Brentwood’s Unique Culture

Brentwood’s Unique Culture - What students and parents can expect... As we prepare to welcome our new and returning students to the campus for the 2018-2019 school year, I am pleased to write this message to all of you about Brentwood’s unique culture and community. Brentwood is a demanding community, for all of the right reasons. It’s not only academics! The School is, intentionally, a demanding place to grow up. A typical day for our students requires an “all in” attitude. Coming to the School for new and returning students is exciting and challenging and we have found that our most committed students are also our most successful. In order to experience the joy of meaningful accomplishment, a great deal of grit is required in the classrooms and out. In order to prepare for the highly competitive world, students must learn the value of determination and hard work. For this reason, a regular week for a Brentwood student follows this basic schedule:

7am- Rise and get to breakfast

8am - House jobs and room inspections

8:15am - 1:15pm- Classes

2 - 6pm- Monday-Saturday- A minimum 2 hour sports or arts commitment- many students do far more!

Monday - Friday evenings- Two hours of designated study time. Many students use some of their available downtime to study or exercise.

Socializing - as often as time will allow!

Three academic classes on Saturdays, followed by a sports commitment in the afternoon. A social event is organized for most Saturday evenings.

Sunday - A day to relax, but many use the Learning Commons to study.

If one compares the demands of this lifestyle to that of a non-Brentwood student, it would be unique and unusual for any student in a normal school to match the commitment. Where else can a student explore the multitude of options Brentwood offers? Brentwood is definitely not a normal school. Parenting is not easy - relationships are key Parenting is not easy. Our approach, rooted in everything we try and do, has meaning and purpose, working towards goals that benefit the community while growing as individuals. This philosophy starts at Brentwood and extends into Mill Bay, British Columbia, Canada and the world beyond. Such a lofty set of goals requires that every person committed to Brentwood as a student, as a parent or as professionals at the school must not only protect our culture but indeed, work to continue to improve it. It is a sacred relationship between these groups that demands all of the elements of good parenting-  support, collaboration, setting expectations, the need at times to say no, celebrating successes, being accountable for our behaviours, managing and learning from mistakes, pushing students out of their comfort zones and encouraging an active and healthy lifestyle. This is not a part time role and every member of our community must commit to work towards that end. The popular culture of today, heavily influenced by smartphones, by the shallowness of social media, by gaming, by selfish fulfilment, by instant gratification and a “me first” attitude is sadly lacking in humility and a willingness to extend oneself for the benefit of others. At Brentwood, we have the opportunity to stem that popular culture and inculcate in our young people the values of selflessness, effort and service. This starts with our interpersonal relationships and responsibilities, how to compete with dignity and respect, learning how to step in and prevent negative behaviours, learning how to accept every member of our community and most importantly respecting the expectations and guidelines while a member of the Brentwood family. There is significant empirical, researched based evidence that physically and intellectually engaged and committed youth, who spend minimal time on their phone and computers, reap massive mental health benefits, establish executive functioning habits and the ability to establish deeper relationships that will stand them in good stead in the long term. The ongoing evolution of Brentwood’s multi-dimensional program (boarding, academics, arts and athletics) challenges our students to demand a great deal from themselves and relies on meaningful relationships with peers and mentors. Collectively, we help students to understand how far they can extend their capabilities here at the school and in the future through hard work, effort and the ability and willingness to develop face to face relationships with a wide circle of people. Yale Psychology Professor Dr. Laurie Santos (Santos, February, 2018)), an advocate for Positive Psychology, has identified and promoted these five daily tips for young people to help them thrive in today’s world:

Meditate for 10 minutes

Get 8 hours of sleep

Do something kind

Write 5 things you’re grateful for

Decrease social media time

We also live in a world in which recreational drug use has become an increasingly insidious influence in the lives of youth and adults. Young people’s formative years are fraught with decision making dilemmas. The well publicized opioid epidemic is a sliver of the more pervasive realities of cannabis legalization, alcohol use among youth, vaping or juuling and the multitude of recreational street drugs available to anyone motivated to procure them. “Popular” culture for teenagers can often promote experimentation, fuelled by the natural and inevitable curiosity all young people experience. Managing these influences within our School requires a full commitment from our students, parents, house parents, teachers and health professionals. Extending Ourselves - Students, parents and staff: Next year, we are endeavouring to extend our delivery of “life skills” to all of our students in support of the daily work delivered by our House Parents, Advisors, our Health Centre Team, Health Ed classes and the SPARC Program. This will start with the Grade 12s, who will participate in a leadership day during the Orientation Program organized by Mrs. Felix and our team of Resident Faculty Assistants. (Grade 12 returning students please note we need you back on campus by Wednesday night on September 5th). We are piloting a student life curriculum that plans to cover a wide variety of skills (such as mindfulness practices, acceptable cyber and social media behaviors, basic cooking, basic finance planning, decision making skills, communication skills, consent in all forms, table manners and meal etiquette to name a few) in addition to the more traditional academic mentoring during the advisor meetings. This is based on Positive Education Psychology, which draws from evidenced based research on how people thrive, flourish and develop a growth mindset. PERMA-V (Positive Psychology Studies, 2017), an approach widely used in the world outside Brentwood, is based on this research of human wellness. PERMA-V stands for: Positive Emotion - Approach life from a positive perspective Engaged - How do I engage and connect with people? Relationships - Inclusive spheres- who am I leaving out? Meaningful - Am I living life in a meaningful way? What are my values and ethics? Accomplishment - Where have I come from, where am I going? And: Vitality - Understand the value of rest, nutrition and play PERMA-V is also an aspect of the Friends/Strong not Tough program which was delivered to all of the Grade 9s, Grade 12s and the House Parents last year and will be delivered again to this year’s Grade 9s and Grade 12s and a refresher for the House parents. You can reference the Friends Program through the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EAP0YGQhr8&feature=youtu.be As the new school year quickly approaches, plans by all of our student led organizations (Brentwood Environmental Action Team, Student Peer Counselling, Student Activities Committee, OMNI/LGBTQ++ and the Grad Council) are well underway to provide social activities on most weekends, as well as sponsoring forums on cyber safety, drug awareness, body image, healthy living choices, gender awareness and acceptance. Joining one or more of these groups enables students to make a contribution to our community while learning to share their positive energy and ideas. Brentwood’s Expectations: As I have mentioned, Brentwood is a demanding place to go to school and we want our students to embrace what we have to offer. This requires that all students and parents understand that students who choose to compromise their opportunities by making selfish decisions while a member of the Brentwood community, will be met with strong responses from the School. Our community expectations are clearly explained in the School Handbook. Here is the link: https://www.brentwood.bc.ca/resources/ The school has an expectation that all parents and students, new and returning, read and understand what the handbook says and means. Please take the time and make the effort to read through our handbook with your child before they arrive at the school, and openly discuss the contents. I would be happy to clarify any questions you may have. You can contact me via email (marius.flix@brentwood.bc.ca) or through the main school phone number (250-743-5521). Enjoy the remainder of the summer. We look forward to the start of the 2018-2019 school year! Marius Felix - Deputy Head, School Life References:

Dr. Laurie Santos: https://peacefrompanic.wordpress.com/tag/dr-laurie-santos/

Positive Psychology Studies, Science of Happiness: https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/perma-model/