Marymount Secondary School - Hiamead Yearbook (Tarrytown, NY)

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Music at Marymount HERE is something intrinsically beautiful about the study of music. True, it re- quires patience, persevering effort and profound concentration to produce the de- sired results, but there is a fascinating and friendly atmosphere about the little black and white notes which abound on a sheet of manuscript. They seem to be so many characters in a wonderland of mysterious beauty, pleading to be released from some magic spell which obliges them to silence. How could one be deaf to such entreaty? Even scales can be turned into the famous Duke of York's five thousand men, which, so the story goes, he marched to the top of the hill, then marched them down again. This year, a new interest has risen among music students at Marymount, for our Alma Mater has been recognized as a center for Trinity College practical and theoretical examinations. We of the Academy, enjoyed the work of preparation very much, and the favourable results were most gratifying. The examiner was Mr. Anderson Tyrer, F.R.M.C.M., who reached Marymount on April 18th after his tour of the United States. The Trinity College, London, is a famous musical institution with branches all over the world. It was founded in 1872, and its courses embrace instruction in every possible type of music and musical instru- ment. The Academic dress proper to the college is most impressive. The Licentiate gown and hood is edged with mauve, the college colour, while the Fellows wear a gown with the hood lined in purple and mauve. Will the day ever come when we shall be proud possessors of Trinity's Degrees? If one may judge by enthusiasm, many Academicians will one day enter that venerable old building in Mandeville Place, London, to receive those precious trophies. JANE GKAY, '39. Contests NE of the most outstanding of scholastic activities which took place during the year, was Lingual Contests. These Contests constitute an annual event in the syllabus of all the languages studied by Academic Students and are of great benefit to the participants as they require a considerable amount of research work before presentation. The Latin and French Contests of '37, were held in the Assembly Hall, and the remainder in the Academic Library. The .Members of the Faculty attended each Con- test, and the victorious sides felt' very proud of their achievements. The Contests included .all the work which the classes had accomplished since the commencement of the first semester, and the continuous oral repetition served to im- plant the material indelibly on our minds. In close proximity to Contest week came the Mid-Year Examinations, and judg- ing from the encouraging results of the latter, we Contestants are unanimous in pronouncing Oral Contests an excellent preparation for written tests. HELEN CASEY, '38. Forty-fwo

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Retreat T is traditional to begin the scholastic year with a Retreat consisting of three days de- voted entirely to prayer, spiritual reading and conferences. The Retreat of '37 was conducted by the Reverend john A. Dixon, S. J. His man- ner of addressing the Student Body, of both Collegians and Academicians, was interest- ing, helpful and instructive, and his priestly counsel and advice remains engraved deeply in our hearts. The prospect of a Retreat-three whole days of absolute silence and recollection- is always a little terrifying to the average talkative student! Yet it is extremely edifying to see the fervour of the Marymount girls during these days. The Butler Memorial Chapel is never without a visitor to the Tabernacle of Divine Love. The lovely quiet beauty of the Campus in early Fall, seems in sympathetic harmony with the Students as, between the Conferences, they seek the garden paths, there to say their Rosary-com template at leisure the beauties of nature, or, when the truant sun breaks forth, sit down to read the life of a saint. We know that the memories of our Academic Retreats will ever remain with us in future years, and we hope that the good we gleaned during them for our souls' wel- fare will remain with us forever. KATHERINE MCDERMOTT, '38. The Feast of The Immaculate Conception MMACULATE! How I love that title of Our Lady! Each year, the quiet dawn of an early December day ushers in my favorite Feast of Mary, and as I recall this year's celebrations in Marymount, what a beautiful association links itself in my memory with that dear familiar name- Mary Immaculate. The fervent Novena of Benedictions which preceded the Feast was one of those spiritual treats which Marymount loves to provide for her children. Those words we repeated so fervently: Thou art all fair, O Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in thee sank deeper each evening into our hearts, until they blossomed forth therein into an increased love and veneration for the Immaculate Mother of God. When the soft, gray hours of day-break sped away, and the triumphant sun spread his majestic robes over the morning sky on the great Feast day, what happiness it re- vealed within the precincts of Marymount! Radiant countenances bespoke the joy in our hearts as we gathered round the shrine of Our Lady in our beloved Chapel. For some of us, gladness was intensified by the receiving of the coveted broad or narrow ribbon which signifies our admission into the Sodality of the Children of Mary or among those who aspire to this honored title. NVhen the brilliant sunset glowed beyond the Hudson, and the golden rnoon shone amid the evening stars, we saw in this heavenly splendor, the beauty of the Immaculate Woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. MARY WEIGEL, '38, Forly-om'

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Book Week Celebrations URING the month of November of last year, the New York Times Book Fair held in Rockefeller Center, was the first attempt made by American Book pub- lishers to show the processes involved in the writing, manufacture, and distribution of books to the general public from behind the publishing scene. This Fair was not intended to be merely a commercial exhibit in which individual concerns displayed their wares, but a show, sponsored by one of the world's leading newspapers, in which book pub- lishers were jointly participating for the purpose of interesting the public at large in books and reading. Its main purpose was to show the enormous part books play in our daily lives, and to expose the best of current literature. As students, we were more than interested in these celebrations which, besides being intellectually beneficial, were extremely enjoyable. To celebrate the unusual event, we Academicians held a Book Week, which ended on the eleventh of Novem- ber. On this day, Reverend Mother and the members of the Faculty were invited to the library there to be introduced by the courteous Alice in Bookland to many famous literary characters. Into the spotlight of old Father Time, beloved personages from Shakespeare, Dickens, Alcott, and other favourite authors stepped forward. The im- personations were admirably carried out by the members of the various classes. The welcome address was given by Miss Jane Burke. Speeches, proving the linguistic abilities of members of the Senior Class were read on Moliere and the French Drama- tists by Miss Antoinette Coifg on The Value of Books by Miss Sylvia Wheelerg on Modern Spanish Writers by Miss Anita de Zaldo, and on Dante by Miss Dina Miele. The evening proved to be very enjoyable and it was with deep sighs of regret that we left Bookland,,' and stepped out once more into the world of realities. MARION CLARKE, '38. Si Romae Antiquae Vivissem! I Romae antiquae vivissem, et si filia parentum divitium fuissem, vita mea laetissima fuisset. Mater mea domi nostrae se feliciter occupavisset et mihi sororibusque meis multa de rebus domesticis docuisset. Forsitan pater meus senator fuisset, et similis Caesaris et Ciceronis, ad summam rem publicam laboravisset. Illis studiis quae inventus Romana prosequi soleretur, magistri maximi fratres meos exercuissent, et puto me magno cum gaudio eos audivisse cum orationes eorum pararent. Nos multos famulos habuissemus, et complures ex servis nostris tam periti artis musicae fuissent ut nobis canere psallereque potuissent. Amavissem nimis vestes Rom- anas: togam civium gracilem, et robam feminarum Romanarum fluentem. Tamen, puto non ex corde me eoluisse deos deasque Romanorum-quam melior nostra Fidcs Sancta religione illa est! Etiam mihi non placet putare me ivisse ad visus crudeles in Colliseo, sin tempore Christianorum interfectionis vivissem, libenter ad majorem Dei gloriam ibi mortua essem. , JOAN GRACE, 38. Forty-flzrcr