University Applications — Cutting Ties
Building Wells in Zambia
Are You Sitting Comfortably...?
Entrepreneurial Ventures
Beginner Photography
Grade 8 Sleep-over in Mackenzie House
Junior Volleyball
T. Gil Bunch Theatre Future Productions

LIFE AFTER BRENTWOOD

Life after Brentwood is a span of infinite possibilities. After graduation in late June next year, the class of 2005 will have the big bang effect applied to its 120-odd members and will be scattered across the continents of the world. Some will choose to enter university or college directly, some take a year or more off from continued schooling, some will travel, some work. As privileged graduates of Brentwood, students leaving the school have amazing opportunities open to them. The exceptional faculty and support network, and the skills and talents that the students attain or nurture while at the school create these opportunities.

Brentwood’s reputation has drawn at least twenty visiting university admissions representatives to the school this year to date, from as far away as Maine and Ontario. One admissions officer told a group of potential candidates that the reason he keeps on returning to

Brentwood year after year is the quality of students from the school.

When, and if, applying to universities, it is more convenient and cost effective for a student to think carefully about the number of applications they will submit to schools. With the existence of the new “Common Application”, students have the ability to fill out one application online that over 200 US universities accept. Applying in this manner, with an additional online supplement depending on the school, is free of application fees and quicker than snail mail. The number of schools being applied to completely depends on each student. Some know exactly where they want to go and his or her chances of acceptance of the school after working with Brentwood’s academic and post-secondary counselors, Mr. Gerry Pennells and Mr. Rick Rodrigues. Frequent visits are made to the school by US university expert Mr. Zenker, who travels from Oregon each month to meet with and counsel US applicants. Some students prefer to apply to a wider range of schools that will

provide both a guaranteed acceptance, and some that may be a little out of range, but worth a try. Mr. Pennells cites that the record number of schools applied to by one student was 20. And that was before the common application.

Choices for post-secondary institutions and programs are endless. In Canada, the United States and abroad, Brentwood students work and study happily after graduation and leaving Mill Bay. Though it may be a stressful process for all…waiting for those fat letters of acceptance or thin ones of decline, the sense of satisfaction and achievement in late spring with a spot secured is the ultimate goal for all applicants.

Story and Pictures by: Ellen Kutscher (Grade 12)

Giving back to the community has always been a characteristic of the Brentwood lifestyle. The 2004-2005 school year, however, will cross new territory by involving the entire Brentwood population, from students to teachers, in a large-scale project: The Colin Glasgow Foundation dream.

The dream is for an end to preventable diseases and infections caused by bad water sources. Zambia, in particular, suffers from high levels of trachoma, an infection of the eye resulting in blindness.

The Colin Glasgow Foundation, and with it Brentwood, has undertaken well building to provide clean water to the citizens of Zambia. Brentwood's goal is to build two wells in Zambia.

Sarah Williams, owner of the Alex House Tuck Shop

The cost of $10, 000 will be raised throughout the year at small charity events. Brentwood's efforts will be matched by the Foundation and thus another pair of wells will be built.

To help reach the $10, 000 total, a number of campus enterprises will be introduced. Already held this year was a Milkshake

Night put on by the SAC, bringing dozens of students down to the cafeteria for good music, socialisation and of course milkshakes! Another business-minded endeavour was the opening of an Alex House Tuck Shop by Sarah Williams, specialising in 'healthy' foods. Her best seller: sugar-free chocolate bars. All profits will be donated to the Foundation.

The next venture, available soon, will be Brentwood calendars, featuring pieces in all media from Brentwood's Krysa Collection of Art. The calendars, put together by a Fine Arts committee, will be sold by the SAC for $10 apiece. Future ideas intended to generate support for the Colin Glasgow Foundation cause include an art auction and more SAC events.

Story and pictures by: Andrea Norlund (Grade 12)

The Alex House Tuck Shop

AN UNLIKELY SOURCE OF SUPPORT

We see them every day, they comfort us when we need it, even when we don’t, and we have never truly paid them their due respect. No, not teachers: chairs! There are a variety of “breeds” of these sacred thrones across our fair campus, and each deserves its own elite homage. The stools in our physics labs, the impressive desk-chair hybrids finding home in the old academic block, and the charmingly vintage Salvation Army finds instituted in our very dorms. This pantheon deserves some recognition!

Wisdom comes with age, or so Mr. Burrows figures. If this is the case, our ancient chair-desk fusions grazing in the old academic block should be able to solve all of Mr. Crossley’s calculus problems. But with age comes irritability and gnarled edges, and these beasts are some of the least comfortable in our midst. There is no leaning back in these babies! These chairs are proving to be contemporaries of the Lieutenant-Governor; a dated figurehead with nothing to offer, unless osmosis kicks in and we start absorbing all those calculus answers.

The long-legged stools are next in line from the assembly. They’re the “fun” chairs… because they’re taller and hence cooler (e.g. Mr. Felix). These brontosaurus’ of the physics class actually aid teachers in their lessons. What is better proof of gravity than when unsuspecting students who have failed to keep their “four on the floor”, as many witty and poetic teachers have put it, themselves flat, perpendicular to, or part of the tiling. I’m sure a potential energy question could apply as well.

Finally, the students' favourite chair shown by a random sampling; the Salvation Army thrift shop find! Festive orange and brown floral prints, beige and grey zebra stripes: these chairs have class. Comfortable, but with a tendency to smell like an old person or some nameless odour acquired before most students were even born.

A never ending source of support and comfort has just endured the weight of your burdens for, at least, the last five minutes. Maybe it’s time to give something back. Have you hugged your chair today?

Story and Pictures by: Sydney Black (Grade 12)

BRENTWOOD'S SOCIAL SHIFT

Brentwood is undergoing a revolution! Youths have been seen attempting to improve their lot in life, trying to escape the drudgery that they believe is their typical day. This spreading cancer is so far confined to only a small group of students, but is spreading quickly. Is it drugs, disease, violence, or even the proletariat realising its power over the campus aristocracy? Fear not, Karl Marx has no hand in this revolution, but there is an invisible hand nonetheless. Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, would be far more likely to claim these disciples for his own, with good reason.

Inspired by Mr. Smith, groups formed from the Entrepreneurship 12 class are attempting to fill a void (and, in most cases, the stomachs) at Brentwood. The groups, charged with the launching, operation, and analysis of a small business established various ventures to run over a two-week period. Understanding the teenage mind all too well, many of them believed that food was the key to profit. As shown by the scarcity of steaks (almost a hundred were sold) and doughnuts (this box had many empty partners), any food offered was quickly consumed. Of course, one of the most successful groups defied the stereotype by selling personalised postcards with pictures of Brentwood and accumulated a large profit. Naturally, it will take a great deal of prompting from parents to actually get students to send those postcards home, but it seems that as an idea, this concept proved very profitable.

Although successful beyond the dreams of many, the students have restrained their dreams of unlimited wealth. Of course, a few wild parties may be held with the gains of these ventures, but — on the whole — the profits will be sent to charities, to help less entrepreneurial spirits. For now, social stability will reign in Brentwood, and students can only dream of when another social change will begin.

Story and pictures by: Nick Chesterley (Grade 11)

BEGINNER PHOTOGRAPHY

Thinking of joining Photography next year, but not sure if it's for you? The beginners' photography course may sound like a breeze, but actually it is a challenging course that requires attention to detail and patience. There is much more to photography and picture-taking than most people realise.

This course will teach you the basic elements of your camera, the procedure of taking pictures manually, and the process of developing your own film. Every student is required to have their own manually-operated camera, which they should — by the end of the course — have a thorough understanding of. Students learn about the features of the camera, such as the film speed, the shutter speed, and the aperture settings. They also learn about the workings and the logic behind a camera; for example, determining what settings allow the right amount of light to enter the lens, and also how to focus your camera before taking a picture. Developing your own film in a dark room is another skill that you will learn to master. At first, developing film in a pitch black room is quite tricky, but once you have practiced doing it a few times, working in the dark becomes a second nature.

In the dark room, one has to wind the film onto a special reel and mix it in a small bucket with 3 different types of chemicals, which must be the right temperature. This process can sometimes take a beginner up to 15 minutes. And all this is done in almost pitch black surroundings! After this, the film has to be cut and dried and then enlarged. After a year in beginner photography, one can move up the scale to the advanced class, and maybe later to the "creative" or "portfolio" group. Photography is a modern and expressive art form in which anyone can develop their own personal style. It combines art and imagination with mechanics and know-how; definitely a worthy fine art for those who love pictures.

Story and Pictures by: Amy Weinberg (Grade 12)

GRADE 8's TAKE REFUGE IN MACKENZIE

Lat Saturday, the Mackenzie common room was reserved; reserved for each and every Grade 8 girl on campus. The purpose: a sleep-over to enable Houseparent Mrs. Flynn to be able to meet them all, and play mother to even more girls than usual. The cushions from couches and pillows from every bed were piled on the floor of the common room in an effort to make a gigantic mattress, hopefully one that would be comfortable. With blankets spread over the top, the giant bed was ready. The time passed by telling jokes, watching an “all time Disney classic” marathon (Cinderella included, of course) and finally, the perfect note to end any sleep-over, scary stories. The noise was almost gone by Grade 12 sign-in, and barely any yelling (according to some) was audible from down the hall, thankfully for Mrs Flynn who was camping out in the foyer. There were also girls from Gwynneth and Alex in attendance, and — of course — the hosts. The night was a fun event for all, and whispers of making it into a Mackenzie House tradition have been heard, giving each new class of Grade 8's the same opportunity.

Story by: Rona Mitchell (Grade 8)
Picture by: Mike Flynn

JUNIOR VOLLEYBALL

Last weekend, the Junior "A" Girls volleyball team took a short road trip to Nanaimo to compete in an invitational tournament. On Friday, the team faced Gulf Islands and Kwalicum. The opposition put up a fight, but were ultimately bested. The following (early) morning, drowsy as the girls were, the team played the Nanaimo B team who posed little threat to the Brentwood progression to the semi-final. In that match, the Nanaimo A team provided more skilled opposition, but were still beaten in a swift two sets. The final would then be the team's greatest challenge this season: a match against the Kelsey Breakers, who have always pushed Brentwood to play to a third set and are essentially their twin team.

Saturday was no exception. Kelsey won the first set narrowly, and the Brentwood team had to respond in the second set or lose out on gold. With increased commitment, however, the team won the second set. The third set was extremely close, but Brentwood came out on top with the final set score of 17-15. All in all, it was an amazing effort by each member of the team and the group hope to sustain the same level of achievement in future matches.

T. GIL BUNCH CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Future presentations:

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