Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

Page 33 text:

A FROG SCALES THE SOCIAL LADDER FTER preparing a lesson on the Frog, one night, very hile. the Biology teacher (incidentally!! was endeavouring to write a suitable letter of recommendation for one of her senior girls, l nfortunately she enclosed her lesson in the envelope to the girl ' s prospective employer, so thai the latter was informed that Joan was: 1. cold blooded 2. covered with warts 3. given to leaping 4. croaks when happy 5. has a long forked tongue for catching flies 6. has no teeth in lower jaw. On the other hand, the Biology class learned the following day tliat a Frog was : 1. vivacious, possessing large dreamy eyes and a lilting oice 2. very able in mental arithmetic 3. of good family background 4. a shining example of Trafalgar standards. Residt: Girl rejected. Class dejected. Teacher ejected. AN EARLY MORNING WALK THE soft brown mud slushed o er my boots, as I triulged along the winding countrv road. On either side, deserted summer houses loomed up in the mist, drearv and dirty: around the houses melting snow, now turned a dirty grev, mingled with patches of dead, yellow grass. Small sparrows, flitting among the naked trees, feebly chirped as they energetically gathered materials to build nests. Walking farther on, I came to a tiny glen in which pussywillows and moosewood were just unfolding their furry buds: a cat, lean and hungrv, padded silentlv along the road and disappeared through the budding bushes before I could catch it. The sun s rays were struggling through the inky clouds as I came to a rickety, old bridge. Hearing a sound of rushing w ater and occasionally a sharp crack, like a shot, I leaned over the bridge and saw that the river, as it ran swiftly on. w as cracking the ice with its pressure. Later, as I was returning, the sun suddenly burst through the clouds, bringing with it a soft breeze and a faint whiff of Spring: bringing also I hoped, the end of this dull and drab winter. Philippa H.A.NSARD, Form IVb, Cimiming House. A WINTER ' S NIGHT A PALE winter moon casts its spell on a poet ' s delight. Lacy flakes drift lazily from the grey sky. Gloves of icy frost cover the naked boughs. A fairy stream winds its way through drifts covered with newly fallen snow. [31]

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SCHOOL — 1997 This is an excerpt from the diary of Jane Clark, a teen-ager in her ninth year of school. THIS morning I must have got out of bed on the wrong side. To begin with, helicopter traffic was very slow. I left home late — allowing myself only ten minutes instead of fifteen to fly to school, and was nearly late. At school I landed, putting my ' copter into my helilocker. I really must be late , I thought to myself, for Alice is here already . I remembered that Miss Cook had said that I had to wash the ink stains from the top of my plastic desk by today, so I dashed to the wash-room, dampened a towel, rushed to my desk and began to scrub. Alice walked over to me: My but you ' re late today. I ' ve been here a long time. By the way, I couldn ' t do those problems about ' copters for maths, could you? Did you see the baseball game last night on your television set? It was really exciting. Lindsay Crosby sang too; Mother says his father, Bing, was quite the singer in her day. Also ... Oh, Alice, there ' s the bell, and I ' ve not got the marks oflf this desk yet. Here, take this towel and help me. Alice and I finally got the desk to shine. We then grabbed our hymn books and got into line. Nothing unusual happened in prayers, except that my hymn book crashed to the floor and everyone stared at me! I wish we could have the soft, noiseless, leather ones. The morning passed quite pleasantly; of course the history movie was complicated, and for homework we were told to write an essay on it. I ' ll never get it done. The maths problems were terrible, all about jet-propelled planes and ' copters. Dad has a jet-propelled, so he ought to be able to help me. The classroom was very hot this morning, for the sun shone through the fibre glass walls. It was uncomfortable at first, but maybe I got a sun-tan. The lunch at school today was quite good. We had meat and vegetable pills, and for dessert there was chocolate pudding with cream capsules. Those pills are very filling. They certainlv save work and dishes for schools and restaurants. At home we rarely have pills; it ' s usually the real thing. This afternoon we had a French test. Mademoiselle Chartre showed us a short French movie. It was terrible, for we had to write down in French what the movie was about, and the people spoke so fast I did not understand a thing. After French we had games. There was a short movie on basketball, with explanations. Then, for the rest of the period, we played the game, trying to remember all that we had seen. It looked as though there was to be a storm, so at the end of the period we all ran to the helilockers to get our machines. There was a whirr of pro- pellers as we all went up into the sky. I arrived home just as the storm began. I am certainly glad I did not get caught in it. I have finally finished my homework. I guess I ' d better go to bed now so I ' ll be able to leave earlier for school tomorrow. Carolee Beaudoin, Form IVb, Fairley House. [30]

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The transparent ice is smooth and glistens in the moonlight. In the distance the merry jingle of sleigh bells may be heard. Up the road is a cottage resting warmly between snowy bushes and protecting drifts. Smoke curls slowly from the chimney. Through the windows the coloured balls of light from a Christmas tree are lighting the carefully hung stockings. Horses ' hoofs and the crunch of wheels are heard as a coach jogs by. Soon only a deep groove in the snow remains. The winter world is peaceful, and drowsily awaits the dawn. Elizabeth Schollie, Form VB, Ross House. Incidentally! By the way! Mesenteric did I say? It really isn ' t that at all But Pharangeal, if you ' ll recall. Turn your notes two pages back, For I have found there is a lack. Six lines down in section eight, What you must know, I now dictate. Oh! Just a minute, your tests are here, But they are rather poor I fear. No one mentioned Renal Portal, Now, you know, that ' s really awful ! I didn ' t tell you? But you should know. You only lost a mark or so. As I was saying . . . oh, there ' s the bell Good morning, girls, and study well. Valerie Sims, Form Senior VI, Gumming House. Joan Gorner, Form Science VI, Barclay House. [32]