November 22

Student run newspaper committed to the St. George’s community

By Eldon Chan

Showcasing the talents of teenage students, St. George’s

most recent musical production, The Sound Of Music seamlessly explores political tension behind the delightful curtain of comedic relief. Backed by tremendous vocal talent, the synergy between cast and script delivers a heartwarming tale of family, modesty and honour that is barely marred by the rarest of slip-ups. Set on the eve of World War II

just prior to the annexation of Austria by Germany, The Sound of Music centers on the affluent von Trapp family, whose troubles symbolize far more than personal plight. Played by Tommy Stokes, the captain of the household, Georg von Trapp, undergoes a remarkable transformation from an overbearing dictator still mourning the memory of his wife to a compassionate father who abandons everything for the security of his family. Unfortunately, such a dramatic process comes off as rather unrealistic. However, given the limited scope of the play, implausibility deserves to be overlooked; instead, the real merit lies is the realization that family is paramount to happiness – a theme that is repeatedly driven home through Tommy’s remarkable characterization. As Georg struggles to preserve his

Austrian pride in the overwhelming might of the Nazi Regime, the austere nature of his political crisis is offset brilliantly by Jamie Donnici’s spectacular performance as the quirky and spontaneous Max. Characterized by the jutting of the

By Peter Ding

At 6:30 p.m, December 2, the boarding house is going to

start a new tradition ---- the Battle of Harker Hall. This “battle” pits staff against boarding students on the basketball courts.

According to organizers, there will be two games in the event. The staff will play against a student development team and against the “Heroes of Harker Hall” respectively. Half time organizers are proposing slam-dunk and one-on-one challenge to keep the audience excited while a student performs rock music on his electronic guitar. The Battle of Harker Hall can be seen as a mini NBA all-star weekend. Every detail of the event is being professionally looked after. The event will also be

chin and unabashed selfishness, Max’s perpetual antics soften the moral edge of the musical. Equally dramatic was Jacob Powrie’s evolving role as Rolf within the play. Initially introduced in a romantic scene with Liesl (the eldest of the children), the tangible love between the two takes a dramatic turn for

the worst, as the von Trapp family and audience alike are betrayed by Rolf’s defection. Deserving equal praise is the female

lead Valerie Chicola, whose role as Maria functions as the catalyst for the play. The piercing clarity of her voice, whimsical prancing and moral righteousness round out her lovable

character and attests to Valerie’s talent as well.Spearheaded by the indefatigable

Mr. Rnic, the pit orchestra’s effort was evident. The precise articulation of the band and moderated volume was clearly a byproduct of many hours of rehearsal. As a musician myself, the level of delicacy

involved, not to mention constant vigilance deserves to be appreciated. In addition, the incorporation of an electric keyboard allowed for organ sounds, which ultimately enhanced the religious undertones of the story. Without meticulously designed

costumes and exaggerated make-up, the cast of the Sound of Music would look lifeless. Thankfully, Stoke’s slick suede suit coupled with apparel typical of the time blended in with the setting. Though the characters appeared ghastly and almost comic-like after the play, each facial expression was perfectly accented: scowls, smiles and tears were all visible.As expected on the opening

night, there were some very visible mistakes. From set switching errors, glitchy mikes to rocky transitions, there certainly was room for improvement. However, in most instances, the slip-ups, rather than detracting from the experience, simply added a human touch to the play, reminding the audience of our very own similarities and flaws. By the same token, the tiny errors made by the children were simply adorable! Right down to their evident nervousness, the children elicited uniform “awws” from the audience. By manipulating emotions and

anticipating our very expectations, the cast of The Sound of Music delivered a lasting experience. Striking a perfect balance with the pit orchestra, the blend of vocal and instrumental harmony makes The Sound of Music truly worth watching.

“There are a lot more important things than the Battle of Harker Hall in school, but not much”

video taped. Having seen in the past how

sporting competitions involve students and staff, Paul Proznick, Head of Physical Education and one of the house parents of the boarding house, proposed the idea and is responsible for coordinating this event. He believes the boarding house “hungers for excitement” and “lacks tradition other than Dota parties.” Proznick insists that boarding students have interest in basketball, which hopefully translate into support for the Battle of Harker Hall. “The gym, confined by four stone walls, will create an atmosphere for energy and excitement.”

Proznick, as the director of staff player personnel, was unwilling

to list the possible players but informed The Echo that a “mystery import player” will be unveiled that night. He indicated that the staff team has at least three university or professional level athletes on the team. The battle of Harker Hall will

be the biggest challenge the students will face in the school year.”

The Head of Physical Education admonished the student team, “If talent doesn’t work hard, hard work will beat talent.” Possible wager will be discussed about the result of the games.

Sajen Gill, coach of both student

teams, conveyed full confidence in his teams. “We are going to beat them,” he said. He said that he was looking forward to a good game.

Proznick expects the Battle of Harker Hall to “promote opportunities

for student leadership, strengthen relationships between boarders and staff, and build spirit within Harker Hall.”

Entrance ticket for the event is $1 each, according to Charley

Xi, the ticket manager. Apparently, there are 350 tickets printed and are available on Nov. 23. Proznick estimated that the cost of the event is around $300. All proceeds will go to the Hamper Drive.

A number of prizes will be bestowed to those who show their specialties in the staff-student competition. Reto

The play truly worth watchingSt. George’s school play, The Sound of Music, ended with unforgetable success

Camenzind, director of awards for the event, listed three of the awards: Sportsman award for the MVP, “(A special title) of the Middle” for the most disappointing player in the first half of each game, and Top Floor Award for the floor that cheers the best.

Boarders, over 100 people in total, are mostly encouraged to buy their tickets, and day boys are welcomed to watch the games. Xi said, “There will be at least twelve VIP seats open to both staff and students.”

Proznick defined the event as “all about boarders”; it is only the boarders’ job to run the program and play in the games. “Although the Battle of Harker Hall is coordinated by staff, the students complete the actual tasks,” said Proznick.

The outstanding performers, combined with the efforts of the pit orchestra, made the school play appealing to the audience. More pictures are available in the online photo gallery.

If talent doesn’t work hard, hard work will beat talent. ---Proznick

Staff news

By Patrick Hall

Rich Cicchine accepted his new role at St. George’s at

the start of this year. Cicchine, born in Toronto, believes that the Saints Community has welcomed him with open arms. Cicchine has stated, “the transition

was tough, but I have come to a fantastic school with a new headmaster with a new vision for the future, especially in boarding.” He said,” I found the community very different from my two previous independent schools, Glenyon-Norfolk, and Ridley College. There has been great support from other members of the Harker Hall Residential Life staff.”At Saint’s Cicchine is the Associate

Director of Residential Life at Harker Hall; he oversees the day-to-day running of the Boarding House. He also teaches grade 8 and 9 social studies.Born in Toronto, Cicchine spend his

childhood high school years there.

By Joseph Lu

The News Flash displays outside the St. George’s School library

have caught the attention of students and teachers alike. Containing both interesting and funny news stories, editorials, and comics, the News Flash board is quickly becoming a staple for students and teachers who pass it by. The idea was formulated by

Dominique Bailey, the school librarian, when she started working at the school a year ago. According to Bailey, the purpose behind the display was to bring the outside world to students who do not always get the chance to read the newspaper themselves. “Basically, I wanted to create a display that would bring the real world into the school,” Bailey says. The News Flash is home to a

wide array of articles without any particular theme. Bailey chooses articles that she deems interesting and can generate discussion. “I choose articles that might bring up discussion, or even stop students walking by and grab their attention,” the librarian says. Amidst the lighter stories about

“stubby upper lips” and Conan O’Brien, there are also more serious articles highlighted. During the week of November 7th, the article, Get Tougher on DUI: Mom was displayed. “That article was posted because of the new drinking and driving laws in B.C. I don’t feel that a lot of people are entirely aware with what is happening within the legal scene,” Bailey explains.

Experienced workaholic joined St. George’sUntold story about Rich Cicchine, Associate Director of Boarding

He then took his undergraduate degree at Brock University in St.

The other half of the board is comprised of the “Books” section. New books as well as favorites are picked by Bailey and featured with a preview from the jacket of the book. “Whenever we get an order in,

I’m picking books that might make students want to come in and look at our new bookshelves,” Bailey says. “The Book board is definitely there to get you guys to come in and find a

book you would want to read.” The librarian says she is happy

with the results of the board. She says she gets good feedback from teachers and also often sees students stopping and reading the board. Bailey realizes the importance

of keeping the News Flash board current updating it every two

days. She updates the Books board whenever she finds a book worth the spotlight or when a new shipment of books come in.“My biggest thing is to get students

to recommend books as well because it tough for a person like me to recommend books for you guys to read than it is for one of your peers to recommend a book that you should read.”Bailey gets the articles from The

Province, The Globe and Mail, and The Metro.Bailey, who formerly worked in the

Vancouver Public Library system, is a fond reader. “I’ve always loved reading. I never used to read the newspaper but I realized in order to keep updated, it was important to read it.”

Catherine’s. Cicchine went to Queen’s University for teacher’s

college before taking his Masters in Arts degree at the University of Victoria in 1995.

Cicchine began his teaching career in 1979, at an independent school in Kelowna, where he taught all 12 grades of PE. After one year there, he moved on to teach grades 7-9 at a junior high school in Calgary. In 1981, his third year of teaching, he secured a job at Glenyon-Norfolk School, an independent school in Victoria. After 19 years there, Cicchine moved to St. Catherine’s Ontario to run and teach at a boarding school Called Ridley College. In August 2010, Cicchine, his wife

Jennifer and his daughter Michaela moved to Vancouver to accommodate his career in educating. His son Nicholas is currently studying at UBC in his second year of engineering. When asked why he teaches, Cicchine quoted a plaque he has had on his desk for quite a while. “To teach is

to learn again.”Cicchine began the application

process in April this year, where he saw a job posting on the Canadian Independent Schools Association website. With 31 years of teaching

experience, Cicchine insists “[he has] a teaching style that combines both ‘old school’ lecturing, and progressive, technology-based educating.” Cicchine will complete his career in education at St. George’s until he retires to his home at Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island.Some of Cicchine’s hobbies are

working in the garden, reading, hiking, and spending time with family. He also loves to cook, and said had

he not become a teacher, he would have become a chef.Cicchine played a great deal of

hockey in high school and rowed at a university level.

New flash board turns our heads

By Paul Hahn

Bud Patel, principal of St. George’s School has declared

that the school will be sticking to old traditions concerning school dances.

“I know some students are a bit confused when looking at socials. Some of you think that socials hap-pen randomly and whenever the grad committe feels like conducting one. However, from a historical perspec-tive, we used to have two dances a year (not counting dances at York or Crofton House). One was in October or November, around Halloween, and the other one would happen in Feburary. So overall, we would have two dances and that was it. No more than two but also no less.”

The principal also mentioned that three or four dances were conducted in the past years, depending on the grad comitees. Patel also empha-sized that the last two years had the minimum number of dances that the school and the grad comitees were required to organize.

However, Aalim Jiwa, the chair of the grad committee, has mentioned that the grade twelves will be aim-ing to conduct upto 4 dances this year.

“Our next dance, ICE ICE BABY will be on Thursday December 9, and will be conducted for grades 10 -12.”, Jiwa mentioned.

In addion, Patel mentions that there is no absolute way of controlling school dances and their frequencies. “It all depends on the grads, and if

they don’t want to do more than two dances, it is not the school’s job to force them.” However, Patel insisted that he and Shawn Lawrence, Head of Grade 12, would ensure that here are an equal number of senior and junior dances.

Although Patel supports dances, and believes that contact with girls is absolutely essential for an all boy’s school, he does not think that the dances organized by the grad co-mitee, are the best way to establish this contact.

“In fact, I believe that dances are the shallowest way to have contact with girls, because of the way you guys dance. I’m sure you guys enjoy that kind of contact, but I think we could have co-ed debating competi-tions, or biology classes. There is a huge variety in which we can have contact with girls.”

However, the principal does sup-port dances, as he thinks that they are beneficial to not only students, but also the school itself. Patel said that the money organized by the school socials helps enormously, as it places money within the grad foundation, which pays for the grad-uation.

“Sometimes, this money even goes to charity, and the school is very proud of that aswell.”

In addition, Patel mentioned that the new headmaster, Dr. Matthews, is also very fond of school dances, and has no intentions in changing the status quo.

You can find Mr. Cicchine, the associate director board-ing and social studies teacher, in his small office across the McLean Hall. He is always working on his lap-top, or at least thinking of working, yet he is such a happy and helpful person to his students.

Formula of DancesWant to know how many dances are there this year? Go ask the grad committee.

Ms. Bailey’s flash board allows students and teachers to conveniently learn about the day-to-day changes of the outside world.

Student stories

By Samir Javer

The majority of the St. George’s School community was

diagnosed with what many are calling “JJ fever” as on November 5, 2010, as Grade 11 singer JJ Asuming-Tawiah performed in the finale of CBC’s “On The Coast” competition. The contest aimed to find the best high-school solo act in British Columbia, and the sixteen year old placed in the Top 3 acts, but failed to come out on top.The performance took place at

CBC’s Studio 700 in Vancouver, in front of a live studio audience. Also present were several of other special guests and CBC’s radio hosts, most notably Stephen Quinn, the CBC reporter who spearheaded the competition. The “On The Coast” competition was part of Quinn’s regular radio show entitled “CBC Unplugged.”

According to Asuming-Tawiah, the show’s atmosphere was unbelievable. He told The Echo, “It was really overwhelming, there weren’t a lot of people, about less than 40, and I have performed in front of more, but just the thought that I was on the radio and people all around BC could hear me really hit me.”

At the live performance, he was required to perform two songs, one being the song he entered into the contest, dubbed “Mr. Shy”, as well

By Eldon Chan

“Like teaching a 5 year old how to sing” is how Grade 12 student

Jamie Donnici describes the diffi-cult situation that he found himself facing. Auditioning for a role with the nursery rhyme Row Row Row Your Boat, Donnici knew that the challenge was going to be immense. As a Rigg scholar recipient, his role as one of the leads of Sound of Mu-sic was largely pre-determined. As a result, there was no backing out when Ed Mortimer decided on the musical.

As Donnici reflects on the past few months, “terror” and “anxiety” are recurring feelings that haunted him. In fact, his heart “sank” as he “was terrified of singing in front of people.” In all sense of the word, Donnici was truly tone-deaf, an adjective that even his close friend Jake Powrie confirms.

Having “never done anything musical in [his] life or played an in-strument,” the weeks leading up to the play required a crash-course on tone, pitch and singing. Of course, his improvement relied in large part on the immense support of peers and staff. In particular, Donnici credits

as one of his choice. The latter was “Goodbye To You”, a song which he claims he wrote merely days before.“[It] was a song that I just recently

wrote, around four days before the performance. I thought it sounded nice, and it was different from most

of my other songs,” said the Grade 11 student.He also called the song “fresh”, and

told The Echo he chose it because it would give the judges something brand new to hear.“I just knew it was the song to sing,

and thought it would sort of finish the performances off nicely so I

could potentially set myself in front of the others.”Following the performances by

all three contestants, the judges pondered their decision for approximately half and hour. There was further drama when it was

revealed by host Quinn that there had been a split amongst the judges, who then took a bit more time to break the tie. Many speculate the St. George’s student was part of the dramatic tie along with the actual winner; however, there was never any confirmation.At approximately 5:50 PM PST,

Quinn was handed the highly anticipated slip of paper that would forever change the life of one of the three remaining contestants.With a booming voice, he

announced, “The winner of the On The Coast contest is... Roan Shankaruk!”St. George’s students across

the Lower Mainland exhaled in dismay at the sound of the result, but Asuming-Tawiah was hardly disappointed, and praised the thirteen-year-old Shankaruk for her remarkable accomplishment.“[The other contestants] were

extremely talented, they were absolutely amazing. I mean Roan, she’s only 13! She’s so skilled on the piano and is an amazing singer! [The two finalists] both did a great job and I didn’t know who was going to win.”The Grade 11 student also showed

the utmost gratitude towards the CBC and its “OTC Unplugged” crew, telling The Echo, ”It was cool how the judges chose the Top 3 because we all came from different genres of music, and it gave the viewers and listeners some variety, and I liked that.”Despite having not come out on

top in this potentially life-changing competition, JJ Asuming-Tawiah is keeping his head up as he continues his long climb up into the world of music.

By Peter Ding

Indoor Soccer League, a tradi-tion , has been brought back to

the boarding house. The league, fin-ished recently, earned the endorse-ment of boarders.

According to Micheal Qiu, one of the two boarding prefects who orga-nized the games, the other one was Ryan Evan, the soccer league had taken place before in the boarding house. For a variety of reasons, or-ganizers failed to stage a league last year. “Many people enjoyed the soc-cer league, so we are just trying to bring back the tradition,” said Qiu.

Qiu considered the soccer league this year a major success of the boarding house activities. The pre-fects improved the league. Qiu said, “Before, we only played two or three games of indoor soccer each year, and there were a number of students not attending the game.” This year, due to more carefully built schedules and teams, the league maintained a high attendance rate with very few people missing one or two games.

This year, 30 players joined the league. Six teams were carefully ar-ranged by boarding prefects, who tried to make the tournament as fair as possible. A captain was appointed for every team. It was the captains’ responsibilities to keep the scores.

Each game started at 8:30 p.m. af-ter boarding students’ prep time and lasted for 30 minutes. The season matches, lasted two months, with two games per week. The playoff, which started in November, was four games in total.

In addition to the players, the au-dience and boarding staff members also endorsed the league. Qiu said that although there was almost no audience for the games before the playoffs, the audience grew to ap-proximately 30 people, including staff members, for the final.

Danny Kim’s team won this year’s final and will be awarded with a pizza dinner. As the winner of this year, Kim regarded the indoor soc-cer league as a great way to start the boarding year. Currently, the board-ing prefects are deciding the MVP, who will receive a pair of soccer cleats.

Qiu believed that the league has had a positive impact on students. Since the soccer league was mostly recreational, it allowed senior stu-dents to work with and play against younger grades. Most of the new stu-dents joined the league this year, so they got familiar with more people in the boarding house. The soccer league has the potential to continue next year, depending on who will be the prefect next year.

JJ come up just short on CBC contestJJ Asuming-Tawiah finishes in Top 3 in CBC’s “On The Coast” competition

Mortimer, Anne Bonnycastle and Spencer Bach for devoting countless hours over the summer teaching him “basically how to read sheet music, distinguish pitches and intervals, breath and project [his] voice.”

As an accomplished actor already recognized with different accolades,

the biggest challenge faced by Don-nici was singing. In his own words, “The choreography and dancing was no problem…Messing up would be in character, as Max is an outrageous kind of guy.”

Nonetheless, Donnici’s investment into the play has gone far beyond

simply learning to sing. Transition-ing from his stoic role as a disci-plined Marine in last year’s produc-tion of A Few Good Men, Donnici has had to draw upon the likes of Noel Coward, Rex Harrison, Liber-ace and Jeremy Irons for inspiration in portraying not only “Max’s inner conflicts…he’s actually a multi-dimensional character,” but also “a quirky spontaneous kind of guy.” At the same time, however, Don-nici ran into complications, as “self-interested comedic characters [like Max] don’t really exist any more.”

Sacrifice is a word all too famil-iar to Donnici. Taking the term off from rowing, using spares to do homework and rehearsing every day over the summer, even on Saturdays and Sundays were but a few of the changes he has had to make. How-ever, at the end of the day, Donnici is delighted by his own progress and intends “to act in university- it’s my passion.” For any aspiring actors finding themselves in a difficult role or similar position, Donnici offers the following advice, “If you can put your mind into it, do it. It’s once in a lifetime, an experience you will never forget.”

From Row Row Row Your Boat to full-fledged musicalThe metamorphosis of Jamie Donnici

Jamie Donnici as Max in The Sound of Music.

A tradition brought back to the boarding house

JJ Asuming-Tawiah and his loyal supporters at CBC: (from left to right) Zach Sourisseau, Josiah Tsang, JJ Asuming-Tawiah, and Chad Payne.