Volume 20, Issue 5 April/May 2010

Download April 2010 Newsletter

Final Exams
A final exam schedule is enclosed with this newsletter. Classes for Gr. 9-12 students will end on June 9 and exams will run from June 10 - 21. Provincial exams for Gr. 12 students will take place before and during final exams (see exam schedule). MBCI policy states that all students must write the exams according to the schedule. The exam schedule will be posted in classrooms. Exams make up 25% of the final mark in any given subject. Gr. 12 provincial exams are worth 30%. Students who are ill on the day of the exam
must provide a doctor’s note in order to be exempted from the exam that they missed. Students who have a conflict with one of the exam dates due to a
Royal Conservatory Music exam should notify Mr. Pauls as soon as possible.

Advanced Placement
Once again some of our students are planning to write the Advanced Placement (AP) exams, which are scheduled for the beginning of May (see exam schedule). The AP program is a cooperative education endeavor between secondary schools, colleges and universities. High school students are exposed to university-level material and provided with an opportunity to show that they have mastered it by taking an AP exam. Universities and colleges can then grant credit or placement to students who receive a mark of at least 3 (5 being the highest). Students at MBCI will write AP exams in several different subject areas. Information about the program can be found at: www.collegeboard.com/ap/students

Middle School Final Exams
Gr. 6 students will not write final exams but will continue with regular classes until June 17. On June 18, the Gr. 6’s will go to Fun Mountain followed by Camp Assiniboia on June 21  and 22. Gr. 7 and 8 students will write Social Studies, English and Math exams on June 17, 18 and 21. Classes for Gr. 7 and 8’s will go until June 16. The Gr. 7 and 8’s will also be going to Fun Mountain after exams on June 22. The final mark for courses which do not have an exam will be determined by averaging out the marks of the three terms. The final mark for courses with an exam will be determined by averaging out the marks of the 3 terms and the exam mark. An exam schedule providing more detailed information is included in this newsletter. If you have any questions, please contact Ken Opalko (ext. 7102) at 667-8210.

Planning Ahead? Important Dates For 2010-2011
Aug. 9 School Office Opens
Sept. 8 Return to School 9-10
Sept. 9 First full Day of School
Dec. 23-Jan. 5 Christmas Break
Feb. 21 Louis Riel Day No Classes
Feb. 23-25 Staff Professional Development (No Classes)
Mar. 28 - Apr. 1 Spring Break

Upcoming Events
April 5 Classes Resume
April 14 - 24 Concert Choir & Band Tour
April 28 Staff Meeting 2:30 pm dismissal
May 3 French Language AP Exam
May 4 Middle School service Day
May 5 Calculus AP Exam
May 6 English Literature Exam
May 7 European History Exam
May 7 Fundraising Event
May 10 PAC Meeting
May 12 English Language AP Exam
May 24 Victoria Day NO CLASSES
May 26 Staff Meeting 2:30 pm dismissal
May 26 Athletic & Music Awards Assembly
May 27-Jn 1 Gr. 12 Canoe Trip
May 31 Gr. 10-12 Spring Concert
May 31-Jn 3 Gr. 12 ELA Provincial Exam
June 7 Consumer Math Provincial Exam
June 7 Grade 6-9 Spring Concert
June 8-9 Gr. 12 Applied Math Provincial Exams
June 9 Noon Dismissal for All Students
June 10 Pre-Calculus Provincial Exam
June 10-21 Gr. 9-12 Final Exams
June 14 Gr. 6 & 7 New Student Orientation
June 17-21 Gr. 7 & 8 Final Exams
June 17-18 Gr. 6 Outdoor Education
June 22 Farewell Banquet
June 24 Graduation Ceremony
June 28 Middle School Academic Awards Assembly & Report Cards
June 29 High School Academic Awards Assembly & Report Cards
June 30 School office closes

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK
I had the privilege of attending the Canadian Association of Mennonite Schools Principals’ meetings at the beginning of March. Bob Hummelt, who is the Principal of Westgate Mennonite Collegiate, shared a devotional on light that caught my attention. In Southern Manitoba where many Mennonites settled after immigrating to Canada, a regular practice in the evening during those dark, cold wintery nights was to have a candle burning in the window. This candle, called an “Oventlicht” in Low German, was an invitation to a lost traveler that they were welcome. I thought this was a wonderful illustration of the verses found in Matthew 5:14 -16: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” As Christians we want to be a welcoming light to those around us at all times. As Easter approaches let us remember the light that Jesus gives. His sacrifice on the cross was incredible. It changed the world! My hope is that our lives will be a welcoming light to others just as the “Oventlicht” was a life saver to many travelers in Southern Manitoba.  This newsletter reflects on recent MBCI events and anticipates the many exciting activities throughout the months of April and May. We have just concluded another successful basketball season. Congratulations to all the teams and their coaches who worked hard all season. Our band and choir trip will provide our students with many exciting and interesting experiences. Coming events include our Spring concerts with our Bands and Choirs and our Fundraising Reception. In the meantime, we are once again interviewing new students for next year and actively planning for the 2010-2011 school year. As we look back and look ahead, we sense the support of a strong school community comprised of wonderful students, an excellent staff, encouraging parents and a committed Parent Advisory Council and School Board. Much of the year is already behind us. We do, however have three very significant months ahead. Let’s work together to finish the school year well!
Norbert Bargen

Canoe Trip May 27 - 30
The rugged natural beauty of the Canadian Shield will again be the setting for this annual trip. As in previous years, we will make a loop through Upper and Lower Stewart, Gee Jay, Manomin, and Winnage Lakes (between Kenora and Dryden). Sandy beaches, towering red pines and cold clear lakes are all part of the setting. Great fishing is expected! With wilderness campsites and some tough portages between lakes, this should be an exciting challenge for all. Twenty grade 12 students will be accompanied by staff members Ken Geddert, Darryl Peters and Laura Hall. Friends of MBCI Derek and Michelle van Nes and another supervisor will be joining them.
Ken Geddert

GRADE 12 Drama Production
On May 18th-21st, 2010, the Grade 12 drama class proudly presents You Can’t Take It With You by George Kaufman and Moss Hart. Set in New York, 1936 this wonderfully heart felt comedy tells the story of the Sycamore family. At first the Sycamores seem mad, but it is not long before we realize that if they are mad, the rest of the world is madder. Big personalities and even bigger laughs! The show starts at 7:00pm and tickets are $7.00. We hope to see you there!
Shane Cooney

GLOBAL FOCUS WEEK
Italy was our focus this year and featured various activities over the course of the week. Monday was a soccer contest at lunch. On Tuesday, students preordered lunch which was brought in from Santa Lucia and DeLuca’s. Wednesday we had an assembly which included an Italian musical band “Ritmo Mizto”, folkloric dance group “Le Ragazze” and Cella Lao who performed some Italian opera for the students. The Thursday assembly was produced by our own students/staff. The Concert band performed “Funiculi Funicula” followed by a  humorous dramatic presentation from our Gr. 11 drama class. Students were also introduced to artist Anthony Chiarella who has been commissioned to do a large art piece to be completed in the fall. Thanks to all the students and staff who participated in putting Global Focus together this year
Submitted by Rob Visch

Basketball Season
The basketball season is in its final week with our teams having completed a very successful season; Gr. 6-7 girls completed their season having played in a couple of tournaments along with their RETSD mini-tournaments. The girls have had the benefit of excellent coaching and should progress really well in the next few years. (Coach: Richard Klassen ‘86) Gr. 6-7 boys a group of eager and skilled players who made great progress under excellent coaching. (Coaches: Richard Rempel ‘80 and Tim Herr) Gr. 8 girls captured the RETSD Championship with a win over Munroe. They competed in the Gr 8 Provincial Tournament and lost in the second round. Congratulations on a great season. (Coach: Rob Visch ‘80) Gr. 8 boys captured the RETSD Championship with a win over Valley Gardens. The team lost in the semifinals of the Gr 8 Provincial Tournament. (Coach: Andrew Fast ‘96) Gr. 9 girls advanced to the RETSD A side semi-finals before bowing out to Robert Andrews. (Coaches: Paul Dempster & Martha Wiebe ‘76) Gr. 9 boys experienced their only loss in RETSD in
the semi-finals to Murdoch MacKay. They gained a spot in the Gr. 9 Provincial Tournament and lost in a close second round game to Acadia. (Coaches: David ‘01 & Daniel ‘07 Pinto) JV Boys were upset in the KPAC semi-finals by Miles Mac, however, the team advanced to the MHSAA Urban JV Provincials with a dramatic wildcard win over Vincent Massey. In the first round they upset FRC and then lost a very close game to Sturgeon Heights in the second round. (Coaches: Matt Opalko ‘03, Adam Janzen ‘03 & Wes Koslowsky ‘99) Varsity girls ended a season of learning and growth with a quarter-final loss to Garden City. All but one of the players are in Gr.10 & 11. So there should be a good nucleus for next year! (Coaches: Ruth Zimmermann & Angela Wiebe ‘98) Varsity boys showed some great improvement but lost 92- 90 in the KPAC final to River East. They advanced to the MHSAA Provincial Championships as the #9 seed where they upset #8 FRC in front of a packed FRC gym. Then they faced the #1 seed Oak Park where, after holding the lead for most of the game, MBCI found themselves tied with 1.1 seconds left and Oak Park throwing the ball in underneath their own basket. Oak Park scored with .1 second left on the clock to advance and to eventually be crowned provincial champions. It was a heartbreaking loss! What a great season capped off by an incredibly dramatic ending. (Coaches: Jon Goossen, Ken Opalko & Paul Wonneck ‘09) Badminton: Practices for most grade levels have begun and will continue after Spring Break. The playoffs for badminton takes place during the last week in April. Soccer: MBCI will once again be fielding teams in both girls and boys soccer with athletes in Gr. 9-12 eligible to try out for our varsity teams. Try-outs will be announced in May.

Track and Field
MBCI Junior High track and field meet May 18 KPAC and RETSD track and field meets are May 27.
Brian Plett

Imagine...
Imagine studying Physics, Chemistry and Biology without performing experiments. Imagine studying Bible without reading the Bible or Music and Phys. Ed without actually playing the instrument or the game. Imagine Art classes without ever drawing; History, Geography, French and German without speaking, seeing, or bearing witness to their countries of origin; or English Literature classes without reading or performing. During Spring Break 2011, English AP, American History, French and German classes will be relocating onto the world stage to bring these subjects to life! The ultimate field trip! Imagine speaking French in France, German in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Imagine walking along the streets of Paris, touching the buildings and statues that witnessed the French Revolution; gazing in silent wonder at the “Marriage of Napoleon and Josephine” in Versailles or at the delightful art of the Impressionists in the Musée d’Orsay. Imagine yourself a passenger on a bus meandering through the breathtakingly majestic Alps in Switzerland and Austria or
walking silently through the Dachau concentration camp, remembering the souls who perished under National Socialism. Imagine visiting the University of Munich where Hans and Sophie Scholl, siblings and members of the White Rose student resistance movement, protested the atrocities of Adolph Hitler; or running your fingers over the names of those fallen during the Viet Nam war at the memorial in Washington D.C. Imagine hearing English spoken as Shakespeare spoke and attending one of his plays in the country where he wrote. Now engage your curiosity. Imagine yourself there….and returning to write, to speak, to reflect and returning again and again for the rest of your life because of your intense desire to learn more forever. Imagine an unimaginable change in yourself. Join us.
Submitted by Leona Rew (Europe Tour)
See Brian Plett for American History Tour information
or Reyn Buhler for England Tour information.

MUSICAL NOTES
MBCI’s 77 jazz students recently returned from a very successful three day trip to the Brandon Jazz Festival where they performed, attended clinics and other school performances, and learned more about the art form of jazz. All our groups received glowing reviews from adjudicators. The Chamber Singers’ performance was given special mention from both of the vocal jazz adjudicators as one of the best at the festival! Thanks also to our great parent chaperones (Mr. and Mrs. Lysack, Mr. and Mrs. Schreibmaier, Mr. Sawatzky, Mrs. Peters, Mrs. Dicks, and Mr. Koch, whose active participation helped make our trip run like clockwork! The MBCI Choral Concert of March 23rd was a resounding success! The Gr. 6 Band and the Gr. 7 Band will perform at the Manitoba Band Association Level 1 Band Festival at North Kildonan MB Church, on Tuesday, April 13. The Gr. 6 Band is scheduled for 9:20 a.m. and the Gr. 7 Band is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. Music Tour 2010 to Ontario and Boston is just around the corner for Concert Band and Concert Choir! (April 14-24). Mr. Taves has emailed a list of expectations home regarding course work in other subjects which must be done in advance of the tour. Please check with all your subject teachers to make those arrangements. Please make sure you have a passport. Students in Concert Choir and Concert Band, along with their parents, must come to the tour meeting on Tuesday April 6, 7:30 p.m. in Jubilee Place. Congratulations to the MBCI students who successfully auditioned for the Manitoba Honour Bands: Julianne Hirsch (7) – flute; Luke Olfert (7) - bassoon first chair; Alex Czehryn (8) - trumpet second chair; Hannah Doerksen (7) – horn; Andrea Dicks (8) - horn: Paul Klassen (7) - percussion first chair; and Dylan Longhurst (9) - trumpet. Our school’s music program was featured for the fifth consecutive year at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s ‘’Musicians in the Making’’ pre-concert recital series at the Centennial Concert Hall. WSO concert-goers heard Katherine Mayba, Andrew Regehr, Jessica Kendel, John Taves, Hannah Severa, Julia Mayba, Jordan Funk, and
Brielle Funk performing on the piano nobile foyer. Parents received information on the Manitoba Band Association Junior Band Summer Camps held at MBCI and three other locations in the city. These camps are geared toward students with 1-3 years of experience on their band instrument. Many of our students have greatly benefited from these camps, and had a lot of fun meeting new friends with similar interests and values.  The dates for this summer’s camps are August 8-13, 2010. Interested students should register now - the MBCI location typically becomes full by the end of April. Contact Andrew Klassen (667-8210, ext. 5002) or the MBA (663-1226) for further information.
Tim Taves and Andrew Klassen

Created to Shine . . . was this year’s theme for Spiritual Emphasis Week.
Our MBCI students led worship under the direction of Jamie Niven, youth pastor at The Meeting Place. MBCI students presented excellent dramas as well. Our speaker was Sam Dick, Mobilization Coordinator at MBMSI in Abbotsford, B.C. Sam challenged and encouraged us to shine our lights in the world. He reminded us that we are created to shine, to be
examples of positive, godly change in the world. We were reminded that our light shines brighter if we work together and that being in community with others helps protect us from the things in life that tarnish our shine, that might dim our light. He encouraged us to do great things together with our friends and to encourage each other to keep shining. Thank you for your prayers as we seek to present the Gospel and encourage students to follow Jesus.
Adrian Enns,
Campus Pastor

MBCI is hosting German exchange students from the Christian school in Detmold, Germany. They will be in grade 11 and are staying for 3 months from September to November 2010. Please contact Leona Hiebert-Rew at 667-8210 ext. 5104 for more information. We are looking for families interested in hosting an international student. Remuneration is provided. Please contact Darryl Peters at 667-8210 or dpeters@mbci.mb.ca