Headlines

by Melanie Edwards, parent
I was greeted with a warm welcome on Monday evening as I entered the Middle School library to attend Jocelyn Dimm’s talk. Jocelyn got straight down to business. We were handed a sheet with a list of award-winning books suitable for Grade 8 students, spanning six different genres. Jocelyn, who was both knowledgeable and engaging, went on to describe each book in a way that really made you want to read the book yourself. She was very informative and passionate about each story. The novels of today are a far cry from Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books that I read in Grade 8, where the big adventure was to row a boat over to an island and stumble upon buried treasure!

“The presentation was good and she was actually very funny. She managed to get me interested in quite a few books.”

I knew that Jocelyn had spoken to the Grade 8 classes last week, so at the end of the talk I headed home with my list, to chat with my Grade 8 child. We went through the list together discussing which books we each though would be worth a read. My child ticked off six books from the list that he for sure would like to read. That’s six books more than he would have pulled off the shelf to read! I’m now also more aware of my child’s reading interests. I know that had I have not attended the talk, my child would not have requested I get him any of those books to read! So thank you Jocelyn for coming to speak with the students and also the parents, it was a huge success for my family.

Jocelyn’s Book Recommendations

by John Cook, Grade 8
Last Thursday, Jocelyn Dimm, a professor in Youth and Adolescent Literature came to speak to all the Grade 8 students. In her hour long presentation she talked about a number of books of different genres including the paranormal, realism, steam punk and graphic novels. She gave us a brief description of each book and a few facts, just enough information to make us want to read more. The presentation was good and she was actually very funny. She managed to get me interested in quite a few books. The one book that I am going to start reading is Graceling, which is set in feudal times. In this book certain people are born with a grace that can sometimes really benefit their society. The protagonist in this book thinks her grace is the ability to kill without guilt but it turns out that this is not her grace and to find out what her actual grace is I will have to read the book. All and all it was a great book talk.

by Zeyn Sen, Grade 10 student

When I heard that the director of the Princeton Review was coming to SMUS to talk about the SAT and the ACT, I thought, “I might have to take those next year. It might be a good idea to go.” I’m in Grade 10, so these exams seem so far away. But in reality the time to take them comes so quickly that many students don’t get the best score they could. Attending Jay Rosner’s presentation inspired feelings of “There’s such little time and so much to do!”

The session was extremely helpful. It contained information on both tests, their differences, their formats and how to get the best score you can on them. He stressed a few points, including:

• There is a difference between test-taking skills and academic skills. These tests are not scoring how smart you are, but simply how good you are at taking these tests. A straight-A student might score badly, while someone who struggles at school might find that they are very good at this particular kind of test.
• Preparation is the key. To get the BEST score you can possibly get, you have to start studying approximately two hours per day, six days per week, for five to six weeks before you plan to take the test. Don’t begin earlier or you’ll forget what you studied and possibly jeopardize your current school work and grades, which are equally as important. If you start too late, it likely won’t be enough.
• Plan to take the SAT or the ACT ONCE. The students who go in to the tests with the mindset of “If I do badly I can always take it again” are proven to get worse results. Also, many selective universities want to see ALL your scores, so you cannot choose to omit, say, your first two tries where you received bad results.
• Decide early which test to write. As mentioned above, you will need to study a lot and do many practice tests and it is simply not realistic to do both.

  All in all, I now know so much more about the ACT and the SAT. In the future, I will definitely be attending all the information sessions that the University Counselling Department arranges, and I would recommend the same to every student, regardless of grade.

  Below, you can watch Jay Rosner answer some frequently asked SAT and ACT questions.

  Note: Princeton Review ACT test prep at SMUS begins on April 22 for June 9 test date

  SMUS SAT & ACT Test Dates (US applicants)

  Grade 11   March 9 Registration deadline for April 14 ACT April 6 Registration deadline for May 5 SAT April 14 ACT May 4 Registration deadline for June 9 ACT May 5 SAT and Subject Tests May 8 Registration deadline for June 2 SAT June 2 SAT and Subject Tests June 9 ACT at SMUS (US applicants) Grade 12   TBD SAT and Subject Tests October 27 ACT December 8 ACT

Our Grade 3 class visited Helmcken House to experience life in colonial times. They also spent time in their classroom playing games and practicing writing with a bottle of ink.

Student Thoughts

“The guides were very nice, they talked about the tools that they had, how the house was built and a lot more. We all dressed up as pioneers so we could get in the spirit of it. It really felt like we were pioneers! We even got to play the piano! There was also a school house and we got to look inside it.” – Nadia

“When I went to the museum I loved it. The people put everybody in groups and then they showed what a pioneer house would look like. Then they showed a living room and a kitchen and showed some other rooms and it was very different than our time that’s now. To clean the clothes they had to put them into a big pot looking thing and then the boys had to carry the water from the well then you would put the water in the pot and then you would wash it. Then you would hang them up so they would dry. In the living room there was a piano that was from back then and there was a school house and there were some desks and we sat on them and acted that we are pioneers. Oh, and we got to wear pioneer clothes when we were there.” – Kristina

“What I liked about the pioneer field trip was that we looked at all the pioneer items and we looked at the doctor equipment. We got to visit a pioneer school and pretend we were students.” – Claudia

“Last week I went to Pioneer Village. In the school house, the teachers would always check their students’ hands and if they were dirty, off to the sink! Smart! There were two places we went to see. We went to Dr. Helmcken’s house (there were three sections, newest to oldest) and the school house. In the living room of Dr. Helmcken’s House, children usually played a game where you had to spot a button, if so you have to sit down. Once everybody is seated, they played a game where you had to say, “In the picnic basket, I will bring…” and then say a word starting with the first letter of your name. I feel lucky to have gone on this trip – it was awesome.” – Claire

“What I liked about our field trip to Helmcken House was that everything there was old and very interesting. I especially liked the St. Ann’s Schoolhouse because I liked the way the desks opened. I think the piano was very interesting because of all the fancy wood carvings. You can also tell that the house was very old because the house had a parlour.” – Logan

Photos by Ian Robertson and Craig Farish

Reflections on Boarding Super Sunday

by Mehrab Khazei, Grade 8 Boarder

This weekend was one of the best weekends that we ever had… well, every weekend is really good but this one was really fun! Let’s start with House Games. As you know, Bolton is the best so we all won our games (except the game that I played… well, we only lost by two points so it isn’t a really big deal because we still won the day).

After all that fun we had a community dinner. It’s a dinner where all the houses go to Brown Hall, the campus dining hall, and have a really nice dinner together. Seniors and juniors usually go at different times. For this dinner we had pizza, pasta and for dessert we had strawberries, chocolate and cookies. It was the best dinner ever!

After all of that we had chapel. It is kind of like church but it’s for every religion. It is a really good place to relax and try to think about how you could fill up all those gaps that you have in your life. They give you a lot of advice, so it’s technically a place to think about life and relax.

by Wyatt Lutes, Grade 11 Boarder

House games are great because you get to play a sport together with your friends from your house. It could be a sport that you have played before, which gives you a great opportunity to get some healthy competition and win some bragging rights for your dorm, or play a sport that you have never tried before. This exposes you to sports that you may not have been inclined to try.

Dining at Brown Hall, you have a tendency to eat with just your group of friends. On the odd occasion you might sit down with a friend of a friend, but aside from that you don’t get much exposure to different people in boarding. Community dinners are great for this because the organizing staff put in a lot of effort to mix up how your seating is arranged. Often you end up eating with completely different people that you would never have sat down with before. This may only end up being for one night, but sometimes you learn something about another person you would never have expected and you might just find yourself with a new friend.

Boarding life can get hectic, especially with activities on the weekends. Most of the time, a little relaxation, some reflection, and some wise words can work wonders. Boarders chapel is wonderful for these situations. With the soothing music, the calm environment of the chapel (without the religious forbearance), I leave level-headed and in an altogether better state than I entered. This is another opportunity to make self discoveries, discover other boarders’ talents, and truly grow together as a community.

by Heather Sandquist, Grade 4H teacher

Our recent field trip to UVic was the culminating piece of our study of elements of design found in selected literature. The 4H students participated in a reading class led by Dr. Sylvia Pantaleo. The students engaged in small group discussions throughout the hour and a half class. They shared their favorite graphic novels with each other and talked about why they liked them. The Grade 4 students were able to also showcase the graphic narratives that they created. They shared the elements of design that they focused on when creating their own and spoke about the significance of these elements in their story. Towards the end of the class the small groups looked at a book together noting the structure and making connections between the characters and the story lines.

This field trip bridged the gap between young children and soon to be elementary teachers. The students at UVic were amazed at the depth of knowledge of the younger students. They spoke with great confidence and clearly demonstrated their understanding of the elements of design in the literature chosen. I was incredibly proud of my students and congratulate them on their successes in this unit. Thank you 4H!

by Makayla, Grade 4

When we got to school that day we were assigned buddies (I was with Amelia). Anyway, we took the bus to the UVic campus and we were a bit early, so we went to this place where there were a bunch of beautiful pieces of art work.

We were assigned table numbers and there at the tables were a bunch of UVic students! When me and Amelia got to our table, the UVic students were Amber, Andrew and Marci. We started to talk about are favourite books and graphic novels we brought; mine was Smile, Amelia’s was Bake Sale and Andrew’s was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! After all the questions we talked about our favourite part of Amulet. I really liked the end of book four, and a lot of the others liked how he draws the characters. Then we showed the UVic students our graphic narratives. They laughed at all the funny parts and were really impressed!

We showed them lots of different elements we added into our stories and I think we blew their minds! The last activity was where we read a book called Shortcut. In this story we had to find out how each part of the story connected to the other. Even though it was hard, it was fun to see how one action can affect everything else. Then we said goodbye to most of the UVic students who had to run, but some stayed and had lunch with us. And then, we got CUPCAKES as a reward for our hard work! After we ate our cupcakes we played an awesome game of tag. When we got the countdown we rushed over to our bags and zoomed all the way to the bus so we could get the bouncy seats in the back. We had the best time of our lives! And that’s the adventure of 4H’s trip to UVic!

February 15, 2012

Squash
by Lizette Greyling

It has been a very successful semester so far for SMUS squash with a few tournaments already behind us. The ISA championships were the most recent event and we saw the top squash schools in the region battle it out for first place. The Junior boys proved themselves by walking away with 2nd place and the Senior boys came in 3rd.

This coming weekend SMUS hosts the British Columbia Jesters Pacific Northwest Junior Squash Championships. With 211 kids competing from across Western Canada, this event is one of the largest Junior squash tournaments in Canada. SMUS is entering 42 players in the event. Matches begin Thursday at 4pm in the Monkman Athletic Complex at the Richmond campus.

The next junior event is the BC Junior closed tournament from March 2-4 at the magnificent Hollyburn Country club in Vancouver. Many of the top players from the school will be in attendance.

Junior Girls Developmental Basketball
by Amanda Daum
This week the Junior girls developmental team won both of their league games. The first game was against St. Andrews and the second against Dunsmuir. The team should be very proud of themselves for playing the smartest game of basketball this year! Shout outs go to Neomi Groh and Alicia Knight for focusing and working very hard during both games to score points. One more week of league games and we are on to playoffs.

Junior Boys Basketball
by Ian Hyde-Lay

SMUS completed league play with a demanding three game set, playing away to Oak Bay before hosting Claremont and Lambrick Park. With this quartet contesting the top four positions in league, there was much a stake, as the intensity of the games proved.

In the first encounter SMUS could not overcome a nervy start, falling behind 15-7 and then 24-12 at Oak Bay. Mat Rud led the Blue Jags scoring with 9 hard earned points, but the early momentum shift was too much to overcome. Indeed, the hosts led by as many as 17 before a few late baskets by the visitors narrowed the final score to 54-43.

Nonetheless, SMUS looked forward its next matchup, this time against Claremont. A win would keep hope alive for a league title. Playing its best game of the season, the Jags gave the BC #2-ranked Spartans all they could handle. Behind some stellar play from Danny Wu, they recovered from an opening 19-7 deficit to lead by two going into the final quarter. With 50 seconds to play, the game still hung in the balance, as SMUS trailed by a single point. But a dagger three-pointer by Jamal Slack ended hopes of an upset, with Claremont prevailing 49-43.

The loss meant that SMUS now had to beat Lambrick Park — by seven or more points — to avoid a fourth place league finish. A tight defensive struggle saw the Lions up 21-17 at intermission. Buoyed by the unexpected return from injury of point guard Graeme Hyde-Lay, and with Wu potting 24 points on a series of drives and trifectas, the hosts pulled away in the second half to win 55-44.

With the victory, SMUS completed league play with an 8-2 record, and, following a convoluted tie break formulae, finished in third place. This means a Monday, February 13 City playoff quarterfinal versus Reynolds, with a possible rematch against Oak Bay, this time with an Island berth at stake, the following day.

Senior Boys Basketball
by Reagan Daly
The Senior boys had a very important league game Wednesday night at Lambrick Park. The regular season championship and a chance to enter the South Island tournament as the number 1 seed was the backdrop and the boys came out firing.

The team opened a big lead in the first half, going up 29-14. Dave Lafleur dominated the second quarter — the host Lions simply had no answer for him in the post. The boys gave up some late baskets but reached the intermission with a 7-point lead.

This game was a tale of two halves and Lambrick, feeding off the energy of the home crowd, clawed back to take a 1-point lead entering the final quarter. SMUS received a huge lift from their senior guards in crunch time, with Joe Erlic nailing a pair of three-pointers to give the boys a 6-point margin of victory 59-53.

Senior Girls Basketball
by Lindsay Brooke

The Senior girls basketball team played two league games last week. In the first game, the Blue Jags hosted PCS. The game was blown open in the first quarter as the Jags took a 20-2 lead. Everyone received lots of playing time and the team was able to work on some different lineups. The final score was 56-20. Abbey Piazza led all scorers with 15 points. Rachel Sibbald chipped in with 10 points and Kate Cluley added 9 points.

In the second game, the Blue Jags faced arch rival Lambrick Park on their home court. Looking to avenge their earlier 30-point loss, the girls were pumped. However, again, the Lambrick defense stifled the SMUS offense. Lambrick Park was also hot from the perimeter, shooting 50% from the 3-point line for the game. The Pride held the lead at half, 42-17. This deficit was too much too overcome, but the girls bucked-up and won the second half. Final score, Lambrick: 68, SMUS: 53. Allie White lead the team with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Madison Hadfield added 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Abbey Piazza netted 9 points. The Blue Jags will go back to the drawing board in preparation for a potential South Island Championship meeting with Lambrick next week. The South Island Championships are being held at St. Margaret’s Feb 16-18.

Historical figure Harriet Tubman visited SMUS last week, in the form of veteran performer Leslie McCurdy. Starting her day at the Junior School, she performed her one-woman play The Spirit of Harriet Tubman for students in Grades 3, 4 and 5. For the younger students, she performed Hero, a simplified version. Students from the Senior School attended the presentation and offered their thematic insights afterwards. As part of their humanities studies program, Grade 6 students also saw the play, which Leslie McCurdy wrote herself. Ms. McCurdy also conducted an acting workshop with some of our Grade 9 thespians.

Junior School

“It was amazing – it actually seemed very real because she dressed up in all those costumes and it seemed very real, even though it was all one person!” – Nadia, Grade 3

“She incorporated a lot of information into her presentation and it kept everyone interested. We have been learning about slavery and equality – we each chose a different abolitionist and mine was Harriet Tubman. It was nice to get more information about her today.” – Anna, Grade 5

“She used a lot of facial expressions and you could always tell what she was thinking.” – Matthew J, Grade 5

“We’ve been talking about racism and even if people’s backgrounds are different, they are still equal.” Lilly, Grade 5

“Her ability to change ages was astounding. She went from a 5 year old to a 90 year old!” – Anna, Grade 5

“It was amazing – her ability to play all the roles as one person. She could create a mental picture in your mind.” – Sofia, Grade 5

Middle School
“Harriet Tubman the play was fantastic. It is a one-woman play about the life of Harriet Tubman. The actor wrote the play herself, and played Harriet Tubman along with all the other characters, amazingly. The play was interesting the entire way through. I really enjoyed the play.” – Jared. Grade 6

“I think that the Harriet Tubman presentation was a great experience to help us learn about slavery in the 1800s. I feel that the actor was totally in character and had great expression and really made you feel like you were living in the slavery times… The actor playing Harriet Tubman really showed emotion when sad or happy moments happened in the story. She is also a great singer with a great voice and has a great sense of humour. She was totally suitable for this role and I think she should come again.” – Karmen, Grade 6

“The Harriet Tubman play last Wednesday was amazing. The actress that portrayed Harriet Tubman was a very convincing actor. She really knew how to play Harriet Tubman and she could make us believe that she was Harriet Tubman. In Humanities, we are learning about human rights and privileges. In the Harriet Tubman play, we learned how basic human rights were violated through slavery. We also learned that Harriet Tubman fought for her rights and other people’s rights too. I really enjoyed the Harriet Tubman play and I thought everyone else did too.” – Triumph, Grade 6

The SMUS Justice Action Group was out in the quad this week to collect signatures for a letter they are sending out to Rt. Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General. The students drafted the letter to address Canada’s need for a better policy when dealing with cases such as Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen and alleged child soldier who was held in a detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for several years.

The Letter

We are writing to you today as a group of interested youth who are striving to become more informed, responsible and active citizens. We have been investigating the controversial case of our fellow Canadian, Omar Khadr, with great interest and concern. We are hoping that you can shed some light on how our government plans to address the serious human rights and justice issues that remain unresolved in this case.

As you are surely aware, Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, is currently incarcerated in an American prison after pleading guilty to various terrorism charges in a special American military court. Khadr was originally apprehended in 2002 as a fifteen-year-old by American forces operating in Afghanistan, and was held for eight years facing a series of charges before being finally convicted and sentenced to serve eight years after a plea-bargain.

As members of the Justice Action Group at St. Michaels University School, an independent school in Victoria, British Columbia, it is our mission to explore and take action in situations where we feel justice is not being done.

In the course of our two-year investigation of the complex and controversial Khadr case, we have sought advice from a range of experts, including a professor of religious conflict from the University of Victoria, a published international negotiations expert, a retired high-level CSIS/Department of Justice official, a Member of Parliament and a renowned constitutional lawyer.

Read the full letter…

by Erin Anderson, editor

For her Social Studies 8 class, Anna Miller instructed her students to draw from what they had learned about the lives of nuns and priests during medieval times and produce a short skit about what life would be like. In just 50 minutes, the students came up with an idea, drafted a script and performed it for their peers. It was a great example of creative teaching and, as a bonus, fun to watch!

Professor Mike Eden from the University of Waterloo spoke to Middle and Senior School students last week, giving them problem-solving tips and talking about the opportunities within the field of mathematics. Professor Eden shared some questions from challenging math competitions and led students through the steps necessary to solve them.

by Richard DeMerchant, Grade 8 math teacher

Grade 8 students at SMUS were pleased to welcome Mike Eden from the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC). The CMEC is recognized as Canada’s largest and most recognized outreach organization for promoting and creating activities and materials in mathematics and computer science. Founded in 1995 with origins dating back to the 1960s, the CEMC is housed within the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo.

Professor Eden provided students with a looking glass into how mathematics fits into society and in their future studies. As one student noted, “I was surprised to learn that math continues to be part of any university program… even Psychology!”

Students also had a chance to develop their problem solving skills as Mr. Eden guided students through a series of problems from the University of Waterloo’s math contests. Many students were amazed when they were able to solve a problem from the Grade 11 Fermat contest. “I didn’t really consider that [daunting] problems can be made much easier to solve by brainstorming and cutting the problem into smaller pieces,” said another grade 8 student.

How are your problem solving skills? Here’s a little sampling of the problems Mike had the students solve.

1. The product of 1188 and n is a perfect square. If n is a positive integer, find the smallest possible value of n.

2. Find the smallest positive integer n so that 4851 x n is a perfect cube.

February 8, 2012

Junior Girls Developmental Basketball
by Amanda Daum

The Junior girls developmental team lost their game this week to a strong Oak Bay squad. The girls played very well despite being down several teammates. It was great to see players step up and try out new positions as well as new players taking the lead — it is what developmental basketball is all about. The team looks forward to two league games next week at SMUS.

Junior Boys Basketball
by Ritch Primrose

The Junior boys basketball team had a full week with two league games and an exhibition match against a strong team from the mainland.

The Belmont Bulldogs were up first, with the Blue Jags travelling to Langford to play an away league game. With the game falling on the same night as the Large Ensembles Concert, the SMUS boys were playing with seven players, and each would have to do his job well to ensure victory. The boys answered the call with a strong first quarter and Jordan Lane leading the way. While Belmont hung around, staying within nine at the half, they pulled away in the third quarter. Danny Wu started to heat things up with his shooting and never cooled down, with 15 second half points. Michael Baart turned in a noteworthy performance and Saeed Shokoya was a rebounding force inside. The final score was 50-31 in favour of SMUS.

Later in the week, the Blue Jags travelled to play Spectrum, and with injuries and illness, were once again playing with a short bench. Max Pollen led the charge early, playing a fast-paced style of basketball reminiscent of Steve Nash ’92. Jordan Lane added 10 first-half points, and the Jags led by 20 at the half. Jeremy Chan continued the attack with six second half points, while Michael Baart added nine. The Blue Jags proved too strong for Spectrum, finishing the game with a 71-34 victory. Every player on the SMUS roster got on the scoresheet—a rare accomplishment in junior hoops.

After two games going relatively unchallenged, Saturday’s game against RC Palmer was a change of pace. Palmer, led by two standout guards, came out gunning with a flurry of three-pointers to start the game. The Jags began flat and a combination of cold shooting and costly turn-overs resulted in the team trailing for most of the first half.

RC Palmer sustained their hot shooting into the second half, while the Jags continued to struggle. Matt Rud was a bright spot in what was an ugly game for the boys, finishing with 22 points. Michael Baart chipped in 14, and Max Pollen had 13 in a losing effort. Despite a late run, led by aggressive defensive play, the Jags dropped the game 74-64.

This week, the team has three critical league games that will set the stage for next week’s playoffs. They are at Oak Bay on Monday, host Claremont Wednesday and Lambrick Park Friday.

Senior Girls Basketball
by Lindsay Brooke

The Senior girls basketball team played in the Big Kahuna Cup at York House in Vancouver this past weekend. It is the top tournament in the province and features the best teams, all trying to make a strong showing before playoffs. The Blue Jags were in a pool with the #5 ranked team, Sahali, and the #2 ranked team, Brittania. In the opening game with Sahali, SMUS started slowly, down 9-3 after the first quarter. A strong second quarter had the Jags up 33-28 at the break. It was a game of momentum shifts and with solid defensive effort in the fourth quarter, the girls hung on to victory, 56-48. Madison Hadfield and Sophia Ducharme each had 17 points in the win, while Allie White chipped in with 10 points.

In the early game on Friday morning, SMUS faced off against defending AA champs, Brittania. Sticking to a solid defensive game plan, the Blue Jags held the Bruins to 55 points — a tough feat against an offensively explosive team. The Blue Jags trailed by just one point heading into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, a cold shooting streak ended the Jags chances, and they came up short: 55-49. Despite the result it was a great effort by the team. Abbey Piazza led all scorers with 14 points. Ducharme continued her hot shooting, adding 12 points and a solid 10 rebounds, and Allie White chipped in with another 10 points.

The final two crossover games pitted the Jags up against the #1 ranked team, Holy Cross. It would not be the team’s best effort, as they got down early and were not up to the challenge of a tough, physical game. They managed only six points in the first half, and were down 35-6 at the break. After a tough halftime talk, the girls responded and won the second half. The final score was 55-28. Piazza had eight points and Ducharme finished with nine rebounds.

Argyle, a strong AAA team was the last opponent in the tournament. Down Piazza due to a migraine, the team played without their leading scorer and floor general. The Pipers proved to be too much, destroying the Blue Jags 81-29. However, the team took many positives out of the game, including ample playing time for all the players.

The team has two league games this week against PCS and Lambrick Park.

Watch Coach Brooke, Madison Hadfield and Ali Pollen talk about this week in basketball.

Grade 9 Boys Basketball
by Steve Bates

The Grade 9 boys completed the week with a 1-1 record.

With a shot at the buzzer that circled out of the cylinder, the boys lost 43-42 to the yet unbeaten team from PCS. Jake Wilmott made some key outside shots while Gilberto Garcia was a force on the inside. Despite a great effort, the team could not mount a second half comeback in light of a frantic PCS press.

The second game of the week pitted the 9s against local rival Oak Bay. Despite the absence of several team members, the boys played up tempo and scored in transition. Sparked by a solid inside game from Liam Catto, the team took an eight point victory.

Senior Boys Basketball
by Ian Hyde-Lay

The Senior boys enjoyed a relatively quiet week, taking four days off from practice, though completing one rearranged league game against Edward Milne and an exhibition vs BC AA #9 RC Palmer.

In the first encounter, Trenton Schulz-Franco celebrated his return to the lineup after a long injury absence with 22 points in an 82-44 victory. Though Steve Whillans remained sidelined with illness, Monty Fraser-Brown also notched 22 points, while Wayne Lin, Lewis Liu and Johnny Huang all took advantage of extended minutes and performed well.

The matchup vs RC Palmer was an altogether different kettle of fish, with the Richmond based Griffins, led by 6’4″ star guard Jamie Madewan, full of dangerous offensive talent.

Down seven right at the start, SMUS slowly came into the game, and then, courtesy of the first chunk of post David Lafleur’s career high 32 points, took the lead at 27-20. However, the costly lapses that have plagued the team all season then struck again, with some rash decision making allowing Palmer to go to intermission up 31-27.

Happily, the second half was a different tale. Joe Erlic opened the second half with a trio of three pointers as the game remained close early into the final frame. Then, at 54-54, SMUS, behind guards Mark Yorath and Dawit Workie, put together a dominating game ending run en route to a 72-61 victory.

For SMUS, Liam MacLure did an excellent defensive job in limiting Madewan to just 15 points, nearly 12 under his season average. The return of Derek Hyde-Lay from a nagging back ailment strengthened the team’s defence, rebounding and rotations, while Fraser-Brown continued to display a well-rounded offensive game.

More good news is on the horizon, with Georgios Ikonomou, a provincial Junior All-Star last season, set to return from a broken leg. His competitiveness, quickness and skill will be a welcome tonic as a February 8 league game at Lambrick Park and then playoffs loom.

Thanks to Rob Ducharme for all the great photos!

by Darin Steinkey, writer

How large is the Large Ensembles Concert? Very.

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

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

Stay tuned for more coverage of this amazing concert!

Video: Darin Steinkey

by Mike Danskin ’98, coaching intern and house parent

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

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

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

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

Saving the Committee One Resolution at a Time
by Kai Newman, Jennifer Park, Jacky San and Andrew Kang

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

“We were joined by non-other than the Honorable Member of Parliament from Papieau, Justin Trudeau.”

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

The topics for the different respected committees were the following:

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

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

“There could have never been a better experience for SMUS students to ask pressing questions and enlighten themselves on Canadian politics.”

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

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

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

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

by Denise Lamarche, Director of Academics

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

“I’ve seen that this is the norm at SMUS – students and faculty engaged and creative, deepening connections.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Learning is social by nature and teachers must create classroom activities that reflect this.”

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

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

2012 ISAA Junior and Senior Squash Championships

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

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

Junior Girls Developmental Basketball
by Amanda Daum

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

Senior Girls Basketball
by Lindsay Brooke

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

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

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

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

Junior Girls Basketball
by Aimee Daly

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

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

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

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

Senior Boys Basketball
by Ian Hyde-Lay

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

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

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

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

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

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

Junior Boys Basketball
by Ritch Primrose

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Victoria Times Colonist
January 28, 2012

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

Victoria Times Colonist
January 27, 2012

Ryan O’Byrne ’02
Victoria’s O’Byrne Starts Charity Camp

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

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

Watch Peter Zhao and many other prepare dumplings for a special Brown Hall Dinner and take in some dancing in the Copeland Lecture theatre. These were just two special events happening during the Lunar New Year week at SMUS.

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

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

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

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

by Jasper, Grade 8

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

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

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

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

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

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