2010Oct. 8th Edition THE ECHO

Student Run Newspaper Committed To St. George’s School

By Paul Hahn

Dr. Tom Matthews, the recently appointed Headmaster of St. Georges School, says

that his focus is not on change in his first years. Instead, he wants to get to know the school, its history and traditions, its students, faculty and staff, Old Boys and parents.

By Eldon Chan

Having spent a staggering $342,100 on electricity and natural gas alone, St.

George’s ecological footprint this past fiscal year has far outstripped nearby residents. Of course, with a student body of over 700 students, perhaps such a figure is to be expected. In fact, David Martin, a long-time teacher at St. George’s school applauds the significant changes that have occurred during his 19-year tenure at St. George’s. To him, “the slow but steady progress St. George’s has made is most evident in the areas of recycling, energy consumption and general awareness within the student body.” Echoing Martin’s praise is the custodial staff member Sammy Wallo, who believes that “St. George’s has made huge improvements within the last decade by replacing light bulbs and negotiating better contracts with recycling companies.”However, Dr. Tom Matthews, the newly appointed headmaster holds a view that is somewhat less praiseworthy. While Matthews acknowledges the student initiative Green Machine and especially applauds the autobus services offered by the school, ultimately, St. George’s is outstripped

Change, however, is not completely out of the question, as the strategic plan on which he is working will chart the future course of the school for the next five years. According to Matthews, St. George’s is a great school, full of vigor and hard work, and he doesn’t see the need for change in the immediate

future.Dr. Matthews defines his role as Headmaster in four important ways. The first role he describes as a symbolic leader, a role students will see him in during formal gatherings and assemblies. He continues to describe his role as one of support and encouragement

in aspects of athletics, music, debating and other programs. He sees the most significant part of his job in long- term planning and management of day-to- day aspects of the school. Finally, Dr. Matthews defines himself as a representative of the school. He will represent St. George’s at the provincial and national levels. As Nigel Toy has done before him, he will recruit and educate other cultures and nations about St. George’s School for Boys.On a different note, the former Headmaster of Hillfield Strathallan College has come to Saints in order to integrate his previous experiences and knowledge to advance St. George’s agenda. Being a big fan of the boarding system, technological advancements, and Saints’ overall style of learning, he plans upon spending approximately ten years leading St. George’s School. Dr. Matthews believes that this period is ideal as it gives him plenty of time to get to know, influence and shape Saints according to his expectations. He is confident that Saints will continue to move forward in all aspects.

Dr. Matthews also speaks with great enthusiasm about previous Headmaster of St. George’s School: “Mr. Toy was pretty much the iconic Headmaster for Saints.” Despite these words, Dr. Matthews believes that it is not about being better than Toy, but about being different. He will use his specific skills, background and experiences to shape the school in a way that may be different from Toy’s vision. Dr. Matthews does, however, strongly believe that he has one thing in common with Toy – a genue passion for the wellbeing of the school and a commitment to its students.

by other private school institutions, most notably Upper Canada College, Hillfield Strathallan College and even St. George’s sister school Crofton House. Similarly, a survey conducted by The Echo, in which over 180 students were polled concluded that 68 percent of students felt that St. George’s has not taken adequate measures to be environmentally friendly, of the 68 percent half expressed concern about recycling while the other half were critical about energy usage.According to Matthews, Upper Canada

College, the only private school institution to beat St. George’s in terms of ranking has been working tirelessly for the past 15 years “renovating the entire hockey arenas, upgrading the headmaster’s residence [to be energy efficient] and even introducing a board position titled Director of Sustainability.” Matthew’s most recent school, Hillfield, has undertaken similar long-term projects; in particular, over the span of five years, all the windows have been changed to double pane glass and a new

boiler room has been built to accommodate new technology.

Furthermore, from Matthew’s correspondence with the Crofton House headmistress, he has learned that Crofton house runs on geo-thermal energy, which, according to clinical studies conducted by the Canadian company ECONAR, can be up to 500 times more efficient than traditional heating methods. So what can St. George’s do to combat what Matthews considers the “key issue of the century”? According to the janitorial staff,

the use of decomposable garbage bags was introduced for a short time, but was quickly replaced by plastic bags. Also, half of the windows in St. George’s are single pane as opposed to double pane, which in studies once again conducted by ECONAR are approximately 30 percent less efficient. Moreover, the campus lights are typically lit until past 10 pm, a contributing factor to the staggering $181,300 cost of electricity. While some of the above changes can be implemented rather quickly, the vast majority will require a significant amount of time and capital, says Matthews. With the recent construction of the Great Hall, even Matthews admits that the earliest St. George’s will be able to institute any change will have to be in the fall of 2012. However, his long-term goals include having a green audit, greater staff initiatives (the details of which are confidential at this junction) and pursuing a certification status. Although other schools are light-years ahead of St. George’s in this regard, the comparison shouldn’t focus solely on what St. George’s has accomplished or failed to do but rather on what can be improved. Afterall, change is tedious. In a quest that can never truly be finished, Matthew’s projected image of St. George’s truly illustrates a hopeful future.

St. George’s Environmental stance “outstripped by competitors”

The recently constructed 3rd floor boasts many environmental friendly initiatives.

New Headmaster changes nothing

The Echo News 1

By Samir Javer

Fall has officially begun, and for many students, that means soccer is back. The

St. George’s First XI, the school’s premier soccer team, had their season opener at home on September 21 against Notre Dame, which saw them draw 2-2, with the home side emerging victorious in a penalty shootout. Alec Mclean and Mohammad Kashanipour, two Grade 11 students, scored for The Saints. This was the first of many games to come over their seven-week season, which culminates in mid-October with the Canadian Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) Tournament, taking place at Holy Trinity School in Toronto. Over the weekend of September 18, the First XI fine-tuned their squad at the ISA Tournament at Saint Michaels University School in Victoria. The team made it all the way to the finals with ease, but was met by a tough Glenlyon Norfolk team eager to win. The Saints held them to a 0-0 tie through regulation, but were defeated 5-4 in a penalty shootout, a game that many are calling one of the finest high school soccer games in recent years. They settled for silver medals, but returned back to school with high hopes for the rest

of their season. Grade 11 student James Pitblado, who plays striker for the First XI, acknowledged the team played to the best of their abilities but was not satisfied with second place, saying, “I think we played as well as we could as a team, if not better, and unfortunately it came down to a penalty shootout, which is the worst way to lose a soccer game, in my opinion.” James also said that in the future, the team needs to focus more on their tactics and

positioning as well as use some of the techniques taught to them by their coaching staff, headed up by Shawn Lawrence. Lawrence told The Echo that the team is a very positive group of players and they are all very coachable. With eight or nine starters from last year’s squad having just graduated, he acknowledged the team is a lot younger with lots of fresh new faces, saying, “We have lots of confidence in our returning players as well as our new ones.” The head

coach also said he was very excited about some of the Grade 10 students who had played on the junior team last year, as they will provide the foundation for the team in the years to come. Bryan Fong, a defenseman currently in Grade 11, who has been playing on the First XI since Grade 10, was voted in unanimously as the team’s captain. Lawrence said the decision was a “no-brainer” as Bryan has played soccer at the national level and is unarguably the most experienced player on the team. He will be expected to take a prominent leadership role along with Grade 12 student Alex Wu, who was voted in as the assistant captain for the squad. The team’s main rival, as always, is Vancouver College, as the two sides have a storied history, with both sides each getting their fair share of revenge in recent years. Saints must beat Vancouver College in a match later in the season in order to qualify for the Lower Mainland Tournament, a game that Lawrence said would definitely be a “grudge match.” Whether Saints gets the better of their arch-rivals this season or not, there is no doubt that the senior soccer season will be full of excitement and surprises, as Saints looks to continue its long-standing success in the field of athletics.

 

Senior Soccer in full swing

By Joseph LuSt. George’s students and staff have positively welcomed the recent changes made to the morning schedule. In a recent survey conducted by The Echo during the third week in September, 2010, 73 percent of people surveyed had a positive opinion of the recent changes. Meanwhile, 23 percent of people remained indifferent and only four percent did not like the revamped system.“I think it is great for both students and teachers because we don’t have to rush to class,” said Mandarin teacher Jane Li. “Boy, it’s only 15 minutes but what a difference it makes,” remarked Bruce Wilson, an English teacher. He also added that it gave him additional time to bring his kids to school. Of the people who preferred the revamped schedule, 50 percent said they like it because it gave them a modest, yet appreciated, 15 minutes of extra sleep each morning. Other positive responses include more time to get to school and less time spent in homerooms and assemblies. While most students and staff were fond of the redesign, a small minority of students are opposed to the switch. Preston Lim, a grade ten student, said, “I think we should have homeroom everyday so we can do homework.”

By Peter Ding and Paul Hahn

The business office declares that the new lunch card system will greatly benefit

both the school and the students.Instead of using go-cards for hot lunch and paying cash in the cafeteria, St. George’s students now use a specialized lunch card to either purchase hot lunch or buy snacks. The business office introduced the new system mainly because the old system was no longer supportable, according to Brenda Van Huizen, controller of the business office. “No one in the school can maintain the database of the old system, which could not identify students very accurately,” said Van Huizen. Students who forgot to bring their student cards were permitted to write down their names and student numbers, which inevitably fomented dishonesty. “The school has received many complaints from parents regarding their children’s accounts being misused by other students,” she added. “The new system ensures that every student’s cost in the dinning hall goes to his own account. The school will thus be able to avoid complaints.” Van Huizen also emphasized that the new system can track the number of meals through a highly developed database. It will allow the school to receive more accurate reports from the food service department. “The food

service liked the idea,” said Van Huizen. “The new system will help determine the right amount of food to provide. It will be better not to waste too much food.” Also, the statistics in the new system can indicate what meals or food is more appealing to students, benefiting both the food service department and the students. Before the lunch card system was employed at St. George’s, the business office had studied two other schools’ lunch payment systems. Van Huizen commented, “West Point Grey Academy’s lunch card system appeared to be more practical at St. George’s, so we applied it to our school.” The business office has not received the total cost invested in the new system, but she informed The Echo that the Auxiliary had a significant amount to pay.In response to some security problems raised by the lunch card, which lacks a student photo, the business office stated that it is students’ responsibility to report to the business office immediately if they lose their cards. “The business office will deactivate the lost card and make a new card within 24 hours,” said Van Huizen. No money will be lost in the account provided that no other students used the card before deactivation; however, students need to pay an additional $10 charge for the new card. Currently, the business office thinks that a possible improvement of the system is getting the same system implemented in the Junior School, if there were enough funds and the system worked well in the Senior School.Bud Patel, Principal of St. George’s Senior School, believes that although having two cards together seems redundant, the lunch cards and Go cards are completely necessary for day-to-day life at Saints. Go cards are

Approximately one quarter of those surveyed remained neutral on the topic. Mitch Willougby asked with a surprised and perplexed look on his face: “It gives us more sleep?” Others simply remarked that the 15 minutes was simply not that big of a change in the grand scheme of things. Saints café employee Inryna stated that it didn’t affect her job. On the other hand, Patrick McGuire, head of food services, called it, “the best thing since sliced bread.” Li also thinks students should be assigned a homeroom teacher with whom they take classes. That way, it would be easier to contact students about upcoming events and notices.

Both Li and Wilson agreed that the reduced number of assemblies was a welcome change. “I think the assemblies are more concise,” said the English teacher. Fifty students from Grades nine to 12 as well as staff members participated in the questionnaire. New students and Grade eights were not asked because they had no prior knowledge of the old timetable. Whether these changes have helped grades or made students any happier are yet to be seen. Nonetheless, students and staff are enjoying the extra 15 minutes.

important in the identification of students at school dances or athletic meets. “The bar code on the Go card that is your student I.D. number will always be your student I.D. number, no matter what. If you used your Go card as a debit card, in that you would charge some amount of money on it, but you would

lose it, there would be no way to lock the card. With the new lunch card, however, the business department gives you a completely different number, so if you lost that, they would just give you a new number, and your old lunch card would be locked, effectively allowing no body else to use it.”

Reasons behind the lunch card system New morning timetable embraced

By Samir JaverWhen JJ Asuming-Tawiah strummed his first ever note on the guitar, he had no idea how far it would ever take him. The Grade 11 student has blossomed into a popular music icon amongst the grade, ever since the release of his first song, “The Effect”, on September 12, 2009. The debut video drew over 630 views on JJ’s YouTube channel, entitled “StillJayJ”, which has well over 100 subscribers, each of which eagerly look forward to his next video. He has written many original songs and specializes in R&B, and also performs covers of songs by popular artists such as Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, and Jay Sean. He has definitely worked his way up from a “video logger” all the way up to a full-scale live performer. JJ told The Echo, “I first started singing during the Grade nine rugby tour in England and Wales.” He added, “That was the first time where I showed people I could sing.” In Grade six, he said, his sister got a guitar, but she barely used it, so they ended up sharing it. However, most of the time, it was JJ who would have the guitar in his hands, writing up songs and singing harmonious melodies in his room. That would soon change, as on his 15th birthday, JJ received his very own guitar for the first time, a gift that he vowed to treasure forever. The R&B singer said, “I always had to ask my sister to borrow her guitar, but now I can just pop out my guitar and sing whenever I please.”Recently, JJ has been collaborating with other students in Grade 11 such as Emcee

Tsaifer (Austin Tsai), an established rapper, and Josiah Tsang, a harmonious pianist. One of Emcee Tsaifer’s original songs, entitled “Lonely Man”, was recently re-released featuring JJ’s melodious voice, along with the fluid rapping of Tsai. “If I listen to a song and it has a bit of rap and a bit of R&B, I’ll ask Austin to collaborate on it,” JJ said.

A very dynamic singer, JJ is also capable of singing slower and more intimate songs, as demonstrated at a recent grade assembly, where he sang Bruno Mars’ hit

single “Talking to the Moon” accompanied by the piano skills of Josiah Tsang. JJ is always welcome to the idea of combining with others in any musical aspect, saying, “I just like to get people involved in my music and for them to show their true colours.” JJ has clearly shown that music is a huge part of his life, and explained his passion simply and elegantly, “Music is life. Music causes no pain,” he said. The sixteen-year-old singer has a ways to go before he can make it big, but he definitely has the right attitude. JJ says that music is a different way to express himself, a way like no other. “Some things can’t be said, so why not sing them?”

Boarding House made successful contributions to community service

A Grade 10 in Yonex Canada Open

By Patrick HallOn Friday, October 1, 2010, Dr. Tom Matthews spoke to the staff and students of St. George’s school concerning the devastating floods in Pakistan. The UN has stated that this current and ongoing crisis has resulted in the deaths of approximately 2,000 people, and has affected 20 million. These floods are the worst floods Pakistan has experienced in nearly a century. Matthews addressed the school about this crisis, and one of his main points was the lack of support this crisis has received. He compared the floods in Pakistan to the earthquakes in Haiti, and the number of people affected and the resulting money raised are astonishing. The 7.0 magnitude earthquakes hit Haiti on January 12 earlier this year. A p p r o x i m a t e l y 3,000,000 people in Haiti were affected. An estimated 230,000 people have died, 300,000 have been injured, and 1,000,000 have been left homeless. The disaster in Pakistan started with flash floods and heavy storms in late July and early August. 20 million people are suffering and 2,000 have died; however, the death toll is almost definitely going to rise as many towns and villages do not have communication, and access has been blocked off. Approximately, 722,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed, and a fifth of Pakistan’s land has been impacted by flooding, according to news releases from the U.N.In terms of money, the aid for the floods in Pakistan are minute and insignificant compared to the aid for the earth quakes in Haiti, according to Matthews. Between 23 major charities, $1.1 billion

(US) was raised for the Haiti relief efforts. More money was raised for humanitarian aid, and has paid for hospitals, plastic tarps, bandages, and food, plus salaries, transportation and upkeep of relief workers. By May 2010, enough money was raised to give each family who has suffered a cheque for $37,000.

Following the start of the flash flooding in Pakistan, the UN appealed for $460 million (US) to provide immediate help including food, shelter and clean water. Sadly, only $227.8 million has been raised to date - a mere %49.6 of the amount requested by the UN.As Matthews said, there could be multiple

reasons why the donations have been so i n s i g n i f i c a n t . Perhaps it is because Pakistan is multiple time zones away, or sadly, there could

be some discrimination because Pakistan is a Muslim country. Some people say that the floods in Pakistan are not as bad as the earthquakes in Haiti because the death toll is lower. Are the dead really more in need than the living?One student, who wishes to remain unnamed, had no idea “that Pakistan was in trouble,” and was not moved towards donating because he “is not rich.” Another student came out with a positive response to Matthews’ speech. He “found it pretty moving. It was something different than what we are used to in assembly, where we are just updated with our school life. [He] think[s] Dr. Matthews has made a solid impression, and has made it clear that he wishes to motivate each and every one of the students sitting in front of him.”

 

By Joseph LuEvery summer, badminton phoneme Benny Lin is constantly finding ways to improve his game. The 15-year old grade 10 student competed in the Yonex Canada Open this past July gaining v a l u a b l e e x p e r i e n c e playing older players. The event was held right in his back door, at the Richmond Oval and consisted of top-notch talent of all ages from across the globe.“It was pretty exciting playing with older players. They have a different style and speed,” said Lin. He did not win the tournament, nor did he even come close. Yet, after being eliminated in the first round by two older, professional players, the grade 10 student said he felt honored to even make the main draw. “I didn’t feel bad because I know I did my best. I gained valuable experience that only comes by plying with pros. I need to become more mentally focused because games are going to get a lot longer at the next level.” To qualify, Lin needed to win several tough

doubles matches with his parter [name]. “In doubles, we were lucky; we attacked a lot and kept the bird down,” Lin said explaining his strategy.The Yonex Canada Open was held from July 13th to July 18th. It hosted more than 250 elite badminton players from 33 different countries. The winner received $50,000, the largest cash prize in history given out in a badminton tournament in Canada. According to Lin, the tournament was a lot tougher than the U16 National Championships which were held in Winnipeg in June. He explained that there is nothing that can improve your game quite like playing with international professionals.Benny, a student at St. George’s school, has been playing badminton since the age of eight. He trains at the ClearTwo Badminton Center four or five times a week under the tutelage of Coach Daryyl Young. He went to say that there is a fine balance than must be struck between studies and sport when you are student-athlete. “I train extremely hard,” said Lin attributing his success to the manner in which he trains. As the premiere player of the Senior St. George’s Badminton Team, Lin is already looking forward to what he believes will be a positive season for the school team.“I think we our going to beat Vancouver College and go on to the Provincial Tournament.”Hopefully, for Lin, he can use his newfound experience to help him secure a win at his next tournament on October the 8th.

By Peter Ding St. George’s students raised $300 and made another great contribution on the Dunbar Harvest Festival on Sep 25. For the first time in history, St. George’s successfully held an organized fund-raising food sale, under the leadership of Yifei Wang, representative of St. George’s in Heart-to-Heart Youth Society. He praised the enthusiasm students exhibited. “The fund raising was really effective,” Wang said. “We not only raised a lot of money, but also allowed more people to learn about H2H, the only student-organized charity club at St. George’s.” The funds will be put into one of this year’s H2H projects ---- the construction of a library in an impoverished town in China. According to the leader, about $500 is needed, and the remaining $200 will come from bubble tea sales coming up in the boarding house this year. Wang was very confident in collecting enough funds because the bubble tea sale last year raised $400. Michael Wong, a boarding prefect as well as the organizer of the school’s participation in

the festival, also believes that the Harvest Festival is a major success, as there were a lot of enthusiastic and proactive boarding volunteers.

About 27 people participated this year. Wong said, “Students were very eager to take part in this event; 15 people were expected to do the first shift, but more than 20 people applied. We had to make some of them go to the second shift.”

“Several volunteers, such as Leo Chang, a Grade 8, remarkably stayed for the whole event doing extra setup and cleanup, ” the prefect added. “The Dunbar community was very grateful for our efforts with the combination of the sunny weather. All volunteers were awarded with a package of snacks, which means that our participation definitely had a positive and curative effect on St. George’s influence in the community.” Wang wishes that more H2H members could help develop fund-raising efforts and communicate more with their leaders. Wong, on the other hand, encourages more Grade 8s and day boys to join the fund raising efforts.

 

News 2The Echo

a solid impression, ... he wishes to motivate each and every one of the students sitting in front of him.

H e a d m a s t e r e a r n e s t l y c a l l s f o r c h a r i t y w i t h r e g a r d t o f l o o d i n g i n P a k i s t a n

A Grade 11’s passion in music

JJ Asuming-Tawiah, star of the school

Some things can’t be said, so why not sing them?

Benny Lin