Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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Dear Elmwoodians, Past and Present: Last year I promised that we should give you as full an account as possible of Old Girls ' activities; therefore, during this winter my leisure hours, (or should I more truth- fully say minutes?), have been devoted to writing and reading letters from you. As most of you know, we sent out a circular letter to as many of you as we could reach and the response was wonderful. I shall eventually answer everyone who wrote to me. Mean- while there is a fine fat packet of Old Girls ' News as a supplement to the 1953 Samara. We have a fairly complete file of addresses and should be delighted to hand on any. This winter ' s labours have given me a real insight into what Elmwood means to so many of you and has deepened my affection and loyalty for the school. As I sit in my office and look at the elms, just coming into leaf in one of the most beautiful springs I can remember, I think of all the happy memories the Old Girls must have, and the present girls will have, of the lovely grounds and buildings here: your first sight of the gracious friendly front hall, the pretty coloured chintzes of your bedrooms, the crunch of snow under your skis as you made off to the park after school are a few among very many. Our lovely buildings and surroundings, however, although they mean so much to all of us, are only part of Elmwood. Your memories must be mostly of the people you knew here. The girls are the life-blood of the school. What you were at Elmwood, your friendships, ideals, triumphs, the funny things that happened, the mosquitoes that bit you on Sports Day, even your mistakes, made up the school as it is now. In fact, the things that go wrong at school are often the most valuable experiences, since, as the present girls have heard me say so often: we learn most by our mistakes. The girls, past, present and future, are the enduring stuff of a school; and after spending so much of my thought among you, I feel honoured to be a part of it. The best changes and developments are built up on the solid foundations of the past. We have a good past; let us look forward to a splendid future in which we may all have a share. Yours affectionately.

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MRS. W. E. GRAHAM Headmistress

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4 SAMARA THIS is the second Spring that Mrs. Graham has been headmistress of Elm- wood. The editors are most happy to dedicate this edition of Samara to her. Mrs. Graham seems to have time for all of us — from the smallest junior to the oldest senior; she is always ready to hear the little girls ' jokes and the seniors ' problems. Mrs. Graham has made herself an integral part of the school and has the great admiration and affection of all the girls. Samara this year has a supplement which pertains only to Old Girls ' activi- ties. Mrs. Graham has put a great deal of time into finding out about all the former Elwoodians, and the things they have been doing since they left the School. This has been a very good year at Elmwood. We have had a large school and a happy one. House activities, sports, dramatics, dances, and a bazaar all had their part. We even managed to fit in the inevitable lessons! When we seniors look back on the years we have spent at Elmwood, it seems a long time since we were juniors, sitting in the front row in Prayers, and being last on the roll call; but the school has not really changed. The same high ideals are before us, and we are still a large group of girls living and growing up together in the same traditions as the Elmwood girls of twenty years ago. A few days ago Queen Elizabeth II was crowned and a new Elizabethan Age is in progress. What will it bring to us, and, more important, what can we give to it? Will it be an age of discovery as the first Elizabethan era was? New sciences, new hopes, and new worlds of art and literature still remain to be con- quered. Let our aim be to do our part in this brave new adventure. Jennifer Woolcombe, Managing Editor Jane Mulholland, Literary Editor Bobby Bradshaw, Asst. Literary Editor Josephine Stone, Sports Editor Advertising Jo-Anne Davis Sandra McKee Margaret Dickson Marlene Anber Lorna Travaglini Committee Annika Book Marianne Lovink Salma Ikramullah Janet Chapman Sally Wright Sonia Tarantour Miss Margaret Leonard, Stajf Adviser The magazine staff wish to thank most sincerely all those, both Elmwoodians and advertisers, who have made this magazine possible.