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

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Speech cJuau An eventful and progressive year for the school drew to a close on Saturday, June 13th, when the annual Speech Day ceremonies were celebrated. The Rt. Rev. Sherard Falkner, Bishop of Chelmsford, gave a most stimulating address in the chapel which was filled to overflowing with boys and parents. Proceeding from the chapel to the lawn in the quadrangle — with the main build- ing, chapel and gymnasium making a quiet enclosure — the Speech Day ceremonies continued with the Headmaster giving his first annual report. Mr. Larsen covered all phases of the school year from the academic field through sports and hobbies. By pointing out the many successes which had been achieved in the large number of extra-curricular activities there are at the school, he indicated a thoroughly healthy and all-embracing programme. When the Headmaster had concluded his annual report on the school ' s activities he finished with a message to the parents and boys which is sufficiently important to quote in its entirety: I hope it is apparent to you all that Shawnigan Lake School can, and is, offering the kind of training which is so necessary for our younger generation — a disciplined training for a disciplined leadership. At the same time it should be remembered that, while we are giving this opportunity to one hundred and seventy boys, the province is expanding rapidly and we have a greater duty to discharge. The school is at present filled to capacity and the demand for entrance is greater than it has been for thirty years. Indeed, a great many applicants will have to be denied entrance this coming September due to a lack of residential accommodation. It would seem, based on figures placed before the Royal Commission on Educa- tion in British Columbia, that in the next ten years there will be an increase of approximately fifty per cent in the number of students enrolled in high schools in the province. Consequently, it seems reasonable to anticipate that the demand for entrance to Shawnigan will likewise increase. The school, therefore, now faces two choices — either to remain at its present maximum enrollment of one hundred and seventy boys or to plan for an intake of an additional eighty boys over the next eight or ten years. In my opinion, if Shawnigan does not now plan to take care of the additional demand that will be made upon it, it will not be fulfilling its responsibility to offer to an increasing number of Canadian boys the higher quality of education that the independent boys ' schools such as Shawnigan can provide. It is, moreover, the con- sidered opinion of the Board of Governors that we must meet this challenge. To provide for this higher enrollment many of our existing facilities will have to be rehabilitated and expanded and, over a period of time, it will be necessary to construct additional residences for the increase in numbers. Shawnigan Lake School may well be at the turning point in its history — at the point where it either stands still, or moves forward to maintain its place among the leading Canadian independent schools, and my point at this stage is to make quite clear that the decision has been made. Indeed, the planning and implementation of a forward-looking programme is the task to which we shall be earnestly directing our efforts during the next few years. Finally, I would say this: if Shawnigan Lake School is going to expand and to continue to be desired by a large number of people, we must ensure that it is desired for the right reasons — for the kind of rigorous, balanced and constructive training in the disciplines of mind, body and spirit, to produce a keen and developed intellect, a broad and cultured mind, a sound physique, a character that will not stoop to meanness or discourtesy or slovenliness in standards, and above all a true understand- ing of the meaning of life, in which the ' reverence of God is the beginning of wisdom. ' — 14—

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P. W.Pratt (1954) Capt. Rowing, 1st XV K. A. Pellett (1952) C A. Read (1953) J. E.C.Taylor (1956) 3rd XV myfi % D.B.Shannon (1955) C. K. Windeyer (1952) 4th XV, Track and Field, Cross Country. S. A. Wade (1953) 2nd XV, Track and Field, 1st XI. —13—

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Any real success the school has achieved in the past has ultimately been dependent upon these convictions, and they will remain as the traditional values by which we stand, and by which we shall set our course in the challenging years of change which lie ahead. Mr. Larsen then went on to introduce the guest speaker, Dr. Malcolm MacGregor. M.A., PhD., Head of the Department of Classics at the University of British Columbia. An outline of Dr. MacGregor ' s address on Education is printed below: There are two ways of acquiring an education: one is by attending an institution of higher learning, generally a university; the other is by private study. The advantage of the first is that the process of education is systematically conducted at a university under the guidance of experienced men and women. The second method is more diffi- cult for it requires considerable self-discipline. Yet those who have enjoyed a good secondary schooling know how to read and have some sense of what is good and what is bad in literature. What is most important for the general public to recognize is that a man is not necessarily a better man merely because he attends a university; the educated man is never a snob. Education has many benefits. Of these I select three: ( 1 ) The educated man is critical. This applies to what he reads and what he hears, whether in the newspaper or book or over the radio or television. He knows that issues are not one-sided, that the common media of communication have a tendency to distort. (2) The educated man exercises his own judgement. He makes up his mind on the basis of all the evidence that he can find. He does not follow the mob in fear of being different. He does not mind being called a non-conformist. His aim is to be right and just. (3) The educated man knows the difference between what is good and what is bad, between good taste and bad taste. So far as good and bad are concerned there are absolute standards. There are things that we cannot do simply because we know them to be evil or in bad taste. This lesson is something that comes with experience, with education. Education is in a sense the acquisition of self-discipline and courage. The educated man subscribes to the doctrine that in a sound society there should be a healthy atmosphere of dissent. He does not mind being called an intellectual or, to use the vulgar phrase, an egg-head. He d ares to be different, not fot the sake of being different, but for the sake of his own integrity. At the conclusion of Dr. MacGregor ' s address, which was extremely well received, the prizes were presented, with the Lord Bishop of Chelmsford distributing the academic prizes, His Grace the Archbishop of British Columbia the athletic awards, and Dr. MacGregor the special awards. When all the prizes had been distributed, the Honourable Mr. Justice H. I. Bird made a few closing remarks in which he congratulated the Headmaster and Staff on the fine progress in all fields which was being made, and the boys on their enthusiasm and loyalty for their school. The following is the list of prizes and trophies presented on Speech Day: ACADEMIC PRIZES Grade 12A - -. - - - R- A. Mcintosh Grade 12B - T . Shannon Grade 11A - - C. Pentland Grade 11B R - Douglas Grade 10A - - J- Woodsworth Grade 10B - G. Hungerford Grade 9A - J- Swanson Grade 9B - - T. Steel Grade 8A - M. Bird Grade 8B -- M - Gardiner —15—