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

Page 9 text:

As I peruse the June reports and await word of university admissions from the members of the graduating class, I am also trying to think of an appropriate approach for this page. Since a year- book chronicles the year's events, I think it best not to reiterate what you will find in the following pages. Also, I am aware that you will not read this tif indeed, anyone ever reads these pagesl until the middle of the fall term and, after that, perhaps many years later. So, I think a few short, general thoughts on the College might dothetrick. I have often heard from a variety of sources that it is not the building, facilities, and fields tasphalt?l which make St. George's the wonderful school it is but, rather, it is the teachers. As one of those teachers, I am obviously very pleased when I hear those comments. But l've always believed that those comments are only partly true because they neglect a much larger and, in some ways, a more significant group within the school- the students. l have taught at other independent schools lone, which shall remain nameless- though most of my students know which it is- is one of our com- petitorsl, visited classes in most of the local member schools of the Ontario C.l.S. tConference of Independent Schoolsl, and met many, many students from these schools in many different situations. I can honestly say that the faces you see THE UPPER SCHOOL REPORT throughout this Yearbook are those of the best bunch of young men in any school I know. As teachers we cannot be terribly successful it we don't have good students. And a good student is not just one who is intellectually brilliant. He is good in the broadest sense of the word. He is hard working, always trying to do the best he can. He is interested in many things and respectful of those whose interests are different. He is mindful of how little he knows and how much there is to learn. He is curious: he is considerate: he is energetic: he is humbleg he is polite: and, if he is none or only some of the above, he is at least trying to be some or more cl these things. What I am trying to say is that. when l look around on Graduation Day. the reason I am proud to be a part of the College is that I see so many boys who impress me in ways which can never be fully reflected in their marks. So, continue to be good students. strive to be better students and remember that the important tasks are the ones which lie ahead, not behind. GD. O'Meara Head of the Upper Scnml

Page 8 text:

.... 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,

Page 10 text:

STAFFX' N ! SS 'fa hr. . W E I 1 s ' U' an W STUDENTS