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Spring Program: Registration and Orientation;  Monthly Events Calendar for the school year ( to June, 2013)    

Subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter, The PALC News, for weekly web site updates.  


Quote of the Week: "Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars . . . Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."—Martin Luther King (Quote Archive) 

Student Writing by Daria: Her Smile
By far the most popular page on our student newspaper site, Darija's heartfelt story shows us the power of a smile from a stranger. April 21, 2013 (originally published on May19, 2008)

The Weekly Quiz: Green Party Candidate: Rick McGowan
Rick is running for the Green Party in this week's election. Here, he gives answers to a number of questions about his candidacy.  May 12, 2013

Accounting 12: Weekly Assignments
Find your assignments for Louise's daytime class at this page. May 12, 2013

Communications 12: Weekly Assignments
Find your assignments for Louise's daytime class at this page. May 12, 2013

Teacher Writing by Brad: Teaching Advanced Composition
Brad's paragraph demonstrates the use of commas to set off quotations and appositives. May 5, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: Math Tutorials
Renuka updates students on our extensive math tutorial schedule. Includes a reading comprehension quiz on the reading. May 5, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: Daffodil Poetry
Patricia reminds us of the Canadian Cancer Society's daffodil campaign while also introducing us to two kinds of poetry. Includes a matching quiz to test your comprehension. April 28, 2013

Student Writing by Teresa: Do I Need to . . . ?
Teresa notices that “independent spirits” exist in Canada, where everybody should be fundamentally equal. April 21, 2013 (originally published on May 19, 2008)

The Weekly Quiz: Earth Day 2013
The importance of taking care of our planet Earth and its environment cannot be overstated. Paul shows us why and provides two quizzes to test your comprehension of his article. April 21, 2013

Teacher Writing by Brad: Expecting Changes
Brad's paragraph shows how to use the adverbs of comparision (positive, comparative, superlative). Includes a table of examples and a link to a worksheet for practice. April 14, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: Problems with Prepositions 4: For, On or To
Louise completes her series on prepositions with a final challenging quiz. April 14, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: The Other T-Form: Verbs, not Taxes
L goes over some intriguing changes in the use of "t" versus "ed" in the past form. April 7, 2013

Student Writing by Helena: The Backyard of China
Smooth like silk, soft like spring water, slow like clouds in the mountain, Kunming has no other seasons, only spring. April 2, 2013 (originally published on May 7, 2007)

The Weekly Quiz: Four Quick Tips to Improve Your Writing
Jennifer gives us some concrete ideas for writing improvement. Includes two sample paragraphs and a short comprehension quiz. April 2, 2013

Teacher Writing by Brad: An Important Choice
Brad's paragraph demonstrates the use of noun clauses as the object in a sentence. March 22, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: BC's 40th Provincial Election
Cheryl encourages everyone to register to vote in this important upcoming election.  March 22, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: Taking First Steps
Charlotte compares the experience of a child's first steps to students returning to school. Includes a cloze quiz to test your vocabulary comprehension.  March 17, 2013

Student Writing by Catherine: The Wall
Catherine writes about her reaction to Canada's lack of walls compared to her home country, China. March 10, 2013 (originally published on April 14, 2007)

The Weekly Quiz: Poetry: Sound and More
Brad brings us his notes on sound devices in poetry and provides a 15 question multiple choice quiz to test your understanding. March 10, 2013

Teacher Writing by Brad: Fast Food: Be Careful What You Eat!
Brad's paragraph demonstrates effective persuasive writing. Includes a link to a worksheet for practice. March 3, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: Visiting Curacao
Trudi introduces us to this beautiful Caribbean island. March 3, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: Work Smarter Not Harder
Tazim introduces us to the idea of different learning styles and provides a link where you can find out your own. February 24, 2013

Student Writing by Ruth: Ancient Beauty
Ruth tells the story of her grandmother's bound feet, an ancient Chinese tradition no longer practiced. February 24, 2013 (originally published on June 22, 2008)

The Weekly Quiz: Work Smarter Not Harder
Tazim introduces us to the idea of different learning styles and provides a link where you can find out your own. February 24, 2013

Teacher Writing by Brad: A Special Haven
Brad's paragraph demonstrates effective descriptive writing. Includes a link to a worksheet for practice. February 17, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: The Butter Battle Book
Rick introduces us to this classic tale from Dr. Seuss. Includes links to animations and a quiz. February 17, 2013

Student Writing by Masaru: An Upside Down World
Masaru's experience of learning the opposite culture of Canada. February 10, 2013 (originally published on March 30, 2008)

The Weekly Quiz: Family Day in B.C.
Renuka introduces us to our new B.C. holiday. Includes a multiple choice quiz to test your comprehension.. February 10, 2013

Teacher Writing by Brad: An Exercise in Procrastination
Brad writes two paragraphs on procrastination that also illustrate how to use parallel structures effectively. February 3, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: Why Take Physics?
Paul argues strongly for students to consider taking Physics at the centre. He includes a fill-in-the blank and comprehension quiz for you to try. February 3, 2013

Student Writing by Kamila: Beauty Goes Shopping
Kamila contrasts Polish and Canadian attitudes towards beauty. January 27, 2013 (originally published on March 3, 2008)

The Weekly Quiz: B.C. Shore Birds
Patricia introduces us to B.C. birds with a properly constructed paragraph. Includes a matching quiz to test your comprehension. January 27, 2013

Student Writing by Zarghoona: A Walking Joke
Zarghoona writes about the importance of understanding idiom, and the bad results if you don't! January 20, 2013 (originally published on April 5, 2009)

Student Writing by Masaru: Laughter as Medicine
Masaru's cancer treatment is aided by a nurse's good humour. January 13, 2013 (originally published on May 19, 2008)

The Weekly Quiz: Why Learn Math?
L argues passionately for getting educated in Mathematics and includes links to plenty of useful resources and quizzes. January 13, 2013

Student Writing by Larry: Learning from Cats: Distance Makes Beauty
Are we really superior to other creatures? Let’s come off our perches and see what we can learn from other animals.  January 6, 2013 (originally published on April 2, 2007)

The Weekly Quiz: The Controlling Idea: Writing Better Paragraphs
Jennifer explains this important concept then tests you with a multiple choice quiz.  January 6, 2013

The Weekly Quiz: A New Year; A Fresh Start
Cheryl makes a resolution for New Year's.  December 31, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Memories of Snow
Charlotte reminisces about her Canadian experiences with snow. After you read, try a fill-in-the-blank vocabulary quiz. December 23, 2012

Student Writing by Beatrice: The Newly-Rich Mushroom
A trip to the "antique" market doesn't quite turn out as planned!  December 16, 2012 (originally published on April 9, 2009)

The Weekly Quiz: Vivid Verbs
Patricia demonstrates the power of vivid verbs and provides us with two quizzes to test our knowledge. December 16, 2012

Student Writing by Victoria: Friendly Canada
Victoria finds Canadians more talkative and friendly than at home.  December 9, 2012 (originally published on May 25, 2008)

The Weekly Quiz: Fruit and Vegetables Idiom Quiz
How well do you know idioms like "in a pickle"? Take Brad's quiz and find out!  December 9, 2012

Student Writing by Andrea: Modern Women's Unhealthy Beauty
Andrea's essay takes a new look at women’s beauty issues. The essay is well-organized, clear in language, and full of scientific and supportive evidence.  December 2, 2012 (originally published on December 7, 2008)

The Weekly Quiz: Problems with Prepositions: In or On
Louise offers a quiz to practice these pesky problem prepositions!  December 2, 2012

Student Writing by Victoria: The Neptune Festival
“The Neptune Festival ” concerns a teen’s discovery of a ritual in her grandmother’s village. Find out how the villagers prepare everything in secret overnight.  November 25, 2012 (originally published on December 16, 2007)

The Weekly Quiz: New Energy; Too Great a Sacrifice?
Rick explains fracking, a new process to extract natural gas from shale deposits. But, he warns that the environmental costs may be high. Includes a comprehension quiz for practice. November 25, 2012

Student Writing by Valentina: Cleaning the Well
Well-described and edited story about the simple but hard work of cleaning a well. Reading this, you will enjoy a festive ritual as if you were there.  November 19, 2012 (originally published on November 10, 2007)

The Weekly Quiz: The New, Improved Computer Course
Renuka advises students that our computer course, known as Information and Communications Technology has been revised.  November 18, 2012

Student Writing by Eve: Old Hometown Shanghai
Eve recalls her early years in old Shanghai, before it grew into the city it is today.  November 11, 2012 (originally published on April 5, 2009)

The Weekly Quiz: The History of "O Canada"
Paul bring us interesting information on Canada's national anthem. Includes two quizzes to test your comprehension.  November 11, 2012

Student Writing by Beatrice: The Cubic Life
Beatrice's piece chronicles the life of Lily, a rebellious girl growing up in China, who later emigrates to Canada.  November 4, 2012 (originally published on March 21, 2009)

The Weekly Quiz: November Rains
Patricia reacts to our recent spell of bad weather. Includes sample sentences and paragraphs and two matching quizzes for practice.  November 4, 2012

Student Writing by Catherine: Giving Praise
Living in Canada, we may have cultural differences. Do they make you curious, confused, or excited?  October 27, 2012 (originally published in April, 2007)

The Weekly Quiz: Feed the Food Bank
Tazim introduces us to our 2012 Food Bank Drive. Let's make this our best year ever! Includes a matching quiz for comprehension practice. October 27, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Improve Your Writing with Synonyms
Jennifer makes the case for using synonyms to improve your writing. Includes a challenging quiz on synonyms for common English words. October 14, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Positive Thinking Month
Cheryl reminds us of the power of positive thinking. October 8, 2012

Student Writing: The Impending Danger that Awaits Us
Genel's essay, published nearly four years ago, shows his ability to inform and persuade. His words are even more relevant after this extraordinary year.  October 8, 2012 (originally published in December, 2008)

The Weekly Quiz: Being a Summer Tour Guide
Charlotte recounts her summer activities and suggests three good sites to find Vancouver attractions. Includes a comprehension quiz for practice. September 30, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: The Best of The Buzz; Our Most Popular Student Writing
Brad provides links to the best and most popular pages of student writing at our site. Try a quiz on the content of these pieces for comprehension practice. September 23, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Stay Healthy; Take a Science Class!
Trudi encourages all students to take care of their health and to consider taking a Science class this term. Includes links to useful quizzes online.  September 16, 2012

Student Writing: Valeria's Black Square
Alexey helps us to understand the importance of Valeria in his life.  September 10, 2012 

The Weekly Quiz: Worker Smarter, Not Harder!
Tazim introduces us to the idea of different learning styles and provides a link where you can find out your own. September 9, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: How to Avoid Plagiarism
Rick provides students with a timely reminder. Includes a link to a quiz at The University of Guelph. September 4, 2012

Student Writing (from the archives): Being a Student at PALC
Maria explains how our classes and lab work to create a favourable student experience.  September 2, 2012 (published June 11, 2011)

ALL STUDENTS: School Calendar for 2012 to 2013
Make your plans for the coming school year. Includes all important dates, holidays and celebrations!  September 2, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Canadian Coins
Renuka reviews the common Canadian coins. Multiple choice quiz is included to check your comprehension. August 26, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Cycling in the Lower Mainland
Patricia gives us a sample paragraph and verb tense sentences to help students write each one perfectly. Includes a matching quiz for practice on verb tenses. August 19, 2012

Student Writing (from the archives): Old Hometown: Manila
Marc returns to a Manila far different from the one where he grew up.  August 12, 2012 (published April 12, 2009)

The Weekly Quiz: Summer Articles Practice
Jennifer reviews five important rules and then challenges us with a fill-in-the-blank quiz. August 12, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Dazzling Weekend Fun: The Abbotsford International Air Show
Paul gives us a complete account of the show and offers you two quizzes, one multiple choice for reading comprehension and one fill-in-the-blank for vocabulary practice. August 7, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Problems with Prepositions Part 1: In, At or On?
Louise brings us a challenging fill-in-the-blank quiz to help you practice your prepositions. July 20, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Learning about Canada
Cheryl links us to useful resources to learn about Canada and Canadians. After you read, try a multiple choice testing you on Canada's provinces and capital cities. July 15, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Summer Rodeo
Charlotte introduces us to rodeo in British Columbia. After you read, try a multiple choice or matching quiz.   July 9, 2012

The Weekly Quiz: Introducing our New Feature: Weekly Quizzes
Brad introduces us to our new-style features and points you to a useful quiz on essay structure from the early days of the PALC.  July 1, 2012

Weekly Feature: Makassia: 2012 Graduation Speech
Trudi presents us with more information on Makassia, along with her heartfelt graduation speech.  June 24, 2012

Student Writing (New!): My Father's Bicycle
Li Chen's essay is a wonderful tribute to an influential man, his father. June 17, 2012 

Weekly Feature: Traffic Reporters Reveal Too Much! A Rant
Tazim argues strongly for less information from traffic reporters.  June 17, 2012

Student Writing (from the archives): PALC—My English Cradle
Ruth's essay demonstrates how the PALC has nurtured her as she has learned English. June 10, 2012 (published September 23, 2008)

Weekly Feature: Joining a Book Club
Renuka tells us of her childhood love of reading and gives practical advice on  joining a book club.  June 10, 2012

ALL STUDENTS: You're Invited! Graduation and Recognition Day
Join us on June 20 to celebrate student successes and wish our graduates the best of luck in the future. Everyone is welcome! June 3, 2012

Student Writing (from the archives): A Film with Impact: No Man's Land
Phoebe compares the film with her personal experiences in Eastern Europe. June 3, 2012 (published January 12, 2009)

Weekly Feature: Vancouver International Airport
Paul gives us a rundown of this important international hub and suggests that our website visitors come to Vancouver. Includes two quizzes for practice. June 3, 2012

Student Writing (from the archives): A Peking Childhood
Our first story is a wonderful piece of writing by Hongxin, where he details his upbringing in a very different city from the modern Beijing we know today. Read it and see!  May 27, 2012 (published March 9, 2008)

Weekly Feature: Rediscovering the Wisdom of Dr. Seuss
Rick argues that Dr. Seuss's books are more relevant than ever to both adults and children. May 27, 2012

Writing Tip: Three "P" Sound Alike Words
Brad explains the difference among "palate," "pallet" and "palette." May 20, 2012

Weekly Feature: Fun Runs
Patricia demonstrates the standard paragraph and fills us in on a great way to have fun while helping the community. May 20, 2012

Weekly Feature: Cycling in Metro Vancouver
Louise encourages everyone to get out on a bike and enjoy this amazing spring weather!  May 13, 2012

Writing Tip: Be More Concise without a "Be"
Brad explains how overuse of the "to be" form can make writing overly wordy. May 6, 2012

Weekly Feature: Mothers' Day in Poetry
L suggests we write an acrostic poem for Mothers' Day and includes student sample acrostic poems for inspiration.  May 6, 2012

Weekly Feature: Be a Better Writer
Jennifer outlines practical ways to improve your writing, including tips and two sample paragraphs. April 29, 2012

Writing Tip: Onomatopoeia and Language
Brad notes how different languages "hear" different sounds and represent them in language. April 22, 2012

Weekly Feature: Earth Day: April 22, 2012
Cheryl encourages us to make positive changes to our lives, beginning with celebrating Earth Day. April 22, 2012

Weekly Feature: Bike the Blossoms
Charlotte encourages everyone to take part in a free bicycle tour of this year's blossoms. April 15, 2012

Weekly Feature: A Rant about Debt
Rick speaks for many of us with his personal rant about debt. April 10, 2012

Writing Tip: Fun Food Vocabulary
Brad goes over a few interesting words that refer to food. April 10, 2012

Weekly Feature: April: Daffodil Month for Cancer Awareness
Trudi reminds us that having a healthy lifestyle can help us to prevent cancer. April 1, 2012

Writing Tip: The Pros of Knowing Pronouns: Part Three (Indefinite Pronouns)
Brad introduces us to another important class of pronouns: indefinite pronouns. March 27, 2012

Weekly Feature: March: Nutrition Month
Tazim points us to great resources to help us eat more healthily and to learn more about nutrition.  March 27, 2012

Weekly Feature: Plagiary! Who Me?
Brad reminds students that, at the PALC,  we take plagiary very seriously.  March 18, 2012

Weekly Feature: Spring Break Activities in New Westminster
Renuka helps students to plan for their free time for our upcoming spring break.  March 12, 2012

Writing Tip: The Pros of Knowing Pronouns: Part Two
Brad introduces us to another important class of pronouns: interrogative pronouns. March 11, 2012

Weekly Feature: Online Activities for English Beginners
Patricia directs students in English levels 1, 2 and 3 to useful web sites for working on their English skills.  March 4, 2012

Writing Tip: The Pros of Knowing Pronouns
Brad introduces us to an important class of pronouns: demonstrative pronouns. February 26, 2012

Weekly Feature: Leap Year? Leap Month?
Paul outlines the scientific reasons for having an extra day in February this year. Includes two quizzes for vocabulary practice.  February 26, 2012

Weekly Feature: Canada's Provinces and Capital Cities
Louise helps Social Studies students to study by providing a list and links to interactive quizzes for practice.  February 19, 2012

Writing Tip: Watch Your Tone: In the Mood?
Brad explains the difference between tone and mood in the context of writing for your audience. February 12, 2012

Weekly Feature: Ideas for Valentine's Day
L gives us some great suggestions for a more romantic Valentine's Day. February 12, 2012

Weekly Feature: Laura Secord: A Great Canadian
Jennifer's short essay on Laura Secord introduces a great Canadian connected to our celebration of Valentine's Day. February 5, 2012

Weekly Feature: Information about the Law
Cheryl passes on important information about the law that can help you with legal issues in Canada. January 29, 2012



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