BHS BULLETIN FEBRUARY 2018

Principal’s Message

Dear Students, Parents and Guardians,

BHS continues to be a very busy school. Students are involved in sports, plays, improv, music concerts and

competitions, shows and community service. They are going on trips - ski, experiential, cultural and

humanitarian. We have students busy in our Innovators Club and putting the Bison News on Youtube. It

is timely that Staff Appreciation Week was February 12 to 16. This was a good reminder that we need to

take the time to thank our staff members who give so much of their time to provide students with the

opportunity to explore their interests and passions. We also thank our dedicated Home and School for

making every day of Staff Appreciation Week special for our staff.

We held assemblies in January to review the rules on respect, including clothing, politeness, absences,

cafeteria, exams, use of social media and safe behaviour.

Students from Secondary One to Four received their course selection forms on Monday, February 12. Re-

registration, as you know, is being done through Fusion this year. We visited the classes to give them

information about course selection.

Please remember that parent/teacher interviews are on February 22 from 4:00 to 5:30 and 6:30 to 9:00

PM. Fusion will be available from Sunday, February 18 at 9:00 AM to Wednesday, February 21 at 9:00 PM

to book appointments with teachers.

I look forward to seeing you over the coming weeks at sports events, arts events and parent/teacher

interviews. March Break this year is March 5 to 9. Please remind your children when they return from

March break that there will be only a few weeks until the end of the year and it is important that they stay

motivated and keep working.

I wish you a great rest of the school year.

Michelle Harper Principal

Important Dates

February 19 – 20 Sec 1 & 2 Mont Ski Trip February 21 Capital Region Musical Fest February 22 Parent Teacher Interviews February 22 – March 12 Community Service Trip February 23 BHS Professional Day & Sec 1 & 2 Day Ski Trip February 27 Math Competition March 5 – March 9 March Break March 15 & 16 Grade 10 Drama Production March 19 – 23 Student Life Spirit Week March 28 & 29 Grade 11 Drama Production March 30 – April 2 Holidays March 31 – April 13 Europe Trip April 3 Boardwide Professional Day April 13 Follow-Up Vaccinations #3 & BHS Dance April 23 Secondary Boardwide Professional Day April 23 – 26 Washington Trip & New York City Trip April 26 – 29 New York Heritage Festival April 30 BHS Professional Day

Athletics This winter we offered eight different teams in five sports, some of which are still ongoing.

The Midget boy’s hockey team finished first in the league and will host playoffs over the next two weeks.

Midget Boy’s Hockey (pictured above)

Our four basketball teams had good seasons, many new players were welcomed to the sport. The Midget

girls and Juvenile girls will be competing in playoffs over the next few weeks.

Swimming finals were held on February 15th, Indoor Track & Field was February 12th & 13th. We are looking

forwards to the fall sports; Rugby, Lacrosse, Flag Football and Outdoor Track & Field.

Let’s go Bisons!

Evan McCurdy

BHS Athletics

Drama Department

Another term has seen a whirlwind of action in the Drama department. The grade 7s have been doing lots

of work on dialogues and group plays, and the grade 8s used pictures as inspiration for scenes, as well as

exploring neutral scenes. Meanwhile, the grade 9s have tackled stage combat, seven-minute plays, and

action plays. Drama Studio has been busier than ever, with the grade 10s exploring radio plays, and the

grade 11s creating their own “Jukebox” musicals!

It’s also production season for BHS Drama Studio, as both

the 10s and 11s are rehearsing for major plays coming up

in March.

Grade 10 unveils a wacky newsroom comedy called “Have

I Got News For You”, Thursday-Friday, March 15-16.

Grade 11 presents a very cool mobster comedy, “Lucky

Hudson and the 12th Street Gang” on Wednesday-

Thursday, March 28-29.

All shows begin at 7:00pm on those nights, with the lowest-priced tickets in the entire school board to

see top-notch entertainment. BHS Drama Studio has a rich history of never-before-seen theatrical

delights, so these plays are not to be missed!

On the improv front, BHS Improv has

had a very busy couple of months. In

November, alongside Dance and Glee,

BHS Improv performed in front of a

very large audience for the annual

Charity Show. This year’s edition

benefitted the C.A.R.E, raising OVER

$1500! Thanks to all who came out to

support the performing arts and a

very worthy cause!

Speaking of BHS Improv, we’ve been making the rounds of our feeder elementary schools, having

performed two great shows at Clearpoint and St. Edmund in the past couple months.

Variety Show had a large contingent of BHS Drama, featuring 3 MCs, as well as singers, dancers, AV Crew,

and the BHS Improv teams.

Remember, for ALL things Drama and Improv, check out http://bhsdramadept.weebly.com

Theatrically Yours,

Jeff Pinsky

BHS Drama

Community Office

Students have been very busy this year, both in and outside of school. Many have already volunteered

over twenty to thirty hours, which qualifies them for the Beaconsfield High School Community and In-

School Service Award. There is still plenty of time to get involved and “earn” these hours. Students

should see Mrs. Dubuc if they are looking for volunteer activities or check the Bison Daily News available

in school or on the BHS website, http://beaconsfield.lbpsb.qc.ca. Students MUST record their hours in the

binder outside C103 in order to receive recognition for their volunteering.

Students obtaining 40 hours of community service should also register for the “Youth in Action” award,

supported by Volunteer West Island and our local Quebec MNA’s. Go to www.cabvwi.org – click on “I

want to volunteer" to register. Then students should see me to receive their recording booklet. All

students with 40 hours of service between August 2017 and April 14, 2018, are invited to a gala and many

BHS students may win a prize. Do not miss out; register now.

Thank you to all parent volunteers. You are truly the pillars of our school. Your work as nurses, book-

menders, library volunteers, tutors, drivers and all the other assorted tasks that you do for the school, is

greatly appreciated. BHS would not be the same

without you.

Thank you to all the families who donated food and

money for our holiday basket campaign. Judging by

the feedback I have been given, the recipient families

were overwhelmed with our generosity. This is truly a

wonderful way for the students to experience what

“giving from the heart” really means. We helped more

than 20 West Island families this year, and donated

clothing to Verdun elementary.

Our Variety Show, BHS We’ve Got The Beat, was a wonderful success. It was a real pleasure working with

Melissa Gomez, Jeff Pinsky, and all the talented students. We raised over $3000 for 60 Million Girls.

Our twelfth annual grade 11 International Development Volunteer Trip to El Salvador will be leaving on

February 22, 2018. Students will be building an outdoor auditorium at the local secondary school, to be

used for community events. They will also visit historic sights, volcanoes and do some surfing and hiking.

If you have a child in grade 10 who might be considering this trip in his/her graduating year, have her/him

see me. Meetings for the 2019 trip will begin in April or May, and most of our students will be committed

by June 2018. Numbers are limited.

Thank you to all who have donated ink cartridges to our

recycling operation. This service is on-going throughout

the year. Used cartridges can be brought to the

community office, C103. The funds we raise allow us to

bring in presentations for all of our students.

Don’t forget, school sweat clothing (pants, hoodies and

zip front sweatshirts) are available from my office as

supplies last. Order forms are available outside C103.

Term II has been a busy one at BHS, and the rest of the year looks to be even more exciting. Students,

get involved with your school. It will make your high school years more valuable, rewarding, and

unforgettable.

Nancy Dubuc

Music Department

Our Holiday concerts took place on December 13th and 14th. Students played festive music to a sold out

auditorium both nights. All the bands did a fantastic job at showcasing all of their hard work. Thank you

to everybody who came and contributed in some way to our bake sale, which was a huge success.

Our grade 9 homeroom music classes helped bring out the spirit of the holidays to two needy West Island

families. The students and their families donated many boxes filled with food and toiletries as well as a

$100 gift card for Walmart for each family as well as some donated toys and gifts. Once again the music

department demonstrated a sense of community through their generosity.

On February 21st, our grade 8 music class will be travelling to Ottawa to compete in the Capital Region

Music Festival. This is the second time that we will be participating in this festival. The students have

been working very hard on 3 pieces that they will play for the adjudicators.

The New York bands have already started preparing for the New York Worldstrides Heritage Music

Festival. We will be taking 103 students to compete in this year’s festival. Please note that rehearsals are

held every Wednesday morning and that attendance is mandatory. This year, we will be entering a Junior

and Senior concert band as well as a Senior Jazz Band. Students are looking forward to competing against

hundreds of students from across Canada and the U.S. We will be leaving on Thursday April 26th and

returning on Sunday April 30th. We wish everyone the best.

Fundscrip is up and running! We really encourage everybody to try it as it is a really easy way to raise

money for the department without spending an extra dollar. To register for Fundscrip, please go to

www.fundscrip.com and enter our code: 7C3S4X. The more people we can get participating, the more

money we get to purchase new instruments and equipment for the students.

Musically Yours,

Phil Legault and Valérie Lepage

MUSIC DEPARTMENT WEB SITE ADDRESS: musicbhs.weebly.com

Leadership

The Art of Leadership:

On November 29, 27 Student

Leaders at BHS took part in a one day

leadership conference entitled the

Art of Leadership. This was a once in

a lifetime opportunity for the

students as they were able to

experience a keynote address from

the 47th Vice-President of the United

States, Joe Biden. While tickets for

this event ranged from $500-1500,

we are grateful that the event

organizers donated seats for our

students in a “Future Leaders

Section.” Our students made the

school proud not only by their

exceptional demeanor, however

they participated and asked

questions with the keynote speakers.

Caring Paws of Canada:

On February 1, in the middle of our exam week, BHS

worked alongside Caring Paws Animal Therapy in

order to help students relieve stress. Nala, a

beautiful and well-tempered poodle, came in to the

Fishbowl and met with students. K9 therapy was at

its finest, as many of the students enjoyed the time

spent with the dog. Thank you to Home and School

for your donation to Caring Paws Animal Therapy.

Girls’ Night-In:

On December 15, 30 students participated in

BHS’ 1st Ever Girls’ Night In. Planned by Grade

11 Leadership students, the goal of the evening

was to empower female students. The female

students were able to hear motivational

speaker and BHS Alumnus Rosanna Tomiuk

discuss overcome obstacles and being one’s

best self. The students had a yoga session to

help with mental health. They had physical

exercise, and got to truly be themselves for an

evening.

Visual Arts

Grade 10 and 11 Art students started this term with a wonderful visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine

Arts. They enjoyed the vast world of creativity through the two and three dimensional artworks from

historical and contemporary artists displayed at the museum. Each student reflected upon two pieces of

artwork by writing an analysis.

Grade 10 students also finished painting backdrops

of our school’s Musical production “Mary Poppins”

as grade 11 students completed painting the

backdrops of our school’s Drama play. Bravo to all

grade participating students for their fantastic job!

Grade 9 Students learned two new art techniques

throughout this term: embossing the copper sheet

and photorealistic portrait painting. Some of the

beautiful copper embossing projects of BHS

students are being displayed at the school board to

represent our school’s Visual Arts department.

Grade 7 and 8 students learned how to draw a human portrait with the accurate proportions. They also

became familiar with the famous artist Picasso and his cubist art style and created their own version of

cubist portraits using soft pastels on paper.

“Plasticine book illustrations” and “Australian dot painting” are the other two projects that grade 7 and 8

art students created this term.

We had a wonderful time and look forward to more fun creative activities for the last term of this school

year.

Artistically Yours,

Shiva Kaffash

Fusion

Online Report Cards

Fusion publishes digital versions of your child(ren)’s report card. The portal provides access to two years

of report cards for both elementary and secondary grades, term by term. You can view report cards in the

following manner.

Official Report Card - The same report card you have received as a printed version

Simplified Version - Provides a quick overview of the results

Graphic Version - A visual representation of results plotted out on a graph, course by course

The report card viewer provides the ability to move back and forth from the current year, previous year,

and interim. The initial view is the last published term. Your school publishes each term in Fusion by

designating a date and time as to when the online report cards will be available to ensure the information

conforms to all procedures and regulations.

The Ministry of Educations allows for the distribution of online reports cards as a recognized method to

provide this most important information to parents. As Fusion has moved forward substantially the past

year, more of the LBPSB schools are publishing report cards online and no longer printing a paper version.

This in no way removes a parent’s ability to request a printed version of their child(ren)’s report card from

the school.

Although there are schools that publish report cards solely online, there are also schools that will print

them. Regardless of pathway chosen, report cards will be published in the Fusion Parental Portal for

parents to access.

Thank you!

fusion@lbpsb.qc.ca

Communications & Innovations Services

Lester B. Pearson School Board

Items of Note

BHS – 60 Years of Excellence

Beaconsfield High School opened its doors early in the fall of 1958, and in October this year, the Alumni

Association is happily planning a DIAMOND JUBILEE celebration. The big weekend will be Friday, Oct. 19,

Saturday, Oct. 20 and Sunday morning, Oct. 21. One of the featured attractions will be the opportunity

for staff members, then and now, to meet parents and students aged 16 to 76. What have they done,

what are they doing, and how has BHS impacted their lives? The AABHS would love to hear from you if

Beaconsfield High figured in your life in any way. Just email wstockwell@sympatico.ca and we’ll send you

an invitation, or even link you up with the planning committee.

Ink Cartridge Recycling

Bring in your printer cartridges to help us recycle them, protect the environment,

and help us earn money for our Global projects in Central America.