Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Ridley Prefects Announced!

Headmaster Jonathan Leigh has announced the prefects for next year. Now you might be asking what is a prefect and why should I care that they are being announced. Well if you go to Ridley College or went to Ridley College you will know that besides the fact that prefects get to wear sweet white blazers with orange piping there is a lot more to it and it is a great honour to be appointed as one. Students go through a lengthy process to become a prefect, first they go through house elections, after that the faculty votes and then it comes down to interviews with the headmaster and the final decision. Now back to the original question- what is a prefect? Prefects are senior students who are considered to be the school's strongest leaders, they are committed to Ridley and uphold all its traditions and ideals. The prefect group influences the atmosphere, tone and spirit of the school. Prefects are involved in and organize many school events. Congratulations to the 2010-2011 prefects!



Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Ridley Rowing: Bronze Medal for Sculler


Congratulations to Ridley Senior Sculler Ryan M. Ryan received a bronze medal for his performance in Sunday's South Niagara High School Invitational Regatta. The event is one of the largest high school regattas in Canada and draws approximately 1500 athletes from Canada and the United States.


Art Student Honoured


Congratulations to Nicola N., a Grade 12 AP Studio Art student, who has won the Best in Show award at this year's Niagara Regional Youth Art Exhibition. Nicola's work, along with senior secondary student work from 13 other schools in the Niagara region, is on exhibition at the Niagara Youth Art Gallery until June 20th.

The Houses of Ridley: Burgoyne House

Burgoyne House is the only Junior boarding house on campus. There are 16 students who live in Burgoyne and the countries that are currently represented in the house are: Japan, Korea, Mexico, Canada and America. Watch the video below to find out more about Burgoyne House.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

TheatreLink: Using Technology in the Arts

Yesterday the Grade 11 drama students completed the TheatreLink playwriting programme. They performed a play written by students from the Robert Morgan Educational Centre in Florida via video conferencing. After a discussion facilitated by The Manthattan Theatre Club, Ridley students watched the play that they wrote performed by students from Oregon. TheatreLink is an international web-based playwriting programme in its second year at Ridley. There are fourteen schools involved in the programme and it is sponsored by The Manhattan Theatre Club.

The Ridley performance was very well received by the students from Florida and their teacher had this to say,"My students were especially moved by the intensity of the actors' perfomances and the way each character was portrayed exactly as they imagined. Your sets were, in the words of my students, "awesome." You truly honored us with your performance." Watch the video below to see a portion of the performance:

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Houses of Ridley: Merritt North

Merritt North boys are born athletes--the house has won the Bermuda Cup for the past five years and Sports Day for the past nine years. But as Max Fischer says don't let their athletic exterior fool you Merritt North is a well rounded house. Click on the video below to hear more about Merritt North.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Cadet Inspection 2010

(Photo credit- Brett Mortensen '10)


The 103rd Annual Ridley Cadet Inspection was held over the weekend. Thankfully the weather was ideal, not too hot and not too cold for the cadets (as we know from past years if it's too hot cadets start dropping like flies). The Inspecting Officer was Vice Admiral Charles Style CBE and he was joined by George C. Hendrie '74, Chairman of the Board. Click on the video below to see what Ridley Cadets is all about - - I am sure it will bring back some memories for all the Old Ridleians out there!


Friday, May 14, 2010

Campus Watch: Cadet Inspection



The 103rd annual Ridley Cadet Inspection is being held this Saturday on campus starting at 11 am. Cadet inspection is a longstanding tradition at Ridley. Check out the videos from past inspections:

View video from the 1942 inspection:


View video from the 1981 inspection:

Monday, May 10, 2010

Merritt North: Music Night


Merritt North hosted their annual music competition over the weekend. Dean's House came out on top, but there were a lot of talented performers. Check out the video highlighting some of the performances.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Cabaret Nominated for 14 Cappies!


It's the Niagara Regions version of the Tony Awards! And Ridley's production of Cabaret has been nominated for 14 Cappies. The Cappies are local theatre awards and Ridley is competing against six other local productions. The winners will be announced at an awards night at St. Catharines Collegiate on May 27th. The cast is also performing a number from the show during the ceremony. Congratulations on the nominations!

Here are the nominees from Ridley:

Sound
Gregorio A, Ridley College, Cabaret

Sets
Véronique B, Ridley College, Cabaret

Make-up
Gloria S & Katrina S, Ridley College, Cabaret

Creativity
Conad K, Technology, Ridley College, Cabaret

Ensemble in a Musical
Kit Kat Klub Girls, Ridley College, Cabaret

Featured Actor in a Musical
Willi K, Ridley College, Cabaret

Female Dancer
Alexis K, Ridley College, Cabaret

Female Vocalist
Briony K, Ridley College, Cabaret

Comic Actress in a Musical
Madeline K, Ridley College, Cabaret

Supporting Actress in a Musical
Sophia W, Ridley College, Cabaret

Lead Actress in a Musical
Alanna K, Ridley College, Cabaret

Lead Actor in a Musical
Colin H, Ridley College, Cabaret

Song
Willkommen, Ridley College, Cabaret

Musical
Cabaret, Ridley College

Thursday, May 6, 2010

The Houses of Ridley: Dean's House

Dean's House is home of the knights and their motto is "Carpe Diem". It's the only stand-alone house on campus. 44 boys call Dean's House their home, including Louis B. from Montreal:

The Houses of Ridley: Gooderham East

Sixty girls call GEast their home (30 boarders and 20 day students). A.B.C - Always -Be-Cind is the "crocs" motto. They organize the Run for the Cure for the entire school, sponsor a child with World Vision and organize a Christmas shoebox program. Watch Lara G. talk about her house:

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The Houses of Ridley:Gooderham West

Gooderham West is the home of the flamingos. There are 20 boarders and 19 day students in GWest. The house supports Breast Cancer Research and the Community Care Toy Drive. View the video below to see Briony talk about what makes Gooderham West her home away from home:

The Houses of Ridley:Merritt South

The incredible hulk lives in Merritt South (well not quite, but their crest does depict a strong man flexing that they call the hulk). At every house meeting a boy is honoured with the hulk of the week trophy for something special they have recently achieved. Want to learn more, listen to Tomas P. talk about his house:

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Church Parade

He Made It!!
It's always a tense moment when the Drum Sergeant Major throws the mace over the gates - will the mace be caught? or fall to the ground? or not even make it over the gates in the first place? Despite the pressure drum Sergeant Major Ryan Maloney '10 was calm and effortlessly tossed the mace over the gates as everyone cheered and clapped (for me it was especially exciting being my first church parade and all). For those of you who don't know - this past weekend was Church Parade where the Ridley cadets march through downtown St. Catharines. The parade starts with the cadets moving out from the school and the Drum Sergeant Major throwing the mace over the gates and hopefully catching it, the next notable stop is 68 Yates Street (the former site of the school) where the cadets do a traditional "eyes left" - our headmaster Mr. Jonathan Leigh along with Lt. Carl Dorland – a veteran of World War II and former Ridley Faculty member – and Henry Burgoyne ’67 (representing his mother, Mrs. Dorothy Burgoyne-Doolittle, who also served in the Second World War and is a former member of Ridley’s Board of Governors) were at the site, the last stop of the parade is the front circle of campus where there is a drum head ceremony. Despite humidity and the threat of rain the weather stayed relatively nice and the cadets did an amazing job! Check out the video from the parade:

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Houses of Ridley: Mandeville House

You can hear the ducks all over Ridley's campus... it's no wonder the motto of Mandeville house is "where there is spirit there is song." Take a look at the video below featuring one of Mandeville's own - Gaelan

The Houses of Ridley: Arthur Bishop West

Arthur Bishop West is the home of the Titans. With 30 boarders and 22 day students ABW has a reputation for being laid back, but they also have an intense house spirit. Listen to Shaun H. tell you about his house: