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

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THE HEADMASTER'S REMARKS Mr. Aird, distinguished guests, Mr. Chairman, members of the Board of Governors, members of the Staff, members of the graduating class, boys and parents of St. George's College: I exten to you all a most hearty welcome to this, our 22nd annual closing exercise. Hitherto, this day has been tradition- ally been called 'Prize Day'. The awarding of prizes is an im- portant and integral part of any school closing, for it is only right and appropriate that we honour those who have excelled in their studies and in their extracurricular activities. And honour them we do. But it is my belief that we have come here today to celebrate the graduation of the entire school - not just the graduation of such a splendid bunch of fellows as we have had in grade 13 this year. Here I pause to pay tribute to these young men who now leave us to enter the next phase of their continuing education - the universities. And a special tribute I pay to the four boys of this group who are completing their tenth year in this school, and leave us, not seeming to be the worse for wear: Stephen Beattie, Nicholas Golding, Charles Robinson, and Tim Verbic. During the past ten years I have watched, fascinated, and not without some considerable satisfaction, the growth of these young boys into the fine Georgians which they are today, as I have watched, with equal fascination and satisfaction, if not to say surprise, the growth of all those others who followed them into the school. I vividly remember a day in July, 1979, when my wife and l were ad- miring the paintings and tapestries of the great hall in Blenheim Palace in England when, all of a sudden, I felt a tugging at my jacket. 'The usual English castle mice!', I thought. But no, looking 'round and down - far down! - I saw the eager face of one of our Grade Sixers - no doubt pleased and relieved to meet up with something he knew! - A tiny vo5ce:I Hi, Sir! That boy, now a Grade 13 stalwart, graduates to ay. I would be remiss indeed if I did not pay tribute to the fine body of prefects who have led the school this year. They have my heart-felt gratitude for the splendid work they have done in keeping the school on an even keel: Most especially the Head Pre ect, Owen David, and our Scholar-Prefect, Barton Earle, who have given the School this year such eminent leadership in all things practical and intellectual. I am deeply grateful to them, to the whole body of prefects, and to the entire Grade 13 class, for all that they have done to make St. George's truly great. This day cannot pass, however, without my paying tribute to a member of this class who, because of his untimely death last summer, is not present to share this day with us: Andrew Drillis. He was, l think, a very typical Georgian: truly loyal to his school, a keen competitor in the sports he played, giving what he must to his studies, though not standing quite at the top of his class, imbued with a vibrant and sometimes delightfully ironic sense of humour. Andrew is very much in the minds and hearts, this day, of his classmates, of his teachers, and of all who knew him. I am deeply grateful to his father, Dr. G.L. Drillis, for his presence here this afternoon to present, in Andrew's honour, a university scholarship in the sum of 51000, to a member of the graduating class. As this was Andrew's School, Dr. Drillis, so it is yours as well. I was speaking of 'graduation'. - Though the Grade 13's no doubt have the highest profile in this regard, there are graduations going on all through the School: the graduation of the Grade 4's into their second year of life at St. eorge's, the Grade 5's into 6, the Grade 6's into 7, the grade 7's into 8, and the Grade 8's into the Upper School, where, in some respects, they will meet some of the greatest academic challenges to date in their young lives. And so it goes, with the levels of graduation quite clearly defined to the end of school. But then, are not all of us, however young or old, 'graduating', in some sense of that word, in each day granted to us? ln closing, please permit me to give you a few facts which should interest you: 1. Of the 41 boys presently in Grade 13, all have Sassed the requirements, without condition, for the ntario Secondary School Honours Graduation Diploma. Of these, ten enjoy special designation as Ontario Scholars, that is, who have attained an aggregate of 480 marks in six sub'ects, or, 80'f.. 2. Although the Dntario universities have not as yet published their entrance lists - they are expected to do so today or tomorrow - nine of our graduates have received firm acceptances to universities outside the province: 5 to McGill, 1 to Dalhousie, 1 to St Andrew s University in Edinburgh, and 2 lo Laval University in Quebec City. The latter two, Michael Poth and Alistair Hicks, are the very first Georgians to elect to take their entire undergraduate degree in the French language I think this is great, and hope that the trend will continue in future years. My only advice to Michael and Alistair is: For the sake of the cultural balance of this country. don't forget where you came from! 3. In this first year of OSIS. four boys elected to complete their high school programme in four years rather than the usual five - four out of a class of 45. By this time next year it is expected that all four will have completed the requirements for the OSSHGD. These. the courageous pioneers of the four year programme, have done splendid work, and are to be commended for their diligence and perseverence. They are Jett Hess, Tom MacKay, David Baldwin, and Stephen Suntok, This coming year no fewer than 28. from a class of 42. have elected to do the same! It should be noted, however. that the School, acting in the best interest of each in- dividual boy, may, in some instances counsel otherwise. 4. In January of this year we launched our first annual giving campaign, aimed in the first instance toward the some 600 Old Boys who graduated between the years 1969 and 1985. In the intervening months I have written a personal letter to each of these Old Boys. asking for his assistance, on an annual basis, in the funding of important projects within the school, most especially scholarships and bursaries. I am gratified by the response, for letters and donations have been trickling in at a steady pace over recent weeks, and continue to do so. Soon we shall include parents. past and present. in this campaign for annual giving. Be it S10 - S100 - or a thousand, I can think of few more appropriate and appreciated gestures of support than this. And speaking of Old Boys and support, I can think of no finer example of the true Georgian spirit of loyalty, support and in- terest than that of David Gordon, a member of the Class of 1983, who left the School in 1982 in order to enter the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. At the end of his first year there, he rejoined the members of his Class at their graduation, and on that occasion presented for- mally to the school, in gratitude for the education he had received at St. George's, his officers sword and scabbard, which now occupy a place of honour in the Guild Room at the College. I am proud and happy to say that on May 28th last, David graduated from West Point. and brought great distinction and honour to hll'TlS9ll. and thus indirectly to this school, by winning the top prize in English Language and Literature in a graduating class of 900i It was. I can imagine, to his immense relief and satisfaction that his prize was - a sword! All of us who know David will follow his further Career with great interest. It is with great sadness that l announce the death. just a week ago, of Henry Cawthorne. Grade 4 Form Master in the early days o our school. Most of you will not have known him He was truly a gentle man, reflecting in all his actions and attitudes the Georgian spirit. His passing will be mourned not only by his colleagues on the Stall. but by a whole generation ol Old Boys long since departed from the School. My final duty at this assembly is to announce the prefects for the coming year, and I do so with great pleasure Head Prelect Tony Graz: Prelects: Matthew Baillie, Brent Barclay. Bruce Chapple, eter lstvan, Gordon Manning, Ferdinand Poon, John Sayers, Stephen Suntok, Adrian Thornbury, Tim Walters. and Michael Woollcombe. Congratulations.gentlemen' My final words are addressed, as always. to the members t-' the Grade 13 class. who now leave us. Go forth into the wont: with our blessing and sincere wishes ol good fortune Do nt' forget yourold school! GRADUATION DAY, 1986

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if' xgjWW2 ' .at , .Jw Mr. J.D. Allen

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.... LOWER SCHOOL REPORT By Andrew Barlow The Year in Review, 1985786 EDUCATIONAL For the third year in a row, the Lower School has assessed grades 5, 6, and 7 with the Canadian Achievement Test. The tests reveal that our boys are in the top 1570 of Canadian pupils based on the total score. In some areas, such as math, the results are even higher. All this has been achieved while using a test level of one grade above the one that our pupils are in. The grade sixes again this year wrote the National Math Contest organized by the University of Waterloo. Of the 1 237 schools that competed across Canada, our Grade six class came 13th. Conrad King of that grade also stood 9th out of the approximately 50 000 students that wrote the test. In Ontario, St. George's stood first among the Independent Schools and third overallg and Conrad tied for first place. ln May, we had a police officer ia former Anglican choirboyl talk about vandalism, petty theft, and the Young Offender's Act with grades 7 and 8. This is the second year for this programme. Most of our students have little contact tthankfullyl with the police, and this gives them an opportunity to ask questions and learn about the law. CHAPEL The Lower School attends Chapel every morning texcept Mondayl for a short service, as well as the longer Friday morning service. Once a month, one of the choirs sings Evensong. Twice a term, a Eucharist is sung in the Chapel for the whole school, and this year we also had a said Eucharist on Maundy Thursday for the Lower School in Ketchum Hall. Every Wednesday morning an optional Eucharist is said in the small Chapel at 8 o'clock. This service was particularly well attended by the Grade 5 class and a few other Lower School boys last year. MUSIC Music continued to play a major role in the life of the Lower School over the past year. The choir, in addition to singing weekly services in the Chapel, presented the Christmas Carol Service, and performed in several public areas, such as Royal York Hotel, Inn on the Park, and for the Church Army at St. Paul's Church. Both the choirs and the instrumental groups performed again in the independent Schools Music Festival at Roy Thompson Hall. This year also saw the 14th Choir Tour, to Germany and Austria in June. One of the highlights was singing with the choir boys of Regensbereg Cathedral Choir, one of the top choirs of Europe. The A band visited Montreal this year to perform at Selwyn House School and Centennial Academy. They were also featured as the Forum attraction for the opening of Ontario Place. St. George's College was also the host for the first Electronic Music Festival in Ontario. Participants included York University, Yamaha, and some of the public high schools. In April, the choirs and bands presented a highly successful two day concert at St. Lawrence Hall in a cabaret style. A special at- traction was a performance of Jabberwocky for synthesizer, computer, choir, and other sounds. In April, the CBC came to film a number of Lower School boys in choir, in class, and on the field, for the programme What's New . This was wonderful exposure for us, and occasioned many compliments. The presence of bands, smaller instrumental groups, classical brass and woodwind choirs, jazz groups, the rock group, as well as our experimentation with electronic composition, demonstrates the great diversity of the Lower School music programme. SPORTS Last October, the Lower School held a cross-country and sports day for the whole school in High Park. This provided an early op- portunity in the year for both staff and boys to get together in a more informal setting. In spite of the lack of extensive on-site facilities, our teams have generally done very well against the better-endowed schools. Most weeks, there have been teams travelling all around southern Ontario to compete against other Independent Schools. The Under 13 Soccer Team went to Ottawa to play against teams from across Canada in the yearly tournament. CULTURAL In April, the Lower School presented Tomorrow Belongs To Me , written and directed by Mr. O'Carroll. This most demanding play was well received by the audiences on both nights it was performed. 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 and coordinated by Mr. Turvey for the Lower School Open House in February. Those who attended saw teams compete, bands play, choirs sing, French pupils orate, artists create, history students recreate, writers expound, electronic musicians astound, and debaters pontificate. SERVICE Again, money was raised for various needs ifamine relief, earthquake relief, combatting world blindnessl by taking collections in Chapel. As I stated last year, l believe that this method brings the financial needs of the world home better than collecting money from others. We have also started a Good Food Box . Having tried for so long to encourage the boys not to throw out the lunches lovingly prepared for them by their mothers, and still seeing vast quantities of good food tossed in the garbage containers, we decided to take another tack. We now have provided a box wherein they can put their fruit, sandwiches, carrot sticks, etc. il've not seen any cookies addedll and this nutritious food is then picked up by an agency for distribution to those in need,