According to the Google, a popular activity on the last few days of school is to write a letter to a future student. I remember doing this in my Grade 10 class for Ms. Isaac. She didn’t like hats in her classroom so that’s what I focused my writing on.  Strange the things you remember.  I wonder what you’ll remember from these last couple days here at Birchwood this year.  Make it memorable, but don’t make memories that result in you having to visit the office.  Stay…

Monday June 22 - Students, staff, teachers and guests.  Welcome to Birchwood!

According to the Google, Grading Presents - Before parents started paying for straight A's, public school teachers were the ones handing out merit rewards. In the 1800s, as public education became widespread, teachers had to manage classrooms of 50 to 100 children at a time. Kids would get merit slips from teachers and proudly take thems home to their parents. This eventually shifted the reward dynamic…

Canada vs Qatar tonight.  World Cup 2026 from Vancouver.

According to the Google, when a regional blockade was imposed on Qatar by several of its neighbors between 2017 and 2021, the country faced an immediate food security crisis, particularly with dairy. To solve this, a Qatari businessman bought thousands of dairy cows to start a massive domestic farm from scratch. Over 6,000 of those Holstein dairy cows were sourced from Canada and flown into the desert on cargo planes to…

According to the Google, Canadian Star forward Cyle Larin has a first name that catches a lot of people off guard because it’s pronounced exactly like "Kyle." but it is spelled Cyle.  When asked why it’s spelled with a "C," his mother explained it was a tribute to his godmother, Cimone, but jokingly says 'C' is the Canadian way."

Music

• Grade 9 Band students - please be sure to…

According to the Gemini, I found another long lost poem by esteemed writing William Gemini.  This one is titled, “Let’s Keep It Together!”

The June heat is baking the Birchwood hallways, 

My locker’s a biohazard always. 

There are binders exploding and sneakers that smell, 

As we count down the seconds to that final bell.

According to the Google, On this day in 1923, Harry Houdini escaped from a straightjacket while hanging upside down, 40 feet in the air over a crowded city street. So, if you’re currently stressing out about that Grade 9 math assessment next week, or struggling to get those last few assignments in, just remember, at least nobody is hanging you by your ankles outside the second-story window with the world watching. You’ve got this, and you’ve got lots of support in the building if you need it…

According to the Google, in the olden days, without modern air conditioning, houses got incredibly hot. To cool down, kids spent almost their entire day outside. When they were inside, they would sit right in front of electric fans. A favorite game was talking directly into the spinning fan blades because it made your voice sound like a chopping robot! 

Music Department: Congratulations to the members of our grade 7, 8, and 9 band, as well as the member of Complimentary Lemon…

Wednesday June 10 Students, staff, Teachers, guests - Welcome!

According to the Google, some of the most popular music played today at school band concerts are "Theme from Jurassic Park" which teaches sweeping legal phrasing and builds to one of the most iconic brass crescendos in film history. "Pirates of the Caribbean"  which is fast, syncopated, and highly recognizable. It is great for learning 6/8 time feel or driving 4/4 syncopation. "Queen in Concert"  which is a…

According to the Google, tomorrow is the 82nd anniversary of D-Day - one of the most important dates in Canadian history. On that morning in 1944, during the Second World War, nearly 15,000 young Canadian soldiers stormed a piece of the French coast code-named Juno Beach. They braved incredible danger to help free Europe from Nazi control. Today, we remember the courage of those everyday Canadians who left home to fight for freedom, and the hundreds who lost their lives on that beach. There’…

Thursday June 4, 2026

According to the Google,  if all you want to do these days is sit at home and watch TV, then you would’ve been very excited for June 4, 1953 if you lived in Ottawa as it was on that day that (CBC) officially launched CBOT in Ottawa. It was only the third television station in all of Canada. At the time, TV was a brand-new, mind-blowing technology but what wasn’t invented yet, was the remote control.  You had to get up and walk across the room to change…