Every February, Hamber students begin choosing their courses for the next school year through MyEducation BC. Specialized options include fine arts electives, service classes, and an assortment of AP classes.

Hamber’s Midtown Showdown (MTSD) was first hosted in 2011. Now, Hamber’s new building has enabled 24 teams from across the Lower Mainland to compete from Jan. 23–25. The event became a showcase for other groups. Dancers performed during halftime, the school band played by the bleachers at breaks, scorekeepers worked diligently from the sidelines, and the cheerleading club displayed their routines for the crowd. Hand-painted posters were hung up around the gym for the participating teams and each Hamber player.

For many, escaping a debilitating cold is impossible over the winter months; plenty of Hamber students have fallen ill over the flu season. However, they’ve also found ways to help mitigate their sickness and aim for a speedy recovery. Through social media, Natalie Palmer (10) discovered a gargling technique that involves salt and baking soda, which helps treat sore throats.

New school, new store! After a four-year hiatus, Eric Hamber’s student store, the Griff, is open again, selling drinks and snacks. But is it here to stay? The Nest sat down with Griff president Renee Kwok (11) to get the behind-the-scenes on the reimagined student store.

With this year's Valentine's Day festivities coming to a close, Hamber students shared what they did to celebrate this joyous time of year. While for some, this might have meant going out with that special someone, having dinner with family, or relaxing by themselves, many students chose to celebrate this Valentine’s Day with their gal pals! But, what is Galentine's Day? What’s its significance? And how can you celebrate it?

Since the start of the school year, Hamber grads worked steadily on applications to their dream post-secondary programs. Accepted to their preferred institutions, some students have already committed to their plans to attend these schools.

Hamber’s fourth floor will serve as a childcare centre for children aged 0 to 5, as part of a joint effort between the Vancouver School Board (VSB) and the City of Vancouver. While the VSB provides space and cleaning services, the city has funded the construction costs and planned the traffic flow in the parking lot. Set to officially open on April 1, the daycare will bring changes to traffic patterns, particularly near Hamber’s east entrance, which will become the designated pickup and drop-off area for the childcare centre.

Centered around facilitating the transition from the classroom to working in industry trades, the Youth Work in Trades (WRK) Program is jointly supported by the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care and SkilledTradesBC. This program is promoted by the Vancouver School Board (VSB), and connects high school students to paid apprenticeships that provide up to 16 high school credits — equivalent to four courses. Students who graduate from this program will accumulate up to 480 training hours. By finishing two types of industry training programs — the Red Seal and the BC Trades Program — SkilledTradesBC provides students with provincial-level trades credentials.

Quebec’s education system is struggling with a severe teacher shortage, with over 20,000 more students enrolled this school year, compared to the number of students at the start of class last school year. In August 2024, with less than two weeks before the school year started, there were still 5,700 teaching positions yet to be filled in the province's schools. However, this rate was still higher than previous years.

Eastern Canada has experienced an intense winter, due to a breakdown in the polar vortex, a large mass of arctic air that usually remains trapped near the North Pole. This is a sharp contrast to Vancouver and the rest of the Lower Mainland, which has experienced an extremely mild winter — except for the past month.

Three quarters through the 2024-25 NHL season, it’s safe to say that the Vancouver Canucks have not repeated the impressive first half of their previous season. In the 2023–24 season, The Canucks were Pacific Division champions, finishing with a record of 50-23-9 (wins-losses-overtime losses) and 109 points. Vancouver made the playoffs for the first time since 2020, when they were eliminated in the second round, four games to three against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

After weeks of tariff threats, diplomatic tensions, and a brawl-filled round-robin matchup, the NHL’s Four Nations final was set to be a game to remember. With Canada and the USA coming to blows early in their first meeting — three fights took place in the first nine seconds of play — fans were expecting a thrilling final game. The 3–2 OT win for Canada delivered all that, and more.

At a Jan. 17 mayor’s committee meeting, Mike Hurley, the Burnaby mayor and Metro Vancouver Board chair announced an upcoming governance review of Metro Vancouver to “explore the way the Metro Vancouver Board makes decisions, receives and shares information, and any potential efficiencies that could be explored through provincial legislation.” The review came in response to concerns regarding Metro Vancouver’s recent spending decisions.

The Chairman of O’Leary Ventures, Canadian millionaire Kevin O’Leary, has proposed for the “world’s largest” AI data centre to be built in Northern Alberta, called Wonder Valley. O’Leary has described the project as a way to transform Alberta and Canada into hotspots for the AI industry. However, in December 2024, O’Leary Ventures announced their plan to construct the data centre without mention of consulting First Nations in the area, despite the proposed location of Wonder Valley being on the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s traditional land.

After a BC Supreme Court ruling that reduced lease payments for Kingsgate Mall, the Vancouver School Board is set to lose millions in annual rental income. The decision marks the latest development in a legal battle over the fair market valuation of the property, which has been ongoing since 2017.

At the beginning of February, the Lower Mainland received a massive snow dump, providing welcome relief to skiers following a subpar season last year — but leaving drivers with sub-optimal conditions.

The Canadian dollar’s equivalent US value has dropped from about 75 cents USD — its highest value in 2024 — to today’s value of about 70 cents USD, and experts warn it may continue to drop. Economists point to incoming American tariffs on Canadian goods, and Canada’s potential counter-tariffs, as the leading cause of the loonie’s depreciation.

After nine years in power, current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that he was resigning as Canada’s prime minister, effective immediately after the Liberal Party chooses a new leader. During his resignation speech, Trudeau discussed his fight for Canada’s people and interests, and his belief that an election where he is on the ballot would not be a fair one.

Last year, Vancouver saw visits from many popular artists, including Taylor Swift, Don Toliver, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and more. However, if you were disappointed that you couldn’t make it to any of them then, you’re in luck! This year, more big-name artists have already announced shows in Vancouver.

On Nov. 21, 2024, the federal government declared a GST/HST break for certain items. The tax break went into effect on Dec. 14, 2024, and ended on Feb 15. The break applied to food, beverages, restaurant food, catering, children’s clothing, children’s footwear, diapers, car seats, children’s toys, jigsaw puzzles, video game consoles, video game controllers, physical video games, physical books, printed newspapers, and Christmas trees.

The Met Gala, formally called the costume institute benefit, is the annual fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum. Taking place on May 15, the 2025 Met Gala theme is “Superfine tailoring black style.” According to Vogue, this style and theme is set to be an expression of dandyism, “a style movement that started in 19th-century Britain and encouraged opulence, elegance and good taste in men’s fashion,” as described by Cosmopolitan. This year’s show is also inspired by the work of Monica Miller, a professor and chair of Africana studies at Barnard college, and her book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. The dress code for the event is “tailored for you” as a nod to the accompanying art exhibitions at the Met which focus on menswear and suiting. 

Late last year, Chinese authorities reported an increase in children under 14 years old testing positive for human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a respiratory disease with cold or flu-like symptoms. Soon after, videos began appearing on Chinese social media, depicting long lines of patients in Chinese hospitals with over-filled waiting rooms. With 5 years having passed since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global shutdown and killed over seven million, this raised widespread concern.

After 15 months of war and eight months of negotiations, a three-phase permanent ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza went into effect on Jan. 19. The ceasefire deal contains 42 days in each of its three phases. In the first phase, Hamas is to release 33 Israeli hostages, which it captured in an Oct. 7, 2023 incursion into Israel. Israel is due to release 1,904 Palestinian prisoners that it captured in the last several years, most abducted due to political activism or alleged involvement with Hamas.

On Feb. 14, 88-year-old Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital to undergo testing and treatment after suffering through a weeklong bout of bronchitis. Then, after a full week of treatment, on Feb. 22, the Vatican revealed in a statement that Pope Francis had undergone an "asthma-like respiratory crisis" and required supplemental oxygen. Furthermore, his blood tests revealed that he had thrombocytopenia — a condition caused by a low number of platelets in the blood — which needed to be treated with a blood transfusion.

When US President Joe Biden first took office in January 2021, he immediately began implementing new policies aimed at tackling some of the country’s biggest concerns, including COVID-19, diversity and equity, and the environment.

SpaceX, a private aerospace company owned by Elon Musk, launched its uncrewed Starship rocket on Jan. 16. In their seventh test flight, the ship was meant to fly across the Gulf of Mexico from Texas — almost a full loop around the world. However, the flight only lasted eight and a half minutes before the upper half of the rocket exploded over the Turks and Caicos islands.

After Kendrick Lamar released “Not Like Us”, a diss track directed at Canadian rapper Drake on May 4, Drake responded by filing a defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), which represents both musicians. The suit was filed eight months after the song’s release and alleged that the song contained false information about Drake.

On Feb. 9, the Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles at the NFL Super Bowl. This year, the halftime show featured American rapper and 22-time Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar. The performance drew 133 million viewers, making it the most-watched halftime show in history. Lamar took a symbolic approach to the halftime show. Actor Samuel Jackson appeared on stage dressed as Uncle Sam, a figure that represents the American government. Jackson began the show by saying, “This is the great American game,” which was the kickoff for the performance.