OLeary High School - Envoy Yearbook (Edmonton, Alberta Canada)

Page 9 text:

Dear Graduates: Graduation day is one of significance to the graduating class, be¬ cause it represents the successful culmination of rigorous application to the course of studies that its members have been required to pursue. On this very important day I offer to you my warmest congratu¬ lations and best wishes for future success. No one has the vision to see precisely what the future will be. But of this you can be assured, that your years in the high school have added immensely to the sum total of your knowledge, your character, your intellectual courage and your moral fibre. It is my sincere prayer that you go forth to meet the challenge beyond your high school with a buoyant heart, and strong faith and determination to fulfil that position which will be in harmony with the divine will. May the Divine Lord be most generous to you with His blessings, and Mary His Mother be your guide always. Neil N. Savaryn, Eparch of Edmonton

Page 8 text:

Dear Envoy: Thank you for your kind letter of yesterday, requesting a short message for your yearbook. It is a pleasure to comply, though with the usual doubts concerning its interest to students; but the reputation of the O ' Leary High for serious study and good citizenship is so well es¬ tablished that enyone interested in the spread of Christian education would feel compelled to co-operate to the fullest possible degree. However, even the best schools are liable to have a few vandals, enough to show the need for complusory education. Recent newspaper reports concerning vandalism in some of our schools must have brought a sense of shame and sorrow to many parents as well as to the teachers and classmates of those concerned. To belong to a certain school, especially a High School where everyone has been already at school for a few years, and to know from experience that everything may be broken into or stolen anytime, is enough to convince us that we cannot yet claim for every family that honesty, purity and respect for the rights of others, which are always the fruits of a good Christian education. The above may seem to indicate that the O ' Leary High has been a disappointment. The answer is - by no means. We are very pleased with the school, and I am glad to have this opportunity of conveying my congratulations to all the graduands, along with my sincere thanks to their teachers and parents. The only reason for the above is that in any school or institution with so high an average of intelligence and good behaviour as yours, it does seem more dis¬ appointing to find a few who refuse to follow the general spirit of the school. My best wishes to all the graduates for pleasant and prosperous futures. Some will be teachers, others will be nurses, others again will enter some field of professional life. All these are good, though in the light of the need and the service rendered, the two first enjoy a preference. More money may be made in some of the others, but when has money contributed as much to human happiness as service to God and our neighbor has always done. Knowing the pressing’ need for more priests and religious, especially in missionary coun¬ tries, at least a few of the many souls called by God to His service will respond and enter the seminary or the novitiate to equip themselves in a fitting manner for the worthy and efficient discharge of the duties that will be incumbent upon them in those walks of life. But whatever walk you decide to follow, aim at being the best that your brains and oppor¬ tunities can make you. Don ' t ever be satisfied with being middling teachers or nurses, lawyers, doctors or engineers. There is already too much mediocrity in the world, and I am sure the graduates of O ' Leary High would never willingly stoop to adding to that mediocrity in any man¬ ner whatsoever. There is no necessity of my telling you of the Church ' s need of more priests and Sisters; nor of the State ' s need of more dedicated teachers and nurses. You are too intel¬ ligent to be unaware of these things, but your superiors in Church and State do often fear that you are not interested in them as you should be, seeing that these obligations incumbent upon you by the ten commandments. With warmest congratulations again , and best wishes for futures filled with service to those in spiritual or material needs, I remain. Sincerely in the Lord, Archbishop of Edmonton

Page 10 text:

Dear Students: May I commend the students of O ' Leary High School for their efforts during the past year. Most of you have taken advantage of the excellent educational opportunities provided for you by your parents, the teaching staff, and the Catholic people of this City. Although your future is unknown, you must remember that it is in your hands. Whether your life is a success or failure will depend on your efforts. Each of us has been placed in this world for a purpose and Our Creator has given us the abilities necessary to achieve that purpose. How well we use these abilities depends on us. The greatest wish that I or anyone else can have for you on your graduation is, that you will live your life in such a manner that it will help you to achieve your eternal destiny. A poet once expressed these thoughts this way: Isn ' t it strange that princes and kings. And clowns that gather in sawdust rings, And common folks like you and me. Are makers for Eternity? To each is given a bag of tools, A shapeless mass and a book of rules. And each must make, ere life is flown, A stumbling block or a stepping stone . Yours sincerely, Superintendent