The Link, Spring 2015

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Dining at CDS The Growing Mind Origins of the CDS Auction Athletics Recap From the Vault Alumni Notes

CONNECTING THE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL COMMUNITY

SPRING 2015

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE STUDENTS The Wonder of Education

JOIN US FOR THE FIRST ANNUAL

SATURDAY, JUNE 13TH, 2015 CDS CAMPUS 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM These alumni will be there on June 13th … will you?

N FU for ALL !

FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE WELCOME! GAMES, BBQ, BEER GARDEN AND ARCHIVAL DISPLAYS CATCH UP WITH FELLOW ALUMNI AND FORMER TEACHERS!

SPRING 2015

ON THE COVER

(l-r) Junior School Librarian Mrs. Pat Garrow reading to JK students: Steven Carless, Brett Hudson and Felicia Padilla.

26 For the first time in CDS history, two students not only qualifi ed for, but competed in this year’s World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in Hong Kong. Both Olivia Railton ’17 (left) and Natalie Ganzhorn ’16 (right) qualified for the finals, with Olivia finishing as this year’s World Champion in Debating!

FEATURES

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33 Literary Arts Scene is Thriving at CDS The recent launch of the Art

DEPARTMENTS

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Editor’s Note

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Message from the Head of School

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School Highlights

Dining in at CDS Meet Marcello Marano, the incoming Head Chef of the new CDS Dining Hall! He and his Aramark team are excited to roll out the Original Food Company’s marché-style dining concept this fall.

& Literary magazine, Portraits, showcases the breadth of Middle and Senior School talent.

20 Drama Spotlight

10 The Growing Mind: Building a Better Brain Through Food

34 From the Vault: Remembering Peter Taylor On the 10th anniversary

32 March Break 2015

For years, we have heard about the benefits of fueling our brains with healthy food. Now more than ever, there is research to support this theory.

of his death and the 25th anniversary of his retirement, we celebrate CDS’ first teacher, a much-loved man who ignited a passion for learning in his students.

22 Timelines 28 Athletics Update

36 Connections 37 Alumni Snapshots 41 Community News 43 Alumni Notes

14 Origins of the CDS Auction This year’s Auction is the 42nd Annual for CDS. Read recollections of the early days and how our annual fundraising event has evolved over the years.

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31 Escape from Hurricane Gonzalo What began as a highly-anticipated tournament in Bermuda, turned into a wonderful story of what might have been.

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FROM THE EDITOR

AUCTION: OUR LARGEST FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR CDS set the bar for others to follow

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UCTION SEASON IS in full swing as the date of the 42nd annual Auction grows near.

Friday, May 29th is the big night, and Hooray for Hollywood is the theme. If all goes well, this auction will bring the total proceeds raised from the most recent four auctions to $1 million of revenue toward the Making Connections campaign!

One of the main stories in this issue is a look back at the Origins of the CDS Auction, which will give you a glimpse at some of the outrageous shenanigans that went on in various venues in King. Did you know that CDS was the first independent school in Canada to have a large scale fundraising auction? Apparently, we set the example and taught everyone else how successful and fun they could be.

Many of the names referenced in this story are some of the original parents and friends of CDS. Some have since seen their grandchildren attend, while others continue to observe the School’s progression from afar. Whether they remain in contact or not, we owe a huge debt of appreciation to these people, who not only helped conceive of the School in the first place, but helped chart the course for the largest annual fundraiser in the School’s history. And from the stories I heard and have attempted to retell, they had the time of their life doing it!

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That was then, and this is now – times have changed and so have many of the rules. However, the recipe is still the same.

Each year our Parent Volunteers set out to host one of the most amazing parties in King, and they definitely deliver on their promise.

What was true then is still true today. It is essential to have all hands on deck and as many families contributing in any way possible to ensure the evening’s success. If you haven’t already purchased your tickets or made a donation, please consider doing so. In fact, consider bringing your friends as they will experience an unforgettable evening and be exposed to the special qualities of the CDS community – all while supporting our wonderful school.

Please take a moment to read about the early days of the CDS Auction on p. 14, then purchase your tickets and join us in Hollywood to experience the excitement of the present day Auction. Become a part of CDS history! We hope to see you on May 29th!

Kim Sillcox

Director of External Communications

EDITOR Kim Sillcox, Director of External Communications EDITORIAL TEAM Geoff Nugent Leesa Witten CONTRIBUTORS John Andersen Kirsten Baird Gisa Bevacqua-Tirone Celia Bland Walter Davison Cachelle Fry ’99 Scott Garbe Sarah Hudson John Liggett Vlad Nov ’12 Eileen Paddags Mark Prokoudine ’12 Nancy Promane Jenna Romanowich Robert Ross Dean Sherman Ella Sibio ’12 Karen Sumner Sandy Townsend Jen Weening Peter Welsh Ann Wildberger DESIGN Atlanta Visual Communications PHOTOGRAPHY Kirsten Baird Stan Behal Photography Emma Ewing-Nagy/Ryerson Athletics Pat Garrow Zach Lawton Steve McCutcheon Peter Milonas Kim Sillcox Mark Washburn/Dartmouth Athletics Colin Watson Jen Weening

The Link The Country Day School 13415 Dufferin Street King, ON L7B 1K5 T: 905.833.1220 F: 905.833.3655 E: communications@cds.on.ca www.cds.on.ca Correspondence is welcome The Link is published by the Offi ce of Community Relations at The Country Day School for CDS families, alumni, staff, faculty and friends.

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

WE ARE IN THE FINAL STRETCH Our new building transforms, yet complements CDS

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LARGE PERCENTAGE OF the readers of The Link are alumni and past parents. As such, it is unlikely that you return to campus regularly and, therefore, you may be unaware of the transformative changes that have taken place recently.

My daily commute these days comes with the wonderment and anticipation of what new things I will notice in terms of how our building is evolving. With most of the physical structure now in place, I am pleased with how it fits so well into the overall fabric of The Country Day School.

With most of the physical structure now in place, I am pleased with how it fits so well into the overall fabric of The Country Day School.

As one of the lucky few who have been able to tour the inside of the building, I can attest to the fact that the cozy, warm feel that has always made our school unique is also apparent on the inside. There are some truly impressive indoor spaces that await your discovery in the fall.

The Douglas fir wooden-beam structure of the Dining Hall is stunning, and the lightfilled central atrium is striking, befitting our school’s growing identity. The hallways are wide, with a generous amount of break-out spaces.

The learning stairway leading to the second floor is inspiring, and the classrooms are bright and inviting.

Although I have been involved in our Senior School and Dining Hall project from the beginning, I often find myself taken aback by just how impactful the new building’s presence has become on campus. We have even received positive feedback from community members who cannot help but notice the remarkable addition rising on campus from their drive along Dufferin, King, or the 15th Sideroad.

Most of all, I look forward to this fall, when we open the doors and reveal the exciting next chapter in the story of The Country Day School.

See you then, and lunch is on me (please take me up on it)!

John Liggett

Head of School

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SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

NEWS FROM AROUND CDS

ON THE CATWALK RAISES $12,149!

Congratulations to the organizers and participants of the Middle/Senior School On the Catwalk Fashion Show for raising $12,149 toward Southlake Hospital’s Adolescent Mental Health Program. At the cheque presentation ceremony in February, we learned that this amount earned CDS a spot on the Southlake Donor Wall!

Skye Nip ’16, Alicia Sun ’16, and Emily Killops ’16 present the cheque to Taylor Jewitt, Coordinator of Philanthropy and Engagement at Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation

Paying it Forward in Colombia Grade 12 student and avid rugby player McKinley Hunt ’15 (in black t-shirt) travelled to Medellín, Colombia, just before the Christmas holidays where she competed with the nationally recognized, invite-only Dog River Howlers Rugby Club.

The week-long trip included games against teams from all over the country and humanitarian work as well.

Players also collected items individually to donate to local players and teams. CDS donated a bag filled with used basketballs, jerseys and shorts, which was appreciated by the local children. Read the full story at www.cds.on.ca/news

CHRISTMAS IN KING CITY CDS had a booth at the ‘Christmas in King City’ event which took place on Saturday, November 29. Keele Street was closed for the evening south of King Road, and families enjoyed live music, horse-drawn wagon rides and a tree-lighting ceremony. CDS students Michael Rokas ’16 and Devika Paul ’16 performed for the crowd.

Michael Rokas and Devika Paul on stage

RACHEL MCCRAIG PHOTOGRAPHY

“LOWERING THE STRESS OF PARENTING”

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Best-selling author, psychotherapist, and internationally acclaimed parenting expert Alyson Schafer shared helpful strategies on how to engage and keep kids accountable at a morning event last December sponsored by the CDS Parent Association.

Check out her blog for more advice at: http://alysonschafer.com/blog/

INTRODUCING CDS SPIRIT WEAR! In addition to the hoodies and sweatpants sold in the General Store, a group of CDS student leaders created something to celebrate school spirit and spark some friendly house competition – spirit wear! All clothing has either the school colours (blue and green) or the house colours (red, green, gray and blue). Students received their spirit wear just in time for our first annual CDS Winter Classic. House competition was at the forefront that day as students dressed in their new Dunlap, Eberts, Ross and Taylor house sweatshirts to show off their pride!

Mental Health Week at CDS How can you tell if your kids are struggling? How do you talk to them about mental health?

Are mental health issues more prevalent now than ever before? Where can students go for help? What about finding help for their parents?

These were just some of the questions posed at a panel discussion on “Talking to Your Teens about Mental Health” held during Mental Health Week at CDS. Panelists included Eric Windeler, founder and executive director of The Jack Project; Karen Simmonds, grief and trauma counselor; Jack Talks Student Speaker(s); and CDS student, Trinity De Simone ’17. The panel was moderated by Dave Harvey, CDS Director of Academics for Middle and Senior Schools, and the format included 45 minutes of discussion, followed by questions from the audience. A video and PDF recap of the evening are available at www.cds.on.ca/news Eric Windeler and the Jack.org student speakers spoke to Senior School students at an assembly earlier in the day.

BID WARS – RETURN OF THE AUCTION The big push is on for CDS parents and friends to attend our 42nd annual Auction on May 29th – Hooray for Hollywood! Check out our promotional videos at www.cds.on.ca/auction and buy your tickets today!

You won’t want to miss the biggest fundraising party of the year!

CDS EXPANDS RECYCLING PROGRAMS ARAMARK TO BE THE NEW CDS DINING HALL SERVICE PROVIDER! We are pleased to announce that we have selected Aramark Canada to partner with us in our new Dining Hall. Aramark has a long and established track record with a large number of GTA independent schools (UCC, Branksome Hall, BSS, Toronto French School and the York School to name but a few). Together with this breadth of experience, Aramark will help us launch our unique marché-style lunch program through a concept tailored exclusively to us – The Original Food Company. Learn more about The Original Food Company and see exactly what they have to offer by reading the story on p. 6.

CDS has been accepted as a public drop-off location for Tassimo T DISCs! This will allow us to increase our total waste collected, thus collecting more ‘points’ to purchase items, while at the same time reducing our footprint.

Last year alone, we sent more than 11,000 T DISCs to Terracycle, which is approximately 500 lbs of T DISCs that were not sent to a landfill!

All recycled items can be dropped off at the Junior or Senior School Offices during regular business hours. We encourage you, your friends, business associates and family to join us as we strive to reduce our overall footprint.

Learn more at www.cds.on.ca/recycle

WATCH THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS OF OUR BUILDING PROJECT! Visit www.cds.on.ca/buildingupdate to see a daily bird’s eye view of the building project and the latest photo updates as the project changes daily.

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FEATURE STORY

DINING

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IN AT CDS

For the past 42 years, most CDS Parents have packed lunches for their children.

While JAM lunches offered a welcome reprieve for some, we have dreamed of one day having a proper cafeteria space with a permanent food service provider. That dream will finally come to fruition this fall when the CDS community sits down together in its new state-of-the-art Dining Hall. It will be worth the wait! by Kim Sillcox

A Q&A WITH CDS HEAD CHEF MARCELLO MARANO >> In April, I had the opportunity to sit down with Marcello Marano, the incoming Head Chef of the new CDS Dining Hall. Marcello grew up in Maple and has been familiar with CDS his entire life. In fact, he has lifelong friends from elementary and high school who attended and, therefore, he already feels a part of the community. >> Marcello was drawn to apply for the position because of his comfort level with CDS, and he was not disappointed by what he saw when he visited. He views it as a fun, new challenge.

Q. What is your background – where did you get your start?

I started as a dishwasher in a banquet hall when I was 12 and fell in love with the business.

I graduated from George Brown College in 1998 with two diplomas: one in

Hotel Restaurant Management and the other in Culinary Management. I also hold a certificate for Food Service and Bartending. While completing my training, I was placed in the King Edward and Royal York Hotels, as well as Zoom.

While at George Brown, I worked

DESPITE ONE OF THE COLDEST WINTERS IN HISTORY, we have made tremendous progress with the building project. However, there is still a long way to go.

As anyone who has endured building projects of their own can appreciate, unforeseen circumstances or delayed approvals can alter timelines at any time.

Rest assured that everyone involved is working as fast as humanly possible to keep things on schedule so that we may open both the Dining Hall and new Senior School classrooms at the start of the school year.

We will continue to keep you informed of our progress over the coming months.

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(continued from page 7) at the McMichael Gallery’s fine dining restaurant – Tanglewood – where I had the privilege to work alongside some topnamed chefs, including Michael Stadtländer, Jamie Kennedy, and Michael Smith.

Since then, I have worked in numerous restaurants around Vaughan and Toronto.

I have also spent time training in Spain and the Caribbean (St. Kitts and Nevis), places where I was drawn by the culture.

Q. Spain! Does that mean tapas will be appearing on your menus?

Not during the day, but possibly for some of the evening events.

Q. What kind of experience do you have working with other private schools?

I have worked at Pickering College for the past nine years and, prior to that, I worked at Trafalgar Castle School for two years.

Original Food Company at The Country Day School will offer European marché-style dining to give students the opportunity (in age-appropriate fashion) to explore different options and find a meal that meets their taste and dietary preferences. Here is a taste of the stations the Original Food Company has to offer in the fall!

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Q. What are your plans for making your mark at CDS?

Nutrition is so important. I cannot stress its importance enough. We are going to follow the guidelines that we are building with the stations and make sure nutrition is at the forefront. I enjoy sharing my love and passion for food with everybody, always while keeping nutrition a top priority.

I have a 9, 7, and 4-year-old. As a parent of three kids, what they eat is very important to me. Teaching proper nutrition through food preparation is something I really enjoy, both at home and at work.

Q. Tell me about the different food stations.

This was something that was developed and designed by a group of us at Aramark.

We wanted to create a European marketplace or marché feel and are excited

about the seven-station Country Kitchen concept (outlined below). We look forward to finalizing the menus in the coming months.

Q. How will your kitchen accommodate children with food allergies and/ or sensitivities? Are you willing to make yourself available to speak with parents about their individual circumstances in advance of the Dining Hall opening?

We will have student-friendly signage to alert students with food allergies of offerings that may be a concern. My kitchen staff will also be made very aware of students with food allergies and be proactive in making sure certain foods are avoided. And, of course, I will make myself available to speak with parents about their children’s individual situations and concerns.

COUNTRY KITCHEN

FIELD OF GREENS

THE OVEN

The Country Kitchen encompasses the main precepts of healthy eating, vegetarianism, traditional favourites and athletic-centric offerings. The Country Kitchen offerings will be highlighted in two key main entrée stations: The Comfort Zone will offer homeaway-from-home traditional favourites, while The Meatless Zone will tailor to students who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Each day we will feature seasonal rotating varieties of lettuce, freshly cut vegetables—local when possible— and lighter, ethnic-inspired legume and grain salads.

House-made dressings and plenty of crunchy toppings will provide students with all the makings for a healthy personalized salad.

Students can enjoy a real Italian experience with rotating daily specials from pizzas to handhelds to authentic pastas.

All dough and sauces will be made from scratch and toppings will include fresh local ingredients and spices, when possible.

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Nutrition is so important… We are going to follow the guidelines that we are building with the stations and make sure nutrition is at the forefront. I enjoy sharing my love and passion for food with everybody, always while keeping nutrition a top priority.

Q. Will you be visible on a daily basis?

Yes, I plan to be on the floor every day so that the students and staff get to know me.

I will make a concerted effort to become a familiar face around CDS. Q. Do you have plans on how to get the students involved in composting and waste reduction?

It will be trayless service, and I will be involved in overseeing the composting. Once things are seasoned, the compost will be used for fertilizing the gardens in an effort to keep them as organic as possible.

My family has a long history in farming, and we own a small plot of land up north with a small hobby farm. Growing up in an Italian family [both parents were born in Italy], there were always fresh vegetables and plants around, and through that I developed a fondness and love of gardening.

In my garden, we grow all sorts of varieties of heirloom tomatoes, kale, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, garlic, and onions. I look forward to starting herb and vegetable gardens at CDS, hopefully with the help of the students.

DELI EXPRESS

THE BOWL

Create the perfect deli sandwich made by you, just the way you like. Students will select from a wide assortment of the highest-quality meats, local and imported cheeses, freshly baked rolls and breads, and homemade spreads and condiments.

We only make soup one way— from scratch—because it tastes best that way! The daily selection will always feature vegetarian/vegan options to meet students’ dietary needs.

Q. How will you strike a balance between the various food stations and what is surely a wide array of palates among JK-Grade 12 students?

Based on my experience, it is the younger students who tend to be more experimental than the older students. The older students may feel their palates are more refined, but the younger ones are still discovering and tend to be more openminded and willing to try new things.

I am more than certain that the masses will be happy with what we have to offer.

Q. Tell us about your Dining Hall team.

We will be a team of 10 experienced kitchen staff, and if all goes according to plan, we will be allowed to get in and start to set up shop in late summer so that we are ready for a fall opening ■

EXHIBITION ENTRÉE

HYDRATION STATION

Prepared right in front of your eyes, students will be able to watch flavourful meals being made for them. Students can top any creation with fresh cheeses, herbs and spices.

To start, this will be offered twice a week with a variety of tantalizing noodle bowls and rice dishes.

Enjoy a cold, refreshing drink from our healthy beverage station for a fresh and nutritious boost during the day.

Each week we will offer a variety of smoothie drinks using a combination of fresh and local fruits and vegetables.

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THE GROWING MIND

by Dr. Karen Sumner, a freelance writer and editor based in King City

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©ISTOCK.COM/MARK SWALLOW

BUILDING A BETTER BRAIN THROUGH FOOD M

For years, we have heard about the benefits of fueling our brains with healthy food.

Now more than ever, there is research to support this theory.

ost of us recognize the dynamic nature of the mindbody connection. Our physical state affects our mind, such as the mental fuzziness or short-temper we can acquire if we don’t get enough sleep. We also know that the reverse is true: our mental state can affect our bodies. Who hasn’t felt an upset stomach or tightness in the chest when nervous or worried?

Our everyday experiences are a product of an interrelated system in which our bodies help us understand what we’re thinking and feeling, and our thoughts and feelings come out of our physical condition. Wellness is a two-way street.

The research that links nutrition with academic achievement comes as no surprise. After all, food is the most potent substance we put in our bodies. And there

is quite a lot that we have learned about the ways that a high-quality diet sets kids up to achieve their best in school.

STARTING WITH BREAKFAST Numerous peer-reviewed studies on the effects of eating breakfast point to several findings about students who skip breakfast: they have more difficulty recalling previous learning and forming new memories; have lower scores on standardized tests and other academic assessments; show a decreased ability to maintain attention and concentration; miss more days of school; are more likely to be hyperactive; and have more difficulty maintaining positive relationships with peers and teachers.

In short, before-school nutrition has powerful effects on brain function, improving both learning and social behaviour. (continued on page 12) THE LINK SPRING 2015

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THE GROWING MIND

(continued from page 11) In the words of Dr. J.M. Murphy, Associate Professor of Psychology at the Harvard Medical School and staff psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital, skipping breakfast has “quantifiable negative consequences for academic, cognitive, health, and mental health functioning.”

It’s a simple message, even if it can be difficult to apply in our busy lives: to be the best learner and classmate possible, kids need to eat a breakfast of nutrientrich foods. That sugary breakfast cereal sets kids up to crash soon after the learning begins.

©ISTOCK.COM/OKEA

ALL DAY LONG Unhealthy eating patterns throughout the day are also associated with unfavourable school performance. Low-quality, nutrientpoor foods (those high in sugar, trans fats, processing or chemical additives) create a greater risk for learning and behaviour difficulties. Nutrient-dense foods (vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, dairy and eggs) provide the best sustenance for a brain working hard to build knowledge and create understanding.

Dr. Philippa Norman, a nutrition consultant who treats hyperactivity, depression and anxiety, explains why the brain needs quality nutrition: “The brain is dynamic, responsive and efficient: new neural connections will be made to record and integrate new information learned.

Old, unused connections will be pruned away… The raw material for building and pruning these connections comes from the food we eat.”

The evidence supports a brain’s need for the healthy foods that promote optimal learning. In one study, improvements in food offered to students in an elementary school led to an increase in test scores and 12

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Fresh, dailyprepared food helps kids learn. They experience fewer school absences, better focus and attention, less disruptive and antisocial behaviour, and higher academic achievement.

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a decrease in referrals to nursing, counselling and disciplinary support. In another study, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables among adolescents led to higher academic achievement in their high school classes.

School food and nutrition programs have been shown to have a positive impact on child and adolescent health and learning. In one high school study, a combination of better-quality school food and an improved dining space led to greater learning after lunch. In an elementary study, the presence of a school garden increased food knowledge among grade 2 students and led to a greater preference for and higher consumption of fruits and vegetables.

WHAT ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH? Researchers now recognize that nutrientdense foods play a role in achieving and maintaining mental health, which The Canadian Mental Health Association defines as “a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.”

Some mental health conditions that have responded positively to an improved diet include depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Alzheimer’s disease.

Feelings of self-worth in teens have also been the focus of research. In one mental health study, adolescents who ate lowquality foods expressed increased negative evaluations of themselves: they felt that people didn’t like them and that they were not capable. When those same teens were put on an improved diet, they showed

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HEALTHY BRAIN FOOD

id you know that world sugar consumption has tripled over the past 50 years while the population has only doubled? It’s likely that you’ve heard some talk about sugar intake, mainly because researchers have drawn strong links between the growing consumption of sugar and the increase over the same period of time in various diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

The sugar issue isn’t just about excess calories and weight. Research has revealed that even slim and fit people who drink sugary beverages and eat sugary foods have an increased chance of developing these diseases. Though you can’t see it, consuming sugar increases the visceral fat around your heart and in your vital organs. This invisible fat is the most dangerous to our health.

Every week, there is another news story about a micronutrient, fruit or some other “super” food that we just have to eat.

Sometimes, it seems impossible to know what’s best. What should we feed our kids so that they can learn, socialize positively, and develop into their best selves?

It doesn’t have to be complicated. All of the good things kids need (like iron and folate) are found in foods we eat in their original state: meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. The fresher the food, the better. Home-cooked is superior to take-out, frozen or pre-processed. And supermarket baked goods, cereals, crackers – and pretty much anything prepared in a factory – is most likely nutrient-poor.

Basically, if the food on your child’s plate has been hunted or gathered, it’s likely nutrient rich, especially if it is locally-sourced and seasonal.

Fresh, daily-prepared food helps kids learn. They experience fewer school absences, better focus and attention, less disruptive and anti-social behaviour, and higher academic achievement. Kids really can learn to appreciate fresh, well-prepared food and eat it every day. ■

How much sugar should we be consuming?

The World Health Organization (WHO) released guidelines in 2003 stating that no more than 10% of an adult’s daily calories should come from sugar. That amounts to about 12 teaspoons per day. The WHO further suggested in 2014 that 5% of daily calories from sugar (6 teaspoons) would improve health even further.

The Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation agrees, stating that “an individual’s total intake of free sugars not exceed 10% of total daily calorie (energy) intake, and ideally less than 5%.”

Similarly, the American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that men consume no more than 9 teaspoons of sugar a day and women no more than 6 teaspoons.

What do these amounts look like? A can of pop has about 10 teaspoons of sugar. A “Healthy Choice” Pineapple Chicken microwave dinner has 5.5 teaspoons. A cup of Honey Nut Cheerios contains 3 teaspoons. One tablespoon of ketchup contains 1 teaspoon of sugar. Because approximately 80% of the packaged foods we buy at the supermarket have added sugar, it’s hard to avoid. Sugar is added to bread, soup, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce, hotdogs…. foods that we don’t necessarily associate with “sweet.”

According to Statistics Canada, Canadians consume about 26 teaspoons of sugar per day – quite a bit more than recommended amounts. That’s 40 kilograms over a year, which is 20 standard bags of sugar.

Health organizations are especially concerned about what they call SSBs – sugar-sweetened beverages. One extended health study followed 88,000 women for 24 years and found that women who consumed two or more sugar-sweetened beverages in a day had a 35% greater risk of developing coronary heart disease compared with women who consumed less than one SSB per month. Not surprisingly, the consumption of SSBs has also been connected to the rise in childhood obesity and diabetes.

Lowering our sugar intake means limiting sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods and consuming more water and freshly-prepared meals. Health advocates agree that this shift will boost our performance and improve our overall health. ■ – Dr. Karen Sumner THE LINK SPRING 2015

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©ISTOCK.COM/DMITRY KIM

greater self-esteem, viewing themselves as more worthy and competent.

Other studies have found connections between depression and an iron-deficient diet. Low iron levels lead to decreased dopamine, which interferes with neurocognitive functions such as memory, attention and problem-solving. In addition, low levels of dopamine can also lead to a lack of energy, lack of motivation and depressive symptoms. Depression has also been associated with low intake of fish and folate, which is a B vitamin.

HOW MUCH SUGAR IS HEALTHY?

ORIGINS OF THE CDS AUCTION

COINED THE BEST ANNUAL EVENT IN KING The Country Day School will host its 42nd Annual Auction on May 29. What many in the CDS community may not realize is how much the Auction has evolved over the years and what a long and storied history it has.

by Kim Sillcox

EDITOR’S NOTE: These memories are but a few from the first 15+ Auctions. Another story will appear in the coming issues documenting the next 20 years, as well as the history of the CDS Rummage Sale. Please feel free to share your related memories by emailing me at kim. sillcox@cds.on.ca. Thank you!

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ECOLLECTIONS OF THE early days evoke hilarious stories and gales of laughter from those who experienced it, some not fit for print. I had the privilege of hearing these memories last June when CDS Co-founder and parent Moffat Dunlap generously offered to host a small group of those responsible for organizing and attending the original Auctions – what they fondly remember as the “best annual event in King.”

The first CDS Dinner & Silent Auction was held on May 30, 1974 at Eaton Hall on what is now Seneca College’s King campus, 1 km north of CDS on Dufferin Street. It was organized by CDS parents, in particular the late Margo Bindhardt Dunlap and the late Bob Murgatroyd, with a goal to raise $3,500. It reportedly raised $6,500.

“Margo was the driving force behind everything,” remembers CDS parent and wife of Bob, Barb Murgatroyd, who worked closely with Margo on Auction and the annual Rummage Sale.

“It was her idea to have an Auction, it was her idea to hold Rummage, and it was her idea to start the School. She deserves a mountain of credit.”

Sheila Thomson, whose two eldest children attended CDS, remembers how Margo not only suggested the idea of the

(l-r) Peggy Stevenson and guest in front of a Fire Engine Live Auction item; a 1980s-style Auction in Michael and Sue Burns’ arena; guests inspect a Maritime-themed feast purchased at the Auction and hosted by CDS Parents Peggy and John Stevenson and friends

School’s name based on the Greenwich Country Day School in Connecticut, but brought forth the idea of the Silent Auction as well. She also remembers the dedication of the late Daphne Eberts, another CDS parent and wife of Cofounder Edmond G. Eberts.

Elena (Pratt) Heard, wife of the School’s first Headmaster John Pratt, remembers cooking ‘hundreds’ of casseroles that first year. Peter Welsh, a new CDS parent at the time who became Auction co-chair for the next 21 years, remembers a bake sale and impromptu Live Auction component.

“We must have had 150 items and they were really varied,” recalled Peter. “Mike Douglas, a car dealer from Barrie and friend of two of the organizers, arrived in his brand new car, and as the evening wore on and beverages were consumed, he donated it to the party.”

A ‘Live’ Auction ensued and Michael Burns, CDS parent and former Board Chair, assumed the role of auctioneer. By the end of the evening, there were only four $10 coffee mugs left from the Silent Auction. The organizers agreed that in the future, they would enter only the best items in the Live Auction.

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OR THE NEXT year, John Pratt struck an Auction Committee and appointed Peter Welsh and Bob Murgatroyd as co-chairs. Not wanting to overlook Bob’s wife Barb’s obvious gift for event organizing and auction-donations gathering, the Headmaster asked Barb Murgatroyd and Elaine Welsh to co-chair the first CDS Rummage Sale held in spring 1975 (more on Rummage in a future story).

“For a few years in the beginning, the

Auction Committee was a ‘Men’s Committee’ and the Rummage a ‘Ladies’ Committee’,” explained Peter. “That was really just for the organizing; everyone assisted in the actual events.”

The decision to hold the Auction on the last Friday in May was to accommodate the large number of families with cottages. The thinking was that if the Auction was held early enough in the year, before school was out, families would be more inclined to postpone their trip north until Saturday.

“This event was so much fun you couldn’t help but go,” said Bob Sillcox, a former CDS parent and Board member, and avid cottager. “You just had to change your plans to be there!”

Having the word “Country” in the School’s name made it easy on the Auction Committee to select a theme and venue.

Michael Burns’ sister, the late Dinny Day,

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Guests at Moffat Dunlap’s “Reminiscing about Auction” party last June (from l-r) back row: John Mollard, Edmond G. Eberts, Elaine Welsh, Robert Sillcox, Jane Mollard, Derek Lederer, Demi Rogers, Peter van Nostrand, Jan Wilson, Sheila Thomson, Barb Murgatroyd, Joan Addison, Peter Welsh, Wilma West, Moffat Dunlap; front row seated: Janet van Nostrand, Michael Burns, Gord Wilson Sr., Di Hawksworth and Gary West.

ORIGINS OF THE CDS AUCTION

had a riding arena and a barn on the south side of the King-Vaughan town line, near Dufferin Street. Michael talked his sister into hosting the second Auction beginning in 1975, and she continued to host until 1982. After Dinny passed away the following year, Michael and Sue Burns took over the hosting responsibility in their arena down the road up until the 25th Auction held in 1997.

Those first years, the committee approached local business owners for everything from the food (initially a cold cut buffet and salad from Gallagher’s Food Market of Oak Ridges) and rentals (from Stevenson’s Rentals owned by CDS friends Jim and Joan McKinney), to the flowers (CDS Parent Sue Burns handpicked them locally) and the live band (Adam Saunders and the Hammered Brass – Adam was a friend of many local parents and still resides in King City). The original auctioneer, Noel Robertson, donated his services and stayed on until 1988.

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HE SECOND YEAR featured the auctioning of an antique fire truck. As if it was yesterday, the room full of guests at Moffat’s home excitedly began to talk over one another as they remembered the arrival of the McCutcheon brothers, Jim and Fred, that evening. As the story goes, upon seeing that a fire engine was part of the Auction, Fred turned to Jim and said, “The only thing I ever wanted in life was a fire engine.” They somehow ended up on opposite sides of the arena and began unknowingly bidding against one another. As the only two bidders, Fred eventually outbid his brother.

“They took off with the lights ablazing and the oil crank siren blaring up the

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street to the McCutcheon’s farm,” recalled Michael Burns. Fifteen to twenty guests were seated on top and the plan was to deliver the truck to the McCutcheon Farm and then return everyone to the Auction

by Aurora Taxi.

Michael recalled how his sister Dinny had just put in new paddocks leading up to the event. It had rained the night of the Auction and a few people had wisely left their cars in the field and taken taxis home. At 2 a.m., a brand new Mercedes got stuck and had to be pulled out. They latched onto the bumper and, with the Burns’ farm manager Charlie Henshaw on the big John Deere tractor, someone said “just give her the full throttle,” and the entire front bumper came off, leaving the owner with tears in his eyes.

Another CDS parent of four children and former Board Chair, Janet van Nostrand, asked about the origin of the “Nude on Canvas” – a painting by Eugene Liliepvre that the winning bidder kept for a year and then returned to be auctioned off the next. “The Chairman had to have it for the two years of their Chairmanship,

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and that’s why I shuddered – I was afraid I was going to have to bid on it.” The Nude remained a fixture in the Live Auction until the late 1990s.

“I still have a Stoneleigh Ford miniature truck that I bought at an Auction when my kids were there,” said Demi Rogers, an original CDS parent and Board Chair. “I just had it restored for my grandchildren, and their mother saw it and said no way – they’ll kill themselves!”

Jan Wilson, also a parent of four original CDS students and wife of the first Foundation Chair, Gord Wilson Sr. (who designed the first Auction invitation), remarked how grandparents even got involved in the early years, including Janet Burns (Michael’s mother) and Billie Rogers (Demi’s mother). It was truly a family affair.

Barb Murgatroyd reminded everyone how at one point the Liquor Control Board had threatened to close the Auction down for selling drinks without a license.

In response, Margo Bindhardt Dunlap and Bob Murgatroyd met with the Head of the LCBO and apologized for not knowing

IN THE MID-TO-LATE 70S AND EARLY 80S, THE AUCTIONS ROUTINELY RAISED $30,000 TO $40,000 EACH YEAR, BUT IN THE MID-TO-LATE 80S, PROFITS REALLY TOOK OFF – IN 1989 THE AUCTION YIELDED A RECORD $225,000 PROFIT.

they were supposed to have a license. As the story goes, they never sold alcohol again. Instead, their solution was to place donation baskets on every bar.

Eventually, Canada’s Wonderland became a sponsor and started donating the alcohol. “Guests were astounded that drinks were free, and we got it all back when the Auction items were bid through the roof,” said Peter.

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VERY YEAR, the Auction Committee aimed higher, fueled by its ever increasing fundraising successes. “We would start planning for the next year that night,” said Peter. “A lot of it was just a simple phone call. We’d call the food guy, the sound guy, the live band. The live band was critical, but Adam Saunders understood this – he’d arrive early, play, kick back for the Auction, and play again.”

Moffat Dunlap told the story of how in the early 80s, Ricky Thompson, the horseman in charge of Dinny Day’s arena,

spontaneously decided to ride a horse bareback with no bridle into the arena during dinner and proceeded to jump over two tables full of guests. Miraculously, no one was hurt!

Additions and tweaks were made every year. Around 1985, Peter Welsh introduced something called the Surprise Wagon that involved wrapped gifts valued at $20 for people to purchase. Headmaster Robert Ross took informal photos of students around the school as his contribution to auction off to parents.

John Mollard brought this to another level by asking his friend, Dennis Miles, a professor of photographic arts at Ryerson University, to take photos. Dennis would spend a day taking photos of CDS students to be used as decorations at the Auction.

He would enlarge them and put them on Bristol board entirely at his own expense.

Parents were strongly ‘encouraged’ to purchase the photos, raising well over $100,000 over the years that they did it.

Every parent was asked to contribute in some way. “It is how we learned who did

what,” said Peter. “Bob Moorhead had hot tubs, Ralph Webbe made the cast iron component for Weber barbeques, and Bill and Lyn Aimers were in the grass seedling business (Aimers Seeds) and donated wild flower gardens. We all had to be creative.”

Other early donations included cars, multiple fire engines, antique furniture, the chance to crew in a sailing race, an Agawa Canyon Fall train trip, golf and tennis trips to Bermuda, a stay in a London flat, cottage vacations, balloon rides, riding lessons from Olympian Equestrian and CDS parent Jimmy Elder, lawn furniture, satellite antennae systems, artwork, dinners, and two weeks at Onondaga Summer Camp.

“We were all deathly afraid of it not being a success and put our lives on hold to organize this event,” remembered John Mollard, a longtime CDS Parent, Auction co-chair for eight years in the 1980s, and former Board Chair.

“As far as my wife, Jane, and I were concerned, it was the primary event of the year for the parents and the grandparents;

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ORIGINS OF THE CDS AUCTION

they wanted to have a great time. Naturally, like all private schools at that time, we were riding by the seat of our pants and needed it to be a success. CDS was the first school in Canada to have an Auction, and we taught everyone else how successful and fun it could be.”

A veterinarian by day, John and Jane brought Labrador Retriever puppies a few years in a row and donated parrots for many years. “It’s amazing how the dogs were sold to good homes,” said John.

“You would feel badly if people bought them on a drunken spec, but they got great homes so we kept doing it.” He remembers a husband and wife bidding on a parrot from opposite ends of the venue one year – a tactic that yielded $900.

Other memorable Live Auction items included hilarious themed-feasts for large groups prepared and hosted by CDS parents, including the Stevensons, Peacheys, Bannermans, Needlers, Corbetts, Webbes, Sharkeys, Clarkes and Vriends. Peter Welsh served as “butler” or “man of the house” for the evening.

In 1990, the memorable baby pig was

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auctioned off under the category “Believe It Or Not” – offspring of Lady Tara, the First Lady of Hog Town and Queen of Guinea Pigs.

“I’ve never had more fun with better people in my life,” said John Mollard. “If you got involved in the Auction, you really found out what was going on, and you really worked for it. I never walked out of my clinic for anything other than The Country Day School. We’d work until 11 at night preparing.”

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ETER WELSH summed up the level of volunteer dedication as follows: “In 1985 there was a tornado in Barrie. It was about 5:00 pm when the storm hit King, and you could not hear yourself think inside that barn. At 6:30 it stopped and the sun was out by the time guests started to arrive. Halfway through the evening, a police officer stopped by to say there was another storm on the way. They had to decide whether to send people home and decided, no, let’s finish the Auction.”

IF YOU GOT INVOLVED IN THE AUCTION, YOU REALLY FOUND OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON, AND YOU REALLY WORKED FOR IT. I NEVER HAD MORE FUN WITH BETTER PEOPLE IN MY LIFE. JOHN MOLLARD

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Staff and Faculty started working the Auction in the early years and would have contests to see who could set up the best bar. Former Head of Housekeeping and Chief Custodian Di Hawksworth and her late husband Bing, who worked for the School for 28 and 25 years respectively, were fixtures every year helping with set up, the Auction itself and breakdown.

“I think the reason the Auctions were so successful is because of the people involved,” said Di to the room full of guests. “You were such giving people, you got along with each other, and you had the contacts. That’s why CDS is so successful today – because all of you were so giving of your time and money from the beginning.”

Throughout the evening, the group reminisced about other popular CDS events, including the famous CDS Rummage sale and NHL Old-timers Game that Peter Welsh and Di Hawksworth (aka “The Sieve” for her goaltending abilities) co-chaired for two years at Maple Leaf Gardens.

“We held so many events,” said Peter. “We rented the Seguin one year in Muskoka, we auctioned off the opportunity to sing O Canada at centre ice in Maple Leaf Gardens two years in a row.

We sold the right to start on the first line, the “starting five” on the Dream Team, in the NHL Old-timers Game at Maple Leaf Gardens too.” (Reminiscences on p. 19) In the mid-to-late 70s and early 80s, the Auctions routinely raised $30,000 to $40,000 each year, but in the mid-to-late 80s, profits really took off – in 1989 the Auction yielded a record $225,000 net profit.

“Times were different; that’s when a dollar was a dollar,” said Peter. John Mollard agreed. “We netted really well, our overhead was virtually zilch, and early on we were raising a significant amount of money for the School.”

NOSTALGIA

MEMORIES OF THE CDS NHL OLD-TIMERS GAMES (1993 AND 1994)

BY PETER WELSH “Famous” official face-off between long-time Maple Leaf Frank Mahovlich and CDS Parent Peter Welsh; the formidable CDS team with their two goalies up front Di Hawksworth (left) and Mike Palmateer (right) and coaches in the back row: Gord Wilson Sr., Robin Fraser, Bob Bannerman and Bill Moriarty.

A CDS PARENT wandered around Maple Leaf Gardens, not quite believing he was about to play a game in the hallowed arena.

Frank Mahovlich walked up to him and asked, “Excuse me sir, can you tell me where the NHL Old-timers dressing room is?”

I walked him down to the room where many other Hall of Famers were getting dressed just like I was about to. I pinched myself to be sure this wasn’t all a dream!

Then I went back to the CDS Old-timers dressing room – Mike Palmateer was dressing in the hall outside a referee’s room, while the rest of us sorted out our brand-new CDS uniforms, with our chosen numbers and names on the back!

Di “The Sieve” Hawksworth had her own change room! We had an overabundance of

coaches – Gord Wilson, Robin Fraser, Bob Bannerman and Bill Moriarty, who wisely had little to say to their stalwart team.

Once on the ice, it was photograph time – each player had his “hockey card” photo taken and then group photos with linemates – special souvenirs.

The opening face-off was very special to yours truly – he faced off with Frank Mahovlich (and in the game the following year). Frank autographed the first picture – still a treasure hanging proudly on the wall at home! The game was also videoed and we all received copies in due course.

One memorable moment: Ed “Ace” Eberts took the puck behind The Sieve heading toward Carl Brewer. Ed did an elegant stumble and zipped around Brewer who im-

mediately gave chase and shouted at Ed that he wasn’t supposed to do that.

A bit later, Brian “Shooter” Conacher crossed our blue line and drilled a shot into the top left corner of our net, flashing by The Sieve so fast she didn’t even move. Then Brian looked up and realized it was The Sieve in the net and he raced up, gave her a big hug, and apologized for the blistering shot! The Sieve also remembered stopping a backhand shot by Frank Mahovlich: “That was my only claim to fame!”

Such was life for the CDS Old-timers in a pair of memorable games against some of the all-time best. And, as a further highlight, both teams met in the Hot Stove Lounge after the game for chatting and more photo ops! ■

John Mollard and the others in the room all agreed that it was the enthusiasm and critical mass of the numerous CDS parent volunteers that made the Auction such a fundraising success.

“Of significant note was the contribution of time and leadership of Headmaster Robert Ross and his wife Deanna during their tenure (1976-1989),” said John.

“They attended the meetings, hosted parties and generally hustled the rest of us along. They were great morale boosters as there was a fair degree of stress in this endeavour.”

“The CDS Auction was an outstanding marketing tool for the School,” said Sheila Thomson. “Capacity was 600, and we would sell out every year. The majority

of the people in the room were friends we brought as guests to our table, many of whom had so much fun and were so impressed by what we managed to pull off, they eventually enrolled their children.”

A powerful tool indeed, and an outstanding example that present day Auctions continue to build upon. ■

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< GRADE 7-9 NOVEMBER PRODUCTION

The Creature Creeps!

by Jack Sharkey

CDS Drama

In the Spotlight 2014-2015

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The Creature Creeps! is set in the parlour of Castle Von Blitzen, high in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. This amusing send-up of the horrorstory genre has an ancient castle, creaking doors, a mad scientist, his eccentric assistant, a grim housekeeper, secret laboratory, shrieks from the depths of the cellar, disappearing villagers, an incredibly stalwart hero of sterling character, the scientist’s absolutely dopey daughter, a set of zany village-sisters and identical quintuplet brothers.

This hilarious haunted comedy proved an immense success, following in the spooky footsteps of The Addams Family and Young Frankenstein.

Gisa Bevacqua-Tirone and Scott Garbe Directors

< GRADE 10-12 FEBRUARY PRODUCTION

Noises Off

< JUNIOR SCHOOL APRIL PRODUCTION

Disney’s Peter Pan Jr. based on the play by J.M. Barrie and the 1953 Disney film The child-like wonder and imagination in J.M. Barrie’s story of Peter and Wendy has transcended generations throughout time. Our creative and imaginative Junior School students brought this timeless classic to life, maintaining the original story while adding a lot of unique magic of their own. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and dedication. After all, all it takes is faith and trust … and a little bit of pixie dust!

Mrs. Baird, Mrs. Paddags and Mrs. Romanowich Directors

Last spring, when the directorial team got together to choose a show for this season, we knew that we wanted it to be a comedy. Noises Off is not only that, but it also offers the challenges of a very physical and technical farce. As any of the actors can attest, comedy is hard work!

The limitation of the small cast had kept us from tackling this show before – but as a department, we are always willing to think of things in new ways – and so we decided to double cast. There has been no shortage of magical and surreal moments during rehearsal – we weren’t sure if we were rehearsing, or actually putting on the play. More importantly, there were many moments of sheer joy – the cast and crew erupting into fits of laughter.

“That’s what it’s all about. Doors and sardines… That’s farce. That’s the theatre. That’s life!”

Gisa Bevacqua-Tirone Director

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JUNIOR SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS November 1 Grade 1 students travelled to Harbourfront Centre in Toronto to complete two different art projects: making their own kite and a clay mask.

December 2 Grade 3 and 4 students performing at the Junior School Holiday Concert.

3 The Junior School held its annual Treat and Book Sale to raise money for each class to purchase gifts to place under the Giving Tree and, ultimately, be delivered to one of three local shelters: The Rose of Sharon, The York Centre and Leeder Place. The total raised was $2,209! As well, the community was very generous in offering anonymous donations of gifts and gift cards.

4 Grade 2 students at the annual December skating party.

January 5 Congratulations to Pathways to People who helped rally the Junior School to raise $1,265 for The Hospital for Sick Children’s Oncology Unit (SickKids). Fundraising took place throughout the fall and the students chose to donate to SickKids as it is a charity close to their hearts. Grade 6 student Ian Harman presented CDS parent Alison Eacock with a cheque at an assembly.

6 Grade 5 Elections took place in the Di Ciano Atrium.

7 The JK students partook in the annual Teddy Bear Picnic celebration of the classic children’s book by wearing their pajamas to school and enjoying bear-themed activities, including a picnic snack and marshmallow roast in Mrs. Wildberger’s

office. Students brought their teddy bears to school and tucked them into bed before leaving for the day so that their bears could have a sleepover and get into all kinds of mischief – the theme of the writing exercise the next day!

February 8 Award-winning science journalist Peter McMahon, also known as the ‘Wilderness Astronomer’, brought his mobile planetarium to the Junior School for two days in February. Junior School students got to take a tour of the universe and see constellations, the Northern Lights, orbit the Earth, and visit planets, moons, comets, stars, black holes, and galaxies!

9 SK students participated in the annual Chinese New Year Dragon Dance.

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March 10 Grade 5 and 6 students played in the Black Knight Badminton Tournament.

April 11 SK students made pizza in the classroom. One student professed his favourite type of pizza was “Cheese, cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms and cheese!”

12 Grade 1 and 2 students were treated to a Puppet Show in the Library courtesy of volunteers from Camp Quality, a not-for-profit camp for children with cancer. The puppets help to share the message with children that friends remain the same, even if they lose their hair while battling cancer. Grade 6 student Ainsley Johnston (pictured below on the left with classmate Katya Harbauer) helped to introduce the puppeteers, including her grandmother, Mrs. Carol Strong.

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MIDDLE SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS November 1 Middle School Dance in Senior School Foyer.

December 2 Annual December holiday skating party.

3 Grades 7 and 8 students perform at the Middle/Senior Music Night.

January 4 The annual Grade 8 trip to Ottawa featured many of the must-see attractions of our nation’s capital, in-

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cluding Parliament Hill, the War Museum, the National Gallery, and skating on the Rideau Canal. Without a doubt, it was a highlight of the Grade 8 year!

5 Eight Middle School students participated in their first-ever competitive debate at Sterling Hall School’s annual Kaufman Cup Debating Competition for students from Grades 6-9. The CDS debaters had to debate two rounds on the topic of whether

newspapers are a thing of the past. They then faced the daunting challenge of debating a challenging impromptu topic: Be it resolved that progress is an illusion. All eight students acquitted themselves admirably, with the Grade 7 team of Madison Cheaney and Blake Phillips finishing in fifth place in the Junior Division; Mya Stollery and Spencer Fullerton had scores in the nineties and finished in second place

to the eventual winners, Maddy Ganzhorn and Anna Croxon. Hillary Bennett (7) and Aly Weiss (8) posted some strong scores in the Senior Division, and overall the CDS school team finished in first place, winning the prestigious Kaufman Cup trophy for the first time.

February 6 Middle School students were especially busy one morning in February at the

in-school music camp.

After breakout sessions, the students came back together for a full ensemble rehearsal.

7 The Grade 7 Trip to Quebec once again proved to be an extraordinary cross-curricular experience where students found themselves walking on the same soil as the explorers and settlers they learned about in history class, while being immersed in the French language and

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culture and feeling the joie de vivre of the Quebecois during their favourite season, l’hiver!

8 Eight students from Grades 7 and 8 travelled to St. Andrew’s College in February to pit their wits against those of SAC’s Middle School debaters. In total, 20 students debated whether social media is harmful to our understanding of current events. CDS had the top two teams of the night, with Maddy

Ganzhorn and Anna Croxon taking 1st place overall, and Blake Phillips and Mya Stollery in a close 2nd place. Individually, Maddy came first, Blake was second, and Spencer Fullerton finished in third place. Anna Croxon was 5th, and George Tsiolis, Dima Saleem, Hillary Bennett and Mya Stollery all finished in the top 10.

March 9 Grades 7 and 8 participated in the annual Black Knight Badminton Tournament.

April 10 Nine members of the CDS Middle School Environment Council presented a deputation to the King City Town Council on Monday, April 13th. Backed with nearly 300 signatures from faculty and Grade 4-12 students, the Enviro

Council made a case that King Township should join the Blue Dot Campaign and adopt a Municipal Declaration in support of recognizing and advocating for the Right to a Healthy Environment as a legally protected right within the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights. Featured in the photo are Grade 7 & 8 students with Mayor Steve Pellegrini (l-r): Reid Harman, Zoey Pietrobon, Isabella Giancola-Schieda,

Dima Saleem, Aly Weiss, Carly Campoli and Colleen Glynn. Missing from the photo, but also present are Emily Wright and Billy Tsiolis.

11 CDS attracted 35 Grade 7 and 8 girls for tryouts to the first-ever U14 Girls’ Rugby team. The turnout was so impressive that we are fielding two teams this spring!

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SENIOR SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS November 1 During the first and second term, four Senior School students volunteered in the Junior School classrooms: McKinley Hunt ’15 (featured in the photo), Michela Luba ’15, Jacqueline MacDonald ’15 and Vanessa Nwokolo ’15. Both older and younger students benefitted from the mentoring, and McKinley Hunt in particular validated her desire to pursue teaching in the future.

2 Twelve students travelled to Washington, DC, for the DECA North Atlantic Regional Conference.

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Students networked with other business students from across the northeastern U.S. and Ontario and learned various skills needed in business, while gaining a greater understanding in the areas of finance, marketing and entrepreneurship.

3 Our Grade 12 students headed east or west in November on the annual university tour. The eastbound group visited Queen’s, McGill, Concordia, Ottawa and Carleton, while the westbound trip travelled to Western, Guelph, Laurier, Waterloo and McMaster. The added bonus was that they

met up with CDS alumni on both trips!

December 4 Congratulations to our latest Duke of Ed Award Winners: McKinley Hunt ’15 (Gold); Shannon O’Connor ’15 (Silver); Julia Garbe ’17 (Silver); and Nili Tonkonog ’17 (Bronze).

5 The Music Department delivered another outstanding Middle and Senior School Concert.

January 6 Budding entrepreneurs in the Grade 9 Business class were tasked with creating a

product and a pitch to potential investors. Faculty and staff dropped by their booths at the Grade 9 Business Expo to hear some ambitious and innovative ideas from our future entrepreneurs. Watch the video: http://bit.ly/1Ftbt1r 7 CDS held a special “Lights” Coffee House on January 29th to celebrate the life of their former classmate David Leeper, who passed away one year ago. The evening featured music, poetry and spoken word performances by CDS students and faculty members.

The event was organized by Grade 12 students Melissa

Ramnauth and Allison Dickson, and members of the Music Council. Money raised was donated to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

8 The 2015 Grade 10 St. Donat trip was once again a tremendous success. As in years past, it has inspired our students and enhanced their appreciation of French Canadian culture!

9 Nine students participated in CDS’ first international Ivy League Model UN held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. CDS has participated in Model UNs for years in the GTA, winning

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McKinley Hunt

Shannon O’Connor

Julia Garbe

Nili Tonkonog

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“I am immensely proud of what Olivia and Natalie were able to accomplish in Hong Kong.

Over the years, the CDS team has earned an enviable reputation on the world stage.” a best delegate at the most recent one hosted

by Toronto French School.

While in Philadelphia, they had an opportunity to take in the sights, including a trip to the Philadelphia Art Museum (home of the ‘Rocky’ statue) and a bus tour of the city.

February 10 Four Grade 12 Music students presented their final ISU projects in the form of a concert for their parents, friends and teachers. Allison Dickson, Peter Kerrigan, Melissa Ramnauth and Ben Stibrany should be

incredibly proud of their performances.

11 The annual Duke of Edinburgh Dog Sledding Expedition took place during the deep freeze of February with temperatures hovering at -20 to -30 degrees Celsius! Thankfully, all 19 Senior School participants and their faculty advisors were prepared for the cold and had an unbelievable four-day trip.

March 12 The CDS Cyclone Robotics Team traveled to North Bay for their second First Robotics Competition

(FRC) tournament at the end of March. Participation at this event was up from last year, with 18 students competing. Although the CDS team trailed after the first day at 32 out of 36 teams, they were able to demonstrate what their robot was capable of during their last two matches, and were asked by the sixth ranked team to join their alliance to advance to the quarter finals. They went on to advance to the semifinals, where their alliance team finished third overall!

JOHN LIGGETT, Head of School

CDS Student Wins World Debating Title April 13 For the first time in The Country Day School’s history, two students not only qualified for, but competed in this year’s World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in Hong Kong. Natalie Ganzhorn ’16 and Olivia Railton ’17 represented Canada out of a team of 12 on the world stage. Both girls have been involved in debating since Middle School and honed their skills under the expert tutelage of veteran coach Kerstin Wyndham-West.

In the end, both girls made it to the finals; Natalie for persuasive speech and Olivia for debate. Olivia went on to compete as one of the top four debaters in the Grand Finals on Saturday – finishing as this year’s World Champion in Debating!

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ATHLETICS UPDATE

U12 Co-Ed Hockey D1 (CISAA Gold)

U10 Co-Ed Basketball (CISAA Silver)

Senior Boys’ Basketball D3 (CISAA Bronze)

CDS FALL & WINTER LEGENDS U14 Girls’ Volleyball D1 (CISAA Silver)

U12 Girls’ Soccer (CISAA Silver)

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U16 Boys’ Basketball D2 (CISAA Silver)

U12 Girls’ Basketball (CISAA Gold)

U16 Girls’ Volleyball D2 (CISAA Silver)

Senior Boys’ Hockey D2B (CISAA Gold) In a closely contested game, the Senior Boys’ D2B Hockey team won the CISAA Championship against the Toronto French School, 6-4. Their overall season record was 15-0-1!

U16 Boys’ Soccer

Senior Girls’ Soccer D1 (CISAA Bronze)

One of our focuses this year has been on developing leaders amongst our athletes. Leaders who have grit, determination, and perseverance. Leaders who practice at game speed and work relentlessly to improve. Leaders who demand 100% of themselves and their teammates at all times. Leaders who treat all their teammates with respect. Throughout the first two terms, many

of our players have demonstrated these qualities on their respective teams. We feel that being a leader is the key ingredient for a successful season and a successful life. Our ultimate goal would be to have every athlete leave CDS with this amazing quality and apply it to their future endeavours.

John Andersen, Director of Athletics

Senior School Cross Country Logan Hunt ’17 and Alessia Pizzimenti ’18 went to OFSAA

U10 Blue Co-ed Soccer (CISAA Silver) U14 Co-Ed Hockey D2 (CISAA Bronze)

U12 Girls’ Volleyball D2 (CISAA Silver)

U14 Girls’ Basketball D1 (CISAA Silver)

U16 Boys’ Volleyball D2 (CISAA Silver)

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U11 Boys’ Soccer (CISAA Silver) Senior Girls’ Volleyball D1 (CISAA Bronze)

Senior Girls’Basketball

U12 Boys’ Basketball D2 Blue (CISAA Gold)

U10 Green Co-Ed Soccer (CISAA Bronze)

CDS SNOWBOARD TEAM EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS In only its second year, the CDS Snowboard team not only increased its numbers from 6 to 15, but sent 7 students to OFSAA. In short, it was a spiritinfused season, in large part because of the infectious team camaraderie, parent support, and amazing conditions.

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The seven OFSAA qualifiers were: Tristan Forster ’18, Ethan Lavis ’18, Jillian Sward ’18, Lucas Venere ’18, Cole Walker ’18, Alex Sward ’17, and Jackson Empey ’16.

Unfortunately, Jackson and Tristan couldn’t participate due to injuries the weekend before, so Willem von Schilling ’17 was selected as an alternate.

The following six students placed as follows: Individual results: Jillian Sward placed 35th out of nearly 100 girls; Lucas Venere placed 9th out of 20 Level 2 boys.

The Level 1 Boys’ results (out of 149 riders) were: Alex Sward (7th place); Ethan Lavis (18th place); Cole Walker (106th place)

The CDS Level 1 Boys’ team placed 9th overall out of 27 Ontario teams. Thank you to Coach Andrew Robertson’s expert coaching and the outstanding support of the Sward family. The team is already looking forward to next year’s season. Looks like the sky’s the limit!

– Jen Weening

The CDS and UCC pre-game shot at the start of the CAIS Tournament

ESCAPE FROM HURRICANE GONZALO What began as a highly-anticipated tournament in Bermuda, turned into a wonderful story of what might have been.

by Sandy Townsend, CDS Faculty and Sr. Boys’ Soccer Coach

I

T WAS MIDWAY through our second game of the day when the call came, and it immediately changed the focus from “winning a soccer game” to “what does the luxurious world of first-class travel with PGA stars really look like?”

The Senior Boys’ Soccer team was in Bermuda for the 2015 CAIS tournament hosted by Saltus Grammar School last October, and Hurricane Gonzalo had decided to join the fun on the tiny island.

The arrival of the storm forced hosts and guests to consider making alternative travel plans to leave the island before Gonzalo hit land. The offer of a flight out on the PGA charter was welcomed by the coaches and players, as none were looking forward to

experiencing the hurricane – well, except for maybe the geography teacher!

When the new travel plans were presented at the post-game meeting (CDS only played two tournament games: against UCC (losing 4-0) and Saltus Grammar (losing 2-0). Many of the boys were delighted as they had visions of leather seats, unlimited food, and the chance to get golf tips from four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, two-time major winner Martin Kaymer, as well as Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson. The four golfers had been in Bermuda for the 2014 Grand Slam of Golf, and they were staying at the same hotel. Not only were they staying at the same hotel, but McIlroy traveled on the same elevator as two of

our players, and some of the team shared breakfast with Kaymer!

It was an excited group that quickly packed up their gear and headed for the airport that evening. All the talk was about the golfers. Hurricane Gonzalo was forgotten.

When we arrived at the almost deserted airport, we joined a long twisting line in front of the only check-in counter. Everybody was on their toes, scanning the crowd for signs of world-class golfers, but they were nowhere to be found!

After just a few questions, we discovered that the golfers had left earlier that day on private charters, and that we were lucky just to share space with the broadcast crew, the camera men, and the catering staff for the flight to Atlanta, Georgia. No leather seats, no unlimited food and drink, and certainly no golfing tips from stars.

No, nothing except a quiet, safe flight away from Hurricane Gonzalo and a wonderful story of what might have been. ■ NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: On behalf of CDS, we are extremely grateful to Deputy Head of Saltus, Jon Beard, for his careful oversight in scheduling flights and ensuring that all visiting teams had safe options to depart or stay and weather the storm.

We also thank the PGA Tour for providing us with 18 complimentary seats to Atlanta!

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MARCH BREAK 2015

MAKING BEAUTIFUL MUSIC IN ITALY

T

HIRTY-FIVE STUDENTS took part in the Senior Music trip to Italy over March Break. The tour began in Florence where the group spent two full days exploring and performing. Their first concert took place on the steps of San Lorenzo church where passersby enjoyed the instrumental and vocal sounds of CDS students.

From there, the students travelled on

to Venice and three towns in Tuscany: Lucca, Montecatini and Viareggio, performing in a 17th century church in Lucca and on the steps of another church in Montecatini.

They ended their trip in Rome with highlights including tours of the Roman Forum, Colosseum, and St. Peter’s Square

and St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

The students performed throughout, with their final performance, an advertised concert, taking place in the Oratorio del Caravita church before a full audience, including members of the Canadian Consulate to the Vatican! ■ – Nancy Promane

a day in Delphi, once considered the centre of the universe and the home to the Oracle of Apollo, and visited the Monastery of Osios Loukas, a 1,000-year-old functioning Greek Orthodox monastery, where they experienced the ancient religion firsthand. Then it was on to Athens, the birthplace of democracy, drama and philosophy, where they visited the

Acropolis Museum and the Plaka, the old historical neighbourhood. And, of course, they had to sample the souvlaki at a Greek Taverna!

The final treat for the group was a one-day sea tour from Athens to the three islands of Poros, Hydra and Aegina; a surreal ending to an unforgettable trip! ■ – Jen Weening

SOCIAL SCIENCE TRIP TO ITALY AND GREECE

A

GROUP OF 15 students joined the music group in Rome for two days before embarking on the Social Science trip, a separate adventure to southern Italy and

Greece.

From Rome, the group travelled south to Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri. They climbed Mount Vesuvius, the only active volcano on the European mainland, and drove up the “Mama Mia” road to upper Capri, a stunning route with spectacular views from the top. After Sorrento, it was on to Bari, the Italian ‘boot’, where the group took an overnight ferry to Greece.

Upon arriving in Greece, they spent

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2015 Portraits’ editing team (l-r): Anjali Bhardwaj ’15, Kate Jones ’15, Sabrina Tarzia ’15, Beth Fournier ’15 and Sarah Hudson, Faculty Advisor.

Missing from the photo Valery Goutorova ’16

LITERARY ARTS SCENE IS THRIVING AT CDS

T

he student-produced art and literary magazine, Portraits, is a highly-anticipated publication launched each spring at a reception attended by CDS students, faculty, parents and friends. It consists of student artwork, poetry and writing submissions, all creatively presented in a student-designed magazine format.

According to Sarah Hudson, the faculty advisor for Portraits, “Art and literature are thriving here at CDS and this is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the breadth of talent we have.”

CDS honoured the contributors at a special publications launch and reception on April 15. The Atrium was filled to capacity and audience members were treated to artwork, poetry and a wonderful rendition of Billy Joel’s Piano Man

by Sam Cantor ’17, performing on the piano and harmonica simultaneously.

InCITE is an anthology of student writing and visual art published annually by CITE, the Conference of Independent Teachers of English, which was launched six years ago and now represents 16 Ontario CIS schools. The English Depart-

“

Art and literature are thriving here at CDS and this is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the breadth of talent we have.

SARAH HUDSON

ment submitted works from 12 CDS students, representing all three grade bands (7/8, 9/10 and 11/12).

This year’s creative writing prompt was “Make us Laugh” and the students’ work was judged by the award-winning novelist Terry Fallis, the author of four books, including The Best Laid Plans. While all submitted works will be published, Mr. Fallis picked three award winners from each grade band to receive a prize. This year, Megan Hill ’15 received Honourable Mention for her poem called “Title.” ■ –Kim Sillcox THE LINK SPRING 2015

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FROM THE VAULT

REMEMBERING PETER TAYLOR

BY ROBERT M. ROSS

Can you identify the student in this photo? If so, email us at alumni@cds.on.ca

Peter Taylor was the first teacher hired at The Country Day School in 1972 and went on to teach for 18 years, serving as Director of Junior School for the last four from 1986-1990.

Mr. Taylor’s name is synonymous with fond memories of the Longhouse, a labour of love he and his students spent two years building behind the School. While he taught history, math, English and science, his true passion was teaching Indian Heritage for 16 years in the Longhouse, while preparing bannock and cooking muskrat over an open fire in a frying pan with lots of butter. He and his students would then eat the legs (which reportedly tasted like chicken) on numerous overnights spent in the Longhouse.

Peter Taylor passed away in January 2005 after a short illness. In recognition of this wonderfully eccentric teacher, who so many of his students remember with immense fondness (Taylor House is named after him), we are reprinting a piece written by Robert M. Ross, CDS’ second Headmaster, in 1989 upon his retirement. The piece was revised a year later upon Mr. Taylor’s retirement for the Summer 1990 edition of The Link magazine.

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>> Last year during the Senior School’s Closing Day ceremonies, I said to the student body that I would like to leave them my special, albeit idiosyncratic, wishes. One such wish was that I had hoped they would have plenty of eccentric people around them.

I said, “Ideally, these are very special people whose personal attributes deviate sometimes from usual methods and are occasionally whimsical.”

I concluded by saying to our students, “if you are really lucky, you will have had a unique opportunity to have had an eccentric as a teacher.” Indeed, many of those students were lucky!

Perhaps it is an understatement to label Peter Taylor as an eccentric – one who abandons the definition most of us have of so-called normal behaviour and sometimes behaves in ways somewhere between the bizarre and lunatic. In my mind, an eccentric is motivated not by fame, nor attention-getting, but rather by the sole pleasure that the act itself gives.

The act of teaching and administering at The Country Day School for 18 years has given Peter great pleasure. His unique

manner of dispensing knowledge has given countless CDSers equal pleasure.

Surely they will never forget his untiring enthusiasm during the many Falstaff productions, his energy in establishing Longhouse experiences that brought history to life, his habitual manner of expressing words of wisdom such as, “Patience is a tree…”, his fair dispersement of punishment – somehow if you weren’t clupped by Mr. Taylor, you felt ignored. (One student even received a Holi-clup!)

The lexicon of Taylorisms such as clup, fuzzy face, sprong, badoogers, mungbars, turkey birds, snarks, and, of course, “hrumph” (this approximates the sound

“

Peter was always warm, accepting, non-patronizing, approachable, and… lived by and set standards for others of fairness, honesty, integrity and a love of learning – all of which provided the foundation of a good school experience for his students.

of a seal in heat), his individual style of performing in his classrooms, whether perched on top of his desk from his deer-skinned throne, or explaining why a “lazy sheep thinks its wool is heavy,” are all aspects of Peter’s character that are simply unforgettable.

It is a truism that first-class teachers seek to ignite in their students an enthusiasm for their subjects by example and leadership. They are more than instructors; they are role models for students.

Peter has been a wonderful role model for all of his students. The operative word here is all. He deeply understood each and every student and put that understanding into effect. He had an inordinate amount

of patience and never gave up on some of the troublesome and difficult students.

Peter respected the individuality of his students in the realization that everybody learns through his or her own perceptions.

I remember I asked Peter at the start of one school year what his course matter would be. He replied, “I don’t know. I haven’t seen my students yet.”

I believe that what the teacher is, is what he teaches. Peter was always warm, accepting, non-patronizing, approachable, and a person who lived by and set standards for others of fairness, honesty, integrity and a love of learning – all of which provided the foundation of a good school experience for his students. These

are wonderful qualities, but I believe he was a gifted teacher who could actually see what was in front of him, one who did not think he was staring into a mirror when he looked at a student, one who was not confused or threatened by individual growth that was inevitably different from his own.

William Arthur Ward wrote, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” Peter Taylor has been an inspiration to all his students and his colleagues at CDS. I am as certain that one cannot teach eccentricity as I am that it should be tolerated, if not encouraged. Peter Taylor’s brand of eccentricity has been important to the CDS constituencies, and it will be sadly missed.

I doubt that Peter ever took a course in “Communicating to Students,” and I would guess he never participated in a group-oriented “individual tolerance” experience. That trait which drove him to teach and devote these past 18 years solely to The Country Day School cannot be taught. But it can be nurtured and protected at CDS. Diversity and the tolerance of diversity give our society unique qualities, and it is people like Peter Taylor who are the exceptions that beseech us to probe our rules. ■ THE LINK SPRING 2015

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CONNECTIONS

ALUMNI NEWS AND UPDATES

SAVE THE DATE for this year’s Holiday Party

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18 2015!

ALUMNI HOLIDAY GATHERING 2014 (l-r) upper left: Jessica Fife ‘08, Brianna Fife ‘11, Dave Downer and Rachael Andrew ‘09; lower middle: Nick Tari ‘13, Scott Garbe, Adriano Santarossa ‘13, and Alan Guldimann ‘13; upper right: Matt Lepp ‘03, Kim Marchessault, and Drew Robertson ‘06.

Join CDS Online Social Media LIKE www.facebook.com/ TheCDS1972

TWEET www.twitter.com/ TheCDS1972

WATCH www.youtube.com/ TheCDS1972

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ALUMNI SNAPSHOTS

WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT

On a Mission to Re-connect

ALUMNI PALOOZA ON JUNE 13!

CACHELLE FRY ’99

C

ACHELLE FRY ’99 is the new Alumni Liaison assisting with the re-engagement of CDS alumni, after serving on the Alumni Executive for the past seven years.

Cachelle recently made the decision to move back to her childhood hometown of Oak Ridges from Toronto with her husband, Allan Colquhoun, and their three children: 3-year-old Halston and 6-month-old twin girls Harlow and Hazel. Her son wakes up in her old bedroom every day, and her drive to work brings back memories of racing to get to class. As a family, they wanted to slow down and simplify their lifestyle and, ultimately, create a life with more flexibility. The idea of

their children eventually attending one of their schools was particularly appealing.

Cachelle recalls always being involved as a CDS student. She was the consummate volunteer, planning formals, semi-formals, BBQs and Adopt-a-Child programs while on the Student Council. “I loved the opportunity the School gave us to really have an idea of what the outside world was like. I took every opportunity that I could to do the March Break travel trips and use the after-school time when we weren’t doing sports to volunteer and get involved in the local community. That was really a huge inspiration for me growing up. I was a big ‘volunteerer’ and it really shaped who I was as a young person and helped me become who am I am today.”

What she remembers most from being a CDS student, and remains grateful for today, is how much CDS encouraged her to pursue what she loves. “I wasn’t the typical student. I wasn’t going to get the academic scholarship. But CDS never stopped caring about me as an individual and really encouraged me and allowed me to feel inspired by what was of interest to me. CDS helped me to realize what I was good at.”

Cachelle is a born party planner. That is what she did at CDS, and what she still does today. At the time, she didn’t realize it could become a career and credits CDS for instilling the confidence and providing the support for her to discover what really made her happy in terms of a career. She feels very strongly that she would have been lost in the public system.

After graduation, she sampled a few different university programs before pursuing a General Arts degree at Queen’s University, followed by a certificate in Fundraising and Volunteer Management from Humber College. From there, Cachelle discovered she was a natural at wedding planning and eventually started her own business.

Today she keeps busy taking care of her three young children, discovering how many former CDS classmates are still in the area, and launching a new business selling gently-used baby clothes and goods at a small shop in Aurora called Belle et Beau Kids. It’s all fitting nicely into her master plan to create a new and calmer life for her family. ■ – Kim Sillcox INTERESTED IN RE-CONNECTING WITH CDS? Contact Cachelle at cachelle.fry@cds.on.ca or find her on Twitter at: @cachellec THE LINK SPRING 2015

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ALUMNI SNAPSHOTS

How a Love of Sports Launched #DrinkThePink JOHN CELENZA ’01

H

ow does a Political Science degree prepare you to become Co-founder and President of the healthiest and safest sports nutritional product on the market?

Not to mention equip you with the tools to brilliantly market this underdog against the industry giants – Gatorade and Powerade.

“I can give a lot more credit to CDS than my post-secondary education,” says John Celenza ’01, Co-founder and President of BioSteel Sports. “I was always thinking about sports, playing sports, planning fantasy sports or anything sports related – that was my passion – I really fostered it at CDS.” John spent 12 years doing what he loved at CDS, including playing soccer, basketball and baseball. That is where he also met his best friend since Grade 3, Mike Cammalleri ’99.

After graduating from The University of Western Ontario, John worked for Montana Steele Advertising, a real estate marketing and advertising firm. From there he decided to open his own company, Celenza Marketing Group, where he branched out and started working with athletes on different endorsements and off shooting different pharmaceutical products.

Meanwhile, Mike Cammalleri had launched his NHL career with the LA Kings and had become extremely dedicated to his training and nutrition regiments.

Together, the childhood friends decided to launch a company called BioSteel and 38

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began researching and looking into different products and formulations that could be a part of their product line.

“Back then the nutrition category was very confusing for athletes,” explained John. When the NHL implemented drug

testing in 2004, things became even more complicated. “If you walked into a hockey dressing room, there was always a lot of product to choose from, but it was very confusing on which nutritional supplements to take.” Mike confided with his friend that he wished there was something safe and nutritious that he could take before, during, and after his games.

Shortly after starting their business, Mike began training with veteran strength and conditioning coach Matt Nichol. Matt had an extensive background in sport supplement formulation, and in response to the NHL’s new rules, had contacted all the nutritional companies who supplied the league to request their drug testing documentation. Not one of them could provide proof that what was on their label was in their product.

As a result, Matt went ahead and developed his own line of products with no label or brand name, but made of the highest quality. He tested them on his NHL, NFL, NBA, NCAA, CFL and tennis athletes and

Ryan Borg ’01 and John Celenza ’01 at Biosteel Head Offices in Toronto

tweaked his formulas accordingly. He did that from about 2004 to 2009, and he still tests and tweaks to this day.

“When Mike walked into Matt’s gym and saw all of his products with no label on them he thought, ‘What a great fit.’” Already familiar with Matt’s stellar reputation in the industry, Mike decided to introduce him to John, and the three decided to take Matt’s product to market. John would run the business, Matt would create the product, and Mike would be their first professional athlete to endorse it.

BioSteel’s ‘secret pink drink’ has been on the market under the name “BioSteel” for 5 years now and is used by 28 of 30 NHL teams, 14 NBA teams, and 18 MLB teams, as well as more than 30 of the top 50 professional golfers.

As John says, the organic product was created specifically for athletes and is 100% safe and effective. In addition to Mike Cammalleri, other endorsers include Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, Minnesota Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins, and Junior Hockey phenom Connor McDavid.

Gary Roberts, who played 21 seasons in the NHL and also trained with Matt Nichol, has been a supporter and huge advocate since the beginning. After retiring from hockey, Gary started his own training company, Gary Roberts High Performance, and promotes the product to all of his clients.

Female athletes are on board as well, including the entire Canadian Women’s Hockey and Soccer teams, as well as individual ambassadors who include Melissa Tancredi from the Canadian Women’s Soccer team and Olympic Gold Medalist Rosie McLennan.

BioSteel’s marketing success can be attributed to Matt, Mike and John’s connections with some of the top athletes and their ability to continue to identify and

“

I can give a lot more credit to CDS than my post-secondary education… I was always thinking about sports, playing sports, planning fantasy sports or anything sports related – that was my passion – I really fostered it at CDS. JOHN CELENZA ’01

target the best athletes in the world and convince them to influence the masses.

“When we started the company, it was important for us to get this product to all of these influencers. It always worked out that the best athletes on each team were the most keen about BioSteel, most likely because they were the most attuned with their bodies. From there, we were able to get the product to their teammates and their trainers.”

Their marketing tactics evolved naturally and took a quantum leap with the brilliant choice of the Twitter hashtag, #Drink ThePink, which came out of necessity.

“We had all of these athletes drinking our product, but Gatorade and Powerade owned the rights to the leagues, so no one believed that the athletes were drinking BioSteel. Our drink is pink because the

product comes from the natural colour of red beets. We decided to work with what we had because #DrinkThePink actually told the authentic story of what the athletes were drinking.”

After BioSteel really took off five years ago, John closed Celenza Marketing Group in order to focus full-time on selling his product. His travel schedule is extensive, with frequent trips to meet with athletes and teams in different countries, as well as buyers and retailers from across North America, Europe and Asia.

Today, BioSteel employs 14 full-time employees and just recently moved into new offices in Toronto. They are a tightknit group who work out together two or three times a week at Matt Nichol’s gym after work. “I think it is really important to ‘walk the walk’ and live the lifestyle we preach,” says John. “It’s a lot of fun, and it’s healthy.”

John’s CDS classmate and friend Ryan Borg ’01 built BioSteel’s website and is the company’s IT Director. “We’ve been best friends since Grade 6 and used to carpool to school together. Ryan has been with BioSteel since Day 1.”

They recently launched two new products, including the BioSteel Readyto-Drink, a pink drink in a ready-to-drink format with no preservatives or artificial flavors. The powder is in the cap, and you simply push down, mix it up and away you go. Last month, they launched a nutritional bar with the ‘drink the pink’ powder in the bar. Both products cater to the on-the-go retailer and the on-the-go consumer.

“At BioSteel, we’re driven to enable a high-performance lifestyle,” says John.

“We want to make sure every consumer receives the best of the best, the safest and the highest quality, but at the same time convenience.”

And to think, it all began at CDS. ■ – Kim Sillcox THE LINK SPRING 2015

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ALUMNI SNAPSHOTS

From King City to Silicon Valley How two CDS alumni built a multi-million dollar startup MARK PROKOUDINE ’12 AND VLAD NOV ’12

Mark and Vlad in San Francisco, CA

“D

O YOU PLAY CALL OF DUTY?” This was the question that started it all. True to their Canadian roots, two 12-year-old boys met stuck on a chairlift an hour north of Toronto.

Strapped into snowboards, they fought over which of the two knew more about video games. Eight years later, the pair would move to the States to be the youngest chosen to join Y Combinator, Silicon Valley’s prestigious tech accelerator. The rest, as they say, is history.

After meeting on the slopes, Mark Prokoudine ’12 and Vlad Nov ’12 exchanged ICQ numbers (these were the days before 12-year-olds had smartphones) and stayed friends by playing games online. Unknown to one another, both were applying to The Country Day School, a close knit and academically rigorous private school in King City, Ontario. I got to know the pair well during my four years at CDS. Mark and Vlad were on opposite ends of the student spectrum; while Mark passed his classes with flying colors, Vlad became a regular in the Headmaster’s office. However, when it came to Mr. Moorlag’s Grade 11 computer science class, you could find both sitting in the front row, diligently writing down algorithms.

Mark learned to code by reverse engineering games when he was a kid. At CDS, he built Volt Host, a server hosting company with 15,000 monthly paying users. At the same time, Vlad was trying everything from telemarketing to selling apparel online. “We often helped each other, but didn’t really work

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on any serious projects,” says Vlad, who now runs operations at their startup. While he pursued his interest in business at Queen’s Commerce, Mark dove into artificial intelligence and math at McGill University. The pair reconnected while working at separate startups in San Francisco last summer.

This was when they decided to create Kickback: a service that links with any video game and lets casual players bet against each other to win real money. Think of it like betting in poker in combination with the gameplay of video games. The gaming culture evolved from geeks in their basements to one of the largest growing markets today. Top players compete for millions of dollars and are frequently granted visas into the U.S. as professional athletes to train with local teams. However, if you’re not a celebrity or professional gamer, there is nowhere to play casually for money.

Enter Kickback, a way for 230 million monthly gamers to feel like the pros. The service works by letting players wager real money in matches. Using machine learning for state-of-theart matchmaking and anti-cheat technology, you can ‘put your money where your mouth is’ and prove yourself against people within your skill level. Users can play for cash or bragging rights, the latter a key part of the eSports culture.

For Mark and Vlad, the early days in San Francisco were tough. After getting home from their day jobs, they would work on the product until 4:00 in the morning, doing everything they could to get early users. In October, the pair applied to Y Combinator, the best technology accelerator in the world that has

COMMUNITY NEWS RECENT APPOINTMENTS & STAFF NEWS

produced a $30+ billion portfolio in the last 10 years, with notable alumni including Dropbox, AirBnB, and Reddit.

Getting into YC is not easy. 6,000 companies apply, 300 get picked for interviews and 100 get accepted - receiving $120,000 in funding. Mark and Vlad submitted their application and waited. During that time, they cold-called and met with every startup founder they knew for last-minute mentorship. Of that month waiting, the guys didn’t have much to say; the days felt like a blur, as they slept only a few hours per night.

Unlike Shark Tank, there is no pitch at the YC interview.

It’s a 10-minute talk with partners at the fund. “It goes by quickly; the point of the interview is for the partners to test the foundations of your business and your team to see if this is something that you could turn into a billion dollar company over the next 10 years,” says Mark. “The partners are some of the smartest people in the world who have built and exited huge tech companies themselves,” says Vlad. If you are accepted, they call you that night; otherwise, they send an email. Thankfully, Mark and Vlad got the call. The median age for founders in the Winter 2015 class was 30 years old.

For Mark and Vlad, the most helpful part of YC has undoubtedly been the mentorship from partners and alumni.

YC helps founders with growth, fundraising and almost everything else that early stage companies encounter. The YC Winter class is from January to March, with weekly dinners featuring talks from well-known founders in the valley like Mark Zuckerberg. The program culminates on demo day, an event where the companies in the class present to 400 of the best early-stage investors in Silicon Valley.

After YC’s demo day, Mark and Vlad raised a few million dollars for their seed round from prominent founders and investment firms in the gaming and consumer space.

For now, they are sticking to the theory that “the right idea violently rips you away from what you do today” and continuing to grow Kickback as fast as possible. In true Silicon Valley spirit, this means moving the team into a house so they can build out the early-culture to put the company on the right trajectory for the next few years. True to their roots, most of their team out in the valley is from Canada, and they have no plans on changing that anytime soon. ■ – Ella Sibio, Vlad Nov and Mark Prokoudine

Bruce Carman

is now Director of Operations.

He has played a critical role in maintaining our 100-acre CDS campus since his arrival in 1998 as Head of Plant and Operations. Bruce has also been indispensable in the planning and construction of our new building project, liaising with the Head of School, Building Committee members, architect, and construction manager on a daily basis. He leads a hard working team of 14 employees, including his two most recent hires JodyAnn Peterson on Grounds Security and Denise Stratton as Custodian.

Jason Jugoon

and his wife, Leepy Hajra, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Jasmine on December 19, 2014. Jason is a member of the Middle and Senior School Mathematics Department.

Melissa Mazurkewich

joined the Junior School in September as an Associate Faculty member splitting her time between the classroom and the Junior School Office. She holds a BA with a specialty in English Literature from the University of Toronto and B.Ed. from York University

with additional qualifications in Reading Part 1, Special Education Part 1 and Intermediate English. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing volleyball, travelling, and yoga.

Darby Moreau

joined CDS last summer in the role of Admissions and University Placement Coordinator. She has worked as a Recruitment Officer and Admissions Advisor for both Acadia University, from 2006-2008, and St. Francis Xavier University, from 2008-2014, as manager of StFX’s satellite office in Toronto.

Darby holds a Bachelor of Music Therapy (BMT) from Acadia University and is presently studying Social Media Marketing parttime at George Brown College.

Beatrice Stefanescu

joined the CDS Modern Languages and Social Sciences Departments in September as a full-time Spanish and Social Science teacher.

She previously taught Spanish (including AP) at Trinity College School, Blyth Academy and the University of Toronto. Beatrice also created and ran the Spanish Program at Mississauga Christian French School. She holds a B.Ed. and a BA in Law, Spanish and Ethics from York University, as well as a Master’s in Spanish Linguistics from the University of Toronto.

Ella Sibio ’12 is an Honours Philosophy student at McGill University, working part time in an operational role at FounderFuel, a top tier mentor-driven accelerator that helps early stage web, mobile and SaaS (software as a service) startups raise seed capital. A version of this article was originally posted on the FounderFuel blog: www.founderfuel.com THE LINK SPRING 2015

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CELEBRATE YOUR LIFELONG CONNECTION TO CDS Graduating students, alumni, founding families, and CDS friends — leave your mark on Alumni Commons!

Celebrate your lifelong connection to CDS by purchasing a stone paver in the new Alumni Commons walkway. For $250 per paver, add your name — or the name of anyone you wish to honour.

Engraving space is limited.

All contributions go toward supporting the Making Connections campaign in support of the new Dining Hall and rejuvenated Senior School.

To learn more, visit www.cds.on.ca/waystogive

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Network with other CDS Alumni Join our LinkedIn page today!

ALUMNI NOTES 98

Alexandra Assadourian ’98

welcomed the arrival of a son, Jaxson Alexander Di Tomaso, on May 28, 2014. She and her long-time partner Eric are planning a wedding on August 1, 2015 in Kennebunkport, Maine. They live in Laval, Quebec.

Brooke Biggs ’99 finished her undergraduate degree at Queen’s University and MSc in Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. She is currently working at Hamilton Health Sciences as a Physical Therapist in the Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation program. Brooke and her husband have two daughters, ages 2 and 4, who keep them busy and happy. She continues to run and completed the Boston Marathon in April.

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Brandi Kinghorn ’99

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Justin Di Ciano ’97 and his partner

Kristen had a baby boy, named Julien, last fall just before he was elected to Toronto City Council for Ward 5 Etobicoke-Lakeshore. Baby Julien is named after Justin’s twin brother and was welcomed with open arms by his big sister, Makayla.

Justin was interviewed on CBC’s Metro Morning his second day on the job and is enjoying his foray into public office. He has lived in the Etobicoke-Lakeshore region for the past 15 years and is Chief Compliance Officer of the investment firm, Gross Securities Corp. His background includes extensive community and charitable work, including his role as co-founder of the Jean Augustine Centre for Young Women’s

Empowerment and Chairman of Toronto Ribfest Food and Musical Festival, one of Canada’s largest outdoor fundraisers for the Etobicoke Rotary Club.

Brandi Kinghorn ’99 graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a BA in Communication Studies and English (Hons.) in 2003.

After 10 years in various roles of restaurant marketing, she joined A&W as the Manager of Ontario Marketing in 2012. Two years later, she was overseeing all franchise sales in Ontario and now splits her time between the home office in North Vancouver and Ontario.

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Brandi has two children: Hayden is 6 and Matthew is 4, and her larger family includes her partner Aaron and his three children: Abby 3, Austin 4, and Nicole 14. The happy family of seven lives in Fergus, Ont. Brandi, Hayden and Matthew were recently a bridesmaid, flower girl and ring bearer in Fiona Haig’s ’99 wedding. Fiona and Brandi have remained best friends since they met at CDS 17 years ago!

JENNIFER ANSTEY ’95

Travels the World as Equestrian Journalist Fiona (Haig) Zimmerman ’99 wed her

Jennifer Anstey ’95 visited CDS in February for the Open House and crossed paths with two

sweetheart restaurateur, Richard Zimmerman, in January 2015. They partied the night away with family and friends at the Steamwhistle Brewery. Fiona, Ritchie and their dog Hamish currently reside in the east side of Toronto, where they enjoy the outdoors and take part in many activities to help enrich the community. Fiona just completed her MBA and works in Marketing for an Organic Food CPG company in Toronto.

of her former teachers, Mr. Mark Burleigh and Mrs. Lori Pella. She now lives in Schomberg with her husband, Joe, and is considering CDS for their 3-year-old son, Lewis. Jennifer attended CDS for Grades 11 and 12 and then went to Neuchâtel for Grade 13. She is the owner/publisher of Horse Publications Group, which she took over when her mother passed away in 2005.

Having grown up around horses all her life, Jennifer never saw herself pursuing the publishing business but is so glad she agreed to learn the business from her mother when asked. She now publishes four magazines: Horse Sport, Horse Canada, Canadian Thoroughbred and The Canadian Horse Health Annual – all leading equestrian magazines in Canada in their respective categories – and was inducted into the Can-Am Hall of Fame last spring. Jennifer considers herself to be one of the lucky ones who loves what she does and looks forward to each and every day. The added bonus is the opportunity to travel the world to different events, including the Olympics, Pan Am Games and World Championships, to name a few! Jennifer is also the treasurer of the International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists, on the horse show committee of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, and helps coordinate the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.

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Ryan Benson ’00 and his wife,

Dr. Jessica Benson, recently welcomed twins into their lives on December 5, 2014: daughter, Rory Grace,

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and son, Banks MacKinnon. He earned his MBA from Florida International University in Miami and has been working on custom homes in Florida for more than a decade.

After working for six years for A. Vernon Allen Builder in Naples, Ryan had the opportunity to acquire AVA in 2013 and now serves as Principal. AVA was founded in 1951 as a luxury custom home builder and remains one of the largest and most

established home builders in Naples. He and his family are living in Fort Myers.

Kevin Cooper ’00 Two years ago, Kevin put

his career as a lawyer in Ontario on hold and moved to picturesque St. John’s, Newfoundland, where he subsequently founded and continues to operate two companies. Shortly after his arrival, he and some friends had an idea that was the genesis for what would

become Great North Data, a data centre company specializing in hosting cryptocurrency mining hardware. In 2014 Kevin launched Newfoundland Bitcoin, Newfoundland’s first and foremost Bitcoin consulting company.

EMILY (SMITH) CLIPPERTON ’03

Creating Delicious Desserts in Caledon Cerise (Caspersz) Manns ’00 accepted a

Emily (Smith) Clipperton ’03 studied Psychology at The University of Western Ontario and

job as Director of Accessories for Miss Me Jeans and moved from Dallas to Los Angeles with her husband last May. They welcomed the birth of their first child, Zara Elizabeth, on August 9, 2014. Cerise writes that Zara is the light of their lives!

then went on to work at CosmoTV in Toronto for three years where she worked her way from

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Hart Jackson ’02 finished his

Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at the University of Toronto and has continued in breast cancer research. He moved to Zurich last August for a post-doctoral fellowship where he is exploring a promising new technology called imaging mass cytometry and working toward its application as a tool to determine prognosis in breast cancer patients. Hart recently co-published a research article in Nature Cell Biology found at: www.nature.com/ncb/ journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ncb3118.html

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Ethan Pancer ’03 met up with

Mark Burleigh in Halifax in November during a U14 Hockey Tournament. Ethan enjoyed meeting the members of the CDS team and reminiscing about his first year in Grade 7. In particular, he remembers the 1997 CISAA U13 Boys

intern to researcher, production assistant and then production coordinator. It was during her time at CosmoTV that she rediscovered her love for baking, bringing treats for her coworkers, and eventually taking on opportunities to bake large scale for media events. She then made the difficult decision to leave TV production and move back to Caledon, where she grew up, in order to start her own baking business.

Emily is currently working on growing her small custom bakery in the country, which allows her to use fresh and local farm ingredients. She enjoys working on wedding cakes and dessert tables for a handful of CDS alumni and is looking forward to working with many more to create delicious desserts for their special days this summer and fall.

Soccer Tourney in Ottawa when Mr. Burleigh and Mr. Alan Jackson were his coaches, and Ethan’s father, Dr. Larry Pancer, travelled with the team as Team Doctor and chaperoned the coaches. Ethan is now an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.

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Jennifer (Wilson) Battin ’04

cannot believe it’s been 10 years since graduating from CDS! After graduating, she attended The University of Western Ontario and went on to teach in

South Korea and England where she discovered her love for teaching. After her return to Canada, she got her Master of Science in Education for elementary-aged children and volunteered for a few years before joining the public school board. She married her university sweetheart, Derek Battin, two years ago, and they had their first baby, Braydon, last July. Jennifer has also been doing photography on the side and will be volunteering with the Ronald McDonald House in the near future to do some photos for families who are staying there. She and her family live in King City.

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BRONWYN OATLEY ’07

Recruiting Innovative Fellows to MaRS Bronwyn Oatley ’07 is a Senior Associate, Partnerships & Research, for Studio Y at MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. She spends much of her time recruiting for the Studio Y Fellowship program and building relationships with organizational partners

Allison (Colalillo) Macdonald ’04 married

across the province. The Studio Y Fellow-

Brendan Macdonald on September 6, 2014 in Toronto. There were many CDS alumni in attendance, including her brother and sister, John Colalillo ’08 and Dayna Colalillo ’05, and bridesmaids and friends Meghan

ship is a full-time 8-month program focused on innovation, learning and leadership.

Each year, the program selects 25 young people from across the province for the full-

Finkle ’04, Lindsay Wortzman ’04, Andrea MacMillan ’04 and Tara Benjamin ’04.

time Fellowship, during which they have an

Allison works at High Road Communications on the Nike, Canada Goose, and Sobeys accounts. She and Brendan recently purchased a home in the Leslieville neighbourhood of Toronto.

build 21st century skills — and receive a

opportunity to develop their own ideas, Bronwyn (kneeling on right) with her MaRS team

$20,000 stipend! The role is an excellent fit for Bronwyn, as it engages her in three things she loves: partnership-building, writing and great conversation (check her out on Twitter @BronwynOatley) and was a natural progression from her entry point as Interim Managing Editor of SocialFinance.ca at MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, a position she started two days after graduation in May 2013!

Prior to launching her professional career, Bronwyn earned her undergraduate degree in International Studies at Middlebury College, a highly competitive small liberal arts college in Vermont. There she raced on Middlebury’s NCAA Division I Ski team and pursued her passions for journalism as an editor of the school newspaper, The Middlebury Campus, in addition to her interests in the emerging world of social entrepreneurship.

Nicholas Fedele ’06 graduated from McMaster University with a BSc (Hons) in Science and specialty in Life Science in 2010. He went on to attend the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and graduated last May. Nicholas took his provincial and national exams in August and then spent some time reacclimatizing to the real world – travelling a bit and working in downtown Toronto as an active life specialist. He spent February and part of March travelling through New Zealand and enjoyed meeting people from all over the world. Now he is focused on building his own practice, as well as landing a position with an established Naturopathic clinic in Toronto.

Tristan Lehari ’06, Nicholas Fedele ’06, Jon Milligan ’06 and Chris Edwards at the annual Holiday Gathering in December

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Jonathon Milligan ’06 graduated from McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine in 2014 and is doing his first year of Internal Medicine residency at the University of Toronto. He is currently stationed at Mount Sinai Hospital and works up to 28 hour shifts.

His residency will last five years and will take place primarily in Toronto hospitals, but he

may end up further afield as well. While Jon finds the work to be all consuming, it is extremely rewarding, and he looks forward to setting up his own practice. In his infrequent spare time, he stays in touch with CDS classmates Tristan Lehari, Nicholas Fedele and Timur Saklica.

2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup being hosted in Canada for the first time with games held across the country. We wish her all the best!

11 Phil Moorlag, Karen So ’08 and Kerstin Wyndham-West in Hong Kong

Karen So ’08 took time out of her busy schedule to visit with CDS teachers Mrs. Kerstin WyndhamWest and Mr. Phil Moorlag while they were in Hong Kong for the International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition in October. Karen is in her third year of medical school at the University of Hong Kong and plays for the Hong Kong Senior Women’s Rugby team.

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Megan Nelles ’11 attended Queen’s

University and graduated last spring with a BA in Sociology. Two summers ago, she worked as an intern and was later promoted to full-time at the production office for the TV show Lost Girl, and production company Prodigy Pictures. Immediately following graduation, Megan started as an intern in the Office of the President of film for Entertainment One Films Canada (eOne).

In December she accepted a promotion as Executive Assistant to the VPs of TV and Digital Distribution at eOne, and is now thrilled to be working full-time in both film and television in Toronto.

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Adam Fournier ’12 was at CDS

recently during his Reading Week from the University of Waterloo to help the students in 3F build their engineer structures. Adam is in his third year studying Mechanical Engineering.

Rebecca receiving the Award for Excellence in Screenwriting and filmmaking at the Canada International Film Festival in April.

Allyson Cowie ’09 is in her second year of medical school at The University of Western Ontario. She writes that the first two years are classroomtype learning and the third and fourth years are clinical. Allyson regularly runs into Katie Matthews ’07 who is in her final year of medical school at Western.

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Michael Gray ’10 graduated from the University of Kansas in December 2014 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Business and Communications and served as Vice President of the Club Baseball team. Last summer he interned in the Advancement Office at his other alma mater, the Sterling Hall School in Toronto, where he helped to enhance their presence on Facebook and LinkedIn, among other interesting projects. Michael is currently working as a court reporter in Toronto while he continues job hunting for something more aligned with his university degree and/or his love for the Blue Jays.

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Rebecca Rochon ’10 graduated from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver with a Bachelor of Media Arts, Animation degree last spring and writes that one of her animated films was selected to be in the Whistler Film Festival and Les Sommets du cinéma d’animation international film festival in Quebec in December. That Bitch Becky is about a socially desperate wasp named Becky who hosts a party in a transparent attempt to heighten her social status. Unfortunately, the party spirals out of control and doesn’t go quite as planned. Rebecca’s film won the Award of Excellence in Screenwriting and Filmmaking at the Canada International Film Festival (CIFF), which took place in April, and has also appeared at film festivals in the U.S. This spring it will debut at a few film festivals in Europe, including The Animex International Festival of Animation and Computer Games in England and the 3rd International Motion Festival in Cyprus. By day, Rebecca has landed

Adriana Leon ’10 has been participating in

her first job as a storyboard revisionist on a TELETOON show called Rocket Monkeys at

World Cup soccer friendlies and has been selected to play for Canada in this summer’s

Atomic Cartoons in Vancouver.

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Kelsey Houston ’12 is co-chairing the Alumni Palooza event on June 13 with Amanda Bruhm ’07. Kelsey and James Simmonds ’14 were on campus in December to speak at the first Academic Assembly about their experiences at university: Queen’s University and University of Toronto respectively.

Cara Tiemens ’14 is majoring in Psychology and played a lot of basketball this year for the Ryerson University Women’s Basketball team. She started in all 19 regular season games as a first year, and scored a total of 102 points, ranking her 6th on the team, including a season-

MARK WASHBURN/DARTMOUTH ATHLETICS

high 10 points in three different games. The Rams finished 16-3 EMMA EWING-NAGY

in conference play (16 wins is the most in program history), 1st in the OUA East Division, and 3rd overall in the OUA. The 7th nationally ranked Ryerson Rams earned a first-round bye in the playoffs and beat the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the OUA quarter-finals, 73-47, advancing them to their first ever OUA final four championship tournament. They lost to No. 1 nationally

Corey Kalk ’12 is playing forward on the

Dartmouth College Men’s Hockey team and led the freshman class in scoring with 4 goals and 9 points. His first career goal came in a win against Princeton University, and he followed that with a 3-point effort in the next game against Sacred Heart University. He was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week in December for those performances. Corey scored the tying goal in the third period and then set up the game winner later in regulation at home against defending national champion Union College in late January.

Corey’s brother, Zachary ’15, will be joining him at Dartmouth in fall 2016 to play soccer after completing a post-graduate year at the Berkshire School in Massachusetts.

Anastasia Kolotova ’14 is studying Media at The University of Western Ontario and has lined up a summer job as a sideline reporter for Rogers TV.

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Greg Kustka-Tsimbidis ’14 visited CDS in December from his Jazz program at McGill University to help with the Middle/Senior School Music night. He also stopped by to visit with Coaches Peter Milonas and Tony Young and the U16 Boys’ Basketball team (on which his brother Jonathan ’18 plays) when they were in Montreal in February for a tournament at Selwyn House.

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ranked Windsor Lancers in the OUA Championship game, 71-51, but went on to play three games in the CIS Final 8 against UBC, 81-59 (L); St. Mary’s, 76-60 (W); Alberta, 73-65 (L).

What an incredible first season!

Natasha Martin ’14 (left) and her University of Guelph roommate, Isobel Pryce ’14 (right), made a spontaneous appearance on MasterChef Canada in March when they discovered the show was being filmed outside their Johnson Hall residence. Natasha loves the show and talked to one of the producers about being a part of it. She was told to sign a waiver and to wait in the standby line.

She and Isobel obliged and were fortunate to be the last two of 100 students let in to watch the taping.

They were given “MasterChef Dollars” and got to taste two out of the three different types of poutine. Whichever team out of the

three had the most “MasterChef Dollars” would win the team challenge. They had butter chicken poutine (Natasha’s favourite and the team that won!), steak poutine, and bacon mushroom poutine. Natasha loved being on the show and attributed Guelph’s reputation for its Agriculture College and many unique food science courses as the main reason MasterChef chose to film there.

As for university overall, she feels that Guelph has turned out to be a perfect match for her. Although it has been a lot of work being a science major, with the labs, seminars, and lectures as well as studying for quizzes, tests, midterms and doing projects and essays, Natasha feels that Guelph is similar to CDS in that it offers different resources to help keep you on track, especially for first year students.

She and Isobel are both majoring in Zoology and plan to attend the Ontario Veterinary College after graduation. Natasha would like to specialize in wildlife and rehabilitation veterinary medicine, and Isobel is more interested in working with exotic animals specific to Africa.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, AUCTION! Join us for CDS’ Annual Auction on Friday, May 29, 2015

www.cds.on.ca/auction Details toVisit follow ... or visit www.cds.on.ca/auction

CDS summer camp FIVE WEEKS OF PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AGES 6-14 JUNE 15 - 26 AND JULY 6 - 24, 2015

HIGH-LEVEL SPORTS PROGRAMS: Multi-Sport (ages 6-14) Basketball, Rugby, Soccer, Tennis (ages 8-14)

SPECIALTY PROGRAMS: Robotics, Drama (ages 9-14) LIT (completed Grade 9 to age 17)

Daily lunch provided Weekly swim included Before and after-care available

Register Online Today! www.cds.on.ca/summercamp T 905.833.1220 x652 E summercamp@cds.on.ca 13415 Dufferin Street in King

RUGBY NEW THIS YEAR!

CALENDAR MAY 2015 May 28 Graduation Breakfast May 29 42nd Annual Auction www.cds.on.ca/auction

JUNE 2015 June 8 Grade 8 Graduation Celebration June 9 Graduation Formal June 11 Closing Day June 13 Alumni Palooza Register today at www.cds.on.ca/alumni June 15 CDS Summer Camp begins www.cds.on.ca/summercamp

SEPTEMBER 2015 September 8 Orientation Day for new students September 9 First Day of School Welcome Back BBQ

For event details, please visit www.cds.on.ca

OUR FALL OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULE October 7 7– 9 pm October 24 10 am – 1 pm November 19 9 am – 12 pm