Weekly Newsletter- December 9, 2022 - King David High School

December 9, 2022 / Kislev 15, 5783

Shabbat Begins: 3:56 p.m. Shabbat Ends: 5:08 p.m.

Parsha: Vayishlach: Genesis 32:4 – 36:43

A DAY OUTDOORS!

Led by the Vancouver Outdoor School, 42 of our Grade 9 students took part in a full day of outdoor education activities at the Seymour Demonstration Forest on Tuesday. The day began with team building and Social Emotional Boundary breakers discussions. Many students were excited to see group leader, Jeff Willis, who led several trips for some of our students when they were at VTT. After the icebreakers and snowball making, students went through one rotation of activities, had lunch, and did another two activities before concluding the day with a great review. The three stations were parkour, group problem-solving, and knots and tarp building. Students really enjoyed spending the day outside, connecting with new peers, and making snowpeople.

Thank you to staff members Marie Vondracek, Lewis McGinn, Orly Naim, Esther Mogyoros, Matt Dichter and the Vancouver Outdoor School for facilitating a fun and educational day in the natural classroom for our Grade 9 class.

VAPING: WHAT KIDS NEED TO KNOW

Over the past three weeks, all grades have been learning about the effects and choices around vaping in small group settings. Our presenters, Jessica Gill, Masters student and researcher at SFU and Alisa Farina, Mental Health Worker at Jewish Federation are meeting with our students to ensure that each student hears educational, researched data about the known effects of vaping. Their presentation includes the history of cigarettes and vapes, the Canadian law around using vapes, and the King David policy on vaping during school hours. They then discuss the business of selling nicotine products, and how much it costs to be an average nicotine consumer (approximately $10,000 over five years). Jessica and Alisa covered the health effects of vaping including harm to the lungs and heart, an increase in stress, the chemicals that are inhaled, and the impact of those chemicals on the body. They also include information on how to quit vaping from quitnow.ca

One of our goals is for the workshop to have an overall supportive feel, knowing that using vapes and nicotine products is a growing part of our society, and to ensure our students have factual information in order to make their own healthy choices.

REHEARSING FOR A BIG HANUKKAH SHOW!

Pictured above (top left to bottom right): Max Kimel, Luca Jeffery, Jonathan Estok, Kiera Katz, Rachel Gerber, Arel Steen and Joella Pravda

The King David Jazz Combo is busy rehearsing for Beth Israel’s sold-out Eureka! It’s Hanukkah! party at Science World on Saturday night. They will be serenading the audience with both American Jazz Standards, Pop Songs and of course, a Hanukkah set featuring the Maccabeats version of Candlelight, Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Light One Candle” and the classics, “Al Hanisim”, “Chanukah Oh Chanukah, “I Have A Little Dreydl” and “Maoz Tsur”.

Led by King David’s Music Teacher, Johnny Seguin, our performers are:

Jazz Combo: Nikki Wiseman on piano, Luca Jeffery on guitar, Jesse Millman on bass guitar, and Max Kimel on drums.

Jazz Singers: Rachel Gerber, Kiera Katz, and Jonathan Estok

Additional performers: Ori Haber, Micah Sacks, Joella Pravda, and Arel Steen

STANDARDS BASED GRADING (SBG) SESSION FOR PARENTS

On Tuesday, we hosted an information evening for parents on Standards-based Grading (SBG). Our Director of Teaching and Learning, Danielle Paloposki gave our parents an informative learning session on our transition to this new assessment strategy which will be implemented school-wide in the coming years. SBG is a far more inclusive and equitable assessment practice for all students, which allows them opportunities to build transferable skills through active learning experiences.