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

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Board of Governors 1987188 has been a momentous year in the history of the school. The Racquet Club and the Hydro land opposite have been added to our facilities. This will increase our recreational activities and I look for- ward to increasing numbers of top notch athletes being produced from S.M.U.S. in the future. The Middle School was opened early in the session and I would like to thank everyone for the smoothness with which this was effected, I believe that the initial teething troubles are settling down and that the three campus system will be very successful in the years ahead. The elegant New Residence on the Senior Campus has added tremen- dously to the comfort and well-being of the student body. The Board of Governors deserves an accolade for all its hard work in making these improvements possible. as to do the residents. whose rooms were so spic and span when our Honoured Guests toured around in May! We had a very successhtl gathering of the Alumni in May and we are grateful to the students who participated at the Annual Alumni Dinner. Your excellent presentations also at the opening of the Middle School by the Hon. Robert Rogers and Mrs. Jane Rogers, and at the opening of the New Residence by the Hon. Grace McCarthy. were also very much appreciated and added greatly to the tone of these occasions. I would like to thank the Grade I2 students who joined the Board of Governors at dinner earlier in the year. We hope you enjoyed this get- together: it is our intention to continue this formal occasion in the years ahead. It is one ofthe few opportunities which the Board and the senior students have to foregather. Congratulations to Grade 12 on their graduation and thank you for your effort. I would like to wish you every success in the years ahead. I hope that you will always remember your old school with affection and that you may come back to see us as often as possible. Good luck! D.A. Baird. Chairman of the Board ment and it would be a feat in itself to list the many successes of the students and their teachers. In some sports the school is gaining an almost legendary reputation while in others we are just beginning to make our presence felt. In mathematics contests the school continues to dominate. Cultural activities have also played an increasingly important role and many parents enjoyed the choral and instrumental music con- certs. A highlight of the year was the production of Jesus Christ 115' .4 Superstar under the direction of Colin Skinner and Joan Thompson assisted by Margaret Gwilliam. In debating, the team enjoyed the usual string of Island, Provincial, National and even International successes. But it has been the full and committed participation by even' member of the school community that has held us together in this year of change, as we added the Middle School campus and continued to strive for excellence in all that we do. This year's graduating class deserves special mention. They are the school's largest graduating class and certainly a diverse group of very lively young people. but they have been the driving force that has given this year so much ongoing momentum. The leadership they have received from the School Captains, Tanis Laidlaw and David Long- ridge, and the Head Students, Kirsten Gunther and Simon Franklin, has been excellent. As another year draws to a close. the question will next year bring more of the same? is often posed. Absolutely not! Each year brings with it fresh ideas, new challenges and directions to pursue, and it is facing these that keeps the staff and parents at St. Michaels University School dedicated to producing outstanding young men and women who are well prepared to be leaders in society. This has been an outstanding year of participation and accomplish- 7 S P.G. Gardiner

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Headmaster's Word The school year 1987-88 has been marked by memorable ac- complishments in academics. art. drama. debating. music and sports --- accomplishments of which we may all feel proud. Athletically. this has been probably the most successful year in the history of the school. To rank in sporting competition in the top ten of all public and Independent high schools in British Columbia puts any school into an exclusive category. SMU teams this year ranked ninth in B.C. in badminton.fUilz in B.C. in Senior Girls' basketball. second in Girls' field hockey and securzd tby a pointl in mixed tennis. They won the Provincial Mixed Doubles and the Girls' Doubles trophies. The SMU Senior Track Team won the Greater Victoria Track and Field Championship by a wide margin trunner-up were Mt. Douglas and Oak Bay High Schoolsl. then won the Island Championship and ranked eighth in the Province. SMU's Senior Girls' and Boys' teams won the B.C. Independent Schools' Cross-Country Championship, while Jim Anderson of Grade 8 and Pamela Lewis of Grade 9 placed first and second in the Island Cross Country Championship. In rugby --- the prestige sport at Independent Schools in Britain, Australia. New Zealand and Japan --- SMU enjoys a growing interna- tional reputation. It has been dominant in B.C. in the l98O's. This year, SMU's Senior Rugby Team won its eighth Independent School Cham- pionship in nine seasons --- and enjoyed an unbeaten spring tour to Japan. Taiwan and Hong Kong. ln the MAA International Maths Contest in which 500.000 students from over thirty countries took part. twenty-one SMU students in Grades 10-12 this year ranked on the World Honour Roll tin the top three quarters of l'ZvJ. In Com- puter Science. the SMU Juniors lGrades 7-93 ranked first in B.C.. second in Canada and third in the world. tThere were entries from 45 U.S. states and eighteen countries! ln debating. 1987-88 was another vintage year for SMU. which produced the top two teams in B.C.. competing with some 83 public and Independent Schools. David Longridge was the Top Individual Debater in the Province, while Salim Ramji. top in B.C. last year. this year was the Top Independent School Debater in Canada and the North-eastern U.S.A. and placed first among Commonwealth debaters in Britain. Music continues to flourish. The 1988 musical production. Jesus Christ Superstar . on the McPherson Theatre stage. was widely acclaimed. while SMU musicians --- including members of the fifty-five piece Middle School Or- chestra and the twenty-five piece Junior School Orchestra --- won numerous awards in the Music Festival. These and many other accomplishments in art. music. drama. debating and sports --- reflect honour on all SMU pupils. but especially on the leadership-by-example of the 1988 Grad Class. The School Captains. Tanis Laidlaw and David Longridge. the Head Girl and Boy. Kirstin Gunther and Simon Franklin. are especially to be congratulated. These results would not have been achieved without SMUis multi-talented teachers. who once again have given unstintingly of their time. energy. ability and enthusiasm. tAs one parent commented after a recent Prize Day: every school has one or two outstanding teachers. but what sets SMU apart is that it has such a high proportion of gifted teachers.i Pleasing as these and many other accomplishments ofthe past school year have been. my own greatest pleasure, on retiring after eleven years as Headmaster of SMU. is in knowing that the school can look ahead to still greater things, under its new Headmaster. Mr. David Penaluna. Those ofyou who know at first hand of Mr. Penaluna's breadth of ex- perience, his remarkable teaching ability and his dynamic energy and drive will appreciate SMU's good fortune. To the Graduating Class of 1988 I wish every happiness and success. Please keep in touch and bear in mind that your school's continued progress will depend to a large measure on the support which you give to it in the years ahead. With your backing. SMU will bc a still better school when the time comes for your children and grandchildren to attend. John Schaffter. M.A. tCantabJ Headmaster

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Head Boyls Address Mr. Schaffter. Honoured Guests. Members of Staff. Parents and Fellow Students. It is hard to believe that yet another year has passed us by. Again we gather here to recognize excellence. and to bid farewell to a graduating class. Comparisons inevitably surface. but they are inappropriate. for each class is unique in its own right. That is not to say that this was not a successful year. It was. Triumphs in a wide spectrum of ac- tivities have made this year one of the best in SMU history. This year's graduating class is a diverse one. 128 maturing per- sonalities are tough to unite under one roof. for each has different preferences and opinions. I don't think that many of us have realized yet that we are actually graduating. and it will probably only strike us a few days after we have left. This was a year ofchange and improvement in the school. Full ad- vantage is now being taken of a language lab. a new residence. a third campus and a superb sports facility. However, with the change came occasional confusion. It appears now that one grade 12 student did not know which campus to attend. She has not been seen since . . . A change of leadership is also occurring. Mr. Schaffter will not be returning next year as Headmaster. His contribution over many years with the school has been enormous. The saying that you don't appreciate what you have until it is gone is particularly apt in this case. Mr. Schaffter's initiative and dedication will be sorely missed. To his successor. Mr. Penaluna. I wish the best of luck for the years to come. I am sure that your feet will be big enough. The graduating class owes a great deal to an incredible staff. Much like wine. they seem to improve with age. Their enthusiasm and good humour have even made Monday morning classes verge on the enjoyable. I am certain that none of us will ever forget Mr. Greenwell's basketball games. both in the gym. and in calculus class. Mr, Gardiner will always be remembered for his little testies . Many of us still wonder why the photocopy machine only malfunctions for Mr. Jones and not for any other staff member. And as for Mr. Laidlaw, well. he's a totally dif- ferent animal . . , Also to be thanked are our parents. whose financial sacrifice and support over the years have probably not been ap- preciated enough. For those that follow us. I offer a few words of advice: don't take more than seven courses in one year. make sure to do your university applications well before their due dates. and I suggest that you seriously consider whether or not you really want to attend next year's wiener-eating contest. For my fellow graduates. a quote: What's right is what's left after you have done everything else wrong. Well. I wish you all the best of luck for the future. and may you all find what's right. or at least what's right for you. Thank you. Simon Franklin