Isaac Newton High School - Newtonian Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

Page 14 text:

12 ISAAC NEWTON HIGH SCHOOL acfiviy a accrtdatioti Address by W. J. Sisler at the Twenty-first Birthday Celebration Mr. Chairman: On previous occasions when I have stood on this platform I knew nearly everyone in the room. Now there are many strange faces. Yet if I knew your names I should likely find that there are here today, fathers, mothers, sisters, and W. J. SISLER brothers of the boys and girls who were in the school many years ago. So I do not feel that I am among strangers. The first school farther west than Salter Street was the Strathcona, built in 1905. The first pupils of that school came, from the district just north of the C.P.R. tracks and from widely separated homes all over the north-western sec¬ tion of the city where there are now ten large schools. On the opening day we had about three hundred pupils, all able to speak English when they entered school. Within four years the school was so overcrowded that King Edward No. 1 was built. Three hundred pupils with their teachers marched over to the new school. Still we were overcrowded and the old school was doubled in size the following year. It was a story of over¬ crowded schools and new buildings for the next ten years. About the year 1920, the idea of the Junior High School was taking shape and in the early months of 1921 the School Board decided that such a school should be ' built to take care of the Grade VII, VIII, and IX pupils in this part of Winnipeg. The very day after this decision was made, the architect was instructed to make a sketch of a building with twenty classrooms to cost a specified sum. At last the opening day arrived. Classes had been organized in Strath¬ cona, Aberdeen and King Edward Schools. They moved over to the new building a little over twenty-one years ago. Pupils did not know one another and some teachers were not acquainted with others on the staff. It did not take long however for all to get settled down to the business in hand. In June, we had finished a good year’s work and our pupils made a creditable showing in the final examinations which everybody had to take at that time. One thing had been neglected or for¬ gotten. The baby was now a year old and still had no name. The name was not selected until the fall of 1922. Though the stone is in place for its re¬ ception, the carving has never been done. Our time had not been occupied just with classwork. We had our field day, our basketball and baseball teams and our first soccer team won a city cham¬ pionship. We had our choirs, auditorium periods and school concerts. A good deal of at¬ tention was given to public speaking

Page 13 text:

NEWTONIAN 11 t t t BY JERRY DONIN Mr. Chairman, Honored Guests, Respected Teachers, Fellow Students, We, the graduating class of 1943, stand today at the parting of the ways—on one hand lies a happy past, on the other—an unknown future. We may well reiterate the phrase, “happy past.” Who, at one time or another has not expe¬ rienced the thrill of delving into the mysteries of science, of translating the intricacies of Latin, or of solving the problems of mathematics? Who has not many fond memories to recall, memories of Salvage competitions, of school dances, of reading “The Nor’Wester,” of hockey and rugby games, of exciting track meets? As for the future, we cannot regard it as wholly uncertain. Our past experiences are highly instrumental in shaping our destinies. And since the days spent at Isaac Newton have afforded us many fine experiences, we may face the future with greater confidence. Dear friends, we who are passing out of High School life into more active citizenship today, feel that we have a place in the national life; that it is the duty of each and every one of us to demonstrate the spirit of patriotism within us. We are living in an age of progress. Before us, looms a new era of world reconstruction—much indeed needs to be rebuilt, much to be destroyed. Shall we not all have a part in it? Whatever helps to make the nation better and nobler; whatever serves to elevate the people to a higher plane of thought and life; whatever makes this, our Canada—or any portion of it, better worth living in, is contributing to the progress of this country. The experience we gain in this work will serve us in good stead when the greater work of reconstructing a strife-torn world will be undertaken. We know, of course, that we are not “bound to make the world go right,” but we are sure that in being a part of all that “liberates and lifts,” we are bearing our share of the responsibility of so enormous a task. Thus we shall be “doing with cheerful heart the work that God appoints,” whatever that work may be. We expect great things of ourselves, and we trust that you, too, may expect great things of us—and may not be disappointed. Mr. Floyd, members of the staff, you have been training us in this spirit of patriotism for the past two years, we know how fully you have realized that the strongest asset of this Canadian nation is its citizens. You have certainly put forth every effort within your power to make true Canadian men and women out of the raw material within your hands. How well you have succeeded, of course, only the future can determine. But we take this opportunity of thanking you for all that you have so cheerfully done, and tried to do for us, and trust that the years to come may demonstrate to your satisfaction that you have succeeded in moulding men and women of strong character. Friends of the Undergraduate Classes, we are leaving you in the best and most capable hands we know. Nevertheless as we feel so much older than you today, and so very much more experienced, we cannot resign our places in the classroom to your full and free enjoyment without reminding you of an old proverb, “Sow a thought—reap an action, Sow an action—reap a habit, Sow a habit—reap a character, Sow a character—reap a destiny!” You must realize the importance of sowing carefully from the beginning, that you may inevitably reap the abundant harvest of strong and noble lives. Fellow graduates, may the significance of our motto, “Vincit qui se vincit”— he who conquers self succeeds, fire us with the zeal to be such men and women that our nation as well as the Isaac Newton High School shall be glad to claim us. Let loyalty be our controlling spirit, and in being loyal to ourselves, to our school, we shall of necessity be loyal to every larger claim that the Canadian nation can demand of her sons and daughters in any hour of her need. Stepping forth into the arena of the world’s progress, let us show the world we are of the stuff from which the best citizens and truest patriots are made. As we bid one another farewell, may we carry in our hearts, whatever life may bring, a spirit of courage, resolution, and high-minded integrity—the lofty ideals of the Isaac Newton High School.

Page 15 text:

NEWTONIAN 13 I.N.H.S. 21 years ago. and in our classroom we had. two of the best debaters that I have ever heard on a school platform. One of these boys is now the pastor of a noted church in an American city and the other is city attorney in the same place. So we went on for five years; then owing to over-crowding at St. John’s we had to keep our Grade X classes and make a corresponding reduction in our junior grades. This was never con¬ sidered to be a good plan as pupils had to go to a strange school for their final year. It was continued until 1933, when we were organized as a Senior High School. I think we can say without boasting that during the past ten years consistently good work has been done, both in our matriculation and commer¬ cial departments. We have one of the finest school buildings in Winnipeg and it improves as time goes on. The interior looks bet¬ ter now than it did on the day that we came into it. But a school is not just a pile of brick and stone, plaster, paint and wood; out of these we can create a beautiful building, but the school is made by the teachers in charge of it, the boys and girls who have passed through and those who are in it now. It is made by traditions of the past, accomplishments of the present and visions of the future. Where are the teachers who entered the school on that opening day? Some are in other schools, some in different occupations and some in foreign coun¬ tries. Not one of them is in the school today. Where are the boys and girls who came in so excited and happy twenty- one years ago? They are now middle aged men and women; many are in homes of their own. They are mecha¬ nics, business men, doctors, lawyers, teachers, artists and musicians. Some have entered political life and are tak¬ ing a part in the government of a demo¬ cratic community. I cannot close without referring to something which is and has been for four years on the mind of everyone here. We are in the midst of a great struggle, the result of which will deter¬ mine whether or not democracy is to survive. Up to date more than six hundred boys and girls, former students of this school are preparing for or are engaged in the struggle for the survival of the liberties we now enjoy. Nearly all these boys and girls I knew during their school days. I have met many of them during the past four years. They have told me their reasons for joining. The tenor of all the reasons is similar to that expressed by one of them who said, “Well I’m a Canadian, I’m going to help defend my country.” Another said, “My father is a naturalized Canadian, I am Canadian-born. I know no other country, why shouldn’t I defend it?” Not one of them seemed to have joined for the sake of adventure. They knew the risk they were taking, though they said little about it. They all thought of themselves only as Cana¬ dians and their country needed them. Don’t let anybody call our boys and girls, foreigners. Let it be known that they love the country of their birth and they have been just as willing and eager as any Englishman or other Canadian to defend their native land. Looking back for a moment over the work of the past years, what can we say that our school has done? First it can be said that we have offered a sound preparation for entering the business of life and earning a living.