Technical High School - Tech Tiger Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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ORIENTATION The freshmen girls of 1943-1944 are known as Tech's ‘guinea pigs’, for they have been the first to take the new course in Orientation. Now that the course is coming to an end, it is a disappointment for many of our “would be’’ Lana Turners. The objective of Orientation is to get the girls acquainted with Tech as well as themselves. Every year the Charles Warner Medal is awarded to the most outstanding boy and girl in the graduation class. Orientation will help in preparing the girls for this reward, because “‘one’’ of them will be the lucky one. During the first half of the semester, such topics as Personality, Good Manners, Good Grooming, and many others are discussed freely by the girls. Since this course takes but half a year, each student is given a diagnostic test to determine any weakness in the fundamentals of Arithmetic, Reading, Spelling, and Language. The other half of the year is devoted to correcting these weaknesses. Orientation does not consider a girl's life just at Tech, but reaches out beyond commencement day. The girls have a chance to consider a life vocation with the help of their teachers and that of the distinguished speakers whom they have heard in assem- blies on the vocational attitudes of the students. The girls have enjoyed this class very much, because they know it has helped in preparing them for a happier time at Tech and after graduation. 29

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28 a % ASUS pew jempend tue Puke. Ispik ation HOME NURSING “Oh! I’m so———sick!”” ‘Now, now, just lie down and rest.” “But, I’m so———sick!”” “Here, let me see your tongue.” ‘What's wrong with me?” Lying prone in bed is a girl, her tongue hanging out and her eyes feverish. Above her is grouped approximately fifteen members of a home nursing course. These girls are about to give their comments on what illness they think the sufferer has. After diagnosing the case, they proceed to make the patient comfortable in bed. Carefully, they bathe the patient, and, just as carefully, they put clean linen on the bed. Miss Ann Paradise, R.N., who has charge of the class, begins a discussion on how to promote good health and a pleasing appearance. The girls listen attentively — seeking clues and directions for personal improvement. Then the discussion turns to common emergencies in the home. Incidents taken from real life are related by the girls. Each tries to outdo the others. Changing from the light to the serious, each girl repeats the rules for preventing accidents in the home. At another meeting of the class, we find our friends swathed in bandages. In each corner three girls are working earnestly. One holds the regulation home nursing book and reads the directions. The second is expertly tying knots and doing reversive bandaging on the third, who is just commenting on the progress. The girls then simulate the signs of illness such as a rashy skin, heavy and unusually bright eyes, and dry, cracking, coated tongue. Each of the girls leaves the class positive that she has symptoms of some serious disease.

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Walking along Spring St., passersby often stop near Tech's doors and catch the strains of music coming up from the basement. Before school, lunchtime, free periods — any time to spare is put to good use by our aspiring musi- cians. It is surprising to note the enthusiasm with which students of Technical high school go for music. Most popular is the band, a “‘solid’’ group of kids. Not strictly classical, they often get together for a few “hot licks.” With much of the same spirit, the group of Tech Players meets 4T period with Mr. Doane. Semester jobs include projects for sound equip- ment, monologues, short scenes, and the tradi- tional three-act-play. Fun comes when scenes call for heavy make-up jobs. Did you ever turn a pretty seventeen-year-old girl into a wrinkled old peasant? They have! — with excellent re- sults. Not content with modern comedies, a few have tried Shakespeare's ‘Taming of the Shrew. Much extra time is put in by the class as a whole and by individuals in the interests of Drama. This is not a ‘“‘fill-in’’ period for five extra credits; this is the stage, and being one of the envied “backstage bunch.’ bits peak G