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

Page 13 text:

Headmaster' s Address The character and tone of the school each year is set by the graduating class just as surely as the tone of an athletic team is set by its all-star players. For that reason, I am most grateful to the SMU class of 1983, to Philip McCune and Janice Crook, the School Captains, to the Head Student, Megan Jessiman, to the Captain of Rugby, John Parkinson, and to all the other members of a truly distinguished group. Their enthusiasm, involvement and example have made this a fine year - one of the best years all-round that I have seen in many years in Independent schools. It would be difficult to thank adequately members of the staff for all that they have done. It is they who make SMU such a dynamic place. No school is better than its teachers and SMU has a high proportion of teachers and boarding staff who are not merely good but outstanding. tThere is no need to tell that to SMU students -they know it.J Not so well known, because it involves much thought and activity behind the scenes, is the work of SMU's volunteer Board of Governors. A great deal of the success which the school enjoys today is due to their dedication. All of us associated with the school, then, are indebted to the Board. Now that St. Michaels University School is one of the most over- subscribed of Canadian Independent schools, and its pupils are doing j well in so many fields, it is sometimes wrongly assumed that SMU's prime concern is the careful selection of students. The selection of students, like the selection of teachers, a wise school seeks good parents - men and women who in raising their children are affectionate, encouraging and wise. Not least, a successful school seeks parents who are well-balanced and positive in outlook: an individual's attitude in life is all important and parents play a major role in helping young people to develop a winning attitude. If it is true that 70070 of an individual's success in adult life depends upon personality and attitude, then it is probably equally true that 70070 of the success of any school is due to parents. Not long ago, I heard the father of one of this year's graduates sum up the aims which he and his wife shared as parents. Those aims might serve equally well as the aims of St. Michaels University School. He said: Now that the youngest member of our family has grown up, my wife and I feel that we've ac- complished what we set out to do when we entered our young people in St. Michaels University School. We hope that between what we did at home and what the school could do, our young people would go out into the world grounded in the three C's: able to Communicate, able to Calculate, and able to respond to Conscience. What else need be added? To the Board, to the teachers, to the hard-working boarding and administrative staff, to the graduating class and, not least, to the parents of the graduates, my warmest thanks for having made this school year, 1982-83 outstanding in the long history of the school. To the Graduates of 1983, God Speed and may good fortune go with you. John Schaffter Headmaster

Page 12 text:

Board of Governors 4 Ki.- tetrgtrwows H05 I E Mr. Peter Klassen, Chairman of the Board, at the renaming of Reynolds House Mr. Edward G. Balderson Mr. John Barton Cdr. Peter Birch-Jones Mr. Mel Cooper Mr. George Devlin Dr. Robert W. Durie Mr. William Eng Dr. Ronald Forth BOARD MEMBERS Mr. Ian Jessiman, Q.C., Vice-Chairman Mr. Peter Klassen, Chairman Mrs. Mary Moat Mrs. May Sheldrake, Secretary Mrs. Jean Stokes Mr. John S. Waldie, Treasurer Mr. Clare Cu. Copeland, Ex-Officio Mr. Halet F. Hallatt, Ex-Officio Mr. H. John P. Schaffter, Headmaster

Page 14 text:

Valedictory Addresses Janice Crook, School Captain Ladies and Gentlemen, Honoured Guests, Headmaster, Staff and Fellow Students: I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you the graduating class as an entity. Without a doubt our group is most effective as a bunch, a ff hoard, a crowd, a swarm . . . We've been called a lot of things. Our unity could be seen from the start of the first term on our infamous TOGA day. All the grads arrived at school in Roman attire, fooling the entire school into thinking that we were offering our services as slaves. Obviously we were extremely successful because Mr. Gardiner organized the slave drive sales on his own time so that we could enjoy a subsidized grad dinner. Actually, Mr. Gardiner has played a large role in this past year in aiding and abetting our class unity. He provided us with the unique opportunity to entertain the whole school in a calisthenic prelude to Sports Day in which all grads thoroughly and enthusiastically participated. VERY few other schools can claim such 'organic' unity among their graduating students. Everyone eagerly participated in activities ranging from Skip Day to Chapel Services . . . even Speech Day. The few members of our class that have been singled out for honours today deserve the individual recognitiong however, the grads of 1983 as an entity deserve the greatest of recognition. Lf' Philip McCune, School Captain Ladies and Gentlemen, Honoured Guests, Headmaster, Staff and Students: The achievements of the school as a whole the year and in particular the graduating class have combined to create a year said by many to be the best in the history of SMU. ln the area of academics: physics, debating, drama and a large assortment of other contests won. In extra-curricular activities mv the school can boast of championships in rugby and basketball with most other school teams accomplishing winning seasons. Obviously the school's success cannot even be outlined in a short speech such as this. What makes this success possible? In my opinion it's a certain feeling that goes beyond friendship, a togetherness, a community spirit among the members of the school that can only be inadequately described as unity. This unity involves itself in every facet of one's daily life from the teachers totally committed attitude as friends and educators to the students immersion in a school life of which academics is, realistically, only a part of the whole experience. When one is emotionally down at SMU there's always someone there, close friend or not, to pick him back up. Conversely when one is emotionally up there is always someone there, a friend, to share his joy. This friend may not be someone with whom you've always been close to but is inevitably a member of the student body who, as a part of the community feels for one of the family. A case of point of this philosophy was the support at the city rugby championships. What other school with 350 Grade 3-I2 students can have more people out to support the game that the opposing high school of 1200. As I've said throughout the year, we're a super bunch of guys. To next year's grad class and my successor I've got to say you have a big job ahead of you to do what we've done this year. But you've got the potential to go as far as or farther than we have - so go for it! Apply yourselves, work hard and play hard and you'll have a year just as we have had this yearg one of the most memorable of our lives. Take a word of friendly advice though and behave yourselves on those basketball trips. One last word to my fellow graduates before I go, it's taken from an old Irish toast and really expresses my feelings to all of you. It goes like this: May the road rise to meet youg may the wind always be at your back, the sun shine warm upon your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand. Thank You.