Carver Christian High School 7650 Sapperton Avenue Burnaby, British Columbia V3N 4E1 Phone: 604-523-1580 Fax: 604-523-9646 www.carverchristian.org office@carverchristian.org

Carver Weekly Newsletter March 29, 2017

Vancouver Cross Cultural Outreach 2017

China Cross Cultural Outreach 2017

Costa Rica Cross Cultural Outreach 2017

Honours Wings Science Carver’s grade 7, 8 and 9 Science Wings students had the privilege to host Gearing Up! - a UBC Engineering and Science workshop. Instructors brought workshops into our classrooms with interactive demonstrations, activities, and take-home projects. All of the students were deeply engrossed in fun learning experiences of science and engineering topics: Electrifying Design for grade 7, Optics and Light for grade 8, and Mastering Medicine for grade 9. Students’ perspective of the workshops:

Overall, the workshop was a very fun and different experience from what I’m used to in science class. The leaders brought a sense of enthusiasm which only helped make it more interesting for the students. They always had us respond and included us when they explained a new idea or presenting a question to us. We got the opportunity to work with our fellow classmates in making a bioengineering invention which was fun to say the least. I thought the workshop was great and would like to have them come back to teach us again one day.

Noorkamal Banwait Grade 9 Honours Wings student

This workshop helped me realise how closely interconnected engineering and science are. I never really thought about how much engineering relies on science, to make the things they make work! Through the ‘making your own prosthetic’ experiment I learned that it is not always easy to make a perfectly balanced prosthetic - in the way that it needs to work, but also not to look obvious. This workshop helped me realise how much we rely on engineers every day, in everything we do! Now I have a more thorough understanding of what really happens when you are building something.

Eden Scott

Grade 9 Honours Wings student

Odyssey of the Mind Odyssey of the Mind is a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) competition where groups of individuals participate in a challenge representing their school. I was given the chance to participate in the Odyssey of the Mind with five other girls (Rayna Lai, Mariechen Dresselhuis, Krystal Herfst, Melissa Soh and Emma Hwang) from the Grade 8 Honours Wings class on Saturday, March 4. It was a great team building opportunity as we worked together to complete our selected challenge. We chose the challenge “A Superhero Cliffhanger… To Be Continued.” It required our team to make up our own creative skit including such characters as a superhero, a clumsy sidekick, and a supervillain. My overall experience was fun and exciting. It was very interesting when we finally got our act together on stage, with our handmade props and hilarious lines. I got to learn from a different perspective besides sitting in a classroom. I learned how science and arts could be combined into something very unique and original. I highly suggest taking part in Odyssey of the Mind for people who love arts, science, creativity, and group work.

Rachel Hui Grade 8 Honours Wings student

Fraser Institute Rankings Every year, the Fraser Institute, a conservative economic think tank, compiles results from the Grade 4 and 7 standardized tests, known as FSAs. Using their specific formula, schools are ranked out of a score of 10 and last year’s results were just posted. For the 2015-2016 school year, VCS received 9.1 out of 10. The Fraser Institute rankings are highly controversial particularly as elite schools (Group 2 schools which have high tuition fees) such as York House and St. George’s always top the list, while other independent schools (Group 1) like ours, follow close behind. Public schools in wealthy neighbourhoods such as West Vancouver, also have high scores. Rankings like this can cause parents to conclude that a high ranking signifies a “good” school, where as a low ranking suggests a “bad” school. Many experts in education feel that the style of standardized testing we now use does not inspire better teaching or school improvement, but leads to teaching to the test instead. The American school system, which is one of the lowest ranked systems in the developed world created the “No Child Left Behind” policy which caused schools to reduce music, art, science, Social Studies curriculum to focus on relentless preparation for standardized tests with little improvement. In BC, many public schools have simply opted high percentages of students out of the tests as a protest against standardized testing and in particular, the Fraser Institute. At VCS, we take the test seriously and encourage our students to do their best and ensure that as many children as possible write the FSAs. We also believe that a strong consistent program, good teachers and involved parents support strong scores. We encourage our parents to remember a few things:

There is no such thing as an objective score. For example, we have no idea how other schools prepare their students or how much help they receive during a test. Or if certain students are discouraged from writing or what the teacher’s attitude is towards FSA testing.

This tests are just one tool in assessment. Your children are assessed in many, many other ways over the course of the year.

You will know a good school, not just by a Fraser Institute Ranking, but by what you see on a daily basis as you walk down the halls, look at bulletin boards, peek into classrooms, conference with teachers and experience the school culture.

We have just received the preliminary results from this year’s Grade 4 and 7 students. Current Grade 4 and Gr. 7 families at VCS and Carver will receive individual results at the end of March and we will provide some general results in next week’s newsletter. We encourage parents to remember that these scores are only a snap shot of a child’s progress. In the spring we publish the provincial results produced by the Ministry of Education (not to be confused with the Fraser Institute). This is the last year of the FSA testing as we know it. Next year’s FSAs will reflect the new curriculum and it likely that there will be a significant adjustment period.

Ellen Freestone VCS Principal

Upcoming Carver PEAK Auction

Save the Date! Carver's having an Auction Concert in April! Mark your calendar! Come hear about the PEAK Week events, enjoy students’ art and participate in our Silent Auction and Students’ Art Sale. Connect with parents and staff over fabulous treats before heading into hear Carver’s fantastic Sr. Concert Band and Sr. Choir Concert.

Here’s a few Auction items to consider – you can give to your child’s school and take something awesome home! Tickets to great cultural events Baskets of Goodies Harbour Cruise for 6 Weekend Camp at Qwanoes Educational Opportunities for Summer Gift Certificates for Fine Dining Books Hobby Items And more!

Support our students: help us raise $20,000 for expenses and needs. You can donate an item or make a donation and receive a tax deductible receipt for the full amount. We will take a free-will offering during the concert.

CSTADS Thank you, Carver Christian High School, for participating in Health Canada’s Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS), formerly the Youth Smoking Survey (YSS). Carver has received the results for this survey to which 129 respondents were female Carver students and 127 were male. Results were evaluated comparing and contrasting Carver students with BC students and Canadian students. In general, Carver students’ responses were consistently more positive than those reported for BC and Canada wide students. This speaks to the reality that Carver is not a “bubble” but a dynamic, authentic community of developing teenagers growing into their Christian worldview. I would like to share a condensed synopsis in anecdotal form:

A. School connectedness: On average 5% more students felt positively connected to Carver than equivalent averages for BC and Canada. Data was in response to feeling safe at school, being treated well by teachers, feeling a part of school and feeling close to people at school.

B. Mental wellness: Slightly more students on average felt the care of family and friends, liked to spend time with them, felt family and friends thought they were good at things and felt they were given the opportunity to make choices. Slightly (2–3%) less than the BC and Canada averages felt free to express themselves to family and friends and felt that they do things well.

C. Bullying: While responses about being bullied were a little less than BC and Canada averages (36%), nevertheless they were still in a similar range (34%). Most bullying was reported as verbal. Bullying others was reported as 22% as opposed to the BC and Canada average of 21% and was reported as primarily verbal.

D. Smoking: Carver students were much higher than the BC and Canada average in reporting “Never tried a cigarette.” The Carver score ranged predictably from 100% in the lower grades to 85% of students in grade 12 who have never tried a cigarette. At Carver, 31% of students who have never smoked a cigarette have low confidence in their ability to remain smoke-free in the future. This is slightly lower but comparable to other BC and Canadian students.

E. Alternative tobaccos: On average, less than 5% of Carver students have tried alternative forms of tobacco as compared to around 15% in the BC and Canada sector.

F. Alcohol use: A small percentage (16%) of Carver students responded having ridden in a car driven by someone who consumed 1 or more alcoholic drinks. 6% of students reported consuming alcohol at least once a month.

The following attributes are a result of building a healthy school community and can be attributed to qualities of Carver Christian High School: greater overall student achievement, well rounded students, decreased discipline challenges and increased attendance and improved lifelong health. The CSTADS results offer an additional tool for assessing challenges in our community and implementing further strategies to support and encourage healthy choices in our students.

Paul Tigchelaar Principal

April 2017 June 2017 May 2017

14 — Good Friday (no school) 17 — Easter Monday (no school) 20 — PEAK Auction Event (details coming soon) 21 — Marking Day (no classes)

3-5 — Student Teacher Parent Conferences 22 — Victoria Day (no school) 26 — Gloria

12 — Graduation Ceremony 15 — Athletic Banquet 16 — Student Council Day 22-28 — Exam Week 29 — Marking Day (no classes) 30 — Staff Meeting (no classes)

Calendar

Announcements Parks Canada is inviting Canadians and visitors from around the world to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary at their national treasures from coast to coast to coast. Parks Canada is offering free admission to all Parks Canada locations. For more information, please visit: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/voyage-travel/admission.aspx.