Veritas 2022-23

2022-2023

VERITAS

The Selwyn House School Magazine

THE VERITAS MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED ANNUALLY BY:

Selwyn House School

95, chemin de la Côte-Saint-Antoine Westmount, Québec H3Y 2H8 514-931-9481 | www.selwyn.ca communications@selwyn.ca

Editors: Sharon Cozens, Rafaela Petel Ruiz, J-P Trudeau

Contributors: Jonathan Bracewell, Sharon Cozens, Mary Ann Cloherty, Vanessa Conrad, Kathy Funamoto, Carol Manning, Joyce McCauley, Brenda Montgomery, Laura Osborne, Rafaela Petel Ruiz, Courtney Prieur, J-P Trudeau

Special thanks to all staff members who contributed stories throughout the year.

Photography: Sharon Cozens, James Downey ’23, Thomas Königsthal ’74, Rafaela Petel Ruiz, Kelli Poulin, Courtney Prieur, Olivier Séguin-Leduc, J-P Trudeau

Proofreaders: Sharon Cozens, Carol Manning, J-P Trudeau

The Cover: It's About Time...

Photographer: Thomas Königsthal ’74

Featuring: William Thaemlitz (K), Boaz van Gelderen (Grade 1) Hasan Karim (Grade 2), Massimo Piazza (Grade 3), Steven Zhao (Grade 4), Léon Jaclot (Grade 5), Matthew Ritchie (Grade 6), Jaedyn Springer (Grade 7), Yaseen Afif (Grade 8), Paul Evans (Grade 9), Benicio McCauley (Grade 10), Porag Das (Grade 11), David Ihaza (incoming Grade 12)

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MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORS TICK TOCK

"Time flies when you’re having fun." "It’s about time!" "Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking into the future." These are just some of the titles we considered for this year’s Veritas cover. As you read this edition of Veritas, you will see that “time is flying” and the Selwyn House School community is "having fun." Equally true, it's "about time" that Selwyn House School added a Grade 12! But most of all, time is "ticking into the future" (thanks to the Steve Miller Band for that last one), as Selwyn House School continually evolves and grows, preparing our students for whatever the future brings.

Thank you to photographer Tom Königsthal ’74, for another clever cover design, to the thirteen students featured, and to the Selwyn House School community for providing us with many stories to share in Veritas 2022-2023

Enjoy!

Sharon Cozens, Rafaela Petel Ruiz, J-P Trudeau

CONTENTS

Design: Rafaela Petel Ruiz, Karine Bernier

Printing: Data Resolutions

Publications Mail Agreement No. 0040026379

Printed on recycled paper

SHAPING OUR FUTURE

It’s been several weeks since the corridors have grown quiet as students, teachers and staff have begun their well-deserved summer break.

This past year marked a return to pre-pandemic normalcy. All academics were held in-person, the athletic program was back in full swing, students showcased the arts in person and enjoyed all the benefits of a Selwyn House education.

Once again, the teachers and staff went above and beyond to provide our boys with not only the very best education, but all the aspects of our beloved experiential learning.

Grade 12

This year will usher in change at Selwyn House: in its 115th year, the school is introducing Grade 12. Selwyn House has adapted over the decades to different governments and regulations in education. Recently, there has been a strong appetite from our community to offer an alternative to CEGEP. Under the expert guidance of the school’s leadership team, we are thrilled to be offering a competitive Pre-University program for the 20232024 academic year.

Pillars

We are fortunate at Selwyn House to have an energetic and dedicated Board of Directors who continue to be guided by the pillars of our strategic plan. As a reminder, the following are shaping the Board’s work:

Our Four Pillars

1. Embedding Our Philosophy

2. Evolving Our Educational Offering

3. Educating Our Community

4. Exploring Options for the Future Path Forward

Again this year, we are humbled by our community's generosity as we continue to pursue The Path Forward Campaign: Our Campaign to Open Doors and Open Minds. The campaign aims to minimize tuition fee increases, build our endowment fund and boost our bursary program.

Thank you to our Headmaster

All good organizations are characterized by the people within them. Selwyn House is fortunate to be guided by Headmaster Mike Downey. I would like to extend heartfelt thanks, on behalf of the board, to Mike and the school’s faculty and staff. They continue to make Selwyn House a special place for the students.

On a personal note, this will mark my final year as Board Chair. It has been an honour to serve the institution that has played such a tremendous role in my life and in my boys’ lives. We all look forward to what the future holds for our beloved Selwyn House.

2022-2023 SHA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael Avedesian ’88 Chair, Selwyn House Association Board

Michael Avedesian ’88, Chair

Courtney Beckerleg

Yan Besner ’96

Randall Birks ’88

Marie-Josée Boivin

Caroline Deitcher

Philippe Desmarais ’03

Nadia Giannetti

Vincenzo Guzzo ’86

François Hudon

Marie-Pier Lauzon-Laprise

Thomas Pitfield ’93

Alan Rossy ’79

Ben Spencer ’00

Jason Tsadilas ’88

Joshua Wisenthal ’99

FROM THE HEADMASTER

AN EXCITING YEAR

As the 2022-2023 school comes to an end, it is fun to take a look back at a very exciting year on many different fronts. This was the first “completely back to normal year” since I took over as Headmaster. We had no masks, no closures, no vaccine passports, no bubbles nor social circles. It was a year filled with activities and excited students.

As I walk through the hallways, it is inspiring to see how happy our students are to be here. I remember calling a Snow Day one Monday last winter, and three Kindergarten boys complained to me. They were upset because I had prevented them from seeing their friends!

Despite the positive atmosphere in the hallways, we will always be concerned with the mental health of our students and staff. Anxiety increases among adolescents, and we still don’t know the long-term effects of COVID on the mental health of our community. We have added a second counselor, and we are continuing to train our staff in mental health and awareness. The school would like to thank alumni parent Roula Rossy and her team for the organization of this year’s Known & Loved Gala which raised money for the Hannaford-Doherty Mental Health & Wellness Fund, an endowed fund to support mental awareness training of our staff. We believe very strongly that we need to take care of one another. It is what makes us the strong community that we are.

Another important focus for our staff this year was Pillar 2 of our Strategic Plan: “Evolving our Curriculum.” This pillar deals with what we teach and how we teach it, and what is missing in the curriculum and what should be removed. We held several

full-school meetings where teachers from all grades met according to their department. For example, all Kindergarten to Grade 11 English teachers met as a group. This was so positive that next year, we will devote time at every pedagogical day for teachers of the same subjects to meet to align the curriculum. And there is more excitement in the air. Our Pre-University program is off and running. The renovated Grade 12 space, located on the ground floor of the Speirs Building, is just about ready to go. The first official day of school for our Grade 12 class and our official ribbon-cutting ceremony is August 21. Here is one fun fact: Of our nineteen Grade 12 students, one is a “lifer.” He will be the first student to spend thirteen years at Selwyn House.

In June, we said goodbye to several long-serving members of the staff at our first Headmaster’s Tributes event. We celebrated: Ms. Evi Pachis (23 years), Mr. Chantal Simard (27 years), Mr. Jean Pruneau (31 years), Mr. Rob Moore (33 years), Ms. Brenda Montgomery (34 years) and Mrs. Kathy Funamoto (44 years). That is 192 years of experience. I would like to personally thank each and every one of them for all that they have contributed over their many years of service.

It has been a great year, and I am very excited for the future.

Headmaster Michael Downey

MESSAGE

PRE-U PROGRAM

In September 2022, Michael Avedesian ’88, Chairman of the Selwyn House Association, and Headmaster Michael Downey announced the opening of a Pre-University (Grade 12) program for the fall of 2023. Their letter to the community read, “We believe that this meets a need in our community providing students with an option for an additional year of academic preparation within our unique school culture…Selwyn House School's Pre-University will prepare students for admission directly into the universities of their choice in Quebec, Canada, or elsewhere in the world.”

Months of preparation followed the announcement. A dedicated team of staff researched and developed the fundamentals, such as accreditation and curriculum. They recruited students, hired teachers, coaches and counselling staff, designed the Pre-U space, worked with construction crews, scheduled classes, selected uniforms and more. The team met with families at information evenings, with students at orientation sessions and with supportive board members at weekly meetings. All of this was done in addition to their regular day jobs.

At the December information evening, two Selwyn House School alumni shared their thoughts. “There is something really interesting about being first,” said Tim Fleiszer ’92, Harvard University graduate and four-time Grey Cup champion. “Getting to be in that first Grade 12 class, to set that foundation and the culture that could end up being here, just like the school, for a hundred-plus years, that, to me, is incredibly exciting.” Nicholas Johnson ’15 and Princeton valedictorian, Class of 2020, currently pursuing his PhD at MIT added, “I believe

it will be an ideal stepping stone for any student interested in pursuing university studies outside of Quebec. Had Selwyn’s Pre-U program been available to me at the time, it would have undoubtedly significantly reduced the frictions I faced in applying to US universities.”

On March 2nd, our Prefects, sledgehammer in hand, kicked off the demolition and renovations of the offices in the Speirs building, the new home for the first-ever Grade 12. Pre-U students will study in Commerce, Liberal Arts or Science streams. They will have the opportunity to make their mark and shape the culture of our program for all those who follow in their footsteps. On a historical note, Selwyn’s first Grade 11 class (known as Form VII) was created in 1963. Our Pre-U students will be graduating exactly 60 years after that inaugural class did.

As Selwyn House takes this next step in its evolution, we will continue to hold true to the strengths and values that make us unique. With outstanding academics and athletics, small class sizes, and personalized attention for each student, our one-year program will provide the Selwyn House School environment with a direct pathway to university. Our dedicated teachers, coaches and staff will create real and lasting connections with each student, attend to their needs and interests and fully support them as they explore and pursue the next chapter on their academic and career paths.

Pre-U students and staff members are equally excited to be part of this latest chapter in the history of Selwyn House School, as they establish the precedent for those who will follow.

Some of the members of the Pre-U staff traveled to New Brunswick in March, hosted by AEI (Atlantic Education International).

Students attend Orientation in April The inaugural Grade 11 Class, Graduation 1964

MESSAGE FROM THE CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIRS

OPENING OUR DOORS

We are thrilled to update the Selwyn House School community on the progress of the Path Forward Campaign, a campaign that is ensuring Selwyn House remains accessible to current and future families.

The Board's decision to forgo government grants in 2021 was the right move. Since then, we have been able to open our doors to boys who have always dreamed of a Selwyn House education but were previously ineligible. Enrollment has steadily increased over the past two years, and we are pleased to say that the school is full. The board knew this decision would be a costly one; however, the community has been there to provide much-needed support, not only to fill the gap caused by the loss of grants, but also to build endowment for bursaries for deserving students.

As we end our second year without government funding, close to $9M has been raised towards our $12M goal. Our donors believe in the campaign, and appreciate the impact that Selwyn House has had on them, whether as an Old Boy, parent or friend of the school. We still have a way to go to reach our goal, but we know we will get there with the continued support of the community. Whether you favour privatization, keeping school fees stable and maintaining excellent programs and services, or endowed bursaries, ensuring our school fees are never an insurmountable obstacle for boys who have always dreamed of a Selwyn House education, we hope you will join those who have already supported the campaign. Your donations are more important than ever, and help open up the Selwyn House experience to boys and families of all backgrounds. On behalf of the entire Campaign Cabinet, we thank the Selwyn House School community for your wonderful support.

“I have been looking forward to getting to a stage in my life when I could give back in a meaningful way to the school that helped raise me. My contribution to the Path Forward Campaign allows me to support both the privatization initiative as well as bursaries for deserving boys.

I feel that privatization was a bold and smart move that needs the support of all Old Boys because it will ensure that Selwyn can continue to give the high quality education experience that we all received. Bursaries are also very important because they help to increase the financial diversity within the school which broadens the education of all the boys.

I am also excited to give back at a time when Mike Downey is at the helm of the school. I had Mr. Downey as a teacher in his first year at Selwyn many moons ago, and I have always liked and respected him. He has integrity and a genuine interest in the success of all of his students. I look forward to watching the school flourish under his leadership.”

Mark Smith and Vincenzo Guzzo ’86 Co-Chairs

CAMPAIGN CABINET

Honorary Co-Chairs

France Chrétien-Desmarais

André Desmarais ’73

Co-Chairs

Vincenzo Guzzo ’86

Mark L. Smith

Cabinet Members

Ian Aitken ’81

Michael Avedesian ’88

Caroline Deitcher

Michael Denham

Philippe Desmarais ’03

Lloyd Feldman

Anna Gainey

Conrad Harrington ’00

Jean-François Marcoux

Jason Tsadilas ’88

Justin Vineberg ’88

Rody Yared

- Jonathan Aune ’92 with wife Georgia (L) and step-daughter Melina (R)

Headmaster

Michael Downey

Director of Advancement

Sharon Cozens

THANK YOU!

The list that follows recognizes all Path Forward Campaign donors' gifts and pledges to date (July 28, 2023).

Veritas

$1,000,000 and above

Marie-Michelle and Paul Pathy ’88

True to Your World

$500,000 and above

Jonathan ’92 and Brian Aune

Jess and Mark Pathy ’86

Power Corporation of Canada

Mark L. Smith and Family

Marie-Christine Thibault and Rody Yared

True to Your School

$100,000 and above

Anonymous (3)

The Argyle Shop

The Birks Family Foundation

Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation

The Denham Family

France Chrétien-Desmarais and André Desmarais ’73

Sophie Desmarais

Amanda Furfaro and Philippe Desmarais ’03

The John Dobson Foundation

Christopher Hoffmann ’64

Rosemary Hoppenheim and Family

Sophie and Scott Jones

Alexandra Gosselin and Sebastien Kaine ’03

Wei Lu and Zhong Li

John R. McConnell Foundation

Vanessa Germain and Maxime Ménard

Mierins Family Foundation

The Molson Foundation

Peartree Securities Inc.

Anna Gainey and Thomas Pitfield ’93

Jade Raymond and Daniel Velan

R. Howard Webster Foundation

Huiyuan Li and Shaohui Yuan

True to Others

$50,000 and above

Mary Leslie and Ian Aitken ’81

Courtney and J. Matthew Beckerleg ’94

Michael Capombassis ’84 and Paul Capombassis ’86

Shirley Carreiro

Mary Dailey Desmarais and Paul Desmarais lll

Adriana Embiricos and Olivier Desmarais ’99

The Jean C. Monty Family

Annie Cardin and Sean O’Donnell

Nicole and Marc Schaffer ’94

True to Yourself

$25,000 and above

Maryse Bertrand, William Brock and Philippe Brock ’12

Heather Sokoloff and Lev Bukhman

Krystal DuBose and Nicolas Ellis

The Marchab Foundation

Natacha and Jean-François Marcoux

Carolina Vera and Liborio Piazza

Eric Stevenson ’75

The Wearing Family

Known & Loved Up to $25,000

Anonymous (10)

Thomas Antony ’83

Caroline Deitcher and Marcel Aulls

Michèle and James Beckerleg

Marie-Josée Boivin and Jean-Marc Bougie

Richard Brooks ’92

The Brosseau Family

Anne-Marie Canakis and John-Paul Capolicchio

Michael Carreiro ’92

Beverly and Timothy Carsley ’52

Sharon Cozens

Dawn and Peter Cruchet

Jane and Peter Darling ’52

Dianne and Jonathan Deitcher

Michael Dorfman ’94

Kathy McKnight and Geoffrey Dowd

Laura and Michael Downey

Amanda Jelowicki and Adrian Dunn

Lloyd, Rosanne, Joshua ’19 and Michael ’21 Feldman

Leslie Silver and Laurent Ferreira

Nancy and Bryan Fitzpatrick ’74

Charles Frosst ’51

Eric Goldwarg ’95

Karma and John Hallward ’78

The Late Conrad F. Harrington 1926

Charles M. Hart ’56

Anita Brown-Johnson and Dexter Johnson

Jamin Kerner ’94

Heather and Robert Kugler

Catherine and George Lackenbauer

Probal K. Lala ’83

Elizabeth Steele and Martin Landry

Barry Lazar ’67

Mark Lazar ’68

The LeMessurier Foundation

Sophie Donelson and Greg Lindsay

Lihua Liu and Bin Lu

The Madsen Family

Stephen Mashaal ’08

John Mingay

Véronique and Marc Minogue ’07

William Mitchell

Leah and Jeffrey Mitelman

Krista and Geoffrey Moore ’83

Vanessa and Mark Mulroney ’96

Matthew Munzar ’00

Nicholas Niro ’02

Elizabeth Edmiston and Jordan Padgett

La Fondation Polykar

Les Industries Polykar Inc.

Shiyi Fang and Chen Qu

The late Élisabeth Lapointe and Herbert Ratsch

Daniel Roiter ’94

Athina Papanagiotou and Antonio Salvatore

Grace and Helmut Schauer

Richard Schwartz ’88

Christine Legler and Kevin Schwartzman

Grace and Andy Shatilla

Minna Shulman

Theresa Song

Abby Lai and James Soutar ’83

Timothy Stewart ’59

Linda Stodola

Robert Tennant ’66

Andrey Hollinger and Robert Torralbo

David Turetsky ’94

Iris Unger

Brigitte Fortin and Guy Vadish

Samantha Mintz and Justin Vineberg ’88

Samuel Walker ’99

Dan Ping Shi and Chao Wang

Joseph Wearing

Sandra Parrott and Rick Wearing Family

Bradley White ’94

Michael Whitehead ’78

Brenda and David Wisenthal

Minmin Xiao and Ting Yu

Hongying Gao and Xin Zhang

IN HONOUR OF Peter Govan

Richard RuiXuan Li ’24

IN MEMORY OF Thomas Darling 1918

Michael Hoffmann ’67, “from his brother, Chris ’64”

Cindy Morton

Robin (Rob) Wearing

MATCHING GIFTS

Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC

NOTE: All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of this list. Kindly notify the Advancement Office of any errors or omissions at clohertym@selwyn.ca or 514-931-9481 x2294. Our apologies in advance for any inaccuracies.

“Selwyn has been an important part of my life, especially the strong friendships of the Class of 1994 that continue to today. We are happy to support the Rob Wearing Bursary Fund to help continue the Wearing family’s impact on the culture of our special school. Having had a chance to spend time recently with Mike Downey and Mike Maurovich–who coached and taught us over 30 years ago and are now leading the school–it’s comforting to know they and others are carrying Rob’s legacy into Selwyn’s future.”

– Marc Schaffer ’94 with John (L), Sam, and wife Nicole

2022 SPEIRS MEDALIST CAROL MANNING

would recognize: hackysacks, Rubik’s cubes, and Trivial Pursuit.

At the morning assembly, Headmaster Michael Downey, Head of Elementary School Kathy Funamoto and David Skinner ’82 made comparisons about Selwyn life “then” versus “now.” Prefect Nate Mitelman introduced this year’s recipient. “As the Head of the Middle School, Ms. Manning set the tone for what was expected of us. She had high expectations and high standards and we boys respected her and wouldn’t have wanted to disappoint her. She always showed how much she cared about us and our successes. She made an effort to know us as individuals and know what was going on in our lives.”

SHS COMMUNITY HONOURS

Four other members of our community were also honoured on Founder’s Day. Current parent Leila Roiter received the Nancy Pitfield Volunteer Award. Leila became a Selwyn parent in 2016 when her son Spencer joined the school. Her husband is Old Boy Jonathan Roiter ’90. At the Founder’s Day assembly, Grade 6 student Ryan Pitfield spoke about his grandmother, for whom the award is named, describing her as “kind of a super volunteer when my father (Tom Pitfield ’93) was a student at Selwyn.” The annual award comes with a $5,000 gift for the school which Leila directed to the school’s new Pre-University program.

Carol Manning was awarded the Speirs Medal, the school’s highest honour, on November 24, 2022 at an evening cocktail attended by 200 members of the school community. Attendees at this, and at an earlier student assembly, learned a great deal about this multi-talented educator who began her Selwyn House School career in 1982. Carol taught in Grades 1, 3, 6, 7, and 8; coached basketball, tennis, and rowing; and was the director of Grade 8 and 9 plays. As an administrator, Carol made an impact on the life of the school in the areas of curriculum, extracurricular activities, arts, athletics, outdoor education, service learning, scheduling, hiring, and professional development. She developed and was the first Head of Middle School for Grades 7 and 8.

Earlier in the week, Drama teacher Lucy Martin, and Director of Experiential Education Courtney Prieur and volunteers took students and staff on a trip back to the 80s to learn more about the era when the Speirs medalist began teaching at Selwyn House. Students and staff visited an 80s themed exhibit complete with old Mac computers, typewriters, and rotary phones. Students enjoyed activities that Old Boys from that time

At the cocktail reception, retired Dean of Students Minna Shulman and Kathy Funamoto introduced their friend and colleague, speaking about Carol's beloved family behind the scenes, husband Patrick and children Anna and Ivan Neilson ’04. Kathy added, “Carol exemplifies leader, teacher, children’s advocate and team mate. She has taught us all how to rise from adversity be it fire, flood, illness and/ or loss.” Said Minna, “The Speirs Medal is such a wonderful honour and a perfect way to celebrate and thank you for your 40 plus years of love and devotion to the entire Selwyn House community.” Michael Avedesian ’88, parent and Chairman of the Selwyn House Association Board, made the medal presentation.

In her acceptance speech, Carol remarked, “When I began at the school, I had no idea how rich and rewarding my career of thirty-eight years would be. The school provided me with so many opportunities to learn and to grow in the same way that it provides a myriad of opportunities for its students to learn and to grow. I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to be a part of Selwyn House School. I am honoured to receive this year’s Speirs medal. Thank you.”

Three retired staff members Matilde Codina, Geoff Dowd, and Barry Williams were named Honorary Old Boys for their outstanding contributions to the school and the Old Boys’ Association. Geoff Dowd’s career spanned 18 years, finishing as the Director of the Elementary School. He remains in contact with many former students around the world. Barry Williams’ career spanned 27 years plus another five years, part-time, as academic advisor. He continues to give his traditional grace at Old Boys’ reunion dinners annually. Matilde Codina, CFO for 24 years, worked with many Old Boys on the school’s board and foundations guiding the school to grow and expand.

L to R: OBA President Josh Wisenthal ’99, Geoff Dowd, Barry Williams, Matilde Codina

L to R: PVA Co-Chairs Joyce McCauley, Laura Osborne, Leila Roiter and Tom Pitfield ’93

AN EXEMPLARY CAREER KATHY FUNAMOTO RETIRES AFTER 44 YEARS

Mrs. Funamoto is retiring after forty-four years at Selwyn House School. She has worn many hats during her tenure at the school: teacher, administrator, counselor, friend, supervisor, advocate, organizer, animator, traveler, team member, team builder and many more. She has achieved many things over the years. It is difficult to enumerate all the vast and varied ways in which she has faithfully served the school community. Mrs. Funamoto may be retiring, but her legacy in the Elementary School will continue to live long and prosper under new leadership.

As an educator, Mrs. Funamoto has always looked to improve, be it in her own teaching or in her role as an administrator. This desire is driven by her curiosity, imagination, intelligence, and passion for learning. So many principles and practices in the Elementary School have come from Mrs. Funamoto’s desire to continually make sure there are always opportunities for students and staff to thrive in as many ways as possible. Co-op is one such program that she breathed life into and continues to support. She has a knack for making the simplest things into great teachable moments and experiences. Mrs. Funamoto is not a “flavor of the month” administrator. She wove new programs into old ones, and old ones into new, creating a fabric that was centered on experience and learning. She solicited and responded to feedback from the staff and students.

As an administrator, Mrs. Funamoto leads by example. She is always willing to lend a helping hand and to do the things that need to be done, be they necessary, interesting, rewarding, or downright fun. Bus duty at dismissal time might fall into the necessary category, but it also provides Mrs. Funamoto an opportunity to communicate with parents and students alike,

and to ensure the safety of all. Directing the choir for the Elementary School Play was interesting, rewarding and fun, even if it was sometimes like herding cats. Mrs. Funamoto’s lovely voice will be missed in assemblies during the singing of “O Canada” and the school hymn.

Mrs. Funamoto is always very supportive of students, staff and parents. She is an excellent listener and communicator. Her Elementary School assemblies are creative and supportive of the needs and interests of all. They often exhibit various aspects of what Veritas means at Selwyn House School. Mrs. Funamoto’s reading of “Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?” is an excellent example. She uses the metaphor of the bucket to exemplify how fulfilling it can be to exhibit kindness to all. That metaphor is used in many of her interactions with the boys throughout their Elementary School careers. She is a master of powerful and lasting images which arise from simple, everyday things. It is an effective way to teach and reach the hearts and minds of boys.

Mrs. Funamoto has spent her entire career in education working with the boys of Selwyn House School. She is committed to boys’ education. She was an important part of the committee which brought the IBSC (International Boys’ School Coalition) annual conference to Montreal in 2019 with Selwyn House as host. In the forty-four years of her tenure, she has touched the lives of so many boys and other constituents of the school’s community. She may be retiring, but she will never be forgotten. Her bucket is indeed full!

–Our thanks to Carol Manning for the above story, written for the 2022-23 Yearbook.

Fireworks at Grades 1 to 5 Closing, 2023

Headmaster's Tributes event 2023

L to R: Kathy with son-in-law Elliot, grandson Theo, daughter Allyson, and husband Glenn

Absent: Andrew Funamoto ’06 and wife Krista

Ms. Massarelli in her first year at SHS, 1979

A WORD FROM KATHY FUNAMOTO...

"Many of the greatest gifts that I’ve (we’ve) received these past few weeks have been the stories...there is nothing more rewarding than hearing a memory, a story, a moment, that parents and students remember that changed them because of what we said or did. Being a difference-maker in the life of a child is why we have stayed in our profession. We love to teach, but we stay for the people and the relationships we build. I know by the end of the evening our hearts will be filled with memories–from parents, from former students and from colleagues (new and old)! And phew, just counting the years, we have a total of 192 year-ends. That’s a lot of stories!

"What a privilege to work alongside those who are honoured here tonight and also to gaze out to see so many former and present-day colleagues who have gathered with us. A community of life-long friends, who along with a passion for teaching, build relationships, laugh and love. Not a bad day job! 192 years seems like a big hole to fill but it’s not. Look around. The next generation of dedicated, passionate, Veritas teachers are right next to you, ready to encourage, celebrate and create new memories. And we could not do it without the students and parents who trust us on their Selwyn journey. This is Selwyn. You are Selwyn, an extraordinary community. Let the stories begin! Thank you."

Brenda Montgomery 34 years of service

Rob Moore 33 years of service

Jean Pruneau 31 years of service

Chantal Simard 27 years of service

Evi Pachis 23 years of service

KATHY (MASSARELLI) FUNAMOTO – 44 YEARS

Mrs. Funamoto began her career at Selwyn House as an Elementary School teacher. Her love of math, choir and reading has connected her to generations of boys. Kathy was instrumental in implementing the vision for an early French immersion Elementary School program, helped make assessments more about the process of learning versus grades, and inspired students to fill their buckets, be kind and try new things without fear of making mistakes. We wish her well in her retirement! (Please see page 9 for a full tribute to Kathy.)

BRENDA MONTGOMER Y– 34 YEARS

Ms. Montgomery joined Selwyn House in 1989 as a computer science and math teacher. Over her 34 years at Selwyn, Brenda has worn many hats including Head of Computer Science, Director of IT, and Director of Academic Innovation and Growth. In the mid-90s, she started “Kid Tech,” a computer science camp for boys and girls. In 1995 she introduced the school to a couple of new ideas called the Internet and the World Wide Web. Brenda was the one who introduced and was the driving force behind the laptop program. She handled all of our scheduling, from classes to teacher assignments, to room allocations. She was instrumental in developing our "Towards Instructional Excellence” (TIE) program, our teacher improvement program, and she sparked the foundation for a future “Veritas Institute for Boys” summer program. Brenda has worked tirelessly to ensure a successful start to our new Pre-University program, coordinating curriculum and accreditation, designing the space, and more. Brenda becomes the new CAIS Director of Accreditation, so we will see her back here next February as we go through our own accreditation process.

ROB MOORE – 33 YEARS

Mr. Moore handled our teacher substitutions and report cards for several years but he initially came to Selwyn House as a wrestling coach. We have one of the most qualified coaches in the country. Rob has coached at the national and international levels for many years and has been on the Canadian coaching staffs of multiple World Championships and Olympic Games. He was recognized with the Longines-Wittnauer coaching excellence award in 1998. Rob took our wrestling program to new heights. He coached many of our students to medals at both the GMAA and the provincial championships. In 2006-2007, he coached the Selwyn team that won the GMAA city Championships, our first in over 20 years. Rob also took our team to Cuba on multiple occasions to train with a high school team there. Rob is retiring and will spend his time coaching and following his son, Alex Moore ’14, who wrestles for Canada.

JEAN PRUNEAU – 31 YEARS

M. Pruneau came to Selwyn as a Grade 6 French Immersion homeroom teacher, thirty-one years ago. He started coaching hockey with David Cude as soon as he arrived. Jean brought experience from both the Major Junior and the Quebec university leagues. Jean then moved into the Physical Education Department where he found his true passion. He continued to coach hockey at the elementaryand Grade 7 levels. He also coached the U-13 soccer team, led our elementary cross-country running team to nine consecutive GMAA championships, and he designed the rock climbing wall in the Speirs gym. Jean also ran rock climbing and cycling clubs. We wish him well in his retirement.

CHANTAL SIMARD – 27 YEARS

M. Simard joined Selwyn House 27 years ago as our first-ever Elementary Science Specialist. He dedicated himself to working with multiple grades to develop a love and a passion for science in our young boys. He instituted a science fair and a robotics program at the elementary level that are both still running with the same high standards that he set. Chantal spent several years helping M. Pruneau coach the elementary hockey team. In the last few years, he moved into the role of Grade 2 homeroom teacher. He loves teaching and it shows. Chantal is retiring and will be volunteering with a community in the Côte Nord area of Québec.

EVI PACHIS – 23 YEARS

Evi taught French at the Grade 2, Grade 5 and Grade 6 levels over a period of seventeen years. She also served as the Head of the Elementary French Department before going back to school to become certified as an orthopedagogue. She has spent the last few years working as a learning strategist with K-3 students, helping to improve their reading acquisition skills and overall literacy. She also coordinated the staff mentoring program. We wish her well in her new role as French consultant with the Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys.

ACADEMICS

Congratulations to the many students who represented Selwyn House School locally, provincially and nationally bringing recognition to their school. Here are just a few of the accolades that students received.

FINALE RÉGIONALE D'EXPOSCIENCES DE L'ÉLÉMENTAIRE - MÉDAILLE D'ARGENT

La finale régionale d'Expo-Sciences de l'élémentaire s'est tenue le 12 et 13 mai et neuf élèves de Selwyn House ont fait bonne figure. Vincent Landry et Liam Scully (6e) ont remporté la médaille d'argent pour la classe Juvénile 3. Adrian Steinberg (6e) a gagné le prix de Monsieur Pierre Fitzgibbon, Kai Mendell (4e) a reçu le prix Écorécréo, et Loïc Arzel (6e) a gagné le prix du Biophare.

once again won first place in this contest sponsored by le Barreau de Montréal. Preston Garcia de la Vega took first prize in the Secondary I category for his essay on this year's theme: "How can we make Montreal a safer city?"

SENIOR SCHOOL ACADEMIC AWARDS

Senior School students were recognized for achievements made during the 2021-2022 school year at the school’s fall Academic Awards Ceremony on September 21. Awards ranged from High Honours, Outstanding Effort and Conduct, to Cum Laude and subject prizes. It was wonderful to have parents present for the first time in two years.

THE GRADE 8 ECS-SHS MATH OLYMPICS

On April 12, Middle School Grade 8 ECS and Selwyn House School students participated in the Math Olympics which was a huge success! The five teams were evenly matched, and it was a close race up until the very end! Congratulations to our winning team: Vojtech Blasch, Bill Zhang, Marie Pinnou and Lara Fraenkel.

OUTSTANDING MATH ACHIEVEMENTS

- TOP SCORES IN QUEBEC

Grade 6 students Matej Blasch, Jack Pinnow, Lucas Zhao, and Liam Scully were national bronze medalists in this general knowledge-based competition. This team also earned the title of topscoring school team in Quebec. Grade 8 students also participated and achieved results above the national average. Max Arbour received the top score in the province of Quebec. Students pictured with coach Ryan Kelly.

QAIS CREATIVE WRITING PRIZE

Grade 10 student Nathan Twik won 3rd place with his essay “Whispers.”

The Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing contests, put forth by the University of Waterloo was completed by 29 students. For the first time since 1998, Selwyn House ranked 1st in our zone and 6th in Quebec in the Pascal contest, with four of our students scoring in the top 25% in Canada. Photo: Senior School Math Department Head Samara Sayegh with our top scorers: Thomas Xue and Jerry Han, who tied for first place, and Frazer Dunn (absent from photo), Shen Hudon, Can Gu, and Ziye Zhou.

SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL HOSTS

DESIGN CHALLENGE 2023

Selwyn House School collaborated with the Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada and Play4Tomorrow to host the Design Challenge on November 4, 5, and 6. The event was a hybrid online and/or in-person experience where students from several schools learn the design thinking process and are challenged to redesign the future of sport, while considering the dangers of concussion injuries. Students worked in a secure, video-game-like online portal. Those who were at Selwyn House made physical prototypes for their ideas. Challenge creator and facilitator, former pro-football player Brian Bulcke, from the Stanford design and engineering schools, and Managing Partner of Play4Tomorrow, along with his team, provided feedback as students tested and iterated their designs.

This is the second year that Selwyn House School has hosted the event. The school is proud to partner with Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada and work with the Executive Director, Tim Fleiszer ’92.

To kick off the weekend event, special guests and supporters of the foundation were invited to watch the Design Challenge in action and learn more about this initiative. Tim, Brian and Selwyn alumni parent Dr. David Mulder (MGH Head of the Division of thoracic surgery, Montreal Canadiens team physician and Montreal Alouettes advisor) spoke about how athletes and coaches can be smarter and safer in sports.

Selwyn House School hosted another one-day design challenge workshop in the spring, this time for Elementary and Middle School students. Fifteen students worked with Brian Bulcke and Director of Academic Innovation and Growth Brenda Montgomery, to develop and prototype new games. The students thought they were spending the day playing games and having fun. They were actually designing, prototyping, and iterating. Tim was back to sponsor this event with the support of Mike Maurovich, Director of Athletics. Overall, students found the experience to be both fun and inspirational, helping them realize their own creativity.

SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL HOSTS

CANADIAN NATIONAL BP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Selwyn House School hosted the 2022-23 Canadian National British Parliamentary Debating Tournament from November 18-20 organized by Debate coach Jon Bracewell, Assistant Debate coach Dan Elbling, and a team of volunteer students, staff and friends. Sixty-four teams from across Canada debated throughout the weekend. This was the first national level high school tournament to be held in-person since 2019 and crowns the BP Champions. The tournament also serves as a qualifier for various British competitions such as the Oxford Cup, the Cambridge Schools Tournament, and the International Competition for Young Debaters.

After six universal rounds, and two elimination rounds, the winners were announced: Alinna Liu and Anna Feng from

Appleby College (Oakville, Ontario) in the U15 category, and Rob Burket and Stu Boyden from The York School (Toronto, Ontario) in the Senior Category. Selwyn debaters Jacob Bukhman and Joseph Brydges came in 10th place.

Woodshop teacher Kirk Brydges added a Selwyn touch to this year’s plaques, creating them in the school’s workshop.

Earlier in the year, the Selwyn House Debating Team competed in the Quebec British Parliamentary Qualifier. Grade 9 students Joseph Brydges and Jacob Bukhman won the Junior Tournament. They, along with Shen Hudon and Edward Kovac, qualified for the National British Parliamentary Tournament held in November.

ARTS

THE VALUE OF ACTING AT SHS

The dramatic arts are alive and well at Selwyn House with veteran actors and beginners who are giving acting a try for the first time. Our students are learning a lot from the experience, having fun and entertaining us all in the process. Our actors all agree that through acting, their confidence has grown, and their public speaking and organizational skills have improved. For them, Selwyn House is a safe space to try something new, among friends, and with the support of encouraging directors.

to something that made the audience laugh. In his first SHS play he wore a big wig for the role of Katherine Plumber in Newsies. "We made lots of jokes about that," he said. Oliver says that being in a play helps you to memorize, improves your singing and acting and teaches you to speak out with a big voice. He highly recommends it. "Once you commit you’ll

involved in Newsies when he and his classmates were invited to audition, and to his surprise, got the biggest fourth grade role!

William CarvalhoGuertin started taking improv classes at Selwyn in Grade 7, was part of the Senior play cast in Grade 10 and took additional improv classes outside of Selwyn. His work paid off as he earned the lead role of Robin Hood in this year’s play. "We always have a blast. I think that unites us as a cast and ultimately, we perform better," he said. Will has been at Selwyn for 12 years and has been involved in a variety of things such as Model UN, football, soccer, basketball, rugby and has been a school ambassador. "I would highly recommend that students join the play," he said. "They will be very proud of themselves in the end."

in Grade 8 enjoyed the improvisation, the recognition, the sense of community between him and the actors and performing in general. "I enjoyed using my vocal cords to the max and hearing my peers laugh."

THROUGH SHERWOOD FOREST

The cast and crew of The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood entertained four packed houses in February raising over $1500 for local charity Robin des Bois. This Monty Pythonesque retelling of the classic was special as it marked a return to the Coristine Hall stage, and a collaboration with the talented actors of Trafalgar School for Girls. This production also involved the largest cast in director Lucy Martin's ten-year history at Selwyn.

PERFORM BROADWAY MUSICAL

In May, 60 Elementary School drama students from Grades 1-6, and one Kindergarten actor, performed Disney's Newsies Jr. the Musical. Inspired by real events, the Broadway musical follows a group of young newsboys who take a stand against the powerful newspaper tycoons. "It was heartwarming to see the actors' catchphrase, "Now is the time to seize the day," come to life in the halls leading up to the play," said play director Ryan Kennedy. "It was so much fun to hear the building filled with music over the last couple of months of rehearsals as Junior Choir members and cast alike took to singing their numbers nonstop in the halls of the school." In addition to a large cast, many volunteer parents, staff and students got involved making this truly a SHS community event!

The Music Cabaret concert on May 4 featured all the Selwyn House School jazz bands from Grade 6 through Grade 11, including our combined band and mixed choir with the girls from ECS. Families, friends and peers enjoyed vocal and instrumental rock and pop performances by individuals and small groups of students. Shout out to Grade 7 student Zac Ellis for his Elton John cover performance of "Your Song!"

Le 3 mai dernier a eu lieu l'exposition annuelle du Art Fair. Il est toujours agréable de voir les projets d'arts des élèves dans un contexte d'exposition. Cela les met en valeur et permet de les regarder sous un autre angle. Inspiré de l'approche TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior), le petit texte qui accompagne chacun des projets a été composé par l'élève et décrit brièvement l'histoire du

LOTS OF LAUGHS AT MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAY

A cast of 16 Middle School students hit the stage on May 10 and 11, performing in 10 Reasons You Should Have Stayed Home Sick Today, a play by E. M Bell, and directed by Drama Teacher Ms. Lucy Martin. From bullies to bathrooms, the cast did a terrific job acting out why sometimes a sick day is the best way.

In preparation for their Spring concerts, students from the mixed jazz band and mixed choir of Selwyn House School and ECS embarked on a four-day music development trip. The students attended workshops with specialists from the University of Toronto, where they received invaluable insights into the art of choral and jazz band performance. Our friends at Royal St. George's College welcomed our musicians to their chapel and band room to rehearse. The trip also exposed the students to Canada's rich culture and history, as they explored museums, art galleries and more.

Grade 10 Digital Art students designed and printed 3D chess pieces. The detailed work was quite impressive and as a bonus, more chess sets will be available for use in the library. They also

classmates, teachers and parents with their holiday concert on December 6.

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AND MUSIC COLLIDE

Grades 7-9 students started exploring the basic concepts of electrical circuits using the "Makey Makey" system, an invention designed to connect everyday objects, like bananas, to computer keys. The students use conductive materials to create custom instruments and controllers. After learning the basics, the students can enhance their creations through computer programming and customizing music software like Ableton Live. This learning experience was made possible through Annual Giving Campaign donations. Thank you!

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WINS 9TH GMAA CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP BANNER

Fifteen Grade 5 and 6 students represented Selwyn House School at the RSEQ (GMAA) Cross-Country Championships in October. They ran their hearts out in a very competitive and exciting race, working very well as a team on the course and executing M. Pruneau’s start strategy perfectly! All fifteen Selwyn House School runners crossed the finish line in the first half of the race! Individually, our top 6 runners were: Bernie Gao (4th), Jack Pinnow (6th), Matej Blasch (7th), Jack Shatilla (12th), Michael Gao (14th) and Max Ma (15th).

GRYPHON GOLFER GETS GOLD!

On September 21, the Selwyn Golf team competed at the GMAA Golf Tournament held at Caughnawaga Golf Club. Ten boys competed in different categories with Ethan Park (Grade 8) capturing gold in the Bantam Boys division, firing a low score of 83.

3 GOLD MEDALS AND MVP AT GMAA TRACK AND FIELD EVENTS

On May 15, Paul Evans (Grade 9) won three gold medals in three events (javelin, shot put and triple jump) at the GMAA Track & Field Championships. He won the Most Valuable Player banner in the Cadet division.

2 GOLD MEDALS AT ROWING REGATTA

Two Selwyn House School boats entered Le Défi du Canal de Lachine over the weekend of May 28. The 8-boat crew won the Men's Novice 8+ race. Alex Qin took first place in the U17 Men’s

GRYPHONS BRING HOME JUVENILE FOOTBALL BANNER AFTER 19 YEARS

Congratulations to the players, coaches and athletic therapists on winning the RSEQ Juvenile Football (Grades 10-11) D3 Regional Championship Banner. This is the first Selwyn Juvenile Football championship win since 2003. The boys were ready and delivered an awesome performance despite the unusual snowy field conditions with a 30-2 win over Collège de Montréal. The coaching staff is very proud of the young men who were a part of the journey this year. "They have sealed their page in Selwyn House School’s history book."

L to R: Henry Feltham, Samuel Gendron, Luca Kestenband, Nick Capolicchio, Benicio McCauley, Alex Qin, Alistair Alloucherie-Conover, William Li, Philip Baltuch, Coach Kelsey Begg

SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL HOSTS PROVINCIAL CADET BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND GRYPHONS TAKE BRONZE

organization of Director of Athletics Mike Maurovich, Head of Senior School Neil Banerjee and a huge team of staff, from SHS, RSEQ, Dawson College, and Sodexo. They, along with 50 parents and eight Old Boys, committed their time to ensure a successful event.

GRYPHONS TAKE HOME BANTAM BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BANNER FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

Selwyn’s Bantam D3 team won the bronze medal at the RSEQ Cadet M D3 Provincial Basketball Championships hosted by Selwyn House School over the weekend of April 14-16.

Sixteen teams from across the province (over 280 students) made Selwyn House their home for the weekend, sleeping in classrooms, eating in Coristine Hall, and preparing for games. This enormous feat could not have happened without the

7 MEDALS AND JUVENILE BANNER AT GMAA TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Selwyn House School's teams triumphed with seven medals out of twelve in addition to winning the prestigious Juvenile Banner on May 17. Jacques Hu and Harley Minzberg won Silver, and Sami Youssef, Yijing Wang, and Micah Borsuk won Bronze.

Julian Harasymowycz earned a bronze medal in the Cadet Singles category. At the Juvenile level, Alec Barin won gold in the Singles category, while Loïc Petrecca secured the Bronze medal. Ben Vineberg and Soren Matossian achieved gold in the Doubles category, while the team of Sammy Steinberg, Noah Svetna, and Jonathan Michaud Bang clinched the Bronze medal.

The Bantam D3 Basketball team had a fantastic season, with a record of 12-1 and a championship win at UQAM vs École Secondaire Lucien-Pagé. Winning the banner in back-to-back years is an impressive feat, given the larger RSEQ region. The team’s success can be attributed to the continuity of having many returning players from last year’s GMAA championship team and a supportive environment that helped establish a winning team culture. Head Coach Oliver Maurovich ’09 and Coach Matt Addona are immensely proud of the boys. They are confident they will continue to compete at a high level as they pursue their basketball goals.

TRAVELLING TEAMS

The Gryphon Wrestling Team travelled to Havana, Cuba, from January 3 to January 10 to participate in a week-long training camp with young candidates for Cuba’s National Wrestling Team. It is the sixth time the Gryphon Wrestling team has taken

ACTIVITIES

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING - UNIQUE EXPERIENCES FOR BOYS

Experiential education is a teaching philosophy that seeks to increase student motivation through active hands-on engagement. Activities are relevant to the student and are personally challenging and self-guided. They include a vision of responsibility for one’s self and others and provide opportunities for reflection on what is learned. At Selwyn House, opportunities vary from theme-based outdoor education to community service projects designed to connect students to their social group, their community, and their world. This program is a perfect fit with our four Veritas Truths.

Representatives from The Welcome Collective gave a presentation to our Elementary School students about how they support refugees coming to Montreal. Students met two refugees who work with the collective and learned more

Through Middle School Intensives, students learned about sustainable fash ion and the cyclical economy, explored the teachings of the Medicine Wheel, the city's museums, and even tried pickling. Some explored the different neighbourhoods, tout en pratiquant leur français, others explored the arts, while our cyclists toured the city. It was an action packed week!

Grade 9 boys spent two days at sub-zero temperatures on their winter camping trip. The boys built Quinzhees (an Ath abascan snow shelter) and fires, prepared meals, explored the forests, and learned how to care for themselves and their peers in the face of significant adversity.

Base de plein air Bon départ where they did team-building activities including an “Amazing Race Challenge.”

Certificates and pins were awarded to Senior School students this year, recognizing their achievements in the Duke of Edinburgh Award program. Bronze Awards: Zachary Chomski, Nicolas Cirka, Matthew Dennis, Anderson Ham, Mark Kapusta, Luca Kestenband, Soren Matossian, Roger Pan, Félix Sebag, Thomas Xue, Liangyu (Lewis) Zhang, Ziye Zhou. Silver Awards: Luka Bienvenue, Henry Feltham, Yikai (Ken) Zhao.

Grade 10 and 11 students spent four days and three nights camping on the shores of the mighty Gatineau River. Students learned about swift water rescue and safety, local indigenous history and culture, place and respect, communal camping and cooking techniques as well as leadership. Despite lots of rain and many challenges, the students exhibited high levels of R.O.C.K. (Resiliency, Optimism, Curiosity and Kindness).

Middle School students met with Contactivity members to learn the basics of knitting and the patience required to make something well. There is something special about cross-generational interactions where we can always learn something from one another.

Grade 10 students Philip Baltuch, William Birks, and Tony Liu won $5,000 for their chosen charity, Treiser Maison Shalom, in the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) competition finals held at Selwyn House on May 24. YPI is an award-winning international education program that provides high school students with hands-on experience assessing, researching, and advocating for local social needs.

SHS INDIGENIZATION PROCESS

RESPECT AND RECIPROCITY – AN INDIGENOUS OPENING TO THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR

Building on the momentum created by the school’s commitment to the Indigenization Process, the entire Selwyn House School staff were welcomed to the Diome-Deer family homestead in Kahnawake in August 2022 for a ceremonial opening of the new school year. Led by Wáhiakatste (Wahi) Diome-Deer, the school’s consultant for the Indigenization Process, the staff set intentions for the coming year and immersed themselves in place-based teachings about the community of Kahnawake. Staff spent time outside connecting with one another while learning from local Kanien'kéha knowledge keepers. Ryland Diome ’06 prepared traditional food for the day. Raianeràhstha Diome-Deer ’18 and Thiréhtha Diome-Deer ’21 joined the morning workshop and reconnected with teachers. Mrs. Diome and Mr. Deer were generous hosts who opened their home and hearts for our learning and growth.

TRUTH & RECONCILIATION WEEK

Selwyn House honoured Truth & Reconciliation Week in September 2022 by learning about the impact of residential schools on generations of Indigenous families. Wahi, the school’s consultant for the Indigenization Process, led assemblies throughout the week. We honoured Indigenous youth and celebrated Kanien'kehá:ka songs, culture and traditions. Among many guests, we welcomed back Brandon Montour ’14, who talked to Middle and Senior School about his time at SHS as an Indigenous student and what we can all do now to work towards a better future for Indigenous youth. Ryland Diome ’06 prepared strawberry juice and corn soup with Chef Silvana Parnas. The Indigenous Student Committee helped serve juice and presented throughout the week. As a follow-up to the programming for students, parents were invited to an online discussion to learn more about Indigenous culture, ways of knowing and history.

TAKING STEPS IN DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

This year, members of our staff took on roles as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team members. Director of Experiential Education Courtney Prieur, School Counselor

Carissa Springer, Student Life and Leadership Coordinator

Jennifer Torry and Community Engagement Coordinator

Eden Schwartz collaborated to provide DEI education to Selwyn House staff. The DEI team gave five workshops to five groups of staff, for a total of 25 workshops. Topics covered

EXPERIENCING THE “ECHOES OF A PROUD NATION” POW WOW

Members of the Selwyn House School community and friends met at the two-day Echoes of a Proud Nation Pow Wow in Kahnawake from July 8-9. The event was a great opportunity to experience and learn together about Indigenous history and culture.

EXPLORING THE TEACHINGS OF THE MEDICINE WHEEL

During Middle School Intensives Week, students explored the four elements of the medicine wheel (mind, body, spirit and heart). They immersed themselves in Indigenous culture, community, and teachings.

included implicit bias and how it shows up in our work, the relationship between implicit bias and emotions, in-group and out-group dynamics, personal and social power, and brainstorming for an inclusive Selwyn.

The DEI team also undertook a name pronunciation project, as our names are a large part of our identity. Students and staff recorded themselves saying their full name then made the recordings accessible on internal online profiles. Staff and other students can reference these recordings to learn how to pronounce one anothers’ names correctly.

SUPPORTING STUDENTS, STAFF AND PARENTS

In its efforts to continue to promote a holistic approach to service delivery for students, this year, the Department of Student Wellness (DSW), which consists of four learning strategists, two school counsellors, and one adminstrative assistant, engaged in individual support of students, while also addressing social-emotional and academic needs on a larger scale through classroom interventions. The learning strategists were able to increase the use of assistive educational technology to support students in all facets of their academics. For example training students on WordQ, Lexibar, Google Read & Write and other assistive technology. The Department of Student Wellness also continued to consult with and support teachers with students' academic and social emotional needs. With regards to social emotional learning needs, Grade 3 students completed their second year of the SNAP (Stop Now And Plan) Program, Middle School’s Grade 7 students participated in a program called Hors-Piste and in Senior School, the prefects, in collaboration with the school counsellors and Student Life and Leadership Coordinator, organized “UMatter Week” with a focus on addictions and mental health. We wrapped up the year with a presentation on “Parenting in the Digital World” that was offered to K-3 parents. Additionally, Mental Health First Aid training for staff continues to be available annually thanks to the generous contributions of our donors to the Hannaford-Doherty Mental Health and Wellness Fund.

The support offered this year through DSW was greater than in any previous year and surpassed a third of the student population. A large percentage of these services were facilitated in The Student Success Centre, our central hub for a wealth of student resources.

FIRST “MOVEMBER” WELLNESS PANEL

Senior School students organized “Movember” Wellness panels in support of men’s overall health. Prefect James Downey moderated a conversation with Senior Science teacher David Grier, Geoff Moore ’83, and School Counselors Carissa Springer and Brianna McGirr. All shared practical tools to navigate the ups and downs of life: proper sleep, healthy diet, fitness (both mental and physical), self-talk, asking for help, helping others in distress, and focusing on the process, not the outcome.

AN INSPIRATIONAL EVENING FOR MENTAL HEALTH

On January 31, over 130 members of the SHS community attended a wellness presentation entitled "Illness, Wellness, Resilience, and Survival – The Interconnectedness of Mental Illness and Physical Illness" given by retired Headmaster Hal Hannaford and his wife, author Susan Doherty. Hal and Susan revealed their story of coping with Hal's mental health, Susan's battle with grave illness, and the relief they found through love, support and acceptance. Their inspirational talk gives the constant message that there is strength in vulnerability and that leaning on one another for support is important.

THE STUDENT SUCCESS CENTRE

Over 202 students received some level of academic support from the SSC this year, an increase of 44%. Fortunately, donations continue to support this growing need. Over $223K was raised for the SSC this year. With each donation we are getting ever closer to fully endowing the SSC with professional development, specialists and resources and have reached 38% of the $1.875M goal.

KNOWN & LOVED GALA

It was three years in the making, but what a night for Selwyn House School! Thanks to the Selwyn House School community, the Known & Loved Gala raised over $300,000 (net) bringing The Hannaford-Doherty Mental Health and Wellness Fund total to over $314,400.

Selwyn House students greeted 300 guests who enjoyed a lively cocktail leading up to the main event. It had been six years since the last gala and everyone was in the party mood and happy to be in the gorgeous space at Maison Principale. Emcees Liam Nicol ’14 and Henry Jones ’14 brought their Selwyn humour to the podium and kept the evening moving. A video by Will Rossy ’16 reiterated why everyone had gathered that night.

Headmaster Mike Downey welcomed the guests expressing his gratitude for establishing a fund that will see Selwyn House staff trained and certified annually by Mental Health First Aid Canada. Staff will identify and address mental health problems when first apparent.

2023 GALA COMMITTEE

Retired Dean of Students Minna Shulman gave some background on how the focus on mental health and wellness at Selwyn House came to be. “Susan and Hal’s greatest contribution is putting a known and loved face on the real issues and challenges of mental health. They kept the process moving, initially with Hal’s first staff meeting in 2009. He reminded us that at any one moment at least 20% of us were going through a hard time in terms of our own emotional and mental health. Hal brought mindfulness training to the students starting every assembly with a mindfulness exercise. Hal and Susan also openly shared their interwoven struggles with Hal’s mental illness and Susan’s dire health issues. They have elevated our knowledge and understanding of mental health, and have humanized and normalized the issues through their presentations.”

Gala Chair, Roula Rossy, gave her thanks to the gala donors and to all who were involved in the event. She spoke from the heart about the honouree and his legacy, “Tonight, we honour retired Headmaster Hal Hannaford and his beautiful wife Susan. Hal’s legacy of instilling Veritas and its guiding principles in our students, faculty and staff continues to live on. Today, feeling “Known & Loved” at Selwyn House is more present than ever under the leadership of Headmaster Mike Downey.” Roula presented Hal with a Veritas golden tie and a Veritas Visionary certificate! Hal did double duty as the auctioneer waving his mallet until over $70,000 was raised.

Our donors, ticket and prize purchasers were extremely generous and helped the school to surpass its gala goal. Please see the Donor Report on page 26 where all names are listed. Many thanks to the Gala Committee and to all who made this event possible! The Selwyn House community is definitely feeling “Known & Loved.”

Roula Rossy (Chair), Karen Anderson, Kari Cullen, Lorna Denham, Anne Garschagen, Ann Carolyn Lapierre-Blaise, Susanna Accurso Lorenzetti, Luisa Matheus Samper, Leslie Silver Staff Kimberly Auclair, Mary Ann Cloherty, Sharon Cozens, Rafaela Petel Ruiz, Jean-Pierre Trudeau

L to R : Hal Hannaford, Alisse Hannaford, Susan Doherty, Reid Hannaford ’12

Some members of the Gala Committee Hal Hannaford, Auctioneer Roula Rossy, Chair

CLASS OF 2023 GRADUATION PRIZE WINNERS

The Class of 2023 graduated on June 21 at a ceremony attended by proud family members, staff and board members.

Headmaster Mike Downey set the tone with his inspiring words. He reminded the boys to keep Veritas close to their hearts and apply the four truths in everything they do. Head of Senior School Neil Banerjee did a stellar job sharing full biographies on each and every one of the graduates. Retiring staff Chantal Simard, Kathy Funamoto and departing staff member Brenda Montgomery, assisted Board members in presenting the awards.

Head Prefect William Carvalho-Guertin gave the Valedictorian address. An excerpt follows:

“…I have the honour and privilege to be the Valedictorian on this momentous day, marking this important milestone…As someone who has been here since Kindergarten, I feel I am in a unique position to chart the journey we have all been through. A journey that was made possible through endless support of our parents, teachers and the whole Selwyn community, who have guided us along the way.

…Ces étudiants qui sont arrivés par groupe ou parfois seuls ont sincèrement laissé leurs traces et ont solidifié une fraternité déjà existante. Avec tous ces gars, nous avons écrit notre histoire, des souvenirs pour la vie...

...As we moved through high school, together we challenged ourselves endlessly through sports, academics, and the arts, always pushing the limits of our capabilities to be better. On any occasion, whether we were on the field, in the classroom or on the stage, we were always rooting for each other from the sidelines.

What is important about change is that we change to push ourselves, to take one step closer to achieving our goals. Every single one of you is capable of greatness, and I know that for a fact. I have seen it and lived it. So don't be afraid to change, take that risk, and don't worry if you get pushed a couple of steps back, because you know that you can achieve anything. Even in those darkest moments, you can always come back home and lean on your brothers.

...I know you are capable of greatness, and as we leave this room, the one message I want to give you guys is to go out there and become the greatest version of yourselves, not just for you, but for us, the brotherhood that will always be by your side, cheering you on. Thank You."

DISTINCTION AWARDS

McCall Prize for Art: Alec Hodgson

Patricia Marsh Drama Prize: William Carvalho-Guertin, Michael Papaspyros

Music: Alec Hodgson, Qixiang (Jacky) Sun

G.C. Ian Burgess Award for Distinction in Creative Writing: Adolfo de Motta Molina

Byron W. Harker Prize for Literature: Henry Feltham

E. C. Moodey Debating Prize: Charles Seitz, Yusuf Afif

Le Prix de distinction en français:

Français Plus: Adolfo de Motta Molina

Français Enrichi: Zachary Chomski, Ioannis Pliagas

Français Régulier: James Downey

Moodey Prize for Distinction in Math:

CST: Charlie Felgar

SN: Nathaniel Mitelman

Calculus: Yikai (Ken) Zhao

Chemistry: James Downey

Physics: Adolfo de Motta Molina

Yearbook: James Downey

Vincent Prager ’59 Law Award: Laurent Groleau

World History: Akwirén:te Leborgne, Ethan Kimmel

Contemporary World: Yusuf Afif

Monde Contemporain: Adolfo de Motta Molina

Economics: William Carvalho-Guertin

Political Science: Gabriel De Carvalho

Troubetzkoy Prize for Social Studies: Gabriel De Carvalho

SPECIAL AWARDS

Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for general excellence: Adolfo de Motta Molina

The Governor General’s Bronze Medal for academic distinction in the Secondary School: Joseph Belland

The Carol Manning “True to Others” Award for exemplifying selflessness, humility, and a giving spirit: Qixiang (Jacky) Sun

The Massi Prize for Effort: Lucas Victor

The Millennium Prize donated by the Class of 1999 for demonstrating tolerance, compassion, generosity of spirit, kindness and concern for others: Laurent Groleau

Thomas Chalmers Brainerd Memorial Award for demonstrating a generous concern for the welfare of others and enthusiasm for school life: Porag Das

The Jeffrey Russel Prize for demonstrating values of Selwyn House through academic success, good sportsmanship, superior effort, citizenship and leadership: James Downey

The Lucas Memorial Medal for best representing the values of Selwyn House through academic success, good sportsmanship, superior effort, citizenship and leadership: William Carvalho-Guertin

CLASS OF 2023 ACADEMIC DESTINATIONS

Kynaston Addo - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Yusuf Afif - Marianopolis College, Health Science

Luca Baratta-Matheus - Marianopolis College, Law, Society and Justice

Joseph Belland - Selwyn House Pre-U, Science

Oscar Boyle - Northfield Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, Prep School

Kaiden Brassard - Kent School, Prep School

Sam Bronfman - Trinity-Pawling School, Pawling New York, Prep School

Matisse Brosseau - Choate Rosemary Hall, Connecticut, Prep School

Gabriel Cabelli - St. Andrew's College, Ontario, Prep School

William Carvalho-Guertin - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Zachary Chomski - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Thomas Christoforou - Selwyn House Pre-U, Commerce

Liborio Ciccarello - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Adam Cohen - Selwyn House Pre-U, Commerce

Jacob Condo - Kuper Academy, Grade 12

Porag Das - Collège LaSalle, Computer Science and Technology

Elishay Dayan - Selwyn House Pre-U, Commerce

Adolfo de Motta Molina - Marianopolis College, Pure and Applied Science

Max Depatie - Williston Northampton School, Massachusetts, Prep School

Anthony Dimopoulos - Kents Hill School, Maine, Prep School

James Downey - John Abbott College, Science

Luca Dubroca - Marianopolis College, Pure and Applied Science

Charlie Felgar - Marianopolis College, Law, Society and Justice

Henry Feltham - Marianopolis College, Arts & Science

Lawrie Feng - Marianopolis College, Pure and Applied Science

Gabriel Ferraz Sampaio De Carvalho - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Luca Ferri - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Max Fleurent - Marianopolis College, Pure and Applied Science

Marc Gélinas - Marianopolis College, Pure and Applied Science

Aidan Gold - Marianopolis College, Core Social Science

Laurent Groleau - Marianopolis College, Law, Society and Justice

Anderson Ham - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Jack Henin-Levine - Marianopolis College, Pure and Applied Science

Alec Hodgson - Choate Rosemary Hall, Connecticut, Prep School

Lawrence Kang - Lakefield College, Prep School

Ethan Kimmel - Marianopolis College, Law, Society and Justice

Andreas Lazaris - Selwyn House Pre-U, Commerce

Akwirente Leborgne - Champlain College, Social Science - Education Profile

Robert Leon - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Jonah Levitan - Selwyn House Pre-U, Science

Timothy Lewis-Jeremiah - Selwyn House Pre-U, Liberal Arts

Tristan Lloyd - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Massimo Lorenzetti - Selwyn House Pre-U, Science

Leo Luo - Marianopolis College, Arts, Literature and Communication

Lorenzo Manini-Vanasse - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Félix Martin - Selwyn House Pre-U, Commerce

James Martin - Bishop's College School, IB Program

Jonathan Michaud Bang - Trinity College School, Ontario, Prep School

Nate Mitelman - Selwyn House Pre-U, Commerce

Liam O'Donnell - Selwyn House Pre-U, Liberal Arts

Roger Pan - Selwyn House Pre-U, Science

Lambros Papadopoulos - Selwyn House Pre-U, Science

Michael Papaspyros - Choate Rosemary Hall, Connecticut, Prep School

Philippe Peides - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Yianni Pliagas - Selwyn House Pre-U, Liberal Arts

Conrad Porteous - LCC Pre-University, Grade 12

Félix Sebag - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Charles Seitz - Marianopolis College, Pure and Applied Science

Jacky Sun - TAV College, Commerce

Alexander Teryazos - Selwyn House Pre-U, Liberal Arts

Lucas Victor - Marianopolis College, Commerce

Jacob Vineberg - Dawson College, Commerce

Eric Zhang - Marianopolis College, Pure and Applied Science

Ken Zhao - Marianopolis College, Pure and Applied Science

and Head of Senior School Neil Banerjee

honouring Ms. Manning who retired as Head of Middle School in 2020

ATHLETIC AWARDS 2023

Legend:

MIP: Most Improved Player

MPP: Most Promising Player

MVP: Most Valuable Player

FALL

Cross-Country Running MS

MPP: Angus Matossian

MIP: Erwan Arzel

MVP: Yoann Delia

Cross-Country Running SS

MVP: Gabriel Van Sperano

Golf Team

MPP: Owen Kugler

MPP: Oli Robinson

Pat Shannon MVP Award: Ethan Park

Bantam Soccer - 4.1

MVP: Cruse Valle Deegan

MIP: Gianluca Cecere

Bantam Soccer - 4.2

MVP: David Liu

MIP: Frederick Oldland

Sportsmanship Award: Vojtech Blasch

Midget Soccer 4.2

MPP: Julian Harasymowycz

MPP: Taryn Mizrahi

MVP: Jonathan Michaud Bang

Juvenile Soccer

MVP: Luca Dubroca

MIP: Liam Sayegh Létourneau

Coaches’ Award: Lucas Victor

Pee-Wee Football

MVP: Liam Asatoorian

MVP: Alex Lutfy

Offensive MVP: Mikey Mendolia

Offensive MVP: Kieran Larsen

Defensive MVP: Liam Ray

Defensive MVP: William Lacasse

Cadet Football

MVP: Amani Ho Sang

Offensive MVP: Alek Asatoorian

Defensive MVP: Alex Ménard

Best Lineman: Matthew Tashdjian

Juvenile Football

MPP: Luca Kestenband

Bob Anderson Award Offensive

Lineman: Matisse Brosseau

Coaches’ Award: Nate Mitelman

Coaches’ Award: Jack McLernon

Molson Cup Offensive MVP: Michael Papaspyros

Rob Wearing Award Defensive MVP: Max Depatie

MVP: Gabriel Cabelli

WINTER

MS Fencing

Coach's Award: Mathew Gendron

MIP: Maximilian Baltuch

MVP: William Li

SS Fencing

MVP: Lewis Zhang

MIP: Max Fleurent

Coach’s Award: Henry Feltham

Curling

MIP: Tony Ma

MIP: Dovid Knopf

MVP: Philip Baltuch

Sportsmanship Award: Tony Liu

Bantam Futsal

MVP:Valentino Salvatore

MVP: Laurent Mayer

Midget Futsal

MVP: Eric Parodi

MVP: Marc-Antoine Bougie

Juvenile Futsal

MVP: Luca Dubroca

MVP: Adolfo de Motta Molina

Wrestling

MMIP: Jake Benchetrit-Morrison

MIP: Harry Ma

MPP: Ethan Nisbet

Rob Moore Most Outstanding

Wrestler Award: Thomas Vinh

Bantam Basketball D3

MVP: Amani Ho Sang

MVP: Jai-Len Chopra

Coach’s Award: Izzy Ullah

Bantam D4.2 Basketball

MIP: Justin Idaboh

MVP: Joey Evans

Hustle Award: Jaxson Edghill

Midget D3 Basketball

MIP: Alek Asatoorian

MIP: Matthew Tashdjian

MVP: Paul Evans

Hustle Award: Jaden Delice

Juvenile D3 Basketball

Coaches’ Award: Lucas Victor

Alfie Paoletti MVP Award: Timothy Lewis-Jeremiah

Pee-Wee Hockey D1 RSEQ

MIP: Jackson Broome

Offensive MVP: Kieran Larsen

Defensive MVP: Mikey Mendolia

Brian Taylor '79 Award MVP: Henry Wasacz

Bantam Hockey D1 RSEQ

Offensive MVP:Lynden Larsen

Defensive MVP: Nicolas Gillham Cirka

Attitude Award: Andrew Carsley

Leadership Award: Jackson Pitfield

Juvenile D3 Hockey RSEQ

MVP: Liam O'Donnell

MIP: James Downey

Coaches’ Award: Jordan Singer

Juvenile D1 Hockey RSEQ

MIP: Markos Soussani

Coaches' Award: Nicolas Capolicchio

Top Defenseman: Jack Fraser

Top Forward: Anthony Dimopoulos

MVP: Michael Papaspyros

SPRING

Track & Field - MS

MVP: Jackson Wilkins

MIP: Logan Handa

Track & Field - SS - Juvenile

MVP: Paul Evans

MPP: Marc-Antoine Bougie

MIP: Maher Chaban

Bantam Tennis

MVP: Sam Korne

MVP: Leo Huang

MIP: Sami Youssef

Midget Tennis

MVP: Mateo Novak

MVP: Julian Harasymowycz

MIP: Platon Kotkovskyy

Juvenile Tennis

MVP: Benjamin Vineberg

MIP: Sammy Steinberg

Badminton Team

MPP Midget: Shen Hudon

MPP Juvenile: Roger Pan

MVP Midget: Jerry Chaw

MVP Juvenile: Porag Das

Baseball MS

Coaches' Award: Laurent Mayer

MVP: Damian Lotouche

Baseball SS

MPP: Logan Veltman

MIP: Samuel Bronfman

MVP: Lucas Victor

Rowing Team

MIP: Youqi Meng

Best Teammate: Nicolas Capolicchio

Most Dedicated Rower: Philip Baltuch

Brad Moffat Crew Award: Benicio McCauley

Boot Camp

Spartan Award: Mark Kapusta

Bantam Rugby

MPP: Tristan Kaulbach

MVP: Henry Wasacz

Midget Rugby

MPP: Eli Raisman

MVP: Liam Sayegh Létourneau

MIP: Nicholas Cesta

Juvenile Rugby

MPP: Lambros Papadopoulos

Martin Borner ’74 Award MVP: Nate Mitelman

Martin Borner ’74 Award MVP: Matisse Brosseau

Peter Govan Coaches' Award: Massimo Lorenzetti

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Cassils Memorial Trophy

Middle School Athlete of the Year: Jai-len Chopra

McMaster Memorial Sportsman Cup

Senior School Athlete of the Year: Matisse Brosseau

The Alumni Award

Grade 9 Athletic Achievement: Paul Evans

Highest Level of Achievement in 3 Seasons

The Comeback Award

Student(s) who successfully recovered from a serious injury while maintaining their commitment to SHS athletics.

William Carvalho-Guertin / Andrew Carvalho-Guertin

Selwyn House Athletic Department Award

Student(s) who have contributed their time to assist the coaches and teachers of the Athletic Department.

Nate Mitelman

David Tobias Memorial Cup

Team of the Year: Juvenile D3 Varsity

Football 2023 Regional Champions

Coaches: Anthony Lukca, Oliver Maurovich ’09, Lenny Dion, Tom Downey, Phil Okounam, Mike Maurovich, Ryan Kelley

Sportsman’s Guild:

Grade 10

Benicio McCauley

Grade 11

Sam Bronfman

Matisse Brosseau

Gabriel Cabelli

William Carvalho-Guertin

Max Depatie

Luca Dubroca

Luca Ferri

Alec Hodgson

Timothy Lewis-Jeremiah

Massimo Lorenzetti

Jonathan Michaud Bang

Nate Mitelman

Lambros Papadopoulos

Michael Papaspyros

Conrad Porteous

Charles Seitz

Lucas Victor

Staff

Kathy Funamoto

McMaster Memorial Sportsman Cup winner Matisse Brosseau with Neil Banerjee, Head of Senior School

The Juvenile D3 Football team won the David Tobias Memorial Cup Sportsman’s Guild Inductees

PARENT VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION

KEEPING FAMILIES CONNECTED

The PVA started off the year with our annual back-to-school coffee. New and returning families came together to meet and mingle. We brought back the very popular staff coffee morning in December, turning the Lucas Seminar Room into a coffee lounge complete with delicious baked goods and a mobile coffee crew! In February we welcomed the staff aboard Staff Appreciation Week with a “Selwyn Sets Sail” theme, kicking things off with a treasure trove of treats and wrapping up with a casino night that floated everyone’s boat! In addition to Spirit Day, parent walks on Mount Royal, and hosting various sports teams with our warm Selwyn welcome, class parents organized a variety of events throughout the year that created many new connections. This year, parent volunteers also helped raise $14,342 for the Nancy Pitfield Scholarship Fund at the Gryphon Sales. The PVA bid farewell to Krista Plank, whose contribution to the school as a dedicated parent volunteer will be cherished, and welcomed the following new members to the executive: Kevin Alladin (Elementary Class Parent Coordinator), Lolita Ricci (Gryphon Sale) and Sharifa van Gelderen (Lunch Coordinator).

The end of the school year came to a close with the PVA Volunteer Appreciation Tea, where we celebrated parent volunteers with special musical performances by Selwyn students (a big shout out to the Kindergarten class and Zac Ellis, Grade 7), and a brightly-coloured gerbera for all of those in attendance who help make our community a better place.

Interested in getting involved? Please reach out to us, PVA co-chairs Joyce McCauley

Some of our wonderful PVA members at the Volunteer Appreciation Tea

L to R: Krista Plank, Anne-Valerie Menard, Leila Roiter, Krystal DuBose, Laura Osborne, Joyce McCauley, Carla Bogdaneris, Kim Auclair, Danping Shi, Anne Garschagen, Sharifa van Gelderen

Selwyn Sets Sail Staff Appreciation Event

Daytrip Society - PVA walks on Mt. Royal

The WeChat team of volunteers with organizer Ying Qu (L) ensures smooth communication.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE VERITAS FUND

As Chairman of the Veritas Foundation, I appreciate the opportunity to write and share a few words with readers. For those who may not be so familiar, the Veritas Fund is the school’s registered charitable foundation. It holds endowment investments to provide annual grants for the school’s strategic endeavours. These grants provide financial assistance to deserving students, and help the school work through financial transitions such as the dropping of government funding or the addition of Grade 12.

The current Veritas Fund balance is about $21 million. Such charitable funds offer a source of stability for the school. Donations to Selwyn House School are placed into Veritas, and

VERITAS FUND ENDOWMENT

Selwyn's $21M Endowment provides bursary support to deserving students.

In 2022-2023, over $1.5M was disbursed as financial assistance to 21.5% of students in Grades 7-11.

These funds continue to grow through individual named funds, the Old Boys' Endowment Fund and the school's general endowment.

VERITAS FUND TRUSTEES 2022-2023

John Hallward ’78, Chair

Edward Claxton ’73, Vice-Chair

Ian Aitken ’81

Timothy Carsley ’52

Prosanto Chaudhury ’91

William Daly ’52

Peter Duffield ’53

Andrew Johnston ’99

Geoffrey Moore ’83

Alan Rossy ’79

Bart Sambrook ’79

Mark Smith

Charles-Alexandre Vennat ’05

Rody Yared

charitable tax receipts are given. From time to time, Veritas also holds donations from specific capital campaigns until the capital is needed for the intended purposes. Often, donated funds have specific purposes to fund various initiatives, needs and services. To continue our support of Selwyn House School as it works to offer high-quality independent education, we depend on the school community to financially support the Veritas Fund. Thanks to all past donors for making Selwyn House the great school that it is, and to future donors for keeping it so.

Your Gift Designations

Dream Big Annual Giving Campaign

LEADERSHIP DONORS

The list that follows recognizes all donors and their cumulative gifts for the year given between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. Gifts given after this date will appear in next year’s report.

*See page 7 for recognition of The Path Forward Campaign donors who are listed separately to the list below.

DREAMING BIG

LEGACY CIRCLE

$50,000 AND ABOVE

Alan ’79 and Roula Rossy Family Foundation

BENEFACTORS CIRCLE

$25,000 AND ABOVE

Mierins Family Foundation

FOUNDERS CIRCLE

$10,000 AND ABOVE

Anonymous

Jonathan Aune (11:11 Charitable Foundation)

Bulletproof Logistics

Dianne and Jonathan Deitcher

The world of education is rapidly evolving and this is what makes teaching so exciting. This year, our teachers were encouraged to “dream big” to evolve our educational offering, part of our Strategic Plan. How would their aspirational ideas enhance the learning experience for their students? What could they do if there were no limits or barriers, financial or otherwise? This became the theme of this year’s Annual Giving Campaign asking donors to help make their dreams come true to provide an even better educational experience for our students.

The Selwyn House School community supported these dreams and through their generosity contributed over $2.5M overall to a variety of school fundraising campaigns. The majority of funds were designated to The Path Forward Campaign (see page 7). $300,000 was raised for mental health and wellness training through the Known & Loved Gala, $60,000 was raised through the Old Boys and Friends’ Golf Tournament, and $390,997 was raised through the Dream Big Annual Giving Campaign, graduations, and other efforts, as well as pledge payments from previous campaigns.

It’s uplifting to think that our aspirations are within reach with the help of our community. Annual gifts from our community provide an extra level of support each school year to help defray costs not covered by tuition alone. The school depends on annual gifts, and we are thankful for the broad participation and generosity of our donors. When parents, alumni, staff and friends combine efforts, we do make a difference!

NEW FUNDS CREATED THIS YEAR!

The Kathy Funamoto & Friends Fund for an outdoor gathering space and Multicultural Book Collection

The Class of 2023 Recess Fund for bike racks and recess games

The New Van Fund spearheaded in mid-June 2023 by parents Matt Beckerleg ’94 and Hagop Soussani

Isabelle Chartrand and Martin Gauthier

Mark Lorenzetti

Michaela Sheaf and Michael Penner ’86

Anna Gainey and Thomas Pitfield ’93

Jade Raymond and Daniel Velan

VERITAS CIRCLE

$5,000 AND ABOVE

Art et Fleurs / Le Pot de Fleurs

Victoria and David Cape

Diamants Elinor Inc.

Leslie Silver and Laurent Ferreira

Robert Johnson

The Kececi Family

Emily, Henry ’27, Andrea and Robert ’98 Krieble

The Madsen Family

Rosanna Magri and Calogero Migliara

Pota and Chiko Nanji

Caroline and Charlie Nicol

Tobias No ’97

Carole and Filip Papich ’77

Queensway Automotive Group

Robert Rutledge ’95

Parastoo and Farhad Shayesteh

Sodexo

Eleanor and David Star

Deirdre Stevenson

Vivier Pharma Inc.

HEADMASTER'S CIRCLE

$1,000 AND ABOVE

Anonymous (4)

Autobus Limo

Michael Baratta

Courtney and J. Matthew Beckerleg ’94

Stephanie Garrow and Patrick Belland

Belmont Lift Inc.

The Berthelet Family

Ann Carolyn Lapierre-Blaise and Frédéric Blaise

Roben Stikeman and Feidhlim Boyle

The Claudine and Stephen Bronfman

Family Foundation

James Brooks ’97

The Brosseau Family

Patricia Fourcand and Joel Cabelli

Adèle Chené

Natascha Bitton and Nick Christoforou

John Cleghorn ’57

Carole and James Coristine ’66

Philip Cutler ’05

Deli La Trattoria

The Denham Family

Brenda Puchinger and Serge Depatie

Ying Hua Qu and Steve Di Fruscia

Laura and Michael Downey

Hannah McIver and Edouard Dufour

Equipment d'Incendie Priorité Inc.

Nancy and Bryan Fitzpatrick ’74

Martha Legge and Timothy Fitzpatrick ’77

Kathy and Glenn Funamoto

Xiaoping Chen and Yongquan Gao

Anne and Andrew Garschagen

Betty and Eliot Goldwarg

Golf 1600 Inc.

Anthony Graham ’73

Lucy Carvalho and Charles Guertin

Karma and John Hallward ’78

Mirella Rover and Patrick Harroch

Alexandra and Frank Heidemann

The Labib Family

Ying Jin and Gang Liu

Journey Freight International Inc.

Sabrina and Tyler Kim

Karyn and Andrew Lassner ’95

Letko Brosseau & Associés Inc.

Bart MacDougall

Marian and John MacFarlane

Elisabete Varela and Charles Martin

Tania Pannunzio and Patrick Mattei

Anson McKim ’49

The Honourable Michael A. Meighen ’53

Leah and Jeffrey Mitelman

Christopher Nacos ’01

Nicholas Niro ’02

Noblelift Canada

Annie Cardin and Sean O'Donnell

Ruth Chaytor and James Parkyn

Helena and Paul-Gilles Parodi

Pembroke Management Ltd

Barbara Klassen and Dereck Phundstein

Plaza Volare

Pure Treats Inc.

Shiyi Fang and Chen Qu

Robco Inc.

Stéphanie Lagassé and David Savard

Rachel and Jason Schwartz

Kristin and Craig Shannon ’71

Xiaoting Zhang and Chuanli Sun

Stephanie and Michael Teryazos ’90

Natacha Michaud and Mario Therrien

Turn8 Associés Inc.

The Vainberg Family

Miriam Manini and Maxime Vanasse

Charles-Alexandre Vennat ’05

Vix Realty

Michael Wexler ’88

Joshua Wisenthal ’99

Lisa Miller and Marc Yedid

Maria and Alex Zammit

Hongying Gao and Xin Zhang

Timothy Zyto ’82

GRYPHON CIRCLE

$500 AND ABOVE

Anonymous (2)

Michèle and James Beckerleg

Yan Besner ’96

Jeniene and Randall Birks ’88

Victoria and David Cape

Shirley Carreiro

Thyda Ouy and Ladi Cheng

Sandra Cohen

The Décary Family

Jean Dobey

Samuel Elkas ’22

Patricia Dres and Patrick Gagnon

Sonia Gobeil and Jean Groleau

Groupe Astoria

Hongbo Zou and Bibo Hu

Ilana Bank and Michael Kapusta

Jill and Marc Kimmel

Zachary Levine and Catherine Henin

Shaoyan Chen and Wen Lin

Lingyun Pang and Guolin Liu

Melissa Fleming and Leonard Lotuche

Max Ma ’29 Family

Luisa Matheus Samper

Annie Cardinal and Lino Maurizio

Michele Des Groseillers and Taylor McCluskey

Sean McKinnon ’98

Katherine Nikidis

Elizabeth Edmiston and Jordan Padgett

Nektaria Tambakis and Lazaros Papadopoulos

Plomberie Parenti Inc.

Giuliana Maglione and Paolo Presti

Ray Qiu ’22

Angela Costa-Rizzolo and Giuseppe Rizzolo

Liane Feldman and Hillel Rosen

Andrea Daniels and Richard Rosenbloom

Tina Apfeld and Martin Rosenthal

Jennifer and Leslie Samuels

Gayle and Jamie Saunders

Alexandra and Hans Scheibler

Christine Legler and Kevin Schwartzman

Grace and Andy Shatilla

Minna Shulman

Ilinca Balaban and Scott Speirs ’93

Murray Stark ’74

Ronit and Noah Stern

Jean and John Strom-Olsen

Top Marks

Andrey Hollinger and Robert Torralbo

Shana Diamond and Maxime Turcotte

The Vainberg Family

Amanda Blatt and Jonathan Victor

Samantha Mintz and Justin Vineberg ’88

Dan Ping Shi and Chao Wang

Nancy and Lee Watchorn ’59

Arielle and Arthur Wechsler

Jing Zhang

BLACK AND GOLD CIRCLE UP TO $500

Anonymous (28)

Kynaston Addo ’23

Malvina Klag and Andrew Adessky

Ryan Adessky ’10

Sabrina Ahmed and Waqqas Afif

Lina Paolini and Marco Agozzino

Erin Ritchie and Kevin Alladin

Spiridoula and Greg Analytis

Kimberly Auclair

Mohsin Aziz ’03

Inna Babina

Sung Jun Bae ’05

Oneal Banerjee ’90

Dwight Bartholomew ’47

Kelly and Brian Baxter

Stephen Beaudin

Joanne Beauregard

Alex Becker

Lisa Gregory and Bill Bedard

Valerie Beech

Nadia Giannetti and Marcel Behr

Maria Belpasso and John Di Bert

Jessica Morrison and Arie Benchetrit

Daniel Bergevin ’21

Nancy Berney and Julius Erdstein

Karin Oliver and Pierre-Luc Bernier

Kim Snabl and Joffrey Bienvenue

Charles Bierbrier ’93

Mackenzie Blaise ’22

Kyle A. Blasi ’18

Eric-James Boffey ’12

Carla and Ion Bogdaneris

Zeina Ghattas and Eric Bolduc

Stephen Bonnycastle ’58

Justin Borntraeger ’96

Ian Bovey ’46

Gabriel Brassard ’15

James Brogan-Provencher ’21

Alison Jarvis-Broome and Gill Broome

Julie Brown

Christopher Bruneau ’87

Erin Egan and Kirk Brydges

Marion Lefebvre and Douglas Buchanan

Matthew Busbridge ’99

Robert Campbell ’02

Taylor Carlin ’52

Michael Carreiro ’92

Beverly and Timothy Carsley ’52

Laura Osborne and William Carsley ’89

Theresa Zhou and Frédéric Chagnon

The Chahrouri Family

Shuang Zhang and Yunlei Chen

Robert Chon ’02

Anita Salvatore and Joseph Ciccarello

Philip Clark ’05

Mary Ann Cloherty

Timothy Coristine ’59

Sharon Cozens

Nancy and William Daly ’52

Noah Daoust ’12

Dash Construction

Data Resolutions Inc.

Camilla and Vincent de Carvalho

Ghislaine de Leonardis

Rosa Molina Sanchez and Adolfo de Motta Gregori

Nikolas De Stefano ’14

Philip De Stefano ’10

Nikola Reford and Marc Delplace ’81

Jamie Denham ’14

Richard Denis ’85

Jeffrey Derevensky

Mary Dailey Desmarais and Paul Desmarais lll

Robert Diez d'Aux ’64

Meagan Paracholski and Lenny Dion

Colin Dobell ’53

John Doherty

Lana and Sheldon Dorfman

Regina Visca and Bruno Dubroca

Martha and Peter Duffield ’53

Antoine Duong ’12

Christopher Eich ’97

Krystal DuBose and Nicolas Ellis

Mark Esposito ’05

Estiatorio Milos

Andrew Federer ’78

Lloyd, Rosanne, Joshua ’19 and Michael ’21 Feldman

Kelley and Dave Fitzpatrick

Jeffrey Fitzpatrick ’12

Irene Bass and Michael Frankel

Donna and Ross Fraser

Carolyn and Billy Freedin

Friends of Independent Schools and Better Education (FRISBE)

Catherine Gagnon

Heather Martin and Dan Gauthier

Nathalie Gervais

Viviane Croux and Patrick Ghoche

Laetitia and Michael Gill

Sean Gilman ’90

Laurie Wiseman and Marc-André

Giroux

Chantal Munares Espinoza and David Gongora

Peter Govan

Judith and Charles Gradinger

Ann Gregory

David Grier

Heidi Lein and Enderson Guimarães

Conrad Harrington ’00

Carrie Havelka

Peter Higgins ’89

Matthew Homa ’21

Élise Beauchesne and Peter Houghton

Juan Hu and Yi Huang

The Hugé Family

Neill Hunt ’94

Christopher Hyde ’57

Peter Hyde ’53

Andrew Ivory ’80

Alix d'Anglejan-Chatillon and François Janson

Karen Aziz and David Johnson

Nicholas Jonas ’12

Alexandra Gosselin and Sebastien Kaine ’03

Lori and Peter Kalichman

Iffat Salaam and Amir Karim

Brigitte Ramaseder and Douglas Karpman

Brendan Keefe ’10

Andrea Buhl and Adrian Kestenband

Aria Khiabani ’18

Esko Kilpinen ’82

Alexander Kippen ’78

Carly and Anthony Knopf

Ameeta and Danny Kohli

Irina Kondratieva

Kum and Kok Kong

Joy and Michael Korenberg

Tina Leber and Andreas Kragaris

Justin Kuzmicki ’05

Katie Kostiuk and Dominic Lacasse

Nick Laframboise

John Lamont

Elizabeth Steele and Martin Landry

Lili and Pierre Le Fèvre

Anthony Le Moine ’53

Nicholas Le Moine ’56

Linda and Eric Lenczner

Colleen Wei and Quan Li

Maria Morandi and Enio Liberatore

Mai and William Lloyd

Jeffrey Lorenzetti ’92

John Louson ’55

Lihua Liu and Bin Lu

Sean A. Maislin ’03

Susan and Anthony Mann

Christopher Mann ’92

Robert Maranda ’92

Natacha and Jean-François Marcoux

Jonathan Mashaal ’11

Martha and Nicolas Matossian

Jennifer Manal and Michael Maurovich

Anthony Maxwell ’54

Lucy and Bruce Maxwell

Agatha and Bryce McBride

Ann McCall

Lucy McInnes

David McLeod ’08

Vanessa Germain and Maxime Ménard

David Mills ’67

Susan Lanyi and Paul Milner

Véronique and Marc Minogue ’07

Cameron Mitchell ’08

Simone Pink and Douglas Mitchell

The Family of C. Robin Molson ’44

Rodney Moore ’58

Krista and Geoffrey Moore ’83

Elisa and Douglas Moscatelli

Matthew Munzar ’00

Corey Nicholson ’73

Christine Martel and Michael Owen

Glenys and Apostolos Papageorgiou

Stewart Patch ’69

Justin Peress ’10

George Perlman ’13

Denise Perron

Gordon Peters ’58

Myriam Douville and Kevin Petrecca

Valter Pinchiaroli ’04

Margaret and Cole Pinnow

Brian Porter

Courtney Prieur

Jean Pruneau

Herbert Ratsch

Ian Ratzer ’98

Lindsay Neufeld and Carl Rémillard Fontaine

Emily Beckerleg Ritchie and Jamieson Ritchie ’88

Isabelle Pepin and François Rivard

Alexandra Robillard-Millette

Leila and Jonathan Roiter ’90

Anna Romano and Theodore Homa ’82

Patricia Romanovici

Ana Da Silva and Edgar Rosa

Royal St. George's College

Erin Russett

Anshuman Saksena '04

Anuraag Saksena ’98

Nancy and Allan Samberg

Pina Santillo

Peter Schaal ’58

Marc Schaffer ’94

Alexandre Scott

Anne-Julie Beaumont and Joseph Sebag

Mina La Rocca and Christopher Seitz

Evan Sequeira ’08

The Sequeira Family

Serruriers Vachon-Bouffard Inc.

Saro Setrakian ’02

David Seymour ’51

Kyam Shell-Schnitzer ’01

Denis Smirnov ’08

David Smith ’12

Alisa Soukhodolskaia

Stella Chatzidakis and Hagop Soussani

Sarah Ivory and Guthrie Stewart

Julia and James Stewart

Timothy Stewart ’59

Damion Stodola ’91

Linda Stodola

Jean Stutsman

Karima Bachene and Barwir Tashdjian

André Telio ’69

The Study

Alwynn Gillett and William Tretiak

Hélène Troubetzkoy

Jean-Pierre Trudeau

Sabaah Khan and Shab Ullah

Timothy Utting ’82

Brigitte Fortin and Guy Vadish

Marisa Giannetti and John Valentini

Sharifa van Gelderen-Henar and Eduard van Gelderen

Melanie Langelier and Don Vinh ’92 and Family

Sharon Walker

Tiffany Ajmo and Antoine Ward

Katherine Palesch and Mark Watson

Judith and Philip Webster ’61

Bradley White ’94

Michael Whitehead ’78

Jo-Anne Polidoro and David Wilkins

Barry Williams

Beatrijs Paijmans-Williams and Bruce Williams ’77

Howard Winfield ’69

Robert Worsoff ’92

Chundan Ma and Xinde Xu

Yiqian Teng and Hongzhi Yan

Ansi Wang and Yiming Yan

Houji Yao ’13

Marie-Christine Thibault and Rody Yared

Michael Zackon

Hongmei Yue and Zian Zhuang

Nancy and Anthony Zitzmann ’89

GIFTS IN KIND

Louise St-Jacques and Douglas Boffey

Cabot Citrus Farms

Liseanne Gillham and Paul Cirka

Chantal Marquis and Mark Culver ’74

Kanawaki Golf Club

The Macri Family

Mandy's Gourmet Salads

Anthea Dawson and Jeremy Oldland

Gillian LeMessurier and James Robinson

Selwyn House School

Andrew Sniderman ’01

Erin Michaels and Ayal Twik

IN HONOUR OF

Gabriel Cabelli ’23

Liborio Ciccarello ’23

Sharon Cozens

Gabriel de Carvalho ’23

Jiahe Deng ’22

Owen Frankel ’21

Steven Frankel ’01

Willem Gagnon ’15

Hal Hannaford

Susan Doherty and Hal Hannaford

Ethan Kimmel ’23

William Lacasse ’27

Jonah Levitan ’23

Carol Manning

Alexander McCluskey ’30

Lisa Mierins

Nathaniel Mitelman ’23

Bradley Moffat

Minna Shulman

Thomas Tretiak ’22

IN MEMORY OF

Ian Burgess

Spencer Jojich-White ’14

Brian MacFarlane ’81

Edgar C. Moodey

Ted Schopflocher ’88

Sam Stein ’13

Dr. Roy F. Sutton

Jack and Eleanor Winfield

NOTE: All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of this list. Kindly notify the Advancement Office of any errors or omissions at clohertym@ selwyn.ca or 514-931-9481 x2294. Our apologies in advance for any inaccuracies.

25 YEARS OF GOLF & FRIENDSHIP!

In 1999, a golf day at The Hemmingford Golf Club was organized by William Daly ’52 and others for Selwyn friends. Since then, 1,863 players have participated In Selwyn's annual tournament raising $1,803,965 for Selwyn House School. After all these years, the Old Boys & Friends’ Golf Tournament continues to draw a crowd to support students and initiatives at the school.

On May 29, 148 golfers and guests came out for the 25th edition of our tournament at Kanawaki Golf Club. They, along with our generous sponsors, raised over $60,000 for the Old Boys’ Endowment Fund, the Old Boys’ Trip Fund and the Old Boys' Speaker Series.

Golfers were treated to baked goods, courtesy of the Parent Volunteer Association, and early morning popcorn and barbecued ribs (why not?), before heading to the driving range. Headmaster Michael Downey, SHA Board Chair Mike Avedesian ’88, OBA President Josh Wisenthal ’99 and Golf Committee Chair EJ Boffey ’12 welcomed everyone at the first tee then proceeded with the Celebratory Tee-Off featuring golf tournament co-founder Will Daly ’52, Selwyn’s 8th headmaster Hal Hannaford, and Selwyn’s 9th and current headmaster, Mike Downey. The weather made for a perfect golf day only adding to the enjoyment.

It was wonderful to welcome back retired staff: Headmasters Will Mitchell and Hal Hannaford; Geoff Dowd, Shawn O’Donnell, Carol Manning, Minna Shulman, and soon-to-be-retired Kathy Funamoto.

There were several special hole-in-one opportunities honouring the 25th anniversary but no one was able to take home the $250K and $25K grand prizes, although David Giroux ’17’s ball rolled over the hole just missing $25K. Golfers enjoyed the Beat the Pro challenge against SHS Golf Team members Ollie Robinson (Grade 9) and Bobby Avedesian (Grade 10). Only a handful were victorious.

The evening ended with the first-ever online silent auction, a fun live auction with auctioneer EJ Boffey ’12 helping bidders determine who would see a practice round at The Master's, play at Cabot Citrus Farms, or be Old Boy Headmaster for the Day (have fun Headmaster Mosen Aziz ’03!).

We are grateful to our generous donors whose names are printed in the Donor Report on page 26, and to our corporate sponsors and prize donors below:

PLATINUM SPONSOR GOLD SPONSORS

AWARDS OF THE DAY

Men’s Closest to the Pin: Jonathan Aune ’92 Men’s Longest Drive: Jeffrey Lee ’10 Golden Putter Contest: Robert Macri Best Dressed Golfers: Arun Srivastava, Umesh Patel, Dany Medeiros, Nelson Taveras MVP Guest: Bobby Piazza Best Old Boys’ Team (Tim Shorter ’81 Down Under Trophy): (L to R in photo) Nicolas Little ’17, David Giroux ’17, Noah Kader ’17, Joshua Naimer ’17 Old Boy MVP (William H. Daly '52 Cup): Noah Kader ’17

2023 GOLF COMMITTEE

Old Boys EJ Boffey ’12, William Daly ’52, Justin Kuzmicki ’05, Vittorio Guzzo ’17, Sean McKinnon ’98, Charles-Alexandre Vennat ’05, Ben Wearing ’94, Brad White ’94, Josh Wisenthal ’99 Parent James Robinson Former Staff Geoff Dowd Current Staff Marty Boyle, Mary Ann Cloherty, Sharon Cozens, Mike Downey, Mike Maurovich

SILVER SPONSORS

Robco Inc.

GIFT, PRIZE AND AUCTION DONORS

Aldo, Brasserie des Rapides, Bulletproof, EJ Boffey ’12, Gil Broome, Cabot Citrus Farms, Cinémas Guzzo, Cirka, Mark Culver ’74, William Daly ’52, Mike Downey, Golf 1600, Hatley, Joe Beef, Kanawaki Golf Club, Justin Kuzmicki ’05, Mandy’s, Mr. Sunshine Popcorn, Montreal Alouettes, Mooseknuckles, Selwyn House School, Vivier

Old Boy MVP (William H. Daly ’52 Cup): Noah Kader ’17

Tim Shorter ’81 Down Under Trophy Winners

L to R: Sharon Cozens, William Daly ’52, Headmaster Mike Downey, Golf Committee Chair EJ Boffey ’12 , Mary Ann Cloherty, OBA President Josh Wisenthal ’99

BUILDING THE OLD BOYS’ NETWORK

It has been a great honour to serve you over the past four years as President of the Selwyn House Old Boys’ Association, a group of over 3,000 members spread across 43 countries. Our network is composed of graduates who have pursued careers as doctors, politicians, NHL hockey players, NBA basketball players, artists, writers, community activists and everything in between.

As this is my final OBA message to the school community as President of the OBA, I would like to take a moment to call out the outstanding contributions to the Old Boys community made over this time by the two headmasters with whom I served, Mr. Hannaford and Mr. Downey, as well as the entire Advancement Office. Special thanks must be given to Sharon Cozens, Mary Ann Cloherty, and the inimitable James McMillan, all of whom drove the OBA to new heights during my term.

A new era begins this Fall with the introduction of the PreUniversity program, through which we will eventually welcome new Old Boys who have chosen to attend Selwyn for their Grade 12 year. The OBA Board of Directors has been working extensively with the leaders of the program to ensure that students are exposed to the Old Boys network via mentorship projects, internships and other career development initiatives. The OBA network takes great pride in contributing to the success of the Pre-University program, and it comes as no surprise that feedback from current Old Boys about the new

2022-2023

OBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Josh Wisenthal ’99, President

Sean McKinnon ’98, Vice-President

Charles-Alexandre Vennat ’05, Past-President

Mohsin Aziz ’03

Eric-James (EJ) Boffey ’12

Evren Boisjoli ’08

Aria Khiabani ’18

venture has been unilaterally positive. In fact, most Old Boys wish that such an opportunity to stay at the school for an extra year had been available to them in their era.

Mentorship, community spirit and support for one another, both professionally and personally, continue to be core values for the OBA. Bridging the gap between the “now” boys and the “old” boys has become an important focus, as we work to both incorporate current students into our network as well as help Old Boys of all generations gain a better understanding of current school life. With that in mind, the OBA is excited to be holding its first ever Town Hall this September in conjunction with its virtual annual general meeting. The Town Hall will be an opportunity for Old Boys to ask questions and give feedback to the school’s leadership, and learn more about the connection between the school’s current strategic initiatives and its long and rich history as an independent all-boys institution.

As these four years come to a close, I will borrow the words of a close friend and fellow Old Boy who likes to say the following: “We don’t say ‘Goodbye’, we say ‘See you Soon.’”

OBA DIRECTORS IN ACTION

Thomas Königsthal Jr. ’74

Justin Kuzmicki ’05

Rodney Moore ’58

Evan Sequeira ’08

Kyam Shell-Schnitzer ’01

Jason Tsoukas ’99

Brad White ’94

Joshua Wisenthal ’99, OBA President

presented Old Boys’ ties to the newest Old Boys, The Class of 2023, at the Old Boys’ Induction.

OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION

23RD ANNUAL YOUNG OLD BOYS’ BARBECUE

Forty-one of our younger Old Boys from the Classes of 20182022 and 11 staff members had a laid-back mini-reunion on August 24 on the newly-refurbished Old Boys' Association Playground. Cam Widgington ’21 was instrumental in getting half of his class out for the gathering. Attendees: Class of 2018 Matthew Tromp, Sean Watson, Miller Woodward Class of 2019 Nicholas de Courcy-Ireland, Adam Girling Class of 2021 George Adamopoulos, Matt Azoulay, Kayvan Barin, Guillaume Beauger, Kai Beerworth, Justin Boomhower, Guillaume Charbonneau, Aiden Cohen, Hugo Culver, Denis Dariotis, Thiréhtha Diome-Deer, Matteo Farias, Aaron Fu, Aidan Gertler, Oscar Ham, Riley Handa, Matthew Homa, Sebbie Johnson, Sasha Klein-Charland, Justin Kugler, Jack Ladenheim, Dylan Lee, Markus Lulic-Descheneaux, Luca Manini-Vanasse, George Papadopoulos, Luca Parnas-Zver, Dean Perlman, George Pitsas, John Pitsas, Aidan Rawas, Matthew Salvati, Max Steinberg, Camden Widgington, Jack Wise Class of 2022 Ray Qiu, Heyang Xu Staff Kimberly Auclair, Mary Ann Cloherty, Sharon Cozens, Mike Downey, Pete Govan, Sebastien Lajoie, Michael Maurovich, Jon Merritt ’04, Brenda Montgomery, J-P Trudeau, Irène Vidal, Mark Watson

44TH ANNUAL MONTREAL REUNION

Over 140 Old Boys, friends and staff attended the 44th Annual Reunion and Homecoming Weekend on September 23-24, the first in-person reunion at the school in three years. Old Boys from classes ending in 2 and 7, as well as years in between, had a lot to celebrate including William Daly ’52 celebrating the 70th anniversary of his class. OBA President Josh Wisenthal ’99 welcomed alumni from all over the world: Eski Kilpinen ’82 from Poland, Brendan Paull ’97 from Japan, and Dylan Smith ’92 from Australia.

In his toast to the school, Huntly Stratford ’72, celebrating his class’s 50th anniversary, recognized that “although changes are taking place, the constants remain.” He gave thanks to “students, parents, staff and, most of all, teachers.” Huntly summed up SHS in three words: Spirit, Heart and Soul.

James Brooks ’97 also spoke fondly about teachers in his tribute to the 25-year class. “Our teachers had a great impact on us all,

and we appreciate what they did in shaping who we are.” James also remembered classmates who are no longer with them and ended his speech with a toast to friends and relationships. Festivities continued on Saturday down at the WAG field. The Gryphons won both their Cadet and Juvenile football games in their first Homecoming double-header. A fantastic tailgate party was the icing on the cake.

About twenty NYC and area Old Boys (spanning four decades) convened in Midtown Manhattan on October 20 for the first in-person chapter event held since 2019. This was a great reunion of friends and former teachers and coaches as well as a networking opportunity, with Old Boys exchanging business cards. It was great to see recent grads connecting with more senior Old Boys in the room, learning about careers and also about the city, as several are relatively new to NYC. Attendees: Class of 1983 Fenton Aylmer, Karim Shariff, Nicholas Von Moltke Class of 1994 Marc Schaffer, Chris Teryazos Class of 2005 Mani Alaei, Sonny Bae, Aaron Besner, Ahmad Odeh Class of 2008 Stephen Mashaal, Denis Smirnov Class of 2009 Abhinav Gupta Class of 2010 Matthew Herman Class of 2011 Cameron Romoff Class of 2012 David Barmish, David Smith Class of 2014 Jamie Denham, Vincent Duong Guest Connor Hage Staff Mike Downey, Mike Maurovich, Sharon Cozens

OTTAWA OBA REUNION

Thirteen Old Boys ranging from the Class of 1953 to the Class of 2008, two former staff, and two guests joined Headmaster Michael Downey, Director of Athletics Mike Maurovich, and Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Relations Mary Ann Cloherty for the Ottawa Chapter Reunion on November 15 at LUXE Bistro. All were very excited to learn about the introduction of Pre-University (Grade 12) starting in September

24TH ANNUAL OLD BOYS' HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

55 Old Boys, staff and fans attended the 24th Annual Old Boys' Hockey Tournament at Westmount Recreation Centre on December 21, the first return to the ice since 2019. 43 players made up four teams, all vying for bragging rights and the NicollMitchell Trophy. Tournament namesakes, retired teacher Tom Nicoll and retired athletics director Steve Mitchell, watched the games with enthusiasm. Team Green won the consolation round 4-2 against Team Gold. Team Blue prevailed, winning 2-1 against Team Red, and taking the coveted trophy. Chris Clark ’86 won the senior alumnus award for spirit, youthfulness, enthusiasm, awarded to the player “who will need a month to recover.”

Attendees: Class of 1953 Peter Hyde, Tony Le Moine Class of 1956 George Windsor Class of 1958 Rodney Moore, Gordon Peters Class of 1962 Robert Tennant Class of 1973 Bill Turner Class of 1992 Jeff Lorenzetti, Rob Maranda Class of 2000 Christopher Robinson Class of 2008 Mark Haichin, David McLeod, Cameron Mitchell Guests Judith Minorgan, Stephanie Minorgan Former Staff Gail Gavan, Julie Heath

GRADE 9 OLD BOYS' MENTORSHIP ACTIVITIES

On November 23, Old Boy volunteers met with Grade 9 students in an off-campus activities days that focused on building their collaboration and communication skills. Students engaged in team building challenges, conflict resolution role play, and team competitions throughout the day, and they had the opportunity to have lunch with Old Boys to gain insights on

Attendees: Class of 1986 Chris Clark, Peter Shatilla (goalie) Class of 1988 Mike Avedesian, Jason Tsadilas Class of 1989 William Carsley, Peter Higgins, Anthony Zitzmann Class of 1990 Christian Matossian Class of 1994 Ben Wearing Class of 1995 Franco San Gregorio Class of 1997 Rob Vroom Class of 2002 Chris Rochon Class of 2007 Zach Martin Class of 2008 Anthony Lowther (goalie) Class of 2012 EJ Boffey, David Dupont Class of 2015 Jules Gagnon, Scott Spector, Aidan Walter (goalie) Class of 2016 William Rossy, Trevor Tabah Class of 2018 Luke Avedesian, Kyle Blasi, Elijah Nuez Class of 2019 Nikolas Korderas Class of 2020 Jet Astrologo, Matt Avedesian, Carl Heidemann, Daniel Kalichman, Rory Krnjevic, Jonah Rosen Class of 2021 William de Courcy-Ireland, Andrew Poullas Class of 2022 Mik Auerbach, James Brogan-Provencher, Christopher Rossy, Boaz Sochaczevski, Elliott Walter Coaches Steve Mitchell, Tom Nicoll Staff Matthew Held (goalie), Nick Laframboise, Chris LaPerle, Nicholas Sergerie, Neil Banerjee Spectators: Anthony Brown ’90 and sons (visiting from Florida); Zander Brais ’11, Andrew Carsley ’25; Alumni Moms Miranda Mok, Anna Rochon; and Staff Kim Auclair, Marty Boyle, Mary Ann Cloherty, Sharon Cozens, Mike Downey, Tom Downey, Irina Kondratieva, Mike Maurovich, Rafaela Petel Ruiz, J-P Trudeau

19TH ANNUAL COLIN NO ’97 BASKETBALL CLASSIC

Participants: Bruce Gill ’65, Zahoor Chughtai ’94, Anthony (Nino) Zammit ’02, Nikki Papich ’10, Eric-James (EJ) Boffey ’12, and O’Shae Ho Sang ’17

Old Boys and friends were in fine form on the basketball court on January 18, 2023 at the annual Colin No ’97 Basketball Classic. Twenty-five players and guests took part in the 19th annual tournament. The atmosphere was competitive and fun as memories, stories and laughs were exchanged throughout the evening. Players were supportive of one another on and off the court, just like Colin was throughout his eleven years at Selwyn House. The Colin No Classic is an annual basketball event organized in memory of Colin No ’97 who passed away in 2002. The Colin No ’97 Memorial Fund has raised close to $330,000 for student bursaries.

OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION

Attendees: Class of 1994 Brad White Class of 1997 Ian Marquis Class of 2003 Michael Grover Class of 2005 Philip Clark, Mark Esposito Class of 2007 Dylan Brophy Class of 2009 Oliver Maurovich, Francesco Grassi, Michael Cohen Class of 2012 Antoine Duong, Noah Daoust Class of 2013 George Loutochin, George Perlman Class of 2018 Luke Avedesian, Justin Caponi, Matthew Caponi, Joseph Chalhoub, Giordano Iannarino Class of 2019 Harry Maurovich, William Reford Class of 2020 Oliver McCavour, Rory Krnjevic, Victor Jamet-Larsen Class of 2021 Daniel Bergevin Guest Players Charlie Argue, Nick Dion, Alexander Issa, Scott Macdonell Staff Kim Auclair, Mary Ann Cloherty, Sharon Cozens, Mike Downey, Pete Govan, Rhianna Kestenbaum, Mike Maurovich, Jon Merritt ’04, J-P Trudeau

SAN FRANCISCO OBA REUNION

Ian Ratzer ’98, Core Audio Engineer at Apple, represented the OBA San Francisco Chapter at the February 15 get-together at SOPA, with Director of Advancement Sharon Cozens. Derek Kredl ’85, on a layover from an Air Canada flight he was piloting, joined the party, a non-SF resident but welcome nonetheless! Both Old Boys connected on all manner of topics, from favourite Selwyn teachers, to music, to DJ-ing back in the day.

Old Boys' and friends met at Steamworks Brewpub on February 9 in Gastown, reconnecting after a four-year hiatus. Stories were compared across the decades, all appreciating the sound foundation they received at Selwyn, no matter the era. Graham Colby ’96 noted that “Selwyn House gave us exposure to so many subjects and opportunities.” Former PVA Coordinator Maureen Mackell joined from Squamish. Guests were interested to hear about Selwyn's future and offered to help. DJ Miller ’80 volunteered as the Vancouver Chapter Rep. and looks forward to connecting with Old Boys in the area throughout the year.

Attendees: Class of 1968 John Carsley Class of 1980 David (DJ) Miller Class of 1996 Noah Bloom, Graham Colby, Matthew Singerman Class of 2006 Andrew Funamoto Guest Diane Miller Former Staff Maureen Mackell Staff Sharon Cozens, Mike Downey

This season’s OBA West Coast reunions concluded in Los Angeles where seven Old Boys and one young guest enjoyed dinner at Hatchett Hall, in Culver City, on February 16. As one would expect in LA, there was talk of surfing, movies, television, video games, real estate, and advertising, sprinkled with chats about investment banking and parenting. Selwyn conversations took over with stories of teachers, sports, and friends.

Attendees: Anders Bard ’86, Sywa Sung ’87 and son Spenser, Rob Worsoff ’92, Jamin Kerner ’94, Ed Kubow ’95, Philip Schaffer ’01, and Justin Peress ’10 Staff Sharon Cozens, Mike Downey

OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION

OBA MINI HOCKEY SERIES

The Old Boys’ Mini Hockey Series has been a great new initiative! Seven games were played from October to February at McConnell Arena (McGill University) with the finale taking place on February 19. OBA Board member and organizer of the series EJ Boffey ’12 had this to say about the experience:

Attendance: Class of 1968 Jeremy Clark Class of 1978 Michael Whitehead

Class of 1980 Ted Nash, Brian Dawson Class of 1983 Tom Antony, Derek Eaton Class of 1985 Richard Denis Class of 1986 Jamie Blundell, Paul Capombassis, Jason Hreno Class of 1992 Otto Mok Class of 1994 Marcus Daniels Class of 1997 Mischa Auerbach-Ziogas Class of 1998 Sean McKinnon

Class of 1999 Matt Busbridge Class of 2000 Matthew Munzar Class of 2001 Kyam Shell-Schnitzer Class of 2002 Chris Rochon Class of 2003 Sean Maislin, Jonathan Munzar Class of 2005 Vicar Rizvi Class of 2008 Evan Sequeira, Phil Vineberg Class of 2009 Jack Melkerson, Josh Hanek, Anton Schlemm Class of 2010 Alex Abrams, Brendan Keefe Class of 2013 Parth Agarwal Class of 2014 Cameron Anderson, Clay Sequeira Class of 2018 Nikolas De Stefano, Zachary Merhi, Elijah Nuez Former Staff Brian Porter, James Stewart Current Staff Sharon Cozens, Michael Downey, Mike Maurovich

his wife Zoe on their home turf in Boston on March 29 at The Capital Grille with Headmaster Mike Downey, Director of Athletics Mike Maurovich and Director of Advancement

World Cup Soccer players (in their own minds) Luke Avedesian

Matthew Caponi ’18, Joseph Chalhoub ’18, Kieran Hamilton ’18, Victor Jamet-Larsen ’20, Oscar McCavour ’20 and Sharon Cozens had a fun night at Soccerplexe in Lachine on April 14. OBA President Josh Wisenthal ’99 opened the night encouraging all to take advantage of the Old Boys network, specifically SelwynConnect, "our LinkedIn for Old Boys." Coach Pete Govan enjoyed the action and antics from the sidelines.

OBA IN THE ARTS

The Old Boys' Association hosted its first-ever "Old Boys in Music" panel on May 3 as part of the school's annual Arts Fair. The panelists were electroacoustic composer and collaborator David Drury ’94, label manager and DJ Francis di Stasio ’08 and singer-songwriter and blues guitarist Nico Little ’17. They described their pre-and-post Selwyn House School music journey to Old Boys, current students and staff. They offered advice to aspiring musicians and to those interested in the music industry. Host and OBA Board member wrote, "This online event provided attendees with an insight as to what type of character is needed to pursue a career in music."

He recalled the long ham radio antenna on Ms. Pick's Austin Healy. Everyone is already looking forward to next year's event!

VOLUNTEER JUDGES

We appreciate our Old Boys, current students and friends who judged semi-finals and finals of the Youth and Philanthropy

19TH ANNUAL OLD BOYS’ TENNIS TOURNAMENT

The 19th annual tournament took place on June 9 at a new venue, The Mount Royal Tennis Club. Doubles duo Jamie Ritchie ’88 and Nick Kaulbach ’94 emerged victorious to have their names added to the coveted trophy. Thanks to Sam Gold ’78 for suggesting a change to a new club and to Sam and Jason Tsadilas ’88 for their help in matching up the players.

Doubles Teams: Charles Porteous ’84 and Marc Minogue ’07, Geoff Moore ’83 and Thomas Woodfine-MacPherson ’14, Jamie Ritchie ’88 and Nick Kaulbach ’94, Jason Tsadilas ’88 and Sebastien Kaine ’03, William Carsley ’89 and Christopher Politis ’99, and Sean Gilman ’90 and EJ Boffey ’12. Spectators Headmaster Michael Downey and his wife Laura, Colin Ross ’51 (Mike Downey's high school chemistry teacher), Mark Lazare

OBA INDUCTION DINNER

Sixty-two new members of the graduating Class of 2023 were officially inducted into the Selwyn House Old Boys’ Association at a dinner held on June 19, 2023. Guests included staff, Old Boy relatives of the grads and special invitees. Sixteen Old Boys dined with the newest Old Boys sharing stories from the past and offering advice for their post-secondary life. Three SHS generations of the Teryazos family attended: Leontis ’58, Michael ’90, and Alexander ’23.

OBA Board Members Justin Kuzmicki ’05 and Brad White ’94 congratulated the class. Justin noted that some of his best friends to this day are Old Boys. “Our classmates are all different, but we all speak the same language. There is something intangible about our Selwyn House experience,” he said. Brad noted that of all the alumni organizations he belongs to (two universities and SHS), the Selwyn House Old Boys’ Association means the most to him. “This school had the biggest influence on me. The connectivity here is amazing. It’s a strong and powerful community and it’s wonderful to see it grow and flourish.”

William Carvalho-Guertin and Nate Mitelman volunteered to be representatives for the class. The Class of 2023 Gift was also announced: The Class of 2023 Recess Fund, to promote healthy living by providing and maintaining new equipment. Guests Leontis Teryazos ’58, Tyler Diabo '86, Bill Lloyd '87, Brad White ’94, Justin Kuzmicki ’05, Michael Teryazos ’90, Marc-Antoine Brosseau ’02, Josh Diabo ’13, Nabeel Ahmed ’17, Thomas Martin ’19, George Papadopoulos ’21, Max Mitelman ’21, Christopher Rossy ’22, Pablo Baratta-Matheus ’22 Staff Kim Auclair, Neil Banerjee, Sharon Cozens, Mary Ann Cloherty, Mike

’68, Andy Lumsden, the Kaine family Staff Kim

L to R: Gabriel de Carvalho ’23, Board member and current parent Caroline Deitcher, Anna Clare Sung, Ian Mahutte ’19, and Stanford Li ’19

L to R: Leontis Teryazos ’58, Alexander Teryazos ’23, and Michael Teryazos ’90

L to R: Nate Mitelman ’23, Max Mitelman ’21

Back row L to R: Harry Maurovich ’19, Colin Rolph ’19, Hans Dres ’19, Alex Trudeau ’12, Mackenzie Blaise ’22, Dimitri Adamakakis ’20, Adolfo de Motto Molina ’23 Front row L to R: Jamie Wiseman ’22, William Carvalho-Guertin ’23, James Downey ’23, Henry Feltham ’23, Enoch Tamale ’20

MAKING SENSE OF INEQUITY AND MOVING FORWARD

MAKING SENSE OF INEQUITY AND MOVING FORWARD

Writer, lawyer, and Rhodes Scholar Andrew Sniderman ’01 and co-author Douglas Sanderson have written a book entitled Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town and the Road to Reconciliation. "This true story follows multiple generations of two families, one Indigenous and one white, and shows how their neighbouring communities became separate and unequal… We approach this problem from the perspective of two families—one Indigenous, one white—living in neighbouring communities. Along the way, we seek to re-tell the story of Canada."

Inspired ten years ago by a talk given by Marie Wilson (journalist and later a commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada), Andrew travelled to the northwest of Canada to write a story for Maclean's magazine. He needed to make sense of what was happening on reserves: the racism, discrimination and lack of funding for schools. This book is the product of his follow-up trips where he witnessed inequity between two small towns. As the book jacket reads, "Their story reflects much of what has gone wrong in relations between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians. It also offers, in the end, an uncommon measure of hope."

In speaking with Sharon Cozens, Director of Advancement, Andrew asked the ultimate question. “How can we have a generation of equality? We have the capacity to reach out and embrace new ideas. We have the political structures to do these things. This book helps us find a way to reach a much bigger audience and build a groundwork to generate new possibilities.”

As the author is a Selwyn House alumnus, this book was of great interest to the school, especially as it continues to work further on its own Indigenization process. With regards to having students at Selwyn and other schools read the book, Andrew told Director of Experiential Education Courtney Prieur and consultant Wahi Diome-Deer, "The material is heavy but exposure is necessary. Students need to have the resources to process this. We have developed resources for teachers. It helps process the emotions. Emotion leads to a pathway for action. This book provides a roadmap for action, they need to have some way forward."

The co-authors launched their book at Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore on November 13, 2022 to a room full of family, friends and Selwyn community members. Andrew thanked his parents and his Selwyn House School teachers (some who were present) for the education he received. Andrew has written for the The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, and Maclean’s. He has also argued before the Supreme Court of Canada, served as the human rights policy advisor to the Canadian minister of foreign affairs, and worked for a judge of South Africa’s Constitutional Court.

Attendees: Class of 1972

Jonathan Goldbloom Class of 1996 Robert Sniderman Class of 2000 Jonathan Brun and son Raphael, Conrad Harrington, Ed Morin and partner Jacinthe Class of 2001 Chris Nacos Class of 2002 Keith Martin, Luke Reid Alumni Parents Sarah Prichard, Allan Sniderman, Gwen Nacos, Alice Goldbloom

Former Staff Tom Nicoll, Kathi Biggs Current Staff Sharon Cozens, Mike Downey, Courtney Prieur SHS Friends Émilie Bergeron, (the late) John Biggs, Jackie Cozens, and others

Pictured (L to R): Robert Sniderman ’96, Andrew Sniderman ’01, Chris Nacos ’01, Mike Downey, Luke Reid ’02, Kathi Biggs, Tom Nicoll

CLASS NEWS

1950s

George Windsor ’56 remembers the last coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 when he was a student at SHS. "I remember Her Coronation quite vividly," writes George. "In those days our National Anthem had been God Save the King under King George VI and it changed to God Save the Queen. Since then we have made quite a lot of changes."

Vincent Prager ’59, Jonathan Mechanic ’06, and Dylan Jones ’03, all practicing lawyers, volunteered to be judge and jury at the Grade 11 Law class’s “mock trial” on December 6. Staff member Brenda Montgomery was the third juror. The prosecution prevailed, and after the trial, the Old Boys gave feedback to the students.

1960s

"Lifers" from the Class of ’59 and their guests met in May for dinner at The Mount Royal Club in Montreal. Headmaster Mike Downey toasted these Old Boys, Selwyn friends since they began Grade 1 in 1951. Dinner was in the Shaughnessy Room to remember late classmate Patrick Shaughnessy, and warm words were exchanged regarding departed classmates Peter Campbell, John Beament, and Timmy Gilbert. Michel Guité writes, "I did not guess it would feel as meaningful and rewarding to meet with friends from 70 years ago and to see our friendships are intact."

Former Selwyn House School Board Chair and Speirs Medalist Michael Goldbloom, C.M. ’69 “completed his final term as 18th Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Bishop's University in June 2023. “For fifteen years, Principal Goldbloom has tirelessly dedicated himself to the advancement of Bishop's and its community,” read a statement from Bishop’s University. Michael was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2013 “for his work building bridges between Montreal’s English and French-speaking communities.”

1970s

Speirs Medalist Jonathan Goldbloom ’72 was elected to Hockey Canada’s board of directors in December 2022.

While on his tour of Canada, Michael Thau ’74, an educator at Dietrich Bonhoeffer School in Germany, made a special stop at Selwyn House to see the school and visit with Headmaster

L to R: Michel Guité, Michael Bastian, Vincent Prager, Lee Watchorn, Headmaster Mike Downey, Harry Bloomfield, Gerald Ross, and Roger Thomas

from his home in the UK on November 16. “I look back very fondly on my days at Selwyn House, and I have little doubt that my time here has been of enormous value in my professional and personal life.” Stephen recently retired as Executive Director at MSD (Merck) after a 35year career in Pharmaceutical Sales / Marketing.

Photo: the Combined Choir 1952-1953

Photo courtesy of: Bishop's University

Photo courtesy of: Newsfirst Multimedia

Sean Lafleur ’80 of FlowerChange gathered a community of inclusive and diverse people from different walks of life for a meeting in Montreal on November 22. Their goal was to “build relationships, reflect on essential questions across diverse fields of collective action, and support transformational changes. Selwyn parent Laetitia Gill, Senior Advisor, Learning and Partnerships at Philanthropic Foundations Canada and Executive Education Associate met with Sean while he was here.

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay ’85 invited David Jones ’85, “a veteran Microsoft program manager, R&D coordinator, tablet-computing pioneer, and workplace visionary,” to his show on September 22. They spoke at length, reminiscing about their days at Selwyn House, the computer room in particular.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada and Member of Parliament for Hull-Aylmer since October 2015, Greg Fergus ’86 returned to the school on February 22 in honour of Black History Month. He spoke to students and staff with a resounding message about the importance of seeking diversity in order to get the most out of life.

Throughout the month of November,

Award was presented to Nicolas Capolicchio, who has shown exceptional effort, achievement and passion for the Health Sciences in Grade 9. It was presented in-person for the very first time by the award's namesake. Talat took time to attend the ceremony while visiting Montreal from his home in Qatar. He told

Mark Pathy, de la classe de 1986, a été nommé une des dix personnalités de l’année 2022 par Radio-Canada. Dans son entrevue, il parle de son voyage dans l’espace pour aider la recherche.

Anders Bard ’86 shares news about his latest movie project, French Girl, filmed by Paramount in Montreal and Quebec and starring Zach Braff, Vanessa Hudgens, William Fichtner and a wonderful Quebec cast including Évelyne Brochu. Anders' writing, producing and assistant directing credits include: Like Father (2018), I Love You, Man (2009) and Came Polly (2004).

environmental, social and governance (ESG), thanks to the generosity of Michael Penner ’86 and Scotiabank. A multidisciplinary program will support

Ray Ritchie ’86 hosted a Canada Day barbecue for Selwyn friends in Maine .

Photo: Bobby Avedesian ’24, Jamie Ritchie ’88, Ray Ritchie, Mike Avedesian ’88, John Mulder ’88 and Soren Matossian

1990s

Nordic skier Warren Samberg ’90 represented Israel at the 2023 World Championships in Slovenia where he was the flag bearer. Warren “is currently the only Israeli cross-country athlete in the FIS database with an active license.”

Charles Bierbrier ’93 defended his doctoral dissertation in August 2022 entitled Generation Z’s Work Value Preferences in the United States. Dr. Bierbrier completed his Doctorate in Business Administration from Johnson & Wales University.

Naveed Irshad ’88 was appointed CEO of Manulife Canada in June 2022, according to the Manulife website "Irshad has worked at Manulife for more than 20 years, advancing in several leadership roles including the position of president and CEO of Manulife Singapore…Naveed holds a B.Sc. in Actuarial Math from Concordia University, where he has established a scholarship, “The Irshad Family Bursary in Actuarial Mathematics."

Charles Matouk ’91, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Yale School of Medicine, and his team implanted the first-ever endovascular device for hydrocephalus in North America in August 2022. Charles is Chief of Neurovascular Surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital, Connecticut.

The weekend of February 25-26 marked the first annual LCC vs Selwyn House School Alumni Winter Classic on the Miller Rink. It was an amazing afternoon organized by friends, mainly from the late 80s

Actor Dylan Smith ’92, who plays Harfoot in The Lord of the Rings Rings of Power, was interviewed in Montreal Gazette (August 31, 2022). Dylan has also appeared in the British TV series EastEnders, in films including Immortals, Total Recall (2012 version) and Lemonade, and on stage in London and on Broadway.

Jeremy Baskin ’98 attended the formal Nobel Prize celebrations in Stockholm, Sweden as a guest of his Ph.D. advisor. Professor Carolyn Bertozzi won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for chemical reactions called "click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry." Images from one of his publications were featured prominently in the Nobel Prize announcement.

A mini-reunion hosted by Dave McKinnon ’95 (L) in Singapore in

Photo courtesy of: Nordic Insights

Seattle-based couple Jordan Goldwarg ’98 (R) and Sam McVeety were interviewed in the November issue of The Montana Racial Equity Project Newsletter as supporters of the project. Jordan is Executive Director at OneWorld Now, a Seattle-based nonprofit that promotes global citizenship through a combination of world language learning, leadership workshops, and study abroad opportunities, serving primarily low-income students of color.” Jordan Ending

Reggae-rap singer-songwriter Jonathan Emile ’03 (AKA Jonathan Whyte PotterMal and pictured left) was a spokesperson and performer for the MTL vs. Racisme concert in N.D.G. Park in September 2022. Jonathan says, "It’s important to normalize not just the idea that racism is bad and a problem, but to actually be anti-racist, to make that step. To not just live your life as a non-racist person, but to create anti-racist actions. That’s one of the things I can do as a community organizer and artist."

Alex Shadeed ’09, Senior Cybersecurity Consultant at EY, spoke to Mark Watson’s entrepreneurship class about cyber attacks and how to prevent them. Alex returned on May 26 to hear the students’ solutions and presentations on the topic. Mr. Watson said, "It is so much fun to work with former students, especially when they come back to share their knowledge with current students. Alex helped the boys in my entrepreneurship class to understand the risks of cyber attacks on small

During a warm spell in January, Jonathan Brun ’00 was interviewed by CBC News to talk about patinermontreal.ca, the website he created to track the conditions of ice rinks across the Montreal area. “Certainly this is not the greatest weather for being outside,” he said. “The lack of snow, the lack of ice, really limits the amount of winter activities.”

Ivan Neilson ’04 married Emma Stewart on August 14, 2022 in Bellevue Cove, PEI. Old Boys in attendance were: Dylan Brophy ’07, Chris Deruchie ’04, Tom Morse ’04, Mark Sadaka ’06, Moses Tannenbaum ’04 and Geoff Vendeville ’04. Ivan and Emma are pictured with their parents, including Ivan's mom, Carol Manning, retired Head of Middle School (2nd from left).

On a hot, sunny day, James Strachan ’10 married Wilco Jacobsz on November 26, 2022 in Noosa, Queensland, in his home country of Australia. The wedding was attended by a delegation of Selwyn Old Boys. James' friends from the Class of 2010 all made the trip down under to witness James' special day.

McGill University Health Centre Foundation’s Vice-President of Development Miguel Burnier ’03 spoke at a Senior School assembly on November 2 about the MUHC’s Got Talent event that raises money for cancer research. Four Grade 9 students, Ryan Boucetta, Gaël Parnas-Zver, Nicholas Cesta and Jake Gelber performed at the event–a battle of the bands–with the support of Alex Becker, Head of the Arts Department.

was involved with the school during Truth & Reconciliation Week. Ryland and Chef Silvana made strawberry juice and corn soup for students and staff. The Indigenous Student Committee served the juice and made presentations throughout the week.

Back row (L to R): Brendan Keefe, James, Justin Peress, Christian Buchanan. Front row (L to R): Victor Bui and Michael Smith

Jacob Cohen ’11 and Dr. Lauren Sugar were married in September 2022. Selwyn grads lifting the groom were (L to R): Brandon Di Perno ’11, Phil Douyon ’11, Sean Hatzigeorgiou ’11, Sean Hess ’11 (Best Man), Angelo Rizzolo ’11, Farhad Khan ’11, Jesse Kaminski ’11, Thomas Savvas ’11, and Fernand Le Fèvre ’11

McGill University wrote in a November 24 news article about Adi Mithani ’11 who is "pursuing a medical degree and a Master of Engineering (MEng) simultaneously.” A second-year medical student, Adi has taken “a leave of absence from his medical studies to complete an MEng in 2022. His aim? To serve as a "proof of concept" for a potential dual MDCM/MEng degree at McGill, which could create a new generation of physicians who can develop innovative healthcare technologies with a focus on improving patient care."

’24 Staff/Volunteers: Antoine Duong ’12, Dan Ton-That ’12, Adam Karpman ’12, Edouard Charlebois ’12, Stephan Smirnov ’12, Sammy Lamanuzzi ’15, Dre Weekes ’15, Matthew Caponi ’18, O'Shae Ho Sang ’17, Rory Krnjevic ’21 SHS Staff: Mike Maurovich

Filmmaker and Selwyn lifer Stephen Baxter ’13 had his début on the Coristine stage when he was a student and has a lot of fond memories. This year he directed the actors in their fight choreography for the Senior School play, The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood.

Angelo Rizzolo ’11 was married in Italy to Roxane Assaf. Old Boys joined the party.

In September 2022, CBC News interviewed Wyler Diome-Montour ’13, a graduate of Parsons School of Design, NYC. Wyler launched a project to honour residential school survivors and children who never returned home. He designed orange crosswalks with white eagle feathers near schools in Kahnawake.

Brandon Montour ’14 talked to Middle and Senior School students about his time at SHS as an Indigenous student and what we can all do now to work towards a better future for Indigenous youth. In February, Brandon received the 2022–23 Bank of Canada Scholarship Award for Post-Secondary Students, made possible by Inspire and the Bank of Canada to support Indigenous students.

Antoine Duong ’12 and Dan Ton-That ’12 hosted an inaugural basketball tournament at Selwyn House on March 4, 2023, for their not-for-profit organization, Footsteps United, to promote equal access and to remove barriers to academic, athletic and career opportunities among underrepresented and underprivileged communities. Over 100 players participated including 16 from SHS: Dylan Brophy ’07, Leonardo Lamanuzzi ’12, George Loutochin ’13, George Perlman ’13 and Captain of “The Griffins”, Qifan Wang ’13, Kiran Keleny

Yan-Maurice McNiven ’13, Callum McInnes ’13, and Michael Sarlos ’13 are starting a new company called Algo-U, designing educational software to help people navigate issues related to social media and platforms. In November, YanMaurice met with senior students in the Entrepreneurship class to share his current business initiative and welcomed their feedback.

On June 20, Max Vanelli ’14 dropped in for a visit, sporting his Old Boys’ tie. He had lunch with staff and spent the afternoon with Music and Technology teacher Adam Hodgins in the studio.

Photo courtesy of: McGill University

L to R: Sean Hatzigeorgiou ’11, Justin Tabah ’11, Vincent Rizzolo ’17, Angelo ’11, Fernand Le Fèvre ’11, Brandon Di Perno ’11 and two of Angelo’s cousins

OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION CLASS

Alex Moore ’14 dominated the Canadian National Wrestling Championships and qualified for international competitions this year. In the 2023 Senior Canadian National Championships and U Sports National Championship, Alex won the 86kg and 90kg weight classes, and he received the Outstanding Wrestler Award. In May, Alex won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Greg Segal ’16 was honoured at the McGill Homecoming football game on October 21 as Senior Student Athlete.

Henri Lajeunesse ’17, received a fellowship made possible by Sylvan Adams for sports science research at McGill University. Henri is a Master’s student in kinesiology.

McGill University student Noah Kid ’16 created a pen and ink print of McGill’s campus after realizing that there were no large-scale depictions of the university. "I wanted to capture the beauty of McGill's architecture, Mont Royal, and the feeling of walking through campus on a sunny day. The drawing took over 500 hours to produce and shows almost the entirety of the McGill downtown campus and a significant part of the surrounding area.”

Award-winning designer Jesse Caruso ’17 created a beautiful poster for the Senior School play, The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. The poster reflects the production's set design and colour scheme featuring a stained glass aesthetic.

On October 13, lifer Izzy Tamale ’17 met with Nick Laframboise, Post-Secondary Guidance Counselor, to talk to him about his school path after graduating from Selwyn House School. He is happy to connect with any students who are entertaining the idea of studying at United World College, University of Birmingham, or moving overseas to study.

On September 2, Senior School students enjoyed “Fantastic Friday”, a day led by their elected student leaders to start off the school year. Prefects invited Will Rossy ’16 to speak about the values of growth, learning, and health and wellbeing. Will is a content creator focused on helping others on their journeys of self-discovery through his platform Sprouht. Will also shared his video talents at the Known & Loved Gala.

NYU Film School student Dylan Kalaydjian ’17 reached out to Old Boy and film producer Anders Bard ’86 in Los Angeles in February, making use of the OBA network for mentorship opportunities.

Congratulations to Henry Gauthier ’17 and Thomas

on their provincial selection for the Tropical Sevens, an international youth sevens rugby tournament held in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Tretiak ’22

2020s

Ryan Cheema ’20 helped with this year’s Senior School play, The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. As Assistant Director, he provided valuable blocking input and helped the actors to improve their performance.

Congratulations to Liam Hodgson ’20 (L)

Darcy Sheard ’43

October 31, 2022

Ian Hugh Bovey ’46

November 6, 2022

Brother of the late Christopher Bovey ’41

Dwight Bartholomew ’47

February 8, 2023

Brother of Andrew Bartholomew ’52

Michael James Ogilvie ’49

November 30, 2022

Son of the late Bart Ogilvie ’19, father of Ian Ogilvie ’83, and stepfather of David Pickwoad ’85 and Ian Pickwoad ’87

Gryphon's Cadet Football team Head Coach Matt Addona and his father, assistant coach Tony Addona, cheered for Alessandro Lorenzetti ’20 at a University of Michigan Wolverines game on October 15 against Penn State.

Mackenzie Blaise ’22 finished first (on Team LCC) in the British Parliamentary Provincial Championships that were held at Selwyn House School on October 15.

Ivan Edward Phillips ’50

November 22, 2022

Father of James Phillips ’83

Charles Dudley Clarke ’55

October 24, 2022

David Hamilton McLernon '58

October 22, 2022

Son of the late Robert R. McLernon ’26, and brother of the late John McLernon ’54, the late Colin McLernon ’60, and Robert McLernon ’69

Michael Gwinnell ’59

Brother of John Gwinnell ’67

Peter W. Hutchins ’60

January 13, 2023

(Robert) Campbell Hendery ’70

December 19, 2022

Cousin of Duncan Campbell ’69, Peter Campbell '72, Robert Campbell ’73 and Robbie Campbell ’02

Michael William Echenberg ’91

August 27, 2022

Jean-Nicholas Roy ’97

June 30, 2022

Gustav Scheibler ’21 joined St. Lawrence University this fall, playing on their NCAA varsity soccer team.

Football Ontario named Jack McLernon ’22 to the CISAA Football Defence 2022 All-Stars in January.

Brother of Sebastien Roy ’99

Samuel Alexander Stein ’13

April 11, 2023

Spencer Jojich-White ’14

June 2, 2023

committed to St.

Visit Old Boys' News for full obituaries.

INTRODUCING ISABELLE FAULKNER

In May 2023, Headmaster Mike Downey announced the next Head of Elementary School, Ms. Isabelle Faulkner.

“Ms. Faulkner grew up in Montreal and studied law at both the Université de Montréal and the University of Ottawa. While practicing in Europe, she served on the board of King’s Oak International School, a British International School in Romania, where she fell in love with education. She went on to study Leadership in Learning at University College London and obtained a Certificate in School Management and Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is currently obtaining her certification in Teaching from the Harvard Derek Bok Centre for Teaching and Learning.

“While in London, Ms. Faulkner co-founded EIFA International School London, a bilingual school, where she developed and embedded a bilingual philosophy throughout the curriculum and extracurricular activities. She personally undertook all aspects of establishing this greenfield premium school, including raising capital, recruiting all teaching and support staff and obtaining accreditations from AEFE, MLF, IGCSE and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. She has most recently been the Principal at an elementary school in Toronto.

“Ms. Faulkner is very excited about joining the Selwyn House family, and I am certain she will be an outstanding addition to our community.”

NEW DIRECTOR OF ACADEMIC INNOVATION & GROWTH

MATT McCARNEY

Middle School English and History teacher Matt McCarney has been hired as the new Director of Academic Innovation and Growth. Matt joined the school in 1999 and has been the English/History Department Head for Middle School since 2005. He holds a Masters from McGill University in Educational Leadership and is currently completing his PhD in Educational Studies at McGill.

WHAT IS VERITAS?

RECOGNIZING YEARS OF SERVICE

20 years

25 years

Bob Bouskill Middle School Teacher

Marlita Manal Elementary School Assistant

F O U N D E R ' S D A Y 2023

Presentations start at 6:45 PM

Spouses and guests welcome. Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and refreshments. Cash bar.

NOV 23 2023 RD

The Board of Directors and the Headmaster of Selwyn House School invite you to to celebrate the founding of the school and to honour the 2023 Speirs Medal recipients:

ALUMNI PARENTS ROULA AND ALAN '79 ROSSY

September 27 7pm OBA Virtual Town Hall and AGM

September 29-30

44th Annual Old Boys Montreal Reunion & Homecoming Weekend

Friday, September 29

5pm School Tours

6pm Cocktails

7pm Dinner. Pub to follow.

Saturday, September 30

10am-2pm SHS Gryphons Football Games and Alumni & Family

Tailgate at Westmount Atheltic Grounds

RSVP/ Tickets Information: selwyn.ca/homecoming

Advancement Office - Kim Auclair 514-931-9481 x 2292 auclairk@selwyn.ca

8 pm OBA in the Arts Virtual Panel - Film, TV and Theatre

Vancouver Chapter Reunion

Calgary Chapter Reunion

Ottawa Chapter Reunion

Toronto Chapter Reunion (new timeslot)

New York City Chapter Reunion

Founder’s Day Giving Week begins

6pm Founder’s Day Cocktail Reception

25th Annual Old Boys’ Hockey Tournament 2024

20th Annual Colin No ’97 Basketball Classic

8 pm OBA in the Arts Virtual Panel - Visual Arts and related industries

Athletics Celebration (OBA Hall of Fame Award)

26th Annual Old Boys & Friends’ Golf Tournament

7th Annual Spring Soccer Derby

20th Annual Old Boys' Tennis Tournament

OBA Induction Dinner

Contact Mary Ann Cloherty for more information at clohertym@selwyn.ca