THE SAINT THE MAGAZINE OF ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL | SPRING 2017
LEARNING
THE CLASSROOM
THE SAINT
THE MAGAZINE OF ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL MANAGING EDITOR Joe Santos Head of Communications GEORGIANS EDITOR Ian Yen '03 Head of Georgian Relations GRAPHIC DESIGNER Bruce Elbeblawy
SENIOR COPY EDITOR Nancy Kudryk PRESIDENT OF THE GEORGIANS AND THE ST. GEORGE’S OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION Dirk Laudan '87
PHOTOGRAPHERS Richelle Akimow Photography Bob Frid Roger Pimenta St. George’s School Archives Clement Woo Ian Yen '03
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HONOURING 25 YEARS OF SERVICE
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BUILDERS OF ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL
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BUILDERS OF ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL Honoured in 2017
LD BOYS’ HONOURS O 2017 Recipients
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C OVER STORY Learning Outside The Classroom
O LD BOYS’ PHOTO ALBUM All the Events!
Address all correspondence to: Joe Santos, Managing Editor, THE SAINT | St. George’s School | 3851 West 29th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6S 1T6 CANADA Phone: 604-221-3891 Fax: 604-224-7066 Email: jsantos@stgeorges.bc.ca THE SAINT is copyright © 2016 St. George’s School, Vancouver BC Canada. Reproduction rights: We encourage you to circulate or copy this material unmodified for your own private use. You may quote any article or portion of article with attribution. Quotation of any article or portion of article without attribution is prohibited. THE SAINT, its contents, or material may not be sold, intact or modified, nor included in any package or product offered for sale. Please contact our office to be added to the mailing list.
COVER STory
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LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
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WONDER EXPO
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SAINTS’ JUNIOR PLAYERS PRODUCTIONS
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ON THE ROAD: IN EUROPE
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ARTSWEEK: ART & SOUL
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GLOBAL STEWARDSHIP CONFERENCE
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GLOBAL POVERTY AND YOUTH
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GROWING UP AT HARKER HALL
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CEDAR BRIDGE SCHOOL PROJECT
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ON THE ROAD: A MUSICIAN’S APPROACH
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ON THE ROAD: BAMFIELD TRIP
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ON THE ROAD: JAPAN TRIP
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LEARNING THROUGH ATHLETICS
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ON THE ROAD: ATHLETICS TOURS
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BOB MOSES: A LITTLE LUCK, A LOT OF HARD WORK
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JOSEPH FUNG ’99: WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR
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PROJECT SOMOS & ST. GEORGE’S NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE
> THE SAINT is published twice per year, expressly for Georgians, parents, and friends of St. George’s School. It is also distributed to other Canadian independent schools and selected public or private institutions. Comments about any of the articles are always welcome.
SAINTS’ life
THE OLD BOYS
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OLD BOYS’ HONOURS
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OLD BOYS’ PHOTO ALBUM
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SAINTS’ NOTES
ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL IS PROUD TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH:
Publications mail agreement no. 40580507. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: St. George’s School Society | 3851 West 29th Avenue, Vancouver BC V6S 1T6
THE LIFERS
RYAN WATT '17
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When it was time for me to enter Grade 1, my parents let me choose from three local schools. To be honest, I really had no idea what I wanted at the time or where I wanted to be in the future; I was a shy lad in need of a path to travel. Looking back, I wouldn’t be who I am today if I had not chosen St. George’s. Having to button up a white dress shirt and slip on some grey slacks every morning has shaped me more than I realized. I feel as though my time at Saints has allowed me to master the daily routine, giving me the ability to get the most out of each day. Simply put, I owe whom I’ve become to the School. Your Junior School years are a tender time. The experiences you go through and the lessons you learn during this period set the tone for your high school career. For me, having the privilege to build such a strong base has, without a doubt, been a huge part all the things I’ve been lucky enough to achieve up until now. I know my lifer brothers would agree with me here: if we had the choice to do it all over again, nothing would change.
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HONOURING 25 YEARS OF SERVICE At our St. George’s Day celebrations each year, employees who have reached 25 years of service to the School are honoured at a special Assembly and Luncheon. Retired long-standing faculty and staff are invited back to the School, and many stories and fond memories are shared.
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IRENE TERAGUCHI-CHARNEY ALAN SHERMAN Ms. Irene Teraguchi-Charney joined St. George’s School as a full-time Mathematics and Computers teacher in the Junior School. Prior to working at St. George’s, Irene attended the University of British Columbia and then started her teaching career in Merritt and Houston, BC. Following that, she worked at a start-up software company, Modatech, as a Quality Assurance Analyst, but she missed the world of teaching and applied to St. George’s after seeing an advertisement in the Vancouver Sun. While at St. George’s, Ms. Teraguchi-Charney has taught Math, Computers, and Socials, and has coached Field Hockey and Soccer. Most notably, she has been involved with the yearbook for her entire tenure and she formed the Junior School’s Georgian Club. Ms. Teraguchi-Charney identified four of her favourite aspects of St. George’s School: 1) opportunities—the support and resources to provide learning opportunities for the students; 2) staff—the friendly, committed, and talented faculty and staff she works with; 3) students—the eagerness of St. George’s students to learn new ideas and concepts; and 4) the administration—the opportunity to work under the direction of two great Junior School Principals (Mr. Steve Hutchison and Mr. Greg Devenish). When not teaching Junior School students about Applied Design, Skills, and Technology, Irene enjoys reading, going for walks, cycling, and meeting friends for coffee.
Mr. Alan Sherman began his career at St. George’s 25 years ago when a two-week placement offer to teach languages blossomed into a full-time position. Born and raised in Vancouver, Mr. Sherman attended Van Tech High School, UBC, and Université Laval, before returning and establishing his teaching career in the Burnaby and Vancouver public systems. During his tenure at St. George’s, Alan has taught French, Spanish, German, and Socials. He has been the musical director for a number of school musicals and has coached rec and team soccer, flag football, and mountain biking. Mr. Sherman has led school service trips to the Dominican Republic and Guatemala and cultural trips to France, Germany, Peru, and Bolivia. Most recently, he has acted as the staff coordinator for Destination Imagination and the Performance Club. When asked what his favourite aspect about St. George’s School was, he responded, “The camaraderie of the staff and the positive energy of the students.” Outside of life at St. George’s, Mr. Sherman enjoys playing a number of stringed instruments, completing home renovations, cooking for his family, growing and canning a variety of fruits and vegetables, and adding to the growing list of over 40 countries that he’s travelled to. Mr. Sherman rides his bike to work most days for about a 16-km round trip and pointed out that over his 25-year career he has racked up more than enough mileage to circumnavigate the world.
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On April 4th, 2017, Dr. Tom Y. Chan, Mrs. Norma J. Parker, and Mrs. Lesley Bentley were inducted as Builders of St. George’s School. Board Members, faculty and staff, Georgians, family members, and the community gathered to honour these individuals who have made an extraordinary, transformational contribution over time to the building of the School. The Builders designation represents the highest award the School will confer in recognition of extraordinary support. Reflecting a genuine love of St. George’s School, this support may involve either personal effort ‘above and beyond the call of duty’ and/or financial support.
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Builders The
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BUILDERS OF ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL
HONOURED IN 2017 MRS. LESLEY BENTLEY
DR. TOM Y. CHAN
MRS. NORMA J. PARKER R.N. (RETIRED)
Current Parent (Theodore ’21) Georgian Parent (Spencer ’06, Nathaniel ’07 & Caleb ’11); President of the St. George’s School Auxiliary 2004-2005; Head Convenor 2010; Board Member 2004-2005 and 2009-2015; Board Chair 2012-2015; Member of the Campaign Steering Committee 2014-ongoing; Current SGPA Volunteer; Major donor over 26 years
Georgian Parent (Chapman ’08); Board Member 2001-2010; Member of the Advancement Committee 2005-2006; Major donor since 1991. Uncle to other Georgians (Kendrick Li ’96 & Christian Chan ’00)
De facto ‘momma’ to generations of Boarders; Honourary Georgian; Robinson Distinguished Service Award recipient; retired Pediatric Nurse Practitioner; Provincial award winner from the Registered Nurses Association of B.C. for ‘Excellence in Nursing Practice’ during her tenure at St. George’s School
Mrs. Lesley Bentley is recognized for her outstanding and longserving engagement with St. George’s School. The first female Board Chair in the history of the School, she has extensive additional connections through her husband Michael, Class of 1980, and fatherin-law Peter, Class of 1947. Her active volunteer leadership roles in the St. George’s School Auxiliary and the current Parents Association, as well as her years of service on the Society Board, give her an unprecedented depth of understanding and appreciation for the School’s Mission and Vision.
Tom and his wife, Bonita, are now primarily retired and devote much of their energy to international philanthropy through their family organizations, including the Chan Foundation of Canada and the Chan Better World Foundation. The family had been based in Vancouver since 1987 and are well known for their extraordinary community generosity, particularly in the areas of the Arts, Education, and Healthcare. Tom and his brother Caleb are recognized for their many accomplishments both at the School and, of course, in the wider community. They have been transformational in their leadership and giving to St. George’s School, and many decades of students past, current, and future will have benefited from their philanthropic support. Dr. Tom Y. Chan has served under three separate Board Chairs: Rob Ellis, Peter Armstrong ’72 and Rob Cruickshank, all of whom speak very highly of him and his contributions to St. George’s School.
First hired in 1973 as the School Nurse, Mrs. Norma Parker cared for day students and boarders alike with hugs, laughter, and an innate understanding of boys. Along with her husband, Bob, she lived in residence for over 30 years, where she lobbied on behalf of all ‘her’ boys with the fierceness of a mother bear. Few would dare contradict her when she took up a cause. A gifted storyteller, she presided over ‘the San’, providing boys with love and affection in their home-away-from-home. During her tenure, nursing care grew from “a Band-Aid and a pat on the back” to a dynamic Health Services Department dedicated to serving the whole boy, physically and emotionally. She taught boys everything from Wilderness First Aid to personal hygiene to how to talk to girls. There are countless boys “she loved and nursed and saved from bad family situations, accidents, disease, and the pressure of Saints” who regard her as truly a Saint.
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FEATURED STORY
R
ereading one of former Headmaster John Harker’s speeches, I was reminded recently of how learning outside the classroom has always been integral to a St. George’s education. Speaking to the Vancouver Rotary Club almost 70 years ago, Harker explained that the Mission of the School was to graduate what he termed ‘true gentlemen’. “The most important thing we teach,” he declared, “is proscribed in no particular programme of studies—loyalty and integrity, leadership and interdependence, poise and self-control; in other words, character building is the first and principal aim of our curriculum.”
In Headmaster Harker’s estimation, the best way for the School to advance its Mission was through athletics and other out-of-class activities. In particular, he believed that rugby taught boys “to distinguish between being a sportsman and an athlete, between being manly and tough, to know what is funny and what is rude, and when to speak and when to shut up.” By “creating true gentlemen,” Harker concluded, St. George’s was preparing its students for the real world and ensuring that they would play a positive role both within their families and at the broader community level. St. George’s and the larger world beyond our campus have changed dramatically since the days of John Harker. Nevertheless, our School’s commitment to learning outside the classroom remains undiminished. All of our students are still required to participate in athletics, although rugby is no longer compulsory, and we have added outdoor education and service learning to our core program. The extraordinary expansion of clubs, arts and music opportunities, field trips, cultural tours and service learning trips reflect our ongoing commitment to Harker’s belief that a student’s most powerful learning often takes place outside of the conventional classroom. In recent years, we have deliberately blurred the line between the classroom and the outside world. In the Junior School, for example, boys in Grades 6 and 7 have had the opportunity to tackle real-world problems through their inquiry projects. Similarly, boys enrolled in our Grade 10 Cohorts have participated in experiential trips that have taken out-of-class learning to an entirely new level. The Connect Cohort turned their year-end field trip into a field study; the Express Cohort took their production of Ehrenfeld on a tour of Vancouver Island; the Discovery Cohort participated in several demanding outdoor trips and finished the year designing a 21-day excursion, and the Fusion Cohort participated in a 10-day Engineering Challenge at the University of Waterloo where they presented their personal projects to a panel of experts. Although he never would have anticipated such innovations, I am confident that he would have welcomed them as being beneficial to our students and integral to our Mission. This edition of The Saint focuses on the theme of Learning Outside the Classroom. You will have the opportunity to read about a number of recent tours and trips, as well as the Junior School’s Wonder Expo and the Senior School’s Global Stewardship Conference. You will hear from Chris Blackman, the Senior School’s new Athletic Director, and learn more about how he plans to continue the process of enhancing our Athletics Program and its powerful connection to character education. You will also meet Joseph Fung, an Old Boy and recently appointed Board member, who speaks eloquently about the way in which co-curricular activities such as rugby helped him become a more confident and well-balanced individual. All of this attests to the fact that, at St. George’s, valuable learning and transformational experiences happen both inside and outside of the classroom, just as John Harker would have advocated back as the 1930s.
DR. TOM MATTHEWS HEADMASTER SPRING 2017 | 11
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FEATURED STORY
“FAIL EARLY. FAIL OFTEN.” is emblazoned in the Grade 7 Neighbourhood in bold red letters and serves as a daily reminder to the boys to take chances and make mistakes. This principle of failure is not merely words or a mantra shouted at students like Miss Frizzle to her magical busload of children. No. The message is put into action through a project we call “The Wonder Expo”, where the boys design experiments, test hypotheses, and analyze data. Along the way, they also happen to develop a sense of curiosity, uncertainty, and risk-taking.
WONDER EXPO BY: KARYN ROBERTS
The Wonder Expo is a project that takes over Term 2 in the Grade 7 Neighbourhood. This year, the boys answered the question, “How can science be used to better humanity?” The project took them outside of the school walls on numerous occasions. During “Wonder Wednesdays”, the boys had the opportunity to interact with everyday people who use science in their work to better humanity. They hung out with a computer hacker, questioned a sleep scientist, and drooled over a manager from the Whitecaps, who uses sports science to
help his players. The boys explored our own backyard, spending two days at UBC. They had the chance to learn about new green buildings at the university, tour the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, observe science experiments at UBC Farm, and even talk to stem cell scientists. All of these experiences and interactions ultimately helped them tackle big questions in science. Can we make an inexpensive sleeping bag for the homeless? Is it possible to harness wind energy from an airplane? How can we reduce food waste in our city?
The boys designed experiments, made hypotheses, and put them to the test. In the end, some boys received excellent results and innovated amazing things! Other boys didn’t get the results they were hoping for. Both experiences were valid and important. The lesson the boys heard over and over from their mentor teachers was: “Not getting the results you anticipated is not failure. It’s data!” And curiosity, uncertainty, and risk-taking are never signs of weakness. No. They are signs of scientists.
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WONDER EXPO:
A STUDENT’S TAKE BY: CONNOR LEVIS '22
The Wonder Expo made me believe that almost anyone can make a difference as long as they wonder big but begin by taking small steps. The goal of Expo was to try to think of an idea that could change humanity and that had a real chance of working. I initially struggled with this, wondering how a 12-year-old kid could really make a difference. I thought of many different ideas like building a retractable hockey stick, which my mom would like because it’s easy to store and I would like because I could carry it almost anywhere, but it really didn’t have a large impact on humanity. During Christmas, I saw some shows on TV reporting on the incredible number of hungry people in the world and refugees around the world living in camps without enough food to eat. There were also shows covering the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and how it fed 26,000 people every day and how they often ran short of food. This made me think, “Why are people starving or going hungry in the world, and even in Vancouver, when there
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is so much leftover and wasted food?” The more I thought about this, the more I wanted my Expo project focused around how to end hunger, so I started with a title, Cure 4 Hunger. Around the same time, I remembered seeing a commercial on freeze-drying food. It made me think of the incredible amounts of wasted food in the world and how unfortunate it is that this food could not be sent to help feed hungry people. I researched it further and found that there is enough food in the world but a lot of it is perishable, so it can’t be sent to people that really need it. With freezedrying technology, you can freeze-dry most perishable foods. The dried food can last up to 15 years and sometimes longer, and it retains all its nutritional value. I thought this was amazing and could really be a solution that could actually work. I found a company that had commercial freezedryers and they were interested in my idea. The company is now exploring this as a possible business strategy and has met with local produce wholesalers about the vast
amounts of produce they have to throw out every day. I also came up with the idea to use social media as a tool for gathering food collections. I tried this in my experiment and was able to collect 175 pounds of food and donate it to the Food Bank. The Wonder Expo experience taught me so much. From my project research, I learned that there are over 800 million people in the world that are hungry, and even in Vancouver there are kids that go to bed with empty stomachs. In developing my project, I proved to myself that a person can make a difference no matter their age or demographic. Who knows? Maybe freezedried food could really solve world hunger or at least help, and maybe kids out there can spend some of their time using social media applications to collect food for the Food Bank and help people who have less than them. I’m hoping my project really will make the world a better place.
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FEATURED STORY
At the Junior School, all the boys participate in weekly curricular drama classes, and many boys also choose to participate in an annual extracurricular theatre production. These full-scale musicals are directed and choreographed by a passionate group of Junior School teachers, with technical design and support by the Senior School theatre teachers and Stagecraft classes.
SAINTS’ JUNIOR PLAYERS PRODUCTIONS SPRING 2017 | 17
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This very popular activity involves about 80 actors from Grades 4-7 (including some from our sister schools). Actors audition for roles and then rehearse up to three days a week during the three months leading up to the show. In recent years, we have explored many exciting themes such as medieval times in What a Knight!, pirates vs. sailors in Pirates of the Curry Bean, school life and fitting in with The Grunch, and this year, comic books and superhero fantasies in The Amazing Adventures of Superstan. This year’s production explored the life of Stanley Marvel, a clumsy candy salesman and aspiring superhero. When the town of Megaville was faced with a mega-villain— the Candy King—no one knew what to do! The Candy King used his “criminally contaminated confectionary” to unleash mind control over all the citizens of the world. Luckily for Megaville, Stanley, a devout believer in superheroes, was given an opportunity to be the real-life hero the world needed. There are so many benefits for students who participate in our Junior School musicals. Actors learn how to understand, empathize, and embody their characters. Beyond simply memorizing lines, rehearsals are structured 18 | THE SAINT
to allow actors to analyze the intentions of their characters, to apply the essential acting skill of active listening, and to interpret the vocal and physical expression of their characters. Actors also learn the power of an ensemble to communicate mood and tone of a show. Musically speaking, the boys learn how to work as a team. A chorus provides thematic material that allows the boys to work in a character role while singing. From a training perspective, they work on melodic and rhythmic principles of music as well as blend and balance in a choir. They learn that no role is ‘small’ and that every person matters musically. Musicals are a rare example of boys being fully engaged in both sides of the brain at the same time. Behind the scenes of a show is a complex, well-oiled machine that is greater than the sum of its parts. Comprised of Senior School student volunteers (often former Junior School actors) and the Stagecraft classes, boys who help backstage learn to be creative problem solvers, responsible, and action-oriented. For the success of the show, actors and crew must support each other with time-sensitive cues and stage directions. They develop a heightened
awareness of their surroundings and learn to notice and respond to unplanned occurrences (like sick cast members, missed lines, prop malfunctions, and tech errors). Choreography (dance) is rehearsed weekly to help boys discover their bodies and improve spatial awareness. They express their creativity through the ensemble dance numbers and also through featured smallgroup dance performances. As actors become more aware of their body language, they are able to tie in connections with their characters and incorporate qualities from their characters. The choreography rehearsals are highly athletic, and many actors find that dance has become a form of stress release and an unexpectedly fun way to spend time with their new friends. One cannot underestimate the learning that comes from being a part of a cross-grade ensemble performance; most boys find the community aspect of rehearsals and performance to be unlike anything else they experience at school. The trust and respect that is built through this intense shared experience is magical and always seems to end too soon.
FEATURED STORY
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The play is very, very athletic, even though it doesn’t seem like it will be; I really got a lot of energy out!
WHAT DID I LEARN
As an actor I have learned to reflect on my own good or bad experiences, consider what I did in those situations, and then apply it my character in the show!
FROM BEING INVOLVED WITH SUPERSTAN? The play is really good for my memory, because I needed to learn all of my lines, songs, and dances.
I have learned lots of different acting techniques, which has given me the skills to prank my friends better.
I’ve learned how the show can become a sort of ecosystem: everyone has a part to do and if one thing doesn’t work, the whole thing fails.”
Being a part of the backstage crew helped me practice being responsible, because I knew I was a part of the bigger picture. With my team, I learned to balance out our strengths and weaknesses.
THE SAINTS’ JUNIOR PLAYERS PRODUCTION TEAM: Munira Murphy, Josh Drummond, Mary Backun, Carol Hollander, Victoria Lau, Karyn Roberts, and Erin Leach SENIOR SCHOOL TECHNICAL DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: Cody Stadel, Robert Wisden, and Stagecraft classes
A PERSONAL ACCOUNT FROM MIKE JAEGER '22
MIKE HAS PARTICIPATED IN THE SHOW FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS. IN THIS, HIS FINAL YEAR AT THE JUNIOR SCHOOL, HE PLAYED THE ROLE OF SUPERSTAN. “In a Saints’ Junior Players Production there are quite a few lessons that the actors in the show start to learn without realizing it, in order to make a successful performance. They learn dedication, determination, and cooperation. The actors need to be dedicated to the play and make sure they make it to all of their assigned rehearsals, knowing their lines and blocking. Cooperation is essential to making a good performance, actors have to help each other out and rely on each other. Lastly, determination is, at least to me, the gap between a good performance and an amazing performance, an actor has to strive to fulfill the essence of his character and do the best that he can. Acting in the school play for four years now has emphasized my ambition to be dedicated, to help others, to recognize when I need help, and to do the best that I can do; these are qualities that I know are also important in having a well-balanced personal life and academic career.”
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FEATURED STORY
YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY KNOW THAT THE WORLD FACES MANY CHALLENGES, AND THEIR EAGERNESS TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTIONS WILL BE KEY TO OUR SUCCESS IN SOLVING THEM. AS A HISTORY MAJOR, I RECOGNIZE THAT TO UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT OR PREDICT THE FUTURE, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT OUR STUDENTS STUDY THE PAST. THAT IS WHY THERE HAVE BEEN GRADE 7 TRIPS TO EUROPE TO STUDY CANADA’S ROLE IN WORLD WAR I AND II—SO THEY BETTER UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT. These trips speak to “Global Stewardship” and the need for young people to be fully grounded in the past to deal with problems now and in the future. On our most recent trip, one the stops was to a memorial in Belgium, Camp Breendonk, a concentration camp run by the SS in WWII. Following the tour, the boys were obviously moved by what they heard and saw. I thanked our tour guide, who lost an uncle at this site due to his involvement with the resistance. In his final words to the boys, the guide told the boys, “You come from one of the greatest countries in the world. You have a justice system, laws, and a government that works democratically. Canada liberated Belgium in 1944. It is important that you vote and hold your politicians accountable to protect your rights and freedoms, for if you do not, this [Camp Breendonk] is what you get— barbarism.” Very powerful words.
GREG DEVENISH JUNIOR SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
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FEATURED STORY
“
All Canadians should visit Vimy Ridge at least once in their lives.
MR. GREG DEVENISH, VIMY RIDGE, MARCH 2017
BRINGING THE CLASSROOM TO EUROPE FULL OF CONTRADICTING EMOTIONS, WE STOOD NEXT TO MOTHER CANADA, MOURNING ALONGSIDE HER THE LOSS THAT CANADA SUFFERED DURING THE BATTLE AND THE WAR WHILST ALSO TAKING IN THE BREATHTAKING VIEW OF THE VALLEY AND THE TOWN OF ARRAS BELOW. THE LANDSCAPE IS STILL SCARRED BY HUGE CRATERS LEFT AS EVIDENCE OF THE HUMAN CONFLICT 100 YEARS AGO. WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO RESPECT THE DEAD. EVERY REMEMBRANCE DAY WE HONOUR THE GEORGIANS WHO PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. BOOKS AND MOVIES HAVE DESCRIBED TO US THE PAST. BUT IT IS NOT UNTIL YOU STAND HERE, BREATHING THE SAME AIR AND FEELING THE PLACE, THAT THE IMAGES AND THE WORDS ALL START TO MAKE SENSE. THIS IS THE LARGEST OF CANADA’S WAR MONUMENTS. THIS IS IMPORTANT.
BY: ALISTAIR LEONG (CLASS OF 2022)
The Grade 7s are here at the end of a week’s journey through Europe, following in the footsteps of Canadians who came through Amsterdam, Belgium, and France in the two World Wars. Thanks to our teachers who chaperoned us through these important lessons in history, we also got to do some activities they knew we’d enjoy like running through a fair ground, shopping for hats, and buying Belgian chocolate at Leonidas. Our parents would be pleased to hear that we also made it to several museums like the famous RIJKs museum (with works by Rembrandt and Van Gogh), the Science Center NEMO (five floors of interactive science), the Maritime Museum (with a replica of a 17th century trading ship we could explore), and several war-related museums complete with lots of displays for our ever curious fingers. What made this trip unique to us were the people we encountered along the way and the stories we heard. Our Dutch tour guide told us how truly grateful her family was to the Canadians for liberating them and, just as importantly, providing them food, fuel, and medicine. We saw a bride’s wedding dress made out of a paratrooper’s parachute
silk. In Ghent, we saw the black-and-whitetiled labyrinth imprinted on the church floor that a person would have to crawl upon for hours if they refused to go on the crusades. The Breendonk transit camp from WWII solemnly showed us some of the atrocities that humans can commit against each other, even while treating their horses better, giving them names where the prisoners had only numbers. We joined the last post ceremony under the Menin Gate and laid our wreath alongside those commemorating soldiers who lost their lives but didn’t get a grave because they weren’t found. As our group of 12- and 13-year-old boys walked along rows and rows of headstones, we bore witness to some of the 20,000 teenagers who had died in the war. I promised my grandfather that I would reflect that it was here in Ypres, the day before the big push over the real trenches and dugouts, that my war-hungry 14-year-old great-grandfather had been discovered by an officer and was “sent home to mother” for being too young. That battle wiped out his entire battalion of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. My family never found out which officer saved our line from extinction.
I wondered a lot about this trip before I went. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the usual hype in the travel brochure actually turned out to be accurate. We really did get to see and experience all that was described, but I was also surprised how much time we had to explore on our own. Our teachers gave us the freedom to find things out for ourselves whether it was that we really don’t like the mussels we ordered for lunch at a restaurant of our own choosing, that we can survive wandering around in an unfamiliar town, or, that we can spend that extra hour reading every single description in Anne Frank’s house. Let us pray that only Remembrance Tourism remains at these sites and remember that if everyone just agreed to and practiced kindness, then maybe we could all live together in peace. Thank you to Mr. Devenish, Ms. Lane, Mr. Webber, Ms. Murphy, Ms. Galbraith, all my fellow Grade 7 travellers, and Educational World Tours.
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This year’s theme for ArtsWeek was “Art and Soul”, and students were encouraged to explore what this meant to them in creative ways. At the Junior School, activities ranged from ballroom dancing and ballet performances to Rangoli artwork and Choice Day. Visits by special guests included the hip hop group Metaphor and comic book illustrator Jason Copland. At the Senior School, activities included improv and jazz performances, the first-ever Saints Maker Faire, Harker Hall’s ArtsWeek Formal Dinner, and the Rigg Scholarship Presentation, which recognized students excelling in Visual Arts, Music, and Theatre Arts. Guest speakers presented in daily assemblies and then spent time in various classrooms, allowing for deeper conversations and more intimate discussions. Presenters included:
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• Documentary filmmaker Mike Downie, whose multi-media project Secret Path, consisting of a music album, a graphic novel, and an animated film, aims to help audiences understand Canada’s troubling legacy of residential schools, exploring how to reconcile with the past and bring healing as individuals and as a nation. • Artist and photographer Naomi Natale, founder of “One Million Bones,” a large-scale social arts practice that fuses education and hands-on artmaking to raise awareness of genocide, and Artistic Director of The Art of Revolution, which uses art to transform public opinion and inspire social change. • Juno award-winning rapper Shad, who is known for his wit, humour, and often philosophical and honest lyrics. • Architect Michael Green, whose goal is to solve architecture’s biggest challenge—meeting worldwide housing demand without increasing carbon emissions—by building with wood instead of concrete and steel.
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AT THE RECENT GLOBAL STEWARDSHIP CONFERENCE HELD AT THE SENIOR SCHOOL, STUDENTS BEGAN CONVERSATIONS BIG AND SMALL ABOUT WHAT GLOBAL STEWARDSHIP LOOKS LIKE AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW DO WE AT ST. GEORGE’S LIVE IT. THEY ARTICULATED WHY THIS TOPIC IS SO IMPORTANT.
GLOBAL STEWARDSHIP CONFERENCE BY: SAM JOHNSTON
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Now that the dust has settled, and there has been some time for quiet reflection, I sit in awe of what we created as a community during our first annual Global Stewardship Conference. It was a transformational experience for me and, I believe, many within our community. Two days of classes shifted from our block system to a conference format, letting students from Grades 8-12 choose what they were learning in each of the available sessions. Learning took place side-by-side with students at all grade levels and faculty. The focus of the conference was to engage with issues that affect people around the globe: climate change, poverty, social justice, gender equality…the list went on and on.
When I think back to that week in early February, I am overcome with a profound sense of gratitude. I am so grateful to be part of a community that can come together to provide a wealth of experiences not typical of any high school experience I have ever witnessed. Students presented courageously to their peers and to their teachers; faculty shared a personal passion with their peers and students they might not otherwise have taught this year; parents showed how their experiences have an impact on the global or local community; and Georgians returned to inspire us with the experience they’ve had after leaving Saints. On top of that, there were offsite activities organized where students could work and learn about local initiatives they can get involved in, and there were a number of community groups that made presentations on topics ranging from documentary filmmaking to hyper-masculinity to powerful First Nations storytelling.
your goals. We were treated to a Q&A with global philanthropist, Frank Giustra, about bursting our bubbles and really getting immersed in the issues of the world, and we closed the conference with local social entrepreneur, Mark Brand, who showed us how doing good is also good for business.
Each day was punctuated by a large shared experience. The initial keynote was Natalie Panek, a Canadian rocket scientist who spoke so well and so passionately about how important perseverance is in reaching
To achieve our vision as a school, we have to be on the forefront of educating and engaging our boys to become global stewards. Dr. Reimers of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education posits: “If the purpose
FROM OUR STRATEGIC PLAN: The world is an increasingly complex and challenging place. The pace of change is increasing exponentially, and globalization has transformed daily life from one end of the planet to the other. In the years ahead, humankind must confront a variety of challenges. In order to flourish and to contribute to the building of a better world, our graduates must possess a heightened awareness, a sense of social and environmental responsibility, and a more fully developed global perspective.
of education is to empower all students to become global citizens, we must elevate our aspirations of what it means to educate children well.” The Global Stewardship Conference was just that, showing us what is possible when we elevate our aspirations. Working with staff, faculty, and students to try something that had never been done here before, I was humbled by the outpouring of support for the vision. It couldn’t have been done in just any community. It also couldn’t have been done without the work of the organizing committee, tirelessly finding presenters, working with student presenters, and making sure everything went smoothly. It was a pleasure working with them. They are an impressive bunch. I want to take this opportunity for one more thank you to the people who put in an amazing amount of time, energy and care to make this conference a reality and an amazing success: Sarah McLean, Sarah Coates, Norm Kaethler, Gary Kern, Phil Webster, Ryan Chapman, Tracie Watson, Adrienne Davidson, Brian O’Connor, Courtney Klassen, Heather Morris, Peter Jamieson, and Shannon Wilson. SPRING 2017 | 27
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CHALLENGES, MISPERCEPTIONS, AND RESPONSES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE I am currently in the Connect 10 cohort that focuses on leadership at local and global levels and encourages students to think about issues, small and big, that affect our lives and the world we live in. For the past eight years, I have been involved with the work of the Aga Khan Foundation to alleviate poverty at a global level. I have been an ambassador, a team leader, and an overall team lead for schools participating in the World Partnership Walk, an event created by the Aga Khan Foundation to raise funds to help achieve this key goal. In 2016, these school teams raised about $100,000.
GLOBAL POVERTY AND YOUTH BY: TAREEQ MANGALJI '19
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This year, I have taken a different approach to the World Partnership Walk. Last summer, I presented a proposal to the Aga Khan Foundation to visit some of their projects in Mombasa and meet directly with the beneficiaries, teachers, project managers, and administrators in order to assess the impact of the work that has been undertaken by the Foundation. I had two key questions: • Are the projects making a difference in the lives of the poor? • How do the youth whose lives are affected by these projects feel about the value of these projects? My focus was on the youth because too often fundraising and awareness-raising is focused on adults. Indeed, many of the youth here have a hard time connecting with these efforts because so much of the focus is on the adults. The proposal was accepted and I did a field visit to Mombasa, Kenya over Spring Break. I learned that the projects do make a significant difference and that, while many of the youth benefit in many ways, they do not have much opportunity to reflect on the value of these projects because they must balance their high aspirations with the day-to-day challenges they face. I
actually came back with many more questions, and I have shared these, along with other details, pictures, and observations in my blog www.tareeqm.blogspot.ca Over the last six months, as a culmination of this project and with the help of the School, I have been organizing a seminar to bring together noted experts in the field of youth and poverty with students, teachers, board members, civil society leaders, parents, donors, and members of the public. This half-day panel session, scheduled for late May, entitled “Global Poverty and Youth: Challenges, Misperceptions, and Responses that Make a Difference” will see several exceptional speakers discuss the challenges of poverty for youth and the unique and creative ways in which different organizations are responding at international, national, and local levels. Participants will listen to speakers, observe a moderated panel discussion, and then interact with and question the speakers. Various organizations, both local and global, have also been invited to set up interactive booths and share the work that they do so that seminar participants may identify ways they can get involved and help make a positive difference.
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BY: KEVIN TANG ’18
GROWING UP AT HARKER HALL
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For many students, coming to St. George’s means an entirely new learning environment—new school, new friends, and new teachers. However, as a Harker Hall resident, that learning environment extends beyond the classroom. As boarding students, we have to do daily chores and for many of us this means keeping our rooms tidy on our own for the first time in our lives. We also have to do our own laundry, clean up after ourselves, and manage our time wisely so that we are not late for class and finish all of our homework on time. While these things might sound trivial, they were never our concern at home because there was always a parent doing it for us or pestering us to do it ourselves. At Harker Hall, we have to learn independence, and living here pushes us to fully embrace each and every small detail in our life.
Harker Hall also teaches us about acceptance and understanding. Coming from different countries and cultures and joining into one community, we learn how to understand one another and become good and respectful listeners as we give and receive each other’s stories and opinions. In an environment where students come and go, we learn how to make new friends and how to say goodbye. Living with a hundred headstrong boys can be fun, but it is also
not easy. We laugh, we get angry, we fight, and we make up. We learn to deal with conflicts and disagreements. Living away from our family for months can be difficult and we learn how to deal with emotions like homesickness while also reflecting on how important family is to us. Many of the boys at Harker Hall might not realize this now, but one of the most important lessons during our time at St.
George’s School won’t be learned in the classroom but within Harker Hall, where we learn what it means to live together in a community. Where we experience what comradery is and come to know that brotherly bonds transcend your average friendship. Harker Hall is where friends have seen your best and worst and are in many ways, very much like family.
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CEDAR BRIDGE SCHOOL PROJECT SAINTS BUSINESS STUDENTS CREATE REAL AND LONG-LASTING VALUE
BY: KIMBERLY ORR
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“THE CLIENT IS ALWAYS RIGHT.” Even when you’re a volunteer, even when they dump endless photos and information on you, set hard deadlines, make you accountable for timely communication, dismiss and say no to your drafts, and even when you work at the whim of their schedule and their ability to respond. Multi-talented and focused Business students, Brandon Zhou and Jacky Zhao have experienced it all—and all while maintaining academic excellence and immersing themselves in various other co-curricular and community obligations.
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SENIOR SCHOOL A new elementary school in Lumby, BC—Cedar Bridge School— needed help with their strategic plan. Their philosophy “Nestled between farm and forest, Cedar Bridge School is a unique educational opportunity for your child” fit with Saints’ experiential learning focus, and when we sought student volunteers, Jacky and Brandon stepped up. Beginning only with the direction that the school is based on the Waldorf principles of hands, heart, and mind and that the client wanted to focus their marketing to directly link curriculum to nature, they were tasked to produce a new logo and an outline for a new website. Beginning in April 2016, they spent the next nine months connecting with the client for information and feedback, researched the direction the client wanted to follow, created a unique logo, advised on colours, and created the format for the website. The project was completed in January 2017, when their ideas and concepts were passed on to a professional graphic artist to finetune their designs. Their perseverance, creativity, organization, and most importantly, their outstanding client communication gained them success that few other high school students have experienced. Cedar Bridge’s website will be launched in June 2017 at: www.cedarbridgeschool.org Cedar Bridge’s board president Roxanne Brierley was impressed with Brandon’s ability to communicate, both in writing and verbally, in a professional and respectful manner, and with Jacky’s follow-through and amazing computer skills, especially his creative design for their logo.
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Working with Brandon and Jacky was a very positive experience. All of our staff were most impressed with their professionalism, ability to receive feedback, and adapt their progress accordingly. We are extremely thankful to move forward in marketing our school after such a great starting point. They should be proud to see their hard work in actuality. ROXANNE BRIERLEY
Why were you interested in the Cedar Bridge project? Brandon Zhou ’18 (BZ): I agreed to do this project because I thought it would be a good opportunity to give back to the community. It gave me a chance to connect with other people and schools from outside Metro Vancouver. Being a Waldorf school, Cedar Bridge provides a unique education to its students and that interested me. Despite the client’s initially vague requests, I was not surprised at the depth of material they required. For me, it wasn’t that the client didn’t know what they wanted; rather, they just did not know how to express their needs. I think part of my role in this project wasn’t just to lead the team and accomplish the explicit goals, it was also to help the client figure out their needs and to find what they really wanted. Tell us about your roles on the project and how they evolved. Jacky Zhao ’19 (JZ): My original role was only to manage the design of the website. We started with a team of eight people, each with very specific roles. As the year went on, the team got smaller, our roles became more ambiguous, and I focused more on the technical and business side of the project. BZ: Initially, my role was to act as support and help construct the website and any other marketing material the client required. However, as the project moved on, my role evolved to more of a leadership position. As other members of the team became busier with other extracurricular commitments, I gradually took over with communicating with the client and leading the initiative in creating
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the website. I also acted as another pair of eyes when figuring out the design elements of the website. What was the most challenging part of the Cedar Bridge Project? JZ: Trying to express what the client wanted. Because Cedar Bridge is a Waldorf School, it was hard for us to create a marketing package for something that was very foreign for us. Until the project, I didn’t know much about Waldorf schools or how to present them. BZ: Definitely, translating what the client wanted from text to imagery. Although the client described very vividly what they wanted on the website and the colours and layout they envisioned, it took some work to be able to transpose that to the real website. In many cases, it took hours of rearranging and repositioning to fit everything onto the page and to ensure that the client’s input showed in the final product. Did you learn any new skills, and what skills did you take from Saints’ Business courses and implement? BZ: By taking part in this project, we learned how to communicate and manage a team well, outside of the normal confines of a classroom. Working on the Cedar Bridge Project gave me experience working in different capacities; I started out following the Head and working with the entire team. This role gradually transitioned to a leadership role, and I ended up being the main point of contact with the client. In my Saints’ Business courses, I learned about communicating with others, from writing emails
FEATURED STORY to the client to working with the client to figuring out their needs. I was able to implement the theories given to me in Business courses and translate that to practical skills. JZ: One of the most important skills that I brought from my Business course was the ability to produce what the client envisions and not simply what you want. In this project, it was very important to view the problems they are having as your own, through their perspective, and address those concerns through the finished product. What was the most interesting part of the project? BZ: Being able to work with someone in another city that I had never met. When I found out how different the Cedar Bridge was compared to the experiences I encountered in elementary school, I was interested in their approach to education and their influences on children. Throughout the process of building the website, I got to learn much more about their approach to education. JZ: For me, the most interesting and exciting part of the project was comparing the final product to their original and to my other works. What did you learn that you would do differently next time? BZ: Next time, I would try a different type of communication and allow more time to review the client’s feedback. I would incorporate some of the new technological innovations into how I manage the team and schedule meetings with clients. JZ: If I had a similar project in the future, I would create a timeline that we be more accountable to. Where are you going with your education? Do you feel that projects like this and learning outside the classroom help? JZ: In the future, I want to pursue a mixed Entrepreneurship and Engineering degree. By doing a project like this, I gained experience in managing and working on projects and it helped me learn more about group dynamics and communication in groups. These skills are important not only in the degrees I’m interested in pursuing, but in all walks of life. BZ: Next year I will be in Grade 12 and soon, university. In the future, I hope to be in an environment where I get to interact and work with people. I feel that this project will help me get to that eventual goal. It has provided me with an invaluable opportunity to cooperate with others in my community and form a stronger connection with my peers.
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Most everyone who has the opportunity to study music enjoys learning how to play an instrument. Playing an instrument exceptionally well, however, takes more than just time and effort. It requires inspiration. More accurately, it requires the energy, focus, and intense dedication that ‘inspiration’ provides. This past February, 80 members of the Senior Concert Band experienced this when they performed a concert with the University of Puget Sound Wind Ensemble.
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LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM:
A MUSICIAN’S APPROACH BY: MARKO RNIC AND DENNIS WANG ‘17
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Performing a concert of any type is a challenge for most musicians. Our Senior Band experienced much more than this when they were invited to perform a joint concert with a university ensemble in the United States. Although our preparations began in September 2016, it was not until January 2017 that the situation became very ‘real’. This is when our students realized that they would be directly compared to an ensemble composed of students who had chosen to dedicate their lives to the performance of music. This provided us tremendous motivation! To this point, the boys prepared all the mechanical aspects of a good performance, however it was not until we left Canada that we fully addressed the concept of artistry in performance.
On the surface, the purpose of the trip was ‘to perform a joint concert with the UPS Wind Ensemble’. However, there was so much more to it than that. Essentially, we wanted to immerse our students in an intense educational experience with the hope of achieving literally dozens of goals. These all were intended to improve our understanding of music far beyond what is possible within a classroom setting.
had a masterclass with our host, Dr. Gerard Morris. Dr. Morris has been Director of Music at UPS for seven years, and brings with him phenomenal experience which he gained performing with one of the finest military bands in the USA. In the late afternoon, we had the opportunity to listen to the UPS Wind Ensemble perform, and then we had a joint rehearsal with them. Both these were highlights for our boys, and they learned so much from the experience of sitting next to university students who love to play.
audience at the Schneebeck Concert Hall in Tacoma. We opened with a powerful march entitled Xerxes, and followed with a highly contrasting work called Simple Gifts. Following this, the boys performed Fantasy on a Japanese Folk Song, and ended with the lively classic Handel in the Strand. Once the boys left the stage, the UPS Wind Ensemble performed their half of the concert brilliantly. However, the highlight of the night came when our Senior Concert Band joined with the UPS Wind Ensemble to perform Symphonic Metamorphosis by Paul Hindemith. This was truly a ‘peak experience’ for all involved. Following
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This three-day journey (February 23-25, 2017) began with a stop at the Experience Music Project (Museum of Pop Culture) in Seattle. Here the students had an opportunity to explore modern music in very creative ways. From performing on virtual instruments to recording in a rock band setting, our students began to shed
the ‘rules of music-making’ they had been taught. After a short drive to Tacoma and an excellent first meal together, we travelled to the University of Puget Sound concert hall, for our first rehearsal in an outstanding performance space. This two-hour session put us in the correct frame of mind for the challenges of the following day. On Friday, we had four significant musical experiences. The first was a masterclass with one of the giants of the concert band world, Dr. Robert Musser, professor emeritus. Dr. Musser spent two hours with the Senior Band introducing many concepts of artistry. For him, technical perfection is just the starting point of what we need to accomplish as musicians. After lunch, we
the concert, both ensembles attended a reception where all players had a chance to sit, talk, and share stories. Experiences like this, although based in standard classroom work, provide opportunities to go well beyond the curriculum. The intensity of the experience allows each student to attain a depth and breadth of understanding that would otherwise not be possible. Experiences like this allow us to bring joy and passion to the learning process and to build wonderful memories at the same time.
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BAMFIELD TRIP BY: KATHRYN MURRAY AND NORM KAETHLER
Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre is a worldclass teaching and research facility located on the outer west coast of Vancouver Island. The Centre supports diverse coastal and marine research of the highest calibre and is recognized as among the very best research and training facilities in the world. Over the first weekend in April, 14 students from Ms. Murray’s Biology 11 class and Mr. Kaethler’s AP Environmental Science classes traveled to Bamfield to explore its dynamic coastal environment, from exposed rocky shorelines and expansive 40 | THE SAINT
Squinting into the sun, Tommy Kuo (Grade 12) leaned against the boat’s railing, raised his binoculars, and pointed. “Whoa, look at that colony of seals!” The heads of nine students, teachers, and crew turned to follow his gesture. Sure enough, sunning themselves in a rocky alcove of the last small island between us and the wide Pacific Ocean, we found a dozen or so harbour seals enjoying a low tide bask. After allowing us to marvel for a few moments, our captain steered us back towards harbour and our home base for over the past three days, the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.
sandy beaches to productive estuaries and ancient coastal temperate rainforests. On our daily field trips, we collected plankton samples, explored rainforest ecosystems, drudged up a small collection of sea-bottom creatures, and catalogued the diversity of intertidal life. Back in the Centre’s labs, we examined our plankton samples under the microscope, followed the embryonic development of sea urchins, and handled various live invertebrates from local marine ecosystems.
On our long journey back to Vancouver, Burak Karar Clancy (Grade 11) summarized the experience well: “Bamfield really brought the course material to life! I’m really glad that we went.” Learning outside the classroom takes on real meaning when the boys are able to immerse themselves into the habitats of what we study.
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Learning outside the classroom is a theme evident on the Japan Tour, where travel is an opportunity to open the boys’ eyes to other systems of knowledge, belief, practice, and priorities, and to provide challenges to foster new skills and confidence. In the past, Ms. Bassett has led eight student tours to Japan, beginning with summer 1992 when we climbed Mt. Fuji together. Every tour has been unique, but all have included Tokyo, Kamakura, Kyoto, and Hiroshima Peace Park. We have also provided reciprocal homestay and school visits for students from Japan.
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When learning occurs outside of the classroom, the boys are able to experience the artifacts and the story of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima first-hand, they learn the culture through calligraphy and tea ceremony lessons at host schools, and immerse themselves in the juxtaposition of ancient nature, urban megalopolis, quiet paths, the spaghetti of the Tokyo Metro system, and the speed and comfort of the Shinkansen Bullet Train. The highlights for our 2017 trip were the outdoor activities: climbing up 550 feet
BY: MARTHA BASSETT
through over 5000 vermillion tori gates at the Fushimi Inari Shrine that was founded in early 700 C.E.; hiking the mountain barrier trail into Kamakura to see the big bronze outdoor Buddha that was completed in 1252 C.E.; and riding gentle rapids along the Hosogawa River to meet snow monkeys at a nature park. Learning outside the classroom began with a firm foundation inside the classroom. Participants had been studying Japanese from six months to three-and-a-half years. All participants attended weekly lunchtime
meetings to learn some basic language, courtesy, and history. Outside the classroom, the boys’ eyes were opened to other systems of knowledge, belief, practice, and priorities; and they experienced challenges that fostered new skills and confidence. We travelled beyond the classroom, the city, the province, the nation, and the continent across the Pacific Ocean to both urban and rural destinations in Japan and returned with a broader and deeper understanding of our world.
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BOY-CENTRED LEARNING HAPPENS EVERYWHERE and at St. George’s we know our boys also learn through sports, whether it’s in the gym, on the court, on the water, on the field, or in the pool. It is with this understanding that St. George’s Athletics has developed into a world-class program.
LEARNING THROUGH
ATHLETICS HOW LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM EXTENDS TO ATHLETICS BY: CHRIS BLACKMAN
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Our recreational sport offerings are chosen to provide a diverse variety of sports experiences that boys can enjoy without the pressures of high-performance expectations, significant training obligations, or competitions leading to play-offs and championships. For those boys who have an appetite for a higher level of competition and are perhaps pursuing provincial or national level opportunities, our competitive sport programs frequently involve try-outs, international tours, video analysis, preseason training, and customized strength and conditioning training as well. Our Fitness Centre is used by our Physical Education Program on a daily basis. It is also open for all boys, no matter what sports programs they enjoy. That facility is where Jesse Tupper, our Strength and Conditioning Coach, works with individual athletes on their customized work-out plans. Some of that work takes place in the evening or on weekends and frequently out of season as
well. Jesse also makes use of our fields and track when working with the boys. Outside of training and competitions, the boys have access to what have in the past been called “support services.� Jonathan Figueroa, our Head Trainer, oversees inhouse Massage Therapy and Physiotherapy Programs that all boys can access. He also coordinates the trainers that works with our sports programs both on-campus and at away events. Our higher-level athletes are encouraged to integrate these services into their plans. Complementing all of this is the availability of access to Kerr Pool. Hydrotherapy is commonly integrated into an athlete’s training plans and our Aquatics staff work closely with our coaches and trainers. In the coming months, we will pilot a program that will add video analysis to the Rugby Program. Video of both training sessions and games will be reviewed by the
coaches and the athletes who will also have access to statistics directly related to those clips. This pilot project will be reviewed, and, all going well, this element will be added to the Basketball and Soccer Programs. Also, this is the first year for a new level of support for three of our sport programs: Basketball, Rowing and Rugby. Each of these programs has an important place in the history and tradition of Saints. The Head of each of those programs has been relieved of a portion of their teaching load to allow each of them to work more closely with the Head of Athletics in designing a stronger and more integrated structure within their program. Planning will be done around a) professional development for coaches; b) integrated coaching plans throughout the program; and c) the structure of the season, including both training sessions and competition opportunities.
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Sports teams have been going on tours, some longer than others, for well over 150 years. Taking steamships to cross the Atlantic or Pacific was often an element of an extended trip that would last weeks and sometimes months. Rugby Canada’s last extended international tour had the Senior Men’s XV away from our country for 14 weeks in 1962. The New Zealand All Blacks’ Tour, the “Originals”, started in midSeptember 1905, wrapped up in late January 1906, and included 35 matches of which they won 34.
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Taking your team to another city, province, or country to compete against opposition about which you know little, must have been quite daunting when there really wasn’t anything other than old news articles about how your hosts performed. Preparing for a tour in the modern age of YouTube and easily shared on-line videos is far less challenging; however, there remain many valuable challenges for the athletes and coaches involved. The life lessons one learns while on tour— how to deal with airports and travel, how to 44 | THE SAINT
handle hotels or staying with a host family, sorting out new languages and currencies, resolving roommate issues—these remain consistent to this day, and are valuable lessons for anyone, and the ‘classroom’ is the tour itself. St. George’s has a long history of sending sports teams on tours and we also have a history of hosting incoming tours. During the 2016-17 school year, our Swim Team spent time in California as did our Varsity Basketball Team, and our Rowing Team held a 12-day training camp in Sacramento.
Our Junior Rugby Team visited the UK and Scotland, our Golf Team spent time in Hawaii, and the Soccer Teams and Ski-Snowboard Teams also had tours to competitions within the Province. The Ultimate Team will visit Montreal in late April. The lessons learned by the coaches and athletes who were a part of each of those events will impact how they view themselves, their team-mates, the communities they visited, and the athletes they faced.
FEATURED STORY After more than 100 hours of planning, long-time Head of Golf, Paul Proznick, lead eight boys to Maui for their Spring Beak Tour. Long known for its tropical weather, there are several outstanding golf courses on the west side of the Island. Consistent weather, quality facilities, and competition make Hawaii a destination for many golf tours. The plan for the visit included competing against two schools: Maui Preparatory Academy and Lahainaluna High School. Preparations included connecting with their golf program coaches to schedule and book tee-off times and to line-up athletes of approximately the same skill levels.
The boys were able to play the famous Kapalua Golf Course—home of the PGA Tour Tournament of Champions—which gave them an opportunity to challenge themselves against a course played by the best in the world of professional golf. That’s not an opportunity that comes along every day and one not readily available to high school golfers. Tours are frequently designed by coaches specifically to help a team build chemistry and allow athletes to get to know each other in an unfamiliar setting in order to bring them closer together. Coach Proznick states “First and foremost, a tour allows relationships between student-
athletes to be built and for the same to happen between the athlete and coach. The team building that occurs is second to none and some of these memories and experiences last a lifetime. The memories I have from past tours are incredibly vivid in my mind. Travelling together solidifies a bond that lasts a lifetime.” In planning for this year’s tour, Coach Proznick elected not to use a tour company to keep costs down and to allow for a unique tour to be developed. When asked to outline his priorities during that process he listed: overall cost, student experience (competition, training, down-time, fun-time, culture), travel time, opportunities for team bonding, and sightseeing.
He continues, “Words cannot truly articulate the tour experience. Every student needs to tour at least once during their high school years.” When asked to look ahead to possible future tours he hinted at the following: 2018 – The Champions Invitational: Palm Desert. Past Winners include current PGA players – Jordan Speith, Ricky Fowler, Patrick Cantlay and Beau Hossler. 2019 – Canadian High School Spring Golf Classic: London ON 2020 – World Schools Golf Classic: Site TBA
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VARSITY BASKETBALL Over the last ten days of the past Christmas break, Coach Bill Disbrow; Head of Basketball, Guy DaSilva; and Trainer Jon Hayduk led ten players on a tour to California where they spent time in Ventura, Pasadena, and downtown Los Angeles.
When asked about the highlights, Coach DaSilva mentioned “…the day trip to Universal Studios, taking the team to an LA Lakers game, and the beach workouts in Ventura.” The feature event of the tour was competing in the highly-regarded Monrovia Holiday Tournament. When asked about the value of taking a team away to compete, Coach DaSilva noted, “Touring helps to build the bonds that create a true sense of ‘team’ within the group. It allows players and coaches to develop even stronger relationships that go beyond sports. For coaches, the ability to spend more time
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getting to know the players on tour forges stronger connections and has a greater impact on the development of our athletes, both on and off the court.” He continued “…and for the athletes, I find that teams become closer as a result of touring and this has a direct, positive impact on how they compete and work together to achieve their goals throughout the season.” Taking a group of younger athletes on a mini-tour is often a first step in working towards a longer, more challenging tour in their last year or two of school. No matter the age group, there are benefits. DaSilva
notes, “I was fortunate enough to play postsecondary basketball at both Capilano College and with the University of Calgary Dinos, and when I get together with former teammates we usually reminisce about our experiences on road trips (tours), which have become some of the most memorable parts of your playing experience.” In December 2017, the Varsity Team is planning to travel to Palm Springs to compete in one of the bigger national-level events—the Gatorade Max Preps Holiday Classic. Looking further into the future, they are exploring the possibility of a tour to China in 2018-19.
FEATURED STORY Head of Rugby, Mike Stiles, has been overseeing Senior and Junior Rugby Tours for close to a decade. The recent Junior Tour to Scotland and the UK involved 45+ players, Trainer Jonathan Figueroa, and Coaches Chamberlain, Gaffney, Mergui, and James. They visited five schools–Wimbledon College (London); The Campion School (Essex); The Crossley Heath School (Halifax); Peebles High School (Peebles/Scottish Borders); and George Watson’s College (Edinburgh)–over 13 days, playing a total of 10 games. They also had seats alongside 67,000 other fans inside Murrayfield, the home of the Scotland Rugby Union, to take in a Six Nations game in which the home side defeated Italy.
Coach Stiles commented on factors he considers in planning rugby tours: “We want to expose our students to quality school rugby; the unique culture of the countries, cities, and schools we visit; and professional/international rugby games. We focus on process over outcome regarding the growth and development of our players’ performance and understanding of rugby, and the growth and development of the team and individuals.” Talented front-rower and track athlete Damian Hu ’20 enjoyed the tour and offered
this comment: “This was not just a rugby tour, but a great experience with a brotherhood. We learned that skill alone doesn’t win you games without determination and effort. These two weeks made me love the sport even more!” Finally, Coach Stiles noted “Tours force our students to experience the real world away from home, they face adversity, they have to make some difficult decisions, and they get to learn from failure and success. Tours allow young people the opportunities to develop into a good people. As well, rugby’s
international culture is really important to witness and experience on tours. Tours add a deep and important layer to our Rugby Program. They allow the program’s culture to continually grow by providing the boys with opportunities to play a sport they love and to contribute to our School in a positive manner. We try to give each committed player the chance to go on at least one tour during their time at St. George’s, and we hope that they come back better people who look for ways to continue living active and healthy lives.”
ON THE
ROAD
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BOB MOSES:
A LITTLE LUCK, A LOT OF HARD WORK TOM HOWIE ’06 AND JIMMY VALLANCE ’07
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FEATURED STORY
IT IS A MATTER OF CHANCE to run across a high school acquaintance on the other side of the continent. It is also difficult to be successful in the competitive music industry, let alone be recognized with an internationally-acclaimed music award. Tom Howie ’06 and Jimmy Vallance ’07, members of the electronic duo Bob Moses, have accomplished both.
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FEATURED STORY Unbeknownst to each other, Tom and Jimmy moved to New York City after graduation to pursue music. One day they accidentally reunited in a Lowe’s parking lot and began discussing the possibility of making music together; soon their thought was put into action. While talking to their music confrere Frank & Tony, they came up with their band name Bob Moses, derived from New York City’s urban designer Robert Moses, also known as “the King of New York” which was what they wanted to be. Since then, they worked their way to releasing two EPs and getting signed to a record label. Their 2015 debut album Days Gone By, and notably the song Tearing Me Up, gained radio airplay in the United States and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Album Chart. Among the growing audience, there was one admirer in particular—television host Ellen DeGeneres, who invited them to perform on her popular show. Tearing Me Up later received two Grammy nominations, including Best Dance Recording and Best Remixed Recording, and won the latter. Looking back at their high school years, Tom and Jimmy unanimously agreed that Saints helped shape who they are as musicians today. Tom recalled that the “art teachers were encouraging and supportive. They allowed you enough freedom to do your thing. They saw what you wanted to do and led you in the right direction. That helped with my self-discovery through adolescence.” Jimmy commented that, “pretty early on, Saints treats you like a grown-up. They give you the chance to resolve an issue like you are an adult. I also like the camaraderie among students. We had close friendships.” Swiftly entering the music spotlight, they are currently touring around the world and working on a new album. They hope to make an album that is influential on a global scale and representative of the times. They believe that through their music, they can “connect with a lot of people. Everyone feels an emotional connection to a particular song. When people say ‘your music has done that to me,’ that is what we want to achieve.”
Despite their success, they admitted that the music industry is rough, though with a positive note: “We were at the right place at the right time. We got a little lucky and everything was clicking, but we also worked hard. You don’t get a lot of sleep. It’s very demanding because a lot is expected from you. It’s hard to build an audience and make a living. But this is what we love to do. We enjoy doing interviews and performing.” Finally, Tom offered a piece of advice to aspiring musicians: “If you love it, then try to do it. There is no easy trick. It’s not as a magic as people think. You need perseverance and talent to begin with. You also need to be very honest with yourself. Some people want to be artists but they are only into the dream and the idea of it. You need to know how good you actually are and where you will stand.” Bob Moses certainly has a clear picture where they will stand. From Saints, they have gained knowledge, developed important qualities, and applied them to their musical pursuits, in which they will continue to thrive. This is a testament to their talent, courage, and perseverance, well exemplifying the merits of learning in and beyond the classroom. SPRING 2017 | 51
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JOSEPH FUNG ’99
WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR
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FEATURED STORY
LIKE MANY OTHERS, JOSEPH FUNG WAS SIGNIFICANTLY TRANSFORMED BY HIS EXPERIENCES AT ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL. What’s unique to Joseph is how he’s built on his time as a Georgian to bring a similar Canadian educational experience, focused on inquiry-based learning, to Hong Kong. He has attracted the attention of local parents, and also that of educators back in Canada, after partnering this past year with St. George’s School and other universities and independent schools in Canada. SPRING 2017 | 53
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A JOURNEY OF SELF-DISCOVERY When you first meet Joseph Fung, you’re struck by his genuine ardour and relaxed chattiness. He speaks in depth, seamlessly mixing into the conversation topics of food sciences, financial technologies, and global politics. With his amicable personality and long list of business accomplishments, it’s hard to imagine how different he was when he first joined Saints. Joseph remembers largely keeping to himself during his first few years at St. George’s and most of his teachers describing him as “shy and studious.” Of his earliest memories of St. George’s, Joseph describes: “I loved reading, and I remember one of the greatest gifts I ever received was a World Book Encyclopaedia set. I was fascinated with sciences and history from an early age. In my elementary years I would spend hours each day reading about different types of insects, animals, rocks, or trees I had discovered in the forest.” Being the new kid, and especially coming from a different country, didn’t make fitting in easy either. “My parents moved to Vancouver with me when I was three years old in anticipation of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China in 1997,” said Joseph. “I had been in Canada for some time, but didn’t join Saints until Grade 4. At that point, I didn’t identify myself as an Asian and I wasn’t quite one of the Canadian boys either.” He attributes eventually coming out of his shell to the learning environment at St. George’s—the multitude of outdoor activities and intramural sports such as rugby. “And just growing up with my peers, 54 | THE SAINT
the experiences and time together brings you closer,” Joseph added. “Saints was always great at doing that. As students, we were tested and confronted in many positive ways that brought us together.”
GROWTH BEYOND THE CLASSROOM St. George’s Outdoor Education Program enabled him to thrive, and Joseph fondly recalls the various camps and afternoons spent exploring the grounds. Around Grade 7 he also discovered a love for sports, such as skiing and taekwondo, which gave him the courage to try rugby at St. George’s, where he played as flanker and then as fullback. “By Grade 8, I started to open up and felt a growing sense of camaraderie with my peers because of my involvement in sports. I had stopped being the reclusive bookworm in the library that most of them had known. Saints taught me how to get out of my comfort zone, and playing rugby was a real turning point for me. The prospect of getting smashed in a ruck or a tackle was daunting, but was something I was ready to challenge myself with.” Before too long, Joseph was striving for his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award and also became a ski and taekwondo instructor by Grade 10. “Sine Timore Aut Favore – Without Fear or Favour” still resonates with me today and in many different ways. I grew in confidence during my time at Saints and continue to live by the School’s culture of tackling challenges head-on. The way that the School and my parents brought me up made we want to be independent and not rely on any privileges that I hadn’t earned for myself,” he says.
CAREER AND BACK TO SCHOOLING After moving the family to Canada, Joseph’s father, Thomas Fung, founded one of Canada’s leading real estate and media empires. It would have been an easy option for Joseph to settle into the family business right after graduation. Instead, he initially shunned that opportunity and embarked on his own career—initially in investment banking, and later in research on the buy side for Morgan Stanley and then at Hong Kong’s telecommunications giant, PCCW. “An important life lesson instilled in me from my time at Saints was to always add value to the conversation,” Joseph said. “Despite my father’s high profile in the business world, I was never really aware of his position in society. Perhaps I knew, but I failed to take notice. As a father, he was also keen to ensure that I wasn’t brought up with a silver spoon in my mouth, and so I wasn’t afforded many of the luxuries that many people might expect. In my 20s I came to realize the extent of his success, but I never felt entitled to anything. I knew if I was ever going to work within the family business, I need to be contributing and not extracting anything undeserved for myself.” Thomas Fung is himself a polite and unassuming man, and it is clear that these traits have rubbed off on his son. But eventually, no one was more pleased than the family patriarch to have his son return to propose a new venture for the family business to consider.
FEATURED STORY
FAIRCHILD CANADIAN ACADEMY “When I moved to Hong Kong in 2008, I began reflecting on my childhood and my education in Canada. Saints has really defined my character and I owe a lot of who I am to the experiences and friendships I forged there,” Joseph said. “I was aware that my father had philanthropic interests in education, so we began discussing how we could combine our passions. From there, we started to develop a vision for a groundbreaking school in Hong Kong.” Once again, Joseph did what he does best and went back to the books, learning as much as he could about inquiry-based learning. Reconnecting with St. George’s through Headmaster Tom Matthews in 2011, Joseph shared his vision to create a school in Hong Kong aligned with Canadian independent school pedagogy for the preschool to Grade 12 market. Within a couple of years the idea began to gain momentum and Fairchild Canadian Academy was born.
environments, and most importantly, in the positive attitude of our teachers.” In January 2016, the school’s first venue for early childhood opened and, with classes filling up rapidly, by December of that year their kindergarten venue opened. “What we aimed to achieve from the outset was to create enriching, hands-on, outdoor experiences and education (something that Canada is famous for) in Hong Kong, where these types of learning opportunities are often more limited.” With plans to grow their number of schools through both primary and secondary education, Joseph and his team are forging strong connections with universities and independent schools in Canada to encourage the exchange of research studies and best-practice pedagogy and to promote the strong ties that exist between Canada and Hong Kong. In this past year, Fairchild Canadian Academy has signed memoranda of understanding with the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and York House School. St. George’s is proud to be a partner in this collaborative exchange.
FULL CIRCLE Much of Joseph’s success can be credited to his time at St. George’s. “The most influential teacher for me was Dougal Fraser. Like most of my classmates, I was very fearful of him, as he was a strict disciplinarian. But, taking his class in Grade 12 was really a defining moment for me. He always demanded the best of his students and emphasized provoking thought with questions rather than answers. I think this still inspires me up to today, as I have always found myself needing to know why? I believe that asking the right questions is better than demanding an answer to everything.” So why has Joseph’s journey gone full circle now to focus on education? “Hong Kong is one of the world’s most international cities, attracting students with backgrounds from around the world. Unfortunately, the education system hasn’t changed much from colonial British era. Focus is still on standardized exams encompassing over 70% of the student’s assessments. Even at a very early age, children are undergoing a lot of stress. To perform well and efficiently, students are focused on grades and achievements instead of the learning process. My aim is for Fairchild Canadian Academy to fill a niche by providing a learning environment that fosters an intrinsic motivation for learning. ‘Creating curiosity, creativity and confidence’ is our mission and this is realized in our teaching methods, our learning
“Throughout our lives we are always learning, and I am fascinated about this lifetime quest for knowledge. More importantly, I believe this is a skill developed and nurtured at an early age. I think anyone who goes to a school like Saints is incredibly privileged, but the value in that privilege is lost if you don’t do anything productive with it.” Joseph adds, “I feel I now have the opportunity in many ways to do something that is meaningful and that will give back to the community. I’m not in this for the short haul; this is a long-term plan we have to make something very special. At the same time I want to give back to my family business and to Hong Kong. And I feel I can, in so many ways.” Spending more time in Canada has allowed
Joseph to increase his contributions to his family business and strengthen his relations with St. George’s. Last year, Joseph joined the Board of Directors of St. George’s School, where he contributes his business development and financial expertise to create connections in Asia, an area of increasing significance to the St. George’s global outreach and reputation. In addition to this, Joseph was appointed as a special advisor on the Asia Business Leader Advisory Council (ABLAC), which works within the Asia Pacific Foundation, advising the federal government and the Prime Minister of Canada on cross-Pacific business and political opportunities. On a recent visit to Hong Kong, Dr. Tom Matthews signed a memorandum of understanding with Fairchild Canadian Academy, connecting both schools for learning exchanges between teachers and students. The collaboration will also support the promotion of St. George’s in Hong Kong, a city from which we have welcomed many great students over the years. “There is real alignment between what our schools are trying to do. We recognise that every child is different and every child is unique. A lot of it has to do with exploration, discovery, and creativity, and in essence really trying to get a child to love learning. I am excited to see what happens at Fairchild Canadian Academy, and I am proud of our connection with Joseph and the school,” said Dr. Matthews. Joseph is quick to point out that for any meaningful connections to occur he must be adding value to the relationship with the School. Being bold, ambitious, and generous – yet not assuming anything in return. “Without Fear or Favour,” he says with a smile. SPRING 2017 | 55
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PROJECT SOMOS & ST. GEORGE’S NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE BY: MATTHEW BORODITSKY ’14
In March of 2013, several classmates and I had the opportunity to visit Project Somos in a southern Guatemalan community as part of a service-learning experience. Project Somos is an eco-sustainable alternative community for at-risk mothers and children in Guatemala. It was founded as a result of an ongoing recognition of rising poverty and poor access to education and medical care. 56 | THE SAINT
FEATURED STORY
In 2013, while attending my senior year at St. George’s School, I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a cancer affecting the body’s immune system, and suddenly, my life was put on hold for the next eight months. I was approached with the opportunity to be granted a wish through the Children’s Wish Foundation. I wanted this wish to be one to look back upon many years later and one that would stand as a constant reminder to not only myself, but to the greater community, about the importance of gratitude. The people in rural areas such as Chivarabal, where Project Somos is located, often don’t have the money to cover transportation to a medical clinic. If they do manage to gain access to a free clinic, the medication prescribed is rarely affordable (even generic drugs are prohibitively expensive). A study by SFU Global Health
found that women in the local community are often unable to access basic medical services as they are unable to leave their children in order to the take the long bus ride to the nearest hospital and clinics. The same study found an overwhelming need for improved public health education in the community. Realizing these extensive limitations, and having my own personal impactful experience within the healthcare system in Canada, sparked an idea to construct a Medical Clinic on site in Project Somos. Nearing the end of my treatment (2014), in partnership with Children’s Wish, we were able to direct the initial funds for the medical clinic for Project Somos. Since then, we have raised just under $100,000 towards the construction of the clinic and the integration of medical supplies. Construction should be completed by midAugust 2017. The Project Somos Medical Clinic and St. George’s Neighbourhood House will bring medical and dental clinic rooms to both the Project Somos families and the surrounding village of Chivarabal. The new facility will meet both needs by providing clinic rooms for visiting medical and dental brigades
as well as classroom space for public health education. In keeping with Project Somos’ commitment to environmental sustainability, the 960-square-foot building is being built with earthquake resistant earth bag construction and will feature solar hot water and solar electrical power. What I learned from working on the project: The most profound lessons I learned were the genuine emotion of positively impacting other people lives through the development of the Medical Clinic, and, more importantly, providing a platform for others to experience the opportunity to give back, hopefully instilling some small spark of humanitarianism for people to embody and spread throughout their lives. Furthermore, the ability to mobilize a community to support a common goal truly emphasized the importance of community
and the dedication necessary to achieve a goal like this. This perseverance would not have been possible without the amazing group of people I worked with who truly pushed each other to achieve our potential. How did it impact me and how I viewed the world? I believe that there is still a great deal of repair and restoration needed in this world, but we can only focus on small aspects of it at a time. I find that it is crucial to fill these voids as a united front, coming together as a community to propel these visions forward. It was essential to clearly identify the problem and create a vision for a possible solution. Specifically, I found that the solution needed to be one that focused on preventative measures, like healthcare education for the mothers of Project Somos, rather than reacting to the downstream outcomes of a much more systemic problem. It was truly a surreal experience to see how a mere thought of mine had manifested over time into a tangible clinic that will continue to exist for years to come.
How will the lessons “learned outside the classroom” influence me in the future? My experience during my senior year at St. George’s is one that will forever be engrained in who I am and my outlook on life. I plan to continue to take many of these lessons and experiences surrounding humanitarianism and philanthropy and build on them well into the future. I plan to always remember the importance of giving back and trying to make a positive long-term difference in the lives of others. One of the more important lessons I learned with this experience was the importance of not only giving back, but establishing the fundamental infrastructure that facilitates the long-term restoration of and sustainability of a less-fortunate community. This was one of the primary goals with this project.
What are some key lessons the St. George’s community can to learn from your experiences? I vividly remember the advice I was given very early on at Saints to get involved and experience everything the School and community has to offer. From this experience, I would make an amendment to that. Try not to get involved blindly in certain initiatives, rather get involved in things you are interested in or passionate about. Furthermore, search for the lessons from your experiences that have made an impact on who you are and the way you see this world. If I could distil my experience down to one major take-away, it would be that we all have the capability to influence someone else’s life in a positive way. The walls of St. George’s play an important purpose in their ability to not only remind us of the importance of the School and everything it has done for us, but also to serve as a constant reminder for the need to look beyond them and apply the many skills and lessons learned into our many life pursuits.
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The Old Boys are proud to present this year’s recipients of The Old Boys’ honours. With more than 5000 alumni in more than 40 countries, many Old Boys are recognized for their outstanding achievements and are celebrated for their positive contributions to society. These extraordinary men exemplify the spirit of St. George’s: honour, integrity, and commitment.
honouring
our very best 2017 OLD BOYS’ honours recipients
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RISING STAR AWARD In recognition of a significant level of success before the age of 40 whilst demonstrating vision and leadership along with contribution to his community.
JOHN BROMLEY ‘96 John Bromley believes everyone has something they want changed in the world and something to give towards creating that change. And he knows that when you give, you get something in return. Yet few of us engage in thoughtful or habitual giving, it is something few of us were taught to do. John grew up with charity at the core of his family’s values. After completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University and working in corporate finance with RBC Capital Markets and PricewaterhouseCoopers, he was introduced into the professional and strategic world of charity through conversations with his dad. Blake, John’s dad, is a pioneer of charity law in Canada and a world-renowned expert in benevolence. Eventually, they co-founded Benefic Group, an internationally recognized firm that provides expert counsel in charityrelated law, finance, strategy, and policy. While Benefic solves complex charity problems, it irked John that he wasn’t truly contributing to a sustainable culture of giving, particularly outside of high net worth circles and charity founders. He began applying his subject matter expertise towards empowering everyday philanthropists, and in 2012, launched Chimp (charitable + impact). Chimp, which functions as a free charitable bank, enables anyone to start their own giving account with tools to securely and costeffectively give to or fundraise for any registered Canadian charity of their choice. To date, Chimp has processed over $200M worth of charitable donations and “is just getting started on the development of its socially networked charitable bank”.
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Born and raised in Vancouver, after graduating from Saints and BCIT, Arthur went to work fulltime for the Canucks, who were owned by his father Frank. Arthur began with on-the-phone season ticket renewals and worked his way up. By 1981, he had been promoted to assistant to the chairman and an early task involved travelling to Czechoslovakia to sign Ivan Hlinka and Jiri Bubla, who played key roles in the Canucks’ unlikely 1982 Stanley Cup Final run. In 1985, Griffiths began working to bring Pat Quinn to Vancouver as president and general manager, a move that ultimately changed the fortunes of the spiraling franchise and culminated in an unforgettable charge to Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final. With Quinn in place, Griffiths represented the team on the NHL’s Board of Governors, and to make the Canucks a more viable business he explored options for a new downtown arena. Settling on a landmark site in False Creek between the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts, General Motors Place—Canada’s first privately financed arena since Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931—opened in 1995 at a cost of $163 million. It has been regarded as one of Canada’s finest arenas ever since. At the same time, Griffiths worked to bring an NBA franchise to Vancouver. After jumping through many expansion hoops, including a $125 million expansion fee, the Vancouver Grizzlies were born in 1995. That same year, Griffiths supported the creation of the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice in Vancouver, the first free-standing hospice for children in North America. However, the weak Canadian dollar did Griffiths no favours and in a heartbreaking move he was forced to sell the Canucks, the Grizzlies, and the arena to partner John McCaw in 1997. But Griffiths landed on his feet in time for his biggest contribution to the province’s sporting scene: chairing the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Bid Society. In 1998 he successfully obtained the Canadian Olympic Committee’s endorsement to bid on Canada’s behalf for the right to host the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and set the wheels in motion for the biggest sporting event ever held in BC’s history. Recently, Arthur was inducted to the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the W.A.C Bennett Award, which is given “to an individual who has made a significant, unique and lasting contribution to sport in the Province of British Columbia.” Today, Arthur works with Renaissance M&A (RMA). His career has focused on initiative, creative ideas, building businesses, and leading people. He is widely experienced in corporate affairs, finance, family businesses, family wealth matters, and related succession planning. Arthur is routinely sought out by entrepreneurs seeking advice on building value and how to successfully transition out of their businesses. 60 | THE SAINT
DISTINGUISHED OLD BOY AWARD In recognition of outstanding achievement in a particular field or industry, along with dedication and service to the community.
ARTHUR GRIFFITHS ‘76
HONOURARY OLD BOY In recognition of significant contribution to both the School and the Old Boys’ Association
SHAWN LAWRENCE In the fall of 1983 teaching jobs were scarce. A posting for an independent school on the west side of Vamncouver caught Shawn’s attention, so he flew down to the coast and met with the Headmaster, Mr. Alan Brown. According to Shawn, the interview was solely with the Headmaster and fairly intimidating. Thankfully, Alan Brown seemed to be somewhat happy with the fact that Shawn didn’t smoke, enjoyed sports, and was willing to take on anything put before him. Alan Brown offered Shawn the science/mathematics position on the spot, which Shawn says is thanks to a panel filled with the likes of Bob Bacon, Tony Parker-Jervis, and John Lawrence, who didn’t have a crack at Shawn’s proficiency in higher intellectual pursuits. As the years flew by, Shawn enjoyed teaching junior science, senior biology, and a few blocks of mathematics. Shawn also received many rewards from coaching soccer, track & field, and faking his way through the lower levels of rugby, all while raising four daughters with his loving and supportive wife, Judy. Shawn also partnered up with Dr. Mercer to organize several student/parent expeditions to the Galapagos Islands, which included incredible landscapes, flora, fauna, adventures, wonderful company, and rich memories for life. Before long, Shawn ran the Biology Department and then, at some point when he was not looking, he was appointed to the position of Head of Grade 12. Shawn finished his career at Saints as Principal of the Senior School. St. George’s has been a big part of Shawn’s life for over three decades, and he is thrilled to be inducted as an Honourary Old Boy and looks forward to his association with our distinguished fraternity.
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CANUCKS NIGHT
Over 60 Old Boys, friends, and family attended this year’s OBA Canucks event. Old Boys gathered for a small reception before the game at Rogers Arena’s new SportsBar, where former Vancouver Canuck’s owner and this year’s Distinguished Old Boy Award winner, Arthur Griffiths, addressed the crowd and gave some insights on what it is like to be a part of a professional sports franchise!
> Photo Album OLD BOYS’
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CAREERS DAY
In February, ten Old Boys returned to the School to speak at the annual Careers Day event. Ben West ‘92, David Wong ‘96, Chris Hindmarch-Watson ’97, Robert Glass Millen ‘00, Kyle Statham ’01, Gavin Dew ‘02, Chris Brodie ‘03, Bryan Statham ‘03, Greg Bevis ’04 and Ian Bevis ’04 spoke about the unique perspectives and experiences of their career paths to the Grade 11s.
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LOS ANGELES AND SAN FRANCISCO PUB NIGHTS
A severe storm warning could not deter the Californians from coming out to the Los Angeles and San Francisco Chapter Reunions. Senior Master Dr. Tony Mercer and new OBA President, Dirk Laudan ’87, experienced the strong community that is the Californian Old Boys.
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HONG KONG PUB NIGHT
In December, current OBA Director Tim Loh ’88 organized the first annual Hong Kong Chapter Dinner. This event brought together alumnae and alumni from St. George’s, Crofton, and York House. Many of the Hong Kong Old Boys are looking forward to a repeat event soon!
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HY’S BUSINESSMEN’S LUNCHEON
In mid-December, the OBA held its Annual Hy’s Businessmen’s Luncheon. Over 90 Old Boys, ranging from 1970 to 2014, attended the event, which provided a chance to catch up with old friends and make new connections. A big thank you to John Aisenstat ’79 for helping to coordinate and host the event at the world-renowned Hy’s Steakhouse.
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VICTORIA PUB NIGHT
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LONDON PUB NIGHT
On a cool evening in early March, 25 Georgians gathered at the CANOE Brewpub in downtown Victoria for the annual Victoria Chapter Reunion. Old Boys from 1957 to 2015 were in attendance, sharing a laugh, having a drink, and telling some stories from the “good old days”
In early January, Dr. Tom Matthews hosted a UK Chapter reunion in the heart of London. Over 25 Old Boys came out to enjoy some drinks, food, and the company of friends. Laughter and stories about the “good old days” went long into the night. Thank you to Matthew Lechtzier ’73 for all his help.
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ANNUAL OLD BOYS’ DINNER
This year’s Annual Old Boys’ Dinner saw over 120 Old Boys in attendance. The Old Boys’ community celebrated two of its most accomplished members: John Bromley ’96, was awarded the Rising Star Award and Arthur Griffiths ’76 was named this year’s Distinguished Old Boy. Shawn Lawrence was welcomed into the ranks as this year’s Honourary Old Boy.
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An internationally-renowned pianist, Jon Kimura Parker ’77 performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at UBC on March 24th and 25th as part of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Classical Traditions at UBC’s Chan Centre.
SAINTS’ NOTES ALL THINGS OLD BOYS
This year, six Old Boys and their companies were recognized by the “Ready to Rocket List” as top private companies that are best positioned to capitalize on the trends for growth. Congratulations to: • Bryan Statham ’03 and Lawrence Chee ’84 and their company, Lifeboosters Inc.; • Dan Sutton ’04 and Alexander Close ’04 and their company, Tantalus Labs; • Grant Findlay-Shirras ‘05 and his company, Parkbench; and • Kemp Edmunds ‘00 and his company, FreshGrade.
William Thomas ’85, has been elected Chairman of KPMG International. He will lead the KPMG global network of professional services firms. William has served as Chairman of KPMG’s Americas region since 2014 and has been a member of the Global Board since 2009. 66 | THE SAINT
Bryan Statham ’03 and Lawrence Chee ’84: Their company LifeBooster Inc., was also recognized as one of the Top 100 companies in the 2016 Global Digital Health 100, an annual international listing that distinguishes the top digital health companies across the globe by The Journal of mHealth. www.lifebooster.ca/top-innovative-digital-companies/
Stephen O’Keefe ’85 recently spoke on The Art of Listening at the Stanley Park TEDx talk in April. Check it out on the TED Talks YouTube website.
Robert Bolton ’04 recently designed and created a board game with Policy Horizons Canada called IMPACT: A Foresight Game. The game explores how disruptive technologies may shape the economy and society. Players learn about developments in fields like nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, biotechnology, and robotics and are prompted to consider their industry, environment, and policy implications.
Dave Carter ’99, Matthew Sarmento’09, and Brendan Bissett ’11 were named members of the Canadian Men’s National Team for the International Hockey Federation’s World League Round 2 in Trinidad and Tobago where Canada finished 2nd behind Japan. Kevin Robinson ’86 had his achievements highlighted by the BC High School Track and Field Commission during one of their Flashback posts. Kevin was the 1986 Outstanding Male Performer at the BC High School Championship, winning the 800m event in 1:51.10. Earlier in the season he had won the prestigious Milrose Indoor Games High School mile in 4:14.93 in New York.
Ben Scher ’15 has been named to the England U20 North rep rugby team.
Blake Hayward ’16, has accepted an NCAA Div. 1 Scholarship to Union College in Schenectady, New York.
John Aisenstat ‘79 and his family’s Hy’s Steakhouses were named one of the Top 5 Steakhouses chains in the world by Bloomberg!
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-27/attention-steak-snobs-chain-steakhouses-are-actually-great SPRING 2017 | 67
MARRIAGES Christopher Green ‘08 married Ariel Powell on June 25, 2016, in Princeton, NJ, at the Princeton University Chapel. The bride and groom met at Princeton, where they each received a B.A. Georgians in attendance included Brandon Green ‘05 (Best Man), David Sandberg ‘08 (Groomsman), Remy Eden ‘08, Matthew Hayto ‘07, Sebastian Hayto ‘08, Adam Hildebrand ‘12, Parker Lloyd Lim ‘08, and Jason Wong ‘08.
OLD BOYS WHO HAVE PASSED… RICHARD “GEORGE” WALKEM ’66 Born October 25th, 1948 in Vancouver, BC; passed away suddenly on February 5th, 2017. He graduated from St. George’s School in 1966; studied Law at UBC, and was called to the bar in 1976. George built a cabin on Wickaninnish Island in the 60s and he retired to Tofino in the early 90s. An early supporter of the environmentalist movement, he was a board member with the Friends of Clayoquot Sound. Later, he was also on the board of directors for the Pacific Rim Hospice Society. Known as a passionate lover of nature and the environment and an avid recycler, he had a giant heart and a gentle spirit that will be greatly missed. THOMAS HAGER ’69 Thomas passed away at VGH in Vancouver on November 14, 2016. MICHAEL (WATERS) MOORE ‘72 Michael passed away peacefully in his home with family by his side Sunday, November 20. He will be missed by his wife Sophie Oliveau-Moore, sons Ariel and Emmanuel, and daughter Iris as well as by his brothers and sisters, friends and fans. Michael survived a prognosis of three to six weeks due to a glioblastoma (brain cancer) for two full productive years. His music will remain with us always, as well as his profound spirituality. www.ladybirdmusic.com hosts his cyber-self. Fly my brother, fly. – William Moore JEFFERY COLLINGS ’77 Jeffery passed away on December 10, 2016. 68 | THE SAINT
OLD BOYS’
UPCOMING EVENTS • REUNION WEEKEND 2S AND 7S Friday, September 22 and Saturday, September 23 Senior School • UBC PUB NIGHT September TBA Mahoney and Sons (UBC) • WINEFEST October TBA • EASTERN UNIVERSITY PUB NIGHTS October/November TBA • REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE AND OLD BOYS’ GAMES Saturday, November 11 Senior School • HY’S BUSINESSMEN’S LUNCHEON Thursday, December 14 Hy’s Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar
For more information on our events, please visit our online calendar at: www.stgeorges.bc.ca/georgiansevents
SPRING 2017 | 69
IT TAKES A COMMUNITY TO BUILD FINE YOUNG MEN
When you give to the Annual Fund, you provide each student the opportunity to pursue his passion and achieve his goals.
THE ANNUAL FUND www.stgeorges.bc.ca/AnnualGiving
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Contributing to the Annual Fund is a very simple decision for our family. As part of the parent community, we recognize our responsibility to participate financially in support of all students’ needs. St. George’s is everything we hoped it would be and our children are thriving here. The funds allow for programs and initiatives that have impact. ALLEN AND SHARI GAERBER PARENTS OF COLE, GRADE 9 AND ASHTON, GRADE 7
The Annual Fund is crucial to the ongoing deployment of fundamental, critical services the School provides to students. Previous generations of Georgians contributed to the Annual Fund to ensure that we benefitted from the best education available in the world. As we continue to see success in our careers, it is a moral imperative that we continue the tradition of supporting current students as they seek the same opportunities that became the foundation for our lives. CHRIS BROWES ’96 GEORGIAN
I give to the Annual Fund because I like to imagine a day when a boy’s financial situation does not impede his ability to make a positive difference to his community. STEPHEN STURGEON DEPUTY PRINCIPAL JUNIOR SCHOOL AND PARENT OF KARMA, GRADE 8
70 | THE SAINT
Since working at the School, I have seen the excellent education St. George’s provides the boys. I am happy to contribute to the Annual Fund so that a boy may attend St. George’s when that may not have been possible due to financial considerations. THEO SELL SAFETY AND SECURITY OFFICER
YOUR GIFT OF APPRECIATED STOCKS IS A WIN-WIN-WIN!
With a gift of stock you will receive a tax receipt for the full amount of your donation to offset income, and you will pay no capital gains tax on any appreciated value of the securities. Plus, you will be investing in thousands of students in one of the leading independent schools in Canada and the world.
PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING VIA YOUR APPRECIATED STOCKS AND SHARES TODAY!
Call Adrienne Davidson at 604-221-3883 or adavidson@stgeorges.bc.ca or visit www.stgeorges.bc.ca/giftofstock for more information
INVEST IN ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL AND BENEFIT STUDENTS OF TODAY AND TOMORROW! RETURN ALL UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO:
3851 West 29th Avenue, Vancouver BC V6S 1T6 Canada 40580507