Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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OLD BOY AND UNIVERSITY NEWS (Figures in brackets refer to the year of leaving) Congratulations to the 3 Saltus old boys who won Bermuda Government scholar- ships this year. PETER BUBENZER (72) has just finished his first year of law at the Uni- versity of Exeter. NOEL CHIAPPA (72) is at M.I.T., reading for a Bachelor of Science degree and PAUL GIBBONS (72), the third winner, has just completed his first year in the Honours Bachelor of Science course at Manchester University. GRANVILLE GIBBONS (73) has been awarded a Bermuda Government teacher ' s schol- arship and is at present reading for a B.A. in History at Queen ' s University, Ontario. R.G. (GIL) TUCKER (71) is half-way through his course in accounting and marketing at Boston College. MICHAEL WAIGH (72) is reading for an Honours Degree in applied physics at Water- loo University, Ontario. He continues his interest in chess and last year was No. 2 Board on the Bermuda Chess League Champion Team. CLARK GODWIN (72), still high-jumping well, and ANDRE HEYLIGER (72) hove both finished their first year for a Bachelor in Physical Education degree at Daihousie. SINCLAIR WOOLRIDGE (72) is at the University of Guelph, Ontario, reading for a Bachelor of Commerce in hotel and food administration. JAMES DALE (73) has finished at John Abbott College G.E.C.C.E.P. and moves on to McGill next September, where he will read for a Bachelor of Commerce in the faculty of management. PAUL MUSSON (73) starts his pre-med. at Oakwood College next September. GRAHAM HILLIER (72) has just finished his first year in an Honours course in chem- istry at Sheffield University. ADRIAN POOLE RJ.P. The text of the Headmaster ' s sermon preached in St. Theresa ' s Cathedral on the 10th of January 1974 .... No society is as living or as vital as a school, in no other perhaps is death such a shock; and the death of a young man a convulsion, a devilish parody of things, apparently, that seems to negate our very reasons for existence. It is good, I think, that this memorial service happens more than a week after Mr. Poole ' s death, when we can try to escape our perhaps rather selfish feelings of shock and bafflement, try to concentrate on Adrian Poole himself, and reach out in sympathy to his family and especially to his mother. Mr. Poole was by far the youngest and least experienced of those who ap- plied, in January, 1973, for this position at Saltus. But something about his ap- plication intrigued me, not so much what he wrote about himself, which was unassuming and even over-modest, as one would now expect; but each of his confidential referees, among the usual assurances of competence and so forth, emphasised Mr. Poole ' s blend of quiet idealism grounded in a realistic view of life. From these I learned, for example, not from Mr. Poole, that he had, for four years, run a holiday camp each summer for deprived children. One letter was from his old deputy-headmaster. Adrian Poole was at Belmont Abbey, a smaU, independent boarding school in Herefordshire, run by the Ben- 6

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his parents, that he is in fact achieving very well in terms of his own individuality when he sees others apparently managing so much more? We must keep common syl- labuses, even if boys move at different speeds. To set an obviously different range of targets for some boys is inconceivable in terms of motivation. Anyway, it would be nonsense; there are always some disappointments at ' 0 ' level from the cleverer boys who just give up, and just as many only average boys do better than they ' ' should . So they must all do the same courses, and we must continue to respond sensitively to such problems as setting and form placements, late developers, and their opposites, and, above all — and this is the challenge — to insist with each boy and his par- ents, that he has his own standards, an individual ceiling, to attain. It is not easy, but it is foremost in our minds. NEW TEACHERS Next September, we welcome to the Saltus community: Senior School — Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Harris. Mr. Harris holds a B.A. from the University of Wales and has taught at King Edward VI Grammar School and Cowbridge Grammar School in Glamorgan. He comes to take charge of ' the Latin. Mr. and Mrs. Steven Masters. Mr. Masters comes from Williams College to take charge of the art. He will also run the photographic club and his prowess as an ath- lete should be very useful on the games field. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Payne. Mr. Payne holds a B.A. from St. John ' s College, Oxford, and comes to teach geography with some English. Mr. James Smith also comes from St. John ' s College, Oxford and has spent a year at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, reading for an M.A. in education. He will take charge of the history teaching. Mr. Brian Toms represents an addition to the teaching strength in that our growing numbers allow us to have two full time mathematics teachers now. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of Wales and his love and efficiency at rugby should be a great help with our Sevens teams. Junior School — Mr. Mark Beasley, an experienced teacher who trained at the Madeley College of Education, comes to take charge of a fourth form and the art. Mr. John McEwon is an old friend whom we are very happy to have back to take charge of a third form. Prep School — Mrs. Shirley Bacon is well known to many people on the island, and we are very lucky to be welcoming her to Saltuss as a reception class teacher. The other reception class will be taught by Miss Penelope Crosse, who has taught for four years since qualifying at the Eaton Hall College of Education. 5

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edictine order; traditional, perhaps, strict and non-nonsense. This letter tells of Adrian Poole before we met him, an ordinary, decent boy, undramatic, and nearer to most of you than you probably suspect. I could not go to Britain to interview candidates that year, but I was lucky to be able to ask Mr. Lamacraft, a friend recently retired from the headmastership of Warwick Academy, to see my short-list for me. He wrote to me after he had seen each candidate; about Mr. Poole he wrote this: ' 1 feel sure he would prove to be an asset and likely to fill the bill well, and be the sort of fellow who would do a good job in the classroom, fit into the Bermuda scene and into many aspects of school life, as he seems to have a serious and sincere dedication to teaching as a life-career ' and a great interest in young people. ' ' The boys would respect him and I got the impression there was quite a lot of good common sense and hidden strength of personality which, at first, may have been masked by his modest, but entirely likeable, manner. You know the story fronfi here. Mr. Lamacraft was not wrong. Adrian settled quickly and was soon one of us; you found he stood no nonsense, but you found too how real his interest and concern was, and how quickly he responded to any enthusiasm; his very youth was an asset, allowing him to relate imme- diately with your whims and aspirations, if you were serious about his subject. And, watching from the sidelines, I noticed, in c year, the improvement in the art-work of the school, improvement in direction, in quality and in variety; va- riety particularly, for Mr. Poole seemed able to draw the best out of most indi- viduals, the quality of a real teacher. And this was just a beginning . . . 7