Selwyn House School - Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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20 SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL MAGAZINE years. We extend our deep thanks to her and our best wishes for good health and happiness in her years of retirement. Mr. Rutley, an Old Boy of the school, has been a most enthusiastic and helpful mem-v ber of the Staff for the past two years, and his influence upon his students in class, in his manual training department, and in his supervision of games has been exhilarating and wholesome. We are sorry to see him go, but the lure of world travel has enthralled him and it is our hope that, after his leisurely voyaging around the globe, he may return to Selwyn House to give us all the benefits of his knowledge and experiences. Bon voyage, Sir! We are happy to print a snap of Miss Afro Sneadwher former students and all her other friends will be delighted to see how well she looks. She continues to enjoy her years of retirement in Hastings, England. lt is always a pleasure for us to have visits from time to time from Mr. Howis, Madame Gyger and Mrs. Farquhar, We are delighted that Mrs. Farquhar has agreed to return to Selwyn House and take over Miss Locke's teaching duties. We shall look forward very keenly to having her rejoin the Staff in September. Mrs. Ella Smart joined our Office Staff in mid-March to help with the increasing load of administrative duties. We are grateful for all her assistance and hope that she has enjoyed all her contacts at Selwyn House. The Choir We were privileged to have Mr. Phillips Motley, Organist and Choirmaster of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, and an Old Boy of Selwyn House School, to judge the Singing Competition last June. The finalists in the Senior Choir sang We thank Thee, God , to a setting by J. S. Bach, and those in the Intermediate Choir, The Ash Grove . Mr. Motley complimented all singers and gave them some very helpful advice. In the Senior Choir, Donald Steven was placed first with Ralph Walker second. ln the lntermediate Choir, the winner was Peter Wright with Peter Martin the runner-up. At the Prizegiving the special choir sang The Shepherd , a two-part song by Harry Blake, The Flower Carol with descants, and Waltzing Matilda . The last was particular- ly appreciated by our Guest Speaker, Major-General Rockingham, who was born in Australia. At Christmas, the three choirs sang groups of carols. The Senior Choir was particularly effective as it was found possible to include as many as thirteen boys from Form V whose voices had not changed and who were very talented singers. The following boys sang solosz- Senior Choir. Robert Dolman, Tim Gilbert, Donald Steven, Peter Wright and Ralph Walker. Intermediate Choir. Jimmy Brunton, John Caird, Billy Eaton, lan Robson and Jimmy Sedgewick. Junior Choir, Pembroke MacDermot, Michael Pike, Tom Sise and Barrie Wexler. They are all to be commended on their efforts. We are now busily preparing another group of songs for the Prizegiving. With the amount of talent in Form V this year the competition for places in the special choir - limited to 36 because of space - will be even keener than usual. Dramatics The dramatic offering at the annual Christmas Entertainment was pleasingly varied. The sketch in French - Les Meurtres chez le Coiffeur - ably directed by Mr. lversen - brought down the house, electrifying the audience and electrocuting most of the cast. Geoffrey Fisher acted well as le patron, Michael Shaughnessy and Duncan McMartin proved vociferously recalcitrant employees, Tommy Birks and Raymond Douse performed well as customers, while Paul Valois' studied performance as another client brought widespread

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22 SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL MAGAZINE applause, and Graeme Tennant as the ambitious but frustrated gendarrne gave a very pleasing performance also. Sound and Fury , written and produced by Mr. Moodey, appealed strongly to both adult and iuvenile audiences. Teddy Manthorp, Gregor Maxwell and Jonathan Birks did a fine piece of acting as irresistibly mischievous youngsters bent at all costs in preventing a schoolmaster in the extremities of a nervous breakdown from being forced upon their home. Bruce Hamilton as the innocent victim of their plotting filled his role admirably, as did also Murray Whipps and Billy Ballantyne as the mother and father respectively. Stephen Wells brief appearance lust before the final curtain was very effective. The top form's offering was the Invisible Duke, o gothic farce full of delicious satire, which took the audience back to the middle ages when astrology had not lost its grip on the minds of the ignorant and the superstitious. Vincent Prager gave an outstanding perform- ance as Dom Antonio, the crafty, hypocritical astrologer, whose antics and fakery were ably aided and abetted by his clowns, Michael Guite and Michael Bastian, gaily decked out in colourful garb. Ralph Walker as Duke Florenzo gave to the title-role sincerity and realism and that touch of hauteur which the part called for. Roger Thomas, as Captain Alonzo, provided the handsome aide-de-camp, ready at all times to do his devoir for the Duke, but not unsusceptible to the charms of the lady-in-waiting, Julia, effectively played by Rickie Herzer. Donald Steven, as the tempestuous and fickle Lady Emilia, and Timothy Stewart, as the bold and arrogant Count Francesco, audaciously poaching upon his cousin the Dukes preserves of the heart, rounded out a well-balanced cast. As usual, Mrs. Howis and Mrs. Tester performed miracles in their deft handling of the make-up, and Mr. Moodey was in charge of all back-stage arrangements. Others involved behind the scenes were Robert Bruce, manager of the senior play, Robert Johnston, curtain manipulator, and Harry Bloomfield and Georges Hebert, who helped with early rehearsals. Selwyn House Oratorical Society THE Xl CLUB President - Lee Watchorn Vice-President - Tim Stewart Secretary-Treasurer - Michael Gwinnell. 'tWill the secretary please read the minutes - that was how our meetings began. They were usually at a members house, where we were entertained admirably: some- times at school. The programmes of the meetings were many and different: sometimes we had hat- speeches, which were often amusing and well-done, sometimes we debated, on such sub- iects as 'Resolved that the U.S. Formosan policy is right' and 'Resolved that atom tests should be stopped' or 'Resolved that modern children have too much freedom' and 'Resolved that the policeman's lot is not a happy one'. Once we had a closely fought quiz contest, and another time a i'Brains-Trust . During one very amusing meeting, we held a mock trial, in which the accused was happily acquitted. All in all, we enioyed ourselves a great deal, and our thanks are due to Mr. Speirs, who looked after us so well. THE HOUSE DEBATING First Round: Macaulay vs. Lucas- Resolved that modern science is doing more harm than good. Wanstall vs. Speirs-Resolved that modern children have too much freedom. ln the former, Lucas won, and Wanstall won the other.