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

Page 14 text:

VALEDICTORY r p ' HIS is our night, Central, yours and mine! It belongs not only to the graduating class but to you also. We students stand on the threshold of a new world, a new realm. Whether we conquer it or not de¬ pends entirely on what we ourselves are and on what we have accomplished during our years with you. When we first passed through your doors we were a parade of timid Grade Tens, pushed into a confusing world in which we could either sink or swim. Your halls were a labyrinth and your rooms unfamiliar. We were faced with the gigantic task of learning to become a part of you, to be “at home” here. YVe began by participating in your sports, joining your activities and playing the game according to your rules. Little by little you became not just a school but “our school”. Your victories became our victories ond your losses our losses. Your teams have fought not only for the cheers of their friends in the stands but also for your approval and, although this year we were not as fortunate as usual, the spirit and desire of the players has been a credit to you. Our life with you has been like the reading of a book, an absorbing book. Every year has been a chapter or a series of chapters, each holding our interest until the end and each marked in some special way for everyone of us. There were the passes, the failures, the football and basketball games, the track meets, the trip to Edmonton; but each paragraph has taken us one step further away from adolescence towards adulthood. We have now reached the climax of the story, thanks to your patience and perseverance in giving us not only scholastic knowledge but character education in the subjects of fair play and initiative. You have taught us the meaning of the world self-dependence and, after the first few wavering steps without our familiar supports, we gradually forgot our need of them. You have helped us to grow up. We hope to be worthy of you. Our future is our own but it is you who have given it to us. These years have been stepping stones over which you have firmly led us, steps leading to university, nursing school, or the world of business. Our principal is your guiding hand and the teachers your skilled and supple fingers. They have probed for our difficulties, not always without pain, and quickly fouijd a cure. Without them this final chapter could never have been written. We now offer them our gratitude for their forbearance and understanding. (Continued on Page 28) 12

Page 13 text:

IN APPRECIATION A T last the 1955-1956 scholastic year is over and this volume stands as a partial record of the achievements of that period. Many students have spent much time and thought on its compilation. All who receive the Analecta will join me in thanking them for a job well done. To Mr. Foster, our business advisor; Mr. Gislason, our literary advisor; and Mrs. Hutchinson, the office secretary, we wish to say a sincere “Thank you.” Their guidance and help has been invaluable in the publication of the Analecta. The advertising in the Analecta is a major factor in the financing of this publication. The firms who have purchased space on our pages merit your thanks as well as your consideration of their products and services. Central’s Home and School Association, with Mr. J. Leslie Hill as presi¬ dent, is the largest and most influential in the province of Alberta. The staff and students of Central wish to thank this organization for the Graduating Banquet and Dance and the many interesting meetings held during the past year. The Association’s interest in the welfare of the students has been unflagging. Members of Central’s staff have given generously of their time to chaper¬ one social functions, supervise clubs and organizations, and coach house league and interscholastic sports. To these people, we, the students of Central, express our thanks. Finally, it is my pleasure to dedicate this book to our new Vice-Principal, Mr. J. Winston Churchill. —DAVID HALE, Editor. 11

Page 15 text:

VALEDICTORY TODAY we make our official good-by to Central. Here we have worked and played for some three years. Here we have met new teachers, new ideas, new friends. Here, too, we have begun to realize a little better a purpose in life, and have set occupational goals for the future. our When we leave Central, many of us shall go to work, many to further education. Either path is a new one, one we look forward to pursuing; for there we shall have the opportunity of proving ourselves, of putting to use our years of learning. Yet, even in the midst of that absorbing chase, we shall be unable to forget our years at Central, for these years are intimately connected with our mental awakening to our environment: social, scientific, and cultural. As long as we live, we shall always realize that these three years have been crucial in the shaping of our personalities, ideals, and mental attitudes. Were it not for the social contacts made here, for the atmosphere that per¬ vades Central, for the hundred and one classroom incidents we have witnessed and participated in, we would all be different people today. Even more important in this regard were the instructions given us and the examples set for us by our teachers; for their ideas have impressed all of us in some way, and, as the ambassadors of knowledge, they have directed our views on many fields of thought. Perhaps an even more real tie with Central lies in its association for us with these past years of increasing maturity and broadening outlook. We must always remember that it was at Central that we first glimpsed the world beyond, first sensed the challenging problems of life, first made important decisions. Such thoughts must come to mind each time we meet an old acquaintance, each time we make use of the knowledge here gained, each time we reminisce. In fact. Central has become an integral part of our lives, an experience not to be forgotten, a memory to carry with us always. —JOHN BREWS. 13