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

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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

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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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E. Tucker, serving his twelfth year as principal of Great Neck High School, affirms: It is our constant hope and aim that we should always have an active and alert philosophy adaptable to the best interests and needs of the young people in the community.” In recent years, many exchange teachers became temporarily members of our faculty. Among these were Miss Cullen from England, Mr. Jacques Van Roey from Belgium, and Mr. Young from Seattle. The Great Neck faculty has been represented by Mr. Canfield in Belgium, Mr. Edgar in Seattle, Miss Edholrn in the Panama Canal Zone, and Miss Chisholm in Boise, Idaho. This past year. Miss Crandall has been teaching in France. Most of the teachers in Great Neck High School have led interesting lives outside of school. During his summers, Mr. Laise drove a milk wagon, camped in New England, built lifeboats, farmed in West Vir- ginia, was a night watchman in a shipyard and a giea e wiper on an ocean liner. Mr. Swenson has been and is today an ardent golfer with many trophies testifying to his skill. The Edgars are ardent ttavellers. They haven’t spent a summer in Grtat Neck for ten years, but traveling throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico seems to account for such sacrifices. Mr. Noyes was a principal of a high school, but didn't like the job, so he came to Great Neele to teach biology. He has been sponsor of the Agassiz Club since its inception in 1932. Mrs. DeFreitas taught school on an Indian reservation before coming to Great Neck. Miss O’Connor traveled in the United States and Europe, climbed Mt. Rainier, took hula lessc : s •'i Horoluk', sponsored Junior Players for some time, and is now studying voice. Swatting mosquitoes in the South Pacific” during World War II was a popula pastime of Mr. Maier, sponsor of the G. O. since 1948. An intrepid adventuress is Miss Edholrn, who once scraped death by vi.-iting some .utly Indians on a strange island. She also went to the bottom of the active volcano Vesuvius, where she insists that she saw Baron Munchausen having tea with Vulcan; and put on a diving helmet to go down into the ocean off Bermuda. Master of the Commercial Department, Mr. Douglas (who instructed some of the parents of today’s students and who says that the present generation is doing better work than their parents did) ound trip to Europe last summer. Mr. Zamchick I upper, during a trip to Haiti in the summer of 1940, was astonished to see a whale in the tropic waters. That same year, Mr. Ormsby’s rich baritone voice took first prize at the Atwater-Kent vocal contest. Notes of sadness, however, have crept into the passing years. The death of Miss Olga E. Goehler, head or the Home Ecommics Depart- ment for eighteen years, was a great shock. She was beloved by every- one. During World War II, while courageously serving his country, Mr. Kenneth Sweeney, a respected math teacher, was killed. A plaque was erected in the main hall to his memory; Mr. Robert Colvin, teacher of science, passed away in 1950. A scholarship for students planning to enter the teaching profession, which he loved so well, was founded in his memory. Mr. James Blakemore, who was killed in a plane crash in Iran in 1952, will always be remembered with affection by nis students and many friends. The Blakemore Foundation was established to foster his beliefs in peace and a united world. With great respect we say good- bye to Mrs. Blanche Baker, who retired in 1953 after teaching French, Latin, and Civics in Great Neck High School for thirty-three years. Death has also claimed once well-known faculty members as Mr. Clar- ence Manuel, founder of the school bank, ana Miss Mary O’Connor, Social Studies Department member. The fine reputation of Great Neck High School is a fitting monument to those, living and departed, who have given of themselves so de- votedly in developing happy, intelligent, and conscientious citizens for tomorrow. (survival living) to aviators in Honolulu. Mr.