Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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PUBLIC SPEAKING 6'This I believe . . . was the 1971 theme of the Optimist International Oratorical Contest. Ashbury entered Hugh Christie, Robert Pimm and Mat- thew Bowlinson in the local contest sponsored by the Ottawa Optimist Club. Each of the boys did exceedingly well with Matthew winning the second place trophy. The 1972 theme is Our Challenge - Involvement . Ashbury might well consider involvement in public speaking contests as a challenge for next year. The Optimist sponsored venture starts with local district com- petitions and ends with North American finals. David Heaney and Stephen Stirling entered the Ottawa district public speaking contest sponsored by the Ontario Public School Trustee Association and the Ontario Hydro. In the prepared speech section David came second and in the impromptu section Stephen came first. Stephen went on to win the zone final. In Toronto at the Ontario finals he competed with high school students from all over the province. Hydro arranged a tour at Niagara Falls and a banquet at Toronto's King Edward Hotel for all contestants. It was an enjoyable and worthwhile effort. In the School itself we had one of our best Public Speaking contests ever. In the Senior competition Jeffrey Graham won the Gary Horning Memorial Prize over Brian Boyd, Norman Clubb and Sean Power. Intermediate con- testants were Hugh Christie, Stuart Jelenick, Nicholas Polk, Matthew Rowlinson and Stephen Tanos. Matthew emerged as winner of the Ross McMaster Prize. Judges Leslie Barnes, James Barnett and John Charnell were very impressed by the high standards exhibited by all participants. The senior contestants mainly focused on life at Ashbury for their speeches. A good deal of sensitive awareness and mature judgement was shown in the constructive criticism they offered. Jeff Graham brought the assembly to its feet in thunderous applause. Nothing could have better demonstrated the power of the orator and the validity of stressing public speaking in Ashbury. E.E.G. THE THEATRE The School in large and small numbers made a total of twelve trips to the theatre, eleven of those to the National Arts Centre. The musical, Half a Sixpence , staged at Lasalle Academy by The Ottawa Little Theatre, was atended by a small group in the latter half of the Winter term. A light musical comedy which enjoyed some success on Broadway, Half a Sixpence amused and entertained those who went. A larger group was organized to attend The Ottawa Little Theatre's production of Noel C0ward's Hay Fever presented in the Theatre of the NAC. Both the lyrics and action of this forty year old comedy delighted the youthful but not undemanding audience of Ashbury students. This particular production served to raise funds for the Ottawa Little Theatre, which was experiencing financial difficulties as the result of the destruction by fire of its long-time stamping grounds on King Edward Avenue. 18

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Perhaps because of a less rigid attitude, the Library has become more pop- ular. More people are finding their way there and certainly much greater use is being made of the books. and the variety of magazines must surely satisfy most tastes! Mention should be made of the successful stamp club held in the Library each Thursday throughout the Fall and Winter terms. A tremendous enthu- siasm was evident. and more than one onlooker became an avid collector long before the Spring term and the better weather saw other activities replace this indoor attraction. The Junior School newspaper found the Library tables useful when finally putting the paper together, and this was done in a very business-like fashion, with an efficiency which did them credit. A large stock of magazines has accumulated, and these, mostly, are reserved for those wishing to cut out for various projects - very popular with Junior School! Once again many fine donations have been received, and we extend our thanks to all those listed below. Mr. W. J. R. Wilson deserves special mention and thanks for his continued support with regular monthly donations of books. An organization of Old Boys and Friends of Ashbury College in the United States contributed funds to the Library, and a set of Colliers Student Encyclo- paedia was purchased as a lasting reminder of a very generous gift. We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude and thanks to the members. The librarians have worked willingly and well throughout the year, and I extend my grateful thanks to them all. Mary Loftus Librarian. Donations to the Library have been received from the following:- Montague Anderson, Esq. Ashbury College Fund Inc. f0ld Boys and Friends in the U.S.A.j Adrian Brookes Mrs. P. H. Davies Hugh Heaton J. G. M. Hooper, Esq. H. M. Jaquays. Esq. W. A. Joyce, Esq. Cdr. C. H. Little W. C. E. Loftus, Esq. Shawn McNulty Mrs. W. A. Plummer Mrs. Charles Southgate Scott Stilborn Mrs. F. R. Thurston Peter Thurston Michael Torontow Mr. SI Mrs. C. J. Tottenham Philippe Wiener W. J. R. Yvilson. Es B. Wallin, Esq. SENIOR LIBRARIANS Sehwarzmann Cahn Pearce Pardo Rimsa JUNIOR LIBRARIANS Pelcig Wiener Harrower Pimm II Assaly I Wilson III Anfgsgie Robertson Teron Stilborn Kemper 17 'I

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The Theatre of the NAC was where the majority of the School's excursions headed. The Stratford National Theatre of Canada presented 'sTartuffe and 4'Cymbeline in the Fall, and The Duchess of Malfi and Much Ado About Nothing in the Winter. Both Cymbeline and The Duchess of Malfi strained, at times, the credulity of a generation used to the exposition of stark realism on film and to relying on the subtleties of expression which can be caught only by the camera. The Elizabcthans relied almost exclusively on words to communicate feeling, and one's involvement with what was happen- ing on stage decreased as the evening lengthened. In fact both productions were close to three and a half hours long and, if drowsiness was not experienced close to the end of each, certainly one's powers of concentration had suffered a significant decline. Nevertheless, a large group witnessed both productions and were unanimous in realizing the importance of experiencing Elizabethan theatre even though it wasn't at its best. l understand that Tartuffe and Much Ado About Nothing were more successful. The rendering of Ibsen's Enemy of the People by the St. Lawrence Centre of the Arts was an unqualified successg not only because it dealt with the current issue of pollution, but also because of superb acting and direction. The setting was a small town in Saskatchewan and the time was 'now'. Even so the essence of lbsen's insight remained intact. A man who holds views that run contrary to the mainstream of opinion struggles to express these views and have them acted upon, because he strongly believes he is right. But he and his views are unacceptable to the community because both assault the self-interests of too many factions. The presentation of this theme was dramatically persuasive. The bilingual members of the School went to see productions of Moliere's Le Misanthropen and Camus' Caligula . Mr. Glover and Mr. Inns of the French Department reported that both were received with enthusiasm and interest by those attending. lt is heartening to think that the School is in a position to take advantage of these NAC French-language productions. The Charlottetown Festival Company arrived at the NAC Opera House in the Fall to perform Anne of Green Gables and Private Turveyis War . The Junior School and grade Nines went to the former and discovered first hand why it was a 'hit'. Most of the remainder of the School saw Private Turvey's War . It moved quickly and was frequently amusing, though I was disappointed that I didn't opt to see Anne of Green Gables . The general opinion suggests that it was the better of the two. Last, but not least by any means, a large group enjoyed the 1970 production of Love and Maple Syrup . A gathering of songs and poems by Canadians was performed with gusto by a talented group of six. l was delighted to see that a poem by an old school friend of mine. Pierre Coupey, was included in the program. No doubt one or two members of the Ashbury audiences will receive credits one day for a similar achievement. If the majority of them don't reach such a pinnacle of artistic success, after this year's exposure to the theatre, they will unquestionably form knowledgeable and interested audiences of the future. Thanks for this is entirely due to Mr. Peter Josselyn, Head of the English Department. His enthusiasm for the theatre has commun- icated itself to the whole of the student body. I speak for staff and students when I extend thanks for his untiring organizational efforts and his inspi- ration. M.H.P. 19