Week 1: Tuesday 19th September, 2000  (Next Edition: Tuesday 26th September) )       

That same afternoon the fine arts program commenced, and the sports program began on the Tuesday. The focus for the first term is on team sports (with a greater emphasis on individual sports in the second and third terms) thus, on the Tuesday, most girls attended volleyball or field hockey practices and most boys enjoyed training sessions on the soccer pitches. Those students hoping for a place in the top competitive teams had returned to school a week early for intensive training -- a necessary regime to counteract (in some cases!) a summer spent relaxing at the beach. Results from these sessions sometimes produce peculiar results as can be seen from the following two pictures showing a field hockey drill run by head coach Howard Martin. 

New students on campus this year, as usual, come from near and far. New grade eight student Stephen Pointon (left) is a day student and his journey to the campus each morning takes approximately 20 seconds. He is thoroughly familiar with the school as he is following in the footsteps of his sister Katie, currently in grade 11. The record for the longest journey from home this year belongs to Carina Lentsch (grade 12, at right) who spent many hours flying in from Dakar. Carina became interested in Brentwood after exploring this very same web site. Carina will have a shorter (!) journey home as her family are now moving to Bangkok

SUMMER WORK

The summer at Brentwood is remarkably quiet on campus with the absence of youthful exuberance. These two months are, however, the busiest of the year for the maintenance department. In a few short weeks the enthusiastic crew in black jackets have accomplished a remarkable list of improvements to the campus. Some details are given below.

Landscaping. A number of areas around the campus have been replanted, but the main focus has been on the zone around Rogers house (right). Numerous plants, bushes, shrubs have transformed the appearance of the house.

Ford House. Many old Brentonians will remember Ivor and Dunja Ford's residence, slightly to the south of the campus. This property has been acquired by the school for future development and is now acting as a staff residence for Director of Sports Tony Medina.

Tennis Courts. Four new tennis courts have been completed, surfaced, and are now in operation. At the same time, the original four courts were resurfaced in the same new colour scheme of dark on light green. The school thus has eight courts, and is planning to host major tournaments next summer.

C. Field. The field has been relocated to the South from its previous position to accommodate the new tennis courts. The seeding and new turf combination has worked well and the field is now in operation. Both of the pictures at the top of the page were taken on C Field.

The Computer Department has also been extremely busy over the summer. Forty new terminals have been added to the network which now numbers over 200 workstations linked to eight servers. The computer office located between rooms 306 and 308, has been partitioned into two spaces -- a printer access area and the inner sanctum, a mystical zone accessible only to the high priests of technology and guarded by elaborate admission processes and secret locks. These security arrangements proved so successful that none of the gurus could actually get into their own office on the first day of operation. 

The challenge faced by the Department has been 

to refurbish two computer labs and install new equipment in the library. Thanks to the efforts of Richard Curry, Dewi Griffiths, and Darryl Pavitt, the mountains of garage sale material have now been transformed into excellent facilities. This is portrayed by the following visual equation:

A central component of the opening routine each year is the Terry Fox Run. Although this event is held one week later in normal parts of the country, the Brentwood contribution takes place on the first Sunday afternoon of term. 

As is usually the case, almost all students and staff, together with numerous parents, neighbours, and friends participate -- by running or walking the scenic course along Mill Bay Road towards the ferry. Refreshment is provided along the route thanks to the efforts of Edna Widenmaer (below, at right), whose traditional water station is much appreciated by all runners.

Winning participation T-shirts for this year's run were: Madeleine McPherson, Charlie Ambrose, Tricia Persson, Marika Constable, and staff member Mike Flynn whose courage in making the Run part of his rehabilitation program after a heart by-pass operation was warmly applauded by all.

LAIDO DEMONSTRATION

On Friday, as part of the ongoing Fine Arts program, the students were invited to watch a demonstration of Laido. This is a Japanese traditional art form where practitioners master various sword techniques. It is not a sport in the true sense, but an art form where the participant strives for perfection of technique and development of spirit. In Japan, Laido is regarded as the basis of most of the current Japanese martial arts. The four gentlemen who gave the demonstration were obvious masters of their art and provided a riveting demonstration for the audience.

Photo Credit: Jen Morrison

LEISURE TIME

1. On Saturday evening, most students moved couches and chairs from their homes to the sports field for an open-air movie. Thanks to the fine weather, this proved a stimulating and novel experience, although a few blankets were needed by the end of the show as the temperature began to fall.

2. On Sunday afternoon over 240 students took advantage of an organized bus trip into Victoria. Whether sight-seeing, shopping, or visiting friends, everybody had a good time and there were many requests for another trip in the near future.

Photo Credit: Kairn Ritchie

OLD BRENTONIAN NEWS

Herstmonceux Castle, located ten miles from Eastbourne in the United Kingdom, is jointly owned by five Canadian universities (Queens, McGill, Dalhousie Western, and UBC). It is available as a campus for any first-year arts student, who intends to transfer to any of these universities for their subsequent degree program. Set in its own private grounds, the campus offers small classes and numerous field trips.

Courses cover many Art electives as well as essential requirements such as calculus and science. Stephanie Sloan and Keavy Martin (both grads of 2000), are both resident at Herstmonceux this year -- Stephanie through the Western program and Keavy under the Queens program. 

Keavy is seen here working on her latest artistic masterpiece entitled "Wall".

MATH CLASSES 

In an experimental procedure for this year, the entire grade 11 class -- for the first few weeks of term -- will have a group lecture each Saturday in the lecture theater. Subject material last week covered the computation of interest, both simple and compound, and investment strategies. The first class in this series was given by Mr. Henry and other math staff will perform in turn. 

It is hoped that one of the side benefits of this strategy is to make students aware of, and become accustomed to, the large size classes and associated presentation style that is common in post-secondary institutions.

Each week the school meets as a group for a formal School Assembly. This year, the Assembly will be held Tuesdays. 

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