Page 60 - 1978

Some people think we are hellions
Others feel we are little angels from heaven The only thing we are for sure
Is the Class of '77.
Happiness, anger and sorrow Depression, joy and fears
Are some of the emotions we've felt Over the past few years.
We have loved, and we have learned
We have been angered, and we've fought We've done immensely silly things
Most of us have skipped and been caught.
But when all is finished And done and said
It is we, the students Who've come out ahead.
For what we've learned
At this high school
Will enable us, in this world
To adapt, to accomplish, to rule.
And so tonight's the night
We say good-bye
To the people, the memories, and the good times. We've had at C. C. I.
And when we return
In ten years time
(And think, " Once in this gymnasium I heard a crazy rhyme." )
Some people will remember us as hellions
And others will remember us as little angels from heaven When we should rightly be remembered
As the Class of '77.
We must somehow, thank our teachers, but to say thank- you wouldn't even begin to express our appreciation for what they have given us. Now as we prepare to leave C. C. I. we can count many of the staff here, if not as friends, then as close acquaintances, people we will continue to have strong ties with.
If thank-you doesn't express our appreciation for our teachers, what can we say to the people who have taught us self-confidence and self-respect. To our parents only words like patience and kindness and love would apply. What we are able to accomplish, for the most part can only be attri- buted to them.
In closing I would like to say something that pertains to the applause that inevitably follows every valedictorian's speech. To-night when you applaud think specifically of your sons and your daughters, think of your friends and classmates and think of yourself if you're a graduate, for we are the ones being honoured here to-night. We have worked hard for the privilege of coming to this auditorium to gradu- ate, thus we have earned the right to be called the Class of '77'
Valedictory address by Jim Ironside
I should clarify one of the stanzas in the poem. It went- To-night's the night
We say good-bye
To the people, the memories and the good times We've had at C. C. I.
It would be hard for any of us to turn our backs on the people we met or the experiences we had at C. C. I. If you think back over the years at some of the things we've done together; the teams we played on, the school trips we've taken, even the towel fights in the change rooms. The tingle created by these memories warms the insides and we can smile at ourselves fdr the things we did. The memories are humorous, or poignantly touching, or sad, or whatever; but that is all they are now, just memories. Although we don't say good-bye to our acquaintances or our memories we push them a little further back in our minds, because now, after our high school careers, we must use all our faculties to suc- ceed at what we are doing presently.
Most of what is done and said to-night will soon be for- gotten, but if I had the choice of projecting one singular measure to-night, that you would remember, it would be "no matter what you are doing now, or what you choose to do in the future, be proud enough and ambitious enough to excel at it".
"THE
CLASS OF '77 "