Tag: international
Spring Break Service Trip 2019: Tanzania
Grade 10 student Devon Mills reflects on the Spring Break service trip to Tanzania
Spring Break Trip 2019: Europe
Grade 10 students McKenna Williams and Amalia Mairet write about the Spring Break trip to Europe.
Spring Break Service Trip 2019: Costa Rica
Grade 11 student Linden Girardeaux writes about the Spring Break service trip to Costa Rica
Spring Break Trip 2018: Singapore/Cambodia (Part 2)
Grade 11 student Matthew Owen-Flood writes about the Spring Break trip to Singapore and Cambodia.
Spring Break Exchange: Ecuador
Two Senior School students write about their exciting exchange trip to Quito, Ecuador during Spring Break.
Spring Break Service Trip 2018: India
Grade 12 student Atheer Al Hinai writes about the Spring Break service trip to India
Spring Break Rugby Trip: Australia
Grade 12 student Ranon Ng writes about the timeless memories made on the SMUS rugby trip to Australia.
Spring Break Trip 2018: Singapore/Cambodia (Part 1)
Grade 11 student Nathan Yang writes about his memorable Spring Break trip to Singapore and Cambodia with the school
Spring Break Service Trip 2018: Nicaragua
15 students traveled to rural Nicaragua over Spring Break and experienced an amazing blend of nature, community involvement, warm people, and unique experiences.
Spring Break Service Trip 2017: Mexico
Grade 12 student Fo Wu writes about the Senior School Spring Break service trip to Mexico
Spring Break Culture and Service Trip 2017: South Africa
Grade 11 student Samantha Cuell writes about the cultural and service trip to Cape Town, South Africa at Spring Break
Spring Break Service Trip 2017: Tanzania
Grade 11 student Sara Perelmuter writes about her experience travelling to Tanzania over Spring Break as part of a school service trip
Love: Building Bridges in a Time of Divisiveness
Love. It’s an obvious topic for the week of Valentine’s. Easy.
Yet, when we look at what’s happening in the world, it feels as though...
Engage, Inspire, Empower
It started out as colourful words on a page as we gathered around a table. Three words, “engage, inspire, empower”, were written in green...
Cultural and Service Trip: Volleyball Tour to Cuba
Right before school started, I traveled to Havana, Cuba along with 12 of my classmates – and volleyball teammates – led by coaches Bendfeld and...
Walk for Water Promotes Global Awareness at the Junior School
"If I suddenly said you couldn't drink the tap water, you couldn’t get any clean water, does anybody know where you would go for...
Applying to a University in the United Kingdom
Studying at a university in the United Kingdom is highly specialized. Students focus on one specific area (for three years in England or four...
Spring Break Service Trip 2016: Argentina
Argentina was better and worse than I expected, but it was undeniably memorable. Travelling with a group of 30 to a Latin American country where few...
Spring Break Trip 2016: Japan
I suppose our Spring Break cultural trip began the day we left, which, since we were on our way to the other side of the Pacific...
Spring Break Trip 2016: Europe
Before I went to Europe on a Spring Break music tour, I had never left North America. Being able to see just how similar...
Spring Break Service Trip 2016: Nicaragua
This Spring Break a group of about 20 students travelled to the small rural town of Jiquilillo, Nicaragua on a service trip. A service trip...
Syrian Refugees Talk Family, Compassion With SMUS Students
by Liza Weymar and Radha Raina, Grade 9 students
Last week in Modern Studies 9, our class had the fortune of meeting two Syrian refugees...
Global Issues Are Everyone’s Responsibility
by Livia Newman, Grade 10
One hundred and three students, teachers and parents took time out of their busy schedules last Friday to attend the...
Project Based Learning: How has Immigration Shaped Canada?
by Tanya Lee, Middle School teacher
On October 6th, the Grade 6 classes took part in a panel discussion as part of their Humanities classes....
Student Exchanges Offer Cultural Immersion
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have...
SMUS Welcomes the World
by Paul Leslie, Director of Admissions
Dear SMUS Team:
Congratulations to all on an excellent and well organised orientation week. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and...
Walk for Water
by Sarah Taylor, Grade 12
Walk for Water is happening on Friday, May 23. Free the Children puts on this annual event to raise awareness...
#WeAreGirlRising #BringBackOurGirls Event
It is a full time of year....sports, music, hobbies, and friends all taking a lot of our attention and energy.
While we go about our...
Szechuan Cuisine
I have always enjoyed Chinese food. In recent years, travelling to a few cities in China, I have been fortunate to taste more authentic...
The Value of Student Travel
This Spring Break, some SMUS students will be taking part in an annual tradition of Spring Break trips. These international trips will take students...
Why Go On An Exchange?
by Jasper Johnston, Grade 10
This March break, I get the amazing opportunity to travel with two other Senior School students, Oria James and Emily...
Celebrating Chinese New Year
In honour of the lunar new year, the Grade 1 classes took a field trip to Victoria's historic Chinatown to learn about Chinese culture...
Lunar New Year
This week, I can let the students speak for themselves. Students from Asian countries, especially China, share their cultures, their traditions, and the rest...
Malala Yousafzai: Activism or Exploitation?
Malala Yousafzai is the young Pakistani girl who the Taliban attempted to assassinate because of her activism for the right to education, especially for...
Service Trip? India?
If you have ever considered going on a service trip, this video (created by SMUS student Olivia Sorley) may motivate you to sign up! She...
Student Short Film Tops VFF Contest
http://vimeo.com/81909195
Grade 12 student Olivia Sorley took first place in the Senior student category for the Victoria Film Festival, which officially begins on February 7,...
Writing for Human Rights
by Dariol Haydock, Assistant Director of Middle School
On December 10, the Middle School held our second annual Amnesty International Write for Rights event. In...
YALP: Local Activists Inspire Grade 8 Students
by Aysha and Taylor, Grade 8
Aysha: Inspiration
When I was younger, I would see people on the streets who looked ragged and scruffy. I never...
YALP: Keynote Speakers Provide Fresh Perspective
by Zachary Kahn, Grade 12
Seeing as I had never been extremely involved with local poverty and never having attended a conference like this, I...
A Bilingual Look at Victoria
http://youtu.be/PRuPN_Kpnbg
by Serena Edwardson, teacher
Throughout the year, my French 10A class has been corresponding with a class from France and collaborating on various projects. My...
Collaboration Across Continents
by Amal Khan, Grade 11
This year in Art 11, my class had the experience of being involved with a project directed by the Tate...
Notes from Beijing
Every March for the past eighteen years I have spent the first two-thirds of the March break visiting families and alumni in Asia. Over...
Cleat Collection Supports Gender Equality
by Georgia and Anna, Grade 6
Shooting for Hope is an organization that allows young girls in India to be active and play sports, especially...
Boarders Without Borders
by David, Grade 11 boarder
Boarders Without Borders was a great experience for me. I did it last year, and had a wonderful time, so...
Visitors Help Connect Language to Culture
Ten university students from Morioka, Japan came to Canada for two weeks to learn about and experience Canadian culture. The students visited our Japanese...
Around the World in 80 Minutes
by Jasper Johnston, Grade 8 student
Last Thursday, all Grade 6 students took part in an evening event showcasing their work this year. "Around the...
The Conflict Inside Our Cell Phones
by Sarah Graham, Grade 10
In the last couple of years a new blood diamond has come to light: blood minerals. Since the electronics boom...
The Great Wall
I did get a new iPad, by the way, for those who read my blog of a number of weeks ago; I mentioned it...
Japanese Visitors Share Traditions
by Dawn Wilson, Director of Education Extension
Last Friday, a group of 35 students from Fukushima Seikei High School in Japan visited the school. They...
Black History Chapel Features Personal Stories
The Black community hosted a special chapel to celebrate Black History Month. With personal stories from Africa, Canada and the United States, to step-dancing...
Model UN: Suit Up and Move Out!
Saving the Committee One Resolution at a Time
by Kai Newman, Jennifer Park, Jacky San and Andrew Kang
This January, SMUS delegates participated in the annual...
SMUS Celebrates Chinese New Year
A Short History of Chinese New Year
From a speech delivered by Grade 12 boarder Thompson Wong in Chapel
Also known as the Spring festival, Chinese...
Middle School Leaders Learn About UN Goals
by Jasper, Grade 8
On Saturday, January 20, I traveled to Mulgrave School in Vancouver, along with 14 other selected Grade 7 and 8 students,...
An Interview with Dr. Samantha Nutt
On Tuesday, December 6, Scholar in Residence Dr. Samantha Nutt spoke at SMUS as part of her book tour to support the release of...
SMUS Continues to Support Liberian School
Last year, the SMUS community came together to raise funds to help a school in Liberia get a new roof and a latrine. Now,...
SMUS Raises Funds With World Partnership Walk
The World Partnership Walk was held on Sunday, May 29. Many families from SMUS gathered at Beacon Hill Park for this annual event in...
Water!
Water... in the form of rain can be such a nuisance, especially this late in the spring. I was thankful that it didn’t rain...
Junior School Fundraises for Japan
On Thursday, May 5, Japanese Children’s Day, the Junior School held a special service day to honour the people of Japan. Children were prepared...
My Experience at the Montreal International Congress
by Sena Lee, Grade 11
Collège Sainte-Anne de Lachine just had its 150-year anniversary. So in order to celebrate, students and the faculty invited people...
SMUS Student Shining on Japan Exchange
by Dawn Wilson, Director of Education Extension
Keenan Manhas has been studying at Fukuoka Daiichi High School in Fukuoka, Japan since September of last year....
March 26 – Rome
We began the day by driving into Rome and making our way to the Vatican. We toured the amazing galleries and spent time admiring...
Rome – March 25
We had another early start and made our way to Mary Mount International School where we had two performances. Though short, they were lots...
Reflections from the Connect Youth Conference
By Natasha C. (grade 10)
Rachel Uwamahoro and Ivan Gatete are World Vision Youth Ambassadors from Rwanda. They have spent the last several weeks exploring...
Student Selects Tanzanian Schools for Service Day
On Thursday, February 3, 2011 the Junior School held a Service Day in support of school building in Tanzania. This is a student-led initiative...
Art Students Learn Chinese Techniques
Art 10, 11 and 12 students all had a workshop with guest instructor Andy Lou, who taught them the unique tricks and techniques for...
Reflections and Action – International Service Trips
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On the heels of a motivating chapel...
SMUS Students Form Justice Action Group
There is a new student group at SMUS which is kicking off 2011 with some big plans. Led by Mr. David Lynch and Rev....
Dariusz Dziewanski ’97 Talks International Development
Alumnus Dariusz Dziewanski '97 returned to speak to AP Human Geography and Geography 11 students about Liberia, where he has has been living and...
Junior School Sends Stockings to Dominican Republic
by Megan, Imaan, Amrit, Nick P, Lindsay and Chloe, Grade 5
For the past five years our Grade 5 classes have provided these stockings to...
SMUS Students Get Spirited
by Erin Anderson, editor
This week was another fabulous SMUS Spirit Week, with some amazing new events.
In assembly on Tuesday, the entire school was dressed...
Seeing Mount Everest
When I first took plane trips several decades ago, it was a pretty rare thing, not just for me, but for just about everyone....
Boarding life
Five or six years ago on the first day of school, one of our German parents, who had just dropped his son off in...
Eclectic Group Performs Traditional Russian Dance
by Anna Maeva, Grade 12 boarder from Russia
One thing I certainly love about SMUS is that people here are always open to and interested...
Grade 4 Students Write to Peers from Uganda
by Karen Dicks, a retired SMUS teacher
Students in Grade 4 recently made contact with Grade 4 students at Kibaare School (pronounced Chibaray) in southwestern...
Peter Johnston Speaks to the Omar Khadr Group
by Grade 9 student Julia Milden, Grade 11 student Olivia Krusel, and Grade 12 student Kaeleigh Fletcher
Last Friday, April 16th, was an incredible and...
Korean Week Blends Old and New
by Won Yup Song, Grade 12 boarder
I had to go buy 40 pounds of rice. Do you know why?
Last Sunday, 25 Korean kids were...
Chinese Culture Week Returns
by Erin Anderson, editor
Last week was Chinese culture week, the latest in a series of weeks put on by the International Council. One of...
Students Celebrate the Dead
by Marilu Vidaurri, Grade 12 boarder
This Monday, a group of the Mexican students from SMUS, alongside some of the Spanish department students and staff,...
Beijing Students Brighten SMUS
This year was the first in which SMUS welcomed students from Sino Bright School in China for a month-long exchange. Thirty-eight students came to...
Korean Week Brings the Beats
See slideshow
Last week, the Senior School campus was infused with contemporary and traditional Korean culture, thanks to the International Council and our Korean students....
SMUS Celebrates Lunar New Year
Just as the Year of the Ox began this Monday, SMUS kicked off its first Chinese culture week. The International Council arranged for several...
Malawian Visitor Shares a Story of a School
This week, Memory Mdyetseni, Director of APU Secondary School for Girls in Malawi, spoke to students about the challenges girls face in pursuing education...
SMUS Celebrates Its International Culture
Our campus has been infused with culture as the International Council held its first two culture weeks of the year. Over the next few...
Harvard Model Congress Takes a Political Turn
When fourteen SMUS students travelled to Bangkok in August to participate in the third annual Harvard Model Congress, they found themselves in the midst...
Alumnus Gives Back to SMUS and to the World
Alumnus Dariusz Dziewanski ’97 visited SMUS last week to speak to Senior School students about international development. Dariusz earned his bachelor of commerce degree...