St Johns Ravenscourt School - Eagle Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

Page 40 text:

John Macbeth, Greg Hill, Ed Myers, Mr. R.L. Gordon, Bob Dunstan, Andy Wiswell, Mark Stethem, Clive McEwen, Rob Kennedy. Lauren Jacklin, Bernie Saywell, Bob Spaith, Stewart Searle, John Hutchings, Gerald Schwartz, Greg Thomas. Greg Lawrence.

Page 39 text:

School tkm The choir rose to new heights this year with a very successful carol concert at Christmas, and again a suc¬ cessful presentation as a part of Our Sound”, an array of boys presenting the musical talent of the school. The team of Mr. Shepherd as director and Mrs. Barrett as pianist has put in long hours of hard work in perfect¬ ing the various numbers. About twenty-five boys from the Upper School formed the bass and tenor sections. At some rehearsals these numbers dwindled, but a good showing was made by all in the major presentations. Several members of staff formed thd nucleus of these sections. They were Mr. Bevis, Mr. Kiddell, Mr. Penaluna and Mr. Stewart. Rehearsals took place on Tuesdays, and usually last¬ ed about an hour. The going got a little rough at times, but in the end it was all well worth the effort. It is hopes that next year the numbers of the choir will increase. toJwiSmu The Carol Service this year was quite successful. Nine lessons were read from the Bible by boys and masters of the school. The service commenced with ' O Come All Ye Faithful’, which was the cue for the en¬ trance of a procession of Grade I’s. These young boys symbolized successfully the spirit of Christmas. The Carol Service touched many different aspects of Christmas, beginning with God’s pormise to send a Saviour into the world. This Christmas story, however often it may be told, arouses the listener with feeling of wonder and awe. The carols gave the congregation, who often joined in, a chance to present their own feelings about Christmas. Thus, not only the boys took part in this joyful occasion, but also the congregation. The ser¬ vice was a full school effort in which all the boys participated. After the service, tea and coffee were served in the gymnasium. This was prepared by the kitchen staff of the school, and I am sure left the congregation and the boys contented. Many thanks to Mr. Shepherd and Mr. Gordon for their persistent effort in making the Carol Service enjoyable and refined, although it will continue to improve in the years to come. On the night of December 15th, a Christmas Tree was raised and decorated on the main floor of Thomp¬ son House. All the residents of Thompson House took part, and were joined by Mr. Gordon, Mr. Hammond, Mr. Glegg and their wives. The record player accompanied the decorating of the tree, with a recording of the school singing in an earlier Carol Service. Comparison of the merits of the recorded singing of some years ago, and the undoubted attraction of the performance of our present choristers proved inconclusive. Singing (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) lasted until late in the evening, and it is hoped that this cere¬ mony, an innovation for the school, will be continued as a tradition in Thompson House. Thanks to Tom Gordon for the refreshments. Jh ' Jwiukim For the past two years, St. John’s-Ravenscourt has been closely associated with the community of Fort Providence in the North-West Territories. During the first term, the boys are asked to bring in any old clothes that they might have at home. These are placed in the front hall until a formidable pile has been collected. The clothes are then placed inbags and boxes and shipped to their northern destination. Once in the community, the clothes are not simply given away. They are priced according to the income of each individual buyer. The money rasied from the sale of these articles is used to finance the building of a community club, their Centennial Project. We gathered more clothes this year than any previ¬ ous year. Over forty bundles of clothes were sent and we received many thanks for our efforts. 36

Page 41 text:

I%7 Cetdmml As Centennial Year occurs only once, it seems suitable in this issue of THE EAGLE that space be devoted to S.J.R.’s part in the celebration of Canada’s birthday. In most cases this will be merely a listing of events which are more fully written up in this yearbook or in the yearbook of last year, our Centennial Issue. To me the most interesting aspect of this review of the year is the number of events which in¬ volved the school in the life of the community at large. The school may be a micro¬ cosm of the outside world but it is also a part of that world. The year 1967 began with S.J.R.’s major centennial project, Meet Manitoba, which brought together at the school 65 students representing 33 ethnic groups resident in Manitoba. This event happened simultaneously at the school with the Lower School Headmasters’ Conference which brought together Headmasters from across Canada. The climax to both these meetings came with their joining together to attend the Russian - Canadian National game in the Centennial Hockey Tournament at which Lester B. Pearson dropped the puck. The Prime Minister honoured the school by personally greeting the Meet Manitoba group at this game. As two members of the National Team are members of our staff and the wife of a third we felt part of the team when they won the tournament in that game. In February, a large contingent of S.J.R. boys and staff journeyed by bus to the lakehead for the annual Ski Weekend. This was followed on February 18th. by the annual Winter Carnival which raised money for the SAVE THE CHILDREN FUND. During the Easter holidays I took a group of twenty-five boys on a tour of New York and visited the site of Expo on the return trip. At Expo through the kindness of The Hon. Robert Winters we were taken on a complete tour of the grounds and pavilions of Expo three weeks before Expo opened. In connection with Expo, every student at the school submitted an essay for the Centennial Expo Essay contest and we had three winners all of whom were given a week-long all expense paid trip to Expo in September. These boys were Dave Gargett, Darrell Laird, and Michael Payne. Another traveller to the East was Jim Lawson who was invited to participate in Upper Canada Colleg e’s Centennial project. During the summer months despite the impression that the school was a quiet retreat it became a hive of activity while hosting the following activities: The Canadian Amateur Swimming Association Championships Pan-Am Games Canadian Amateur Hockey Association Leadership Institute Pre-Season Training Camp for Canada’s National Hockey Team Much could be written about meeting Elaine Tanner and other sports notables in the halls of a boys’ school but I will restrict my remarks to the fact that in all of these activities staff and boys were involved in a variety of ways. Mr. Glegg was site manager during Pan-Am games while Mr. Shepherd was cashier for the dining room. Mr. Broderick looked after the arrangements for the hockey institute and Barney Anderson and John Gollwitzer were bus boys. Gavin Smith looked after the tennis courts. I blended this athletic atmosphere with my Ph.D. studies in English at the University of Manitoba during the summer and then in August represented the school at the International Conference of Teachers of English which met in Vancouver. 38