Introduction – Kate Homer-Dixon (Hi, that’s me.)

Hi, I’m Kate. I was born in Ontario, Canada, but I moved out to British Columbia a few months before the Covid-19 Pandemic. I’ve been attending Brookes Westshore since grade 6. I’m interested in history, art, music, and basically anything that involves some form of storytelling.

I enjoy reading outside of school and whenever my brain decides to go “Ah,  I’m bored again. I guess I’ll go stare at wood pulp with symbols printed on it and have vivid hallucinations”. I’ve been finding it harder to read for pleasure in the past few years as classes have involved more school reading (leading to the problem that whenever I open a book for fun I always feel vaguely inclined to write an essay on it). Some of my favourite books to read are ones with diverse and expressive characters (Alfred Jingle from Pickwick Papers is a good example).

In some ways I prefer writing to reading. More specifically creative writing, as I can create my own worlds and characters. Because my brother and I share an interest in creative writing we’re the other’s occasional story editor and someone who gives unfiltered and judgmental opinions that we didn’t ask for. I also like academic writing, although I tend to ramble and go over the word limit.

Laura

Hello! My name is Laura Francesca MacKenzie. I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Go Blue Bombers! The Saskatchewan Rough Riders do not stand a chance. My family is from Italy and I have visited 4 times, during the summer. I have been attending Brookes Westshore for 3 years. My biggest interests are soccer, science, reading books that interest me, and spending time with my family. I’ve played soccer since I was 5 years old. I am also a very extroverted person.

When it comes to personal reading, I am the type of reader who needs to be truly and entirely engulfed in a book to be able to keep reading. I love books that have a deeper meaning, books that your brain gets to chew and reflect on. I’m not sure what genre I am into yet but I’m sure I’ll find out one day. I like to read before bed. I used to only read the Geronimo Stilton series. I still love them. But, by grade 8 it was time to move on. I really enjoyed The Selection by Kiera Cass as well as the first few books of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Mass. Right now I am reading a book called Roxy by Jarrod and Neal Shusterman. I love this books so much right now.

For me, writing is a place to utilize new words I have learned and formulate clear sentences. I love being able to comprehensively organize my ideas. I will continuously change a sentence or paragraph if I feel it does not present my thoughts the way I want it to. I also talk out loud when I write complex ideas so that I may understand what I am trying to say and make sure it is digestible. I believe that it is okay to take longer to find an idea you like because you must be passionate about something in order to cultivate a piece of writing with quality.

Hi, I’m Mara

‘Change begins at the end of your comfort zone’ – Roy T. Bennet

Hello. My name is Amarachi Tehilla Ogbonna (Mara for short, or Ama or Amara. Either way is fine by me). I’m from Nigeria and I recently moved here. By recently, I mean last week Wednesday. It was a bit of a rush but I think I’m adapting well. I’ve lived in Nigeria my whole life and I’ve only been to one school. I’m still getting used to the change but my Mom said I’ll fit in just fine. Like I said I just moved here so I’ve been attending Brookes for 4 days. Although It’s extremely different from my old school I’m trying my best to get used to the change.

I wont describe myself as an avid reader. Yes, I love to read but I rarely do it unfortunately. I love reading novels especially those without pictures. Books with pictures annoy me because it spoils my imagination and they don’t give me the opportunity to create my own image in my head. I love reading because when I do it, it takes me to a different world.

I’m not a writer. I’m not very good at it and even if I was, I don’t enjoy doing it to an extend to do it all the time. I used to write when I was younger but it was more of fiction that I wrote. It was bad. Though I can try my best to write essays.

My first (ever)Blog

To start this fantastic blog: my full name is Amelie (but you can call me Ami or Emily). I was born in Vancouver but I recently moved to Victoria just about two years ago and attended St. Johns Academy from grades 8 – 9. It was only after I finished grade 9 that I moved to Brookes Westshore, so yes I am a new student this year. Both my parent lived in Mexico most of their lives so something about me is that I can also speak a fair bit of spanish. Some other things about me is that my favorite coulor is yellow and my favorite food are tacos. Some of my biggest interests would firstly be rock-climbing (which I’ve done since I was 10), drawing and story-writing.

As a reader I’ve always been very fast paced and impatient in the fact that I often read very fast and I catch myself often only skimming the book. I don’t mean that I hate reading because I don’t, I actually love reading books. The only problem is, naturally I am a very restless person who without a doubt hates cliff hangers and suspension. Despite my very restless nature I often gravitate to fantasy or horror novels such as: The Fire Within, Percy Jackson or Small spaces. As a reader I also tend to gravitate as well to book series, the reason for this being that I enjoy a longer story that extends beyond one book to show the different perspectives a story could be viewed at.

As a writer I’ve never been an essay or basic paragraph type of person, for as long as I’ve known I’ve written in first person stories as much as I could. I write stories for assignments, in my free time, and sometimes to vent about my day. So far I’m in the process of writing two novels: Drifting Magic And The Trials of Zerpeia, Which are both fantasy novels that I started short of half a year ago. As well as writing up stories I’ve also been quite fond of writing poems. I stated to enjoy writing poems under a year ago, whereas before I thought them to be confusing and unnecessary. It was until grade 9 where I had to write a poem about something abstract (I chose darkness) where I found just how beautiful and rich a poem could be.

Maria Introduction

Hello, my name is Maria Prida. I am from Mexico, Puebla. Most of the people I’ve met don’t know where Puebla is, Puebla is 1 hour away from Mexico City, The capital of Mexico. I moved to Canada when I was 13 and this is my third year living In Victoria. I never moved out of my country so coming to Canada was a big impact, gladly all people are nice and welcoming. Some of my hobbies are hanging out my friends, watching movies, and bake.

I do not dislike reading but I would say it’s difficult for me to concentrate while reading or find a good book. The only book I’ve ever read is called the power of NO by James Altucher, the book is about the power of saying no to things that are not the best for us. I really liked this book because by the time i was reading it was difficult for me to say no to people, so I’d really recommend this book if you struggle to say no.

I really like writing, specially about topics I like, if it’s a topic I don’t know about I also like to get creative and research and get to know the topic I will write about.  I really like the way you can express opinions and ideas trough writing and i love to see other people’s writing Aswell.

English: First blog post: introduce yourself!

My name is Daniela Veytia Rochin, I am from Mazatlán, México. This is my first year here at Brookes Westshore, I am an international student from their boarding program. My interests are art and fashion, I like to paint and make a lot of crafting things like bracelets and ceramics, in fashion I really enjoy seeing fashion shows and history of fashion. 

As a reader I enjoy it but it’s not a habit for me yet but I am trying to read at least fifteen minutes everyday but sometimes it’s hard for me because I can get distracted really easily, I like to read about romance and fiction. My favorite book is normal people by Sally Rooney.

As a writer I don’t when it’s for school or subjects I don’t enjoy. When somethings is interesting for me I could ride 100 pages but if I am not interested it can be really hard for me and my creativity.

 

Introduction

Hello! I’m Asia Leggett and I’ve been a student at Brookes Westshore since I was in grade 7. I absolutely love it here! Travelling is one of my favourite things to do, and when I’m older, I would love to travel the world and learn about different cultures. In my free time, I enjoy going to the gym to stay active. I have an older sister named Summer who is also a student at Brookes, currently in grade 12.

I have never been a strong reader as I find it hard to focus while reading books. My goal is to try and read more this year and find a good book I truly enjoy. I have never really been motivated to read as it’s not an interest of mine. I prefer audiobooks as they allow me to multitask and listen while doing other things, which helps me concentrate.

I have always loved writing, whether it’s creative or writing for an essay. I enjoy researching and learning more about a topic that I’m passionate about and incorporating the information into my writing. I’m excited to expand my vocabulary and improve my writing skills further.

A Glance at the Life of Agneya Pradhan

Hello, my name is Agneya Pradhan. I am looking forward to my first year at Brookes and MYP5 English this year! Although I’ve spent the majority of my life in Kingston, Ontario, I am from Bombay, India, where I spent the first three years of my life. I have been to nearly every single province/territory there is in Canada, leaving aside a couple of the territories. I love to compete in soccer matches, practice boxing, and do weightlifting outside of school.

I am not an avid reader, as I would rather do other physical activities instead, but when I do pick up a book, I enjoy reading popular fiction novels that include plenty of action and mystery like the Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, due to its action-packed plot filled with twists, and the Sherlock Holmes series, by Arthur Conan Doyle, because of their compelling mysteries. I have lately begun reading self-improvement books like Can’t Hurt Me, by David Goggins, which is one that I thoroughly enjoyed and would certainly recommend.

I like to picture myself as a decent creative writer, as I spent the bulk of time reading and even writing a few books when I was younger. Reflecting on them now, they weren’t very good. I consider myself a modest academic writer, as I am quite descriptive and detailed. I am continuously trying to expand my vocabulary by exploring alternatives to words I regularly use and applying them to academic work.

Introduction – Samantha Aulmann

Hey Hey, My name is Samantha Aulmann. I am from Canberra the capital of Australia. In all honesty, the capital city of Australia should be Melbourne or Sydney. Although I am Australian I was born in Doha, Qatar. Until now I have spent most of my life living in many different places and cultures including Vietnam, the Middle East and obviously Australia. Some of my interests include travelling, water sports and global political issues.

I wouldn’t say I dislike reading but I would not call myself an avid reader. My aversion to reading doesn’t come from the actual motions of reading word by word but more from my lack of ability to concentrate on a singular task. The only book I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed was the book Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose. Band of Brothers combines historically accurate first-hand accounts of pivotal events in the outcome of World War Two and the heartwarming friendships formed through rigorous training and the uncertainty of war.

Unlike reading, I enjoy all types of writing. From writing the most mundane academic essays to creative writing I believe that writing is my most developed outlet of self-expression. Utilising new obscure words in my essays and creative writing is a challenge I enjoy as I can then apply those words to my spoken vocabulary. I consistently strive to better communicate through writing in the most sophisticated and legible manner.

Vale Reinoso’s life

My name is Valeria Reinoso, I’m from Mexico City, Mexico. This is my first year attending Brookes Westshore. I’m staying here just for one year, but in case im doing great I will try to convince my parents to stay longer. I love ice skating because I’ve been practicing since I was 3 years old, I love sports and spending time with my friends.

I honestly do not like reading, because I find it a little stressful and boring.  1 month ago I found a book I really liked so I started reading it, but I got bored so I never finished it. I would like to make reading a habit because I know it will help me to become more intellect and to have more knowledge.

I think I am a great at writing stuff I like, for example essays of a topic I find interesting or something I enjoy writing about, but I also think I am good at writing about not so interesting stuff. I personally think that that writing makes me feel better because it is a way to vent and express all my feelings and letting out all the stuff I have inside.

I do prefer to be called Dalia :)

Hi! My name is Flor De Dalia but I prefer to go just by Dalia. I am from Mexico so that means that I am a dorm student and I will be here for a short time. Back at home I live right next to the beach so I love swimming, spending time with my eleven dogs and traveling!

I love reading and I spend a lot of time enjoying novels, romance, sci-fi, thrillers and my all time favorite: dystopian fiction. My favorite trilogy is The Hunger Games and my favorite book is “Love Letters to the Death”.

I wouldn’t call myself a writer but I enjoy creating poems and sometimes songs when I feel inspired.

The best Mexican introduction by Vittoria

Hola! I’m Vittoria Barocio Gonzalez, Im originally and proudly from a small but revolutionary city in the north of Mexico! It’s called Torreon, there’s not many things to do there but you definitely have some love for that beautiful city. I just arrived to Brookes last Thursday and I’m planning on staying this whole school year. My biggest interests would be snowboarding and basketball.

Of course there are many Mexicans who love reading, thankfully I’m not one of them. I hate reading, and of course I know the benefits of reading but my brain just do not work at reading. Yeah, if I have to read its school related but if I had to read for my own like, I just wouldn’t. Maybe in the future I can start reading at least 10 pages a day, but for today I´m good without reading.

There are many Mexican writers who are amazing and what they do, and of course I’m planning to becoming one of does amazing writers. I come from an American school in Mexico so that means I have to write a lot fun and boring essays, but that’s what makes me grow as a writer. I consider myself a good writer because I have amazing ideas and I love to explain to full detail all the information creating an amazing story.

Regina: childish in a mature way

Hi! My name is Regina Castro Jaime. I am a 17 year old mexican. It’s my only year at Brookes.  I love doing exercise but not sports, there is a massive difference. I can’t resist hamburgers, sushi or gummy bears. My family, my two older sisters and parents  and friends are the most important people in my life. They are my greatest adventure, like Olaf in Frozen would say “some people are worth melting for”. If you ask any of them how to  describe me they would say I am childish in a mature way, and honestly it is so accurate. I love disney, my desire is to work with toddlers when I am older and I am an optimistic and enthusiastic person, even though I am responsible, strong and independent. 

 

Now… if you ask me how I am as a reader, I would thank my dad. He taught me the excitement and how fun it can be if you read the right books. We always joke around that buying books and reading them are whole different hobbies.  He always tells me “buy another one when you finish the one you are reading right now.” Both of us have the good or bad habit of reading two books at the same time, one for learning and one just for entertaining. I love romantic books for losing time but for learning things I am open to psychology and better habits and lifestyles. 

 

In contrast, even though I try my best  to be a good writer, I am not sure I am. The problem I think that happens to me is that even if I’m writing in my native language, which is Spanish,  I have in my head at  so many ideas per second, I get lost and I mix up all my sentences, but just as in life I try my best. 

 

Getting to know Keira

Hi! My name is Keira Alacio, I am from Mexico City and I am currently studying at Brookes. I arrived a few days ago and it has been a completely new experience for me and I am excited to see what this new year brings to me. One of my favorite things to do is traveling, getting to know different countries, people, traditions, gastronomy, etc, is something that I enjoy doing a lot and probably in what I would like to work in a future.

As a reader I would describe myself with the word “curious” because is something that I enjoy doing a lot and I read since I was little. I think that a book can transport you to a completely different world, it can scare you with the most horrible and terrifying monster or it can also make you fall in love; reading a book can change the way you see things by just reading a story about any topic you like, there are infinity of books of whatever you can imagine and also reading is a really good way to spend some relaxing time with yourself.

In writing I’m not as good as I wish I was because sometimes I tend to translate exactly from Spanish to English and that gives a strange context to some sentences or even words, this is something that I will like to improve while I study at Brookes, but even though I’m not really good at it, I love to write, short stories, phrases, etc.

Introducing Daniela García

My name is Daniela García, this is my first year at Brookes Westshore, I have 2 sisters and I’m the oldest one, I have 2 dogs, my favorite food is sushi, I love animals and my favorite animals to the dogs, horses, and dolphins, l like to spend quality time with my family and friends and be productive.

I also love to read especially novels and I like to draw even though I am not very good a t it. I consider myself a very good reader because it’s something I love to do since I was in second grade and I’ve never stopped doing it. I love recommending books to other people and seeing them read them.

I also think that I am a good writer and that I can express myself when I write because when I was little I had a journal and I loved writing in it, I think that helped me a lot to have a good writing.

tete as exchange student

 

My name is Maria celeste and I am from Mazatlán México, I live in a city that is a touristic port, so all year is very hot but is a nice city. I am accustomed  to live in a little city so this is the reason why I choose Victoria to study, and until now I Iove here.

The really true for me as a reader is that I only read a few books in my life, but I really want to improve as a reader because I think that is a really fun habit and helps you in many things, so I want to begin reading drama books, I hope it will soon.

I consider me as a good writer because since I was in middle school I love to do like many paragraphs and resumes of topics that teacher gave me, and now when I begin to write I write all my ideas, because I consider that I have a lot of imagination when I do it.

 

 

Introducing Jose Tostado, another mexcican

I´m Jose Tostado, I´m from Mexico, I live in Guadalajara, I really like sports like soccer, tennis and football, I´ve been playing soccer and tennis since I were 6 years old and I also like to play football but I prefer to watch on TV. I´ve been attending Brooks Westshore 3 days and I really like the enviroment of the school and the location of it. My biggest interests are things like bussines, law, sports and technology.

I like to read books about bussines, successful people and self development. I like them because I know that it helps me to improve my life and create new skills that can help me in the future like for example, I´ve been reading a book about Stephen R. Covey that talks about the 7 habits of highly effective people and I´ve been really enjoying it because it teachs me step by step how to create good habits.

I don´t really like to be a writer because sometimes I don´t have the creativity or the inspiration to write something new or to create something like a story or things like that, but when I do have the creativity or inspiration to write something I really enjoy it and I always try to do give my best.

Matteo Eden Introduction

My name is Matteo Eden like the Garden of Eden, with no relation to the Garden aside from the name. I have lived in Victoria BC most of my life and came to Brookes in the seventh grade. I have a brother named Isaak and a dog named Willow my mom is a nurse, my dad is a lawyer and my family on both my mom and my dad’s side are from all over the world. I love traveling like much of my family and I enjoy hanging out with my friends in and outside of Brookes. Some of my hobbies are skateboarding, skimboarding, surfing, skiing, and many others I love to stay active and try new things.

 

I do like reading but not so much when I am told what to read I should probably read more often than I normally do. I am into lots of fictional, romance, and sci-fi books but am trying to broaden my range into non-fiction and autobiographies.

 

I don’t enjoy writing as much as I do reading and don’t do it often. I do write to my family and friends quite often whether it is through text or mail. I am not a great writer but hope to survive this year and improve my writing skills.

 

Sam’s Introduction

My name is Sam Verbaarschot, the last name comes from my dad’s side of the family who are all Dutch. I have lived all over B.C for my whole life. My first year at Brookes was in grade 6 and I have been here since then. I have a strong passion for surfing, skim-boarding, and lifting in the gym. I also love spending time outdoors in nature.

I do enjoy reading, although I probably don’t read as much as I should. I like to read romance classics as-well as motivational books e.g David Goggin’s “Can’t Hurt Me” about hardship and harnessing the full potential of your mind.

To be honest I am not a very strong writer, but I do enjoy writing for school work and letters I send in the mail. This year I hope to improve my writing abilities and skills, with the help of Mr. MacKnight.

 

 

My Amazing Random Blog Post!?

I’m from Thailand, I’ve attended Brookes for about 2 years now and, my biggest interest is Travelling.

 

If I have to describe myself as a reader I would be like a romantic person since I love romantic books.

 

If I describe myself as a writer I would be a short story writer since a short story I would focus on a lot of details rather than a wider and endless ones.

Welcome to the English 10 class blog!

We will use this blog for Independent Reading journal entries, for Personal Writing, and for occasional responses to the literature we study together and to our class discussions and activities.

Comments on this blog must be specific, kind, and helpful. This is not Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

You will learn a tremendous amount by reading each other’s work. Sometimes you will think, “Ah, that’s really good, I could do that, too.” At other times you will think, “Ah yes, I make that same mistake, but I usually don’t notice it in my own writing.” Or you may think, “Wow, my writing is better than I thought.” Together, we can learn faster and make more progress.

Film Review: “All Quiet on the Western Front” (2022)

From Keith Law:

All Quiet on the Western Front took home nine nominations for this year’s Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best international Feature (as Germany’s submission). It is, as you might know, adapted from Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel of World War I. It’s big, and epic, and certainly lets you know where everyone involves stands on the subject of war. (They think it’s bad.) It’s also a film that doesn’t have any good reason to exist.

You can read the entire review here.

Sample IRJE #1: “You reason like a block of cheese.”

In The Viscount of Bragelonne, by Alexander Dumas, the old soldier, d’Artagnan, proposes a business opportunity to Planchet, who was his squire in their younger days but who now owns a prosperous candy shop in Paris. D’Artagnan’s idea is to raise a small army and restore Charles II, rightful King of England, to his throne. Planchet is reluctant to invest without understanding more about d’Artagnan’s plans.

“Since you are proposing a business deal, I have the right to discuss it,” says Planchet.

“Discuss, Planchet; from discussion comes light.”

“Well then, since I have your permission, I would like to point out that in England they have, first of all, a Parliament.”

“Yes. And then?”

“And then, an Army.”

“Good. Anything else?”

“And then, the people themselves.”

“Is that all?”

“The people of England, who consented to the overthrow and execution of the late King, father of Charles II, will never agree to put the son back on the throne.”

“Planchet, my friend” said d’Artagnan, “you reason like a block of cheese.” (p. 417)

In French, the line is more beautiful: “Planchet, mon ami, tu raisonnes comme un fromage.” It made me laugh out loud the first time I read it, and it reminded me of something my French friend Christian said to me years ago when he noticed that I was wearing a new shirt: “Tu es beau comme un camion.” “You are as handsome as a truck.”

Sample IRJE #2: “We was attacked!”

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of English school boys are evacuated by plane from a war zone, but the plane crashes on a remote tropical island, and the only adult with them—the pilot—is killed. Soon after they meet, Ralph and Piggy argue about what happened to the pilot of their airplane, and we see right away that Piggy is more of a thinker than Ralph:

“He must have flown off after he dropped us. He couldn’t land here. Not in a place with wheels.” 

“We was attacked!” 

“He’ll be back all right.”

The fat boy shook his head.

“When we was coming down I looked through one of them windows. I saw the other part of the plane. There were flames coming out of it.” (p. 8)

Whereas Ralph unthinkingly believes that everything will work out for the best (“’He’ll be back all right’”), Piggy has kept his eyes open during the crash and is brave enough to speak the frightening truth: there are no adults left to take care of them.