EVENING OF MUSIC (Part 2)

After 34 years, the final performance in the Brentwood Auditorium was staged last Friday evening. The event in question was the second Evening of Music, focusing generally on solo vocal and choir (both concert and jazz) performances. Since 1969, the stage has witnessed a series of superlative musical events, and Friday evening was no exception. Encompassing a wide variety of musical forms, the program provided enjoyment to all lovers of music. The two-hour production, produced and coordinated by Director of Music John Williams, exemplified the hard work and intense practice that is a feature of the music programmes on Fine Arts afternoons.

Come Fly With Me

Watch What Happens

Flat Foot Floogee

SCULPTURE

The sculpture class — held on Fine Arts afternoons — is a popular course, attracting students interested in exploring a wide variety of media in which to express their creative ideas. Working in paper, cardboard, ceramics, soapstone, wood, and many other experimental substances, no two finished products are alike. Pieces created in this class sometimes take a year to complete, and are truly works of art or personal statements when finally put on view.

Instructor Joseph Ho has assembled examples of student work as shown below

GOODBYE, MR. CARR

In St. Catharines, last weekend, Mr. Tony Carr gave his last speech as the Head Coach of Brentwood’s rowing club. This year marks his 39th season as Head Coach, and his 39th year on staff, making Mr. Carr the most senior member of staff (he arrived on campus three days before Mr. Burrows).

Arriving in 1964 from a British-model boarding school in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), the Irish-born teacher took the role of rowing coach, and teacher to the 150-odd boys in attendance at Brentwood College. He began as the Housemaster for the new “Senior House” (moved and renamed “Rogers House” in 1974) and ran the residence alone until Mr. John Allpress joined him in 1980. As the only science-math teacher on staff, Mr. Carr taught Chemistry 12, Physics 12, and Math 12 to each of the graduating boys. As a rowing coach he worked hard to expand the small club into a booming team. In 1972, Mr. Carr and his wife Yvonne brought Brentwood’s 1st VIII to the 27th annual Schoolboy Regatta – the same Canadian Scholastic Rowing Championship that he addressed the club from last week. That same year, Mr. Carr entered

his boat in the Henley Royal Regatta in England. Since then, Mr. Carr has coached the club to 49 St. Catharine’s golds, through 8 Henley Royal Regattas (including one astonishing win in 1996), and even a gold at the US scholastic nationals in 1992,as well as countless regional races.

Mr. Carr attests to Brentwood’s superiority as an independent school, and reminds me, “I sent my own boys here didn’t I? That’s quite a bit of faith.” Beyond the school, he feels that rowing “has given me some of the best times of my life.” His athletes agree: rowing captain, Will Pickles feels that Coach Carr has extreme dedication to the team. “Mr. Carr taught me about not giving up – that there are no ‘holiday strokes’– ever.” Mr. Carr will be finishing off the year training his 1st VIII for another Henley Royal and then coaching the Canadian Under-23 team. Although Mr. Carr is finished with coaching officially, he’s “not ready to say ‘au revoir’ yet.” He will be around as a guest coach next year, working the team for Wednesday early mornings, and reminding everyone that he’s not too far away.

Mara Cowan (Grade 12)

MACKENZIE HOUSE SENDS A GIRL TO CAMP

Spring Break is typically an opportunity for over-worked, over-tired people – students and adults alike – to travel somewhere more relaxing and, usually, somewhere warmer, to unwind and prepare for another three months of stress. Actually, for most people, Spring Break is an excuse to go somewhere different, and escape the inevitable monotony of work or school life. Unfortunately, going away requires money.

During Spring Break this year, Brentwood’s famous “Nurse D.D.” (or Mrs. Donna Decker), was talking with a few of the school’s students, asking them where they were going, then watching their faces light up with excitement when they answered “Florida”, “Hawaii”, and other such tropical destinations. Mrs. Decker decided that she wanted to help someone less fortunate have a vacation like the ones she was hearing about. So she rounded up the grade nine girls in Mackenzie House, and implanted an idea in their heads: to send a young girl to summer camp. Nurse D.D. left it up to the girls in the house to choose the camp.

Their final decision was to send an eleven-year-old girl, Alexis, who lives locally, to summer camp for a week at a place called Qwanoes, “a youth-focused, year-round camp and retreat centre with a heart for kids of all ages”. Qwanoes is a 50-acre piece of land on Vancouver Island, between Victoria and Nanaimo, near Crofton. All imaginable activities will be available at Qwanoes for Alexis to participate in and enjoy.
The cost of funding her vacation will be approximately five hundred dollars. That price covers the camp, necessary clothes/accessories (towels, sunglasses, flip-flops, bathing suit, etc.), and anything extra that Alexis will need while at Qwanoes. Mrs. Decker took the grade nines on a shopping trip in Victoria this past Sunday to pick out the aforementioned items. As well as being a welcome break from school for a day, the excursion also allowed the girls to fully understand the extent of what they are doing: making a young girl incredibly happy by providing her with an opportunity to experience something she would not otherwise be able to.
The money is coming from three sources: shoe fines in the dorm (a penalty for wearing shoes on carpets in all of the school’s dorms!), $5 from pocket money from every girl in Mackenzie House, plus an additional $10 from every grade nine in the house. Mrs. Flynn, House-parent of Mackenzie, is thrilled about this project, and is more than willing to use money from shoe fines (an ever-present irritant) to further such a cause.

Initially, Alexis was very shy, very nervous about the prospect of camp at Qwanoes, but is now extremely excited.

END OF YEAR ARRANGEMENTS

With the end of the school year fast approaching, arrangements are in place for the annual Awards Day on Saturday, 21st June, and also procedures for students remaining on campus after this date to write provincial examinations the following week. Details of these two events (mailed to all parents this week) can be viewed here at Awards Day Routine and Examinations routine.

THE VALEDICTORIAN

The tradition of the valedictorian is a lengthy one, originating when the first cave-student said goodbye to his cave-teachers at his cave-graduation, and has progressed from these humble beginnings to an important part of any school’s closing ceremonies. The job of the valedictorian is to say good-bye and thank you to the rest of the school on behalf of their class, and to act as a bridge between the history of the class and its future. Last year, Mike Brown spoke at the closing ceremonies as the valedictorian, and in 2001 it was Nick McClean who gave the address. Last Friday, the graduating class decided on two candidates for the 2003 Valedictorian: Meshach Heenatigala, and myself.

Over the weekend the two of us considered this nomination and what it would mean to us, and also what we might say if asked to do the job. We considered a “Cage Match” aka Mad Max to decide the winner, but due to space constraints were forced to call off that bout. Monday saw the two of us speaking to our class for a short while, to give them a sense of what we were about, and what sort of message we might want to give to the rest of the school. A subsequent ballot was then held to decide which of us would be addressing the school on Awards Day. In anticipation of the results, both candidates have much to ponder.

Zander Mackie (Grade 12)

TRACK AND FIELD DAY

Last Thursday, the Brentwood students were melting under the scorching sun on a hot afternoon. The long-awaited Track and Field day had finally arrived and the students, sporting their orange, red, blue, and green competitive house colors, were straining to run with vigorous power, jump with a passionate oomph, and to toss with Herculean force. Beginning at two o'clock in the afternoon — with the sun at its zenith — the bulk of the school was released from the stuffy restraints of the classroom and was soon cheering enthusiastically for their houses. With bodies sprawled along towels on the infield, students basking in the sun, ice cream melting in mouths as well as in the hands, and with Mr. Cowie's rugged voice over the intercom, it was the ideal set-up for a day of athletic perseverance.

Events such as the tug-of-war and the hundred-meter race were maybe the focus of Thursday's Track and Field day; however, the sportsmanship, the pride, the victories, and the excitement of the boys and girls of Rogers, Whittall, Privett, and Ellis house were the real objectives during the competition.

Story: Vicky Ha (Grade 11)
Photos: Zander Mackie (Grade 12)

BARBECUING HISTORY

At the end of the year, scheduling starts to become hectic. With so many end-of-the-year activities, it is necessary to produce a separate social calendar to keep everyone up-to-date on dinners and outings over the next couple of weeks. Starting the social scene, was a barbecue chez Mr. Steve Cowie for his History 12 students. The selection of the date was a difficult decision in ensuring that everyone could attend. Changed once for a grad meeting and again for a possible rugby barbecue conflict, Wednesday, June 4th was eventually selected. Even with so, much deliberation, four students found that academic commitment came before a fun event.

Mr. Cowie’s backyard is an active family’s dream – almost every sport was accounted for. Upon arrival, an intense “war of the sexes” volleyball game began – the girls would have been destroyed by the hidden talent of Sean Davis and Kyle Smaaslet had it not been for the Senior ‘A’ skill of Christa Morrison. Having worked up a healthy appetite, the class was ready for the feast prepared by the Cowie family. Steak, chicken, Caesar salad, wild rice and bread were devoured within minutes and a second volleyball game was started with the more competitive members of the class. Baseball gloves, a frisbee and lacrosse sticks were distributed and the fun continued. To finish an absolutely enjoyable evening – with comedy provided by Mr. Eby’s cynicism – mud pie, care of the amazing culinary skill of Mrs. Cowie, was handed out and promptly consumed.

Thanks must be given to Mr. Cowie for opening his home and for his devotion to the class throughout the year.

Kelsey Norlund (Grade 12)

SUMMER COMETH

As the end of the school year approaches, the shift from spring to summer is reflected in the weather. Though students know that they should be studying for exams, it is difficult to concentrate when the conditions outside are the best they have been all year! Consequently, it is no longer unusual to spot students sailing out on the bay on Sundays, and the fire pit is being used every weekend. Even the simple fact that it is not getting dark until 9:45 has been a cause for change. From the girls lounging on the lawn in the afternoon to the group of teens

kicking around a soccer ball after prep, it is hard for anyone to imagine that students were walking to dinner in the dark last term. These changes take place every year, but last Thursday through Saturday was especially warm. According to the Times Colonist, a reading of 33.5° C was recorded at Victoria on Friday, setting a new record for the month of June that has not even been neared for over half a century. To match the weather, there have been equally dramatic changes in many aspects of campus life over the past few days. The heat has even brought about new slang terms. “I got to get myself some AC (air conditioning)”, for example, has become a popular phrase.

The heat had two obvious effects on the school: the outdoors became more pleasant while the classrooms and dormitories, which do not require air conditioning ninety-nine days out of a hundred, became less so. This combination enticed even the most devoted computer game fanatics out of their rooms, and a group of Ellis students went so far as to sleep out of their rooms. On Friday and Saturday, they requested — and won — Mr. McCarthy’s permission to sleep on the house’s second-story balcony. The boys, including Chris Macklam (left), found it a cool escape.

Another conspicuous adaptation to the weather was student apparel. In response to the heat, Friday was proclaimed “Golf Shirt and Shorts Day.” Though some students were more creative about what qualified as a shorts or a golf shirt, the idea was a great success overall.

Water fights became common this spring, especially in the area between Ellis and Whittall Houses, where the pavement became strewn with a rainbow of used water balloons. All of these encounters were skirmishes, though, in comparison to last Saturday’s mass participation. Unplanned and starting with only a few boys, all of whom actually needed to cool down that afternoon, the forces of each team continued to gather. At its zenith, the fight, which could more accurately be called a “water war”, was comprised of several scores of juniors from Rogers and Ellis fighting against their classmates from Whittall. When the supply of balloons ran low, the water-warriors employed other readily available products in the game. Aside from water pistols, the recycling bins that can be found in every dorm room on campus made short work of a small number of people and a clear, plastic garbage bag served as a useful cross between a mace and a sling. Spencer Upjohn, the “general” of the forces from Rogers and Ellis, served both as a negotiator and a strategist. “We had a ‘C’ formation, and when we got around them, we’d close it up into an ‘O’ and attack,” says Spencer. By the end of the war, everyone involved was in agreement that it had been much more than a normal water fight. Some went so far as to argue that it should become a sport.

Tom Dickens is used to hot weather

Though everyone made the best of the warm weather on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and the temperature on those days was without a doubt abnormal, some students were more at home in the heat than others. For the students from Saudi Arabia in particular, the weather was nothing out of the ordinary. Realizing how mild the climate of coastal BC usually is, grade 10 student Tom Dickens was impressed with last week’s heat. “It was pretty much like Saudi weather,” says Tom, “except that Saudi is more humid and a couple of degrees hotter.” On Sunday, an on-shore breeze blew in fresh sea air, cooling the campus down to the low twenties. Even if the wave of heat did not compare to what some students experience at home, it still made everyone realize how near summer is.

Fred Zenker (Grade 10)

FIELD HOCKEY TRIALS

Brentwood’s Provincial field hockey players, it has been discovered, have doubled their numbers since last week to include Jane Griffel and Caroline Philippson. An unfortunate omission in last week’s article missed these two talented field hockey players – my apologies! Jane Griffel was the Brentwood 1st XI goalkeeper for this year, a remarkable achievement for a grade 10 student! Facing heavy competition for goalkeepers, Jane qualified for the U16 provincial team and will be joining Katherine Higginson at the U18 tournament in Halifax. Caroline Philippson, in the same age category, has been playing field hockey through the Cowichan Valley League since she was five years old. At the Zone tournament, Caroline was selected as a non-travelling reserve to the U16 Development Squad. Congratulations to both girls.

Kelsey Norlund (Grade 12)