Belmont Hill School - Belmont Hill School Yearbook (Belmont, MA)

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EDITORIAL AFTERTHOUGI-ITS The school year 1954-1955 has seen a great many things unfold that we think have helped to raise the standard of the Belmont Hill School a notch or two. The Class of 1955 in the pages of this book, reviews the past school year and its events, but many intangible things cannot possibly be included in the regular sections of a Yearbook. Sp geg this page be the Brag Sheet of the Class o ' . Belmont Hill athletics took a sudden turn this year. Many will agree that this turn was for the better and that the whole school profited from it. The Graduating Class-that's us-didn't have any real athletes to compare with some in the past few years. More often than not, a team mem- ber's prowess consisted mostly of determination The football team, for example, had little to work with, and yet with a couple of small breaks at the right time they could have produced a winning season rather than one that came out 2-3-1. The soccer team also showed fight, and though not studded with stars, they too could have improved their record easily. The basketball team was a shining standout in what was billed as a meager sports year, and compiled the finest record of any basketball team in the School's history, miss- ing a league championship by only a single point. The hockey team also had lots to show for their building yearn and under Mr. Walworth gained a tie for the league championship with Middlesex, a team they had beat soundly at mid-season, 5-0. The baseball season was miserable as the record runs, but again, with better than the worst of breaks, they would have or could have won easily four or five more games than they did. The crew did very well, and after sweeping St. Marks, they went on to win the Consolation Prize in their climax event at Quinsigamond. The tennis team, with the best record of all the spring sports, 5-6, showed the same spirit as the other teams. Of ALL these teams it can be said that they fought hard and scrapped all the way. They may have played lousy ball at times but never for lack of trying- in fact, sometimes because they tried too hard. The Sixth Form has shown this spirit in all its attitudes throughout the school year. They made every effort to cooperate with the rest of the stu- dent body and with the faculty, and did much, we think, to propagate the same spirit throughout the School. It is this contribution, perhaps more than any other, that constitutes our legacy to the School. Our Form voted in the advisee system and on the whole we know it has done some positive good. It can and should be improved in the future but the idea, at least, has been proven sound. In the same meeting at which the advisee system was approved, the Honor System was turned down. The Class of '55, which has been called the best scholastic class in the School's history, chose to refuse this system on the basis of the well-known past failures of the system, the fact that no honor system yet proposed offers advantages that suffi- ciently override its disadvantages, and the serious doubt that any of these systems could properly be called an Honor system in the first place. Our class actually built a stone wall this year! We think this is quite an accomplishment in view of the failure of all previous graduating classes to make more than a feeble start on this undertaking. It may also be worth noting that this class- though no richer than other classes before it-has never run a dance in the red, but has instead al- ways made at least a tiny profit. Furthermore, enough effort was finally mustered to insure that the publication of this yearbook not lose money for the school this year. These two statistics, while not vital in themselves, are still a measure of the spirit the class was able to arouse among its own and the responsive spirit it could evoke from its fellow students. The record shows that the class was indeed studious, and that it produced a greater number of honors graduates than any previous Belmont Hill class. The year had its humorous times too, Foggo's sauntering to the fore to receive his ,I.V. hockey numerals to a standing ovation from the attendant chapel throng, and ,Iohn I'Iurd's glori- ous slouch in the Glee Club's front row. All these incidents and many more contributed to the year 1955. The SEXTANT was improved and spawned a fine new column, Short Sightings, and turned up a wealth of fine writers on its staff. The PANEL continued to rank high as the Class of '55 won it another medalist rating. The Student Council accomplished more and better things with its toy drive and its 100 percent charity drive, as Well as in carrying on a Disciplinary Committee which could point to its proven success and progress in many boys. Our Panels are now collecting dust on the posts in the dining room-somebody's cleared up after the Prom, and the trophies are back at school, so the Class of 1955 can say at last We made it! Our grateful thanks go to the younger formers who backed up our efforts this year, may they have as good luck.

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CHARLES CADWELL ASHLEY 4 Monadnock Road, Arlington, Mass. Charlie Age: 17 Entered: 1951 College: Harvard Junior Varsity Football: '53 Junior Varsity Baseball: '55 Glee Club: '54, '55 Panel: '53, '54, '55 This ditch didn't used to be here. CHRISTIAN JOHN BENDA 27 Hopkins Road, Arlington, Mass. Chris Rodney Age: 18 Entered: 1948 College: Duke Rifle Team: '54, '55 Rifle Club: '51, '52, '53, '54, Vice President '55 Glee Club: '53, '54 Science Club: '52 Dance Committee: '54, '55 Work Squad: '53 Honor Society: '49, '50 Shut up or I 'll pound you! 18