Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School - Collegiate Yearbook (Sarnia, Ontario Canada)

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T MT TI-TE CTSLLLEGIATE ems in geometry, a few solutions in algebra, something about history, a very limited knowledge of foreign languages, we could give ourselves a very liberal education at home. But the real value of a secondary educat- ion lies in the amount of thought the student puts into his work, and the real object of such a training is to teach us to think and reason clearly and with decision and to develop in us a taste for the higher arts. The Student Activities in our school are, as you will see in other sections of this magazine, many and varied. They can be divided into two main groups. flj Sports, such as rugby, track and field, basketball, swimming, shooting, etc. KZ, Literary Societies which sponsor the production of plays, mus- ical festivals, exhibitions of gymnastic work, debates, oratory and the pub- lishing of this magazine. First let us try to justify the exist- ence of the first class named above- Sport. It is a well known fact that, if the brain is to function to its fullest capacity, the body must be in a healthy condition. It is equally well known that, in these days when schools are so near at hand, the average student does not exercise his body enough in going to and from school to keep all his muscles taut and his lungs clear. It is therefore necessary to participate in games which exercise the body suffic- iently to keep every organ in proper working order. This is no new theory, for our greatest universities have, in recent years, made it necessary for students, before being granted a dip- loma, to attain a certain proficiency in gym work. And the benefits derived from an active participation in sports, are not only physical but mental and moral. The players are taught, in the heat of a close match when everyone's nerves are tense with excitement, to display a self control which is not found in the crowd of those who watch. And, when the ball is snapped out the player must think quickly and act with decision. There is no place on a rugby team, or any other kind of team, for one who , Q' is slow to get the meaning of the sig- nals or who cannot calculate the rate at which an opponent is travelling, or the distance of a forward pass. In any team participating in any sport, there is a sense of loyalty to the team, to the members of the team, and a certain sense of honour in good sports- manship, that is unexcelled. And in any group of young men would you expect to find the best among those who look on and cheer the winning team to victory and hurl their taunts at the losers, or among those who are on the campus playing the game? The mental and moral benefits de- rived from sport are limited, but the second group named above-the Liter- ary Societies-have as their funda- mental purpose our development along these lines. This group is then the more beneficial, intellectually, of the two. Shakespeare wrote The man that hath no music in himself. nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoilsn. The verity of this state- ment has never been challenged and certainly music is the most beautiful way of expressing beautiful thoughts. We who attend the S.C.I. 66 T.S. are not allowed to let our appreciation of good music become rusty, for each morning we are favoured by two sel- ections from the school orchestra. And our thanks are here extended to Mr. Brush and the members of the orch- estra for thus giving each day a bright beginning. But we of the S.C.I. 86 T.S. are forgetting that there are two kinds of music-instrumental and vocal. We have an orchestra, and an excellent one too, but where is our Glee Club? There must be vocal talent in the school. And we do not lack a leader. Mr. Asbury has attain- ments in this line that are surpassed by very few. A Glee Club we feel, is as necessary as the Literary Societies themselves. But as the name Literary Societies suggests, these organizations, the Sen- ior and Junior Literary Societies, are not only to encourage an appreciation of music but also of good literature,

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.,, . fu so to register. There followed a busy hour for the delegates, at the end of which they found themselves provided with badges and programmes and reg- istered in that discussion group which most appealed to each one. At ten o'clock Principal Malcom Wallace of University College formally opened the convention, and a welcome was ex- tended to the delegates by Miss Evan- geline Powell, convention convenor. Helpful and instructive speeches fol- lowed by Miss Jean I-Iunnisett, past secretary, Mr. W. Dunlop, director of University Extension and Mr. Ver- non Knowles, city editor of the Mail and Empire. After the election of a president and secretary from the ranks of the representatives, an address was heard on staff organization and allo- cation by Mr. Andrew Allen, editor of the flatej Varsity,', one of whose re- cent editorials stirred the whole pro- vince, followed by a discourse on hum- our by Mr. Gregory Clarke of the Toronto Star. After adjournment at noon, the delegates gathered for a panoramic picture on the steps of Con- vocation Hall. The afternoon session opened with a talk on The problem of lay-out by Mr. Frank Sperry of MacLean,s Maga- zine. The delegates then divided into groups for discussions on varied prob- lems. Ar the close of the session they were shown through the publishing houses of MacLean,s and the Toronto Star. In the evening the spacious and beautiful banquet-hall of the Arts and Letters Club made an artistic setting for the annual banquet. At its con- clusion the Staris shield for the best school magazine was presented to the London Central Collegiate, and the evening closed with a delightful, but all too short half-hour of readings and reminiscences by Dr. Charles G. D. Roberts. Saturday morning opened with a particularly interesting address on arf by Mr. Arthur Lismerg there followed speeches by Professor D. Robbins, Dr. E. A. Hardy, and Mr. Clarke Locke. The session closed with the THE COLLEGIATE presentation of a set of works of G. B. Shaw to the writer of the best short story in any of the magazines. The convention closed at noon on Saturday, and in the afternoon the delegates brought their activities to a conclusion by attending a rugby game at Varsity Stadium, where they re- newed their acquaintances with former schoolmates attending the University. N.G.N. ACADEMIC STUDIES VERSUS STUDENT ACTIVITIES Have you ever heard parents or outsiders comment on the so-called student activities of our school? Have you ever heard them speak with much concern, not unmingled with doubt and certain misgivings, of the increas- ingly important place that these act- ivities take in the lives of the students? Some, even outwardly condemn all the institutions of our school other than the fundamental subjects outlined in the curriculum. To these we would address the following remarks, in which we will attempt to allay at least a few of these misunderstandings. 'For those who criticise the non-academical side of our school life have been either most grossly misinformed or have not taken time to investigate their true purpose and value and are censuring us with but a very superficial know- ledge of these things. The fundamental purpose of a sec- ondary education is not to drill into our heads Latin, History, or algebra, nor to cram our brains with facts about electrons, or the action of sulphuric acid on sodium bicarbonate. True, these are all necessary but only in so far as they develop gray matter in our brain. Of what practical use are the majority of subjects that we take in the lower forms? Each of us will probably specialize in two or three of these later, and these will likely be the only ones of any real consequence in our future occupation. If our high school training were nothing more than learning by memory a few theor-

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' A ,,, ., ,, ,,., ,med ,Hgh ,, ,,, , . ,,, 32 ,515 THE COLLEGIATE mm , , oratory, debates, etc., and surely the most exacting of our censors could not but applaud any effort in this direct- ion. The executives of both Junior and Senior societies have functioned very credibly indeed this term, but we have noticed a certain lack of interest on the part of some of the students and even a few of the form representatives. We have tried to find reasons for their absence from executive meetings but none are apparent. We have noted also with disappointment and regret that no play was presented this term. The presentation last term of The Romantic Age was of such a high calibre that one would almost think pride should compel us to keep up the high standard set by those who were responsible for its production. And now let us turn your attention to one of the outstanding achieve- ments of the Literary Society. We are referring to the yearly publication of the magazine in which this article appears. It is entirely the work of the students and is intended to be, you might say, an exhibition of hobbies . By that we mean, that, no matter what a student likes to do most, he or she will find a place to do that particular thing in connection with the publicat- ion of this Year Book. If the student likes writing poetry, short stories, essays or one-act plays, these will be welcomed as contributions to our Literary section. If his hobby is photography, we have snap-shot pages which are to be filled by his contri- butions. If his forte is drawing, he can employ himself making a cover design, or headings for the sections, or cartoons. If he would rather not do these, but has hopes of a business career, he can receive valuable training getting ads for the mag or selling subscriptions. And so by the broad field which the student activities cover there is a place for every student to indulge in his favourite pastime and at the same time be developing physically, mental- ly, and morally and preparing himself for his place in the world. Everybody has talents in some special iine and we believe they can best be developed by supplementing the academical side of school life with the student activities. R.G.M. CONGRATULATIONS Ar the High School Magazine Edi- tors, Convention, in Toronto, last October, the representatives of the London Central C. I. Review were presented with the Star shield for thc best high school magazine of the 1929- 1930 term. May we join in congratu- lating the staff of the 1930 Review upon the fine workmanship which went to make up their winning publi- cation. The editors of the present term's Review have again led the way with their innovation in the ex- change column, that of having the ex- change editors of other schools com- ment at length upon the strong and weak points of the Review in ex- change letters. This method permits of greater latitude in criticism and comment, and we were only too glad to co-operate with the editors of the Review and hope, next year, to fol- low their example. N.G.N. A BOUQUET FOR THE PRESS In acknowledging those who have in years past, been of service to the school, among the first we must place the local press. Their publication of events about the school, however trif- ling they may seem to some of the readers, is invaluable in stimulating public interest in the life of the school. The chief sphere of school news in which they are interested, is of course that of sport. It is to be taken as a tribute to their reportorial skill, that one of the records kept of school life from day to day is a book comprised of their reports of school activities. This record forms a valuable supple- ment to the school history as recorded in the pages of the 'Collegiate' maga-