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

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Speech eJjcty It was with much regret that our carefully-laid plans for Speech Day had to be can- celled. A transportation strike amongst steamship employees was called for Friday night, June 22nd, the same day as term was to have ended. Therefore, it was necessary to send all boys from Mainland points home twenty-four hours earlier but, unfortunately, the Speech Day arrangements could not be advanced. This was a great disappointment to all but, in particular, to those boys who are leaving this year and to their parents who, in many cases, made long journeys to attend. However, the Prizes will be awarded soon after the beginning of the Michaelmas Term in accordance with the Prize List given below. PRIZE LIST — JUNE, 1951 FORM VII D. C. E. Maclnnes FORM REMOVE A C. T. Battle FORM VI E. E. Pinkerton FORM REMOVE B R. H. Svendsen FORM VU J. A. Strathdee FORM III B. A. F. Evans FORM VI T. A. London FORM II J. C. H. Wilson FORM IV - J. A. Kaye EFFICIENCY PRIZE Michaelmas Term J. S. Riley Lent Term D. C. E. Maclnnes HOUSE CUPS SPORTS Lake ' s . GYMNASTICS Lake ' s CRICKET Lake ' s-Groves ' (Tie) THE LARSEN SQUASH CUPl— - T. C. Thee Jhe rrobbu n The introduction of Hobby Shop classes into the School curriculum this year has led to a satisfactory improvement both in the interest shown to practical work and to the quality of work done by the average boy. It is unfortunate that in the past the worthwhile work which has been done in the Machine Shop has been done by a very few enthusiasts. This is, however, not surprising as the average boy has not usually natural ability but only latent ability which shows itself, as a rule, in a desire to fix his bicycle or knock up a shelf for his locker rather than in th? creation of an article requiring an appreciation of form, design, and beauty together with the knowledge, patience and manual dexterity demanded by skilled workmanship. The work of the two Removes shows that they have acquired, during the year, a certain measure of skill and a very considerable amount of enthusiasm and it is to be hoped that it will be found possible in the future for these boys to continue to receive formal instruction so that they may eventually derive real pleasure from this important medium of self-expression. Little of value has been done in the other sections of the Hobby Shop this year with the notable exceptions of Denman and Webster in the Art Club. Jhe K adet K orpi The annual inspection of the Cadet Corps was carried out by Wing Commander J. B. Millward, Commandant of the United Services College, Royal Roads. The marching, drill, steadiness on parade and display of training reflected the effort which the Cadet Corps has put into their work during the past year. After the march past the Corps broke up into groups and carried out a half hour ' s ordinary training under their officers and N.C.O. ' s. The radio section demonstrated the erection of a thirty-foot radio mast and aerial. The signallers sent messages by line telegraph with a satisfying degree of accuracy. A good demonstration of tripping the Bren Light Machine Gun was given by the S.A.T. group. The junior platoon carried out drill and aiming and fixing of the rifle. The display closed with a first class display of Physical Training. The whole school, in mass formation, under the leadership of Duncan Maclnnes v ent through a series of well- timed exercises. This was followed by Tumbling which showed a surprising agility on the part of, what we might almost call, the acrobats. The Box Horse work was good and clearly showed the excellent training the boys have had under their instructor, Mr. Derek Hyde-Lay. Page 6

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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

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Jhe r aa (concert The air was charged with excitement. In the dining room (temporary dressing quarters) the usual frenzied chaos was all-pervading as some donned suits of shiny armour, while others struggled into feminine attire of uncertain denominations. In the Big School, parents and visitors chatted amiably, apparently enjoying the lull before the storm. Then, as the curtain trembled on the rise, a tense hush fell over all. Out on the stage stepped the nine-year-olds. The show was on. To describe what followed would be of little interest to those who attended, and if any others chance to read this, the events of the evening might better be left to their imagina- tion. Suffice it to say that the unbounded enthusiasm of the performers compensated in some measure for the evident lack of finesse, and both the entertainers and the entertained enjoyed themselves to the full. If some in the audience frowned on the impersonations of Tuttle and Elmaleh, and raised their eyebrows at the alluring charms of London, why — when it came to Mr. Hyde-Lay ' s jokes — they literally gasped. Oh, yes, the programme was censored — and unsuitable material deleted. r ipleu 5 rrouie f oti r .e6 Although Ripley ' s is the senior House, we came back at the beginning of the year to find the youngest juniors in the School occupying our junior dormitory. We have since refuted any corridor whisperings that we are a House of Juniors. Under the good leadership and efficiency of Jack Riley, our only School Prefect, the House started the school year well. Unfortunately, Riley had to leave at Christmas because of his father ' s ill-health. As a result, Head of the House Peter Young and the other House Prefect, Harrison, managed the House for the remainder of the year and Mr. Pearce acted in lieu of a Housemaster. In School sports, the House was reasonably well represented: in Rugby by Young, Harrison I, Wilson I, Osvold, Obermarck I, and Elmaleh who was awarded his School Colours; in Cricket by Wilson I, Osvold and Obermarck I. The cross-country running team which ran at Royal Roads and did well was captained by Wilkinson. At the completion of all inter-house sports, Ripley ' s was lagging in points behind the other two Houses. However, we shone in the long distance races, winning the 880 yard relay, and the Trail Race was won by Obermarck I. The House also won the inter-house basketball competition. Note should also be made of a skit, staged as a part of the Rag Concert, written by Wilson I and acted mainly by Wilson I and Wilkinson, using a considerable amount of imagina- tion and some Cadet Corps experience. The result was a particularly lively few minutes in typical Wilsonian and Wilkinsonian manner. We take this opportunity of thanking Mrs. Nicholls, our Housematron, for taking such good care of us. We are sorry that Young, Harrison, Wilkinson and Denman (with his paintings) are leaving and we wish them good luck in their future endeavours. rJLake A rrouSe I loteA June has come around again and with it the time for our yearly reminiscences and meditations upon our achievements and activities during the past year. Rag Concert visitors saw us produce an amusing skit based on the antics, known and unknown, of the Masters in their Common Room at the morning Break. With the help of a congenial and cooperative audience, we seemed to be a success. In the realms of sport we have had our ups and downs. However, the ups have out- numbered the downs by a fairly wide margin. To the 1st XV we contributed five regular members, whilst three others played off and on. Unfortunately, there was no Inter-Houso Rugby, so we are unable to say that we won. However, it would not be boasting too much to say that we probably would have done so had it taken place. In Cricket we had the unique distinction of being joint holders of the Cricket Cup by dint of tying with Groves ' House in a most exciting cricket game, even the baseball addicts were chewing their finger nails at the end of this game. The Inter-House Sports Cup which is an aggregate competition, taking within its scope Boxing, Track and Field, and Swimming came to us for the second year in a row. Thee and Maclnnes I entered the Island Open Squash Championships and both did well. Thee, in particular, must be congratulated upon reaching the semi-finals and then only losing narrowly to a very much more experienced player. Had he won, he would have met the eventual winner, an Old Boy, in the British Columbia finals. The excellent spirit which has prevailed in the House has helped Lake ' s House to have an enjoyable year. This has been due in a large measure, to the steady and continued efforts Page 7