The Head's Letter - STEAM @ RNS: 21st Century Learning

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MATH

ARTS

ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCE


an investment in knowledge always pays the best int


terest - Benjamin Franklin


T H E M A G A Z I N E O F R O T H E S AY N E T H E R W O O D S C H O O L | S P R I N G 2 0 1 8

ON THE COVER:

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Head’s Comments

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STEAM team

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At RNS we're STEAM not STEM

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Life on the Hill

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Hill Highlights

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Live Where You Learn

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RNS Glee Club

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DisruptED

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IT Workshops @ RNS

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Amazing Alumni

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Heathers: The Musical

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Gatherings

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Class Notes

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Passings

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RNS is committed to being a leader in innovation and technology, all the while providing students with a wellrounded education that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math to guide student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.

The Head’s Letter is published twice a year by Rothesay Netherwood School for alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of the school. Rothesay Netherwood School 40 College Hill Road, Rothesay, NB, E2E 5H1 Tel: 506.847.8224 Fax: 506.848.0851 www.rns.cc Head of School Paul McLellan Paul.McLellan@rns.cc Editor Jennifer Roos alumni@rns.cc Photography: Members of the RNS Community.

This publication, or any of the information contained herein, may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the editor. All rights reserved.


THE EDITOR’S NOTE JENNIFER ROOS | COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR As the official "unofficial" photographer here on campus, I get to capture and observe so many amazing RNS moments. Like the time I happened in on a Glee Club rehearsal, for example. Even before Ms. Campbell had arrived to start the practice, the students were up on stage singing and dancing their way through one of the numbers. It was a thrill to witness their enthusiasm and passion. The Glee Club is now in its second year at RNS and you can read all about this community-minded group of students on page 26. Equally passionate are the students who make up the RNS Robotics teams. I stopped by the Innovation Studio to snap some shots of the Middle School and Grade 10 teams as they had one final run through before hopping on a bus to travel to a big competition at Acadia University. It was awe inspiring to watch these STEAM students program and code their robots to perform all kinds of tasks. I was blown away! No doubt you'll be inspired, too, as you learn more about the STEAM team on page 8. And while we're on the topic of STEAM, which is the theme of this issue, you might be wondering what it's all about. Here's a great definition from the website EducationCloset.com: "STEAM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. The end results are students who take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problemsolving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process. These are the innovators, educators, leaders, and learners of the 21st century!" You will certainly find 21st century learners here at RNS. Take a read through Mr. Vogt's piece on a recent disruptED 48-Hour Challenge, page 28, which turned our Grade 9 and 10 students into innovative entrepreneurs. And learn about a new IT Workshop series led by alumni Fraser Wells '11 that allows RNS students to explore concepts such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, wearable technology, crypto-currencies and blockchaining, page 34. This issue will also take you to Italy and Greece with student Anna Lee '21, to Disney World with Oliver VanBuskirk '23 and all the way to Windermere School in England where Jenna Kong '21 took part in a 5-week exchange. Check out these stories and other Hill Highlights on pages 16-19. For our Alumni who are planning to return to campus this June 15th to 17th for the 100th Reunion Weekend, take a look at pages 44 and 45 where you'll find the Reunion Weekend Schedule and form. And you'll want to read about your former classmates in our Amazing Alumni section, pages 38-42, which features Kent Grass '81, Roz Kelsey '86, and Fraser Wells '11. With so much happening here on the Hill, the Head's Letter really only offers just a glimpse. Please remember that as alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of RNS, you are always welcome and encouraged to drop in for a visit to see your school in action. We hope to see you soon!


HEAD’S COMMENTS PA U L M c L E L L A N , H E A D O F S C H O O L

Opportunities for reflection

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s you read through this edition of the Head’s Letter, you will see the term STEAM. This acronym represents an integrated approach to teaching and learning which incorporates Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics. STEAM educators are committed to delivering a broad set of skills and work habits that more readily prepare students for success beyond graduation. This approach to teaching and learning is evident in many of our classrooms and referenced often in these articles.

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Also, in this edition of the Head’s Letter, you will see an invitation to join us for our dinner honouring our Founders, as part of our Graduation and Reunion Weekend. This year, we will honour Gerald S. McMackin ’65 and, posthumously, Dr. Susan B. Ganong and Dr. C. Humphrey and Veronica Bonnycastle.

Dr. Ganong was the Head of Netherwood School from 1903 - 1944. In fact, she purchased the school during that time and sold it back to the Netherwood School Foundation upon her retirement. When I read about Dr. Ganong and reflect upon her legacy, I think about vision and perseverance. Netherwood School was in dire shape when she arrived, but she was committed to an education for girls that included high academic standards emphasizing the arts, French language and community service. Dr. Ganong’s influence on education in New Brunswick garnered national attention and, as a result, enrolment grew. Dr. Ganong’s leadership positioned Netherwood School well for the future, and important elements of her vision still form the foundation of an RNS education today.

Our school may have changed since you walked the hallways, but the underlying core values remain the same.

Gerry McMackin has been a student, parent, Director, and Board Chair at RNS. He remains actively involved in our Governance and Nominating Committee and I rely upon him often to help me understand and resolve important legal and governance issues here at the school. Gerry has been a Governor since 1975. To measure Gerry’s impact on our school would be a difficult task, as he has given so much. His contributions extend beyond our campus and

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into the community where he supports many charitable and community endeavours. Recently, Gerry was a keynote speaker for an event which raised awareness for prostate cancer. Gerry and his wife, Lynn, continue to be important members of our school community, as are their children, Holly ’97, Andrew ’00 and Laura ’03.

Dr. Bonnycastle served as Head of Rothesay Collegiate School from 1938 - 1970, missing time in the early years to serve in the Royal Canadian Navy during WWII. There is no doubt that Dr.


During Reunion Weekend, RNS will recognize and honour the 2018 Founders, members of our community who have gone above and beyond. This year's Founders are Gerry McMackin '65, and posthumouly, Susan B. Ganong, and C. Humphery and Veronica Bonnycastle.

Bonnycastle would have had a strong opinion about the removal of the cadet program from our school in the late eighties, but he would likely have also been open to a robust debate about new and innovative ways to provide the structure and discipline required for today's students to succeed. Dr. Bonnycastle’s vision also included high academic standards with emphasis on leadership and a well-rounded education. Dr. Bonnycastle and his wife, Veronica, were important members of our community and their legacy has continued through their children, Hilary ’56 and Gus ’62.

When leading a school that dates back to 1877, these are questions that I often ponder. Right now, we are preparing to begin a new strategic planning process and getting ready for our upcoming CAIS Accreditation. These processes will provide opportunities for reflection and input from our community. We must ensure that RNS today is relevant for our students and that we continue to be committed to excellence in our programs. As in years past, meaningful relationships, leadership opportunities, and community service must remain hallmarks of an education at our school.

As I walk around the campus and look at the Dr. C.H. Bonnycastle Memorial Arena or the Théâtre Susan B. Ganong or the stained glass windows in our chapel, I think about the aforementioned Heads of School and what they would think about our school today. Would they think of STEAM as an effective means to engage students in their learning? Would they appreciate the differences that exist in our current programs? Would they be proud of our graduates and the significant contributions that they are making to our communities?

In closing, I hope that our entire community can be proud of our school today. Our school may have changed since you walked the hallways, but the underlying core values remain the same. We continue to be grateful for our heritage and the positive influence that our history and traditions have had on RNS today. We are proud of all of our students and alumni and I want to encourage you to come back and visit. You are always welcome at your school! u

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SPRING ’18


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THE HEAD’S LETTER


STEAM @ RNS

STEAM team

so much more than building & coding robots B Y M A R Y - E L L E N W I L C O X , R N S F A C U LT Y & S T E A M C O O R D I N AT O R

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t is just past 4pm and happy sounds can be heard in Hibbard Hall as students make their way from classes to STEAM team. This school year marks the first time that RNS has offered STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) team as an after school co-curricular and the interest has been outstanding. With a focus on the First Lego League (FLL) Robotics, the group of students that has come together this year will attest that within the group they have found themselves a family - other people who understand terms like “loops” and “block coding” and who, of course, share a love of cookies. On the STEAM team, the students have found kindred spirits, others like themselves who are willing to try something a hundred times before they get it right and rejoice in their ability to finally figure it out. Remarkably, they do not get upset by the number of times a mission did not work correctly.

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The STEAM co-curricular does so much more for students than just give them the skills to build and code robots. These students work tirelessly as a team navigating negotiations, making judgement calls, and weighing decisions that will impact the whole team. This program is rigorous and, as such, demands a full-time after school commitment from the group. This leads to extra challenges in an already busy schedule which these students have been able to manage by delegating work and holding some practices on weekends. Throughout the year, the members of the STEAM team have increased their problem-solving skills, their logical-thinking skills, their persistence, and their tenacity. They have also worked heavily on their presentation skills, their writing skills, and their research skills. All of which have had a direct impact on their work in the classroom.

SPRING ’18


STEAM @ RNS Left, Josh Mou ' 23, Leo Jiang '23, and Kolya Gorbulia '24, have fun during a test run prior to the provincial finals. Below, left, the Junior Robotics team (Moo Moo STEAM) had a successful weekend in Truro, NS, at the regional qualifier. The team came 1st in Core Values (team work, collaboration, and equally shared workload) and 6th in the Robotics Challenge and advanced to the Provincial Finals. Below, right, the Grade 10 Girls' Robotics team, made up of Yolanda Wang, Clarice Woo, Nancy Ma, and Amy Zhang, shown at the Acadia Championships. This team will compete at the Robofest World Championships this May in Southfield, Michigan.

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The FLL robotics is a four-part challenge that encompasses so much more than just robotics. This competition stands on four pillars: a research project and presentation, a presentation on teamwork and overcoming obstacles, the presentation of their robot design and its code, as well as the fun challenge mat. This year's theme was hydrodynamics, or water. The students spent weeks researching water and how it is used and wasted on the planet. They then decided to create a unique filtration system that would allow THE HEAD’S LETTER

them to reuse water within the household and polished up their presentation. Simultaneously, students were building robots, most of them doing so for the very first time, all the while trying to figure out what worked and didn't work when trying to get the robot to perform special tasks. The students, again most of whom have never coded, then had to learn how to code their robot to complete a variety of challenges on the FLL challenge mat. Each challenge can be thought of as

an obstacle, with something to push, pull, or place according to a set of rules. Each challenge is worth a different amount of points with the goal being to gain the most points possible in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. All of the robots are coded to move autonomously, by themselves, through the missions. While doing all of this, the students were also required to document their teamwork, their challenges, and their perseverance which they would need to present to the judges at competition. The final step of the process was to


STEAM @ RNS smashing a pumpkin with elastic bands, making glow-in-the-dark lava lamps, and dissecting goose hearts.

Jonah Lutchmedial '18 works on his team's Sumobot to prepare for the NB High School Robotics Competition held recently at Simonds High School.

prepare a presentation for the judges on the robot itself. Students needed to be able to justify the coding they chose for each mission and explain the robot's overall design to the judges. Our team was lucky enough to compete in two competitions this season. They attended a regional competition in November where they won the Core Values Award that represented their ability to work as a strong team, and the Acadia Championships in February where they won the Rising Star award that represented their potential as a rookie team in the coming years.

More STEAM Opportunities In addition to running the STEAM co-curricular after school, RNS has endeavoured to increase STEAM opportunities for all students, especially those in Middle School. This has led to many fun initiatives taking place around campus for both the students and staff. On Wednesdays after lunch, there are drop-in science demonstrations or experiments taking place. Some of our highlights involve

RNS has also been working hard to develop coding within the student population. A group of Grade 10 girls attended the Acadia Coding Championships last month and several teams from Grade 10 to 12 recently took part in a Sumobot competition held at Simonds High School resulting in a first place finish for our Grade 10 team. We also held "Hour of Code" sessions throughout the month of December. These sessions were really special this year as we had students coding and moving a wide variety of robots. Our Engineering and Design class has also taken up line coding and is working on building student confidence through a variety of games. Attempting to incorporate more STEAM activities in the Middle School also led us to participate in the Future City Competition put on by Engineers Canada. This project included a six-week long unit in our Science Class that was supported by local and alumni city planners and engineers. Students were required to learn about city planning through simulations and then design and build their own city. The Grade 7 students presented a Future City fair at RNS with the top team moving on to compete in Charlottetown, PEI in January where they were awarded Best Future City Project Plan. This fusion of all things Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math has also allowed for some really interesting projects such as our carnival projects in the Engineering and Design course, our constellation stories in the Grade 6 class and a visit from Fredericton's Science East, who brought an amazing planetarium to the school. RNS has also supported students in submitting work to national engineering competitions and we are committed to growing this area of STEAM in the coming years.u SPRING ’18

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at RNS, we're

STEAM, not STEM

B Y PAT R I C K N O B B S , D I R E C TO R O F E N R O L M E N T M A N A G E M E N T

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he Admissions Office receives all kinds of questions from prospective families who want to learn more about this remarkable school. They ask about the IB, Outward Bound, Round Square, and Duke of Edinburgh programs, about our sports and arts opportunities, and about our facilities. They also want to know how we are able to offer so much given the size of our school. Basically, they want to know everything they can before making the decision to enroll their children, and rightfully so! The above list illustrates the thoroughness families go through to make a well-informed decision.

However, every once in a while, the Admissions Team is asked a question they have not heard before. This happened just the other day. The phone rang and it was young man in Jamaica wondering whether we taught STEM or STEAM here at RNS. Many do not know what this acronym stands for, let alone the difference between the two. But, for this young man it was a very important and burning question. So let’s take a moment to back up for a second. First what do STEM and STEAM stand for?

STEM is defined as: “Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), is a term used to group together these academic disciplines. This term is typically used when addressing education policy and curriculum choices in schools to improve competitiveness in science and technology development. It has implications for workforce development.” Whereas, if you looked up STEAM, the definition is: “STEAM fields are Science, Technology, Engineering, and typically

STEAM programs add Art to STEM curriculum by drawing on design principles and encouraging creative solutions.

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Left, The RNS Innovation Studio is a space designed for out-of-the-box thinking where students have the opportunity to try out the virtual reality station, use the Lego First Robotics table, Spark Balls, JIMU Robots, and more. Opposite page, Students in the Middle School Engineering and Design class created games for their carnival held in conjuction with the Middle School Showcase.

either Art and Mathematics, or Applied Mathematics. STEAM is designed to integrate STEM subjects into various relevant disciplines in education. These programs aim to teach students to think critically and use engineering or technology in imaginative designs or creative approaches to real-world problems while building on students' mathematics and science base. STEAM programs add Art to STEM curriculum by drawing on design principles and encouraging creative solutions.” RNS does an amazing job of integrating technology into our classes and our school. We are proud to be the school of choice and to offer STEAM to our students. RNS strives to be at the forefront of best practices and the use of technology in preparing our students for their future. Technology has changed education vastly and for the better. One hundred years ago, students sat in straight rows and worked to memorize what the teacher presented. Today, computers and smart phones have reduced the need to memorize and repeat on a test or exam. We can look things up in an instant on the internet and have the answers. With these changes in education and society, what skills do RNS students need to be prepared for entering today’s workforce? They need to be able to think critically, to understand and analyze data, and

to solve problems. They need to hone their skills in higher-order thinking to be the innovators and leaders of their time. The RNS faculty understands and promotes this kind of learning and it is likely why our students find their classes so engaging. The best example of our utilization of technology in the classroom is evident when you enter the Innovation Studio. On an Admissions tour this is one of the many highlights as prospective families see what this space makes possible. In the studio, you will find a green screen, a virtual reality station, drones, a Lego First Robotics table, Spark Balls, JIMU Robots, and so much more in a space designed for creativity and outside-the-box thinking. Students have access to a wide array of technology here, and paired with a supportive and caring staff, this helps ensure that they have the best foundation for future success. The future is looking bright for them.

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As for the young man from Jamaica, he was delighted to learn that we offer STEAM and not STEM at RNS. After hearing more about our program and all that we have to offer, he has subsequently booked flights so that he may come and see the school for himself. As we know from personal experience, once he sets foot on the campus, there is little doubt that he will want to enroll right away to join this amazing community with all the opportunities, technology included, RNS offers its students. u

SPRING ’18


LIFE ON THE HILL HENRY OLAND & MARTHA PITRE | HEAD PREFEC TS

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lmost 200 days have passed since the first families started arriving on the Hill for Opening Day. For some, this year has revolved around a challenging training and fitness program; for others, it has meant hours of rehearsal or dedication to a particular charity. Likely, for most students at RNS, these past 200 school days have brought an unexpected combination of all of these things. As you can surely tell, we are a very busy little hive, however, we are not sure we would have it any other way.

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The winter term is a blessing for some of our students, as it marks the beginning of winter term sports. A great example of this would be our hockey and basketball teams, as many of them have been training all year to step onto the ice or the court. A special mention is in order for all of our varsity teams for their strong turnout this year - take the Varsity Girls' Basketball Team’s ACIS win as an example. Although many students find their place on varsity teams, many others

With such a forwardthinking student body, we consider ourselves grateful that RNS provides such an immersive and wideranging program that not only enables us to succeed, but to thrive. THE HEAD’S LETTER

have been busy with other winter sports and cocurriculars such as the Art club, yoga, squash, or our newly founded Boxing club. The components that make up STEAM have also been making waves on campus, including the robotics club and STEAM team. With all of this on the go, it might be tough to imagine room for much else. Well, the cast of the musical, members of the band, choir, or Glee club might have something to say about that. In addition to a challenging academic, service, and co-curricular program, this year has been filled to the brim with opportunities in the arts. Most recently, the cast of Heathers: the Musical performed a piece which deals with tough yet relevant issues that teenagers face on a daily basis. Given the nature of the musical's content, several members of the wider community were involved in outreach in the weeks leading up to this show, including Lee Thomas, and RNS alumni Rachael Grant '07 and Lauren Whiteway '16.

n '18 Mira Stephenso

Heather Chisholm '20


Heathers, much like most of the activities happening on campus, is a tremendous example of the way in which our community is strengthened by the change-making spirit which characterizes the RNS experience. There are several other examples of movers and shakers on the Hill who are challenging norms and making change: Heather Chisholm '20 is working towards her goal of building a Montessori pre-school to be shipped to the Caribbean Island of Dominica; Mira Stephenson '18 has organized her second Youth for Youth concert in support of the Teen Resource Center; Harri Adisesh '18 is leading a group of Youth Ambassadors for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Grade 7 students Kayla McCullogh, Megan Leung, and Josh Mou designed an award-winning model community with the planet and an aging population in mind; the Grade 9 class has raised over $5000 for the Learning Exchange in Saint John. With such a forward-thinking student body, we consider ourselves grateful that RNS provides such an immersive and wide-ranging program that not only enables us to succeed, but to thrive. Despite an impressive load of academics and cocurriculars, boarders and day students alike have

Harri Adisesh '18

found the time to put their laptops away, hang up their blazers, and have some fun at several school events and trips. Among the Hill highlights have been the annual Christmas Dinner, Valentine’s Day Semi-Formal Dinner and Dance, the Ski and Snowboard trip to Mont Sainte Anne, Winter Carnival, the March Break trip to Italy and Greece, and innumerable exchange and conference opportunities. For the Grade 12 class, in addition to the normal whirlwind that is RNS life, the past 200 days have been a flurry of Internal Assessments, prefect duties, exam preparation, and university and college applications. However, along with the stress of papers and deadlines have come several special moments that can only be felt in a student’s final year on the Hill; the series of “lasts” that seem to occur at every turn in our Grade 12 year. For some, the most marking of these moments is the last time wearing a Riverhawks jersey; for others, it is the last curtain call or simply the last opening weekend at New River Beach. Whatever the case might be, we are lucky to leave behind a community that is constantly working toward innovation and change. u

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Kayla McCullogh '2 3

Megan Leung '23

Josh Mou '23

SPRING ’17


HILL HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS FROM STUDENT EXPERIENCES AND ADVENTURES

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Grade 7 students Megan Leung, Kayla McCullogh, and Josh Mou competed in the Future City Competition sponsored by Engineers Canada.

Our Future City Project BY: MEGAN LEUNG '23, KAYLA McCULLOGH '23, JOSH MOU '23 Our Grade 7 class participated in the Future City competition. We had to build, design, and write an essay about our future city. After many judging suggestions from local engineers, our city, which we named “Summerbrooks,” was chosen to compete in the Future City Competition held on January 13th in PEI. Summerbrooks is created three years after the third World War. Unfortunately, one of the biggest contributors, the United Kingdom, suffered from the enemies’ missiles and laser beams. As the British government expected, London, the capital of the country, was the main target. Even though they built an energy shield, protecting the skyline of this amazingly beautiful city, a huge part of it was still completely destroyed. After the war, they decided to rebuild the city. Architects, designers, and citizens came to help. The construction began right away. The city was finished three years later in 2117. We wanted our city to have a friendly feel to it - a wonderfully THE HEAD’S LETTER

designed, eco-friendly place. Although we designed our city to be a big community, Summerbrooks has cars with hydrogen instead of gasoline, so there is no pollution from the cars. Instead of having city blocks, we subdivided the city into circular-shaped communities, thus building tight-knit communities into the physical space itself. It also means that there is less traffic. Summerbrooks also gives our citizens free dogs so that older citizens could feel less lonely and stay active most of the time. People who own dogs have an average of 23 more minutes of exercise per day! Our most famous landmarks are the tower bridge that was recreated after the war and the tallest skyscraper in England. In the skyscraper, Summerbrooks has elevators that go sideways from building to building, and also up and down. We had so much fun coming up with ideas and designing, as well as building, our model. We learned a lot about city planning and


engineering from the research we did and from the professionals we met. Thank you to planner Holly Owens '97, and engineers Lindsay Wilcott and Andy MacVey. We learned about many different future technologies and the usage of scale. Participating in the competition in PEI was a wonderful experience for us. Looking back, we are really happy about all the useful stuff we have learned and we are really proud to bring back the Best Future City Project Plan award for our school. u

The RNS Future City team brought home the award for Best Future City Project Plan from the Future City Competition held in January in PEI.

On Exchange to Winderemere School, England BY: JENNA KONG ’21 During my first year at RNS, I had the amazing opportunity to go on a Round Square exchange to Windermere, England. When I was first introduced to the idea of an exchange, I was excited for this incredible opportunity. It would actually be my first time ever visiting Europe and flying by myself. My exchange began January 3rd (and ended February 10th) where I first took a 2 ½ hour flight from Moncton to Toronto. Unfortunately, the flight took 40 minutes longer than intended resulting in almost missing my flight from Toronto to London. Then, when I had arrived in London, my luggage had been left behind in Toronto! I was left without my luggage for a week, which was quite unfortunate but didn’t dampen the excitement of my arrival to this new country. After staying overnight in London, we hopped on some trains and we arrived to Windermere. During my exchange, I stayed with Lilian Lewis, my exchange partner who had come to RNS for an exchange during the months of November and December. I started school just as the halfterm began. I learned that Windermere School is a non-selective international boarding and day school established in 1863. It is situated in the Lake District next to Lake Windermere and was named the Sunday Times International Baccalaureate (IB) School of the Year for 2017-2018. One thing I noticed right

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Jenna Kong '21, top left, went on exchange to Windermere School in England. Her exchange partner, Lilian Lewis, top right, came to RNS for two months. Bottom left is a photo of Windermere School, and to the right is the stunning view from the school. away is that compared to eight classes at RNS, Windermere School had countless classes on a two-week rotation. Beside the schedule difference, something that was new for me was being a day student. Being a day student had its perks, such as having more freedom on weekends than if I were boarding. For example, one weekend we headed down to London and stayed overnight. During the stay, we visited and saw many places (such as the London Eye) but we did not have a lot of time, so I definitely want to go

again. Another weekend, I went to Lancaster, a city near Windermere. At Lancaster, I went to visit the Lancaster Castle and went shopping. Besides these weekend trips, I went to movies and cafés experiencing the culture around me. Going on exchange was unforgettable. It was difficult choosing to leave family and friends to go to a new and different environment, but it was definitely a rewarding opportunity. If anyone is debating whether or not to go on exchange, I say, "go for it." Try something new and change your everyday routine.u SPRING ’18


"Who knew Disney World was so educational?" BY: OLIVER VANBUSKIRK ’23 For a long time, I’ve been longing to go to Disney World. It was a dream of mine ever since I first heard about the parks. As soon as I found out that there was going to be an RNS Middle School trip to Disney World, I knew I had to go. In January, the RNS Disney travellers spent a week of hopping from park to park and learning all about Disney! Under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, Mr. Jay, Mrs. Dooks, Ms. O’Brien, Ms. Waycott and Mrs. Wilcox, we learned about the properties of motion, the evolution of technology, and how to successfully manage your personal brand. Who knew Disney World was so educational?

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All of our days were hectic and fun. We would wake up very early in the morning and have breakfast before heading out to one of the four parks. Each one was super fascinating and very magical. The fact that we got to take classes at Disney was amazing! The classes were always interesting and I ended up learning a lot from them. In every class we would go on a ride that had something to do with the class. After the classes, we would have free time. We could be in a group of three minimum so we wouldn’t get lost as easily. We could go shopping, explore, or go on rides. After our free time, we were divided into groups to complete a mission. Our missions were based on what we had learned that day. Once we had completed our mission, we gave presentations about it to the others. The winning team would get a Disney related prize, and then we would head straight back to another park.

My March Break trip to Italy & Greece BY: ANNA LEE '21

Oliver VanBuskirk '23, left, and fellow Middle School students Megan Leung '23, Cindy Liu '24, Henry Chiu '22 and Kolya Gorbulia '24, spent a week at Disney learning about properties of motion and so much more! The RNS Disney trip was such a great experience and it helped each of us form stronger relationships with other students. Disney was an amazing experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. u

to experience a completely different culture, and I quickly learned that Italian food is my favourite.

I had the amazing opportunity to visit Italy and Greece during March Break. It was an eyeopening experience for me since I had never visited Europe, and I loved that I got to share these moments with my peers.

The first day was probably my favourite during our time in Rome since we got free time to explore and learn about the city on our own. I had always wanted to see the Trevi Fountain, which was incredible. We got to shop a little too, which was very comforting.

For the first few days, we toured Rome. I couldn’t stop looking everywhere; all the buildings and monuments were so beautiful. I had never seen anything like them! We got

I loved visiting Piazza Del Popolo, which is basically a large urban square with churches and fountains. The atmosphere was quite amazing and everyone seemed to have a great

THE HEAD’S LETTER

Anna Lee '21 took part in the RNS March Break trip to Italy and Greece.


time. We also got to visit the infamous Colosseum, Basilica Aemilia, and even Julius Caesar's tomb. This tour was very educational and I loved seeing all of the things in real life that I had previously studied. That same day, we went to the Vatican Museums where we got to see the Raphael Rooms, Ancient Roman sculptures, as well as the Sistine Chapel, which is famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling. That whole day was truly incredible since we got to see so many monumental things that impacted all of the Ancient Times. On our last day in Italy, we drove about 3 ½ hours to tour the city of Pompeii. Pompeii looked exactly as you would expect it to - very old. Getting to see how people lived thousands of years ago really amazed me when I thought about it! We learned about how the volcano in 79 AD completely buried the city of Pompeii under volcanic ash. After our wonderful experience in Italy, we took an airplane to Athens, Greece. Again we had free time for the first day, so I explored a couple of beaches and places in the port city of Piraeus where our hotel was. I remarked throughout Greece that there are very many stray dogs in the streets. I was curious, so I learned that the city of Athens had developed a program where the dogs are actually “adopted” by the city. Most of them had collars with the dog’s basic information and they regularly get veterinary care and the city makes sure that they get food to eat.

We toured the Acropolis on our second day. It was on a hill overlooking the whole city of Athens, so the view was beautiful. We went to the museum as well and got free time to try Greek food and shop. On Sunday, we drove to Delphi, (which is often described as the ancient center of the world) to visit the Temple of Apollo. It was a beautiful day, and the view from the temple was insane. For the last day of our trip, we took a cruise to three different islands: Hydra, Poros, and Aegina. The first island was, without a doubt, my favourite. There were good coffee and gelato shops and great places to take pictures. Some of us even swam in the crystal-clear blue water. It was an opportunity I couldn’t resist! During this trip, I got to know peers who I would not usually talk to. It was cool how we all knew each other by the end and got to say we travelled to Europe together. I also got to know a couple of people from Arizona who were doing the same tours, and I surely would never have known them otherwise. I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Tomilson along with Ms. Van Steeg for being wonderful chaperones from the start to the very end. This was a trip I will never forget and I would absolutely recommend going on any future March Break trips. u

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Growing Robotics at RNS BY: SHAYNA EARLE '18 Being a member of the Robotics team at RNS has been a learning experience. While the program just began last fall, it has grown exponentially over the past year. At our first competition we were inexperienced and didn’t know what to expect, but with a second and fourth place finish provincially last spring, the Robotics Program achieved its first successes. Moving into the fall, our STEAM program developed into a co-curricular activity that is Members of the Grade 12 Robotics teams, from left to right, Mark Leung, Caleb Brett, Jonah Lutchmedial, Shayna Earle, Brooke Streeter and Lucinda Laskey, have enjoyed gaining popularity. This has pushed robotics mentoring younger students who will carry the program forward at RNS. at RNS to new heights. We were able to learn from our successes and failures in the past to collaborate and learn from each other. program will continue to grow and grant year to improve upon our robots as well as By stepping out of our comfort zones and students that chance for hands-on learning. mentor a team of Grade 10 students who will building robots last year, we have been able carry the program forward as the two Grade to gain new skills and have earned some neat It has been a pleasure being a part of the opportunities. growing Robotics Program at RNS and I am 12 teams graduate. sure that there will be even more stories of Working on these teams gave us a chance I believe that in the years to come, this success in the future. u SPRING ’18


RNS Connects We love getting visitors here on the Hill! RugbyFest, The Annual Art Show & Sale, Mother's Day Brunch and the Top of the Hill Dinner & Auction are ways in which we connect with the greater community. To build on these successful events, RNS has two exciting new initatives aimed at sharing our beautiful campus with you ...

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SPEAKER SERIES What began as a simple exercise in branding has become a new Speaker Series at the school: Voice@RNS. The initial concept was to find a way to have the community see the library beyond “just books,” without losing sight of our mission to the school. A forum for members of the community and our students made sense, and Voice@RNS was born. As the name indicates, it is an opportunity for people to have a place to share their voice and speak about something in which they are passionate.

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Using the library’s unique space, we were able to create an intimate atmosphere for speakers and attendees alike. Each workshop began with coffee, cookies, and conversations prior to presentations; and finished with time for questions and answers. The speakers ranged from local business owners, authors, law enforcement, to our very own students. This year’s topics have focused on areas of personal growth, online safety, and mindfulness. While most of the local experts were from outside of our school community, we called upon a group of our own students to educate us on social media from a student’s perspective. While many in the room knew a lot about social media tools such as

THE HEAD’S LETTER

Instagram and Snapchat, all in attendance were enlightened by what they did not know. The students also gained from the experience by feeling empowered, having a voice, and improving their public speaking skills. Earlier this month, local technology entrepreneur, Cathy Simpson, shared stories from her work empowering young girls in STEAM through her organization Up + Go. Looking forward, our final speaker for this academic year (May 1, 2018) will focus on a current hot topic. As the laws to legalize marijuana move forward, our speaker will discuss the potential health risks and benefits associated with marijuana and its use. The idea of bringing people from the greater community to our campus is an important way to showcase what we do and share what we know. Opening our doors to others helps them to understand some of the great things that are happening up on the Hill. Involvement in our local community encourages our students to see beyond our walls and understand that they too have a message which can be shared with others. We look forward to welcoming you to the next Voice@RNS.


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OMMUNITY PERFORMANCE SERIES @ Théâtre Susan B. Ganong One of the ways that RNS connects with the greater community is through the aptly named Community Performance Series. This series was launched last spring as an opportunity to provide the greater community with high-calibre entertainment in a beautiful setting at our oncampus, 206-seat Théâtre Susan B. Ganong.

Saint John's own Port City 5 was the third act this season. A clarinet quintet (strings + clarinet), the five professional Sistema musicians wowed the audience with their unique pairing of works by Sergei Prokofiev and Arcade Fire.

This 2017-2018 season kicked off with a national award winning blues duet from Newfoundland, Earle & Coffin. While Nick Earle and Joe Coffin are barely out of high school, these young men are enjoying enormous success as 2018 International Blues Competition semi-finalists, 2017 MusicNL Classic Coast 101.1 Jazz/Blues Artists of the Year, and 2016 Canadian Folk Music Award for Young Performers winners. They put on a crowd-pleasing, foot-stomping show at RNS and we hope they'll come back to perform for us again.

The final concert of the season brought world-renowned soprano Jessica McCormack back to the RNS stage to delight the audience with a poetry themed concert. A member of the faculty of the University of Indiana, McCormack performed musical settings of poems by Pietro Metastasio, Friedrich Rückert, Paul Verlaine, Chaucer, and Emily Dickinson by composers as varied as Robert Schumann, Gabriel Fauré, Ralph Vaughn Williams, and Leonard Bernstein. The concert also featured the premiere performance of Sea Changes - a song cycle with poetry by Rothesay native Mark Blagrave, set to music by our very own RNS music teacher, Richard Kidd. What a night!

Our next concert was equally spectacular, though very different musically, from our first show. Winners of the 2017 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, The Milton String Quartet performed works by Joseph Haydn, Erwin Schullhoff, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Felix Mendelssohn. Members of this Montreal-based ensemble also spent a morning sharing their talents with RNS string students. This was an experience they won't soon forget.

We are excitedly planning the 2018-2019 concert line-up and look forward to connecting with even more members of the RNS and greater community next season. You can learn more about the RNS Community Performance Series and stay up to date with concert details by going to www.rns.cc/ cps. If you would like to become a Community Performance Series sponsor, please contact Head of School, Paul McLellan at 506-847-8224.

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with the community SPRING ’18


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hen living away from home, students broaden their horizons. They learn to become independent, responsible, thoughtful, and considerate members of a large, extended family. Find out what life on campus is like with Czech boarder, Jan Rutrle ’20, and New Brunswick boarder, Sarah Slipp '19. THE HEAD’S LETTER


This is

Jan. He is in Grade 10 & lives in Mackay House.

Q: How long have you been a boarder at RNS? Where are you from? A: I have lived in Mackay house for 7 months now and I am from the Czech Republic. Q: Who is your roommate? Where is he from? Have you become close since living with him? A: My roommate is Juan Manuel Llano '19. He is from Mexico. I would say we are friends and understand each other, at least most of the time. Q: What is your favourite part of being a boarder and living in residence on the Hill? A: Everything I need is close which means I don’t have to travel anywhere by bus or train. Whenever I need something I can ask anyone for help. Almost all of my friends live here, too. Q: What is it like for a boarder to study and do homework? A: It is actually better because I am forced to do stuff during study times in the evenings. And if you are someone who is able to force himself to do work, then you are left with plenty of free time. Q: Houseparents are there for the good times and the bad times. What does it mean to you to have someone like this in your life while living away from home? A: It helps a lot to know that there is a person who will always help you no matter what. Not long ago, my roommate wasn’t feeling very well and actually threw up a couple of times. Mr. Alderson sat with him in our room and supported him for at least an hour and 30 minutes and in the end took him to the hospital just to make sure Juan Manuel was fine. It was nice to see that Mr. Alderson isn’t a houseparent just as a job, but also that he really and truly cares about us. Q: How often do you chat with your family? How do you usually do this (i.e. text, email, talk on phone, Skype, etc.)? A: Usually I call my family once a week. When I don’t have time on a weekend to call them, then once in two weeks, and we always use Face Time.

Jan Rutrle says one of his RNS highlights was having a leading role in Elf Jr., the Musical. Jan is shown here as Walter, the father of Buddy the Elf, played by Will Turnbull '18.

Q: What sort of activities do you do together as a House that bring you closer together? A: Every once in a while we have a chance to go somewhere as a House, if we want to. Sometimes there is a concert on the Hill, so Mr. Alderson offers us tickets if we want go. Or, when the Super Bowl was going on, Mr. Alderson invited us into his house and made us all chicken wings. Those activities are for the whole House, but if you want to you can do a lot of other stuff with your friends. We have a common room here with a pool table where we sometimes spend time just to have fun. Or, some other times, we take our mattresses put them on the floor in someone else’s room and just have fun over the night. That is, of course, possible only over a weekend. Q: What makes RNS so special to you? A: Someone once said a sentence that perfectly summarized all the reasons why RNS is such a good place. "The RNS teachers aren’t just teachers, they are also our friends." Which is perfectly true, because I have friendly chats with my teachers at least once a day. We joke around and sometimes I just feel like teachers are students that teach other students. Q: What is your best experience so far living on the Hill? A: It is not really an activity or an event, but before Christmas at the end of the first term, I had a time of successes when I felt like I was on the top of the world. We were performing Elf Jr., the Musical, so a lot of people were congratulating me on my role. I got an award for dedication to soccer and I had a really good academic report, so it was really an awesome feeling. Also, the New River Beach event was really fun and sort of a nice welcoming to the school for new people. u SPRING ’18

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This is

Sarah. She is in Grade 11 &

lives in Quinn House.

Q: How long have you been a boarder at RNS? Where are you from? A: This is my third year boarding at RNS. I am from Woodstock, NB. Q: Who is your roommate? Where is she from? Have you become close since living with her? A: My roommate is Catherine Boissonnault '18 and she is

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from Dundee, NB. Yes, I have become extremely close since living with her. Cat and I knew each other fairly well last year and we decided to be roommates this year. Within the past few months, Cat has become like a sister to me and I have loved getting to know her so well. We have so many memories and inside jokes together. Having a roommate who is also one of my best friends is such an incredible experience. Q: What is your favourite part of being a boarder and living in residence on the Hill? A: My favourite part about being a boarder is getting to live with some of my closest friends. It is so nice to always have someone to talk to just a few steps away. I love how close I’ve become with the girls who I live with and how my friends are always there to make me laugh during stressful times. I also really enjoy spending time with them in the dining hall after supper and getting to know everyone better. Q: What is it like for a boarder to study and do homework? A: In my opinion, one of the most beneficial aspects of being a boarder is how it contributes to building good study habits. Although having a mandatory study for two hours every night may seem a little daunting at first, it truly is extremely useful to set aside a certain time to get your homework done, and my study habits have improved significantly as a result. Not only that, but I also really appreciate always having someone there to help. Whether it be the duty teacher, a friend in your class, or an older student, there are always people in the dorm every night who are willing to offer their help with schoolwork.

THE HEAD’S LETTER

Q: Houseparents are there for the good times and the bad times. What does it mean to you to have someone like this in your life while living away from home? A: Living away from home can be a challenging transition to make at this age and the houseparents are a great help. It is so nice to have an adult in the dorm who is always there to help you out no matter what the circumstances. The houseparents are constantly looking out for the students and making sure that everyone is doing okay. They are there to celebrate your accomplishments and help you through the tough times. It is so comforting to know that there is always someone to talk to. Q: How often do you chat with your family? How do you usually do this (i.e. text, email, phone, Skype, etc)? A: I often talk with my family through texting and calling. I try to call my parents once a week, normally every Sunday, and we text consistently throughout the day. I am very lucky as I only live a few hours away, so if I am unable to come home for a while, my parents often come down to visit. Q: What sort of activities do you do together as a House that bring you closer together? A: Quinn House goes on House outings, usually to Boston Pizza and a movie. These outings are always a nice break from school and a fun time to hang out with each other. Quinn House also organizes a haunted house every year for Halloween. This activity, especially, brings us closer as it occurs near the beginning of the year and it is a project in which we all have to work together in order to make it a success. Finally, we also have to clean for Heads Rounds three times a year, which surprisingly, brings us all closer together as well. Some of the best conversations occur while cleaning out the shoe cubbies! Q: What makes RNS so special to you? A: RNS is so special to me because of the community. The teachers are always there to make sure we are reaching our full potential and the friends you make here are friendships that will last a lifetime. There are friends which I met in my Grade 9 year that I still communicate with frequently. RNS is such a tight-knit community because we spend so much time together and for that reason we become very close. Q: What is your best experience so far living on the Hill? A: My best experience of living on the Hill so far has been the productions in which I’ve participated. I have had a role in the Senior School play and musical every year and it is such a rewarding experience. Recently, I performed in our school’s musical, Heathers, in which we had a very small cast. Due to this, we all became great friends and had a lot of fun during rehearsals and performing for an audience. This is one of the many amazing opportunities I have had the chance to experience since coming to RNS and I look forward to many more experiences to come. u


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My best experience of living on the Hill so far has been the productions in which I have participated. I have had a role in the Senior School play and musical every year and it is such a rewarding experience.

SPRING ’18


RNS Glee Club

for the love of music, dance, & giving back

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hey love to sing, they love to dance, and they love to share their talents with anyone who will listen. Now in its second year, the RNS Glee Club has made its mark within our arts community. The Glee Club is continuously growing and is currently made up of 16 members from both the Middle School and Senior School, and is under the direction of Music and French teacher Alison Campbell. The purpose of the Glee Club began as a way for students who love to sing and perform in the school’s musicals to perform all year long, learning song and dance routines from a variety of genres of music, from popular top 40, to oldies, to favourite musical theatre hits. The students work diligently to learn choreography and increasingly complex harmonies and vocal parts to produce a fall set, a Christmas set, as well as a fully staged Spring Showcase. Thirteen members are active performers in the group, and three Senior School students act as mentors and coaches for the younger members, helping them to learn

THE HEAD’S LETTER

harmonies, choreography, and prepare for performances. This has created, not only an effective learning environment, but also an outlet for the mentors to develop leadership skills and to begin to explore their creative voices through arranging music and developing choreography. As exciting, fun, and entertaining as the Glee Club’s performances are, what really makes them stand out as a group are their camaraderie, their ability to express themselves through music, and the way they use their talents to help others. The students in Glee Club have quickly become close friends and bonded over their mutual love for performance, which has allowed them to open up and to be vulnerable in their creative expression. In addition to the fun, energetic numbers they are known for, the group also performs songs that discuss such themes as bullying, self-esteem, friendship, and hope for the future, which can be difficult for students to discuss. By connecting with these topics through song and dance, it has enabled this group of students to express their opinions and emotions in a way that speech alone would otherwise have


not permitted. It has provided them access to a form of creative self-expression often not accessible until much later in life, which is a testament to this group’s passion and talent. Additionally, the RNS Glee Club feels very passionately about giving back to the community with their talents and enthusiasm. Though they perform periodically on campus, such as at Grandparents Day, the Grade 10 Farmers’ Market and at Music Mondays in Heritage Hall, their primary audiences are in the greater Kennebecasis Valley. Their most frequent audience is the residents at Kingsway Care Centre. This is a place where the Glee Club feels particularly at home as they have developed wonderful relationships with the residents and genuinely enjoy creating set lists that will appeal to them. The students themselves requested to perform a show last fall with music they thought the residents would enjoy, such as songs originally performed by Elvis, the Beach Boys, the Beatles and more. The show was a hit with the residents and staff at Kingsway Care Centre, and the students couldn’t wait to go back with their Christmas songs merely a month later. They also brought this show to Sobeys and the Atlantic Superstore parking lot to raise money for the RNS contribution to the Saint John Community Christmas Exchange, which provides food and gifts to families in need at Christmas time. Despite cold temperatures, the students donned festive elf cos-

tumes and energetically sang and danced to holiday favourites for four hours, delighting passers-by and at the end of the day, raising $523.21. The Glee Club has many exciting projects to come. This spring, their 45-minute weekly rehearsal will become a co-curricular for four weeks as they prepare for their annual Spring Showcase on April 19. This show will feature a few memorable numbers from the fall show as well as several of their favourite musical theatre and current pop hits in high-energy group numbers, solos, duets, and trios which will showcase some of the group’s many talented performers. The Glee Club will also be continuing their community outreach with a performance at the Memory Café, a monthly support gathering for Alzheimer’s patients and their families, and are also excited to return to Kingsway Care Centre. The Glee Club puts countless hours in and outside of rehearsal to perfect their song and dance routines, which has resulted in dynamic performances and increasingly skilled performers honing their skills. They are true artists in the making with their ability to use their talents and passion to connect with the world and the community. What’s most notable about them, though, is how willingly they dedicate their time to others. They are remarkable students who, at their young age, have already made a difference and will undoubtedly continue to do so for many years to come. u

They are true artists in the making with their ability to use their talents and passion to connect with the world and the community. SPRING ’18

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disruptED: 28

21st Century Learning & the Entrepreneur Mindset

B Y G R A H A M V O G T, R N S F A C U LT Y & G R A D E 9 / 1 0 G R A D E B A N D L E A D E R

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NS, it is safe to say, is a school that highly values 21st Century Skills. In fact, these skills are consistently placed at the forefront of teaching and learning. Walk into any classroom at our school, and you may be struck by the many ways in which it does not resemble your own memories from middle and high school. This may be because of the extent and nature of the students’ interaction with technology as learning tools, not to mention the very forms of technology they are using. It may be because of the design of the room, noticeably dynamic and ready for motion. It may be because of the ways in which students are being asked to interact with each other and how the teacher is interacting with students. Finally, it may be because of the learning itself, where students are not just working to understand but also to apply concepts while being challenged to overcome complex problems, sometimes within real-world settings or scenarios. As Grade Band Leader, I can

THE HEAD’S LETTER

tell you that our core learning outcomes of the 9/10 Program – defined as Curiousity, Thinking, Caring, and Teamwork – provide a clear context for all curriculum design and are intentionally conceived from a 21st Century perspective. All of this is extremely exciting. I would suggest, however, that what is most exciting about the teaching and learning at our school right now is the incredibly rich response of our students to the many experiences imagined and reimagined by our innovative faculty through an ongoing process of collaboration. The teaching and learning that we characterize as 21st Century is not a new concept, it is merely new in practice, and I believe RNS is a leading school in this regard. For instance, it was early in the 20th Century that education theorist John Dewey proposed an education “grounded in experience,” in which students interact with the “ever-changing world” (Larson 122). It is as we have intentionally


grown our understanding of this idea that we’ve identified core “skills that increasingly demand creativity, perseverance and problem solving combined with performing well as part of a team” (121). Evidence of this approach is everywhere in our school and some of the best examples we have are found in our large scale “disruptED” events which now occur several times throughout the year in a wide-range of forms for a multitude of purposes. These events have quickly become a trademark of teaching and learning at our school, almost like symbols of 21st Century approaches that both reflect and affect the teaching and learning in the classrooms. Most recently, teachers from our Math Department endeavoured to create a two-day challenge for our students around real-world applications of math concepts. The resulting theme was entrepreneurship, and our 100 students from Grades 9 and 10 were placed in small teams to imagine and design a company not only able to thrive in today’s economy, but also respond to the needs of today’s world. Grade 10 Math teacher, Jeff Bell, stresses that “students must be able to survive in a new age economy, where many people sell their own brand outside of their main income stream.” Part of the importance of these events is the ways in which they reinforce essential classroom learning. Fellow Math teacher, Kate Whitters, suggests “students are

Local entrepreneur, RNS past parent, and event keynote speaker, Brian Flood, responded passionately to our request for help with the 48-Hour Challenge, noting the importance of fostering an "entrepreneurial mindset in today’s learner."

forever questioning the relevance of their learning to real life, especially in mathematics. Any time we can bring their learning to life, in this case in the form of business simulation, it really causes the concepts to stick.” Indeed, the enduring magic of these events is the intersection between learning and life. Many business-minded people and entrepreneurs from the local community willingly donated time to lead workshops and interact in a variety of ways with our students over the two days. Local entrepreneur, RNS past parent, and the event keynote, Brian Flood, was one example of many who responded passionately to our request for help, noting the importance of fostering an “entrepreneurial mindset” in today’s learner. An unintended but affirming outcome was the extent of positive feedback on the overall level of engagement and general

expertise of our students. Brian commented that "all the RNS students I met are well equipped to compete in the digital economy.” It is becoming increasingly clear that these events are merely harnessing and building upon classroom learning and the great work of our teachers.

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In his text titled, A Post Modern Perspective on Curriculum, William E. Doll suggests “creativity occurs by the interaction of chaos and order, between unfettered imagination and disciplined skill” (87). In many ways this describes the intention of our “disruptED” events and a general approach to teaching and learning in the classroom. We work hard to maintain safe environments in which students may feel empowered to take risks, to respond to challenges that at first appear too difficult, and to achieve outcomes

SPRING ’18


that may feel out of reach. It is in these moments that learning is most exciting. Ms. Whitters notes the basic importance of “stepping back from our daily routines. It helps to stimulate the mind and promotes creativity.” It seems to me that she easily could be describing the teachers as we gather to imagine and plan these events. There is symmetry in the fact that the set of skills required by teachers in planning is very similar to those exhibited by the students in learning. Mr. Bell and Ms. Whitters were able to bring a group of teachers together by proposing the challenge of creating a two-day event for our students. In building a successful “product” the teachers used collaboration, creativity and innovation. Mr. Bell refers to the process as a “real idea kick-starter,” suggesting “it's very encouraging to see teachers plan and execute experiences like this.” When we say that RNS is a school that values 21st

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Century skills, it is clear that we are not just describing classroom learning but rather an entire culture of teaching and learning. As teachers, we understand deeply the importance and power of 21st Century skills because we are applying and building those skills constantly in the ongoing development of our own practice. In this way, we are learning alongside our students so that when they experience frustration and doubt, or success and excitement, we are strongly positioned to understand those experiences and to better harness the learning available. u Works Cited: Doll, W. (1993). A Post-Modern Perspective on Curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press. Larson, L., Miller, T. (2011). 21st Century Skills: Prepare Students for the Future. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 47 (3), 121-123.

As with all potentially impactful learning experiences, the students were asked to reflect upon the event in their Reflective Blogs. Here are excerpts from some of our students' blogs: “The DisruptEd days were really fantastic. They showed me a lot about business and the qualities it takes to be an entrepreneur. I used to not like the idea of business at all, but after this challenge, I now realize that it is something I could be interested in.” - Ethan Ryder '20 “I will use much of what I learned in the future – my speaking, website design, and teamwork skills. Overall, this was a fantastic project and a very unique and rewarding learning experience. I will miss working with my group and the fun we had over the last two days.” - Freddie Searles '20 “This activity was quite challenging as well as meaningful, and I also learned a lot from it. For example, I had a lot of basic knowledge about finance, but I became more certain about my interest in financial engineering for the future.” - Nancy Ma '20 “I found my experience to be very enlightening as it gave me a first-hand look into the stressful life of an entrepreneur. As Grade 9 and 10 learners, we have not only created very well-rounded companies, but have learned valuable lessons that could help us become better people in the future.” - Paige Allaby '21 “Doing entrepreneurship for our 48-Hour Challenge taught very beneficial skills for the future ... As I was the CFO, I used math quite a bit in my tasks. Math and owning a company are closely connected, especially for my job. I thought that doing something different from regular textbook-based math was a great idea to get students involved.” - Jude Yuzda '21 “It was a new and different way to think about business. I thought that this way was so much more interesting than just learning about business in a class. I got to work with people I wouldn’t normally work with and think in ways I haven’t thought before.” - Emma Saucy '21

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Alumni, Parents, Grandparents, Friends ... You are our best source of student referrals! If you know of a student who would flourish at RNS, please let us know. We truly appreciate the recommendations you make to your family and friends!

The Admission Office at RNS is open, Monday through Friday, 8:30am -5pm and may be reached all summer long at 506.847.8224 or admission@rns.cc.

WINTER/SPRING SPRING’16’17 |

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snapshots from the Hill ...

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r e n n i D s a m t Chris

Chinese New Year THE HEAD’S LETTER

Day of the Girl

o ll e h t O s t n e s e r Grade 10 p


ion t a c fi i m Mum t 8 e d a r G Interhouse talent show Projec 33

Middle School Art Battle

Carnival Sp

irit Day

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IT Workshops @ RNS

keeping up with cutting-edge research and innovation B Y TA M M Y E A R L E , R N S FA C U LT Y & D I R E C T O R O F I N N O VAT I O N A N D T E C H N O LO G Y L E A R N I N G I N I T I AT I V E S

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his fall, RNS hosted its first Innovation and Technology Workshop series. The series is one of a number of innovation and technology initiatives that are the result of an Endowment Gift to the school from Doug C. Mackay ’48. Led by alumni Fraser Wells ’11, with guest speakers Brian Flood and David Wells, both past RNS parents, these workshops aimed to connect students with business and technology innovators and were a wonderful opportunity to learn and explore a multitude of innovation and technology topics pertinent to today’s landscape and around the globe. Through the workshops, we explored concepts such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, wearable technology, crypto-currencies, and blockchaining, all of which are reshaping our world and impacting our lives, whether we see it or not. “These sessions have helped me learn a lot about the development that has taken place in and around the world. Every session challenges me and I walk away enlightened, but also deep in thought over how the information I learned applies to me and how technology will shape my life.” - Spierings Verhoeven '18

The series kicked off with a session titled, "Virtual Reality as a Catalyst for Social and Economic Change." VR technology is exploding and so are the opportunities for innovative experiences, including e-commerce, gaming, social applications, learning and education, healthcare, online VR environments, and more. The next few years will bring more exciting advancements in VR. The workshop was full of historical knowledge, current application, and it gave the participants an opportunity to try VR firstTHE HEAD’S LETTER

Fraser Wells '11 led the new Innovation and Technology Workshop series for RNS students.

hand with the Oculus Rift located in our Innovation Studio, a virtual reality system that completely immerses you inside virtual worlds. December brought the topic of "Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence to Drive Innovation." Everybody is talking about AI these days. Consider the progress achieved in fields like Deep Learning and areas such as Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing. AI is making huge steps with applications in autonomous cars, navigation, robotics, pattern recognition, medical diagnosis, and more. At some point in the near future, your digital assistant (such as the Google Home, Amazon Echo, or Siri) will not only be able to handle your tasks and information requests, but it will recognize your implicitly quantified mood. In February, the workshop explored another trend that has long been on the cutting edge, the future of wearable technologies. Wearables such as fitness trackers, Snapchat Spectacles, and Under Armour smart clothing are more present and more visible


than ever. More and more, workplaces are issuing wearables to their employees, and the use for training, facility access, and even payment is increasing immensely. In addition, wearables that involve other senses - haptics, environmentally responsive fabrics, and brain stimulators - are on the rise. “What made the biggest impression on me was the level of professionalism and knowledge that was brought to the table. I am inspired by the presentations to now look for opportunities in the technology market, where I can make a difference.” - Jon Steeves '18

Students also got a wonderful opportunity to hear from past parent Brian Flood, business founder and CEO of tech startup Q1 Labs, a security intelligence software firm that over a period of 10 years, grew to employ hundreds of New Brunswickers. In 2011, Q1 Labs was bought by IBM in what would become one of the largest acquisitions in New Brunswick’s history. The students were amazed by his story and had many questions about his journey. The fourth and final workshop in April focused on a concept that is appearing all over the news - bitcoin, blockchain, and the disruption of private industry. Digital money, also known as "cryptocurrency," has been in the

Past parent, local entrepreneur, and workshop guest speaker, Brian Flood, tries out the VR station during one of the IT Workshops.

spotlight thanks to bitcoin's rise in popularity. However, bitcoin is just one of the more popular alternatives to traditional cash. In fact, right now there are more than 1000 different digital currencies. Bitcoin relies on another trending technology called blockchain. Blockchain is one of the most disruptive technologies out there. Its distributed, decentralized, and immutable properties make it the ideal way to store and track data across numerous domains. Banking isn't the only industry that could be affected

by blockchain technology. Law enforcement, ride hailing, and many other sectors could also have blockchain in their future.

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Without a doubt, innovation and technology is growing and changing at an unprecedented pace. To keep our students up to date with research and innovation, we look forward to continued partnerships with members of the RNS and greater community as we offer more IT Workshops throughout the 2018-2019 school year.u

“I’ve been introduced to both the benefits and issues that our generation will face with the advances in technology. By attending and hearing from Fraser Wells '11 and Brian Flood, it has sparked me to do my own research and see the impact technology is having. It was very insightful and interesting when we would have a discussion, and often provided viewpoints I had not originally considered or was aware of. Specifically, my eyes have been opened to the innovation that has already, and will be taking place, in the world of high-performance athletics.” - Ryan Bessey '18

SPRING ’18


The RNS Innovation and Technology Endowed Fund Giving the gift of the future ... today B Y R O B B E A T T Y, D I R E C T O R O F D E V E L O P M E N T

O

ur world is ever changing, and as a result we must adapt. Advances in medicine, engineering, and technology have all impacted society and changed the world in which we live. Quite often, for change to have a positive impact, we need to build upon the foundation that was established by previous generations. Engaged and passionate leaders who want to make things better and strive for constant improvement are often the ones who propel important change.

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At Rothesay Netherwood School, we see our students experience how innovation and technology is changing education and the roles of teachers and learners. Access to information and educational opportunities from technology has enabled the students to become innovative, active learners. Great teachers become mentors as passionate students take more responsibility for their own learning. The walls of the classroom are no longer a barrier as technology enables new ways of learning, communicating, and working together. Students can collaborate on group projects using technology-based tools such as Wikis and Google Docs. Schools are beginning to

redesign learning spaces to enable this new model of education, foster more interaction and small group work, and use technology as an enabler. To do this, schools must make investments in great teachers, infrastructure, and programs. In the case of RNS, we are fortunate to have engaged and passionate leaders like Doug C. Mackay ’48 who are committed to making a difference. His vision and support will allow our school to access and benefit from the most modern technology available. Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Mackay, the RNS Innovation and Technology Endowed Fund was established to assist the school by improving and increasing its existing use of innovation and technology. This also includes enhancing RNS's ability to further develop faculty teaching skills and student-learning opportunities using hands-on science, real-life applications, collaboration, and entrepreneurship principles now being used in 21st Century education. The fund has a long-term goal of $2,000,000. We encourage donors to consider making gifts to the RNS Innovation and Technology Endowed Fund. By making a donation or planned gift, you will truly impact a

Building the Future Endowments are critical to the long-term financial stability of educational institutions. For Rothesay Netherwood School, the continued growth of our Endowment is crucial and we are making progress. In the past decade, the RNS Endowment has more than doubled and currently totals almost $9 million in gifts and pledges. The continued growth of the RNS Endowment will help us build and sustain our place among the best schools in Canada. Donors can choose to make a donation or planned gift directly to the RNS Endowment or make a designated gift. By focusing our efforts on Student Success, Campus Development and Innovation and Technology, we will ensure that RNS students will have the resources and tools necessary for an exceptional learning experience. Student Success The long-term vision of RNS includes increased opportunity for student financial assistance. Presently, almost one-third of students receive financial assistance. An admission policy where RNS can provide opportunities for students who can positively enhance our community – from diverse backgrounds, cultures and geographic locations – whose families are willing to contribute within their financial means, is our ultimate THE HEAD ’S LETTER goal. To ensure the continued success of future students, we need to grow our current endowment to $15 million to help provide financial aid.


student’s educational experience and also be eligible to receive tax savings. Priorities for the use of The RNS Innovation and Technology Endowed Fund and the improvement of teaching and learning include: l Teaching

support and training l Computer-aided design software and equipment l Technology-related software and teaching support for engineering and science courses l Technology-related software and teaching support for business, investing, and financial courses l A student club focused on innovation and technology that will, among other activities, receive and review quarterly reports from the RNS Investment Committee related to all innovation and technology holdings l Artificial intelligence l 3-D printers l Robotics teaching support and project equipment, coding, and programming courses. Since the inception of the RNS Innovation and Technology Endowed Fund last spring, many significant changes and developments have occurred. Firstly, as a direct result of this gift, RNS hired its first STEAM coordinator, Ms. Mary-Ellen Wilcox. Ms. Wilcox has been the driving force behind this program and has had immense impact including partnerships, pro-

grams, and curriculum design. Also, with the initial funding, RNS acquired new equipment that plays a driving role in the expansion of innovation and technology including robotics. Collaboration and partnerships have flourished with this increased emphasis on innovation and technology. Working with partners like the Engineering Council of Canada, Brilliant Labs, Apple, and various universities, RNS students are being exposed and introduced to the most recent thinking and trends in technology first hand and being taught to think outside the box. Many activities are planned for the spring months including numerous robotics competitions at the regional and provincial levels, as well as Science Olympics, and IT workshops. The RNS Innovation and Technology Endowed Fund has had a transformational impact on our school and students. Thanks to this funding, we now have dedicated leadership and teaching in this area and access to some of the best equipment and insight from leaders in this field. Most importantly, our students are extremely engaged as this critical program begins to flourish. If you would like to make a donation or planned gift to help support this important initiative, please contact Rob Beatty in the Development Office at 506-848-1731. u

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Campus Enhancement RNS has beautiful 200-acre campus overlooking the Kennebecsis River. During the past two decades, RNS has worked on both maintaining the character and integrity of our campus infrastructure as well as developing new facilities that are pivotal in the continued evolution of our school. To continue to provide students with the best education possible, RNS must maintain and enhance our current campus including renovations to residences, modernization of classrooms and meeting spaces, and ongoing maintenance and preservation of buildings on campus including the Chapel and South House. To ensure the ongoing development and revitalization of the RNS campus facilities, RNS would like to establish a specific endowment fund for Campus Enhancement of $1 million. RNS Innovation and Technology Fund To assist RNS with increasing its existing use of innovation techniques and technology, an RNS Innovation and Technology Endowment will help enhance our ability to further develop faculty teaching skills and student learning opportunities using hands-on science, real-life applications, collaboration, and entrepreneurship principles now being increasingly used in 21st Century education. To ensure that RNS remains on the cutting edge of educational change, we hope to grow the RNS Innovation and Technology Endowment to excess of $2 million. If you are interested in supporting one of these funds or would like to consider a planned gift to help RNS, please contact Rob Beatty in the Development Office at 506-848-1731.

SPRING ’18


amazing

ALUMNI MEET

Kent Grass ’81, Roz Kelsey ’86, and Fraser Wells ’11 KENT GRASS ’81 38

Q: Tell me about your profession? Your passion? A: I took a bit of an unconventional career path. Fell into it, really. I took a recreational diving course while trying to study Geology at UNBSJ. I was totally awestruck with it. I had met some guys at university who also dove and they wanted to start a company. In the beginning, we collected marine organisms and sold them to biological warehouses in the US that sold these preserved specimens to universities for labs. This company evolved into one of the leading commercial and industrial diving companies in Canada and around the world, providing underwater services to a wide spectrum of clients. We always took the approach that if it is at the waterline or below, we can do it. Some days that was a stretch ... click, hang up the phone and then look at each other and say, “How are we going to do that?” The company grew. We had offices in Halifax, St. Catharines, Vancouver, and Busan, South Korea. One of our fortés was very specialized underwater ship repair: flexible habitats to replace the stern seals on large cruise ships and ocean going vessels; utilizing cold static loading to straighten ships bent propellers; very specialized underwater welding, and so on. I am using the past tense here as last March, after building the business for more than 33 years, we sold. A partner of ours approached us and we agreed the time was right. I have stayed on with the company, now known as Sub Sea Global Solutions as a VP. It is great being an employee, although very different. I seem to be handling it in stride. That is my career in a nutshell. As for my passion, while I still love my profession, about 16 years ago my wife (Stacey Hope ... yes, we have been together since RCS days) decided we needed to give back a bit. We started to volunteer with a

THE HEAD ’S LETTER

program called Shining Horizons Therapeutic Riding Association Inc. (SHTRA - www.shtra.ca - and on Facebook). I accepted a long time ago that horses come first, then dogs, then maybe me! Stacey has always had a passion for horses and I love being around animals, period. SHTRA just seemed to fit. SHTRA is a program that uses horses to offer therapy to disabled children and young adults. It is truly something to witness a child get on a horse for the first time. The smile itself is heart warming, but to observe the rider's progress, well, it’s hard to explain. But I'll give you an example. I have watched a child with autism taking weeks to get into the barn and then weeks more to get on the horse to now having his parents describe riding as the “love of his life.” In the beginning, he didn’t talk very much but today he fully engages with the volunteer side walkers, horse handler, and the instructor. We are also able to witness some amazing interactions between a rider and the horse. One day, the horse suddenly stopped and would not move. Seconds later, the rider had a seizure. We didn’t see it coming, but the horse sensed it. We were able to get Bradley safely off the horse and let him recover from the seizure. I’ve also seen a girl with Tourret Syndrome have all of her symptoms disappear as soon as she gets on the horse. Not a hint of the affliction and a great big smile. There are so many of those stories! Q: Describe a typical day in your life. A: I get up very early, between 4 and 5am typically, without the aid of an alarm clock, I might add. It is my favourite time of the day. I get a lot of value out of alone time - time to plan my day, week, month, years. Once regular business hours start, the day can go sideways pretty quickly in the emergency underwater ship repair world. I have seen us go


from nothing on the project board to having guys and tons of equipment in the air on a chartered plane within two hours of notification. My early mornings also help me strategize and plan for the future of Shining Horizons. How can we do more, help more children and their families? Usually the end of the day involves some maintenance work around Driftwood Farm (no gym memberships needed when you are taking care of therapeutic horses ... they get the very best of care). I empty the manure cart that Stacey has so kindly filled from mucking stalls. I might spend some time on the phone or emailing with SHTRA Board Members or Volunteers. Then I get to watch the sun set over Partridge Island. Every day is pretty special. Go to sleep and repeat. Q: What are the highlights of your career? A: Making payroll every two weeks – that was a big one. Being the first person in Canada to achieve a Class A Underwater Welding Certificate. Being part of the team that pioneered in-water replacement of a ship's stern seals in Miami using a custom fabricated TransHab. Building the business for over 33 years to the point where someone wanted to buy it. Seeing kids with a variety of disabilities excel in the Shining Horizons TRA Program. Seeing the parents of the riders smile and relax a bit as their child does their thing. Seeing the idea of creating a new purpose-built therapeutic facility coming to fruition. A fundraising campaign is underway and I am very encouraged by the support we have received so far. Hopefully, we’ll be able to break ground in the next few months. This new facility will enable us to offer the program to so many more kids. The waiting list is far too long! Q: What impact did your years at RNS have on your career/life? A: My years at the school had a huge impact on both my professional and personal life. Those years are naturally very formative, I believe. You have positive and negative experiences, at least that is how things are perceived at that age. I have always tried to appreciate the positive ones and learn from the negative ones. I started at RCS in Grade 7. I was terrified. Nothing wrong with being terrified. In fact, I think I have been terrified ever since. In my occupation, a little fear is healthy, it keeps you alert and safe! I learned to manage changes as they came at me. Being a boarder, you learn

Kent Grass '81 and his wife, Stacey Hope, run Shining Horizons Therapeutic Riding Association Inc., a program that uses horses to offer therapy to disabled children and young adults. very quickly that you are part of a community and everyone needs to do their best to get along and work together. You can apply that to your profession and your passion. That approach has served me well. For the personal side. Well, Stacey and I started dating while I attended RCS. She is dependent on me and I am very dependent on her. That is how a team works. I learned that at the school, as well, as I was very involved with team sports. Teammates rely on each other. The team approach is essential in any organization. Q: What are your favourite RNS memories? A: September 1975 to June 1981 was the best thing that ever happened to me. My Mom gave up a lot to ensure I had a chance. I didn’t fully know that or appreciate that until many years later. Everyone at the school during those years meant so much to me. To this day, most of my closest friends are my classmates and schoolmates from RCS. There was something about those years and the school, a lot of us stay in touch. Q: Is there any one teacher at the school who helped to shape who you have become? Tell me about her/him. A: There are so many ... Rev. Golding. A great, great

man. In Grade 7 and 8, we had a houseparent in North House (now Kirk House) Mr. Fred Graham. He convinced me I should and could be a leader. Chris McGill, rugby coach, Quinn House parent, etc. So many other teachers as well. With small class sizes and living there 24/7, impressions are made. Also, since Stacey and I have been together so long, back to days at the school, I would say Stacey’s parents (Charlotte and Gregor Hope '55) have been great mentors of mine. Q: In June, another group of RNS students will graduate. What advice can you give them? A: That is a big one. Hang on tight, you are going to get very busy. Try to set some time aside to be alone every day. When you are having some “me” time, try to embrace the concept of “nothing is owed to you.” In fact, it is you that owes. I think you will find life easier then and you will be a lot happier. There is no better feeling than trying your best for someone else, no strings attached. Q: What is your mantra? Words to live by? A: I started writing a bunch of things down here, but really, just try to be a good person. That’s what I keep telling myself, that and, no one or nothing owes me anything. Oh yeah, have fun.u

SPRING ’18

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ROZ KELSEY ’86 Q: Tell me about your profession? Your passion? A: I am a faculty member in a post-secondary institution. My research and teaching are grounded in an area called Critical Theory. The general purpose of this theory is to critique, analyze, and often disrupt taken-for-granted notions in society. I look at the ways in which our social systems, specifically education, are set up to maintain inequity by providing some groups advantage while disadvantaging others. All of these groups are identified by markers such as gender, orientation, race, and socio-economic status. I really love experiencing those moments when something I have always viewed as common sense is challenged. I have a great passion for sharing those discoveries with others in the form of research, programming, or teaching students. Q: Describe a typical day in your life. A: I am currently appointed as the Director of the Office of Gendered Violence Prevention at the University of Regina (U of R) in Saskatchewan. I am involved in a variety of areas within my institution such as policy development and review, strategic planning around education, and ensuring that the U of R engages in trauma-informed transformative practices to tackle gender-based violence and sexual assault within our campus community. My personal life is filled with family, my many wonderful friends, a diverse and active community, and a considerable amount of personal and professional travel.

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Q: What are the highlights of your career? A: I feel great pride in achieving my various academic degrees, but I truly believe that they don’t amount to ‘a hill of beans’ if they aren’t put into practice. The connections I have made with students in my classes and especially those that have been so avidly involved in our U of R "Man Up Against Violence" program (http://manupagainstviolence.ca) are true markers of success. I have been formally recognized for service to my community and for my work as a mentor and educator, but the impact that those contributions continue to make, are my greatest highlights. Q: What impact did your years at RNS have on your career? Personal life? A: I came to RNS a very lost and rebellious teenager. I remember having a trunk full of tunics, ties, and bloomers wondering what kind of ‘Hogwarts’ madness I was heading into. I spent the entirety of my first year explaining why my homework wasn’t done, why I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and why surely it wasn’t my turn to drag the dining table again! I recall struggling to reconcile the pangs of homesickness and the classic social pressures of any high school experience. I believe living in Quinn House provided the environment that nurtured all of us and it provided guidance (albeit sometimes wonderfully wayward) from those seniors who had gone before us. The history of the bricks and mortar were always accompanied by past tall tales and student shenanigans. With the love and sheer tenacity of everyone at RCS-N, I grew into a more confident, athletic, and positive young woman. I graduated with friends with whom I am still incredibly close. The connection I have to the east coast is still as strong as it was then, if not stronger. Although I returned to the prairies THE HEAD ’S LETTER

Roz Kelsey '86 is the Director of the Office of Gendered Violence Prevention at the University of Regina (UofR) in Saskatchewan.

post-graduation, my roots are in the east. It draws me back every year to spend time with my wonderful people there. Q: What are your favourite RNS memories? A: The fog … I remember the thick dense fog that would settle across the campus, so heavy that one would need to bend down to peer along the ground in order to see who was in the vicinity! And, I remember Moira, the incredible woman who tended to the custodial and cleaning duties of 30-odd messy and ungrateful young teen girls. On some rare but very special occasions, I would come back to Quinn House to find my bed covered in laundered and folded towels, bleached white sport socks and freshly ironed school shirts. Those days were heaven. She was an angel. I recall the exceptional feeling of respect that would wash over the classroom when one of the senior administrators would walk in the room. Conversations would halt as we dropped what we were doing to stand beside our desks in recognition. I recall feeling similarly when mail was delivered in the Dining Hall addressed with the formal honorific title of Master for the boys and young men in the room. And I remember all the traditions, so many of them (some formal and some covert) that made us feel as though we were part of something very unique. Q: Is there any one teacher at RNS who helped to shape who you have become? Tell me about her/him. A: Dr. Brian Ash was an incredibly gifted and gentle man. I would argue that his greatest attributes were his comprehension of English Literature and making his students feel significant. The grace with which that man walked


through life - my life in particular- is very difficult to articulate. The respect and kindness that underpinned his character were remarkable. I would make efforts to find him when my lessons were difficult and I distinctly remember his response once I thanked him for is time. He would gently smile and say, ‘it was my pleasure’, and I truly believe it was. I endeavour to use his example to guide my own teaching practice to this day. I try very hard to emulate his compassion and un-

derstanding in an academic world that is so often dismissive and disconnected.

make a difference to those who do not experience the world in such a fortunate way.

Q: In June, another group of RNS students will graduate. What advice can you give them? A: Recognize the incredible privilege you are granted in your life. Do your best to recognize the ways you are identified that make it easy not to think about biases. Use that social advantage to

Q: What is your mantra? Words to live by? A: Meaning comes from giving part of oneself away to others, from making a sacrifice on behalf of the overall group, from investing oneself in something bigger than oneself. u

FRASER WELLS ’11 Q: Tell me about your profession? Your passion? A: I am an Associate Investment Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities in Saint John. Upon graduating from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, I moved to Toronto to start working at a major Canadian bank in their wealth management division. After a couple of years working in Toronto, I decided to make the move back to Saint John to join my father, David Wells, as a part of his wealth management team. I love what I do because I get to work with individual investors, families, pension funds, and institutional foundations in the development and achievement of their financial goals. Q: Describe a typical day in your life. A: Typical days are full of meetings with clients to update them with regard to their investment portfolios, financial market commentary, and financial planning initiatives. Outside of those meetings, a lot of time is spent researching companies in client portfolios, working on clients’ financial plans, and networking with individuals throughout Saint John. Q: What are the highlights of your career? A: Athletically, winning the Canada Games Gold Medal in sailing was a goal for several years, so I was thrilled to finish my sailing career on a high note. Academically, finishing my Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation exams and Level II of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program have been major accomplishments for me. On the job, working with clients in the development of their financial plans and ongoing investment

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Fraser Wells '11 is an Associate Investment Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities in Saint John. management of portfolios continues to make me excited to come to work every day.

RNS were helpful in developing my well-roundedness.

Q: What impact did your years at RNS have on your career? Personal life? A: RNS instilled in me a strong work ethic that helped me both in university and in my career thus far. Late nights working on the IB Extended Essay or prepping for exam season may have felt overwhelming at times, but it taught me the value of hard work. RNS also emphasized the value of a work-life balance. If you had asked me in Grade 8 if I thought I would end up in two musicals in High School, I would have called you crazy. However, experiences like the musicals at

Q: What are your favourite RNS memories? A: Training for and travelling to CSSRA’s Schoolboy Regatta in St. Catherines in Grades 11 and 12 was a great experience. Mr. Jollymore and Ms. Young were a lot of fun to train under, even during the 8x500m 6am practices. I always enjoyed the team dynamic – everyone constantly pushed each other to be better. Back when Fairweather House had a locker room, there were a lot of great memories. Nothing wakes you up in the morning like singing God SPRING ’18


Save the Queen at the top of your lungs with 30 other guys. Outward Bound trips were always a great time. Even though I grew up in Rothesay, I did not realize how incredible a backyard we have here in New Brunswick. The trips fueled my passion for the outdoors. Q: Is there any one teacher at RNS who helped to shape who you have become? Tell me about her/him. A: From the moment I walked into my first advisor group meeting in Grade 9, I knew I was in for a treat with Mr. Jollymore. Whether it was advisor group meetings, 6am rowing practices, or Grade 12 English class, he was incredible at conveying seriousness or humour at the right times to get his message across. While I am not sure he ever forgave Matt Snelgrove and I for hanging his podium from a tree, he remains one of the most influential teachers and coaches I have had a pleasure of working under.

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THE HEAD’S LETTER

Q: You have been working with RNS on a series of IT Workshops, please tell me about this initiative and why you feel it's important. A: Mr. McLellan and Mrs. Earle approached me last summer with the idea of creating a series for Grade 12 students focused on innovation and technology. The goal has been to explore topical technological areas while diving into the businesses behind some of these incredible technologies. We have covered virtual reality, artificial intelligence, wearable technology and more. We have seen examples of innovation from students at RNS over the past few years, so the hope is we continue to inspire the students to become innovators. Who knows, maybe the next Snapchat of the world will be developed at the top of the Hill. (Learn more about the IT Workshops on page 34).

– make sure you balance the work with the play.

Q: In June, another group of RNS students will graduate. What advice can you give them? A: First year university midterms come at you fast

Q: What is your mantra? Words to live by? A: I said it in my chapel speech 7 years ago and I will say it again – “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.” – Calvin Coolidge u

Winning a gold medal in sailing at the Canada Games was a highlight for Fraser Wells '11.


Generous, thoughtful people in our community have made the decision to make a difference in the lives of students at Rothesay Netherwood School by including a legacy gift when planning their estate. Many independent schools, colleges and universities, including Rothesay Netherwood School, have benefitted from the foresight and generosity of individuals who have chosen to make a legacy gift. These planned gifts are of immense importance: they have already helped to build RNS into the extraordinary place that it is today and they will help to secure and to shape the school for the future. In many cases, legacy gifts are designed to suit an

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individuals’ area of interest and also provide significant tax benefits to the donor. Scholarships, financial aid and new and improved facilities are just a few of the areas that benefit as a result of a legacy gift. Donors who have made a planned gift to RNS, or who have made their intentions known, are members of The 1877 Society. Through their charitable endeavours, their gift will help provide permanent benefits to the RNS community. Individuals can become members of The 1877 Society in a variety of ways including bequests, gifts of life insurance and charitable remainder trusts. If you are thinking of joining The 1877 Society or are interested in further information about how your legacy gift can work for future RNS students for years to come, please contact Rob Beatty, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs at (506) 848-1731 or giving@rns.cc .

When donors let us know of their estate plans, all information regarding their donation is kept in strict confidence. Some donors wish to share with others their legacy intentions, while others wish to stay anonymous. No matter the case, we thank each of them for their leadership.

SPRING ’18


100th Annual

Reunion Weekend 2018

To register, visit rns.cc/reunion to submit the online form, or complete this form and return it to the school. You may also call the Alumni Office at 506.848.0869.

June 15, 16 & 17

Reunion Weekend 2018 Registration Form NAME

CLASS OF

FIRST, MAIDEN, LAST

NAME OF GUEST(S) ADDRESS CITY

PROVINCE

HOME PHONE

POSTAL CODE MOBILE

EMAIL

To receive the early bird prices listed below, please register by June 1, 2018. Registrations received after this date will be subject to a $10 price increase for each event.

Young Alumni Weekend Rate!

Friday, June 15th 6:00 pm | Welcome Back Pub Night #Attending:

For Young Alumni: Classes 2007 to 2017

$50.00 for all weekend events (Classes 2007 to 2017)

x $25.00 =

Saturday, June 16th 3:30 pm | Golden Alumni Club Lawn Party #Attending: 4:00 pm | Head’s Reception - 3’s & 8’s & Guests, & Golden Alumni #Attending:

Please check which events you will attend. See individual pricing below, if not attending all events. Please note: The YA rate does not apply to guests. Please sign up guests in the lefthand column.

Individual Events: Friday, June 15th 6:00 pm | Welcome Back Pub Night x $20.00 Saturday, June 16th 4:00 pm | Head’s Reception - 3’s & 8’s & Guests

6:00 pm | Reunion Dinner (honouring our 2018 Founders) & Dance

5:00 pm | Young Alumni Social

#Attending: x $40.00 = There is assigned seating for this event and space is limited.

There is assigned seating for this event and space is limited.

Sunday, June 17th

Sunday, June 17th

12:00 pm | Farewell Brunch #Attending:

6:00 pm | Reunion Dinner (honouring our 2018 Founders) & Dance x $20.00

12:00 pm | Farewell Brunch x $20.00

x $35.00 =

I also wish to make a donation to RNS for $ Weekend Total = My guest(s) and/or I have a food allergy or a special dietary restriction. Please email alumni@rns.cc or call 506.848.0869 with details.

Method of Payment Pay at the door Cheque - Please make cheques payable to Rothesay Netherwood School (Attn: Reunion) and mail to 40 College Hill Rd, Rothesay, NB, E2E 5H1

Visa

MasterCard

AMEX

DISCOVER

Name on Card Card Number Expiry Date

CVV:

Signature

If you have any questions, please contact Cynthia or Judy in the Alumni Office at alumni@rns.cc or call 506.848.0869 or 506.848.0879.


100th Annual

Reunion Weekend 2018 Friday, June 15th

Schedule of Events

9am to 3pm

Alumni Registration & Drop-in Centre | ALUMNI ROOM, COLLEGIATE HALL Tours available and archival materials on display.

1pm to 3pm

141st Closing Ceremonies | SCHOOL HOUSE LAWN All Alumni are welcome to attend graduation!

6pm to 9pm

Welcome Back Pub Night | RIVERSIDE GOLF CLUB All Alumni are welcome. Join us for pub fare and fun overlooking the river.

The Reunion Weekend 2018 Schedule of Events is posted on the school website at www.rns/reunion. The schedule will be updated regularly. For all other details, please contact the Alumni Office at 506.848.0869 or email at alumni@rns.cc

Saturday, June 16th 9am to 11:30am

Semi-Annual General Meeting for the RNS Board of Directors and School Governors.

10am to 2pm

Alumni Registration & Drop-in Centre | ALUMNI ROOM, COLLEGIATE HALL Tours available and archival materials on display.

1pm to 3pm

Casual Afternoon ~ Campus Store Open! Enjoy the afternoon ~ tour the campus, visit your old room, hike to the dam, drop by the Alumni Room, spend time catching up with classmates, and visit the campus store (located in School House).

3pm

Alumni Chapel Service | RNS MEMORIAL CHAPEL A special presentation will be made to members of the Class of 1968 in honour of their 50th Reunion. All welcome!

3:30pm

Alumni Race | SOUTH HOUSE LAWN We invite alumni from all classes to join in on the fun! Who will win an alumni cane this year?

3:30pm to 4pm

Golden Alumni Club Lawn Party | SOUTH HOUSE LAWN All of our 50 year (+) Alumni are invited for refreshments. Let’s welcome the Class of 1968 to the “Club”!

4pm to 5:30pm

Head’s Reception | KITCHEN HOUSE (15 College Hill Road) Alumni of all class years ending in a ‘3 or a ’8 and guests, as well as our Golden Alumni, are invited to attend. Please note: Official Class Reunion Photos will be taken. Photos begin at 4:15 pm, starting with the most senior classes.

5pm to 6pm

Young Alumni Social | SOUTH HOUSE LAWN Young Alumni are invited to catch up, have some laughs, and share stories at this pre-Reunion Dinner gathering.

6pm 9pm to 11pm

Reunion Dinner honouring our 2018 Founders | HERITAGE HALL Welcome Reception at 6pm; Dinner at 6:30pm. (There is assigned seating for the event. Space is limited.) Reunion Dance | HERITAGE HALL All Alumni welcome! Cash Bar and late-night snacks. Dance the night away to the sounds of local band, Radio Factory!

Sunday, June 17th 10am to 11am 11am 12pm to 2pm

Alumni Registration & Drop-in Centre | ALUMNI ROOM, COLLEGIATE HALL The coffee pot will be on and archival materials on display. Alumni Chapel Service | NETHERWOOD CHAPEL | All Alumni welcome! Farewell Brunch | HERITAGE HALL Enjoy a gourmet RNS brunch with your classmates before bidding them farewell.


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Heathers: the Musical TACKLING CHALLENGING THEMES THROUGH THEATRE

B Y D A Y N A E L L I S , R N S F A C U LT Y & M I D D L E S C H O O L G R A D E B A N D L E A D E R

What show are we doing next?” Without fail, this question is asked of me as the curtain closes on opening night of our Senior School musical. And, usually, I have an answer ready without hesitation. One thing that most directors have in common is that they are constantly thinking of which show to tackle next. This year, however, was different. I was stuck. After directing more than 15 productions at RNS, for the first time, I had no show in mind. After having just produced two family favourites, Cinderella and Elf Jr. the Musical, I felt we needed a change, something fresh that would challenge us as a company. That was when Grade 11 student, Sarah Slipp, suggested Heathers. Those of you from the scrunchie and leg warmer era may be familiar with the 1989 movie, starring Wynonna Ryder and Christian Slater. If you know the

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movie, you will understand why my initial response to Sarah was an emphatic, “No way!” Heathers is a dark comedy that developed a cult following for its unapologetic treatment of high school drama, complete with murder, suicide, and school violence. I agreed to look into the show, for Sarah’s sake, and the more I learned about it, the more I realized that it was exactly what our Performing Arts program, and moreover our community, needed. Approaching our Head of School with the request to put on such a demanding, and potentially polarizing, show was likely one of the most nerve-wracking things I have done in my 16 years at RNS, but I felt strongly that doing this show was the right thing for our school. Although it is set in the time of banana clips and Members Only jackets, the issues with which the characters of Heathers are struggling are


just as relevant today for our students as they were for Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson and the rest of the Breakfast Club. Armed with a detailed synopsis, articles supporting the production for high school actors, and hope, I entered Mr. McLellan’s office to tell him my plan. We agreed that, when paired with a mental-wellness outreach component, this show could have a positive impact on our community. It is thanks to his supportive leadership and trust in me that RNS became the first high school in Atlantic Canada to present this show. Even before auditions were scheduled, my production team and I, with the help of many other faculty members, began planning the initiatives that would need to be put in place to ensure that our students could attend our production of Heathers equipped with knowledge from experts around the difficult themes presented in the show. In the three weeks leading up to opening night, the students heard from a variety of speakers about many issues with which students struggle today, perhaps more so than in 1989.

Our first speaker was Lee Thomas, an LGBTQ+ activist based out of Fredericton. Lee spent the first hour of the morning training our faculty on gender, identity and the importance of language. Lee then went on to present to the students. The impact that Lee’s honest and open speech has had on our community has been palpable. Students and faculty alike have been engaging in conversations that they were once uncomfortable beginning. Next, we had the pleasure of hearing from Rachael Grant ’07 about healthy relationships. She was able to use concrete examples from her work as a Sexual Assault First Responder to help the students identify healthy and unhealthy behaviour in both romantic relationships and friendships. Another alumna, Lauren Whiteway ’16, representing Jack.org, spoke to the students about mental wellness and identified resources available to students who might be struggling and need someone to whom they can speak. In addition to these great presentations, our own anti-bullying group, "Beyond the Hurt," hosted daily mental wellness initiatives such as Mirrorless Monday. The school truly came together as a community to learn more and support each other.

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As much as we felt it was important for our students to grow from this show, we also recognized that we had a responsibility to the greater community to help them benefit from the message of Heathers. As such, we invited students from the Saint John Teen Resource Center and the KV Oasis to attend our matinée performance free of charge. The show was followed by a Q&A with Danny Miles, a resident in Psychology at Burbridge and Associates Psychological Services, as well as our cast. The engagement of the students was remarkable and served as confirmation that we had made the right choice by producing Heathers. The most rewarding thing as a director is to see growth in your actors. The reward for me with this show has been twofold. Not only have the students on stage grown, but we, as a school and a community, have grown. We are having difficult conversations, finding connections, and most importantly, we are listening. When asked why she felt Heathers was an important musical, Martha Pitre ’18, who played the lead role of Veronica Sawyer said, “It is my hope that these issues continue to be discussed long after the curtains close.” I am confident that they will. u

Why perform Heathers? "Heathers touches on a remarkable number of issues that teenagers face every day. Theatre in general provides a safe place for actors and audiences to explore these issues in a way that is both informative and accessible. From what I have seen, Heathers has already sparked conversations surrounding mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, and sexual harassment within our community. It is my hope that these issues continue to be discussed long after the curtains close." - Martha Pitre '18 "I think it's important because Heathers displays a lot of the issues that students face every day in high school. Often times as teenagers, it is easy to become oblivious to the negative incidents that occur in high school because they are seen as the 'normal' thing to do. Heathers is a great way to start conversations on some of these topics that are difficult to talk about." - Sarah Slipp '19 "Heathers touches on a lot of serious subjects that most high school students are able to relate to. Some of the characters are very easy to connect to because of that and I feel that it's important for high school students to understand that whatever it is they are going through, they are not alone." - Romi Lefel '20 "I believe that Heathers is an important show for high school students because of the many relevant issues that come up. Although within the musical they are taken with a comedic approach, I think that the performance will leave a lasting impression and really get people to think about the deeper, more serious issues that the musical takes on. At first, some of the problems seem to be taken to an extreme, but upon reflection, I hope people will realize that these are issues we as high school students face every day, it's just that we have become so oblivious to them that we think they don't apply to us." -48 Brooke Streeter '18 | THE HEAD’S LETTER


archives

Here's a shot from the archives of the 1969 Netherwood and RCS producation of Iolanthe. It was the second year in a row that the two schools combined to present a musical. Do you remember this night? Were you a member of the cast? We would love to hear all about it. Please share your stories with us. You can email alumni@rns.cc or give Jennifer a call at (506) 848-9206.

Do you have photos from days gone by that you would like to share? Let Jennifer know by email at alumni@rns.cc or call (506) 848-9206. And don't worry, you don't have to part with your photos. We can scan them! SPRING ’18 |

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archives

Can you tell us the story behind this photo from the Top of the Hill Archives? If so, contact Jennifer at alumni@rns.cc or (506) 848-9206. We would love to hear from you!

A photo to make a mother proud! It looks as though these rugby players skipped the showers and came straight from the pitch to capture this very authentic team photo. Were you on this team? Do you have stories to share? Contact Jennifer at alumni@rns.cc or (506) 848-9206.

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buildingnce! e confid

building skills!

building

Bright Futures!

building ! brains

building teamwork!

bui

ing friendlds h

ips!

www.rns.cc/camps ROTHESAY NETHERWOOD SCHOOL 40 College Hill Road | Rothesay | NB | 506-847-2619

Best. camps. EVER!


what's new at RNS is excited to introduce our new Fitness Centre, a 4,000-square-foot expansion on the existing Dr. C.H. Bonnycastle Memorial Arena. This addition includes equipment for strength and aerobic training, a large space for group and team activities, and a new athletic therapy clinic. We are thrilled to have the athletic therapy clinic as part of this expansion, as it will allow our students to receive professional treatment on campus. Our students will have the opportunity to utilize this facility for individual use, physical education classes, as well as the opportunity to participate in both group and team activities such as yoga, stretching, and strength training. This newly completed project cost approximately $750,000. RNS has received generous lead gifts as well as proceeds from past Top of the Hill Auction and Art Show fundraisers to help build the Fitness Centre. At this time, we are searching for the final pieces of our funding and invite you to make a special gift to this important project. I hope you will join us in making a donation to benefit the RNS community. All gifts will be recognized on a donor wall in the lobby. An official opening and naming ceremony will be held on May 31, 2018. For more information on this project, or to make a gift, please visit www.rns.cc/fitnessctr or contact Rob, Nic, or Judy in the Development Office by emailing us at giving@rns.cc or calling the school office at 506-847-8224.

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rns ...

A rolling billboard This fall, RNS partnered with Coach Atlantic in having a bus wrapped to promote the school. This bus acts as a moving billboard as it transports RNS teams, as well as other clients, around the Maritimes and beyond. Keep a look out!

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GATHERINGS TOP OF THE HILL ~ DINNER & AUCTION Blimey! The Top of the Hill ~ Dinner & Auction was a full house with more than 440 guests in Heritage Hall on Saturday, November 4th, 2017. The theme was British Invasion! and the evening was hosted by the hilarious, Brit-turned-Canadian, James Mullinger. More than $67,000 was raised. It was an evening of laughs and lots of fun. 1. Parents Ann Jansen and Matthew Hurly (Stephen '22). 2. Among the guests were Jennifer (Brett) Hanson '89 (parent of Julia '21 and Kira '22), Chantal McPhee (parent of Emma Saucy '21), Catherine Pennington (parent of Claire Wilbur '21), Christa Brown '89 and David Brown. 3. Judy Marr (past parent of Brian '04) with Jane and Terry Bird (past grandparents and RNS Director).

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4. The evening was hosted by comedian James Mullinger, who had everyone in stitches. 5. As always, Heritage Hall was transformed for the evening. This year it was everything British.

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6. Sandy Bonnycastle with Amy McCracken (past parent of David '96, Leslie '97 and Kathryn '99). 7. RNS parents Susan Adisesh (Harri '18) and Francine Quinn-Steeves (Katie '16, Alex '18 and Jon '18). 8. Graham Scott '60 (RNS Director) with Peter Anderson '74 (School Governor).

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9. RNS Top of the Hill Dinner & Auction Committee member Tyler Veriker '06 poses with Stephanie Gould, while RNS faculty Tia Saley and Kait VanSteeg have a laugh selling 50/50 tickets. 10. Heads and Tails always draws a crowd. This year, the winning prize was a pair of Montreal Canadiens tickets and a weekend in Montreal. 11. Elizabeth Kitchen (past parent of Luke '92 and Mark Vallee '95, and past RNS staff) catches up with RNS Librarian Greta Rogers and Faculty member and RNS alumna Vera Turnbull '75. 12. Anne Oxley (parent of Angus '19, Isaac '21, and Simon '24), Shelley Searles (parent of Freddie '20 and Georgia '23), Heather Whalen, Valerie Simms, and Jill Oland (parent of Alec '20 and James '22) were among the many guests enjoying an evening in support of RNS.

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GATHERINGS HALIFAX DINNER | TORONTO RECEPTION | HONG KONG DINNER | SHANGHAI DINNER 1. Past parent Elizabeth Cameron, Lyn (Salsman) Waller '83 (RNS Governor), and Eve (McMackin) Tupper '51 joined us at the Halifax Dinner on November 27, 2017 at the Ashburn Golf Club. 2. JK Hamilton '06 catches up with Judy MacFarland from the RNS Alumni Office during the Halifax Dinner.

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3. Nancy Wood '63, John McFarlane '62, and Susan Hunter '63 spent an enjoyable evening with classmates and friends of RNS at the Halifax Dinner. 4. Young Alumni gathered at the Thirsty Goat in Halifax following the Halifax Dinner. Kelly Fillman '12, Brianna Stewart '10, Macaskill Oland '13, and JK Hamilton '06 caught up with Head of School, Paul McLellan, Director of Development, Rob Beatty, RNS Annual Giving Manager Nic Carhart and RNS Events Coordinator Cynthia VanBuskirk. 5. The Toronto Reception hosted by Lindsay (Stollery) Jephcott ’00 and Roslyn Stollery at the Rosedale Golf Club in Toronto this past October, drew a large group of RNS alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends. 6. Annual Giving Manager, Nic Carhart, was joined by several young alumni at the Young Alumni Pub Night in Toronto in January. Seated next to Nic, from left to right are: Robert Freele '06, Mark Livingstone '07, Vivek Prabhu '09, Diana MacVey '06, Tara George (Past Faculty) and Charlene Paddock '04. 7. In March, Head of School, Paul McLellan, and Director of Development, Rob Beatty, travelled to China. They enjoyed an evening in Hong Kong hosted by RNS alumna and Governor, Agnes Chan '75. In the photo from left to right are: Johnny Wong '73, Paul McLellan, Teresa (Chan) Tsang '75, Agnes Chan '75, Maria Chan '78, and Sam Chien '76.

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8. RNS student James Ni '18 was home for March Break and attended the Shanghai dinner with his family. The dinner was hosted by alumni Danny Ho '87. From left to right are: Linfang Sun, James Ni with his younger brother, Jiayou, Paul McLellan, Danny Ho, and Sihai Ni. 9. Young Alumni at the March 16th Hong Kong Dinner show Head of School, Paul McLellan, how to pose for a photo in China. In the photo from left to right are: David Zou '10, Nick Chen '07, Him Lee '05, Paul McLellan, Michelle Wong '04, Jun Deok Kim '05, Linda Chen '12 and In Lee '07.

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CLASS NOTES 1940’s Mike Page '41 will be turning 95 years young this summer. He would like to connect with any classmates "still around." To connect with Mike, contact the Alumni Office at alumni@rns.cc.

1960’s

lots of travelling both abroad and in Canada visiting friends and family and old school mates from Netherwood." Jim Crosby '67 was inducted into the Junior Achievement New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame in March 2018. Ralph Jones '67 has retired from Educational Media Foundation. He previously was the Southwest Field Engineer for K Love & Air 1 Radio Networks, covering Southern Nevada, all of Arizona, El Paso, Texas, and the Western part of New Mexico. Donald Craig Dyer '69 has relocated back to the Maritimes and is now calling Bedford, Nova Scotia home.

1970’s

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Nancy (Clarke) Pasquet '65 and members of the Netherwood Class of '65 gathered in Whistler, Vancouver this past October for a reunion. They were also joined by "special surprise visitors" Ellie Francis ‘64 and Penny (Drury) Ballem ‘66. Shown in the photo are, back row: Joanie MacLeod, Joan McBride, Cricky Brodhead, Ellie Francis '64, Penny (Drury) Ballem '66, and Jane (Larlee) Addison. Front row: Jane (Ross) Allan, Connie (Carr) McGill, and Nancy (Clarke) Pasquet. Missing from the photo is Mary (Parker) McKimmie who joined the group later. Sadly, Judy Litz, Kippy Murphy and Lynn Eakin were unable to attend. Cricky Broadhead '65 retired from MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier in May of 2017 after 34 years in the investment business. She says, "So far so good, with 58 | THE HEAD’S LETTER

a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University. Colin is Mount Allison University's 54th Rhodes Scholar. Equally proud of her nephew is Judith Fisher '68.

In 2017, Doug Wong '73 won the top three international awards for engineering on the largest electronics forum in the world (www.element14.com with over 500,000 members), which is like being ranked number one in the world. Last year, Doug won 10 international engineering contests in his spare time. Heather (Smith) Huggard '75 retired in July 2016 from Scotiabank. She and her husband have been travelling a bit and plan to do more travelling in the future.

Greg Davis '70, centre, is still happily very active in the workforce. As a Manager at OC Transpo, she is responsible for all training within the organization, including training for employees on Ottawa’s Confederation Line, the company's new commuter rail project which will transform public transit in Ottawa. Susan Fisher '71 proudly announces that her son, Colin Robertson, has been awarded

In March, Valiant "Jackie" Syed '76 finished the registration requirements for the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) and is now registered as a licensed Realtor at Royal LePage Signature Realty in Toronto. Jackie is also proud to announce that his youngest daughter, Anna, is finishing Grade 9 at Earl Haig Secondary School (via the affiliated Claude Watson's artist program) in Toronto. A member of the school swimming team, Anna captured one Silver and one Bronze medal at the most recent city meet in March and has gained a chance to try for Ontario.


The family resides in Larder Lake, ON. Dylan is a nephew for Aunt Stephanie McDonald '98. Sarah (Lea) Kluge '96 and husband, Hagen, welcomed their third boy, Wilhelm Peter Gordon Kluge, on November 23, 2018, a little brother for Heinrich (Henry), aged 4, and Johann, 3. Sarah completed her residency in Family Medicine in June, 2016. She is currently on maternity leave. She will do three months of fellowship training in perinatal and women's addictions medicine before starting a practice in Victoria, BC in October, 2018.

Gard Bennett '77 is pleased to announce the birth of his first grandchild, a boy named Laiken Jon Eldon. His daughter Ashley gave birth on January 5, 2018. Gard and his wife, Shannon, are very happy grandparents!

Mary (Kitchen) Orszag '93 and her husband Jon welcomed their third daughter, Maine Annabelle Orszag, on February 8, 2018. Maine is a little sister to Baye and Eden, and grandchild of Ann Kitchen and Paul Kitchen (Elizabeth) and a new niece for Aunt Stephanie Armstrong '96, Uncle Jeff Kitchen '03 and Aunt Brittany (Halpin) Kitchen '04.

1990’s Luke Vallee '92 has just celebrated his 5 year milestone as a Senior Compositing Artist at Industrial Light & Magic and is doing well. He was recently invited to the Academy Awards for his company’s work on Star Wars - The Last Jedi and Kong: Skull Island. He did a lot of work on The Last Jedi and was chosen to go along with the team. Luke’s wife ,Tamara, is successfully running her two businesses. Their children, Hunter and Tristan, are both on the racing team at the Grouse Mountain Ski Club so they’re on the hill constantly. Life is good!

Todd and Samantha (McDonald) Sanderson '95 are proud to introduce their son, Dylan Derek Sanderson, who was born on March 25, 2017.

John Waldron '96, after nearly seven years with the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI), left to launch a new start-up called Learnedly (www.learnedly.com) - a digital training platform for Canadian financial professionals. In the fall of last year, the Toronto Stock Exchange recognized John as one of Canada's 150 future leaders. John says the company is "doing some really exciting things in the education world for our financial services industry and I wanted to share our successes!"

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2000’s Catherine Williams '00 wrote and published a post-apocalyptic novel titled Uncivilized in 2017. It is available through Amazon or via Catherine's website: https://weareuncivilized.com. Catherine notes that she is not on social media, but invites people to get in touch through the website. When she is not writing fiction, Catherine is happily employed as a Business Strategist with Alberta Justice and Solicitor General.

Luke Taylor '06 and Stephanie (O'Neill) Taylor '06 introduced their second child, Owen Everett Michael Taylor, on February 6, 2018.

shared good memories from RNS, and talked non-stop for six hours and still didn't have enough time.

Tara Murphy '09 gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Eamonn Murphy Alastair Tompkins on June 3, 2017. Eamonn's godmother is Aunt Molly Murphy '12.

Adam Baxter '08 and wife Meagan welcomed their second child, Madelyn Baxter, on February 8, 2018. Adam also coached hockey this year with fellow RNS alumni Eric Pye '07 and Shawn O’Neill '07. Adam said they all "just happened to connect while living in Fredericton," and got together to coach the PeeWee AAA Express, adding that it was the Alumni connection that created the coaching staff. Adam recently took on a new role with J.D. Irving Limited Woodlands where he is the Operations Superintendent for the Chipman District.

Taylor Overing '09 started as an Associate at the law firm Torys LLP in Toronto in September 2017 and is practicing corporate law.

Amber (Heydeman) Smith '09 and her husband Joe welcomed their second child, a little girl named Violet Alice Smith, on January 6, 2018.

Manabu Shimada '07 was proud to join the wedding party of new bride Yuri Nishio '06 on February 10, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan, along with RNS alumni, Jun Doek Kim '05 and Shingo Kumakawa '06. Manabu wrote that the four RNS friends enjoyed spending time together,

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Will Northrup '08 married Kaitlyn Smith on August 26, 2017 at his parents' home along the Hammond River. Will says he and Kaitlyn have "started our adventure through life with our two beautiful (to us) dogs 'Finn and Maisy'." He adds that it was an "awesome day with friends and family that we will cherish forever."

2010’s Pat Iles '10 is finishing up his second year in Medical School at Dalhousie University via UNBSJ. Edna Schoeningh '10 lives in Sacramento,


California with her husband, Cuellar Raul. She is a Medical Assistant at Elk Grove Pediatrics. On November 28, 2017, the proud couple welcomed their daughter, Karoline.

BBA at MUN in September. She and her husband Matt have moved to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, where they own a real estate development project called Costa Verde Ecoliving. Neetin Prabhu '14 is currently finishing up his Bachelor's Degree in Medical Sciences at Western University before starting at Dalhousie Medical School in August, 2018. Outside of school, Neetin is continuing to work with the local branch of Big Brothers/ Big Sisters in London, ON. He is hoping to do some travelling this summer, but is still trying to figure out where.

Nicole Tonge '10 and partner Nicolas, are excited to announce the birth of their first child, Claire, on June 25, 2017. The family lives in Paris, France. Nicole is on maternity leave, but worked in hospitality at Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris Hotel.

Alice (Smith) Forsyth '11 completed her

Current Students Martha Pitre '18 has been awarded both Saint Thomas University and Mount Allison University’s top scholarships, the STU Chancellor’s Scholarship and Mt. A's Marjorie Bell Scholarship. The Grade 10 Girls' Robotics team, made up of Nancy Ma, Yolanda Wang, Clarice Woo and Amy Zhang will represent RNS at the Robofest World Championships held from May 17 to 19 in Southfield, Michigan. Heather Chisholm '20 has been accepted to attend SHAD (www.shad.ca), a month-long STEAM-based program that will run this July, 2018. Heather is one of 900 students accepted into the program from 2200 applicants. SHAD is held at 16 university campuses across Canada. Heather will attend at McGill University.

Vanessa DeMerchant '16 is excited to share that her Liberty University Hockey Team won the ACHA DI National Title on March 18, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. Vanessa notes that throughout the year the team record was 27-1, only losing one game the entire season. "The feeling of winning that national title is one that I will never forget and has definitely been one of the best days of my life to date," she says. Ben Wilshaw '10 is now a qualified accountant (CPA) working for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Bermuda, where he has been for over a year and a half.

they host a drill show called Fortissimo in late July, which features bands and drill teams from around the world. Graham will return to the band this summer, so if you see a marching band in scarlets and bearskin caps in Ottawa, keep a look out for Graham.

Faculty & Staff RNS Faculty Mark Jenkins and his wife, Ali Jones, welcomed their second child, Eadlyn May Jenkins on Saturday, January 27, 2018.

Graham Kidd '16 spent the summer of 2017 with the Band of the Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa playing trombone every morning in the Changing of the Guard Parade on Parliament Hill. The band also played for the American and German Embassies. On Canada Day they did a parade for Prince Charles, and every year

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WHAT A GIFT!

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hen members of the Netherwood Class of 1965 got together this past October for a reunion in Vancouver, BC, they were in for a very special surprise. Classmate Joanie MacLeod wanted to bring a gift to each of her lifelong friends who would be making the trip. Having made a doll for a niece, MacLeod decided to create Netherwood dolls. From her old tunic, bloomers, and long greens, she fashioned a replica of each friend as they looked in their Netherwood days. Classmate Nancy (Clarke) Pasquet, noted that "each doll has the appropriate team badge and hair style/colour!" MacLeod said she made the nine dolls over a period of months, working on them off and on and figuring out as she went how to make each part. "I had made my first doll for a niece who was in a pipe band and dressed the doll in a kilt with all the other accessories including her drum," she said. "The basic pattern for the body was from the internet. I made patterns with the help of a Barbie doll for the blouse and I made hair according to some instructions and through trial and error. I came up with what you see." And what we see is incredible! Despite the evidence otherwise, MacLeod says she isn't an artist, but does enjoy creating different projects. And her classmates say receiving the dolls was a "highlight of our reunion!" u

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Passings Winifred Brown ’39 passed away after a brief illness on January 2, 2018 at the age of 96. Win will be greatly missed by her sister Nancy (Brown) Day ’40, her niece Jennifer, nephew-in-law Alan, and other family and friends. She lived an independent life until the end and had many and varied interests, including travel, the English language, art and music, and was a longtime member of the Montreal Elgar Choir. Win had an enthusiasm for politics and world affairs and her mornings always began with a thorough reading of the day's newspapers.

Mary Clare (Douglas-Scott-Montagu) Horn ’44 died on April 5, 2016 in Norfolk, Wales. Like her sister, she was sent to Canada for safety during World War II and attended Netherwood. Following her days in Rothesay, she returned to royal life in England. At the time of her death, Mary was survived by her husband, Timothy Horn and by her sister Caroline (Douglas-ScottMontagu) Weston ’42; they have both since passed away. Mary is survived by her two children and eight grandchildren.

Jean (Kitchen) McCormack ’39 died peacefully at home on February 7, 2018 at the age of 96. Through the years, Jean had many hobbies including: knitting, quilting, sewing (especially mice), and rug hooking. She loved to travel and was a true dog lover. She will be sadly missed by her son Peter (Joanne) and daughter, Betsy (McCormack) Eisner ’73 (Ken); her two daughters-in-law, Dawn McCormack-Craig and Deborah McCormack; her ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Jean was predeceased by her sister, Ruth Kitchen ’37, by her brother, Bill Kitchen ’42, and by her sons, John, Alan and David McCormack ’71.

Bert Miller ’44 passed away December 2, 2017 in Saint John at the age of 91. After attending RCS, Bert went on to study at UNB in Fredericton. He is survived by his two children and two granddaughters; his sister Barbara (Miller) McIntyre ’52; as well as several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife, Joan; his sister, Jean (Miller) Logan ‘42, and his two brothers-in-law.

Susan (Mackay) Leggat ’40 died quietly at her home on Brome Lake in Knowlton, Quebec on December 11, 2017 at the age of 94. Following Netherwood she attended Havergal College and then McGill University. Susan left McGill to enlist with the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service, serving in Canada and Britain until the end of WWII. She is predeceased by her husband, Peter; her parents, Hugh ’04 and Kate Mackay; her brother, Hugh 'Yip' Mackay ’33; her cousins, Colin B. Mackay ’37 and Janet (Mackay) Hart ’40; and by her sister-in-law, Eleanor (Leggat) Cross ’40. Susan is survived by her children, Peter, Portia and Richard; her grandchildren, Malcolm and Kate; her sisters, Hope (Mackay) Hunter ’36 and Hazen (Mackay) Inches ’37; by her cousin, Doug Mackay ’48, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Mary (Winslow-Spragge) Duclos ’42 passed away in her sleep on March 19, 2017 in Montreal, QC in her 93rd year. Mary was a devoted mother, wife, community volunteer, musician, artist, athlete and a friend to so many. She was predeceased by her two sons, Victor and Christopher; and by her four siblings including Alice (Winslow-Spragge) Siednar ’32. Mary is survived by her son, Brian (Denise); her daughter Mary; her daughters-in-law Louise Duclos and Judy Gilmore; and by her three grandchildren and two great-granddaughters. Caroline (Douglas-Scott-Montagu) Weston ’42 died on April 4, 2017 surrounded by her family at her home in New Braunfels, TX at the age of 92. Born in England, Caroline was sent to Canada for safety during World War II and attended Netherwood. Returning to England in 1943, she worked with the Women’s Royal Navy Service for the remainder of the War. In 1950 she married Grainger Weston and the two moved to Texas to put down roots and begin their family. Caroline was highly regarded for her involvement in community life wherever she lived. She will be deeply missed by her husband, Grainger; her four children, 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; her brother and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a son and by her siblings, Edward, Anne and Mary Clare (Douglas-Scott-Montagu) Horn ’44.

Mary (Murray) LeMessurier ’48 passed away peacefully on March 11, 2018 in Edmonton, AB at the age of 88. She is survived by her four children, Willa (Paul), Jil (Terry), Tim (Tammy) and Andrew (Kathleen); and by her six grandchildren. Mary was predeceased by her husband, Ernie, and by her siblings, Vernon Murray and Joan (Murray) Parke ’47. Following Netherwood, she studied athletics at McGill and then went on to receive her diploma from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal as a Registered Technician of Hematology. From here she developed an inexhaustible passion for public service, chairing numerous organizations and charities for the good of others and working for Members of Parliament in both Halifax and Edmonton. From 1979-1986, she represented Edmonton Centre as its MLA in the Alberta Legislature, being appointed as Minister of Culture (and one of the first women to serve in the Alberta Cabinet). In 1986, Mary was appointed Agent General representing Alberta in the United Kingdom and Europe for seven years. Mary was much loved throughout the province of Alberta as evidenced by her many honorary designations, including being appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1998. Dorothy Ann (Green) Piet ’49 passed away in Oakville, ON on April 5, 2017. She lived a full and vibrant 85 years, including a lifelong career in teaching (mostly with special needs pre-schoolers). She was endlessly generous with her time, keeping constantly busy with charitable interests, volunteer pursuits, her church and her community. Dorothy is survived by her three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Avery McCordick ’55 died on January 27, 2018. Avery is survived by his wife Vivian and son Michael and is predeceased by his daughter Sheri Lynn. Following RCS, he was educated at King's College, University of New Brunswick, and the University of Maine (Doctorate). Avery was a wellknown name in both the Fredericton and UNB communities, having taught at UNB for many years. He was a proud supporter of RNS and worked with us for many years, along with a close group of lifelong RCS friends, to help bring together local alumni and parents each year for our Fredericton Dinner.

SPRING ’18 |

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Mary (MacDonald) Palmer ’56 peacefully passed away on December 15, 2017 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. She is survived by her husband Doug; her four children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; her three brothers; Andrew MacDonald ’61 (Joan), Alex MacDonald ’66 (Susan), and Malcolm MacDonald ’69 (Pam); as well as several nieces and nephews. In addition to sewing, knitting and crocheting, Mary loved working with and helping children. She worked as a registered nurse in pediatrics for over 25 years and in retirement continued her service with children. John Hart ’57 passed away on February 7, 2018 in Quispamsis, NB. For many years, John worked in construction at which he took great pride in his work and craftsmanship having built countless homes in the Kennebecasis Valley. He is survived by his five children and eight grandchildren; his brothers, Bill Hart ’55 (Sandra), Stephen (Barb), and David; as well as several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother Peter Hart ’56 and cousin, Richard Hart ’55. Gordon Lono ’71 passed away on December 21, 2017 in St. John’s, NL. He is survived by his two children, three brothers, two nephews, and one niece. Clark Sancton passed away on March 22, 2018 in Saint John, NB. Clark was a

well-known leader actively involved in his community having volunteered with and served on many boards and organizations, including Rothesay Netherwood School as a School Governor and Chair of the Board. In 2011, he and his wife, Jennifer, were recognized as a Founder of RNS for their tireless work with the Parents of 1984 to save our school from closure. He was a loyal friend and supporter of RNS. Clark is survived by his wife, Jennifer; his children, Andrew Sancton ’89 (Heidi), Matthew Sancton ’91 (Stephanie), and Heather (Sancton) DeBlois ’92 (Dave); his four grandchildren; his sister and brother; as well as several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Mary and Clifford Sancton ’30; and by his aunt, Frances (Drummie) Clark ’32. John Mason passed away suddenly on March 25, 2018 in Saint John, NB. John worked in the insurance industry for many years and was engaged with many organizations in the local community, including Rothesay Netherwood School as a School Governor and Chair of the Board. In 2011, he and his wife, Heather, were made a Founder of RNS for their tireless work with the Parents of 1984 that helped to lead the school to the prominent position it has today. He was a loyal friend and supporter of our school. John is survived by his wife, Heather; his daughter, Janice (Mason) Deveau ’89 (Kenneth); his grandchild, Haley; as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Our Sympathies… Valerie (Wilde) Mackay ’49 on the death of her husband, Robin, on April 6, 2017 in Los Angeles, CA. Robin was the brother-in-law of Jonathon Wilde ’64. Mac Butt ’52 on the death of his wife, Shirley, on March 11, 2018 in St. John’s, NL. Drew Keirstead ’67 on the death of his wife, Linda, on November 29, 2017 in Halifax, NS. Linda was also a sister-in-law to Sandra (Keirstead) Thorne ’62, Gillian (Keirstead) Biddulph ’64, and Richard Thorne (Past Faculty). Jack MacDougall ’73 and Colin MacDougall ’80 on the death of their mother, Kathleen MacDougall, on January 26, 2018 in Saint John, NB. Kathleen was the grandmother of John Waldron ’96, Aaron Judge ’97, Colin Phillips ’09, Ross MacDougall ’15 and Jane MacDougall ’16; and the aunt and great aunt of David Marr (RNS Chair of the Board) and Brian Marr ’04.

January 6, 2018 in Whitehorse, YT. Adam Newhouse ’02 on the death of his mother, Kit Newhouse, on January 6, 2018 in Saint John, NB. The Savoie Family: Caroline ’03 and Julien ’06 on the death of their mother, Colette Savoie, on January 22, 2018, in Dalhousie, NB. Colette was also the aunt of Fred Giroux ’08. Matt Poirier ’04 and Jeremie Poirier ’06 on the death of their aunt, Barbara Poirier, on November 19, 2017 in Moncton, NB. Nigel Flood ’08 and Kaylee Flood ’10 on the death of their grandfather, James Flood, on March 9, 2018 in Saint John, NB. James was a great uncle of Brittany Flood ’05 and Meghan Flood ’07.

The Shepherd Family: Bob ’76, John ’79, Jim ’81, and Maggie ’91 on the death of their father, John Shepherd, on December 25, 2017 in Halifax, NS.

Zhorrah Grant ’08 on the sudden death of her mother, Hannah RahmingGrant on March 26, 2018 in Nassau, Bahamas.

Joël Youden ’85 on the death of her mother, Iona Youden, on December 20, 2017 in Saint John, NB.

Erin Iles ’08, Patrick Iles ’10 and Allison Murphy ’08 on the death of their grandfather, Derrick Iles, on December 25, 2017 in Halifax, NS.

The Hilchie Family: Darren ’86, Duane ’87, and Jocelyn ’91 on the death of their father, Reg Hilchie on February 11, 2018 in Saint John, NB. Reg was also the husband of Eleanor Hilchie, past RNS Governor.

Abigail White ’09 on the death of her grandmother, Florence White, on November 2, 2017 in Hampton, NB.

The Brett Family: Ian ’91, Cory, Caleb ’18 and Sedona ’20 on the death of Cory’s father, Adam Pustowka, on April 6, 2018 in Saint John, NB. Meredith Phinney ’92 on the death of her grandfather, Harold Phinney, on January 30, 2018 in Sackville, NB. Jenelle (Densmore) Gray ’96 on the death of her mother, Lis Densmore, on 64 | THE HEAD’S LETTER

Tasha Piekarski ’13 and Lia Piekarski ’15 on the death of their grandmother, Stevie Piekarski, on December 25, 2017 in Saint John, NB. Amy Jiang ’20 on the death of her grandfather in April 2018 in China. Matt Stevens (RNS Science Teacher) and Kati (Norman) Stevens (Past RNS Houseparent) on the death of Matt’s father, Bev Stevens, on January 8, 2018 in Sussex, NB.


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CAN WE COUNT ON YOUR SUPPORT THIS YEAR?

Last year 744 donors made a donation to RNS. Support from alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty and staff, board members, governors, and friends of the school is crucial to the mission of Rothesay Netherwood School. While tuition is directed to basic operational expenses (teacher salaries, utilities, meals, etc.), our school relies on the generosity of our donors to provide enhanced programs and opportunities for our students. Our hope is that each family that has been helped by Rothesay Netherwood School will in turn assist us to touch the lives of current and future students.

WAYS TO GIVE Cash, cheque or credit card; stocks or securities; matching gifts from employers; or Aeroplan Miles HOW TO GIVE Donate Securely Online: Visit www.rns.cc, click on Giving, then choose Donate Now. DONATE BY PHONE: Call Nic Carhart in the Development & Alumni Affairs Office at 506-848-0861. DONATE BY MAIL: Mail your cheque (payable to Rothesay Netherwood School) in the reply envelope included in your Head’s Letter. All donors will receive a receipt for income tax purposes in Canada or the USA. To be included in the 2017-2018 Donor Listing, donations must be received before June 30, 2018.

FALL ’15

Thank you for your generosity and support! | Visit us at www.rns.cc


UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have any comments, suggestions, or inquiries, our team in the Development and Alumni Affairs Office would be delighted to speak with you! Please call us anytime at (506) 848-0861.

FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY APRIL 20, 21 & 22 29th Annual RugbyFest www.rns.cc/rugbyfest FRIDAY & SATURDAY MAY 4 & 5 Middle School Musical The Grunch Théâtre Susan B. Ganong • 7:30pm FRIDAY, SATURDAY MAY 11 & 12 30th Annual RNS Art Show & Sale Opening Reception on Friday at 6:00pm in the Irving Gymnasium. The sale continues Saturday 9:00am - 3:00pm SATURDAY, MAY 12 Grade 11 Mother’s Day Brunch Fundraiser Heritage Hall • 10:00am Tickets: call (506) 848-0861 SATURDAY, JUNE 2 Grade 12 Lobster Dinner Fundraiser Heritage Hall • 6:00pm Tickets: call (506) 848-0861 FRIDAY, JUNE 15 141st Closing Ceremonies and Class of 2018 Graduation Front lawn of School House • 1:00pm FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY JUNE 15, 16 & 17 100th Annual Alumni Reunion Weekend All Alumni welcome to attend! Special celebrations for class years ending in ’3 and ’8. Visit: www.rns.cc/reunion

66 | THE HEAD’S LETTER

SATURDAY, JUNE 16 Semi-Annual Governors’ Meeting Conference Room, Irving Gymnasium • 9:00am SATURDAY, JUNE 16 Reunion Dinner Honouring our 2018 Founders & Dance Heritage Hall • 6:00pm Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend and celebrate those in our school community who have gone above and beyond for RNS. RSVP to rsvp@rns.cc or call (506) 848-0879. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 Opening Day ~ Our 142nd School Year Registration for all students Family BBQ, Heritage Hall • 4:00-6:00pm Opening Chapel Service. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Rothesay • 7:00pm THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 First Day of Classes RNS ADMISSION INFORMATION SESSIONS If you know of a family who may be interested in learning more about the RNS experience, please invite them to join us at one of our upcoming regional information sessions, or to visit us on campus! For full details, please email admission@rns.cc or visit us at www.rns.cc/admission. RNS ASSOCIATION GATHERINGS Alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends are encouraged to join us at our many regional association gatherings throughout the year! Events are being planned for this spring and summer – keep watch to your inbox! For more details, please watch the RNS website, Alumni E-News or email alumni@rns.cc. We look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming association gatherings!



Rothesay Netherwood School is Atlantic Canada’s leading accredited independent, co-educational, boarding and day school for Grades 6-12. Our Alumni and Parents are our best source of student referrals. If you know a student who could be inspired by the RNS experience, please let us know. • International Baccalaureate Program

• Outward Bound Program

• Culture of innovation in learning

• 200-acre scenic campus

• Curriculum designed to challenge and promote student thinking and to engage and empower students as leaders

• Round Square International Exchanges

• Art, music & drama; athletic and co-curricular activities every day

• Major Midget AAA/Prep School Hockey Program for girls & boys

• Scholarships and bursaries

• Premier Basketball & Soccer Programs

VISIT US ONLINE:

• Friendly, cheerful and respectful community

ww w.rns.cc FOLLOW US AT:

@RNS1877 facebook.com/RNS1877

To learn more about the RNS Experience, please contact us at:

info@rns.cc

40 College Hill Road, Rothesay, NB, Canada | 506.847.8224 |

IB World School |

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