Shawnigan Lake School - Yearbook (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Canada)

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Miss Gildea Leaves THE Cowichan district has become famous far and wide for its private schools. Established not primarily for money-making, but on a foundation of high ideals, they have, and are making a wonderful contribution towards maintenance of those things in life which are worthwhile: honesty, tolerance, freedom, progress, and most important, faith in the be all and end all of living. One of those who has played a large part in establishing the good name of Cowichan ' s private schools has recently laid down her tools to leave this week- end to return to the land of her birth. This is Miss Gildea, who founded Strathcona Lodge School at Shawnigan Lake over 20 years ago and has guided its destinies as head mistress throughout those years. With her to England will go the good wishes of a host of pupils and many other friends; behind her will be many regrets for the loss to the educational field of B.C. which her departure causes. Miss Gildea ' s upbringing and background fitted her eminently for her life- long work of training, directing and advising girls. At Strathcona her principles were built into the character of hundreds of young girls from many parts of B.C., Canada and across the line. They received a foundation for life that could bear of wider application. No compromise with laxity was here, withal she won the love and respect of her pupils and all with whom she came in contact. To Miss Gildea we wish God-speed. To her successor, Miss Davies, we voice a welcome and good wishes. (Reprinted from the Cowichan Leader Nov. 28, 1946.) School Notes We must apologize for the omission from these Notes of many events which readers may regard as having been of great interest. Limitations of space, nevertheless, have demanded a pruning of material for the account must embrace all happenings from December, 1945, to January, 1948. Obvious- ly, then, if an event was not of the highest moment it had to be discarded by the editors though not without regrets. Each School Year brings in its trains at least one major happening. The two years which have just elapsed have not been, in this sense, exceptions. Nine- teen forty-six saw the retirement of Miss Gilde a as Head Mistress of Strathcona, an event which was received with a sense of loss by the whole community. Nineteen forty-seven brought, as if in compensation, the news that Shawnigan Lake and its already renowned School for Boys was before the eyes of a Con- tinent. The School was in Time and America learned of Shadows and Sub- stances, of a Head Master and his dogs, of boys and a hickory stick. These two items have been given special attention in a separate section of this issue. 1946 The Junior Matriculation results were again good. In this year we won the District Scholarship for the third year running. In this year of the new peace we were delighted to see so many Old Boys up for the November week-end. We hoped then that in the following years they would come in increased numbers, for the interest which Old Boys take in our Page 6 Shawnigan Lake

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Chapel Notes DURING 1946, the School Chaplain, the Reverend E. M. Willis, assisted from time to time by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, the Reverend Canon Coleman, the Reverend L. K. Sandercock, the Reverend H. T. Archbold and the Head Master endeavoured to make Christ and His Church a living reality in our weeks here at the School. The widely varied series of sermons de- livered not only awakened us to the need for God, which we all must own, but also brought a glimpse of the ever-widening activities of the Anglican Church. If our debt to these men had been confined but to this year alone, the task of writing an adequate note of appreciation would have been a difficult one. As it is, nearly another year has slipped away and of these men, the Rever- end Mr. Willis and the Reverend Canon Coleman, to mention but two, have continued to work on our behalf. The Annual Confirmation Service was held on April 7th in 1946, at which the following boys were confirmed: K. M. Hanson, J. A. Pearkes, J. B. Burr, I. C. E. Smythe, R. L. Rochester, T. D. Patterson, and G. H. S. Parke. The 1947 Confirmation Service took place on March 30th and the following boys were confirmed: R. T. Berry, J. S. Hagar, G. D. McFarland, P. Eat on, J. C. S. Edwards, A. A. Parke, and J. A. R. Bourke. As usual, the beautiful flowers in evidence were presented by Mrs. P. A. Woodward. The one Service which each year stands out in particular is the Armistice Service held on November 10th, 1946, and on November 9th, 1947, at both of which we were genuinely delighted to see the large number of Old Boys and parents. School Magazine Page 5

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life can make a vital contribution to the progress of the School. Happily, as we know now, our hopes were to be realized. One of the outstanding features of the School Year was a visit and address by the President of the University of British Columbia, Dr. Norman A. M. MacKenzie. In order to supplement the more formal aspects of education and learning, the School has made several trips to Victoria and neighbouring vicinities to take advantage of happenings of interest. Among tjge more notable of such ex- cursions was a journey to the Oak Bay Theatre to see the Laurence Olivier production of Henry V, and a visit to H.M.C.S. Uganda. On the musical side, concerts by Harry Adaskin and Dr. Grossmith were fully enjoyed by boys and Staff alike. A fascinating lecture by Dr. Pearce of the Dominion Astro- physical Observatory provided a new insight into the mysteries of the Uni- 1947 During the summer we were sorry to hear of the total loss, by fire, of the Main Building of Brentwood College. We offered them the use of Copeman ' s House as temporary quarters where they remained as our guests for the Michaelmas Term before moving to occupy another establishment at Patricia Bay. Large numbers of parents and Old Boys crowded into the Big School to view the annual Rag Concert on November 8th. The following morning The Reverend E. M. Willis conducted Chapel services before a large congregation of visitors and boys. In the afternoon The First Fifteen battled against a veterans ' guard of Old Boys in one of the most exciting Rugby games of the year. De- spite a severe injury to one of their players ye ancients struggled gamely and were victorious with a score of 11-8. This year The Old Boys ' Association announced its intention of awarding a twenty-dollar prize of books to the winner of The Efficiency Cup in each Term. Parke II, as holder of the Cup for the Michaelmas Term, was the first person eligible for the new award. We wish to express our appreciation to The Reverend Canon Michael Cole- man for so ably conducting a series of Scripture classes on Friday afternoons with the Senior Forms. His efforts have contributed much toward broadening and deepening the outlook of the boys concerned. A series of Sunday evening classical music concerts have been held this year in order to acquaint the boys with the works of great composers and to lay a basis for their future appreciation of this art. While attendance is compulsory for the Juniors, many Seniors have attended voluntarily. The Head Master paid a short visit to both Vancouver and Seattle where he met with warm hospitality on the part of parents, Old Boys and friends of the School. Berry, of the IVth Form, won the First Prize of his class in the photo- graphic competition sponsored by The Malahat Board of Trade. The Annual Pancake Greaze must not be forgotten. This was won on March 5th, 1946, by Forrest and Bourke for Form VU; and on February 18th, 1947, by Parke I and Pruett I for Form VU. The Athlone School of Vancouver held its annual Camp at Shawnigan and had the use of Copeman ' s House and the grounds during the summers of 1946 and 1947. School Magazine Page 7