St Michaels University School - Black Red and Blue Yearbook (Victoria, British Columbia Canada)

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section also set aside for the Sailing Club enthusiasts, now the largest single body in the School, wherein to do their thing. The result is that we now have an additional and valuable facility which we did not have before, and in the Spring Term in the new Theatre we enjoyed an excellent Comedy, 'A Man Full of Nothingl produced by Mr. Gudmundseth and lX4r. Fay, with assistance from Robin and Jennifer Spicer and help supplied gratis by Miss Chester of 'UVIC'. Some years ago our dramatic productions reached a high pitch of excellence, but became almost too much a part of the school life. Putting on the brake unfortunately resulted in a complete stoppage, but once again Drama has reappeared very strongly, and I feel that its future is now assured. Cn the extra-curricular side two things emerged: Ill the difiiculty of maintaining interest in the Cadet Corps, and C2l the number of athletic successes in competition with other Schools, both Public and Private, and, of course, the Rugby Tour at Easter. Wfe have had a Cadet Corps here since 1907 -one of the first Cadet Subalterns was a boy known as Ham Roberts, who, some thirty-seven years later and exactly twenty-six years ago today Uune 6th., 1944-D, then a Nlajor- General, commanded the Canadian Forces at the invasion of Nor- mandy-and the deterioration in spirit and performance over the past three years was not only distressing but almost caused the Corps to disappear. This was not so much the fault of the boys or the In- structors, but of forces outside the control of either, and principally in Ottawa. However, almost at the last moment and like a 'Deus ex Macliina' Captain Gabriel has appeared as Chief Instructor, and, as he is a former Area Cadet Officer for Pacific Command, an enthusiast and a man who knows the whole cadet business from A to Z better probably than anyone else in B.C., I am confident that the Corps can be rejuvenated completely, with a programme which the boys will want to follow and to continue long after the compulsory period is over. During this past lean period the Cadets have had practically nothing but foot drill and more foot drill without rifles f'square-bashingf as we used to call itl , and they have most certainly had my sympathy, but it will be an entirely different story when the new programme is listed and they can see what lies ahead. NVe have not been alone in this un- happy corps situation. It has been general throughout Canada and also in England, .where schools now adopt a compulsory period followed by a voluntary period, and at one school which I visited in March so good was the programme that the Corps contained more than one hundred volunteers who chose it in preference to extra time for other activities. In Inter-School competitions we have done extremely well in Rug- by, Sailing, Cross Country, Basketball, Cricket-the lot. not only at the senior level but at the junior also, and this 1m1st ensure that the teams of the future will maintain the level of the teams of today. In Rugby, by February we had the best team for some years and possibly the best school team in B.C. On the Spring Tour we played four games in England, one in Wales and, making history this time, one in Amster- dam against Nyenrode junior College. Of the six matches played three were won, three were lost, and eighty-four points were scored 11

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SPEECH DAY Qjune 6th., 19705 Speech Day- Sports Day, as usual, dawned bright and clear, and a goodly number of Parents and friends assembled in the Gym to cele- brate the 64th. anniversary ceremonies. After the Headmasteris Report, which this year is printed in full, lNIr. Ronald R. Jeflels, c.D., B.A., B.ED. CAlbertal. M..-x. QGantab.l, Director of Admissions, University of Vic- toria, presented the academic awards, of which the full list is appended, and then spoke principally to the boys on their inheritance in the world of today. He drew comparisons between the world inherited by his generation and theirs. He delved into History, but wisely refrained from forecasting the future, and appealed to them not to ignore com- pletely the lessons of the past in dealing with the future, but to profit from the good things which they had inherited in the continuing line of progress. It was a first-class Speech Day Address, erudite and humorous, which met with the response it deseryedma rapt audience and a sincere uthank-youn, Hrst from the Head Prefect, Justin A. Meeker, and then from Mr. Logan Mayhew, Vice-Chairman of the Board. The proceed- ings ended, as usual, with a lusty rendering of the School Song, and everyone adjourned for lunch, followed by the Sports, at which ldrs. Jeffels graciously presented the trophies to the winners. HEADMASTER'S REPORT Mr, Mayhew, Mr. Jehnels, Ladies and Gentlemen: Once again I am delighted to welcome Parents and Friends to Speech Day-Sports Day, an annual event which nowadays appears to recur with ever- increasing frequency. Although it is indeed a long time since my first Speech Day here, with the boxing ring in the old gymnasium as a platform and a very small audience indeed, it seems only a few weeks ago that we were assembled for the 1969 Exercises, and only the vast amount of activity which has occurred in the meantime underlines the fact that a year has indeed passed. In contemplating these same events we find that some things stand out. First is the good academic standing of the VI Form, who should produce very good results in Departmental Exams this June. Second, last November the School underwent a thorough inspection by a former Senior Inspector of Secondary Schools for Greater Vancouver, and I am glad to report that his Hnal summation was excellent and concluded with the following observation - 'Parents should be able to enroll their sons with confidence in this schoolf Practically the only adverse comment in the Report referred to inadequate space to imple- ment our otherwise satisfactory Art Programme, and the action on this was gratifying. A group of boys, headed by Brock Higginbotham and under the direction of Mr. Wood and Mr. Brookman, undertook as a school project not only the construction of an additional Art Room but also a permanent Theatre, equipped with stage, projection box, lighting etc., out of the old and long-disused Dining Room, with a 10

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against eighty-one, and hence we came out on top! Twenty-four boys were taken. all of whom played, and their performance both on and off the playing Helds gave the greatest satisfaction to their Coach, Mr. Hialsh, and to me. The fact that everywhere we went we were invited to come again is a pretty good tribute to the boys and to their ability to mix well in the different situations which confronted them. i'iNIany of you will have noted the recently-increased political activity to obtain Government recognition of the work done by the Indepen- dent Schools of this Province. Some of you may have noted President Nixon's tribute to those of the United States in his address of March 7th., wherein, incidentally, he noted a falling off in attendance at Private Schools by some ten per cent. This, of course, is happening in Canada too. Several Private Schools in B.C. have been obliged to close through financial support failing to keep up with spiralling costs. At present, despite much sympathy for the cause from M.L.A.s, and even some of those in the Cabinet, Premier Bennett fails to be moved, but, like water on a stone, if the pressure is kept up, then it must have some effect in ti1ne. Meanwhile much skilled work by teachers goes com- pletely unrecognized, and at the same time some 27,000 children in this Province are being educated without an acknowledgement or even interest taken by the Government. Personally, I feel that, as the future of this Province will one day be affected by these same children, then the Government is neglecting its plain duty in completely ignoring their education, and if it persists in this ostrich-like attitude the' eco- nomic facts alone will shortly force some action. In School District 1124, for example, one School closed last month, releasing several hundred children on to the Public School system and hence an annual additional bill for the Government which might well have been avoided. We are not proposing to close, of course, but it could happen, and it will certainly happen elsewhere with increasing frequency from now on. Possibly what is needed is inspection by competent officials appointed by the Government to ensure that the education provided for all these thousands of children is of a satisfactory standard. Next, the Teachers' work should be recognized, and, lastly, financial help should be provided-if only on a limited scale. I am not so much concerned with examination privileges as I am old-fashioned enough to prefer external examinations, which are impersonal and the same for all, to the arbitrary grading of a pupil by a teacher who may find it, for personal reasons, even diflicult to be impartial. What is now needed is action by M.L.A.s to overcome the opposition of that small but most powerful section of the Provincial Cabinet, and the M.L.A.s will act only if they are pressed by their constituents. uReturning to tl1e year itself - always there are some staff changes and these are generally deplored, but sometimes we say good-bye with regret, as we did last year to a Master, in this case Mr. Nigel Barber, who had accepted a teaching fellowship at the University of William and lNfIary, only to report the following Speech Day that he is to return in September. Our Chaplain, Archdeacon Wfolff, the Rector of St. Lukels, came to help us out in 1964 for six months only and has stayed for six years. I recall Mr. Harry Smith, who came from Victoria High 12