I am sure that all high school students will agree that we are living in a very interesting and exciting period of history. A century ago people thought that the civilized world had pretty well reached the stage where further development was impossible. However, especially in the last fifty years, changes have continued to come and at an ever-increasing tempo. Travel by air --- circumnavigation of the globe in a matter of hours --- a real and imminent possibility of sending space ships to the moon --- and communication by telegraph, telephone, radio, and television, whereby practically all parts of the world are instantaneously informed of what is happening in any other part, have made our world truly "one world." Utilization of the power stored in our rivers and other sources has released a vast amount of human energy from the drudgery of domestic chores for use in further invention and creative effort. The recent discovery of how to produce atomic power is opening up boundless new prospects for mankind, provided that men and nations will have sufficient intelligence to use this great power cautiously and wisely.

These are exciting times indeed, and when history is being made so fast in the world around them, it is hard for students to concentrate on what, by contrast, may seem very slow and hum-drum, the daily activities of the school classroom. Nevertheless, the great advances made in the world thus far have come as a result of just such activities. What is a painstaking and slow effort for any one individual may add up to tremendous results when these efforts are co-ordinated and combined as they are in the achievements of laboratories, universities, factories and nations. The genius of an Einstein derived the formula for atomic power; but it took many men and women in many classrooms, laboratories, and factories, months and even years of concentrated effort before this power could actually be produced and harnessed for a useful purpose.

A virile and rapidly growing nation presents a great challenge to the students of its schools, including, of course, the students of your school in Stonewall. Opportunities beckon on every side. Capable, trained, educated men and women are needed everywhere. Are you prepared to make the effort and the sacrifices needed to fit yourself for these opportunities? Skills, knowledge, and understanding should be developed to the best of your ability before you leave school. You will need also a sense of duty and responsibility; for you must know, not only how to develop and produce our vast resources, but how to put them to the best possible use for Canada and the world. This involves the qualities required for good citizenship and leadership in a democracy, such as tolerance, loyalty and integrity. May you as Canadians learn to think clearly, work efficiently, and live rightly, so that our nation may truly prosper and be an example to the world.