YHS Takes Top Spots at Provincial Speech Championships

York House students took top spots at this weekend’s Provincial Speech Championships in Vancouver. Saskia, Gr. 10, placed first in the Acting Category, and Rosa, Gr. 10, placed first for Persuasive Speaking and Debate, second for Acting and third overall in the tournament. Rosa will also be advancing to the National Competition in Winnipeg next February, which is the qualifier for the World Public Speaking & Debate Competition. Also competing were Isabelle, Gr. 11, Sarah, Gr. 10, and Catherine, Gr. 9. All the girls represented YHS very well, and should be congratulated on their positivity and sportsmanship!

Thank you to our coaches and chaperones Ms. Wong, Ms. Bosco and Ms. Higgins, and thank you to everyone involved in providing this great opportunity for our students!

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Yorkies Compete in Canadian Improv Tournament

This season was one of the most successful seasons for the York House Improv program. Consisting of four teams of performers and coaches from Grade 8-12, the YHS teams rehearsed two mornings a week for months with the ultimate goal of competing in the Canadian Improv Games (CIG) tournament.

The Junior CIG tournament consisted of 26 teams from across the Lower Mainland. In order to have more students involved in improv, York House separates teams by grade level, although their competition typically consists of teams with a mix of students from Grades 7-10. All three teams performed exceptionally well, with the Grade 10 team just narrowly missing the finals.

The Grade 8 team’s performance was particularly impressive as the team has only been improvising for a few months.  

Junior results:
Grade 10: 8th place
Grade 8: 10th
Grade 9: Top 15

Watch the Junior team in action here.

Our Senior Improv team started out in a pool of 27 teams and progressed through three rounds of competition to qualify for the finals. The last time that YHS qualified for the finals was in 2007 when the improv team won the CIG tournament and attended the National tournament in Ottawa. This year, their appearance in the final, and 6th place finish overall, was particularly impressive as 10 different students filled the eight team spots over the course of the tournament. The future of YHS improv looks strong! Watch the Senior team here.

Shannon Harrigan