School Ties: 2003, Spring Issue - St. Michaels University School

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Opportunities
Spring 2003
Back row [l-r] Mr. Rick Humphreys, Meghann Dyck, Tara Reszitnyk, Mr. Ian Hyde-Lay, Logan Smythe, Ben Strocel, Mark Quinlan, Takaya Brunner, Chris Ufford, David
Crapo. Front row [l-r] Tyler Willms, Jeff Downs, Craig Cavin, Ryan Willms, David Spicer, Adrian Cochrane. Missing: Adam McLean
Senior Boys Basketball
Capture Western Canada Tournament
SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL SQUAD continued its fine season with an
outstanding victory at the recent Western Canada Tournament in
Kelowna. The event, now in its thirtieth year, is recognized
across BC and the Prairies for outstanding Okanagan hospitality and
excellent teams. This year was certainly no exception, as Harry Ainlay,
the #2 team in Alberta, Sheldon Williams, #3 ranked in Saskatchewan,
and Kelvin, #2 in Manitoba joined five elite BC schools.
On Day One, SMUS played Harry Ainlay, and, after a slow start, came
through in fine style to win 83-64. This produced a semi-final encounter
with provincial #5 ranked Seaquam from the Fraser Valley. Again, some
superb defence keyed a dominating second half in a 77-56 triumph.
The two wins put SMUS into the final against host Kelowna, which,
thanks to unconscious outside shooting, had stunned BC’s second
ranked Enver Creek of Surrey 109-102 in the other semi-final. Playing in
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front of a raucous, partisan crowd of over 2500, the team never let the
hosts get untracked, jumping to an early 10-0 lead en route to a
convincing 99-78 victory.
In an outstanding team triumph, Logan Smythe was named
Tournament MVP, while Ryan Willms and Jeff Downs made the All-Star
team. Of equal importance were the many and varied contributions from
others such as David Spicer, Craig Cavin and Chris Ufford.
Coach Ian Hyde-Lay commented “never in my wildest dreams did I
think we could win three straight games by 19 points. Full credit to the
players who did everything asked of them, and more. Now we have to do
it all again, come playoff time”.
SMUS finished second in the Islands Tournament on February 27March 1, with Ballenas finishing first by 2 points.
school ties — spring 2003
Published by:
The Development Office at
St. Michaels University School
3400 Richmond Road, Victoria
British Columbia, Canada V8P 4P5
Telephone: (250) 592-2411
Admissions: 1-800-661-5199
e-mail: info@smus.bc.ca
Website: http://www.smus.bc.ca
Junior School students, Benji Schann and
Marc Vanderwahl re-enact Cézanne’s
painting in part of an exposé called
“The Bad Apple,” a dramatic, costumed
recreation of post-impressionist masterworks,
produced and performed in tandem with an
exhibit at the Greater Victoria Art Gallery.
Teachers Heidi Davis and Anna Forbes
combined their expertise in art, French and
drama to create this unique, interdisciplinary
project that propelled the grade 5s through
this powerful learning experience.
See page 8 for more details.
Photography:
Jenus Friesen, Christopher Spicer,
school family members & friends
Production & Printing:
Reber Creative
Hillside Printing Ltd.
Victoria, BC
Lithographed in Canada If you are interested
in attending school events,
call (250) 592-2411
for further details, or visit
the school’s website
Calendar of Events:
www.smus.bc.ca
SCHOOL TIES is distributed to more than 6,500
members of the St. Michaels University School
community, including current families, friends,
and current and past staff and students. The
goal of the publication is to communicate
current activities and initiatives, along with
articles and reports on the alumni community.
If you have any comments or suggestions
regarding this publication, please contact
Jenus Friesen at (250) 370-6169 or e-mail:
jfriesen@smus.bc.ca
Opportunities
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I READ THROUGH the daily school announcements, I am drawn to the number of
opportunities offered to the young men and women at our school – these are integral to
the education we offer here at SMUS. Invitations to try out for a musical, including set
design, theatrical makeup, costumes, and stage management; field trips to Bamfield Marine Station
for research and exploration, involvement in community programmes such as stream and shore
keeping, career options and presentations by consultants from leading world universities (our very
own UVic included), surfing, skiing, scuba, and rowing clubs, rugby and field hockey tours that take
young men and women overseas, sports events, introductions to noteworthy visiting scholars and
experts who inspire, inform, and mentor; public speaking events, debating contests, chess club, the
list goes on! Exchange trips, weekend adventures, peer counselling…students here have the
opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. They are encouraged to build on every aspect of
their being…to create an achievable balance within themselves, between their body, mind and spirit,
and in doing so, develop the components they will need to live fulfilling lives.
Little kindies in pinafores and short grey flannels, seniors in special ‘grad-this-year’ attire, and
everything in between – each and every student is given many opportunities to address and fulfill
their personal potential. The fellowship and communicative style between students, parents, alumni,
faculty and staff set the tone and pace for an atmosphere that is conducive to nurturing, inspiring
and growing. Everyone within the SMUS community benefits – everyone is enriched by this
experience.
Don’t forget the opportunity just around the corner – it’s offered to every alumnus as well as
every member of the SMUS community, far and wide, old and young, anyone who would like a
chance to relink with friends from their past. School days are cool days – not days to be forgotten.
Plan to drop by the school over the May 2, 3, and 4 weekend and see if you can spot any of your old
buddies here. Nip into the archives and take a walk through memory lane.
Opportunities are here for one and all – for everyone who takes the time and effort to recognize
them, seize them, and make them part of their life.
Be sure to check the Calendar of Events on the school’s website! www.smus.bc.ca
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– J.F.
Don’t miss the
Middle School Spring Concert
May 7, 2003 at 7:00 p.m.
UVic Centre Auditorium
This amazing free concert features every child
in the Middle School – performing in concert
choir, band and strings ensembles.
Jenus Friesen photo
On the Cover
Editors:
Jenus Friesen, Christopher Spicer
Contributors: (in no particular order)
Robert Snowden, Peter Bousfield,
Craig Farish, Robert Wilson,
Ian Hyde-Lay, Brenda Waksel, Stephen Martin,
Archie Ives, John Reid, Sandra Moore,
Tom Matthews, Rev. June Maffin,
Rosemary Mansel, Donna Johnson,
Donna Ray, Henry Frew, Heidi Davis,
Anna Forbes, Magdy Ghobriel,
Donna Williams, Bill Buckingham,
Cynthia Mitchell, Sean Hayden, Colin Skinner,
Lindsay Thierry, Don Mackay, Sally Blythe,
Henry Frew, Toshie Thumm, Paul Zakus,
Tammy Fowler, Hedda Thatcher, Jim Crawford,
Jim De Goede, Miriam Stanford, Louise Winter,
Diana Nason, Peter Gardiner, Laura Cavin
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headmaster’s article
Moments in Schools
by Robert Snowden, Headmaster, SMUS
OMENTS IN SCHOOLS, the ones that are best
remembered at least, are often transformed
into images. The diorama of life at school is
built this way, for all of us. Parents remember the
moment of very private and moving triumph when a
son or daughter graduates, or scores a goal, or
expresses an opinion about foreign policy at the
dinner table, or does something entirely original that
indicates that he or she is an individual, more a seed
that has sprouted on its own than a branch growing
out of mother and father. Students will talk of dances,
friends, and a particular bruise from a field hockey
stick. Teachers talk about the look on a student’s face
when he or she emerges into the light of
understanding. Any one of us could go on, and on,
and on. Sometimes, especially as the grads look back
on their careers at the school, we do.
The image associated with my Wednesday
mornings is of Junior School students crossing Victoria
Avenue, most of them with their parents, some of them
with younger brothers and sisters in tow. On
Wednesdays, it just happens that I am at the Junior
School, sometimes even holding up the stop sign at the
crosswalk. Afterward, I talk to the students in assembly.
In winter during assembly, I divide the school’s Mission
into its five elements, and dwell on one element for
each of five weeks. It’s an opportunity I treasure.
Whether or not it is such a keen opportunity for
the students could be in question, but it is worth
doing. The students’ days are brimming with so many
other meaningful opportunities that the Head’s talks
about the Mission don’t really stand a lot of chance.
It’s a school, after all. Opportunities abound. Not just
at our school, but everywhere. What makes some
students seize those opportunities, and others not? To
begin with, it’s an eager and positive individual nature
in the students themselves. We do have to begin there,
with the individual students, because we must always
emphasize their responsibility in seizing their own
opportunities. Good parents are vital. I have never
met parents who didn’t want their sons or daughters
to have more and better opportunities than they
had. Finally, we have
to have a good
school, that expects
the most and the
best from everyone –
students, teachers,
parents, alumni and
friends. Without a
good school, rich
with opportunities
and bristling with
expectations, opportunities simply sink
into the sand.
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Robert Snowden, Headmaster
“ They drive the ball rhythmically,
with a beautiful arc that looks
like a graph from their physics
books.”
“ Teenagers are not naturally
patient; they are exuberant
creatures....”
Mr. Snowden visits the Junior
School on Wednesday mornings.
The ninth tee at the Victoria Golf Club is right
out on the southeast point of Vancouver Island,
completely exposed. Even without the elements, this
par three is a test, but with any weather at all it is
perversely character building, a reminder that in more
primitive days, all sport was derived from exercises
that were clearly linked to the tribe’s need to survive.
Young people’s games were in some way about
hunting, gathering, challenging and surviving.
Fortunately, it is a rather benign Friday that I want
to resurrect. For an afternoon, there was remarkably
little wind – there are golfers who simply won’t play
later afternoons out there because of the predictable
gale that blows, day after day. It was sunny, and for
the purposes of this story, worth noting that the tide
was running out the Juan de Fuca Strait, creating a bit
of a chop and unruliness in the water as it swirled
close to the rocks. The strands of kelp in the beds near
the tee were like streamers in a wind tunnel as the tide
poured out to the ocean. The fine afternoon had
brought too many golfers out, and our threesome,
who consisted of me and two students in grade 11 at
the school, had a long wait on the tee. There was a
foursome on the green, another foursome on the tee,
and us.
My two partners were, and are, keen and talented
golfers, with a combined handicap of two. The two of
them, in their respective age groups, were first on the
Western Canada Order of Merit for junior golfers.
Sixteen and fifteen year olds with such unlikely
handicaps are very serious beings. They drive the ball
rhythmically, with a beautiful arc that looks like a
graph from their physics books. They putt with
intensity. Between shots, they talk pleasantly to be
sure, but it is with the part of their brain that is
usually reserved for conversation with adults; their real
brain is focusing on the next shot. They are a delight
to observe, excruciating to compete with.
Teenagers are not naturally patient; they are
exuberant creatures, for whom golf is almost a
contradiction. I turned my back for a few seconds to
enjoy the view. To pass the time, they began to drop
their golf balls in the rough near the tee, in grass
which could accurately be described as Carnoustie
rough, although no one ever hits a ball in there
because it is so close to the tee. The high vegetation is
purely for show. They proceeded to hack their balls
back and forth at each other, taking mighty swipes
through the thick grass and lofting their balls with
amazing grace through the air. Not a single dangerous
shot, nevertheless, I stayed at a safe distance.
Just as the foursome ahead of us left the tee, both
boys suddenly bounded away. Two lanky, wellcoordinated figures, both of them six feet tall, started
hopping up and over the rocks, then down through
some of the pools left by crashing waves until they
headmaster’s article
were quite close to the water. Up and down the rocks
they scrambled, pointing and laughing, shouting and
gesturing to each other, pushing each other off rocks
and chasing each other through the shore grass. They
picked up small sticks and threw them into the water,
then ran further along the shore. I finally figured it
out. There was a family of otters playing in the tide,
coming ashore and scampering back into the water. As
the two boys approached, the otters kept their
distance, and basically ignored the small twigs the
boys threw into the moving water. They threw them
ahead of the otters so they might retrieve the sticks,
like dogs. Apparently otters do this, in their own way.
The boys’ seriousness and intensity was so quickly and
utterly abandoned, caught up in the spirit of being
themselves – not unlike otters themselves.
The entire episode lasted two or three minutes,
and didn’t slow us down at all, although you could
read worry and even irritation in the faces of the
foursome behind us. Juniors get a rough ride
sometimes. Their golf remained either impeccable or
ingenious.
The opportunity here, of course, was not for them
but for me. How fortunate to share, not just this
moment, but also the entire round. Spending four
hours with your headmaster is not a teenager’s first
choice on a Friday afternoon, especially when you
know he is scrutinizing your every move. Like most
teenagers, they, in their friendly way, try to resist adult
pressure, subtle or obvious. But for my part, I secretly
enjoy how their youth, too, rubs off on me and
anyone else near them.
A former Board Chair at the school told me
repeatedly that his simple purpose, while on the
Board, was to leave it a better place than he found it.
Leaving a place better off means leaving those who are
coming behind you with greater opportunities. We
deliberate seriously about changes – improvements,
we believe – at the school, wanting any change we
introduce or any feature we add, to make the largest
difference possible. Next year, the most obvious
difference will be the Crothall Centre at the Senior
School. With the construction of the Crothall Centre,
we add more opportunity to our SMUS education,
better conditions for learning, and a stronger sense of
permanence to the school that many students –
boarding students especially – call home. Some new
initiatives at the school are slight, focused on specific
areas such as university counselling, or recreational
athletics or community service, but together, they add
up to a sum that is much greater than the total of
individual parts. We create opportunities: an
opportunity for better light in the art studio, an
opportunity for drama classes to spread out and do a
scene without running into a wall. Filling out a
university application creates opportunities for the
growth that will take place after the student leaves the
school. Field hockey, basketball, rugby, volleyball,
tennis, soccer, rowing and all the other sports are
opportunities for finding things inside us that might
otherwise never flourish, seeds that are never planted,
never watered.
I began this article by mentioning my visits to the
Junior School, how I talk about the Mission from
week to week. Residing in the Mission, I tell the
students, are two sets of twins. Passion and
compassion make up one set, and for some reason
passion and compassion are not difficult topics for our
youngest students. Truth and goodness, the other set
of twins, are a tougher issue. I really have to work at
it. It is a great help to me that all the elements of our
mission are so intertwined, that the pursuit of truth
and goodness, for instance, is so important for seeking
the excellence in all of us, for building community.
The point I strive to make with truth and goodness –
and any success I have in conveying the point – has
more to do with how often I repeat it rather than with
any particularly effective story or metaphor. The point
I strive to make is that truth and goodness, which
have been at the core of Western education since the
Greeks (even older than I am, older than the school, I
tell them!), are virtues that must be lived. One can’t
pursue truth and goodness by sitting still and doing
nothing. In more concrete terms, pursuing truth is
not just the avoidance of telling lies. Pursuing
goodness is not just the avoidance of breaking rules.
Truth is a positive virtue, requiring the practice of
rigour and accuracy in thinking, and the discovery of
basic principles, things that you know are going to
help you assess words and deeds as you grow older.
Goodness is a positive virtue also, requiring the
practice of compassion, generosity, sacrifice, respect
and tolerance. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King,
for instance, whom they all know because it is a story
we act out in another of our assemblies, didn’t do such
good things because they sat still and avoided
misbehaving; they had to act. We can’t be good only
by thinking noble thoughts.
Our school seeks the excellence in all of us.
Excellence – doing all we can to achieve the inner
potential that belongs to each of us – has to be built
on opportunities, has to have a fertile ground in
which to grow. This fertile ground is the classroom,
the sports field, the orchestra pit, the kayak trip, the
chapel, the dining hall, the library, and the quad. It is
the rocky shore where the otters play, and the
crosswalk where we all say good morning and engage
in the civility that allows us to meet deeper challenges
and address deeper problems. Creating opportunities
and building an environment where students will seek
them is the work and play of education. Vivat!
“I secretly enjoy how their youth,
too, rubs off on me and anyone
else near them.”
“Pursuing truth is not just the
avoidance of telling lies.”
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school news
School News
For higher learning and for life!
SMUS graduates attend the best universities – with scholarships!
125 STUDENTS comprising the graduating class of 2002
excelled on their Advanced Placement and provincial
examinations. In 11 out of 14 subject areas, the SMUS average
was at least 5% higher than the average for all independent schools. The
high percentage in the A and B range further illustrates the outstanding
performance of SMUS students on provincial examinations. Ten SMUS
students secured perfect examination scores of 800, in comparison to
eight the previous year.
Each member of the graduating class was accepted to an institution of
higher learning, most to their first choice. In addition to the 38 offers
from American post-secondary institutions, including Brown, Cornell,
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Princeton and Stanford, members of the 2002
graduating class have gone on to attend leading colleges and universities
in Canada and Great Britain.
More than 34% of graduates received prestigious entrance
scholarships or awards, including three Millennium Scholarships, one
Reserve Officer Training Corp scholarship, five full-ride scholarships to
Canadian universities, three rugby scholarships, one “Young Women in
Public Affairs” scholarship, and one “Women of Distinction” scholarship.
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The following list will give you some idea as to where our 2002 grade
12 graduates went!
In 11 out of 14 subject areas, the SMUS grade average was at least
5% higher than the average for all independent schools.
Graduation Class 2002
Art Institute of Seattle (US)
Bishop’s University (PQ)
Boston University (US)
Camosun College (BC)
Carleton University (ON)
Colgate University (US)
Colston’s Collegiate School (Bristol, England, UK)
Cornell University (US)
ESU (Kent, England, UK)
GAP (Hampshire, England, UK)
GAP (Ireland)
GAP Surrey, England (UK)
Grant McEwan College (AB)
Johns Hopkins University (US)
Le Cordon Bleu, Academie d’Art Culinaire de Paris (Australia Campus)
Malaspina College (BC)
McGill University (ON)
McGill University (London Campus, England, UK)
Ohio University (US)
Princeton University (US)
Queen’s University (ON)
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (Japan)
Stanford University (US)
University of Alberta (AB)
University of British Columbia (BC)
University of Calgary (AB)
University of California, Berkeley (US)
University of Edinburgh (UK)
University of Glasgow (UK)
University of Northern British Columbia (BC)
University of Ottawa (ON)
University of St. Thomas (US)
University of Toronto (ON)
University of Victoria (BC)
University of Washington (US)
University of Waterloo (ON)
University of Western Ontario (ON)
Western Washington University (US)
Wilfred Laurier University (ON)
York University (ON)
For more information on SMUS curricula and course outlines,
Advanced Placement courses, and academic results, visit the school
website at: www.smus.bc.ca
school news
The Wiz – this year’s musical
HE W IZ , produced in New York, opened January 5, 1975.
There was an atmosphere of curiosity as it was very distant in
style and nature from its seeming parent The Wizard of Oz. No
rainbow, no ‘follow the yellow brick road’; there was, in fact, a real yellow
brick road.
What was wrong with the original? In effect…nothing. This play was
just different – it was, of course, bred and born in the black community
in the US. This bends a different light on the production – a different
spin. There’s nothing wrong with adapting material to make it work for a
culture, and certainly the original did not work in the black community.
We are fortunate that black music crossed the cultural curtain – it’s
perfectly fine for any group to do the show as their own. As a matter of
fact, there are at least three productions of this show being produced on
the Lower Mainland this spring.
At SMUS, we give our students a wide and varied musical and
theatrical experience. This is a stunning, vibrant musical. The tunes are
excellent and recreate the feel of the jazz and blues introduced into the
mainstream North American market years ago.
The musical begins with despair and longing – a helpless scarecrow,
tied impotently to a pole, tormented by the crows. A little lost girl finds
him and helps him discover the thoughts within himself. These two help
the Tin Man find the heart within his own chest. The three of them,
together, have the strength to encourage the most encourage-less of all,
the Lion. The music becomes joyous, filled with hope and love.
Most good musicals have an optimistic ending, and the despair at the
beginning is buried by the overwhelming and moving conclusion. What
better way to find the truth within us?
It is what our students find in themselves, as they struggle with the
commitments of everyday life and the musical.
The friendships and memories will last forever. Often, they, like fish
stories, grow. That’s the way it should be. In years to come, as classmates
meet in the far corners of the world, the production will be discussed and
enjoyed once again. Musical theatre creates memories.
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It’s Debatable…
SMUS DEBATE TEAM had great success this year – they
attended a colourful assortment of tournaments. In the Juniors
section, held at the Dover Bay tournament in Nanaimo earlier
in the year, Evan Hesketh placed second and Justin McElroy placed
fourth. Justin and Evan both qualified for the Provincials at a tournament
at Oak Bay in February, and Evan won the top individual scores at that
event.
In the Seniors section, Kevin Burkett placed fifth overall at Dover Bay.
He also qualified for the Provincial tournament at Oak Bay. One of this
year’s highlights, a trip to the prestigious Hart House tournament in
Toronto in late January, included four SMUS students: Amanda Quan,
Evan Willms, Justin McElroy and Evan Hesketh. They found it to be an
amazing learning experience.
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Junior School boys and girls have a pyjama party with residence students.
Young and Old, Near and Far:
Making In-School Connections
TUESDAY EVENING, throngs of little people in pj’s
and nighties met their buddies from Symons and Harvey
Houses for a pyjama party. The excitement was palpable from
the children in kindergarten and grade 1 as they took hold of the hands
of the older students and made their way to Brown Hall for supper.
There, closely attended by “big kids” from grades 9 and 10, a delicious
meal of chicken dinosaurs and macaroni and cheese was served. The hum
of conversation, the fascinated faces of the boarders and the delight in the
eyes of the little ones were a treat to hear and see!
Meal over, hands grabbed again, young and old moved over to the
common room below Symons House for activities. The buddies gathered
in their small groups; young faces peered up at older ones as stories were
read and chatting began. The senior students captured the total attention
of their young partners. Comments such as “he’s cool” came from junior
children, while a senior comment was “I didn’t know what it was like to
hold a small child’s hand.”
A brown face bent over a blonde head; an accented voice reading a
much-loved storybook; a large, lumbering senior lad sitting cutting
valentine hearts for a small, admiring boy; these are the pictures that
come to mind of the pyjama party of 2003. These are connections that
pull us together as a community. Teacher/house parents Anna and Iain
Forbes, and Kathleen and Kevin Cook, Kindergarten teacher, Doreen
Metcalfe, Grade 1 teacher, Nina Duffus, and wonderful house assistants,
Nancy (alias Daisy) Ford and Jennifer Parker all contributed to the
delightful, collaborative evening.
Quietly, the group gathered together for a final bedtime story,
goodbyes, and “see you again’s.” Parents came and collected their sleepy
ones beside the flagpole in the quad. A moment for our small ones
meeting our large ones will be put into the portfolio of memories that
each student surely will take with them when they graduate from SMUS.
O
N A RECENT
Dinner in Brown Hall
And a fun party it was!
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school news
School News
Musical Recognition
MICHAELS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL was represented by five
singers in this year’s BC Music Educators Association
conference Honour Choir. Brandon Choi and Jin Hoo Kwon
(grade 12), Francis Dunn and Yeji Park (grade 11), and Stelna Rossouw
(grade 10) were among the 70 singers auditioned from around the
province for this event. Under the direction of Gerald vanWyck, our
students sang an eclectic mix of music ending with a beautiful, modern
rendition of Loch Lomond arranged by Jonathan Quick. Brandon Choi
sang a solo in one of the pieces and Frances Dunn introduced another.
The SMUS community is very proud of the fine contribution these
ambassadors have made to this excellent ensemble.
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Christmas songs resounded through Ocean Pointe Resort.
Music in the Air!
of over 200 people, the
SMUS Middle School Concert Choir, comprising 140
students from grades 6, 7 and 8, and under its director John S.
Reid, presented a Christmas performance on December 11, 2002, at the
Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort and Spa.
Thirty-five members of the choir performed solo or in small ensembles
during the one-hour concert, featuring 20 Christmas songs and carols. One
of the highlights was Christmas in Killarney, featuring Grade 7 chorister and
dancer Heather Buckingham, accompanied by faculty member Robert
Common on the penny whistle. Tony Cordle led the choir in favourites
including When a Child is Born and Mary’s Boy Child.
This is the 11th year the SMUS Middle School Concert Choir has
been invited to perform at the Delta. You can hear selections from the
choir’s performance by visiting the SMUS web page at
www.smus.bc.ca/midsch/. Then click on the dancing Santa!
The SMUS Middle School Concert choir also participated in the
annual Carol Service in the SMUS Chapel on December 9. In addition
to the readings and carols, solos by Louis Hayes (Once In Royal David’s
City), Aaron Brooks, Kevin O’Riordan, Ellis Gray, Sean Godwin (We
Three Kings), and Michaela Onasick accompanied by cellist Rosanna
Harris (Sleep My Baby) were given.
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O THE DELIGHT OF AN AUDIENCE
BCMEA Honour Orchestra (l-r) Ms. Williams, Marisa Brook, Samantha Kwok,
Jennifer Yoon (front), Tisah Tucknott (back), Min Gee Han, Fraser Hayes,
Evan Hesketh, and Andrew van der Westhuizen.
BCMEA Honour Orchestra 2003
St. Michaels University School was well
represented in the British Columbia Music Educators
Association’s (BCMEA) conference held in Surrey, BC.
Resulting from a province-wide audition, 65 musicians were chosen from
throughout BC to participate in this year’s Honour Orchestra. Proudly,
eight string players were chosen from SMUS. Led by the internationally
recognized conductor, Giorgio Magnanensi, the orchestra performed for
a capacity audience of conference delegates and music lovers in the
beautiful, new 1000-seat Surrey Concert Hall. They performed a
challenging programme of Smetana, Stravinsky and Verdi, and were
enthusiastically received by this knowledgeable audience. Evan Hesketh,
Samantha Kwok, Jennifer Yoon, Fraser Hayes, Tisah Tucknott, Min Gee
Han, Andrew van der Westhuizen, and Marisa Brook are to be
congratulated on a truly memorable performance.
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The SMUS Middle School Spring Concert, featuring all the Middle School
bands and string ensembles will perform at the University of Victoria on
May 7, 2003 at 7 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend this memorable concert.
NCE AGAIN ,
school news
Alum Nominated for
Prestigious Journey Prize
Nick Melling (SMUS 2001) is currently
nominated for Canada’s most prestigious short story award, The
Journey Prize. His story, “Philemon,” was written in Writing 12
when he was 16 and later published in Issue #19 of the Claremont
Review. The Journey Prize Anthology, published in the fall of 2002,
contains Nick’s story as well as those of all the other nominees. The
award, worth $10,000, will be announced in June this year.
F
ORMER STUDENT ,
Princely awards ... His Royal Highness Prince Philip presents the prestigious
Duke of Edinburgh Award to Eric Findlay, Dominic Loiacono and Paul Zakus.
Recitation “Rocks”
Duke of Edinburgh Awards
ric Findlay, Dominic Loiacono and Paul Zakus (from centre to
right) received the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award from the
Duke of Edinburgh himself, His Royal Highness Prince Philip.
The ceremony took place October 7, 2002 at the Fairmont Waterfront
Hotel in Vancouver, BC. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Programme is
an international youth programme in which over 2.5 million young
people from 60 countries have participated. Participants earn awards in
recognition of having met the challenge of the programme’s four sections
through persistent individual effort and having acquired a noticeable
improvement in overall development. Participants, in order to earn an
Award, must complete requirements in Service, Skills, Expeditions and
Fitness. The Duke of Edinburgh Programme continues to be popular
among SMUS students. Currently there are more than 100 students
actively working toward a bronze, silver or gold award. Please see
Mr. McLeod if you wish to become involved in this most worthwhile
endeavour.
E
Winners of the 2002/2003 SMUS Recitations – Feb. 19, 2003, held in the
School Chapel.
Junior Poetry
1st
Natalia Esling
2nd
David Heffernan
Senior Poetry
1st
Emily Lyall
2nd
Shannon Waters
Junior Monologue
1st
Susan Davis
2nd
Amirah Malik
Senior Monologue
1st
Patrick McCulloch
2nd
Frances Dunn
International
1st
Bonita Lam
2nd
Diane Harrison
Best Overall Patrick McCulloch
People’s Choice Patrick McCulloch
Tradition and Opportunity
ADET ACTIVITIES were once an important part of the school’s
culture, and some students still continue in this tradition.
Grade 8 student Kyrle Symons, the great-grandson of
St. Michael’s School Headmaster and founder, Kyrle C. Symons (1910-46),
attended the Cadet Provincial Biathlon Championships in Vernon in
January 2003. He placed third out of approximately 100 cadets in the
Junior Division (14 and under). The boys competed in cross-country
skiing and target shooting, among other things.
C
Patrick McCulloch received the
award for Best Overall at the
February Recitations.
SMUS Grad 2003 Fashion Show
See this year’s grads walk the runway in the latest Industrial Paris
style fashions. This show is guaranteed to be an eye-opener.
Bring your friends! April 16, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. in the gym.
Tickets $10, available at the door.
Between the Red Walls…
for the 4th time!
The fourth issue of Between the Red
Walls will be in print in April 2003. Be
the first to read new poetry by students
of Writing 12. At only $5.00 a copy, this
book is a real deal. To obtain a copy, call
(250) 592-2411 and speak to the English
Department.
7
8
school news
School News
Annual Festival of Trees
A NNUAL F ESTIVAL OF T REES was held at the Fairmont
Empress Hotel and Conference Centre in December 2002. This
was the third year running that St. Michaels University School
participated in this fund-raising event to benefit the BC Children’s
Hospital.
A group of dedicated staff and students planned the theme, “The
Children’s Christmas Angel,” constructed decorations, plotted “bribery”
strategies and collected donations of money and craft supplies for this
very worthwhile occasion. Senior Strings instructor, Donna Williams,
organized and led a strings ensemble. Their performance filled the
Empress Conservatory with Christmas carols and entertained the crowds
as the trees were decorated.
Many Victorians and visitors passed through the Fairmont Empress
Hotel during December, admiring the over-100 beautifully and creatively
decorated Christmas trees. With a $2 donation, they cast their votes to
determine the “People’s Choice” winner of the festival. The Greater
Victoria Police Victim Services tree, sponsored by Columbia Fuels, won
the People’s Choice Award. The race was tight, however, and St. Michaels
University School was awarded a close second (1st runner-up). The BC
Hydro Power Pioneers received the 2nd runner-up award.
Although The BC Children’s Hospital Society are still in the process
of finalizing the amount of monies collected over the course of the
Festival, preliminary results reveal they raised over $35,000 this year!
Well done, Victoria and SMUS!
T
HE
Students and staff planned and decorated this special angel-theme
Christmas tree for the Annual Festival of Trees. In the photo, back row [l-r]
Tammy Fowler, Leslie Snarr, Calvin Ng, Robyn Plasterer, and Michelle
Vecqueray. Front [l-r] Frances Dunn, Massey Poon, and Chelsea Phipps.
Missing
Baritone - Last seen June 1987, SMUS Rifle Range,
REWARD. Please call (604) 222-0001.
SMUS instructors Anna Forbes and Heidi Davis bring art and languages
together in a student performance, held at the Greater Victoria Art Gallery.
Junior School “Post-Impressionists”
Perform at the Art Gallery!
have “come to life” once again for the Grade 5
students of the Junior School, this time at the Art Gallery of
Greater Victoria. In their most recent cross-curricular initiative,
Anna Forbes and Heidi Davis, or “Double Exposure,” created a PostImpressionist unit, which culminated in a student performance entitled,
“The Bad Apple.” The philosophy behind this dramatic concept is the
integration of Art and French. In conjunction with the visiting PostImpressionist exhibition at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, these
educators were invited to present a workshop in January to teachers on
this experiential concept, and subsequently, to demonstrate its
effectiveness by presenting the play on February 16 and 20 at the Gallery.
Parents and the general public attended the play: it was met with great
excitement and enthusiasm. Two sold-out performances were presented.
“The Bad Apple,” a French play written by Madame Davis,
intertwined factual information about the Post-Impressionist artists and
their lives with a fictional storyline, created from selecting and
juxtaposing six of the fifteen paintings from the exhibit. Maurice Denis’
“Hooded Man” provided the element of mystery and evil, ultimately
revealing him in the end as “the bad apple.”
Visual highlights of the play were three “tableaux vivants,” by
Cezanne, Matisse and Prendergast, in which the students, under the
artistic direction of Mrs. Forbes, were costumed authentically to replicate
the famous paintings, while most of the background scenery was painted
by SMUS graduates Whitney Davis and Rachel Boult. When a grade 1
student saw a photograph of the “tableau vivant” beside a photo of
Prendergast’s painting, he asked, “Which is the real painting?”
The net gain for every student in a major project like this is
immeasurable. The learning process seems “disguised” through the vehicle
of drama, rendering the children receptive to many complex artistic
concepts, an in-depth background knowledge of a given period of Art
History, and the acquisition of sophisticated syntax, idioms and
vocabulary in French. This double exposure in the primary years to art
and language is an example of the unique learning opportunities afforded
to the students at SMUS for “lifelong learning.” In summary, no one
could express it more succinctly than a Grade 5 “actor” when he wrote
what the project meant to him: “Mrs. Forbes and Madame Davis, I loved
the play because my part has a line that I can use in real life!”
A
RT AND FRENCH
school news
Travel Opportunities
Quebec Exchange
SMUS is currently involved in an exchange programme with CollegeSaint-Charles-Garnier in Quebec City. Students sign up for participation
in the programme in grade 10. French students come to Victoria in
October, stay with SMUS families and attend classes at SMUS – they stay
for 4-6 weeks. Our students then go to Quebec in February and are in
turn hosted by College-Saint-Charles-Garnier and the families of the
students they hosted in October. It is an excellent linguistic, cultural and
educational experience.
Germany Exchange
Eleven SMUS students left March 10 for a three-week stay with host
families in Bad Godesberg, Germany, near Bonn. There, they participated
in school life, travel, and got to know more about the culture in
Germany. In the fall of 2003, the German students will visit SMUS.
The SMUS language programme offers a number of exchange trips
during the course of the year, including trips that take in two-week
to one-year stays in Japan. The benefits of a programme such as this are
far-reaching.
Senior School students studying Japanese experience the delights of the
cuisine at a local restaurant. [l–r] Robyn Plasterer, Huf McIntyre, Alex Harper,
Jory Mckay, Luke Cameron.
1992 photo of Head Boy Jason Winters overlooking the Grand Canyon vista.
A trip to remember.
Pack your bags…travelling with Mr. Jackson
In 1992, Michael Jackson ran a SMUS trip
to the Grand Canyon area, together with his
wife, Monica, and Senior School English
teacher, Rick Johnson. They took 11 students
on a road and camping tour that covered many
of the best geological sites (and about 6000
km!) in the region. They also hiked down into
the Grand Canyon itself.
In 1997, Michael, together with Peter Leggatt,
led a tour to the Galapagos Islands. They took
20 students and four parents – it was a
wonderful two-week journey across mainland By land, by sea, by air,
Ecuador and throughout the Galapagos Michael Jackson leads
the way.
Islands.
In 2000, he led another successful tour of mainland Ecuador and the
Galapagos Islands. Eleven students and four parents and staff went on
this trip.
This year, he leads an exciting and educational tour
of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. There, participants will whale watch, sea
kayak and hike. Alumni, faculty, staff, parents and students who might be
interested in participating in future explorations with Mr. Jackson are
encouraged to contact him at: mjackson@smus.bc.ca
This group is watching dolphins off the bow
of the tour boat in the Galapagos Islands.
Japan
Senior School Japanese instructor, Toshie Thumm took her grades 11
and 12 students on a field trip to Yoshi Sushi to get a taste of Japan,
February 5. Toshie says she usually introduces her students to the delights
of Japanese food at least once a year.
Japanese studies begin in kindergarten and are included in the
curriculum right through to graduation. The Middle School offers
exchange trips to Japan each year, and the Senior School offers exchange
trips every second year. Currently, there are six schools in Japan accepting
exchange students from SMUS, some on scholarships. After grade 12
graduation, SMUS students are qualified to study at Japanese universities.
In the last two years, several SMUS students have attended Ritsumeikan
Asia Pacific University in Japan.
This spring, the tour
heads south to the
Baja Peninsula in
Mexico.
9
10
school news
School News
Math Rangers
What do basketballs, pendulums and the game of tag all have in
common? They provide opportunities for students to extend their
understanding of quadratic functions through experiential, hands-on
learning – provided they have a CBR, of course!
The Math Department was the recent recipient of a class set of
Calculator Based Rangers (CBR) from the Parents’ Auxiliary. These handheld devices connect to a graphing calculator and allow students to collect
real-life data through experiments. Miriam Stanford’s Math 11T class
recently put their understanding of quadratic functions, or parabolas, to
the test as they inaugurated the new technology with a three-day unit.
On the first day, students learned how to construct data plots on their
calculators, and how to link the calculators to share the data. The CBR
was introduced on the second day, and students competed in the “CBR
Olympics,” during which they had to replicate one of the distance-time
graphs they were given by walking toward and away from a CBR. On the
third day, they took their CBRs, graphing calculators, and a basketball to
the Quad where they collected data showing the height of the basketball
as it bounced. Students then analyzed one of the bounces by modelling
the data with a quadratic function.
“It’s a challenge to find hands-on, learner-centred activities with
genuine educational value to use in a math classroom,” Ms. Stanford says.
“The CBRs allow students to deepen their understanding of the many
families of functions they study in secondary school, and at the same
time, see how these functions can be used to model phenomena they see
around them. And it gives students a taste of how mathematics is
commonly used in the ‘real world.’”
Students explore how mathematics can be used in the “real world.”
Where do pendulums come in? Students can also collect data relating
to the period and length of a pendulum, and model it with a quadratic
function. And the collection of distance-time data as a student runs to
“tag” a wall and returns again results in a very nice parabola!
What’s next for the Math Department and technology? Stay tuned –
you could soon see math students all over the campus, holding light
meters up to fluorescent fixtures to collect data for modelling with a sine
curve, or dropping temperature probes into coffee cups in the staff lounge
to test Newton’s Law of Cooling.
Robot Designers
SMUS Video Club
Mr. Buckingham’s grade 9 Computer Programming classes designed and
created Lego robots as part of their term assignment. The hands-on project
was a fun and dynamic learning opportunity.
Senior band director and music composition teacher,
Don MacKay, started the Video Club in 1989. The club acts as a
vehicle for students to study video production and the creation of
documentary footage, and at the same time, facilitates recording of
theatre and musical events for archival purposes.
Don has been involved with multi-media presentations for over
30 years, including a stint in film school. He generously shares his
time and expertise with interested students. After an initial
donation of funds from the Parents’ Auxiliary, the club began
filming everything from solo performances to yearly musical
productions.
The Video Club’s first big production was Grease. Since then, it
has filmed every musical, concert, grad day, and other special events
for the school. Members of the club dedicate many hours of their
time, preparing for shoots, setting up, filming, tearing down, and
then editing the final results. It’s lots of work, but also a lot of fun.
school news
Scholars in Residence
The Dynamic Trio!
Severn Cullis-Suzuki
environmental and
social justice activist
Mike Pyke and Dave Jawl (grad 2002) and David Spicer (grad 2003) shown
here with Senior School director and referee, Peter Tongue, at the Rugby
Canada Under 19 camp, March 5, 2003. These three young men were
named to the Canada Under 19 Rugby Team which will compete against the
best rugby nations in the world at the Junior World Cup in Paris, April 9April 22, 2003. Congratulations, lads.
Grade Six Personal Planning Curriculum
“Sir, you mean that if I fall asleep during this class, it is OK and you
will wake me up and I will feel better and even be able to work harder?
Are you sure?”
This convoluted statement was uttered by several grade 6 students as
they prepared for a guided meditation session. The class was part of their
Personal Planning curriculum for the second term. In the first term,
students study the importance of staying relaxed and balanced in our
busy school environment. In the second term, they experiment with
actual strategies to achieve this balance. Students are given the
opportunity to experience a guided meditation, Qi Gong exercise, and
vigorous yoga workout.
Eager students literally ran from the Middle School to the Wenman
Pavilion for the second meditation session. Two students really did fall
asleep, but awoke refreshed and relaxed. The opportunity to experiment
with relaxation strategies has been very successful and provides students
with another option to avoid dis-ease. SMUS continues to offer a wellrounded education, but don’t worry parents – we don’t actually encourage
sleeping in class!! (See photo on back cover of School Ties.)
Keeping equipment in good order is a daunting task. Repairs,
maintenance and upgrading into digital video are an expensive
venture. The club has been served well by its current equipment,
but it is aging. Members look forward to upgrading to a modern
digital system some time in the near future.
Recognition and thanks must go out to the Parents’ Auxiliary
and everyone else who supported the club’s efforts over the past 12
years. Many of the tapes are available for viewing through the
SMUS Library. If you’re interested in viewing any of the archived
copies, contact Brenda Waksel in the Barker Library.
If you’d like to try your hand at some aspect of filmmaking, or
care to join or contribute to the Video Club, contact Don MacKay
at the Senior School.
This summer, Don will be offering two programmes for students.
For more information, contact summerprogramme@smus.bc.ca
Severn Cullis-Suzuki, who in 1992, at the
age of twelve, closed the plenary session of the
UN’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio with the
following declaration: “You grown-ups say you
love us, but we challenge you to make your
actions reflect your words.”
During the day she spent at SMUS, Severn Cullis-Suzuki met
students involved in the Streamkeeper, Shorekeeper and Outdoor
Leadership programmes. She worked with science and geography classes
at the Senior School and discussed issues such as global warming and the
Kyoto Accord. At the Junior School, she showed her slides of the Amazon
to grades 4 and 5 students. In her evening address, she provided an
overview of her career and challenged all those in attendance to do their
part to make a difference.
Robert Bateman
Canada’s foremost wildlife
artist, environmentalist,
teacher and philosopher
During his visit to the school,
Robert Bateman met with the school’s
art teachers and the students on the
Senior School Arts Council. He addressed the Middle School’s grade 7
and 8s, using slides to provide an overview of his career and his
philosophy. He worked with senior art students and spoke to them about
his approach to painting and the various techniques he has developed
over the course of his career as a wildlife artist. In the evening, he
addressed an enthusiastic audience consisting of students, parents and
teachers. Urging those in attendance to resist the allure of popular culture
and mass consumerism, he used slides to provide an inspiring account of
his development as an artist, environmentalist and social critic.
Maude Barlow
crusader for Canadian
sovereignty and citizens’ rights
Maude Barlow, volunteer chairperson of
the Council of Canadians, Canada’s largest
public advocacy group, director of the
International Forum on Globalization and
author of thirteen books, including her most
recent releases, Blue Gold: The Battle to Stop the
Corporate Theft of the World’s Water and Profit Is
Not the Cure: A Citizen’s Guide to Saving Medicare.
During her visit to SMUS in April of 2003, Maude Barlow will meet
with a variety of students in social studies, history, geography and
economics classes. She will also present a keynote address in the evening
focusing on the challenges facing Canada.
11
12
from the chaplain
Opportunity … Wind of Grace
“911? HELP! I’ve got a big problem!”
by Reverend June Maffin
Panic in the actor’s voice –
dramatic music beginning to rise – camera getting closer and
closer to the actors whose faces reflect a state of panic! That’s
Hollywood for you. But, is it only Hollywood?
We think, “I have a big problem!” Translation: “panic situation …
danger … crisis!”
Each of us has experienced difficult situations in life in one form or
another, be they financial set-back, school grades that don’t meet our
expectations, health issues, relational difficulties, employment concerns,
or people who disappoint / betray / enrage / frustrate us, etc. The
question is – how do we approach these crises? Do we panic – raise our
anxiety even further by thinking of the very possible worst outcome of
the situation?
Living on the beautiful west coast of Canada, I often watch eagles
flying high among the treetops. They swoop and soar. Their lithe bodies
glide effortlessly through the sky. I’ve often wondered what the baby
eaglet thinks of on the day when it is taken by its mother to the edge of
the nest and dropped into the air. There’s no instruction manual to read
ahead of time. No pep talk “Now, dear, this is what will happen.” No
sibling advice “I’ve been there – here’s what to do….”
All of a sudden, without warning, before the eaglet knows it, whoosh,
it’s dropped through space and immediately finds itself on a swift
downward plunge to the ground below. Crisis – big time! “911. Help!!!”
But, before the little eaglet crashes to the ground, mama eagle swoops
down, catches the little one in her beak, and flies him back to the nest. A
while later, she picks him up, takes him to the edge of the nest, and tosses
him out…again…and again...and again – until he figures out how to use
the things called wings that are attached to his back. The eaglet’s journey
out of the nest begins as ‘danger.’ Soon, it becomes ‘opportunity’…an
opportunity to fly…to see the world from new heights and perspectives!
The Indian mystic Sri Ramakrishna wrote, “the winds of grace are
always blowing, but to catch them, we have to raise our sails.”
The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament wrote that God “gives power
to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Those who wait for the Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”1 What a
powerful promise!
Why, then, do we succumb to the negative voices…to the disquiet
within?
Life is filled with difficult moments and each one can be approached
from a position of danger or opportunity. It’s up to us to choose. Did you
know that the word crisis in Chinese is composed of two characters? One
represents danger and the other represents opportunity.
C
AN’T YOU JUST SEE THE SCENE?
When we consider crises as opportunities rather than impenetrable
blocks in our lives, positive outcomes can result…resources within us that
we never knew we had: courage, faith in God, strength of will,
unconditional love of family and friends, steadfastness, determination,
tenacity, inner resolve…are often revealed.
We may discover that our priorities in life change. While the day
before a crisis, we may think our priority in life is to be a millionaire by a
certain age, the day after a crisis (such as the diagnosis of a lifethreatening illness, unemployment, bankruptcy, divorce etc.), we often
can find a new perspective emerging and we choose to spend more time
with our family and friends and less time at the office. Clarity about
priorities in life often emerges when a crisis is perceived from the
perspective of opportunity.
A turning point …
The Taoist sage Chuang-Tzu recounted the tale of Ch-ing, the chief
carpenter who was carving wood into a stand for musical instruments.
When finished, the work appeared to those who saw it as though of
supernatural execution; and the Prince of Lu asked him, “What mystery
is there in your art?” “No mystery, Your Highness,” replied Ch-ing. “And
yet there is something. When I am about to make such a stand, I guard
against any diminution of my vital power. I first reduce my mind to
absolute quiescence. Three days in this condition, and I become oblivious
of any reward to be gained. Five days, and I become oblivious of any fame
to be acquired. Seven days, and I become unconscious of my four limbs
and my physical frame. Then, with no thought of any Court present in
my mind, my skill becomes concentrated, and all disturbing elements
from without are gone. I enter some mountain forest, I search for a
suitable tree. It contains the form required, which is afterwards
elaborated. I see the stand in my mind’s eye, and then set to work.
Beyond that, there is nothing. I bring my own native capacity into
relation with that of the wood. What was suspected to be of supernatural
execution in my work was due solely to this.”2
SMUS is a place of great opportunity – a wonderful opportunity to
learn...mature...discover one’s strengths in the face of high expectations,
deadlines, busy and hectic schedules.
1
Isaiah 40: 29, 31-32
2
Chuang-Tzu. “The Way of Chuang-Tzu.” Translated and edited by
Thomas Merton. New Directions, 1965. Cited in God and the Evolving
Universe, 145f.
reports
From the Board of Governors
Opportunities
T
BOARD’S WORK for the year 2003 has started on a positive
note. It is with great pleasure that I can report on the progress
of construction on the Crothall Centre for Humanities and the
Arts, which is on time, and on budget as of the end of February, with
four months of construction left. We are nearing completion of the first
phase of a significant Facilities Plan that will see buildings renewed and
redeveloped at the Richmond Road campus. As the Board looks ahead at
the next phases in the Plan, we are very pleased at the progress we are
making in our planning. These are wonderful opportunities for the entire
school.
The Crothall Centre for Humanities and the Arts will be open for
returning students in September 2003. With the support of great friends
of the school, such as Graeme Crothall, we are able to continue to deliver
the Strategic Plan. The replacement and expansion of facilities is one of
the key strategic priorities of the school, necessitated partly by the decline
in old facilities, and by our goal of providing the appropriate facilities for
fulfilling the school’s Mission. The classroom environment is key to the
learning experience for our children. The Crothall Centre for Humanities
and the Arts will be the first phase completed. The school’s plan is to
move forward with expanded recreation facilities, including another
HE
gymnasium, a music teaching centre and a full renovation of School
House. These are some of the opportunities for the school over the next
several years.
I invite you all to watch the final stages of construction and to see the
positive changes to the school campus in the weeks and months ahead.
The Alumni weekend is a perfect opportunity to see these developments
and to view the plans for the future of the Richmond Road campus. On
other fronts, the Board is working on preparing a five-year plan for
implementing the Strategic Priorities of the school. This information will
be available for feedback and discussion during the spring, and will
present further information on the ways in which the school can better
serve its students.
In closing, the Board thanks all those who have helped the school over
the past year, for their contributions to the Annual Fund, Facilities
Development, and discussions and decisions about the direction of the
school. The Board feels fortunate to be serving a strong community and
an outstanding institution.
– Stephen R. Martin
Chair of the Board of Governors
From the Parents’ Auxiliary
A Piece of Home
. . CONNECTIONS . . . RELATIONSHIPS. All of
these things are important to our school community. This year,
the SMUS Parents’ Auxiliary is sponsoring, in addition to its
traditional activities, two specific projects designed to encourage
connections and understanding, hopefully resulting in newly forged and
strengthened relationships.
The Parents’ Auxiliary recently initiated a project called A Piece of
Home. This idea was created in support of the boarding community –
connecting students with their families at home. Parents of boarding
students order monthly gift packages – then the Parents’ Auxiliary
compile and deliver the packages filled with imaginative things to the
students. Boarding students have been receiving packages with themes
such as Happy Halloween, Welcome to Winter, Finals Survival, and With
Hugs and Kisses.
The latest Auxiliary programme development is called “Boarders
without Borders.” It’s an activity designed to encourage understanding
and interaction between boarding students and local school families. On
two Sundays in February, day student families invited interested boarding
students to their homes for a Sunday dinner and activity. Over 80
boarding students have been the recipients of gracious hosting from day
school families in the inauguration of what we hope will become an
annual event.
So there you have it . . . two activities designed to build
understanding, connections and relationships – two activities that reflect
the Parents’ Auxiliary’s motto: “Parents working together to support
excellence in education.”
U
NDERSTANDING.
– Cynthia Mitchell
President of the Parents’ Auxiliary
Maintaining Connections
T WAS LIKE WALKING into the Faculty Lounge at recess!
On Wednesday morning, January 22, 2003, there was a
social gathering in Oak Bay at the home of Bill and
Sylvia Greenwell. Invitations were extended to teachers who had
retired in recent years.
Those present were Sylvia Greenwell, Chris and Sunny
Pollard, Keith Murdoch, Ron Dyson, David Peach, Colin
Skinner, Mary Humphreys, Lynford Smith and myself, Rob
Wilson. Bill Greenwell appeared toward the end of the party,
after finishing his morning’s teaching at the school, where he was
substituting for Peggy Murphy.
Apologies for absence were received from Stewart Dunlop,
who was also teaching at the school as a stand-in for Kirsten
Davel. Gary and Lynne Laidlaw were away on holiday, Sa’ad
Kayal had a previous appointment, while Peter Bousfield was
rumoured to have had an important bridge commitment – and it
is sacrilege to break up a bridge four!
Sylvia provided sumptuous fare, which blended in beautifully
with the scintillating conversation. It was a great occasion, and
indeed, these gatherings have grown in scope and are now
planned on a regular basis. The next date is booked for March 12,
at the home of Mary and Sydney Humphreys.
I
– Rob Wilson
SMUS Development Office
13
14
heritage
A Boarding Life
– by Rob Wilson
of the gentlemen
for whom the six boarding houses are named are displayed
on plaques in the entrance area of each residence. At the
request of the residence staff, the plaques were created so that students
could gain some insight into the people who go to the very root of the
school’s history and development. Of these six men, four can be
classified as founders, four of them, at some time, were headmasters,
while Mr. Winslow, who was neither a founder nor a headmaster,
played a vital role in keeping the school afloat during the Great
Depression of the 1930s and the difficult years of World War II,
1939-1945.
T
HE PORTRAITS AND BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES
We have included the portraits and brief biographies on pages 16-18 of
this issue of School Ties for those of you who cannot visit the plaques.
In addition to the school history represented by these distinguished
gentlemen, it is appropriate to put some focus on residences and
residential life. This has been an important part of the school since
inception and particularly with the completion of School House in 1908.
University School was originally modelled on the British Public School
system. It catered specifically to boarders, with day students
supplementing the numbers. What is generally not known is that
St. Michael’s School, which was essentially a boy’s preparatory day school,
also had a boarding population through almost all its history.
K.C. Symons, in his book, That Amazing Institution, noted that in 1925,
there were 22 boarders out of a total enrolment of 76 boys.
Boarding life is such that the school becomes a home as well as a
school, and the campus remains open and in use all day and every day,
including weekends, during term time. Kitchen staff, nurses (matrons)
and residential supervisors (house masters) took over the care of the
boarders after regular school days, and until recently, the residential
supervisors were also teachers who lived in the school. Non-resident
teachers were expected to assist, and were assigned weeknight and
weekend duty times.
University School
Dormitories at University School had a Spartan look to them. The
dorms, each housing eight boys, contained a large, common closet space
for hanging clothes, and then an individual bed, a small chest of drawers
and a little shelf space for each boy. Every dorm had a senior dorm
prefect, and the fairly strict routine included reveille and room inspection
in the morning and a set “ lights out” time at night. The housemaster or
assistant lived in a small room between dorms, and nearby were
bathroom, shower and toilet facilities. It was not deluxe accommodation,
and this lifestyle changed little from 1908 until the early 1970s.
The routine of the early years was regimented – very much so in the
years 1920-1923 when the school was University Military School. There
were also times of good-hearted fellowship, and not a few late night dorm
raids organized and later fantasized into memorable and even historic
occasions but for the timely, or untimely, intervention of a housemaster!
Benton Mackid (US 1926-32) remembers his dorm life warmly and is
able to name all the boys from photographs in his well-organized photo
albums. He felt that dorms had a good morale and a real sense of
belonging, and that from this environment, lifelong friendships emerged.
Archives photo, circa 1920, of St. Michael’s School and residences on
Windsor Road.
This life did not suit everyone, and in the light of today’s society, the
old boarding life comes across as a harsh environment. But in those days,
this style of school life was considered an important part of a boy’s
education and development.
St. Michael’s School
The growth of St. Michael’s School was much different from that of
University School. After its founding in 1910, the school was developed
in Oak Bay on Windsor Road (then called Saratoga), between Roslyn and
Hampshire. A bungalow was built in 1912 and a schoolroom, 20 x 20 x
12 feet, built at the back. By 1918 the bungalow and the schoolroom
were linked together by four rooms: “two up and two down.” In 1918,
the school enrolment grew from 24 in January to 42 in September, and
this included a number of boarders who occupied the upper two rooms of
the four-room extension. K.C. Symons and his wife Edith were the
caregivers to the boarders, but not long afterwards, Edith’s health
deteriorated, probably from looking after her own family of 5 in addition
to 12 boarders. From K.C. Symons, That Amazing Institution:
“There were seventeen to breakfast and extra boys to lunch (how we
ever squeezed them in, I do not know as we had only my little den) and
seventeen to supper – and she did it all, to say nothing of washing and
mending.”
This situation was alleviated in 1922 when Mr. Bates, a teacher at
the school, and his wife secured 1231 Victoria Avenue and took over
the 16 boarders in September of that year. Mr. Bates extended his home
and later took as many as 22 boarders. In 1927, K.C. Symons bought
1231 Victoria Avenue from Mr. and Mrs. Bates and resumed direct
charge of the boarders, albeit in larger premises. In later years, Kyrle W.
Symons and his wife, Joan, took care of the boarders, with Mr. and Mrs.
K.C. Symons moving back to the bungalow. Later still, Ned Symons and
his wife, Tiny, did their stint as house parents.
The St. Michael’s School philosophy for boarders was to give them a
feeling of being part of an extended family, but there was obviously a
routine set out for them. One of the interesting routine features was
trying to set a timetable for bath nights. Weekends included organised
visits to various attractions in the local area, with sports and playtime
activities in the school neighbourhood. It should be noted here that the
school boarders were generally younger than those at University School,
for Grade 9 was the senior grade at the school.
heritage
1988 Archive photo of the Opening Ceremony of New House Residences. In
the background is International House, which was demolished in 1990. Today,
the school residences are named after six men who made significant
contributions to the growth and development of this school community.
St. Michaels University School
With amalgamation in 1971, boarders were accommodated at the old
University School, now known as the Richmond Road or the Senior
Campus. While the old regime was in evidence at first, with senior boys
in School House and juniors in Harvey House, there was another
residence built in 1974 called International House. International House
accommodated about 90 seniors, with four boys to each room. It was an
unloved building, and when it was demolished in 1990, there were few
mourners at the graveside.
Meanwhile, in 1978, a major event took place with the introduction
of girls to the school. Girls were admitted as boarders, and were assigned
to Harvey House.
In 1988, a fine new residence, New House, was built. In August 1990,
it was burned down at the hands of an arsonist. School year 1990-1991
was an interesting year for boarders as they were housed in temporary
buildings constructed by ATCO, a Canadian company that specializes in
such accommodation, but usually at mine sites! By 1992 all boarders
lived in the six houses that we have today: Bolton, Barnacle and Harvey,
for boys, and Timmis, Symons and Winslow, for girls.
Today, boarding life at SMUS has seen some significant changes from
yesteryear. Each residence has about 35 students with ensuite rooms for
two people as well as additional storage space. The rooms are used as
studies, too, and security is given a high priority. House parents and
support staff, of whom some are non-teachers, are there to supervise and
counsel as surrogate parents. Senior students, in turn, assist them.
Routine, dress codes, leave and meal times are more flexible, so boarders
live a different life from those of pre-1970 vintage.
Despite these changes, there are still many timeless common threads
found in this boarding life away from home. It is likely that lifelong
friendships and warm memories continue to develop as always.
Archive photo –
Detail of K.C. Symons
from a 1943 photo of
the members of the
school.
Acknowledgements
For information about boarding in the 1920s and 1930s, I am
indebted to two gentlemen who have maintained their sharp memories.
Benton Mackid was a boarder at University School from1926 until 1932.
Percy Wilkinson taught at St. Michael’s School in 1924-26, and for the
next year, assisted with the supervision of boarders. Percy is looking
forward to his 100th birthday on July 1 this year. Thanks also to Michael
Symons, grandson of K.C. and a grad of both SMS ’59 and
US ’63, and who was a boarder at St. Michael’s School.
– R.W.
Residences today.
15
16
house names
BARNACLE HOUSE
BOLTON HOUSE
JAMES CLARK BARNACLE
(US 1906-1923)
THE REV. WILLIAM WASHINGTON BOLTON, M.A.
(1858-1946)
Co-Founder of University School
Co-Founder of University School
ILLIAM WASHINGTON BOLTON was born in 1858 in
the county of Staffordshire, England. He went to Caius
College, Cambridge in 1876 and after an outstanding
athletic career there, attained his degree in 1880. In 1881, he was
ordained by the Bishop of Lichfield. For the next three years, he held a
curacy in England, before moving to Canada to become a missionary in
Saskatchewan. In 1887, he was appointed Rector of St. Paul’s Church,
Esquimalt.
It was at this time that he was induced to take over St. Paul’s School in
Esquimalt, which he operated until 1890. He became rector of St. Mary
The Virgin in San Francisco until 1898. In 1894, he secured a leave of
absence from that diocese to undertake an exploration expedition on
Vancouver Island, under the auspices of the Daily Colonist.
In 1898, he opened a small school on Belcher Avenue in Victoria and
remained there until 1906, when he joined Mr. J.C. Barnacle in founding
University School. He was Warden of University School until 1920, when
he left for the South Pacific to be Inspector of Schools for the New
Zealand Government.
In 1925, he returned to University School as Headmaster, a position
he held until 1928, when he returned to the South Pacific to work for the
French Government. He died in Tahiti on July 28, 1946, aged 88.
Mr. Bolton was loved and respected by all who knew him. The things
he stood for: scholarship, gentlemanly conduct, sportsmanship, athletic
ability, and good physical condition, will always remain a part of our
school tradition.
O
F THE THREE FOUNDERS OF UNIVERSITY SCHOOL,
it was J.C. Barnacle who took the position of Headmaster. He
was the man responsible for the day-to-day running and well
being of the school. From 1906 until 1923, he was a dominant presence
as a teacher, games master and administrator.
Affectionately known as ‘Barney,’ James Clark Barnacle was educated
at London University. After coming to Victoria in 1900, he taught briefly
in the public school system before moving to the Collegiate School. In
1906 he joined forces with the Rev. W.W. Bolton, and later with
Capt. R.V. Harvey, to found University School.
Aside from being an outstanding rugby and cricket player,
Mr. Barnacle was an excellent mathematics teacher and a fair, strict, and
consistent disciplinarian. He carried the school through the 1914-1918
World War, in spite of low enrolment and dwindling finances, and in
1920 was President during the school’s three years as University Military
School.
Fulfilling the position of Headmaster (and President) for 17 years,
Mr. Barnacle was a rugged man who was devoted to the school. He
inspired loyalty and trust from those around him. He retired in 1923 due
to failing health, and died in Barbados in March 1939.
W
house names
HARVEY HOUSE
SYMONS HOUSE
RUPERT VALENTINE HARVEY
(1872-1915)
KYRLE C. SYMONS
(1881-1966)
Co-Founder of University School
R
V. HARVEY WAS BORN August 29, 1872 in Liverpool,
England. He attended Magdalene College, Cambridge. After
teaching in England for several years, he moved in 1899 to
Canada, to teach at Queen’s School in Vancouver. In 1901, he took over
as Headmaster, and in 1908, joined his school with University School of
Victoria, founded two years earlier. At University School, he assumed the
title of ‘Warden.’
Capt. Harvey was an ardent outdoorsman who regularly camped out
during school holiday time. He very much believed in the value of the
Cadet Corps. He also introduced Scouting to the school.
In 1914, with the onset of World War I, Capt. Harvey left with
his regiment for overseas duty. In the second battle of Ypres, he
was wounded, taken prisoner, and died in a prisoner-of-war hospital on
May 8, 1915. He is buried in a military cemetery in Niederswehrh,
Germany.
Although Capt. Harvey’s stay at University School was brief, his
contribution was immense. Old Boys, some of whom went to war with
him, held him in the highest esteem. Fittingly, he and others who fell in
battle are remembered with pride at the school’s Remembrance Day
services, when Capt. Harvey’s last letter to the school is read. It is a
moving letter, written by a dedicated and patriotic gentleman.
Founder and Headmaster of St. Michael’s School
K
C. SYMONS, the founder of St. Michael’s School, was born in
India in 1881. With his father’s death in 1885, he returned to
England with his mother. He was educated at Dulwich College
and went on to graduate from Keble College, Oxford.
In August 1908, he arrived in Victoria with his wife, Edith, and
accepted a teaching post at a public school on Salt Spring Island. His
sons, Kyrle W. and Ned, were born on the island. His other son, Michael,
was born in Victoria.
In the summer of 1910, Mr. Symons moved to Victoria, and with the
generous help of, among others, the Bridgman family, established St.
Michael’s School. In 1912, Mr. Symons adopted the Dulwich crest and
wrote three Latin verses to accompany his old school song. He also chose
the school motto, “Nihil Magnum Nisi Bonum” – “Nothing is great
unless it is good.”
By 1932, both Kyrle W. and Ned were teaching at the school with
Kyrle W. taking over the position of Headmaster upon his father’s
retirement around 1946. During his retirement years, K.C. Symons wrote
a history of the school, entitled That Amazing Institution, and continued to
do some part-time teaching until 1953. He died in 1966, at the age of 85.
Kyrle W. continued on as Headmaster until 1969 and finally retired in
1973. Between father and son, Kyrle C. and Kyrle W. had run the school
for an astounding 59 years, which explains why the Symons family name
and that of St. Michael’s School became synonymous.
In 1971, the Symons family continued its involvement with the newly
amalgamated St. Michaels University School – Kyrle W. until 1973, and
Ned until 1982.
17
18
house names
TIMMIS HOUSE
WINSLOW HOUSE
JOHN J. TIMMIS
(1906-1970)
FRANCIS EDWARD WINSLOW, O.B.E.
(1883-1962)
Headmaster of University School
Governor of University School
OHN J. TIMMIS was born in Shropshire, England in 1906 and was
educated at Ludlow School and Balliol College, Oxford. He taught
at Canford School between 1930 and 1939, and was appointed head
of the mathematics department. He then served with the Royal Artillery
in World War II from 1939 until 1945. Immediately following the War,
he emigrated to Canada to join the staff of Shawnigan Lake School. His
wife, Mary, and first child, Sally, joined him in September 1946. In June
1947, he acquired St. Christopher’s Preparatory School in Victoria and
taught part-time at Glenlyon School. Following the death of Rev. G.H.
Scarrett, Headmaster of University School in July 1948, Mr. Timmis was
invited to assume the position of Headmaster. He accepted with some
misgivings, and ended up staying on for the next 22 years.
During his tenure at the school, Mr. Timmis pulled enrolment figures
from a low of 54 in 1948 to a high of 254 in 1963. He encouraged the
loyalty and devotion of the Old Boys, started a drama section in 1956,
reintroduced Scouting to the school, and in 1958, initiated the first rugby
tour to Great Britain. With the backing of the Board of Governors, he
extended the Classroom Building and orchestrated the building of Brown
Hall, the Barker Library, and a new Gymnasium. Also completed during
his tenure as Headmaster was the building of the Chapel, which opened
on Sunday, May 20, 1962.
Mr. Timmis brought an enormous amount of energy and spirit to the
school and was a very fine mathematics teacher. He retired in 1970.
Unfortunately, he passed away in October of that year as well. In 1980, a
beautiful Chapel hanging by well-known Victoria artist Carole Sabiston
was dedicated to his memory.
INSLOW HOUSE is dedicated to Mr. F.E. Winslow. He is
the only person of the named residences who was not a
Headmaster or a Founder. Mr. Winslow was a well-known
and public-spirited person who, until 1949, was Manager of the Royal
Trust Company. He was awarded the O.B.E. (Order of the British
Empire) for his work in selling war bonds in World War II. In 1953, he
was presented with the Good Citizenship Medal for his prodigious
services to the Victoria community. He was a direct descendent of one of
the Mayflower passengers who landed in America, and his family later
came to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Mr. Winslow, born in New
Brunswick, came to Victoria in 1912.
During the great Depression of the 1930s, University School was in
dire financial straits. Mr. Winslow, in his dual role of Chairman of the
Board of Governors and Manager of the Royal Trust, together with a
small group of Alumni, played a strong and vital role in steering the
school back to financial stability by the early 1960s. His son, Frederick
was a student here from 1938 until 1940. Frederick was killed in the
1944 Normandy Invasion.
Mr. Winslow was Chairman of the Board until 1958 and remained a
Board member until his death in 1962. During his long association with
University School, he regularly and faithfully attended major school
functions.
J
W
heritage
The Head: K.C. Symons
Undemocratic or Just Undiplomatic?
Compiled by P.K. Bousfield
M
UCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN about the founder of St. Michael’s
The school began on a
School, K.C. Symons. Only recently, two new articles came
shoestring, and kept going by a
into my possession that further add to the legend of this
series of financial miracles. At
dynamic character. Based on his own book, That Amazing Institution, the
every crisis, an “angel” seemed to
most enthralling part of his story deals with the early struggles of his
appear in the form of a parent or
family. This, plus his own personal style of being able to run a school as a
friend who offered money. “The
benevolent dictator, without worrying about being politically correct,
Hand of God,” said Mr. Symons
makes an interesting read.
with bland sincerity. In fact,
Kyrle C. Symons, the craggy-faced and beloved old tyrant, “a man,” as
“K.C.” himself supplied some of K.C. Symons served as the Head of
Kipling said of his sailor, “of infinite resource and sagacity.” He used to
the motivating force – prayer and St. Michael’s School between 1910
and 1946.
have a standard reply to parents who complained about the way their sons
also hints dropped in mortal ears.
were treated during the almost 40 years that he was the Head.
The school was a maze of annexes and additions, at different levels,
“My dear chap,” he would say, “I didn’t ask you to send your boy to
joined by curious passages and stairways – usable, but drafty and
my school, and if you feel he would do better elsewhere, I shan’t stand in
inconvenient, with desks of antique design, and floorboards pitted by
your way.”
years of scrubbing and sweeping.
Although K.C. is no longer here to scold mothers publicly for failing
Some time ago, the parents of a boy were wavering between two
to mark the clothes of their sons with nametags, his influence and ideals
schools: St. Michael’s and a glossier private school with less atmosphere.
remain with the school, and some of his deeds have become legend.
Their son perched on a desk while they inspected St. Michael’s and
A rich Winnipeg couple telegraphed asking whether they could send
spoke to the Headmaster. The aged desk gave way beneath his weight and
their boy to St. Michael’s. They obviously looked on the request as a mere
collapsed in splinters. The parents gazed down at their son, sitting in the
formality. But Mr. Symons took a different view.
wreckage. They surveyed the rest of the furnishings and exchanged
“When I’ve seen the boy, I’ll tell you,” he wired back. The boy’s
gloomy looks.
mother telegraphed an angry chronicle of the boy’s virtues and
They had an earnest conversation when they reached home. But in
background.
spite of the run-down look of the school, they decided to
“Let me see the boy,” Mr. Symons wired again. So the
send their boy to St. Michael’s after all.
boy’s parents flew him to Victoria to be inspected.
There was an atmosphere about St. Michael’s,
The boy passed the inspection, but the headmaster had
compounded by many things: the well-mannered boys in
maintained his rule. During all his years as headmaster, he
their grey jackets and shorts, black and blue striped ties, and
never once accepted a boy sight-unseen. He seldom turned a
caps; the names of 29 St. Michael’s war dead on a plaque in
boy down – and even then, by the polite fiction that the
the gym (mothers have put up a bursary in memory of
NIHIL MAGNUM
NISI BONUM
school was full.
them); the names of team captains, prefects and distinguished
One fond mother went away in a huff when “K.C.” inspected her son
old boys inscribed on wooden wall-plates, and Victor Ludorum and merit
and asked: “Is he normal?” He had meant to enquire whether his
shield winners on brass plates; the library-museum to which old boys
eyesight, lungs, heart and other machinery were in working order, but the
have contributed books and such exotic things as a tropical snake in a
mother took it to mean that he suspected the lad of being feeble-minded.
bottle, a swordfish’s beak, and a 1914 German helmet; the worn
He never stated precisely what qualifications he demanded of a new
furniture, and the personality of the old Headmaster.
pupil. Snobbery had nothing to do with it. The sons of labourers and
K.C. Symons believed in the Spartan life. He flung windows wide in
millionaires received an equal welcome. The school carried a number of
winter and stripped “needless” blankets from boarders’ beds; he also
boys whose parents could not afford to pay the fees.
chided the boys when they shrank from opening the red-hot old stoves.
“The only thing that matters is whether we can make something of
His large horny hands seemed impervious to heat.
the boy,” retorted Mr. Symons when questioned.
At the end of term, boys were paraded before Mr. Symons and the
K.C. Symons himself used to handle drill. To smarten the step, he’d
other masters to hear candid appraisals of their work and character,
bark out, “March as if you owned the world and had the receipt in your
delivered in front of all the other boys. “You’ll end up selling shoelaces on
pocket.” “Some people say our caps are ‘cheap advertising,’ I have always
the street,” said “K.C.” to one unfortunate. With grudging respect, he
thought that if you put kids in uniform, you have a far better chance of
told one chubby youth that his mathematics skill might take him a long
controlling them than if they are togged up in red sweaters with yellow
way – if he behaved himself. To another boy he said: “You have had a very
stars and tight-fitting jeans.
poor term, have been lazy, untidy, not always quite honest. However, I
A black rubber strap used to live in the top right-hand drawer of “The
wish you a good holiday and I hope you will come back next term more
Head’s” study. “On the first transgression,” recalls a St. Michael’s Old
worth having.” The boy replied: “Thank you, sir, and the same to you.”
Boy, “he would take the fingers of the right hand, bend them back, and
The boys looked on him with awe. They goggled at his blackboard
without administering any blow, he would lay the strap on the boy’s hand
drawings of “hobnailed livers,” which he said were the inevitable result of
in warning of what was to happen if the boy found himself on the Head’s
drinking too much liquor, and they sometimes accepted his ironic jokes
report again.
as literal truth.
19
20
heritage
Once a soccer player handed him 50 cents for safekeeping. He
thanked the boy and said he would take it as the first contribution to a
fund to send him around the world. Later another boy, thinking he
meant it, solemnly offered 50 cents toward the fund.
K.C., one year, built his sons a boat. It was, he wrote, like no boat
ever seen before or since, but was finally converted into a storage
cupboard. It certainly must have been, to say the least, somewhat
unconventional in shape. In the early years of the First World War,
Symons acquired an ancient Overland car, one of those elevated jobs of
the era that was rather higher than it was long! The family named it
Leviathan, and there is no disguising the fact that at its wheel, the owner
must have constituted something of a menace. Entries in his diary record:
“A bit of a smash on the Malahat yesterday,” and “Thoroughly rammed a
car outside City Hall which had the impudence to dispute our passage!”
On one occasion, remembers his son, he backed into a wroughtiron gate, and all unknowing, carried it off down the street, innocently
wondering what was causing all the clanking and trusting it would
soon stop!
K.C. Symons managed, over the years, to attract a large and loyal
band of supporters from the parents and Old Boys. The respect was based
on the recognition of a very hard-working teacher, who had a genuine
interest in education. There were no phony pretensions about the ‘Old
Head.’ He pressured famous men into addressing the school; induced
people to lend large gardens for prize giving – but he never thought of
himself for personal gain.
It is, perhaps, this last quality of selflessness that led his supporters to
give an expenses-paid travelling vacation to him and his hard-working
wife, who had been ill. Someone else paid the bills for K.C.’s surgical
operation, and yet another bought him a car. In addition, much of St.
Michael’s School itself was a result of loyal benefactors who gave or lent
money to aid this dedicated man.
No matter what the company in which he found himself, his
personality was outstanding. One parent recalls the numerous occasions
that K.C. dined at the Pacific Club and kept his guests completely
fascinated during the entire meal.
In his time at St. Michael’s, he never sought to make his boys into
climbers or grabbers. He only wanted to give them an academic
education, physical strength and character.
“Some people may think the word is old-fashioned,” he said, “but we
want them to behave like gentleman.”
Was K.C. undemocratic or just undiplomatic? By today’s standards, he
clearly was both. I have long thought the most efficient form of
government is a benevolent dictatorship. So it is by this measure I will
judge him. ‘K.C.,’ or ‘The Head,’ was born, raised and educated in the
era that reminds one of these famous words:
“Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do or die. Into the Valley of
Death rode the six hundred.”
Make a holiday of it!
Join your fellow alumni and school friends, teachers,
and staff at the old stomping grounds May 2, 3, and 4
for a memorable reunion weekend. Make a holiday of
it! Bring your family and join in the fun. We have a
number of accommodation alternatives set up and a
great line-up of weekend events, too. Give us a call for
more information, or e-mail or fax us and let us know
if you’re planning to come.
After all, this weekend is for YOU!
E-mail: cspicer@smus.bc.ca
Fax: (250) 592-2812
Admissions Connections
Whether you and your family are third generation members of
the SMUS community or have just begun your association with
us, each of you has already experienced a personal connection with
our school. Many families consider joining our school as a direct
result of a recommendation from a member of our SMUS
community. From our Admissions Office, we see many examples
every day of how well these connections support the strength of
the school and maintain the spirit and integrity of SMUS.
We are grateful to our alumni, parents and current families
who make a commitment to continue their involvement. Many of
you continue to recommend us to colleagues, neighbours, friends
and associates. When we travel to your community hosting
Information Receptions, your presence at our events is invaluable
to us, as it helps to build those connections we know are so
important. Our prospective families are always grateful when they
have had an opportunity to discuss, understand and appreciate
what it means to be a full member of the SMUS community.
Together, with your help, we will continue to meet, interview
and accept some of the finest students in the world – those who
desire a world-class education, in a student-focused learning
environment, taught by outstanding faculty in state-of-the-art
facilities. The success and composition of our student population is
directly related to the experience and support of countless members
of the community. As we move through our agenda of events over
the course of the year, we may ask for your assistance. We always
welcome your input and suggestions. If you wish to be more
involved or would like to further discuss how you can support the
Admissions Office, please do not hesitate to contact us.
– Excerpts from articles by G.E. Mortimore/Vivienne Chadwick based on
K.C. Symons, That Amazing Institution.
Susan Saunders, Director of Admissions
Phone: (250) 370-6174
E-mail: ssaunder@smus.bc.ca
Admissions Office Calendar of Events
March 23 – 29
April 7 – 10
Receptions in the Cariboo and
Okanagan communities
Receptions in North and
Central Vancouver Island
homecoming schedule
ALUMNI HOMECOMING - 2003
Schedule of Events
Friday, May 2, 2003
Saturday, May 3, 2003
8:15 am
9:00 am
School Chapel Assembly
Alumni invited to attend a school chapel
assembly
8:30 am – 3:30 pm
Academic classes
Alumni welcome to sit in on a senior school
academic class
For either of the above, Chris Spicer MUST BE NOTIFIED in
advance: cspicer@smus.bc.ca or (250) 370-6197.
FRIDAY NIGHT RECEPTIONS
Alumni from 1920-1963, and their significant others, are invited to
attend a reception hosted by the Headmaster, Bob Snowden, and
his wife, Joan.
6:00 pm
Cocktails at Reynolds House
6:30 pm
Dinner at Reynolds House
Class of 1953
Contact Pat Crofton at (250) 361-0975
or Hamish Simpson at (250) 537-9372;
e-mail: hsimpson@saltspring.com
Class of 1958
Contact Burke Cuppage at (250) 744-7000
or Robin Dalziel at (250) 920-6467
Class of 1963
Contact Jim Crumpacker at jcrumpacker@cbre.com
or Chris Collins at (425) 455-0899;
e-mail: chruse@attbi.com
Class of 1968
Contact Gary Wilson at garystevenwilson@hotmail.com
or (206) 463-2818
Class of 1973
Contact Eric Heffernan at ericcode3@silk.net
or (250) 862-1800
Class of 1978
Contact Henry Frew at hfrew@channeleau.com
or (250) 655-9331
Class of 1983
Contact Nicky Parkinson at njkparkinson@shaw.ca
or (250) 658-0285
Class of 1988
Contact David Margison at david@mygoodhelper.com
or (250) 658-0575
Class of 1993
Contact Renton Leversedge at
rleversedge@kpmg.com
or (206) 956-9041
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
10:00 am
11:00 – 12:30 pm
Alumni Association Executive host breakfast
for the Graduation Class of 2003
Alumni Homecoming Weekend
Registration – Quad
Alumni Chapel Service
Events and Activities
SPORTS EVENTS:
- School Field Hockey XI vs. Alumni
- Billy G. Alumni Basketball Classic at
Mt. Douglas School
- Alumni Rugby Touch VIIs
(a burst followed by a brew!)
OTHER ACTIVITIES:
- Campus Tours
- Children’s Activities
- Archives display, second floor,
School House
- New Facilities display,
School House foyer
11:45 and 12:30 pm Crothall Centre tours
1:00 – 1:30 pm
SMUS Today and Tomorrow, Crothall
Centre Auditorium
12:00 – 3:00 pm
Alumni and Friends Barbeque
No host bar at Wenman Pavilion deck.
BBQ tickets available at registration table.
2:00 – 3:30 pm
SMUS First XV Rugby vs. Oak Bay High
3:30 pm
Alumni Association Annual General
Meeting at Wenman Pavilion
6:00 pm – 12:30 pm Outstanding Dinner Buffet
Dance and Silent Auction
Music and entertainment provided by
That Seventies Band
Cost is $40 per person. Book your table
(seats 8) or purchase individual tickets
right away. Call Donna at (250) 370-6175
or dray@smus.bc.ca
Sunday, May 4, 2003
11:00 am – 4:00 pm School XI vs. Alumni XI Cricket Match
Call John Wenman at (250) 598-5477
if you wish to play a few overs.
21
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alumni news
Alumni Report Winter 2003
HIS IS A BUSY TIME , both for the school and the Alumni
Association. We are, of course, gearing up for what we hope will
be another hugely successful alumni weekend in May. There are
many more details elsewhere in School Ties.
We have initiated, under the able scrutiny of David Margison, an
online survey of the alumni on a number of issues that will assist us in
planning for the future. We ask that each of you take the time to fill this
out. Many thanks go to David for initiating and carrying through this
great project.
The newest physical addition to the Senior School campus, the
Crothall Centre, will be nearly finished at the time of the alumni
weekend and tours have been organized over Homecoming Weekend. We
are due to take possession of this building early this summer and it will be
an integral part of the school starting in the fall of this year.
The Association is looking ahead and planning for the centenary in
2006. You’ll hear more about these plans in the upcoming months.
I would like to strongly encourage all of you to return at the Alumni
Homecoming in May and reacquaint yourself with us – come and see the
many great things happening at your old school.
We’ve tried to plan the weekend so that there is something for everyone.
Please let us know what you think. As usual, there are the regular reunion
years, but the weekend is for all, and all are welcome! Look forward to
meeting or getting reacquainted with many of you in May. Vivat!
T
ince the launch of the SMUS Alumni E-mail Directory in
2000, we now have over 1,300 of our mailable alumni
registered online. We are pleased with this progress, and
hope our users have found this service useful and informative. For
those of you who still haven’t registered, we encourage you to do so
– we will be offering an incentive prize from the Campus Shop – an
attractive brass letter opener. New users will have their names
entered into a draw, which will take place on May 15, 2003.
Please visit our website (www.smus.bc.ca) and click on
Development/Alumni, and from there click on ‘Alumni E-mail
Directory.’ Once your registration is activated, you can search for
your contemporaries by year, name or geographical branch. You can
also choose to add your own biographical information and even
upload a photo of yourself or family. In addition, there is a “class
notes” option where you can post interesting tidbits of information
regarding you, your family or other alumni you have seen in your
travels.
S
Stay connected!
– Henry Frew, Alumni Association President
The SMUS Alumni Association presents
The SMUS Alumni Weekend Bed and Breakfast Service
Local Alumni and SMUS parents are asked to donate a bedroom in their home for the weekend of May 2-4, 2003 so out-of-town Alumni can
spend the weekend with another member of the SMUS community.
Hosts will be asked to provide a bedroom, access to a bathroom and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Guests will be charged $50
per night for a single person and $60 per night for 2 people sharing a room, with funds going to the SMUS Alumni Association.
To host fellow Alumni or request accommodation, please contact Zoë Broom (SMUS ’87) with the following information:
ACCOMMODATION REQUEST
VOLUNTEER HOST
Name(s): ______________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________
Phone number: ________________________________________
E-mail: ______________________________________________
School and graduation year: ______________________________
Number of people needing Bed and Breakfast: ________________
# Beds required: Single ____________ Double ______________
Do you require a smoking room?
Y ❏ N ❏ outside is fine ❏ non-smoking house preferred ❏
Allergies / Dietary / Accessibility needs:
______________________________________________________
Other: ________________________________________________
Name(s): ______________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________
Phone number: ________________________________________
E-mail: ______________________________________________
School and graduation year: ______________________________
Distance of house from Senior School: ______________________
Number of Beds Available:
Room #1: Single __________________ Double ______________
Room #2: Single __________________ Double ______________
Do you have pets? Y ❏ N ❏ Please specify ________________
Are there smokers in the house? Y ❏ N ❏
Are guests allowed to smoke? Inside ❏ Outside ❏ No ❏
Is the house wheelchair accessible? Y ❏ N ❏
Send to: Zoë Broom, 2821 Heath Drive, Victoria, BC, V9A 2J6; zbroom@camosun.bc.ca; 250-370-4506; fax 250-370-4525
alumni news
The Michael Walsh
Scholar Award
ALLING ALL ALUMS who knew this
man – calling all alums who were
guided by this man!!
This named endowment has been
initiated by a small group of alumni who
were very clear that Michael Walsh was a
key to their positive experience at the
school. His kindness and quiet dignity
were inspirations to many boarders,
students and athletes. To date, 26 members of
the SMUS community have contributed $45,000
to this fund. There is an initial target of $100,000 that will be achieved –
with participation from more of us who knew this man and whose lives
have been profoundly impacted through this association. Please join us in
building this fund. Send your support today.
C
Ian Hyde-Lay was in attendance at UVic on Nov. 4, 2002 to see one of his
past students, Gareth Rees, inducted into the University of Victoria Sports
Hall of Fame.
Rees Appointed to
the UVic Hall of Fame
M
ONDAY,
NOVEMBER 4, 2002 was a red-letter day for SMUS,
with the news that Gareth Rees (SMUS ’85) had been named
to the University of Victoria Sports Hall of Fame.
Rees, who upon graduating from SMUS and doing one further year at
Harrow, returned to attend the University of Victoria to earn his degree in
History. He starred for the Rugby Vikes for four seasons before moving
back to Europe to play professionally in England, Wales and France.
Along the way, beginning as a precocious 19 year old, he played in all
four World Cups, earning over 60 caps for Canada and becoming the
country’s all time leading scorer. He also represented the famous
Barbarians club on numerous occasions, and earned countless other
major rugby awards.
Just this year, he has returned from a lucrative rugby media position
in Britain to take over as Rugby Canada’s CEO. We wish him well in this
new position.
In speaking at the UVic induction, Rees was quick to praise SMUS
for developing his sporting talents. “Many people assumed I learned my
rugby in the UK…but I am quick to tell them that this was not the case.
My grounding came on wet and windy fall afternoons on the old Hill
pitch at SMUS…watched over by several outstanding coaches.”
More Alumni Sports Champs
Jen Blumberg (SMUS ’03) and Kristi Tyrell (SMUS ’02) were
members of the BC Squash Team competing in the 2003 Canada Winter
Games. They played well and their team captured the Gold medal!
Beckie MacDonald (SMUS ’02) and Krystal O’Byrne (SMUS ’99)
are members of the University of Victoria Vikes Basketball team which
competed in the national university tournament in early March 2003.
Their team was ranked 6th as they entered the tournament, and they
emerged with the gold medal. Beckie and Krystal played key roles in the
championship games.
Michael Walsh stands proudly beside his team in this 1983 photo of the
BC Independent School Rugby Championships.
Heritage Club Focus
is something that we should all do at some
point in our lives. That said, less than 50% of North American
adults have taken this step to set out their estate plans. A
growing number of the SMUS family, seeing the course that the school is
setting, are naming the school as an estate beneficiary. This is wonderful
news. Of course, we wish a long and productive life to all members of our
Heritage Club. This is clearly a carefully considered long-term future gift.
We are aware of 25 alumni, former school parents and friends who have
made this commitment. The school is so grateful for these significant
gifts. If you would like to discuss an estate contribution to SMUS, please
contact Christopher Spicer at (250) 370-6197 or cspicer@smus.bc.ca
D
RAWING UP A WILL
23
24
alumni updates
Alumni Updates
We receive e-mail, snail mail, telephone calls, visits even – and
we love to hear from you! This is what gives us the stories to
build this important section of School Ties. Please take a
moment and tell us what you are doing, keep in touch, let us
know if you are looking for a contact number for a fellow
alumnus, or if you have a question about something at your old
school. The more we hear, the more we can pass on in this
section.
We want your e-mail address, so why not send us an e-mail
update right now!! [cspicer@smus.bc.ca] or [dray@smus.bc.ca]
BEFORE THE ’60s
QUINTIN ROBERTSON
(US ’42) wrote a nostalgic article
in the January 24, 2003 Vancouver
Sun Driving Section. The brief
article (with pictures) spoke of a
golden age of automobiling in a
1929 Model A Ford Coupe and
the wonderful summer holiday
trips with four days of driving to
Lompoc, California – quite the
excursion with three young
children.
JOHN EDWARDS (US ’50)
is a retired accountant who is
doing anything but sitting down
and taking it easy. John has been
involved with the Hallmark
Society in Victoria for decades and
been the spearhead on a number
of projects over the years. John sits
on the Victoria Heritage Advisory
Committee, and for his significant
commitment to preserve the
heritage of Victoria, he received
the CGA Community Service
Award at the President’s Gala in
Whistler, September 21, 2002.
BILL HUBBARD (US ’56)
After 24 years working as a
biologist for the Provincial
Government, Bill took an early
retirement toward the end of last
year. He formally retired as of
March 31, 2002. Since that time,
he’s been doing a bit of consulting
work. Prior to joining Government
in 1978, and after receiving a
Master of Science degree at UBC,
he spent several years with an
environmental consulting firm. Bill
says he spends as much time as
possible in Italy (both Venice and
Tuscany) and is considering the
possibility of relocating there. Time
will tell on that one.
PETER LUND (US ’59)
writes from Beijing, China, where
he teaches English, Social Studies
and History at the Beijing
International School. Peter calls
China home now after more than
five years of residence there. He
loves being in a place where the
pace of change is truly astronomic.
Peter looks forward to returning to
SMUS for the 2006 centenary.
Jim Tunnicliffe (US ’70) his wife Debra, and two sons
in the Dominican Republic mission field
FROM THE ’60s
COURT MACKID (US ’63)
is a Professional Engineer and has
worked in the Alberta oil and gas
business for over 28 years. He
currently heads up Canadian
exploration and production for
Ziff Energy, a large multinational
resource company with head
offices in Houston and Calgary.
MUNROE ARCHIBALD
(US ’64) recently retired from a
lifetime in the mining field –
although he’s still willing and ready
to get into any projects which
might appear. ’Ro loved working as
an assayer – he set up many onsite
lab operations in far-flung locales.
JON DEISHER (US ’65)
received his BA in Sociology in
1973, and then his MA in
Communications in 1976 – both
from the University of NevadaReno. Jon now lives with his wife,
Laura, and three children, in Eagle
River (Anchorage), Alaska. Jon is a
Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant.
FROM THE ’70s
JIM TUNNICLIFFE (US
’70) Jim, his wife Debra, and two
sons, have accepted a posting to
the Dominican Republic to work
as a missionary family out of a
school run by New Missions, an
Orlando based organization. Jim
writes: “The students, for the most
part, are wonderful. The students
are from all over the world. We
have German, French, Canadian,
English, Dominican. I wish that
we had spent more time listening
and speaking French when we
were in school. I find that I have a
very poor ear for picking up
sounds. However, if I see it
written, I am better able to
understand. There are about 100
students in the Dominican school,
Colegio Nueva Vida, and 20 in the
School of Tomorrow. I look
forward to more pictures of the
building project. If you have the
opportunity to speak with
Mr.Walsh, please tell him I sent
our greetings and love, and that his
presence will be sorely missed at
the school. I will talk to you soon.
Jim”
ALEX WONG (SMUS ’73)
visited the school recently with his
wife, Rubi, and two of his sons,
Daryl and Justin. Alex was
delighted to be back at the school
after a thirty-year absence and was
primarily here to register his
children with SMUS. Alex is a
businessman in Hong Kong with a
passion for skiing at Whistler.
DAVID FINNIS (SMUS ’75)
works as Community Librarian at
the Oliver Branch of the Okanagan
Regional Library, which gives him
a 50-60 minute commute from his
home in Summerland to the Town
of Oliver. Of special interest to
David is the pre-school story time
sessions he directs when he and his
young charges have complete rein
over the library – before it opens to
the public.
JONATHAN GERAGHTY
(SMUS ’79) completed his
Business Administration and
Finance schooling at Seattle
University. He now works in a
support role in the University of
Washington Engineering Faculty
where he is the secretary for a
number of professors and assistant
professors.
HUGH HENRY (SMUS ’79)
recently accepted a position as an
Intelligence Analyst with the
Intelligence Assessment Secretariat,
Privy Council Office, in Ottawa.
The Secretariat provides policy
relevant intelligence assessments
for the Prime Minister, Cabinet,
and senior government officials.
He is enjoying his new career as a
public servant and finds the work
extremely interesting and fulfilling.
Previously, he spent two years in
a full-time posting as a military
staff officer and historian with the
alumni updates
Directorate of History and
Heritage, Department of National
Defence. He also taught foreign
and defense policy, masters-level
courses for the Royal Military
College of Canada Distance
Education Program. In 1997, he
received his doctorate in History
from St. John’s College, University
of Cambridge.
FROM THE ’80s
NICK ASKEW (SMUS ’80) is
married with three children. He
operates Pacesetter Marketing in
Vancouver. Nick’s company is
involved with major residential
and commercial projects, the most
recent being “The Time Project”
on Lower Lonsdale in North
Vancouver – this development has
both residential and commercial
components. Nick reports that 90
of the 270 residential units
available were sold on the opening
sales day!
JIM STONE (SMUS ’80)
moved to Cambridge, England,
where he has taken up a
professorship in the Department
of Applied Mathematics and
Theoretical Physics at Cambridge
University.
TED CUNLIFFE (SMUS
’81) has completed his Ph.D. in
Clinical Psychology and is now a
Senior Psychologist at a women’s
maximum-security prison in
Ocala, Florida.
KEN IP (SMUS ’81) is living
in Hong Kong with his wife,
Barbara, and son, Kevin. Over the
past 20 years, he has moved several
times. After leaving SMUS, he
went to UBC and completed a BA
in Psychology. Ken then went to U
of Manchester in England to
pursue graduate studies in
Management. After that, he went
to work for HSBC Bank in
Vancouver until 1992.
In 1993, Ken left Vancouver
and moved to Hong Kong. He
now works in the role of Business
Unit Controller for Asia Pacific.
Ken was married in 1997 to
Barbara, whom he met while at
UBC. They have one son who was
born in September 2002.
MICHAEL BISSETT (SMUS
’82) Since 1985, Michael has been
employed at HMCS dockyard,
starting out as an apprentice
engineer. Today he is the chief
engineer on the floating crane that
services the Pacific Fleet of the
Canadian Navy. He was happily
married in 1991 to Michele, and
has two great kids – Caitlyn and
Natasha. Says Michael, “It was a
shame that I could not attend the
twenty-year reunion in 2002, due
to the passing away of my father. I
am sure Lex Bayley and Susan
Morris did a great job in
organizing the bash.”
BASSIM NAHHAS (SMUS
’82) is working in West Vancouver
as a private client investment
advisor with BMO Nesbitt Burns.
ERIK KIDD (SMUS ’83) is
living on Mayne Island. He works
as a Planning Officer with the
Department of Fisheries and
Oceans out of the Richmond
office.
FRANK VAN STAALDUINEN
(SMUS ’84) is married and has
an energetic family of four
daughters – all less than ten years
of age! Frank completed his BSc at
UVic and then trained as a
Cardiovascular Perfusionist. This is
the work he is currently engaged in
at University Hospital in
Edmonton.
TIM CASHION (SMUS ’86)
is the Director of Development,
Planned and Major Gifts for
Network Chicago (WTTW-11
and 98.7 WFMT), Chicago’s
Public TV Station and Classical
Radio Station.
BRYAN PULLMAN (SMUS
’86) recently received a copy of
School Ties via his parents’ address.
He responded by saying he felt he
should finally provide his old
school an update on his
whereabouts and activities. It has
been only 16 years after all.
“I recently graduated from
Queen’s University in Kingston
with a B.Sc. (Eng.) in Mining
Engineering. I do believe this
makes me about the fifth engineer
from my graduating class and
certainly the only Mining
Engineer in recent history at
SMUS! I am now the mine
planner for Foxpoint Resources,
Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. in
Kirkland Lake, Ontario. There are
five past-producing mines in our
land position, including the worldclass Lake Shore Mine.
When I finished at SMUS, I
went to Queen’s and completed a
B.A. (Hons.) in History. After
graduation, I spent a few months
in Australia backpacking. Then I
returned to Canada and worked as
a surveyor in the Victoria area for a
few years, before completing a
two-year Diploma in Mining
Technology at BCIT. It was when
the gold price fell to below $USD
280/oz in the spring of 1999 that I
felt compelled to return to school
once again and further my
credentials. Until the metals
markets collapse again, I think I'll
be free of the academia bug. Since
finishing at BCIT in 1996, I have
worked at/for five different gold
mines! I got married in 1997 to
Amber McDermott and I am now
the proud father of Bronwyn
Pullman, who will be two years old
at the end of November 2002. The
family is settling in to snowbound
Northern Ontario living. I invite
friends and acquaintances to
contact me by my e-mail:
bpullman@sympatico.ca”
SHAULA EVANS (SMUS
’87) is moving to Fairfax, Virginia
to work on a campaign for a
friend who is running for the
Virginia State Legislature. She has
just completed an exhausting
democratic congressional campaign
in Dallas and now seems to have
discovered a new career path in US
politics. Shaula would love to get
in touch with any SMUS alumni
in the DC area. Her e-mail address
is: evansbryant@neilbryant.cjb.net
BRUCE WEST (SMUS ’87)
recently moved to a new position
as a personal investment advisor
with BMO Nesbitt Burns in
Vancouver. He is delighted to be
back in touch with his school and
invites any members of the SMUS
family to contact him at:
Bruce.West@nbpcd.com
DAN DUKE (SMUS ’88) and
his wife Sheila have moved to
Seattle where Dan is a district
manager with Merrill Lynch and
Sheila is an attorney, now working
in the non-profit sector.
JULIE KO (SMUS ’88)
completed her BA at the
University of Western Ontario and
later completed certification in
Public Sector Management at
UVic. She currently works as a
federal/provincial policy analyst
with the provincial government.
KARI-LYNN
MURPHY
(SMUS ’88) is working out of
Vancouver as an Investor Relations
Executive Assistant with a mining
development company.
ADRIAN WATKINS (SMUS
’88) Adrian spent 1988-89 in
London at Dulwich College
(where St. Michael’s School
founder Kyrle Symons went to
school and where retired SMUS
chaplain Lynford Smith taught),
on an ESU exchange. From 19891994, Adrian attended UBC,
finishing with a Bachelor of
Commerce specializing in Urban
Land Economics (Real Estate).
Adrian played rugby for the UBC
Thunderbirds throughout university.
From September 1994 to present,
25
26
alumni updates
Alumni Updates
he worked in commercial real
estate as a broker for a company
called Avison Young. His work
focus was investment property
sales (i.e. office buildings,
shopping centres). Adrian received
his Master of Real Estate from
MIT (2001). He is now working
as Vice President of Archon
Capital, in Dallas, a real estate
investment company.
DAVID WEEDEN (SMUS
’88) is living in Vancouver and
running his own computer
consulting business. After completing
his BSc with a major in Physiology
at the University of Toronto,
David continued his education at
Uvic. He then went on to UBC,
where he completed his Computer
Science degree. He is busy
developing an active Vancouver
lifestyle – working hard while
making time to ski, climb, dive,
and pursue other hobbies.
FROM THE ’90s
JASON DEARBORN (SMUS
’90) writes: “Just wanted to let you
know I won the by-election on
October 4th with 61.5% of the
popular vote. I am officially the
member of the Legislative
Assembly elect for the Kindersley
Constituency.
I’m very excited about the new
job and can’t help but think that a
great deal of the direction to get
here was fostered at our beloved
school on the coast. If there is
anything I can do to aid the
school, please contact me. (I’m
looking forward to our fund
raising campaign). Sincerely, Jed.”
BRENT BUNDON (SMUS
’90) completed his undergraduate
degree at the University of
Victoria. Brent followed up with a
Masters in Economics and
International Politics at the
London School of Economics, and
then an MBA from the University
of Chicago. He worked with the
- continued
Bank of America for four years and
is currently working as an associate
with their New York based
investment banking group.
MICHAEL FORD (SMUS
’90) is Guest Services Manager at
Big White Ski resort in the winter.
He runs a river rafting company in
the summertime.
GILES BODLEY-SCOTT
(SMUS ’91) is happily married to
Jacqui. They have two sons, Max
and Dominic. Giles works at
Three Point Motors.
AYELET (PORZECANSKI)
PIATIGORSKY (SMUS ’91)
After graduation from SMUS,
Ayelet obtained a Bachelor of
Music Degree from the University
of Toronto in Voice Performance,
and a Master of Music Degree in
Voice Performance from the
Manhattan School of Music in
Manhattan (grad ’98). There she
met her husband, Misha
Piatigorsky, a jazz pianist and the
great nephew of the world famous
cellist Gregor Piatigorsky.
They were married in June of
1999, and took up residence in
Manhattan. They are both
professional musicians, making a
living purely through their
performances. They have performed
leading roles in Mozart’s “le nozze
di Figaro” and “Cosí fantutte,”
Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” and
Giles Bodley-Scott (SMUS ’91)
Max, Dominic and wife Jacqui
“Gianni Schicchi,” Rossini’s
“Cenerentola,” and Humperdink’s
“Hänsel und Gretel” in both New
York and Italy. Ayelet performs
regularly with orchestras in the
city, including the New York
Philharmonic, under the direction
of Kurt Masur. She has recorded
on the soundtrack for “Mission to
Mars,” a Disney motion picture
with music by Enrico Moricone.
Jerome Hines, the famous operatic
bass, who holds the record for the
longest career at the Metropolitan
Opera, is currently sponsoring her.
Ayelet’s husband, Misha, performs
all over America and Europe, and
coincidentally, taught workshops
at the Royal Conservatory in
Victoria this summer while they
were visiting her parents. Their
daughter, Anatalya, was born this
year on March 1, and has already
landed her first modeling gig (the
little go-getter)!
ELIZABETH
WALTON
(SMUS ’91) is a safety professional
in the petro-chemical industry
based in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
She completed her most recent
degree at the University of Alberta
in Occupational Health and
Safety.
LEO CAFFARO (SMUS ’92)
is living in Edmonton with his
wife Tamara and is articling with
the law firm of McLennan Ross.
Jen Innes (SMUS ’92)
at Edmonton Alumni Reception
SIMMI GREWAL (SMUS
’92) completed her medical
training at UBC and is in the
last of four years of a Pediatrics
specialty at the University of
Alberta Hospital. She loves the
work and is looking forward to her
one-year University of Alberta
fellowship, following the completion
of her specialist training. Long
term, a return to BC to practice is
under strong consideration.
JIM HUANG (SMUS ’92) is
at school in Colorado, studying
metallurgical engineering, and is an
interested supporter of the school.
JEN INNES (SMUS ’92)
received her BSc in Physical
Therapy from the University of
Alberta in 1999. She works in the
Pain Management Program at
Millard House, a WCB rehabilitation
facility. Jen is excited by the
possibility of taking a job in
Greenwich, England, working in
schools in the area of
neuropediatrics. This change will
take place, likely sometime in May.
DAN KLINKA and CHRIS
DARIMONT (SMUS ’92) are
both working toward their MSc
degrees at UVic. Dan is
researching the foraging behaviour
of the coastal bear population
while Chris is studying the
foraging behaviour of wolves on
BC’s central coast.
Chris and Dan’s publications
are part of their current MSc
research programme at UVic.
Chris writes: “The paper I
published was part of my MSc
research at UBC (’97-’99). I
forwarded these links on to
Michael Jackson, SMUS Science
teacher, because I felt he was an
early inspiration for me to get
more involved in the biological
sciences. After SMUS, I went to
the University of Western Ontario
and was further inspired by some
exceptional science faculty. The
field of freshwater ecology really
alumni updates
left a strong impression on me.
Later, I did a field course in
Algonquin Park, where we studied
‘everything from soup to nuts.’
After completing my BSc in
Ecology and Evolution, I wanted
to learn more about nutrient
cycling in coastal streams. I pitched
a research proposal to a professor at
UBC with the hopes that he would
take me on as a graduate student.
He liked the idea, so I enrolled in
an MSc programme at their
Department of Forest Sciences.
While at UBC, I completed a
thesis project that looked at the
link between changes in forest
cover (such as those incurred
through logging) and the biological
productivity of the streams in these
forests.
Since UBC, I’ve worked as a
habitat biologist for Fisheries and
Oceans Canada and currently I am
working ‘on the front lines’ of
engineering and land development
at the City of Surrey.
“The faculty at SMUS were
definitely invaluable to my finding
this career path. It’s great to see the
new science facility and labs available
to the current students, and I have
no doubt that we’ll see more SMUS
alumni contributing to science and
research in the future.”
It’s interesting that both Dan
and Chris have been studying
coastal stream ecology. Dan looks
at bears and their habits for
feeding on salmon, while Chris
has been following wolves and
their reliance on salmon. See:
http://web.uvic.ca/~reimlab/Thelab.
html for more info on their
projects.
PETER ROWAND (SMUS
’92) completed his BCom at UVic
in 1997. He now works in
Toronto with Quest Software in a
Marketing capacity.
JOANNA (KISS) SNOW
(SMUS ’92) has completed her
elementary teaching practicum and
is now on the job trail in Victoria.
CLIVE SOUTHCOMBE
(SMUS ’92) completed his
training in Kamloops as a
respiratory technologist and now
works at the University of Alberta
Hospital in Edmonton.
HAYLEY PATTISON (SMUS
’93) Post-SMUS, Hayley reluctantly
returned to London, after the
only profession that Canadian
immigration was encouraging was
Pastry Chef. She realized that, even
with her perfected Canadian
accent, she would have to return to
the UK. She embarked on a fiveyear fashion degree at Central St.
Martins. She specialized in
journalism, photography and
illustration. During her degree, she
gained work experience at Vogue
magazine and Chanel.
Once finished, she was very
fortunate to gain a place on a
beautiful classic Fife yacht 1914
and found herself sailing across the
Atlantic. This inspired her to
celebrate the millennium down in
Auckland - City of Sails. As the
first city to welcome the first dawn,
it was also the host for the Louis
Vuitton and America’s Cup. Her
first love has always been sailing,
having grown up on boats and
having raced dinghies nationally
and at a European level throughout
her childhood. She combined this
love with fashion – it was the most
ideal blend. Louis Vuitton offered
her the privilege to co-ordinate the
lifestyle PR for the Louis Vuitton
Cup, alongside working with one
of the Cup teams – AmericaOne.
A fantastic job for an amazing
historic competition – New
Zealand was an inspiration. She
was promoted back to the London
office to become the PR Manager
for LV in the UK market. This was
a challenging role, especially as the
America’s Cup returned to
England for the 150th Jubilee
celebration. She was very involved
in co-ordination and generation of
interest in this very romantic and
prestigious event. Classic Cup
yachts that spanned the history of
the America’s Cup were all in
attendance and she could not have
been more in her element.
She was intrigued to expand her
sports event PR exposure. The
prospect of working in one of the
most competitive and global sports
of Formula One, lured her away
from fashion, handbags and yachts
to gearboxes, tires and noisy
engines. She is now Press Officer
for BMW Williams F1 Team.
After Formula One? Well, maybe
she will think about picking up
some pastry chef skills after sailing
around the world!
JEFFREY BLUMBERG (SMUS
’94) had a very successful squash
career while attending Harvard
University. He played for
Harvard, was team captain in his
last year, and played a number
of tournaments at the very
highest levels – nationally and
internationally. Jeffrey now lives
in New York where he works for
Goldman Sachs and Co. in the
asset management group.
NEIL DE HAAN (SMUS ’94)
is currently working for the
Pharmasave Drugs Pacific office
as a Practice Consultant. He has
the Lower Mainland Region and is
responsible for coordinating the
clinical activities of six stores. He
also manages the corporate
outreach for the company. Now
that he has a full-time job (“real
job”!) and a real address, too, he is
working from home, so both work
and home numbers are consistent.
EMILY HEYNEN (SMUS
’94) writes that she is a
development associate with
Headwaters Fund, one of sixteen
member funds united around the US
through the Funding Exchange.
They are dedicated to a progressive
method of philanthropy, where
activists in the community make
the granting decisions. It is a
community Foundation that gives
grants of $5,000-$30,000 to
grassroots organizations working
on issues that are at the root of
social inequity, such as affordable
housing, livable wage, gay/lesbian
rights, civil rights, immigrant
rights, welfare rights, native land
rights, and environmental justice.
Emily went to Minnesota after
college at Lewis and Clark in
Portland to get into publishing,
but discovered that everyone was
looking for someone to raise funds
for them, so she was led into this
field.
BEN SKELTON (SMUS ’94)
graduated in 1999 with a BA in
Communications. He now lives in
Vancouver and works for a web
design company.
KATHERINE TWEEDIE
(SMUS ’94) is living in Toronto
and working in Merchant Banking
for CIBC World Markets.
ALEX LISMAN (SMUS ’95)
completed a BA in Sociology at
UVic in 1999 and then completed
a further degree – a BFA in Film
Production at Ryerson Polytechnic
– in 2003. Alex now works as a
freelance cinematographer.
ALISTAIR WILMOTT (SMUS
’95) has returned from a terrific
year of playing professional
basketball in Europe. He is
currently working in Victoria with
Carmanah Technologies in
business development.
BEN YOUNG (SMUS ’96)
dropped in to the Development
Office say ‘hello.’ He was in
Victoria visiting his parents, and
he wanted to see some of his ‘old’
maths teachers. Ben is currently
studying math at UBC, and has
now started working toward his
PhD. He’s interested in pursuing a
university teaching career. He
shares accommodation with James
Townley, former SMUS classmate.
27
28
alumni updates
Alumni Updates
ANDREW DOONER (SMUS
’96) lives in Toronto where
he works with international
management consulting firm A.T.
Kearney.
MEGGAN HUNT (SMUS
’96) dropped an e-mail from
Australia where she’s been with the
Canadian Women’s Field Hockey
Team. She’ll return to Vancouver
in March and then face a very busy
training and game schedule for the
duration of the spring and
summer. Of major note is between
June 30 and July 9, the Vancouver
8 Nations Tournament will be
played at UBC on their new turf.
Meggan encourages and invites all
SMUS alums and other hockey
enthusiasts to come and cheer on
Canada. The Pan American Games
follow in the Dominican Republic
in early August with a top two
finish as the target for a berth in
the Olympics. Go for it Meggan!
CHELSEA JONES (SMUS
’96) is working as a computer
programmer and is planning a
move to Parksville to work with a
game production company.
AMYROSE (SMUS ’96) and
PATRICK (SMUS ’97) GILL
were in Victoria over the
Christmas holidays. Amyrose
performed a solo Evening of
French Song during this time. She
and Patrick are attending UCal
Berkely and working on their
PhDs – Amyrose in Italian Studies
and Patrick in Biophysics.
- continued
Chris now works with a firm of
Plymouth solicitors.
PAMELA BEDESKI (SMUS
’98) celebrated her 21st birthday
in California at her final internship
at NASA in Moffett Field. While
there, she worked on Air Control
software, discovering ways to make
flying safer. Her previous work
terms were at ACD Systems,
Nortel Networks, IBM and
Seagate Software (now Crystal
Decisions). After finishing her
required two years of work
experience, she will receive her
Bachelor of Computer Engineering
(systems specialization) at the
University of Victoria this spring.
Her plans are either to work or
continue for an advanced degree.
JONATHAN FRASER (SMUS
’98) is in his final year of
Commerce at University of
Alberta. He has already tracked
down some interesting summer
jobs, working for NASDAQ in
London, England in 2001, and for
the Information and Privacy
Commissioner in 2002.
MICHELLE LEE (SMUS
’98) has completed her Business
Administration Degree at the
University of Washington. She
now works in Seoul, Korea in
Marketing with Samsung.
STEVEN ROMANCHUK
(SMUS ’98) is working for Capital
One, a credit card company in
Richmond, Virginia. He is a data
analyst, and is learning new
things about analyzing data and
the real world. “Richmond is
definitely different from Montreal
and Victoria and I am now
appreciating Canada much more. I
am certainly enjoying the
challenge of starting somewhere,
not knowing anyone and have met
many very interesting people from
all over the globe. Not to mention
I get paid every two weeks!
I was sad to see the pictures of
what was the old gym in School
Ties but am eager to see the new
buildings!”
STEVEN WONG (SMUS
’98) will finish his (Honours Coop) Bachelors degree in Electrical
Engineering in April 2003 at the
University of Waterloo. Currently,
he is finishing his last co-op job with
a power software firm in Orange
County, California. Other stints
have included terms at General
Motors and Hydro One. Upon
graduation, Steve hopes to pursue a
career in either BC or Ontario.
REID CHAMBERS (SMUS
’99) is in his fourth year at McGill.
He has recently written and done
well in his MCat exam. Reid has a
roommate from Kenya and may
well take a year out to volunteer in
Kenya before returning to Canada
to pursue his medical training.
SUSAN HAYES (SMUS ’99) has
been appointed Project Manager
of the Queens University Solar
Vehicle Team. Queens has had the
preeminent solar car team in
Canada for many years. In 2000
they earned a place in the
Guinness Book of Records by
completing the longest distance
traveled by a solar-powered vehicle
by driving from Vancouver to
Halifax. In 2001, Queens placed
4th in the American Solar
Challenge and, in the World Solar
Challenge in Australia, were 5th
overall and 1st in the production
class amongst a field of over 40
cars. This year the team is
designing and building a twoperson car to compete in both the
American and Australian races in
2003. Susan, who completed two
years in the Faculty of Commerce,
is now a student in the Faculty of
Engineering (Mechanical). She has
also been appointed student
representative to the selection
committee for a new head of the
mechanical engineering faculty.
Their new car, currently under
construction, will be entered in the
Chicago to LA race this July and
the World Solar Challenge from
Darwin to Adelaide, Australia in
November 2003.
VANESSA LEE (SMUS ’99) is
studying for a Bachelor of
Education in English at the
University of Hong Kong. She will
graduate in June 2004. She has
BLAIR NELSON (SMUS
’97) received his diploma in
Nautical Science at Warsash
Maritime Centre in England. He
is a marine deck officer, based in
Victoria.
CHRISTOPHER STEPHENS
(SMUS ’97) has completed his BA
in Geography at Liverpool
University and also a Law Practice
programme at Exeter University.
Susan Hayes (SMUS ’99)
in Arizona at the American Solar
Race from Chicago to Los Angeles
in July 2001.
The solar car, Mirage, as it winds its way through the streets of Toronto in
June 2002 during an “environmental” day.
alumni updates
been hired as a part-time research
assistant for a professor at the
university and will work with her
until graduation. In the meantime,
she is keeping herself busy by
participating in a number of
theatre productions. She was
recently the co-producer of the
HK Singers’ La Cage Aux Folles,
which was performed in October
2002. She will be stage managing a
professional production of David
Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross,
which opens in March 2003 while
also helping out with HK Singers’
Fiddler on the Roof. She has been
asked by the Singers to produce a
show sometime next year, most
possibly in June. She would like to
keep in touch with her friends
from SMUS. Please e-mail
vanessalee@ctimail.com.
MIKE WIGHTON (SMUS
’99) writes: “Already university has
snuck up on me and is nearing
towards a close – my final two
semesters at Yale. It comes so
quickly. Thankfully, I’ve already
answered the grad school question
so there’s no stress hanging over
my head this year…Next year, I’ll
be off to Russia to do a three-year
MFA at the Moscow Art Theater –
it’s my favourite city in the world
and I’m just so happy that I have
that opportunity available. The
group I’m joining is going to be
very exciting: 12 Russian students
and 12 Estonians. Other than a
girl from England and one from
Poland, I'll be one of the only
distant internationals, and one of
the only Canadians since the mid80s, from what I’ve heard.
I’m even teaching theater classes
and find myself surrounded by
students who have the silly
preconception that I know
something. And it makes me
realise that perhaps, in comparison
to someone four years my junior, I
actually do have some knowledge
to share. If only you could take the
people with you after your time
with the experience is up. Even
now, I still miss SMUS so much
and hold so many great memories
of the campus and the people that
I don’t know what to do when I
pile on the four years on this
campus and ship myself around
the world – I wonder if I’ll get
crushed by all the memories I’m
trying to pack along with me.”
LOUISE REID (SMUS ’02)
received the Victoria YM-YWCA
Woman of Distinction Scholarship
as the high school graduate
nominee. This scholarship will
assist Louise in her music studies at
UVic.
DANIELA SMOLOV (SMUS
’02) Daniela loves Princeton! Her
three roommates are from
Washington DC, New York and
Korea. They all play a musical
instrument and the four ladies are
contemplating performing some
chamber music as time allows.
Daniela was the SMUS student
scholar in grade twelve, and the
courses and seminars she talks
about at Princeton are truly
whetting her appetite – Astronomy
205 “Theories of the Universe:
From Babylon to the Big Bang”;
Latin 101; Philosophy 200, an
introduction to philosophy
focusing on Descartes, Hume and
Kant; and more. Daniela’s
descriptions of the learning
ambience at Princeton make it
clear why our alums love this
school.
...there were bells!
JOHN LOCKE (SMUS ’85)
was married March 8, 2003 in
Seattle. Jill is in grad school, so the
active-minded couple are thinking
of an Alaskan honeymoon in the
summer – bikes, kayaks, etc.
JEREMY HARRIS (SMUS
’92) married Melissa Johnson on
August 17, 2002 at St. Michael
and All Angels’ Church in
Kelowna, BC.
JOHNNY TSAI (SMUS ’92)
married Jennifer Du in November
2001. He obtained his Business
Administration degree from Simon
Fraser University in 1996 and is
now a realtor in Vancouver.
SAMANTHA
(STONE)
(SMUS ’87) NELSON married
Dr. Charles Nelson, in Vancouver,
on July 27, 2002. Guests included
SMUS alums: Richard Stone (’91),
James Stone (’89), Jane Rees (’86),
Alix (Stewart) Cameron (’86),
Joanne Muir (’87) and Peter
Hamilton (’87). Samantha and
Charles reside in Victoria.
...new on the scene!
JON GRIFFIN (SMUS ’82)
and Yolanda were pleased to
welcome Noah Frederic on July
26, 2002. He is their third child
and joins Andrea, 4, and Joanna, 2.
STEPHEN and CHRISTINA
O’CONNOR (both SMUS ’83)
are delighted to announce the
birth of Oscar Finlay, in 2002.
Daniela Smolov (SMUS ’02)
is enjoying Princeton.
John Locke (SMUS ’85) and Jill
amongst the tulips. They were
married March, 2003.
Louise Reid (SMUS ’02)
A woman of distinction.
Samantha (Stone) Nelson (SMUS
’87) with her mother, Gaye Stone
(Director of SMUS Junior School
from 1989 to 1996).
Jeremy Harris (SMUS ’92)
and Melissa Johnson.
29
30
alumni updates
Alumni Updates
MICHAEL (SMUS ’85) and
Yvonne KING are pleased to
welcome Peter into the world. He
was born May 24, 2002, a brother
for Robert.
GORDON MOREWOOD
(SMUS ’86) and his wife Natalie
are delighted to announce the
birth of their second child, a
daughter, Elle, sister to Drake.
DAINE (SMUS ’86) and
YOUNG-MI MURPHY are
delighted to announce the arrival
of their first child, Aiden, born
October 19, 2002.
ALIX (STEWART) (SMUS
’86) CAMERON and her
husband Simon and son, Max are
pleased to announce their newest
addition, Sophie Stewart Cameron,
born October 21, 2002.
Alix (Stewart) (SMUS ’86)
Cameron and her husband, Simon,
and son, Max, are pleased to
announce their newest addition,
Sophie Stewart.
Nigel (SMUS ’84) and Gayle
Stoodley welcome Jack Spencer
to their family. (Note he doesn’t
have the tubes anymore.)
- continued
SIMON (SMUS ’88) and
Enas MUZIO announce the
arrival of number two son –
Zacchary, born January 15, 2002.
COLIN CAMERON (SMUS
’89) and his wife, Cheryl,
announce the arrival of their son,
Timothy George, born March 23,
2002.
IAN (SMUS ’89) and TANIS
FARISH are delighted to announce
the birth of their new daughter,
Kenji Jean, born October 29,
2002.
NAOMI (SAVILLE) MELO
(SMUS ’92) and her husband
Michael are pleased to announce
the birth of Mark, born 2002.
GRANT HODGINS (SMUS
’93) and his wife, Julia, are
delighted to announce the arrival
of Liam, born October, 2002,
brother to Emily.
MELANIE (DOVEY)(SMUS
’87) and MICHAEL (SMUS ’85)
HADFIELD are pleased to
announce their newest addition to
their family, a baby girl. Her name
is Amelia, born Nov. 8, 2002.
Amelia is a sister to Madison, in
grade 4 this year at the Junior
School.
JENNIFER
(DANIEL)
BISHOP (SMUS ’92) and her
husband Jeff, are pleased to
announce their new son, Gordon,
born August 8, 2002.
TANIS (LAIDLAW) (SMUS
’88) and Brian Masson are pleased
to welcome their new baby girl,
Lauren Michelle, born September
4, 2002.
JEREMY CORDLE (SMUS
’91) and Alana are the proud
parents of a little boy, Jaxson, born
September 5, 2002.
NIGEL STOODLEY (SMUS
’84) and wife, Gayle, brought
home their “li’l digger,” Jack
Spencer Stoodley on March 17,
2003. Jack was born on March 11
at 10:50 am at St. Paul’s Hospital
in Vancouver. He weighed in at
3.05 kg or 6.7 lbs (for those of you
in the US) and was 54 cm or 21
inches tall.
Jack, like his mother is a little
HM (high maintenance) and spent
a little extra time getting ready to
come home. It may have been
possible that he is gregarious like
his father and decided he needed
to meet more than the mere 12
doctors and nurses who were
directly involved in his delivery.
Regardless of his motivations, Jack
ended up spending a few extra
days at the British Columbia
Children’s Hospital, undergoing a
series of tests that demonstrated
that he was perfectly healthy but a
fussy eater. Now, Gayle and Jack
are both doing well.
Melanie (SMUS ’87) and Amelia
Hadfield
Grandpa Tony Cordle with his son, Jeremy (SMUS ’91)
and new grandson, Jaxson.
Tanis (Laidlaw) (SMUS ’88)
and Brian Masson’s daughter,
Lauren Michelle.
Jennifer (Daniel) Bishop (SMUS ’92)
with her and husband Jeff’s new son, Gordon.
alumni updates
Jack has been introduced and
accepted by his siblings ‘the dogs,’
Bailey and Java and ‘the cats,’ Ben
and Joseph. Bailey and Java are
simply delighted at the prospect of
having their very own future food
dropping toddler visiting their
kitchen from time to time. So far
the dogs seem to be content
standing guard outside his pet
proof playpen. Ben and Joseph,
having lost their room and one of
them even losing his name, are a
little less enthused about the little
fellow but they seem interested
and are generally concerned when
he cries.
Nigel will be returning to work
on March 24, while Gayle intends
to stay at home with the li’l digger
for a year – eating Bon Bons and
watching Dr Phil. Actually, Gayle
commented that after the first
night, she may return to work
earlier because it is a little more
relaxing at work.
PASSAGES
JACK PARKER (US ’29) died
in Victoria, BC on November 19,
2002 at the age of 92. Jack was an
active school rugby player and very
involved in school social affairs.
Born in New York, his family
relocated to Victoria from Carmel,
California in 1926. His brother,
George, killed during the war, also
attended University School.
Through the 1930s Jack taught at
the Duncan Boys Grammar
School. On returning from
overseas duty with the Nova Scotia
Highlanders, he worked in
accounting with the Liquor
Control Board until his
retirement. Jack was an avid
badminton and tennis player and a
strong supporter of the Victoria
Lawn Tennis Club. Jack was proud
of his association with his school
and kept in touch with several of
his classmates. He leaves his wife
Brenda, son Robin, and grandchildren.
BRUCE BROWN (US ’31)
died December 10, 2002 at the
age of 88. He is survived by
Dorothy, his wife of sixty years, his
two children, Anthony and
Elizabeth, and five grandchildren.
Bruce had a keen interest in art
and antiques. He served on the
boards of the YMCA, Victoria
Symphony Society, Maritime
Museum, Friends of the Royal BC
Museum and the Art Gallery of
Greater Victoria. In addition,
Bruce was a major supporter of
UVic, the Maritime Museum and
Royal Roads Military College.
HUGH FORD (SM ’36) died
January 29, 2003 in Victoria’s
Memorial Pavilion. Hugh was 83
years old and is survived by his
wife Anne, their four children and
seven grandchildren. Hugh was a
respected surgeon in Victoria,
where he practised from 1952
until his retirement in 1982.
Following are a few words from
long time friend and fellow St.
Michael’s alumnus, John Nation:
“Hugh was my oldest friend.
He started his professional career
when we were together at St.
Christopher’s School – he cut a
splinter out of my finger with a
penknife! During our five years
together at St. Michael’s School,
we played together a great deal
after school and on weekends. His
house held great interest for me
because he had rabbits to feed and
his father set up a rifle range in
their basement (well chaperoned,
of course), where we could fire
away with 22s. In the kitchen, I
could find a dog’s biscuit to eat –
long lasting and very good for the
teeth.
In the summer holidays, I
would enjoy being invited to join
him at his family cottage in Sooke,
or he would stay with me with my
relatives on Lake Washington in
Seattle. Once he introduced me in
an operating room in the Toronto
General Hospital as Dr. Nation
from Victoria to watch him
working on a broken arm. I
quickly turned green at the sight
and was escorted from the room
by nurses to the sound of
hysterical laughter. I will miss my
friend.”
BASIL JOHN MONCKMAN
GRIFFIN (US ’42) passed away in
the Cerwydden Care Center in
Duncan, BC, November 8, 2002.
He is survived by Brian, David and
Jonathan and their families.
PETER BUTLER (SM ’49)
died November 25, 2002 from
complications from pneumonia.
Former partner Keith Mitchell
shared the following: “He was
unique, outstanding, outrageous,
and hilarious, but more than
anything else, he understood that
behind every legal issue was a
human problem.” Jack Giles,
another friend and colleague who
knew Peter as a child in Victoria,
said the following: “The truth is,
he was a very great lawyer, a
natural advocate, a marvellous
partner, and perhaps more
important, a friend to everyone
who knew him. Peter is survived
by his wife Lucia, five children,
and three granddaughters.
J.A. (JACK) HORNIBROOK
(US ’27-31) died recently in
Ontario at the age of 88. He
attended University School as a
boarder from Calgary. He was a
steady and well-respected allrounder who played rugby, did
well in cadets and shooting,
participated in debating and won
more than one form prize for
science. In his final year, he was a
school prefect.
From 1931 to 1935, he
attended RMC Kingston where his
University School background
held him in good stead. He ranked
6th in his class and won the Victor
van der Smissen Award, which is
given annually on the vote of the
cadets to the one among them
who they considered to be pre-
eminent – morally, intellectually
and physically, i.e. the most highly
prized award at the college.
After attending the University
of Toronto, where he obtained a
degree in Chemical Engineering in
1937, he went to work in
Shawinigan, Quebec.
In World War II, Jack joined
the Army and had a distinguished
career, rising to the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel in the RCA.
His post-war career took him to
Montreal.
The 1994 School Alumni
Directory lists him as a Retired
Chemical Engineer: Dupont
Montreal Headquarters. Jack spent
his retirement years living in
Kingston, Ontario, where he
received annual visits from
University School and RMC close
friend and colleague Ian Drum,
and his wife, Molly. Ian died in
1993, but Molly continued to see
Jack on her annual pilgrimage to
Kingston, and speaks highly of a
warm, talented and dedicated
family man and a dear friend. Jack
was predeceased by his wife,
Helen, in 1999; he leaves two
children and their families in
Ontario.
31
32
alumni updates
Alumni Receptions
Your School Visits You
N THE FIRST TWO AND A HALF MONTHS of 2003,
representatives of your school have made visits and held
receptions in eight cities across North America. These
receptions represent terrific opportunities to bring together members of
the SMUS community, and to find out about changes in their lives while
sharing the excitement of developments at SMUS. We hold these
receptions often in conjunction with other roles that bring us to these
cities. Members of our school family are delighted to hear of former
teachers, school friends and the positive wave of development currently
transforming their school. These are important opportunities to
reconnect, and also to encourage members of the school family to
advocate for their school to prospective families looking for the best in
independent school education. At the same time, the picture of SMUS
developments is clearly presented and discussed, leading many to make
commitments to support these developments through their participation
in the Annual Fund.
Friendships, admissions, fundraising, curiosity, connection, queries –
there are a number of triggers which bring members of the school family
out to these events. These are precious opportunities for school
representatives to engage and connect with our wider family. Thank you
to the over 150 alums, current and prospective parents for joining us and
staying linked to your school.
I
Portland Reception – January 24, 2003
[l-r] John and Nancy Herpers, Rob Wilson, Mark Drum, Jeremy Davis, and
Chris and Anne Dunlop, at the Herpers’ home.
This year, we have visited:
Hong Kong, Taiwan & Korea, January 16 – 25
(with thanks to Tony Souza, Michael Ling, Mrs. Ban)
Portland, January 24
(with thanks to John and Nancy Herpers for making their home
available)
Edmonton Reception – February 11, 2003
[l-r] Yori Hagi, Geoff Martin, Colin Dykes, David Angus, Chris Spicer, Robert
Chapman, Randy Schafer, Jen Innes, and Leo Caffaro.
Vancouver, January 30
(with thanks to Russ Benson for making the spectacular guest facilities
at his law firm available)
Kelowna, February 7
Calgary, February 10
(with thanks to Craig Elder, Rob Oswald, Bryce Dearborn)
Edmonton, February 11
(with thanks to David Angus and Bob Chapman)
Toronto, February 25
(with thanks to Marianne Anderson)
New York, February 26
(with special thanks to Megan Jessiman for hosting the event
in her home)
Seattle, March 6
(with thanks to Tom Rigos, Phil McCune; special thanks to Jim Rigos
for his sponsorship of this Washington Athletic Club event)
Trips yet to come:
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, March 13 – 22, 2003
London, England, April 14, 2003
Edmonton, May 2003
Toronto Reception – February 25, 2003
[seated] Hester Dunlap, Stephanie Lewis, Marianne Anderson, Chris Spicer,
Andrew and Oliver Sabiston, Michelle Phipps. [standing] Elizabeth MiddletonJones, Jenny Reed, Susan Green, Katherine Tweedie, David Goorevitch,
Gillian Donald, David Butters, Keir Wilmut, Peter Beatty, Joan and Bob
Snowden, and John Davies.
Visit our web site!
www.smus.bc.ca
Student life carries on business as usual at the
Senior School campus. A crane lowers metal girders
into the truss assembly of the Crothall Centre for
Humanities and the Arts. Right on schedule and
due to open in September 2003, it’s been an
exciting year watching this beautiful new building
go up. Take a peek at the daily changes by
visiting the webcam images on the school website.
Click on Live Update!
No, these grade six students are learning guided
meditation, along with Qi Gong and yoga. See
story on page 11 for details.
Sleeping at school?
St. Michaels University School
3400 Richmond Road
Victoria, BC, CANADA V8P 4P5
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