Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School - Gremlin Yearbook (Mississauga, Ontario Canada)

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VALEDICTORY ADDRESS - 1987 Guests, parents and friends, principal and staff, fellow graduates and students of Graydon, good evening. When I set about writing this speech, to tell you quite honestly, I encountered great difficulties. How can one express in a few words the emotions and experiences of f ive years? To overcome this difficulty, one afternoon I tried to put my emotions of the past into words, and what I came up with is a poem which I wish to share with you this evening: REFLECTIONS OF A TIME GONE BY Just as the wind blows the seeds of spring into the forests of summer. So too, time and space have drifted us apart. Yet each of us, now climbing our separate mountains, Carries the green and gold of our common ancestry. In the quiet moments of the day. Recollections of a time past Blossom in sweet remembrance. Lingering for but a moment. Only to fade into the depths of the mind. Books alone could not have taught us all we know: Love, compassion, friendship, trust ... This is the fruit of the golden tree from whence we came; It is the lasting fruit Which will nourish us through decades. And which will bring us together again one day. And indeed, we have been brought together again this evening to share memories of our years here at Graydon. It seems like only yesterday when we took our first steps into the world of High School, those days when Graydon seemed to be such a big and confusing place. Yet the school seemed to shrink, and soon it was a place that we could call our home away from home. Naturally, the highlight of our introductory year was Niner-Minor Day, a day when the smiling grade thirteens plot to take their revenge on the irmocent minors, humiliating and embarrassing them, all in the name of good, clean fim. Fortunately, for us, however, the days of Kangaroo court and marshmallow marathons were abolished. Looking back, I ' m sure that the football player who spent niner-minor day wearing a skimpy dress is much happier than his predecessor, who spent his day running around the football field with marshmallows under his arms, and a raw egg in his mouth. Today, niner-minor day has evolved into a day of fun and games, where the grade nines are made to feel as if they are a part of the large community of students that make up Graydon. This perhaps, reflects the spirit of Graydon - the feeling of comradeship and unity which is seen both in the staff, and in the students at Graydon.

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TRAVIS SMITH MIGUEL TEIXEIRA SHANE TIPPLE PEGGY TUCKER TRACY WHITE

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Well, finally niner-minor day was over, and now, having received our proper initiation, we were full-fledged Graydonites. ready for what lay ahead. But what lay ahead, was not always what we expected. Soon enough, the days became longer, homework piled up, assignments were due, and certainly, as if this were not enough, tests were coming up. I ' m sure that each of us can remember at least one occasion where the birds were up. and the sun was shining before we even got to sleep - those long nights finishing essays, or studying for exams, while at the same time drinking pools of coffee, and raiding the refrigerator. We are certainly lucky that there is such a thing as this last minute , for without it, much of what was assigned would never get accomplished. As I said in my poem, though, school is not merely books and homework. Graydon has offered many other oppor- tunities for learning, but more importantly, for enjoyment. One large part of many of our lives was involvement in extracurricular activities. These ranged anywhere from sports, to drama, to music, to student council, to a vast variety of clubs - le club frangais, the art club, and the list goes on catering to different interests and needs. Involvement in such activities, however, often proved to be quite challenging; for example, early morning swim practices, or shooting practices, or perhaps band or choir rehearsals. But, not only did these coaches and club organizers wake you up at unheard of hours, they also kept you at school long after the last bells had rung, re- hearsing for plays, or running suicides, or whatever. Yet, in the end. all of this dedication paid off, and very often led our teams to victories which we all be proud of - for example, the outstanding performance of our Senior Girls ' Volleyball team, who won the OFSAA championships in 1985, and who came back the following year to place a close second. Intermixed with all of this dedication and hard work, however, were many hours filled with special memories. For example, anyone who took part in the Quebec trip certainly remembers Superchicken, and The Bistro, or per- haps a few of you can remember - however vaguely. Miss Dingleby and her butler Abdul. If time permitted, many more anecdotes of school life could be added, and it would be nice if each of us could come up and recite one such anecdote. However, the list of these special moments could probably go on almost infinitely, as one anecdote would remind us of another, and thus the cycle would continue. One element of school life which we certainly cannot forget, is of course, the staff. How could anyone forget one of Mrs. Stevano ' s quizzes , or Mr. Thomas ' award-winning performance of the Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL, or Mr. Mussen ' s doughnuts and squigglies , or Mrs. Thompson ' s, or Mr. Smith ' s, that is A.J. ' s ob- session with neatness and organization, or Mr. Phillip ' s interesting, to say the least, taste in clothes, or of course, the leader of the gang, the Shadow , our very own principal, Mr. Murray. Five years of our lives have certainly passed by rapidly, and looking at the proud, and happy-yet-sad faces of the parents in the rapidly. Tonight is both an end, and a beginning. We are at a transition point in our lives - caught between a past that we are reluctant to leave, and a future that we are eager to encounter. In the days that lie ahead, we must remember the past that we shared, all of the special friends, and special moments, for, along with our parents ' , and our teachers ' guiding, it is, our positive influence on each other that has moulded us into the people that we are, and the people that we will someday be. Good-bye for now Graydon. Au revoir, et a bientot! Katharin Diane Rezo 81