Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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TI-IE MIKADO AT ELMWOOD The Ashbury-Elmwood combined dramatic societies presented the Gilbert and Sullivan favourite, The Mikado, or The Town of Titipun, in the gymnasium of Elmwood School on April 7 and 8 with a most impressive array of youthful talent. It is fair to say that a fine tradition has been established since the first tentative revival of Trial By Jury was presented in 1967. Students were cast in a majority of the principal roles and they carried off their responsibilities with ease and charm. Willy Liang brought a special quality of youthful credibility to the role of Nanki-Poo, the Wandering Minstrel. Playing opposite him as the lovely Yum-Yum, Patricia Lynch- Staunton delighted both eye and ear, and the affecting duet, Were you not to Ko-Ko Plightedi' stood out as the highlight of the production. Sean Power was vocally and dramatically at home in the role of Ko-Ko, in which his stage presence and sense of comedy were great assets. Doug Pearce made a promising first appearance as Pish-Tush. f'The Mikadow, in spite of its exposure by all levels of production over its nearly ninety-year history., still has the magic to come across as fresh and topical to succeeding generations and is greeted like a cherished old friend by those of us who have seen it many times. The production by the Ashbury- Elmwood group certainly was up to the best standards of school productions. Your reviewer has by now lost track of the number of performances seen over a lifetime, but can say that none ever pleased more than this one. The members of the cast brought their own fresh approach to the operetta, which was warmly received by the enthusiastic audience of students, parents, faculty members and friends. To Mr. Geoffrey Thomson is due a large measure of the success of the annual Gilbert and Sullivan productions since 1968. His own love of the operettas creates a climate of enthusiasm that obviously carries over to the cast and stage crews. His portrayal of Pooh-Bah was a triumph. As well as setting a standard of professionalism to inspire the youth- ful participants, his sure hand in the direction and at the piano made him indeed Lord High Everything Else! Your reviewer never ceases to be amazed that so many people can occupy the minute stage in the Elmwood gymnasium. The groupings of chorus and principals was accomplished with ease and good effect. The sets, con- structed under the supervision of Mr. Inns., were most attractive and were made even more effective by the skilful use of lighting. The costumes were colourful and traditional, make-up was well applied, and the stage crew performed their many chores smoothly and well. Thanks are also due to the faculty members, Mr. Peter ,losselyn and Mrs. Janice Mclfiae, who added the needed depth to the roles of The Mikado and Katisha. Not only were their voices needed for balance but their portrayals were in the best tradition of the melodramatic characters. '6The Mikado may mark the end of the '4Cilbert and Sullivan Series that we have enjoyed for the last five years. Mr. Thomson is leaving Ottawa at the end of the school year for a more bucolic setting. To quote an old show- business cliche: he will be a hard act to follow . E.P. 28

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The following projects are in the planning stage for next year: As there will be two grade six classes. one will maintain contact with HMCS Iroquois. while it is hoped to twin the other class with an Eskimo class in the far north. In conjunction with this project a collection of Eskimo crafts will be built up and will be on permanent display. A student-run company is to be established. to be followed later by a Stock Exchange. Grateful thanks are extended to the following for generous donations to the Canadian Studies Programme: The Ladies' Guild. Mrs. M. Wright. Mrs. Schoeler, Mrs. Sellers. and Mr. Wilson. H.J.R. PUBLIC SPEAKING This year we held our annual Public Speaking contest in the usual style in Argyle Hall. Grade 9 and 10 contestants vied for the Ross McMaster Prize. Hugh Christie emerged as the winner. In the Senior section the Gary Horning Memorial Prize was won by Matthew Rowlinson. There was stiff competition in both sections of the contest. Many and varied were the topics and styles of delivery. Judges were Archdeacon Douglas Christie. Mr. Les Lye and Mr. Charles Schofield. Matthew Rowlinson and Graham Sellers represented Ashbury in the Ottawa district public speaking contest under the auspices of the Ontario Public School Trustees Association. Neither won, but both did extremely well. Rob Huston and Shaun Belding both spoke in a contest at the Chateau Laurier and Matthew Rowlinson in a contest at the Miss Westgate Restaurant. These contests were sponsored by Optimist International and had as their theme Our Challenge - lnvolvementf' Many - in fact almost all - students of the School delivered one or more speeches during the year. It is marvellous to see the growth in self-confidence and ability to express ideas which many of the boys experienced. Person to person communication is crucial for healthy, happy life. We are grateful for a public speaking programme that tries to foster such communication. E.E.G. SCIENCE CLUB This year the science club had what I feel to be a most successful year. There were eleven members in the club, each carrying on numerous experiments. Among the many interesting experiments carried out, most of them were experiments on remote control. electronic amplifiers, stroboscopic lighting and chemical tests. A group of men1bers successfully completed a remote control unit which, when put to the tests, refused to work as a remote control unit but success- fully worked as a radio with a frequency of twenty-five to thirty-two megacycles. This year's science club was very productive and I feel that next year's club will surely miss Mr. Byfordls helpful instructions. F. Chu 27

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FIRST FOOTBALL TEAM Winners of the B.C.S. Old Boys' Trophy Back Row: M. S. Jelenick, A. N. Scott, M. l. L. Robertson, M. A. B. Webster, R. Anapolsky. D. J. Siversky, R. G. Pimm. Middle Row: R. L. Simpson, Esq., D. M. Heaney, P. Pardo, P. G. Copcstake, C. R. Bates, J. A. Ellis, D. J. H. Ross. P. S. T. Croal, S. G. Comis, G. M. Henderson, V. .I. Burczak, Esq. Front Row: A. Luciani, D. J. Morrison, M. Duguay, W. W. Stratton, J. K. Beqaj, Co-Capt., B. A. Boyd, Co-Capt., R. B. Smith, R. S. Childers, G. A. McTaggart. FIRST FOOTBALL Coach Bobby Simpson had a tougher job than usual this year. His players were relatively small, and through most of the season we suffered from a marked inability to put points on the scoreboard. F ortunately. the consistently strong performance by our defence made up for the lack of offence with the result that every game but one was close. During the first three games we did actually score three touchdowns. but they were all nullified by penalties. In the Bishop's game we finally managed to score a touchdown that counted, and we held this lead to beat Bishop's for the third year in a row. The Old Boys narrowly managed a victory by scoring in the dying minutes of the game. Lakeheld was our best effort of the season, and those watching called it one of the most exciting games an Ashbury team has ever played. The three practices preceding the game made a permanent mark on all of us: we didn't believe that such productive, meaningful practices were possible. Our passing game finally clicked, and the line settled down to a strong, con- sistent performance. To our bitter disappointment, though, Lakefield won again in the last few minutes of play. John Ellis won the team's most valuable player award, Richard Childers was the most improved player and Ronnie Anapolsky the best lineman. This was Coach Simpson's last year of coaching, and we are all dismayed at the thought of an Ashbury team without him. He taught us football like nobody else could and has become an invaluable part of Ashbury lifeg but to those of us who played on his football team he is even more. He taught us the meaning of determination, and he has given us strength to help us through anything else we may ever do. For this we give him our deepest thanks, and we hope that he will carry with him good memories of Ashbury. Results Hudson Heights 0 1 2 Lost Stanstead 0 3 9 Lost Osgoode 0 6 Lost Bishop's 7 0 Won Osgoode 6 1 3 Lost Selwyn House 8 7 Won Lakefield 1 7 2 1 Lost Old Boys 8 9 Lost B. Boyd