Clifton High School - Rotunda Yearbook (Clifton, NJ)

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THE REFLECTOR eral' 'IW rv The lleachers Qouncil NE of the most important events of the past term has been the formation of a Teachers Council, an auxiliary and advisory body to the Principal. The Council meets on Thursday afternoons in Room 209 to discuss and deliberate on matters pertaining to the general good of the school. Its conclusions are incor- porated in reports which are submitted to the Principal for approval. A clause in the constitution of the Council which should be of great interest to pupils provides that uThe Council shall . . . receive and deliberate upon requests and petitions submitted to it by duly 'authorized groups of studentsf, It is hoped that by this provision such irresponsible acts on the part of pupils as ill-considered petitions for holidays, or shorter school day will receive the careful attention of the General Organization before they are submitted to the Council. In the future no petition or requests will be honored by the Council unless they first pass the General Organization. Members are elected to the Council by the vote of all the teachers in open meeting. The term of office is three years with one-third of the membership retiring each year. The present membership of the Council includes Mr. Tunis Baker, Mr. Charles A. Berthold, Mr. George Coulthard, Mrs. Florence Hackett, Miss Morrell, Mr. Deane Nichols, Mr. Morril F. Shepard, Miss Clarice Smith, Miss Ruth Smith, Miss Agatha Spinella, Miss Elsie Tuttle, and Miss Edna H. Vorrath. The oliicers are: Miss Vorrath, president, Mr. Shepard, vice president, and Miss Clarice Smith, secretary. Twenty-eight

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THE REFLECTOR Val' -IGN x nnex Student Qourt URING the past term the High School Annex has experimented with a system of student participation in school government somewhat similar to that used successfully in Hackensack Senior High School. This form of participation requires honor roll membership for school officers, pro- vides for a student court made up of two representatives from each class, stipulates pupil judges, lieutenants, assistants, proctors, a school secretary and treasurer. Prin- cipal Harry F. Collester and Miss De Leeuw, who are deeply interested in the gradual evolution of a model system, have sponsored the newly formed student agencies. Before this system was introduced the students were acquainted with the project, after which the entire student body was invited to vote on a set of rules drawn up, to elect ollicers for the school and proctors in each class. The chief criticism made of this venture in the Annex is that since but little training in participation in government is given in the grades the pupils experience dilliculties in adapting themselves to the new freedom. It was found that boys par- ticularly disliked to be judged by equals, that judgments often were influenced by emotional appeal, that partiality was shown by proctors, that some unworthy proc- tors were chosen, that personalities were injected into the functioning of justice, that proper procedure was neglected, that boy-against-girl antipathy was noticeable. These conditions were, of course, expected among freshmen, and may be overcome only in time. The advantages claimed for the experiment are the development of a conscious- ness of responsibility, better discipline generally, greater co-operation with teachers, and the development of self-assurance in the pupils. The evolution of the Annex system will be watched with great interest in the High School proper. RUSSELL PLANCK, February '35, Twenty-seven

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THE REFLECTOR '1'9l 't 'IGN llilciitoria ls IN APPRECIATION FTER twenty years of service, Mrs. Viola Grammer, one of Clifton High Schoolls foremost figures, resigned from the school faculty last term. Ill health forced Mrs. Grammer to retire to her home in High Bridge, where, to use her own words, she is Htaking things easyf, as she well deserves to do. Mrs. Grammerls girlhood was spent in the little town of Delta, tucked away in the heart of Pennsylvania, where she was born. After completing her elementary and secondary school training she enrolled in the Cumberland Valley State Normal School at Shippensburg. After her graduation she matriculated at the School of Fine and Applied Arts and at Teachers College, New York. Having taught for several years in a district grade school, Mrs. Grammer came to Clifton High School in l9l3.' During her stay here she taught a variety of in- teresting subjects, including English, history, domestic science, mechanical drawing, and drawing. As one of the organizers of The Reflector, she was tireless in her efforts to bring it up to its present standard. It is the feeling of the Staff that in her going the school has lost a friend. Our good wishes for restored health go with her. REACTIONS TO REFORM Much credit is due those students who have been so active in their research project on student participation in school government. There is no doubt that Twenty-nine