Winkler Collegiate Institute - Collegian Yearbook (Winkler, Manitoba Canada)

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haps you can explain it to me some other time”. “Oh, all right,” snapped Mrs. Crow, as she flew into the night muttering to her¬ self, “I hope those birds get into trouble tomorrow. It would serve them right for sitting there half the night and gossiping”. On the budding bough of the maple tree the two birds talked on, oblivious to the passing of time. “You should have heard some of the poems that the Grade XII students wrote. They were so good that I was literally shak¬ ing all over and I almost forgot what I was doing. Our class is just brimming with drama tic and poetic abilities,” observed Mrs. Lark excitedly. “Talking of abilities, this year’s class is really “tops”. They have three committee convenors, the Student Council president, the girls basketball team captain, and even the heroine of the operetta in their class.” “Yes, they are a class we can be proud of”, agreed Mrs. Lark, “but what else can you expect from a class that has a com¬ petent staff of teachers? Except for a few disagreements, they are a very co-operative and well-mannered class. If they have en¬ joyed this year as much as I have enjoyed Teachers How fast? How fast? is ringing thro’ my ears, Maths and Physics problems are piling up my fears. “Watch the clock boys, and please stay after four.” We’ve learned so much already, but want to learn some more. We get a tiny slip of paper and all write out our proof. If not absolutely right, it’s bound to raise the roof. We stay another minute, only to hear him say, “Please do odds till fifty for the very next day. “Have you finished Return of the Native?” for the twentieth time repeated, If not, well then, remember, with a lecture you’ll be treated. But even all his warnings , will never be enough, For most of the students think that book is a lot of silly stuff. Well, now we study Elizabeth Bennett and all her silly sisters, Next roll the German r’s till our tongues are filled with blisters. We do Maths instead of spelling and a wee bit talking, too, Then along comes Albert Schweitzer to in¬ terrupt both me and you. watching them, I am not surprised that they are dreading June.” “There may be other reasons for that,” replied Mrs. Robin with a wise nod. The voices faded into the distance and all was still, save for the gentle rustling of the grass in the night wind. I rubbed my eyes and looked around, startled. Where was I? Had I been diream¬ ing? I had wandered here at sunset, to have one last glimpse of the building which had been my school for the past years, the build¬ ing which symbolized the experiences which would be stored in my golden treasure chest of memories. The building which had been framed by sunset splendour when I arrived was now enveloped in the mysterious shad¬ ows of night. It seemed alien and strange in the eerie sheen of moonlight as though the night had cast a spell upon it. Had I only imagined those birds talking about us? or did it really happen? The facts were ac¬ curate and yet the happening seemed in¬ credible — birds can’t talk! But whe¬ ther a dream or reality, cherished recollec¬ tions of what to me was most dear at pre¬ sent, my year in Grade Twelve, had been revived in my memory by Mrs. Robin. Tru¬ ly, a little bird did tell me! — Pat Hyde On Parade When our drama teacher’s coming we spit out our chewing gum, For he is sur e to notice and add to our de¬ tention sum. We study poetry without meaning, of Shake¬ speare and of Keats, We learn of the beautiful Juliet and our hearts all skip abeat. This “Winter” weather seems to be the right time for debating, Both Grace and Walter are always seen to be partaking. We go on to our History class, the most en¬ joyable of all, For we can talk all the while when we scurry down the hall. When Chemistry period comes around, heads are drooped down with sleep. There’s nothing about molecules my head can ever keep. Still for June I’ll strive “to seek, to find and not to yield,” But I’ll never make a profession in the Che¬ mistry field. This poem may sound a bit sarcastic and not in favour of school, But that’s all wrong because I like all sub¬ jects as a rule. The teachers are all perfect and deserve the highest praise, ‘Cause look at all the bright Grade XII’s that they’ve been able to raise’. Page 21

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decided to find out what they were up to. I flew around the school, peeped into every classroom, until finally I found them in the library. I watched for a while and came to the conclusion that it must be the His¬ tory class, because there were only girls in it. The terrible things that happened during something they called the First World War are really shocking. No wonder our ances¬ tors had to emigrate to Canada to find food. Those human beings have caused so much trouble already. I wonder what they’ll do next”, she sighed, shaking her feathered head dolefully at the tragic thought. ‘‘You really shouldn’t have missed Phy¬ sics class this morning. My head was just whirling when they talked about machines, motors, and mechanical mechanisms, but even the girls seemed to enjoy it. Things certainly aren’t What they were when you and I were young. Then all that a girl had to do was to learn how to bake and cook. But we must keep up with the times, I sup¬ pose”, sighed Mrs. Lark, as though she were a martyr to her principles. “Now, now”, croaked Mrs. Crow who just happened to fly by, “you should have been with me. I just came from the bakery and Garry was still working there, baking bread as industriously as you please. In my opin¬ ion, such a combination of education and practical home economics is ideal. Gerry’s a wise girl, and so pretty too! — Just ima¬ gine what she’ll look like in her own kitchen next year!!!” “I’ve noticed that some of the girls do their own cooking, too” put in Mrs. Lark, who was always ready to defend her favour¬ ite class. “But I am afraid that they are too busy to make proper meals. Hazel said she’d only had an apple for dinner toddy. Even when I’m on a diet of worms, my meals are more appetizing than that!” “Diet of Worms”, crowed Mrs. Robin, an¬ xious to display her superior knowledge, “I’m sure I heard Katherine talking about it this morning, but I’ve forgotten whether it was Martin Luther or Calvin who first discovered its slimming effect.” “Mrs. Robin, I am surprised at your ig¬ norance. Don’t you know that Martin Lu¬ ther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church at the Diet of Worms? Further¬ more, I have been engaged in some scienti¬ fic research with Adeline on the subject of Human Rights and there is no provision made whereby humans may rob us of our diet”, Mrs. Crow informed her in no un¬ certain terms. “That is ‘strictly for the birds’!” • “You should have seen the students work during Mathematics period,” said Mrs. Lark, Page 20 glancing impatiently at Mrs. Crow as if to hint that her presence was no longer desir¬ ed, “I couldn’t understand the lecture be¬ cause the windows were closed, so I must ask Margaret about it. I just marvel at her ability in Maths. Everytime she puts an answer on the blackboard it’s right. I don’t know how she does it”. In a last desperate hint to Mrs. Crow, Mrs- Robin asked, “Can you tell me what the phrase, “Gehen Sie Bitte weg”, means?” “Aw, I don’t know”, cawed Mrs. Crow, yawning sleepily. “Well, you’d better ask some of our bril¬ liant German students. Some of them know their German so well that they wrote their final examination last fall. I’m sure that not every class could boast of such superior knowledge in the foreign language”, ob¬ served Mrs. Robin proudly. “The rest are doing very well too”, re¬ plied Mrs. Lark. Esther is taking German for the first time this year ” “Is that right?” chirped Mrs. Robin who was always ready to help. “Then I should really fly over and help her with the principal parts of the verbs which the class is to know for tomor¬ row.” “But you should just listen to Pat roll the German r’s. Even words like “Grillen” and “Unken” can’t stump her.” twittered Mrs. Lark enthusiastically. “Excuse me for changing the subject, but I’ve noticed that you are always very punc¬ tual for Drama classes lately,” warbled Mrs. Robin. “Yes, I wouldn’t miss it for anything. I even sneaked into Walter’s pocket today and I really enjoyed the lively discussion although I almost suffocated because of the heat. They say the room is always hot but today I’m sure the friction of argument must have added to the rising temperatures.” ’ “I was listening at the window and I heartily agreed with Glenys. I’m sure I wouldn’t be happy without any “reality”, cooed Mrs. Robin as she gazed dreamily at the silver moon. “You’d better come back to reality then,” squawked Mrs. Crow, giving Mrs. Robin a poke in the ribs. She produced a crumpled piece of paper from under her wing. “You wanted me to explain the Periodic Table to you, didn’t you? I’ve got it here. Don’t tell anyone, but Norman dropped his Chemistry book on his way home and this page fell out. He’s really smart in Chemistry. Even the teacher is surprised when he has such concise correct solutions to the problems”. “I really can’t stop now,” protested Mrs, Robin lamely, “I promised that I would be home early so I must go immediately. Per-

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mmvm we « »»«ii f a w»f - S 1. Who said that. 2. Who’s stringing who. 3. Back interest. 4. What time is it. 5. Return of the native. 6. Human Rights. 7. She found it. 8. Our Hero? 9. Is that the correct size? 10. Are you sure. 11. Oh dear what can the matter be. 12. All about O. Henry. 13. Spoon Feeding. 14. Keeper of the door— rear view. 15. Flowers and Flowers. 16. Vi. 17. Wrong Walter. 18. New friends. 19. Shucks, they’re both boys. 20. All about chemical affinity. 21. You were¬ n’t supposed to look. 22. Will they do. 23. Candid shot. 24. Budding Genius. 25. Will he do it. 26. Wrong impression. KL f I SPimaHr i iks m HI 1 : f IGr ML J5SSF f ' % f