Expedition #1 - Writing and Visual Art

Words and Photos by Meheq Bawa

Our first expedition day was an incredible, engaging experience where we had the opportunity to be creative in our writing and study new styles of art. Throughout the day we were reminded to keep an open-mind as we learned different techniques, perspectives and characteristics of abstract art. We began the day by heading to Michelle’s art studio where we would get our first introduction into our cohort. First, we began on our abstract landscapes by brainstorming objects and shapes reminding us of a memorable childhood place. By incorporating these elements, each painting created a personal impression and representation. Throughout the morning we added layers of lines and shapes onto our paper using charcoal, paints, oil pastels and various other supplies while also using new techniques such as palette knifing. By adding different layers of material to the paper our paintings continued to change and evolve. After a while of painting we took a break to transfer our creativity from visual art into writing. As prompts were read out from books we wrote the first thing that came to mind in our journals and wrote about our own interpretation of the given text.

After having lunch we finished off our paintings. We developed texture into our pieces of art then learned a few techniques such as edging and contrasting to make our paintings look more defined and have a finished effect. After adding a few more colours and outline our original symbols we settled down to write. We went around to each person's painting and wrote a descriptive short paragraph on our perspective when we looked at it and what we saw. After each person had written about every painting we picked out our favourite quotes from those paragraphs and turned it into a poem. To end the day, we all shared our poems and discussed our them. It was a great and relaxing day and we all learned a lot about the style of abstract art and also had an amazing opportunity to work with Michelle.

Expedition Day #1 - Ridgeline to Coastline: Paddling

Photos & Words by Owen Vincent

Our first excursion day on Ridgelines to Coastlines paddling cohort was an absolute blast. We met at Derby on a beautiful (and oddly warm) morning at 8:00 Am to sort out gear and introduce ourselves to the excursion leader.

Shortly after we were taken to Cadboro bay where-in we would spend the day learning some of the basic paddling skills necessary for our end-of-year 6 day paddling trip. We were taught everything as basic as a simple forward stroke, to much more complicated strokes, such as sculling. After a busy morning we came in to have lunch at around 12, giving us roughly 30 minutes to enjoy a beachside picnic.

Soon after we were back at it launching our boats again for the afternoon’s session. With the winds picking up slightly it made for some interesting attempts at forming rafts, while also forcing us to wear neoprene paddling caps, which may not be in fashion, but are incredibly cozy. We finished off the afternoon session by practicing wet exits and re-entrances in a sheltered corner of the bay. While I believe we all successfully completed both a wet exit and re-entrance, there were apparently some questionable techniques from the whole group, but it's all part of the learning experience.

To wrap up the day we were picked up from the peppers grocery store in Cadboro Bay (after grabbing a few snacks) at 2:45 to be brought back to derby for 3. We rinsed off all the gear and hung it up to dry, ensuring it would be ready to go for our next expedition day.

All in all the day as a whole was incredibly eventful and in my opinion a complete success, having learned new skills while enjoying the outdoors I personally can’t wait for the next outing.

Expedition #1 - Sports Analytics

Words and Photos by Jonathan Nguyen

This Tuesday, October 22nd, with tons of excitement, we started the Sports Analytics cohort with our first Expedition Day. We first met in the library to discuss our interests in numbers, sports and why we put this cohort as our first selection. We realized that we have a lot in common: all of us are eager to find out more about the sports analytics industry. Then, we watched some videos and documentaries of some professional sports teams who have been successfully using and applying sports analytics to develop their performance, particularly the Houston Rockets. We were exposed to different devices they attach to the players in order to record their shots, mechanics, etc. Then, Mr. Bates and Mr. Geddes showed us unique formulas that the NBA, NFL, and ESPN use to calculate players' efficiency in each game. Although calculating the numbers was hard and complicated, we were very excited to find out how our favorite players perform each game, based on complex numbers. Infographic was the last thing we touched on before going to lunch.

The best part of the day was in the afternoon when we had the opportunity to visit the Victoria Royals Stadium. The experience was fantastic. When we got to the stadium, the assistant coach of the team showed us the stadium, the players' locker room, the gym and the daily routine of a Victoria Royals' hockey player. Especially as a boarding student from Asia, it was really cool to get to know about the hockey culture in Canada. Then, we were introduced to some basic hockey terms and we watched some of the Royals' Power Play. Our job was to analyze how the play was organized, who took the shot, how did the goalie react to the shot, etc. After about half an hour of watching different Power Plays, I personally learned a lot of hockey strategies and terminologies. I think that I have started to like this sport! To conclude our day, we took a group picture outside of the stadium. All of us were really happy with the experience we got in the first Expedition day. I am looking forward to seeing how this year is going to be.

Expedition #1 - Ridgelines & Coastlines: Hiking

Words & Photos by Fabian Strasser

We met at Crothall to meet our group leaders, before we driving in a small van to Fairway grocery store to buy our food we wanted to have for lunch. Then we hiked a small “warm-up Hill”  and after that we met the kids of grade 3 to go with them to the beach to look for interesting plants and animals. When we were done that we drove to the Bear Mountain Resort to hike Mount Finlayson. Before we started hiking we cooked our  delicious lunch and enjoyed it.

Then we started our hike. The mountain was sometimes so steep we had to do a little bit of rock-climbing. That was a thrill. When we reached the summit we only had a small break as time was running out and we had to get back. In the end, the small trip was very cool and we got to know each other much better.

Expedition Day #1 - Fashion Design & Industry

Photos & Words by Devon O. & Brody S.

We started off the day with a beautiful sunny morning; the first after many days of rain. We took the school bus down to the Pacific Design Academy, or PDA for short. We hiked up four flights of stairs to the beautiful and spacious design loft on the top floor. To begin with, the instructor gave us a demonstration on how to use the industrial sewing machines in the room. We practiced our skills, such as how to begin and end a stitch, until we were comfortable enough to begin our first project: tote bags! 

We began the task by making a pattern on large sheets of paper to give us all the proper measurements before we cut the fabric. The group all picked out unique materials with a vision of their bag in mind. The room was filled with everything from gingham, terrycloth and everything in between. After tracing and cutting our fabric, it was time to sew. The group worked hard for the afternoon until everyone left the design loft with a brand new fashionable and practical bag that they created themselves!

Expedition Day #1 - Giddy Up! Equine Assisted Leadership

Photos & Words by Vivian W. & Lauren W.

On the first day of the Giddy Up cohort, we got to meet some of the riding community as well as learning the rules of the barn. We spent half of our day focusing on chores around the barn and feeding the horses. In the second half of the day, we were geared up and assigned horses. We learnt to brush and prep the horse for a ride. The highlight of the day was getting on the horse for most people's first time ever! We spent about half an hour on the horses each, as we learnt to mount and ride the horse without the help of a trainer.

Expedition Day #1 - School Grounds Coffee Co.

Photos & Words by Malik S.

The first day of our experiential program was much anticipated, with all members of the team eagerly awaiting the fun the day would bring. The morning began with a bus ride downtown to Fernwood Coffee Roasters and Cafe, where we met Ed, the head roaster, and watched him go through the roasting process with their 20kg a batch roaster. He went through the process step by step, showing us everything from how they monitor temperatures and spin rate on a computer to how to test if the beans are ready. He then introduced us to many different types of coffee from various regions and this was followed by a round of questioning on our part for Ed and Ben, one of the owners. This was a great opportunity to learn lots about the business and production sides of Fernwood Coffee.

The next part of our journey took us to Little June cafe, which are partnered with Fernwood and sell their coffee. Here we were lucky enough to each sample different coffee based drinks and try some of their baked goods. While enjoying our treats, we took note of the design, layout, marketing and logo of Little June and asked lots of questions.

After our delicious tastings, we headed back to school for three activities. The first was barista training, led by John in the schools Howard cafe, where we all learned how to work a coffee machine and got to try making espresso shots. Second up was roasting coffee over barbecues (1.3kg a batch) outdoors with Mr Daly, we then packaged our medium roasted coffee and got to take it home. The third station was drawing up business ideas for everything from brand image to location to production and then looking at how we make a business plan.

Everyone ended the day with big grins on our faces, having tried a variety of different coffees, learned to roast our own, learned about many aspects of business and most importantly did it with a great group of people we can now call our friends.

Expedition Day #1 - West Coast Cultural Connections Cohort

Photos & Words by Emma C. & Kate L.

We started the morning by heading over to Goldstream. We spent a good half hour exploring all the interesting things the nature hut had to offer, like insight on flora and fauna. After that, we went on a hunt to find salmon. Unfortunately, we were a couple of weeks too early to see the end of the salmon life cycle.

Instead, we watched some salmon fight with each other which was very cool to see as well. We then continued with a hike, also near Goldstream. It was a bit of a push, as most of it was uphill, but we got to see an abandoned trestle. Our group took many photos of the spectacular sight, then progressed onto our descent.

Our next half of the day was spent at the Royal B.C museum, getting more information and history on the indigenous communities on the West Coast of B.C. We learned a variety of many things, including the significance of all the different languages, how they used to hunt and forage for food, and the impact of smallpox and the devastation that brought.

Expedition Day #1 - Yoga & Mindfulness Cohort

Photos & Words by Jillian B.

We started our first expedition day by meeting our cohort leaders and fellow group members. We discussed why we chose the yoga and mindfulness cohort and what we were hoping to gain from this experience. To begin with we learned some history about yoga which was really interesting. We also got introduced to some yoga terminology. We talked about words such as mantra meaning a sound or phrase such as om. We then learned our first sunrise salutation which is a flow of movements that you coordinate with your breath.

My personal favourite activity we did was making our own personal journals. There were options of using old books or plain notebooks. We began to fill our journals with images we cut from magazines and important and meaningful words that we could reflect on. We shared the progress we had made in our journals by going around in a circle and explaining the reasoning for choosing certain images and words we put in our journals. I really liked seeing what my fellow group members had put in their journals and why.

After lunch we left campus to experience our very first yoga class as a group at Yew Tree Yoga in Cadboro Bay. The teacher was really great and taught us some basic yoga poses and practiced sunrise salutations with us. At the end we did Savasana which was extremely relaxing. I really enjoyed my first day with my cohort and am looking forward to trying different types of yoga and getting to know the members of my group better throughout the year.

Expedition # 5- Ridgelines & Coastlines Outdoor Sampler Cohort

Words & Photos- Emily S.

Our fifth expedition day full of action and fun engaging experiences. We left school around 8am to go kayaking in Brentwood bay, we paddled into Todd inlet and saw a bunch of wildlife like jellyfish, starfish, and some of us even saw a seal. We also got a chance to think about the questions about the environment and how climate change is impacting our local region that we explored earlier that week in a grade meeting.

After paddling for more than 2 hours, we had lunch and took the bus to Bear Mountain where we went mountain biking for the rest of the day . We were split into 2 groups, experienced and less experienced so that everyone got a chance to learn something new and step out of their comfort zone, we explored new skills and had a lot of fun.

Expedition # 5 - Ridgelines & Coastlines Paddling and Hiking

Ridgelines & Coastlines - Paddling

Words from Alex R.

Today, me and my fellow kayakers experienced what it is like to go Whitewater Kayaking. It was an introductory day and our second time kayaking as a group, but it was definitely a blast. The surrounds were stunning, we got to go down some beginner rapids and some of us even got to go “swimming”, which sounds fun until your boat flips upside-down. Your “Holy Crap! Strap” is there for a reason, so when I flipped after going over a massive rock, I pulled it, ditched my boat, and drifted down the rapid. It’s really just a waterslide if you think of it with the right perspective. A few of us experienced the same panic that I did, but looking back it was just because the heat of the moment. The guides were very helpful in making sure everyone was safe and having fun.

There was one moment in particular, when about 3 kayakers, including myself, flipped on the same part of the river. My story was that my friend was headed into a bush and I was trying to see what was going on, then ended up flipping myself. I was stuck on the side of the river with someone else who had flipped. All we had was our two kayaks filled with water, and 1 paddle. One of the guides came to help us while another was with the majority of the group and the final guide was with someone who had flipped but was farther down the river bend. They were all calm, despite the time delay and after we had finally emptied our kayaks, the guide helping me let me use his paddle to go down the rapid that was left. The other student stuck with me drained his kayak of water, then also went down the remainder of the rapid.

The guide was left without a paddle, so another guide walked up his boat with my paddle that had drifted down, gave him the paddle, and finally made it to the rest of the group. We were way behind schedule and it had been a long day, but nobody was complaining and we finished off the day strong. We all learnt valuable kayaking skills, whether it was for Whitewater Kayaking or if it applied to Kayaking as a whole. We were lucky to have such friendly and enthusiastic guides, and the beautiful, sunny day, wasn’t so bad either. It was truly a day to remember.

Expedition # 5 - Alternative Energy Cohort

Words & photos - Dewi W.

We started off the day bright and early in the Art Room on the 3rd floor of Crofthall. We watched videos regarding Teslas, lithium batteries and super connectors. The videos explained the current progress in automated cars and the current upgrade in Tesla cars with Tesla Autopilot.

We then headed upstairs to continue building our wind turbines. After putting together the final pieces of the top of our turbine, we were done! But just before we got to actually putting the wind turbine atop the roof. We took a short break to the parking lot to see an actual Tesla Model X. An amazing feat of technology and the automation industry. After viewing and being within this phenomenal car, we took all of our pieces to the roof to begin construction. However, we didn’t quite get to see the turbines in full effect as we were missing a BB to allow the fins to spin. Then we went down to the science classroom to figure out the transfer of energy between the wind turbine and an actual battery that could hold the energy. Before we knew it, the day was over and many hopped in cars or walked over to the boarding house. All in all, it was a great day for renewable energy.

Expedition #5 - Who Am I? Exploring Cultural Roots Cohort

Words & Photos - Adrienne H.

As mentioned in our previous blogs, we did our DNA test during our second expedition day, finding out about our ancestry roots. We started our 5th expedition day by going on a trip around the world. Each one of us had the opportunity to take the others on a journey to where their ancestors are from using Google Earth VR in SMUS' glasserie. From Ecuador, Brazil, England to Africa and China. We went to some really cool places and got to see some monuments which we might not ever visit in real life. Everyone did their own research before the expedition day and shared their ancestors' stories while taking us around the world, it was definitely interesting to learn more about each other's culture as we all come from very different places. 

For the afternoon, we got a chance to plan meals for our pursuit week at the end of June. From planning to actually cook it ourselves, we learnt different cooking skills and more about cooking. This is very meaningful because we will cook our culture meals. We will get to eat food from different cultures made by each student, which we are all very looking forward to. Unfortunately, we were too keen to learn cooking that no photos were taken!