Saugerties High School - Sawyer Yearbook (Saugerties, NY)

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A Man of Versatilit Dog-expert Poet Bee-expert Hunter Writer Fisllcrmun

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A Tribute to Dr. Morse GRANT D. MORSE, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools Saugerties Central Schools Sept., 1924-Jan. 31, 1963 With a feeling of pride, of respect, and with a great sense of suitability we dedicate the 1963 SAWYER to our retired Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Grant D. Morse. We are proud of Dr. Morse's record as the administrator of our school system and of its growth under his guidance, inspiration and leadership from a school of a few hundred pupils to a system of over three thousand students today. We respect Dr. Morse for his absolute integrity, his complete devotion to his work and the high standards which he always maintained. We feel that to dedicate THE SAWYER to Dr. Morse is peculiarly suitable for he acted as its advisor for a great many years and was largely responsible for its continuous growth until it has become one of the outstanding yearbooks of the state. To its work he gave many hours of time beyond the call of duty. Thus the 1963 SAWYER is dedicated to the man who dedicated almost 40 years of his life to the schools and youth of Saugerties. DR. GRANT D. MORSE

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Saugerties, New York January 31, 1963 Students of Saugerties High School, After working with you Saugerties High School students for nearly 40 years Q39 in factl, it is not easy to sever official relations with you. Many of you, of course, do not know me personally because most of my work with you is done through teachers and administrative personnel who meet with you daily. But that does not make my efforts on your behalf less intense, nor my interest less personal. In saying good-bye to you as your superintendent, 1'd like to go over with you briefly some of the features of Saugerties High School in which I think you can take pride, some features from which you have benefited, some features which you may Wish to safeguard for others. First on the list is the behavior of most of you. Itls usually of the right type. Second, is the tradition that you do f'today's work today. 'Ihough this practice is never easy to follow, most of you welcome a school atmosphere where it is expected of you, and in which every one of your teachers is more than Willing to work, nay, even insists on working, with you after the dismissal hour to see that you keep up to date on your assignments. Third, is the tradition that each of you is encouraged to work in accordance with your individual ability-not regard- ing yourself as a success if your scholastic achievement is better than the average just because through inheritance the Almighty gave you a better than average mind-not berating yourself as a failure because your bookwork is not so good as that of your more favored classmates, if your talents in dealing with books and words is not so good as that of some others. Along with this atmosphere you have had the experience of most of your teachers' taking into account both your native ability and the extent of your effort when marks were being given out. Fourth, you enjoy the benefits of a school policy that expects a weekly theme from you over a six-year period. You learn to write through writing-just as you have the opportunity to learn to speak better because your more careful teachers correct your speaking errors as they occur, and secure from you in all English classes a monthly oral report. Thus you learn to improve your ability to communicate. Fifth, all of your teachers, regardless of the subject fbe it English or science, or homemaking, or art, or industrial arts? supply you annually with a revised list of recommended reading to be done outside of school and reported on- all of which inspires you to add pleasantly and profitably to the more routine subject matter covered in class. Sixth, if you show the interest and indicate the ability, most of your teachers are willing to spend extra time with you discussing your progress and success in extra projects, whether they be in the reading of more than the normally recommended llterature in English, or social studlesg or projects in science, or language, or industrial arts, or art, or music, or homemaking. Seventh, if you are among approximately the top 15 per cent of your class scholastically, you enjoy the opportunity to get an enriched program, beginning with the seventh grade, in all subject areas, particularly science, mathematics, and modern foreign languages. Eighth, when you graduate from Saugerties High School, you know that if you are on a college entrance level f d o stu y you must have achieved well enough to pass a Regents examination or its equivalent. You know that you will not get a diploma merely because you were in attendance. Likewise, if you are on a non-Regents level you know that you must meet standards at the end of each year that are reasonably in keeping with your individual ability, and that you are so tested. Ninth, you enjoy an opportunity to be a member of one or two of the more than forty clubs sponsored and supervised on a weekly basis by your teachers, who give you, through these mediums, an added chance to participate 1n a learning and social experience which is p0S1t1VC and helpful to you because each of these clubs was chosen by its sponsor on the basis of his or her special interest and ability. Tenth, you enjoy the opportunity of a positive character-building experience by participating in music and athletics. In both of these areas you have, for a long period of years, given superior public performances. And you have not done so if your achievement in the basic elements of the traditional subjects C reading, writing, arithmetic, etc.j was unacceptable under eligibility standards. May you always be proud of Saugerties High School. Sincerely, Qkn .WMM Grant D. Morse Superintendent of Schools