Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

Page 9 text:

people subjects, we elect not to give in to the temptation to teach subjects incidentally to people. We are as concerned with process as we are with results. We seek improvement and excellence as expressions of the workings of Divine Providence, not as reactionary cant fostering an improved market position. The consequence is a happy meeting between our late 20th century school and its mid'19th century ancestor. The spiritual, emotional. physical and mental health of people are our first concern. The ap- plication of a wide variety of talents in the service of others is our second one. The survival of this orientation to education, alone, is worth the effort to underwrite the renewal of our school. Simultaneously, with the turning of the Wheel of Fortune of Pickering College, many other smaller personalized Wheels of Fortune are turning. ln our struggle to survive as an educational community, we can never forget the survival of each individual. We, too, must be aware that the con- stellation of Wheels of Fate that go round may or may not be in harmony at any give time. Struggle. discord. extinction or survival may appear to be remote concepts because of apparent material cushions. However, within these con- cepts the crucible of character formation lives. As individuals attached to an enterprise larger than any one we must guard against either merging our separate identities with the ins stitution or becoming so distinguishable that our ef- fectiveness is underminded. ln other words. the interwacting Wheels of Fortune, surrealistic as that may sound, necessarily have to harmonize for the creative learning community to survive, Individual wheels may have to seek other constellations in order to remain effective. Students about to graduate know this best. for their wheels have enlarged, their re-gearing process anticipates new constellations, their identities are about to separate into new heavens, their fortunes are about to discover other fates. The figure of the Little Tramp caught up in the gears of Modern Times 119363 exemplifies ourselves and our in- stitution as we tend to our respective and corporate wheels with our oil cans. Charlie Chaplin's metaphoric film of an earlier era speaks to our condition today. Our survival, like the Little Tramps , is dependent on not letting the gears grind us down. We, too. can learn to ride with the times and survive. both as individuals and as members of a great school. Sheldon H. Clark Q ,,., I ', .V . 'fff,i5+ -322 T Nw., , I f l nl v . - lg Hwy . y U. 8 'mm5 ann? , ' F ' - mm 4 IIIII' EHBF5 UNI f . Q if l PII ---- HT! V Tv' - I l . I ll 3 3 X Q ii nn use - 3153 M lm Ill! - cl v...-.541

Page 8 text:

A Personal Word from the Headmaster The Wheel of Fortune Fortune, good night: Smile once more. turn thy wheel. lKing Lear, ll. ii. 175-176l Wheels that turn have an up side and a down side. People who ride on wheels take their chances. Their luck on the inevitable Wheel of Fortune is either up or down or someplace inbetween. Furthermore, to add to the thrill of the ride. the time factor is totally unpredictable. seconds or generations may pass unnoticed or with high drama. The Wheel of Fortune of Pickering College seemed to spin in seconds downwards on November 24, 1981. The fire called into question the survival of the school. A slice of history. nearly three thousand old boys and faculty. friends. and an educational posture among independent secondary schools in Canada were threatened with extinction. The people of Pickering rode out the turning of the fickle Wheel with every expectation that a mere fire would not destroy this school on a Hilltop in Newmarket, founded nearly one hundred fifty years ago by Quakers. The dramatic challenge is slowly giving way to stability and the gyrations of the Wheel are slowing down. The Pickering community has seen the rise and occupation of the new residence. the rebuilding of Rogers House and other needed improvements. We are able to focus on our prescribed goal. To give every opportunity for the good principle in the soul to be heard . And it is to this end that we actively seek ways to improve our personnel, our program. our facilities and our financial foundation. The academic year 1982-1983. is over. lt began with struggle on a construction site with a deficit of students. It also began with a determination to permit the human spirit to flourish in spite of trailer city and a tough economic situation. The Wheel of Fortune has turned again and a Truth has emerged. Human beings engaged in positive and supportive relationships ultimately triumph over crises. Pettiness, jealousies, me-first attitudes are simply set aside when survival is at stake. The survival of our school is at stake. We need many supportive and positive people working together to assist the Wheel of Fortune to turn upwards. Self-discipline. the voluntary removal of extras , indeed the desire to live as an institution are paramount. The historical fact of West Lake Friends Seminary near Picton, Ontario. may be a tribute to the inspiration of Joseph John Gurney, but it is also a symbol of a determined Quaker pioneer people to place an educational foundation beneath the children of the period. Our forebears struggled for what they believed in and survived and they, too, were burned out and had to look afield for support. The Quaker pioneers of the 19th century may all have passed on, but our links with our historical foundation have survived. At Pickering College in Newmarket, we teach

Page 10 text:

4 w