The Ski Team Goes to Provincials!
One of Sentinel’s most accomplished sports teams, the ski and snowboarding team, has just enjoyed one of its most prolific seasons! After the regional races at Whistler, the entire girls ski team, along with a couple individuals, qualified for provincials. This year, provincials were held at Kicking Horse Resort in Golden BC from Feb 28 - March 2, 2022. Apart from the skiing, the roadtrip to the Resort was equally as memorable. During the 8-hour bus drive, we stopped by many other destinations such as Hope, Merrit, Salmon Arm and Revelstoke. A special congratulations to the girls ski team on winning third in the TGS (Terrain Giant Slalom) and fifth in the GS (Giant Slalom) races! This brought the girls to third place in the province overall. A big thank you to our coaches/chaperones Mr. Gibson and Ms. Britten for their words of encouragement before the races, and for making the trip such an enjoyable experience!
Sentinel Stage Presents... Mamma Mia! the Musical.
This year's Sentinel Stage production will be running from April 12th to 15th at the Kay Meek Theatre. Tickets are $15 before the show or $20 at the door. You can purchase tickets from any member (Cast or Crew!) of Sentinel Stage, or from the student store on select dates (TBD)!
We hope to see you there!
(If you would like to purchase a ticket, you can email me at neekak697@edu.sd45.bc.ca (Neeka)!)
Another year of a Deep Delve Into the Real World: VMUN 2022!
Following its annual traditions, VMUN is being held in person at the Hyatt Regency once again! Aside from the numerous high schools—private and public—attending this conference from all over Vancouver, Sentinel Students will be having an outstanding presence at the conference again like every year while they tackle crucial world issues from around the globe.
With COVID having affected events held at large scales, the VMUN conference was definitely not an exception. Nevertheless, VMUN will provide its delegates an exceptional experience this year, and Sentinel Students will for sure knock it out of the park again! Here are a few things you might want to know to get a better picture of VMUN 2022 and possibly some tips if you want to attend in the future:
❖ The 17 Committees and their Topic(s)
It is usually helpful to get an idea of the overall energy and tone the committees as a whole are shifting towards even when you are not in all of the committees—obviously. Your level of preparation can be estimated if you look at the level of knowledge needed for most of the topics, as awards would be considered for one person out of all of the committees. Instead of having to go through all of the one by one on the VMUN website, we have listed all of them out on here for you to see, so you don't have to:
General Assembly:
1. DISEC
Topic A: Targeting the Use of Biological Weapons Topic B: Myanmar Coup d’État
2. SOCHUM
Topic A: Criminal Rehabilitation
Topic B: Online Censorship of Activism
3. WHO
Topic A: Pathogens in Conflict Areas
Topic B: Medical Training in the Developing World
Intermediate Agencies:
4. UNHRC
Topic A: Protecting Female Political Leaders Topic B: Human Rights in Refugee Camps
5. UNODC
Topic A: Money Laundering Topic B: Oil Trafficking in Africa
6. UNEP
Topic A: The Global Recycling Chain
Topic B: Preserving Marine Ecosystems in the Pacific
7. WB
Topic A: Debt-Trap Diplomacy
Topic B: Establishing Special Economic Zones in Developing Countries
Regional Councils:
8. NATO
Topic A: Domestic Counterterrorism Topic B: NATO’s Involvement in Ukraine
9. EU
Topic A: The Future of Transatlantic Relations
Topic B: The Rise of Right-Wing Populism in the EU
10. HOC
Topic: Drug and Substances Reform
11. U.S Senate
Topic A: Voting Reform
Topic B: Preserving Technological Superiority in High Tech Industries
12. First Ministers
Topic A: Pipelines in Canada
Topic B: Canadian Telecom Reform
Advanced Committees: 13. UNSC
Topic A: The Kashmir Conflict Topic B: Foreign Military Bases
14. JCC
The Franco-Prussian war, 1867
15. HCC
The Russian Civil War, 1917
16. ACC
The boxer Rebellion
17. INTEL
The Cold War, 1956
❖ Research tips!
The most important part of Model UN preparation ties back to the research that you do before the conference, and it is important to take your time and research smart and not necessarily hard! Here are a few tips for a more thorough delve into your research:
1. Read the background guide, but don’t depend on it.
It's a no-brainer that the first thing most people do when starting their research is reading the backgrounder, but don't let those 50+ pages give you the impression that you are good to go. Read the background guide to get an overall idea of what you would want to include in your research, and then start to fill in the pores of your knowledge with more in-depth research from reliable sources.
2. Choose the right sources!
Be cynical with your choice of sources and do not get too overjoyed when you see 4 million results pop up after doing your google search. Take a look at your English 10 notes and make sure your choice meets the requirements of a reliable source. Do the CRAAP test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose), check the source with wikipedia, and look at the overall set-up of the website to make sure it is professional. Feel free to check out the United Nations website for overall logistics, and even look at websites from your assigned country’s government.
3. Build your research based on the right foundation.
The first thing your mind should be directed towards is the root of the topic that you are looking at. The root of the problem is what will giveaway hints for the pervasion of the issue, and it will help you tackle your research a lot better.
4. Continuity versus Change.
While you want to be as original, innovative and creative as you possibly can, taking a look at the previous things your country has done would better familiarise you with the mindset of your country’s government and how they deal with issues. Maybe it usually works and you might consider it, maybe they don't have the best methods, or maybe a portion of their tactics may seem useful; who knows! Taking a look at a few examples would give you a picture of the trendline of the topic in your country over the years, and it can shine light on matters you want to “continue” and ones you might need to “change”, or even add to.
❖ Stand out!
While your chances of winning an award is 1 in 1400, you might as well try your best to win one anyways. Awaken your inner spartan and let your top tier Sentinel Student ego ride your spirit, so you can be an outstanding delegate and make us proud!
Here are a few tips that will help you along the way:
1. Don't go down the same path as everyone else.
It is easier said than done, but even when you are researching, try to look into places that not a lot of people would look at. It is not about having all of your sources unreachable, or having your information be unheard of because that would be impossible. It is about having a unique mixture of sources and information that not a lot of people would think about putting together. Linking your information in unexpected ways is a diplomatic thing to do as well, which is certainly something that they look for when giving out awards.
2. Make points that would be mentioned multiple times.
You know your points are relevant when everyone else constantly brings them up. In fact, this is what you should be aiming for when you research, and the things you put down in your notes should be ones that are relevant to other countries as well. Try to impress or side with the superpowers such as Russia, USA, Britain, France and China because through them, you are more likely to be linked with everyone else as well.
3. Create a divide in the debate.
I can not tell you the exact criteria for judging delegates, but it would be logical if they see someone who’s opinions do not necessarily align with others more because they are the boldest. You should always aim for a divide, and neutrality is never the way to go. However, it is important to remember that intelligent diplomats do stay quiet in specific situations, which would tie back to your assigned country and their diplomacy.
If you are attending VMUN this year, we hope all of this information would be helpful for you. If you aren't, we advise you to consider doing it next year. You don't necessarily have to be a political person, but if you want to become a true leader and stand out from others you should definitely consider it next year–who knows, it may be helpful with your university applications.
Good luck to all of our spartans attending VMUN; we are proud of you!
Works Cited: :
United Nations, V. M. (n.d.). Vancouver Model United Nations – DIPLOMACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT. VMUN 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://vmun.com/
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