Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute

Our Grade 7s have been regulars up in the MPR recently, showcasing their research and demonstrating their communication skills. This time it was to present their learning from their Folklorama project. While a variety of treats at some stations were a tasty bonus, these projects explored more broadly than just food and cultural traditions, to include government, economics, history, languages, international conflict, social customs, and more!

With work now begun on the exterior of the Red Gym Renovation, it’s exciting to see progress every day as we walk into school! Plenty of progress is being made on the inside as well and we continue to be on schedule to be back in this space in September of 2026.
All the interior demolition is now complete and most of the exterior siding removed. Crews are continuing work on the change rooms and fitness centre, and will begin installing the new gym floor soon!
Thank you to all those working on this project, helping to make sure life and learning at MBCI continue to carry on with as few disruptions as possible!
You can learn more about our vision for the Red Gym Refresh – and join us in bringing this vision to life – at: www.mbci.mb.ca/red-gym-refresh/

🌮🍲🍔Who doesn’t love a good food truck?
And who knew we could fit so many of them in the MPR?

Our Grade 9 Nutrition students showcased an impressive display of Project Based Learning last week with “Food Truck Wars” as guests and judges left the experience both full and happy.

As the final evaluation for the course, students spent many weeks engaging with all the elements of this project: from determing the concept for their food truck, to designing, testing, revising and perfecting their menu, truck front, pricing, plating, and customer service.

Thank you to guest judges who joined us from JC’s Tacos, Santa Lucia Pizza, The Little Eggplant, Colosimo Coffee Roasters, Winnipeg Eats, Skates & Plates and CJOB. Judges spent time at each truck, asking students about their process, inspiration, challenges, learning, and finished by taste-testing all the delicious food truck treats.

This new project definitely tasted like it should become an annual tradition.

🎉🎊Andrew Klassen's connection to MBCI stretches back further than almost anyone's. His grandfather was one of the original signatories who remortgaged his home to help purchase the land on which the school was built in 1945. Mr. Klassen’s parents and sister all attended MBCI before he also began walking these halls as a student from 1976 to 1982.

Then, after completing his studies at the University of Manitoba, Mr. Klassen returned to MBCI in 1987, inheriting the baton from his own mentor, Ken Epp. He has been here ever since. After 39 years of teaching and a lifetime of belonging to this community, we are honoured to celebrate Mr. Klassen's retirement and to recognize the remarkable legacy he leaves behind.

Mr. Klassen has given this school something that cannot be fully measured — a program built on humility, generosity, and an abiding belief in our students. He has taught generations of young people not just which notes to play, or even how to play them, but why the notes matter. He has shown us, by example, what it looks like to pour yourself into something larger than yourself, and to find the highest reward in that act of giving.

Please join us on Thursday, June 18, to share our memories and best wishes with Andrew Klassen. The music he has set in motion will continue to play for generations to come and this evening will share or profound gratitude for his legacy at MBCI.

POV: Things that unexpectedly end up in the office during the Red Gym Refresh Project.

1. Chunks of the floor! If these boards could talk… When it was first built, this floor was considered the best court in the city due to its responsiveness and bounce from the cafeteria beneath it. We’re grateful that we’re able to salvage pieces of it, and these letters inspired a suspense-filled and enthusiastic silent auction at the MBCI Benefit Dinner.

2. The MBCI Hawks Volleyball Wall of Fame! Who knows where this gem was hiding in the gym before mysteriously turning up at the front office. When asked, none of the recipients polled had any awareness of being included in this prestigious list of athletes! Upon further investigation, it turns out that this was a “Mr. Plett project”, begun as a way to recognize Hawks alumni who went on to play at the university level in Winnipeg. The “wall of fame” was discontinued when MBCI athletes began taking their game to schools across Canada and beyond.