Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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MRS. LEONARD T T IS WITH very great regret that we see Mrs. Leonard, this year, leave her position as Senior Mathematics mistress and Form Mistress of the Arts VI. Mrs. Leonard has been at Trafalgar since 1929, and has contributed a great deal to the life of the school. Many girls can thank her for her patient understanding of their difficulties in what, to many, is a very hard subject. She has rejoiced, too, with those who have achieved distinction. A 100% in the McGill examinations delighted her as much as the recipient. Mrs. Leonard has been Form Mistress of the Arts VI since 1947, and here, too, she has shown a kindly and genuine interest in all the problems of girls about to graduate from school. As general counsellor and friend she will be greatly missed. J.M.V.F. [ 13 ]

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[12]

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EDITORIAL THIS WORLD is a changing one. Since the beginning of history it has never ceased shifting and altering; civiHzation has been progressing constantly, and ma n ' s knowledge and skill have been increasing. Our grandparents doubtless considered that they had seen momentous changes in the way of life during their lives — the invention of electricity, the telephone, the automobile — and indeed these did make a tremendous difference in the lives of people all over the earth. But our generation is the lucky one, for the next fifty years will probably bring the greatest and most startling changes the world has ever known, and we will be privileged to see them with our own eyes. Since the beginning of this school year, man has made great strides forward in the field of science. With the launching of the first Russian Sputnik in October, the conquest of space was begun. Soon, perhaps, whole new worlds will be opened to us; we must be ready for this future and its great respon- sibility. We of this generation are being educated so that we will be prepared to deal with the many problems which are certain to confront mankind in the coming space age. It is our duty to future generations to learn all we can now, so as to do our best when we emerge into the world as adults, for it may well be that in our time the fate of mankind will be decided- — whether there will be world peace, or world war which will lead to the complete destruction of the human race. School is not just something to keep us busy until we are old enough to earn our own living. It is a preparation for life, and as such, takes a relatively small nvxmber of years. The things we learn here at Trafalgar will be the base of all knowledge and experience we acquire as we grow older; we must make sure that this base is strong and solid. A full education trains us physically and socially as well as mentally, and all three of these branches are important. For although the world changes, values do not change with it, and the things which will be greatly important to us in the future may not be our knowledge of nuclear physics or of radiation, but the high standards of work and conduct which we were taught at school. Since civilization began, it has been necessary for man to set for himself certain standards, and the higher he set those standards, the faster civilization pro- gressed. High standards are necessary if man is ever to achieve world peace. We of this generation may be the privileged ones, as all the modem marvels of scientific invention unfold before our eyes. But we also carry a greater responsibility. Are we doing our best to be ready for the parts we Mall play in the future of mankind? As the school year draws to a close, each girl might ask herself this question. For No man is an island entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main . . . , and her standards will affect the standards of the world in her time. Everyone here at Trafalgar today has a share in the world ' s work and responsibility; everyone has a part in the history of mankind. Any man ' s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. [14]