Torch - Spring 2015

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| SPRING 2015 • TORCH 23
Spirit Week and Hockey Day
Havergal hosts Spirit Week in order to brighten up the cold and
snowy February that is typical in Toronto. This weeklong celebration
of school pride includes Grade Cheer-Offs, Spirit Assemblies and
Green & Gold Day, which is held on Hockey Day—an annual
exhibition game that sees students from Grades 5 to 12 cheer on the
Havergal Gators as they play against Bishop Strachan School (BSS)
for the Hewitt Cup.
Hockey Day is the highlight of Spirit Week, and the most spirited
athletic contest of the school year. The Havergal/BSS event developed
from Upper Canada College’s (UCC) Hockey Night at Maple Leaf
Gardens more than 50 years ago. The feature game of that evening
was UCC’s student hockey team playing against UCC Old Boys.
During this event, Havergal’s Old Girls would take to the ice in a
mini-game (wearing their tunics, white figure skates and without
helmets or other protective gear) and compete against the Old Girls
from BSS. Each member of the winning ladies’ team was presented
with a red rose.
Today, the format of Havergal’s Hockey Day has changed
significantly: it is now a separate event from UCC’s. The three-
period match is now played at North Toronto Memorial Arena.
The winning team takes home the Elizabeth Hewitt Cup, which was
donated by Bill Hewitt and named in honour of his mother, wife of
Foster Hewitt, of Hockey Night in Canada fame.
Hockey Day 2015 was especially high-spirited as Havergal won the
Hewitt Cup in an overtime shootout, returning the cup to Havergal
after a long six years away at BSS.
House Shout
A high-energy day at Havergal that demonstrates outward school
spirit is House Shout. The idea for House Shout was initiated in
the 1960s when students wanted to create a common project that
they could work on as a House that would cause excitement and
connection.
In October 1966, under the leadership of Havergal’s Fourth Principal,
Catherine Steele, House Shout was added to the annual Sports Day.
Back then, the only House Shout rule was that each House could cheer
for no longer than two minutes. The event was a hit with students
and it soon took over Sports Day entirely. As House Shout became
an event on its own, it became increasingly important and students
became much more imaginative in the props they used during their
cheers, including a school bus one year and a horse on another
occasion. The unfair advantage of these items led to the development
of the second rule of House Shout: no props could be used.
Today, House Shout is traditionally held on the second Monday
of May. Students wear the most brightly House-coloured and
imaginative costumes for this annual event and come together to
perform outstanding cheers and songs. Judged by a different group
of Havergal faculty and staff each year, the winning House earns the
House Cup, which is a great honour for that House and the House
Captains. The House Cup is presented at the end of the school year.
House Shout 1975, from the Dr. Catherine Steele 1928 Archives
Hockey Day 2015