by Darin Steinkey, writer

How large is the Large Ensembles Concert? Very.

Almost 300 students took to the Farquhar Auditorium stage at the University of Victoria on Wednesday night for the annual event. Performances from the Senior Choir, Grade 9, 10 and Senior Concert Bands, the Senior String Orchestra, and the Senior Orchestra made for a memorable evening.

Each piece was lovingly crafted and practiced over the last few months under the direction of Peter Butterfield (choirs), John Reid (concert bands) and Donna Williams (orchestras). Below, Donna Williams conducts this medley of tunes that you are sure to hear in the musical, Guys and Dolls, which debuts February 29.

Stay tuned for more coverage of this amazing concert!

Video: Darin Steinkey

by Mike Danskin ’98, coaching intern and house parent

5:15 am comes early on a Saturday morning. There were plenty of pillows stuffed under arms as a parade of sleepy-eyed students filed onto the bus. Sleep was on the itinerary and snow in our dreams as we chugged up Island to Mt. Washington for a full day of skiing, snowboarding and perhaps the odd beaver tail. In case you’re wondering: a beaver tail is a true Canadian delicacy (think fried dough and chocolate).

When we arrived at the hill, the students renting equipment and taking lessons made their way down to the rental shop. The rest hit the slopes in hopes of first tracks! Visibility was an issue, as there was plenty of snow coming down throughout our time at the mountain. It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve seen it in Victoria, but there is plenty of good snow on the hill.

The day was a huge success and we left the parking lot with thoughts of a Ladysmith dinner stop swooshing through our minds. The itinerary suggested we would arrive back at SMUS at 8:30 PM and our bus driver, Dean, rolled us into the driveway at 8:29 pm! It was a great day and the smiles on the faces of the students emphasized the success of the trip.

We are always keen to have some new faces join us for this skiing and snowboarding adventure. Keep your eyes peeled for sign-up posters or stop by the Outdoor Ed office beside the Middle School for more information. If you don’t have all the appropriate gear, there are plenty of borrowing and rental options available so don’t let that turn you off this terrific opportunity!

This January, SMUS delegates participated in the annual Vancouver Model United Nations. We participated in a multitude of committees, ranging from the United Nations Security Council to the African Union, involving many aspects of political issues.

The days consisted of arduous and exhausting committee sessions that pushed us to our political limits. The first day was relatively relaxing, and included opening ceremonies, a basic tutorial, and a presentation by our keynote speaker. Over the course of the next two days, all debates grew increasingly heated and required our full attention and brainpower. We also participated in a social dance, as well as a “midnight crisis”: a session held from midnight to 3:00 am to debate a unknown topic.

The topics for the different respected committees were the following:

• SOCHUM (Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs Committee): women’s rights and child soldiers.
• WHO (World Health Organization): HIV/AIDS and antibiotic resistant bacteria.
• DISEC (Disarmament and International Security Committee):Arab Spring and private military companies.
• WTO (World Trade Organization): genetically modified organisms and food aid as dumping.
• UNSC (United Nations Security Council): Sudan and global maritime security.
• UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program): marine and coastal ecosystems, and sustainable energy in developing nations.
• AU (African Union): Niger delta oil and the droughts in East Africa.
• UNODC (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime): human trafficking and US-Mexico drug trafficking.
• JCC (Joint Crisis Committee): a simulation of 2016, where the growing tension between USA and emerging China market creates a global conflict.

Regardless of the excitement of debate and the intuitive ideas being bounced between delegates and committees, it was the keynote speaker who made the whole conference meaningful. We were joined by non-other than the Honorable Member of Parliament from Papieau, Justin Trudeau, who shared some words of wisdom into the landscape of youth politics.

Trudeau communicated unique ideas on the representation in the Senate, youth votes and the current state of government. He encouraged the engagement of youth in their local politics and argued for representation of people of all ages. He applauded us on our commitment to the conference and explained the importance of understanding global views from a young age.

Finally, he gave us the opportunity to have a question and answer period, where an overwhelming amount of people lined up at the podium to ask him questions — a good many of them SMUS delegates! In the end, time ran out in the schedule and some had to go with their questions unanswered. However, some of us managed to meet up with Justin Trudeau in the lobby and personally asked questions as well as got pictures and autographs. There could have never been a better experience for SMUS students to ask pressing questions and enlighten themselves on Canadian politics. This time was not wasted!

In the end, we returned to school with new knowledge on the workings of both the United Nations and Canadian politics. The next Model United Nations will take place on March 2 and already a good many students have signed up to take part in the event.

Find out about more upcoming leadership opportunities on the leadership blog.

by Denise Lamarche, Director of Academics

As I sit on the plane returning from the Learning Without Frontiers 2012 conference in London, this seems like an excellent opportunity to write my first blog post. I am inspired and excited for the innovative educational directions in which our school is heading. Since September, I have been thrilled to discover the initiatives around teaching and learning that our faculty pursue in all three of our schools. If you’re a regular reader of the SMUS Review, you will agree with me that the opportunities for enrichment and new experiences are abundant. The engagement and success of our faculty and students invigorates me.

The themes of this conference resonated with me, as they are themes that our own management team and faculty have been working on: innovation, creativity and collaboration in education are critical and are the foundation of all our initiatives.

My inspiration from this conference does not come from newly discovered ideas or theories that were presented, but from the affirmation that the focus, reflection and dialogue we have been having this year on several topics is of utmost importance. I’m thrilled we are able to explore excellence in teaching and learning, integrating technology as a tool in our teaching, increased collaboration between faculty, students, and parents, personalized learning, and creativity.

Noam Chomsky, when talking about the purpose of education, stated that the topic or material is not what comprises the essence of learning; rather it is about what will be discovered in that material, what will be deepened and what connections students will make so that what their learning becomes meaningful to them.

I’ve seen that this is the norm at SMUS – students and faculty engaged and creative, deepening connections. They not only cover what they are learning, but they discover more about what they are learning. They have opportunities to reflect on their learning.

I had the opportunity to hear from several thought-provoking speakers over the few days including Sir Ken Robinson, VP of Microsoft Education Anthony Salcito and Director of the MIT Media Laboratory Mitch Resnick. Charles Leadbeater compared innovation in education to the philosophy adopted by the Barcelona football team: If we want to continue to excel and adapt in our educational directions, we need to “play” like they do: move, pass, and connect always!

Creativity in teaching and learning is critical, according to Jacob Kragh, President of LEGO Education. Creative leadership is about allowing students to think about the learning they are doing. Learning is social by nature and teachers must create classroom activities that reflect this. I see this happening at SMUS on a regular basis in our classrooms, in our gymnasiums, and in our libraries. I also see students who are quite engaged with their learning – collaborating with faculty and peers.

Many of us have been to conferences and events from which we’ve left ignited by ideas and visions of possibility; yet once we return to the workplace and to the routine of daily life, we put them on a shelf. I can confidently say this is not the case here in seat 24B! I feel that we are at an exciting time at SMUS with the new strategic plan being finalized, with the dedication of our faculty and management to examine the quality and excellence of our programs and our insatiable desire to be a leading 21st century school.

SMUS hosted a strong field of junior and senior squash players last week and posted solid results.

Listen to an interview with squash coach Stuart Dixon about the tournament: Interview with squash coach Stuart Dixon

Junior Girls Developmental Basketball
by Amanda Daum

The Junior girls developmental team had a busy week of basketball, playing six games and coming out on top twice. Tournament MVPs were Megan Harrison, Chris Chen and Yasmin Roudsari. With very little time to practice, this team was able to do a fantastic job of running a new offence and adjusting to team changes. All of the girls should be very proud of how well they played as a team and as individuals. We are learning and improving each game we play.

Senior Girls Basketball
by Lindsay Brooke

After a lengthy two-week hiatus from game play, the Senior girls basketball team competed in the Belmont Invitational. A small, six team tournament that involved pool play and one cross-over match, had the Jags playing both their pool games on the Friday evening. Their first opponent was local AAA team Spectrum. The Spectrum team boasts some good athletes with a real strength in their 3-point shooters. After charging out to a 16-10 first quarter lead, the girls began to struggle offensively, losing the next three quarters. In the end, Spectrum eeked out a two-point victory, 47-45. Abbey Piazza led all scorers with 17 points.

With only a one-game rest, the SMUS team needed to regroup quickly. Their next opponent was another AAA team, Sir Winston Churchill. This time, the Blue Jags would not falter. In fact, as the game wore on the team improved, netting a victory by a significant margin, 62-27. Once again, Piazza factored into the scoring mix with 26 points, Allie White added 14 points and Madison Hadfield chipped in with 11. Strong defensive efforts were put forth by Orla Glen and Rachel Sibbald.

The crossover match pitted the Blue Jags against AA Saint Thomas Moore of Burnaby. This was an important game for the team as they needed to improve their record against other AA teams. The girls had a terrific start and never looked back. Led by Allie White’s 20 points and nine rebounds, SMUS outscored STM 60-38. Sophia Ducharme added nine points in a solid all-round effort.

The team will play their second league game against Parklands this week, then travel to Vancouver on Thursday for the important Big Kahuna Classic at York House School.

Junior Girls Basketball
by Aimee Daly

After a week off the Junior girls were keen to put their practice to work as they hosted the first annual Blue Jags Classic. They faced Lambrick Park in their first game, and were outscored by the Pride by a meagre five points. Jenna Dhillon led the team with eight points and earned player of the game.

After a few hours off, the Blue Jags re-grouped and came back Friday evening to defeat Dover Bay 44-35. Jenna Dhillon contributed 10 points, Avnashi Dhillon added eight, and point guard Emma Loughton put up five points, earning player of the game.

In their final game for 3rd place the Jags went up against rival Crofton House. The two teams exchanged hoops throughout the first half, however with a slow start to the third quarter Crofton was able to pull away. The Jags rallied and came out fighting in the final quarter, putting forth an impressive defensive effort and holding their rivals to only 2 points. Plagued by injuries and missed opportunities in the final seconds of the game, the girls lost by two points. Emma Loughton scored 10 points, Jenna Dhillon added eight, and Stephanie Wong-Harrison received player of the game honours for her impressive defensive efforts.

This week, the girls play two home games against the Mt. Doug Rams and a tough Oak Bay squad on Wednesday at 4:15 pm.

Senior Boys Basketball
by Ian Hyde-Lay

Another week and another missed opportunity for the Senior boys team.

The January 27-28 Brentwood-Shawnigan “Countdown to the Playoffs” featured five provincially ranked AA teams, in addition to eventual winners, BC AAA#9 Mt. Douglas. SMUS opened its account against Holy Cross, taking a long time to subdue the stubborn Crusaders 66-45. A solid first-half shooting display alleviated a slow start, as, behind Joe Erlic, the team connected on seven first half triples to take a 36-27 lead into the break.

Holy Cross recovered to within six points on two different occasions late in the third quarter, but some timely hoops from Monty Fraser-Brown made the SMUS lead safe.

The win moved SMUS into the quarterfinals against BC AA#8 Southridge, with a chance for the Jags to avenge a narrow loss to the same opponent back in December at the ISA Tournament. A reasonable start, with more solid shooting, this time by Dawit Workie and Liam MacLure, suggested a win could be in the cards, but it was not to be. Though up 37-32 at halftime, and then 40-33 early in the third period, poor perimeter defence and even worse defensive rebounding shifted momentum and gifted the Storm multiple baskets. Down eight with a few minutes to play, SMUS scraped back to tie the game at 71 with 33 seconds left on the clock. However, yet another missed blockout allowed Southridge the winning points, with guard Ben Severeide then adding two additional free throws in the final seconds for a 75-71 win.

SMUS came back for a 56-40 win over Shawnigan the next morning, behind Fraser-Brown’s 19 points.

The team, shorthanded somewhat due to injury, and likely fatigued from a demanding month of games, will now take a week long break before returning to action February 4 vs RC Palmer of Richmond.

Junior Boys Basketball
by Ritch Primrose

The Junior boys basketball team competed in a very strong field at the 2012 edition of the Claremont Spartan Invitational. The tournament featured two provincially-ranked teams.

The team opened competition against the Dover Bay Dolphins from Nanaimo. SMUS started strong with a balanced scoring attack and never looked back. As always, the game included the vaunted SMUS press defence, which generated several turn-overs and transition points. Jeremy Chan acted as the floor general from the point, and chipped in five points on top of seven assists. Danny Wu led all scorers with thirteen points, while Matt Rud had eleven, and Jordan Lane added ten points.

Saturday afternoon’s semi-final was against the Walnut Grove Gators, a provincially ranked mainland powerhouse. The Blue Jags had another strong start, playing with a level of energy the Gators could not match. The boys got hot, hitting a flurry of three-pointers early in the game, and playing stingy team defence.
The offensive explosion continued into the second half, with Michael Baart and Jason Scully leading the scoring charge, while Matt Rud anchored the defence. The Gators were able to mount a late game charge, exacerbated by an ankle injury to Rud, which would put him out for the game, and the remainder of the tournament.
The team battled hard until the final horn, and demonstrated resilience in holding off Walnut Grove’s late game rally. The final scoresheet boasted a robust nine three-pointers for the Jags—a season high. After playing arguably their best game of the season, the team was ready for the final.

The Jags were matched up against BC #2 ranked Claremont in the championship game, which would be a tall task on any day, made worse with two starting players sitting with injuries. Much to the Blue Jags’ credit they were able to play with the Spartans for the first half, with Michael Baart defending well against Claremont’s top scorer and the rest of the team executing the team defensive plan well.

A couple of missed lay-ups by the boys, coupled with two late three-pointers from the Spartans, put the Jags down by 11 at half-time—a clear message that SMUS can play with Claremont. With two key players missing, it is also a harbinger of better things to come.

The second half of the game started off rough for the Jags, with Claremont running the score up 20-points. While the boys managed to prevent the floodgates from opening too wide, things did not get much easier, and the Jags had to settle for the silver.

Despite falling to their city rivals in the final, the tournament must be measured as a major success, with a ranked win, and solid half against Claremont while shorthanded. Jason Scully was deservedly named to the tournament all-star team, and mention should also be given to Max Pollen for his effort over the course of the weekend.

This week, the Blue Jags will be in action against Mt. Doug Monday, will travel to Belmont Wednesday, and on to Spectrum Thursday for league action. On Saturday, the team will host RC Palmer from Richmond.

Beau Parker `08
Castaway Wanderers start rugby season with win over UVic

A Short History of Chinese New Year
From a speech delivered by Grade 12 boarder Thompson Wong in Chapel

Also known as the Spring festival, Chinese New Year is the most important of China’s traditional holidays. According to ancient mythology and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started on the first day of the New Year in a village in China where a mythical beast called the Nian would eat livestock, crops and even the villagers (especially the children). It was believed that by putting food in the front of their doors, the Nian wouldn’t attack any more people. Then, one time, the villagers saw that the Nian was scared away by a small child dressed in red. Understanding that the Nian was afraid of the colour red, every time New Years was approaching, the villagers would hang red lanterns and scrolls on their doors and windows. The villagers also used firecrackers to scare away the Nian. From then on the Nian never came to their village again.

The Junior School students have also been involved in activities to celebrate Chinese New Year this week. Here are some student reflections on the activities.

“The red envelope is one of the classic symbols of Chinese New Year. The envelopes themselves often feature various Chinese characters of long life, prosperity, and good health. During Chinese New Year celebrations, red envelopes filled with money are often given to young children from family members and loved ones to wish them luck and prosperity in the New Year. The colour of red is a symbol of good luck and it is also believed that the colour wards off evil spirits.” – Michael

“We made dragon puppets and we are… we are going to do a dragon dance. What’s special about it is that it is the Year of the Dragon. The dragon shows ‘strongness’ and it scares away bad luck.” – Jenna

“In Grade 1, we found out about Chinese New Year. Mrs. Galloway cut out dragon faces and we coloured them and put ribbons on the back. They turned out well. Mrs. Galloway already made one so we knew what they looked like. I am interested in Chinese New Year – I like dragons!” – Alec

by Jasper, Grade 8

On Saturday, January 20, I traveled to Mulgrave School in Vancouver, along with 14 other selected Grade 7 and 8 students, to attend the Justice High Conference. This conference was focused on teaching the next generation about the United Nations Millennium Goals. Each of the eight goals addressed global issues such as: child mortality, environmental sustainability and world hunger.

“When we first arrived at the conference, we were given the opportunity to sign up for a morning and an afternoon workshop, each of which focused on a different UN Goal.”

When we first arrived at the conference, we were given the opportunity to sign up for a morning and an afternoon workshop, each of which focused on a different UN Goal.

I immediately signed up for the environmental sustainability and child mortality workshops, hoping that I could learn some new interesting things to bring back and teach our school. I was not disappointed. In the first workshop, environmental sustainability, we learned about dams in the Amazon Rainforest and oil pipelines in the British Columbia rainforests, which are both relevant and interesting issues.

Next we had lunch: sandwiches with a side of poverty, which was a keynote presentation about one woman’s dream to help end illiteracy in Sierra Leone. Then, it was off to our next workshop: child mortality. Our presenter was a very interesting man who was deeply intertwined with the cause, because he had been born prematurely and had almost died. We learned many facts and stats about child mortality, in Canada and internationally. Overall we had a great time and were thoroughly enlightened, I hope we can go again next year!

Find out about more upcoming leadership opportunities on the leadership blog.

by Christine Wenzel, parent

This week, our University Counseling Department hosted Peter Van Buskirk, a dynamic motivational speaker and founder of The Admission Game. His credentials are impressive, with over 25 years experience in the selective college admission process. Selective is the key word. Mr. Van Buskirk used it often.

His goal was to help us understand the behind-the-scenes process of university admission. Although his attention was focused on universities in the United States, students applying in Canada were also able to find relevant direction from his advice.

From a parent’s point of view, here are six of the highlights I noted.

1) The student has to find the right fit for them. He joked about being a “helicopter parent”, hovering over his children. When you have the experience and knowledge the temptation to guide is great, but itʼs part of the growing up and letting go process for students to make their own choices (and itʼs a tough one).

2) Approaches to university admission fall into two categories: the holistic process and the objective process. The holistic method looks at the whole candidate profile. The objective method found in the more selective schools (think Ivy League) looks more at scores and grades.

3) Faculty and Admissions have a strong relationship. Professors talk often with Admissions and their wish list includes bright, motivated, high achievers and evidence of diversity.

4) Diversity isnʼt exclusive to ethnic background. It includes young scholars who are different from each other, have different interests and thoughts.

5) Demonstrated interest in the school(s) of your choice gives you an extra edge. Establish a rapport with the recruiter who comes to your school. Make sure you fill out the presentation card. This is the start of your file, showing you made the effort to attend and learn more about their school. In Mr. Van Buskirkʼs words, “Donʼt be a ghost applicant.”

6) If you are worried something doesnʼt look as strong on your application as you would like, or it doesnʼt reflect your best effort and you would like the opportunity to explain why, then take the time to do it. There is a place on the application for this purpose.

Mr. Van Buskirkʼs enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge and his way of engaging the audience to participate made his two-and-a-half-hour presentation go by in a flash.

Ultimately, a student needs to ask themselves two questions: 1) Why do you want to go to university? 2) What three things do you want to accomplish by the time you finish?

At the end, he summed up his final words of advice to the students with five points:

1) Know yourself
2) Know what youʼre getting into in the process
3) Make good choices
4) Tell your story; connect the dots
5) Believe in you

If you missed the opportunity to attend, Peter Van Buskirk has published a book and you can also subscribe to his blog.

The Senior girls basketball team had a quiet week. The snow day cancelled their only scheduled game. Instead, the team had a week of some much needed practice. Their next games are this weekend at the Belmont Invitational.

Grade 9 Boys Basketball
by Steve Bates

The Grade 9 boys had a very successful week. Despite being down 11 points with four minutes to go versus Vic High, the boys scored 12 unanswered points, culminating with a buzzer beater put back by Michael Cernucan to win 46-45.

On the weekend, the boys welcomed Mt. Prevost to our gym with an energetic, run-and-gun offense spurred by tenacious defense en route to a 44-34 win.

Senior Boys Basketball
by Ian Hyde-Lay

The Senior boys ‒ anticipating a spot in the prestigious Vancouver College Emerald Tournament January 19-21 only to be dropped late due to a scheduling mix-up ‒ managed a league makeup game against PCS and a home exhibition against Cowichan instead.

In the first of these two encounters, David Lafleur (21 points) led a balanced attack to help account for PCS.

The next afternoon was a much less pleasant experience, as a rough start saw SMUS trailing the Duncan visitors 22-4 early in the second quarter. Miss after miss ‒ from in close and from behind the arc ‒ ensured a difficult climb back against a nuggety opposition.

In the end, with Joe Erlic (20 points) and Dawit Workie (12 points) spearheading the comeback, the team, on the back of solid defence and a few successful shots, scrambled from behind to tie the score at 47 points. Then, in a somewhat fitting conclusion, a botched fast break and subsequent travelling violation with 8 seconds to play gave the ball back to Cowichan. Mitch Knippleberg, courtesy of a tough, contested ten-foot jumper, then gave the Thunderbirds a two-point lead, with SMUS’ final attempt to equalize coming to naught.

The loss will hopefully be a firm reminder of the effort and concentration required in every game as the season moves to its conclusion.

SMUS will need to back up its BC AA #5 ranking with a vastly improved performance at the January 27–28 Shawnigan-Brentwood “Countdown to the Playoffs” Tournament.

Step into the Senior boys practice last Tuesday and listen to Reagan Daly, Derek Hyde-Lay and Joe Erlic talk about this weekend’s tournament.

Junior Boys Basketball
by Ritch Primrose

The Junior boys basketball team travelled in near blizzard conditions to the Saanich Peninsula on Monday to play the Stelly’s Stingers. Having not played Stelly’s yet this season, the team was eager to see what they had to offer, and started the game with a level of energy the Stingers could not match.

Jason Scully came out of the gates hard with five quick points in the first quarter, penetrating to the hoop at will. The Blue Jags’ tough 2-2-1 press generated many turn-overs and kept the home team on their heels. A balanced scoring attack — with seven different SMUS players on the scoresheet — led to a 37–15 halftime lead.

The second half saw much of the same, with Max Pollen putting up eight points in the third quarter, and Abe Kharghani looking dominant in the post, finishing with eight points and as many rebounds.

By the time the fourth quarter came to a conclusion, every player on the Blue Jags’ bench had seen considerable minutes, with Jeremy Chan and Graeme Hyde-Lay sharing the point guard duties, while David Boroto used his athleticism to help contain Stelly’s down the stretch. Matt Rud led all scorers with thirteen points, and the final score was 66–32 for the Jags. Graeme Hyde-Lay led the team in the assists category.

This week the boys take a break from league action, but will be competing in a tough field at Claremont’s Spartan Invitational this weekend. They open against Dover Bay at 6:00 pm on Friday.