London South Collegiate Institute - Oracle Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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20 L. S. C. I. ORACLE SHORT STORY CLUB In the past it has been felt that The Oracle has been perhaps, a trifle weak in Short Story material. To overcome this we interested a group of students in forming a Short Story Club, whose object was to provide more and better short story material. The first meeting was on September 24, and for seven weeks the budding scribes met every Thursday. The meetings were informal, but we were all glad to have Miss McCamus as our adviser. The first two sessions were used to discuss plots and to criticise those which we had written ourselves. On October 8, we were fortunate in having Miss May Clendenan as guest speaker. Her thorough knowledge of writing and welcome criticisms were in- valuable. In the next few meetings, the value of Miss Clendenan's talk was evident in the improved material submitted for discussion. On November 6, we were favored by a visit from Miss Beatrice Taylor. This was the best attended meeting for an invitation had been extended to any students who intended writing in The Oracle contest on November 7. Betty Porter, Margaret McCall, Bob Ford and Norman Farrow were the most consistent in attendance, being present at every meeting for seven weeks. On behalf of The Oracle Staff I wish to thank Miss Clendenan and Miss Taylor for their kind assistance and for acting as judges, along with Mrs. Carr- Harris, of the Oracle Short Story contest, and Trustee Mrs. john A. Rose, the donor of the cash prize. I -HUG11 THOMPSON, VA. HIGH SCHOOL EDITORS' CONVENTION On November 13 and 14 the sixth annual High School Editors' Convention, sponsored by the Sigma Phi Women's journalistic Fraternity of the University of Toronto, was held in Convocation Hall. After Sir Robert Falconer opened the convention, we heard interesting and instructive talks by prominent Canadian journalists, including Mr. Ted Reeve, of the Toronto Telegram, Miss Byrne Hope Sanders, editor of Chatelaine on Short-Story Writing, and Mr. Elton johnson, on Modern Advertising. On Friday morning we broke up into informal dis- cussion groups, this was, in my opinion, the most beneficial part of the conven- tion, for there we heard the difficulties of all the editors, and solutions offered by other members of the group. In the afternoon we toured the Toronto Star building. On Saturday morning there were more .interesting talks, including one by A. E. F. Allan, last year's editor of The Varsity, and a talk on magazine editing by Mr. J. F. White, editor of the Canadian Forum. Members of the groups then reported on the discussions of the various groups. This was followed by a talk on Dramatic Reviewing, by Miss Pearl McCarthy, Professor Sissons then delivered the closing address. Saturday afternoon we attended a performance of The Barretts of Wimpole Street, at the Royal Alexandra theatre. We congratulate London Central Collegiate, our friendly enemy, on winning the shield for the best cover design, which was presented at the banquet held Friday evening in the Arts and Letters Club. The members of the Sigma Phi Fraternity merit much praise for the smooth and business-like mann-er in which the convention was carried on. -N . D. F. gf ,.. 'Q-1, zz.: -'-'l' ' ' - --4- -- Y - - '-----fx.. 6 '11 u' , ....... - 1 - - 0 I L... , 4..- unqqa. 1 x

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I.. S. C. I. ORACLE 19 medium of radio we hear distinguished men of different creecls and nationalities. By means of motion pictures we can see and hear people on the other side of the globe. Surely with such an opportunity to understand and appreciate our fellow men, there is no excuse for narrow-mindedness or racial prejudice. In this way, the radio and motion pictures are two important factors in our enlightenment. Of course, all that is heard over the radio, and all that is shown on the screen, is not an asset in character moulding. In the same way, all the people with whom we come into Contact in our daily activities, do not exert a desirable influence on us. Therefore, the youth of today must choose those influences which will be most beneficial to him. If he choose well, the product of his work will be even more wonderful than that of the ancient potter. -HUGH THOMPSON. GREETINGS Once more the ORACLE has spoken! Once more out of the chaos of paste clippings and type has arisen the finished product-a magazine of which we may all be proud. We, the editor and staff of last year's humble publication, send greet- ings and congratulations to the editor and staff of the new ORACLE, and wish them all the luck in the world. We know what the production of such a publica- tion entails and we are more and more impressed with the high calibre of this year's staff when we peruse its contents. I think a word of thanks to all those connected with last year's ORACLE would not be out of place here. We certainly received no end of encouragement and assistance from every section of the school, and I feel sure that the editor and staff of this magazine must have been glad to know that whatever they did, they had the whole South Collegiate behind them. There were a few noteworthy things about last year's magazine which we love to recall. One was the contribution box. It was certainly a perpetual source of amazement, and its opening each night became an event. For, when the lid came off, our eyes rested on a most indescribable array of objects. Chewing gum, peanut shells, rubber bands, erasers, pencil stubs, and coppers-I must say the ORACLE staff were amply reimbursed financially for their pains. If we had saved some of last year's kind donations, we might have weathered the depression better. However, the past is past, and on the threshold of the future we see a long line of ORACLES, moulded by capable hands, governed by worthy pilots, each one surpassing the other, and striving for that perfection which, though it may never be achieved, is the goal to which we set our course. Best of luck, and long live the ORACLE! W. A. N. L Editor-in-Chief, 1930. Tl-ns ISSUE By NORMAN FARROW The approach of Christmas brings this year, as usual, the bane of our lives, examinations. We hope, however, that the advent of this year's ORACLE will lessen the agony somewhat. We have several new features which we hope you will like. First, of course, some mention must be made of the cover. There was so much favorable comment on last year's design that it has been retained, but the embossing, we think, adds in richness and beauty. This year, we have for the first time attempted a Latin Page, try translating it--it is really not nearly as dead as some think. Our Exchange Department is this year a distinct departure from anything we have done before. The individual photographs of the teaching staff, the fifth form, and the rugby squads, taken by Mr. Ireland, add, in our opinion, a personal touch often lacking. But above all, we are proud of our song, the first to be presented by the Oracle. We, the editorial staff, have tried to keep the whole magazine up to the standard set by previous 'staffsg it is for you to judge the degree of our success or failure. . - 1

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