Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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the Pickering year HE PAST YEAR has left us many things to be proud of. In the first term victories on the field and on the stage were evident with the Senior Football team win- ning the C.O.S.S.A. championship for the third straight year, and the dramatics club scoring a success with its production of Macbeth. In the second term we can remem- ber the Glee Club's production of H.lVl.S. Pinaforen noting especially the job done by the leads. In the last term the Senior Relay Team and the efforts put into the formal dance were of a high calibre. These were some of the extra-curricular highlights. There are probably more but in these highlights what we see is evidence of team work. In each case if one man failed to do his part then the whole effect would have been ruined. However it seems that one of the lessons we have learned this year is that at times team work was not evident. It is hoped that those students in Grade twelve who are returning saw the lack of team work and can try to find a solution where we have failed at times this year. We should at all times be conscious of the fact that here at Pickering we are living as a Family',. This may sound like a grossly over used cliche, but whether it is or not the fact remains it is true. If we want to enjoy our stay at Pickering then we have to get out and make it better. By this We do not mean that you should sacrifice your individualityg rather you should use your in- dividuality to give a lead and apply it to life at school in order to make it a better place. There were many people who had constructive criticisms but for some reason unknown to us did not want to bring them forward. Instead, these criticisms crept along in the Lafter lights out' bull sessions like rats in the slums of a city. This allowed the criticism to become warped and consequently the school suffered. From this it would seem that after a good start in September everything went stale. Happily this did not happen. ln the last term by the probing of the School Committee and other Seniors the students began to bring out their 'gbeefsn to the betterment of the school. It appeared that perhaps finally we saw that the best Way to make our life better was for all of us to pitch in, and do something constructive. Thus, we have left evidence that as your life is only what you make it, your school is only what you make it too. Pickering can give you a 'lot but you have to get out and help in return. The lesson that we have learned this year is best expressed by the words No man is an island entire of himselff, -CHARLEs BEER Eight

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a personal word to the students ERE IS OUR RECORD of the past school year. Of course it does not report on the individual progress achieved or relate the private struggle and growth towards those things each one of us strives for in his own heart. But it well reflects our life together as a community, those activities where we joined as a group to achieve a common purpose, whether it be as members of a team, of a corridor, of the cast of Macbeth or Pinafore, on the school committee or in a discussion club. In looking back on our year, as you thumb through these pages, it is my hope that you, as an individual, may recall a contribution, great or small, that you made to our school, either as a good leader or as a good follower. If so, you have the privilege of believ- ing, with humility, that Pickering College is a better place because you were with us. It is my hope that our year has given you an insight into the faith of our founders, The Society of Friends, and their basic belief in Hthat of Cod in every manf' Their stress on the importance of the individual is ex- pressed this way by Kahlil Gibran: 'iNo man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. Our Voyageur, therefore, is a record of people doing things together. If they do so with skill and devotion, they meet the kind of success which results from thoughtful guidance on the one hand and spirited co-operation on the other. ls not this combination the corner-stone of a good school, a good com- munity, a good country? Since this is a personal word, I may say that I believe that such guidance exists here at Pickering. If our opportunities are to be fulfilled, then, they depend on the co-operation of all of us. ln other words, the development of a good school is based on our allegiance to a com- mon ideal which transcends self-centered motives. It follows that any success we have achieved this year as a group was derived from the co-operation of in- dividuals. The responsibility of the individual must therefore be the fulfilment of himself, the development of his mind and body and spirit, so that he may give of his best to those around him. l wish we could all understand that this is the reason for the existence of our school, and the only one, for everything else springs from it. If so, we shall understand how and why the good things recorded in these pages found their being. My thanks to all of you who during the past year have helped to build Wlihe beloved cornmunityl' on our hill-top. Sei en

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mistakes HAT HAS PICKERING MEANT TO Us during the past year? There are so many views, aspects, and ideals concerning Pickering that it has meant something different to every single person. Many of us have grown quite a bitg others not so muchg but everyone has taken something with him that will benefit him in later life. Though this past year much good was done and seen at Pickering there was bad also. This was chiefly evident in the lack of participation regarding school affairs. At the beginning, and, during the course of the year there was much bickering a11d complaining about different phases of school life, Instead of being directed through the proper channels, the school assemblies and the Quaker Cracker, these gripes were kept away from these channels and a restless undercurrent. became evident. Nobody would use the student assemblies to express their views or griev- ances and when these complainers were asked specifically to write their complaints for the Quaker Cracker they more or less refused to do so. This attitude was also evident with regard to some of the school committee's actions. There was little thought on the matter at handy a few individuals who sounded off on something they had no idea about, were no support to the committee whom they had previously elected. This hurts school morale and causes much ill feeling. What has this year left for future student bodies? It has left a constitution which was made up and passed by students of a previous year. This constitution was misplaced for a few years but was brought back and revised by this year's committee so as to help future committees in proper democratic government. It has left us with a better student-staff relationship. It has also left us a better glimpse of the Pickering way of life which the students of this years student body exhibited strongly during the last term. -TONY ALLEN the future XVARDS THE END OF THE YEAR and at the special invitation of the Committee. a number of students wrote articles criticizing the way the Committee performed their duties and led the school. The invitation was made because of a certain under- eurrent of discontent that had not been properly expressed. The school assemblies. held each Vtfednesday morning, are the place for student complaints, but they had rarely been used for this pu1'pose. Nor had the Quaker Vracker. However. a special edition of the Quaker Cracker was produced. and a week later the flom- mittee brought out a reply in which they defended their conduct of school affairs and promised to take action where it was needed. The lesson which it is hoped will be learnt for next year is that it is no good having a democratic system unless it be properly employed. The school assemblies are held so that complaints can be made and then discussed. The Quaker Cracker is open to anyone wishing to express himself on school affairs. Neither was well used for the purpose this year. NVe hope they will not be ignored in the future. To complain of the system and not use the existing means to bring about change is merely destructive and harmful. Nine