Gung Hei Fat Choi

The Richmond I work in today is far different than the community I grew up in the 1970s.  It has emerged from a quiet, suburban municipality of single family neighbourhoods and farms to a vibrant and cosmopolitan city of 200,000 people.   Since the early 1990s, the demographics have changed dramatically and Richmond is now home to a large and prosperous Asian community.  Many of the most recent immigrants to Richmond have arrived from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China and they are joining a smaller, more established Asian-Canadian population that includes citizens from Japan, China, India and the Philippines.  Before this recent influx, Richmond was mostly populated by immigrants who had arrived indirectly from Great Britain and other areas of Europe, as was more common earlier in the 20^th century.  As a country built on immigration, it is noteworthy that the last Canadian census (2006) identified Richmond as the city with the highest percentage of immigrants in all of Canada. Richmond includes a colourful montage of restaurants, shops, artistic and cultural events as well as ornate temples and places of worship that make our city interesting and complex. Indeed, Richmond has a growing reputation as one of the very best places to live in Canada, a nation that is usually near the top of the U.N.’s list of the most livable countries in the world.  Several world health organizations have identified Richmond as the place where people have the greatest life expectancy in Canada.

Generally speaking, the Asian students and families that attend our school also place a very high priority on education.  Students are involved and engaged in the school and work hard to do their very best, both inside and outside the classroom.  There are challenges, such as engaging and including new parents into our school and balancing the high expectations families often have for their children to attend university with a consideration of other viable post-secondary pathways that may be more appropriate or interesting for some learners. However, overall, our school is a far richer and more interesting place of learning than when I graduated from high school in this very community.

As with all changes, there has been occasional resistance from some in Richmond.  While we have come a long way since imposing a head tax on Chinese immigrants, the Komagata Maru incident or the internment of Japanese Canadians, signs of change, literally and figuratively, can still create tension.  However, if we strive to understand and appreciate our incredible multicultural mosaic, while at the same time embrace what it means to be Canadian, we all stand to prosper.  Indeed, young people who are at ease working with a diverse range of people from different cultures will be tremendously advantaged moving forward in our increasingly globalized and interconnected world.

One example of the richness added to our community can be seen in Chinese New Year's celebrations.  2012 in the Lunar calendar is also a dragon year in the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese New Year is also called the Spring Festival and is one of the most colourful festivals in the world.  Recognized in many countries in Asia, the Lunar New Year is a 15-day celebration that this year runs from January 23 to February 6. The Lunar or Chinese New Year is a significant celebration for many in our school community and the city of Richmond recently made a USA Today poll for being one of the 10 great places to experience Chinese New Year. 

My hope is that everyone who lives here appreciates that our city is recognized as a great international travel destination for people wanting to experience what we have to enjoy every day.  Check out a colourful parade or celebration or enjoy some delicious Asian cuisine in the next two weeks to celebrate the lunar or Chinese New Year and may the year of the dragon bring us all good health, happiness and prosperity.
  
Gung Hei Fat Choi!

        

Bob Carkner High School Basketball Tournament

January 12, 2014
This is an updated version of an older post:

One definition of personalized learning is when students are deeply engaged and invested in an activity they are passionate about, whether it is curricular or extracurricular.  When young people explore and develop a passion with a dedicated and thoughtful teacher, staff member or other mentor or coach, the experience can be life changing.  Secondary schools provide a wide variety of experiences for students as we understand that this nexus may occur in many different places - a classroom, science lab, wood shop, art studio, music room, in the theatre, the gym, on a humanitarian or extended field trip, or by participating in a club or on a team.    

High school sports can be a wonderful way for students to represent their school and create a sense of belonging.  School teams, colours, crests and logos engender school spirit and athletics can build a sense of pride and connection for many throughout the extended school community - students, staff, parents and alumni.

Participation in a team sport is tremendous for young people.  Setting goals and working hard together, training, preparing, sacrificing and pushing through adversity, all help to build determined, resilient people.  Occasionally, there are moments of pure exhilaration and joy.  The happiness that pervades a group or team after reaching a goal and succeeding, especially against a formidable opponent, is almost indescribable and the bonds that connect champions are life long.  More often however, there is humility, heartbreak, disappointment and defeat.  There are painful injuries, bad bounces, lost games and, if you reach for your dreams, inevitably, there will be the experience of being cut or released from a team.  However, if you’ve persevered, if you’ve kept faith in yourself and your teammates and remained determined, you have succeeded.  You will reflect back with pride and a deep sense of accomplishment for having been part of a team.

The teachers, support staff and community members who volunteer to coach high school teams provide a tremendous service to our schools.  A dedicated coach will contribute hundreds of hours, including evenings and weekends, to lead a team.  Many will read articles and attend clinics on their own time in order to improve their coaching skills and understanding of the game. Most coaches will spend hours preparing practice plans, creating schedules, studying game video and scouting opponents.   In B.C., all public high school coaches are volunteers.  They do not get paid and, indeed, are often out-of-pocket for gas and other expenses.  Some do it for a few seasons while others coach for decades and we owe our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all.     

Occasionally, a coach may be fortunate enough to see an athlete go on to play for a provincial team or at college or university and, rarely, perhaps a national team.  Some years, their high school team may be "ranked" and go on to compete at a provincial championship tournament.  However, most high school teams are just trying to improve and compete to the best of their ability and the vast majority of student-athletes will only play recreationally beyond high school, if at all.  The best coaches always keep this perspective in the foreground.   They understand that the mark of a successful high school athletics program is measured in numbers of participants, not championship banners.   Coaches are competitive and student-athletes want to win and sometimes competition reveals more character than it builds, but a good coach understands that she is using the sport as a platform to help build better people.  An exemplary coach keeps the desire to win in perspective and remains dedicated to improving the skills, personal growth and enjoyment level of every student-athlete on the team.  He understands his position as a role model, treats people with honesty and respect and strives to be a caring, positive influence in the lives of all of his players - as this is always more important than winning.

Like many other schools across the province, our school will host several tournaments this year. We are most proud of our "Bob Carkner Memorial Basketball Tournament", a 16-team event for both senior boys' and senior girls' teams that will run from January 16-18, 2014.  Formerly the "Purple and Gold Classic", it was renamed to honour former principal Bob Carkner. Bob was an exemplary leader and educator who understood the importance of providing diverse opportunities for students to broaden their perspective. He believed that our mission was to help young people grow, discover their passions and to look beyond themselves.  He believed in global education and led students on humanitarian missions to Casa Guatemala and the Lai Thieu Center for the Deaf in Vietnam.  He initiated student leadership programs, Pacific Rim studies programs, student exchanges with Japanese schools and he helped create an on site salmon hatchery at his school. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of school athletics and started mini-basketball programs in his community.  Bob was recognized as a member of the Order of Canada and received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from Simon Fraser University.  Mr. Carkner passed away at age 73 in 2009.

At this tournament that honours the legacy of Mr. Carkner, we hope to see all teams playing hard, competing and trying to win.  More importantly, we will be celebrating both girls' and boys' high school basketball and encouraging all participants to represent their schools with the highest levels of sportsmanship and class.   Our hope is that we help create positive memories that may last a lifetime.  All proceeds from the tournament will go to a Bob Carkner Memorial Scholarship fund established at the school by Mr. Carkner's family.

p.s.  The life force behind this tournament is long serving coach Les Hamaguchi.  Les, a community volunteer, has dedicated decades to school sports and has coached high school basketball in Richmond for over 35 years. He is also active at the provincial level in girls' high school basketball.   To learn more about the tournament or the schedule, contact Les at:  leshamaguchi@yahoo.ca