Balmoral Hall School - Optima Anni Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

Page 14 text:

I2 BALMORAL HALIJS MENAGERIE Pete and Repeat are two turtles that belong to Nancy Ann Green. Nancy 'brought them back with her in September to give an official beginning to Balmoral Hall's Menagerie. The next addition came in October, to wit, a cat. It, rather he, followed some boarders to school, when they were returning from the Com- mand Performance of the Winnipeg Ballet Com- pany. He was named naturally enough, Philip, fit would have been Elizabeth otherwisej and he became a very much beloved pet. The next addition did not stay very long, fortunately! They were bees, which Miss Sharman brought to show the Science classes, three of these being particularly noted for escaping from their box and flying down the basement corridor, much to the consternation of the lunch lines. They were rescued without damage to anyone, or themselves, and were safely restored to their box. The most recent addition has been Pongo. Pongo is Sue Carnegie's little black cocker spaniel, who arrived with Sue after Christmas. Pongo was petted and fed, and was generally made a fuss over by everyone. Philip merely tolerated her, which was very good of him. What with turtles, cats, 'bees and dogs, I hardly think the girls would be surprised if Carol Cross brought her horse to school, or would they? Eirene Landon, Grade IX VALENTINE DANCE The main event for the seniors after Christ- mas was our Valentine Dance, Cupid's Capers , held on Saturday evening, February 16th, in the school gymnasium. There were red pillars of crepe paper decorated with cupids and hearts which hung from the tops of the windows to the floor, and also red and white streamers, between which hung rows of multi-coloured balloons. The music was supplied by Eaton's junior Council Executive Bandbox. All the latest records were played and to these we danced spot dances, broom dances and just ordinary dances. In the gaily-decorated school dining-room soft drinks, sandwiches, doughnuts and cookies were enjoyed. Naturally the most outstanding event of the dance was the dismantling of the balloons. Con- fusion and destruction reigned as everyone scrambled for at least one balloon. Footsore but very contented everyone agreed that the evening had been a great success. Moreover, from the proceeds of this dance we were able to make a contribution towards furnishing the new Senior School Common Room. Lorna Craig, Grade XI. THE WAVES The Waves by Virginia Woolf is, without doubt, the most unusual book I have ever read, not in plot but in style and thought. The empha- sis in this novel is not on story, but on the inter- pretation of the author's view of life. The book has six main characters-Bernard, Louis, and Neville, Susan, Rhoda and jinny- and is a sort of biography of all six characters, of how their differences in personality develo ed and led them on separate roads through liife. Perhaps I should say autobiography, for one of the peculiarities of style in the book is that it is written from beginning to end in the first person -quotation-with the six characters taking turns in telling, in a meditative fashion as a rule, of their feelings and moods and their various out- looks on life and people. All this is written in an impressionistic style-vivid and modern- which, although hard at first to take in large doses, soon becomes a part of one, and lifts one up and over into the mood of the book. The book is divided into several sections, each preceded by a sort of prologue. The lifef or livesj of the six characters is likened to a day on a shore by the sea, and each section or stage in their lives is a stage in the day's progress. The first section's prologue describes dawn as the sun is just coming up over the horizon, but as yet everything is dusky, indistinct and still. This depicts the first stage in their lives, their early childhood, the dawn of life, so to speak. In this part the children are all playing in a large, treed garden in the morning before lessons, and from the text we understand, as throughout the book, what is going on-we gather the story fwhat there is of itj from their speeches, although it is never told in direct form. In the next section, both the sunrise and the lives of the characters having progressed a bit farther, the children are sent away to school for the first time, and life begins to take on a new meaning. In the next part, as depicted by the further rise of the sun and the increasing pitch of the drama, as the waves come crashing and rolling on to the beach with greater force, the six people, now men and women, leave school and set out into the world on their own, their characters meanwhile having become quite distinct. Bernard, for example, is poetic, Louis becomes a banker, jinny becomes a fashion- able figure of society, and Susan remains a rather countrified, nature-loving type of person. At the end of the book, Death comes at last, as the sun sinks below the horizon, leaving the world in darkness,-and The waves broke on the shore. Although I personally do not always agree with Virginia Woolf's philosophy of life-I think she makes it appear unnecessarily hopeless, dreary and tragic-I do think she has a wonderful gift

Page 13 text:

BALLATER HOUSESL. CRAIG, HEAD BACK ROW-Diana Duncan, J. Davidson, P. Clark, F. Maefarland, B. M. Ormiston. SECOND ROW-J. Steward, S. Moore, M. Edmonds, Dawna Duncan, G. Brooking. THIRD ROW-S. J Selvice, M. R D. Ph' is E. Th ' . ' oss, im omson, P. Busby. FOURTH ROWHA. Brumell, S. Kelsey, J. Mathewson, M. Hunt, B. Atkin. FRONT ROW-M. Ford, D. Duncanson, D. Mathewson. G. Allman. ABSENT-B. M. Townsend, P. Perrin, G. Kilgour, G. McLean. R. Lynde. BALLATER HOUSE This year Ballater extended a warm welcome to its new girls, Diana Mathewson, Dinny Phipps, jane Mathewson, Maureen Hunt, Daphne Duncanson, Sandra lean Service, Shelagh Kelsey, Maureen Ford and jennifer Steward. We began our sports activities with a Track and Field Competition in which we were espe- cially proud of Dawna Duncan and Elaine Thom- son who captured the Intermediate and junior Championships, respectively. Through our volley- ball team's keen sense of interest we placed a very close second in the house championship. We placed first in the speed skating races with Mary Ross and Gail Allman carrying oft honours. We also did exceptionally well in the Ping Pong Tournament, to which a great deal of the credit goes to Muriel Edmonds who won the Senior Championship and to Gail Brooking who won the Intermediate Championship. In the two Penny Races, in the fall and the spring for the Com- munity Chest and the Red Cross, respectively, Ballater came out on top both times thanks to the great enthusiasm of the House. Everyone was very keenly interested in the Photography Contest and helped to gain points for the house by their many contributions. Towards the end of February we enjoyed an exciting and invigorating Tally-ho through the park, and then we went back to Elaine Thom- sonls for hot dogs and cokes. We are indeed grateful to Mrs. Thomson for her kind hospitality on that occasion. We still have house-basketball matches to play, to which I am sure you have been looking for- ward since the beginning of the year. At this point I would like to thank our staff members, Miss Dickson, Miss Hawkes and Mrs. Coulter who have helped us a great deal through- out the year. I would also like to thank joan Davidson our Sport's Captain, Frances Macfarland our secretary, and Betty-Mae Townsend our uni- form monitress, for their understanding and con- tinued support. Lastly I would like to thank all of you for the privilege of being your House Head this year. I feel that we have great house spirit, which has been shown to me on numerous occasions and of which I am very proud. I wish every success to our new Head and I am sure she will receive the same Hne sportsmanship and energy that you have given to me all this year. a ' Lorna Craig.

Page 15 text:

I3 for making use of words, and her style is quite enchanting. All in all, The Waves is a fascin- .tting book-a new and intriguing experience in modern literature. Ann Jennings, Grade XI. SABIN PIERRE tPrize-Winning storyj When Sabin Pierre Beaumont first came to our school he was the immediate centre of attraction. We had been hearing quite a bit about Mr. Beaumont and his grandson for the past few weeks. Mr. Beaumont had bought the old Haver House, a big, ramshackle barn of a house, about half a mile from our farm. Not many people move into our town, so the Beaumonts' arrival was quite an event. Ile rode into the school yard on a strawberry- coloured mare, that had a creamy mane and tail. She was taller than most horses that we rode to school, about fifteen and a half hands high. The mare, Faiz-Ullah, stood in the little clearing in front of the school champing on her bit and tossing her head, like a fiery Arabian steed in one of the stories in our reader. Sabin Pierre sat easily in his saddle, looking down on us all with a quiet, searching glance. He had a quiet air about him--very-dignified, almost, but his snapping black eyes showed a hidden recklessness. He wasn't different from the rest of us, a bit handsomer, perhaps, but he stood out. He swung out of the saddle and started towards the shed, all eyes upon him. He rubbed Faiz-Ullah down, then turned her loose in the little Held next to the school-house, and started back into school. All that time, with seventy piercing eyes upon him, he never made any move that betrayed his awareness of our presence. It was almost as if he were used to being the centre of attraction. In school, Sabin Pierre outshone us all. He soon headed the class, but he never got the nick- names Brain or Teacher's Pet. He held himself aloof from the rest of us, not above us, just apart. Summer, for me, started out pretty dull. There weren't many kids around our farm, so all I could see ahead was work. I was sitting on the fence behind the barn, listening to the crickets chirping in the long grass at my feet. A hot haze had settled over everything, making me feel lazy. I was surprised to hear hoof-beats on the west road behind me. In a moment Sabin Pierre reined Faiz-Ullah to a stop beside me. Hello, Kim. Are you doing anything much to-day? 'Lo, Sabin Pierre. I haven't much to do. Why? Because I'd like you to go swimming with me, down by the old covered bridge. Be with you in a sec. That swim started a friendship between the three of us, Sabin Pierre, Faiz-Ullah and myself. We were together most of the summer, and I grew to like them an awful lot. Sabin Pierre was a very good artist. He painted Faiz-Ullah, and gave the picture to me. There was a portrait of his grandfather he had done, which hung over the mantlecpiece in the Beaumonts' parlour. It was as goo as any I'd ever seen, and it was one of Grand'pere Beau- mont's prize possessions. Sabin Pierre was a musician, too. He played the violin. I heard him once, playing a gypsy melody, which thrilled me and made me listen. One day, towards the end of August, Sabin Pierre came running over to our place. Kim, Kim! What's up? Has the colt come? Faiz- Ullah was due to have a foal that month. Yes! He ran off and in two minutes I caught up with him. The foal came that afternoon, a little bay horse-colt. But Faiz-Ullah grew sick. Pneumonia. She was sick for two weeks, and during that time Sabin Pierre never left 'her side. He grew thin and weak and neither Grand'pere Beaumont nor I could persuade him to leave. When Faiz-Ullah died, Sabin Pierre left the stable for the first time. He ran down the path into the woods. I ran after him, trying to keep up. I kept him in sight until I came to the cross-roads. I was just wondering which path to take, when I heard a scream coming from the left, where the marsh began. When I reached the marsh, I looked around wildly for him. Then, near the middle of the marsh, I saw a ring of bubbles rising to the surface. Across the middle of the marsh, was a series of hillocks leading to the other side. I saw shoe prints on the first two, then the bubbles. You know the sort of devil-may-care feeling you get when you have been hurt. I knew Sabin Pierre had felt that way. On top of that, he was very reckless, always doing dangerous stunts, for fun. I have two remembrances of that summer. A picture of a strawberry coloured mare with a creamy mane and tail and a little bay horse-colt. I named him Sabin Pierre. Eirene Landon, Grade IX.