by Henry MacDougall
(click images to enlarge)

Lots went on this October at King George, with fundraisers, clubs opening up, and much, much, more!

Members of the West End Community Centre’s Senior Youth Leadership Club were on Denman last month offering hot coffee and snacks for donations to their programs. Standing, from left: Asal, Mohamed, Kavya, and Youth Coordinator Jessica. Seated, from left: Leonardo, Danna, and Gabriella. *(KDM Photo)*

WEST END YOUTH FUNDRAISERS

The Senior Leadership Program, run by Jessica McCallum of the West End Community Centre, ran a fundraiser on the morning of the October 14. The team set up a table outside of the library at around 8:30 a.m. and sold coffee, cookies, and muffins.

The funds that were raised in this event are being put towards other programs offered by the community centre for West End youth. The fundraiser was a success, as they raised around $300 overall.

The team also aims to do another fundraiser in November, but the event is still in the planning stages. Posters for the November fundraiser will likely be put up around the West End Community Centre, and on the West End Journal’s Facebook page, so make sure to keep an eye out for future opportunities to support West End youth!

**The exterior of Barclay Manor, taken the night before the first Haunted House event** *(Henry MacDougall Photo)*

This October, the Junior Leadership Program ran their yearly haunted house fundraiser at Barclay Manor on October 27 and 28.

The Junior Leadership group spent a day covering Barclay Manor with spooky decorations. When it was time for the evening event, the King George students arrived to get face paint applied and were among the monsters in the haunted house. Once all student volunteers were ready and in position, visitors were allowed to enter. The level of scary was moderated by the greeter at the door (little kids entering had a gentler, less spooky experience).

Visitors were charged $4 each, or $12 for a family of four, and funds raised from the event are also put towards the community centre’s youth programs. If you missed the chance to support West End youth at this year’s haunted house, you still have a chance with future fundraisers run by the Senior Leadership club.

**The state of the newly refinished gym floor.** *(Henry MacDouball Photo)*

DAMAGE TO THE GYM FLOOR

Surprisingly, the gym floor’s new paint job is already starting to chip. Considering that this is supposed to be a “once every 30-year job,” this is quite concerning, as some parts of the gym floor are actually in a condition that is worse than before the upgrades were made.

The majority of the damage is in places where poles are inserted into the gym floor to hold up volleyball or badminton nets.

When I asked Mr. Campbell about any possible plans to fix the floor, he explained that there were plans for repairing the damage, but he wasn’t sure if these would actually go through.

One thing’s for sure, though. They don’t varnish gym floors like they used to!

THOUGHTS ON FIT

I’ve noticed this year that attendance during morning Flexible Instruction Time (FIT) is generally a lot less than during the afternoon FITs. I investigated this by conducting some non-scientific research this October, by going to the same classroom as consistently as I could during FIT time in mornings and afternoons. This year FIT time runs four times a week, twice in the morning (8:40-9:20am) & twice in the afternoon (1:21-2:01pm), Monday to Thursday.

I noticed that during morning FITs, there were usually an average of about 7 to 10 students. Comparing this to afternoon FITs, which usually average more at about 13 to 16 students. One likely reason for this difference is a lot of students are simply sleeping in during morning FITs.

Of course, the number of students is always fluctuating throughout the year, as homework demands become more or less. On top of that, this number is not accurate for all classes, as some will obviously be a lot more popular.

SLO OBSERVATIONS

So far this year, I haven’t seen our Vancouver Police School Liaison Officer (SLO) around school at all. I have also heard no mention of the program’s return from any of my teachers. This leads me to believe that the school intends for the SLO program to take on a smaller, more subtle role when compared to past years where officers were present in schools, walking through hallways and accompanying students on field trips.

A BISHOP’S UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL VISIT

A small but lively university in Québec, Bishop’s rented out our gym earlier in October for their basketball team to practice. The Bishop’s University basketball team was on their way to play The University of Victoria on the Island and stopped at KG for a quick lunch time practice.

A few former KG students currently attend Bishop’s, which is located in Lennoxville, a borough of Québec’s Eastern Townships.

Quebec’s 19th century Bishop’s University may soon be out of financial reach for many non-Québec students.

There happens to be a recruitment poster promoting Bishop’s University in the landing between the second and third floors next to the stairs. This is the time of year when Grade 12 KG graduating students are working on their college and university applications.

To add to the stress of school application time, Québec's Premier François Legault announced that there will be a massive hike in university tuition for out-of-province students attending anglophone universities in Québec. These universities include McGill, Concordia, and Bishop’s. The fee increase would be effective September 2024.

This affects any King George student who is hoping to go to one of the three English universities in Québec for next year. For example, an $8,900 tuition fee would be raised to $17,000 with these proposed changes.

In full disclosure, my brother is currently at Bishop’s. He will not be affected by these proposed changes as current enrolled students are grandfathered in for the next five years, but all new students will pay more.

Historically, King George has had many graduating students pursue their university degree out of the province. How many will choose to now go to Québec if the fees double is up in the air.

INTERACT CLUB RECRUITMENT

The Interact Club is opening up for an information session on November 2, hoping to recruit committed and responsible members to the club. If you’re not familiar with Interact, the club is a community service driven group that aspires to help out the West End community and global community, usually with events like fundraisers or clothing drives.

You may recognize Interact Club from past projects such as the “Spin the Wheel” fundraiser last year, the clothing drive for homeless populations last year, and the eyeglass drive during the pandemic.

Not only do Interact club members get to support their community and the rest of the world, they also get to learn valuable skills and make new friends in the process. Interact is a great way to get more involved in your school for any interested grade 8s!

Thanks for reading everyone, have a great month KG!