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

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School I loted This past school year has been a busy one of which the outstanding feature, perhaps, was the remarkably fine weather. Not a single game or sports event had to be cancelled, the weather being very mild until Christmas after which, a short cold snap at the beginning of the Lent Term provided a week ' s good skating on Hartl ' s field. There was hardly a day ' s rain after the Easter holidays and Cricket and Swimming proceeded without interruption from April onwards. On October 1st, the School was honoured by a visit from the Headmasters of five Eastern Canadian Schools; namely, Upper Canada College, St. Andrew ' s College, Trinity College School, Pickering College and Bishop ' s College School, Lennoxville. The Service in Chapel that morning was taken by the Rev. C. W. Sowby, Principal of Upper Canada College, and the Lesson was read by Mr. P. A. C. Ketchum. During the Lent Term twenty boys travelled to Tacoma where they were guests of the girls at the Annie Wright Seminary at the annual Spring Dance. One week later, thirty boys went to Victoria to see As You Like It . The Pancake Greaze this year was won by C. B. Tuttle for Form VII. An interesting lecture on Chartered Accountancy was given on February 7th by Mr. D. R. L. Johnston, a Governor of the School and a partner in the firm of Price, Waterhouse. A series of debates was held on Wednesday evenings throughout the Lent Term. These were much enjoyed both by the speakers and by the audience who showed no restraint in its questions from the floor. Lastly, it is with much regret that the size of the School Magazine this year has had to be reduced and the Old Boys ' Register omitted but the increased cost of printing, paper, et cetera, has made this necessary. (chapel I lot e 5 In an age which too often attempts to build an effective society by other than spiritual means, it is of immeasurable importance that we — in the School — should vigilantly guard against influences which would tend towards the neglect of spiritual development. Chapel must not be seen merely as another department or activity of school life. To serve any purpose beyond that of a conventional good thing , it must signify to us the very root and purpose of all life and of all worthy endeavour. Those oft-recurring words Character, Leadership, Discipline, signify nothing unless they also bear the marks of a spiritual integrity growing in the light of something greater than ourselves. Let us be sure that our attitude towards Chapel is a good witness among our fellows and that its meaning will ennoble every aspect of the life of the School as a community. Page 4

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Cditoriai This June of 1951 marks the end of a very happy year in our school life but it has one sad aspect in that it also marks the end of our long association with Strathcona Lodge School as founded by Miss Gildea twenty-four years ago. For the lack of a very few dollars, it has had to be sold and, at the time of writing, its future is not known. Whatever it may be, we do know that the work of Miss Gildea and her colleagues has come to an end but we also feel sure that her influence will not end. Her Old Girls and many of our Old Boys will long remember her and the precepts which she set up for Christian living. The opportunities offered by our two schools would be hard to duplicate anywhere in Canada — wholly boarding schools set in beautiful country surround- ings with the scope for games and outdoor activities such as can be enjoyed by so few young people today. We know that the trend in the Government Schools has been towards less classical education and more practical with the accent on Effective Living but what living can be more effective than that of a boarding school where, to be happy and successful, each student must learn to live with his fellow man every day and every hour of the school term. There is much talk in this part of the world as to the future of the Independent Schools. But one has only to look at the record of the Independent Schools in Great Britain where, under a Socialist Government, these schools are full, with waiting lists for years ahead, to know that they hold the answer to a growing need in education. We also understand that such schools are flourishing mightily in Eastern Canada. Why not in British Columbia? Perhaps it is that we are still too young and our Old Boys not yet fully established. But we do feel that if our Independent Schools could receive some sort of Government recognition (and not necessarily in the form of financial assistance) it would go a long way towards giving us a permanency and an acknowledged part in the development of our Province. We want and have asked for Govern- ment Inspection which would satisfy parents that our Schools are adequately staffed, adequately equipped and have an adequate record of successful results. Merely looking at the matter from the point of view of the Publicity Bureau, the very fact that hundreds of thousands of dollars are brought into the Province from outside sources should give the Independent Schools some status of material value. However, it would appear that many years and much hard work stand between us and this goal. We can only carry on as we have been doing, trying to give our boys and girls a standard of morals and conduct, a respect for fair play and good sportsmanship, and the necessary knowledge for University Entrance. Page 3

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The Rev. Eric M. Willis, Vicar of St. John ' s, Cobble Hill, has continued his long association with the School by conducting the Chapel Services again this year. The Right Rev. H. E. Sextion, Bishop of Columbia, was the preacher at the Memorial Day Service in November, and also administered the rite of Confirmation at the close of the Lent Term. During the Michaelmas Term, services were taken by the Rev. C. W. Sowby of Upper Canada College, and by Canon Greenhalgh of Victoria. On the last Sunday of the School year, the preacher was the Rev. Dudley Kemp, Rector of St. Mary ' s Church, Kerrisdale. The Rev. John Maunsell of St. Aidan ' s, Lake Cowichan, was to have given the sermon at this year ' s Leaving Service but which had to be cancelled because of the threat of a week- end transportation strike. Once more the flowers for the Confirmation Service were given by Mrs. P. A. Woodward. DL CL With the singing of Matins on the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, the Choir concluded a year in which it has become acquainted with a considerable repertory of worthy church music, and has — it is hoped — gained and imparted to others some realization of the devotional significance of this material. On Palm Sunday the Choir travelled to Vancouver to present a programme of sacred music in the Memorial Pavilion in Stanley Park. The very kind reception accorded us by a crowded audience made this a most happy experience. In May, a forty-five minute recital by the Choir was broadcast from Radio Station CHUB in Nanaimo. While the inevitable enemies of continuity — changing voices and the graduation of basses and tenors — strike us an unusually severe blow this year, we hope, before too many Autumn months have passed, to arrive at an encouraging degree of competence. c h once ft While the School has heard only two professional concerts this year, both were of an exceptionally high order of merit. The first — by the Paganini String Quartet, playing at Victoria High School — was a revelation of control, rare beauty of tone, and a sincerity of presentation which subordinated all other considerations to the thought of the composer. The second concert, this time on home ground , was by Mr. Harry Adaskin — long a friend of the School. Mr. Adaskin, accompanied at the piano by his very accomplished wife, Frances Marr, played a recital of violin music which made little — if any — concession to the youth of his audience. Mr. Adaskin ' s informal commentary from the stage established a happy accord with his hearers, and if many were unprepared for such rich musical fare, none could doubt his mastery. It was a tribute to his infectious enthusiasm that such a complex and towering work as the Bach D Minor Partita should have provoked such honest and insistent applause from the boys. The second part of Mr. Adaskin ' s programme — inclining to music of less formidable texture — brought forth many demands for encores. txaminationd The School entered candidates for both Senior and Junior Matriculation Examinations. The following is a synopsis of the results: Senior Matriculation: Maclnnes 1 passed with an average of 63.6%. Edgett, Harman and Tuttle wrote the Examination in part only. Out of 14 papers written, there were 1 1 passes. Junior Matriculation: Harman, Harrison, Pinkerton, Tuttle and Webster passed completely. Patrick, Thee and Young passed in part. Out of 47 papers, there were 32 passes. The highest average was Pinkerton ' s, 66.3%. In the Upper Fifth, 38 papers were written and 35 were passed. Highest marks were scored by Strathdee, whose average for 3 papers was 87.7%. In the Lower Fifth, Elmaleh took his Junior Matriculation French Examination and scored 78%. We were pleased to hear that Pinkerton and Webster have been accepted at Stanford University and also Peter Saul who took his Junior Matriculation last year. Page 5