Brentwood College School - Brentonian Yearbook (Mill Bay, British Columbia Canada)

Page 17 text:

HOPE HOUSE The foundations of Hope House let out a sigh of rehef as the last boy left. For eleven years it has stood up to everything that 30 boys could throw at it. In September the ladies arrive to nurse it back to health. We started v ith 4 prefects and 28 boys from grades 8 and 9. Most of the boys were from B.C., however Ian Elder came to us from Oshawa, Ontario, Geoff Reed and Armando Gasse came from Mexico City. The grade 9 boys led by example and it was a great disappointment to lose them to the senior houses at the beginning of the Summer Term. This was to allow workmen to begin reconstructing for next year ' s female students. There were problems, but over all, the year was quite an entertaining and ha ppy one. The prefects were kept busy by the boys, but came out of it with much credit. Doug Langer and Geoff Reed never stopped smiling, so I assumed that they were happy, Jim Robinson contented himself by reading every book in the school library. Jonathan Lax was kind enough to donate a table-tennis table, which saw many hours of use. Lance Appleby proved almost unbeatable. Armando Gasse arrived with fishing rod and camera; both were used with considerable success. Charles Young distinguished himself as a singer in Mr. Queen ' s Gilbert and Sullivan produc- tion and as a cox in Mr. Carr ' s equally mammoth organisation. Charles Proctor played on the 1st VI school tennis team; I doubt very much if a grade 8 has ever achieved that before. Pat Hogan was Mr. Bunch ' s ' find of the year ' and received good reviews for his dramatic performances. Ian Elder knows all there is to know about aircraft, at least he convinced me of that. Neil Aisenstat rang bells and ended the ' season ' un- injured. Noise pollution in the school must have doubled every time Ian Coleman played a record. In the Fall Term we had a house outing to Victoria; we had a pleasant meal at the Red Lion and then went on to a movie. We also had a most amusing Christmas party in a splendidly decorated house. In closing I would like most sincerely to thank the prefects for their excellent contribution throughout the year — Stephen Cooke (head of the house), Michael Scott-Harston, Alex Speers and Paul Rothery. I wish them good fortune in what ever they may pursue. C.D.Y. 15

Page 16 text:

Geoff . . . asking for extra time 1st VIII ... at 6 a.m.! Kevin . . . twanging on his guitar N.P. . . . Keep quiet! (very, very loudly!) Smelt in passing Gordon ' s . . . pizza Jeff ' s . . . cat The house drying room body scent ... in the lower corridor To those in the know this was the heart beat of Ellis House — people, voices, sounds, often discordant but essentially happy, frequently loud but rarely angry, apparently chaotic but basically organised, with few orders being given because they were known, understood and followed by all. Essentially a relaxed, happy, orderly house, even if the tenants and caretaker did not always see eye to eye — and why should they all the time? Life would be dull if they did. Undoubtedly the House master would have withered away through lack of conflict ! If it was a dictatorship we were all agreed that it was a (fairly) benevolent one! Benevolent because the dictator held frequent summit meetings , with his prefects and House Council, sometimes separately, sometimes to- gether. There was plenty of jaw-jaw and thus little or no war-war . It can be truly said that in Ellis House the door did swing both ways and the lines of communication were always open. Friend- ly chats and more serious discussions abounded at all levels. This was what made it a really great year, in which everyone in the House played their part. For all this I am deeply indebted to Mr. Yellow- lees, a thoroughly involved assistant, Rob Williams, a dedicated and enthusiastic Head of House, five other interested and efficient prefects and a con- cerned and intelligent House Council and of course the remaining fifty lively, co-operative House members. We may not have been Champion House this year (perhaps for the sake of the other houses, two years running is enough anyway) but there was a wonderful house spirit in all the competitions; amply illustrated by the way the House rowing eight, came out of nowhere to win; the way our minute little juniors took on the giants of Privett House in the soccer, and the way the whole house turned out voluntarily to ensure our victory in inter-house track and field (for the third straight year). All in all a year of which all concerned can be justifiably proud. I thank you, everyone. N.R.B.P. 14

Page 18 text:

PRIVETT HOUSE The trouble with Privett House is that we are just too obviously successful for our own good. Our shattering victories in soccer, sailing, tennis, cross country, floor hockey and many others threw the less fortunate houses into complete panic. Finally they were forced into a cunning subterfuge, in itself a backhanded compliment, the removal of the first-eight from inter-house competition. Need I tell you which house dominated this event? Need I tell you what this did to our rowing team , to our track and field team? Even as we go to press I hear rumours of new rooms being built and assistant housemasters being evicted so that some other houses, whose names I will not mention, can seek to overcome us by sheer weight of numbers. For any Privett House member sitting watching our colour T.V., cooking a snack in our superbly equipped kitchen, selecting a volume from our well stocked house library, or enjoying a meal from our very own barbecue, the idea of transferring to another house is too absurd to be taken seriously. So build on gentlemen, build on. We wish you joy in filling your new rooms. Within the structure of the house itself we have had our ups and downs. It would be foolish of me to try and claim, in front of the members of this house, that we have been successful in reaching every boy who has lived in our midst. We have been remind.ed that this type of school is not for every boy. We have been shown that our ideals and standards will not be accepted by all who come here. This is very hard to accept sometimes but it has been a lesson in humility that I hope has been of benefit to us. What the house has achieved this year, and it has achieved a great deal, has been in large part due to the outstanding leadership and dynamic energy of our house captain, Jim Robson. He has been the moving force behind almost every single improve- ment that has taken place this year, and his departure will leave a great gap in our ranks. To him and to Jack Mussallem, Mickey Moran, Mike Thompson, Bill Ridley and Bill Vetleson, a tremen- dous team and a very fine body of young men, we all bid a sorrowful and sincere farewell. They have served their house and this school exceedingly well. We also bid farewell to Mr. Hunter who, despite all my warnings, advice, and dire predic- tions, insists on getting married. What a terrible predicament he is in, in this case of divided loyalties. I do not envy him this coming year as he lies awake at nights thinking nostalgically of Privett House and those peaceful duty evenings among the boys. R. V. Lironi 16