It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like… January

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Erin


by Erin Anderson, editor

Snow is still a pretty special event in Victoria, so it’s not surprising that many people were excited to see the campus coated in white. On Tuesday, both Senior and Middle students were out on the field, wading through the fluffy flakes, building snowmen and throwing snow around.

There was enough snow to close the school on Wednesday, so the boarders donned winter gear and took up their sleds. Our houseparents also had a lot of fun with their young children while our maintenance and grounds crew braved the cold to shovel the walks and keep things from getting too slippery. Brown Hall even served up a delicious, hearty lunch of baked pasta for everyone on campus.

Students returned on Thursday even though the snow held on. The boys PE 9 class ventured outside to toss around the football and stretch their legs. Despite the cold and wind, Freezer Bowl 2012 appeared to be a great success.

Video by Darin Steinkey
Music: “Stylorockdashow” by Marco Raaphorst
Used under Creative Commons license

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Student Stories Inspired by Snowfall

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Erin

A Day in the Snow
by Christian, Grade 4

A deer walks through the snow. The deer makes symmetrical foot prints while heading towards the pond for a drink of water. But when the deer sticks its tongue out it squeals in pain. The ice is frozen and the deer’s tongue is stuck on the icy pond. Soon after a farmer approaches the snow covered forest for his daily walk. He passes the pond and something catches his eyes — it’s the deer. After he frees the deer from the icy pond he continues his walk. He looked at the sun glistening on the white snow and his feet crunched. He felt the soft snow under his feet. The pitter patter of the drops of water falling from the leaves from the trees was soothing to the farmer. The beauty of the snow-filled forest made the farmer happy and content. He continued his way back to the farm inspired to do his work after such a glorious time in the snow filled forest.

The Daily Life of a Snowflake
by Angelina, Grade 4

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!” I screamed as I fell from the sky…
BONK!
“OW! — That was a window!”
TWANG!
“Huh? Why don’t people take their Christmas lights down?”
…falling…falling… oh no…no…nononononononono! POOF!

I flipped over and grumbled. Well, thank goodness I didn’t have to make up the first layer or I’d be tasting concrete! Then the roaring of the wind slowed, and my friend floated down beside me. (Actually, she’s my 82976th friend since I make a new one every two hours.)

“How come YOU always get the gentle breezes?” I moaned, rubbing my arm from my unfortunate impact against the window.
“Just because I’m epic,” she said airily.
“No, seriously!” I grumbled in annoyance.
“Well, I guess I just got lucky,” she replied.
Easy for HER to say. She ALWAYS gets lucky.

Suddenly —
“Lookout!!” I screamed (well, if snowflakes can scream).
We dodged just in time to miss being smashed into nothing by a size XXXXXL sled streaming down the hill we had landed on. The large blue sled thundered down the hill, powder whooshing up behind it. I squiggled around to remove myself from the large snowdrift I had just jumped into to avoid being run over. But before I could get over the fact that I had almost had a concussion I got scooped into a large navy-coloured mitt. I felt myself being packed into the index finger — and Wsssshhhh! I was flying, faster and faster than ever before in my life — SMACK!

I moaned and detached myself from the other snowflakes (trying to ignore the stars I was seeing) and realized I’d just been made into a snowball and thrown against a tree. Sheesh… Why can’t humans use those Christmas lights instead?

Suddenly, a dark shape loomed over me and SMASH! CLUNK CLONK, zip zop, CLUNK CLONK, zip zop. Warmth blasted me in the face (as well as the smell of hot chocolate). The person pulled off the snow boot I had been attached to and whacked me against the shoe shelf. OW! OW! OW! I fell onto the tile floor and started to melt. I don’t mind water even if I can only move downhill but I DO mind the tile floor. It makes my feet so itchy.

As I evaporated off the floor, I knew that soon I’d be falling again, hitting a window, getting tangled into Christmas lights, and dodging a sled, not to mention seeing stars and hitting a tree, being a snowball or getting stuck on a snow boot all over again. I’m very sorry I wasted so much of your time telling you this, but I can’t help it. Yikes!! I hate evaporating.

THE END (or is it?)

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Victoria Film Festival Features SMUS Pictures

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Erin

The 2012 Victoria Film Festival runs from February 3–11 and includes two pieces from the SMUS community: Figaro on the Go, a documentary created by parent Art Makosinski about the 2010 Junior School opera The Barber of Seville, and Brücke, an animated short from alumnus Kristen Turcotte ’07.

Figaro on the Go
by Duncan Frater, director of The Barber of Seville
It’s an honour and privilege to be a part of Art Makosinski’s Figaro On The Go. It was interesting to have someone outside of the production film and edit the process. Art captured scenes that I would pass off as normal, but in the end, translated well into the film. He did a great job of piecing the rehearsals together, as well as showing raw footage of the good times and the difficult times. It was also fun to watch the personalities of the boys and girls shine throughout the whole film. It’s a great reminder as to why schools tackle these big shows. It’s about the kids and they are amazing!

Hopefully, people will see the film and be inspired to come and see this year’s opera, Ceneretola (Cinderella) on May 28 and 29 at The Royal Theatre. Like The Barber of Seville, the opera was composed by Giovanni Rossini and will be a modified version from the original. The characters are cheeky and the show is full of humour. I guarantee you will be entertained.

Brücke
by Kristen Turcotte ’07

I wanted to send an update to SMUS on my animated short, Brücke, that I created in my graduating year of Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 2011. In addition to being nominated for the Emily Carr President’s Media Choice Award and being picked up through Moving Images Distribution, so far Brücke has been accepted into two film festivals.

Brucke will be screened at the Victoria Film Festival alongside several other short pieces in Animations Alive! on February 11th at the Odeon at 12:15. It will also be screened in San Francisco at the SFIndie Fest and at the Roxy Theatre.

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Stories from the Annual Fund: Susan Xu and George Luo

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Erin

“Every year, we give to the Annual Fund,” says Susan Xu, a current parent. “Every year, we feel we should do more.”

In 2006, Susan and her husband George were living in China and researching boarding schools when they found SMUS. Ultimately, it was their son Len who made the decision to join the school; at the end of his campus tour, he announced that SMUS was where he wanted to go.

“We’re very satisfied with the school,” says Susan, who relocated to Victoria just after Len entered boarding. “We wouldn’t change anything.”

Seeing their son succeed at school and become a mature, helpful teenager makes the Luo parents very happy. Family is very important to Susan and George, so they are glad to see their son settling into life as a big brother, since his sister was born almost three years ago.

“In Chinese culture, family members support each other,” says Susan. “It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or not, you do what you can.”

Much like they want to support their families, Susan and George also want to support the school community. They hope that their donations to the Annual Fund help other students fulfil their potential.

“We love to see the kids going on to university,” she says. “If we can do something to help them, we consider it a good thing.”

Len will graduate this year and plans to study engineering at one of the several North American universities he’s applied to. The Luo family plans to continue to be part of the SMUS community; they would like to send their daughter Victoria to kindergarten at the Junior School when she is old enough.

“St. Michaels University School, to us, is kind of like a family,” says Susan. “All of the teachers support the kids like family members. That’s why my husband and I love to support the school.”

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Athletics Review: January 16, 2012

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Darin Steinkey

Junior Girls Basketball
by Amanda Daum

The developmental team started the week off with a win against St. Margaret’s. Two stand-out players in this game were Emma Laprise for her awesome rebounding skills and Vivian Lam who continually took the ball to the hoop hard, finishing well. Every player was able to contribute to this game and we worked together as a team.

We pulled off a close win against Belmont on Tuesday after school. When the second half began, we were up by more than 10, but let the lead slip away in the third and fourth quarters. However, the girls showed great determination and strength, taking control of the situation, making some key shots and playing awesome defence. Megan Harrison was relentless on defence and a rebounding machine! Catriona Gordon-Poag, our centre, used her shooting and post skills to help pull us through this game as well. This was one of the more challenging games for our team and we are happy with how the girls played.

by Aimee Daly

On Wednesday, the Junior girls basketball team faced Pacific Christian School. After trailing in the second half, the Blue Jags rallied, but narrowly lost by three points, 40–37.

The girls then travelled to Vancouver to play in the ISA tournament at York House. They faced St. John’s in their first round robin game, and came away with a decisive 77–3 victory. Contributions came from every player with Claire Williams adding 18 points and Stephanie Wong-Harrison with 12 points.

The Blue Jags were confident and composed in their next game against Shawnigan Lake where they took the lead and ran with it. Emma Loughton led the team with 12 points in a 43–15 win.

A slow start in the semi-final game against Crofton House proved to be a challenge. The girls battled back in the third quarter but were unsuccessful in an intense defensive battle, losing 29–21.

The girls played against Shawnigan Lake again for third place. Going into their fourth game, fatigue was an issue, however they held Shawnigan to 29 points and came away with a third place finish.

Claire Williams and Emma Loughton were named to the tournament all-star team. Congratulations to all the girls for a very successful tournament.

This week the junior girls will face a strong Stelly’s team as well as Spectrum in league play.

Senior Boys Basketball
by Ian Hyde-Lay

The Senior boys competed January 12–14 in the 33rd Annual Police Tournament, opening with a much anticipated game versus BC AA #4 ranked Windsor of North Vancouver.

An excellent defensive performance, spearheaded by Liam Maclure, held Dukes star David Manshrek to only 15 points, well under his season average. SMUS prevailed 62–46.

The win moved the team into the semifinals vs Lambrick Park. Another solid overall effort produced a 71–59 victory. Monty Fraser-Brown (16) led four players in double figures, with Dawit Workie’s stellar defence also a significant factor.

The final against arch-rival Oak Bay was an opportunity to avenge a heavy defeat of a week ago. An enthusiastic crowd of around 500 was treated to a very competitive contest, with numerous ties and lead changes. Down 13–6 and 18–9 early on, SMUS recovered well to take a one point lead at intermission.

The game boiled down to two mini runs by Oak Bay. The first came after SMUS had taken its largest lead mid way through the third frame at 38–31. Then, with the game tied at 54 with five minutes to play, three costly Blue Jags turnovers gifted the Bays three hoops and a seven point lead they would not relinquish.

Fourth quarter fatigue was undoubtedly an issue for SMUS, with Workie away on USA 7s rugby duty and Derek Hyde-Lay out with back trouble. Still, disappointment lingered over what was certainly a winnable game.

Joe Erlic and Maclure were named to the All Tournament team.

Next up for the team is a January 17 home league game vs PCS before exhibition play vs BC AAA #8 Mt. Douglas on January 21.

Grade 9 Boys Basketball
by Steve Bates

The Grade 9 boys basketball team placed 2nd in their tournament at Cedar this weekend. In their first game against Ballenas, Grant Nicholson had the hot hand from the outside, pacing the team to an early lead. On the basis of strong pressure defense led by Owen Sudul, the boys clung to a single digit lead late in the 4th period. Alex Caton and Jake Wilmott hit pressure free throws in the last minute to retain the small margin en route to a 34–31 win.

In the second game against John Barsby, it was the inside presence of Liam Catto and Michael Cernucan at both ends of the floor that ultimately led to a 52–36 win. The two post players finished inside on the offensive end and helped the team retain the lead to the end.

Despite Jack Sherrod’s ability to slice through the Gulf Islands’ zone defense and lead the team in scoring in the final, the boys ran into a very worthy opponent.

It was a very successful weekend and the boys should be very proud of their efforts on the court.

Senior Girls Basketball
by Lindsay Brooke

The Senior girls basketball team opened league play with a game against Edward Milne. The Blue Jags proved to be too much for the Sooke team to handle, winning easily 59–9. Abbey Piazza led all scorers with 15 points and Senior Madison Hadfield chipped in with 14.

Next up for the SMUS squad was the Victoria City Police Tournament. The team faced GW Graham in their opening round game and jumped out to a 21–5 lead in the first quarter. The Grizzlies ramped up their defense and began to chip away the SMUS lead. The 16 point lead began to fizzle as the game wore on and the Blue Jags eked out a narrow 60–58 win. Allie White led the team with 20 points, Abbey Piazza added 13 points and Madison Hadfield scored 11 points.

In the semi-final game, SMUS shook off a slow start to defeat the Mt. Doug Rams, 45–34. Abbey Piazza and Sophia Ducharme each had 15 points in the win. This win set up the tournament final against arch-rival Lambrick Park. The Blue Jags struggled offensively for the entire game, only scoring 31 points in a losing effort (62-31 for Lambrick). The Pride were able to shutdown Piazza and Ducharme and unfortunately the rest of the SMUS team struggled with their shooting. Ducharme led the team with 12 points. Abbey Piazza and Sophia Ducharme were named to the tournament all-star team.

The Senior girls will face PCS this week in league play.

Junior Boys Basketball
by Ritch Primrose

The Junior boys basketball team competed in the Independent School Championships this past weekend at St. John’s School in Vancouver. Coming off a successful Vancouver College Tournament the previous weekend, the team was excited to compete against the finest independent schools in the province.

Up first was Surrey’s Southridge Storm. The Blue Jags got off to a sluggish start, and difficulty putting the ball in the hoop led to a closer than comfortable game at the half. To their credit, the boys pitched up big time in the second half and, led by a flurry of transition hoops by Danny Wu and Max Pollen combined with a stellar rebounding effort from Jack Janus, the boys pushed their lead to 30 points by the beginning of the third quarter. Point guard Jeremy Chan distributed the ball well and scored at will in the fourth quarter, leading the Jags to a comfortable 70–48 victory. Danny Wu was feted as player of the game.

The semi-final game matched the Jags against the host St. John’s Eagles, an athletic and up-tempo squad. Tough defence was the order of the day for SMUS, led by Jason Skully’s excellent perimeter guarding on the Eagles’ star scorer.

Collectively, the Blue Jags played one of their best games of the year, with their vaunted 2–2–1 press generating a steady flow of turn-over lay-ups. Guards Graeme Hyde-Lay and Max Pollen were relentless on the ball and created scoring opportunities at every turn. Matt Rud was an offensive force in the post, as was power forward Jordan Lane. Riding a 30 point lead into the fourth quarter, David Boroto put on a rebounding clinic and managed a few strong drives to the hoop. The Jags cruised to victory and turned a few heads with their stifling team defence.

The final game matched the Blue Jags against perennial powerhouse St. George’s. Led by their 6’7” provincial team guard, the Saints proved to be a tough task. The boys started strong and made the first half very competitive. Mat Rud’s defence made it difficult for St. George’s star to score, but the Saints attack was balanced and dangerous.

Graeme Hyde-Lay handled the on-ball pressure from the Saints’ defence with ease, earning him Player of the Game honours. While the team held pace for the first half, they were unable to maintain it for 40 minutes, and ended up dropping the contest 57–27. This secured a silver medal for the boys and a first team all-tournament honour for team captain Matt Rud.

This week sees the Blue Jags in league action against Stelly’s (Monday) and Spectrum (Wednesday).

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Chess Champion Challenges Junior Students

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Erin


by Tessa Lloyd, Junior School counsellor

From September to December, students had the opportunity to participate in Chess Club. Their teacher, Lynn Stringer, came each Tuesday to teach children how to play chess and how to play well. Lynn started playing chess when she was about six years old.

Lynn has been a member of the Victoria Chess Club since 1950 and was the Women’s Co-ordinator for the Canadian Chess Federation of Canada for several years. She has played in many tournaments, including the Canadian Women’s Championship and was at one time was the best female player in BC. Lynn was very involved in the educational lives of her children and volunteered in their schools teaching chess, starting in 1969. Over the years, her passion for chess has never faded. She has taught chess in a number of schools in Victoria and was part of setting up the CFAX Chess Championship involving 3500 children.

At the Junior School, we feel very fortunate that Lynn is able to share her skills, knowledge and enthusiasm with our students. She loves working with young children, because they help keep her young.

Student Thoughts

“Chess is a really good game, I like finding out how good people are at it. I enjoy it if I win or even if I lose”. I liked it when Lynn taught us about castling, moving your rook to the square the other side of the king and putting your king two squares away from the rook. She is a good teacher and she makes it fun.” -Markus, Grade 2

“Chess Club is a great way to learn and it’s easy. I feel excited by the game and relaxed when I play. I feel kind of powerful and confident. Lynn taught us the basics, like how you have to cover your king at all times.” -Violetta, Grade 5

“Lynn is teaching us some cool moves, like en passant, which is French for “in passing.” I learnt that you can only do it when you are on the fifth rank. She also taught us how to checkmate with only a queen and a bishop. She likes to have fun and she has the same kind of enthusiasm as young people.” -Logan, Grade 3

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SMUS Artists and Poets Show Their Eclectic Side

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Darin Steinkey

by Darin Steinkey

SMUS has partnered with Eclectic Gallery for a very unique show. Artists from Art Foundations 11/12 and poets from Writing 12 collaborated to create a collection of pieces that will be on sale to raise money for War Child Canada and the Amma organization. There are about 70 prints for sale. Seventeen are exhibited in frames and sell for $60. The rest are all matted and packaged to sell for $35. Eclectic Gallery is located at 2170 Oak Bay Avenue. The show runs until Saturday, January 14.

I attended the opening on Monday and spoke with art teacher Jennifer McIntyre, Liam Maclure, Harrison Kim, Alex Davies, Ana Wang, Sophia Niewerth and Eclectic Gallery owner John Taylor. After you watch the video, you can read my interview with Gabe Lunn where he talks a little about what it’s like for a 16-year-old to have his poetry hanging in a gallery.

Filmed and Edited by Darin Steinkey
Music
“The Distance” by Voyageurs

What did you think of the whole project?
Initially when Ms. Stenson told us, I didn’t think a lot of it to be honest. I thought it was a cool idea to be collaborating with the art department on this, but I never realized that the other students would actually be interpreting our poems into an actual single image, which is ironic, because creating poetry is all about imagery. But when I finally arrived at the showing, I was really surprised and pleased with what the art students had done.

What did you think about the atmosphere at the opening?
Claustrophobic, ha. There was 15 or 20 people all squeezed into this art gallery that was smaller than a coffee shop. But I think that among the poets and parents, we were all very into what we saw, because we don’t really share our work with each other and it’s like a glimpse into each other’s thoughts and ideas. I don’t know if I can speak for the artists, because they already knew what was happening, but they all looked pretty happy with it as well.

What is it like to have a poem in a show?
Geez, it’s a weird feeling. Poetry is the kind of stuff that you never really let out to the public unless your either rash or shameless, or both. And when you’re 16 and you’ve been published it’s even weirder. You think, wow, people are going to read these? This is something my mom’s going to remind me of when I’m 30… But it wasn’t too uncomfortable since the Writing 12 kids basically read all our stuff to each other for about an hour every day.

Any other reflections on the project?
I’m just going to promote Ms. Stenson on this one. Any students at SMUS who like to write, read, or just like English class, should take Writing 12 when you get to Grade 11. Honestly, it’s the best class in my whole schedule. You get to spill your guts in front of other students however you want, and it’s fine because it’s an English class. Ms. Stenson won’t be teaching it next year as she’s heading back to Claremont, but Mr. Young will be coming back to take over and that’ll be just as awesome.

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Dead Batteries Save Lives

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Erin

by Jonathan and Christopher, Grade 7 & 8

A group of Free the Children members travelled to Vancouver to attend We Day in October. At We Day, we listened and learned from many important speakers and bands.

One of the biggest things we learned at We Day was the problem of zinc deficiency around the world, but mainly in third world countries. One way we can help children with zinc deficiency is to collect batteries to be recycled. They are then turned into zinc tablets to give to children with zinc deficiency. Most of the kids that have zinc deficiency experience the following problems: hair loss, skin lesions, diarrhea, wasting of body tissues and acne. Loss of eyesight, taste, smell and memory are also symptoms of zinc deficiency. The moment we heard about this at We Day we wanted to do something.

Upon our return to SMUS, we talked about a strategy to solve the problem. A battery drive was the obvious choice. We are going to be donating them to an organization called Zinc Saves Lives who will turn the batteries into tablets and then recycle them. We also talked about how to inspire more of the student body (having a crazy socks or accessories day if we raise a lot) and promoting the idea in assembly and on announcements.

During this week, students have been bringing in dead batteries and it has really brought joy to our hearts for all the children we are helping. We think that helping children is one of the greatest things SMUS does.

The Middle School Free the Children group collected 1634 batteries this week and will continue to save the batteries dropped into the recycling station (in the Middle School foyer) for the cause. Members will be volunteering their time entertaining children with coloring, face-painting and beading at the Senior School’s Free the Children Gala on January 22.

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Classic Dinner and Chapel Music for Boarding

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Darin Steinkey

Community dinners are an opportunity for boarding students and houseparents to come together around a meal and enjoy each others’ company. The first community dinner of 2012 involved a Moxie’s/Earl’s/The Keg-type atmosphere and included a special meal prepared by Brown Hall staff. After dinner, all boarders attended chapel where Rev. Fletcher spoke about thinking beyond ourselves and Danny Park treated us to a song he learned to play that afternoon (as you will see in the video footage).

Filmed and Edited by Darin Steinkey
Music
“Dub Magnets” by Dub Magnets
“Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton

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Driver Training Goes Online

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Erin

by Dawn Wilson, Director of Education Extension

One of the most important rites of passage in high school is getting a driver’s license, but this milestone is fraught with worry for parents. Choosing the right driving program is an important decision and the training offered through SMUS now includes the chance to practice driving without being in a car at all.

Our school delivers driving courses through Wallace Driving School. Starting this year, they will begin using a new driving simulation program, Cognifit, in addition to behind-the-wheel lessons. CogniFit is an online training program to help prepare the teen driver who is dealing with the numerous distractions and unexpected events of the road. The program does this through a series of tasks that challenge students ability to split their attention and process different stimuli.

Try Cognifit: Online Demo

“I compared notes with another friend who attended another driving school,” says Grade 12 student Sun Woo. “My friend was really bored, but I got to watch funny videos and wear simulator goggles. It was really fun.”

Owner/operator Steve Wallace says he makes a point of using contemporary methods that keep students interested and engaged. He has a long history in driver training and is a driving columnist with the Times Colonist.

“You only learn to drive once,” says Steve. “A driving course is one of the very few things a person can purchase which lasts a lifetime.”

The next driver training course starts on Saturday, February 11. A parent information session about the driving classes will be held on Tuesday, January 17 at 7 pm in Crothall 116.

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