Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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founding, and has been kept abreast with the times. The House System was estab- lished, which fosters a spirit of co-operation among the girls; the Houses being named for the founders and builders of the School, who have passed to higher service: — Fairley, Ross, Barclay, and Riddell. A good Library has been installed, largely through the efforts of the Matriculation Class of 1928. Miss Gumming never missed a day of School in her twenty-three years, and it is a matter for congratulation that the pupils have been singularly free from serious illness during that time. She has ably maintained the high ideals and traditions of the School, the evidence of her success being the high standing taken by Trafalgar girls, not only in the Matriculation Examinations, but at the University, where many have been awarded valuable Scholarships, and after graduation have been appointed to important posts in the Scholastic world, and in other walks of life. Miss Gumming has our very best wishes for the enjoyment of a well-earned rest, as we bid her farewell and God speed. M. L. B. From an Old Girl IT has been said that there is apt to be a simplicity about a truly great man that ren- ders difficult the task of adequate description , and it seems to me that those words might well apply to Miss Gumming. To try to express in words what she has been to the school, and to those of us who have been privileged to work with her, is a well-nigh impossible task. In thinking of some of her great qualities one might speak first of the ideal she has always set before us of devotion to work. To do one ' s best — and to be content with nothing less — to work for the sake of the work itself, and the joy that there is in it, has been the standard that she has set by her own example. One might speak, too, of her understanding and sympathy. No one ever went to her with a problem without coming away with some knowledge of how best to meet it, and how many of us have been immeasurably heartened by her assurance that there is always a way out . Her strong belief in the ultimate goodness of things, gave many of us the courage we needed to go ahead through difficult days. Her devotion to the welfare of all connected with the school, is something that can never be measured in words. No detail was ever too small for her careful consideration, and her sound judgment was relied upon by us all. Those of us who were fortunate enough to have been taught by Miss Gumming, will be grateful to her always, for putting into our hands the key whereby we might find countless treasures, and in particular for giving to us a knowledge of and love for the Bible. How often we have been reminded of her words and teaching by hearing, per- haps long afterwards, some of the familiar morning verses . Trafalgar stands today, and will stand in the future, a monument to her great- mindedness and devotion. The traditions that she has established will not soon be for- gotten, and G anada will be the richer for the influence for good she has had upon so many lives. [17]

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Quietly we have talked the matter over, sifting it thoroughly. Where I disagreed with her, or she with me, we said so, without sharpness, and with the realization that only by expressing such disagreements as we felt, could we eventually arrive somewhere near the solution of the problem of the moment. One thing above all others has, from the beginning, given me confidence in her judgment. Never has she given me a snap deci- sion. It has been her way to take things under advisement , to think them over care- fully, slowly, weighing all the evidence, all the elements that make up the life of the individual girl. Each girl is, to her, distinctly individual — there is no mass-treatment in her mind ! In a school of two hundred and fifty pupils, it has frequently amazed me to find how conversant she is at all times with the details of each girl ' s work and char- acter. It would be easy to overlook many details, but that has not been Miss Cumming ' s way. At length, having thought over the problem under consideration, she offers her counsel, and I have found it, again and again, full of meat — wise and sound, in a way that snap judgments cannot be. It is impossible to express the quality of greatness one feels in talking with Miss Gumming. Is it in what she says, or is it the spirit that looks out from the eyes? How is one to say? In the eyes lies wisdom, born of long experience and vision and perception, and that God-given attribute, Ghristian charity. In the eyes, too, lies a gentle humility and a quiet steadiness. And in the eyes, often, a puckish humour lights the face in a flash of fun like a schoolgirl gamin . Here, then, I have always felt after a talk with her, is someone who knows and truly loves girls and is their friend. And here, as I realize after all these years, is one of the greatest women I shall ever have known. M. H. From a Member of the Staff KNOWING Miss Cumming ' s great aversion to publicity of any sort, my task is not an easy one, but I wish to pay my tribute to one whose retirement is a matter of genuine regret to many girls, past and present, to teachers and parents alike. I had been on the Staff for a long time before Miss Gumming came to the School, and worked in close co-operation with her for ten years, thus having every opportunity of observing her quiet unassuming way of carrying on her work, and her deep interest in, and care for every girl under her charge. I greatly appreciate the fact, that, since my retirement, she has always made me feel that I still belong to the School, by giving me an honoured place at all the functions held there from time to time. Miss Gumming has served the School for twenty-three years with conspicuous ability, with singleness of purpose, and devotion to duty, and has given unreservedly of her time and strength. She has taken an interest in, and upheld the members of the teaching staff. An able French and German scholar, she inspired the girls whom ' she taught, but her aim was not only to give them a knowledge of books or languages, but to develop character, and give them a knowledge of the deeper things of life. During her regime the School fittingly celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its [16]

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Her retirement will mean a great loss to the educational life of the whole Dominion and an irreparable loss to the school. Our love and good wishes go out to her for many years of happiness to enjoy her well-earned leisure. We realize, with a sense of deep thanksgiving, what a privilege it has been to work with her through these happy years, and know that, because of what her life has meant to us, we ourselves will walk more worthily all our days. M. B. J. From the Head Girl of the House IF anyone were to ask, What has Miss Gumming done for Trafalgar School? I do not think the answer would be much short of Everything! It is difficult for us who are now in school to know what she has done outside, but what we do know is that she has made the name of Trafalgar School stand out among those of the other schools in Canada. Everyone knows of its high standards in scholarship and discipline. Many of the things that Miss Gumming does for us are taken very much for granted. It is she who plans out the daily routine for each form; she who keeps the school in order by her rules, and sees to it that they are kept; she who fulfils the nasty duty of seeing to everyone ' s bad marks, for I am sure she does not like punishing or scolding us any more than we like to be punished or scolded, and dealing with them accordingly ; and it is she who takes a keen and understanding interest in all we do and gives advice, praise and criticism all with the same good will and sincerity. There does not seem to be anything that Miss Gumming cannot do. My greatest admiration goes to her for her wide knowledge of French, German and Latin, and her tremendous powers of making us understand them. Whenever any of the mistresses are sick or away for any reason, she takes their place, if she cannot get anyone else, which is very often, and continues with the lesson as though nothing had happened. Miss Gumming ' s own subject that she teaches day by day is Scripture. Her knowl- edge of the Bible is to be wondered at. She seems to see in those pages many things that none of us would ever see, and to understand their hidden meanings. Besides knowing the Bible herself, she makes us understand it and takes us with her to visit the characters of the Old and New Testaments and to be with Jesus and love and understand His teach- ings. I have learnt more from Miss Gumming than I ever learnt or ever expect to learn from an one else. There have been a great many girls here since 1917 and Miss Gumming knows and remembers them all. She knows the ins and outs of every girl who is now in school and always shows an interest in home affairs. When there are Old Girls ' teas here in school many girls come who left school recently and many ladies who left a long time ago. Miss Gumming has not forgotten them. She meets them all with her radiant smile and makes them feel, old and young, that they have never left school, for once we get out of school we wish we were back in it again! When Miss Gumming steps for the last time on the familiar gravel of Trafalgar, this school will be saying farewell to its dearest inhabitant Trafalgar will be fe eling a [18]