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School - St. Michaels University School
FALL 2009 • ST. MICHAELS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL

       School

Alumni Weekend                  Building a                 Making the
   Revisited                   Sustainable                Environment
    A look back at                SMUS                   their Business
reunion celebrations           What the school                Alumni working
  for the classes of          is doing to reduce                 toward a
     ’59, ’74, ’79,               our impact                  greener future
   ’84, ’89 and ’99
School - St. Michaels University School
School - St. Michaels University School
Contents
School Ties is distributed to more than
5,200 members of the St. Michaels
University School community, including
current families, friends, and current and
past staff and students. The goal
of the publication is to communicate
current activities and initiatives and
provide articles and reports on the alumni       2     Travellers                                  20 Feature: Making the
community. If you have any comments or
suggestions regarding this publication,          As he embarks on a three-month sabbatical,        Environment Their Business
please email schoolties@smus.bc.ca.              Head of School Bob Snowden wonders                Find out the many ways our alumni are
                                                 what lessons his travels will teach him.          working towards a sustainable future.
Published by the Advancement Office
St. Michaels University School
3400 Richmond Road
                                                 3     The SMUS Review                             26 It’s Not Easy Being Green
Victoria, British Columbia                       News stories from all three campuses              Editor Laura Authier and guest editor
Canada V8P 4P5                                   published on our web forum, The                   Craig Farish on the lessons learned from
Telephone: 250-592-2411                          SMUS Review.                                      pulling together a green issue.
Admissions: 1-800-661-5199
Email: info@smus.bc.ca                                                                             27 Building a Sustainable
                                                 8     Retirees
School Ties magazine and archive                 We bid farewell to two teachers and a board       SMUS
copies can be found in the publications          member who were also alumni.                      Craig Farish reports on SMUS’ successes
section   of   the   school   website:
www.smus.bc.ca/publications
                                                                                                   and setbacks in the struggle to go green.
                                                 10 Athletics Highlights
If you are interested in attending school        Sports highlights from March to                   31 Being Part of the Cycle
events, call 250-592-2411 for further details,
                                                 June 2009.                                        A quick guide to carbon-free commuting.
or visit the school’s website Calendar of
Events: www.smus.bc.ca
                                                 12 Paul Rowe ’33                                  32 Alumni Weekend
Editors: Erin Anderson, Laura Authier,           One of our University School alumni will          Reunions, Receptions
Gillian Donald ’85, Peter Gardiner,
                                                 be the subject of a forthcoming book.             Pictures and reviews from our alumni
Louise Winter
Guest Editor: Craig Farish ‘90                                                                     gatherings.
                                                 13 Arts Highlights
Contributors (in no particular order):           Arts highlights and news featuring our            37 Alumni Updates
Robert Snowden, Robert Wilson, Peter
                                                 students and alumni.                              News from our alumni around the world.
Gardiner, Laura Authier, Kent Leahy-Trill,
Erin Anderson, Brenda Waksel, Louise
Winter, Gillian Donald ’85 and SMUS
                                                 16 Celebration of Poetry
community members. We apologize for              Two literary alumni read their work
any omissions.                                   alongside our Grade 12 poets.
Photos: Evan Effa, Kent Leahy-Trill,

                                                     Alums in this Issue
Erin Anderson, Peter Gardiner, Gordon
Chan, Diana Nason, Lindsay Brooke, Jake
Humphries, Lindsay Ross, Wendy Shergold
                                                     Paul Rowe ’33 – p. 14                         Renee Duggan ’90 – p. 8
Design and Layout: Reber Creative                    David Anderson ’44 – p. 25                    Craig Farish ’90 – p. 3
                                                     Tom Rigos ’61 – p. 9                          Leif Reinhold ’90 – p. 21
Printed in Canada W
                                                     Nigel Hawkesworth ’62 – p. 23                 Michael Welwood ’90 – p. 22
by Hillside Printing Ltd., Victoria, BC
                                                     Tony Keble ’62 – p. 9                         Jessica Woolliams ’91 – p. 25
                                                     Chuck Lenfestry ’65 – p. 22                   Steven Price ’94 – p. 18
   Correction: Our caption in the last               John McIntyre ’66 – p. 10                     Dave Crothall ’95 – p. 25
   issue should have identified these                Charlie Weiss ’72 – p. 22                     Curran Crawford ’96 – p. 21
   Grade 6 (now Grade 7) Barnacle                    Tee Jin Gan ’77 – p. 21                       Chantal Schauch ’97 – p. 24
   housemates as Simon Gray and                      Will Sloan ’78 – p. 22                        Emily Huddart ’98 – p. 23
   Hayden Hopkins.                                   Malcolm Penn ’82 – p. 23                      Kevin Morin ’99 – p. 22
                                                     Susan (McKibbin) Telfer ’84 – p. 17           Clea Adair ’00 – p. 22
                                                     Betsy Donald ’86 – p. 22                      Pete Panasupon ’03 – p. 24
                                                     Michael Talbot ’86 – p. 21                    Claire Battershill ’04 – p. 18
                                                                                                                                                   School Ties - Fall 2009 • 1

                                                     Ian Scanlon ’87 – p. 23                       Christine Ottmar ’06 – p. 21
                                                     Maureen Gordon ’89 – p. 24

                                                 This issue of School Ties was printed on FSC-certified Lustro Dull paper, made with 936
                                                 pounds of post-consumer waste instead of virgin fiber. St. Michaels University School saved
                                                 the following resources by using this paper: 6 trees, 509 pounds of solid waste, 560 gallons of
                                                 water, 730 kilowatt hours of electricity, 0.9 months of electric power required by the average
                                                 U.S. home, 925 pounds of greenhouse gases, 749 miles travelled in the average American
                                                 car, 4 pounds of HAPs, VOCs, and AOX combined, and 1 cubic yard of landfill space.
                                                 Calculations based on research by Environmental Defense and other members of the Paper
                                                 Task Force.
School - St. Michaels University School
head of school
                              Travellers
                              On a three-month sabbatical this fall, Bob Snowden is looking forward to the lessons that
                              travelling in unfamiliar locales will teach him.

                              O    ne of the rituals of schools, since I first found myself in one,
                              is the summer reading list. Now, as I write this in September,
                                                                                                           We have never visited any of our destinations, so in some
                                                                                                      obvious respects we will be tourists. We do expect to discover a
                              many conversations with friends and colleagues do in fact turn          lot about both ourselves and new places: the Prado Museum in
                              to what we read over the summer. The novelist Graham Greene             Madrid, the Medina of Marrakech, the Blue Mosque and Hagia
                              distinguishes between escapist books, which take us out of              Sophia in Istanbul, Petra in Jordan, the Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat,
                              ourselves, and more serious books, which take us into ourselves         the Annapurna hills of Nepal, the old city of Luang Prabang in
                              even when they take us out into a wider world. There is a place         Laos. Equally interesting is the array of exceptional schools we will
                              for both: unrelieved self-improvement is hard to sustain, and           be visiting in these countries: from the very established such as
                              those who manage it are intimidating beings.                            Robert College in Istanbul, to the newly prominent such as King’s
                                  Likewise with travelling the world. During the summer we            Academy in Jordan, to Woodstock School in the Indian foothills of
                              held our customary Management Team retreat. The theme was               the Himalayas (with whom we are arranging a student exchange),
                              a book study of Cosmopolitanism, by Princeton philosopher               to the most primitive and rustic schools of southern Laos.
                              and teacher Kwame Appiah. One of the questions we asked                      Remarkable in this tour of duty is the extent to which school
                              early, on the topic of the encounters between people of different       connections have ensured that our experience will be more that
                              cultures, was “are you a tourist or a traveller?” Along the same        of traveller than tourist. For instance, King’s Academy in Jordan
                              lines, a question I tend to ask prospective applicants to the           was founded in 2007 by King Abdul of Jordan, on the model
                              school – who have had the opportunity to travel – is “one often         of Deerfield Academy, the prominent New England boarding
                              hears that travel teaches us more about ourselves than about the        school which he attended. The first Director of Admissions
                              places we visit. Is this true?”                                         at King’s was an alumnus of our school, Renee Dugan ’90. It
                                  I hope the answer is yes. This fall, from the beginning of          is a remarkable school, and I will return from that and other
                              October until the middle of December my wife Joan and I                 visits full of reflections about our own possibilities at SMUS.
                              are fortunate to have the opportunity to travel, the result of a        Other alumni and parents have been equally helpful in creating
                              sabbatical our board has awarded in my fifteenth year of service        exceptional encounters at every stop.
                              at the school. The countries on the list include Spain, Morocco,             By the time anyone reads this article, we will have logged
2 • School Ties - Fall 2009

                              Turkey, Jordan, India, Nepal, Cambodia and Laos. I confess              a few thousand of our intended miles. The Head’s Blog will
                              I am not a great tourist – after a modicum (what would be               continue with postings from our different destinations, as
                              for some, a minimum) of museums, historical buildings and               much to allow me to stay in touch as vice versa. I am certain
                              galleries my attention falters, and I prefer to walk through a          that the most echoing phrase in my head, and perhaps in the
                              market, speak to someone in a restaurant, or observe the ebb            pages of my blog, will be the phrase from the SMUS Vision:
                              and flow of a town square from a sidewalk café.                         “discovering the promise in our selves and the world.”

                                                                               Visit http://blogs.smus.bc.ca/head/
School - St. Michaels University School
Highlights from the SMUS Review

                                                                                                                                          School News
 T     he SMUS Review publishes weekly on our website (blogs.smus.bc.ca/review) and covers school news from all three campuses. The
 following highlights were taken from stories published from March to June, 2009. You can read more about these stories by going to our
 home page and selecting “SMUS Review” from the News and Calendar menu.

 March
 ■ Grade 4 students prepared for Spring
 Break by assembling supplies to send
 along with the Senior School students,
 who spent their holiday volunteering
 in Kenya. Students Laura Bass, Lucie
 Marchessault and Nick Considine
 spearheaded the initiative, making a
 presentation to Grade 4 students and
 organizing all the kits their peers brought
 in. The 50 school and health kits were
 given to students at the rural school our
 senior students were helping to build.

                                               Lucie Marchessault, Nick Considine and Laura Bass with kits for Kenya.

                                                                                            ■ The International Council and our
                                                                                            Korean students infused the Senior School
                                                                                            campus with contemporary and traditional
                                                                                            Korean culture for one of the school
                                                                                            year’s many culture weeks. The day and
                                                                                            boarding students showcased their culture
                                                                                            by bringing in a professional group to
                                                                                            perform samul nori, traditional percussion
                                                                                            music, and by performing themselves,
                                                                                            singing and dancing to contemporary pop
                                                                                            songs as well as demonstrating historical
                                                                                            Korean entertainments, such as a piano/
                                                                                            danso collaboration and buchaechum, a
                                                                                            dance incorporating colourful fans.
                                                                                            Jae Ho Lee, Kevin Kim, and Andy Sung
                                                                                            cheer on a dancing David Park.

 April
 ■ Eight Senior School students                this year, which aimed to make the           transgendered harassment and the
 attended      World      Vision’s     Youth   fundraising effort more personal by          silencing of political dissidents. By not
                                                                                                                                             School Ties - Fall 2009 • 3

 Empowered Conference on the global            connecting each participant in North         speaking in class or chatting with friends,
 food crisis. Topics included local farming,   America to an individual in Africa.          the students modeled the silence imposed
 fair trade and food’s cultural connections.                                                on individuals all over the world who are
 Two teenagers from Tanzania spoke to          ■ Many of our students went a                unable to speak freely. Now in its third
 the assembled students about their lives      whole day without saying a word, a           year at SMUS, the Day of Silence is
 and the many difficulties they had to         challenge they undertook for Amnesty         the largest event put on by the school’s
 overcome. The conference also tied into       International’s Day of Silence, which        Amnesty International club and a huge
 the 30-Hour Famine’s new approach             focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual and        fundraiser for the organization.
School - St. Michaels University School
April (continued)
School News

                              ■ Our highest-ranked debate teams in          bench-pressing competition and Walk for
                              the junior and senior divisions competed      Water t-shirts, designed by student Shun
                              in extreme debating, battling each other      Kinoshita, were new additions to the
                              in an impromptu parliamentary debate          annual event. Co-organizers Anna Fretz
                              in front of many of their fellow students.    and Nikki van der Wal directed the funds
                              Throughout the lunchtime contest,             the event raised towards the village they
                              Charles Leitz and Kristijan Gjorgjevik        are sponsoring in Sri Lanka.
                              argued that “there can be no shepherds
                              without sheep,” while Eric Protzer and
                              Chris Groot argued the opposite. For the
                              SMUS Review, Kristijan and Eric wrote a
                              point/counterpoint review of the debate,
                              in which they both argued that their
                              team won.

                                                                                                                         Kaylynn Purdy and teacher David Kerr sort
                                                                                                                         garbage into compostable and recyclable
                                                                                                                         materials.

                                                                                                                         ■ Senior and Middle School students
                                                                                                                         took action in honour of Earth Week.
                                                                                                                         By giving each day a different theme,
                                                                                                                         students drew attention to electricity use,
                              Eric Protzer attempts to sway the crowd       Emily Mulroney walks for water.              garbage and recycling, food production,
                              to his side in extreme debating.                                                           transportation, and water management
                                                                            ■ Five Grade 11 students attended
                              ■ Over 80 students and staff showed           the 2009 CAIS student leadership             with demonstrations and calls to action.
                              solidarity with the millions of people        conference and explored a variety of         Special guest Derek Masselink spoke in
                              around the world who must travel long         issues facing the world today and the        Senior School chapel about sustainable
                              distances for water during Walk for Water,    role individuals play in solving them.       communities, including the importance
                              which raises funds as well as awareness       Students from around the world worked        of using local food sources and growing
                              about the global need for better water        together in teams and created plans to       your own food.
                              access. Participating Senior and Middle       tackle problems such as world poverty and
                              School staff and students spent their day     hunger, corruption and political apathy,
                              carrying jugs of water around campus in       slavery and trafficking, statelessness and
                              the Walk for Water relay. A water-themed      refugees, and environmental issues.

                              May
                              ■ The Grade 1 class visited the               about the university and his job. The
                              University of Victoria in order to            students then conducted surveys of the
                              learn about post-secondary education.         university’s wild rabbit population before
                              President David Turpin welcomed the           settling down to some chemistry, creating
                              students and answered their questions         a goopy concoction similar to silly putty.

                                                                            ■ The graduating class of 2009 held
                                                                            the annual SMUS Grad Fashion Show,
4 • School Ties - Fall 2009

                                                                            where close to 400 people enjoyed music,
                                                                            performances, cake, and high fashion. In
                                                                            addition to models showing off many
                                                                            ensembles put together by Victoria’s most
                                                                            fashionable stores, the show featured
                                                                            interpretive and breakdance routines and     Brett Adam performs a high-flying runway
                                                                            more than a few runway stunts.               stunt with Stephanie Passmore in the
                              Makayla Lintott explores chemistry at UVic.                                                Grad Fashion Show.
School - St. Michaels University School
May (continued)

                                                                                                                                              School News
                                                                                               served couscous, falafel, dates, pita bread,
                                                                                               hummus, tzatziki and dried apricots.
                                                                                               ■ One of the Middle School exploratory
                                                                                               classes visited the Luther Court Society
                                                                                               care facility, where they performed music
                                                                                               for a very appreciative audience of senior
                                                                                               citizens. Students performed on the piano,
                                                                                               cello and violin as well as sang for the 60
Ricky Fabris delights his audience with         A model of the Great Wall built by Grade 7     residents, who joined in for classic
his humorous poem “Homework.”                   students for the annual museum night.          numbers “Amazing Grace” and “My
                                                                                               Favorite Things.” Students also spent an
■ Grade 4 students took over local              environmental impact. The international        afternoon painting with some of their new
coffee house the Black Stilt to share poems     food fair relied on compostable dishes         older friends.
with their siblings, parents, grandparents      while Craig Farish and the school’s
and teachers. Each student read a poem of       E-team established recycling stations,
their choice and each class recited a poem      eventually collecting enough recyclables
as a group. The children also showcased         to fill an entire classroom.
artistic abilities by presenting paintings to
                                                ■ Grade 7 students re-created treasures
accompany their poetry. The Vancouver
                                                from cultures around the world –
Olympics, nature and favourite pets were
                                                including ancient China, Egypt and early
some of the subjects of the short verses,
                                                Rome – for their annual Museum Night.
which incorporated personification, visual
                                                Catapults, sacred cats, pyramids, gardens,
imagery, and abstract ideas.                                                                   Jason Chiu presents a picture he drew for
                                                towers and a chariot built almost to scale
                                                dazzled visitors. After their tour, families   a Luther Court resident, based on stories
                                                                                               he heard about the man’s life.
                                                could then enter the café where students

A young Spring Fair goer gets a pony
ride.
                                                Charlotte Colby gets a ride from Brennan Bellavance and Jonas Robinson.
■ The semi-annual Spring Fair
returned, bringing much family fun to our       ■ Grade 5 students wrapped up                  of activities, including chariot races,
                                                                                                                                                 School Ties - Fall 2009 • 5

campus, with an international food fair,        their study of Greek mythology with            Parthenon-building (using only paper and
live entertainment, carnival games and all      presentations, games and feasts. Students      tape), Greek dancing and a trivia game.
kinds of new and used goods. Everyone           dressed up as Greek gods and goddesses,        Teachers Mrs. Yorath and Ms. Newsome
enjoyed the many activities as well as          playing the roles of the deities they had      also dressed up, and provided the students
the beautiful weather. The fair was also        researched, and spent a memorable              with a great feast, featuring many foods
an achievement this year in terms of its        morning participating in a variety             enjoyed centuries ago in Greece.

                       Visit the SMUS Review blogs.smus.bc.ca/review
School - St. Michaels University School
May (continued)
School News

                                                                           informational displays about different       was held by their parent chaperones). The
                                                                           places, including their culture, economy,    students were also able to see a scorpion
                                                                           history and significant individuals. Some    and to play around with millipedes,
                                                                           students even dressed up to represent the    whose multitudes of legs tickled the
                                                                           country or shared culinary specialties       young students’ hands and faces.
                                                                           from the region.
                                                                                                                        ■ Students from Grades 6-8 showed
                                                                           ■ The Victoria Bug Zoo welcomed              off their musical gifts and their moves at
                                                                           Ms. Galloway’s Grade 1 class as the          the Middle School Talent Show. Fresh
                                                                           students followed up their insect studies    from their Keep the Beat activities, the
                                                                           by meeting a few special creatures similar   students sang, danced, played instruments
                                                                           to the ones they had been learning about.    and entertained a gymnasium full of
                                                                           Students enjoyed some very hands-on          their peers with their abilities and
                                                                           lessons as they played with a leaf insect,   showmanship, singing and dancing to
                                                                           a praying mantis and a tarantula (which      popular songs from artists like Kelly
                                                                                                                        Clarkson, Taylor Swift, and the Black Eyed
                              Jake McCloskey keeps the beat.                                                            Peas. Not to be outdone, the teachers gave
                                                                                                                        a graceful performance of the well-known
                              ■ The Richmond Road campus was
                                                                                                                        ballet “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies,”
                              dotted with hot pink t-shirts as hundreds
                                                                                                                        complete with homemade pink tutus.
                              of students participated in Keep the Beat,
                              an annual SMUS event. The t-shirts were                                                   ■ On May 31, many SMUS families
                              sold along with CDs featuring many                                                        took part in the World Partnership Walk
                              popular SMUS musicians to raise funds                                                     fundraiser. Both the Junior and Middle
                              for War Child Canada. Over the lunch                                                      Schools are huge supporters of the WPW,
                              hour, musically inclined students were                                                    which funds development programmes
                              invited to perform in the Christine Duke                                                  in the world’s poorest regions. With
                              theatre by organizers Emily Reid and                                                      many Junior School families involved
                              Jake McCloskey, and both the Middle                                                       in the walk itself and the Middle School
                              and Senior Schools held talent shows in                                                   holding its annual basketball fundraiser,
                              support of the cause.                                                                     SMUS managed to raise almost $20,000
                                                                           Jonah Wilmott is tickled by a giant
                                                                                                                        for the cause.
                                                                           millipede.

                              Nicholas Loughton, Sarah Fellows and
                              Joshua Liggett at the Grade 6 Around the
                              World night.

                              ■ The Middle School became a global
                              microcosm as Grade 6 students showed
6 • School Ties - Fall 2009

                              off what they had learned about different
                              countries during Around the World
                              night. Students teamed up to create          Orla Glen competes for a good cause in the World Partnership Walk basketball game.
School - St. Michaels University School
June

                                                                                                                                          School News
■ The class of 2009 put together an            an egg toss, a mathematical clapping        they competed in their house teams.
exceptionally entertaining leavers’ chapel,    game, and an environmental relay, which     The games kicked off with team cheers,
using their skit (a take on Slumdog            included a recycling sort. The annual       followed by a series of relay events. After
Millionaire) to re-enact some of their         tug-of-war hit a snag when Harvey and       two teams tied for first place in the three-
favourite memories from the year, point        Barnacle broke the rope, so the remaining   legged race, all four teams were tied going
out their teachers’ quirks and have a laugh,   reserves of water balloons brought the      into the tug-of-war for the first time in
often at their own expense. As Bhupinder       games to a close with a splash.             Middle School house games history. In
Dulku competed to win one million                                                          the championship battle, the Bolton
rupees, his fellow students acted out                                                      team triumphed over Barnacle.
moments from the Grad Fashion Show,
                                                                                           ■ Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine
Valentine’s Day musical performances
                                                                                           Maida, the lead singer of Our Lady Peace,
and the capture of the Boot.
                                                                                           ended the school year with a very special
                                                                                           performance in Schaffter Hall to raise
                                                                                           funds for War Child Canada. During this
                                                                                           intimate, acoustic event in a small venue,
                                                                                           over 100 concert goers enjoyed a one-of-
                                                                                           a-kind performance from the Juno-award
                                                                                           winning artists, as well as a reception,
                                               Tomoya Tago holds up the remains of the     silent auction and photography exhibit.
                                               House Olympics tug-of-war rope.
                                                                                           War Child founder Dr. Samantha Nutt
                                               ■ The annual Middle School Colours          also spoke at the event.
                                               Day brought all of our Grade 6, 7 and
                                               8 students to the SMUS field, where

Alison Phillips, Sheena Campbell and
Patricia Halim relive Valentine’s Day in
their last chapel service.

■ Boarding House Olympics started
off with the classic pre-game “surprise”
water balloon fight and a round of cheers
and skits by each house. Beginning with        Mitchell Newman and Haydn Hopkins
an obstacle course – a race of balance,        have some fun with fellow Grade 6
flexibility, chopstick skills and water jug    student Simon Gray on Middle School         Chantal Kreviazuk performs for War Child
tossing – the games went on to include         Colours Day.                                supporters in Schaffter Hall.

  Alums on Campus                                                                          ■ In June, alumnus Renee Dugan
                                                                                           ’90 returned to SMUS to give a
                                                                                           presentation to our students about
  ■ On a day when the temperature
                                                                                           New York University’s new campus in
  hit a record high, Chris Spicer ’70,
                                                                                           Abu Dhabi. Renee is the Director of
  Michael Symons ’63, Mervyn Lougher-
                                                                                           Admissions for the university, which
  Goodey ’56, Brian Cameron ’70,
                                                                                           opens to undergraduates in September
  Philip Sherwin ’69 and Bruce Holms
                                                                                           of 2010. The university is funded by
  ’71 enjoyed a cold treat with hundreds
                                                                                           the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and
  of happy students on all three campus
                                                                                                                                             School Ties - Fall 2009 • 7

                                                                                           is powerfully endowed – any student
  during the 78th annual Ice Cream
                                                                                           who is accepted will be financially able
  Day. The event began in 1931, on St.
                                               Middle School students Carmen Lizola        to attend. English is widely spoken in
  Michael’s founder Kyrle C. Symons
                                               and Ashley Hoydal-Payne enjoy a cool        Abu Dhabi, and will be the language
  50th birthday.                               treat on Ice Cream Day.                     of instruction at the university.
School - St. Michaels University School
Alums Retire from School Life
School News

                              Wishing our retiring teachers a fond farewell is always bittersweet, but this year’s tributes
                              are particularly poignant as we say good-bye to two long-serving teachers and a board
                              governor who got their start at SMUS as students.
                              Tony Keble ’62
                                                                       Born in Sri Lanka, Tony came to University School as a student when
                                                                       his father, Tom Keble, began teaching English at the school in 1956.
                                                                       Former classmates remember Tony as a fleet-footed winger on the highly
                                                                       successful 1st XV rugby team (1961-62) and as a senior track champion,
                                                                       always competing against fellow winger David Chapman ’62 for the win.
                                                                       Tony began teaching at St. Michael’s School prior to the amalgamation,
                                                                       making him the last active St. Michael’s teacher and the longest-serving
                                                                       alumni-faculty member: with the exception of a three-year break, he has
                                                                       been with SMUS since 1972. Tony will be remembered by colleagues
                                                                       for his concern and consternation regarding the student dress code; and
                                                                       on this the matter he was always a fine role model: a picture of sartorial
                                                                       elegance.
                                                                           While at the school he has been an influential force. With a master’s
                                                                       degree in Spanish from New York University, Tony introduced the language
                                                                       to the SMUS curriculum. He was part of the driving force behind the
                                                                       introduction of soccer to the school and for many years was an enthusiastic
                                                                       coach. But, above all, he is known for his style of teaching Spanish to
                                                                       his students, which includes the fascinating cultural elements of both
                                                                       Spain and Mexico. Many of his former students have fond memories of
                                                                       participating in Tony’s epic trips to Mexico.

                                “Tony has a passion for life. He loves to entertain, eat, prepare amazing curries.
                                He is the consummate host and an extraordinary raconteur who would have been
                                   legendary in an oral culture. Nothing is ordinary to Tony. He can describe
                                  a cardboard box and make it sound like a treasure chest.” – Peter Gardiner

                              John McIntyre ’66
                                                                       During his five years as a student at University School, John McIntyre’s
                                                                       incredible facility for trivia became well-known. A day student at
                                                                       University School, John went on to get a degree in American, British and
                                                                       military history from the University of Victoria, followed by a master’s
                                                                       degree in American history from the University of Oregon.
                                                                           He began his teaching career in 1973 at the newly amalgamated St.
                                                                       Michaels University School. John will always be remembered for his
                                                                       dedication to school activities, his passion for American history and the
                                                                       hours he spent on the playing field. He coached the 3rd and 4th XV
                                                                       rugby teams with Grenfell Featherstone ’67 throughout the 1980s, when
                                                                       the school dominated the Independent Schools Association circuit. He
8 • School Ties - Fall 2009

                                                                       has also coached the girls soccer teams and the golf team.
                                                                           His faculty colleagues will miss him most when they next take on the
                                                                       student team in the annual staff/student Reach for the Top challenge. In
                                                                       his tribute to John at this year’s retirement celebration, Pete MacLeod
                                                                       presented “Reach for the Top – the John McIntyre version.”

                                                                          “You are history at SMUS.” – Pete McLeod
School News
  Reach for the Top – the John McIntyre version
  In which time period did John McIntyre first attend              The number 103 is significant to John because:
  University School?                                                 A) It is the age of the school
    A) 1962                                                          B) It was John’s best score in the Alumni Golf
    B) Precambrian Era                                                  Tournament
  Often referred to as the Fab Four, this group is credited        27,000 is:
  with influencing an entire generation. The group is:               A) The number of students John has taught
   A) The Beatles                                                    B) The number of minutes John has spent in
   B) John McIntyre, Mel Jones, Peter Gardiner and                      staff meetings
       Tony Keble                                                  5 is:
  Borrowing from history, John has affectionately                     A) The number of headmasters John has worked
  referred to SMUS’ “Age of Enlightenment” as:                           under at the school
    A) The day the school became Co-ed                                B) The number of useful minutes John has spent in
    B) The day Pete McLeod was hired                                     staff meetings

Tom Rigos ’61
by Rob Wilson

Tom originally enrolled at University School as a Grade 8 boarder from
Tacoma, Washington, at the same time another retiree, Tony Keble ’62,
arrived as a fledgling Grade 7 student.
    Tom Rigos enjoyed a highly successful career at University School, and
in his Grade 12 year, he was the dominant person of his class: Head Prefect
and winner of the 1961 Ker Cup, the school’s most prestigious award,
which is based on scholarship, athletics, leadership and character – qualities
that Tom possessed in abundance.
    Tom attended the University of Washington in Seattle and obtained
his bachelor’s degree in mechanical and industrial engineering, and later
his MBA. His business career was in medical technology and he was
the Director of Engineering Operations for Medtronic Physio-Control
in Redmond, Washington. Tom retired in 2005 as Vice President of
Medtronic’s Emergency Response Systems.
    In his 10 years on the school’s Board of Governors, Tom has given stellar
service on many committees as well as being both vice chair and secretary;
he has also made an impressive contribution in his financial support of
the school, donating generously to the School House renovation and the
school’s endowment. In 1999, he initiated a fund in the name of one of his
old teachers at University School, and more recently has directed his contributions to a Rigos Family Fund, which he established
with his brother, Jim Rigos ’60, who has also given unstinting support to the school for many years.
                                                                                                                                      School Ties - Fall 2009 • 9

     “I have known Tom Rigos since 1958, and it is one of the real pleasures of the
   teaching profession to see young people develop and do well at school, and then to
    see them flourish and prosper in later years. Tom Rigos has done just that – and
   it is further satisfying to note his loyalty and continuing contributions toward the
               betterment of St. Michaels University School.” – Rob Wilson
Highlights from the Athletics Week in Review
SPORTS

                                You can read more about these stories by visiting the Athletics Week in Review blog at blogs.smus.bc.ca/athletics.

                                March
                                ■ The Grade 9 girls basketball team            ■ Three SMUS athletics teams                     Brentwood International
                                faced PCS in the Victoria City final.          competed at the provincial level in              Regatta Results:
                                After a tightly contested regular season       March. After a first-place finish at the
                                                                                                                                Junior A Women’s 1x: Silver
                                encounter against PCS, the game started        Island championships, the Grade 9 boys
                                                                                                                                Liz Fenje
                                at a competitive pace and by the end of        basketball team captured 13th place after
                                the first quarter, the teams were tangled      defeating Oak Bay and Centennial. In the         Junior A Men’s JV 2x: Bronze
                                in a 7-7 tie. In the second quarter, SMUS      AA provincial championships, the Senior          Jon Cunningham and
                                faced some early foul trouble and found        girls basketball team suffered an early          Maxim Ellison
                                themselves down 20-14 at the half. Sara        loss to Windsor, which placed them on            Junior A JV Women’s 4+: Bronze
                                Taylor, Madison Hadfield and Ali Pollen        the consolation side of the tournament,          Caryn Dooner, Lexi McColl, Sydney
                                delivered standout performances and the        where they eventually took 12th place.           Stockus, Jessica Spoor and Chris Fenje
                                SMUS team pulled together to make it a         The Senior badminton team finished               Junior A Women’s 2x: Gold
                                near-win: 39-35 for PCS.                       11th in BC with a record of three wins           Liz Fenje and Maryann Watson
                                                                               and three losses.
                                ■ Our Senior squash team played                                                                 Junior A Women’s School 8+: Gold
                                in the BC Junior Closed Tournament             ■ At the Brentwood International                 Liz Fenje, Maryann Watson, Mickey
                                against the best youth players in BC. Five     Regatta, the largest athletic event hosted       Aylard, Lexi McColl, Caryn Dooner,
                                girls and five boys represented SMUS this      by a single high school, SMUS competed           Rachel Ellis, Sydney Stockus,
                                year, with outstanding results:                against crews from all over BC and the           Jess Spoor and Chris Fenje
                                 Girls U17 and U19                             United States. Our team of 11 athletes
                                 1st place U17 (Nicole Bunyan)                 entered eight events and made finals for
                                 1st place U19 (Nicole Bunyan)                 six of these events, medalling in every
                                                                               final we raced. Middle School rowing
                                 Girls U19 B
                                                                               crew Erynn Pawluk, Taylor Ellison, Liam
                                 1st place (Samantha Dark)
                                                                               Hyatt and Luke Friswell won the Junior
                                 2nd place (Charmaine Niewerth)
                                                                               C (Grades 7-8) Quad and raced in the
                                 4th place (Emily Feng)
                                                                               Junior A (Grades 11-12) Third Varsity
                                 5th place (Lisa Evans)
                                                                               4+, where they made the final, placing
                                 Boys U17 and U19                              fifth overall.
                                 1st place U17 (Tyler Olson)
                                 2nd place U19 (Tyler Olson)
                                 Boys U17 B
                                 1st place (Lachlan Glen)
                                                                                                                              Liz Fenje and Maryann Watson on the
                                 3rd place (Cole Turner)                                                                      podium (above) and on the water (below)
                                 4th place (Justus Koenigs)
10 • School Ties - Fall 2009

                                Tyler Olson shows off his skills in the
                                SMUS courts.
April
■ SMUS hosted the Junior Girls
Soccer ISA Tournament and in their

                                                                                                                                       SPORTS
first game, SMUS faced Shawnigan
Lake School. The Blue Jags were able to
secure a 2-1 win with goals from Laura
Simandl and Mary Lapp. Next, SMUS
faced West Point Grey Academy and
the Jags were able to win the game 2-0.
In the their third game, SMUS battled
York House. The SMUS squad led the
game 4-0 at half time and the final score
was 6-3 for the Blue Jags. This secured
the girls first place in this tournament, a
first-place medal for each player, and a
large trophy to showcase for the year!        The Junior girls soccer team

May
■ The tennis team competed in
the Island tournament. After a loss to
Shawnigan Lake and an 8-3 win over
GNS, SMUS faced Brentwood, the first-
place team in Pool A. With a chance to
qualify for the provincial championships
for the first time in seven years, the
SMUS side took up the challenge and
played their best tennis of the year,
winning the match 7-4. In the Island
final, SMUS ended a six-match losing
streak to Lambrick to win the Island          Senior girls soccer
championships and move on to the
                                              three minutes into the game and two          Graeme Hyde-Lay and Mitch Newman
provincial championships as the number-
                                              more in the second half producing a final    delivered noticeable performances. The
one ranked team from Vancouver Island.
                                              score of 3-0 for SMUS. A 2-0 win over        team went on to play in an independent
                                              Brentwood led the team to the Island final   school tournament with five other teams
                                              versus a strong Gulf Islands team. SMUS      and ended their season unbeaten.
                                              had a dream start when Samm Dark hit
                                                                                           ■ Though they suffered a few defeats
                                              a magnificent strike from the top of the
                                                                                           throughout the season, the 1st XV rugby
                                              18-yard box to give SMUS a one-goal
                                                                                           squad delivered some remarkable victories
                                              lead. The score was 1-1 at the half and
                                                                                           that sent them to the provincials. SMUS
                                              at the end of the game. A penalty-kick
                                                                                           faced Vancouver’s number-two seeded
                                              shootout went to eight shooters apiece
                                                                                           St. George’s Saints. St. George’s had the
                                              before Shelby Boehm brought home the
                                                                                           ball for much of the opening half and
                                              win and the Island title.
                                                                                           led 7-0 at the break until Tom Bridger
                                              ■ At the Grade 6 rugby jamboree, our         scored with a penalty kick. A converted
                                              Grade 6 players opened with a tough win      try from the opposition brought the
                                              over Bayside and a victory over George       score to 14-3, but Tom Bridger then
                                              Bonner from Mill Bay. They faced St.         converted a try of his own to make it 14-
                                                                                                                                        School Ties - Fall 2009 • 11

Justus Koenigs on the court
                                              George’s in the semi-final, where some       10. For the deciding score, Grade 11 left
                                              tremendous running rugby was played          wing Charlie Southwell sped through the
■ In the Island championships,                and a spot in the final secured. Versus      Saints’ defense with a pass from fellow
the Senior girls soccer team came out         Lansdowne, the SMUS squad was able           Grade 11 Mike Fuailefau, landing SMUS
strong against Mark Isfeld, scoring a 3-1     to get on top, through some free-flowing     a 15-14 victory.
SMUS victory. Next, the team played           movements, to score a well-deserved win.         In the final, SMUS faced Shawnigan
Parkland. The girls took their first goal     On the day, Max Pollen, Kieran Large,        Lake, who took silver last year. Outside

              Visit the Athletics Review blogs.smus.bc.ca/athletics
May (continued)

                               centre Tom Bridger was the first player
                               across the goal line giving SMUS a 7-0
SPORTS

                               lead. Just before the half, Shawnigan tied
                               the game up and went on to score two
                               more tries, defeating the Blue Jags 21-7
                               and capturing the BC Secondary Schools
                               Rugby Union AAA championship.
                               Though it was not the ending the players
                               or fans were hoping for, the team put forth
                               an admirable effort, which was partially
                               recognized by Jared Sweet being named to
                               the Commissioner’s XV.                         Provincial rugby finals against St. George’s

                               Paul Rowe – Alumnus and CFL Hall of Famer
                               by Rob Wilson

                               As this year’s Grey Cup celebrations kick off in Calgary, Rob Wilson takes a look at the
                               life and career of legendary Stampeder, Hall of Famer and SMUS alumnus Paul Rowe.
                               Another name came to light in July 2008             University School’s Black and Red
                               after a visit to the archives by Bobby Rowe,   magazines show that Paul Rowe was a
                               son of Paul Rowe, who was a student at         fine and versatile athlete. Over his nine
                               University School from 1924-33. Paul           years at the school his athletic prowess was
                               Rowe went on to become a star running          noted in rugby, track, gymnastics, boxing,
                               back in the Canadian Football League,          cricket and swimming. He was a real force
                               and was inducted into five Canadian            on the 1932-33 rugby 1st XV and was
                               halls of fame after his spectacular career     outstanding in track, notably the sprint
                               with the Calgary Bronks (1938-40) and          events. After leaving University School,
                               Stampeders (1945-50).                          he was prominent in the Victoria sports
                                                                              scene in both rugby and track, but at
                                                                              some point in the 1930s, gridiron football
                                                                              captured his interest. In 1936 and 1937,
                                                                              he enjoyed highly successful seasons in
                                                                              US College Football with the University
                                                                              of Oregon Ducks, before embarking on
                                                                              his Canadian Football journey in Calgary
                                                                              in 1938. Unfortunately, his career was
                                                                              interrupted by World War II, a time
                                                                              which took Paul Rowe to Europe with the
                                                                              Canadian Armed Forces.
                                                                                   Between 1945 and 1950 the now-
                                                                              Calgary Stampeders became a force in
                                                                              the CFL and in 1948, they won their            of Calgary will surely celebrate the event
                                                                              first Grey Cup and were finalists the          with its customary gusto, and history
                                                                              following year. In the 1948 triumph,           buffs will fondly recall past events and
                                                                              Paul Rowe was the team captain and the         the exploits of former stars such as Paul
12 • School Ties - Fall 2009

                                                                              first Stampeder to hoist the trophy.           Rowe. To coincide with the November
                                                                                   The 2009 Grey Cup is to be played         2009 festivities in Calgary, Bobby Rowe
                                                                              in Calgary, a date which comes 100 years       is publishing a book about his father’s
                                                                              after the inaugural game in 1909. The          life and football career. This might be of
                                                                              Grey Cup was originally for amateur            interest to some alumni and others in
                                                                              participants but it is now the professional    the SMUS community who either knew
                                                                              CFL’s national championship played on          Paul Rowe, or have a keen interest in the
                               Paul Rowe with his athletics trophies as a
                                                                              its most feted day of the year. The city       Canadian Football League and its history.
                               young University School student
Arts Highlights
Our singers, musicians, actors and artists continued to do our school proud on stage and canvas. Of the many creative triumphs from

                                                                                                                                      ARTS
current students and alumni in the last six months, here are a few of our favourites.

March
■ The Middle School musical The King
of Elfland’s Daughter – which featured
an original script by teacher Douglas
Manson-Blair and an original score by
teacher and alumnus Ian Farish ’89 –
launched to much applause. The magical
production told the story of two lands
and one young prince’s quest to return
magic to his father’s kingdom. Students
not only lent their vocal and theatrical
talents to the production, but they also
contributed to make-up, set construction
and filming.

                                            Lindon Carter and Rachel Sibbald share a song on stage.

April
■ The Grade 5 students performed            ■ Choral students from Grades 4-12
There’s a Monster in My Closet, a musical   performed at the annual Cross-Campus
comedy about a sleepover that goes awry     Choral Concert at the Christ Church
when a group of girls attempt to capture    Cathedral, which was filled to the rafters
a monster. The humourous and magical        with parents, faculty and students who
story featured wonderful dramatic and       came for the eclectic show featuring fun
vocal performances from the hard-           and contemporary pieces as well as more
working young actors. Alums Laura           traditional fare. Under the guiding hand
Christensen ’04 and Evan Willms ’03         of Mr. Duncan Frater, the Grade 4 and
helped out behind the stage by doing        5 choirs kicked off the evening, while
make-up and sound, respectively.            the Grade 9-12 Men’s Chorus had the
                                            honour of capping off the concert with a
                                            surprising Beach Boys’ number, complete
                                            with Hawaiian shirts.
Jasper Johnston performs as a mischievous and musical monster.

                                                                                         Janine Hsu plays a piano piece at the
                                                                                         Concerto Concert.

                                                                                         ■ Our musicians delivered another
                                                                                                                                       School Ties - Fall 2009 • 13

                                                                                         excellent Concerto Concert, a special
                                                                                         performance which comes once every two
                                                                                         years. The concert included extremely
                                                                                         challenging classical pieces from some
                                                                                         of the most respected and renowned
                                                                                         composers, played by various ensembles,
                                                                                         as well as notable solo performances
                                                                                         from some of our strongest vocalists and
                                                                                         musicians.
May
                               ■ Middle School students and parents          am and who nobody knows I am.” Each
                               gathered to hear Grade 8 students share       image was the size of a CD cover and
                               some of their favourite pieces of original    was accompanied by a CD, which played
ARTS

                               poetry. The Middle School poets read all      music connected to the identity concept.
                               kinds of verse, from haikus to elegies,
                                                                             ■ Thirty-five Middle School students
                               which they composed in class. For the
                                                                             had their art on display at the annual
                               first time, all Grade 8 students had their
                                                                             Independent School Association (ISA)
                               work published in an anthology called
                                                                             Art Show, which featured work from 11
                               Discovery, which joined Senior School
                                                                             different schools. Throughout the year,
                               anthology Between the Red Walls in the
                                                                             each grade had been working on many
                               SMUS literary library.
                                                                             different projects and the ISA show
                                                                             showcased Grade 6 name quilts, Grade 8
                                                                             graffiti designs, and Grade 7 paper molas,
                                                                             which are made by cutting designs out of
                                                                             layers of coloured paper. Other art projects
                                                                             from this year included Grade 8 clay bowls,
                                                                             Grade 7 tape sculptures, Grade 6 optical       Middle School student Max Gallant hits
                                                                             art, Grade 7 freaky faces, and Grade 6         all the right notes at Jazz Night.
                                                                             stained glass paintings.
                                                                                                                            ■ At the annual Jazz Night, one of
                                                                             ■ The busy spring concert season hit a         the most swinging events of the concert
                               One of Ninnart Siripun’s images for the       crescendo with the annual Cross-Campus         season, the Middle School Jazz Band,
                               New Extremes show.                            Band Concert. The collaborative effort         Senior Jazz Band, Vocal Jazz Ensemble
                               ■ Several students were featured at the       between the Middle School and Senior           and Swing Band were all on hand to treat
                               Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in a show     School gave us a glimpse of band teaching      their audience to a number of up-tempo
                               celebrating the students’ participation in    technique and showcased the breathtaking       and melodious pieces. For many of the
                               the New Extremes programme, which             progress our band students make from the       musicians and singers, it was their last
                               connects high school students with local      first day they pick up an instrument to the    collaboration, as the Grade 12 performers
                               artists. For their projects, the SMUS         day they graduate. Highlights included         departed SMUS in June. The evening is
                               students worked with digital artist Yoko      teachers Kevin Cook and Pete MacLeod           always a special highlight of the school’s
                               Takashima to produce three images that        dancing dressed as gnomes to “Irish            music scene, especially because it includes
                               expressed different concepts of themselves:   Washerwoman” and the massed bands              a serving of ice cream for every audience
                               “who I think I am, who people think I         finale of John Kinyon’s “Royal March.”         member.
14 • School Ties - Fall 2009

                               The SMUS massed bands perform “Royal March.”
May (continued)
■ The SMUS Student Theatre Society
presented Murder Can be Habit Forming,
a murder mystery parody that showed a

                                                                                                                                         ARTS
different side of the student performers. In
Murder, a convent of nuns, who have all
taken the name of Mary, find themselves
taking in a busload of strangers, one of
whom is almost certainly a serial killer who
targets women called Mary. Delivering
comedy and suspense in equal doses, the
student production showed off the diverse
talents of those on stage as well as those
working behind it.

                                               Brenda Moore solves the mysteries of Murder Can Be Habit Forming.

                                               ■ Grade 11 student Holly
                                               Trew was one of seven Victoria
                                               student artists featured in the
                                               Community Arts Council of
                                               Greater Victoria’s first Youth
                                               Group of Seven Show. The
                                               exhibit showcased talented
                                               artists in high school or
                                               university, allowing them to gain
                                               gallery experience. Holly, who
                                               is the granddaughter of famed
                                               Barbados artist Jill Walker, was
                                               thrilled to have her artwork on
Olivia Krusel (pictured) and Benji Schaan
                                               display.
both captured prizes at the Performing
Arts BC Provincial Festival.

■ At this year’s Performing Arts BC                         One of Holly Trew’s
                                                             octopus paintings.
Provincial Festival, two SMUS students
won big. Grade 11 student Benji Schaan
took home first place in the Intermediate
Musical Theatre category and was
runner-up in the Intermediate Vocal
                                                 SMUS Reads
Variety while Grade 10 student Olivia                             Susan Tefler (McKibbin) ’84 published her first book of poetry
Krusel, who performed with Benji in                               this September. House Beneath is a collection of her work, which has
West Side Story won the Junior Classical                          been published in many literary journals, including The Malahat
Voice Vocal Variety Category.                                     Review, The Antigonish Review and Grain magazine. Her poems
                                                                  catalogue the beauty and pain of Canadian landscapes as well as
                                                                  her personal struggles with different generations of her family with
                                                                                                                                          School Ties - Fall 2009 • 15

                                                                  vividness and imagination. Currently, Susan is a high
                                                 school teacher in Gibsons, BC, where she lives with her husband and
                                                 three children. Susan, who has won the Sunshine Coast Arts Council
                                                 Gillian Lowndes Award for her artistic growth, hopes to visit Victoria
                                                 to promote House Beneath this fall.

                         Visit the SMUS Review blogs.smus.bc.ca/review
A Celebration of                                      Poetry
ARTS

                               In honour of poetry month, SMUS hosted a poetry festival in
                               April that featured five local poets along with alumni Steven

                                                                                                                                                                              rice
                               Price ’94 and Claire Battershill ’04, who recently won the CBC

                                                                                                                                                                          en P
                               Literary Prize for fiction. Well-respected poets Patrick Friesen,

                                                                                                                                                                      Stev
                               Eve Joseph, Catherine Greenwood and Steve Noyes shared their
                               work with students and guests, and even allowed some of their
                               work to be printed in The Ivy.
                                   “I wanted people who are not necessarily well-known in
                               the public eye, but who are accomplished poets,” says Terence
                               Young, who has spent much of his time at SMUS fuelling the
                               creative writing programme.
                                   The festival also launched the 10th edition of Between the
                               Red Walls. Three current students read a poem each during the
                               afternoon event, including Petra Kenney Prize-winner Vickie
                               Yang, and in the evening a few student musicians performed                  “Every year, we have exceptional writers among our students,”
                               along with Vancouver group The Fugitives, who blend music               says Mr. Young, who hasn’t ruled out making the festival an
                               with performance poetry.                                                annual event.

                               Q&A
                                 Claire Battershill ’04
                               Q   You recently won the CBC Literary Prize for fiction,                I would describe my relationship to both forms as somewhat
                               but you began your writing career as a poet. How did                    awkward. I have trouble writing poetry and fiction at the same
                               you begin writing fiction and how would you describe                    time. It’s like dating one person of each gender simultaneously.
                               your relationship with both forms?                                      How confusing!
                               A    I made a rather abrupt transition between forms, actually.
                                                                                                       Q    What did you take away from your time in creative
                               When I started writing, I pretty much only wrote poetry. I was          writing at SMUS?
                               stubborn and deliberate about that. Terence requires a story
                               of his students in Writing 12, and it seemed torturous, at the          A     For one thing, I don’t think I would have published
                               time, for me to write fiction. I don’t think I even finished that       anything so early if I hadn’t done writing at SMUS. So, I took
                               story at all, in the end, I just wrote the required fifteen pages or    encouragement from the Writing 12 class not only to write but
                               whatever it was and handed it in with no ending.                        to think of having readers, and even to think about what I liked
                                   I’m not quite sure what I had against it, but for some              as a reader and how I might make something that would give
                               reason I was much more comfortable with pieces of writing               other people that kind of enjoyment. This was a big, important,
                               that were very small and could be done all in one sitting. I had        and abiding idea for me. I remember Terence saying that writers
                               always read a lot of fiction, but never really felt that I would be     should always have a submission in the mail. This, I think, has
                               able to write it successfully. I was also for some reason much          been excellent advice. I nearly always have something in the
                                      more certain about my poetry than my fiction. Now,               mail. I also just had a lot of fun in the class, and with all the
                                                     I’d almost say the opposite. I’d been writing     associated readings and work for the Claremont Review and
                                                                  more and more prose poems by         with putting Between the Red Walls together. I had no idea how
                                                                              2007, and, finally,      lucky I was, at the time, to have been in this programme.
16 • School Ties - Fall 2009

                                                                                      the    Circus
                                                                                     story just sort   Q   You started your post-secondary studies at Oxford
                                                                                                       and now you’re at the University of Toronto – how did
                                                                                    of took me
                                                                   ill
                                                                    h

                                                                                                       you find the transition to life in England?
                                                              tters

                                                                                   by surprise by
                                                                                  being so much        A    As far as the SMUS to Oxford transition, it was a big
                                                            e Ba

                                                                                 fun to write. Since   change, but eventually I loved living in England. The first year
                                                           Clair

                                                                                then, I’ve written     especially took some adjustment, but I like cobblestones and
                                                                               very few poems,         cups of tea, so those were silver linings all along. There is a great
                                                                              and a lot of stories.    value for literature there and wonderful bookshops, and it was
so good to be learning about literary history so close to where it     Mid-Autumn Eve
was made. Academically Oxford was demanding and exciting,

                                                                                                                                   ARTS
                                                                       Back home, in China,
and I’m grateful for that training now. Also, I had the best of
                                                                       where the heart lies
friends there. That makes any transition worthwhile.
                                                                       though my presence fades, memories, like
Q   You worked with Margaret Atwood on her CBC                         muted shadows, waver behind paper screens,
Massey Lectures. Tell us about that experience.                        their distorted whispers still tickling.
                                                                       A simple room, brick walls and roof,
A    It was a lot of fun. I was one of her research assistants for
                                                                       a tungsten light that leers over
the lectures. She sent me a list of things to look up, and then I
                                                                       lilting waves of laughter, another wave
did a whole lot of interesting reading and sent her quotations
                                                                       starting before the last one dies.
and summaries. That was sort of the gist of the work. Margaret
Atwood was lovely to me, always checking in and making sure            Varnished oak doors swing inward,
I was at ease at the promotional events (of which there were           beckoning neighbours
many!). She is so funny and so charismatic, and has continued to       to enter from shadowed halls,
be kind to me as I’ve published a couple of things since. I think      their shoes stacked as
I was a bit shy with her, especially as I lived at Massey College      poker chips.
when I was working on the lectures and I once ran into her after
                                                                       Behind kitchen shutters,
dinner in the Common Room at the college while I was wearing
                                                                       clouded year after year in oil and vapour,
gigantic plushy lion slippers! She liked them, though.
                                                                       metal knives strike
Q   What qualities do you possess that you think help                  against marble counters,
you be a good writer?                                                  the grease-lacquered wok
                                                                       spits fat out its lip,
A    Speed on the base paths, a cannon for a throwing arm,
                                                                       fire flashes from the stove’s
and a great eye at the plate. Oh, wait. Sorry. That’s baseball.
                                                                       glowing embers.
Hum. I’m not sure I really think I am a good writer. I do think,
though, that my writing has improved in the last couple of             TV trumpets in tune with children
years since I’ve relaxed a little and thrown some jokes in. I have     vying for attention, no match for the solid table squared
fun writing. It’s what I choose to do any chance I get.                   and dressed,
                                                                       salty and sweet and sour heat that wafts up
Q   Who do you consider to be contemporary authors                     in tendrils to make all eyes water.
worth reading?
                                                                       Grandma, Grandpa, that cousin I never met,
A     I had to laugh a little at this question because according       drawn from their hives to bask in the
to me it’s worth reading as much as possible. Almost anything          suger-sweet sunshine of one another,
is worth trying on for size and I think it’s good to read in lots      all converging this Mid-Autumn Eve
of different genres and so forth. But OK, I certainly won’t turn       under a ripe, round moon, ready
down a chance to talk about what I love...Daniel Handler is            to fall from soot-black skies.
amazing. He wrote the kids series Lemony Snicket, but Adverbs
is his grown-up book of stories. It’s the tops. Other short story      Their hums strain across the Pacific,
writers I adore are Sheila Heti, Annabel Lyon, Miranda July, and       ghosts treading among my thoughts,
Amy Hempel. For novels, Russell Banks and Michael Chabon               notes calling for my return.
are great, and I really liked Heather O’Neill’s Lullabies for Little
                                                                                              –Vickie Yang
Criminals. Andrew Kaufman’s All My Friends are Superheroes is
a sweet and lovely and funny book. I recently read Sarah Ruhl’s
Collected Plays, and those are brilliant, especially Eurydice and
The Clean House. Even her stage directions are masterpieces. For
poetry, Karen Solie, Anne Simpson, Louise Gluck, Jan Zwicky,
                                                                                                                                    School Ties - Fall 2009 • 17

Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, and Patrick Friesen are
                                                                                                                           Yang

some of my favourites. I also read newspapers and all sorts of
                                                                                                                    Vickie

magazines and I still read Archie comics, though I’m scandalized
that he chose Veronica.

Q What advice would you give aspiring writers?
A Read. A lot.
Brett Adam
                                  (University of British Columbia)
                               Sarah Ankersen (University of Victoria)
                               Olev Anniko
                                  (University of Victoria (2010))
                               Rachael Baptiste (York University)
                               Colin Beban (Gap Year)
                               Amuel Bhinder (University of Alberta)
                               Shelby Boehm
                                  (University of Western Ontario)
                               Melissa Bosworth
                                  (Dalhousie University)
                               Kyle Bridge (Carleton University)
                               Thomas Bridger
                                  (University of Western Ontario)
                               Jessie Cai
                                  (University of Southern California)
                               Sheena Campbell
                                  (University of Waterloo)
                               Johnny Chang (McGill University)
                               Kelly Chang (Boston College)
                               Calvin Cheng
                                  (University of Western Ontario)
                               Aleesha Cheta (University of Toronto)
                               Johnson Cho
                                  (University of British Columbia)
                               Yoo Shin Choi
                                  (Waseda University)

                                                                          The Class of
                               Yun Jeong Choi (McGill University)
                               Nicholas Chow (University of Toronto)
                               Brendan Chwyl (University of Waterloo)
                               James Coates (McGill University)

                                                                                 2009
                               Christian Colquhoun
                                  (Carleton University)
                               Candice Cooper (Gap Year)
                               Megan Cooper (University of Victoria)
                               Jonathan Cunningham
                                  (St. Francis Xavier University)
                               Geordie Dafoe (Camosun College)
                               Samantha Dark                              Nicole Godwin (McGill University)           Lauren Kipp (McGill University)
                                  (Huron University College)              Sasha Gray (University of Victoria)         Jake Kislock
                               Kabir Daswani (Queen’s University)         Douglas Grimmer                                (University of Western Ontario)
                               Rachel Davel (University of Victoria)        (University of Victoria)                  Katherine Kohler
                               Callum Davies (University of Victoria)     Patricia Halim (McGill University)             (University of British Columbia)
                               Olivia de Goede (University of Victoria)   April Hall (American University in Paris)   Karolina Koziol
                               Andrew Dorman                              Jennifer Hamilton                              (Thompson Rivers University)
                                  (College of the Holy Cross)               (University of Victoria)                  Lauren Kullar (University of British
                               Bhupinder Dulku                            Kelsey Harbord (Colgate University)            Columbia)
                                  (University of Western Ontario)         Ashley Hawes (Camosun College)              Masaki Kunimoto
                               Lauren Dunn (University of Victoria)       Neil Hayden (McGill University)                (University of British Columbia)
                               Stephanie Duvenage                         Emma Houghton (McGill University)           Benjamin Kwok (Yale University)
                                  (University of Victoria)                John Humphries                              Rory Lattimer (McGill University)
                               Benjamin Effa (McGill University)            (University of Western Ontario)           Athina Lavidas (University of Toronto)
                               Alastair Fehr (University of Waterloo)     Mizuho Inai (Osaka University)              Allegra Lee (New York University)
                               Emily Feng (University of Toronto)         Aiman Ismail (University of Toronto)        Charles Leitz (University of Victoria)
                               Liz Fenje (Stanford University)            Adrienne Jones                              Rebecca Li (University of Toronto)
18 • School Ties - Fall 2009

                               Reilly Fong (University of Victoria)         (University of Western Ontario)           Kevin Lin (University of Waterloo)
                               Riordan Forsyth (University of Calgary)    Saleha Khan (Queen’s University)            Daniela Loggia (University of Victoria)
                               Anna Fretz                                 Forrest Kilgour (University of Victoria)    Evan Louie
                                  (University of California Berkeley)     Kim Robin                                      (University of British Columbia)
                               Rui Fu (New York University)                 (University of Western Ontario)           Kevin Ma (Columbia University)
                               Laura Gilmore (Dalhousie University)       Shun Kinoshita                              Ceilidh MacLeod
                               Kristijan Gjorgjevik (McGill University)     (University of British Columbia)             (University of British Columbia)
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