Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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A PERSONAL WORD FROM THE HEADMASTER The members of the graduating class are primarily on my mind as I write these words at the close of our school year. In thinking of their future I find that I am preoccupied with the question of what they are going to take with them as they leave the Hilltop. It is regrettable that much of what has been learned here will be forgotten: the intricacies of a problem in Mathematics or an experiment in Chemistry, the terms of a treaty in History, a French idiom, a Shakespearean quotation, these will retreat from the present central position they may hold. Other skills that have been mastered, football, soccer, hockey, basketball, tennis, or track and field will eventually escape control. What, then, is going to remain which will endure? The Quaker founders of our school and those of us concerned with it today trust that those attitudes which reflect the inner spirit of our school, the spirit which compels us to be of service to others, will be taken. In many ways the new generation is more knowledgeable than the previous one in terms of under- standing the contemporary world. It is a world devoted to materialism, a world that wants spiritual dedica- tion, a world that is cruel because of terrorism, a world that is hungry because it wants food to feed its over- population, a world that needs good men and women. To enter it many hands are needed to bring strength in spirit, body and mind to shun listlessness and to show determination. Each individual must bear strength in each hand. For the outward life and for relations with other people I trust that Pickering has provided firm guide- lines. Reflection upon this year will show that those activities were best in which both staff and students worked closely together. Great energies were generated by all when we co-operated on such occasions as Sports Day, the Quaker Relays, the Spring Festival of Plays, the Autumn production of Becket, the school dances; and, in a daily way in the ongoing spirit which was found in classrooms, corridors, teams where common goals were sought with goodwill and mutual respect. We do wonderful things working together, being of service to one another, and it is this thought I hope will be taken away as new situations and new people greet the outstretched hand. That outstretched hand takes on symbolic significance as the greeting which meets the world. It is also symbolic of the hand that extends strength from one inward spirit to another. A strength derived from philosophy, from faith, from those values which Pickering College has stood for down through the years. In common with the Religious Society of Friends, Pickering has strongly declared itself against persecution, bullying, intolerance, and discrimination. In positive terms we stand for goodwill, racial and religious toler- ance, basic respect for human dignity, the ideals which give strength to our outward life. It is our expecta- tion that these beliefs will inspire the graduating class to a life of service and may they continue to inspire this school. - Harry M. Beer

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This edition of the Voyageur is affectionately dedicated to C liz ab et h w reenw a y 8, eer who has been closely associated with Pickering College for many years. She first appeared on our school stage in The Pirates of Penzance in 1 934 and ever since has participated in our operettas and dramatic productions. This year she enriched the performance of Becket in her role as the Queen Mother. The quality of her fine singing voice, the range of her dramatic ability and her charm as our official hostess have brought talent and warmth to our school life. We wish to say thank you.

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HARRY M. BEER