Bellows Falls High School - Sampler Yearbook (Bellows Falls, VT)

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THE SAM P L E It 27 care of the sick, as well as the care of the sick room. Most school children now realize of what the proper clothing for school consists. It is not necessary to wear heavy clothing in the winter to keep warm. There are many lightweight woolens which are really warmer than heavier materials. Wraps should not he worn in school because, when the students leave the building, they are likely to become chilled and catch cold. Also it is not health- ful to wear too many clothes in the building. School clothes should be simple and permit easy cleaning. For summer, cottons or wash silks are the best for girls. Boys should have light weight trousers and perhaps some cotton or light wool sweaters or coats to sup- plement their heavier clothing for winter. The clothing worn by modern school chil- dren is very s nsible. It is, as a rule, simple, comfortable, and allows freedom of movement. I think a school lunch room should be es- tablished in all schools for the benefit of students who come from other towns. Hot lunches are more healthful than cold ones. The Home Economics students could learn to cook and serve through real experience. It would give the students an opportunity to get lunches at the school building rather than by going to the eating places in town or bringing cold lunches from home. Fatigue and worry also come under the subject of health in the school. In the average group, there are three classes of students: the slow, the average, and the superior. The number of slow students and superior students is very small compared to the average group. The teacher must try to bring up the slow student to his maximum efficiency, push the average student to greater activity, and guide the superior student, but allow him to work on his own a great deal. Assignments have to be made with these three classes in mind. This will result in a great deal of homework for the first group, anti a smaller amount for the other two. Very often students try to take on too many social activities. This may have disastrous results on their studies, es- pecially for the slow student. He either ceases working or works too much after the social activities. This often results in fatigue and worry which undermine the children’s health and sometimes cause complete breakdowns. The teacher who plans his work and assigns as he has been encouraged to by teachers’ colleges and normal schools will keep the three components of his class in mind. Although many things are done in the schools to preserve health, there is still room for a great many improvements. It would be ideal if all schools could be air conditioned, equipped with indirect lighting, and have large indoor swimming pools for the use of students at all times. Perhaps, someday, all these improvements will be realized. Nanc y Faris JUST IMAGINE! Charlotte Bemis in a 100-yard dash. Geraldine Lorange not around a teacher. Edward Kane not writing notes to Bern De Muzio. Bea Fullam playing center on a basketball team. Bert Roby admitting the other guy was better than he. Scotty MacDonald being seen and not heard. Floyd Carey living in the city. Paul Costin as a professor of English Gram- mar at Harvard University. Pickles Barbieri leading the Boston Sym- phony Orchestra. Tony Bobrowski and Ursula Brosnan re- placing the dance team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Claire Robinson not sighing when some one speaks of Gib Weston. Sandy Wilson playing opposite Mae West in a movie thriller. Deacon Dexter not smiling. Bob Dole as the spirit of Spring. Joe Massucco not razzing someone. Franklin Barrett as a train caller. Tony Garrett not voicing her opinion in class periods. James Ferguson not talking about Doris Dewey. Corliss Sanborn playing football. Bob Hadley with his hair not combed and Frank Jurkoic as an altar boy. Helen Waryas minding her own business. Stella Woynor paying to go to the movies. Helen Waysville without freckles. Margie Smith with a baldysour. Carroll Lloyd in a hurry. John Hennessey studying. VALEDICTORY My subject is “Outdoor Activities in Health.” I shall not try to describe every phase of the matter, but I should like to show how we can capitalize on our many oppor- tunities for physical improvement from out- door activities. The people of New England have a bad reputation. They err in putting their wrong foot forward. When one inquires about a New Englander’s health or his business affairs, the answer is always gloomy and mournful.

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26 T II E S A M PLE R line. The team played five games, winning two and losing three. Next year the Hockey team will be lead by Co-Captains Miller and Shaughnessy. The scores of the games were as follows: Middlebury 0 B. F. 2 Hanover 4 B. F. 0 Hanover 2 B. F. 3 Deerfield 3 B. F. 2 (Overtime) Middlebury 4 B. F. 1 TENNIS During the last two years the Bellows Falls High School Tennis Team, consisting of Miller, Harlow, McAuliffe, and Wilson won twenty-seven straight tennis matches. In the year of 1934, the four boys went to the State Tournament at Rutland. Harlow and Wilson got into the semi-finals that year in doubles, losing out to the State Doubles Champions by a score of 6-3 and 6-4. The High School Tennis Team, lacking experience, did not do much at the tournament of 1934. The next year the same four boys went to the tournament at Middlebury College for three days. Because of the fact that the boys had had lots more experience in 1935 than in the previous year, they were able to accomplish more. Because of the good training of Coach Oibrych, Miller won the State Singles Cham- pionship and McAul'ffe was runner-up in singles, playing fine tennis during the whole tournament. In doubles, Harlow and Wilson again got into the semi-finals, losing to the State Champions by the score of 6-3 and 7-5. Max Miller brought back to the High School a beautiful trophy which has been placed in the cabinet with the other trophies won by the students of the Bellows Falls High School. This trophy won by Miller represents the Singles Championship of the State of Ver- mont. This team is one of the most outstanding ever to represent any High School. HEALTH IN THE SCHOOL The school plays one of the leading roles in the lives of most young people during their formative years. Therefore, it is most im- portant to preserve the bodily health of the student as well as to develop his mind. Some of the most important factors in pre- serving health in the school are proper ven- tilation and lighting, even heat, exercise, and proper clothing. Good ventilation is a necessary part of the health program. If a school is equipped with a modern air conditioning system, it is un- necessary to open windows to improve cir- culation of air. If, however, the school has no air conditioning and the windows must be used for ventilation, there is greater danger of students’ taking cold. The building is warmer in one part than another. Of course, this is not healthful and many absences re- sult. In a modern school house, all the rooms are situated so as to receive the greatest amount of 1 ght. There are many windows through which the sunshine may pour, and the desks in each room are.so placed that the light will shine over the left shoulder of each pupil. Care must be taken to have the temperature uniform throughout the building. The proper temperature for the best work is about 68 de- grees. The gymnasium, although it should not lie as warm as the rest of the building, should be at least warm enough so that students w ill be comfortable when engaged in activities which require little energy. Exercise is also of great importance in the maintenance of health. In school, some of the needed exercise is provided through gym work and sports. In the fall, football is the major sport. Although it is dangerous in some ways, it develops in the participants a sense of co-operation. In the winter term, basketball and hockey hold our interest. Basketball is a fast game, furnishing a great deal of exercise with a minimum of danger. Hockey is perhaps a little more dangerous, but it gives one a chance to be out of doors. In the spring, track and baseball offer the stu- dents the open air and give them a great deal of physical exercise. Sports, however, bene- fit only a few students, most of them boys. The boy or girl who is naturally athletic needs the exercise least. The quiet, bookish students need it badly. This need is partly filled through regular gym classes which are com- pulsory in many schools. In these classes, students have apparatus work, calisthenics, tap dancing, and games. Therefore, gym work is much more beneficial to the majority of the students than are sports. From the kindergarten up, school children are encouraged to visit the dentist every six months. A dental fund is provided for those who cannot afford these visits. Dental Honor Rolls are provided in each room. The students in each room which gains 100 per cent are given a holiday. Most schools have a school nurse who ex- amines all the students periodically and gives advice to those in need of it. Some schools give a course of three or four weeks in Home Nursing along with the regular Home Econom- ics course. Students receive instruction in the

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28 THE S A M P I, E R He will proceed to enumerate all of his physi- cal ailments and business trouble in a mourn- ful, whining tone. The people right here in this community have that fault. If you don’t believe me, just ask yourselves. Simply re- call the last time some one inquired after your health. Didn’t you answer him by saying, “Oh, I'm not too bad?” This attitude could be improved materially by the mental relaxation found in outdoor activities. People here in Bellows Falls, al- though oblivious to the fact, have at their disposal the best possible opportunities for outdoor recreation. One thing especially provided for our benefit and enjoyment is the public playground. Being typical New Englanders, perhaps we do not appreciate the wonderful geographical arrangement of the country around here. Just across the river is Fall Mountain. Maybe there are some here who do not know that Fall Mountain has three ponds between its two main ridges. We have a river or two for swimming and other water sports. The back roads near us furnish a place for horseback riding, hiking, or bicy- cling. Many of us don’t realize what a wonderful climate we have. We are in just about the middle of the temperate zone. This location gives us all four seasons of the year, none in too much extreme. The climate here is so favorable that the life-span of the average person over in New Hampshire is longer than in any other state of the country. In fact, the only place in the world where the average life-span is longer than in New Hampshire is New Zealand. Here there is a spring, very good for sports and for spring fever; a summer, warm enough to permit swimming, camping, dressing scantily, etc.; a fall, still warm enough for sports, but cool enough to make the leaves and natural scenery beautiful; and a winter with plenty of snow and cold to give us much pleasure from skating, skiing, and all other winter sports. To have all four of these seasons is a privilege which we should appreciate. In the spring, we have just the right tem- perature for baseball, track, and tennis. The weather is generally warm, but not too un- comfortable. During the summer our most popular sport is swimming, but golf, tennis, and baseball still flourish. The fall brings cooler, peppier weather. It is ideal for foot- ball, so that is what we play during that season. Still, I think people all over the world envy New England more for its winter season than for anything else. Our winter sports are world famous, and the more of them we have, the more famous they will be. One place where we can all find a chance for healthful outside exercise is the public playground. Up there the most important thing to be found is the athletic field. That piece of ground is large enough for baseball, football, track and field events, hockey and skating rinks in winter, and practically any other sport that could be mentioned. The people of this town may freely par- ticipate in one of the most popular outdoor sports, tennis. At the playground there are three tennis courts, all made for our use and enjoyment. At the tennis courts, there is a chance for much beneficial exercise for anyone who likes the game. It is, moreover, a game of skill, furnishing one with the incentive to keep playing and to increase his skill. People of all ages play tennis. When you go to the playground for a good time, be sure to take your children along, they will have the best of fun on the swings, seesaws, chute-the-chute, or playing volley ball and basketball. Even the smallest ones will heartily enjoy the sandbox. As soon as winter arrives and the weather is really cold, rinks are built and flooded for skating. There is a rink for the use of the hockey teams, and another for the general public’s enjoyment. One has that oppor- tunity for activity during the cold months of the year, that is, provided he does not shatter the ice every time he falls. If a person started doing that, he probably would be barred from the rink. At present, the playground is not in use all the time. Still, when some people go to the playground they find the field or the tennis courts occupied, and they are forced to wait their turns or to go home without playing. I think we might avoid most painful situations like these by closer supervision of the play- ground. It would be much better if the town could employ a man to spend his whole time in magaging the playground. He could de- vise a schedule that would let everyone have a chance to spend considerable time in ac- tivities at the playground. It would be of great value for us to have a fixed time for the school teams to practice, a different hour for the town teams, and a time just for the young fellows to run around and do what they want. The school tennis team already has a definite schedule for practice at the playground; let’s devise a schedule for the other parts of the field. These hills of Vermont and New Hampshire furnish us with the chance to have a great deal of fun. Fall Mountain, just across the river, is far enough away to make the ap- proach and climbing it a good hike. It also