LIFE’S CHALLENGE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21582, 8 December 1944, Page 4

LIFE’S CHALLENGE

THE FITTEST SURVIVE EDUCATION’S CLAIMS SCHOOL PRIZE-GIVING “Feeling as I do that I stand here as a representative of all the old boys of the school who are serving in the navy on tire sea, in the' army on land, and in the air force in the air. I feel, too, that I should give you a rpessage on their behalf, - ’ said Major K. G. Scott, making the prize-givme address at last night's brcaking-up ceremony of the Gisborne High School, held at the Opera House with a large attendance of parents and pupils. “To those about to leave school and embark upon, the serious task of finding places in a larger life. I would say that you are about to cut yourselves off from an association you will miss. You will be leaving your old friends and taking up a new pattern of life. Your experiences will be new, thrilling and challenging. “You will have your viscissitudes and your exhilarations. Whatever you may encounter, keep a constant faith in your Creator and in yourselves. Keep in mind your early teaching in your school, and that will carry you through. Life is not a bed of roses; it is hard because it is real, and the best will survive longest. You have had the advantage of being well grounded in a Christian life. You have been well taught, without a doubt, but beyond that you have been moulding your own futures in your associations with your classmates in the sports fields as well as in the class-rooms. You have learned the value of toleration.. Education’s Status in Europe

“In your future life, apply these lessons.' Be self-reliant, but not overbearing. Be courteous but not servile. Think for yourselves, and do not let others think for you.” The speaker referred briefly to his own experiences in school, and to the unexpected uses he had lately founci for educational subjects which at school he had not thought likely to be useful He referred, too, to the power of knowledge, and the remarkable interest shown in education _ m the war's most stricken countries, instancing the fact that the university in Bari, in Italy, was reopened and running normally a fortnight after the liberation of that city. The Italian people and every other European people knew, he said, that the P° s " war task of reconstruction would call for educated minds, and that here a«ain the fittest and best qualified would survive. Their example earned a lesson to all young people, for the new world would call for people with high qualifications for every task worth doing.

Major Scott closed his speech with an earnest recommendation to those now leaving school to carry the memory - of it with them into the larger life, and to remember always that the credit of their school was largely in their hands. The ceremony was one of the most colourful of recent years, and the presentation of prizes was earned out by Major Scott todhe accompaniment of recurring waves of applause. ! Parent-Staff Co-operation Occasion was taken by Mr. J. Leggat, principal of the school, to bid good-bye to those pupils who had completed their school course, and who, in a number of cases, would be going on to higher education. He also addressed the parents present, pointing out that co-operation between the school stall' and parents of the pupils was highly desirable in the interests of the children, and that the Paients Association and its regular gatherings at. the school offered a channel of acquaintance to both parties. “It is possible to do a great deal more for the benefit of the child, m the informal atmosphere of these gatherings, than by a parent writing in or coming to the school under the strain of a sudden irritation,” he observed, amidst laughter. The programme of the gathering, over which Mr. L. T, Burnard presided as chairman of the board of governors, included a number of items by the school choir, and also by the" whole school. The school brass band, trained by Mr. A. Wood during the past term, made its debut at this ceremony, and played several selections with excellent effect. The chairman offered his congratulations to-Mr. Wood and the young bandsmen, and Mr. Leggat instanced the band practices as one of the many mit-of-school-hours activities among which every pupil should be able to find an interest. Mr. Burnard mentioned later the work of the Little Theatre Group, sponsored by a keenly-interested and valuable Old Students’ Association. He praised warmly the work of the group, and commended its periodical jnterlainments to the patronage of all who were interested in the school.