Page 80 - 1979

Good Evening':
Approximately five years ago, a new group of Grade 9's faced the uplifting experience of what is af- fectionately called Initiation Day. It was their time to he 'welcomed in', to officially become a student of C.C.I. So, between rolling pennies and imitating pregnant camels, many students were forced to learn . and bellow the School Song down the halls of C.C.I. Tonight, we may look at the last verse of this song, for it speaks of the graduates, those all "chuck full of wisdom" who ''know most everything. " Mr. Giller, Ladies and Gentlemen, whether or not the description fits, we are those graduates on whose behalf it is my honour to speak.
So, as the evening progresses we shall reminisce; we shall say many 'thank yous'; and we will he honoured for our achievements. Yet, isn't it ironical that after tonight, like so many other times in our lives, when we think we 'know most everything', we shall find that most everything is what we have yet to learn ....
Indeed, recall our first day in Grade 9. Our Grade 8 confidence was lost in the maze of corridors; our Grade 8 wisdom was crushed l.Ulder the insidious gaze of the senior students;- and even our Grade 8 nerves were shattered to discover that we had all of the teachers about whom we had only been warned.
But the days, months and years passed quickly, and we survived. We survived the surprise tests, the switch to 70 minutes of English and, somehow, we survived
the 3000 word essays that were started the night before they were due. Nevertheless, it is equally true that C.C.I. survived us. It saw us through the rowdiest of Saturday night dances; through the bedlam of the Greaser, White OWl, and Lumberjack Days and it surviv:ed and even flourished through 2 Variety Nights from which the likes of Miss Nude Nottawa and Ms. Eve Dropper will not he forgotten. Tonight we may
also recall the personal achievements that each of us has
experienced during the past 5 years. We remember the ecstasy of victory and the bitterness of defeat, not only in sports, hut in classes and clubs as well. We think of our teachers who gave us their time and friendship both in and out of school; our peers who helped us make our
and of course:, we think'of our parents without whose help and encouragement we may not have made it this far. Thus, we receive our diplomas, one of the most important documents we shall ever acquire. Yet it has been said that real education is what you remember after you have forgotten everything you have learned. Indeed, although our diploma signifies that a certain number of credits. have been earned, the real rewards of our years at C.C.I. are part of our inner selves; our ideals, our determination and our love and respect for each other. These are the ultimate prizes of our labour. Yet, we continue on, again leaving the well known behind. As T.S. Eliot wrote: "To make an end is to make a beginning. And the end is where we start from." Our graduation from here is indeed an end hut it is also a beginning; a time for n.ew places, new en.- deavours, and new people. Eliot also wrote that "man must he still, and still moving". We must he still in
being content to wait upon the future in the shadow of a wisdom we have acquired from past experience. We must also he still moving in a readiness to face and accept the challenge of a unprecedented and living present; a present that offers the opportunity to make new beginnings, toreach new insights, to grow, to really live. Indeed, we face a lifetime hurhing in every moment.
So, as we graduate tonight, and begin again, I would like to leave you with a final quote of T.S. Eliot: "Because time is always time, and place is always and only place; and what is actual, is actual only for one time and only for one place, I rejoice that things are as they are." Thank you.
Valedictory Address: 1ane Aldridge