Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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The Voyageur our freshman recalls the hours spent pouring over his books, he perceives that those entrusted with his educaton are determined that he shall be well equipped to take his place among the leaders who are to reconstruct a war- weary, enervated and befuddled world. The many opportunities for developing a social consciousness have also made a deep impression upon this newcomer. It is apparent that the staff realize and readily admit that many important features of oneis development are found outside of the classroom. The numerous club activities, the informal gatherings in the Headmasteris house, the Mbull-sessionsw on the corridors, the friendly and fraternal associations between students and staff which form an integral part of life at Pickering, are all directed toward the adolescent's complete development. One further observation has he made, Headmaster J oe and his staff are genuinely concerned with a fourth dimension without which life becomes shallow and meaningless. He recollects the frequent occasions on which he has been urged to ushare the good lifew, to try to see and to appreciate beauty both in the physical and in the spiritual world, and to develop a dis- criminating sense of values. Those chapel services and morning assemblies have made an indelible impression upon his mind and heart. . . . The freshman's period of retrospection is over now as he turns eagerly toward the second lap of his journey. As he tries to visualize the future, he seems to catch a fleeting glimpse of the New Jerusalem, the city four-square, a city in which men are HNo longer half-akin to brute . Would that Aladdinis Magi might appear and grant his fondest wish: that more of his generation might share his privilege of attending a school where young men are not only taught the importance of academic standards, but also the secret of successful living, in order that the time may soon come when there shall be uOne God, one law, one element, And one far-off divine event To which the whole creation movesf' H . . ATQUE VALE HERE ARE MANY OF US who, this year, are joining the ranks of Old Boys. lt is a strange feeling. Pickering ceases to be an active and continually present force in our lives, and becomes a background to our way of think- ing and to our actions. For a few years we will remember Sports Day, Clubs, the Football season. the Glee Club, the Dramatic Production, long Bull sessions, Chapel, and even Classes. But these memories will gradually fade into the mist of our subconscious mind, and only a general impression will remain. This im- pression makes Pickering what it is. It is the ensemble of little events, traditions and institutions which make uthe school on the hilly so different from any other. They cannot be set down in a book of rules, but have to be felt and absorbed. 12

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The Voyageur f H ' , :ix VOL. 16 1943 'PUBLISHED BY THE STAFF AND STUDENTS OF PICKERING COLLEGE, NEWMARKET, ONTARIO, CANADA Editorial . LET WELL-PL,4NNED FOUNDATIONS BE LAID. EN SHORT MONTHS AGO a rather green freshman strode up the picturesque drive toward uthe school on the hill . Before mounting the steps at the entrance he paused for a moment to admire the impressive facade of the building which was to be his future home. Varied and confused were the thoughts which raced through his excited brain as he slowly climbed to his destination. Suddenly his attention was attracted to an inscription at the base of one of the huge pillars to his right. He stopped to read its message: Bene Provisa Principia Ponanturi'-uLet the foundations be well and truly laid . If this institution still maintained the ideals of its founders, then indeed had he finally discovered the school of his dreams! He entered the friendly portals to receive the warm welcome which awaited him there. Now, as that freshman reaches the first mile-stone of his journey through Pickering, he again pauses-this time to reflect. Once more those words flash through his mind: f'Bene Provisa . . . w. Every nook and cranny of the old and storied College seem to re-echo those words! Therein, he concludes, is the basic principle of Pickering's programme -the development of the adolescentls complete personality. And it seems to our freshman, as he stands gazing back over the road, that the Headmaster and his staff are engaged in an Hall-out effort to achieve that goal. Per- sonally, he has enjoyed every moment of his first year in this new environ- ment. 4 r He thinks of the direction given to the physical development of the students, the attempt to include every boy in an active, athletic programme, the emphasis on self-control and sportsmanship at all times. Many a letter has he heard his Headmaster read from alumni who have been taught how to play the game on these fields, and who are now fighting to preserve those same ideals for generations yet unborn. It is obvious, however, that Pickering is not interested in raising a crop of mere supermen. Her academic record demands no apology, studious attention is given to the mental development of the adolescent. ln these chaotic and turbulent times, mental discipline is of paramount importance. When 11

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The Voyageur When a visitor comes to the school and sees how a student, when meeting a master, gives or receives a knowing smile, as if the two had a common secret, it is a demonstration of the Pickering atmosphere, when, on coming into the headmaster's living room, he sees a group of boys eating toast while amiably quarreling over the negro-problem, the war, or the last ball-game, he is witnessing another aspect of our school life. Everyone who spends any length of time with us is exposed to the ideals that make life worth living. He learns to be aware of the problems of our world and society, and knows that something has to be done about them. Sooner or later he hears or reads the words of Owen Seaman: Wfo teach that he who saves himself is lost, To bear in silence though our hearts may bleed, To spend ourselves, and never count the cost, For other's greater needf' Ideas such as expressed in this poem are rooted deeply in the minds of most of us, and long after trivial details of our life at Pickering will be forgotten, our deeds will be born out of these ideas. We will go on remembering the happy days we have spent togther. We will envy our younger brothers and friends who will still enjoy the sheltered life in a community where money, race, colour, religion, or nationality are not the criterion of a manis value. Pickering will live in our hearts and will remain the same as we left it. When we will come back, occasionally, to visit our friends, it will be a little different. Some changes will have become necessary, for Hthe only perman- ence is change , and we want Pickering to be permanent--permanent in representing values that cannot be altered and that are eternal. As we are leaving the school this year, one sentence comes to our minds. lt is the quotation used on the programme of our Athletic Dinner:- wfhe kingdom shall be where two or three of you shall meet in love, and in wonder at the loveliness of life and in good cheer and in remem- brancef' STAFF NOTES . . . HE VOYAGEUR would like to welcome here the new members of our Staff and thank them for their contribution to our community. Mr. lVlosey, in charge of Senior English and Latin, Mr. Dobson, whose responsibility was the Commercial Course, lVIr. Bunt, who took over the Science Depart- ment, and Mr. Beal, who worked with Grades IX and X and the Business Forms,-all adapted themselves to the idiosyncracies of our strange com- munity and really became part of the place. '35 W 9? 9? 9+ -K' Elsewhere we mention the Staff Members of the Preparatory Department, but here we would like to offer special congratulations to lVlr. Hagan and Mr. Scott and a warm welcome to their brides of this June. 13