richmond secondary school...

VOLUME 92, Issue 5 DECEMBER 2018

RICHMOND SECONDARY SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER HOME OF THE COLTS - ESTABLISHED IN 1927

Principal: Mr. Jim Allison Address: 7171 Minoru Blvd, Richmond, BC, Canada V6Y 1Z3 Vice Principals: Mr. John Blair & Ms. Anita Kwon Phone: 604-668-6400 Fax: 604-278-4734 PAC: 2nd Wednesday at 6:30pm Early Warning: 604-247-2658 Trustee Liaison: Mr. N. Goldstein Twitter & Instagram: @richmondcolts

Website: http://rhs.sd38.bc.ca

Principal’s Message: The winter holiday season is a wonderful time to gather with family and friends to share blessings and express love and gratitude. Thank you to all of our students, staff and parents for creating the very best learning and working environment possible at Richmond Secondary School. The responsible and thoughtful nature of our students, the professionalism and dedication of our staff and the supportive influence of parents and our alumni all combine to make Richmond a very caring school community. We wish our students a well-deserved break and hope that, whatever your faith, you are able to enjoy some time with family and friends this festive time of year in Canada. Merry Christmas, happy holidays and all the very best in 2019! Thank you, Mr. A

“Home of the Colts” GO SHARKS

Colts Care & Give Generously An impressive number of student organizers from many different classes and clubs contributed to a range of socially responsible endeavors this year. In late September, our school raised $1906 for cancer research and the Terry Fox Foundation. In a recent school-wide drive, we raised thousands of needed food and toiletry items and an amazing $4105.20 that included one family who donated $1000, all for the Richmond Food Bank. Thank you to our History, ELL, Social Studies and LAND students and our Library staff for coordinating our successful food drive – the Richmond Food Bank recognized our school’s remarkable generosity with a special plaque. The PE leadership class has been collecting food and fundraising since the fall to support Vancouver’s “Adopt-a-School” and Richmond’s “Feed-U-Cate” programs. The class provided holiday hampers to support families at Thunderbird Elementary School, located near one of the largest social housing projects in B.C. The Grade 10 student-leaders met with their Grades 1 and 2 “little buddies” in December to make crafts, write letters to Santa and they also presented food and grocery gift cards. Meanwhile, our Learning Services staff thoughtfully put together 11 generous holiday hampers for some of our own families in need of a little help this holiday season. Our Colt Young Parent Program with help from Colts Athletics, collected socks, mittens, scarves, toques, blankets and over $200 to donate to a group in the Downtown Eastside. Our Free the Children club also held a clothing drive in December, while our First Responders held a fun, staff vs. students dodgeball event and raised funds for the Canadian Red Cross. Our P1 Baking club gathers every week after school in room 111 to bake delicious cookies and desserts and holds sales every other week and all proceeds pay the tuition for five students attending Tekera Primary School (K to 7) in rural Uganda. Our Lunch Hour Loomers are creating scarves, toques and blankets and recently made $175 at a local craft fair. They donated some of their creations to the Colt Parent warm clothing drive and will donate all funds raised to an orphanage in India. Encouraging our students to show community involvement, be socially responsible and globally-minded is very important at RHS. Thank you to our staff sponsors and to everyone who volunteers, donates and helps make a difference in the lives of others!

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RSS NEWSLETTER VOLUME 90, Issue 5 DECEMBER 2017

Grade 8 Classroom Visits & Student Survey: Mr. Allison, Mr. Blair and Ms. Kwon visited Grade 8 classes in 2-4 on December 11 and 13 to speak with students about “how is it going so far at high school?” We spoke about kindness, care and respect, being resilient, but also asking for help, if needed. Grade 8s were asked to respond anonymously to 20-statements using a scale of (a) Strongly Agree (b) Agree (c) No Opinion (d) Disagree (e) Strongly Disagree. 161 Grade 8s completed the survey and the results are: (results exclude students who said they had “no opinion” about a particular statement). The full results will be shared with PAC, Grade 8 teachers and all RHS staff. % of Grade 8s who STRONGLY AGREE or AGREE

I have made a successful transition from Grade 7 to high school. 99%

I care what my teachers think of me as a person. 97%

The Richmond Secondary teachers & staff care about me. 96%

It is easy to make friends at Richmond Secondary. 87%

I feel safe at Richmond Secondary. 95%

Boys and girls are treated equally at Richmond Secondary. 93%

Learning and doing my best at school are important to me. 98%

The things I learn and do in school are interesting and engaging. 86%

My reading skills & strategies are improving at school. 86%

My writing skills are improving at school. 85%

My math skills are improving at school. 90%

There are many opportunities to be involved in extracurricular activities.

95%

I am treated with kindness, care & respect by other students at RSS. 92%

I treat all other students with kindness, care & respect. 100%

I feel comfortable going to my teachers for extra help. 87%

I feel comfortable talking to a counsellor at Richmond Secondary. 82%

I feel comfortable talking with a Principal or VP at RSS. 78%

My teachers’ classroom expectations are clear, respectful & fair. 99%

There are clear expectations for behaviour at RSS. 100%

Richmond Secondary is a good school. 98%

Winter Music Concerts Fabulous Our very talented student-musicians hosted a successful winter concert for students and staff and an encore performance for parents and family on December 3 and 4. Large and appreciative audiences (& sold-out for the evening show) enjoyed the sounds of our Level III Band, Level II Band, Level I Band, Jazz Band, I.B. Music Ensemble, Strings & Drumming and Vocal Jazz groups as they performed a wide range of classic, pop and holiday favourites. Congratulations to the many dedicated students involved in the Richmond Secondary School music program, emcees Wendy Cheung and Alex Guo, stage managers Martin Ng and Steven Shao, the entire crew and sound technicians and the leadership of teachers Mr. Sheppard and Ms. Kiselyova.


Global Perspectives Fundraising Dinner On Thursday, November 22, a sold-out room of 180 guests enjoyed a delicious Chilean-themed meal prepared by our Professional Cook Training staff and students, and had the opportunity to bid on silent auction items and purchase raffle tickets to support our Global Perspectives trip to Chile. Since 1994, a group of students and staff have travelled to developing nations around the world to learn from, engage with, help, support and build infrastructure for local people. This year, RHS students and staff will travel to Chile in March to support a rural village community. A sincere thank you to Ms. Seminutin, Mr. Furugori and Ms. Sena and everyone who donated items and supported our fundraising dinner, including the students in the program, parents, family, staff and alumni who went on trips in previous years. DISTRICT SCHOOL TRANSFER NEWS: The Richmond School District is updating the school transfer application process for the 2019-2020 school year. All Richmond students who want to apply for a transfer to a school that is outside of their residence catchment area MUST APPLY TO TRANSFER. This includes out-of-catchment students with a brother or sister currently at a secondary school and students currently in Grade 7 who attend a feeder school but live in another catchment area. Students who are already attending a secondary school out of their catchment area and want to stay, do not have to reapply. The Round 1 Transfer period will be from February 11 - 28, 2019 and these applications are for the 2019-2020 school year. Transfer forms are available at every school office in Richmond and must be submitted to the school you are applying to, on or before February 28. Students in Grade 10 applying to the IB Diploma Programme, do not have to submit a school transfer form, but they must complete an IB application, available on the RHS website, by 4pm on Friday, January 11. https://rhsib.wordpress.com/apply/

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RHS Festive Traditions Continue Congratulations to our professional cook students who prepared a delicious holiday meal with all the fixings as we hosted 165 guests at the 44th annual Richmond Secondary School Community Christmas Luncheon on December 13. It was great to share a meal, share glad tidings and raise some funds for good causes with elected Trustees, City Councillors, District leaders and staff, members of the RCMP and Richmond Fire Department and current and retired RHS staff and alumni. On December 21, Student Council with support from the RHS Alumni, organized “Breakfast with Santa”. We culminated a fun, winter-themed spirit week and our school food drive as cafeteria students, student-leaders, staff and alumni volunteers arrived early in the morning to cook thousands of pancakes and sausage patties. Students began arriving by 7:30am, and enjoyed a hot breakfast with their friends and classmates. The large gym was decorated for the season and was packed full of happy students, staff and scores of recent RHS grads. There were many different performers entertaining the audience and students were happy to line up with their friends to have their photo taken with the ‘jolly old elf’. The morning ended with the staff entertaining the audience with a spirited rendition of “Jingle Bell Rock” much to the delight of the audience. Breakfast with Santa was a very successful community-building event and a wonderful way to share holiday well wishes with friends. Thank you to Student Council and all who helped or performed – it was a fabulous school-wide celebration! Check out photos on the school Instagram account.

RSS NEWSLETTER VOLUME 92 Issue 5 DECEMBER 2018

Ministry of Education 2018 Scholarships Recipients Announced TheMinistryofEducationrecentlypresented$1250scholarshipstolastyear’stopacademicstudentsacrosstheprovince,basedontheirperformanceonProvincialExamsandintheirGrades10-11-12classes,ascomparedwithallotherstudentsinB.C.CongratulationstotheseRHS2018gradsforearningpost-secondaryscholarships:AxelAlitagtag TimHe ElsonLiang CandiceNg HellenYeung RowinaChan AlexHernandez ChristinaLin YsabelleSantaAna AlexYouBrianChang KristenHuang LeonLin AmyShao RebeccaYuJeanChen MichelleHung YoanneLin KarenShih PaulZhangTiffanyCheng WendyJiang JessicaLiu AmarisTang VivianZhangGaHyunCheon JoshuaKraan PhillipLiu JohnTurkson TiffanyZhaoAlexChow AdrianLam RyanLiu AnnabelleWang KevinZhuLaurenDa SeanLan JackLu LilyWangJessieDong CyrusLee AdeleLuo AnnaWeiDavidDuan HalliwellLi JoshuaLy BenjaminWenMarianGauzshtein CindyLi JuliaMercado CharlesWuRachelGurdas LucyLi DennisMo MandyXu

Emergency Drills at Richmond Secondary As part of our emergency preparedness school response plan, Richmond Secondary conducts a total of 10 fire, earthquake and high danger drills each year. We held a “High Danger” drill on Monday, November 26. We were fortunate to have members of our local RCMP detachment attend our drill to provide valuable feedback and direction. A “High Danger” drill consists of three levels: 1. Hold & Secure occurs in the event of a police/emergency incident in the vicinity of the school, a hazard or gas leak on or near the school grounds, or a medical emergency in the school. 2.Lock Down happens in the event of a police/emergency incident within the school, including aggressive intruders or persons who pose an imminent threat to others. 3. All Clear - to signal that the police/emergency incident has been resolved, upon direction from the RCMP. Please note that in the event of a Hold & Secure or Lock Down alert (or drill), notices will be posted on all locked, exterior school doors and no one can enter the facility during this time. In an actual emergency, parents are advised to follow the directions of the RCMP and to check the school district website for additional information. We recognize that these drills can be unsettling; however, please know that our staff explains the context and procedures in detail, and addresses any questions that students may have. Ultimately, it is important that our staff and students are familiar with all emergency procedures to ensure the safety of our school community. Emergency situations usually come without notice, so we encourage parents and families to discuss plans for communicating with one another in case of an earthquake or other emergency, at home or when family members are at work, school or away from home. We are committed to keeping our school a very safe place for everyone who attends and works here and we encourage families to have similar discussions and plans.

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RSS NEWSLETTER VOLUME 92 Issue 5 DECEMBER 2018


Busy Richmond Secondary Library! Our library is evolving and changing to best meet the research, reading and studying needs of our students. We are changing our learning spaces, we added a 3-D printer, are updating our furniture to create collaborative learning spaces and we constantly add to our collection of books, magazines and resources and bring in authors and guest speakers. Remember, books make great gifts! You can follow our library on Twitter, on their dedicated website or by reading their newsletters online at: https://rsslibrary.wordpress.com/

Colts Athletics & Colts Rec Updates: Congratulations to 32 members of our swim team as both the junior and senior boys’ won team silver at the district championships and Justin Kuo won 3 senior gold medals – in freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke finals! The winter sports seasons kicked off on November 26 when our senior boys’ basketball team played their first game and defeated the number 1 ranked AA team in BC and later defeated the No. 2 ranked AAAA team. We hosted our annual “home openers” on December 6 and our senior girls’ basketball team, followed by our senior boys’ team, played games in the RHS gym in front of hundreds of fans. Our hard-working senior boys’ team is currently ranked 7th in B.C. at the AAA level. It was also exciting to see both our Grade 8 girls’ and Grade 8 boys’ teams win their first ever high school games! We also have Grade 9 girls’, Grade 9 boys’ and Grade 10 boys’ basketball teams and junior and senior table tennis teams competing in the winter RSSAA season. Thank you to all of our student-athletes and coaches for always representing our school with skill, dedication and sportsmanship. We also thank our large group of student officials and scorekeepers and the dedicated members of our Athletic Leadership class for supporting Colts Athletics and running Colts Rec intramural games at lunch – fun, co-ed volleyball is on now and 3 on 3 co-ed basketball will be next. Check out the RSS Athletics bulletin board, website or follow the Colts on Twitter and Instagram. #GoColts

Upcoming Richmond Secondary School Dates: Dec24-Jan6 WinterBreak January7 WelcomeBack-Day1-2314January16 CollaborationDay January25 MandarinSingingContestFinalsJanuary28 Pro-DDay January31 Grades8-11ProgramPlanningAssembliesFebruary6 2019-2020ProgramInfoforParents-6pm February6 Grade7ParentInfoat6:30pmFebruary13 PACat6:30pm

Teenagers and Digital Citizenship: Adolescents have grown up with iPads, smart phones and social media and it is common for teens to do most of their communicating on a digital platform. Developing the skills to communicate and work in a technological world are important; however, it is crucial for young people to understand their digital footprint, their digital citizenship and to consider the impact of screen time on their lives. If not checking one’s phone every few minutes makes a person antsy, it is a problem. If an image, comment or thread is hurtful, mocking, sexist, racist, homophobic or excluding, it should never be posted, liked or shared, even in a “closed-group”. Our expectations of kindness, care and respect extend to students’ interactions online. Parents are urged to read the school’s expectations for online behaviour and discuss these candidly and honestly with your teen. https://rhs.sd38.bc.ca/school-information/about-us/digital-citizenship-expectations

Striving to Go Green at RHS: We have a very active “Green Team” at our school that is dedicated to raising awareness for critically important environmental initiatives. The group has applied for grants and increased the number of recycling and organic bins in our school. They host focus weeks at the school to influence others to be mindful of what they use and “throw away” every day. The whole school participated in a “Bundle Up Richmond High” campaign Dec. 17-21 as we lowered school thermostats by 2 degrees. The group is trying to secure solar energy panels for the school and actively lives by their motto of “think globally, act locally”. Climate change is real and we must all change – the club is open to all interested students and meets every Monday at lunch in room 223.

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RichmondSecondarySchool2019DryAfterGradDonationsNeeded

To All RHS Parents and Community Friends:On June 27/28, 2019, volunteer parents will be holding the annual Richmond Secondary Dry After Grad (DAG) event. The DAG event is a school celebration for graduating students, immediately after the formal dinner and dance and held in the school gymnasium. Volunteer parents arrange for lots of good food, fun, games and entertainment and keep 200+ grads safe after their prom, until the early hours of the next morning.

An event of this magnitude requires great planning, organization, and support from parents, local businesses and community members. Our goal is to make DAG an inclusive, fun, enjoyable and most importantly, a SAFE night. To help us achieve this, we really need your support. Please consider joining our committee – parents from all grades are welcome as we plan the event and have a lot of fun doing it! If you do not have time to volunteer, please consider donating food, a door prize or money – personal and business donations are welcome and tax receipts will be provided upon request.

Thank you for taking the time to consider our request for supporting RHS students!

Rhonda Smith, Chair Email: [email protected] School DAG Committee Parent--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RICHMOND SECONDARY SCHOOL DAG DONATION FORM (Please submit this form with your cheque)

Yes, I would be happy to support the RHS DRY AFTER GRAD event:

Name/Company*: _______________________________________________________________________

Phone : _____________________________________

Email: _____________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________________

* A charitable tax receipt will be issued to whatever name/company is listed above

Please make your cheque payable to: RICHMOND SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 38 (and on the MEMO line of the cheque, write RHS-DAG). Cheques can be dropped off at the school, or mailed to: RICHMOND SECONDARY SCHOOL 7171 Minoru Blvd., Richmond, B.C., Canada V6Y 1Z3 列治文中學的畢業後午夜晚會(Dry After Grad – DAG)现需要各家長的參與和支持!!

我们歡迎各級家長參與 DAG的筹备會議,或捐贈晚會獎品/現金。如欲捐贈現金,請填寫以上資料並連同支票送交學校辦公室。欲知詳情,請翻閱此郵件,或電郵家長 Rhonda Smith(電郵 [email protected]),谢谢。

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