Best Friends

“Best Friends” forever

By Genevieve Cloutier ’03, Alumnae Relations Coordinator


“Best friends should be together,

that's how it ought to be.
So let’s pretend I’m part of you,
and you are part of me.”

This is a song loved by current BH girls and alumnae alike. I remember singing this song as a child when I enrolled at Balmoral Hall School in Grade 3. Proudly, I continue to sing it at assemblies still as alumnae relations coordinator. It brings back very heartwarming emotions, provoking memories of my 10 years at Balmoral Hall and the friendships that I still cherish today.

Each year at our cherished Doll Assembly, the alumnae prefect is asked to present a topic of her choosing related to the school’s history. At this year’s assembly, following an expression of interest from Head of School Joanne Kamins in 2014, Alumnae Prefect Simran Roopra ’15 decided to research the history of “Best Friends” for her presentation.
 
In her own words: “The ‘Best Friends’ song is about a person who you value above other friends in your life – someone you have fun with, someone you trust, and someone you confide in. The ‘Best Friends’ song has always been a tradition at our Doll Assembly, but I don’t know if anyone has ever actually thought about where this song comes from.”
 
For nine years, Simran sang this song, and in Grade 12 she set out to discover its origins.

Simran’s quest naturally began in School Archives, though we had no information on the song’s beginnings. Archivist Lyn Stephen ’57 encouraged her to speak to teachers who were at the school during the time she thought it originated, the late 70s, 80s, or early 90s. She spoke with Mrs. Steek, Ms Fulton Baillie, and Ms Baxter-Naughten, who directed her to the music department and Mrs. Ilavsky, who taught music at Balmoral Hall from 1978 to 2000. Unable to connect with Mrs. Ilavsky prior to the assembly, Simran approached current Junior School music teacher Dr. Doerksen, who found the original score.
 
They learned that “Best Friends” was written in 1971 by songwriter Margaret Jones and composer James Rooker. It was adopted (and adapted) by Balmoral Hall School, but no record exists as to when the song came to us. We do, however, have Mrs. Ilavsky and generations of amazing teachers, staff, and students who kept this tradition alive, which means so very much to so many of us.

Help us uncover the BH roots of “Best Friends”
 
 
Do you know what year we began singing “Best Friends”?
 
Contact me at alumnae@balmoralhall.com to share your memories of our school song.
 
 
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Balmoral Hall School

630 Westminster Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada  R3C 3S1
Tel: (204) 784-1600 | Fax: (204) 774-5534 | info@balmoralhall.ca
Charitable Registration No. 12994 3932 RR0001
Our mission at Balmoral Hall School is to inspire girls’ imagination and the courage to excel, to reach, to lead, to care.

We are a nondenominational independent day and boarding school, educating students from Junior Nursery to Grade 12.