Welcome to the Brentwood Grade 8 Program website!

The purpose of this site is to provide a single place for students and parents in the program to keep informed of program happenings. 

Current information will be updated routinely.

Sincerely, 

Ms. Waugh

Grade 8 students can earn colours in Academics, Sports, and Arts

ACADEMIC COLOURS

Colours - On final reports, Proficient in all academic subjects and ATL Skills, with at least Often

Heads Award - On final reports, Proficient-High in all academic subjects and ATL Skills, with at least Often

 The following courses are used for calculation:

• English

• French 

• Math

• Science

• Social Studies

SPORTS COLOURS

To earn Sports colours, students must participate in at least one sport each term, compete on at least two A-team sports over the school year, and earn Proficient-High or Extending in PHE every term. In addition, ATL skills with at least Often every term. 

ARTS COLOURS

To earn Arts colours, in addition to their regular rotation (Musical, 2-D Arts, and Music), students must participate in at least one Arts elective for the year. They must earn Proficient and ATL skills, with at least Often in every Arts class. 

SUBJECT AWARDS

A subject award is given to a student who embodies excellence, grit, and joy in each of these subject areas:

• Arts

• English

• French

• Math

• Physical Education

• Science

• Social Studies 

Each Grade 8 Program student will require the following supplies: 

• One large zip-up style binder with 6 dividers

• Lined paper for binder

• Compostion Notebook

• Pencils

• Pens (blue and/or black)

• Package of highlighers (4)

• Pencil kit

• Pencil sharpener

• Ruler

• Pencil crayons

• Scientific calculator ($15.00-$20.00 - please do not purchase a graphing calculator)

• A personal laptop

• Athletic dress: 

  • 1. • black Brentwood shorts

       • Brentwood logo t-shirt (black, red, grey or white) 

       • Brentwood logo pull-over for colder days outside

       • non-marking-sole runners for inside use

       • runners for outdoor use

• Musical rehearsal dress:

  • 1. • comfortable bottoms, easy to move in (sweatpants, shorts, leggings)

       • a comfortable t-shirt (does not have to be a Brentwood top)

       • extra pair of socks

       • on the days we rehearse on the stage, you will be asked to wear runners or your school shoes

Please ensure supplies have an easy-to-read, hard-to-remove name label. 

Note that the school store has competitively priced school supplies. 

The Grade 8 Program includes built-in arts and Physical Education.

• Athletics: Grade 8s are expected to participate in one sport per term. Practices are scheduled on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoons between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM, though some games or tournaments may fall outside these hours. (See the list of seasonal sports options below.)

• Arts: For students who want to get more involved in the Arts—and potentially earn Arts colours—optional classes run on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM in one-hour blocks as a full-year commitment.

Students will learn about the tentative Arts options during an assembly in the first week of school, followed by a conversation with Ms. Waugh. Once available options are finalized, we will help students sign up.

Brentwood uses an Advisor program as one important way to ensure all students have a strong connection and continuous support from an adult in the Brentwood community. 

Students at Brentwood can have a teacher, a houseparent or a BFA (Boarding Faculty Assistant) as their advisor. Grade 8s will meet with their Advisors weekly. 

Please use the contact information on the Contacts page of this website to touch base with Ms. Waugh, Ms. Price, or your child's advisor at any time. We want to hear from you regarding any questions or concerns, no matter how big or small. We will contact you regularly with updates as well. 

Together, through good communication, we can help your children have a wonderful year. 

Students will receive their Brentwood student cards near the end of September. The student card has two main purposes: printing and purchasing on campus. 

Printing is free. Students can print to any printer on the Brentwood campus, including the printer we have in the Grade 8 classroom. The student card is used to log in to the printer and activate the printing job. 

Purchasing is done on campus at the school store and at McNeill's snack bar. Students load their student card with funds at the school store, and then use their student card to purchase items at the school store and at McNeill's. 

It is important for parents to realize that students are self-directed when loading their card with funds at the school store. Student accounts are charged for the amount that students load onto their card. A conversation between student and parents regarding the use of the student card for purchasing is recommended.  

Brentwood is a busy place, and students go hard academically, artistically and academically each and every day in the Grade 8 Program. Moreover, most students participate in extracurricular Arts and Athletics, which makes for an even longer day. Still, there will be homework, and gradually there will be more homework as the year progresses. To begin the year, we will go slow and steady as we set expectations and routines. 

Importantly, we want to ensure students make health a priority by getting home for a rest and a good sleep each night. We also expect students to stay home to rest and not share their bug when they are sick. Further, while we expect students to be organized and submit assignments on time, we also know that all students have different responsibilities and activities outside of school, work at different rates, and have strengths in certain areas of learning and challenges in other areas of learning. For all of those reasons, it is very difficult to find an amount of homework that is best for each student. 

As teachers, we check in with all students each day to understand how students are doing and to adjust the work load for the class and/or for individuals as necessary. Students who are overwhelmed are encouraged to communicate with teachers in class or by email if they need extra support or more time. Tutorial times are excellent opportunities for students to receive extra support from their teachers. If necessary, and through consultation with parents, tutorial can be mandatory for students who require extra support. 

THREE BASIC KINDS OF HOMEWORK: 

• PRACTICE: routine practice of a skill. For example: 

  • • • • reading a novel

        • typing practice

• PREVIEW: reading or writing to warm up for an up-coming activity. For example:

  • • • • reading a Social Studies or Science text or article 

        • write a brief response to a news article in preparation for discussion/debate the next day 

• REVIEW:

  • • • • organize binder

        • rewrite notes

        • prepare for upcoming quiz or test (i.e. study)

To begin the year, students will have routine homework responsibilities such as these: 

1. Read a novel for 30 minutes (minimum!) every school night. 

2. Rehearse lines and songs for the musical for 20+ minutes each school night.  

3. Prepare for quizzes and tests. 

Some days require "smart casual" dress, yet smart casual is hard to define! 

Here are YES/NO lists that I hope will help guide students. Also, students can dress above this dress level (e.g. school uniform).  

YES

• Blouse

• Polo shirt

• Collared shirt

• Button-down shirt

• Sweater

• Slacks

• Dress pants

• Khakis 

• Skirt

• Dress

• Closed-toe shoes 

• Sneakers

• Flats

• Loafers

NO

• Jeans

• Sweats

• Athletic runners

• Sandals

• Hoodies

• T-shirts

Some days require "casual" dress, yet casual is hard to define! 

Here are YES/NO lists that I hope will help guide students. Also, students can dress above this level if they choose (e.g. school uniform, or smart casual). 

YES

• Jeans

• T-shirts

• Hoodies

• Sweatpants

• Tights/leggings

• Sweatshirts

• Closed-toe shoes

NO

• Ripped or torn clothing

• Revealing clothing (e.g. tank-tops)

• Inappropriate messages or symbols

• Sandals

School holidays and breaks are the same for the 8s as for the 9-12s.  Please refer to this link on the school website for dates:  www.brentwood.ca/calendar .  Note that the Weekly Schedule page on this site will be up-to-date at least a month in advance as well.

The Transportation Department should have reached out to you to see if you were interested in having your child take the Duncan or Langford day bus to and from school this year. This service does have an additional cost. 

The safety of each student is paramount. Brentwood assumes custody of care while students are in attendance and must account for students at all times through thoughtful supervision and explicit expectations regarding student location on campus. Please note that Grade 8 Program students are dismissed at the end of the academic school day (M/W/F at 3:00pm; T/Th at 1:30pm) and that custody of care is assumed by parents or guardians at dismissal time. 

Brentwood will continue to provide custody of care beyond dismissal time for arts, sports, or study time in the Grade 8 classroom: 

• if a Grade 8 student participates in an after-school athletic or art activity, the coach/instructor will provide supervision for the duration of that activity;  

• Ms. Price and/or Ms. Waugh will be in the Grade 8 classroom Monday, Wednesday and Friday until 5:00 pm to supervise Grade 8 students engaged in academic activity and to offer one-on-one tutoring and general supervision of students in the classroom to work on academics;

• They are also permitted to go to their House once dismissed from the classroom

Each day the Grade 8s are provided with a nutrition break (some sort of snack) and lunch. As our day commences after breakfast and finishes before dinner, we cannot invite day student Grade 8s to breakfast or dinner. 

There is an exception to that general policy: if your child is involved in a Brentwood activity that goes over breakfast or dinner, such as a sports team that is eating together, they are more than welcome to stay for those meals. 

Students are also encouraged to bring their own healthy snacks for a nutrition break scheduled specifically for the Grade 8 Program earlier in the day, and for the afternoon according to each student's own schedule of activity. 

Water bottles on student desks are encouraged. We keep fresh water in a dispenser in the classroom for refills throughout the day. 

We stress the importance of appropriate use of cell phones and other technologies in the Grade 8 Program. Cell phones are sometimes used for assignments because they can be a powerful tool for learning when used purposefully. At the same time, cell phones can be distracting and difficult for young people to manage and use wisely. 

To meet broader Grade 8 Program goals of collaboration and social development, and to support students in the development of purposeful and safe cell phone use,  all students will hand in their cell phones at the start of the academic day. Phones will be stored safely in the classroom and returned to students when they are required for a learning activity and upon dismissal at the end of the day. 

If you need to get in touch with your child during the course of the day, please email Price and/or Ms. Waugh. If there is an emergency situation, please contact reception by phone: 250-743-5521.

If your child is going to be away, please inform both Ms. Waugh  < kimberly.waugh@brentwood.ca> and Ms. Price - carly.price@brentwood.ca > as soon as you are aware they will be absent.