Grade 11 Highlights

Academics - Chess Subject Prize

I decided to take the Chess 12 course taught by Mr Streit. We learnt about the history of chess, and the various tactics we can use. It was a very fun an engaging course, and I managed to  achieve the subject prize at the end of the year.

Chess Tournament

A group of 5 Collingwood students entered the Vancouver Regional Chess Championship, where we took part in individual and team events. Our team won the championship, to our great surprise. It was a fun, rewarding, and mentally exhausting day with a great outcome.

Service – Livewire

I began volunteering at an after-school program for under-privileged youth in Vancouver. It is catered to Grades 5-7, giving them a safe place to hang out after school. I would go after school and play hockey or watch a movie with them,

Athletics - Table Tennis

I joined the table tennis team, coached by Lester, at the start of the year. We had practices once a week, where I would learn the basics of table tennis. It was much harder than I’d expected, requiring great reflexes and quick decision-making. Although I was possibly the worst player on the team, we all went to the tournament hosted by St. Georges. I didn’t win a game, but I enjoyed watching Lester beat everyone.

Robotics

I joined the Robotics team at the beginning of Grade 11. We met at lunch 2-3 times a week, and after school to discuss, plan, and build. It taught me about teamwork and communication, as well as being interesting and challenging. We went to tournaments at BCIT and on the island, and we placed reasonably well in them, we won the Create Award for best design at the VEX Championships.

Bass

In the summer before Grade 11, I picked up the electric bass, having wanted to do so for quite a while. Since I had lots of time on my hands, I decided to get a bass and amp from Craigslist and self-teach. It was difficult, but it was extremely rewarding to learn any skill on your own, and to carry through with an ambition.

Physics Olympics

I took part in the Physics Olympics competition organized by UBC. There was a pre-build component, where we had to build a musical instrument to play a specific sound frequency made of Styrofoam, and a quiz component. We did well on both components, placing 7^th overall out of over 30 schools. As a Grade 11, I was able to learn a lot from the experience and am glad I was given the opportunity to attend.