cheating / Not talking behind someone’s back / Not lying - Period

For more information about Southridge School, please contact us at:

T. 604.535.5056 F. 604.535.3676 www.southridge.bc.ca

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Editor Design Thanks Photos

Dorothy Podmore Steve Culley, mgdc culleycreative Contributors Alan McInnes

Send us your news at alumninews@southridge.bc.ca