Royal St Georges College - Georgian Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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THE HEADMASTER'S ADDRESS L IF I-1' KBAJWE-s pf l , .Q H - s C t l if ' i Members of the Board of Governors, Emeritus Headmaster, distinguished guests, and members of the St. George's family: Welcome to our 21st Annual Prize-giving! We gather here this afternoon to honour our 17th class of graduates, to congratulate the winners of awards for excellence in all areas of school life, and to say a fond farewell to those who are about to leave us. For me, prize day is always an especially welcome occasion, for it affords me the opportunity to say 'thank you' before the largest assembly of the school year. First of all I thank the Staff who daily give meaning and substance to the school motto 'Scientia et Pietate' - 'by knowledge and duty', by inculcating these ideals into the boys given to their charge. It is a noble task indeed. I thank the board of governors who, with wisdom and insight, gives the school each year the direction that it needs and deserves, especially in this time of discussion, debate, and decision as to our future development as a forceful, imaginative, and forward- looking contributor to the education of our young. I thank the auxiliary groups within the school - the Ladies' Guild, and the St. George's College Association - for their supportive, assertive, and productive role in helping us, in their myriad ways, toward our goal of excellence in all that we do. I thank the parents for their support and un- derstanding, and for their remembering kindly that we in the school are human and are sometimes subject to error. I thank the boys for being what they are: boys, and all, for better or for worse, that entails. How dull indeed life would be without you! I thank the Prefects for the splendid leadership they have given the school throughout the year. 'Io all these groups and to their individual members I express my admiration, my appreciation, and my sincere gratitude for all that they have done to make St. Cieorge's the great institution that it is. But there is amongst us today one to whom the entire school, past and present, owes a debt it can never properly repay - the first man to join the staff when the founders, in 1964, determined that the school could and would open its doors that year - the inventor of three school time-tables in as many weeks in our first year - advisor and confidant of two headmasters - master of mathematical wizardry in the classroom these twenty-one years - from 1978 to 1984 Secretary of the Board of Governors-genial host of the annual Staff corn roast at his estate and antiquarium at Mount Albert - Lord of Detentions - receiver of 7:00 a.m. telephone calls from sick masters - composer of the lyrics of the now-famous 'Happy Sliderule Song' - dispenser of justice to boys and masters alike, and upon occasion, headmasters too - founder of the Pub Club - veteran 'kneeler' at chapel services - pictorial commentator on life at St. George's as it really is - formulator of the now widely accepted mathematical principle that algebra is edible - our Senior Master: Mr. D.J. 'Jock' Armitage. Jock Armitage's retirement on June 30th marks the end of a teaching career extending through nearly 35 years. To replace him with his like at St. George's would be impossible. With all our hearts we thank him for the gift of his presence during these 21 years, and for all that he has given to this school. He takes with him our deep affection and gratitude. May he and his dear wife Betty enjoy a long, happy, and fruitful retirement. I wish now to announce the appointment of prefects for the academic year 1985-86. Will they please stand as I call their names? Head Prefect: Owen David. Prefects: Stephen Beatty, Ian Campbell, Andrew Crysdale, Barton Earle, Charles Fowler, Alistair Hicks, Scott Munn, Bruce Patterson, Michael Poth, Paul Shakotko, and Greg Sutton. Congratulations, gen- tlemen - We look forward to your leadership next year. As of July lst the Junior School will be known as the Lower School, and the Senior School known as the Upper School. Dr. Andrew Barlow will be Head of the Lower School, and Mr. Gary O'Meara will be Head of the Upper School. Mr. David McMaster, in addition to his present duties as administrator and director of admissions for the Upper School, will be Assistant to the Head of the Lower School. Mr. Richard Nakatsu will be Head of the Mathematics Department, and Assistant to the Head of the Upper School. I am also pleased to announce the appointment to the Staff of William Clarke, an Old Boy of this school, Head Prefect in his final year, and now an honours graduate of the University of Toronto, he will teach mathematics in the Upper School, and coach soccer and hockey. Permit me in closing to address the members of the graduating class: Gentlemen, you have won through, and now move out into the world to fulfill your in- dividual destinies. As you leave, our great affection and our best wishes go with you. Do IIOI forget your old school. Prize Day 1985

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SCHOOL PRINCIP L REPORT OF THE JU IOR F... EDUCATIONAL St. George's College twith St. Clement's Schooll was host this year to the Canadian Independent Junior School Heads Association which brought together Heads from independent boys' and girls' schools from across Canada. Our meeting this year was at the Millcroft lnn, and featured members of our Junior School staff in several workshops. Without exception, the Heads were most complimentary of the quality of St. George's teachers. This year was the first year of Junior School Guidance courses designed for grades seven and eight. While our programme follows Ministry guidelines, we have a greater emphasis on mental health in an attempt to teach resilience and adaptation. ln conjunction with this theme, we presented a five-part course on parenting skills t The Teenage Years j taught by Dr. Ronald Clavier and attended by nearly 100 parents. Next year. it is our hope to continue this presentation by focusing on one aspect of teenage psychology. MUSIC Music continued to play a major role in the life of the Junior School over the past year. The choir, in ad- dition to singing weekly services in the Chapel, presented the Christmas Carol Service, and performed in several public events, such as a Senior Citizens' service at the Cathedral. Both the choir and the in- strumental groups performed for the third year in the Independent Schools Music Festival at Massey Hall. Plans are now under way for the fourteenth choir tour - this time to Germany. The band had its first tour: to Ottawa to perform at Elmwood School and Ashbury College. Future natiottal or international exposure is being considered. ln that Ottawa tour, the Junior School Rock Band had its first major performance. lt is my hope that tlte graduates of St. George's participate in a wide variety of styles of music but that everything be done to tlte highest standard. At the conference of Junior School Heads mentioned above, Mr. Demierre played tapes to demonstrate compositions created by our pupils ttsing cotnputers and synthesizers. The presence of bands, smaller instrumental groups, classical brass and woodwind. choirs, jan groups, the rock group. as well as our experimentation with elec- tronic composition, demonstrates the great diversity of the Junior School music programme. SPORTS Last October, the Junior School held a cross-country and sports day in High Park. This provided an early op- portunity in the year for both staff and boys to get together in a relatively more informal setting. This year, the Under 14 Baseball Team won the first Independent Schools Baseball Tournament Cham- pionship, and both the Junior School Cross-Country team and the Track and Field team did exceptionally well. ln spite of the lack of extensive on-site facilities, our teams have generally done very well against the better endowed schools. CULTURAL Last January, the Junior School presented an am- bitious and demanding drama production to an ap- preciative audience. Under the direction of Mr. Holdsworth, the musical play Toad of Toad Hall was performed using actors from Grade 4 to 8. The Debating Society has again been busy throughout the year rehearsing and competing every week in every term. Watch for our graduates in the House of Commons in the coming decades. A full programme was prepared for the Junior School Open House in February. When a major snowstorm developed, the event was delayed ttntil March and tlte better weather. ln spite of ottr optimism, we managed to hit the biggest storm of the winter on ottr second date. Convinced that we were receiving a message, we decided to postpone it for a year. SERVICE ln a departttre from previous years' walkathons to raise financial support for various organizations, funds were raised this year for Ethiopia by asking tlte pupils to donate money that they would otherwise has e ttsed to buy themselves treats. While tlte xll1l0lllll raised yy as not as large as in tlte past, l believe that this syslctll is mote effcctive in providing an immediate awareness and es- pcrience of giving, cotnpared to that aclttevetl lit collecting pledge money.