INTERHOUSE ECO-CHALLENGE RELAY

Outdoor Pursuits instructor Mr. Dan Norman celebrated his birthday last Saturday. Instead of throwing a party, he chose to host an athletic event; a test of strength, speed, and overall outdoors survival skills. The Interhouse Eco-Challenge Relay involved competitions in kayaking, running, canoeing, the carrying of large objects, fire management, and swimming. Whereas any other man would have had a leisurely breakfast in bed, Mr. Norman spent the morning running up and down from the docks to the boathouse, in the rain, making sure that all was ready. He chose the road less traveled by, and we thank him for it.
At 2:00 p.m., when the rain was just letting up, Mr. Norman sounded the beginning of the relay. Immediately, contestants from the four Houses ran to four small kayaks, and began a hurried point-and-back race. Simon Ghyselincks made an excellent start for Privett, keeping a comfortable 20-40 feet between himself and the competition. When the returning kayaker tagged his/her teammate, the run began. Despite Privett’s initial lead, Byron Dawson pulled Whittall into first by the end of the event. Meanwhile, Ryan Gallagher silently sprinted Rogers from a five-minute to a three-minute deficient. Familiar with the round-campus route, he calls it a “milk run”.
To the amusement of all, Privett capsized their boat at the beginning of the canoeing leg, giving Whittall a firm grasp on first place. Next, a contestant from each team carried his/her canoe on a hilly route around Alex House that involved two stairways. Alongside him/her ran another team member wearing a fully loaded hiking backpack. Especially notable among the backpackers was Corey Ranger of Rogers, who huffed along faster than you or I could run uninhibited.
As the very tired contestants finished their loops, the teams worked with all their might to bring a can of water to a rolling boil over each of four small campfires. An amazing fire by Norman Lentsch gave Rogers the extra push it needed. As he said, looking into the orange flames: “The fire’s on our side.” They had been the last team to start their fire, but only the second to put their swimmer in the water. The event was a good example of the unpredictability that made the competition engaging for the athletes as well as the audience. In the swimming component, the most streamlined member of each team swam a distance equal to an Olympic size swimming pool. This done, they ran up to the boathouse to shake a rope that jingled with bells. Then it was time to rest.

Overall, Whittall came in first place with 41 minutes and 11 seconds, Rogers came in second with 44 minutes and 26 seconds, Ellis came in third with 46 minutes and 28 seconds, and fire troubles put Privett in last with 48 minutes and 31 seconds. After all was finished, and regardless of ranking, contestants rejoiced in a refreshing dip in the icy waters of Mill Bay.

Story and Images except where noted: Fred Zenker (Grade 10)

DIPLOMACY

France attacks Moscow from the Gulf of Bothnia! Germany Supports the French attack from Prussia! England attacks Spain from Portugal! Turkey attacks Italy from the Adriatic Sea! No, the mid-east tensions haven’t spilled over into Europe….its just Diplomacy!

In proper form, the History 12 class has once again embarked on their struggle to rule the world. Mr. Zenker has brought the game Diplomacy to class to teach his students about WWI power and alliance tensions. Diplomacy can be played with any number of players over seven. England, Germany, France, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire are the seven teams playing. A turn consists of conferencing within country groups, then discussing treaties or alliances with other countries, then the writing of orders for troop movement and attack, and finally the reading of orders

The French Generals (Luc Francis and Paul Chiasson) discuss strategy

The European Theater

(with every second turn the restocking of armies and navies). Battles are not won or lost on the roll of the dice as in the similar game Risk – to invade another country you must attack them with more troops then they posses in that country…its all very realistic and complicated.

But where the real fun begins is with the double dealing and alliance breaking or making. Diplomacy is no gentleman’s game, let me assure you of that. Because no single country can really expect to rule the world without the help of another the staunch Russians are forced to swallow their pride and deal with the Germans or vice versa. Eventually the Germans will come to no longer depend on the Russians for military support and so will have to decide whether they will live by Otto Van Bismarck’s reputation as “The honest broker” or imbed a knife in their Russian allies’ backs.
The grade 12’s will be playing for some weeks to come because a single game can take many weeks. If any spectators wish to come and witness the forging of new empires in blood and iron, the world powers would be more than willing to allow visitors.

Zander Mackie (Grade 12)

ALEX HOUSE CAMPING TRIP

On Saturday, the Alex House grade 12's sponsored a camping trip for the grade 8 students. Leaving with high hopes in the beautiful fall weather, a lively group of 24 girls set off for Stoltz Pools on the Cowichan River, a short 45-minute bus ride away. On arrival, tasks were delegated and in short order five tents were erected in the sand pits and a delicious dinner of grilled chicken burgers, caesar salad, and corn on the cob was prepared. Our wonderfully organized House Captain, Anna O'Malley prepared a scavenger's hunt, and everybody rushed to complete it before the dark fell. The final object on the list was to find an unusual rock and incorporate it into a skit. These skits were performed around a camp-fire (handily built by Amberly Morison) ranged from a disastrous hot potato game to an extremely original piece depicting the swindling of a blind woman in a pet store.
After the evening's entertainment the group gorged themselves on s'mores and told ghost stories, until everyone was positive they would never sleep again. The beautiful weather, however, did not hold, and the rain eventually found us. Luckily, there was a shelter and lots of hot chocolate for warmth. Trooping off to the tents, everyone bundled up and swapped stories late into the night.
The wake-up call came early, and there was a rush to pack soaking tents and sleeping bags. These were stuffed back into the truck, perhaps not exactly as neatly as they had been on arrival. A quick snack of fruit and hot chocolate was available, before returning to the school for brunch. Tired and dirty, most girls opted for a hot showers and a recollection of the enjoyable weekend. All the girls would like to thank to Ms. Richardson and Mr Norman who accompanied us.

Story and Pictures: Kelsey Norlund (Grade 12)

Alex MacCarthy
sets up camp

Madame Carole Receveaux is the newest member of Brentwood’s Modern Languages department. She was born in Toulouse and raised in Brittany, two widely different areas of France; she also lived in Paris for ten years. Mme. Receveaux has been in Canada for the past seven years. She attended university in France, but because of differing education systems, had to redo some courses (at the University of Victoria) when she moved to Canada. This year, she is teaching French 8, 9, 10, 11, and would eventually like to teach French 12 A.P.; she is also trying to reinstate Brentwood’s French Club. Mme. Receveaux likes to spend what little free time she has with her family. Growing up near the seaside, she also loves to swim and go for walks on the beach; thus Brentwood, with its beautiful waterfront, is the perfect setting for her to pursue her teaching career. And the school’s students will be sure to benefit from her linguistic expertise.

Gillian Gregory (Grade 12)

As one of the five interns, Mr. Gordon Eby is a new face at Brentwood this year. Born in Glenrock, New Jersey, his cultural childhood took him to Toronto, Ontario, then to Surrey, England, and then back to Toronto. In high school, he captained the Senior Boys basketball team, and played on the 1st XV, continuing his rugby career through his four years at McGill University. Despite the fact that that much rugby most certainly would have made him a noteworthy player, Mr. Eby stated that he was simply “adequate” at the game (although a coy smile accompanied the statement). At McGill, he earned his B. A. in History.
With his impressive résumé, Mr. Eby is an excellent addition to Brentwood. Making full use of his talents, the school has appointed him the Assistant Coach of the Colts rugby team in addition to serving as a duty-master in Ellis House and the supervisor for Monday night Computer Prep. Mr. Eby plans to enjoy a multitude of experiences this year, in particular life as a teacher. To better help him in this quest, he helps teach History 9, History 11, and Geography 12. And as Brandon Diana put it, in addition to being a friendly, and benign character, Mr. Eby is “a powerful man.”

Meshach Heenatigala (Grade 12)

Brentwood welcomes new staff member Katherine Mikeš (actually pronounced Mee-kesh, though she introduces herself as Mikes), new Assistant Houseparent of Mackenzie House and science teacher. Familiar to the Island, Ms. Mikeš hails from Wellington Secondary School in Nanaimo where she taught high school science. Graduating from UBC with a BA in marine biology, Ms. Mikeš originally sought out employment in the pure sciences. Lacking, however, in job opportunity and stability, she turned to education; “I was already doing mostly teaching jobs in my research work, so I decided to go ahead and get a teaching degree,” she said. She met Mr. Alistair Hardie (a returning teacher this year) while studying at UVic and it was he who sparked her interest in Brentwood. Along with teaching Science 8, 10 and Biology 11, Ms. Mikeš is assistant to Mr. Norman in the Outdoor Pursuits program. And, although she is yet to be recruited by the music department at Brentwood, her musical prowess has graced her life; Ms Mikeš enjoys playing the piano and tenor saxophone. So how does she fare at Brentwood now? “So far,” she says, “I am really tired, but really happy, so I guess it’s a good thing.”

Mara Cowan (Grade 12)

INTERHOUSE BARBEQUE

Last Saturday, in the interest of fostering House spirit and giving a little bit of a break to our House athletes after two hard weeks of volleyball and basketball, the school threw some shrimp on the barby. All the houses feasted on some good old red meat (and veggie burgers for those so inclined). Students served as grill masters and music could be heard from the decks of every house on campus. As students and faculty have begun to bundle up, it was a nice beginning to the brisk fall season to huddle in comradery around the warmth of the grill.

Story and Pictures: Zander Mackie (Grade 12)

INTERHOUSE BASKETBALL

After a week of basketball, the finals of the Interhouse competition were played last Saturday night. In the first match, the Junior Boys final saw Ellis and Whittall in a closely fought match stretching into two overtimes, with Whittall finally emerging as the winners. Harry Nielson and John Wu from Whittall, and Tommy O’Malley from Ellis all played exceptionally well. The second game, again between Ellis and Whittall, was the girls final. With creditable individual performances from Sarah Common of Ellis, and Marlee Hahn of Whittall, it was Ellis' turn for the victory. To finish the evening, the Senior Boys from Rogers and Whittall came to play. Thanks to Sean Davis and Brandon Diana, Whittall dominated the game and won easily, although mention should be made of Chris Branch and Liam O’Brien from Rogers who helped considerably in their house’s valiant effort.

Story and Pictures: Meshach Heenatigala (Grade 12)

ISA FIELD HOCKEY

On Friday and Saturday, the 1st XI field hockey team travelled to Vancouver to participate in the ISA field hockey tournament.

After an early (6:15 am) start on Friday morning, the team played three games on the UBC turf. Results:

Brentwood 1, Shawnigan 0
Brentwood 2, St Michaels 0
Brentwood 3, Glenlyon Norfolk 1

These results placed Brentwood first in their pool. The sympathy of the whole team went out to Marika Wiggan, who received 7 stitches by her eye after being hit in the head by a ball. This did not slow her down, however, as she scored all three goals in the game against Glenlyon Norfolk. That evening, a team bonding experience of dinner at Boston Pizza completed an extremely exhausting day.
On Saturday morning, a sleep-in until 8:00 am, due to the previous day's success, was much appreciated. The semi-final game was against Collingwood on Crofton House's new turf. At the end of regulation time, the score was tied; however, Collingwood emerged as the victors, winning 3-1 on penalty strokes. As a result, Brentwood played Shawnigan again for 3rd/4th position, and defeated them comfortably 2-0.

Story and Pictures: Kelsey Norlund (Grade 12)

FIELD HOCKEY

The 2nd X1, with a few guest 1st XI players, enjoyed a convincing 5-0 win over Kambala Girls School from Sydney Australia this weeK.
The Midget 8 team are undefeated this season, and have yet to have a goal scored against them. Their latest matches were:

Brentwood 3, Dover Bay 0. Rebecca Kerswell earned the shut-out and goals were registered by Jessica Gergel (2), and Annie Zurrer. Excellent defence was provided by Natalie Charette, Jennifer Mann and Giordana Venturi.
Brentwood 4, Mt Prevost 0. Goals by Ida Qu, Christine Yam, Laura Neilson, and Jessica Gergel.
Brentwood 4, George Bonner 0. Lorenza Kuri Brena earned the shut-out. Goals: Annie Zurrer, Laura Neilson and Jessica Gergel . Excellent defence by Ginger Yu, Lorraine Yuen, Rosie Pavaley and Joy Liu.

VOLLEYBALL

The Brentwood team enjoyed an almost perfect record at the ISA tournament last weekend. After winning all games in their round-robin pool against Shawnigan, GlenLyon,York House, St. Mary, and Southridge, and defeating York House in the semi-final, the squad earned the Silver medal after a defeat by Crofton House in the final.

RUGBY

The Colts Rugby squad are currently in serious preparation for their upcoming matches against rivals Shawnigan Lake School and St. Michaels school. The pictures below show the group undergoing agility tests and ballhandling skills.