November 30, 2023

School Hours:

Mon – Thurs: 8:30am – 3:00pm

Fri: 8:30am – 12:45pm

Remembrance Day Assembly

The entire school attended this important assembly on Friday November 10th, 2023 to commemorate Remembrance Day.

It was a beautiful ceremony in which students sang, read poems and reflected on the significance of Remembrance Day. Many memorable songs were performed by our students.

Parents were invited to join and many were in attendance. The significance of this day was explained by Mr. Sukhbir Bolina, Principal. In addition, our invited guest, Mr. Tony Spierings from Royal Canadian Legion spoke from personal experience. We were also honored to have Mr. Quinn Provost who was present in full red Serge RCMP uniform.

Each Class was fabulous all round at the assembly - quietly listening, respectful and focusing during each part of the assembly and to each of their performances. 

Choice School Toy Drive

Cedar class has been hard at work putting together a Toy Drive for Choice School. They will be collecting toys to donate to a local charity, Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives (RCRG). 

RCRG has been a part of the Richmond community for over 50 years supporting local citizens of all ages. Last year, RCRG distributed 8600 toys over the holiday season and helped 2,835 people in the community.

The students in Cedar have been involved in every step of the Toy Drive, including brainstorming, planning, distributing jobs, marketing, and toy organization. They have decorated the school with colourful posters and set up toy donations bins at the entrance to the school. They hope that Choice School can fill up the bins and more with wonderful toys for all the children in need in our community. 

We will be collecting toys from Monday, November 27^th to Thursday, December 7^th . Please bring a new and unwrapped toy to school and drop it off in the donation bins by the main entrance. A wish list of toys, provided by RCRG, was sent out to families by email. We thank you for your contribution.

A celebration of cultures

At Choice School, we are thrilled to announce our upcoming Experiential Week. This year, the experiential week will focus on "a celebration of cultures" where students will embark on a journey to explore the vibrant cultures of India, Mexico, and China.

This unique celebration will immerse our students in interactive activities, delicious cuisine, captivating music, and expressive art. Throughout the week, each day will be dedicated to one of these three countries. Students will have the opportunity to participate in four rotations, each focusing on a different aspect of the country's culture. From savoring authentic cuisine to creating beautiful art, from learning about the rich history to engaging in exciting sports, our students will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the diverse cultures that make our world so fascinating.

We are still working out some details but are excited to share the following agenda for that week.

Fraser River Discovery Centre

Cedar and Hemlock class took their science class outside by going to the Fraser River Discovery Centre. The students participated in the program called "From Pollution to Solution" to learn about pollution in the Fraser River. Students played interactive games about the effects of plastic and the actions we can take to reduce pollution in our environment. 

In the weeks leading up to the visit, students were studying the local ecosystem and the food webs and life cycles that sustained each other. We prepared for our field trip by learning about the Fraser River. They used a water sample from the river to test the pH and turbidity of the water compared to tap water. We used the data to determine if the water was safe for the local animals that live in the river. During the trip, students were able to look out at the water we had been exploring and see the vital river that supports our city. 

Beaver Computing Challenge

The Beaver Computing Challenge (BCC) is a worldwide online challenge run by University of Waterloo in Canada. It introduces computer science to students and is designed to get students with little or no previous experience excited about computing.

The BCC is a problem solving contest with a focus on computational and logical thinking. Questions are inspired by topics in computer science but only require comfort with concepts found in mathematics and computer science curriculum. Connections to Computer Science are described in the solutions to all past contests.

This year, we offered the grade 5/6 contest along with the grade 7/8 challenge. Students are presented with various situations in which they need to use their analytical skills and apply logical and critical thinking techniques to answer the questions.

A total of 13 students from Choice School participated and many of our students completed the challenge in about 30 minutes. The top three results are as follows:

The grade 5/6 distinction winners were as follows:

Yehuan 55 out of 60

Magnus 51 out of 60

Louie 51 out of 60

The grade 7/8 distinction winners were as follows:

Joshua 90 out of 90

Logan 80 out of 90

These results are very impressive! We wish to congratulate the students for the great results and thank the teachers and administration for the opportunity to participate in this challenge.

School Lunchtime clubs

During the past few weeks, we have started two new clubs that meet once a week at lunchtimes:

Chess

This is a club for students who have a working knowledge of chess but want to improve their game. Many chess contests take place in February onwards and we are hoping that our students will be able to participate.

School Reach

This is a jeopardy type of game that tests general knowledge. Students are split into two teams and a ready set of questions are asked. The first person to buzz and answer wins the point for his/her team. This is an ideal club for students that wish to learn a high degree of general knowledge. Questions are asked from a range of topics including math, geography, entertainment, science and vocabulary. If we continue to perform well, we may participate in the national level league.