2011-2012
V ERITAS A SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL PUBLICATION
Founder’s Day The Board of Directors and the Headmaster of Selwyn House invite you to celebrate the founding of the school and to honour the 2012 Speirs Medal recipient,
Ted Claxton ’73 Member of SHA Board of Directors (Chair 2007-2011) Thursday, November 22, 2012 6:00-9:00 p.m. Selwyn House School 95 Chemin Côte St-Antoine
Presentations begin at 6:45 p.m. Spouses and guests welcome. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and refreshments (cash bar)
RSVP by Nov. 19 via the Online Event Registration button at www.selwyn.ca
VERITAS published annually by the Advancement Office of Selwyn House School 95, chemin Côte St-Antoine Westmount (Québec) H3Y 2H8 Tel. (514) 931-9481 ext. 2261 Fax: (514) 931-6118 www.selwyn.ca ADVANCEMENT OFFICE JAMES F. MCMILLAN Director of Advancement RICHARD WILLS Publications Editor MARY ANN CLOHERTY Director of Annual Giving KIMBERLEY CORCORAN Administrative Assistant IRINA KONDRATIEVA Administrative Assistant PHOTOGRAPHY Richard Wills James McMillan Bill Bedard Thomas Königsthal ’74 Paula Shannon COVER PHOTOGRAPH Leadership Created and photographed by Thomas Königsthal ’74. PROOFREADERS Marsha Warmuth James McMillan Jean-Pierre Trudeau If you have any suggestions or corrections, please do not hesitate to contact the editor, Richard Wills,
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40026379 SHS accredited by the CANADIAN EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE
Printed on recycled paper
CONTENTS The Realities of Leadership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Students show peers a better school experience. . . 5 Raising the bar, raising hopes, raising funds . . . . . 6 Goldbloom honoured by the Pope . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Politics a great human endeavour: Chrétien . . . . . 9 Steve Mitchell receives Speirs Medal . . . . . . . . . . 10 Claxton picked for Speirs 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Profiles: Jintronix Kinects with Microsoft. . . . . . 12 Profiles: Charles Bierbrier ’93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Profiles: Geoff Moore ’83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Profiles: Hagen Mehnert ’84. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Profiles: David ’82 and Karen Skinner . . . . . . . . 16 Profiles: Phil Cutler 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Profiles: David Price ’90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Young Alum Barbecue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Montreal Reunion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Old Boy a Good Samaritan to former teacher . . 22 Chapter reunion: Calgary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chapter reunion: Vancouver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chapter reunion: Ottawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Chapter reunion: New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Chapter reunion: Paris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Chapter reunion: London. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Chapter reunion: Toronto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Nicoll / Mitchell Cup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Colin No Classic 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 14th Annual Alumni Golf Tournament . . . . . . . 28 13th Annual Old Boys’ Tennis Tournament . . . . 29 Prizegiving 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Class of 2012 Prize Winners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Academic Destinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 2nd Annual OBA Ball Hockey Tournament. . . . 33 Old Boys’ Association News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Athletic Awards 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Athletic Hall of Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Wrestling, Hockey championships . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Rugby championship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 OBA sponsors Rugby trip to New Zealand . . . . 37 Longest winning streak in history ends. . . . . . . . 38 Massi co-chairs gala for Sarah Cook Fund . . . . . 39 Kaedbey third in dance against cancer . . . . . . . . 39 Alumni Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Open North uses access to information . . . . . . . 41 Hallward: why wealth doesn’t equal happiness . . 41 Obituaries: Ian Burgess, David Tobias . . . . . . . . 42 Alumni Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Two long-serving teachers retire . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Rizzolo, Di Perno honoured by JGH . . . . . . . . . 45 Macaulay Building renovated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Message from the HEADMASTER
The realities of LEADERSHIP:
doing it theVERITAS way learly, the 21st century has brought with it much intense discussion about education, and at Selwyn House we have spent a great deal of time focusing on 21st-century skills such as creativity, teamwork, problem solving, public speaking, character, and leadership. The reality for us is that we have created a new focus on leadership development, and the results have been truly remarkable. We often hear that students need three elements in order to prepare them for the challenges they will face as they finish their education careers and head into the realm of professional life. Simply put, it is absolutely imperative that students are enabled, engaged, and empowered. Of course, with boys, we must pay even closer attention to this fact than we would with girls. We know that boys happen to be rather effective imitators, and therefore modelling is so crucial. This means we also need our faculty and staff to be enabled, engaged, and empowered if we expect our boys to act in the same fashion. It doesn’t take too much of a leap to understand how bureaucracy gets in the way. We need to remove barriers, allow risks, tolerate mistakes and failures, and encourage innovation. Who knows, maybe some of those crazy ideas might work. There are so many examples of this at Selwyn House but nothing comes close, in my opinion, to the example established at the Canadian Accredited Independent School Student Leadership Conference hosted by Selwyn House this past April. One year ago, it began with four Grade 10 students deciding they should make a bid to host the event. They had a vision, and I am so proud of the fact that bureaucracy did not get in the way. They won the bid, and this group of four dedicated the entire year to ensuring they would produce a conference unseen within the CAIS community. They had the vision and now they had the passion. We all felt it, we all saw the energy, the ideas. And the result? Without trying to live in a world of superlatives, it was the greatest student-led initiative I have witnessed in my 23 years as a headmaster. These four young leaders made the impossible possible. They proved there isn’t much we cannot accomplish when we put our minds to it. Yes, (and I will never underestimate this) they received support and guidance from many, but they led, and in the end they delivered. This is exactly what we need more of. We need to create an atmosphere where all our boys are enabled, engaged and empowered. We need them to create, to
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embrace hard work, to reach for a bar that no one would have thought possible, and then we need to celebrate with them when they succeed. Do I sound proud? More than I could have ever imagined. Sterling, Josh, Reid, and Alex not only made us a stronger school, they created a direction that will pave the way for so many future endeavours. And they developed this vision and resulting plan when they were in Grade 10. Boys really can do anything. It just doesn’t get much better than this. ■
School NEWS
CAIS
Students show peers a better school experience
From left: Sterling Mitchell, Alex Hadjis, Reid Hannaford and Josh Dannenbaum welcome students to Selwyn House.
By Richard Wills, publications editor he overwhelmingly positive reviews from the Student Leadership Conference hosted by Selwyn House School on April 17-21 prove that highly motivated students can lead their peers to a more enjoyable and rewarding highschool experience. At the conference, sponsored by Canadian Accredited Independent Schools, 150 student leaders from 30 private schools across Canada came together in Montreal for a five-day conference aimed at cultivating leadership skills. They listened to motivational speakers, attended workshops led by experts on developing school spirit, and staged group assemblies and activities to rally enthusiasm among the participants. It worked. Judging from the reaction of visiting students and faculty advisors, Selwyn House students led the way with an impressive demonstration of organizational ability, as well as a rousing show of group spirit. “It’s amazing what the SHS
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student leaders have done in such a sophisticated manner,” said Tori Lunn, from St. Michael’s, in Victoria, B.C. The highlight for her was the exposure to the culture of Montreal. “It’s great,” she said, “It’s really different from home.” Visiting faculty advisors were also impressed with the conference. “It was good to see the whole school community involved, from the IT techs to the bus drivers,” said Tannis MacDonald of St. John’s Ravenscourt in Winnipeg. Valerie McClements, from Rundle College Academy in Calgary, described the student leaders as “true gentlemen.” But these gentlemen also have an infectious, wacky sense of humour, as their guests learned during the many hilarious moments that occurred throughout the week. “It’s been a blast!” said Ping Ping Lu, a student at Ashbury College in Ottawa. “We learned in a fun way, and it inspires me to get more involved in my school when I get home.” A crew of students led by Alex
Hadjis, Reid Hannaford, Sterling Mitchell and Josh Dannenbaum had been working since October, planning every detail of the entire fiveday event. Throughout the conference they led the plenary sessions, introduced speakers and acted as spokesmen for the entire school. Behind the scenes they and their crew “dealt with suppliers, with restaurants, bus drivers, budgets and were troubleshooting when things went wrong,” says Selwyn House Student Life Director Courtney Prieur. “They smiled when they were exhausted, cheered louder and louder as the conference went on, and they made every delegate feel like they were special and welcome in our school.” In keeping with Montreal’s historic association with the Olympic Games, the conference had an Olympic theme. The motto for the conference was “Carry the Torch; Lead the Way.” Dominick Gauthier, coach of Olympic skiers Jennifer Heil and Alexandre Bilodeau, and co-founder of B2ten, was the kick-off speaker for the conference; Olympic diver Alex Despatie gave a keynote speech to the students on Saturday. In order to help visiting students absorb the flavour of Montreal, host students organized an Amazing Race-style Olympic Game-themed trip around the city, an outing to St-Sauveur, and an evening à la cabane à sucre, which were a big hit with the visiting students. More photos at www.selwyn.ca.
Students at the CAIS Conference gather for an Olympic-themed photo as a salute to their host city.
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Advancement DEPARTMENT
Raising the BAR, raising HOPES, By James McMillan, director of advancement ur vision at Selwyn House is “To develop a lifelong commitment to Selwyn Veritas” and our Mission Statement says that we are “a CEGEP/University preparatory school for boys, combining academic and program excellence, a dedication to the French language and culture, and a compassionate and supportive environment enabling boys to live a happy, balanced and purposeful life.” The purpose of the Advancement Office is to support the vision and mission of the school. This is achieved primarily by offering a multitude of friend-raising opportunities, such as reunions and sporting events throughout the year in cities across Canada, as well as New York, Boston, London and Paris. At each of these friend-raising events we take the time to let everyone know all the great things that are going on at the school and what new programs and directions our dedicated and talented staff are encouraging the students to follow. The most progressive changes have been the addition of Advanced Placement (AP) courses, the focus on experiential education, new French courses, the addition of a learning strategist for Grades 4 to 8, student and faculty leadership opportunities and conferences, and the continual promotion of professional development for the staff, particularly in areas such as boys’ education. Most of these initiatives originate from staff or students, and are meant to challenge and “raise the bar” for both teacher and pupil. Whether the activities consist of AP courses, leadership opportunities, drama, debating tournaments, or any of the other opportunities provided during the year, they are meant to make a meaningful experiential difference above and beyond what is normally expected from the governmentmandated curriculum. Challenging and experiential academics, combined with a powerful athletics and a growing arts program, create an incredible learning environment that is referred to simply as the Selwyn House Experience. Raising Hopes My name is James McMillan, and I have the best job in the world. I am the Director of Advancement at Selwyn House School, and have been since 1987. The faculty and staff at Selwyn
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From left: Joseph Lapenna, Jonathan Trafficante and Marco Covello at the Class of 2012 graduation
House are amazing, energetic, and extremely talented people. The alumni of Selwyn House are also an incredible group of men who constantly demonstrate the virtues of Selwyn Veritas: be true to yourself, true to others and true to your school. The current parents are unbelievably supportive of the school, the staff and all the students, not just their own sons. Parents of alumni still support the school and constantly return when they can to attend an event or watch a game. One of the best parts of my job is being a member of the Bursary Committee. This is an honour for me because not only do I get to work with our donors to raise money for the endowment, but I also get to be a part of the process that distributes the needs-based bursaries to our students. As of three years ago, all of Selwyn House’s bursaries became needs-based and not merit-based. (There are still a few merit-based scholarships that were awarded previously and will continue until the recipients graduate, after which time those funds will be added to the needsbased pool.) As of last year, only students entering Grades 7 through
11 are eligible for a bursary. When I speak with a family that is applying for a needs-based bursary, I tell them that they have already completed the first step: they have been accepted by the Admissions Office. After that, it is the Bursary Committee’s job to do whatever it can to help this student and his family throughout his time at Selwyn House. Since Selwyn’s bursaries are needs-based, each family must complete a bursary application online using a web-based application called FAST (Financial Aid for Student Tuition). This application was designed by a company in the USA, Independent School Management (ISM), and was adapted for use with Canadian data from Federal T1 tax forms. The program uses the data supplied by the applicant to compare income and expenses with assets and liabilities and, after figuring in preset cost-of-living allowances, establishes if there is enough disposable income to afford tuition. If there is, then the FAST recommendation is zero. If there is not enough income, then the FAST recommendation is the difference
Advancement DEPARTMENT
raising FUNDS between the disposable income and the tuition fee, up to a maximum of the full fee. The Bursary Committee reviews all applications and follows up on data explanations with families, if needed. Applicants must send FAST their T-slips, Income Tax Returns, and Notices of Assessment each year that they apply for the bursary. By using this system, we can monitor the income of each applicant’s family and ensure that they still qualify for the level of bursary that they are receiving. I can honestly say that the recipients of our bursaries are incredibly grateful and appreciative. I always tell them that their bursary was made possible by our many generous donors who believe that endowment is an important tool to guarantee that if a student has earned the right to be at Selwyn House, then the endowment is there to help him. The endowment helps to raise the hopes of families who should be attending Selwyn House but simply cannot afford to do so. Raising Funds In addition to friend-raising, there is always fundraising. At Selwyn House, we have two not-for-profit organizations that issue receipts each year: Selwyn House Association and The Veritas Fund. Donations for endowment, campaign donations, and annual giving donations are receipted from The Veritas Fund. Donations for support of school events or donations-in-kind to the school are receipted through Selwyn House Association. The total amount of receipted donations by both organizations is referred to as our Annual Fund. Even though we did not have any major capital or endowment campaigns running this year, we receipted over $1,088,242 between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. The Annual Giving, the proceeds from which are included as part of the Annual Fund, is a specific appeal, primarily for unrestricted funds and funds towards specified projects and goals. This year was our largest Annual Giving appeal ever. The main focus of this appeal was participation, and I am very happy to report that we achieved 100 per cent participation from both the Selwyn House Association Board of Directors and the Selwyn House Old Boys’ Association Board of Directors. We are very pleased that over 40 per cent of Selwyn House staff members have participated in Annual Giving this year. Another first and a great place to start from for next year’s appeal. We also had our largest participation from our current parents, with an average of 40 per cent participation from all grades. A special congratulation goes to the parents of Grade 7, who reached a level of 50-per-cent participation. The alumni goal was to get 10 per cent, or 250 of our active alumni, participating in the Annual Giving appeal. Ninety alumni (3.5 per cent) participated this year. This is an
encouraging start, and we look forward to building on these participation levels next year. Parents of alumni and other friends of the school also participated in this year’s Annual Giving appeal, which raised $342,938, of which $251,938 is for use for next year (201213) and $91,000 for endowment. Great History, Encouraging Future Whether you are an Old Boy, current student, current parent, parent or grandparent of an Old Boy, or a friend of the school, you are part of a very special group of people; you are part of the Selwyn House Family. Over the last 12 years, the Selwyn House Family has contributed over $30 million to help build the Speirs Building, renovate the Lucas and Macaulay Buildings and create an endowment of about $10 million. The school is in great shape, both physically and financially. There is no debt, enrollment is strong, and we are attracting very talented and bright students from diverse backgrounds to the school every year. Our tuition fees now average almost $20,000 for every grade, and since tuition only covers about 80 per cent of the cost of education at Selwyn House, the remaining funds must come from government grants and other sources, including fundraising. While we are confident that we can continue to attract talented and bright students from all constituencies of Montreal, we anticipate that, in the near future, we will need to double our current endowment in order to be able to help these students afford a Selwyn House education. We also see endowment as a tool to help Selwyn House guarantee quality athletic facilities with long-term rental agreements. Endowment for long-term needs, Annual Giving for immediate needs, both are important and both are necessary to the future of the school. Participation: It Does Make a Difference. There will be an Annual Giving appeal next year and there is also a possibility of an athletic endowment campaign as well. You may be asked to participate by someone from the Advancement Office, a classmate, or a fellow parent. Your first and most important decision is to participate, your second decision will be at what level to participate. In the past, Old Boys, parents of Old Boys and the current parents at that time helped to guarantee the school’s current needs with their support of various campaigns to create facilities and build endowment. Many of these people will continue to support Selwyn House in the future; however, it is equally important that today’s current families and all young alumni participate, in any way, in order to guarantee that the next generation of students will have the support they need to be able to benefit from a Selwyn House Experience. ■
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Alumni NEWS
GOLDBLOOM honoured by the POPE By Richard Wills, publications editor ictor Goldbloom ’37 has been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to the Order of Saint Sylvester, an honour that is rarely bestowed up on a non-Catholic and has never been awarded within the Archdiocese of Montreal. Previous recipients include German industrialist Oskar Schindler, who was credited with saving more than 1,000 Jews during the Holocaust. The award was announced May 10, on the personal recommendation of Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, in recognition of Victor’s many decades of involvement in Christian-Jewish dialogue. A formal presentation will take place in Montreal on September 4. As well, on May 15, Victor received the Prix René-Chaloult from the Amicale des Anciens Parlementaires du Québec, an organization that recognizes the service of former members of the Quebec National Assembly. Born in Montreal in 1923, Victor attended Selwyn House from 1931 to 1937. Afterward, he attended LCC and McGill, receiving his B.Sc. in 1944, his MD in 1945, his DipEd in 1950 and his D.Litt. in 1992. Specializing in pediatrics, Dr. Goldbloom was assistant resident at the Babies’ Hospital of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, in New York. In 1948, he married Sheila BarshayRothstein. Their sons, Michael, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Bishop’s University and former publisher of the Toronto Star and the Montreal Gazette, and Jonathan, founder and president of Jonathan Goldbloom & Associates, are also graduates of Selwyn House (1969 and 1972, respectively). Their daughter, Susan Restler, lives in New York. Victor, Sheila, Michael and Jonathan are all recipients of the Speirs Medal, the highest award given by Selwyn House. Entering provincial politics in 1966,
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Victor was elected Liberal MNA for the Montreal riding of D’Arcy-McGee, and was re-elected in 1970, 1973, and 1976. He was the first member of the Jewish community to become a Quebec cabinet minister, serving the government of Robert Bourassa as Minister of State responsible for Quality of the Environment, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister of Environment. During his time in cabinet, Victor brought in the Environmental Quality Act and organized the Environmental Protection Service. In November 1976, he was placed in charge of the Olympics Installations Board. From 1991 until 1999, he was Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages. Victor’s recent laurels are added to a long list of honours, including: being named an Officer (later Companion) of the Order of Canada in 2000; being made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1991; and receiving honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, McGill University, Concordia University and the Université SainteAnne at Church Point, Nova Scotia. He received the James H. Graham Award of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1996. In June 2009, the Quebec Community Groups Network established the Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award to recognize individuals who’ve made outstanding contributions to the vitality and understanding of English-speaking Quebec. Throughout his public life, Victor has been described as someone who has brought people together and built bridges between Canada’s cultural communities. Between 1980 and 1987, he served as CEO of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews. “We are a minority everywhere in the world except for Israel,” Victor told the Canadian Jewish Heritage Network in
2010. “The western world has been largely a Christian world. We were, for so long, excluded from participation in the Christian world.” “When I was a student at Selwyn House, Christian-Jewish relations were limited and discriminatory,” Victor told Veritas. “Dialogue did not begin in Canada until 1947.” Since then, he says, Jews and Christians have made major achievements in understanding. The greatest challenge to relations today, he says, is “our respective perceptions of the Middle East and of the State of Israel.” “When I was first elected to the National Assembly in 1966, it was the first time that more than one member of my community had served at the same time. In 1911, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier had made a commitment to the Jewish community of Montreal that the Liberal Party of Canada would always put forward a Jewish candidate in a Montreal riding. The same commitment was made at the provincial level. The barriers and the negative attitudes gradually disappeared in the aftermath of World War II and in the growing awareness of the tragedy of the Holocaust. “When I was appointed to the Cabinet in 1970, the tensions of earlier times had virtually disappeared.” ■
School NEWS
Politics a great human endeavour:CHRÉTIEN
Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien
By Richard Wills, publications editor he Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, P.C., former prime minister of Canada, received a warm reception at Selwyn House School May 3 while visiting with students and speaking to an assembly of Grades 6 through 11. The man who served as prime minister for over 10 years has three grandsons (Olivier ’99, Maximilien 2001, and Philippe Desmarais 2003) who attended Selwyn House. After a casual visit with students in the Headmaster’s office, Mr. Chrétien made a brief speech before taking questions from students. He regaled the assembly with anecdotes from his childhood, as well as his 40 years in public life, and articulated his vision of Canada clearly and forcefully. He encouraged young people to get involved in public life at any level, describing politics as “a great human endeavor.” In response to a question from Qifan Wang (Gr. 10) about “the most important attributes [one must] have in order to become a successful politician,” Mr. Chrétien replied: “honesty”. “Honest in your talk, honest in your actions, and honest with yourself.” You also have to love people, he added, because it’s a very demanding job. In response to a question from Sam Skinner (Gr. 9) on NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, Mr. Chrétien explained the difference between the situation there and the war in Iraq, where Canada declined to take part because there was no mandate from the United Nations. “To have the approval of the UN [the U.S. and Britain] needed proof of weapons of mass destruction, and they didn’t have it.” Refusing to go to Iraq was a controversial move, he recalled, because members of the Canadian business community were afraid the United States would retaliate
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economically against Canada. But Mr. Chrétien was skeptical. “I remember meeting a group of [business leaders] and I said ‘Give me the list of all the goods and services that the Americans are buying from us that they don’t need.’ And I never saw the list, because business is business.” Canada joined the war in Afghanistan because of its obligations to NATO, he explained. “Now we are getting out—probably not very elegantly. You know, starting a war is easy. Getting out of a war is complicated.” Asked by Alex Nikolopoulos (Gr. 10) about his most difficult decision, Mr. Chrétien pointed to his government’s cost-cutting measures to eliminate its budget deficit. “I was there 10 years and we managed to balance the books seven or eight years. And we reduced the debt from 78 per cent of GDP to 29 per cent. And now we’ve become an example to the world. So, politics can be very important. You make your decisions, and you might make enemies, but you do it for the good of the nation.” Will McLernon (Gr. 6) asked Mr. Chrétien’s opinion on Quebec separation. “I’m against it!” he said stated plainly. “I think it would be bad for Canada and bad for Quebec.” He explained why his government adopted the “Clarity Act” in 2000 to ensure that a future referendum on separation could not be based on a vague question. “If you ask as ‘Do you want a better deal?’ then it’s easy—but it’s not honest.” Asked by Ulysses Pamel (Gr. 10) whether he thought the Quebec government would ever sign the Canadian Constitution, Mr. Chrétien replied that they would not so long as the province is governed by a separatist party. “The government of Quebec didn’t sign,” he said. “They should have signed. But that doesn’t change a thing. The Constitution [still] applies to them. You can go to court and defend your individual rights using the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. That was part of what we did at that time, so I will not apologize for that. We gave rights to the citizens against the federal government and the provincial governments. There are limits now to what governments can do.” Calling the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms “a model for the world,” he said that the majority of the elected people of Quebec were in favour of the Constitution when it was adopted. Of the 75 federal members of Parliament for Quebec, only two did not vote for it, and about 20 per cent of MLAs voted for it. “But the nationalists will not write that,” he said. “It does not suit their story. “ Asked about the future of the Liberal Party, Mr. Chrétien was optimistic. He defined his brand of liberalism as “fundamentally centrist. I’m not doctrinaire. I’m fiscally responsible and socially preoccupied. That’s the definition of a real good TrudeauPearson-St. Laurent-Chrétien Liberal. And these things are fundamentally a reflection of what Canada is.” ■ Go to www.selwyn.ca, and click on PHOTOS.
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School NEWS
MITCHELL SPEIRS MEDAL
Steve receives
By Richard Wills, publications editor t would be hard to imagine a more enjoyable Founder’s Day than 2011, mostly because of the warmth and humour of Speirs Medalist Steve Mitchell, and the love and respect he has earned from the entire Selwyn House family. Steve spent 27 years at Selwyn House, 20 of them as Athletic Director. Each year, he inspired 500 students and a team of 30 or more coaches to compete in Quebec, Ontario, the U.S. and Europe “in a respectful and disciplined manner” Steve personally coached over 1,200 hockey games and 200 football games, winning Quebec championships, GMAA championships and tournament victories. “There was never a time when I was not prepared for the team at practice or game,” he told the Founder’s Day crowd.
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To me, pride starts with the crest on the front of the sweater, and not the name on the back!
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Steve maintained the school’s hours of highschool phys-ed through a decade when most schools were cutting back, and increased the choices of phys-ed activities from 12 to 30. He oversaw the construction of the state-of-the-art gymnasium in the new Speirs Building, increased the school’s access to off-campus facilities to include 18 rented sites, and insisted on having two coaches on duty at all times for all contact sports During Steve’s tenure the school founded new tournaments in hockey, basketball, wrestling and tennis, and repeatedly received high evaluations
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Steve is a firm believer in the characterdeveloping power of sports as a vital component of education. “To me,” he said, “pride starts with the crest on the front of the sweater, and not the name on the back!” As Steve pointed out in his speech, he followed in the footsteps of former headmaster Dr. Robert Speirs—for whom the medal is named—in expanding the athletic program at Selwyn House.
Steve receives the Speirs Medal from SHA Board Chair Ted Claxton ’73.
School NEWS
Founder’s
Retired history teacher Tom Nicoll introduces his friend and coaching partner, Mitch.
DAY
Unveiling the official Speirs Medal portrait by Tom Königsthal ’74, from left: Tom Nicoll, Steve’s wife, Sheila, and Steve Mitchell.
from Canadian Accredited Independent Schools and the Canadian Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Two years ago he founded the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame “The athletic fixture that is closest to my heart ... is the annual Terry Fox Run,” he said. Inspired by his mother’s death from cancer at age 46, in 1985 Steve started the school on a program that has now raised $493,000 to fight cancer. Steve thanked retired Headmaster Will Mitchell for his “dedication, humanity, morality and courage,” as well as current Headmaster Hal Hannaford for his “inspiring new philosophy of education.”
He also thanked retired history teacher Tom Nicoll, who was his coaching partner and close friend for 24 years. Steve also paid tribute to the school’s new athletic staff who, he said will “lead Selwyn House athletes into the future.” All these accolades were interspersed with anecdotes that frequently had the Founder’s Day crowd roaring with laughter. “I owe Selwyn House a lot for allowing me the opportunity to lead our phys-ed programs and athletes into the 21st century,” he said. “I am proud of our programs, students, and coaches, as well as our reputation on or off the field as a firstclass institution. I am honored by this award in more ways than I can express.” ■
Claxton succeeded by Denham, picked for Speirs Medal 2012 It was announced in June that Ted Claxton ’73 (left) will receive the 2012 Speirs Medal in November 2012. Ted has stepped down as chairman of the SHA Board of Directors, a post he held from 2007 till 2011. He became a board member in 1995. Ted will be replaced as Board Chair by Michael Denham (right), who was elected to the Board in November of 2006.
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Alumni PROFILES
JINTRONIX KINECTS with MICROSOFT glove or hand-held interface. The system had been marketed for use in gaming and social networking, but Microsoft recently released a Kinect software development kit for Windows and issued a challenge to entrepreneurs to see what other uses they can find for the technology. For now, the Jintronix system uses Kinect in tandem with the glove. “We are confident that future iterations of the Kinect are going to be capable of fine-motor tracking,” says Max, “and at that point, we would no longer use the glove, and rely solely on the Kinect for our gross- and fine-motor tracking.” The Jintronix team demonstrated their final business plan to potential investors in late June 28 and then returned to Montreal to try their new system out on patients. The Seattle experience was “a really Standing, from left; Justin Tan, Max Graham and Mark Evin. unique and fantastic opportunity, both for Seated: Shawn Errunza, Alexis Youssef and Sonny Bae. Jintronix and all of us individually,” says Max. “All of the other teams were made up of By Richard Wills, publications editor some really smart, creative, fun people, and it was a amazing hink of it as video games in the service of medicine. Five getting to work alongside them. “Besides the other teams, we were also introduced to some Selwyn House Old Boys just returned from Seattle, Washington, where they were working with Microsoft great mentors who had a lot to teach us. They really challenged and other major high-tech companies to harness the power of our ideas, and made us view them more critically. Sometimes they would just completely destroy our ideas and we would cutting-edge game technology for use in physiotherapy. Justin Tan 2004, Shawn Errunza 2004, Alexis Youssef have to start over from scratch, but we value that. Better then 2004, Sung Jun Bae 2005 and Max Graham 2004 are five of than later. They also presented us with some bold new ideas, the nine core members of Jintronix, a company founded by which I think has inspired us to strive for even more.” When they were students at Selwyn House, most of the Justin in 2011 to develop a 3-D gaming-style software that would digitally record a person’s hand movements using a team members played video games. “Sunny” Bae is a Grand virtual-reality glove like those used in video games. The system Master at StarCraft, and Alexis showed an early interest in is designed to monitor the motion of a stroke victim as he video game design. But had no idea their pastime could one practices his rehabilitation exercises, and transmit that day become so valuable. “A lot of us were gamers,” confirms Max. “We don’t have information directly to his doctor. The Seattle project was part of Kinect Accelerator, a time to play much anymore, but we’re taking a few notes from partnership program between Microsoft’s BizSpark program video games.” Part of the Jintronix vision is that, to be most effective, and Techstars, an organization that provides mentorships and seed funding for start-ups of new web and software rehabilitation should be an enjoyable activity. “Games can be companies. Out of 500 competing applicants, Jintronix was used as a tool for good,” says Max. “We want our platform to one of 11 projects from five countries chosen to receive be fun.” Justin came up with the initial idea for computer-based $20,000, an office in Seattle and access to high-tech mentors rehab after seeing his father have difficulty with rehabilitation such as WordPress and Microsoft Game Studios. In Seattle, the boys from Jintronix spent three months from a stroke. Justin decided that patients deserve a better way developing a system that employs Microsoft’s latest Kinect of regaining their motor skills. Based on the principles of video-game technology to track a patient’s motion. As an add- affordability, adaptability, and intuitiveness, he was inspired to on to the Xbox 360 video-game module, Kinect can track a develop a therapeutic system that would be easy to use and person’s movements and voice commands without the use of a available to anyone, anywhere. ■
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Alumni PROFILES CHARLES BIERBRIER '93:
Microbrewery: dream BIG, start small By Richard Wills, publications editor
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reating a viable brewery is like brewing a batch of beer. You need the right tools, the right ingredients, and you need to watch over it with loving patience until the final product flows forth from your efforts. If people like your product, the whole process will grow and flourish. Since his school days, Charles Bierbrier ’93 has had a passion for brewing. His schoolmates used to laugh when he told them that his ambition was to have a brewery. Maybe it was the family name. “Bierbrier” means “brewer of beer.” After graduating from Selwyn House, Charles attended Marianopolis, studied economics at McGill and then worked for RBC and Merrill Lynch for a few years before going back to get his MBA—ironically—at the John Molson School of Business. “I spent six months in the banking business before I said, ‘I’m taking that leap,’” Charles recalls. “People thought I’d gone completely nuts to give up a job with a secretary, an office with a view, and offers of more money and vacations if I stayed on. I left all that to go brewing.” Charles did his research and homework and, after waiting nearly a year for his licence, he launched his brewery in October of 2005. He moved into a small warehouse on Guy Street with no furniture and a phone on the floor, where he padded around in rubber boots getting his equipment set up. “I was a one-man shop,” he says, “I was putting in 12-hour days, making all the deliveries out of my Jeep and doing the books on the weekend.” For his first batch of bottled beer he invited three of his old Selwyn House classmates to help. Dan Freiheit, Phil Waters and Dugald Malcolm (all Class of ’93) pitched in and helped bottle the
Charles Bierbrier in his brewery
first batch one bottle at a time. “For every bottle we filled, we drank three,” laughs Charles. He is now up to 10 employees, hiring extra people part-time during peak periods. And he doesn’t have to pay them in beer anymore. Soon he was producing a few thousand hectolitres per year, but recently entered into strategic alliances in order to grow the business and increase production of his beers. Now he is ready to more than double the output of his six-year-old microbrewery; he has moved into a new level of production and is expanding his distribution to keep pace. From the beginning, Charles has continued to expand his presence within Montreal and Quebec, eventually entering into a licencing agreement for the production and distribution of Bierbrier Beer, with an eye on markets in Ontario, the U.S. and Alberta, specifically Calgary. Bierbrier’s flagship beer is their ale, but the company also puts out a “superpremium” Czech Pilsner lager and a Joe Beef Special Pils. He gets his recycled glass bottles
from Molson. He is not really in competition with the big breweries, Charles explains, because of scale. “My total volume is what they spill in an afternoon.” Rather than try to compete with large-scale breweries, Bierbrier has created a unique “boutique product” and has formed strategic alliances with local restaurants and pubs. “Relationships so strong I’ve never lost a client,” Charles says proudly. Working at this scale, Bierbrier can “out-serve the big guys.” Normally, nextday delivery is “completely unheard-of in the industry,” but is standard operating procedure for Bierbrier. At a recent guest lecture at John Molson School of Business, he told an MBA class about “something not tangible—but very powerful—that drives you even more than profit motive.” “I find it very satisfying,“ he said. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get over the thrill of seeing someone on the street with a six-pack of Bierbrier or a Bierbrier tshirt. The payoff is that you are creating something and seeing people enjoy it right in front of your eyes.” ■
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Alumni PROFILES GEOFF MOORE ’83:
Microfinancing for MACRO impact
Geoff Moore ’83
By Richard Wills, publications editor here others see crisis, Geoff Moore ’83 sees opportunity. At a time when economic, social and environmental problems threaten world stability, Geoff thinks a new approach to investment can help all three at once. After graduating from Selwyn House, Champlain College, McGill, and the University of Leeds, Geoff joined Montreal brokerage firm Brockhouse Cooper. He went on to work for the Bank of Ireland and later Deutsche Bank. In November 2010 he co-founded TBC Capital Inc. (“Thinking Beyond Consensus”) to focus primarily on the bridge between philanthropy and investing. Geoff was recently interviewed by Forbes.com about TBC’s approach to impact investing, in which investments are targeted not only for their profitability, but also for their potential to alleviate social or environmental problems. “Governments and community organizations cannot, on their own, fund solutions to address the biggest social and environmental challenges of our time,” Geoff told Forbes. “Tapping into even a small fraction of the huge amount of money invested through the capital markets can make a major difference,” he told Veritas. “But, one of the problems in our society is that people become comfortable with paradigms. You have to go beyond that consensus. You have to ask: Is there a better way?” Geoff recently founded EYE4IMPACT, a community
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investment initiative dedicated to the idea that there are ways to make money while addressing social and environmental issues. He tells of a woman he recently met in a poverty alleviation workshop in Mexico who has developed a device she is pioneering in India, where women in rural villages often have to carry water for miles on their heads. “You fill a WaterWheel up with 25 gallons of water, but you push it like a lawn mower, and it purifies the water as it rolls. I think this is a beautiful illustration of social entrepreneurship and thinking beyond consensus.” Another example: “By law, foundations across Canada have to pay out 3.5 per cent in grants in order to maintain their taxexempt status,” Geoff says. “But the remaining 96.5 per cent of that money is traditionally invested in stocks and bonds. That is old-school. There are better ways to consider this. You can take at least a small fraction of that and say, ‘Let’s look at investing in things related to our mission.’” Veritas: JP Morgan says that this segment of the market offers the potential over the next 10 years for investments of $400B to $1 trillion, with profit of $183B to $667B. Geoff Moore: I think they’re being conservative; much greater potential exists. Veritas: There are millions of people out there who say we should not invest in alleviating climate change. What do you do when you’re faced with that sort of denial? Geoff Moore: We’re not looking for unanimity. There will always be deniers, there will always be people who are focused on other things. But investing is all about risk management, and we also have a fiduciary duty to our children and the planet. Veritas: It’s a simple idea, but so atypical. Rather than invest in some mega-corporation, you’re telling people to look into financing small projects that contribute to improving the world socially and environmentally.
“ ” You have to go beyond that consensus to ask: Is there a better way?
Geoff Moore: Top economists around the world agree that innovation and entrepreneurship through small- and mediumsized enterprises is hugely important for economic growth. This is where new jobs will come from, and the big winners will become the IBMs of the future. But you need to support entrepreneurs and innovation, and impact investing can play a major role. There are many institutional-grade, world-class investment (continued on next page)
Alumni PROFILES HAGEN MEHNERT ’84:
Eastman: where DIGITAL and print meet
Hagen Mehnert in his printshop
By Richard Wills, publications editor
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t a time when the world is supposedly becoming a paperless society, Hagen Mehnert ’84 is bucking the trend and keeping a little printer’s ink on his hands. But his Eastman Systems is more than just a printing company. It’s a full-featured document management system that continues to grow by positioning itself at the point where the digital and print worlds intersect. Eastman is a digital and offset printing and copying operation that can turn out products large and small, from artquality brochures, letterhead and business cards, to signs, banners and other large-format jobs. They also do a lot of scanning, cutting and laminating. But 30 per cent of the company’s bread and butter lies in digitizing existing printed documents. Given the current state of technology, what the business world needs is a service that can go in either direction. Businesses that have a backlog of paper documents use Eastman’s services to digitize their records so they can freely access them at any time. “Everything is digital after a certain date,” Hagen points out, but anyone doing business before that time has a lot of catching up to do. “Once we’ve put their documents online, they can access them from home, from their cottage, from anywhere.” Another of Eastman’s specialties is in providing custom coursepacks for university teachers and students. Selected course materials from a variety of sources are acquired, compiled and digitized by Eastman, who provides the student or professor with a PDF package of all the required reading for a course, saving a lot of time and money for both students and professors.
“We offer book chapters online the same way iTunes sells music,” he says. “Coursepacks are a billion-dollar industry in North America.” On the other hand, many businesses, such as the legal profession, are still required to distribute paper documents by mail. Eastman can copy, collate, package and bulk-mail these materials halfway around the world at a fraction of what it would cost, saving a law firm a significant amount on mailing costs alone. When Veritas visited Hagen’s plant, workers were completing a mailout of 10,000 six-page documents to Europe, a job that had to be completed in 48 hours. In such cases, Hagen and his two partners call in extra help, with as many as 17 workers pitching in to complete a rush job. Hagen got started in the coursepack business in 1992, while still pursuing a political science degree at McGill. And his business is still growing. Eastman just moved into a new, larger plant on William Street on March 1. The partners “took a leap of faith” and renovated a large space, building walls, pouring concrete floors and installing wiring. They have five digital copier/printers at the downtown site and an offset printing plant in the West Island. In an age when information technology has been reinventing itself almost yearly, Hagen has found that the secret to a successful printing business lies in diversification and adaptation. “The focus is shifting,” Hagen says, “and we’re trying to tap into all of the options.” ■
Geoff MOORE (continued from previous page)
opportunities that are extremely competitive purely from a financial perspective. Then you also get the benefits of addressing specific social and/or environmental issues. “Don’t forget,” Geoff stresses, “this is still all about investment and business and making a profit. So you set a financial target, which is your first bottom line, but then you also have specific objectives with regard to social issues, which makes it double-bottom-line. If you also want to add environmental impact, it becomes triple-bottom-line. “No matter how wealthy or how poor we may be, we are all, ultimately triple-bottom-line people, affected not only by the economy, but by social issues and the environment. “Why not target things you care about while you are making money?” ■
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Alumni PROFILES DAVID ’82 AND KAREN SKINNER:
Building the LEAN law practice
David and Karen Skinner with their daughter, Rowan
By Richard Wills, publications editor he practice of law, as we know it, is in a state of crisis, says David Skinner ’82. Some people predict that the traditional law firm won’t exist in ten years. But crisis can lead to opportunity. David and his wife, Karen, both experienced lawyers, have hit upon a way to yoke their legal experience to cutting-edge business practices to avert this crisis and give new life to the legal profession. They have established their own business, Gimbal Canada, to guide their colleagues in ways of surviving—even profiting from—this new dynamic. Law is “a business steeped in tradition,” David points out. Lawyers tend to be conservative rather than innovative in their business practices. But the global economic picture is changing, and the legal profession must adapt quickly or pay the cost. “There’s a revolution underway,” David says. Clients balk at hourly rates they’ve paid in the past. Corporations rely more on in-house counsel and outsource legal needs to an increasing array of lower-cost alternatives. They’re hiring paralegals or legal secretaries, using online document assembly and computerized research technologies. The result: the old way of practicing law is becoming outmoded. “Law firms are being pressured by their clients to find alternatives,” says David. David began his legal career doing corporate-commercial work in Montreal for Stikeman Elliott until they asked him to go to Budapest for six weeks to help open an office for Central and Eastern Europe. After the initial six weeks, Karen was invited to join him. She left her job at Heenan Blaikie and moved to Stikeman’s Budapest office. “Six weeks became two years,” David recalls. While Stikeman’s principal mandate was to privatize the
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Hungarian electricity industry, David and Karen worked on transactions and business development throughout the region. “It was very intense—an incredible experience for two young lawyers,” David says. In 1996, David moved to Stikeman’s London office when Karen began working toward a PhD in law at the London School of Economics. In 1998, David joined the Private M&A/Private Equity group at Freshfields, one of the UK’s top law firms. He says he feels privileged to have worked with some superb lawyers on some very significant international transactions during his time there. “But, after nine years as a qualified attorney, I knew I didn’t want to be a partner in a law firm,” David says. So he left Freshfields and joined Antfactory, a London venture capital company tapping into the dot-com boom. Everyone knows how that turned out. “The bubble burst,” says David. He stayed until 2002, when Antfactory wound up. After almost 10 years overseas, they decided to return to Canada. “We weren’t ready to leave Europe,” Karen recalls, “but we were looking at a further eight-to-ten-year commitment if we stayed.” So, with five-year-old son Sam 2014 in tow, they returned to Montreal. Karen developed a private practice advising European and Canadian clients. In 2005, she began a niche practice advising schools, including Selwyn House, on education law and risk management. In 2003, David had become the head of the legal department at Neurochem Inc. (renamed BELLUS Health), a Montreal-based biopharmaceutical company researching and developing therapeutics to treat diseases such as Alzheimer’s. After eight years with the company, and a major restructuring that reduced BELLUS Health’s ranks from 240 people to just seven, David was laid off from his job as VP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Then a new idea began to emerge. David had long been interested in the management side of the practice of law. In the UK, he had witnessed the English legal profession’s implementation of client-relationship-management strategies adopted from business. After BELLUS, he began to look again at law firm management issues. At the same time, David and Karen hit upon ideas that had reshaped the manufacturing sector, and wondered how these might apply to the legal profession. Six Sigma is a business management strategy developed by Motorola in 1986 and refined by General Electric in 1995, now widely used in many industries. It includes techniques for identifying and eliminating defects in manufacturing. By 2006, two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies employed Six Sigma. Lean Manufacturing is a method of boosting quality and (continued on next page)
Alumni PROFILES PHIL CUTLER 2005:
Getting a HEADSTART on a busy career By Richard Wills, publications editor
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Olivier Saleh 2005 was head tutor at Laurus efore having graduated from university, before leaving to study medicine in Geneva. Phil Cutler 2005 has already run for Aaron Esterson 2005, Sebastien Beard 2007 mayor, headed up a star-studded benefit, and Simon Leblanc 2005 have also taught for and started his own business. Laurus. In 2009, Phil mobilized young voters and Phil explains what gives Laurus an edge: came within 49 votes of being elected mayor of “There are a lot of tutors out there, but they are Westmount. He is Director of Membership for mostly limited to strictly academic guidance. We the Westmount Municipal Association, and ran add a mentoring component.” a year-long project with the Westmount The Laurus website is full of testimonials Independent called “When the Bell Rings,” from satisfied clients. “Laurus Educational designed to get students involved in their Services provides incredible qualified individuals community. that come to your home and specifically cater to Also in 2009 he helped organize Champagne Phil Cutler 2005 your child’s academic needs,” says one Baie Memories, a Toronto gala to raise funds for the Canadian Alzheimer’s Society, with hockey legend Bob Gainey D’Urfe parent. “The business has grown enormously,” Phil says. He is now as co-chair and CBC’s George Stroumboulopoulos as MC. An education major at McGill University, two years ago running his tutoring programs in Ottawa and hopes to expand Phil decided to put his skills to work and launched his own into Toronto. “If Laurus continues as it is, it can grow beyond tutoring.” tutoring business, Laurus Educational Services. “My ambition is to stay involved in teaching,” he says, Like many Selwyn House graduates, when he needed help getting his business going he called on his fellow Old Boys. “partly because of what it teaches the teacher.” ■
David and Karen SKINNER (continued from previous page)
productivity by thinking outside the box, with an emphasis on reducing waste and increasing the throughput of value-adding services. It was developed by Toyota as a refinement of concepts first established by Henry Ford and Frederick Winslow Taylor in the early part of the 20th century, and is currently used by companies such as Bombardier. Lean Six Sigma combines the two, as described by author Michael George in 2002. David and Karen took courses in Lean Six Sigma from Villanova University, convinced this approach could be applied to drive efficiencies in the legal profession and create “the lean law firm.” “The result is lower overhead, using untapped resources, doing more for less, and having more time for developing new accounts,” says Karen. “It includes process mapping, valuestream management and budget predictability.” Transparency is key, she stresses. “Clients don’t want a surprise.” Hourly billing is “anathema to efficiency,” David points out. Clients are willing to pay for value-adding services, not waste. The law firm of the future will offer superlative client service based on this notion of value rather than time. “All professionals are under pressure to do more with less,”
David says, but lawyers, particularly, are “driven by the demands of their clients to do things differently.” “In 2008 the landscape changed,” David says. In the global economic crisis, clients were suddenly unwilling to pay, and looked for other ways of meeting their needs. Over six months in 2009, David says, Rio Tinto saved $14M by outsourcing certain legal services to lawyers in India. “At the end of the day, Lean Six Sigma provides tools for optimizing client satisfaction,” says David. “Clients don’t want to pay for non-value-added service, and it’s the clients and their pocketbooks that will shape the future. Firms will have to adapt to maintain their competitive edge.” Gimbal Canada also offers seminars on other essential tools for the lean law firm, including social media and communication skills. Twitter and LinkedIn are essential for today’s practice, they say, offering opportunities for information gathering and reputation building. “We understand the lawyer-client dynamic from different aspects,” says David. “We want to help lawyers work more intelligently for the benefit of themselves and their clients.” In spite of all the changes afoot—or because of them—”It’s an exciting time to be in the practice of law,” says David. ■
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Alumni PROFILES DAVID PRICE '90:
Small newspapers a
GROWTH industry
“We’ve never looked back,” says and King’s College, earned a BA at McGill and then a law degree David. “The appetite for local news is and an MBA at the University of incredibly strong, and the reaction from the community has been incredibly Toronto. He then returned home to good.” “We’re locally owned and located,” Montreal, where he spent five years in investment and merchant David points out, “and the editor and banking. But he grew restless and reporter are former residents with strong decided he wanted to run his own ties to Westmount. We get many of our stories because of our Westmount links.” shop. The Indie team is comprised of about David’s father, Michael, had founded Price Patterson in 1980, 20 full- and part-time workers, a small printing house that including reporters, photographers, and specialized in local histories and the editor. They have multiple ways of getting a biographies. “By 2004 he was semi-retired in his basement, with story, David says. “I try to do no no website and no business reporting and no writing, but still, when there’s a breaking story I get calls saying, cards,” David recalls. David joined the business and ‘Be here in two minutes.’ I can make it branched out into parenting in 10.” It was inevitable that David would guide books, bar guides, restaurant guides and tourist expand westward, where 100,000 people David Price ’90 with the first issue of the Independent guides. They also did mass live in the boroughs of NDG, mailings, job printing, typesetting Hampstead and Cote St. Luc, compared and other jobs that still existed in the to only 20,000 in Westmount. By Richard Wills, publications editor “With one phone call, advertisers can pre-computer days. But David, who describes book now reach 120,000 people,” David likes ehind an unmarked door at the end of a long corridor in a modest publishing as a “hideous” business, to point out. But, even as they grow, office building in Westmount, could read the David Price ’90 is planning the printing on When there's a breaking expansion of a small publishing the wall. “It enterprise that is quickly growing was a very story I get calls saying, hard business, beyond all expectations. 'Be here in two minutes.’ Four years ago David founded the even before I can make it in 10. Westmount Independent. Buoyed by its the advent of success, he soon moved west and e-books,” he local newspapers can—or should— founded the Free Press in NDG, adding says. “Why don’t we take all this content remain close to their communities. “I hit Hampstead to its coverage area a year later. In October of 2011, The Free Press and put it into a newspaper?” he asked every door in Westmount every week,” further expanded its distribution to himself. So he founded Vivva Montreal, David says. “That’s an incredibly a monthly “lifestyle” tabloid. Vivva powerful medium for my advertisers. include Côte St. Luc. At a time when global conglomerates steadily improved, but closed after 14 Bigger companies are missing an opportunity to use community of daily newspapers crank out the same months. In 2007, the existing Westmount newspapers to get to their customers.” boilerplate from coast to coast, David’s “If you want to be cool, be on papers are like microbreweries—they weekly moved its office out of town, and put out a unique product in small the opportunity arose to create a local Facebook or Twitter, but if you really newspaper that was truly local. The want to reach people in Westmount, batches. In his student days, David had no newly founded Independent started at NDG, Hampstead or Cote St. Luc, talk ambitions to become a newspaper two issues per month, and had increased to me, because we’re reaching those magnate. After graduating from Selwyn to weekly publication within a year and people with news that matters to them.” House, he attended Dawson College a half. ■
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Alumni NEWS
44 Old Boys at Young Alum BARBECUE orty-four Old Boys from the Classes of 20062010 dropped in to the school on August 18, 2011 for the Old Boys’ Association Young Alum Barbecue. The barbecue has become a very popular event for recent graduates, as it gives them an opportunity to catch up with classmates and former teachers before heading off to school in the fall. The young Old Boys were joined by members of the executive of the Old Boys’ Association, who brought them up to date on activities of the OBA. More photos from the Young Alum Barbecue are posted on the Selwyn House website at www.selwyn.ca.
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Old Boys in attendance: Shahrukh Ahmed 2009 Julian Beh Pold 2007 Charles Bierbrier 1993 Evren Boisjoli 2008
From left: Stephen Mashaal 2008, Julian Beh Pold 2007 and Tyler Schlemm 2008
Charles-Edouard Bonaldo 2006 Dylan Brophy 2007 Nicholas Cabana 2006 Phil Cabana 2006 Tim Charron 2007 Andrew Dennis 2009 David Farmer 2007 Vinay Desai 2008 Francis Di Stasio 2008
From left: Nicholas Cabana, Jon Mechanic and Shreyas Sukumar (all 2006)
Sean Finnell 2009 Abhinav Gupta 2009 Mark Haichin 2008 Robert Hinrichsen 2006 Daniel Janusauskas 2006 Jamie Koenekoop 2009 John Lamont 2009 Alex-Liem Le 2007 Stephen Mashaal 2008 Jonathan Mechanic 2006 Cameron Mitchell 2008 Geoff Moore 1983 Thomas Nichols 2008 Francis Pantalone 2006 Ethan Peress 2009 Ryan Quinn 2007 Zack Rosenthal 2007 Neil Sabharwal 2009 Bart Sambrook 1979 Christopher Santillo 2008 Lucas Vannelli 2008 Tyler Schlemm 2008 Alex Shadeed 2009 Jordan Shrier 2006 Cyril Simmen 2009 Ben Spencer 2000 Thomas Spencer 2003 Shreyas Sukumar 2006 Tristano Tenaglia 2008 Stephen Tsoukas 2006 Leo Zuckerman 2009 ■ Veritas, page 19
Alumni NEWS
Thirty-third annual
MONTREAL OLD BOYS’ REUNION By Richard Wills, publications editor
Michael Penner ’86 with Prosanto Chaudhury ’91
ne-hundred thirty-eight Old Boys, staff, former staff and guests attended the 33rd annual Old Boys’ Reunion in Montreal on September 30.
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This year marked the special anniversary of the following classes: 1961, 1981, 1986, 1991, 2001 and 2006. The reunion began with tours of the school by Grade 11 student ambassadors, followed by a cocktail in the Rossy Agora. Dinner in Coristine Hall was followed by a humourous toast to his class by Vince Guzzo ’86, and then the OBA Annual General Meeting.
Members of the Class of 2006
The following Old Boys were named as directors of the Old Boys’ Association for 2011-12: Matthew Beckerleg ’94 Yan Besner ’96 Tomas Kaufman ’77 Thomas Königsthal ’74 Sean McKinnon ’98 Matthew Munzar 2000 Bart Sambrook ’79 Sean Sofin ’84 Kyam Shell 2001 David Skinner ’82 Geoffrey Moore ’83 (President) Charles Bierbrier ’93 (Vice-President) Ben Spencer 2000 (Secretary) Friendships were revisited at the afterdinner pub, and afterwards at various locations around the city. ■ Veritas, page 20
Members of the Class of ’61
Alumni NEWS
Montreal Reunion
2011
Members of the Class of ’86
Members of the Class of ’91
Above: Yan Besner of the Class of ’96. At right: the Class of 2001. For more photos, go to www.selwyn.ca/photos
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Alumni NEWS
Old Boy a Good Samaritan to former coach and teacher
Tom Nicoll (far left) and Prasun Lala (far right) at the Reunion shortly before Tom’s accident.
By Tom Nicoll, retired SHS teacher funny thing happened on my way home from the Old Boys’ Reunion dinner at Selwyn House on September 30, 2011. I got hit by a car. I was crossing Sherbrooke Street at the corner of Clarke. As I waited for the light to change, I was reflecting on the good time I had had getting together with former colleagues and reminiscing with former students and athletes I had either coached or taught but hadn’t seen in years. I was musing that maybe I had had a positive influence during my 31-year career at Selwyn House. Because I’ve had a knee replacement, I am very cautious when crossing streets. As I made my way through the intersection, out of the corner of my eye I saw a car approaching that didn’t appear to be stopping. I turned to face the car and out of reflex put my hands out to stop it. No contest. At the last second, he slammed on his brakes but the momentum of the car continued right into me, sending me flying. My left leg and knee took the brunt of the impact. I didn’t feel the pain at first but I knew that I was hurt and stunned, to say the least. The first witness on the scene was a doctor. She asked me questions and told me what to do. Suddenly, the street seemed to be swarming with people, police cars and fire trucks. From my prone position, I felt like a lab specimen. I do remember telling no one in particular that someone needed to call my wife. Out of nowhere, I heard a voice. “Mr. Nicoll, it’s Prasun, and I’ll call your wife.” Wow. It’s amazing how comforting a familiar voice can be.
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The medics flipped me around a few times and then I was in the ambulance en route to the hospital. Sitting beside me was Prasun Lala from the class of ’86, who had left the reunion the same time as I had. Whenever I attend Selwyn House events, I’m always impressed at the important and interesting careers so many of our alumni are living. During my teaching career, I had taught enough bright students to know that most would succeed, probably, beyond our expectations. I knew we were graduating good students; what I wanted to believe is that we were also graduating future good citizens. If Prasun Lala is an example, we have done a remarkable job. I both taught and coached Prasun. I remember him being a bright, ebullient boy who was always smiling. That hasn’t changed. My wife later told me that he was reassuring on the phone and that he helped to assuage her fears of really serious injuries. Not only did Prasun ride with me to the hospital, he stayed and waited for my wife to arrive. I encouraged him to leave and to go downtown to join his buddies. It was their 25th anniversary and they were congregating on Crescent Street. Instead, he stuck around for about two hours, regaling Ruth and me with stories about his time at Selwyn and his present endeavours. Prasun went way beyond the call of duty to help his “old” curmudgeonly teacher and coach. We never know when our lives will take a hit. Hopefully, you’ll have someone like Prasun Lala around. Thanks, Prasun. Tom Nicoll ■
Alumni NEWS
Chapter Reunions: CALGARY hirteen Old Boys, staff members and guests attended the annual Calgary Reunion, held at the Raw Bar on October 26, 2011. Attending were: Jon Feilding 1989, Kasey Fukada 1984, Alexander Gault 1980, Sebastian Gault 1982, Taylor Gray 1973, Hal Hannaford (staff ), Susan Klassen (guest), Stephen Ludgate 1971, James McMillan (staff ), Steve Mitchell (former staff ), Jamie Seguin 1996, Andrew Weldon 1973, Jonathan Zyto 1980.
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From left: Hal Hannaford, Taylor Gray and Stephen Ludgate
Chapter Reunions: VANCOUVER en Old Boys, guests, staff and former staff members gathered at Steamworks on October 27, 2011 for the annual Vancouver Reunion. Attending were: George Astrakian ’81, Richard Bennetts
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’51, John Carsley ’67, Len Colman ’84, Hal Hannaford (staff ), Matthew Haussmann ’86, Nick LeMoine ’56, James McMillan (staff ), Steve Mitchell (staff ) and Peter Yuile ’56.
From left: John Carsley, Leonard Colman, Headmaster Hal Hannaford, Peter Yuile, George Astrakian, Nick LeMoine and retired Selwyn House Athletic Director Steve Mitchell
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Alumni NEWS
Chapter Reunions: OTTAWA ixteen Old Boys and staff members attended the annual Ottawa Old Boys’ Reunion, held at the Courtyard Restaurant on November 17, 2011.
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Attending were: Ferenc Andai (former staff ), Hayden Bernstein 2001, Mary Ann Cloherty (staff ), Carl Dholandas ’97, Maurice Gibbs ’90, Hal Hannaford (staff ), Sean McKinnon ’98, James McMillan (staff ), Steve Mitchell (former staff ), Rodney Moore ’58, Gordon Peters ’58, Ivan Ralston ’61, Kyam Shell-Schnitzer 2001, A. C. David Terroux ’54, Nelson Vermette ’67, George Windsor ’56
From left: Hayden Bernstein, Ivan Ralston and Sean McKinnon
Chapter Reunions: NEW YORK wenty Old Boys, staff members and guests gathered at SD26 on February 23, 2012 for the annual New York Reunion.
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Attending were: Fenton Aylmer ’83, Morgan Ball ’99, Daniela Bensadoun (guest), Patrick Birks ’89, Mary Ann Cloherty (staff ), William Cobbett ’95, Hal Hannaford (staff ), Matthew Hendy 2001, Charles-Edouard Morin 2000, James McMillan (staff ), Matthew Munzar 2000, Ivan Neilson 2004, Alexandra Paton (guest), Nicholas Powell ’79, Adam Rozencwajg 2001, Marc Schaffer ’94, Chris Teryazos ’94, David Verchere ’86, James Von Moltke ’86 and Andrew Webster ’82.
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From left: William Cobbett, Charles-Edouard Morin and Daniela Bensadoun
Alumni NEWS
Chapter Reunions PARIS leven Old Boys, guests and staff members gathered at the offices of Eversheds LLP on March 22, 2012 for the first-ever Paris Reunion. Attending were: Timothy Bishop ’85, Ryan Brun 2008, Derek De Bono ’87, Thomas Espiard (parent), Eric Knai ’87, Sean Lafleur ’80, Linda Mackey (guest), Stéphanie Ternyck (guest) Susan Doherty (staff ), James McMillan (staff ) and Hal Hannaford (staff ).
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Back row, from left: Susan Doherty, Derek De Bono, and Eric Knai. Middle: Thomas Espiard, Linda Mackey and Stéphanie Ternyck. Front: Timothy Bishop, Sean Lafleur, Ryan Brun and Hal Hannaford
LONDON eventeen Old Boys, guests, staff and former staff members gathered at The Royal Thames Yacht Club on March 24, 2012 for the annual London Reunion. Attending were: Alan Cameron 2000, Nicolaus Harnack ’87, Conrad Harrington 2000, George Harrington 2004, Neill Hunt ’94, Tom Kabuga ’93, Andrew Medalsy 2004, Thomas Nichols 2008, James Phillips ’83, Geoff Skinner ’77, Jonathan Sniderman ’98, George Stinnes ’70 Paul Tsoukas 2004, Christopher Wong 2008, plus Susan Doherty, Hal Hannaford and James McMillan (all staff ).
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From left: Geoff Skinner, Christopher Wong, Neill Hunt and Thomas Nichols
TORONTO hirty-six Old Boys, staff members and guests gathered at the Beer Bistro for the 2012 Toronto Reunion on April 26. Attending were: Trevor Ahmedali ’97, Alex Beamish ’75, Mark Benson ’73, Aaron Besner 2005, James Cameron ’98, Sam Carsley ’99, John Carsley ’67, Jeremy Clark ’68, Mary Ann Cloherty (staff ), Jason Coviensky 2005, Denny Creighton ’72, Brian Dawson ’80, Susan Doherty (staff ), Michael Dorfman ’94, Michael Duchesne ’98, Christopher Eich ’97, Hal Hannaford (staff ), Rob Housez ’77, Kathy Housez (guest), Manilo Marescotti ’77, Nancy Marescotti (guest), David Marler ’70, Mike Maurovich (staff ), Sean Mckinnon ’98, James McMillan (staff ), Brad Moffat (staff ), Corey Nicholson ’73, Roger Osmond ’77, Martin Pitt-Bradley ’98, Christopher Rochon 2002, Chris Roper ’72, Sean Sofin ’84, Alexis Troubetzkoy
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From left: Trevor Ahmedali, Christopher Eich, Sean McKinnon and Sean Sofin
(former staff ), Michael Whitehead ’78, Bruce Williams ’77 and Beatrijs Williams (guest). Veritas, page 25
Alumni NEWS
Near-record turnout for 14th Annual
Tom Nicoll / Steve Mitchell Cup
he 2011 Alumni and Friends Hockey Tournament saw a nearrecord turnout, with 84 players and 13 spectators and staff attending the
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pre-holiday event. Enough players turned out on December 21 at the Denis Savard Arena in Verdun to form six teams to compete
for the Tom Nicoll/Steve Mitchell Cup. The coveted cup went to the Gold Team. More photos at www.selwyn.ca.
Winning team Selwyn Gold, from left: David Haber ’94, Ben Wearing ’94, Kyam Schnitzer 2001, Dylan Brophy 2004, Fred Saleh 2007, Chris Wong 2004, Olivier Saleh 2005, Tom Nicoll, Phil Cutler 2005, Sean Brophy 2004, Nick Kaulbach ’94, Jamin Kerner ’94, Skip Kerner and Matthew Kerner ’92. Goalies are: Stephen Letko 2009 (left) and Rish Handa ’97.
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Veritas, page 5
Alumni NEWS
Colin No Classic
wenty-five Old Boys and staff members came out on January 26 to play in the Eighth Annual Colin No Classic Basketball Tournament. Proceeds from the event go toward a fund in memory of Colin No, a ’97 graduate who died in 2002. The fund now contains almost $50,000, which provides needs-based bursaries for students attending Selwyn House. Over post-game beer and pizza, Advancement Director James McMillan brought the participants up to date on the fund, which has grown almost $33,000 in two years.
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More photos and video at www.selwyn.ca.
Participants and Guests: Jeff Barkun 2003 Andrea Batsis (guest) Dylan Brophy 2007 Sean Brophy 2004 Miguel Burnier 2003 Charles Cabana 2006 Chantal Canlas (guest) Philip Clark 2005 Mary Ann Cloherty (staff ) Michael Cohen 2009 Kimberley Corcoran (staff ) Phil Cutler 2005 Christopher Eich ’97 Peter Govan (staff ) Michael Grover 2003 Bryan Guinness ’93 Michael Haichin 2010
2012
Hal Hannaford (staff ) Andrew Horn ’92 Ziad Kaedbey ’97 Masaud Kakkar ’93 Patrick Kishfy 2004 Richard Martz ’97 Mike Maurovich (staff ) Oliver Maurovich 2009 Matt McCarney (staff ) James McMillan (staff ) Jonathan Merritt 2004 Brendan Munzar 2005 Abibou Ngom 2003 Toby No ’97 Alfie Paoletti (staff ) Stephen Tsoukas 2006 Rob Wearing (former staff )
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Alumni NEWS
GOLF 14th Annual Alumni & Friends Tournament Raises $64,000 eventy-one golfers, plus 16 dinner guests, enjoyed nearperfect weather for the 14th Annual Selwyn House Alumni and Friends Golf Tournament, held at Kanawaki Golf Club on May 28. The event raised $64,144 for the Old Boys’ Endowment Fund for bursaries to benefit future generations of students. A portion will also support the educational initiatives of the Selwyn House Old Boys’ Association and the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation.
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Prize winners: • Drive to the Target: Alex Zammit. • Closest to the pin: Geoffrey Kalil, Sheila Jablonski, Jean Daoust. • Longest Drive: Paula Shannon, Andrew Funamoto 2006. • Low Gross: Pat Shannon (87), Sheila Jablonski (97), Noah Norton (73). • Team Low Gross: Barton Goodleaf, Noah Norton, Peter Delormier, Garrett Cree. • Old Boy Champion Low Gross: Matthew Jablonski 2010 (77). Photos at www.selwyn.ca/photos
Top of page: Tom Downey (staff). At left: Brendan Keefe 2010. Above, Hagen Mehnert ’84 (left) and Michael Avedesian ’88 (right), organizers of the Tournament, present the trophy for the lowest gross by an Old Boy to Matthew Jablonski 2010, who scored a 77.
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Alumni NEWS
Lumsden & Porteous return to take 13th Annual
OBATENNIS TOURNAMENT Sasha Papich 2008
he 13th annual Old Boys’ Tennis Tournament, held at Hillside Tennis Club on June 14, included players of a wide range of ages. Ultimately, experience triumphed over youthful energy, with Tournament veterans returning to reclaim the silver salver from their younger challengers. Playing in the doubles tournament were: Roberto Bellini ’97, Ted Claxton ’73, Headmaster Hal Hannaford, Nick Kaulbach ’94, Brendan Keefe 2010, retired math teacher Andy Lumsden, Sasha Papich 2008, Nikki Papich 2010, Charles Porteous ’94, Andrew Ramsey ’84, Colin Ross ’51, and Bart Sambrook ’79. Lumsden and Porteous defeated Sambrook and Ross to win first place. Photos at www.selwyn.ca/photos
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At right, Roberto Bellini ’97
Brendan Keefe 2010 with star-of-the-future Tom Molson (Gr. 1) in the background
From left: winners Andy Lumsden and Charles Porteous ’84 with runners-up Bart Sambrook ’79 and Colin Ross ’51
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School NEWS
Prizegiving 2012 eadmaster Hal Hannaford chose for his Prizegiving message a theme of legacy. The class of 2012 was, no doubt, an outstanding one, displaying a capacity for leadership and a spirit of camaraderie that is rarely seen in this or any school. “However you want to define legacy, there is no doubt this graduating class has left one...and a legacy that will be with us for years and years,” said Mr. Hannaford. “Their strength, passion, desire has, in fact, changed Selwyn House School and changed us for the better.” As Mr. Hannaford pointed out, the quality of leadership was best exemplified by the Student Leadership Conference held at the school on April 17-21. At the Conference, sponsored by Canadian Accredited Independent Schools, 150 student leaders from 30 private schools across Canada came together in Montreal for a five-day workshop aimed at cultivating leadership skills. Working mostly on their own, members of the class of 2012 accomplished a tour de force of organizational skill and motivational spirit that was an inspiration to all the visiting students who took part. “You have the ability to affect change,” Headmaster Hannaford continued. “You have a voice that needs to be heard...so keep using that voice in a respectful and responsible fashion.” In his valedictorian speech, Head Prefect Nicolas Vit was respectful and responsible, but fondly recalled the wild and
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crazy times that also characterized the Class of 2012. “Selwyn House is not normal,” he confessed. “The students are not normal. The people who teach here are not normal. The things that happen here are certainly not normal. But don’t you dare for a moment think that this lack of normality is a bad thing. One does not simply be normal at Selwyn House.” “It’s the good times I’ve had that really speak to me,” he continued. “It’s the moments where everything seems to stop when I take a deep breath and in my head I go ‘Wow, I am not going to forget this. This is life.’” On a more serious note, he mentioned that his grandfather, a “lifer” who graduated from Selwyn House in the Class of 1943, still tells him stories of his days at the school. “My grandfather, who is one of the main reasons I’m here, still loves this place more then anything, and certainly as much as I have come to love it. “That original group of thirty-two boys has changed a bit. There have been some additions, some of us have left, but all in all we have remained a group, a brotherhood, a fraternity.” “We have left our impact on the school as a class. We will be missed, but life here at Selwyn will go on. Now it is our turn to leave an impact on the real world, without ever forgetting what this place has done for us. “Though this may be the last time we’re all in one room together, you’re going to find, in the end, we’re never going to be that far apart.” ■
School NEWS Distinction Awards Social Studies Prize: Nicholas Chabanne-Salbaing Computer Programming Prize: Alessandro Defazio Computer Media Prize: Reid Hannaford Contemporary World Prize: Noah Wade, Edouard Charlebois Biology: Dan Ton-That D. W. Christie History Prize: Nicolas Vit Chemistry: Edouard Charlebois & Joshua Dannenbaum Physics: Joshua Cape McGill Science Award: Lesly Lam G. C. Ian Burgess Prize for Creative Writing: Matthew Schwartzman McCall Prize for Art: Joshua Cape & Nicholas Millot Music Prize: Reid Hannaford Economics: Charles-Alexandre Lépine Calculus: Matthew Schwartzman French, Langue Maternelle: Joshua Cape, Edouard Charlebois French, Langue Enrichie: Alessandro Defazio & Stephan Smirnov Consul General of Spain Prize for Spanish: Bernard Andrés Béchard-Torres Byron Harker Prize for Distinction in Literature: Nicholas Millot Edgar Moodey Prize for Mathematics: Tien Dat Nguyen Patricia Marsh Drama Prize: Lias Borshan & Reid Hannaford Special Awards • The Governor General’s Bronze Medal for Academic Distinction to the student with the highest academic average for the year: Edouard Charlebois • The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for General Excellence to the student with the second-highest academic average for the year: Joshua Cape • The YMCA Community Service Award to a student who has consistently volunteered his services within the school or community: Louis Buckett • The Massi Prize for Effort for sustained effort and appreciation in academics: Alexander James Bassila • The Millennium Prize (donated by the Class of 1999) to the student who best exemplifies—in the judgment of his peers—tolerance, compassion, generosity of spirit, kindness and concern for others: Jean-Sebastien Dackiw • The Thomas Chalmers Brainerd Memorial Award to the senior who, in the opinion of the staff and of his classmates, has combined an exceptionally enthusiastic and purposeful approach to school activities with the consistently generous concern for the welfare of others: Joshua Cape • The Jeffrey Russel Prize, awarded to the senior who is considered by the staff and his classmates to have shown outstanding all-around ability and character: Nicolas Vit • The Lucas Memorial Medal, in memory of the founder of the school, awarded to the senior who is deemed by the staff and his classmates to have made the most outstanding contribution to the life of the school by way of academic achievement, leadership in games and activities, and by good example: Alexander Hadjis
2012
Prize Winners
From left: outgoing SHA Board Chairman Ted Claxton ’73 presents the Lucas Medal to Alex Hadjis, along with Senior School Head Mike Downey and Old Boys’ Association Board Member David Skinner ’82.
From left: Ted Claxton, Thomas Chalmers Brainerd Memorial Award winner Joshua Cape, Mike Downey and David Skinner.
From left: Ted Claxton, Jeffrey Russel Prize winner Nicolas Vit and Mike Downey.
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School NEWS
Gr. 11 academic
DESTINATIONS
Nicholas Andrei . . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis J-C Azzopardi . . . . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Henri Barbeau . . . . . . . . . Liberal Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dawson David Barmish . . . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choate Alexander Bassila . . . . . . . Creative Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dawson Jamie Beallor. . . . . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . . . . . Dawson Bernard Béchard-Torres . . North/South Studies . . . . . . . Dawson Eric-James Boffey . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Julien Bohbot . . . . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Lias Borshan . . . . . . . . . . . Liberal Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dawson Raphael Brassard. . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Philippe Brock . . . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Louis Buckett . . . . . . . . . . Health Science . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Axel Buschmann. . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . . . . . Dawson Joshua Cape . . . . . . . . . . . Liberal Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dawson N. Chabanne-Salbaing. . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Edouard Charlebois . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Ali-Reza Chattoo . . . . . . . Health Science . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Anthony Chow. . . . . . . . . Honours Commerce . . . Marianopolis Marco Covello . . . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Jean-Sebastien Dackiw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andover Joshua Dannenbaum . . . . Science de la nature. . . . . . . . . Brébeuf David De Cotiis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Paul’s Alessandro Defazio . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Antoine Duong . . . . . . . . Health Science . . . . . . . . Marianopolis David Dupont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choate Joshua Fischlin . . . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dawson Jeffrey Fitzpatrick . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Daniel Fruchtermann. . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dawson William Gallo. . . . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Xun Gong. . . . . . . . . . . . . Grade 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCC Konstantinos Grillas . . . . . Health Science . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Cole Gurman . . . . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Zissis Hadjis . . . . . . . . . . . Health Science . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Reid Hannaford . . . . . . . . Cinema/Communications . . . Dawson Nicholas Jonas . . . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Robert Joy. . . . . . . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Adam Karpman . . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Brooke Kenny. . . . . . . . . . Theatre Arts. . . . . . . . . . . John Abbott Charles Lacoste-Lépine. . . Grade 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LCC Lesly Lam . . . . . . . . . . . . . Health Science . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Leonardo Lamanuzzi . . . . Health Science . . . . . . . . Marianopolis
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Joseph Lapenna . . . . . . . . Social Science . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Andrew Lowther. . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Nicholas Millot. . . . . . . . . Arts and Science. . . . . . . Marianopolis Sterling Mitchell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appleby Dat Nguyen . . . . . . . . . . . Pure and Applied . . . . . . Marianopolis Devin O’Donnell . . . . . . . Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Abbott M. Rahuba-Pigeon . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis D. Rosenthal-Romagnolo Liberal Arts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dawson Matthew Rossy. . . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dawson Jake Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hotchkiss Matthew Schwartzman . . Arts and Science. . . . . . . Marianopolis Colin Sequeira . . . . . . . . . Commerce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Paul’s Liam Shannon . . . . . . . . . Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Abbott Stephan Smirnov . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis David Smith . . . . . . . . . . . Commerce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Paul’s Dev Sumbly . . . . . . . . . . . Health Science . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Dan Ton-That . . . . . . . . . Honours Commerce . . . Marianopolis Jonathan Trafficante . . . . . Health Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vanier Justin Vézina. . . . . . . . . . . Social Science. . . . . . . . . . John Abbott Nicolas Vit . . . . . . . . . . . . Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Noah Wade. . . . . . . . . . . . Health Science . . . . . . . . Marianopolis Spencer Wuest . . . . . . . . . Health Science. . . . . . . . . . . . St. Paul’s
Jean-Christophe Azzopardi receives his diploma from Science Teacher Tom Downey.
Alumni NEWS
2nd annual OBA
BALL HOCKEY tournament Over 50 Old Boys gathered on October 22 to play in the second annual Old Boys’ Ball-Hockey Tournament. Divided into six teams, they all played at least five games in the round-robin. Then the top four teams played in a championship round. The White Team were the 2011 Champions. Congratulations to all the players!
Upcoming Old Boy EVENTS 13th Annual Young Alum Barbecue (Classes of 2007-2011) Thursday, August 16, 2012 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Speirs courtyard
Vancouver Old Boys’ Reunion Thursday, October 25, 2012 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Venue TBD
Wednesday Night Basketball October to May 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Macaulay gym
Ottawa Old Boys’ Reunion Thursday, November 15, 2012 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Venue TBD
34th Annual Montreal Old Boys’ Reunion & AGM Friday, September 28, 2012 5:00 – 11:00 p.m. First Annual Old Boys’ Touch Football Tournament Saturday, September 29, 2012 Soccerplexe Catalogna, Lachine Third Annual Old Boys’ Association Ball Hockey Tournament Saturday, October 13, 2012 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Speirs Gym Grade 11 OBA Induction Dinner Thursday, October 18, 2012 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Coristine Hall Calgary Old Boys’ Reunion Wednesday, October 24, 2012 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Venue TBD
Founder’s Day Thursday, November 22, 2012 Cocktail reception for all constituents 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Coristine Hall 15th Annual Old Boys’ Hockey Tournament Wednesday, December 19, 2012 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Verdun Auditorium 9th Annual Colin No Classic Thursday, January 17, 2013 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Speirs Gym Boston Old Boys’ Reunion Wednesday, February 6, 2013 (tentative date) 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Venue TBD
New York Old Boys’ Reunion Thursday, February 7, 2013 (Tentative date) 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Venue TBD Paris Old Boys’ Reunion Thursday, March 21, 2013 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. Venue TBD London Old Boys’ Reunion Saturday, March 23, 2013 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. Venue TBD Toronto Old Boys’ Reunion Thursday, April 25, 2013 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Venue TBD 15th Annual Alumni & Friends Golf Tournament Monday, May 27, 2013 12:30 p.m. Location: Kanawaki Golf Club 14th Annual Old Boys’ Tennis Tournament Thursday, June 13, 2013 5:30 p.m. Hillside Tennis Club
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School NEWS
A
thletic wards
2012 FALL AWARDS 2011 Gr. 7 Football MVP Defence . . . . . . . Tom Price/Trevor Tabah Best Lineman . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Cristiano MVP Offence. . . . . . . . . . . Greg Segal/A. Lukca MVP Defence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jonny Carr Best Lineman.... . . . . . . . . . . . Franco Cristiano/ Yassine Belkhou MVP Offence... Jack Little / Gerry Nikolopoulos Sr. Football Best Lineman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Dupont MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colin Sequeira MVP Offence . . . David Smith/David De Cotiis MVP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nicholas Andrei Coach’s Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nicholas Jonas Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jordan Dubuc Btm Football Offensive MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Jones Best Team Player . . . . Pat Bourque/Henry Jones Best Linesman. . . . . . Thomas Leblanc/A. Lukca MVP Defence . . . . . . . . . . . Michael McHenry MIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nolan Bedard Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel Malouf Grade 5-6 Soccer MIP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Morin Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emile Duchesne MVP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Luca De Carolis MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eli Erdstein Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaan Gezen MIP . . . . . . . . . Charlie Stewart/Will McLernon Bantam Soccer Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Frances MIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adario Chirgwin-Dasgupta MVP. . . . . Sammy Lamanuzzi/Kiriakos Primbas MVP . . . . . . . . . Antony Smirnov/Nico Cossette MIP . . . . Justin Shapiro/Evan Cadloff-Richman Midget Soccer Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Iacono MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Miller MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vadim De Vreeze Senior Soccer Most Promise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Molson MVP Defence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spencer Wuest MVP Offence . . . . . . . . . Jean-Sebastien Dackiw Cross-Country Running MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jamie Beallor WINTER AWARDS 2011-2012 Wrestling Most Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yanni Metrakos Most Improved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sam Barmish MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alex Moore Outstanding Graduating Wrestler . D. De Cotiis Elementary Basketball Most Promise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Doheny
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David De Cotiis receives the McMaster Cup from Senior School Head Mike Downey. Most Improved . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carl Chahrouri MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaan Gezen Bantam Basketball Most Improved . . . . Antoine Henrichon-Goulet Most Promise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mathieu Leblanc MVP Defence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evan Egger MVP Defence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Damian Fitz Midget Basketball Most Promise. . . . . . . . . . . . Samuel Lamanuzzi MVP . . . . . . . . . Patrick Bourque/Joshua Daoust Best Defender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Molson Best Defender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabriel Brassard MIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Bonnell Senior Basketball Most Improved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kosta Grillas Most Improved . . . . . . . . Danny Fruchtermann MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Smith Elementary Hockey MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Henri Lajeunesse MIP. . . . . . . . . . . . . Raianerahstha Diome-Deer MPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Culver PeeWee Hockey MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conor Shannon MIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ben Wechsler Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evan Norris MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Price Btm. Hockey Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel Malouf Most Improved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ethan Lazare Best Defence . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael McHenry MVP Offence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karl Valentini MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liam Nicol Senior Hockey MVP Defence . . . . . . . Bernard Béchard-Torres/ David Barmish MVP Offence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Ton-That MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Rossy Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . Caleb Tse-Lalonde Curling Most Improved . . . . . . . Dev Sumbly/Lesly Lam MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Josh Cape Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greg Vasilogianis Badminton MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesly Lam Swimming MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Devin O’Donnell
McMaster Memorial Cup Senior School Athlete of the Year – David De Cotiis The Alumni Award Grade 9 Athletic Achievement – John Molson The Cassils Memorial Cup Middle School Athlete of the Year – Daniel Malouf The David Tobias Team Award – Varsity Wrestling Team, 2011-2012 GMAA and Provincial Champions SPRING AWARDS 2012 Bantam Tennis MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jules Gagnon Midget Tennis MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Molson Juvenile Tennis MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Antoine Van Duong Track & Field MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connor Lundell-Smith Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Perlman Bantam Rugby Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evan Egger Best Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Price Best Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Hladky Best Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Cristiano Best Back. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greg Segal Midget Rugby Best Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Grillas Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yanni Metrakos Best Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liam Nicol Juvenile 1 Rugby Best Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Dupont Borner Award (MVP) . . . . . . . David De Cotiis Coaches’ Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Smith/ Bernard Béchard-Torres Juvenile 3 Rugby Best Back..Nicolas Domingue/Amanpreet Atwal Best Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . Nicholas Varvarigos Baseball Most Promise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Sarlos Most Improved . . . . . . . . . . . Ali-Reza Chattoo MVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Jablonski
Alumni NEWS
HALL OF FAME
Gordon Currie inducted into By Michael Maurovich, Selwyn House Director of Athletics lympic Gold Medalist Gordon Currie attended Selwyn House from 1941 to 1949. An all-round athlete, he played on all the senior sports teams, captaining the hockey and soccer teams, placing first in the swimming and skiing competitions and winning the McMaster Memorial Trophy in his final year. In his two final years at Trinity College School, Gordon played on the senior hockey team and on the senior football team that twice won the Little Big Four championship. At McGill, Gordon played four years on the McGill Redmen (senior) hockey team while taking his degree in mechanical engineering. In the 1964 Olympic Winter Games at Innsbruck, Austria, Gordon was on
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both the Canadian two-man and fourman bobsleigh teams that won gold. He co-authored the book Olympic Victory about the Gold Medal that Canada’s bobsleigh team won that year.
Married, with two children and several grandchildren, Gordon is retired in Toronto after running his own successful construction and project management company. “I am indeed honored to be commemorated at Selwyn House School as an inductee to the Athletic Hall of Fame,” Gordon wrote to the school. “In my time, the school was much smaller than it is now and renowned for its academic excellence. However, there were a number of gifted athletes who I held in high regard and tried my best to emulate. Selwyn House was, and still is, a school to be envied for its continuing high achievement in education and athletics. Both require dedication and hard work in order to achieve one’s personal goals, be it a Rhodes Scholarship or an Olympic award. Good luck and best wishes in your personal quest for your life goals.” ■
ATHLETIC AWARDS,continued
At left, The Senior wrestling team receives the Tobias Cup. From left: Coach Rob Moore, Yanni Metrakos, Alex Moore, Sam Barmish, Nathan Palayew, David De Cotiis, Norman Tobias, and Assistant Coach Cleopas Ncube. Above: John Molson receives The Alumni Award for Grade 9 Athletic Achievement from Headmaster Hannaford.
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School NEWS
WRESTLERS win banner, championship he Gryphon wrestling team capped an outstanding season by winning the Cadet Division at the Provincial Wrestling Championships at StCesaire on Saturday, February 25. The Gryphons also finished third in the Bantam Division. This happened only nine days after the team won the GMAA Juvenile wrestling banner for the third time. At the Quebec Provincial Championships, Keel Scruton, Nathan Palayew, Alex Moore and Sam Barmish each took home a gold medal. Silver medals were won by Tomas Kaufman, Eli Dannenbaum and Sam Skinner. The February 16 victory at the GMAA Championship was not a close race, with SHS defeating Loyola 104-84. The Gryphons’ traditional rival, Khanawake Survival School, was a distant third with 68 points. Leading the way for the Gryphons
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were gold medalists Nathan Palayew, Sam Skinner, Alex Moore and David De Cotiis. Eli Dannenbaum, Nick ChabanneSalbaing, Sam Barmish, Lias Borshan, Stephan Smirnov, Jordan Samberg and Yanni Metrakos won silver medals.
Selwyn House was ranked in first place going into the championships after an undefeated dual-meet regular season, and kept the momentum going into the finals. ■
Juvenile HOCKEY takes Meagher championship n Saturday night, January 28, the Selwyn House Juvenile Hockey squad placed its name among the high school hockey elite on the giant banner that hangs on the wall at Concordia Arena. This was the first time Selwyn has won the prestigious 42-yearold Ed Meagher Tournament. In the championship game, Selwyn defeated host team Loyola High School 2-0 behind tournament MVP Caleb Tse-Lalonde’s goaltending. Selwyn scored early on a goal by Dan Ton-That, and then played solid hockey the rest of the way. Matt Rossy scored a late goal to secure the victory. Selwyn started the tournament with a 6-3 victory over St Thomas High School on Friday. On Saturday, the Gryphons beat Howard S Billings High School 5-2 to earn the right to play in the final. Besides being named tournament
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MVP, Tse-Lalonde was also selected as a tournament All-Star. Other tournament All-Stars from SHS were defensive standout Dave Barmish, Captain Matt Rossy and sniper Dan Ton-That at
forward. “This victory was a complete team effort as all players in the lineup contributed to the Gryphons’ success,” said Assistant Coach Bruce Maxwell. ■
School NEWS
RUGBY teams win two GMAA banners Selwyn House Juvenile and Bantam Rugby both defeated LCC teams to clinch the GMAA championships on May 30. The Bantams won 69-2; the Juvenile Gryphons won a hard-fought match 17-15. Both games were played at Loyola’s Ed Meagher Field. In photo at right: a jubilant Juvenile team.
OBA sponsors rugby trip to NEW ZEALAND uring March Break, the Selwyn House Senior rugby team was able to take a oncein-a-lifetime trip to New Zealand, courtesy of the Old Boy’s Association Trip Fund. The New Zealand trip is the first that the OBA has sponsored in its entirety. Vince Guzzo ’86 also pitched in for new uniforms for the team. At an assembly at the school on April 26, Ben Spencer 2000 and Kyam Shell-Schnitzer 2001 of the Old Boys’ Association Board of Directors were thanked for the OBA Trip Fund having sponsored the New Zealand trip. Ben recalled a rugby trip his team took to England and France when he was in school, and thanked coaches Alfie Paoletti and Peter Govan for keeping one of the school’s oldest sports alive. Nineteen players, accompanied by coaches Paoletti, Govan and Matt Connell, flew to Christchurch on March 6. There they had breakfast with Andrew Ellis, one of New Zealand’s All Black Rugby stars and a member of the 2011 Rugby World Cup championship team. The boys played a game against Christchurch Boy’s High School and got some coaching tips from elite coaches of the Crusaders. The group travelled to Rotorua to play against John Paul Boys’ Academy, and then on to
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Aukland to go up against Auckland Grammar School, one of the greatest rugby schools in the world. AGS has sent more students to the All Blacks team than any other school in New Zealand, and over 500 boys play rugby every season. The Gryphons were not able to beat AGS, but they were able to score a try, and finished the game proud of their effort against so strong a team.
David Dupont (centre), captain of the SHS Senior Rugby team, presents a team-autographed ball to Ben Spencer (left) and Kyam Shell-Schnitzer of the OBA.
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Alumni NEWS
Longest winning streak in the history of team sport finally comes to an end
John Lamont 2009 with his coach, Paul Assiante
y name is John Lamont, from the Class of 2009, and I would like to describe a bit of what I have been doing since Selwyn House. I am a squash player who pursued this sport in college after playing at a prep school called Salisbury School for two years. I was recruited to Trinity College in Hartford, and now play on its men’s team. Until January, the Trinity men’s squash team had not been defeated in over 13 years, dating back to 1998. This team, after defeating Williams College on December 10, 2011, had the longest winning streak in the history of team sports in both collegiate and professional athletics. The winning streak reached a total of 252 matches since 1998, and during this streak, 13 straight national championships had been won, with Trinity always holding the number-one position in the rankings. Because squash is obviously not a household sport, and doesn’t make the news too often, this streak and success has been relatively unknown outside the northeast U.S. What makes this streak and success so special is that Trinity is a Division-3 school. But squash is not an official NCAA sport, therefore the entire College Squash Association is all one division. In this league, we compete against all the Ivy League teams, which are Division-1 schools and much larger in size. We are the only Division-3 school that can continually beat Harvard, Yale, Princeton or Cornell. ESPN, Sports Illustrated and, most recently, the New York Times have done pieces about our team.
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In a college squash match, each team plays nine of its best players against another team’s nine. In order to win the entire match, a team must win at least five matches. In order to determine who plays what position, most teams use a challenge-match system in which a player must defend his position on the “ladder”. As a freshman, I have worked my way to the number-nine position on a roster of 20+ players. I have played as high as eight, and am always looking to move higher on our ladder. Since roughly 1997, our coach, Paul Assiante, has scouted the best international junior squash players and lured them to Trinity. That’s when the dominance started. We have had players from Pakistan, South Africa, Sweden, Colombia, Malaysia, India, Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Botswana, Zimbabwe, England, and many more. This wave has prompted many of the Ivy League schools to do the same in order to keep up with Trinity, with the result that college squash now brings a lot of the best players in the world into it. January 18, 2012 was a day we will never forget. We traveled down to New Haven for our night encounter against the then-number-two in the nation, the Yale Bulldogs. We were met by a raucous crowd, with fans jeering and hollering for our defeat. After the first three matches, we were up 2-1 with very tight wins and a five-game loss. In the next round, we dropped two of three, again all down to the wire and just pure battling. Sophomore Matt Mackin pulled out a crucial five-game match, involving quite a bit of referee interference and some poor calls. With the match at 3-3 in our favour, knowing we would get a definite win from our captain and number 1, Vikram Malhotra, we needed just one more win. However, as the crowd continued to build and cram into the facility, and facing a determined Yale team, it was not going to be an easy task. Vikram won in easy fashion, but our player number 7, from El Salvador, lost a very close four-game match, which left it up to Johan Detter, a junior from Sweden famous for his lengthy matches, to close out the match. On the Yale side was Irish senior John Roberts, who never gave in to the pressure. The match hit the 90-minute mark at the fourth game, which Johan won to force it to a fifth and deciding game—winner take all. Johan gave it everything he had, but the momentum was in Roberts’ hands and he won the game 11-4. The Yale team and crowd stormed onto the court to celebrate the win, our first loss in 252 matches over a 13-year period. “The Streak” was over. This team experienced the loss of a record that may never be broken by anyone in any sport, a streak so meaningful that ESPN dedicated a “Top Ten Streaks in Sports” segment to it. John Lamont 2009 ■
Alumni NEWS
Massi co-chairs gala for Sarah Cook Fund
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he Grin and Bear It Gala, held on Thursday, November 3, 2011 was an unprecedented success for the Sarah Cook Fund of the Cedars Cancer Institute. As co-chair of the Sarah Cook Gala organizing committee, Brad Massi ’97 helped to raise in excess of $875,000 in sponsorship, donations, and pledges, which will cover the cost of moving an oncology ward at the Montreal Children’s Hospital to its new home in the future McGill University Health complex. All funds raised at the Gala will go directly to the Children’s Hospital and its Best Care for Children Campaign and to perpetuate Sarah’s Floor at the new MUHC facilities at the Glen Yards site. The co-chairs are Brad and his father, Raymond. The honorary chair is Sarah Cook, herself. Since it was organized in 2001, Sarah’s Fund has raised over $4.5 million, which has been directed exclusively to the Montreal Children’s Hospital. Brad mentioned in his evening remarks that “when you put a group of dedicated individuals together with a common focus and a will to succeed, great results will occur.” ■
From left: Raymond Massi, Sarah Cook and Brad Massi ’97. Lumisculpt photo
Kaedbey third in dance against cancer
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ld Boy Rayan Kaedbey 2001 won third place in Dancing with the Docs, a fundraising gala for the MUHC superhospital held on February 4 at Metropolis. “It was a one-night event featuring 10 doctors all from different specialties, each representing a different mission that will be crucial at the new MUHC superhospital,” Rayan explains. “By donating and voting for one of the dancers, a donor’s money went to their respective organizations.” The doctors practiced their choreography with professionals from the Arthur Murray Dance Schools, and competed before a panel of celebrity judges that included ballroom dance champion Jean-Marc Généreux from “So You Think You Can Dance,” CTV News Anchor Mutsumi Takahashi, CJAD 800 morning man Andrew Carter, and international dance champion Meryem Pearson. MC for the
evening was CTV entertainment host Mose Persico. “I don’t have any experience in professional dancing,” Rayan confessed before the competition. “I’ve been chosen to dance a swing/lindy hop number which is proving to be quite the challenge, although I’m ready to take it on for the cause.” All proceeds from ticket sales were donated to The Best Care for Life Campaign of the McGill University Health Centre. Rayan is currently training in hematology/oncology at McGill. For this event, he represented the Cancer Care Mission at the MUHC, specifically an organization called the Cedars Cancer Institute. He describes Cedars as a broad organization that provides humanitarian, psychosocial and financial aid for cancer patients, as well as providing channels for ongoing cancer research. ■
Rayan Kaedbey with his dance partner
Veritas, Veritas,page page39 5
Alumni
UPDATES
Doug Huestis ’39 has just published his second novel, The Three Talents of Timothy O’Dowd, about a 14-year-old student at Selwyn House School in 1939 who has special talents that he uses to foil a terrorist plot against the visiting King and Queen. Doug has been a technical and scientific writer and a medical school professor at the University of Arizona, and has written scientific articles, textbooks, essays, book reviews, and fiction, including the novel A Bag with No Secrets. For more info, go to DougHuestis.com. or amazon.com.
1944
On October 20, Fred Tees ’44, a Selwyn House Old Boy whom many will also remember as a teacher and athletic director at the school from 1954 to 1972, gave a talk to the Westmount Historical Association about sports in Westmount, especially at Selwyn House. Mr. Tees’ talk was covered by the local press; articles can be found in the online versions of the Westmount Independent and the Westmount Examiner. Current Selwyn House Athletic Director Mike Maurovich also spoke to the Association about local sports on November 19.
1957
Selwyn House Old Boy Nicholas Hoare ’57 has decided to keep his Westmount bookstore open on a trial basis. The store, which has been a community landmark for years, had been slated to close in January. See article in the June 12 Montreal Gazette.
1987
Sywa Sung ’87 was the subject of a lengthy interview in a recent issue of
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InPark magazine that also featured three of his illustrations. The interview explored Sywa’s insights into being a Canadian of Asian heritage working in the U.S., and how the “outsider viewpoint” might give one an advantage when working in an American cultural millieu. Look for the interview at inparkmagazine.com.
1993
Martin Patriquin ’93 wrote the cover story in the June 4 issue of Maclean’s magazine about the student riots in Montreal.
1999
Joel Anthony ’99, the only Selwyn House Old Boy to have played in the National Basketball League, was featured in a May 21 article in the Montreal Gazette. The article follows his rise through the ranks for the 2012 NBA-champion Miami Heat.
2004
Casey Auerbach 2004, who plays baseball with the McGill Redmen, was featured in an article in the October 11, 2011 Westmount Independent about his trip to Switzerland to play professionally with the Embrach Mustangs. For more info, go to westmountindependent.com.
2008
Evren Boisjoli 2008 sported the Selwyn House bow tie on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where he was invited to screen his film L’Hiberné at the Cannes Short Film Corner. The film will also be screened at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal.
Selwyn House Old Boy and wrestling alumnus Greg Rossy 2008 was recently named Concordia University Rookie of the Year, at their annual awards banquet. Greg also won a bronze medal at the Canadian University Championships for 2012 in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
2009
“A bove the Dust,” a short film on mountain biking by Leo Zuckerman 2009 is currently featured on the main High Definition page of Vimeo, an online video file-sharing website. “Above the Dust” was filmed over two weeks in Whistler, BC last summer. Go to vimeo.com and search for Leo.
2011
Berklee College of Music in Boston announced on February 10 that Esteban ObandoJaramillo 2011 has been named to the Dean’s List for having achieved a grade point average of 3.4 or greater in the 2011-2012 school year. In addition to Berklee, Esteban has been accepted as a student of noted Boston Conservatory piano professor and author Janice Weber. ■
Alumni
UPDATES
Open North uses access to information to put power in the hands of ordinary citizens
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ames McKinney 2002 and Jonathan Brun 2000 would like to “upgrade our democracy.” The two Old Boys are directors of Open North, a not-for-profit organization that uses technology to make government work better. James is Open North’s technical lead and has been building online tools since 2003. Prior to assuming leadership of Open North, he was an early contributor—along with Jonathan and Michael Lenczner ’94—to Montréal Ouvert, a citizen initiative to promote open access to civic information. They started with popular apps like Resto-Net, which helped Montrealers keep tabs on restaurant cleanliness, and Patiner Montréal, which tracks the availability of community ice rinks. Before founding Open North, James built sites for clients including the National Institutes of Health, Just for Laughs, and the McGill University Health Centre. Describing himself as a “civic data hacker,” both he and Jonathan have recently being trying to bring informal open-data initiatives and weekend hack-athons to a more formalized and effective level. The two have been busy lately making presentations everywhere from TED to the National Assembly about how to use online information to get people more engaged with their local governments. In May they launched citizenbudget.com, an app based on a pilot project they did for the borough of Plateau Mont Royal. The app allows citizens to make their own proposed budget online, weighing various service options and making
recommendations to city hall as to how they would like their tax dollars spent. The result has a two-way benefit. The exercise not only informs local governments as to the wishes of their taxpayers, but educates citizens on the hard choices municipal governments must make in order to balance their budgets. Of Plateau Mont Royal’s 100,000 residents, 5,668 visited the online budget consultation tool and 523 submitted balanced borough budgets over the summer of 2011. Open North is now talking to a dozen other Canadian municipalities about adopting the Citizen Budget app. Other Open North projects launched in the past year include: Ma Mairie, which tracks the activity of Montreal elected officials from media mentions to Twitter updates; Represent, an open database of elected representatives and administrative boundaries for the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government in Canada; and Gazette Documents, an online database of contracts awarded by the City of Montreal. In August 2013 they plan to launch Open 511, a Canadian-government-sponsored project for online publishing of updates about highway accidents and road closures. On a recent interview for CBC Radio’s Spark, Jonathan said Open North’s goal is “to build online tools to make democracy better.” ■
Hallward asks why wealth does not equal happiness
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ohn Hallward ’78 has studied the world’s wealthiest societies and found that, psychologically speaking, they are among the poorest people on earth. His findings are explored in his new book The Happiness Equation: the Human Nature of Happy People. “Over the past 60 years, people in developed nations find themselves on a new path unlike anything from our ancestral environment,” says John. “When some of the freest, wealthiest democracies in the world do not even
rank in the top tier of happiest nations, something is not working so well. A review of many discouraging sociological trends implies we need to re-think our approach to happiness.” John’s ideas came about through analyzing data gleaned through his work as President of Global Product Development for Ipsos ASI, a leading worldwide survey-based market research company. His book examines such factors as health, wealth, religious belief and personal and community relationships to see how each affects our
happiness quotient. John and the Hallmount Foundation have established GIV3, an initiative to promote the personal and community benefits of philanthropy. His first book, Gimme! The Human Nature of Successful Marketing, published in 2007, explored some of these themes. John has spoken to Selwyn House students on more than one occasion on the importance of getting involved in charitable activities. The Happiness Equation is published by Price-Patterson Ltd. and is available online through Chapters.Indigo.ca. ■
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Staff
OBITUARIES
Ian Burgess, former teacher and Speirs Medalist, dies in Toronto C. Ian Burgess, a longserving, beloved and influential member of the Selwyn House faculty, died suddenly at his home in Toronto on September 6, of cardiac arrest, with his wife, Joanne, at his side. He is also survived by his son William G. I. Burgess, daughter-in-law Tanya Webster Burgess, nine-monthold granddaughter Kate, and his brother, Father F. Graham Burgess. Ian Burgess taught at Selwyn House School from 1966 to 1979, serving as Head of the English Department for a decade. He received the Speirs Medal, the highest honour the school can bestow, in 2001. While at Selwyn House, Ian introduced an enriched writing program, as well as a curriculum for critical approaches to the study of traditional and contemporary literature. He wrote and printed support materials for the school, including an English handbook and a style sheet. These programs contributed to an outstanding success rate for students. In addition to coaching football, hockey, and track, Ian initiated, typeset and published a 300-page literary anthology of students’ work, The Fourth Dimension, and developed a strong photography and literary section for the yearbook. He established an active photography club and designed the school’s first darkroom, introduced multimedia presentations, and set up a television workshop group that operated and aired programs from the Cable Television studio in Montreal. He introduced students to animation techniques and promoted their production of films. He got students involved in radio scripting and encouraged them to enter a national CBC competition, where six of the seven Selwyn House groups won prizes. Ian launched and managed three book fairs, and was instrumental in getting the Selwyn House Wanstall Library restructured and catalogued. He was actively involved in Selwyn House Canada Day programs, in which major Canadian writers visited the School. Ian’s accomplishments outside Selwyn House include serving as an independent school representative on the Secondary Language Arts Committee of Quebec.
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In 1974, Ian created a small publishing house that produced titles purchased by the Canadian government for distribution worldwide through its embassies. That same year, he had a collection of poems, Black Lunacy, published by Valley-Mosaic Press. He set up the first Véhicule Poetry Reading Series, funded by the Canada Council, and was elected, along with Louise Gareau DuBois and Margaret Atwood, to the executive of PEN International, a worldwide organization of poets, essayists and novelists. In 1977, he was named, in a national competition, as one of a team of 37 teachers from across Canada to be involved in the development and publication of 10 resource guides for the teaching of Canadian literature. During this project, he co-authored two books, Quebec Literature in Translation, and Images of Biculturalism, which were published by the Writers’ Development Trust, and were adopted by every ministry of education in Canada. “Ian Burgess was a very popular teacher who had a huge impact on a lot of students,” says Alexis Troubezkoy, who served as headmaster during most of Ian’s Selwyn House years. “I was lucky enough to be hired by Dr. Speirs, and three years later became Head of the English Department at the tender age of 25,” Ian recalled when invited back to Selwyn House to receive the Speirs Medal in 2001. “Inspired as I was by the ever-present examples of outstanding educational and administrative excellence, I requested—and was given—every opportunity to grow,” he said. “There was not one major challenge I sought to undertake that was refused or limited. My activities, ventures and achievements at Selwyn House bear witness to the truth of this statement.” In his acceptance speech when receiving the Speirs Medal, Ian also had this to say about Selwyn House: “In my experience…the Selwyn House graduate is unique. Other schools may occasionally approach the excellence, which Selwyn House upholds so consistently, in both French and English. But beyond that, it is the desire of so many of you to cherish and foster what is of worth in yourselves, to uphold the (continued on next page)
OBITUARIES Ian Burgess (continued from previous page)
highest standards of personal integrity, to give back to this community in your maturity the strength and means to continue the tradition. “Selwyn House has never lost sight that a school is educating for 20, 30, 40 years from now. To accomplish that end, it has the courage to adopt relevant, farsighted curricula—French immersion and strong IT programs that were embraced early, and funded well.” After leaving Selwyn House, Ian taught at Ridley College for three years and served as Principal of the High School at Toronto French School for 16 years. After his retirement, he worked in supplementary education. If desired, donations may be made to Sunnybrook Foundation Research Fund, or to Selwyn House School Foundation to establish the G. C. Ian Burgess Creative Writing Prize. ■
Matthew Schwartzman receives the G. C. Ian Burgess Creative Writing Prize from Malcolm McLeod, a longtime friend of the Burgess family.
David Tobias David Charles Tobias, born October 11, 1924 beloved husband of the late Pearl Deutsch Tobias, adoring father of Annie, Sarah and Norman ’70, father-in-law of Ava, grandfather of Josephine, Claire and Joseph, brother of Teddy and the late Rytsa and Petty Tobias, died after the onset of the Jewish Sabbath on Friday, May 4, 2012, surrounded by his
family. We wish to honour his service in the Royal Canadian Air Force, his abiding curiosity and respect for life and the triumph of his principles. Donations in his memory may be given to the charity of your choice. Published in The Gazette on May 8, 2012. ■
FOLLOW ATHLETIC TWITTER
David Tobias presents The David Tobias Team Award at the 2009 Selwyn House Athletic Banquet.
If you’re a fan of the Gryphons, you can keep up with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat on an hour-by-hour basis through Gryphon Athletic Twitter. If you’re not already on Twitter, you can sign up at twitter.com and choose to follow gryphonathletic. Then you can receive postings of scores, bulletins and schedule changes on your computer, your tablet or your smartphone anytime, anywhere. Go to www.selwyn.ca and look for Athletic Twitter.
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Alumni
OBITUARIES
Dr. A. Brian Little ’39, a former chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of McGill University Medical School, died April 14 in Skillman, N.J. where in post retirement he taught and mentored at the New Jersey University of Medicine and Dentistry until he became ill more than a year ago. He was 87. Born in Montreal, March 11, 1925, he attended Selwyn House, where he won the Jeffrey Russel prize upon graduation. He became an internationally recognized investigator in reproductive endocrinology, studying the metabolism of steroid hormones and the neuroendocrinology of reproduction. He was a navigator in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. Both his brothers in the Royal Canadian Navy were killed in action. After the war he graduated from McGill Medical School, followed by a residency at Harvard Medical School in obstetrics and gynecology. In this choice he emulated his father, a distinguished obstetrician-gynecologist who had been instrumental in founding the Women’s Pavillion of the Royal Victoria Hospital. His father died at 57, leaving his mother to raise three young sons. From 1947 to 1970 she wrote a widely read food column, “Let’s Dine at Home,” in The Gazette. Stephen Leacock was a friend and Dr. Little’s bookshelves were filled with the autographed volumes by Canada’s renowned humorist, inherited from his mother. Early in his career Dr. Little headed obstetrics and gynecology at the Boston City Hospital on the Harvard service, where he did the first intrauterine transfusion for RH sensitive fetuses. Later he moved to Cleveland, becoming chairman at the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital and then professor and chair at Case Western Reserve Medical School. He returned to McGill in 1984, retiring to New Jersey in 1993. For 28 years, he was a funded investigator of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He oversaw one of the most important perinatal clinical trials in NIH history, on antenatal steroid therapy to improve the outcome of premature babies. He was a council member and leader in directing the research efforts of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and chair of the steering committee of Reproductive Medical Centres. He served as a director of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and was president of the Perinatal Research Society and the Society of Gynecologic Investigation. He also became president of the American Gynecological Society, of which his father had been a founding member. He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Dr. Bitten Stripp, and by his first wife, Nancy Campbell, and five of their six
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children. Their only son, Michael, died in a mountain accident in Austria, aged 19. His daughters are Deborah Little (Tyler Miller, M.D.), Susan (Peter Hoagland), Catherine (Dr. Dan Reagan), Jane Little M.D. (Tom Hostetter, M.D.) and Lucinda Little (David Wells). There are eight grandchildren, Catherine, Sam and William Miller-Little, Alexandra, Leah and Ian Hoagland and Andrew and Jane Reagan. Obituary published in The Gazette on April 25, 2012. Roy William Bond ’47 passed away peacefully in Cowichan, British Columbia District Hospital on June 8, 2012. Roy was born in Italy of British parents and came to Montreal with his family in 1934. Roy and his wife Joanne (Allison) moved to Winnipeg, London, Ont., Markham Ont. and Ottawa before retiring to Arbutus Ridge on Vancouver Island in 1997. Although Roy was challenged with rheumatoid arthritis in his early 50s, he managed to stare down the disease, laugh at himself and take joy in whatever he was able to do. He knew that everyone with whom he came in contact had something to offer, regardless of who they were and where they came from. As a young man he was an active sportsman, playing squash, skiing, and sailing. He was known to many as a mentor and friend and was a wonderful listener. Roy’s curiosity and passion for learning never left him. Roy is survived by his wife Joanne, his sister Pam Watkins and her family, his three children Gregory, Allison and Trevor, their partners Deirdre, Marianne and Amy and grandchildren Pasha, Ben, Pierce and Baxter. A celebration of life was held at First Memorial in Duncan on Wednesday, June 13. Condolences may be shared at www.dignitymemorial.com John R.W. Fieldhouse ’58 died suddenly in Montreal on November 1, 2011, aged 68. He was predeceased by his parents, Grace Tinning Fieldhouse and H. Noel Fieldhouse. He is survived by his sister Elizabeth (Dibby) Bowes and her husband Robert Bowes (Burnaby), their children Katherine Pieters (Burnaby) and Stephen Bowes (Toronto) and by his grandniece Grace Pieters. Burial was private. Memorial donations may be made to Selwyn House School Annual Fund (www.selwyn.ca) or to Lower Canada College Tribute Giving (www.lcc.ca), both in Montreal. ■
Staff
MILESTONES
Two long-serving teachers retire
Elementary School teacher Martin Rondeau (left), who started at Selwyn House in 1981, and Senior School French teacher Eric Davaze, who started in 2000, retired from teaching at the end of the 2011-2012 year. To ensure that their legacy will live on in the school,
Headmaster Hannaford had street signs made in their honour. “Place Rondeau” and “Rue Davaze” are now the official names of the corridors outside the classrooms of the former teachers.
Rizzolo, Di Pernos honoured by JGH On June 8, representatives of the Jewish General Hospital presented a certificate of appreciation to Angelo Rizzolo 2011, Brandon Di Perno 2011 and Brandon’s, sister, Kristen, for donations to the hospital’s Neonatal Centre raised through three years of Buona Sera concerts. From left: Joe Rizzolo, Angela Rizzolo, Dr. Apostolos Papageorgiou (Pediatrician and Neonatologist at the Jewish), Angelo, Brandon, Music Teacher Alex Becker, Kristen, Headmaster Hal Hannaford, teacher Bob Bouskill, and Mary Etzitian and Betty Elkaim from the Jewish General Hospital Foundation.
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School NEWS
Macaulay Building RENOVATED
O
n September 15, Headmaster Hal Hannaford was joined by all Senior School students and guests of honour to officially re-open the school’s Macaulay Building, which had recently undergone extensive renovations. The $1.2M renovation project included a complete redesign of the lobby and classrooms, creation of new office space and staff lounge, and the creation of new student facilities, including refurbished dressing rooms downstairs and a new Student Life Centre. The ribbon was cut by architect (and Selwyn House parent) Susane Havelka, project sponsor (and Selwyn House Old Boy) Vince Guzzo ’86, and Selwyn House Building and Grounds Supervisor Chris Churchill. Mr. Hannaford recalled that the project began when Coach (now Athletic Director) Mike Maurovich approached him about renovating the athletic dressing rooms downstairs. When the proposal landed on the desk of Vince Guzzo, chairman of the Facilities Committee of the Selwyn House Board of Directors, it quickly became clear that the Macaulay Building was long overdue for a more complete overhaul. The most cost-effective approach to the project was to call in volunteers from within the school community. Vince Guzzo, Susane Havelka and Chris Churchill put in weeks of their time and expertise to complete the renovations. “Vince is the kind of guy who gets things done,” said Mr. Hannaford. “It’s not as if we went out and hired these people,” said Mr. Hannaford. “When you have an Old Boy, a parent and a faculty member working together and making it happen, wonderful things occur.” ■
A detail from the new Athletic Wall of Fame in the renovated Macaulay lobby
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From left: Chris Churchill, Susane Havelka and Vince Guzzo cut the ribbon to re-open the renovated Macaulay Building.
Jasjeet Minhas ’97 with his illuminated Gryphon sculpture that hangs in the new Macaulay lobby
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Great Minds, Big Hearts ....
OPEN HOUSES Grades 1 to 6: October 2, 5:00 to 8:00 PM Kindergarten: November 8, 8:30 to 11:00 AM
Canadian Accredited Independent Schools
95, ch. Côte St-Antoine Westmount, QC H3Y 2H8
Veritas sculpture by Laura Santini.
We know boys
TOURS
(514) 931-2775 www.selwyn.ca
34th Annual
Old Boys’ Reunion Friday, September 28, 2012
Come back to campus in September and reconnect with your former teachers and friends. Share stories of adventures old and new over dinner and drinks. All Old Boys, their guests, and former and current staff are welcome. We hope to see many of you celebrating a special anniversary year (those years ending in a 2 or a 7). 5:00 p.m. Tours of SHS campus 6:00 p.m. Cocktails 7:00 p.m. AGM and Dinner 9:30-11:00 p.m. Pub (Cash Bar)
Tickets: $50 by September 21 $60 thereafter (tickets available at the door) $25 for recent grads (2007-2012) Complimentary dinner and cash bar for former staff
RSVP at www.selwyn.ca via the Online Event Registration button. Cancellations: Full refund for all events before September 21. No refunds thereafter. For more information, contact the Advancement Office at 514-931-9481 ext. 2242