Category: Senior School

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University Admissions Update

As we begin a new year in the university admissions cycle, we are pleased to get news of our graduates in their new post-secondary homes.

Class of 2014
Class of 2014

Kelly Steeves ’14, is enjoying her time at Harvard College, taking interesting courses such as Everyday life in Nazi Germany and Society and the Witch (she will be researching Harry Potter). Alice Xiao ’14 stopped by on a brief trip home from the University of Pennsylvania. Coco Yang ’14 is doing very well in her Hotel Management program at Cornell, while Ashley Chen ’14 is most involved in her Business program at Johns Hopkins.

In California, our students Fiona Yu ’14 and Elaine Cui ’14 are very happy in their architecture programs at the University of Southern California, while Ellen Chuan is busy at Caltech. Ms. Gionet met with Candice Wang who is enjoying her time at Berkeley. Natasha Lu and Hazelle Wang have left for Warwick and Imperial, respectively, in the UK.

On the Canadian front, we hear that Coco Morton has had her first three hour Accounting class in her Commerce program at Queen’s University. Laura Abrioux has been chosen to be one of three executives in the new Medical Science program at Dalhousie University. Thus far our graduates at McGill, Western and Queen’s are all busy with their studies.

While we have had some visits from students at UBC, such as Vanessa Lee at the Sauder School of Business, we hope to meet more of our graduates at an event hosted by our Alumnae and Advancement office.

As in past years, the graduates of the Class of 2014 are studying in a variety of programs; Science (including Kinesiology, Nutrition, Engineering), Business, Humanities, Fine Arts (including Architecture and Industrial Design). Please note that these are just a few mentions; news of our graduates are included in Alumnae eNewsletters (York eRose).

This fall, we continue to have a host of universities visit us. We have recently had visits from several universities in the UK including Cardiff and the University of Bath. Last week, York House was one of the few schools visited by a group of elite UK universities; Newcastle, Durham, York, Warwick, Bristol and Southampton. These universities belong to the Russell group , which consists of 24 research based universities, sometimes referred to as the “Ivy League of the UK”. The representatives of these universities not only presented to our students but provided one on one support and guidance to UK applicants by offering feedback on their personal statements.

UBC has already had their annual presentation. Other US and Canadian university visits will follow (including UCLA, Washington University at St. Louis, McGill, to mention but a few). Next week, York House School is delighted to host Johns Hopkins University for an Explore Hopkins event, which will take place in our very own theatre on October 15, at 7:00pm. Interested parents and students can attend this session (please pre-register here) or our Lunch Hour (1 pm) individual session on October 14 in the Bentley Room.

Anita Irani
Director of University Admissions

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The Diverse Ecosystems of Garibaldi

Ever wanted to hike to the top of Garibaldi but haven’t had the chance?

The Grade 10s made the the trek to Garibaldi from September 16-19, 2014. Check out this ecosystem piece written by Louise. She captures both the ecology of the area and the experience of the hike with great clarity:

Garibaldi Provincial Park has incredibly diverse ecosystems, including the parking lot, the luscious green fields of Taylor Meadows as well as the rocky, steep hills of Panorama Ridge.

To start off, the parking lot has a surprisingly large amount of alpine trees which create almost a barricade around the man-made parking zones. Also, there are not many flowers that bloom in this environment due to the enormous trees stealing most of the sunlight and rainwater from the supposed flowers and shrubs that would grow beneath them; thus, displaying competition between plant life even at such low elevations of the mountain. Furthermore, it is critical to remember that the parking lot was constructed with the direct help of de-forestation, therefore, this abiotic factor has caused this environment to reduce its number of evolving plant life as well as the types of species that can thrive in this area. Furthermore, there are not many animals that roam around in this area, where the most often encountered species of animal would be insects such as flies and mosquitos. Ultimately, the man-made parking zone has disrupted and harmed the habitats and growth of both animals and plant life in this area.

Higher up on Garibaldi Mountain, there are the beautiful fields of Taylor Meadows, which is home to a diverse amount of flowers that include Lupins, Indian Paintbrushes and Sitka Valerians. One factor that greatly impacts the abundance of plant life is due to the open fields where only small pockets of trees are present; as a result, sunlight and rain are able to easily reach smaller plant life, thus, making it a suitable environment for flowers and berry bushes to thrive. Since plant life is so richly populated in this environment, many animals such as deers, Whiskey Jacks and cougars are capable of surviving in this ecosystem. Though due to the higher elevation, the temperature can get extremely cold at night as well as during occasional rainstorms, therefore, the animals and plants that inhabit this environment must be able to endure these difficult conditions while adapting to the sudden climate changes as well.

To reach one of the highest peaks of Garibaldi mountain, there is Panorama Ridge, where the environment changes dramatically due to its rocky region, where sparse amounts of grass and occasional dwarfed trees can be found in this sector of the mountain. Smaller animals such as birds and squirrels can be found in this area as they are one of the few species that can manage climbing such high altitudes. Furthermore, the amount of oxygen is greatly reduced compared to the amount of oxygen at the bottom of the mountain; as a result, many animals may not be able to survive with the lack of oxygen and plant life in this environment. To make living conditions even more strenuous, the evening temperature up on Panorama Ridge is even colder than the temperature at Taylor Meadows due to elevation differences, where during the sunny daytime, the temperature would increase exponentially as there would be no place for shade or shelter due to the point lack of trees in this environment. Also, the rocks that make up most of Panorama Ridge create an obstacle for plants to sprout and blossom as the soil is trapped beneath the endless piles of rocks; the rocks also make it difficult for animals to move about due to its unstable and crooked platforms. Thus, Panorama Ridge is an environment that is dangerous and difficult to survive for both animals and plants.

Despite the differences between these environments, they share many similarities as well. For example, all these environments are home to various small species of animals and there are always some species of plant life growing in these areas, whether it is trees or flowers or simply grass. In addition, often times the flowers that thrive in Taylor Meadows grow especially abundant on the pathway that link towards Panorama Ridge, where many berry bushes and summer flowers blossom along the dirt road that connects these two places; thus, displaying how there are no literal boundaries between one ecosystem and another. All in all, Garibaldi Provincial Park displays the diversity of flora and fauna found at each elevation of the mountain as well as connects each environment towards a larger, more centralized ecosystem that surrounds the entire mountain from bottom to top.

See all the photos from the Garibaldi trip.

Louise
Grade 10