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PERSPECTIVEVol. 18, No. 2 Spring 10

DEFINITELY NOT THE TOUR (DNTT) WEEKFor years, many students have felt left out if they did not participate inour music tour. With the vast selection of activities, it seems thatstudents will be begging to stay home from the tour in the future! OK,maybe not … but students back home certainly couldn’t say they had“nothing to do” here during this week.

INTRODUCING OUR NEW DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR – JOHN LOEWENBorn in Steinbach, John Loewen comes to Westgate with a strong background in fund-raising andsocial and economic development. With his past involvement with Menno Simons College, Habitat forHumanity, Canadian Mennonite University, Mennonite Central Committee and other organizations,John’s experience brings a vision, focus and energy to Westgate’s development efforts. His belief in thepower of Westgate’s mission and constituency motivates his work. “The difference our stakeholders’gifts can make in the lives of our students is significant and often transformational. I look forward tobeing a part of Westgate achieving its potential through stronger relationships with our supporters.”With his wife Joy, and children Samuel and Lia, John enjoys dinners, movies, camping and cycling. Johnand his family also attend and are involved in their Christian community at St. Luke’s Anglican Church.

RE-STOREVOLUNTEERING

HOGBUTCHERING

SALSALESSONS

THAICOOKING

JUDO ASPEN TREEGIRDLING

P e r s p e c t i v e2

MY LIFE IN

CANADA

Living with a family I have never metbefore, going to a school I have neverbeen to and experiencing a completely

different culture, some people maywonder why you would ever want to getyourself into that?

All my life I’ve lived in a small Bavariantown called Straubing. I grew up in aCatholic community and I went to theUrsulinen Gymnasium, a private Catholicall-girls school. After a 20-hour flight,this life turned into: living in Winnipeg(quite a big city for me), in a Mennonitefamily and going to a Mennonite highschool. Even though people tend todislike changes, I was just amazed by thistotally different life I now had and I wasthankful that I was able to live with thebest host family I could ever wish for!

For me, Westgate was not only a school.It was a community with wonderful peoplewho helped me experience one of thebest times of my life! I am very proud ofmyself that I survived the Canadian winterand I am thankful for the opportunity Ihad to be here. ■ Stefanie Altschäffel

On Friday, April 16 at 5 a.m., theWestgate Concert Band,Concert Choir, Senior Jazz

Band and Wired—72 students in total,four staff members and one spouse—loaded up two tour buses and headed offto Ontario and Quebec. Six cities, eightconcerts and 10 days later, we arrivedback at Westgate with a greater sense ofcommunity, a sense of accomplishment,and having grown as musicians.

Highlights of the music tour includedvisiting UMEI and Rockway, two of oursister schools in Ontario. We also hadsightseeing days in Montreal andChicago, took in Question Period andhad a special lunch at Parliament Hill

catered by MP Pat Martin. We also had achance to visit Point Pelee National Park,ride on the Maid of the Mist at NiagaraFalls, and we visited some of our nationalmuseums in Ottawa. The two churchservices in Leamington and Montrealwere also real highlights.

We want to recognize and acknowledgethe generosity and kindness that peopleshowed us as we travelled over the 10days. All our hosts were amazing.Looking back, it was an action-packed 10days of singing, playing, visiting andsightseeing; 10 days that will live long inour collective memories.

“These days were spent shopping,touring about the cities and making

music for the people there. Notonly did we perform inchurches, but we playedconcerts at high schools andVocal Jazz even put on a mini-show for some shoppers at amall in Fargo. A highlight of thetrip was getting to sing forsome parliamentarians in therotunda, which had incredibleacoustics. This year’s tour wasan amazing experience!” –Arista Ryback ■ On February 20, 25 Westgate students

accepted the challenge and competed in theManitoba German Language Contest at CMU.Over 100 students from across Manitobacompeted in a number of categories accordingto grade and language level. Mielen Remmertplaced 3rd in the Junior A category. In theJunior C category, Amy Baergen placed 1st,Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe 2nd, Camryn Harder3rd—we could say that Westgate “owned thepodium.” Jacquelyn Klassen placed 1st in theIntermediate C category. In Senior C, RebeccaKlassen-Wiebe placed 2nd and Josie Penner3rd. Hurra!!

WESTGATE MUSIC TOUR

GERM

ANCO

NTES

TBack row l-r: Josie Penner, Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe,Jacquelyn Klassen, Camryn Harder. Front row l-r: Amy Baergen, Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe, Mielen Remmert.

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KENYA

Imagine the vast savanna, dry fromthree years of drought, a few loneacacia trees offering the only shelter

from the blazing sun. The ground is dryand any living plant is covered in thistlesand thorns. Here under the tree, I pull upa stone and receive a drink of sweet teaand goat’s milk from a beautiful strangerwho honours me with this gift because ofour common humanity. In my time atWestgate since ’93, I have received sickleave and maternity leave, but this latestleave—I call it a “life learning leave”—has been a true blessing and time ofrenewal.

For most of October and part ofNovember, my family had the privilege oftravelling to Kenya on a MennoniteCentral Committee learning and workingtour. The experience was wonderful and

the village of Najile, Kenya, has beenforever etched into our lives.

The primary goal of the trip was torecord music with Maasai choirs for therecently released CD, “Take Your Place,”by Darryl Neustaedter Barg and KimThiessen. This CD is part of an ongoingproject to raise funds and awareness forMCC’s HIV/AIDS work around the world.We are grateful for the way the Westgatecommunity helped make this possible.

A highlight for me was spending time withpeople who were living with HIV andAIDS. They are people just like me withloving families, daily struggles, hopes anddreams. The courage and joy they foundthrough their faith and the help they werereceiving through MCC’s work wasinspiring.

R E U N I O N SClass of 2000 – a reunion dinner is planned for June 12, 2010 at The Academy on Osborne at 7 p.m.

Please contact Jennifer Loewen for more details: (204) 667-7273.Class of 1990 – an evening reception is planned for 6:30 p.m., Friday, June 11, 2010 at Nicolino’s, 4-2077 Pembina Hwy.

Please contact Lorriann (Sawatzky) Ludwig at: LLudwig4@aol.com if interested in attending.

Class of 1985 – an evening event is planned at the home of Darryl and Val Dyck on Friday, June 4, 2010 at 8 p.m., 108 Ethelbert St.Please rsvp to Darryl at: dyckda@mts.net or 204-774-1155.

Class of 1980 – plans are still forthcoming. Contact Ralph Regehr (rregehr@woodlandsupply.ca) and Rob Krahn (Rob.Krahn@ca.g4s.com) for details.

Another highlight was the opportunity to work withgirls in the local school who had expressed interestin starting a Peace Club. I loved the enthusiasm theyexpressed as we worked through basic ideas ofconflict resolution and peace.

Our family’s highlight was the hospitality weexperienced and friendships we formed. We werealso quite pleased to have encountered amazingwildlife. Overall, the three-and-a-half weeks wereshort yet profound. I am not sure I will ever look ata cup of Chai tea in the same way. They had so littleand gave so much. ■ Krista Neustaedter Barg

GalaConcert

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here was something for everyone asWestgate kicked off its Capital Campaignwith the Gala Concert held Friday,February 5th at Westminster UnitedChurch. Thanks to our generous sponsors,Phillip Ens was able to join the WestgateConcert Choir, the Mennonite CollegiateInstitute Chamber Choir and othertalented musicians for a wonderful nightof beautiful music before a capacity crowd.

Serious music lovers heard Phillip,accompanied by Edmund Dawe, performPurcell’s Arise ye subterranean winds,Beethoven’s In questa tomba oscura,

GalaConcert

and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Song of theViking Grave. Phillip regaled and at timesmoved the audience with his renditions ofspiritual, hymnal and folk music, oftenaccompanied by Victor Engbrecht and thechoirs. Many were brought to tears whenPhil, Victor, and the two choirconductors, Vic Pankratz and RickHeppner Mueller, joined to sing In theRifted Rock I’m Resting. It waswonderful to hear two of Manitoba’s besthigh school choirs under one roof. Whenboth combined to serve us with theirrendition of the traditional Africanspiritual, Hlohonolofatsa, the virtue ofsupporting Mennonite education wasclearly heard. We are humbled by the$90,000 that was raised at this specialevent.

The March 22nd Bursary Banquetfollowed this very successful event. Weare thankful for the generous support ofour Westgate community. Despitefollowing an outstanding gala fundraiser,Westgate supporters recognized this needand were quick to respond to the call.Thank you to all who helped raise over$32,000 for our bursary fund. ■

MIKAELA HOEPPNERNATIONAL MUSIC AWARD

Last November, Mikaela was invitedto London, Ontario, to attend theconvocation ceremonies of theRoyal Conservatory of Canada. Atthe convocation she received amedal of excellence for the highestmark in her level of theory in theprovince of Manitoba.

Mikaela’s music teacher is LeanneHiebert who teaches piano atWestgate.

MIKE PENNER had a great season with hisAssiniboine Park Rangers Minor BantamHockey team. He was captain of the team,chosen to play in the league all-star game,and participated on a team of 17 playersfrom all the AA city teams to play in theDirectors Cup. The season wrapped up forMike at the Rangers banquet where he washonoured with the award as most sportsmanlikeplayer. His fellow teammate and schoolmate CalebSnider was chosen for the same award in his firstseason of AA hockey.

A new chapel lectern

has arrived. Thanks to our Grad Parentfund, the new lectern can easily be

transported to different locations in theschool as needed. Special thanks to

Dagmar Carrick for initiating this gift.

T

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Earlier this school year, Arvid Loewenvisited us in our chapel. He shared hispassion for cycling, but more

importantly his passion for philanthropy.In his words: “My reason for this multi-charity public platform approach issimple: Helping our fellow human being,and especially those less fortunate, is ajoy and a privilege. There are many greatcauses, and I believe we should worktogether to maximize the impact we canhave. You don’t need to pull someonefrom a burning building to become ahero to a person in need; you just need to

Hot Pursuitfollow your heart and do what is right.Hot Pursuit 2010 is about eliminatingexcuses and instead saying: ‘Yes I can,and yes I will make a difference today.’ ”

Hot Pursuit is a fund-raising cyclingevent. Arvid is a long-distance cyclist whowill be racing solo. He will be chased bytwo relay teams, one from CanadianMennonite University and the otherrepresenting the Winnipeg Police Service.Each group is raising funds for theirrespective charities.

Arvid’s ride is in support of MullyChildren’s Family, a dynamic street-rescue orphanage in Kenya, Africa. TheWinnipeg Police are raising funds forChildren’s Wish Foundation. The CMUteam, including Westgate alumni ChrisHuebner (’87) and Jon Guenther(’91), israising funds to bring international

Congratulations to LUKE BERGEN and JACOB MILLER whowere selected to the Manitoba Basketball Coaches AssociationGraduating All-Star team at their award banquet. Jacob was alsoselected to the MBCA All Manitoba team and received the AAAPlayer Of The Year award given by the MBCA to recognize themost outstanding AAA player in Manitoba.

students to their school. In addition to theriders, fellow Westgate alumni will be partof the CMU support team: DarrylNeustaedter Barg (’86) will be shootingvideo, Aaron Epp (’02) is the official TeamCMU journalist, and Thomas Epp (’04) andZachary Peters (’05) are drivers.

For more details, please visit:http://www.hotpursuit2010.com/Hot_Pursuit/Home.html

This is, of course, a fund-raiser so pleaseconsider donating to any of the three causespromoted here. Please contact therespective agencies for more information. ■

Last year, our Varsity Boys basketball team erased a 27-year drought by capturing the 2009 AAA ProvincialChampionships. If that wasn't enough, the returning players made it their goal to repeat the feat this season.Despite injuries and uneven performances, the team entered the championships as underdogs. But their 5th placeranking did not deter them from upsetting three higher ranked teams to capture the 2010 banner. Congratulationsto the team and thanks to coaches Karl Wiebe and Don Miller for their leadership.

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONS

Luke Bergen Jacob Miller

ChrisHuebner

JonGuenther

P e r s p e c t i v e6

Iwrite these thoughts only a few daysafter returning, but the Middle Eastalready seems so far away. It was our

largest group ever: twenty four studentsand four chaperones. We spent our lastnight on the roof of the Ecce HomoConvent in the Old City of Jerusalem,reflecting on our time together. Each ofus shared our highlights—many couldnot stop at one—and each highlightbrought on a lively discussion. Weremembered Damascus—singing songsin the acoustic chambers of the Turkishbaths, speaking to niqab-hidden womenin the Ummayyad Mosque; we recalledLebanon—dancing the dabke with thefriendly neighbours, playing basketballwith students at the Schneller Schule,driving through the dizzying traffic as wedescended into Beirut; we thought ofPetra and the Wadi Rum—glimpsing themagnificent monastery at the end of thesiq, sleeping under the stars in the

middle of the desert, proudly waving onthe top of the rock bridge.

We also reflected on our time in Israel/Palestine, trying to understand the realityof the occupation. We saw the occupationfrom three angles. First, we listened toAngela from the Israeli CommissionAgainst House Demolitions. Angelaexplained her story. As an Israeli citizen,she could no longer accept the reasonsher government was giving for theoccupation; she could not supportsettlement building or the demolition ofPalestinian homes. Second, we listened toAyman from the Alternative Travel Group.As a Palestinian Christian, he explainedhow his home town of Bethlehem hasbeen changed by settlement building andthe security barrier. It was sobering towalk along the snake-like wall, readingthe graffiti, seeing the many homessurrounded and separated. Third, welistened to Alwyn from the ChristianPeacemaker Team in Hebron. It was aunique experience, sitting together on aHebron rooftop, hearing about militaryand settler activity in the region, with IDFsoldiers staring at us from a rooftop nextdoor, and other IDF soldiers patrollingthe streets down below. All three of thesepeace group representatives implored usto speak about the occupation to peoplein Canada, and I’m sure that the studentswill do so. I’m sure that I will do so as well.

So now we just have memories. Some ofus are still waking up from dreams inwhich we are wandering in the souqs ofJerusalem or Damascus. Many of us stillsmile when we think of camel rides ordesert walks. And all of us have a newoutlook on the Middle East, its religions,its politics, its people.

As we were in the midst of sharing on thelast night, the evening call to prayerbegan to sound through the walls of theconvent. We stopped talking and listenedquietly to the harmonious sound, each ofus wondering when we would beprivileged to hear such a sound again.Some of us bought mosque alarm clocks… but I don’t think they will live up tothe real thing. ■ James Friesen

RECOLLECTIONS OF A WESTGATEMIDDLE EAST TRIP

MULTI-SPORT MEDALISTS Congratulations to (l-r) graduatingathletes Jacob Miller, ThomasAitken and Jonah Langelotz.During the last two years of highschool, they were members of sixProvincial Championship medals:two cross-country silvers, a silverand bronze in volleyball and back-to-back gold medals in basketball.That’s a lot of hardware.

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Matt Thiessen, husband ofWestgate staff member HeidiThiessen, will be

participating in a national bicycleride to raise funds for kidscancer research in September.He will be in one of three teamsthat will be riding one-third of thedistance across Canada. He isManitoba’s only representative on thisyear’s national ride, and one of threeriders who are survivors of cancer.Matthew is dedicating his ride to thememory of Morgan Funk, daughter ofPatricia (Durksen) Funk (’97), who diedof cancer at the age of two this past year.Matthew has committed to raising$25,000. For more information onMatthew, the ride, or how to contribute,

MACKENZIE ARCHER-HEES – BEFORE AND AFTER.This is the second time Mackenzie has grown out his hair to donateto CancerCare Manitoba. Might this be something other studentswould be willing to try? It’s such an easy and painless thing to do.

please visit his blog at http://matthewthiessen.snkcr.com/ or visitwww.nationalkidscancerride.com

There will be a fund-raising concert onJune 12, featuring House of Doc, at theWest End Cultural Centre. Doors open7:15 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m. Ticketsare $20.00, available at the West EndCultural Centre or McNally RobinsonBooksellers. ■

WESTGATE’S 5TH ANNUAL

Golf TournamentAUGUST 24We’re back ... at Bridges Golf Club, thesite of our inaugural tournament in2005. The growing popularity of ourtournament has driven us to move tothis full-service, regulation course.

Your support of this year’s tournamentwill benefit Westgate students’mobility as we work to purchase a 24-passenger coach-style bus.

Sponsorship has been very strong andregistrations are filling up. To benefitfrom an early-bird discount, pleaseregister before June 30th, 2010. Withmultiple prize opportunities includingPebble Beach and British Open Hole-in-One contests and the chance tocatch up with friends on the links, thisis the one summer Westgate event youwon't want to miss.

Contact us by phone or online toregister or for more information:

John Loewen 775-7111 (ext 246) orjloewen@westgatemennonite.ca

BEN RYAN and JANESSA KLATT TUCSON TRIATHLON TRAINING JANESSA KLATT and BEN RYAN are members of the ManitobaNational Triathlon Centre. The MNTC is a national training programthat develops athletes for national and international competition in thesport of triathlon. Ben and Janessa were invited to join the team withthe goal of competing at the Western Canada Games in 2011 and theCanada Games in 2013. Training usually consists of swim practicesbefore school in the mornings and running, cycling and strengthtraining after school. Recently, the team travelled to Tucson, Arizona,for a 10-day training camp. The team worked very hard every day,spending hours biking up mountains. Many days included cyclingaround 100 km, as well as swimming for two hours and running. Eventhough it’s lots of work, the athletes all love it and have lots of funtogether. Race plans for the summer include competing in the NationalSprint Series for junior elite triathletes in places like Quebec,Saskatchewan and B.C. These Westgate athletes are very busy, butmanage to fit in school and training, and continue to compete forWestgate in cross-country and track and field.

KIDS CANCERRIDE

Matthew

ALUMNI NEWS

86 West GateWinnipeg, Manitoba R3C 2E1

Phone (204) 775-7111 Fax (204) 786-1651

Email westgate@westgatemennonite.cawww.westgatemennonite.ca

8 P e r s p e c t i v e

MELANIE KAMPEN (’07) is working ona major in Biblical and TheologicalStudies at CMU with a double minor inPeace and Conflict TransformationStudies and Philosophy. She spent thewinter semester teaching English torefugees in Cairo at St. Andrew’s RefugeeServices (StARS). StARS is St. Andrew’sUnited Church of Cairo’s response to theincreasing number of refugees in Cairo. Itserves refugees from over 32 differentcountries, primarily southern Sudan andDarfur, Somalia, Eritrea, and Iraq. Feelfree to browse the StARS website:http://www.standrewsrefugeeservices.org/ and Melanie’s blog:http://egyptianescapades.wordpress.com/

ALEX HARE (’96 ) – B.Sc. Genetics(Hon), U of M, Faculty of Science; M.Sc.Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, U ofM, Faculty of Medicine; Ph.D. MarineChemistry, U of M, Faculty of GraduateStudies (Dept. of Environment andGeography)Alex is currently studying contaminantsand carbon in the Arctic Ocean. His work(in marine science) has taken him toNorway and China, but mostly he spendstime up north on an icebreaker (TheAmundsen) and sometimes in tent campsor in local communities. Earlier, Alexworked in West Africa for most of 2004with GambiaHELP, a foreign aid NGObased in Seattle that focuses on healthand education development. His current

position as research associate withFisheries and Oceans Canada ends verysoon. He’ll be heading down to CentralAmerica to work with a scienceconservation group until summer, thenwill return to Winnipeg.

HALEY DERKSEN(’03) graduatedwith herPhysiotherapydegree in 2009and at convocationceremonies thispast October,received the following awards:– University of Manitoba Gold Medal formost outstanding academic record ofGPA of 4.0 or higher – School of Medical Rehabilitation ANDFaculty of Physiotherapy Gold Medal forhighest cumulative GPA in the department.– Canadian Physiotherapy AssociationAward for highest aggregate percentagein academic and clinical physiotherapysubjects during the entire program.– Dr. J. D. Adamson Medal (CanadianArthritis Society) for highest GPA in thefinal year of her program.Haley and her fiancé Jordan Janovcik arelooking forward to an August 14, 2010wedding. Haley is the daughter of KURTand RISA (UNRUH) DERKSEN (bothClass of ’81).

KIERA O’NEIL(’08) was namedcoach of the yearfor the WaterPolo MiddleSchool Divisionthis past season.She coached a

team which included three Westgatestudents.

NATHAN GERBRANDT (’94) and hiswife Angela have been volunteering sinceJanuary with an NGO called CaminoSeguro (Safe Passage). Safe Passage is aneducational and social work organizationwhich provides medical support, anursery, English language instruction,adult literacy, art, music and sportsclasses for kids to the poorest familieswho live around the Guatemala Citygarbage dump. For more information

about Safe Passage please go to:http://www.facebook.com/l/fb373 orwww.safepassage.org/.

KARENPETERS(’83) andhusbandDesmond: Ourdaughter MeraDaun Peters

Burke was born on March 31 at 2:50a.m., six weeks early, by emergency CSection. She was 5 lbs. 10 oz. and hadsurgery immediately on a blocked smallintestine. She and mom are recoveringvery well.

NIKAELAPETERS (’02)and ThomasReimer weremarried onAugust 7, 2009at St. Margaret’sAnglican Church.

FELIXALBERTDURKSEN,little brotherto Annika,born on April16, 2010.