Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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the large number of suidents and old girls whose attendance helped to make the dance a great success! The many beautiful and coloured gowns swirled to the catching strains of Wilf Steabner ' s band, whose variety of music ranged from Latin American rhythms to the more modern, lively jive. A few prize dances followed the delicious buffet which was beautifully displayed — and well appre- ciated! Gaily coloured ticker-tape and balloons were soon scattered about the dance floor, adding to the merry confusion. We would all like to thank the head girl and the officers for the wonderful work they did in arranging and planning one of the best formals in Elmwood ' s history. Public Speaking Our public speaking contest, held early this year, included several interesting speeches. They covered a wide variety of topics, among them, The True Spirit of Christmas, and, in great contrast, Money ! The entries are all to be congratulated. Each year our aspiring orators seem to grow more professional. The prize winners are as follows: Primary, Penny Madgwick, Junior, Mardi Aldous, Intermediate, Sue Hamilton, and Senior, Heather Blaine. Their talks were chosen for delivery, poise, and general interest. We feel we truly have several budding Ciceros. House Dances Whatever that indescribable quality is that makes successful dances, we venture to say we feel it ' s been present at our house dances this year. The decorations have either been carefully planned or gaily improvised, in both cases with very attractive results. School spirit has been high, and so has attendance. By school spirit we do not mean that only directly associated with the dances, but also with the candy sales, which pro- vided funds for the dances, which in their turn pro- vided funds for our formal. Our themes have included school colours (green and gold) and crests, an economical and very suc- cessful medley of streamers and other decorations, and that old favourite. Spring. Our music has been provided from the girls ' collections of hits and popular records. This was particularly well-organized at out last dance, after the installation of the much-appre- ciated hi-fi, gift of the Mothers ' Guild. Half the fun of these dances was, as is often the case, in the preparation. Quick trips downtown to buy balloons, prizes, Scotch tape, and straight pins, followed by many happy hours climbing up and fall- ing down from ladders, all contributed to the lively mood. Many thanks to the officers and Decorating Com- mittee (especially to Gail Lacharity), and also the record players, for a fabulous year, social-wise! Pago 16

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such as boxers, Spanish d ancers, and gypsies — flocked in large numbers around the various games and other entertainments ( i.e., pulling Prefects ' hair, and cruelly abusing these poor officers in such wild games as ring-around-the-rosy ) . The grand march, the bobbing for apples, and — last, but not least — the delicious refreshments, all contributed to make the Junior Hallowe ' en Party a most successful afternoon! For the Senior Party that evening, the gym was not even a mass of shadows! After the Grand March (prizes going to Charles Adams et famille, two mushrooms (?) called The Morning After the Night Before, and similar typical Elmwoodian crea- tures) the lights flashed on and off continually as each class did a skit. These skits included such rousing musical numbers as Proxy-locks and the Three Bears, witches having a divine textbook — burning session, an inspiring (and most surprising) rendition of Hernando ' s Hideaway, Can-Can (well, you have to call it something! ) dancing, and, best of all, the teachers ' own musical self -portrayal of the real them. Of course, we always suspected it, but this proved it! After this breathless evening, the lights came on in a blaze of glory to reveal the best decorations we ' ve had yet (special mention must be given to Sherrill Fell ' s simply stunning spider web), and also the very welcome refreshments. All in all, any self- respecting witch could be satisfied with Elmwood ' s homage to Hallowe ' en! Page In closing, I have just one more moving word to add, and that is Ole! (Eh, five-A?) Christmas Party Our Christmas party this year was a tremendous success, as a result of the school spirit, enthusiasm, and hard work shown by all. Each class contributed a skit (my, but we ' re talented in this school! ) , song, or some other at- tract ion to the entertainment, which began at four o ' clock. In addition to these class efforts we enjoyed solo numbers by Penny Madgwick, Judy Carter, Lesley Gait, and Alexis Thoman. The staff ' s contribution was two vividly narrated poems by Mrs. Davis, and Mrs. Edelsten led us all in Christmas carols until it was time for the delicious buffet. The festivities ended about six-thirty with candy canes for everyone, and we all agreed that this year ' s Christmas party was the best that Elmwood has had yet. Formal Notes The Elmwood Annual Dance was again held at the Ottawa Country Club this year, on March the eighth, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The receiving line — Captain and Mrs. Bruce, our head girl, head boarder, and their escorts — welcomed 15

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Club News Last year the idea of having clubs in the last period every Friday proved so successful that it was continued again this year. Clubs were divided into a Junior and a Senior section. Juniors from Form 4A down had a choice of joining the Crafts Clubs, or clubs on Science, French, Music or Sewing. The Seniors were offered French, Current Events, Journalism, Music, Dramatics and Philosophy. One Crafts Club was under the direction of Miss Wortley. The busy little members made their own puppets for a puppet show. They modelled heads from papier-mache, painted vivid faces, stuck wool on the heads as hair, and even did their own sewing of simple little costumes. The script of Snow White was written by the members themselves. A second Crafts Club was directed by Miss Seigeot. Here members from 4B and 4A made lovely needle- work patterns on canvas in petit point geometrical designs. These girls certainly got a good beginning for fine work later. After Christmas Miss Seigeot kindly formed a French group for the Juniors who were left without a club after the completion of their play. Here the little ones learned basic expressions used in con- versation and began to use them. The Junior Dramatics Club was probably the busiest of all. On December 17 the club presented The Bluebird by Maurice Maeterlinck, directed by Mrs. Davis. This was one of the most ambitious plays put on by the Juniors in years. A huge cast of fifty- five — including the little ones from the Nursery School up to Form 4A — is quite a handful. However everything was well organized and the play proved to be a wonderful success. Lalage Wright and Susan Madgwick deserve praise for their performances. Costumes for the play were designed by Mrs. Davis and the children ' s mothers kindly made them. For a few weeks in September Miss Darbyshire supervised a Junior Music Club. Members learned appreciation of good music by listening to records and singing songs. Later the club was disbanded so the members could join the play. The Science Club, consisting mostly of 4B, was supervised by Miss Birss. Under her guidance these budding young chemists learned to use the apparatus and then performed such wonders as making crystals, invisible ink, and flame tests. Madame Betts was head of a very exclusive French Club in the Senior Section — five members to be exact. During meetings they read magazines, worked crossword puzzles, and often just talked — all in French of course. We are sure their French has really im- proved. The Current Events Club, as usual, had quite a large enrollment. Together with Mrs. Stephen the members discussed such topics as segregation, the Royal Family, and the March 31 general election. On United Nations Day, Elisabeth von Schelle told us something about the work of this great organiza- tion. The Dramatics Club was supervised until Chr istmas by Miss Birss and afterwards by Mrs. Davis. Although this senior club did not produce a play, they learned much about production. The Music Club was directed by Mrs. Edelsten. They had planned to produce the Operetta Hansel and Gretel. However, because of the scarcity of older members, and because the Juniors had already presented a play, it was decided to postpone this until next year. Philosophy was again this year supervised by Mrs. Bruce. The meetings were spent discussing any ques- tion the girls had. The outstanding visitor this year was Canon Bruce who helped set the girls right on the doctrines of the Anglican Church. As expected this club proved to be worthwhile. The Journalism Club was something new this year and proved to be very popular with the 6 Matrics and the 5B ' s. As supervisor of this club Miss Boyle spent much time on our new magazine. For the first time we are having our magazine pub- lished by the Yearbook House, a publishing house exclusively for school annuals. With the experience we have gained this year, next year we shall be able to speed ahead even faster. Page 17