Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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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]

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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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sorrow that it has never felt before, and also, I think its greatest loss. Miss Gumming said that she will be very sorry to leave us but that she will be glad to live her own life. We agree with her wholeheartedly and we wish her the best of luck and happiness in the years that are before her. B. S. From a Father and a Grandfather As a father and grandfather of her pupils it has been my privilege to know Miss Gumming, first through her connection with Miss Knox at Havergal School in Toronto where my daughter was under her tuition. Here I had my first insight into the mind and character of this great teacher. I say great because in these days, un- fortunately, so few teachers are able to combine in themselves fine scholarship and ability to impart knowledge, with that strong brave spirit of service and justice which every teacher must have to be considered great . Arnold had it and Thring and many others of their period. I consider Miss Gumming as one of the few who have caught their torch and handed it on to the benefit of so many hundreds of girls who at Havergal and Trafalgar came under the influence of this fine woman. As a parent I was by no means unconscious of the deep spirituality underlying the mere teacher in Miss Gumming, and not only I and her mother, but our daughter herself has been very grateful for all the inspiration she has received from her. And now for some years my granddaughter has been under Miss Gumming as Principal of Trafalgar. I have followed the teaching and mental and spiritual growth of this child very closely, having had leisure to do so, and I have been amazed at the intimate knowledge that the principal of this big school has had at all times, not only of the progress of the one child in whom I have been interested, but in each and every girl in the school. When I say progress I mean perhaps least of all book-and-examination progress, although we all know of the School ' s fine record under Miss Gumming. What has pleased me beyond words has been the quiet, unobstrusive watching at all times for the spiritual needs and growth of the child, that growth which can be made or marred in a big school by a head-mistress who is working for examination results more than char- acter development and one who is content often to play more to material requirements of Boards or Parents rather than to make the girls ' spiritual future her chief aim. I am sure I am voicing the thanks of hundreds of parents in what I have here written, and feel that this is but a small tribute we can pay to Miss Gumming for all she has done for our girls. May she have many years in which to enjoy the relaxation she has so thoroughly deserved. F. W. [19]