Christians in Canada and around the world observe this Holy Day in remembrance of the Crucifixion of Jesus. Christians believe that in the person of Jesus, God became one of us, and chose to die for us, as an act of atonement for our sins, and as an act of love for humanity. “…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Book of Romans, Chapter 5).
In a move that is sure to surprise many people in Cloverdale and around the province, the Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary sports teams will no longer be known as the Panthers. Principal Allan Buggie and Athletic Director Brien Gemmell held a news conference to announce that the school, which has had all sorts of success in recent years in many different sports, including Basketball, Football, Rugby and Track, is rebranding itself.
“It is important that Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary reflects the community in more genuine and authentic ways,” explained Principal Buggie. “The fact is that you cannot find a real panther anywhere in Cloverdale. However, you can find lots of little kitties. We just thought it was a much more realistic and local nickname.”
Gemmell, the Athletic Director, elaborated on that idea. “To be honest, many of our athletes found the Panther to be a violent and disturbing image. Too many of our kids were just scared putting on the jersey, the idea of Panthers was so frightening to them. And for our opponents, forget it. So many schools threatened to boycott our games because they felt that the Panther was offensive, violent and scary. Kitties are much more gentle and good-natured.”
Teams from LTS will immediately become known as the Lord Tweedsmuir Kitties. With rugby season just underway, the Lord Tweedsmuir Kitties will compete for rugby glory this spring.
Voting for the winner of Surrey Teens Read will start in May. That means you have just over a month left to complete reading at least three of the nominated titles so that you can vote for the best book for teens in Surrey. We have multiple copies of all the nominees here at your school library- check them out!
Find out more at surreyteensread.weebly.com
Welcome back for the stretch drive of the 2014-15 School Year. We hope you had a great Spring Break, with a good combination of fun experiences and relaxing rest. Most of all we hope you took some time for some good reading! Did you read any good books over the holiday? Let us know. Use the comment box below.
March 8 is International Women’s Day. Women continue to struggle for equality in Canada and around the world. In Canada over the past century we have made significant progress towards improving the status of women, particularly in terms of the law and government. However, Canadian women still struggle for equality of pay and opportunity. Canadian women still face discrimination and sexism. Worse, Canadian women are still subject to high levels of violence– worse still, violence carried out by men they know and perhaps even love.
Around the world, the situation is even worse. In many societies women face worse levels of sexism and violence, often with no protection of any sort from the law. In fact, in some places the government endorses, or even carries out the oppression of women.
This is unacceptable. International Women’s Day is not just for women. It is for all of us. Together, men and women must continue to fight for human rights to be guaranteed to all people.
For more on International Women’s Day
Gung Hay Fat Choi! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Welcome to the Year of the Sheep. Or is it the Year of the Goat?
Whatever the English translation is, the Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, begins on February 19, according to the Gregorian Calendar in 2015.
Different translations from Mandarin render it the Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram. “Year of the Horned Ruminant” doesn’t have a nice ring to it.
Millions of Canadians, particularly those of Chinese heritage, and people all over the world will bring in the New Year. People of diverse religious, ethnic and political backgrounds come together to celebrate the common bonds of Chinese culture.
For more on Chinese New Year:
Is it the Year of the Ram, Sheep or Goat?
Chinese Historical and Cultural Project
Canada’s Flag was officially adopted on this day in 1965, making it 50 years old today. The Maple Leaf replaced the Red Ensign which had been Canada’s flag since Confederation. National Flag Day of Canada has been officially recognized by Parliament since 1996. 
One of the great authors of English literature was born on this day in 1812. If you have yet to read any Dickens, you are missing out!
We have multiple copies of all the nominated books. Come down to the school library to check them out! And go online to find out more: surreyteensread.weebly.com
Today in the School Library students and staff will have the opportunity to view the famous “I Have a Dream” speech of Martin Luther King Jr. We will discuss the life of Dr. King, the Civil Rights Movement, and the ongoing struggle for racial equality and justice in our society. As Americans observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday, we in Canada can also celebrate the work of Dr. King, who stood for non-violent protest, peace, forgiveness and love.
Sikhs in Canada and around the world observe the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh who was born on this day in 1666 in Patna, India. He was the 10th and last of the (human) Gurus of Sikhism. He established the Khalsa, the organization of men and women baptized into the Sikh faith. He also established the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism, as the final Guru for the Sikh people. For more on Guru Gobind Singh and the Sikh faith, check out some of the following links:
Happy New Year 2015!
Today is the first day of the year on the Gregorian Calendar and the first day of 2015 according the Anno Domini reckoning of years.
Of course, a “New Year’s Day” is an arbitrary notion and is celebrated at various times according to the traditions of different religions, cultures and nationalities. January 1st was adopted as the start of the year sometime during the era of the Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages, most European countries celebrated the New Year in the Spring. However, by the time the Gregorian Calendar began to be adopted by most Western nations, January 1st became the standard for celebrating the New Year.
Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library 