My Proudest Moment “What happened next affected me in a way few things have”
Paul Mosey
E
arlier this year, something happened that changed the way I view my role as a teacher. It happened the day of the Cadet Annual Inspection— Sat., May 3, 2014. But first, let me backtrack: eight months previously, my incoming Pipe Major, Zachary Petrachek ’14, told me he would like to invite as many previous pipe majors as possible to perform at the Annual Inspection. I liked the idea. I put the onus on Zach to contact all the former PMs. Before long, five of our previous pipe majors had agreed—Graham Hynds ’07, Mitchell Arnold ’09, Arun Partridge ’11, Alex Brown ’12, and Alexander Seto ’13— with Zach bringing the number to six. In March, we decided the six pipe majors would form a small band to march the reviewing party out to the stands to watch the Pipes & Drums’ demonstration performance, then afterwards pipe them back to the Headmaster’s office to await their time to inspect the corps. I would tune the pipes, but the six boys could work out the other details. May 3 was a rainy day, so the Inspection moved to the Ray Twinney arena in Newmarket. We dressed, tuned up all the pipes, and left the dressing room. The sextet of pipe majors went their way, and we went ours. I stood in front of the band to await our cue. The introduction of dignitaries came, and I heard the PMs strike-up at the other end of the arena. What happened next affected me in a way few things have in my 17 years at SAC. I watched these six young men, ages 17 to 26, come into view under the lights, each resplendent in his own Highland garb, with pipes shining. They marched in perfect formation, knew exactly where to go, then moved off, and halted perfectly. I was impressed. The Pipes & Drums then struck-up and gave what might have been the best public marching demonstration in the history of the Cadet Corps, thanks largely to the marvelous choreography devised by Jamie Inglis ’91. But as the band left the floor, my eyes immediately were drawn back to these young men from my past who now marched out to pick up the reviewing party. Again—a
32 Fall 2014
Former SAC piper majors (front, l-r) Arun Partridge, Alexander Seto, Graham Hynds, (back) Mitchell Arnold, Alex Brown, Zachary Petrachek (left) Jim McGillivray
flawless mini-performance conducted with precision, professionalism, and class. Beautifully done. Much to my surprise, my eyes filled to brimming as they departed, and I knew exactly why I was so affected: the planning, the organization, the commitment to excellence, the attention to detail, the showmanship, the respect for the audience—all the things that went into the best Pipes & Drums performances, all the things my team worked so hard to instill into these young men during the five, six, or seven years we came to know them so well—six boys gave these things back exactly as they had been taught, and they did so with no prompting from us. My goodness, I thought, they really had gotten it! For those few moments, alone in a corner of a hockey arena full of people, peering off into the distance, with a pipe band celebrating their success behind me, I experienced one of my proudest and most moving moments as a teacher. Sometimes it’s not about the touchdowns, the champion ships, or even the Headmaster’s Honour Roll. Sometimes it’s about what our boys take away inside of themselves. Jim McGillivray