|
| Week 28: 8th June, 2005 | Next
Edition: Wednesday 15th June,
2005 |
|
This
Week: |
|
The demand now is for highly technological gaming devices (such as “gameboys”, “x-boxes”, and “gamecubes,”) designer clothes (only the finest haute couture for the young ladies of today), iPods and the like. In a 2002 study released by a research firm on the website www.medialiteracy.com, it was shown that young people in the U.S. spent approximately $200 billion that year on snack foods, entertainment and apparel and had a direct influence of approximately $300 billion spent on food, toys, accessories, gifts, clothing and school supplies. It was also shown that teens spend approximately $200 a month on apparel and other such products and that teenage girls spend almost 40% of their disposable income on clothing alone. |
 Stuffies: the lost toys |
 Video games: the replacement |
 |
 |
These numbers, which have increased drastically since the year ’02, continue to amaze media scouts who are constantly talking to and observing young people to gain insight into their likes and dislikes, what’s popular at the moment and what’s not, and what future trends will be. Clearly, the media plays an active role in inducing kids to spend their money. MTV, the ever popular music video channel, has been recognised as one of the key contributors |
to this influence over the younger generations. It is easy to become attracted to the actors, rock stars, not to mention heiresses who constantly haunt the screen, and with this comes a desire to look like these people, dress like them, and act like them. For some it brings rise to the question of role models, and how easy it is to find good role models in the media today.At Brentwood, students must conform to the restrictions placed on them when it comes to dress sense, good taste and manners; but for some parents, the idea of “age compaction” (the recent phenomena where kids are increasingly becoming “older” at a younger age,) is starting to become a disturbing reality. As Mr. Nichols’ psychology students will know, after watching the movie Mean Girls, some parents hardly know who their children are anymore after they hit adolescence. Though this teenage syndrome, has certainly become widespread, it is not fair to say that all of today’s youth has succumbed to such ideas, and today’s Brentonian students are most definitely a fine exception! Story and Pictures by: Amy Weinberg (Grade 12) |
||
|
It is this question, perhaps more diplomatically phrased, that teachers seek to answer as they write effort ratings. Brentwood, though it does request skill and talent from its students, also places value on the simple effort and work ethic of each student. The student may be performing poorly in a course, but each individual has their limitations, and if they are still working hard to improve themselves and do as well as they can in the course, then they are still eligible for the top effort rating. The reward comes as a commendee outing, a trip during the evening prep session into Victoria. This arouses a dilemma. Commendees are often the hardest working students of Brentwood, working each night to complete homework on time and finish assignments. As a reward, they are removed from prep, |
|
| and
their nightly opportunity to finish their assignments is taken away. Ironically,
if rewarded enough, it would seem likely that no student could ever become
commended twice in a row. Indeed, in a twist of fate, the hardest working
students cannot go at all, as they would certainly be unwilling to sacrifice
a night of prep. Of course, teachers are more than willing to give extensions
to commended students for the evening outing, giving them another night
to complete their assignments, and yet this too seems ironic. Students are
allowed to hand in a single assignment late as a reward for handing in everything
on time.
Despite the irony of its rewards, the system is sound enough. Effort ratings are given to students as a method of evaluating their determination, so that students, no matter their skill in a course, can still achieve recognition for their attempts. It is a give and take relationship: the students give of their sweat and blood, and teachers make sure they do not suffer from a lack of time for homework by taking them to Victoria on only one commendee outing. After all, students’ recognition must not go beyond a very limited scope: we can be sure that never would commended students ever wish to lose their status through more than one outing… Story and picture by: Nicholas Chesterley (Grade 11) |
|
 Mitch Sato uses techno as his late night inspiration |
 Kira Gersten, Pat Johnston and Stephanie Kral |
 Beaming Mackenzie Grade 12s |
|
Ten months ago this time of year seemed forever away; the days of sunshine, of an open waterfront, the prospect of summer glimmering tantalisingly on the horizon. Time has been ticking slowly by all year, but these recent weeks it has seemed to be sprinting away. All of the “lasts” of the year have been hitting the Grade 12 class and instead of a welcome break in the sun, it is crunch time. The last weekend leave. As the news was announced last Monday in house meetings or written up on bulletin boards, shocked and horrified faces appeared across the campus. Students, even some who had never opted for weekend leave all year, began to search frantically for some place or another to stay. Now the illustrious weekend has come and gone and our only hope for a bed of our own is after exams, assuming you have done well enough on them that your parents will let you home! We will soon the face the last week of classes. Teachers have two roads they can take at this point: 1) they can ease gently into a review process, knowing how capable their students are going to be when faced with their exam, and how hard they have worked all year, or, 2) they can crank up the grindstone, trying to find some extra marks to use before the all- encompassing academic marks meetings. Keep your fingers crossed for the former. |
|
|
|
This week we will be holding our last interhouse event; track and field, the 'make it or break it' event for all the houses. Will Rogers maintain the lead, or will Sarah Laird and Adam Reid sprint their way into first? Maybe Whittall can make up what they lack on stage on the track. Our 1st XV and our rowing team both returned from the last sporting commitments of the year. In fact, this week is the last week of sport. Grade 8's to 11's can calm their nervous anticipation; they will have plenty of barbecues, homework assignments, and track and field days to come. The Grade 12's, however, must pack up their trunks -- some that have been collecting dust for the past five years -- and head off. Some are excited, others nostalgic and still some are anxious, but one thing is inevitable; come June 29th, the day of the last provincial exam, they will take their last Brentwood bus to the ferries and airport. Story and Pictures by: Sydney Black(Grade 12) |
|
Two Grade 11 students, Jillian Stothart and Tella Osler, have had their poetry published in the spring issue of the American anthology "Creative Communication". Jillian's poem "To Sylvia Plath" was dedicated to the notoriously troubled author; Tella's philosophical lyric "After the Burning" was also the school's term two Fabrications prize winner. Also of note, Grade 11 student Nick Chesterley won a Distinguished Performance Prize -- and cash -- in the University of British Columbia 2004-05 essay competition, ranking his paper among the top of 380 submitted essays. Paul Collis |
Tella Osler (Grade 11) |
|
Bound for distant shores sometime over the next 12 months is Grade 12 student Taryn Bodrug, who has been accepted into the Canada World Youth program. Taryn will be entering the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax in the fall of 2006, but has chosen to spend the intervening 12 months in assisting development in the Third World. To date, Taryn has raised the necessary $1950 contribution to the program by the sale of a number of her paintings, and by using her share of the profits made by one of the student business ventures at the recent Brentwood Regatta. Taryn is shown with her largest painting. |
 |
|
The
rowing club were fully engaged in the Canadian National High School Championships
in St. Catharines, Ontario over the weekend, with forty-two athletes,
six coaches, and one boatman making the journey. A full report of all
crews involved can be seen at the |
Gold:
Junior Men’s Heavy 8+ and 4+ 5th
Place: Senior Women’s Pair,
|
 Junior heavy four winning Tony Carr trophy |
 Senior boys heavy eight crew |
 |
 |
Lindsay
Rinning and Sarah Rosen |
The
many relatives and friends who turned out to support the rowers at St
Catharines |
| SPORTS | Sports Coordinators: Tom Dickens and Frances Candy | |
| Boys Rugby |
Last
week, the 1st XV competed in the B.C. Secondary Schools AA Rugby Provincial
Championships. Going into the tournament, Brentwood was ranked third, trailing
Rockridge (first) and Collingwood (second).
Day One Day Two Semi-Finals: Brentwood vs. Collingwood This was a make it or break it game for Brentwood against one of the best teams in the province. The game was a fight for the right to enter the final, with both teams showing some impressive rugby. Unfortunately, Collingwood gained an early lead, which the Brentwood team were unable to overcome. The final score of 29-12 for Collingwood left a disappointed Brentwood team in a fight for the third place medal. Third/Fourth Place Game: Brentwood vs. Robert Bateman A match quoted by many Brentwood players as “the best game Brentwood has ever played,” secured a third place finish in the provincial championships. With tries scored by many different players and a superior defence, Brentwood emerged the winners 38-15 (a better score against this team than the eventual winners of the tournament managed). Brentwood's third place finish is the best provincial performance in over a decade. Tom Dickens (Grade 12) |
| Field Hockey | June 2 vs Shawnigan and June 7 vs Erin Behnsen Victory came in the shape of encouragement, teamwork, loyalty, attitude and, most importantly, FUN during third term field hockey. My good friend Ella Fitzgerald once told me, “just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.” She pretty much sums up the events over the last couple of weeks as these athletes wanted to be on the field as much as possible and were an inspiration to those they competed both with and against. You can’t go wrong with this kind of effort and enthusiasm especially since these are the victories that, although not rewarded, will last longer than the triumph of a winning score. Thanks for a great season and for all your efforts and input to the program and a BIG thank you to Mrs. Ferreira for her umpiring (especially with short notice!). The grass is always green and I’ll see you on it next year! Rachel Peters |
| Volleyball | On Saturday, members of Brentwood’s indoor volleyball team travelled to Parksville to compete in the Islands tournament for beach volleyball. Beach volleyball is played in pairs, thus Liz Cosulich and Megan Jackson teamed together as did Anne Huis In ’t Veld and Mariya Young. All four girls were very inexperienced on the beach, but they soon forgot the sand and just played great games of volleyball. In the Grade 10 category, Liz and Megan came second overall! That placing qualified them for the Provincials finals, but they did not inquire further as the tournament was not in their plans. The Parksville event was huge and very social, with 85 teams of boys and girls, all the way from U13 to U18, competing. It was a casual day for the girls, compared to their usual rigorous workouts and competitions, and a brilliant way to spend their Saturday. Frances Candy (Grade 11) |
| Golf | In
the Mid-Island schools golf competition yesterday at the Cowichan Golf Club,
the Brentwood team scores were:
Low 3 count for the team score - 245.
John Garvey |
