| Dear Parent:
Yesterday, students and faculty welcomed the Honourable Iona Campagnolo,
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, the Queen’s representative in
our province, to our school. Erudite, world travelled and exceptionally
knowledgeable, Her Honour inspired us all with her message: "To whom
much is given, much is expected", a maxim which characterizes her
own remarkable career of national and international public service. Last
weekend, we celebrated the opening of the T. Gil Bunch Centre for Performing
Arts, the afternoon’s Opening Ceremonies, highlighted by our choir, followed
by a Gala concert in the evening, featuring several Old Brentonians, including
Canadian tenor, Ben Butterfield. From lively academic enquiry including
a field trip to the Bamfield Marine Station to auditions for our spring
musical,Crazy for You, , to the lively enthusiasm of interhouse
competitions in volleyball and our 2nd annual eco-challenge on land and
ocean, September has been a busy and exciting month! We all look forward
to a pause for Canadian Thanksgiving, including a day off classes on Monday
October 13! Wherever and however you give thanks for the blessings of
our lives, on behalf of all Brentonians, may I wish your familyHappy
Thanksgiving!
Our Thanksgiving Leave begins at 10.30am after early academic classes
on Saturday October 11 and ends on the evening of Monday October 13. On
Friday October 10, we will hold our annual School Thanksgiving Celebration
which, I know, will be especially appreciated by those students from further
afield who will not be able to travel home for the short holiday. On Thursday
October 23, we begin our six day mid-term break
which affords the opportunity for most families to be together. Please
note there will be no Fine Arts Work in Progress evening preceding mid-term
this year.
As already published in the School Handbook, our PARENT TEACHER
MEETINGS this term are scheduled on Friday November 7,
2:00-5:30pm or 6:30-9:00pm, or Friday
November 28, 2:00-5:30pm, or Saturday November 29, 9:30am-1:30pm.
More information about the organization and purpose of our Parent Teacher
Meetings is attached. It may be helpful for you to know that we will hold
our School Remembrance Day Service at 10:30am on Saturday November
9 in the new T. Gil Bunch Centre.
Some parents have already responded to the Parent Teacher
Meeting information provided in their Opening of Term documents sent in
July. So that we may host the Parent Teacher Meetings to everyone’s
comfort, may I ask you to take the time now to make sure you respond:
- by mail, using the enclosed response form
- or by telephone, leaving a message at the School Switchboard 250 743-5521
- or by fax: 250 743-2911, attention Mrs. Elizabeth Rodford
- or by e-mail : elizabeth.rodford@brentwood.bc.ca
As we will begin scheduling appointments in October
for the Parent Teacher Meetings, we need to know as early as possible
WHICH SESSION, IF ANY, you are able to attend. We regret that
we are unable to send you your appointment schedule ahead of time; we
will ask your son /daughter, however, in the week before your meeting,
to let you know your starting and finishing times. Your appointments may
run, with breaks, throughout each session, giving you the opportunity
to meet other parents and spend time at the school.
For parents of new students only, we
will be mailing a short preliminary progress report to
you before mid-term on your son /daughter’s early adjustment to Brentwood.
For all parents, the full first term report will be mailed around
December 19. We are also working on being able to send these
reports electronically to distant overseas parents.
On Friday November 28, beginning at 7.30pm,
we will celebrate the beginning of the season with our Christmas
by Candlelight concert in the T.Gil Bunch Centre. Again, so that
we may host this evening to everyone’s comfort, please let us know when
you respond if you plan to attend.
Finally, again as published in the Handbook, our
Christmas vacation begins on Thursday December 11, with students departing
for home in the morning, and ends on Sunday January 4, with boarders returning
by 10.00pm. Winter term classes begin at 8.15am on Monday January 5.
As all students are required to attend for full school programmes
on both Wednesday December 10 and Monday January 5, please book your travel
plans - for this vacation and all others - within the school vacation
dates. Given our generous vacation provision and the widely varying
travel arrangements of all our students, exceptions for individual students
for early departures or late returns are hard to justify. Many thanks
for your support of the school in this matter.
If you have any questions about the arrangements for the
Parent Teacher Meetings, please do not hesitate to contact Elizabeth Rodford.
We look forward to hearing from you and to seeing you when you are able
to visit the campus. Meanwhile, I hope you continue to enjoy the news
from Brentwood THIS WEEK at http://www.brentwood.bc.ca.
Yours sincerely,
Andrea M. Pennells
Head of School
Enclosures |
|
PARENT RESPONSE
FORM - FIRST TERM EVENTS
Date: ____________________________________
No. of pages including cover: ________
Phone: 250.743-5521 (leave message with
Switchboard or Elizabeth Rodford)
or Fax: 250.743-2911 (attention Elizabeth Rodford)
or e-mail: elizabeth.rodford@brentwood.bc.ca
or mail Mrs Elizabeth Rodford, Admissions Assistant,
Brentwood College School, 2735 Mount Baker Road, Mill Bay, BC Canada V0R
2P1
| To Mrs. Rodford, from (your name) : |
| Your fax number : |
or your E-mail address: |
|
| Name of Student(s): |
Grade(s): |
|
Please indicate the name(s) of parent(s) attending:
|
PARENT-TEACHER MEETINGS NOVEMBER
2003
Please indicate your wish to attend ONE of the following sessions
by placing a checkmark in the box next to the session of your choice.
PARENT-TEACHER
MEETING Friday, November 7 2003 |
| |
Friday, November 7 2:00 - 5:30pm
Session |
| OR |
| |
Friday, November 7 6:30 - 9:00pm Session |
PARENT-TEACHER
MEETING Friday, November 28 2003 |
| OR |
Friday, November 28 2:00 - 5:30pm
Session |
PARENT-TEACHER
MEETING Saturday, November 29 2003 |
| OR |
Saturday, November 29 9:30am - 1:30pm Session |
|
CHRISTMAS
BY CANDLELIGHT CONCERT |
Friday, November
28 2003 7:30pm |
| |
I / We plan to attend. |
| |
I / We regret we will not be able to attend. |
|
PARENT TEACHER MEETINGS:
INFORMATION |
Appointment Schedule
On arrival at the Academic Centre for your Parent/Teacher Meeting,
you will meet your son /daughter at the registration table where you
will be given your name tags and your schedule of appointments. Each
parent/teacher interview will be around five or ten minutes with time
scheduled for parents (but not teachers) between appointments so that
you can move from one teacher’s interview space to another’s with
ease. To set up your appointments, we must know as soon as
possible which session if any you plan to attend. Please
call, fax, e-mail or write to the School (attention: Mrs. Rodford)
as soon as possible! We regret that we are unable to send you your
appointment schedule ahead of time, but your son/daughter will be
responsible for letting you know your starting and finishing time
in the week before your meeting. |
Objectives for the Parent Teacher Student
Meetings
- To give you as parents the opportunity to meet your child’s teachers,
and to give us as teachers the opportunity to meet the parents of
our students. Putting faces and personalities to names is one step
in enhancing the communication between school and home.
- To give the student the opportunity to participate
actively in the discussion of his/her education. Your son/daughter
will accompany you on your tour, make the introductions, and, unless
you consider it inadvisable, participate in the short (five or ten
minute) conferences.
- To give you as parents the opportunity to meet
other parents, students and staff as you move through the Academic
Centre. At the end of your session, or whenever you have a break
from appointments because of the dovetailing of many schedules,
please enjoy some refreshment in the Faculty Lounge on the main
floor. |
General Information
- You will receive a full individual report on your son’s /daughter’s
progress at the end of each term. Where weaknesses have been identified,
the teacher will outline the steps taken to address the problem.
Some action (e.g. vacation reading) may involve your support at
home. If we consider that further testing of your child’s learning
style is advisable, you will be contacted by telephone for full
discussion before such testing occurs.
- Each student’s progress is monitored by his/her
Academic Advisor who will be in touch with you by telephone if there
are any immediate concerns to which you should be alerted.
- Class sets (letter and number system):
students are grouped according to ability where such grouping is
considered advantageous (e.g. French, Mathematics). In some courses
(e.g. Humanities and electives), classes are arranged in a number
of ways to optimize the learning environment. For example, to facilitate
class discussion, Humanities classes will contain a mix of personalities
and abilities. Thus our classes are labelled by set numbers or letters
(which may indicate a teacher’s name or a particular course); although
these will appear on your appointment schedule for administrative
reasons, please do not be concerned about these "labels".
Rather be assured that we have made a careful, professional decision
in allocating your child to his classes and teachers, and will continue
to challenge him/her at an appropriate level.
- If you need more time for detailed discussion
of a particular problem with a teacher, please arrange a mutually
convenient time to telephone following the Parent /Teacher meeting.
- If you cannot attend, please be assured that
your son /daughter will continue to receive every possible attention
from his/her teachers and advisor to ensure his /her academic progress
at Brentwood. We will continue to do our best on behalf of all our
students.
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