For the third straight year, St. George’s students celebrated “Chiller Diller day.” Three years ago Arshan Bains, alongside the rest of the community and connections committee organized the inaugural day.

Originally, the day was aimed to provide a break for students in the most stressful time of year. With marks so important at the end of second term, it was a bright idea and was welcomed among the student community.  The inaugural day included a “no test” policy and was also a casual day, however it did not offer much more than that.

In the three years the event has been around, it has grown substantially and has become a staple of the Saint’s Celebration calendar. 2018 saw music and food trucks added to the celebration, making the day much more notable. One of the problems that had plagued the day in its first two years was the lack of notice for teachers when planning tests. This led to displeasure from students, who were assigned assessments on the day.  The 2017 and’18 “Chiller Diller” days were successes, although there were clear improvements that needed to be made.

The 2019 event took on a life of its own. Food trucks, music, no test and casual day all still took place, but the biggest change was the advanced notice to teachers; meaning there were truly no assessments which were able to take place on the day. The event also got a bit of a spark this year due to the snow. While originally planned for the first week of february; the day was postponed until the 27th, meaning it happened in conjunction with “Pink Shirt Day,” which added a missing level of spirit to both events.

In 2018 the organizing committee was able to organize multiple food trucks to come to the school, however it proved too costly and students failed to take advantage of the opportunity. Because of this, 2019 saw only one food truck make its way to St. Georges, although the quality was much better. Famous Vancouver food stand, “JapaDog” came to the school and provided students with the rare opportunity to have something other than the school provided lunch. The choice of food was well regarded among students and was certainly a highlight of the day for all of those who indulge.

“It was a great, relaxing day” said an un-named grade 10 student in regard to how the day went. He went on to say “the biggest highlight for me was casual dress. We don’t get many casual days anymore and I like the vibe that surrounds the school when everyone is in civies.”

It is true that the senior school has had far fewer casual days in the 2018-19 school year, and “Chiller Diller” day offered the chance for students to re-hash memories of past years.

All in all “Chiller Diller” day 2019 was a resounding success, and one can only look forward to what 2020 has to offer.