Central Collegiate Institute - Analecta Yearbook (Calgary, Alberta Canada)

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12 THE ANALECTA VALEDICTORY Another year, another graduating class, another farewell! A lasting farewell this. Mingled feelings of sorrow and expectation. Anxious to face the future, yet loathe to leave those happy years—years crammed to over¬ flowing with experiences—some amusing, some enjoyable, some successful and some not. Looking back, we catch a kaleidoscopic impression of hours of work, dances, speeches, play practises, parties, lits, games. Never again will such a wealth of companionship and opportunity for study be laid at our feet. What have we extracted from them? What is their net total? To find it we must sweep away the rather immaterial successes or failures at examinations. The real failure or success lies not in the marks— but in the sincerity of our efforts. Those years have been of benefit to us if we have caught a glimpse of the vast expanse of knowledge, of which we can only hope to touch a small part. If we have a new-found veneration for learning and a thirst for more the efforts of our teachers have been successful. They have striven not to fill us with mere facts, but to give us a foretaste of what lies before us; to give us an appreciation of the true and lasting values. Their lessons did not consist of a presentation of facts only, but of problems which in real life loom very large. If we have learned the real lessons well, we will not fail when the hand of the teacher is removed. From our activities outside school hours, we have reaped not only pleasure but lasting benefit. The loss is immeasurable if you have never experienced the fearful excitement that precedes a play performance, a debate, or a final game. Faculties in us that lie untouched by the academic course, are roused by our activities in one or other of the societies. They are the spice of school-life, and without them it would be a very dull experience. To you who follow we bequeath the teachers a little greyer; the desks a little more disfigured; a few more echoes in the halls; and the task of keeping up the reputation of C.C.I. perhaps a little heavier. The students of the past have kindled a torch of honor with their achievements and successes. We, who are graduating have tried to keep it burning. It’s brilliance in the future rests with you. May it never be dimmed! KATHLEEN ALLEN.