Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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A LETTER TO THE SCHOOL GIRLS PAST AND PRESENT, OF THE TRAFALGAR INSTITUTE Trafalgar Institute, Montreal, May 18th, 1919., My Dear Girls, In writing to you this year there is uppermost in my thoughts the altered outlook that has come to you with the great change from war to peace. None of you have been left untouched by the experiences and sufferings of the past four years — you have lived, as it were, in a training camp, with minds and energies set on one goal. Now that the tension of war-time has been relaxed and a new direction has to be found for your activities, there may be a temptation for some of you to drift back into the old life of ease and individual pleasure. But out of the furnace of these years have been born new ideals of duty and responsibility and you who have thrilled with the joy of working together for a common cause, when danger threatened, will feel that this is not a time for falling back. The world is in a state of change. Men and women are stirred by new hopes and visions. Leaders and workers are being called for on every side to direct and help new movements. In Canada, as in other lands, many of these calls must be answered by women. There are spheres of work open to you to-day that even a few years ago lay beyond the dreams of the most courageous of your sisters. Barriers and restrictions have been cast aside and women can make their true worth felt as workers and citizens. This greater opportunity, however, places on you a greater responsibility. You cannot aspire to the higher forms of service with- out adequate training and preparation and it is in the quiet years at school that you are laying the foundations for your after life, whatever your call may be. You all know the importance of a well- informed mind. It is a valuable weapon but not in itself sufficient equipment fot the battle before you. Perhaps the most important lessons of school life are learnt from companionships in work and play from the ' ' give and take of the daily round. — Here the girl ' s true mettle is tested. It is here that she learns the necessity for self-control and here she begins to understand perhaps for the first time the interests and view-points of others. If a girl has in her the germs of leadership, school life is sure to develop it. You cannot all have that gift but in school, at least, you begin to recognize and appreciate the qualities that make a good leader, and learn to work happily with others. Greetings to the old girls , especially to those who are far away and whom we cannot see from time to time throughout the year. My mind goes out at this season to the present VI. Form girls who are ready to leave us. It is hard to say good-bye to them. To one and all I wish a very happy holiday. Yours affectionately, Janet L. Gumming. 10

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The school year of 1918-19192has been broken on account of the influenza epidemic, which quarantined us for five weeks in the fall. Although lessons were allotted nevertheless, it was very diffi- cult to make the same progress alone. If we have worked hard we have also played hard. The Basket-Bail Club was converted at the beginning of the year into the Trafalgar Athletic Association, which has entire control over all school sports. The Fall tennis champion- ship had to be scratched after the first round, owing to bad weather and the quarantine, but we hope next year it will be more successful. The system of playing basket-ball in classes according to merit has proved successful, and has helped the Committee to choose the teams. The school has shown a more general interest in the magazine this year and we feel confident that within a few years we will have a firmly established school paper. The editor wishes to thank those all who have spent so much time and thought on their contributions, and helped to make our magazine what it is. 9

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PREFECTS, 1918-19 Form Majorie Guthrie Kate Rowley Margaret Murray Louise Morrison Dorothy Russel Helen Drummond Silvia Dorken FORM OFFICERS VI. V. IVA. IVB. IIIA. IIIB. Upper II, II. Upper I. I. President Marjorie Guthrie Mary Bishop Katharine Falconer Betty Averill Gerda Parsons Eileen Anderson Laura Robertson Beatrice Carter Norah Sullivan Beatrice Howell Vice-President Dorothy Russel Marguerite Jamieson Elise Dunton Doris Yearwood Dorothy Reed Reba Davidson Peggy Cleghorn Olga MacLaren Freda Pashley Peggy Newman TRAFALGAR ALPHABET A urges accents and outlines and shades B tries to make us math ' matical maids C ' s the Commander-in-chief of Traf ' s forces D ' S the display that ' s served up in courses E for our welfare and good health is wishing F keeps the pond where we often go fishing G is the gym-shield for which all are striving H are the holidays that soon are arriving Fs the influence our Prefects have o ' er us J is the jabber of people that bore us K is our keenness in work and in play L dit toujours qu ' il faut parler frangais M is the Muse that inspired this rhyme N gives four chapters of Caesar each time O ' s for oblivious, which we often are P teaches singing in which we all star 0 are the quizzes that cause us much woe R ' s the Red Cross where we chatter and sew S reels off names which we understand never T ' s for Trafalgar our beacon-light ever U ' s for University, some hope to go there V are the vandals that mark desk and chair W are the windows, we mustn ' t look out of X is for xylite, some heads are made out of Y is for Yankee, one teaches us history Z we can ' t think of, so leave it a mystery. 11 V.