Great Neck North High School - Arista Yearbook (Great Neck, NY)

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foreword For a quarter of a century. Great Neck High School has stood proudly surveying Polo Road, giving dignity to a growing, bustling community. During this span of time, Arista's twenty-five editions have told the vital story of Great Neck's youth preparing for their roles as mature individuals. This edition recalls the passing twenty-five years and its memories, and adds to them the eventful story of 1953-1954. The past has given us a proud heritage. We hope our contribution, too, has been a worthy one. We foresee the future to be as enriching and inspiring to those who follow, as the past and present have been to us. 6

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we dedicate tit is LooL. Dedicatee, 1954

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FACULTY 1929—New Building Dedicated... 1939—Faculty Presents Concerts ... 1943—Dr. Miller Appointed Superintendent of Schools . .. 1948—Columbia University Teachers’ Col- lege Completes Survey on School Systems ... 1950—Miss Makuen and Mr. Boressoff Direct Faculty Show ... 1951— Attitude Marks for Students Adopted by Administration William Shakespeare wrote: Ignorance is the curse of God, knowl- edge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.” The progress of the flight” of Great Neck High School, in its present building, has been recorded since 1930 in the Arista. The 1930 Arista tells us that the building in which we study today was regarded then as an unparalleled prodigy, the undisputed equal of the Colossus of Rhodes ana the lighthouse at Alexandria. This was probably because most of the students had spent the previous year in tne old wing of Arrandale School, which served until the end of 1929, as both elementary and high school. Mr. Willis E. Dodge, Superintendent of Schools in 1929, dedicated the new build- ing. There, Mr. Matthew P. Gaffney, principal, and forty-three teachers, among them Mr. Douglas, Mrs. Baker, now retired. Miss Makuen, Mr. Lusch, Miss Perry, Miss Colston, Mrs. Bowen, Mrs. DeFreitas, Mrs. Thompson, Mr. Tupper, Mr. Meyers, Miss Edholm, and Mrs. Gavey, helped lay the foundation for those traditions which have made Great Neck High School a name to be respected. The year 1932 proved quite important to our administrative policies, for it was the year a new principal, Mr. Leon C. High, came to the school. Also, journalism was introduced to the curriculum for the first time and report cards were issued every six weeks. Eight class periods a day were endured by stoical students in 1938. The highlight of the 1939 social season was an all-faculty concert. A collective sigh of relief was breathed by students and teacners in 1940, when plus and minus signs disappeared from report cards. Dr. Miller became Superintendent of Schools in 1943, and three years later Dr. Marion E. Wiles became his assistant. The Columbia University Teachers’ College and the Great Neck High School staff made a cooperative study in 1948 of teaching techniques and activities in the Great Neck schools. The results of their studies comprised three volumes. Spectators were impressed by the ability of the male faculty can-can line, a feature of the 1950 faculty variety show, which was directed by Mr. Boressoff and Miss Makuen. In 1951, attitude marks were added to the scholastic grades on report cards. This year, the grief-stricken sobs of the student body announced the elemination of final exams. Unknown to many, the past twenty-five years have witnessed many changes in the curriculum. The Art Department, for instance, offers two new courses in addition to basic art courses, Discovery of Art,” and Art for Seniors. Students of science in 1930 would be surprised at the difficulty of the course requirements of today. Students up to 1949-50 selected English IV onlp. At this time the Senior English course was divided into various English courses from which a Senior could elect the one which interested him most. Social Studies courses, too, have undergone change. One aspect of this change is the Great Issues” course, which, emphasizing major modern problems, was inaugurated in 1952. Math for Everyday Living” and Navigation”—two courses to give students practical mathematical knowledge, have recently been added to the mathematics’ format. Visual aids have increased greatly in importance during the past twenty-five years. Films, slides, records, and tape recordings are an integral part of classroom technique. Mr. Ruel