March 2013 Mini Gryphon

Volume 4 Issue 6 March 2013

MEADOWRIDGE SCHOOL 12224-240th Street

Maple Ridge, BC V4R 1N1

www.meadowridge.bc.ca

t: 604.467.4444 | f: 604.467.4989

Meadowridge School is proud to be an accredited International Baccalaureate Continuum World School.

The Meadowridge Mini Gryphon is printed in-house to reduce costs.

IN THIS ISSUE:Annual Giving Donors 2

Annual Giving Update 4

Golf Tournament 5

UBC Physics Olympics 6

Library Update 8

Around Meadowridge 10

Art Gallery 12

Student Achievements 13

Green Team Update 14

Youth Forum Against Bullying 15

Diploma Programme Update 15

Parent Guild Update 16

IB Learner Profile 17

Spring Fling 18

Make Your Mark 19

Meadowridge students got their hands dirty planting various indigenous plants in a patch of newly cleared North Forest. As they planted the vine maple, false azalea, sweet gale and more the students were able to not only do the work themselves, but also learn about the different types of plants that are helpful to the area.

The students were very excited to begin the planting project and to be such an integral part of the restoration of Latimer Creek and the North Forest area.

For more information see page 11.

ReSTORING OUR BACkYARD

| March 2013Meadowridge School

ANNUAL GIVING DONORS Thank You For Contributing!

Our Newest ContributorsMr. & Mrs. Robert & Shirley Brunetta

Mr. Xiu kang & Mrs. Baowei Yue Guo

Mr. & Mrs. kulraj & kalvinder Tiwana

Mr. Daofeng Liu & Mrs. Quming Chen

Mr. & Mrs. Parmjit & Malkit Parmar

Mr. kefei Tan & Mrs. May Guo Tan Family

Ongoing DonorsAnonymous

Mr. & Mrs. Rafael & Lisa Acosta

Mr. & Mrs. Ron & Cathy Antalek

Mr. ke Bai & Mrs. Ye Hu

Mr. Patrick Barber & Mrs. Sonia Nieto Bustos

Mr. & Mrs. Randy & Leslie Bargen

The Barker/Robertson Family

Mr. & Mrs. John & Terry Becker

Mrs. kristal Bereza

Mr. Chris Bertoia

Dr. Michael Orser & Ms. Christine Bickle

Prof. Nicholas Blomley & Ms. Jessie Hill

Mr. Rhys Clarke & Mrs. Julie Bournival

Mr. & Mrs. Robert & Shirley Brunetta

Mr. Hugh Burke & Ms. eva Boyd

Canadian Tire Store - Abbotsford (Mr. and Mrs. Brad & Heather elliott)

Drs. Dan & Anca Catona

Mr. & Mrs. David & Tania Choat

Ms. Samantha Coates

Mr. Xiang Jing Chen & Mrs. Xiao Ming Yang

Mr. Jun Chen & Mrs. Zhe Zhou

Mr. Victor Chen & Mrs. Wendy Tan

Mr. Jie Cheng & Mrs. Lan Na Wu

Mr. Richard Choi & Mrs. Angie Lee

Mr. Roy Choi & Mrs. Jeong-Mi Ryu

Mr. & Mrs. Jeff & katherine Crawford

Dr. Malcolm Crozier & Mrs. Alicia Osorio Bustos

Dr. & Mrs. Anton & elna de klerk

Mr. & Mrs. Ninderjit & Lakhvir Dhaliwal

Ms. Zahra Dhanani

Mrs. Amrita Dhanji

Mr. Avio Diniz & Ms. Patricia Lapointe

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew & Wendy Dockerty

Mr. Terry Donaldson

Mr. & Mrs. Bill & Barbara Durno

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew & Brenda eichhorst

Mr. Jay Fraser

Mrs. Hallie Fraser

Mr. & Mrs. Peter & kelly Fry

The Gandesha Charitable Trust

Mr. & Mrs. Sam & Yamini Gandesha

Drs. Deepu & Reena George

Drs. Joe & Diana Germain

Mr. Bob Gill & Mrs. Diana Carwithen

Mr. kenneth Go & Mrs. Connie Chow-Go

Dr. & Mrs. Daniel Gouws & kimberley Buchanan-Gouws

Mr. & Mrs. Alan & Marlene Graveson

Mr. & Mrs. Warwick & Carolyn Green

Mr. & Mrs. Amar & kal Grewal

Mr. & Mrs. Craig & Natalie Gunning

Ms. Sarah Hamilton

Dr. & Mrs. Amin & Fawzia Hasham

Mr. & Mrs. Carl & Shirley He

Dr. & Mrs. Michael & Daphne Herberts

Mr. & Mrs. Don & Linda Hincks

Ms. Cindy Hops

Mr. John Hwang & Mrs. Catherine kim

Mr. & Mrs. Ty & Jadina Irving

Drs. Sriram & Mahalaxmi Iyer

Mr. Steven Jang & Mrs. Veronika Lee

Ms. Lynelle Johns

Mr. & Mrs. Bruce & Judy Johnston

Mr. Terry Jung & Ms. Audrey Lum

Mr. & Mrs. Amrit & kam kahlon

Dr. & Mrs. Al karim & eileen karmali

Mr. kevin kennedy

Dr. Seoung Joon kim & Mrs. Inhwa Sung

Drs. Murthy & Anu korada

Mr. Hyeok-Sang kwon & Mrs. Ji-Yeon Ahn

Mr. Oh Hyon kwon & Mrs. JiSoo Jeon

Mr. & Mrs. Al-karim & Zain Lalji

Drs. Ockie Lampen & kathy Robson

Mr. & Mrs. Tom & Rhonda Laurie

Mr. Ron Le Boutillier

Mr. Daniel Le Page

Ms. Nicole LeBrun

Outdoor furniture for use by students purchased through Annual Giving.

| March 2013 This year , p lease help us Grow our home.

Mr. Gye Ju Lee & Mrs. Whal Ran Park

Mr. Lance Leger & Ms. Sarah Ward

Mr. & Mrs. Darrell & kim Lester

Mr. Tao Lu & Ms. Bing Li

Mr. Jinsong Liu and Ms. Xiaoxue Sun

Mr. Tao Lu & Ms. Bing Li

Drs. Samir & Sangita Malhotra

Mr. & Mrs. Riaz & Fairous Mapara

Mr. Luis Marin & Ms. Patricia Restrepo

Mr. James Marriott

Mr. Gareth Mason & Ms. Carolyn Treger

Ms. Jennifer Maynes

Mr. & Mrs. Shaun & Leah McPhail

Dr. Bheemdev Meetarbhan & Ms. Diane Holenski

Mrs. Patricia Merry

Ms. Sherrie Metz

Mike Huber Real estate Services (Huber Family)

Mr. & Mrs. Harrison & Christy Mooney

Mr. & Mrs. Vassen & Lovana Moothoo

Mr. Michael Nice & Ms. Danielle Noël

Mr. & Mrs. Patrick & Barbara Niwa

Mr. David Noble

Dr. & Mrs. Godwin & ezinne Obioha

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen & Margot Olah

Ms. Angela Pallister

Mr. Steven Parewyck & Ms. Anita Bonnarens

Mr. & Mrs. Scott & Lisa Park

Drs. Gurdev & karen Parmar

Mr. & Mrs. Terrance & Moira Passley

Dr. Manuel Peraza Zarate & Mrs. Marie Chantal Vazquez

Mr. & Mrs. Philip & Nicola Pitzey

Mr. & Mrs. Igor & katerina Pogrebinsky

Mr. & Mrs. Shahir & Reeshma Premji

Dr. Ravindran & Mrs. Chandramohan

Mr. George Read & Ms. Fay kingwill

Mr. Quan Ren & Mrs. Lin Wu

Dr. John Reynolds & Dr. Isabelle Cote

Ms. Carolyn Sapach

Meadowridge is a not-for-profit organization. Donations above $25.00 are tax deductible. Charitable Registration #0719195-21-27

Mrs. Jada Sawatzky

Mr. Alan Sharda, Ms. Zebeen Panju & Azynah

Mr. & Mrs. Gurjit & Parneet Sidhu

Mr. & Mrs. Justin & Jennifer Simpson

Mr. & Mrs. Rajindar & Sheila Singh

Mr. Troy Sobotka & Ms. Andrea Frisby

Mr. & Mrs. Dennis & Norma-Jean Spika

Mr. & Mrs. Scott & Yoshimi Spurgeon

Mr. & Mrs. Larry & Serena Su

Mr. Chen Wei Sun & Ms. Hong Chang

Mr. kevin Sun & Ms. Feng Li

Mr. & Mrs. Mahmud & Rishma Sunderji

Mr. & Ms. Peter & Alison Thompson

Truc Truck Finder Inc. (The Vine Family)

Mr. & Mrs. Julian & Marilyn Turner

Mr. & Mrs. David & Lyn Tyler

Dr. & Mrs. Hanif & Sophie Ukani

Ms. Michelle Vally

Ms. Tamara Warner

Drs. Qasim & Tehima Wasti

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew & Jennifer Watt

Mr. & Mrs. Rick & Susan Waugh

Dr. & Mrs. Lawrence & Tracey Welsh

Mr. & Mrs. Paul & kalie Whitaker

Mr. William Wong & Ms. Tina Lee

Mr. Feng Xu & Mrs. Shuo Chen

Mr. Fu Qing Xu & Mrs. Hui Wang

Mr. Wen Yong Yang & Mrs. Jie Luan

Mr. Xiaoping Yuan & Ms. Hongli Gong

Mr. kyle Jeans & Ms. krista Zambolin

Mr. Jie Zhao and Mrs. Yan Peng

Ms. Xiao Hong Zhou

Mr. Hai Tao Zhu & Ms. Li Ling Li

Thank you to our new 2013/2014 families who have contributed to

Annual Giving!Mr. Yong Gong Hong & Mrs. Wei Liu

Mr. Jack Ma & Mrs. Helen Shoo

Mr. & Mrs. Chris & Jodi Barrass

Mr. Federico Lopez & Ms. Claudia Martinez

Mr. Yongmin Wu & Mrs. Lily Huang

Mr. & Mrs. Sean & kara Lisik

Mr. Tim Coleman & Miss Tessa Bainbridge

Mr. & Mrs. Catalin & Florica Alexandru


ANNUAL GIVING UPDATeAs we welcome Spring and warmer weather going in to the last 3 months of school, we enter a very busy but exciting time at Meadowridge.

Between now and the end of May our Annual Giving Committee will be hosting 3 social events aiming to: join our community around this cause, inform our families as to the importance of Annual Giving and exemplify the things they have made possible through their continued efforts and generous support.

Invitations were sent out electronically and RSVPs can be submitted online (www.meadowridge.bc.ca/AnnualGivingRSVP), by email ([email protected]) or by phone (604.467.4444). Please be sure to confirm your attendance as soon as possible.

The Annual Giving Committee and the students of Meadowridge School are very grateful for your support so far this year. To date, the 2012-2013 campaign has raised $115,000 towards items not funded by tuition.

examples of items purchased this year include: specialized furniture, fitness equipment, gardening tools, science instruments, language resources, sound systems and theatrical props; all of which were

Leaving a Legacy Thursday, April 18, 2013

7:00pm

An evening event where parents are invited to learn about our recently formed Meadowridge education Foundation and it’s work which includes building and managing an endowment fund which will support future scholarship opportunities.

Setting the Stage for Success

Saturday, May 4, 2013 4:00pm

An afternoon event for the whole family which will focus on our Gymnasium fund and includes an open gym time, an informational presentation on our Athletics programme, a basketball tournament and a BBQ dinner.

Enhancing our Environment

Friday, May 24, 2013 10:30am

A daytime event showcasing the ways in which Annual Giving is supporting our efforts in sustainability, gardening, stream management and environmental education. An opportunity to enjoy a BBQ lunch and learn about our many initiatives.

made possible by Annual Giving as a result of your ongoing generosity.

Until the end of the year we will be raising funds in support of our Gymnasium with hopes of opening our new athletics space before September. In order to achieve this target and give our children the facility they need, we ask for your support.

Without a doubt the most used space in our School, the Gymnasium is a focal point in every child’s education at Meadowridge. Sponsorship opportunities vary and everyone who contributes will be recognized in the Gymnasium.

If you are interested in learning more about this project and how you can contribute, or if you have questions about Annual Giving in general, feel free to contact me by phone at 604.467.4444 ext. 217 or by email at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Daniel Le Page Fundraising Co-ordinator Advancement Department


Rising from the ashes of the Phoenix, we are very pleased to announce that the 12th Annual Meadowridge Golf Tournament will go forth as originally planned on Friday June 7th, 2013.

ReSAVe THe DATe….IT’S BACk!2013 Meadowridge School Golf Tournament

A group of volunteers has come forward to manage this tournament on behalf of the school, in recognition of the immense commitment required by our school administration to take this role on.

And this year we are dedicating the funds raised to support the replacement of our school gym floor!

Look forward to hearing more information on sponsorship opportunities, player registration and the like very soon.

In the meantime… we need your help!• Would you like to sponsor any part of the event?

• Do you have some time to volunteer to be on our committee or to help out on the day of the tournament?

• Do you have any item(s) to donate – which may be for our live auction or other prizes?

If so, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Janet Batty, a Meadowridge parent who is part of the Golf Committee at [email protected] or 604 469-2389.

Thank you in advance for your support – we look forward to continuing the wonderful golf tournament tradition at Meadowridge.


UBC PHYSICS OLYMPICSReflections from the Physics 12 Class

On Saturday, March 9th Mr. Wells took students from his Physics 12 class to compete among 55 other teams in the 35th Annual University of British Columbia Physics Olympics.

Preparation For The Event The preparation taken by the Physics 12 class spanned several weeks. Split into two halves, the class engineered and built their group’s respective device, either the hacky sack launcher or the weight launcher for the orbital motion endurance event.

We had also refreshed our knowledge of the six event’s curriculum, such as optics and electricity, over these two weeks, with all of us preparing for the Physics Olympics outside of class.

Many designs for the two ‘pre-builds’ were tried and tested, with our class ultimately deciding on a trebuchet design for the hacky-sack launcher and a guiding rod and wire for the orbital motion endurance event. The preparation was both fun and a learning experience for all of us.

Notable Results: (out of 55 teams in total)

Optics Mystery Lab 5th place finish

Hacky Sack Launcher 15th place finish

Quizzics and Fermi Events One of the events in the Olympics is called Fermi. Basically, it is an event that challenges your estimation skills. The event requires you to answer 12 questions of varying difficulties. An easy question being how many mints are in the jar, a hard question example being what is the radius of a 10 solar mass black hole? I believe we placed well in this event, but they don’t release the results until a later date. Quizzics is another event, and had the hype similar to the 100-metre race in the real Olympics.

earlier in the day there are heats, which are about 8 teams going head to head. The top scores make the finals at the end of the day. The Meadowridge team finished 2nd in their heat out of 9 teams but unfortunately barely missed the cut for making the finals.

The entire Physics 12 class was feeling quite jittery early Saturday morning as we all arrived at UBC, and were very nervous, and excited about the upcoming tough competition. After some minor setbacks involving the hacky sack launcher with regards to the safe transport of our machine, we made our way to the first event of the day.

The Fermi competition proved to be more difficult than expected, however the team persevered through the task and gave it their best effort! even though this was a rocky start to the day, lasers pointed us in the right direction with event two, the optics challenge. Our success in this event helped to pick up our spirits and begin to enjoy the day. With this new found spirit, the rest of the events went smoothly. Overall, students left the physics Olympics with smiles on their faces and pride in their hearts.

UBC PhySiCS OlyMPiCS ATTeNDeeS:

Lauren C.

Benjamin D.

Janine de k.

Raheem e.

Cameron H.

Ming H.

Tom L.

Marlena O.

Nicholas P.

Mehtab R.

kavya S.

Adrian S.

Ismail T.

eric T.

Omar V.


Orbital Motion Event The objective of the orbital motion lab was to construct a launch apparatus that would put a small weight in orbital motion around a central supporting framework. A drive weight was attached to the other (non-orbiting) end of the string that would descend through the centre of the framework as the orbiting weight lost velocity. Once the drive weight hit the ground, the experiment ended. The ultimate goal of this was to compete with other schools and see who could create the most effective launcher that would keep the weight in orbital motion for the longest period of time.

In preparing for this event at the UBC Olympics, our greatest challenge involved creating an effective launcher that only used gravitational potential energy. Through experimentation, our team created a number of methods to accomplish this, each having varying levels of success. Our final design was chosen because of how successful it was during testing at school.

Competing at UBC in the circular motion lab was a fun and hectic experience. Having only four minutes to set up our launching apparatus and launch the weight into circular orbit, our team had to work quickly and efficiently to accomplish this. Before arriving at UBC, we didn’t know exactly how our device would work with the apparatus they would provide to us. Thus, during the competition, we had to adapt to the situation at hand, and think quickly to modify our launching device to ensure its success in the actual competition. Overall, it was a fun and exciting day, and I would not hesitate to participate in it again!

Hacky Sack Launcher EventOne of the events required us to build a hacky sack launcher. The catch was that it had to be smaller than 0.5 x 0.5 meters, and 1.0 meter tall. Using this launcher, the task given was to hit a target exactly 5 meters away. During the competition Nick (our best shooter) had the crowd on its feet, as our hacky sack came tantalizingly close to the target a few times. Our apparatus was extremely light in weight compared to the others, and also much smaller. Over all it seemed to do the trick and we are extremely proud of the result!

Optics Mystery EventThe Optics Mystery Challenge was one of the most nerve-racking events of the day. We had only forty minutes to complete a lab which included several

different steps. In a nutshell, we had to calculate the angle and coordinates that a laser leaving a prism would strike a piece of plexi-glass after bouncing off of a mirror. We then had to calculate the angle and coordinates that the same laser would strike the end of the table after leaving the plexi-glass and bouncing off of another mirror. each step was difficult, but we were able to complete them with proficiency. We finished the lab with thirty seconds left and were very close to finding the correct answer; we were only off by 3 degrees! Fifty-five schools participated in the competition, and we finished this event in fifth place, which is something our team is very proud of!

Electrical Mystery Lab The electrical mystery event was designed to test one’s knowledge of the laws of electrical circuits. Before entering the contest, our group reviewed the electricity topics with Mr. Wells. Since it was a “mystery” lab, our group needed to comprehend and scrutinize a majority of the electricity topics, which we have not yet learnt in our Physics class. As we, Meadowridge School representatives, entered a room, in which the competition was held, we noticed several individuals who embodied their schools. The lab required individuals to investigate several unknown circuits. With the use of a voltage meter and the laws of electricity, we solved the given questions. Although it was a challenging event, we tried our best to complete and gained various experiences from the lab.


LIBRARY UPDATeIn the weeks leading up to Spring Break, the Library was celebrating reading!

Scholastic Book Fair The Library hosted a Scholastic Book Fair. While the book fair provided an exciting opportunity for students to buy new books, it was also a fundraiser for the Library. With the fair sales totaling over $5500, the school earned over $3000 in free books. We are thrilled to be building the Library collection with numerous new titles. Watch for them on display in the weeks to come. The book fair would not have been possible to run without a committed and enthusiastic group of volunteers. We are very thankful for the parents who ran the checkout desk, the students who were personal shoppers and assistants, and our anonymous Clifford volunteers.

Congratulations to Nathan S. (Grade 7) for winning the door prize which included a $25 shopping spree for himself and a $25 shopping spree for his teacher, Ms. Graetz.

As well congratulations to Luna L. (Grade 10) for guessing the number of pages in the stack of books. She guessed 9753 and the total was 9849! She picked out a free book at the fair.

PYP Book Swap The PYP Book Swap was a great success. We had over 85 students swap over 600 books at the event.

Norden the Magician The school welcomed Norden the Magician to perform the Magic of Reading. He captivated the attention of all the PYP students for almost an hour with his entertaining performance full of humor and illusions.

Non-Uniform | Favourite Book Character On Thursday, high school students were given the option to dress up as their favourite book character for the day. It was amazing to see the students bring so many characters to life.

As part of non-uniform day we were happy to invite the students to come to the Library to read a part of their favourite book to a Grade 2 class. Five students accepted the challenge and the Grade 2 students were spellbound listening to all of these readers. All of their names were entered into a draw for a gift card from Black Bond Books. Congratulations to kalvin k. (Grade 10)!

Guest Readers & PJ’s!Our reading celebrations culminated with the Read-a-thon on the last day of school before spring break. The Library hosted guest readers. In their PJ’s with stuffies in tow, the students were thrilled to listen to the guest readers. We thank Ms. Bereza and Mrs. Lamond for sharing their passion for reading with the students.


Thank you to Sahil l. (Grade 6) and Shreya l. (Grade 3) for their donation of books from their trip to the United Kingdom.

Pictured below is Sahil (bottom) in leicester and Shreya (top) in york with their book donations and Gryph postcard.

you can find these great books on our shelves in the library. Come check them out!

The Library continues to be a busy and exciting place!

We welcome everyone to come in to check out our new books and to let us know titles of books they would like to see us purchase.


AROUND MeADOWRIDGe

Grade 12 Career PanelAs part of Classroom WithOut Walls (CWOW) a Career Panel was held for our Grade 12 students so they could explore possible career paths. On Friday, March 8th a group of distinguished professionals, who also happen to be Meadowridge parents, volunteered their afternoon to share with students their industries’ career preparation, sector information, employment opportunities and personal insights.

Students were able to learn about law, medicine, science, design, finance and more! Thank you to the following professionals for volunteering their time: Mr. Ravi Vanukuru, Mr. Michael Jacob, Mr. Robert Gunnell, Mr. Brian Bowen, Mr. Alan Nakaska, Mr. Ivo Marchand, Ms. Isabelle Cote, Mr. Matthew Watt, and Dr. Arvind kang.

PYP & MYP Festival Du BoisOn Friday, March 1st various grades in PYP and MYP enjoyed the sounds of African music, songs and dance.

The creative presentation was entirely in French and featured a selection of African instruments. The songs and dances were meant to represent and communicate the importance of community in an African village. Students were encouraged to sing along and join in the dance as a way to celebrate their one community.


Meadowridge Community Latimer Creek RestorationOur community partners, Alouette River Management Society (ARMS) and e.R.A. were on campus during Spring Break carefully removing the blackberry bushes to ensure a safe area for our students to begin planting on their return.

Students from Junior kindergarten to Grade 7 were involved in planting the important trees, shrubs and various plants to replace the blackberry bushes. Where each of these plants was placed was extremely important, so they were assigned a colour that was associated with a particular area in the cleared patch. This ensured that all grade levels could participate.

The next step in restoring the area will be to attract more wildlife. With the installation of hummingbird feeders and chickadee, bat and duck boxes the North Forest should become a healthy ecosystem in no time.


THe WONDeRS OF OUR OCeANThe Grade 10 Art students have just completed a collection of work based on our trip to the Aquarium last November. The works are comprised of three very different media, including abstracted acrylic paintings, small detailed lino prints and shimmering transparent sculptures of the aquatic life the students saw and sketched during our visit.

The finished exhibit is a culmination of work from each student and is a result of four months of dedicated work. The experience gives students some ideas of possibilities and approaches that can be taken when creating artwork around a central theme and a better understanding of the time it takes to create a series of work.

Some of the mediums used were unfamiliar, which provided opportunities for students to stretch beyond their artistic boundaries and test their artistic skills as they experimented and explored new ways to visually express themselves. Students gained a better understanding of the time it takes and the steps needed to create a small body of work around a central theme and provided a good foundation in preparation for the DP Visual Arts program.

The exhibit entitled ”The Wonders of Our Ocean” is on display in the e. Boyd & H. Burke gallery and can be viewed from now until April 12th.

- Mrs. Rhonda Laurie, MYP Art Teacher


STUDeNT ACHIeVeMeNTS

Lachlan N. (Grade 9) Wins (Again) at SoccerIn addition to playing on the championship-winning Meadowridge Gryphons Soccer Team, Lachlan also plays soccer for the West Coast Auto Group U15 Celtic team, who just won their league championships 3 - 0.

This comes after a near-undefeated season, and, in an act of redemption, the Celtic beat their nemesis to come out on top when it really mattered.

This is Lachlan’s second Gold on an outside team, in addition to the GVISSA Bronze the Gryphons won this year.

On top of the twice-weekly practices and weekly games, Lachlan’s team also did conditioning training this past summer five to six days a week.

“It was hard and not fun,” he admits, but this year the hard work paid off, as they were “one of the most fit teams out there,” and this gave them the edge they needed to win.

Way to go, Lachlan!

- Ms. Carolyn Sapach, Advancement

Marlena O. (Grade 12) 100% english Provincial exam ResultsCongratulations are in order for our entire Grade 12 class for amazing results on their english 12 provincial exams. The exam results were outstanding, with this classes’ marks being some of the best we have had in years.

One student in particular deserves a special mention. Marlena obtained a 100% mark on her english exam! These exams are extremely difficult and even more so to obtain a perfect mark.

Congratulations Marlena!

- Mrs. Christy Mooney, Advancement

Lachlan (centre, in orange jersey) with his team after winning the championship game.

Congratulations to the following teachers for completing their IB Training!PYP: Mrs. Selena Dobie, Miss Tamara Warner, and Mrs. Heather Nicholson

MYP: Mrs. Carolyn Green and Mr. Scott Banack

These teachers are now trained and able to be International Baccalaureate (IB) trainers, site visitors, and IB Consultants. This is a great addition to the number of IB trained teachers already at our school.


GReeN TeAM UPDATe

Composting at Meadowridge Meadowridge is striving to be a zero-waste campus and has recently introduced composting into the PYP as another step toward reducing waste.

What is composting? Organic materials that are sent directly to landfills break down anaerobically due to a lack of oxygen, resulting in methane gas being created during the process of decomposition.

Methane gas is a much more damaging greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide; methane gas produced in Canadian landfills makes up about 20% of total methane gas in Canada (StatsCan).

Carbon dioxide is produced when organic matter can decompose aerobically which is a natural process and is the basis for composting.

Where are our compost bins? Currently there is a compost bin located at the recycle centre in the PYP and a portable container is brought to the cafeteria to manage the compostable material during the lunch eating period for the Grade 3 to 5 classes.

The Junior kindergarten to Grade 2 classes have their own compost collection bin which students empty at the end of each day into the large bin at the PYP recycle centre.

eventually composting will be made available to the entire school. Meadowridge has not yet established an on-campus composting facility but intends to as soon as possible.

Where does our compost go? Our waste management company collects our large container of compostable materials every two weeks and transports it to a facility in Richmond (HarvestPower BC) where it is processed.

Visit www.harvestpower.com/bc for more information.

What can be composted? Students and staff are able to process all organic materials, including all food, compostable plates and cutlery, paper towel and used tissues. This has eliminated a lot of waste from entering the landfill and has brought students and staff closer to an understanding that we ought to live in a cyclical loop with the world around us and shift away from the linear processes of the past.

- Mr. James Willms, PYP Teacher & Green Team Member

All organic materials, including all food,

compostable plates and cutlery, paper towel and

used tissues can be placed in the compost bin.


DIPLOMA PROGRAMMe UPDATe

YOUTH FORUM AGAINST BULLYINGOver Spring Break Grade 10 student Jessica J. was busy organizing her upcoming personal project, a Youth Forum Against Bullying.

You may have seen a number of newspaper articles online and in print about Jessica in The Vancouver Sun, The Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Times and The Maple Ridge News.

Jessica hopes that the forum will be a safe place for students to talk about bullying, how to prevent bullying and the consequences of bullying and cyber bullying.

In addition to students attending leading discussions, Jessica has arranged for Mr. Niwa Meadowridge Director of IT, RCMP officer and kids Help Phone Regional Director Marcia Harrison, local MP Randy kamp, and local MLA Marc Dalton to come and discuss their expertise.

Can you believe that we are nearing the end of our first year as a Diploma Programme (DP) authorized school?!

From June 16th to19th our Diploma students will be away on a retreat at Pearson World College on Vancouver Island. Part of the requirements of DP is that all students complete a Group 4 (science) project.

A fantastic opportunity has been afforded us to complete this with the two other continuum schools in the area, Mulgrave School and Stratford Hall. Not only will Meadowridge students be completing some fascinating science experiments, they will also have time to interact with other DP students.

This will be a time of forging new relationships, sharing successes and gaining valuable advice on how to make their DP experience both manageable and rewarding.

Please be aware that due to the retreat, exam week for DP students will run from June 10th to14th.

- Mrs. kristal Bereza, DP Academic Director


PAReNT GUILD UPDATe

Gryphon’s Emporium (Used Uniform Shop)

The Gryphon’s emporium is one of the largest fundraising ventures of the Parent Guild. Through the sales of donated used uniforms, the Parent Guild is able to support school events. Please support us by donating your used uniforms!

HOURSOpen the first Wednesday of every month (if school is in session) from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.

To book an appointment outside of that time, email [email protected].

Thank you to everyone who attended the health and safety courses hosted by the Parent Guild. These course were a great success with 80 attendees (parents, teachers and students) completing a number of the courses offered. The Parent Guild will continue to offer these and other courses next year so keep an eye out for more information.

Spring Flower Baskets and Flats of Summer Annuals FundraiserThe Parent Guild is excited to, once again, offer our Meadowridge community, their friends and families, locally-grown hanging baskets. These flower baskets are magnificent. I have been a customer for almost 10 years and I have never been disappointed in the quality.

This year we are pleased to be able to offer the baskets at similar prices as last year and significantly lower than you will find in the retail nurseries.

The delivery date is Wednesday, May 8th, making it a perfect Mother’s Day gift. Remember to order one for yourself and you can enjoy the beautiful flowers all summer and well into autumn.

As well as the baskets, we are offering an additional option to spruce up your garden! Flats of annual flowers have been added to the order form. See the flyer and order form included with this Mini Gryphon mailing or online in the Documents and Resources area of the Parent Portal.

Funds raised by the Parent Guild are used to purchase items that enhance the educational experience of all of our children.

This year we have purchased loud speakers used to communicate with the students in the back fields, the microphone and stands used in the various productions like Les Misérables, plus the Parent Guild has made a significant contribution to the Design and Technology programme.

Thank you for your continued support.

eileen karmali Chair, Meadowridge Parent Guild

To Order:

1. Complete the form including your

email address for order confirmation.

2. Select a payment option:

Cash or Cheque is preferred. Drop off

completed form and payment at school

reception.

Credit card. Drop off completed form at

school reception or email completed

form to the address below. We will

contact you for your credit card details.

For queries and to email forms:

[email protected]

M e a dow ri d ge P a re n t G u i l d

Value-Priced

Hanging Baskets

12” Fuchsia Basket (assorted colors for shade) $26

10” Mixed Basket (Zonal geranium and Proven Winners) $21

12” Mixed Basket (Zonal geranium and Proven Winners) $26

14” Moss Mixed Basket (assorted Proven Winners) $68

16” Moss Mixed Basket (assorted Proven Winners) $77*

*Our best value – similar baskets sell for over $130 in stores

All moss baskets are made with three layers of planting versus a single top

planting

New This Year

Flats of Annual Flowers (48 plants per flat) at $15 per flat

ALYSSUM (purple, white, mix)

BEGONIA (pink, red, rose, white, mix)

DUSTY MILLER (silver dust foliage plant)

IMPATIENS (pink, purple, red, salmon, white, mix)

LOBELIA (blue, rose, white, mix)

MARIGOLD (bicolor, orange, yellow, mix)

PANSY (mix)

PETUNIA (burgundy, pink, red, white, mix)

SALVIA (blue, red)

The Parent Guild is excited to once again offer Meadowridge friends and families locally-grown

hanging baskets and flats of flowers. Always popular (and considerably more affordable than in retail

outlets), they make the perfect Mother’s Day gift. Remember to order one for yourself, as well, to

enjoy all summer long.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Order Deadline: Friday April 19TH, 2013 Pick-Up: Wednesday May 8th, 2013 at Meadowridge from 12:00pm – 4:00pm 1. Complete this form. Please be sure to include your email address for order confirmation. 2. Select your payment option:

a. Cash or Cheque is preferred. Drop off the completed form and payment at school reception. b. Credit card. Drop off the completed form at school reception or email the completed form to: [email protected]

Name: Date:

Phone Number: Email Address:

Make all checks payable to Meadowridge Parent Guild. Thank you for your support.

DESCRIPTION AVAILABLE COLOURS UNIT PRICE QUANTITY SUBTOTAL Fuchsia 12” Assorted Colours $26.00

Mixed 10” Zonal Geranium and Proven Winners $21.00 Mixed 12” Zonal Geranium and Proven Winners $26.00 Mixed Moss 14” Assorted Proven Winners $68.00 Mixed Moss 16” Assorted Proven Winners $77.00 Alyssum flat Purple White Mix $15.00

Begonia flat Pink Red Rose White Mix $15.00 Impatiens flat Pink Purple Red Salmon White Mix $15.00 Marigold flat Bicolor Orange Yellow Mix $15.00 Pansy flat Mix

$15.00 Petunia flat Burgundy Pink Red White Mix $15.00 Lobelia flat Blue Rose White Mix $15.00 Dusty Miller Silver Dust Foliage Plant $15.00 Salvia flat Blue Red

$15.00

TOTAL QUANTITY:

TOTAL COST:

M e a dow ri d ge P a re n t G u i l d

Orders are due Friday, April 19th


IB LeARNeR PROFILe FeATUReWe will be featuring two

IB Learner Profiles in each Mini Gryphon with

a description of each Learner Profile and how you can role model the

profile at home.

Why is the IB Learner Profile so important?“The beliefs and values of the PYP are represented in the form of the IB learner profile. This profile lists, as attributes, the learning outcomes of the curriculum and focuses attention on the fact that student learning is the purpose of schools. The IB learner profile also represents a synthesis of the essential elements of the PYP. Throughout the primary years, the students engage in structured inquiry that synthesizes knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action. In doing so, they develop the attributes described in the learner profile. This profile provides powerful goals that serve learning across all areas of the curriculum.” (From Making PYP Happen)

THiNkeRStudents who are THINkeRS work to solve problems independently. They can imagine many solutions to a question or challenge. Thinkers make good decisions and can predict the outcomes of their actions. They think creatively and critically. How can parents help to develop students who are Thinkers at home?

• encourage your child to try to think of solutions to problems independently.

• Pose different real-life problems and questions to your child:

• “I’m not sure how to arrange the glasses so they can all fit in the cupboard.”

• “I wonder how much the groceries in the cart will cost… how can we make an estimate?”

• “We need enough cookies for the 20 people in your class. What kind of change should we make to our recipe?”

• Ask your children questions when they are working on a problem:

• “Do you have any ideas about how we might begin?”

• “How can we do this differently?”

• “I had never thought of that. Tell me more about it.”

• “What other ways can we show that?”

• “Why do you think that?”

• “How did you figure that out?”

BALANCedStudents who are BALANCeD are healthy and are aware that eating properly and exercising is important in their lives. They understand that it is important to have a balance between the physical and mental aspects of their bodies. They spend time doing many different things. How can parents help to develop students who are well-balanced at home?

• encourage your child to participate in a wide variety of structured activities.

• During less structured time, also be aware of the activities that your child is participating in. Too much time in front of the computer or television is obviously not desirable, but all kids need to do a variety of things. Generally active kids should take time for quiet reading or reflection; students who spend a lot of time drawing or reading, should be encouraged to also exercise and play.

• Discuss the food groups with your child. Spend a few minutes during a mealtime deciding if what your family is eating is balanced.

• Role model this attribute. Spend time as a parent or family doing many different things.

- Mr. Terry Donaldson, PYP Director of Academics


Spring Fling 2013Meadowridge celebrated the arrival of Spring Break the only way we can... with Spring Fling! On Friday, March 15th the MYP and DP students danced the afternoon away while trying to impress the judges with their moves and use of accessories. Thank you to our teacher judges for taking on the difficult task!

2013 Annual Giving Gym Floor Tile

$100 Donation FormYou can help sponsor the new gym floor! For $100 your child’s name will appear in the gym (place to be determined).

Please return your completed form and payment information to the front office, or email to [email protected]. If you have any questions, please contact Daniel Le Page at [email protected] or 604.467.4444.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Name: Address: City: Postal Code:

Telephone: email:

ORDER DETAILS You can include all of your children’s names in one sponsorship (ex. “Charlie and Rose Gryphon”), have your family name (ex. “The Gryphon Family”), or purchase a sponsorship for each child name’s (ex. “Charlie Gryphon” as one sponsorship and “Rose Gryphon” listed as another).

Sponsorship (per one) # of Sponsorships Total Amount

$100.00

Name(s) to appear in the gym (Please print clearly):

PAYMENT INFORMATION Cheque

Cash (Drop of f with completed form to the front of f ice)

Credit Card (Mastercard or Visa only) Card Number

Name on Card

Expiry (mm/yy) CCV#

Please contact me for my card details

MEADOWRIDGE SCHOOL 12224-240th Street | Maple Ridge, BC | V4R 1N1 www.meadowridge.bc.ca | t: 604.467.4444 | f: 604.467.4989

Meadowridge is a not-for-profit organization. Donations above $25.00 are tax deductible. Charitable Registration #0719195-21-27

Donate $100 towards a new gym floor tile

get your name in the gym.

Fill out the form on reverse and drop it off at the Front Office to make your

mark on the gym.

For more information contact Daniel Le Page at [email protected]

or 604.467.4444.

March 2013 Mini Gryphon

Documents

Transcript of March 2013 Mini Gryphon