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

Page 13 text:

HEADMASTER ' S REPORT Honoured Guests, Parents, Friends, The year upon which it is my pleasure to report has been characterized by vigour and a strong sense of commitment from all members of the Brentwood com- munity. These characteristics have been evinced in many and varied ways, not least by the industry and imagination involved in the production of this copy of the Brentonian. May I, at the outset, extend my sincere thanks to all staff members and students, editors, writers and photographers, who have given enthusiastically of their time and energy to produce this outstanding record of our lives at Brentwood from Steptember 1979 to the present day. In structuring the report that follows, one could choose to cater to the smiles that would come from some should I make it brief. To do so, however, would not be wise, as I believe our successes, our problems, our strengths and our weaknesses, must be given coverage if you are to understand and support what is, of course, your school. Since our emphasis is and must continue to be an academic one, it is appropriate for me to turn my at- tention to that dimension now. A glance at the past reveals that five schools competed for eleven provincial scholarships last June. Brentwood students, namely Michael Burian, Tab Cuthill, Brian Dillon, Catherine Hagen, Laurie Mook, and David Williams, won six of them. Th e remaining five awards were shared by the four other competing schools. This year, 28 of our graduates have qualified for the provincial scholarship competition — a number of these have exercised their option to write this past week,. Naturally, we wish them well. Four graduates have applied for Nancy Greene Scholarships which are awarded on the basis of strength in academics, athletics, and community service. In the more general sense, 81 of our graduating class of 91 have made application to at- tend post secondary institutions in September 1980. It is interesting to note that 37 of these have already been accepted at a time prior to the issuing of our official transcript. This, I believe, reflects the rather strong and exceptional record which the school seems to be developing with universities across the country. To give you some idea of where our graduates go, ten have already been accepted at Queens, six at the University of Washington, five at the University of Western Ontario, two at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, one at Berkley, one at Princeton, and another has been waitlisted for Harvard. To add further to this academic review, I would like to highlight the five students who we know, as of this date, have won scholarship awards at the university level. Here I refer to scholarship winners to Queens University: Julian Craddock and Per Frohn-Neilsen, who won 9

Page 12 text:

Being human means to remain your own person. When it ' s all over - and believe me it comes much faster than you think - the one person who has to respect you is yourself. You have to be able to look yourself in the eye and say honestly - I did my best, and in the words of the song, I did it my way. By all means, set ambitious goals for yourself. Keep your standards high. A measure of idealism is part of the process of developing personal values. And if at times we are disappointed, discouraged and frustrated at not accomplishing these goals, recall Robert Browning ' s beautiful lines from his poem about the Italian painter Andrea del Sarto, Ah, but a man ' s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what ' s a heaven for? With much love. Dad. Brentwood College speech made by D.S.R. Leighton June, 1980 8

Page 14 text:

scholarship awards of $1,450 renewable annually for each year of their degree programs, for a total value of $5,800 each; Miss Wendy Bellham, who was awarded a scholarship valued at $1,850 annually and, in addition, a bursary of $1,450; and Alastair Foreman, who won a follow that by reviewing our athletic attainments. I find it difficult to say forcefully enough how much value I place upon the intellectual stimulation and the personal growth which takes place from the priority which wp pivp tn thp arte Ppr ;nnal|y, and I am sure that the the student and the public this important section of the ly encouraging but, indeed. r painters, drawers, silk s and weavers have quietly g through their programs, oved and many have done Amongst them I should ;o Chiu, Cathy Sloan, Mark s Philipp, David Beckman, jng. To give you an objective cal Cowichan Regional Arts rds presented in the under- ' ent to Brentwood College :am. Wood, Chapman, and have provided us with a ving their work on several delighted by the two lich have been held this St. Michaels University School. The Newman Cup winning team included Richard Attisha, Ruth Buchanan, Simon Monckton and Eduardo Libin. Additionally, we won the Ravenhurst Trophy this year and one of our Grade Eights, namely Leslie Szamosi, was judged top debator. Although our team could not compete because of a conflict with other scheduled school activities, four of our debators qualified for the provincial finals. Nevertheless, the Debating Club had a very successful season for which they are to be commended. While stressing achievement and accomplishment at the senior level, may I pause from that for a moment and emphasize that the academic engine room of the school consists of many, indeed the majority, who mix disap- pointment with satisfaction as they struggle for scholastic success. We, the teachers of this school, must try to excite and respond to this group, as by doing so I believe we not only serve them well but also, as a consequence, we provide encouragement for those who do not do well and competitive pressure for those for whom success may otherwise come with relative ease. This group, in large measure, goes unnamed, but they must not be forgotten as they constitute the force which generates the momentum and inspiration so necessary for this school to continue to thrive academically. Later, within the context of this address, I will be asking the heads of our academic departments to present our internal scholastic awards. Therefore, may I turn my attention now to the arts and d the Band and Choir who s here, at Glenlyon School, :erfield from the Choir and demonstrated particular said about Peter Ling and the piano. The Creative s support to our major , in addition, entered and won the senior division of the Victoria Festival. The ad- judicator, for example, wanted our group to present themselves at a number of schools to demonstrate what can be done if interested students are given the proper guidelines and direction that come from competent in- struction. Without a doubt, however, the outstandingly suc- cess ful artistic event of the year was Oklahoma!! At the risk of going overboard I have to single this show out as one of the very best things we have ever done. The cast and the many staff who contributed in major ways to it all must be congratulated and thanked for the quality of the effort and the pleasure and enjoyment they provided for all of us who had the opportunity to see their per- formance. The Drama Club and all supporting staff deserve our warmest congratulations on a job well done. Moving from the artistic highlight of the year, I should pay tribute to our athletes for some equally exciting at- tainments. Our girls had a banner year. In volleyball, in competition with public schools in the province, they were mid-island champions, second on Vancouver Island and fifth overall in the province. In independent school competition they were finalists in Western Canadian Independent Schools Championships and were narrowly beaten for the top position. Betty Glenn made the first all- star team in all tournaments. In basketball, the girls were again independent schools leaders, as they won the cup for the second time in the last three years. Topping off the 10