To whom it may concern
What could be more fun than coming down to a festival that doesn’t just celebrate bikes, but a celebration of Windermere’s efforts in taking the steps to making the school a greener and healthier place to be? Come down to Windermere’s 3rd annual Bike Train on Thursday, June 4th, 2009, in the morning from 8:30AM to 9:30AM. Ride with friends and fellow classmates around the neighbourhood, starting at any of the three locations: Joyce Station, 29th Avenue Station, or Renfrew Library (bike and helmets rentals are available on the day of). Also, after school we have our Bike Fest from 3:00 – 4:30 with fun activities, booths to look at, and food and pedal-powered smoothies to enjoy. Don’t miss out the fun! Check out the posters and/or Facebook group for more details to come. Go bikes go!
Also, congratulations to…Ms.Yong and Margaret Kwan (grade 12) for winning the draw for our Year – End Survey!
And finally, thank you to all of you that have supported us throughout the year. The WINNER of the Year End Prize Draw (for leaving us comments on the Word website) IS… Jenny Ho!
Cheers,
The Windermere Word Promotions Team
Dawn of a Thirsty Century
By: Brendan Chan, Grade 10
Imagine yourself dying of dehydration. You have no way to quench your thirst…
You keep walking hoping you’ll find a water source, but all you find are polluted areas with unsafe drinking water. So you keep walking knowing your very life is at stake. Finally, you find an area of clean water but as you get closer you realize that it belongs to a private water company. Disheartened and exhausted after your long walk, you give up. This is what happens to about 30,000 children who die of hunger, thirst, or of preventable diseases. All of this revolves around Earth’s precious fresh water.
Today’s problem is that we use too much freshwater to stay sustainable. With more water becoming polluted, our supply of fresh, clean water is decreasing. We currently have access to 0.08% of Earth’s freshwater, yet it’s estimated that our usage of water will increase by 40%.
The Big Bad Wolf: Canadian Mining Companies in Peru
By: Georgette Gorn, Grade 12
By looking up this topic on government websites, I learned that the Canadian Government recently stated that they are “working closely with Peru to ensure sound mining practices in key mining communities”. Percan, the “key component” in these so-called efforts, aims to improve the contribution of mining companies to sustainable development mining in Peru. Mining in Peru for gold and other resources has been ongoing for the past ten years in the Andes and its foothills, as it is considered to hold “significant potential” for Canadian Companies. Bright picture if not a fairy tale, indeed. Yet how has this affected those that actually live in Peru?
Once upon a time, better said 1999, the Tambogrande region and its surrounding areas were to be developed by Vancouver-based Manhattan Minerals Corporation. This region contains agricultural lands and tropical forests on which thousands of farmers and townspeople alike feared would be destroyed; causing ecological damage to human health, agriculture and endangered species. The proposed mines would also displace communities.
YCCD – Youth Celebrate Canada Day
By: Cassandra Ly & Emily Chan
Everyone has that special day once a year to celebrate with their loved ones with more and more fun as the years fly by. On Wednesday, July 1st, 2009, come down to celebrate Canada’s 142nd birthday here in our community at Renfrew Community Centre. Youth Celebrate Canada Day core committee is holding its 13th annual event with exciting new games, entertainment, crafts, prizes, and the best of all, food! Starting from 1:00 – 4:30, you have plenty of time to enjoy Canada Day with your family and friends. Come check it out; this event is going to be a blast!
Untitled; The Silent Mourn of Deaths to Come.
By: Emily Chan, Grade 10
What does the number 26 mean to you? December 26th is Boxing Day, it’s the atomic number of iron, and it’s the number of letters in the alphabet. What else has the number 26 in it? Did you know that the war in Sri Lanka lasted 26 years? That’s longer than most of us [students] have been alive. With this war, these painful years have passed insignificantly, but in fact, it’s all relative. For the average Tamil, or the Sri Lankan government, the last 26 years have been full of mental warfare and murders. Conversely, the majority of the western society hasn’t even heard of the war in Sri Lanka, let alone take a day out of their busy schedules to educate themselves about the situation of the 300,000 Tamils being forced to live in nazi-style concentration camps.
Beauty
By: Neelam Khare, Grade 12
Last week, I was walking down the streets and I saw people giving hugs and kisses to each other. One of them stopped to
help a woman in a wheelchair get off a ramp. Others were saying, “hello, how’s it going?”. Last week I saw a community of togetherness, safety and love. I saw kind, compassionate and beautiful people. Last week I was in the Downtown Eastside (DTES).
I know that everything I said above sounds surprising because it contradicts the image our society has imposed upon them. That all there is to the DTES are addictions, crime, desperation and filth. But that is not the case.
Organic Garden Update – Have you eaten your greens yet?
By: Cassandra Ly, Grade 10
Windermere’s Organic Garden has not just flourished with many new fruits and vegetables in the past few months but has also grabbed the attention of many people in the community. People from different schools and organizations have dropped by to take a peek at the small but powerful changes that the garden has made at Windermere. A few have even donated money to the green cause, including Zenith in Action presented by Coast Capital Savings. Bonnie Ha and Chanel Ly, currently grade 11 students are taking on the project of the Organic Garden in their grade 12 year. At the Zenith Conference in mid May, they presented the project in front of a panel of judges. In the end, they received a $500 grant that will go towards the finances needed with purchasing rain barrels or the installation of an irrigation system in the garden.
Crossing the Line
By: Mitchell Agostinho, Grade 11
Since 1999, there has been a force in the world so powerful it has made headlines numerous times. A force so magical it has reduced us to tears of both joy and fear. A force so epic, that it has been dubbed the “most offensive thing on TV today”. That force is nothing more that the whacky antics of Peter Griffin. Peter, as you may or not be aware of is the star of the hit FOX animated show Family Guy. Peter and his family grace our screen every night on numerous networks and never fail to rake in a huge audience. The show is famous for its outlandish plotlines, its numerous random flashbacks, as well as the hard-to-forget background characters. However, there is an opposing force in the world trying to take down Family Guy. The Parental Television Council (PTO) who, for as long as time itself, has been trying to take down the series deeming Family Guy unfit for children’s eyes. The show is filled with family, stories and education but a parent organization wants them off the air. Huh?
Athena Showcase
By: Nicole Yu, Grade 8
What is the Athena Showcase? The Athena Showcase is an event in May where all the Athena Arts students here at Windermere show their annual accomplishments to their parents, teachers and friends. This year’s Athena Showcase was on May 13th. During the past year, the Athena Grade 9’s practiced using Flash in Science, creating little funny scenes, shown on the projector. They also made book trailers, which were hilarious, sad, happy and/or scary, depending on which one(s) you watched. The Athena Grade 8’s acted out a scene from the famous play, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, directed by Mrs. Grunwell. They also performed the first number from next year’s musical, ‘Smathalot’, and a song in French, ‘L’arbre Ungali’. It was a night of fun, as the ‘High School Mathical’ soundtrack CD was released on the same night. All in all, it was a great and eventful night. See you next year, everybody!
Update: Burrard Street Bridge Goes Ahead
By: Kevin Cham, alumni
It’s been called a “War Against Wheels” by The Province but nevertheless the Burrard Street Bridge Cycling lane trial is going ahead; despite an ongoing negative media campaign by several major newspapers and radio stations.
The final decision was made by Vancouver City Council on May 7th, 2009 to proceed with a single lane reallocation on the bridge. The outside car lane on the southbound side will become a cycle lane. In addition, the pathway (currently shared between pedestrians and bicycles) on the northbound side of the bridge will become bicycle only. Pedestrians will be expected to cross on the western sidewalk.
The Vending Machine Experience: An Interview with Nate
By: Kaitlyn Fung, Grade 8
The vending machine: a wonderful contraption that will dispense snacks for less than two dollars. But what happens when it doesn’t work? Who fixes the vending machine? He’s a senior, he’s tall, he’s awesome, and he’s Nathanael Leung; but he prefers to be called Nate.
First off, why do you even take care of the vending machine?
Nate: Well, it’s a leadership project, and I’ve always been interested with food. It was actually quite fun for me. It looked interesting to handle.
Have you ever been really frustrated with this job?
Nate: Yes, yes. Um, because I get 5-6 calls a day about problems, like things getting stuck in the machine. I call the companies but they say there’s nothing they can really do. With 5 calls a day, about 35 calls a week, you can calculate how many calls I get in a month.
Aung San Suu Kyi
Question: Who are Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas? I think every student I ask will know the answer. Another question: who is Aung San Suu Kyi? I don’t think most students have a clue to who she is. Now after reading this much, you will probably just flip to another page, not caring who this woman is. But in my opinion, I think she should be more well-known than Nick, Kevin and Joe. So now the real question: who is Aung San Suu Kyi?
Born in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) on June 19, 1945, Aung San Suu Kyi is a pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy (pro-democracy party) in Burma. When Aung was just two years old, her father, who negotiated Burma’s independence from the United Kingdom, was killed.
Goodbye Editors, Hello Committee
If you’ve read the Editors’ Message in May, you may know that we have recently decided to form a committee. This means that starting in June and continuing on next year, The Word will be run and completed with a project leader, a main editor, our student writers, and several core teams of people, including Promotion, Distribution, Community, Website, Layout Design, Article Hunting, and Media Coverage. If you are ever interested in working for The Word, you only need to e-mail us! A brief summary of the teams’ duties are as follows:
Jenn and Chitha’s Top Ten Highlights of the Year
There is no order because they were equally great… well… most of them. :)
- Arguing with each other and blaming each other for mistakes. See “Jenn and Chitha’s Top Ten Editing Screw Ups”
- The first time we ever really “Spread The Word” in a train-like fashion, we spanned the entire length of the cafeteria. And oh, seeing the look on people’s faces.
- One time, this guy came up to me (Chitha) and he said, “OMG! You have recipes now!? I’m going to read The Word all the time now!” That was December.
- Getting better at making it look good… as in… layout design. ;) It was hard cramming everything using the fewest amount of paper possible…
Jenn and Chitha’s Top Ten Editing Screw Ups
10. Misspelled Mitchell’s last name and said Emily Chan was in Grade 9 – September Issue.
9. Said Emily Chan was in Grade 11 – October Issue
8. Repeated a paragraph in Mitchell’s article “Burn After Reading” – October Issue
7. No “Warrior of the Month” photo for Emily Chan and Brendan Chan – January Issue
6. Pope Gregory VIII not Pope Gregory – April Issue
Warrior of the Month: Jason D’Souza
By: Puneet Riar, Grade 11, Emily Chan, Grade 10 & Cassandra Ly, Grade 10
Congrats Jason! You are June’s warrior of the month! Why do you think you were nominated?
JD: I was probably nominated because people were intrigued by my amazingly good looks or they rigged the election. I’m 92.5% sure it’s the second one though.
LOL! Well you won, so whatever! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
JD: Well, I have 2 legs which are nice to have especially since I love sports. I do everything around it; read, write, eat, sleep, talk, breathe. If sports were a woman, I’d marry her.
So, you were recently voted valedictorian. How does it feel to be valedictorian, Mr. Valedictorian?
JD: Becoming valedictorian was very cool, especially since I was chosen by my fellow grads and it wasn’t a random choice. It’s very humbling.
Warriors of the Year
By: Puneet Riar, Grade 11 & Emily Chan, Grade 10
All throughout the year, there have been some amazing, dedicated students. Those who possess those awesome leadership skills, those who have an exceptional community service record, or that person who is just an awesome friend or a great role model. Or maybe, even that teacher who doesn’t get mad if you chew gum in class.
Boook Review – The Five People You Meet in Heaven
What is heaven? Is it a place where our true paradise is? Is heaven the same or different for everyone?
The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Alborn, is one outlook about heaven. There is no peering down from the clouds. Or floor of clouds. Rather, it is a place that helps you understand your life on earth through five different people, ones who have crossed your paths, in some way, and altered your life. With each person you meet, you feel different and even your appearance changes. That’s only because you alter into the form that you were when you encountered these five people.
Movie Review – Star Trek
By: Max Miller, Grade 9
It’s safe to say that J.J. Abrams has succeeded. Star Trek has been reborn.
This re-imagining boldly goes where no Trek has gone before – to the origins of the Enterprise and its crew. The first things fans notice is the casting. It’s perfect. The new crew is made up of semi-no-names including Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Karl Urban (Bones). Each of the actors has an uncanny resemblance to their 60’s counterparts; something Trekkies would definitely appreciate. Pine’s (Kirk) is a bit cockier and smart-mouthed than the Shat’s, but otherwise, the actors do a great job capturing the feel of the original characters and not just the look.
Student Council Election Results
By: Jason Costa, President, Student Council 08/09
The 2009/2010 student council is as follows:
President - Nathan Dinh
Vice President – Cassandra Ly
Secretary – Lily Le
Treasurer – Bobby Lau
Communications Officer – Amy Wu
Publicity Officer – Venus Wan
Sports Representative – Alivia Ma
Community Service Liaison – Chanel Ly
VDSC Representative – Sarah Xie
Social Events Coordinator – Ping Na Huang
Grade 12 Representative – Kathy Tran
Grade 11 Representative - Yuge Liu
Grade 10 Representative – Farrah Bui
Grade 9 Representative - Amy Bui
Grade 8 Representative – To be elected in Fall of 2009/2010 School Year
Members at Large - Maria Vriniotis, Will Savvedra, Harminder Bhachu, Humayra Uddin, Hardeep Gosal
Congratulations to all those that ran for Student Council as well as those that were elected into next year’s Council!
Cry
By: Peggy Lam, Grade 12
Cry
A lady with broken teeth is pulling a cart.
A man is smiling, ready to open his heart.
Human voices cried out are muffled.
Feathers prevented, from being ruffled.
We look around
And see so much devastation.
We try to find hope,
And saw the stimulation.
After seeing this beauty,
We want more stipulation.
