News

The following address was delivered at the School's final assembly of the 2019-2020 academic year in early June, 2020. Last night I was thinking about what to put in this final speech, and I did not know where to start. I didn’t know whether or not to make it about the people I’ve met, the lessons I’ve learned, the experiences I’ve had, or the...

Earlier this year, several public speaking students participated in an art show called “Dissent” located at an art gallery in Duncan. On January 25, the seven Brentwood students presented in front of a live audience on a range of topics including mental health, open-net fish farming, sex trafficking, gender bias in medical treatments, and...

There is something inexplicably exciting about seeing something in real life that has previously only been seen on TV. It seems to break some sort of space-time continuum. It is for that reason, and his role as an eloquent Canadian icon, that seeing Rex Murphy speak was so scintillating. With a group of about 20 debaters, we headed to the Mary...

Debate regionals, the qualifier for the provincial tournament, were hosted at Glenlyon last Saturday. Brentwood’s Debate and Model UN program sent fourteen teams to compete, along with student and staff volunteer moderators, timekeepers, and judges. This tournament serves as a segue from novice to more competitive styles for the beginners. It...

With buttoned blazers, poised placards, consistently conciliatory speech everywhere within earshot, and enough Starbucks cups to embarrass a landfill, PacificMUN 2020 weekend, Jan 17-19, kicked off with a horde of 400 delegates. Some seemed apprehensive about their first conference while others were certain they were the most articulate delegate...

To the casual observer, high school debate is a seemingly random cacophony of bellicose bluster and interruption; however, there are actually about 10 styles of debate that pervade Canadian debate tournaments. On November 12, 14 Brentwood students had the chance to experience the Fuller British Parliamentary style debate, a four vs four...

For nine weeks in September and October the midterm break is a goal to be pursued, but not quite attained. It is a refuge for the fatigued. A star to every wandering bark. For most of us it is a time to recover, relax, re-create. For others, it is just another opportunity to pursue their passions. Here is a list of the academic, artistic, and...

Last Wednesday, Dr. Kinza Tyrrell, who is the principal repetiteur for Vancouver Opera and a sessional instructor at UVIC, and Evelyn delaHaye, who is a working soprano and voice teacher, came across the Salish Sea to visit our school. They held a Master Class and invited some of our top performing artists to sing or play a piece of music they are...

Whether you’ve seen them behind the podium, in the classroom, or on the stage, debaters continue to be Brentwood’s emphatic powerhouse for thought-provoking discussion and fierce competition. This year, debate became the school’s largest fine art, with over 100 students enrolled in the course. Every student learned to improve their public...

I can confidently say that Debate and Model UN has been the most omni-applicable course I have ever taken. Just when we thought we had learned everything there is to learn about argumentation and effective articulation, the program found another way to keep us on our toes: Mock Trial. Now, as our final project of the year, we are taking our skills...