Centralia Township High School - Sphinx Yearbook (Centralia, IL)

Page 16 text:

Grace McCreedy Harold Brown Helen Constable Celia Berry Josephine Harris Grace Seiler Irene Langham English The purpose of all English teaching in the high school is two-fold: To habituate students to oral and written accuracy and to lead them to know and to enjoy good literature. In order to achieve this purpose, the work in English must include much exacting practice in straight thinking and in clear, accurate writing and speaking. It must make provision for the reading of books by the better authors, both standard and contem- porary. In addition to the regular classroom reading, each student in the first three years of English is required to read at least six books during the year. In the fourth year the number is ten. Students must report upon the books read. Extensive book lists are provided from which they may choose. Three years of English are required for graduation from the Centralia Township High School. The first two years are devoted to drill of certain literary types. In the written and oral work required of students during these two years emphasis is placed on sentence structure. Some attention is given to correct forms in personal and busi- ness correspondence. The third year continues the study of the fundamentals of grammar, spelling, and pu-nctuation. It surveys, also, the development of the English language and literature from their beginnings to the present day. The fourth year of English, which is elective in our high school, includes the study of American literature, the review of the fun- damentals of oral and written expression, and the writing of four formal papers of considerable length. Each year the students of the various English classes unite in working on one or more projects, i-ncluding book week, oratorical, essay, and other literary contests. Honors in English are awarded at Commencement to those seniors who during their four years of study have shown superior ability in appreciation of literature, in expres- sion of ideas, and in creative writing. Twel ve

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Sftllldlilllf fljscar M. Corlicll. principal: Allitrt Nieinann. niemlucrg .S'r'atr'ri-fLewis H. llyril. vice-liresirlcntq Dr. J. l'. Heyrluck. secretary, Ur. XY. H. Gamluill. president, C. A. Haney, meinlicr. Board of Education Wfherever you find a good school, you will discover in the background an enterpris- ing, cooperative Board of Education. The reputation of the Centralia Township High School reflects credit and honor upon the men of Centralia who give unstintingly of their time and energy, without remuneration, and many times with too little apprecia- tion, to the maintenance of the best possible educational advantages in the secondary field. The present Board has carried on during the past depression years in such manner as to keep the school system on a cash basis. This was not done at the expense of high standards for teachers, or by retrenchment in the curriculum. During this time, the buildings were kept in repair, useful additions made, and the bonded indebtedness greatly reduced. The enrollment grew by more than three hundred during these years and the faculty was increased by seven teachers. A full-time physical education program for girls was added, and this year the departments of dean of boys and of girls were provided. The Board has stood for economy that will not hurt progress. To provide for the expanding physical education and athletic program of the high school, the Board has applied for P. W. A. grant for the construction of a new gymnasium. The grant has been approved, and if more funds are made available for P. W. A. work, the project will go forward. Only recently the Board has refunded the outstanding bonds against the district at a much lower rate of interest, at a saving of more than ten thousand dollars. The Board stands for highly trained teachers, adequately paid, good buildings, Well-equipped, and high standards of scholarship and citizenship as educational products. As a result of the Board policy of employing highly trained teachers and supporting an efhcient faculty in its insistence upon a high standard of work by pupils, the accrediting agencies of the State University and the North Central Association have commended the high standards of scholarship of Centralia Township High School. Elewiz

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Commercial onol Qfiioo Students desiring a commercial education will find that C. T. H. S. offers some very practical courses in typing, bookkeeping, shorthand, and commercial law. These subjects are planned so as to give a knowledge of the work-a-day world with its problems and idealsg the conduct of its affairs, the records it keeps, and the machinery and methods of modern business practice. The first course in stcnography prepares the student to take complete notes in his classes and office dictation at a speed of from sixty to eighty words a minute. The second course enables him to increase his speed to more than a hundred words per mi-nute. In the first year of typing emphasis is placed on personal typing problems. If the speed of, say, thirty-live words per minute is not enough for his needs, the student may enroll for a second course in which he should attain a speed of better than sixty words per minute. At the same time he will get practice in handling all sorts of otlice typing, mimeographing, and in using the dictaphone. The course in bookkeeping deals primarily with the fundamental principles of accounting as applied to sole-proprietorship, partnership, and corporation businesses. The work includes an analysis of business transactions, journalizing, posti-ng to ledgers, preparing trial balances, working sheets, a study of accounting statements as to form and construction, adjusting and closing entries, depreciation and its problems, bud debts, and development of control accounts. The commercial law course is intended to introduce the student to some of the more fundamental phases of business law. Cases are studied to aid one in developing skill in deciding simple questions of law. Wfhen the enrollment of a school passes the eleven hundred mark, the amount of oflice work to be done to keep things running smoothly is enormous. Besides having to take care of all the school's oflicial correspondence, the oliice must keep a detailed record of the attendance of, and work done by pupils in the school. Ruth Clay Oscar M. Corbell Paul Rau Madge Hardy liva Wlilters Virginia Marshall 7-Z7il'fl'l'Vl