Chelsea High School - Beacon Yearbook (Chelsea, MA)

Page 30 text:

U l 5? T mr 7 J Crjm In Crrandma s Watch the birdy! Hey watch that ball! If the modern outdoor type of girl had lived at the time during which her American grand¬ mother went to high school, she would cer¬ tainly find it hard to bear the prejudices and taboos that scorned any idea of a young woman in so undignified a recreation as ath¬ letics. However, as new ' methods of education were employed, and new unexplored fields were offered, the popular attitude was of a more broadminded nature and the course was finally listed on the Chelsea Senior High School in 1905. At first, the daily gymnasium consisted mainly of a vigorous program of calisthenics which probably were extremely helpful in acquiring that tiny waistline that had to be drawn in to the point of suffocation during, the earlier “gay nineties.” Gradually, how¬ ever, the idea of recreation was introduced into the classes, and modern games adopted. The classes of 47, 48, and 49, are indeed fortunate in being able to receive the course in physical training now taught. Everyone en¬ joys the frequent softball, basketball, and bad¬ minton contests, the action-packed game of volley ball, and the pointers” and practice they receive in modern dancing. This year also, the girls were fortunate in the arrival of an ambitious and capable new¬ comer to the faculty as their gym” director, Miss Sophia Brener. Under Miss Brener’s guidance, several new 7 modern games and activ¬ ities have been taken up, much to the delight of the girls, who detest the peal of the bell that summons them to their next classes.

Page 29 text:

4 of Socrates Not all students of Chelsea High have become acquainted with all of these imposing characters in the field of mathematics. However, they were originally all components in a course ot the Bellingham 1 ligh School that fitted out a senior boy for M. I. T. (The dream of every potential young mathematical genius!) I hrough the years the course has been markably expanded to be of use in many professions. Mathematics as it stands in the high schools today and as it is typically represented by the course given at Chelsea High School, is, in any or all of its various forms, a necessary and beneficial factor in a well devel¬ oped preparatory school background. The expert teaching of mathematics by the members of this department, besides enlightening and instructing a student in the heretofore dark and mysterious secrets of Solid Geometry or “frig” helps more than in any other subject to create and develop the powers ot quick, clear and logical thinking, a major factor in determining one’s success in later life. 25

Page 31 text:

and Grandpa s Time Throw that ball! On your mark! “Mup, two, three, four; hup--!” Day after day, to the martial rhythm of the beating drums a small group of young men marched stiffly from one end of the school yard to the other. Occasionally they halted in formation long enough to respond to military commands such as “Present -Arms!” etc. Through the constant drill and practice they acquired as members of the Chelsea Senior High School Militray Battalion, founded in 1892, the stu¬ dents were taught the meaning of true mili¬ tary discipline. This was the first step toward the course of Physical Education that is carried on in the Chelsea High School today. The hours of ex¬ ercise they received while drilling and learn¬ ing military tactics, gave boys of The Chelsea High School nearly forty years ago, an oppor¬ tunity to exhibit their skill in attention and co-ordination. Membership on the football and basketball squads provided a chance for a student to shine on the athletic field. But not until the course in Physical Education was added was a class offered for the participation of all high school students in the regular body¬ building calisthenics, limbering-up practice in ladder walking and ropeclimbing, and inter¬ squad basketball games. With all the additions and modern methods of physical education, including “commando” training during the years of World War II, the daily “gym” class has been the one most eagerlv-awaited and well-attended class since the Chelsea High School “cadets” first went into their formation in 1892. Mr. McCarthy — Upsy-daisy! 27