January 2011 - Mini Gryphon.indd - Meadowridge School

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Meadowridge School Page 14 | JANUARY 2012 ST UDEN T ACHIE V EMEN TS co n t i n u e d . . . Model Uni ted Na tions Club I am astounded at the level of cooperation that emerged when a room full of strangers came together for a weekend of debate, problem solving and negotiations in order to par ticipate in the 2012 Vancouver Model United Nations Conference held from Friday, January 20th to Sunday, January 22nd. Eight students from our school, accompanied by alumnus John Jacob were welcomed by Justin Trudeau as he opened the conference with some very profound words. Clearly these words were heard as the students spent the next three days working on resolutions towards imperatives that rivaled those faced by the current UN. This conference was produced and moderated completely by high school students for high school students. I hope that many of the 750 delegates understand their potential in helping to shape a shared future for the better. I am thankful for being able to par ticipate in a conference that recognizes and values the potential of the world’s young people and their potential to drive political and social change. Congratulations to Grade 10 students Mehar, Emily S., Emily H., Shaquille, and Evan, Grade 11 student Tyler, and Grade 12 students Audrey and Maddy for displaying incredible diplomacy while engaging in challenging discussions to help foster sustainable resolutions towards emergent issues. At the close of the conference Maddy, Tyler (pictured right) and Shaquille (pictured right) were all recognized for their contributions during the conference and were awarded with honorable mention as a delegate. A very special thank you to Ms. Boyd for all of her suppor t in helping to facilitate the details for the students to par ticipate in this conference and in ensuring that they were well prepared for all of the events that took place over the weekend. - Ms. Kalie Whitaker, Director of Human Resources and Gryphon Council Liaison 1. Wha t is Model Uni ted Na tions (MUN)? MUN is an academic simulation of the United Nations. Students are assigned to represent a nation in an engaging debate regarding the pressing morale issues that the global community faces. The different divisions in MUN cover a diverse range of topics including global health, environment, security, f inance, economies, human rights, and development. It helps familiarize students with the UN procedures as well as the variety of global events that occur in the world. In addition, MUN teaches delegates the impor tance of negotiations and listening to others as they work with other nations in hopes of producing a comprehensive resolution to address the topic of debate. MUN is also an enriching experience as it encourages students to investigate and be considerate of perspectives other than their own. 2. Wha t is Vancou ver Model Uni ted Na tions (VMUN)? Vancouver Model United Nations is the largest student-run conference in western Canada. This is the eleventh year that this prestigious conference has been held in downtown Vancouver. VMUN takes pride in providing a formal and professional environment where students may challenge themselves to debate some of the world’s most controversial and intriguing events. (From www.vmun.com)
Page 15 | JANUARY 2012 Las t year you helped us IMAGINE. This year, please help us DESIGN the nex t 25 year s. G R A D E 5 E X H I B I T I O N It is hard to believe that our current Grade 5 students are coming to the end of their PYP years. In the near future, these students will be engaged in one of their last PYP units of inquiry, the Exhibition. One of our traditions here at Meadowridge is to present a laptop bag to the Grade 5 students to acknowledge their effor ts as PYP leaders, for their par ticipation in the Exhibition and for their graduation to MYP. Mr. Diniz, Ms. Metz and I presented these bags to the students last week. The goals of the PYP Exhibition are to synthesize the essential elements of the PYP and share them with the whole school community. As a culminating experience it is an oppor tunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the IB Learner Prof ile that have been developing throughout their PYP years. The PYP exhibition has a number of key purposes: • for students to engage in an in-depth, collaborative inquiry • to provide students with an oppor tunity to demonstrate independence and responsibility for their own learning • to provide students with an oppor tunity to explore multiple perspectives • for students to synthesize and apply their learning of previous years and to ref lect upon their journey through the PYP • to provide an authentic process for assessing student understanding • to demonstrate how students can take action as a result of their learning • to unite the students, teachers, parents and other members of the school community in a collaborative experience that incorporates the essential elements of the PYP • to celebrate the transition of learners from primary to middle/secondary education. More information will be for thcoming in the next few weeks as the Grade 5 students begin this journey. - Mr. Terry Donaldson, Director of Academics
Page 1 and 2: Volume 3 Issue 5 Januar y 2012 KUNG
Page 3 and 4: Page 3 | JANUARY 2012 Las t year yo
Page 11 and 12: Page 11 | JANUARY 2012 Las t year y
Page 13: Page 13 | JANUARY 2012 Las t year y
Page 17 and 18: Page 17 | JANUARY 2012 Las t year y
Page 19 and 20: 2 0 1 2 / 2 0 13 S C H O O L C A L

January 2011 - Mini Gryphon.indd - Meadowridge School

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?