Windsor Locks High School - Herald Yearbook (Windsor Locks, CT)

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PERSEVERANCE—AN ESSENTIAL QUALITY FOR SUCCESS In looking back over the years through which we worked to attain the goal reached today, we discover that perseverance was a basic weapon in our battle. Through perseverance the United States has become the major country it is today, and through perseverance we, the class of 1957, hope to attain individual success. Perseverance is defined as steady persistence in a course of action” and suggests activity maintained in spite of difficulties. Plutarch picturesquely suggested that water continually dripping will wear hard rocks hollow.” How have we learned to persevere? How can we continue to apply ourselves unceasingly to our tasks? There are many motives for perseverance. One needs only to discover which motive or combination of motives will serve to keep him doing his best work, and he has solved this problem of persevering. Perhaps the urge most natural to all of us is the desire to do something just a little bit better than anyone else. This competitive spirit, even though not consciously recognized, may well be at least partially responsible for motivating the individual to put his very best efforts into his work. We consciously appeal to it whenever we say, I know I can do a better job than that. Or perhaps our parents or other individuals have fostered in us a desire to do our best, no matter what the task. Once motivated, we have continued this pattern and have reaped benefits and rewards, thus making it easier to keep on in like manner for the rest of our lives. Some of us may have ambitions for financial gain and added power which can be attained only through our being among the best in the field. These are powerful motives, especially for those who are self-supervised. They are working for us when¬ ever we consider the tangible rewards we hope to win through sustained effort. Without such incentive, the entire economic system of our country would collapse. Desire for praise can also be a strong motive for exceptional accomplishment. Surely it is one with which every housewife must be familiar. It may well be the only motive that influences those whose work schedule is difficult, but who receive no direct monetary reward for their exertions. All of us must at some time or other be spurred on to greater heights by the thought that someone will be pleased with our efforts. Then, too, there are those who have a pure creative urge—a desire to produce from nothing, something that is grand in appearance and full of splendor—or a com¬ pelling urge to create purely for the sake of creating. The act of creating in itself gives pleasure. This is surely true of many artists among us. But whatever our motives have been and may be, we are aware that perseverance is essential to success. We have learned that we must drive ourselves to the limit. The thought of attaining our ultimate goal sustains us. After completing one task and reaping the rewards for which we have worked, we can start afresh toward a new goal. Francis Perotti ’57

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GRADUATION NIGHT PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUCCESS IN HIGH SCHOOL Members of the Board of Education, Teachers, Parents, and Friends: On behalf of the Class of 1957, I wish to welcome you to the last exercises held by this class. I omght is a turning point in our lives. After tonight each of us will go his separate way; some will continue with their education, others will go into business or industry, and still others will go into the armed services of our country. But no matter what pat 1 each of us follows, our success will depend a great deal on the opportunities we grasped here in Windsor Locks High School. Each one of us has had four years of what might be called specialized training. We chose the course of subjects most helpful to us in preparation for our future goals. Our school offered the courses needed, and it was up to us to do our best. For four years we studied and learned, and after tonight we will put this knowledge to use no matter what our goals. But a high school offers more than courses of study. The opening of this large new school brought many additional experiences and opportunities unknown in the old high school. These opportunities were opened to us so that we might gain in meeting responsibility, develop initiative and sportsmanship, and better recognize and utilize our gifts of personality and intellect. Activities like the National Honor Society and the Student Council are carried on by the students with the help of their advisors, but the success of such activities depends upon the students. This, of course, is true of all aspects of high school life. The school can offer the best in teachers, books, curriculum, and physical plant, but the success of the whole rests for the most part upon the wholehearted endeavor of the students. The student who gains most from opportunity is the one who has given most. Tonight as we look back on our four years in Windsor Locks High School, we remember the work done in the classrooms and out, the good times we have had and the friends we have made. We have tried to work hard to reach this point. After tonight we shall know better just how hard we did work. Therefore, we should like to address a few words to the under-classmen who still have opportunities in high school before them. We hope that they will realize it is never too late, or too early, to start preparation for success. We wish them to remember that tomorrow will be the result of today; there may be luck in gaining opportunity, but there is more than luck to making it ones own. To them we say: Set your goal now and remember that success comes only with diligence on your part. Elizabeth Anderson ’57 LD CNI Page

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COOPERATION, THE KEY TO SUCCESS . Tonight you arc witnessing one of our rewards—graduation from high school. To achieve this goal we have worked diligently from the first day we were taken by the hand to kindergarten. Whatever our next goal—college, business school, job, or service in the armed forces—we all have the same aim in life—success. We may not seem fully aware of the true meaning of the word success. To the older generation, today s graduate may appear a money-minded youngster who thinks lifes best will fall into his lap. Yet many college placement officers describe our generation as levelheaded. We realize, as did the numerous students who passed through these portals before us, that it is the conscientious, cooperative student who receives a diploma with honors. 1 o him the gates of the wide world are epen, and to him the gates of knowledge will never be closed. Winston Churchill once stated that The best is none too good for me.” This statement carries the conviction of a man with a purpose. X e too realize that we must aim for the best in everything we attempt, for not failure, but low aim is crime. Thus we know that one of the most necessary prerequisites for success is cooperation. If we have this attribute and the knowledge which entitles us to a definite place, then others will see that we attain that place. We must accept the fact that we arc running for an office every day of our lives; to do so we must be capable of cooperating with all types of people. Cooperation is simply operating jointly with others. No one can live successfully without learning to work satisfactorily with those around him in school and business life, in social life, and in the home. Many people believe that it is necessary to live in constant apology for oneself or to identify completely with each group one meets. Many keep others in line through fear, dominating them and making them afraid to raise opposition. This is not cooperation. To influence people without pretense or fear, one must learn the basic human trends of thought and apply them to himself and particularly to others. To be cooperative and to gain cooperation, one must remember the deep human desire to be noticed and accepted as a fellow human being. Fellow students, families, co-workers, employees, bosses—all desire and deserve notice; particularly deserving are children and teenagers. Cooperation is simple and easy, but it is a tested secret of . success. Moyra McGladrigan ' 57 CNI Page