Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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YEAR BOOK, 1957 Page 5 To the Graduating Class of 1957 My Dear Girls: Your days at school are over, although you will continue to learn, I hope, as long as life shall last. We have tried above all to teach you that the only life worth living is the life that lived for others. Our Lord said, I have come that you might have light and have it more abun- dantly , but he did not mean abundant with the things and possessions with which we today are burdened. This Life Eternal is a Life of Quality, rather than a Life of Quan- tity. Our Lord said, Is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment . You have already been given so much, the opportunities which lie before you are endless and a full life is ready for all who will accept the call. The price is heavy be- cause it is all we possess, but remember when life is over all we take with us is what we have given away. May you ever strive to lay up for your- selves treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor dust doth corrupt and you will find that where your treasure is there will your heart be also. God bless you all.

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Page 4 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN EDITORIAL We are Canada. As the youth of this nation you and I have a vital role to play in the future, not only of Canada, but also of the world. When we say am a Canadian , just what does that mean? What is a Cana- dian? What is so important about Canada? For the answer to these questions, let us take a brief look at Canada ' s position in the world to-day. The most obvious aspect of this is that she is a link between the United States and Gr eat Britain; the go-between or glue that may or may not stick the two, now greatest, western powers together. The preservation of this bond is necessary to the future of our way of life and if there is a split the west could be overrun and destroyed. Another factor of importance is Canada ' s tremendous natural re- sources. The age of nuclear fission is upon us and the nation which holds the raw materials controls the production of power which may be used for peace or war. All the leading commercial metals, except tin, are found within Canada ' s borders; she possesses nine-tenths of the known nickel supply of the world and leads in the production of asbestos. Of greatest significance is the presence of the world ' s chief deposit of uranium near the eastern end of Great Bear Lake. Canada is a land of new industry and the education of its youth in the intricacies of science and engineering is imperative. In fact, higher education of all kinds is vital to the future of a nation which, one day, could lead the world. We, the young people of Canada, have been given the facilities to achieve such a standard of learning. Let us make use of them! So there we are; a young nation, playing a big game and holding a big ball. To-day Canada is young, but tomorrow she will have matured and so will we. It is up to you and me to decide upon what sort of a future Canada should have and to work towards that future. We, at Branksome, have already learned the tenets of a prosperous and rewarding future: truth, honesty, justice and purity. Let us build on these cornerstones not only in our personal lives, but also in the life of our country. There are two examples from which we may draw ideas as to our future national character. We may turn to our southern neighbour and become a wealthy nation of big deals, square deals and fair deals, or we may turn to our Mother Country and pattern ourselves after a nation which has lived for a thousand years in understatement, pageantry, tradition and reform. Or, the Canadian may be a blending of the two, learning from the technology of the one and the reserve and moral correctness of the other. As a school we have established links in both directions, but the strongest link reaches out to the older, stabler, proven land that is Britain. To obtain maturity should not youth look more to its Mother for guidance than to its neighbour ? THE EDITOR

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Page 6 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN INSTALLATION OF PREFECTS The installation of Prefects is a thrilling ceremony for all those connected with Branksome Hall. It is both a colourful spectacle and an inspiring service for in it are embodied the highest purposes of our school and ultimately of our lives. To a Prefect it is particularly memorable, for it marks the culmina- tion of a vital stage in her career. At least she may wear the red kilt, which she cherishes as a symbol of the many years she has enjoyed at Branksome ; years of working and playing ; of giving and receiving. As she follows the resplendent procession of Sub-Prefects proudly wearing their scarlet bands, of Clan Chieftains bearing their hard-won banners, and of the staff who have made this day possible for her, she is filled with gratitude and a desire to a new, and even more important chapter to the history of her school. During Miss Read ' s speech, in which our principal explains once again the early Scottish traditions of Branksome, and the four principles on which it is founded: truth, honesty, justice and purity, the Prefect realizes more clearly than ever before that these must be the basis for the coming chapter which she will help to write. Finally, her name is called and she mounts the chancel steps to receive Miss Read ' s congratulations. This is the proudest moment of all, for she is now officially installed as a Prefect of Branksome. THE SECOND INSTALLATION It has been a custom of Branksome for several years to hold a second installation of Prefects during the middle term. On January twenty-first, four new Prefects and five Sub-Prefects were installed, and we were proud to welcome them as leaders of the school. THE NEW BUILDING 1956-57 will long be remembered at Branksome. Chief among these memories will be terrazzo floors. Miss Claxton beaming at her fume cup- board, ' ' No admittance signs on the Scott House door, exhausted librari- ans moving books and the Opening Day of the New Building. Seldom has a building been more thoroughly inspected. A passing parade of five hundred students, their parents, and friends left little undiscovered. They noticed the ' ' almost permanent retort stands (they screw out of the desk tops), the sink covers and the oxygenated aquarium in the new labora- tories. In the library they were greeted by the clan standards, school flags, a fine encyclopedia, donated by the graduating class and three beautiful