Selwyn House School - Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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I8 SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL MAGAZINE being built over the Forth, and another is being proiected over the Tay at Dundee-so the traffic up the east coast will travel faster, and industry on the east side of Scotland will benefit. In the west a new graving dock is about to be built. Prestwick airport is being developed so that both sides of the Atlantic are being brought closer together, and a journey across it is no longer a formidable undertaking. All this will help us to be on closer terms as neighbours, to do more trade with each other, and in general to co-operate in this great new age of progress. Before I close, may I say a few words about three things with which I am personally connected in Scotland-the Church, the Arts and the Land. First, the Church. Scotland has never shown any sign of losing sight of the Christian values. Sunday is still the sacred day, and the Christian traditions are continuing to bring great happiness and richness to the lives of our people. Indeed there is a sort of religious revival nowadays, particularly in the newer towns, where new churches and centres are being built, and where the people show a need for religion which overrides all new scientific developments. Secondly, Painting lfor which I can personally speakl is at a high level in Scotland- there are several painters of the modern school who will be valued in the future. It is a pity that in general the people of Scotland are not taking still more interest in the work of the artist, but possibly this is a transition period. And we hope that the great advances which have been made in art-education and appreciation will lead to a greater understanding for the artist. In the world of industrial design the situation is better. As living standards rise, it is to be hoped that all the fine arts will come more and more into the lives and homes of the people. Finally, the Land. I think that one can say that farmers in Scotland today are living up to their reputation as being second to none in the world of agriculture. The practice of farming is keeping pace with new discoveries of agricultural science. However, we have to face the fact that farming in Great Britain is the Cinderella of the industries. Yet, thanks to fairly distributed government subsidies, an efficient home agriculture is being fostered without restricting imports of more cheaply raised foodstuffs from abroad. There seem to be hopes of expansion in the timber trade. If this is possible, more of the empty hillsides in the High- lands will be planted, and perhaps small communities will spring up in places where populations vanished during the last centuries to the cities. I do hope that these few remarks about life and conditions in Scotland today will encourage those of you who have never been there to go and see for yourselves, and I am sure I can guarantee you a really warm welcome. Gi?

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FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR T959-T960 I7 Earl Haig's St. Andrew's Day Address It is a great privilege to be able to come to Canada and a very exciting experience for me, as it is my first visit to your country. The warm welcome that I have received from everyone shows the wonderful good-will which exists between Scots and Canadians. This good-will is based on a common heritage, on traditions of similar ways of life, and on common ideals, lt also, I feel, springs in part from mutual self-interest, from an interchange of trade and commerce. For the last century or so imports from Canada have flowed across the Atlantic to our main seaeport at Glasgow, and have enabled the merchants of the Clyde to establish a position in trade which they have never lost. The people of Britain, as you well know, are not self-supporting. They import the bulk of their food, their grain and their animal food- stuffs, and they also depend on some of Canada's minerals and chemicals. To pay for all this, to balance their budget, the Scots have to make things. Originally, they made things like nails, soap and linen. Then they turned their hand to the development of mechanical engineering. More than anything else the economy of Scotland has been based on the engines and ships which have been built on Clydeside. Today we are hoping that there will soon be a new order for the building of another Queen to take the place of the Queen Mary, Ships have been the life-blood of Scotland. Nowhere in the manufacturing area of Scotland can a factory be located more than thirty miles from the sea, and one might almost say that Scotland is surrounded by two ice-free lakes, one of which, the Atlantic, connects her with the New World. As their industry developed, the leaders of industry in Scotland helped to build up the industries in Canada. Scottish engineers, chemists and farmers went over the Atlantic. Other industries helped to earn her bread and butter. Amongst them are the textile indus- tries of the Borders and of the Highlands, which export many of your tweeds, and your pullovers to keep you warm in winter. Scotland today is being helped by the introduction of new industries from England and from across the Atlantic. New industries of all sorts are springing up, so that the serious unemployment caused by the disappearance of some of our traditional markets is happily a thing of the past. What are these new industries? First there is the electronic engineering industry, which is beginning to play a full part in the Scottish economy. Next there is the production of chemicals which provide the base for the plastic industry. The new steel strip mill is going to produce steel in all quantities and will help to pave the way for the production of cars and other products. Electrical power in Scotland, as in Canada, is to be had very cheaply near our doorsteps, thanks to the fast-flowing rivers. A new source of electricity is the great new nuclear power-station at Hunderston, where a huge dome of the magnitude of a medieval cathedral, built in the style of the twentieth century, dominates and yet harmonizes with a beautiful stretch of Ayrshire coast. More electric power is going to be produced from the station at Douneray in Caithness, which will also serve as an experimental base for the development of a new method of producing nuclear energy. New towns with new communities are springing up to complement the factory-building programme at East Kilbride, at Cumbernauld, and at Glenrothes. A new road-bridge is

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FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 1959-1960 'I9 Board and Staff We were very sorry to lose two valuable members from our Board of Governors last Fall in the persons of Mr. Gordon H. MacDougall and Mrs. Harald Martin. Mr. MacDougall has been a tremendous tower of strength to the school and it was under his dynamic chairmanship that the new wing was added some years ago. Mrs. Martin was always ready to give her practical help and counsel and contributed greatly to the work of the Board during her term of office. To replace these members we are most happy to welcome Mrs. R. W. Coristine and Mr. Hugh H. Norsworthy, the latter an Old Boy of Selwyn House. We were pleased to welcome Mr. Rowland Philipp to the school last September- in addition to his regular class-room duties, Mr. Philipp has complete charge of the Manual Training Department and also helps out with Junior Sports, and has already made a happy niche for himself in our hearts. We were also glad to welcome back Mrs. Etanda Farquhar to Junior School work, and regret very greatly that she is not able to stay with us for at least another year, as her quiet competence and sympathetic manner have meant so much to our school family, which has come to admire and love her so greatly. We were all so sorry to learn that Mrs. Dorothy Tester had decided to retire this year. Mrs. Tester came to Selwyn House in September, i946 to take charge of the first Form D, and since that time has given magnificent service in all junior and middle school classes -not only in the regular form subiects, but also in junior school singing, production of plays for the dramatics performances, and as a make-up artist for so many boys in the plays over the years. Her outstanding professional skill and happy, cheerful personality will be greatly missed by boys and staff alike, and our deepest thanks and best wishes go with her as she leaves our strenuous arena of battle for well-earned leisure. We hope to have frequent visits from her to cheer us all up from time to time. Mr. Brian Cleary's decision to return to England was received with great dismay by all. Although he has been in charge of Gymnastics at Selwyn House for only three years, his creative and imaginative work with the boys has made a lasting impression upon all, and his sound philosophy of Physical Education so effectively put into action in the Gymnasium has made him a highly esteemed educator far beyond the confines of our metropolis as well as a much admired teacher at Selwyn House. We wish him all good fortune in the administrative world of English education. We are happy to hear good news from time to time from Miss Afra Snead -formerly senior teacher of the Junior School-from Hastings, England, and from Mr. Timothy Rutley, who is on an extended trip around the world. We are always delighted to have visits from Mr. Howis and Madame Gyger and Miss Locke, who is presently on a tour of western Europe. A very generous gift was made to the school by Mrs. Eva Prager and her father, Mr. Oppenheimer, both outstanding artists, who collaborated in the painting of a very handsome portrait of the headmaster. This they presented at a special assembly of the school last November, and it was received by the chairman of the Board of Governors, Mr. Maxwell, who voiced the thanks and appreciation of all for this magnificent gesture.