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

Page 12 text:

Valedictory ddresses Ladies and gentlemen, Honoured Guests, Mr. Head- master, Stajf and fellow students: Before you stands the Graduating Class of 1987 lwell, actually, they 're sitting. J And these fine young men and women, and even the rugby players, are about to go out into that awful realm with which teachers, for ages past, have threatened students: The Real World. But let me digress. Just what exactly is a grad class? ls it: aj an amorphous blob of studiousness? bl an amorphous blob of athletic activity? cj an amorphous blob of sheer inspiration? dl or just a plain old amorphous blob? First of all, the school is not a Cuisinart. St. Michaels does not produce puree of student. Because the answer is actually: ej all of the above. lYes, it was a trick question. 2 For our grad class is composed of academics, athletes, ar- tists and various combirtations and permutations of the above. I don 't want to destroy the myth of the well rounded stu- dent, but it is impossible to be involved in absolutely everything. There is just not enough time in the year las we have all sadly discoveredj. However, some people come close and most people are involved in many activities. It is this spirit of enthusiasm and level of participation which allows a school of our size to excell in so many diverse activities. This accomplishment is not merely ours alone. We would like to thank our teachers for their time and dedication and care. They went above and beyond the call of duty to help us excell in all fields, the playing field not withstanding. They have done their best to prepare us for the real world, besides teaching us to rise on silent cue and to make witty cocktail party conversation. Which takes us back to ladies and gentlemen and rugby players, about to enter the real world. As the Chinese philosopher, Lao- Tzu wrote, A journey ofa 1000 miles begins with a single step. Many of us will journey more than a 1000 miles and SMU has provided much more than just the First step. SMU has presented us with many opportunities and when we leave our journeys will take us to many dnjferent destinations. I wish all my fellow students success with their journeys, and hope they will choose their destinations carefully, and hope they will always remember Mr. Featherstone 's law of location Wherever you go, there you are. Thank You. Shaula Evans, Head Girl

Page 11 text:

Board of Governors lt is my pleasure to bring greetings from the Board of Governors. This year, our 80th anniversary, must have been one cj the most ac- tive in the historjv rj the school. Upgrading has been carried out at both campuses. These were relatively minor at the Junior School at this time, and the main thrust was at the Senior Campus. The quadrangle and grounds have been transfzrmed into a gathering place of great beauty. The Wenman Pavillion has been completed, two more houses on Aldridge Street have been purchased and work on the new students residence has commenced. The Racquet Club with its considerable acreage was purchased in the .hill and since then there has been extensive renovation. Construction rj the new Middle School at the Racquet Club will commence within a jew days and will be ready for use in the autumn. Upgrading of existing laboratories and classrooms has been dekrred for a year. These changes have improved facilities for staj and students and conges- tion in both Junior and Senior campuses will be reduced. We are proud of the success which you have enjoyed in athletics and academics. You have placed our school in a pre-eminent posi- tion throughout Canada. Congratulations to the graduating class and welcome to new and returning students whom I know will main- tain this high standard. I would urge you to continue your enthusiasm in school and that you maintain the dignity of the school at all times especially when you are in the public eye. Continuing loyalty and support from you after graduation is the real basis for the future. It is you who with increasing influence in future years can continue and increase the support and tradition which only a strong alumni can provide for us. Dr. D. Alastair Baird Chairman of the Board Dr, D, Alastair Baird fCHRMN,j Judge Michael Hubbard J. Ron McKenzie KTRSRJ Mary Burrage Mohan Jawl Robert Murphy KVCCHRMN. 1 Christopher Considine Dr. Herbert Lamla Wendy Piercy Mildred Couvelier Dr. J.R. LeHuquet Robert C. Simson David Edgar ISECJ Louis Lindholm, Q.C. Muriel Tassie Patrick Ely Kenneth A. Maclver Norman Tooke Dr, Gilmour Greig Robin J. MacLeod Jack Waldie

Page 13 text:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Honoured Guests, Mt'. Head- master, Staff and fellow sttalents: In the past jew weeks I believe every one tfus, witlt the realization rn' Gradiattion just over the horizon, ltas reflected a little on the events and feclittgs ofthe year which has so swU?ly past. I, for one, tried to gather my thoughts and put into words sotne expression of what this year has really meant. It has been a successful, eventful, jun and overall in- teresting year. Whether in academics or athletics, in rugby fwith tlte exploits if the First XV well known 2, in music and stage fwith Orpheus itz the Underworld a resounding suc- cessj, and, yes, even the silver screen fwhere we may yet find sotne of our more obvious SMU Graduates Hotly Pur- sued by Hollywood agentsl, the myriad talents if the Grad class, and tlzereby the school have shown tltetnselves. Without the energetic enthusiasnt of this year, we might never have heard the resounding chorus of Y. . M . . C . . A reverberating through the halls of S.M. U. on Disco Day, nor seen roman-attired young men and women doing the sometimes rather embarrassing bidding ofthe younger grades on Slave Day. The year, overall, was one of friendship, and unity. We shared our thoughts and our ideas, and itz so doing, we ex- panded our own horizons, and established links inf friend- ship between students, students and teachers, which I believe will cartjv far into the htture, even U' we are, to paraphrase Mr. Wilson 'scattered the length and longth if tlze known world '. So, here we are, as graduates, no doubt wona'ering to where, and how so quickly, the time flew. With only a week left of our graduating year I think we begin to realize what the years past have done for us. We have beetz challenged both acadetnically, and athletically. And, the diverse talents in each if us have had a chance to develop - in scholarship, sport, music, drama, art and debating. - None of whiclz would have been possible without the Stajf - in particular the Teaching Staff to whom I must extend tny thanks, on behahf of the Graduating class,' for your intelligence, wit, perseverence, sometimes fanatic fervor, and your tnemorable, unique personalities. On that tzote I must also thank our individual families. Your devotion and support through the years have helped us immensely. In Grade 8, my first year at S. M. U. , our class was described as a brilliant, extremely gqcted one. While one wonders whether Mr. Schajfter secretly tells this to every new grade 8 class, it does show lzis faith and hope in us. Whether we really are brilliant or gdted is for others to say, but we certainly have tried: We have, within our fold, a Grad, who in grade 8, by luck or by pluck, won the International Commonwealth Essay Competition, and since tlzen the school has been winning 1 st place internationally, every year. We lzave Nonalee Dong, wlto starred as tlze innocent and desireable Maria in Grade 10, in the school 's musical production of West Side Stotjy, and again in Gr. 12, despite her numerous commitments, starred as tlze desireable and not-so-innocent Euridice. We lzave John Graf the First XV Rugby captain, who has led the team to an unbroken string of victories culminating in the recent victotjv over the B. C. Team. We even have within our midst, a heroine - Tracy Pickett, who tnade the front page barely four weeks ago by jumping into the in- ner harbour to rescue a drowning woman, and who received a medal for her ejforts. Not to be outdone, Paul Sharpe on- ly two weeks ago returned from Ottawa with a gold medal in a National Science Fair competition. And, this is the only class who tried so hard in completing the dwcult West Coast Trail, that a helicopter rescue lzad to be called in to airlft out two cy' us who perhaps tried a little too hard. These efforts, and the ejorts ofmany others if this Graduating class too numerous to mention, are our response to the hope and faith the school has in us. 1 am certain that we will continue to ttjv and do our best in each of our respective futures. The school nzotto is one word: Vivat. When lfirst came to S. M. U. I thought it tneant, appropriately, Victotjv. I have found since then that the actual meaning ofthe word is long live ' '. So, tnay 1 wislz the school, the students who come after us, atzd tnost especially tny fellow graduates, long-lived Victories, and Happiness. Thankyou.