Veritas 2015-2016

Veritas

of

House

chemin Côte

(Québec) H3Y

(514) 931-9481

Speirs

fell in Irish Rising

goes to John Hallward

Boyle to receive Speirs

of Selwyn House retires

Fergus elected to Parliament..........................8

appointed to cabinet

and Dartmouth win championship

the award goes to... Selwyn House

VR in advertising

from the President of the OBA

by The Study

memoir novel

Birks, 97, honoured by Black Watch

Old Boys’ Calendar of Events 2016-2017

teaches boys to give well

featured in Gazette interview

Three from 2011 in med school

Melnychuk’s road through med school

is a team sport

Boys recall outstanding teachers

Leider wins 2nd annual Fall Golf Classic

year for SHS Old Boy wrestlers

Reunion

of Class of

Moffat, Samara Sayegh,

Wills, Carole Rasmussen, Nancy Hébert, Bill Bedard, Michelle Kocsis, Cory Deegan, Carol-Ann Hoyte, Peter Govan, Samantha Frosst

Jonathan

Mitchell Cup

No Fund reaches $187K

raises $66,000

bursaries

(R)evolution of a faculty counterculture

By Hal Hannaford

One of the traditions at our Parent Information evening each September is that I try to articulate the expectations we have of our parents. There has been a substantial amount of time devoted to the review of these expectations, and our hope is that there is an attempt by our parents to look at these expectations carefully.

The final expectation is simply a plea for all parents to continually ask the question: “What really matters?” Excuse the existential approach to dealing with parents, and I am not trying to be rhetorical. This rather trivial and simple but crucial question becomes increasingly complex and difficult to answer. But we need to ask it continually. I am not sure that we ever succeed—nor should we—in answering it completely, but we never shy away from asking. It is a continual work in progress: lifelong.

One of the conclusions we have made regarding what really matters is the creation of a countercultural evolution. (Please note, I refuse to use the term revolution, as this would not work. The term evolution implies constant movement or progress in a countercultural direction.) This is not mired in political posturing—we deal with enough of that in our world—nor is it an attempt to exist within a Bohemian style and laissez-faire world. Counterculture is a term we believe to be an integral aspect of our strategic success. Where the prevailing culture in education puts the student first, we start this (r)evolution by claiming loudly, and with extreme passion that for any school to be truly successful, teachers need to be number one. In fact, as I have stated to anyone who will listen, any school that does not strive to become a relational school that emphasizes a strong vibrant faculty culture at the top of its strategic imperatives is acting in an irresponsible fashion. Think about this carefully. Relational schools and faculty culture become the main drivers of strategy? Exactly. And because it flies in the face of the prevailing view, that is countercultural.

Over my twenty-seven years as a leader of independent schools, I have learned one of the great truisms of education: if our faculty is raving about the school, then it stands to reason that our students will be raving. If our students are raving, then we all know that parents will rave, and the task of marketing our school is dealt with. It becomes our perpetuity, all as a result of a devotion to faculty culture.

This is not easy, and there will always be challenges that rear their somewhat unattractive heads. That is called learning. Relationships are difficult, stressful, demanding, and ultimately exhausting. We expect our teachers to be the relational managers, and that, in itself, is demanding. But it

works. Remember, research is clear about what a boy needs from a teacher. Any boy craves a relationship, and he wants to witness passion, in order to become a passionate person who seizes the purpose of his own life.

We move through this countercultural evolutionary world to the concept of VERITAS. Self-awareness becomes a main goal of the Selwyn House educational experience. And then the emphasis on compassion, kindness, respect and acceptance, becomes increasingly important. Dress, comportment, manners, and handshakes all flow from this, and by now the countercultural evolution is in full force. The outcome of all this is substantial and twofold.

The first is that a true community is developed. We define a strong, effective community as a function of the ability of members of the community to look after each other. Again, this is why faculty culture is so important. If our teachers are indeed looking after one another, then the boys who have always responded to modeling will look after each other. Mistakes will be made, there will be plenty of angst, but a culture will rise up where the general feeling is one where we need to look after each member of our community. This is why a Gay-Straight Alliance, which you can read about later in this issue, is of ultimate importance. It doesn’t stand in isolation; rather it serves as a contributor to making our community best for all.

Secondly, by embarking on this countercultural evolution we contribute in a large way to creating significant men. And wouldn’t that be a tremendous Selwyn House gift? Significant men are created by the development of lasting relationships, through a strong female presence and influence, by true and real male role models, and by allowing a boy to experience boyhood. Academics, athletics, the arts, public speaking, and volunteering are all heightened by the relational groundswell toward success, fulfillment, and happiness.

So there you have it. We define the profile of the Selwyn House Old Boy as a young man who is true to himself through self-awareness, self-respect, self-confidence, and self-advocacy. He understands the value of respect, compassion, empathy and kindness. He is a passionate, dedicated hard worker who has prepared for university in an intellectual, physical, emotional, social and spiritual fashion. He is dedicated to the French language and culture through an appreciation of his own culture, and he understands balance in life and the quest for a passion to fuel his happiness. If that is countercultural, count me in. And we are only going to get there through our belief in the strength of relationships and the development of a strong, vibrant and exciting faculty culture.

Founder fell in Irish Rising

April 29, 2016 marked the 100th anniversary of an important event in the history of Selwyn House School: the death of our founder, Algernon Lucas. Shrouded in mystery and tinged with tragedy, the story of how he met his end is probably little known by members of the Selwyn House community.

Algernon Lucas was born in 1879 in Bishops Cannings, Wiltshire, England, son of Thomas Sloper Lucas and Mary (Clemments) Lucas (1845-1900), and brother to Arthur, Richard, Margaret and Maud. He is described in the 1901 census as a farmer’s son. His father’s entry for the 1881 census is as a 37-year-old “licensed victualler and farmer of 105 acres employing three men and three boys.” Algernon was christened on December 28 at Saint Mary the Virgin Church, Bishops Cannings.

Colin Taylor, chairman of the Warmister Museum and History Society in England, contacted Selwyn House and informed us that Algernon Lucas had been a pupil and later a master at Lord Weymouth’s Grammar School in Warminster. His name is on the school memorial window in the Minster Church of St. Denys. Lord Weymouth’s Grammar School became Warminster School, which is an independent day and boarding school in the town, with a high reputation in England.

Dublin was a hotbed of republican unrest, with rebels...intent on liberating Ireland from 700 years of British rule.

When Lucas died, The Warminster Journal of May 5, 1916 wrote:

Lieut. Algernon Lucas...was well known in Warminster, being for many years a pupil and master at Lord Weymouth’s Grammar School. Joining His Majesty’s Forces at the commencement of the war, he was wounded in France, and stayed for some time with Mr Richard Elling, West House, to recuperate. Algernon Lucas was one of the best—a good, all-round sportsman, excelling in boxing, cricket, football and other games. He was loved and respected by all who knew him. He leaves a widow to whom we extend our deepest sympathy.”

Our founder’s life story after he came to Canada is better known to us.

In 1908, Algernon Lucas, a graduate of Selwyn College, Cambridge University, arrived in Montreal from England in pursuit of a teaching career. In response to the need of Montreal’s English community for a suitable preparatory school, he was entrusted with the early education of seven young boys…. In 1912, Mr. Lucas turned to the business world and transferred the School to Mr. Colin Macaulay, a fellow graduate of Selwyn College, who re-named it Selwyn House, in honour of their alma mater.

Veritas, by Edgar Moodey and Dr. Robert Speirs

After having established himself as a pioneer of education in Montreal, Lucas sold his interest in the school we now call Selwyn House and returned to his homeland, where he enlisted in the army and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the King Edward’s Horse cavalry regiment, serving with distinction and receiving the 1915 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal. He was wounded on August 11, 1915 (possibly also a second time) and was sent to Dublin, Ireland, perhaps to convalesce, or perhaps on active duty in that troubled city.

At that time, Dublin was a hotbed of republican unrest, with rebels organizing themselves into paramilitary units, intent on liberating Ireland from 700 years of British rule. In the spring of 1916, with England distracted by the war, the rebels seized the opportunity to rise up.

On Easter Monday, April 24, leaders of a disparate group of self-styled revolutionaries that included poets, teachers, actors and workers and a large contingent of women, gathered on the steps of the General Post Office in Dublin to read a proclamation of Irish independence. A documentary by the University of Notre Dame says that the subsequent uprising “fundamentally changed the course of Irish history and inspired freedom movements around the world to rise against their colonial masters.”

One of the unfortunate casualties of these earth-shaking events was our own founder, Lieut. Algernon Lucas. The citizens of Dublin viewed the mounting revolution with scepticism. Britain was, at the time, totally immersed in the Great War, with England under German bombardment, and some 200,000 Dubliners taking heavy casualties on the European Front. Meanwhile, the soldiers’ families were facing privations back home. When the revolutionaries began parading through the streets, they were greeted with derisive jeers.

The tragic death of Algernon Lucas

On April 16, when approximately 200 revolutionaries began to occupy government buildings, word quickly got back to London and 6,000 British troops—including cavalry, artillery and accompanying gunboat—were called in.

Civil disorder in Dublin quickly led to looting in the streets. Martial law was declared for the first time in 100 years. “In spite of the fact that German zeppelins and warships [were] bombing and shelling cities in England,” says a documentary by Notre Dame University, “Britain’s military might [was] about to be directed against Dublin.”

Fighting between the rebels and the Army soon broke out in earnest, with 230 British soldiers killed on April 18 alone, at the loss of only four rebel lives.

Word of “The Rising” soon echoed through newspapers around the world. For 14 consecutive days, coverage of the rebellion was featured on the front page of the New York Times

The fighting was fierce and bloody, with many buildings in the central part of the city being shelled and burned out. Before it was all over, 485 people had been killed and more than 2,600 wounded. “The majority of the

Sinn Féin. During the Rising, boiler tanks from the brewery were mounted on flatbed trucks to serve as makeshift armoured personnel carriers for the British troops. As a city landmark, the Robert Street brewery would have been watched closely.

On Friday night, April 29, the brewery was being guarded by a squad of Royal Dublin Fusiliers under the command of Quartermaster Sergeant Robert Flood of the Fifth Battalion. Sgt. Flood, a career soldier, had enlisted on January 11, 1899, at age fourteen. He had seen service at home, in Egypt, India and in the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.

According to records of the Fusiliers, Mr. McMullen of the brewery had informed Captain McNamara and Sgt. Flood that there would be a night watchman on duty at the brewery. However, Captain McNamara took ill and was replaced by Lieutenant Algernon Lucas of King Edward’s Horse. The night clerk, a Mr. Rice, went to the brewery with Lucas. When they encountered Sgt. Flood, he and his guards did not recognize Lieut. Lucas, and took the officer and his companion prisoner.

Sgt. Flood told Lucas he was to be shot, and ordered the officer to remove his coat so as not to disgrace its insignia.

casualties, both killed and wounded, were civilians,” writes Queen’s University Historian John McGarry. “Most of the civilian casualties, and most of the casualties overall, were caused by the British Army.”

By week’s end, the British had surrounded the trouble zone and forced a surrender. Sixteen of the rebel leaders were executed.

Throughout the political strife in Ireland, the Guinness Beer Company in Dublin had always maintained a loyalist stance, even going so far as to fire employees who were sympathetic with

The guard in the malt house belonged to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Of course, Lieut. Lucas was unknown to the company, Quartermaster-Sergeant [Flood] or any of the guard. At any rate, whatever it was, the guard got into a state of jumpiness, and the consequence was that when Lieut. Lucas went round with Mr. Rice, one of the brewery officials, the sentries on several occasions got the idea that he was a stranger who had no business there. The conversations he had with them were misinterpreted, and they came to a conclusion which was utterly

false.... Lieut. Lucas opened a window. The men knew that orders had been given that the windows were not to be opened. It looked very suspicious. The state of mind into which Flood had got at that time led him to arrest Lieut. Lucas and Mr. Rice.

The Irish Times

According to Fusiliers’ records, Sgt. Flood told Lucas he was to be shot, and ordered the officer to remove his coat so as not to disgrace its insignia. Lieut. Lucas asked to say his prayers and knelt on the ground. As he rose, he pleaded, “Don’t fire, Sergeant; I am only a poor

The tragic death of Algernon Lucas

farmer’s son.” Lieut. Lucas was placed against a wall and the sergeant gave the order to fire. Shots rang out and Lieut. Lucas collapsed on the floor. A second order was given to fire at Mr. Rice, and he, too, fell to the floor. Mr. Rice was still alive, however, so one of the soldiers, a Private Maurice McCarthy, reloaded and fired again into the body.

Some twenty minutes later, a second shooting took place at the scene. When Mr. Rice had failed to return to his lodgings at 101 James’s Street, his roommate and fellow Guinness employee, a Mr. Dockery, had become concerned. Accompanied by a Lieut. Worswick, Mr. Dockery had proceeded to the brewery to look for his colleague.

One of Sgt. Flood’s guards reportedly heard footsteps and shouted a warning, but there was no reply. Sgt. Flood switched on his flashlight and saw Lieut. Worswick, in uniform, with Mr. Dockery. Both men were unarmed, and agreed to be searched. One report says that one of the men lunged at his captors, perhaps when he saw the bodies of Lucas and Rice lying on the floor. At any rate, Sgt. Flood’s men opened fire and Worswick and Dockery were also killed.

The sergeant was eventually disarmed by a Captain Mariott and a Mr. Williams. The next morning the soldiers reported the killings to their superior officers.

The following June, a general court-martial was held at Richmond Barracks in Dublin to try Sgt. Flood for the murders of Lucas, Rice, Worswick and Dockery.

Lawyers for the defence claimed that Lucas and Rice had shown signs of Sinn Féin sympathies, but the judge was quick to point out that no such evidence had been produced in the case of Lucas.

“I was convinced that Lucas was a Sinn Féin spy disguised as a British officer when I ordered him shot,” Sgt. Flood testified. “When I ordered his arrest he did not protest.”

Sergeant Flood was in temporary charge of the brewery. He said he expected he and his men would be attacked by the rebels at any moment, and had taken special precautions that no one should be allowed to approach the building. Suddenly Lucas appeared. Lucas acted suspiciously, Flood said. Lucas had issued instructions to open the windows of the brewery, which was contrary to the instructions of the previous officer, who had ordered them kept closed. At the same time, Flood

added, his men saw lights flashed outside the building, whereupon he covered Lucas, saying he was convinced that Lucas was up to treachery.

“I thought he was going to let the rebels into the brewery,” said Flood, “and that I would have to answer for the lives of my men. Even after the shooting I did not believe that the officer was Lieutenant Lucas.”

When Sgt. Flood was acquitted of all charges, the verdict was received with applause in the court. Many excused the incident as an unfortunate event brought on by inexperienced soldiers suffering from nervous exhaustion. On June 16, the following statement was published:

“Messrs. Arthur Guinness, Sons and Co., Limited, are authorised by Lord Cheylesmore to state that there was nothing to justify any suggestion that either Mr. Dockery or Mr. Rice was in any way connected with, or in sympathy with, the Sinn Féin rebellion. He regrets that any such idea should have arisen.”

As news of civilian deaths caused by the military filtered out by word of mouth and through the Irish Times, public opinion changed from apathy to outrage. The military were reluctant to investigate these deaths, and although trials were carried out to appease the public, they often ended without prosecution. A possible reason behind this failure to investigate is contained in a dispatch to the secretary of war on May 26 1916, written by Sir John Maxwell.

“I wish to emphasise that the responsibility for the loss of life, however it occurred, the destruction of property and other losses, rests entirely with those who engineered this revolt, and who, at the time when the Empire was engaged in a gigantic struggle, invited the assistance and cooperation of the Germans.”

A month after his trial, Sgt. Flood was transferred to the Royal Berkshire Regiment and was later promoted to Company Sergeant Major. He was killed in action at Salonika on May 9, 1917, at age thirty-three. There is no mention of his courtmartial or his acquittal in his service records.

Lieutenants Lucas and Worswick of King Edward’s Horse were buried in Dublin Castle and exhumed in the 1960s. Lieutenant Lucas was reburied at the Blackhorse Avenue military cemetery.

The legacy of the Easter Rising is profound. In Ireland, independence, civil war and partition followed, and only recently have tensions eased. Independence movements throughout the world have looked to the events of April 1916 for inspiration.

The founder of Selwyn House School was an innocent man caught up in the sweep of history, who died at age 37 as a result of the fear that too often marks a sudden turning of the tide.

The Founder’s widow at Selwyn House in 1961

Speirs 2015 goes to John Hallward

been a member of the Selwyn House board that manages the Veritas Fund since 1999, serving as chair since 2013, and has also sat on the board of the Lucas Fund since 2003.

John has visited Selwyn House many times to speak to students about his profession: marketing research, and also about his growing interest: philanthropy. He 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.

John and the Hallmount Foundation have established GIV3, an initiative to promote the personal and community benefits of philanthropy. His first book, entitled Gimme! The Human Nature of Successful Marketing, was published in 2007.

John’s wife, Karma Price Hallward, has also been an extremely active volunteer for Selwyn House serving as president of the Parent Association. She was named an Honorary Old Boy in 2010.

Former Selwyn House Board Chairman John Hallward ’78 received the 2015 Speirs Medal during the school’s Founder’s Day celebrations on November 26.

The Speirs Medal, named for former Headmaster the late Dr. Robert Speirs, is the highest honour the school can bestow upon any member of its community. It is presented each year as part of the school’s observance of Founder’s Day, as an occasion to honour the school’s founder, Captain Algernon Lucas.

John Hallward joined the Selwyn House board of directors in 1996 and was chairman from 2003 to 2007. Before he became chair, John served as chair of the Finance Committee. He has

John and Karma Hallward have two sons who attended Selwyn House: Derek 2007 and Evan 2009. Their daughter, Laura, attended The Study.

Also during the Founder’s Day program, retired Selwyn House receptionist Anne-Marie (Annie) Snabl was named an Honorary Old Boy, and Parent Association Past Co-Chairs Karen Anderson and Lorna Denham received the Nancy Pitfield Memorial Award for volunteerism. Ms. Snabl, along with retired teachers Colin Boyle and Dorothy Walling, was added to the Selwyn House Wall of Fame for 25 or more years of service to the school.

Colin Boyle to receive Speirs 2016

Retired Selwyn House chemistry teacher, basketball and football coach and Director of Studies Colin Boyle has been selected to receive the 2016 Speirs Medal, the highest honour given to a member of the Selwyn House community.

Beginning in 1982, Colin taught chemistry to Grades 10 and 11, where his pyrotechnical demonstrations could sometimes be heard throughout the school. He also taught Grade 8 biology and Grade 9 science, and coached Midget Basketball and Bantam and Grade 7 Football.

Some of Colin’s most successful seasons on the basketball court were

accomplished with the help of his cocoach, his son, Kevin, who graduated from Selwyn House in 1997.

Colin coached Kevin in Gr. 7 Football and Midget Basketball. Kevin now works at Selwyn House teaching science in Senior School and coaching Midget Basketball.

The two Boyles co-coached Bantam Football for two years and Midget Basketball for eight years.

“I was really fortunate to have had the opportunity to both teach Kevin and then coach him,” Colin says. “We know each other intuitively, and we get along famously.”

At last year’s Athletic Celebration,

Colin’s colleague Marty Boyle (no relation) reminded the audience of Colin’s own athletic accomplishments as a “standout wide receiver” at McGill and in adult football and basketball associations.

This was followed by a touching tribute by Kevin. Himself a veteran of the McGill Basketball Redmen, Kevin spoke about the life lessons learned from his dad while on the field or the court, and how their mutual love of sport has served as an inspiration to him.

“Although I really enjoyed my science teaching,” Colin said, “I had a real passion for the coaching part of the job.”

John Hallward, left, receives the Speirs Medal from Board Chair Michael Denham

Voice of Selwyn House retires

‘G

ood morning. Bonjour. Selwyn House.” Over the years, those five musical words, spoken in a dulcet Parisian purr, have soothed more frayed nerves of frantic Selwyn House parents and students than any other sound one can imagine.

“Don’t worry,” they imply, “This is Annie. I’m in control and everything will be alright.”

For 32 years, Anne-Marie Snabl has been the voice and face of the school, the person most people deal with when they telephone or arrive at the front door, the one who knows most about everything that is going on in and around the school at any moment in the day or night.

And the only one who seems unfazed by it all.

Now that’s all in the past. Annie retired from her job as Selwyn House receptionist on October 16.

Annie came to Canada from France with her parents and three siblings at the age of 12, and has lived in NDG all her life. She attended École Marie de France, where her best friend was the sister of her future husband, Tom. She went on to Trafalgar, and then McGill and Concordia. She started as a substitute teacher, then became a permanent Grade 7 teacher at a school in Point St. Charles.

In 1967 she became a protocol hostess at the Quebec pavilion during Expo 67.

She married Tom in 1969. They have a daughter, Kim, born in 1973, and a son, Jan, born in 1976. After staying home with the children for seven years, Annie decided to go back to work, and took a part-time position as receptionist at Selwyn House. Nine years later she

became full time.

This was when Robert Manion was headmaster; she has since served under Will Mitchell and Hal Hannaford and become indispensable to dozens of staff members and hundreds of students and parents.

Still, Annie says, her job hasn’t changed all that much over the years. “As the ‘front line’ of the school, I have always tried to properly and professionally represent Selwyn House, and to meet the needs of the parents and students as best as I could,” she says.

On her last few days on the job, Annie was deluged by hundreds of calls, visitors and emails from members of the Selwyn House community, past and present, wishing her well. “I was absolutely overwhelmed,” she says. “I didn’t think I had such an impact on so many people’s lives, and I was humbled by it.”

On Founder’s Day, November 26, 2015, Annie was inducted as an honorary member of the Selwyn House Old Boys’ Association, This, she says, was “the culmination of 33 years of joy as part of the Selwyn House Family.”

Her retirement plans are to travel the world with Tom as much she can and enjoy her four grandchildren.

Greg Fergus elected to Parliament

Greg Fergus ’86 rode the October 19, 2015 red Liberal tide to victory in his bid to represent the Quebec federal riding of Aylmer-Hull as MP. Greg garnered 52 per cent of the vote to defeat incumbent NDP MP Nycole Turmel, who was Chief Opposition Whip for the NDP and had served as the party’s interim leader after Jack Layton stepped down.

Greg was previously the

national director of the Liberal Party, and has worked in senior policy advising positions in a number of ministerial offices. He’s had a big presence in the Aylmer community, serving as president of a neighborhood association and on various school committees.

Issues relating to federal public service jobs and bolstering public transportation were central to

both candidates’ campaigns in this sprawling civil service community.

Made up of the former cities of Aylmer and Hull, the riding had been represented by the Liberals for most of the past century until Turmel swept into office with the NDP “orange crush” in 2011. The riding has 91,000 voters, with French being the first language in about 80 per cent of homes.

Annie and Tom at Founder’s Day

McCallum appointed to cabinet

On October 28, 2015 Selwyn House

Old Boy John McCallum ’67 was named to the immigration, citizenship and refugees portfolio of the cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. John was first elected to Parliament under former prime minister Jean Chrétien in 2000, and has represented his Greater Toronto Area riding of Markam-Thornhill continually since then. He has served in a variety of cabinet positions in the Chrétien and Martin governments, including the departments of Defence, Veterans’ Affairs, Natural Resources, and National Revenue.

More recently, he served as Liberal critic for Immigration, Citizenship and Multiculturalism, and is well versed on the ins and outs of the portfolio, making him well-suited to step into the role of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and oversee the many Liberal campaign promises made about immigration and refugee policy.

In every phase of his multi-faceted career, John has always taken the fast track to the top. After attending Selwyn House from 1961 to 1964, he completed his high school education at Trinity College School. He turned down scholarships from

Harvard and Yale to study economics at Cambridge University, the Université de Paris, and McGill University, where he received his PhD.

He taught at the University of Manitoba, Simon Fraser University, Université de Québec à Montréal and McGill, where he taught economics and was appointed Dean of Arts, securing a $10 million contribution from Charles Bronfman for the establishment of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.

In 1994 he went to work for the Royal Bank, where he became a senior vicepresident and the Bank’s chief economist.

In 2000, he was approached by the federal Liberals to run in the riding of Markham. He won the seat and quickly rose through the ranks in Parliament, being appointed to cabinet after less than two years in politics.

Throughout his career, John’s ties to Selwyn House have remained intact. He served on the Selwyn House Board of Directors in 1993 and 1994, and was speaker at Prizegiving in 1997.

Smith and Dartmouth win championship

On November 21, 2015 sophomore kicker David Smith 2012 helped 21st-ranked Dartmouth College chalk up a 17-10 victory over Princeton to take home the Ivy League football crown for the first time since 1996. The team received the oldest trophy in football for their win. “It was quite a big day for your old pupil, all made possible by your incredible support and mentoring throughout all of his formative years,” says Mark Smith, David’s dad and a former Selwyn House Board Member.

And the award goes to... Selwyn House

‘M

y life has been a little crazy recently,” admits a jetlagged Evren Boisjoli 2008. “We just had our world premier today and received an overwhelming love from the audience, with a five- to seven-minute standing ovation, something that is apparently not the norm!”

Evren is talking about We’re Still Together, a short film he co-produced that received a rave response at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Prague in early July. An IndieWire reviewer described the film as “a smart and sensitive microbudget drama” that “muscles its way above the masses on the strength of its unpredictability.”

Evren isn’t the only Selwyn House Old Boy who has recently become a rising star in film production. One of his coproducers on We’re Still Together is Marley Sniatowski 2007.

Evren also recently worked last December on a music video project with Nic Cabana 2006 that was nominated for the Much Music Video Awards and for the Young Director’s Award at Cannes Lion. Nic led a small team of artists to create the visual effects and computer generated robot for the music

video for a recording by Kaytranda. The video made the Staff Picks at Vimeo, as well as being featured on many major blogs.

Nic has been getting a lot of work on high-profile films recently “Last spring I left Montreal for Vancouver to help wrap Jurassic World, which was a dream of mine,” he says. “I was part of the raptor crew.

“Today I’m back at Moving Picture Company as a senior, where I just wrapped on X-Men: Apocalypse.

“Samer Sallman 2006 recently joined us at MPC to work on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (the next installment in the Harry Potter Universe). He and I will be working together on the film, a first for us!”

On July 19 it was announced that his team would pick up an award for best post-production on a video for Majid Jordan entitled “Every Step Every Way” at the 2016 Much Music Video Awards.

All these accomplishments in an exploding industry can be traced back to Selwyn House, Nic says. “I think it’s a fantastic example and testament to the relationships we build at Selwyn.”

Selwyn House bow tie on the red carpet at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. From left: Co-producers Evren Boisjoli (left) and Marley Sniatowski 2007 (right) with Brielle Robillard, one of the actors in the film.

Rochon exploring VR in advertising

Chris Rochon 2002 dropped by Selwyn House May 27 to attend a workshop on virtual reality, where he spoke about how his company is exploring ways to utilize developing VR technology for commercial purposes.

As co-founder and chief content officer with Camber Media (CBM) in Toronto, Chris says that businesses are demanding “branded virtual reality experiences” as an essential component of online advertising that allows the viewer to conduct a self-guided tour through a facility or product display.

Chris and his team use six GoPro cameras connected together to generate a composite 360-degree video image in which a scene can be viewed from any angle, at the viewer’s will.

With a roster of clients such as Coke, Canon, Target and Canadian Tire, CBM is no lightweight in the online advertising game. Students at Selwyn House now have greater access to VR technology for their own creative projects.

Message from the President of the OBA

On behalf of the Selwyn House Old Boys, congratulations to the Class of 2016 on your achievements and welcome to the Old Boys’ Association (OBA). As you each begin to branch out and veer off in separate directions, toward unique and exciting challenges, the OBA will always be available to you during your journey.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to speak to you, as new members, about how the OBA operates.

Throughout the year, volunteer alumni and the staff at Selwyn House work together, creating and refining platforms to help Old Boys connect and re-connect with each other, and to facilitate regular collaboration between Old Boys and the school.

For example, the OBA already has a long-standing roster of events and tools available to support its Old Boys. In Montreal, various sports and arts options, such as pickup soccer, blues band practice, or hockey and basketball tournaments, are always on offer to anyone wishing to participate. In other major cities, such as Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Boston, New York, London and Paris, annual reunions provide opportunities to see old faces in your new home. And across the world, you can shrink distance by using the OBA’s social media tools or its online database.

In 2016, one significant new development was the establishment of the OBA Toronto Chapter, managed by Ontario-based Old Boys, to provide sports and other activities to those in the greater Toronto area.

In parallel to supporting the Old Boys, the OBA also works to help give back to the school itself. For instance, one valuable commodity an Old Boy may choose to give back to the school is his time, and you will always be welcomed back to Selwyn House whenever opportunities arise to coach, mentor or volunteer. Fundraising is the other area of giving where the OBA supports the school, and the Old Boys and Friends Golf Tournament serves as its annual sponsorship drive. All amounts raised provide funding for bursaries and the Old Boys Trip Fund. It is truly amazing how a little bit of giving from everyone makes such an incredible difference in the long run.

In closing, I want to reiterate my congratulations and best wishes to each of you, next fall and beyond. We’re proud to have you as part of the OBA, and look forward to seeing you in the future.

– Ben Spencer 2000, President, Selwyn House Old Boys’ Association

Hallwards honoured by The Study

On February 16, members of one of the most dedicated Selwyn House families, the Hallwards, received the seventh annual Builder’s Award from The Study, one of Westmount’s most distinguished independent schools for girls.

On hand to accept the honour were: John Hallward ’78; John’s wife, Karma

Price Hallward (Study ’77); John’s mother, Martha Fisher Hallward (Study ’48); and John and Karma’s daughter, Laura Hallward (Study 2011).

In receiving the award, John reminded those present that he learned the value of philanthropy from his father, Hugh (Selwyn House 1940), and his grandmother.

The Hallward family has been extremely active in service to their children’s schools. John has sat on the board of The Study School Foundation since 2008. He has also sat on the Selwyn House Veritas Board since 1999 (chair since 2013), the Lucas Foundation Board and was a member of the Board of Directors of Selwyn House Association from 1996 to 2003, sitting as chair from 2003-2007.

John’s mother, Martha, served Selwyn House by sitting as a member of the Selwyn House Association Board from 1974-77, and as a member of the Veritas Board from December 1980 to June 1986.

John’s wife, Karma, has been a regular volunteer for the school and was named a Selwyn House Honorary Old Boy in 2010.

Other members of the Selwyn House community on hand for the presentation were last year’s Builder’s Award recipient, Bill Molson ’70, along with Stuart Webster ’89 and Scott Jones (Parent of SHS Old Boy Henry 2015).

John and Karma Hallward have two sons who attended Selwyn House: Derek 2007 and Evan 2009.

Troubetzkoy publishes memoir novel

Alexis Troubetzkoy (Selwyn House Headmaster 1972-80) has a new book out, entitled Razumoff’s Story.

A fast-moving, compelling story, it is more than a record of one man’s life; it is an authentic history centered around the War of 1812—the “unknown war” or “forgotten war” between United States and Canada. It pivots around deaths of innocents, of loves gone wrong, of revenge and ultimately of searches for redemption.

Troubetzkoy is an internationally published author who has written

on the mysterious disappearance of Tsar Alexander I, a brief history of the Crimean War, and a history of Arctic development. More recently he authored The St. Petersburg Connection: RussianAmerican Friendship from Revolution to Revolution. A fellow of the Association of Russian-American Scholars in the U.S.A., he has been Headmaster of Selwyn House School in Québec, and of Appleby College and the Toronto French School in Ontario. He resides in Toronto with his wife, Hélène, while their daughter and son continue to live in Budapest and Majorca.

The Hallwards, from left: Laura, John, Karma, Derek and John’s mother, Martha

Birks, 97, honoured by Black Watch

On February 18, Drummond Birks celebrated more than his 97th birthday. The Place Kensington resident was awarded a certificate “on behalf of a grateful nation in recognition” of his years serving with The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada during World War II. The certificate was signed by Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Former Minister of Veterans’ Affairs Erin O’Toole.

Birks served with the Black Watch, a fourth-generation tradition carried on by his son Jonathan Birks, an honorary member of the officers’ mess and president of the Black Watch of Canada Foundation.

Dan O’Connor, the honorary colonel of the Black Watch, made the formal presentation. Joining him were Jonathan’s wife Maria, sister-in-law Ann Birks and nephew Randall Birks.

From the Westmount Independent.

Old Boys’ Calendar of Events 2016-2017

Tuesday, August 9, 2016 OBA Soccer Derby

Thursday, August 18, 2016 17th Annual Young OB BBQ

Saturday, September 10, 2016 Old Boys’ Hockey Invitational (Details not yet available)

Tuesdays, Sept. 13, 2016 - March 30, 2017 Old Boys’ Blues Band

Sunday, September 18, 2016

3rd Annual Old Boys’ Fall Golf Classic

September 21, 2016 to May 17, 2017 Old Boys’ Wed. Night Pick-Up Basketball

Friday, September 23, 2016

38th Annual Montreal Old Boys’ Reunion

Saturday, October 15, 2016

6th Annual OBA Ball Hockey Tournament (Details not yet available)

Thursday, October 20, 2016 Selwyn’s Glitz & Glam Party (Details not yet available)

Monday, October 24, 2016 Calgary Old Boys’ Reunion (Details not yet available)

Tuesday, October 25, 2016 Vancouver Old Boys’ Reunion (Details not yet available)

Wednesday, October 26, 2016 San Francisco Old Boys’ Reunion (TBC - details not yet available)

Thursday, October 27, 2016 Los Angeles Old Boys’ Reunion (TBC - details not yet available)

Grade 11 OBA Induction Dinner Wednesday, November 2, 2016 (mcmillan@selwyn.ca for details)

Tuesday, November 1, 2016 Ottawa Old Boys’ Reunion (Details not yet available)

Founder’s Day, Thursday November 24, 2016 (Details not yet available)

19th Nicoll-Mitchell Hockey Tournament Thursday, December 22, 2016

Thursday, January 19, 2017

13th Annual Colin No ’97 Basketball Classic

Tuesday, February 21, 2017 Jazz at the ‘Rossy’ - OB Blues Band Concert

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Paris Old Boys’ Reunion (Details not yet available)

Thursday, March 9, 2017 London Old Boys’ Reunion (Details not yet available)

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Old Boys’ Blues Band, Jazz at the Rossy/VIVO

Friday, April 7, 2017

OBA Spring Soccer Derby (TBC - details not yet available)

Tuesday, April 25, 2017 Toronto Old Boys’ Reunion (Details not yet available)

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Boston Old Boys’ Reunion (Details not yet available)

Thursday, April 27, 2017

New York Old Boys’ Reunion (Details not yet available)

Monday, May 29, 2017

19th Annual OB & Friends’ Golf Tournament (Details not yet available)

17th Annual Old Boys’ Tennis Tournament Thursday, June 8, 2017 (Details TBD)

Standing, from left: Jonathan Birks ’60, Randall Birks ’88. Seated, Maria Birks, Drummond Birks ’33 and Ann Birks.

Hallward teaches boys to give well

School students how a person can make the most of his charitable donations.

The students are preparing to take part in the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI), a program that gets young people involved in charitable activities, especially at a local level. Students select a local charity and make a pitch to a jury of judges on why they feel their charity is

one can find a wealth of information, including revenue and expense charts, and the range of salaries paid to the top 10 highest-paid employees.

Before choosing a charity, John recommended using this website to assess the efficiency and impact of a particular charity. A deserving charity should be trustworthy and transparent, and at least 70 cents out of every dollar donated should reach the intended target.

Once those criteria have been met, it is also important to follow one’s heart and choose a charity that you feel strongly about, John stressed.

deserving of funds. The team of students with the winning proposal win a $5000 donation for their chosen charity.

John Hallward ’78 began a recent talk at Selwyn House by quoting billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffet: “To give money away is easy; to give it away well is fiendishly difficult.”

John has made a career of studying philanthropy, what motivates it and how to do it well. He returned to Selwyn House on January 5 and 6 to teach Senior

John outlined his methods of evaluating various charities to assess their costeffectiveness. There are approximately 85,000 registered charities in Canada, plus an equal number of unregistered not-for-profit organizations that accept donations. Legitimate registered charities are listed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). On the agency’s website

Courtney Prieur, Director of Student Life at Selwyn House, echoed John’s advice. “Make sure that it’s a program that you’re passionate about,” she told the Senior students.

Each January, students taking part in the YPI competition make visits to prospective charities to ask questions. Once they have made an educated choice, they make their pitch to the panel of judges after they return from spring break.

Penner featured in Gazette interview

Michael Penner ’86 was the subject of a video interview published online by the Montreal Gazette on November 10, 2015 in which he discusses his first year as Chairman of the Board of Hydro Quebec.

Michael expresses his pride in being, at age 46, the youngest chair of the Quebec public utility since Hydro underwent a restructuring in 1978, and the first anglophone to hold the post.

Michael admits that even he was surprised when the Quebec government took what he describes as “an audacious, bold and courageous move” to name him to the office.

But he says his appointment proves that there are “opportunities for any anglophone in Quebec who wants a seat at the table.”

“As an anglophone with roots here going back to the 1850s or 1860s, I think it’s very important we contribute back to Quebec society as much as possible,” Michael says.

In his other professional role, as president and CEO of Peds (formerly Richelieu) Legwear, Michael was also in the Gazette for donating 11,200 pairs of socks to the Old Brewery Mission.

“To give money away is easy; to give it away well is fiendishly difficult.”

Michael Penner (right) with Headmaster Hannaford

Three from Class of 11 in McGill Med School

Justin Tabah, Wassim Bedrouni and Jake Levy, all from Selwyn House Class of 2011 took part in the McGill Medical School White Coat Ceremony in September 2015. They were all accepted into the Pre-Med program in 2013 and were celebrating having completed their second year of medical school.

The event, which took place in the McGill University’s New Residence Hall, is known as Donning the Healer’s Habit, in which the 184 med students who comprise the Class of 2018 of the McGill faculty of medicine receive their white coats. The ceremony marks the second-year students’ symbolic transition from layman to doctor.

For second-year medical student Wassim Bedrouni, the ceremony was “as inspiring as it was sobering.” It served as a reminder that, before too long, “you will begin to feel this burden of responsibility on your shoulders.”

He will soon be taking his place in the ranks of the august profession and for him the ceremony was a kind of stepping stone in that journey. “It’s starting to sink in that it’s real,”

Melnychuk plots long road through med school

‘M

y pathway to medicine was not the most straightforward,”

Luca Melnychuk 2007 admitted to Selwyn House students on March 29.

Luca was speaking to Senior School science students about his work in HIV research and vaccines, but he also touched upon his educational journey, and what it takes to make it into med school.

Luca’s research has been targeted toward finding a vaccine that will allow a patient’s immune system to produce its own antibodies to fight the virus. A DNA vaccine “goes into your cells and makes your body constantly manufacture [its own] vaccine,” Luca explained.

Luca is part of a team of researchers who have been working on this technology for two years. Their results will soon be published. “That will be my little contribution to HIV vaccine,” he says with a touch of pride.

After Selwyn House, Luca graduated from Marianopolis in 2009. He says he became interested in research during his second year at CEGEP, when he began

working as a summer student in the lab of Dr. Michael Pollak. That lab’s research focus was on cancer, and Luca worked there until his second year of university.

After CEGEP, Luca enrolled at McGill in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology for his Bachelor’s degree. During his final year, he was able to take part in the honours program, which required him to complete a research project at a lab at McGill.

“I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in June 2012 with first-class honours and on the dean’s list,” he recalls. “The following September, I enrolled in the Department of Experimental Medicine for my Master’s degree.

His first application to med school was declined, but he explained, repeated applications are all part of what he calls “the long path to med school.”

“If medicine is something you want to do, never give up on it,” he advised the students.

He stressed the importance of extracurricular activities during this process. He worked in research labs during summers, did a lot of volunteering

at the Jewish General Hospital, did some physician shadowing and volunteered for the Splash & Dash Foundation and McGill student organizations.

He also urged his listeners to hone their general life skills, such as perfecting one’s command of French.

“You’re in Montreal,” he points out. “Most of the patients who come to you will be French-speaking.”

“Always work on making yourself a better person,” he added.

said Bedrouni, 20. “We will be working in the clinics and the hospital and we will be responsible for patients.”

From left: Justin Tabah, Wassim Bedrouni and Jake Levy

Advancement is a team sport

By James McMillan

The purpose of the Selwyn House School

Advancement Office is to support the mission and vision of the school. We achieve this by focussing on two major areas: friendraising and fundraising.

Friendraising

Friendraising makes the school stronger by keeping Old Boys informed about the school by mail as well as through email, social media and the Selwyn House website. We also create social and athletic events where Old Boys can meet, renew friendships and create new ones.

Now that the class of 2016 has graduated, there are 3,030 active Old Boys living in 44 different countries. To view a map showing where the Old Boys live, go to www.selwyn.ca / Old Boys / Old Boys and Friends.

In Montreal, where the largest number of Old Boys (82 per cent) list their residence, there are 19 events scheduled for 2016-17. Two of these events are weekly occurrences, the Old Boys’ Pick-up Basketball on Wednesday nights has 30 evenings booked, and the Old Boys’ Blues Band has 25 evenings booked. These commitments to the Old Boys mean that in Montreal there are 72 evenings booked between midSeptember and mid-May.

There are five other events across Canada, four in the USA, one in Paris and one in London. These 83 commitments to keeping the Old Boys informed about the school are extremely important. Members of the Old Boys’ Association Board of Directors work tirelessly to increase Old Boys’ involvement with the school and to develop new opportunities for them to interact and stay in touch.

Fundraising

The second focus is to encourage all Old Boys, parents of Old Boys, current parents, friends of the school, corporations and foundations to participate in the fundraising efforts that support the school’s vision and programs.

Through Annual Giving, our constituents enable the school to create new programs, hire additional staff, and remain committed to the professional development of all staff.

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the 2015-16 Annual Giving. As of the date of this publication, we raised a record $467,473.46 to be used in 2016-17.

Advancement Team

The key to being able to successfully manage over 80 events each year and coordinate all the school’s fundraising efforts is to have dedicated, professional Advancement Office staff who understand everyone’s role on the team and can assist each other when needed. Everyone on the team also fully understands the importance of our relationships with other departments of the school, such as Business, Admissions, Athletics and Administration.

As director of advancement, I am very fortunate to have three other full-time and one part-time staff on my team.

Mary Ann Cloherty is the director of annual giving and Advancement Office manager. She coordinates every aspect of the Annual Giving Campaign and, through statistical analysis and a focus on personal appeals, has been able to significantly increase participation and annual income from this appeal. As the advancement office manager, she is key to the running of the office and ensures that all the parts of every job are handled efficiently and effectively.

Advancement Assistant Cindy Morton is our

“Members of the Old Boys’ Association Board of Directors

work tirelessly to increase Old Boys’ involvement with the school.”

database manager. All information including receipts and updates is entered into our database by Cindy, who processes all donations and makes sure that each is fully documented before handing everything to the Business Office. She also researches the Web for information on our Old Boys and all of our constituents to make sure that the database is as up-to-date as possible.

Richard Wills is the school’s publications editor and webmaster. He is a member of the advancement team, but also creates publications and internal documents, such as diplomas, handbooks, etc. Richard is a talented interviewer, writing most of the articles and contributing much of the photography for both Veritas magazine and the school’s website.

Irina Kondratieva is our part-time archivist and handles the cataloguing and storage of all of Selwyn House archives, including the external storage of Admissions and Business Office documents. She is instrumental in soliciting the help of Old Boys, staff

James McMillan

Richard Wills

Mary Ann Cloherty

Irina Kondratieva

Cindy Morton

Through Annual Giving and major gift campaigns, the school has:

• Built an endowment for bursaries that enabled the school to award $700,000 in needs-based bursaries to 15 per cent of the students in Grade 7-11 for the 2016-17 school year

• Renovated and updated all of its campus and facilities

• Rebuilt and refurbished the Westmount Athletic Grounds to give the school access to a first-class athletic field

• Negotiated a longterm contract with Westmount Recreational Center to secure all of the school’s required icetime for its programs

• Remained debt-free

Advancement Department

and parents to identify the subjects in each photo. Irina’s next project will be to start the upload and identification of the tens of thousands of digital photos stored over the past decade.

The Advancement Office team helps to plan each event, publicize it, set it up when it is in Montreal and make sure that everything goes smoothly throughout. Mary Ann also attends outof-town events, such as Toronto, Boston and New York Old Boys’ reunions.

Another key member of the advancement team is our headmaster, Hal Hannaford. Hal has 27 years of experience as a headmaster in Canadian independent schools, and not only does he understand the role of the Advancement Office in supporting the schools’ mission and vision, he understands his own role in that process, and participates in every event possible.

His support and encouragement to develop and improve advancement at Selwyn House has been inspirational. Whether Hal is speaking to the Board of Directors, the staff, parents or Old

Boys, he always talks about the value of advancement at Selwyn House and how the relationships that are cultivated by advancement have allowed the school to grow, improve, and stay at the forefront of boys’ education in Canada.

Every August, when I have the opportunity to address all the Selwyn House staff about what we do in advancement, I always tell them that I have an amazing advancement team and then I display a group photo of every teacher, administrator and support staff at Selwyn House. They are my advancement team. They are ones our Old Boys, current parents, and parents of Old Boys remember, and they are the reason that Selwyn House has been and will continue to be a successful independent day school for boys.

James McMillan has been at Selwyn House since 1979. He was Director of Music from 1979 to 2011, and has served as Director of Advancement since 1987.

From left: Justin Peress, Brendan Keefe and Simon Altman (all 2010) with Headmaster Hal Hannaford at the 2015 Montreal Reunion

Old Boys recall outstanding teachers

confidence that their students had the ability to excel and succeed, and fostered growth and development with knowledge and encouragement.

There was one educator without equal: Byron Harker. Dr. Harker was very bright and ambitious (he achieved his Ph.D while teaching at Selwyn House) but put all his energies into educating his students. Every semester had a clear set of goals and milestones, and every class had a crisp lesson plan. Moreover, the lesson plans included a mix of learning, wonder, emotion, competition, and fun. It was everything that education should be.

This year the Selwyn House Prefects carried out a poll of Old Boys to see which teachers throughout the history of the school rated as the best of the best. Here are some responses:

“I’ll always be thankful for Tom Nicoll. Mr. Nicoll instilled both a love of history (he taught me World History in Grade 11) but also a love of learning. He respected his students and demanded the same level of respect something that I’ll always remember and be grateful for.”

Matthew Busbridge ’99

Considering I left Selwyn House in 1949 not too many of the teachers I had would be alive to be appreciated, but I liked Bob Speirs in English, Cyril Jackson in Latin, Patrick Anderson and Anne Gyger in French.

Anson R. McKim ’49

Many great educators at Selwyn House spring to mind, including Warren Reid, Colin Boyle, Roger Nincheri, Brad Moffat, Phil Litvack, Bruce Glasspoole, and Virginia Ferguson All of them were genuinely engaged in educating their students, and also in fostering their students’ personal growth. These teachers all had the fundamental

As a consequence of his exceptional skills as an educator, Dr. Harker expected a very high standard of performance and brought accountability to everyone in the classroom. It was clear that attention, engagement, and progress was expected. Adulation and praise was rare, but resonated when it was meted out.

Though I pursued a career in the sciences, I think of Dr. Harker and his lessons often and know that he would cringe as I look up definitions and usage on the Internet!

Richard Denis ’85

I am thankful for Marty “The Boiler” Boyle. Mr. Boyle puts so much heart into his work you can feel it beat. Few are better at getting along with students and always ready with a joke, his quick tongue is usually way ahead of the boys.

The golf trips he started organizing when I was at SHS I absolutely loved. They were a really nice way to spend time with other students and teachers in a relaxed, fun setting away from home.

I most appreciate that Marty has kept interested in my life. He followed my bike ride across Canada in 2008, emailing me with his support. He followed along my travels in Asia in 2010-11, telling me how much he enjoyed the blog and the photos. Any time I visit the school I make sure to visit The Boiler and have a laugh with him and catch up on each

others’ lives. He’s a special person to me, and I am grateful that he has been and still is! a part of my life.

So here’s to The Boiler—thank you for your teaching and your friendship. I am thankful.

Keith Martin 2002

I would definitely say the teacher who had the biggest impact on me as a fledgling teenager was Matthew McCarney. I am thankful to have had him because he found innovative ways of teaching that were also incredibly fun. What is way more important is that he taught us to be men, he let us know when we were acting like brats and he played a huge role in defining who we would become as humans in those defining middle school years. I have no doubt I would be a lesser person without his influence.

Nico Vit 2012

Mr. Litvack – High school math, caring compassionate and an all-around great guy.

Mr. Nicoll – History, also an extremely wise and dedicated teacher.

Ms. Biggs – Needs No Explanation!

Edgar Moodey

Dr. Byron Harker

The legendary Mr. Edgar Moodey. He taught us to focus on our school work and commanded respect. He also had an amazing dry wit he should have joined the Monty Python group.

Blair Baldwin ’72

At Selwyn House, I had so many good teachers:

Outstanding teachers

6. David Cude – Grade 5 math. He let me race ahead of the class in math.

7. Phil Litvack – Grade 8 math. He encouraged us and challenged us with problems.

8. William Kershaw – Grade 8 and 9 chemistry. Very good teacher with a sense of humour. Made chemistry fun.

9. Brad Moffat – Grade 9 physics. Good teacher. Made learning levers and electricity fun.

10. Dr. Harker: – Grade 5 and 8 English. Very good teacher. Very solid technically. Demanded excellence. The ability to describe what I do to nonspecialists, in a non-technical language is an ‘art-form’ I work at every day.

11 Barry Williams – Geography and demography Grade 5 to 9. Very good teacher. Well prepared. Interesting articles posted on his office wall. Good classes to develop good study habits, which I continue to apply today.

I cannot say that any one of the above 10 teachers is, or was the “best.” Best is a relative term that is often specific to the individual and their perceptions.

Without a good foundation in Grade 1 with Mrs. Marsh and Mrs. Adair, I would have been less well prepared

“Selwyn House made me a lifelong learner, seeking continuous improvement. Each one of these excellent teachers played a large role in making me the person I am today. .”

1. Patricia Marsh – Grade 1 to 4. She made me love learning. She had a good sense of humor.

2. Mrs. Adair – Grade 1 arithmetic. She taught us Roman numerals, which I still use.

3. Madame Walker – Grade 1 and 3 French. Very good teacher. Rigorous.

4. Mrs. McLean – Grade 1 to 3. She made me love math.

5. Mrs. Clarke – Grade 3 history and grade 4 English. Very nice and patient person.

for math with Mr. Litvack, or later in college and university level finance and math classes. I love learning and read widely every day. Selwyn House made me a lifelong learner, seeking continuous improvement. Each one of these excellent teachers played a large role in making me the person I am today. I am very grateful to my parents for sending me to Selwyn House and for being touched by these excellent teachers.

Andrew Webster ’82

Ian Burgess: learning how to communicate, and covering the classics in one fell swoop.

Stephen O. D. Scott ’77

I liked all my teachers at Selwyn House. What I do remember was Col. Bryan’s geometry classes. Many of his examples were taken from real life during his time in India and North Africa with the British Army! Mr. Moodey was a real character and great math teacher. Dr. Andai made history come alive in his lectures.

Jeremy Clark ’68

The teacher who influenced me the most was Mr. Edgar Moodey. He taught us to be structured, disciplined, and logical in our thinking. I appreciated all his interactions with our class.

Edward Pitula ’68

Great teachers, great times and overall an unforgettable experience.

Muhammed Rashid 2015

More at www.selwyn.ca/old boys and friends

Katherine Biggs

Phil Litvack

Leider wins 2nd annual Fall Golf Classic

Fourteen Old Boys attended the second annual Old Boys’ Association Fall Golf Classic on September 20, 2015 at Caughnawaga Golf Club, hosted by owner and SHS parent James Patton.

The winning four were the Rossy team; Individual Low Gross was Roderick Leider.

Playing were: Michael Aziz 2009, Sean Brophy 2004, Philip Clark 2005, Geoffrey Hebert 2009, Justin Ivaskiv 2004, Justin Kuzmicki 2005, Fred Langelier 2009, Roderick Leider 2000, Jeffrey Morton 2002, Matthew Rossy 2012, Adam Sampson (guest), Thomas Spencer 2003, Jason Tsoukas ’99 and Josh Wisenthal ’99.

Good year for SHS Old Boy wrestlers

Sam Barmish 2014 received the 2015 Jean Beliveau Athlete of the Year Award by the Montreal Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) on November 11, 2015 at the Y.

“Sam had an undefeated wrestling season last year, and his hard work and dedication to the YMHA wrestling program were outstanding,” says Selwyn House Wrestling Coach Rob Moore.

Selwyn House Old Boys Sam Barmish and Alex Moore (both Class of 2014) came up with big wins in Sardinia, Italy at the 2016 Sassari Grand Prix on May 27, 2016, coming away with a silver and a gold medal in the 84-kg and 74-kg weight classes, respectively.

Meanwhile, Alex won a gold medal in the 74-kg weight class at the 2016 Junior Pan American Championships held in Barinas, Venezuela on June 13, 2016

He defeated athletes from Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Venezuela on his way to the gold medal.

His next competition will be in September at the 2016 Junior World Championships to be held in Macon, France.

Accompanying him was his father, SHS Wrestling Coach Rob Moore, who was the coach of the National Team.

For results, go to unitedworldwrestling.org and select Freestyle (LL).

Josh Wisenthal, left and Jason Tsoukas (right) with Roderick Leider.

From left: Sam Barmish, Rob Moore and Alex Moore

Montreal Reunion 2015

Atotal of 121 Old Boys, staff, former staff and friends attended the 37th annual Old Boys’ Reunion, held at the school on September 25, 2015.

This year, special invitations were ex tended to members of classes ending in a 5 or a 0. Honours for highest turnout went to the Class of 2005, with 29 Old Boys in attendance.

Attending were:

Jonathan Adams 2010

Ryan Adessky 2010

Jordan Altman 2005

Simon Altman 2010

Richard Ankcorn ’90

John Antony ’75

Raymond Ayas ’95

Joseph Ayas ’96

Sung Jun Bae 2005

Aaron Besner 2005

Evren Boisjoli 2008

Thomas Bourne ’65

James Boxer ’90

Kevin Boyle ’97

Christian Buchanan 2010

Richard Calve ’95

Mazen Chahbaz 2010

Rabib Chaudhury 2005

Jean-Louis Chen 2010

Weston Clarke 2010

Mary Ann Cloherty

Matthew Cohen ’90

Sharon Cozens (former staff)

Stuart Cryer ’65

Philip Cutler 2005

William Daly ’52

Michael de Verteuil ’75

Paul Dery-Goldberg ’95

David Di Miele 2005

Susan Doherty (guest)

Michael Dorland ’65

Tom Downey (staff)

Mike Downey (staff)

Joseph Dydzak ’75

Mark Esposito 2005

Aaron Esterson 2005

Robert Fargnoli ’95

From left: Anthony Salvo, Philippe-Olivier Vennat and Andrew Matte (all 2010)

Members of the Class of 1965

Members of the Class of 1975

Montreal Reunion 2015

Thomas Fletcher ’95

Kathy Funamoto (staff)

Bruce Gill ’65

Sean Gilman ’90

Pete Govan (staff)

Gabriella Grant (guest)

Sean Grover 2005

Harry Gurberg 2005

Michael Haichin 2010

Stephen Hall ’79

Camille Hamel d’Entremont 2005

Sammy Hammouda 2005

Hal Hannaford (staff)

Julian Heller ’75

Michael Henderson ’90

Georges Iny ’75

Laurence Isaac ’95

Robert Johnston ’90

Joseph Kano 2010

Mark Kebe-Asconi 2000

Brendan Keefe 2010

Ammar Khan ’95

Bronson Kiu 2005

Irina Kondratieva (staff)

Justin Kuzmicki 2005

Stefano Lalli 2005

Andrew Lassner ’95

Robert Latsky 2009

Samantha Lazier (staff)

Simon Leblanc 2005

Michael Levy ’75

Derek Li 2010

Stefan Luu 2005

Patrick Malouf 2005

Carol Manning (staff)

Jack Martin (former staff)

Alexander Mashaal 2010

Andrew Matte 2010

Michael Maurovich (staff)

Keith May ’65

Patrick Mayer 2010

James McLean ’75

Peter McLeod ’65

James McMillan (staff)

Jonathan Merritt 2004

Geoffrey Moore ’83

Cedrik Moore 2014

Gill Cryer (left ) and Michael Dorland (both ’65)

Members of the Class of 1990

Members of the Class of 1995

Montreal Reunion 2015

Cindy Morton (staff)

Brendan Munzar 2005

Thomas Nicoll (former staff)

Christopher Norris ’75

Marc Ordonselli 2010

Eric Panzera 2005

Trevor Parekh 2000

Justin Peress 2010

Mark Perlman 2010

Kyle-Sebastian Pilot ’95

Ellen Pinchuk (former staff)

Robin Pitblado ’65

Kelli Poulin (staff)

Timothy Power ’75

David Price ’90

Drew Quantz ’75

Jonathan Roiter ’90

Zachary Rolland 2005

Maximilian Rosenstein 2005

Richard Sabbagh ’90

Olivier Saleh 2005

Anthony Salvo 2010

Warren Samberg ’90

Francesco San Gregorio ’95

Andrew Schindler ’65

Anton Schlemm 2009

Raymond Seton ’75

Matthew Shadley 2005

Jamie Shaughnessy (guest)

Philip Smith 2005

Anne-Marie Snabl (former staff)

Helia Sojoudiasli (guest)

Murray Steeves ’75

Eric Stevenson ’75

James Strachan 2010

Nicholas Thorpe 2005

Salvatore Vaccarino 2010

Charles-Alexandre Vennat 2005

Philippe-Olivier Vennat 2010

Sharon Walker (staff)

Peter Waterhouse ’75

Rob Wearing (former staff)

Victor Whitehead ’85

Barry Williams (former staff)

Richard Wills (staff)

Christopher Wong 2005

Members of the Class of 2000

Members of the Class of 2005

Members

Class

Induction of the Class of 2016

Members of the Selwyn House Class of 2016 were officially inducted in advance into the Old Boys’ Association at a dinner held at the school on November 4, 2015. The Grade 11 students were joined by members of the OBA Board of Directors, as well as by the students’ fathers or older brothers who are Old Boys. The guests talked with the students about the benefits of belonging to the OBA, while Board Chairman Ben Spencer officially welcomed the Grade 11s into the Association.

Reunions

PARIS

Nine Old Boys, staff and guests gathered at the Café du Trocadéro in Paris on March 16. Present were: Timothy Bishop ’85, Derek De Bono ’87, Jon athan Burnham ’83, Laura Downey (guest), Michael Downey (staff), Eric Knai ’87, Sebastian Krolik 2009, James McMillan (staff), and Fredrik Svenstedt ’84.

LONDON

Seventeen Old Boys, guests and staff gathered on March 17 for the annual London Reunion. Attending were: Olivia Bogert (guest), Ross Bogert ’80, Ryan Brun 2008, Alan Cameron 2000, Laura Downey, Michael Downey, Ross Gelber 2006, George Harrington 2004, Conrad Harrington 2000, Neill Hunt ’94, Anthony Lowther 2008, James McMillan (staff), James Phillips ’83, Roisin Robothan-Jones (guest), Nicholas Rose ’75, Alexander Vit 2007 and Bradley White ’94.

Reunions

CALGARY

Sixteen Old Boys, staff members and guests gathered in the private dining room of the Swine and Sow at 131 6th Ave SW in Calgary on October 21 for the annual Calgary Reunion. Present were: Neil Desai 2006, John Drummond ’68, Jonathan Feilding ’89, Peter Feldstein (guest), Alexander Gault ’80, Taylor Gray ’73, Hal Hannaford (staff), Angela McKinnon (guest), James F. McMil lan (staff), James Meadow (Parent of Old Boy), Elissa Meadow (Parent of Old Boy), Valérie Perreault-Murphy (former staff), James Seguin ’96, Andrew Smith ’86, Andy Weldon ’73 and Jonathan Zyto ’80.

VANCOUVER

Thirteen Old Boys, staff members, former staff members and guests gathered on September 22 at the Terminal City Club for the 2015 Vancouver Reunion. Attending were: Richard Bennetts ’51, Noah Bloom ’96, Zander Brais 2011, John Carsley ’67, Robert Gialloreto ’81, Hal Hannaford, Nick LeMoine ’56, James McMillan, Benjamin Meadow 2004, Kenneth Palko ’87, Matt Singerman ’96, Nicholas Aziz 2011 and John Schwewk ’77.

OTTAWA

Seventeen Old Boys, staff members and guests attended the annual Selwyn House Ottawa Reunion, held on November 12, 2015 at Beckta Dining and Wine on Elgin Street. Attending were: Duncan L. Baird ’80, Bobby Chon 2002, Mary Ann Cloherty (staff), Mi chael Downey (staff), Greg Fergus ’86, Maurice Gibbs ’90, Susan Hallett (guest), Chris tina Harrison Baird (guest), Jonathan Herman ’80, Natalie Lapierre (guest), James McMillan (staff), Rodney Moore ’58, Peter Hyde ’53, Peter Stewart ’81, Robert Tennant ’66, Bill Turner ’73 and George Windsor ’56.

Reunions

TORONTO

Forty Old Boys, staff members and guests gathered at The Cambridge Club on April 26 for the annual Toronto Old Boys’ Reunion. Present were: Thomas Antony ’83, Michael Bowey 2004, James Brooks ’97, James Cameron ’98, Michael Capombassis ’84, Samuel H. Carsley ’99, Weston Clarke 2010, Mary Ann Cloherty (staff), Fiona Cooper (guest), Jason Coviensky 2005, Denny Creighton ’72, James R. Deitcher ’98, Carl Dholandas ’97, Michael Downey (staff), Michael Duchesne ’98, Christopher Eich ’97, Dan Fanaberia ’98, Kristofer Fisher ’92, Josh Hanek 2009, Hal Hannaford (staff), Julian Heller ’75, Matthew Herman 2010, Robert Keene ’82, David Marler ’70, Sean McKinnon ’98, James McMillan (staff), Jack Melkerson 2009, Matthew Munzar 2000, Corey Nicholson ’73, Jay Nicholson ’69, Fil Papich ’77, Martin Pitt-Bradley ’98, Christian Porraccio ’99, Christopher Rochon 2002, Kyam ShellSchnitzer 2001, Sean Sofin ’84, James Stewart, Jason Tsoukas ’99, Charles Wasserman ’99 and Michael Whitehead ’78.

BOSTON

Eleven Old Boys, staff members and guests gathered on April 27 at the Vineyard Room at the Palm Restaurant for the annual Boston Reunion 2016. Present were: Mary Ann Cloherty (staff), Michael Downey (staff) , Henry Joseph ’66, Jamin Kerner ’94, Morgan Lackenbauer ’97, James McMillan (staff), Christopher Noble ’72, Maribel Quinones (guest), George Sopel ’86, Michael Teryazos ’90 and Brian Witkov ’69.

NEW YORK

Twenty-three Old Boys, staff members and guests attended the April 28, 2016 New York City Old Boys’ Reunion on April 28 in the Vault Room at NY Steak on West 51st Street. Attending were: Fenton Aylmer ’83, Stephen Barkman ’89, Vittoria Belli (guest), Hans Black ’98, EJ Boffey 2012, Julien Bohbot 2012, Matt Busbridge ’99, Mary Ann Cloherty (staff), Warren Davis 2001, Susan Doherty (guest), Michael Downey (staff), Samuel Fish 2003, Joshua Gradinger ’87, Michael Gross 2000, Michael Grover 2003, Hal Hannaford (staff), Reid Hannaford 2012, David McKinnon ’95, James McMillan (staff), Gina McNeill (guest), Ivan Neilson 2004, Chris Newlove 2001 and Ivan Phillips ’50.

Whites take Nicoll / Mitchell Cup

Fifty-five Old Boys, staff members and guests took part in the 18th annual Old Boys’ hockey tournament at Westmount Arena on December 17, 2015 to compete for the Nicoll/Mitchell Cup.

Taking part were:

David Barmish 2012

Samuel Barmish 2014

Sean Brophy 2004

Jonathan Brun 2000

Christopher Brun 2004

Mary Ann Cloherty (staff)

Casey Cook (guest)

Philip Cutler 2005

Philip De Stefano 2010

Nikolas De Stefano 2014

Jameson Denham 2014

Michael Downey (staff)

Emmanuel Ferreira 2016

Jake Fraser (guest)

Jules Gagnon 2015

Alessandro Galeone 2008

David Gameroff ’77 Peter Govan (staff)

Camille Hamel d’Entremont 2005 Hal Hannaford (staff) Matthew Held (staff) Graeme Jarvis ’82

Joseph Karam 2016 Brendan Keefe 2010

Thomas Kirk 2004

Irina Kondratieva (staff) Samantha Lazier (staff) Roderick Leider 2000

Jonathan Lutter Hoppenheim 2004 Johnny Mack (guest) Peter Manousos (guest) Dimitrios Manousos 2003

Alexander Mashaal 2010 Michael Maurovich (staff)

James McMillan (staff)

James McRae (staff)

Jeremy Micheletti 2011

Steve Mitchell Coach

Cindy Morton (staff)

Liam Nicol 2014

Thomas Nicoll Coach

Nikki Papich 2010

Trevor Parekh 2000

Blair Pattee ’93

Kevin Ratcliff ’77

Keeyan Ravanshid 2015

Timothy Shaw 2011

Michael Smith 2010

David Smith 2012

Thomas Spencer 2003

Chris St-Cyr (staff)

Peter Szilagyi ’99

Francis Vauclair (staff)

Richard Wills (staff)

Joshua Wisenthal ’99

Standing, from left: Tom Nicoll, Peter Szilagyi, Graham Jarvis, Blair Pattee, Jonathan Lutter Hoppenheim, David Gameroff, Kevin Ratcliff, Jules Gagnon, Thomas Kirk, Steve Mitchell. Kneeling: Philip Cutler, Josh Wisenthal, Sean Brophy, Tom Spencer, Roderick Leider. Goalie: Camille Hamel d’Entremont.

Colin No Fund reaches $187K

Twenty Old Boys went to court on January 15 to battle for top honours in the 12th annual Colin No Classic basketball tournament.

The tournament is organized in memory of Colin No, a 1997 graduate who died in 2002.

The Colin No Fund, which provides needs-based bursaries for students attending Selwyn House, has recently grown to a sum of $186,787.

To watch a video of the tournament, go to www.selwyn.ca/old boys/old boys and friends.

Photo at right: Robert Joy and Nicholas Johnson

Photo below, the winning greys, from left: Phil Clark, Jeremy Lafontaine-Fokas, Oliver Maurovich: Robert Joy, William Baron and Brendan Munzar.

ATTENDING:

William Baron 2013

Jeffrey Barkun 2003

Philip Clark 2005

Mary Ann Cloherty (staff) Nicolas Domingue 2013 Michael K. Haichin 2010 Nick Johnson 2015

Robert Joy 2012

Ziad Kaedbey ’97 Masaud Kakkar ’93

Jeremy Lafontaine-Fokas 2013

Ian Levine 2009 Ian Marquis ’97 Richard Martz ’97

Oliver Maurovich 2009

James McMillan (staff) Andrew Medalsy 2004 Cindy Morton (staff) Brendan Munzar 2005 Toby No ’97

Nathan Palayew 2015 George Perlman 2013 Dre Weekes 2015 Richard Wills (staff)

Golf raises $66,000 for bursaries

Organizing Committee member

Mike Avedesian described May 16 as “the worst conditions in the history of golf.” But he added that freezing temperatures, high winds and snow squalls didn’t prevent 57 golfers

from having a great time at Royal Montreal Golf Club and raising $66,000 for the Old Boys’ Endowment Fund.

Proceeds from this event help build the Old Boys’ Endowment Fund, which supports needs-based bursaries for deserving students who could not otherwise attend the

school. A portion will also support the educational initiatives of the Old Boys’ Association. Since it was established 10 years ago, the Old Boys’ Endowment Fund has been able to offer the equivalent of almost four full-tuition bursaries for Grade 7 students. This is a commitment of about $65,000 per year for five years.

From left: OBA Directors Ben Spencer 2000 and Josh Wisenthal ’99 present a cheque for the proceeds to SHS Athletic Director Mike Maurovich, representing Selwyn House School.

Winning four: Jim Coristine ’61, Andy Kragaris (current parent), Jim Wuest (parent of Old Boy) and Jean Daoust (current parent).

Traci Martin (Friend of SHS) brings it out of the sand trap.

Old Boys’ Low Gross (79) was recorded by Jacob Peterson 2008.

Daly wins fourth tennis title

The indefatigable William Daly ’53 will have his name engraved on the silver platter for a fourth time after he and his partner, Matthew Beckerleg ’94 won the 16th annual Old Boys’ Tennis Tournament, played at the Hillside Tennis Club on June 9.

Having previously won in 2000, 2005 and 2007, William joins Charles Porteous ’84 and Colin Ross ’51 in the four-timers’ club. No one has yet challenged the record of six wins, held by retired SHS teacher Andy Lumsden.

This year marks the third win for Matthew, who edged out a field of mostly younger competitors, including second-place finishers Chris Malouf and Karim Belkhou from the Class of 2011. Matthew’s name is already on the silver platter from 2005 and 2015.

More photos at www.selwyn.ca.

Top

Graduation: The measure of a man

At many points in their respective addresses at Graduation 2016, Headmaster Hal Hannaford and our two CoHead-Prefects, William Rossy and Jonathan Colaço Carr, all seemed to be searching for the perfect word for the character traits to which a Selwyn House graduate should aspire.

Mr. Hannaford recounted seeing members of this remarkable class begin to grow into what he describes as “significant men,” those who exhibit “maturity, engagement, kindness, empathy, passion, artistic expression and emotion.”

To further elaborate, Mr. Hannaford looked to concepts taken from cultural tradition, such as the Yiddish mensch and the Greek philotimo, words few of us can define but most of us grasp the meaning of.

Co-Head Prefect Jonathan Colaço Carr posed the term gentlemen “But what does that even mean, to be a gentleman?” he asked. “If Selwyn wants all of their graduates to be gentlemen, are we all the same? Products at the end of the assembly line? The answer is no. And, in fact, that’s what our teachers understand quite well.”

“Words, as Ms. Manning continually reminds us, do make a difference,” Mr. Hannaford said, turning to an often-quoted word at Selwyn House: the school’s motto, VERITAS.

“We hope all of you are on your way to developing a lifelong

commitment to Selwyn VERITAS,” the headmaster said. “True to yourselves through that hierarchy of self-awareness, self-respect, self-confidence and self-advocacy; true to others by showing respect, compassion, kindness and empathy; and true to your school or place by developing passion, commitment and a legitimate work ethic.”

Beyond the individual qualities that define the significant man, the three speakers seems to converge on one aspect of the Selwyn House experience that goes beyond the individual to embrace the nature of friendship.

“You have journeyed through the world of a boys’ school, and throughout it all you have learned the value of true friendship,” said Mr. Hannaford. “So take advantage of what you gained here at Selwyn House. Treasure your friendships, never take them for granted, and work hard to cultivate them each and every day.”

“It has become impossible for me to imagine a life without my school, and surely this feeling is spread beyond just me, as we have all been impacted by this institution in one way or another,” said William Rossy.

“When many of our high-school memories begin to fade, that’s how we’ll ultimately measure the time we spent here, not in periods, semesters, classes or assignments, but in the friendships that we made and the times we shared together.”

Headmaster Hal Hannaford

Jonathan Colaço Carr

William Rossy receiving his diploma from his father, Alan ’79.

“When many of our high-school memories begin to fade, that’s how we’ll ultimately measure the time we spent here.”

2016 Graduation Prize Winners

Distinction Awards:

The McCall Prize for Art: Noah Kidd

Music: David Lotey-Goodman

The Patricia Marsh Drama Prize: Sam Abramson, Robert Najjar

The C.G. Ian Burgess Award for Distinction in Creative Writing: Jonah Kidd, Simon Kidd

The Byron W. Harker Prize for Distinction in Literature: Noah Kidd

Français Plus: Liam Marengère

Français Enrichi: Raphael Gad, Matthew Denham

Français Régulier: Noah Kidd

The Moodey Prize for Distinction in Mathematics

SN Math: Matthew Denham

CST Math: Quentin Corning

Calculus: Jonathan Colaço Carr

Chemistry: Liudong Jie, Adario Chirgwin-Dasgupta

Physics: Conor Shannon

The McGill Science Award: Matthew Behr

Computer Media: Ryan Khanna Contemporary World: Samir Gouin Economics: Jack Little

The D.W. Christie History Prize: Matthew Denham Political Science: Raphael Gad

The Troubetzkoy Prize for Social Studies: Jack Little

The McGill Award of Excellence in the Social Sciences: Ben Wechsler

Special Awards:

The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for General Excellence: Jonathan Colaço Carr

Governor General’s Bronze Medal for Academic Distinction: Adario Chirgwin-Dasgupta

The YMCA Community Service Award: Samir Gouin

The Massi Prize for Effort: Samir Gouin, Michael-Anthony Di Salvatore

The Millennium Prize (donated by the Class of 1999): Adario Chirgwin-Dasgupta, Greg Segal

The Redpath Herald Award: Christine Cachia Thomas Chalmers Brainerd Memorial Award: Conrad Winton

The Jeffrey Russel Prize: Jonathan Colaço Carr

The Lucas Memorial Medal: William Rossy

Class of 2015 Representatives to the OBA:

Matthew Behr, Jonathan Colaço Carr, Franco Cristiano, Ethan Daoust, Matthew Denham, Michael Di Salvatore, Raphael Gad, Samir Gouin, Joseph Karam, Liam Marengère and William Rossy

William Rossy receives the Lucas Medal from Senior School Head Mike Downey (left) and Board Chairman Michael Denham.

Johnny Colaço Carr receives the Jeffrey Russel Prize.

Conrad Winton receives the Brainerd Award from Board Member Alan Rossy ’79.

Class of 2016 Academic Destinations

Samuel Abramson Marianopolis

Petro Analytis

Marianopolis

Honours Commerce

Honours Commerce

Drew Anderson Trinity College School

Matthew Behr Marianopolis

Honours Health Science

Yassine Belkhou Upper Canada College

Adario Chirgwin-Dasgupta

Marianopolis

Jeremy Chow Marianopolis

Arts & Sciences

Pure & Applied Sci.

Jonathan Colaço Carr Marianopolis Health Science

Quentin Corning Dawson

Michael Cristiano

Joseph Karam............................

Tommy Kaufman

Marianopolis

Marianopolis

Honours Commerce

Psychology

Ryan Khanna Dawson Cinema & Communication

Jonah Kidd Marianopolis Honours Health

Noah Kidd

Simon Kidd

Design

Science

Franco Cristiano Dawson Commerce

Gabby Dannenbaum

Ethan

Matthew Denham

Arts & Sciences

Liberal Arts

Patrick Koper Marianopolis Honours Commerce

Dean Lambos Dawson Commerce

William Lasry

Matthew Lindsay

Applied Science

Michael-Anthony Di Salvatore Marianopolis Commerce

Victor Elliott Dawson Commerce

Matt Feldman

Emmanuel Ferreira

Matthew Frances Marianopolis

Raphael Gad Marianopolis

Benjamin Gauthier

Samir Gouin

Antoine Henrichon-Goulet

Mark Hladky Marianopolis

Theodore Janson

Liudong Jie................................ Marianopolis

Vlad Jones Marianopolis

Peter Kaloyannis Marianopolis

Hong Kong

College School

& Applied Science

Science

Applied Science

Commerce

& Applied Science

Health Science

Liberal Arts

Science

Marianopolis

Honours Commerce

Trinity College School

Jack Little Marianopolis Law, Society & Justice

David Lotey-Goodman Marianopolis Music

Liam Marengère............................

Dawson

Choice Pure & Applied Sci.

Alexander Mavridis Marianopolis Health Science

Michael Moutzouris Marianopolis Psychology

Robert Najjar Marianopolis Arts Lit. & Communications

Gerry Nikolopoulos...................... Dawson

Tim Ramsey

Science

Vanier Communic., Media, Studio Arts

William Rossy Marianopolis Honours Commerce

Gregory Segal Groton

Conor Shannon

Phillips Exeter

Adam Sirhan Marianopolis Health Science

Trevor Tabah Marianopolis Health Science

Shayne Tessler

Benjamin Wechsler

Lower Canada College

Lower Canada College

Conrad Winton Marianopolis Honours Pure & Applied Sci.

Val Wishart

Van Wishart........

IMG Academy

IMG Academy

GSA about rights, not politics

In recent years society in general has become more inclusive of sexual and gender diversity, and Selwyn House is no exception to this trend. A few Old Boys have contacted Selwyn House to express their support for observed changes in attitudes toward sexual orientation at the school.

The single most visible example of this change occurred three years ago with the formation of the Selwyn House Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), a facultyled initiative that was immediately and enthusiastically embraced by the students.

The GSA’s mission is to educate people, promote inclusiveness and celebrate diversity. They do this by holding events such as video competitions to raise awareness, or an international food fair to promote inclusiveness by celebrating cultural diversity.

“The main goal of the GSA, in a sense, is to realize the school motto: VERITAS, points out Senior French and history teacher Marie-Eve Theriault, faculty advisor to the Selwyn House GSA. “We encourage students—and anyone in the Selwyn community—to be true to themselves. And we try to provide them with an environment where this is possible.

“In a way, it doesn’t have much to do with gender in sexuality—you could take those aspects away and the GSA could still have the same main goals. We want a community where everyone can strive to be their true selves and feel happy and confident doing it.

“Every year since the creation of the GSA, we have seen students come out to their peers—often in a very public manner—and receive overwhelming support.

“I’d like to think the presence of the GSA let them know that people at Selwyn ‘had their back.’ Definitely, since 2013 I have noticed a decline in the use of insensitive language related to gender and sexuality.”

Apart from sexual orientation, gender identification controversies have flared up in public schools, notably in the United States, where President Obama waded into the fray with a directive to schools to establish gender-neutral washrooms.

“The day may come when we [at Selwyn House] may receive a request from a student who identifies as female to use either the female staff washroom or to have a dedicated washroom,” says Mme Theriault. “At that point, we as a community will have to come together to address that need.

“A more basic issue that would likely emerge first, I believe, is how Admissions would react to an applicant who is biologically male but identifies as female. Does that student have a place at Selwyn House? If we claim to be an inclusive community, I don’t see how we could not welcome that student. As a community, we will probably have to address this issue sooner than we think.”

It’s a controversial issue, to be sure, but the GSA takes a positive approach, Mme Theriault says.

“The GSA tries to help people without impeding on the rights of others. Some might be against it, but it is easy to continue one’s Selwyn House experience as before and not attend GSA meetings or events. I don’t think anyone would describe our approach as aggressive or invasive. We are here as an added support to the community and we make the community aware of which injustices will not be tolerated. We’re about rights, not politics.”

One Old Boy from the 1980s contacted Mme Theriault in support, saying that having a GSA in his days at Selwyn House might have changed his life.

“As much as he appreciated the school, his days at Selwyn House—which for him were tarnished by bullying from both students and staff—were sometimes quite dark. He wishes he could have felt like there was more support for him. He believes in the GSA so much that he even offered a generous donation to help us finance our efforts.”

Another Old Boy told her that having a GSA might have convinced him to stay and finish his career at Selwyn House, which he in the end didn’t feel comfortable enough to do.

“Imposing rigid and traditional interpretations of manhood on our students is very dangerous,” says Mme Theriault. “It would show that we do not, in fact, really understand boys.

“Sometimes, a criticism we receive is that we should keep politics out of schools. It has always been hard for me to see LGBTQ issues as political issues. To me, they are a respect issue, but more importantly, a human rights issue—the very issues we want our students to engage with if they are to be responsible and informed citizens of the world."

Marie-Eve Theriault

“How would Admissions react to an applicant who is biologically male but identifies as female? Does that student have a place at Selwyn House?”

Athletic Celebration 2016 Awards

FALL AWARDS 2015

Bantam Soccer

MVP

Mahutte

Most Improved Jack Aitken

Bantam Soccer

MVP Xavier Dumas

Most Inspirational Enoch Tamale

Most Promise

Midget Soccer

MVP

Malcolm Nesbitt

Peiang He, Matthew Caponi

Coach’s Award Alexandre Tellier

Juvenile Soccer

Most Promise Giuliano Cucciniello

MVP

Cross Country

Jack Little

MVP Benjamin Gauthier

Most Promise

Cadet Football

Samuel Abramson

Most Improved....................... Salem Sibous

Offensive MVP Luca De Carolis

Defensive MVP

Raphaël Grifo

Most Promise Harrison Maurovich

Juvenile Football

Lineman of Year ...... Andrew Mullins-Grant

MVP Offence Gregory Segal

MVP Defence

Mark Hladky

Most Promise Offence O’Shae Ho-Sang

Most Promise Defence ............Alex Cannon

Coach’s Award Yassine Belkhou

Pee Wee Football

MVP ........ William Sebag, Carl Heidemann

WINTER AWARDS 2015-2016

Bantam Basketball

MVP

William Sebag

Defensive Player Ewan Nisbet

Most Promise

Midget Basketball

Adriano Cecere

MVP Harrison Maurovich

Most Improved . Nathan Varnell, Raphaël Grifo

All-Hustle Matthew Caponi

Juvenile D-3 Basketball

MVP Yassine Belkhou

MVP Defence

Nico Little

Most Improved Patrick Koper

Juvenile D-1 Basketball

MVP

O’Shae Ho-Sang

MVP Jack Little

MVP

Pee Wee Hockey

MVP

Team Player

Michele Ferrara

Playoff MVP James Wechsler

Juvenile Hockey

Most Promise Offence Kyle Oberfeld

Most Promise Defence

Kyle Blasi

MVP Joseph Karam

MVP Defence Shayne Tessler Wrestling

MVP

Most Potential

Henri Lajeunesse

Henry Gauthier

Most Improved Luca Di Battista

Gregory Segal

Benjamin Katz

MVP Defence Johann Tremblay-Kau

Most Promise ..............Matthison Avedesian

Most Improved.................. Carl Heidemann

Bantam Hockey

MVP

Charles Culver

Most Improved Alexandre Latkovski

Career Achievement

Tomas Kaufman Curling

MVP

Most Promise

Thomas Dalton

Jack Duncan

Most Improved Charles Morin Cross-Country Skiing

Most Improved Jonah Kidd Best Skier

Justin Belland Best Skier Angus Aitken

SPRING AWARDS 2016

Bantam Badminton

MVP ..................Ian Mahutte, Bryton Kiow

Most Improved William Robinson Midget Badminton MVP Xinyang Wang, Kieran Hamilton Bantam Tennis MVP Malcolm Nesbitt Midget Tennis MVP

Juvenile Tennis MVP

Andrew Petrecca-Berthelet

Rowing

Most Improved......................... Jesse Caruso

Best Sportsmanship .......... Dylan Kalaydjian Best Teammate Justin Calandriello Flag Football Impact Player Aidan Gertler

Cape, Adriano Cecere

Shayne Tessler Bantam Track MVP

Most Improved Joshua Cohen Senior Track MVP

The Cassils Memorial Cup (Middle School Athlete of the Year)

Harrison Maurovich 2016

Benjamin Gauthier

Most Promise Tyler Stern Most Improved............................ Peiang He Bantam Rugby

Best Back........................... Carl Heidemann

Best Forward Barthélemy Hugé Atom Football

Most Improved Malcolm Nesbitt Midget Rugby Best Back................................ Nicholas Fon Best Forward Jeremy Naimer

The Peter Govan Coaches’ Award Yassine Belkhou McMaster Memorial Cup (Senior School Athlete of the Year) Gregory Segal

The Alumni Award (Grade 9) (Achievement in Three Seasons) Raphaël Grifo

David Tobias Memorial Cup - Team of the Year Bantam Basketball Team

Rolph Juvenile Rugby

Most Promise

MVP

Gabriel Dannenbaum

Best Forward Panagiotis Kaloyannis, Trevor Tabah

Best Back....... William Rossy, Gregory Segal Baseball

MVP

Vincent Rizzolo

Promise Kyle Blasi

Bob Anderson Trophy (Football Lineman of the Year) Andrew Mullins-Grant William Molson Trophy (Senior Football MVP Offence) Gregory Segal

Brian Taylor Trophy (Pee Wee Hockey MVP) Benjamin Katz and Johann Tremblay-Kau Rob Wearing Cup (Senior Football MVP - Defence) Mark Hladky

Martin J.F. Borner Memorial Cup (Outstanding Rugby Player of the Year) Gabriel Dannenbaum

MIP

Gabriel Trottenberg

Gregory Segal receives the McMaster Cup from Athletic Director Mike Maurovich.

Old Boy Updates

Connolly transforming lives of heart patients

Dr. Stuart Connolly ’66 received the Margolese National Heart Disorder Prize in July. Dr. Connolly, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences, the inaugural holder of the Salim Yusuf Chair in Cardiology, and former Director of the Division of Cardiology at McMaster University, is an internationally recognized authority on the treatment of heart rhythm disorders. He has transformed the treatment of patients with cardiac rhythm abnormalities, especially those at high risk of cardiac arrest and those at risk of stroke, by designing and carrying out randomized clinical trials that have affected everyday clinical decision-making for people with these conditions.

Population Health Research Institute

In the photo at right, Stuart is reportedly celebrating having recorded the sixth-fastest Ironman in the world for his age group.

1985

On their flight between Old Boys’ Reunions in Western Canada, who should Headmaster Hal Hannaford and Advancement Director James McMillan have as their pilot on the flight from Calgary to Vancouver? Selwyn House Old Boy Derek Kredl ’85. I taught Derek percussion (in band class),” recalls Mr. McMillan, “and even then he was always talking about flying.”

1987 Sywa Sung ’87 was featured in the February 2016 issue of En Route, an inflight magazine published by Air Canada, in

a column called “In The Bag,” which spotlights the packing habits of frequent flyers. “Since graduating from the University of Toronto Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design in 1994, Sywa Sung has been on the ride of his life,” the article reads. “The cinephile, turned architect turned experiential designer has been creating themed attractions and environments everywhere from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, where he served as creative director for the 20th Century Fox World theme park set to open later this year.”

1999 Detroit Pistons forward Joel Anthony ’99, the only Selwyn House graduate ever to play in the NBA, qualified for the 12-man roster of the Canadian

Old Boy Updates

Enrico Quilico going the distance for charity

Enrico Quilico 2000 competed in his first full Ironman July 24 in Lake Plac id, New York and has organized a fun draiser for the Brain Injury Association of Canada around his competition.

In 2006, Enrico was in a highway ac cident that nearly cost him his life. His chances for recovery from brain inju-

Olympic basketball team on July 3. Unfortunately, the Canadians lost the qualifying final to France.

2000 Captain Christopher Robinson 2000 married Christina Gosselin at St. Barnabas, St. Lambert on Saturday, September 19. Danny Su (also 2000) flew in from Taiwan to be

ries were almost nil, but he came back from the brink to run in his first half triathlon only two and a half years after his accident, and to complete a full triathlon a year after that.

A full triathlon consists of a 750-me tre swim, a 20-km bike race and 5-km run. Enrico finished the course in just

the best man.

2011

Fernand Le Fèvre 2011 had an op-ed piece published in the Columbia University Spectator in February. To read it, go to the Columbia Spectator website and look for the

over 1 hour and 16 minutes.

Now, on the tenth anniversary of his accident he has embarked on the Iron man, a grueling 3.8-km swim, 180-km bike and 42-km run, with a plan to raise money for Brain Injury Canada.

Alex Krolik 2011 B.Sc., First Class Honours in Computer Science, has been awarded a Governor General’s Silver Medal from McGill. Only two such medals are given each year for the entire university, and they recognize outstanding academic achievement.

Cairn TseLalonde 2011 has graduated from Berklee

Enrico at the finish line in 2008 with mom, Kathryn Stephenson. and on the track in 2009

Old Boy Updates

Tony’s Shoes donates to local schools

Tony Fargnoli, of Tony’s Shoes in Westmount, stopped by Selwyn House recently with his son Rob, a ’95 “lifer” graduate of SHS, to deliver the latest installment cheque for the Bursary Fund Program the shoe store has been participating in for the past 10 years.

Whenever a student from Selwyn House, LCC, the Priory, Sacred Heart, The Study, Centennial or Trafalgar buys shoes at Tony’s, the store will donate five per cent of the sale to the school’s bursary fund.

“It’s a win-win for everybody,” says Rob, who adds that he enjoyed going to Selwyn House and is glad to have a way to give back to the school.

Tony’s Shoes has been a Westmount institution since the store was founded in 1937 by Giantonio Fargnoli, Rob’s greatgrandfather.

School of Music, completing the four-year program in three years. He was awarded a Bachelor of Music, conferred Magna Cum Laude. Cairn remains in Boston and is now mostly involved in music production, working with musicians in Europe, Asia and North America. His own band recently completed a seven-city tour of the northeast.

2013

On April 22-24, Hou Ji Yao 2013 participated in the Quebec Under-20 Chess Championships, scoring 3.5/5 and coming out as clear third.

(More info at chess-math.org.) Hou Ji is currently at McGill University, about to start his second year in the Bachelor of Arts and Science Program.

2014

Selwyn House Old Boys are making their mark in hockey at Trinity College School. Jordan Dubuc (left) and Jonah Goodman (right, both 2014) helped the TCS Bears beat St. Andrews College by a score of 5-1 on March 15, 2016 to win the CISAA championship for

the first time since 1949. Jordan is reportedly moving on to Western for football, while Jonah is playing in the Ontario Junior C league.

From left: Tony Fargnoli, Selwyn House Advancement Director James McMillan, and Rob Fargnoli ’95

Obituary: Victor Goldbloom ’37

The Selwyn House community is saddened to learn that Victor Goldbloom ’37 died on the evening of February 15, aged 92.

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 Barshay-Rothstein. 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, 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.

In May of 2012, Victor was appointed by then 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 given on the personal recommendation of Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, in recognition of Victor’s many decades of involvement in Christian-Jewish dialogue.

That same month, 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.

Those laurels were 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 have made outstanding contributions to the vitality and understanding of English-speaking Quebec.

Throughout his public life, Victor has been described as someone who 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 in 2012. “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,” he said.

Old Boy Obituaries

1932

David George Meredith Cape ’32 died peacefully in his sleep on December 8, 2015. He is survived by Helene Holden Cape, his wife and best friend for over 34 years, seven children, Ted (Ann), Julie (Stewart), David (Hope), Diana (Don), Andrew (Diana), Edmund and Meredith, and three stepchildren Arthur (Claire), Christopher (Sophie) and Caroline (Ferdinando). He is also survived by 21 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

David was born in Montreal on January 12, 1923, the youngest son of Edmund and Lillian Cape. He grew up with his brothers, Johnnie and Teddy, and his sister, Peggy, in the wonderful house his father built for their family on Redpath Crescent, from where he attended Selwyn House and Lower Canada College, going on to graduate from the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. He was a founding director of the Lakeshore General Hospital, where he practiced as an anesthetist from 1965 until 2004.

David loved being with his large family, particularly at their home on the river in Dorval or on the golf course at the Royal Montreal Golf Club. To an only slightly lesser extent, he loved tennis, skiing, windsurfing and driving possibly the greatest series of Mercedes Benz sports cars, coupes, sedans and limousines a man will be lucky enough to own, even in a life as long as David’s.

He was a larger-than-life and increasingly wise husband, father, grandfather and friend, and the world is a far less interesting place for his absence.

Funeral service was held on December 12 at the Church of St. John the Baptist, Pointe Claire, with a reception afterward at the Royal Montreal Golf Club.

Published in The Gazette Dec. 10, 2015

1941

David Walker Morgan ’41 (b: 1926) passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, January 28, 2016 with his beloved wife, Alice (Seth), at his side. David leaves behind Alice, his four children Jennifer (Keith) Martin; Sarah (Jeremy) Balint; David Morgan and Viviane Weitzner; and Charles (Valerie Pronovost) Morgan; grandchildren Ruston, Kelsey, Timothy; Maia, Graeme; Saskia and Alexander; Chloé, Anaïs, Magalie; and great-grandchild Isaiah. He lost his older brother Harry to WWII, but is survived by his brother Stuart and his family: wife, Renée, their children Marianne Morgan Gini and Henry (Ana), and their children Caroline, Amandine, Balthazar, Margaux; Inès and Victor; all of Switzerland. David was born in Montreal to Gertrude Walker and Henry William Morgan. He was educated at Selwyn House, Trinity College School, McGill, and Harvard. David worked for a time at the family’s Morgan’s Department store, both at its landmark location in Montreal and as the manager of its Ottawa branch. He later served on the Board of the Morgan Trust Company for

22 years, becoming its Chairman in 1983. David moved to Thunder Bay in 1960, where he would become Director of Finance at the newly minted Lakehead University, and later teach at Confederation College. He moved to Toronto in 1980, where he has lived ever since. David was committed to public service. While in Thunder Bay he was a federal Liberal candidate, was Chairman of the Lakehead Board of Education and Chairman of the Board of Directors of St. Joseph’s General Hospital. In Toronto, he served on the Boards of Governors of York University, Oxfam Canada, Toronto Free Theatre and as an AGO docent. He was an adventurous traveller, skilled photographer and art enthusiast. He engaged the world consciously and directly, with flair and gusto. He set great store in his lifelong friendships.

1953

Dr. John Frederick Seely ’53 passed away peacefully on December 18, 2009 after a courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his four children, Jean, Alison, Andrew and Dugald; eight grandchildren, Alexandra, Adrian, Savannah, Forest, Logan, Phoebe, Tristan and Lilah; sons and daughtersin-law, Mark Liepmann, Kevin Mahoney, Kathy Patterson and Sarah Young; ex-wife and friend Janet Christie-Seely; and brothers David, Peter and Robert. John touched the lives and hearts of innumerable patients, families, students, residents and healthcare colleagues, first as a nephrologist at The Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University, Professor of Medicine and Director of the McGill Nephrology Division, next as Physician in Chief of the Ottawa Hospital, then as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, and last as a palliativecare physician at the Ottawa Hospital. He exemplified great compassion and integrity as a physician focused on wholeperson care. Dr. Seely was recognized internationally as a teacher, administrator, communicator and clinician. He served on several national medical committees, including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada CANMEDS 2000 project. He handled his illness with remarkable dignity.

Published in The Ottawa Citizen Dec. 19, 2009

John Seely was highly regarded among Ottawa’s medical community for his depth of compassion and devotion to patient care. For many years, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, but eventually stepped down to return to clinical care to focus his attention on helping terminally ill patients. Working with lifelong friend Dr. Balfour Mount, the founder of palliative care in Canada, he developed the palliative care program for The Ottawa Hospital.

“My father was greatly supportive of the vision for the OICC and joined the board of governors of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine of which the Centre is a part,” said John’s son Dugald Seely. “He fully believed in and exemplified

Old Boy Obituaries

whole-person, patient-centred care. A medical doctor like many in my family, my father wasn’t biased towards a limited perception of what medicine is, but rather was biased entirely towards what benefits the patient.”

When John’s former patients tell their story of being unwell, they talk of his reassuring voice, his incredible warmth, his smile, and his ease with words. When he spoke, it was to explain to the patient exactly what was happening, to ease concerns, to inquire how they were coping, to talk to them of spiritual needs. Never in a rush, and taking the time each day to visit his patients even if they hadn’t requested it.

Published in Ottawa Life magazine, November 2013

1966

Thomas Paul Fleetford Sise ’66 died on January 2, 2016 at age 67. Born in 1948, he is survived by sisters Ann (Eric Dawson), Eve (late, Jim Lawrence), Phyllis (late, Charles Marchant) and brother Charles (Linda Litwack). He was loved by many nephews, nieces and friends. Donations to La Maison au Diapason would be appreciated. A memorial service will take place in the spring. Published in The Gazette Jan 9, 2016.

1967

Michael McHugh ’67 died on November 28, 2015 in Montreal at age 67 after a long illness. Born in 1949, he is survived by his wife, Dr. Molly McHugh, children Oriel (Dr. Maya Leitner) and Dr. Tobial McHugh, as well as grandson, Jacob.

At Selwyn House, Michael was a prefect, captain of the senior football team and Wanstall House captain. At Prizegiving, he was awarded the Jeffrey Russel prize for all around ability.

Michael worked at the Montreal Neurological Institute and McGill University Faculty of Dentistry, and the last couple of years were spent doing cutting-edge research on concussions.

Michael was a religious man with deep moral and spiritual convictions. He was loved by many, and he will be greatly missed by his family, friends, colleagues, and many dental students at McGill for whom he was a father figure and mentor.

1970

Anthony P. Tyler ’70 died unexpectedly on December 22, 2015 in Felton, California.

Tony was born August 1, 1953 in Montreal. He graduated from Selwyn House in 1970 and later from McGill University Faculty of Medicine. He ran the main GP practice in Felton for 35 years. He was mentored by another Selwyn House Old Boy, Anthony R. C. Dobell ’42.

He is survived by daughters Carolyn and Heather; his mother, Susan Tyler; siblings Mason (Selwyn House Old Boy 1968), Alexandra (Tyler) Amick, Sanford and Jonathan. He was predeceased by his father, John (1925-2015).

In addition to his tireless caring for his patients, Tony

was a great cook, grew award-winning roses, and, despite his many years away from Montreal, remained an avid fan of the Montreal Canadiens.

1981

Peacefully, at Metis Beach, Quebec, on July 7, 2016, Archibald Jean Anthony Rolland ’81, beloved son of Alison Rolland (née Beattie) and the late John A. Rolland, surrounded by his mother, his cousin Dr. David Price and his many Metis friends, after a courageous battle with ALS for the past fifteen years. Burial at Mount Royal Cemetery at a later date. Gifts in honour of Archie should be directed to “ALS Research Fund” c/o Dr. Neil Cashman, Centre for Brain Health, UBC Hospital, 2211 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2B5.

1988

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Christopher Ted Schopflocher ’88. Ted went peacefully on Monday, July 11, 2016 at the age of 45 after a lifelong struggle with leukemia. A service to honour his memory was held at Mount Royal Funeral Complex, Outremont. Ted will be dearly missed by his loving wife, Donna Joy Edward, his father Tom Sr. (Janet), his brother Tom Jr. (Jennifer), his mother-in-law June and sister-in-law Lois Anne (Robert). Irreplaceable uncle to his nephews Jesse and Casey Schopflocher and his nieces Sarah Anne (Ryan) and Emma Jayne (Enrique) Lunny. Ted is preceded in death by his mother, Carol McDonell. Ted had a successful career with Aon where he leaves behind countless friendships. His passions outside of work were acrylic painting, golfing, enjoying a Starbuck’s coffee on Greene Avenue and a good glass of red wine while spending time with family and friends. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given to the Cedars Cancer Centre.

1991

Raymond Akira Betts ’91 passed away peacefully on April 11, 2016 after good palliative care for Lymphoma cancer. He will be sadly missed by his loving mother, Shigeko Betts; his brother, Gerard Betts, and wife Jill Saltzman; his family in Japan and in the U.K. Heartfelt appreciation to all the staff and volunteers of Saint Margaret Residence. Warm thanks for all the outpouring of love from the many friends in Raymond’s life. A memorial party will be held Sunday afternoon, August 21, 2016 at Westmount High School in front of Raymond’s fondly remembered mural in the gym to honour and celebrate him. Farewell, beloved Raymond. Rest in peace.

Founder’s Day 2016

The Board of Directors and the Headmaster of Selwyn House invite you to celebrate the founding of the school and to honour the 2016 Speirs Medal recipient,

Colin Boyle

Retired Senior School Chemistry Teacher, Basketball and Football Coach, and Director of Studies Thursday, November 24, 2016 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Selwyn House School 95 Chemin Côte St-Antoine

Presentations will begin at 6:45 p.m. Spouses and guests are most welcome. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and refreshments. The Old Boys’ Association will announce the 2016 Honorary Old Boys.

38th Annual Old Boys’ Reunion

Friday, September 23, 2016

Come back to campus in September and reconnect with your former teachers and friends. Share stories 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 6 or a 1).

RSVP at www.selwyn.ca via the Online Event Registration button. Cancellations: Full refund before Sept. 16. No refunds thereafter. For more information, contact the Advancement Office at 514-931-9481 ext. 2292

5:00 p.m. Tours of SHS campus

6:00 p.m. Cocktails

7:00 p.m. AGM and Dinner 9:00-10:30 p.m. Pub (Cash Bar)

Tickets: $65

$30 for recent grads (2010-2014)

Complimentary dinner for former staff Cash bar