A St. George’s School Student Publication
January 18-22, 2009
Saints welcomes new headmaster
By Matthew Yensen r. Tom Matthews, the newly selected Headmaster of St. George’s school has stated that no immediate changes are to take place at the beginning of his tenure. “My main goal in my first year will be to get to know St. George’s-- its students, faculty and staff, Board members and alumni, as well as its traditions, culture and values, and programs. Every school is unique, and I have a lot to learn about St. George’s in a relatively short period of time.” However, while serving as the Headmaster of Hillfield Strathallan College in Hamilton, Ontario, Matthews began many initiatives such as developing a design for a entirely new Senior School and school-wide athletic complex (the Michael G. DeGroote Senior
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School), creating an outdoor education program at the school, and most notably bringing HSC out of a $2 million operating deficit. Matthews’ philosophy that led to such great success at HSC, and one that he will surely bring to Saints, is that a “Headmaster’s overriding goal should be to work with students, faculty and staff to help make the school the very best school that it can be for all of its students, present and future.” Matthews’s successes at making Hillfield Strathallan College financially sound will definitely serve to benefit the Saints community. In regards to helping the board of governors reach their goal of creating a $100 million endowment fund, Matthews said, “Fund raising is always an important part of a Headmaster’s responsibilities.” He added, “I
assume that I will play a leading role, along with the advancement office and board, in helping to raise money for the endowment.” In terms of improving St. George’s as a whole, Matthews will be welcoming input from “as many members of the Saints community as possible, including students, asking them what they value most about St. George’s and also how they think the school might be improved.” This method will allow for everyone to voice his or her opinion, and have it taken into consideration. In taking over the role of headmaster at St. George’s, Matthews is looking to serve the school to the best of his abilities. And an upside of working at an all boys school is that Matthews will “no longer have to worry about the lengths of a girls’ kilts!”
Grade 10 sports champion overcomes asthma
By Ivan Cheung aving asthma may hinder a person’s ability to compete successfully at competitive sports. However, 15-year-old Shane Mullen has shattered that idea through his sports career at Saint Georges. Mullen has distinguished himself in sports requiring high endurance levels, such as triathlon and cross country. “In my opinion, running hard is worse than swimming,” he said. “But swimming is also very difficult, and I can only manage two strokes before taking a breath.” However, that did nothing to prevent Mullen from winning two firsts, one second and one third-place medal in the Grade 8 BC provincial swim meet. The sports champion also felt that triathlon was very challenging, because of the mixture of biking, running and swimming. However, he still managed a first in BC in triathlon last summer. Despite his victories, Mullen expressed his difficulties while
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competing in such rigorous sports. “During the middle and the end of a race, it is very uncomfortable,” Mullen said. Kelly Bodutch, nurse at Saint George’s, only emphasized how difficult it was to compete in sports when diagnosed with asthma. “Asthma restricts the movement of air into and out of the lungs,” Bodutch said. “Sports that require
a lot of heavy running tend to be a major trigger.” Mullen also mentioned those symptoms during the interview. “I get a dry throat, and mucus clogs up my lungs,” he said. “When I was younger, I had to stop and regain my breath in the middle of a long run.” The school has actually dealt
with more serious cases of asthma attacks that occurred during sports. This is a major risk to those who have the condition, yet want to compete in outdoor sports. “We have dealt with asthma attacks or exacerbations here in the nurses’ office,” Bodutch said. “In the worse case scenario, an individual may become very tired with the work of breathing related to an asthma attack.” Despite such probable scenarios, Mullen has consistently competed in sports such as skiing, track and field and rowing. In addition, due to his constant exercise, his lungs expanded, thus allowed him to take in more oxygen. “I don’t need to use a puffer anymore, because my lungs have expanded more as I grew older,” Mullen said. The athletic student feels that asthma shouldn’t be a barrier to those who wish to challenge themselves in the competitive world of sports. “What’s important is not to push yourself too hard,” Mullen said. “ I keep going until the end, because finishing a race feels really good.”
Grade 10s attend Career Fair at Telus World of Science By Ivan Cheung or the first time at Saints, grade 10s had the chance to visit the Career Fair and get a glimpse of their future. “It is a massive forum for postsecondary institutions to present and attract students to their offered programs,” Hayley Jacobs, counselor for grade 10, said. “We wanted the grade 10s to go to the fair this year to enhance and develop the scope and sequence of the curriculum of Planning 10 at Saints.” This event gave many grade 10 students a glimpse of what colleges and universities they could attend when they graduate. “I visited many different booths that had different careers and options,” Vincent Yung, a grade 10 student at Saints, said. “There were culinary institutes, colleges and local, well-known universities.” Other students also voiced their praise after visiting the Career Fair. “There was a lot of free [university] stuff,” Matthew Lau, grade 10, said. “The fair offered so many different options besides the most popular ones and it was unexpected.” However, as good as it was, the event was still a disappointment to many students. “One disappointing thing was the lack of clear paths around the fair,” Yung said. “In addition, the
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organization was poor and there were unclear directions about where everything was.” In addition, the grade 10s faced a 30- minute delay when departing the school. Many students were annoyed because they lost valuable time to visit the booths. Anjan Katta, another grade 10 student who went to Career Fair, was also quick to comment on how the fair could improve. “This fair did not offer many career options, it merely showed us what universities and colleges we could go to,” he said. “It was more like an advertising fair, because the universities and colleges were telling us to go to their schools.” Finally, although there were many different booths, Lau feels that the most important schools and universities were missing in attendance. “I knew I couldn’t expect overseas universities to present themselves, but it was really surprising that the most famous ones, such as UBC and Simon Fraser, were not there,” he said. Despite these suggested improvements, Jacobs feels that the Career Fair was a “great” opportunity for students to seek out their future. “The fair is a wonderful opportunity to begin exploring all the vast options for post-secondary life,” Jacobs said.
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Tributes paid to Alan C.M. Brown ’54
Former headmaster remembered during a memorial service that drew upwards of 1000 people
Saints’ delegation to debate over bioethics at UNIS “The annual conference seeks to investigate and present diverse viewpoints and simultaneously encourage the world’s youth to develop their own perspective.” By Tyler Raycraft n order to take full advantage of the opportunities provided to them, 15 grade 11 Saints students will travel to New York on March 3 to attend the 34th annual United Nations International School Conference. The conference, which boasts a strict invitation-only policy, will be hosted by high school teacher Jean-Baptiste Bassene and the students of UNIS. Invitations to the conference were based on scores on the PSAT exam, which was written in November. The invitees will enjoy a week of conferences at the General Assembly Hall of the UN headquarters. “The rapid advancement of life sciences and medicine has caused the augmentation of new ethical concerns,” explained Bassene. “The inevitable nature of these advancements makes it increasingly necessary to consider their effects on society in both economic and cultural spheres. This is why we selected Bioethics as our theme.” The 2010 topic of Bioethics comes on the heels of the 2009 theme, Youth at Risk, and the 2008 issue, Modern Mass Media. Each year, a different keynote speaker delivers a speech to motivate the
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to direct traffic and guide attendees around the school. Some of the volunteers also were inside ushering and greeting guests. An avid educator, according to those attending the ceremony, Brown always sought excellence. “Brown was essentially the face of St. George’s,” says Luke Fredeman, a former student of the headmaster. “He was the captain of the ship; everyone knew he was in charge. He remembered all the names of the students in the school and was an obvious intellectual.” Brown is remembered by his wife Alix, his three daughters Lindsay, Julie and Alison, his grandchildren Sam and Benji, and his brothers Ralph, Peter and Bob.
By Chris Chen memorial service involving over 1000 attendees took place on Jan. 9 in honour of Alan C.M. Brown, who passed away on December 23, 2009. The service was led by Minister John Stephens and was held within the Great Hall of the Senior School. Entering St. George’s in grade 5, Brown graduated from the school top of his class. He studied chemical engineering at UBC, earning his degree in 1959. Brown then traveled to St. John’s College, Oxford University, where he received his Diploma in Education in 1963. Eight years later, he returned to St. Georges to take up the position as Headmaster, serving the school from 1971 to 1989. Brown is also the founding headmaster of Southridge School
in Surrey. The attendees included a mixture of old students, close friends, and member of the Brown family. Numerous headmasters from other schools and members of the Southridge community were also present to say their final farewells, as the service started with the sound of bagpipes from the Vancouver Police Pipe Band and songs of the Vancouver Leoni Men’s Choir. The function started at 1 p.m. and ended an hour and a half later. An audio-visual crew, led by Tim Varro and Ed Mortimer, captured the entirety of the event with an array of video cameras and microphones dispersed through the Great Hall. In addition, a group of 40 Grade 12 volunteers were present throughout the afternoon
By Roy Yang atrick Maguire, Director of Food Services, is endorsing online food surveys for general feedback on hot lunch meals. Saints students may be able to voice their opinions on meals they particularly enjoyed or disliked. Maguire said that online surveys are practical and beneficial. “Online surveys may be beneficial in that it will reflect the boys’ choices. This system may be practical because boys can tell me their opinion [online] on
A third possible method is parwhich food they enjoyed or dis- ence in university, students will ent suggestions. Under such an not care or will write plain, unliked.” arrangement, parents would be A second possible method is helpful comments on sheets of able to suggest ideal menus to a suggestion box: students Mr. Maguire. Although would be able to write their Maguire has no opinion on paper with sugThis system may be practical with this method, problem he feels gestions regarding the meals because boys can tell me their that the boys will not enjoy and drop those suggestions “healthy menus.” opinion [online] on which food in a posted box. “If parents get involved, However, Maguire thinks they enjoyed or disliked... you will see more healthy that the suggestion box food like tofu. Personally, I method is “impractical and don’t have a problem with inaccurate.” this method but the parents will “The box idea is ideal at first. paper. If the students do not bothmake students eat grains and berBut, as time passes the idea be- er to write feedbacks, then the ries the whole week. I try to balcomes a joke. From my experi- system breaks down.” ance the meals out as much as
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students. In past years, UN secretary-generals such as Jan Eliasson and Kofi Annan have spoken to the teenagers. This year, Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon will provide this inspiration. “This year’s conference will discuss a plethora of issues from new discoveries in the fields of nanomedicine and synthetic biology to age-old controversies in euthanasia and eugenics,” explained Bassene. “By addressing these dilemmas, the conference seeks to investigate and present diverse viewpoints and simultaneously encourage the world’s youth to develop their own perspective.” The 15 Saints paid $1500 for the chance to join more than 800 international high school students at the conference. Upon arriving in New York, the Grade 11s will check into the Hilton Hotel, where they will spend the week. “I am greatly looking forward to the conference,” said Grade 11 Ravneet Rai. “The topic of Bioethics, which the conference will discuss, is very interesting to me. Any trip to New York will be filled with interesting sites. The fact that we are traveling there to discuss important issues with some of the world’s greatest minds makes it all the better.”
Director of food services considering online food survey
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possible.” For a meal to be changed or improved, there has to be a general concern from the students as a whole. If only a couple of students complain about food quality, then no changes will occur. If students were to request changes, Maguire said that the changes would have to be “sensible and reasonable.” “The boys cannot request fries or pizza during hot lunch but anything else, I will try my best. In the end, it’s not about the teachers or the staff. It’s all about the boys.”
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Varsity hockey squad opens season with 9-4 record Saints dominates over Lower Mainland Rivals Kitsilano and Vancouver College
By Andrew Watson he final buzzer has sounded for the first half of the St. George’s hockey season. As the school breaks for winter holidays, the varsity team finds itself in a slightly unusual predicament this year, but does so, with a pretty decent first half. The team has so far played 13 regular season games (with one exhibition game and an old boys’ game), finishing with a record of 9-4. Against Lower Mainland teams, the boys had a very good season, pummeling both Vancouver College and Kitsilano by large margins. The V.C. games were no contest. In three games the varsity team outscored their opponent 39-2, with scores of 14-2, 9-0, and 16-0 respectively. The scores really make one wonder if Vancouver College even dressed a team. Kitsilano was the same way, a team that clearly could not compete, as the boys manhandled them in two games with scores of 10-1 and 10-2.
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But these games were not the measuring stick. Coach Dwight Hillis had his sights set on defeating Prince of Wales and winning the Canada Cup in Montreal. Hillis said of the Prince of Wales team, “This team has been the best it has been in years, but they haven’t beaten us in nearly a decade and we had no intention of losing.” Too be fair, neither game against P.W. was a full
Snowboard team undergoes a changing of the guard By Matt Yensen After three consecutive years of dominating the Provincial Championships, the snowboard team is undergoing what coach Dustin Hersee describes as a “changing of the guard.” With the graduation of several veterans last year, the team will look to the younger riders to carry the team. Also, with only seven out of the 12 available spots on the team filled, the coaches have decided on some new training methods in the pursuit of success this season. Firstly, the team is going to start “taking advantage of race days, by training immediately after the race is over.” Using the remainder of race days for practice will help to raise the team to a “... very high standard,” which is expected from any St. George’s squad, said Hersee. Along with fully utilizing race days, the team will look to outside coaching from Blackcomb snowboard instructors who have a background in racing.
Team member Reese Walford was enthusiastic about the opportunity for receiving coaching from experienced racers. “I’m really looking forward to the tips and perspective these instructors can provide, which will help me progress as a rider. And it’s going to be super fun!” Although competitive snowboarding has been promoted on par with prior years, so far there has been a lacklustre turn out. In response to this, Hersee would like to “... put the word out to students. If you’ve got skills on a snowboard and you like to go fast, talk to me immediately! We could use you!” Even with a low turnout, “My predictions for the team are high... I’m just going to encourage some of the new boys to be the best they can be by working on their technique as much as possible,” explained Hersee. “If we have four boys in the top twelve, then we still have a chance at repeating.”
“...The team will look to the younger riders to carry the team.”
three-period game, as some circumstances took place that prevented the games from going the full distance. Nevertheless, a loss is a loss. The team did play well against P.W., but some costly mistakes at key times prevented Saints from winning both games. The first game saw the boys hold a 2-1 lead with less than five minutes to go in the game, only to squander it, giving up the game
winner on a sloppy 3-0 with less than two minutes remaining. In the second game, the varsity boys fell behind 3-0, but showed incredible resiliency, bouncing back to tie the game at 3-3, only to lose it on a turnover that led to an odd-man rush, allowing P.W. to pot the goal with a minute or so remaining in the period. At the Canada Cup in Montreal, Quebec, the team was poised to take another run at the title they won last year. In 2008, the varsity team went 4-0, winning the tournament convincingly, proving they were the best team throughout the tournament. But costly breakdowns and bad “puck-luck” took control of this team’s fate as they failed to make it into medal contention. Despite having some disappointing results, this team shows promise; sure, they may not have last year’s skill, but it just means they need more discipline and have to work harder to attain the results. The team is still confident in its ability and is now gearing
up towards the Ross Cup in late February. As we all know, the Olympics will be coming to Vancouver in February. What does this have to do with Saint’s hockey one might ask? Well, since Olympic hockey teams will be picked by December, they will need a couple of months to practice for the games. Since there are many teams coming, the city is shutting down all of its rinks to accommodate the Olympic teams.This creates a major inconvenience for the hockey team, but Coaches Hillis and Wyatt will try find ice elsewhere. Though no plans have been mentioned, the coaches are confident they can get something done. For the time being, the boys will break, and then reconvene for the Ross Cup and every team will be in the same boat dealing with rink availability, Having maintained that “no excuses” attitude for the whole year, Saints will go to win, and expect nothing less, no matter what.
Basketball team wins 14 consecutive games By Ian Brackman The Grade 10 Basketball Team is off to an amazing start this season. Now with a 14-0 record and three tournament wins, this group looks to keep the success rolling. The team has backed up their early provincial number-one ranking with this torrid start and recently came out on top of the second-ranked Pitt Meadows team 57-52, cementing their provincial supremacy, for now. “I think the team has been successful this year because we all believe in each other,” says grade 10 guard James Pitblado, “and push one another to the best of our abilities.” The squad has won all of the tournaments they’ve been entered in, The Collingwood and Dominos Tournaments and just added the Rebel’s Classic to the list. “This year’s team is full of tal-
ent and heart,” says Coach Paul Cohee, “We have a group of boys that believe they are champions and are willing to claw, scrape, battle and fight to prove that in every possession of every game.” Captained by Lucas Mac-
Fayden and Zaafir Ladha this year’s version of the grade 10 hoops team is filled with exciting and hardworking athletes. There is a handful of players who can dunk and the boys are always on the floor diving for loose balls. Their hustle and de-
sire is one of the first things noticed when watching this group play. Coach Cohee knows that the team has to stay focused. “In order to keep rolling, we have to stay humble and know that every team we play will be gunning to knock us down,” says Cohee. “Although winning is the ultimate goal of any competitive program, I try to have the guys focus on the details of each aspect of how we play.”The biggest game for the boys is on February 10 against a strong Vancouver College team in the St. George’s gym. “The players themselves must be relentless in their efforts to improve their skills,” says the coach, “but almost more importantly, to get stronger, smarter and faster. This, of course, takes great dedication from all 12 guys, and because of that dedication in practice after practice, we are winning games.”
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A single act of good-will can change the World
Grade 12 student contributes to global battle against global poverty by creating the site, theGoodwillEffect.com By Andrew Watson t is hard to make a difference in the world. Many of us want to, but don’t understand how to. We often leave it up to big organizations like Amnesty International, or The United Nations to deal with global issues. But right here at St. George’s, one student has proven that you can make a difference no matter how large or small, by taking the time to think of others. Spencer Gudewill, a grade 12 student at the school, has recently started up a website that supports and advertises excellent, underpublicized non-profit organizations. Last summer, Spencer traveled to Mongolia to volunteer at the Lotus Children’s Center, a non-profit organization that provides shelter, food, and education to underprivileged children located in the capital of Ulaanbaatar. While there, Spencer helped build a wall for the center’s protection against theft, and became enthralled with the experience, stating on his website: “It was a life changing experience and an amazing privilege to help.” Upon his return to Canada, Gudewill wanted to help even more, but he didn’t know how. “I soon learned that the efficiency and transparency of the orphanage was an exception, not the norm, among non-profit operations,” his website stated. “My research pointed to a pandemic of disproportional overhead costs, insufficient operations, excess marketing budgets, and mismanagement of funds among many charities world wide. Something had to be done,” he adds. So he did something. He came to defining certain principles that an organization had to have, to satisfy his willingness to help. “I am on a constant hunt for exceptional non-profits that are real agents of change…these guys don’t get much publicity. They don’t have the resources or the time to publicize themselves, simply because they are too busy helping those in need.” Thus, Gudewill started a website called www.TheGoodwillEffect.com. The objective of the website is to provide publicity to lesser known charities by raising their profiles by making them better known to people who do have the resources to financially contribute to them. When The Echo asked him how he publicizes his organization, Gudewill replied, “My or-
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Spencer Gudewill posing with a child on his trip to one of the many corners of the world. ganization is still very young. So stated. near future, I hope to align the far I have made an effort to let as Gudewill also promises to re- TheGoodwillEffect.com with as many people, who I know, about main loyal to the charities he many excellent non-profits as my website. I make sure to em- chooses. “Once I find a group that possible. In a sense, I want to crephasize to each of these individu- is truly making a difference, and ate a place for the people to find als the need to spread the Good- doing so efficiently and ethically, legitimate, responsible causes to will Effect, and encourage them I don’t let them go. I partner with support. A clearinghouse if you to tell others about what I am them.” Gudewill also makes sure will. The sky is the limit. I want doing.” Gudewill also mentions that he showcases the organiza- to build a foundation that will the importance of presenting his tions on his site and gives them grow beyond my vision.” website at the school’s assembly. the publicity they can’t, otherSo far, his website has part“Since doing my presentation wise he help raises both their pro- nered with three organizations: at the St. George’s Assembly I files and their funds. The Lotus Children’s Center in
“Building that wall for the orphanage became the inspiration for building a bridge between our worlds...That bridge would connect our world with the worlds of those in need of aid. ” have been contacted by several individuals who have expressed interest in taking part in my vision, and joining my team. I hope to utilize the opportunity of having other people passionate about my cause to help spread the word further to all the people that they know.” The Goodwill Effect has also begun collecting donations, having received contributions from many prominent business leaders from around Vancouver. But Gudewill wants to emphasize that his cause is not a charity, it is “a clearing house for people to go to in order to gain access to some of the best charities out there,” he
Gudewill is particularly fond of the charity Children’s Hope Association for its efforts in a country swelling with refugees. “Just in the last seven or eight years the number of refugees in Sudan - particularly in the city of Khartoum where the charity is centered - have increased by upwards of 30,000 people, from 40,000 in 2002, to 70,000+ today,” adds Gudewill. “As well as for these personal reasons, this charity and the others all fulfill the criteria of my website for non-profits to support.” When asked what his expectations were for his website, Gudewill explained, “Within the
Mongolia, The Children’s Hope Association in Sudan, and Create Change in Ghana; the latter being started by, Shannon O’ Brien, a Vancouverite who operates in Northern Ghana. These are all lesser known charities that, through his website, become better known, allowing for people to donate who may well never have otherwise heard of these groups. He also has nonprofits from South Africa and the Middle East on his radar screen for future partnership; however, nothing has come to fruition yet. “I am very passionate about all three of the projects I am currently partnered with. I do not want
to be too hasty when partnering with new causes. I want to make sure that new charities added will not come at the expense of the ones I already support.” When asked how he balances his project with his busy school, sports, and social schedules, he replied, “It takes up an incredible amount of my time. I am very lucky though to be a part of a family dedicated to philanthropy; they have been extremely supportive throughout this process. It is difficult to “fit” this project into my busy life, but it is such an important component of it, and such a huge passion of mine, that every minute spent on it doesn’t even seem like work at all.”.His website includes a wonderful quote: “Building that wall for the orphanage became the inspiration for building a bridge between our worlds. I was looking for a high-impact way of communicating my journey so far, and the road ahead. That bridge would connect our world with the worlds of those in need of aid.” “I needed a metaphor. It just came as I was selecting photos for the website,” he adds. Gudewill is very excited about what he has been able to do so far and hopes to keep building the website – this bridge. Of course Gudewill is always looking for help and donations, and urges anyone who wants to be involved with his efforts or to contribute in anyway to visit his website. “There are three ways to get involved: donate, volunteer, inform,” adds Gudewill. “All donations are tax deductible and can be made via TheGoodwillEffect.com. There are also many volunteering opportunities within each non-profit partner, or within the Goodwill Effect Team. Last, but not least, I am always on the hunt for great non-profits that are ethical, efficient, and transparent. If you know of such a project, I want to know about it to help promote them on the website.” It is a wonderful cause initiated by a wonderful individual. So when you ponder how you can make a difference in the world, remember this phrase: The Goodwill Effect: how good deeds always find their destination. For more information about this cause visit the website www. TheGoodwillEffect.com