Fall - Stanstead College

Faculty changesErik Van Dyke has stepped down as Directorof Student Life and will return to full-timeteaching this fall. “There is no bigger supporterof our students than Erik,” said HeadmasterWolfe at Baccalaureate. (And staff; see letter tothe right.) “He’s been their number-one advocate,and he’s always intelligently and forcefullyworking towards what is best for them and theschool. He’s analytical, thoughtful and powerfulin argument. Besides that, he’s an awful lotof fun to be around.” Music teacher EricGrenier will be taking on the position this fall.This was Sonia Wells’ last year as the directorof our school choir. “On behalf of everyonewho has sang in or listened to our choir, I’d liketo express our sincere gratitude for her decadeof devoted service to this program. Sonia, Ihave a feeling that we’ll still be seeing youaround campus in the years ahead,” saidHeadmaster Wolfe.Webster House director Keri Reynolds (1990)will move out of the library to join theUniversity Guidance team. She replacesRichard Nesbitt, who will teach fulltime.In MemoriamMalcolm “Mac” MacDonald, former boardmember and honorary trustee of StansteadCollege, passed away on July 12 at the age of91. A WWII RCAF veteran and later a directorof Butterfield’s in Rock Island, Mac was anactive member of the Stanstead Community.Besides Stanstead College, he was active in theRotary Club of the Boundary, the RoyalCanadian Legion, the Masonic Lodge, theStanstead Historical Society and the BorderCurling Club. He is survived by his wife Joan,former development office at Stanstead Collegeand author of The Stanstead College Story; theirchildren John, Heather and Keith; twograndchildren; and his sister Bernice Crawford.Helen (Hepburn) Colt (1931) passed awayJuly 21 in Stanstead at the age of 89. A residenton Campbell Street in Beebe for almost all ofher adult life, Helen moved into the WhiteKudos to staffThe Spring 2008 issue of the Red &White paid tribute to Stanstead College’s dedicatedsupport staff. As a follow-up, we’d liketo share these words written by outgoingDirector of Student Life Erik Van Dyke onthe occasion of the school’s closing staff barbecue.In my position as Director ofStudent Life, I’ve worked with prettymuch everybody here. And I’ve learnedsomething. But not just the old “theschool can’t run without its supportstaff ” cliché. Sure, that can be said ofany school. Rather, I’ve learned thatthis particular group of people aresome of the proudest, most competent,most professional people I’ve evermet. We are lucky to have you as a partof our community, for two main reasons:you take pride in your work, andyou care about the school.If you didn’t care, then maybe arenacoordinator Marc Parent wouldn’t stayup past 11:30 p.m. because the kids arehaving such a fun time at the free skate.If you didn’t care, then maybe driverDave Woodard wouldn’t wear five separatearticles of clothing with theStanstead crest on it so that he gets recognizedin the airport.If you didn’t care, then maybe YvesLavoie and his cafeteria staff wouldn’treceive a spontaneous standing ovationfrom the student body.Maybe night watchman SylvainBergeron wouldn’t confront a gang offour tough teenagers on campus all byhimself. Then again, I would still putmy money on Sylvain.House in Stanstead in 2007. She ispredeceased by her husband Clarenceand survived by children Charles, Judyand Robert as well as severalgrandchildren.Helen “Ruth” (Harris) Martin (1943)passed away in Ottawa on June 29 at theage of 85. Originally from Magog,27school newsMaybe Tuck Shop manager LucieRoy wouldn’t let me know which kidsare bullying which kids in the StudentCentre.Maybe Head of Housekeeping AltaSheldon wouldn’t come in at 6 a.m.Saturday morning to make sure a teamhas clean uniforms on day two of atournament.And who knows, if he didn’t care,maybe Garry Roy would decide, “Hey,we don’t really need a six-storey bonfirethat’s taller than our gymnasium.”These are just the first examples thatcome to my mind. There are many,many more that happen every daybecause everybody takes pride in theirwork. And everybody cares.Last but not least, my sincerestthanks to Donna Richter, Marie-ÈveSimard, Suzanne Marrotte and theentire Business Office. Whenever I hada question or needed something done,it was automatic, it was “fire and forget,”meaning I didn’t have to worryabout it anymore. I could fire it off andthen I could immediately forget aboutit, I knew it would be done, and donewell. How valuable is that to a school?Every single person I’ve worked withthe past several years has been helpful,competent and supportive. They notonly made things easy for me, but theyoften made a lasting impression on ourstudents as well.Anybody can do the job. But it takesspecial people to do the job well. Withpride. And with care.Thanks to each and every one of you.Erik Van DykeQuebec, Ruth attended McGill afterStanstead College. She subsequentlytaught school in Noranda and was aFrench-immersion substitute teacher inOttawa until her early seventies. She wasalso passionate about travel, bridge andhorses. She is survived by childrenNancy and Alec, three grandchildren,and sister Barbara