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

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.

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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

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14 ISAAC NEWTON HIGH SCHOOL To those who are going on for what we call a higher education we have opened the door to the University. Then without saying very much about it, boys and girls of this community of many races and many different religious beliefs, have learned to work and sing and play together in harmony. The boy or girl gets a place on the school team because of ability to play the game. Scholarships are won because the student possesses a sound know¬ ledge of the subjects on the school curriculum. Religious differences and racial ori¬ gins are not factors in winning these prizes. Let us remember the fact that Isaac Newton is a centre to which pupils come from many other schools. While they spend two or three years at the high school they may have spent three times as long or more at other schools. It is a matter for satisfaction that we have a school system, the parts of which work harmoniously together for the good of the young people living in this part of Winnipeg. May I congratulate you Mr. Chair¬ man, teachers and students of the Isaac Newton School on this celebration of the twenty-first anniversary. May the work now just begun, con¬ tinue to be an influence for good among many future generations of boys and girls in this community and may it continue to establish traditions of which future generations may be proud. ] ia zc ' Hccvtoitd ' SiitAdaq (?ete(ft ztioK As a result of a great deal of prepara¬ tion, our school’s birthday celebration was, to say the least, an outstanding success, a prominent mile-post in the school’s history. This celebration was held on Friday, March 5, 1943, both afternoon and evening. Being a student and teacher function, it clearly dis¬ played the spirit of co-operation exist¬ ing in the school between the two groups. The efforts were more than rewarded by the number of guests who turned out to view the various displays and exhibits. Games held in Room 10, under the supervision of Miss Babb and Mr. Arm¬ strong, proved to be the most popular place in the school. The artists under Mr. Klassen, had their paintings on dis¬ play in Room 19. The cadets with Mr. Gresham’s help put on a performance of signalling in the Main Hall. Mr. Katz ably supervised the Home Crafts and Hobby Display, and the Canadian His¬ torical Exhibit in Room 4. Home Nurs¬ ing and First Aid exhibitions were given in Room 13 with the aid of Miss McBeth. A display of Industrial Arts was held in Room 15. A musical pro¬ gram prepared by Miss McCrum held in the Auditorium proved to be very enjoy¬ able. The science teachers prepared the apparatus for the scientific experi¬ ments which were displayed by the grade 12 boys in the labs. Both boys and girls put on a fine exhibition of Physical Training in the Auditorium. “Joe the Swoose,” proved to be a highly entertaining little fellow and many of our guests went to see him down in Room 1. The evening’s entertainment was highlighted by the assembly in the auditorium, at which time the birthday cake was cut by Dr. Pincock. Our prin¬ cipal, Mr. Floyd acted as chairman during the ceremony and introduced our guests, Mr. Sisler, Mr. Taraska, and Miss Molly Kornberg, who delivered timely and appropriate messages to the gathering. A cavalcade of pictures re¬ viewing Isaac Newton’s 21 years was shown by Mr. Pearce, Mr. Connaghan being the narrator.