Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Selwyn House School http://www.archive.org/details/parentsnewsfeb2001selw Newsletter A Selwyn House SchoolPublication February 2001 Inside The Parents' NEWSLETTER Features Fall Event 2000 The Parents'Newsletter is Record-breaking fundraiser organized by Parent Volunteers 3 published tour times a year Remembrance Day by the Advancement Office. Special commemoration ofCanada's Unknown Soldier 6 Selwyn House Fundraising If you have any suggestions or Record donations toTerry Fox and Kidney Foundations 7 corrections, please do not hesitate to contact the editor, Richard Wills. Elementary School News Phone: (514) 931-9481 ext. 261 Band Awards for October, 2000 8 Fax: (514)931-6118 Magical Pied Piper ofHamelin E-mail: [email protected] Elementary School Play casts a spell 9 Advancement Office Students End Term on a Musical Note James E McMillan Concert at Ogilvy'sToyTea and visit with Itzhak Perlman 10 Director ofAdvancement Middle School News Sharon Cozens Middle School Honour Roll 11 Director ofAlumni and The Kingand Us Parent Relations Middle School students stage their own original play 11 Richard Wills Publications Editor Senior School News Susan M. Claus Public Speakers Sweep International Tournament Jill Higgins Reid, Wilner and Gary named first-place team 12 Advancement OfficeAssistants Seniors Visit Association for the Blind 13 Photography Senior Honour Roll for December, 2000 14 Richard Wills Eleven Students named to Cum Laude Society 15 Bill Bedard BOOKENDS Nick Tory Sandy Martz Reading Week now Reading Month 16 Wong April New Titles for Wintertime Reading 17 Rob Moore Athletics On the Cover Senior Gryphons Win Football Championship 18 Grade students sing out 1 during the Elementary Schools Selwyn House Wrestlers First in Tournament 19 Christmas concert. Technology Selwyn House School Le Virage Informatique, des la Maternelle 19 95, chemin Cote St-Antoine Mobile Computing Comes to Selwyn House 20 Westmount (Quebec) Canada H3Y 2H8 Parent Volunteeers www.selwyn.ca Parent Volunteer Association 22 Kl Punted on recycled paper Back Cover SHS accredited by the Update on the Capital Campaign 24 CESI. Canadian Educational Standards Institi' ii The Community — A Fall Event 2000 Millennium Success Story By Sandy Martz, Fall Event Coordinator A holiday gathering of the Fall Event Committee. Thanks to these members and other volunteers, this year's Event was outstanding. What began as a modest garage sale eighteen years ago has evolved into a multi-dimensional event of staggering proportions. Selwyn House School's Fall Event is an exciting happening attended by members of the entire Selwyn House family as well as the Selwyn House community at large. "Beyond our wildest dreams" is beginning to sound like a cliche, but once again, we are at a loss for words in describing our feelings ofsatisfaction and exhilaration. We measure this success on many levels. In dollars, our net profit hovers at $89,000, representing an increase of $15,000 over last year. More importantly, this symbolizes the spirit and good will of the Selwyn House Community, which cannot be measured. The commitment and co- operative efforts of our very dedicated Fall Event Committee, Selwyn House faculty and staff, students, Old Boys and current and alumni parents combined to ensure that we would accomplish the goals we set for ourselves. Continuedon Page 4 February 2001 The SHS Community Fall Event 2000 The Community 2000 Fall Event The Martz brothers, Eric, 10B, and Richard '97 man the Silent Auction coordinators Tracy Weinrich and cash during the weekend's activities. Sheila Jablonski. choice during morning recess. A donation of 800 Nestle Brooks (alumni parent), Barbara Campbell, Danielle Kraus- chocolate bar milkshakes helped manya boywash down the Munzar, Joanne Margel, Elissa Meadow, Carol Papich, cookies, cupcakes, brownies, etc. By Friday evening, all six Heather Potter, Reggie Robbins, and Najwa Sallman tables were sold out. (Publicity). Lasagnas and Quiches: The preparation tor, and Donations execution of, the Cooking Weekend was handled by a truly At Founder's Day on November 22nd, the Parent professional team: Cathy Govan, Alison Matheson, Tracey Volunteers were very proud to make the following Wathier and Maria Zammit (who handled the mammoth donations: task ofcooking all the noodles). This production would not • $20,000 to the Selwyn House School Capital Campaign. be possible without the generous ingredient donation from • $25,000 to the Selwyn House School Trip Fund, which the Zammit family. A big 'thank you' to Sonja and Tim subsidizes academic and athletic trips. Dawson, who are responsible for the attractive and • $10,000 to the Haematology-Oncology Department of functional new packaging. According to popular opinion, the Montreal Children's Hospital. our millennium lasagnas surpassed those of last year. They • $10,000 toward updatingcomputer technology at Selwyn and the quiches were nearly all sold out within two weeks. House School. Haunted House: The Elementary School boys had a ball • $3,000 to the Conrad H. Harrington Scholarship Fund. in the eerily transformed biology lab. Coordinated by Maria • $2,000 to the Nancy Pitfield Memorial Fund, Canadian Zammit, Helena Hodhod, and Liane Samuel, and Cancer Society. supported by a team ofGrade 1 moms, the Haunted House • $1,500 to each ofthe following: was a major hit. Middle School students were a big help. - Centre for the Arts in Human Development at Each visitor received a free bag oftreats. Concordia University (creative arts therapy for Alison Matheson coordinated a team ofmore than 150 developmentally disabled young adults). volunteers to set up and staff the various activities. The - Lucky Harvest Project (therapeutic horseback riding Lucas Gym was jam-packed, and furniture sales for handicapped children). skyrocketed. Crowd control was necessary for the New •$1,000 to: Shoes Sale, where people waited in line over twenty minutes - Westmount Park School to help provide eyeglasses for for the best deals in town on over 1,000 pairs ofshoes and needy students. boots. New clothing and new merchandise sales were wild. - Free the Children. The Pumpkin Sale involved father-and-son teams on a A heartfelt 'thank you' goes to everyone who played a Saturday morning. Other invaluable committee members part, big or small, in this memorable and rewarding whose names have not yet been mentioned are: Valerie endeavour. February 2001 NEWS Remembrance Day Remembrance Day "But Uncle Bob could 2000 ceremonies never care about anything at Selwyn House again, after he vapourized commemorated Canada's a French farmer and his Unknown Soldier and horse, which he had discussed the changing mistaken for the enemy." perception ofwar in our Shannon explained time. that his father and uncle The guest speaker, were "shielded from the Ltv/Lt (N) Peter B. Ferst, full impact of their served in the Royal Navy decision by the jingoism in Britain before coming ofthe time." to Canada in 1970, We now know, he where he joined the said, that wars seldom Canadian Reserves and result in a lasting peace, became very actively and that national interests involved in the Canadian are partly economic. Cadet Movement. "They were more Lt. Ferst began his naive than we are," speech with a tribute to Shannon said, "though to wthheo UwnaksnobrwonughStoldbiaecrk, Lt. FenrsatmpeoionftsonoeutoftothHeeaSedlPwryenfeHcotuTsheomOladsBCooynsstwahntoindieesdcu the sreasypectfsuol. sIocuanndsadmdiirse- from France to his final in the Second World War. them, and thank them, resting place in Ottawa and pity them. There's no last May. "I would like to tell you his name, but I cannot," contradiction." Lt. Ferst said, "Nobody knows. He is known only to God." Shannon acknowledged contradiction, however, in his Lt. Ferst recalled how the war affected lire in the small own feeling about the thought of his own sons one day town he grew up in. "There was not a household in that going to war. "I think they should fight;" he said, "I wish town that did not lose somebody," he said. "When I was in they would not." primary school, I never saw one male teacher." Wynnyn Chan, 6B, gave a reading on the origin ofthe World War I was called the GreatWar, he said, "Because poppyas asymbol ofremembrance, and Daniel Palardy, 8B, there wasn't supposed to be another one." read the poem "In Flanders Fields." Despite its horror, the First World War "was a defining Prelect Daniel Wil—ner, 11C, gave a speech in wh—ich he moment in our history." The conflict gave rise to what Lt. mentioned his cousin only two years older than he who Ferst described as "the idea that perhaps there was a better is currently standing by to serve in the Israeli army, and way ofsettling our differences than by killing each other. family memberswho live neara main battleground in Israel. "For those of us who were born during peacetime, all "In this vulnerable position, we are not alone," Wilner wars appear to be far removed from our daily activities," Lt. reminded his colleagues. Ferst reminded the Selwyn House students. "Perhaps you "Is there, simply, nothing to be done aboutwar?" Daniel really don't have anything to remember, because you didn't asked. "We should hope not. Rather, there is nothingsimple know anyone involved in war. that can be done." He mentioned that Canada's "Every so often when we go about our normal pursuits, peacekeeping efforts, ofwhich we should be proud, "have not just this Remembrance week, please let us think about proved effective in the reduction ofworld violence." the Unknown Soldier." Daniel concluded with a quote from a 1932 letter Shielded from the impact written by Albert Einstein to Sigmund Freud: "Unless our oftheir decision civilization achieves the moral strength to overcome evil, it Senior English teacher Patrick Shannon recounted a tale is bound to share the fate offormercivilizations: declineand from his own family history, telling how, during World War decay." II his father longed to join his brother, who was flying The ceremony concluded with a reading from the Book bombing missions in France. ofEcclesiasticus by Head Prefect Thomas Constantinescu, "It was 1943 and my father felt that combat, when he 1 1A, and a reading ofthe names ofSelwyn House Old Boys joined it, would be like a football game," Shannon recalled. who died in war. The Parents Newsletter News Selwyn House gives $27,033 from Terry Fox Run On December 20, Peter Sheremeta of the National Terry Fox Foundation came to Selwyn House to receive a cheque for $27,033 raised by the School this year through the Terry Fox Run. In the thirteen years in which Selwyn House has been participating in the Run, the School has raised over $225,000. The money goes to the National Cancer Institute of Canada. SHS students raise $1,600 Thank you, Jean. Hello, Jill for Kidney Foundation Selwyn House School raised more money for the Canadian Kidney Foundation than anyother school in Canada last Halloween. SHS students raised $1,600 through the sale of special Foundation bags ofpeanuts and gumdrops to SHS parents. Under the direction of teachers Lynn Mastellotto and Johanne Werbiski, the bags were distributed to each homeroom by Grade 9 and 1 1 students. For the past year, Jean Stutsman (left) worked with the In all, 531 bags were sold. The money will help pay for School in the Advancement Office as Fundraising Counsel 83 different research projects (29 of these in Quebec), as for the Capital Campaign. Jean is now working at well as scholarships, public education and summer camp establishing the John Abbott College Foundation. We wish programmes. her well. "The future is full ofhope," said Mr. Philippe Vincent, Jill Higgins (right) joined the staff in January as an Coordinator for the Montreal Chapter of the Canadian assistant in the Advancement Office. She is no stranger to Kidney Foundation, as he received the Selwyn House Selwyn House, being a sister ofPeter '89 and Doug '84, and donation at the Founder's Day Assembly on November 22. daughter ofJanice Higgins, Library volunteer. . 7 February 2001 School News ary Band Awards - 2000 October, A B Kindergarten Influence positive sur la classe David Dupont Noah Daoust Progres remarquables en francais Valery Peker Dat Nguyen Cunosite intellectuelle Charles Laplante David Smith Grade 1 Positive influence within the class Samuel Hodhod Erik Samuel Intellectual curiosity Jake Levy Jonathan Kwok Grade 2 Positive influence within the class Nikki Papich Victor Bui Intellectual curiosity Michael Smith Nicholas Backman Grade 3 Positive attitude and commitment to learning Andrew Dennis Elliot Burrows Joshua Hanek Charles Chan Stewart Wiseman Responsible attitude towards himselfand others Max Cronin Bjorn Dawson Jesse Graff Francesco Grassi Evan Hallward Grade 4 Positive attitude and commitment to learning Philippe Buffy Boyd Garneau-Halliday Derek Burrows Louis Gervais Gregory Sheppard Responsible attitude towards himselfand others Stephen Albers Robert Carle Evren Boisjoli Mark Haichin Thomas Nichols Grade 5 Esprit de cooperation James Bloomfield Luca Melnychuk Olivier Laroche Zachary Rosenthal James Rossy Progres remarquables en francais Andrew Fitzpatrick Alexandre Le Ramin Mohsenin Attitude positive face a l'apprentissage Kevin Luo Dylan Brophy William MacCulloch Andrej Pavlovic Grade 6 Esprit de cooperation Robert Abelson Kyle Burrows Jason Leopold Wynnyn Chan Daniel Knecht Progres remarquables en francais Mathew Buchanan Daniel Cohen David Oliver Attitude positive face a l'apprentissage Charles-Edouard Gavin Kenneally Bonaldo-Bourque Rehman Manji Robert Hinrichsen Dino Zammit The Parents'Newsletter 8