We are gathered here tonight with our friends and relatives for a very special occasion – the Graduation Ceremony of 1951. To the graduates, it is a night long to be remembered, and our achievements through the years of study will help in all the days ahead. When we first entered High School we had visions of a very difficult task confronting us, but those years have slipped away all too soon, mingled with hours of study and many hours of pleasant activities which could only be brought about by the companionship of our fellow students and our teachers.
This has been a busy year, not only in academic work, but also in student activities which play a great part in the adjustment of students and in the broadening of their outlook on life.
In the field of sports, our hockey and basketball teams have shown their abilities amounf the best that high schools have to offer. In track and field events, we hav again proved our caliber of sportsmanship.
The same applies to benefits derived in the musical line. We as members of K.H.S. have the good fortune of having one of the best if not the best of all musical directors and programmes that are to be found anywhere in B.C. This has been proved at Vancouver and Kelowna where very constructive adjudications were received and appreciated.
In the literary field our abilities have been established with the success of Productions such as H.M.S. Pinafore and again this year the students will, I am sure, be as successful in their endeavours with the new production “Our Hearts Were Young and Gay.”
In closing I would like to mention an incident that took place after school which at the time, I thought was a very nice gesture but didn’t have much significance. This was the planting of a tree dedicated to this year’s graduates. It has since occurred to me that we might compare ourselves to this tree, as being symbolic of our individual lives. The trunk represents our school, the branches – the students going into their various walks of life and the roots – the knowledge which has been transmitted to us. A TREE WELL ROOTED IS BETTER PREPARED TO FACE THE FUTURE.
PART II (Barbara Webber)
Tonight marks a very important moment in the lives of we who are graduating, for not only have we come successfully to the end of a phase in our lives, but in less than a month we shall be allowed to put into practice that which we have learned.
For twelve years we have been assimilating knowledge, not just the accepted theories of education, but perhaps more importantly we have been building up a philosophy of our own, which will enable us to take our place in society and to become better citizens.
The main purpose of education is not so much to impart knowledge as it is to awaken in us a sense of how much we do not know; with this realization we know step forth into the world with a mind free and eager for knowledge.
If nothing else, this past decade has taught us the importance of co-operation and teamwork. We have learned this lesson as participants in the band and orchestra, in sports, and as members of the various clubs throughout the school. The sum and substance of these activities has been a grounding for the time at hand, when we shall take on the responsibility of our community and our country.
But over and above all this, we shall take with us into life the many friendships formed during our years at school. Our lives have not only been enriched by the friendships of our contemporaries, but also by those so unselfishly given by the members of our teaching staff. So, I should like to say, that we, the Graduating Class of ’51, extend to you, our teachers and parents, our sincere thanks for your infinite patience and understanding guidance, which has made for us these twelve short years, the happiest and most unforgettable time of our lives.
