High School of Commerce - Caduceus Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

Page 20 text:

Skills for Lifework From its first peace-time graduating class in five years, Commerce offers scores of young citizens equipped with the skills and knowledge to help form a better world —a harmonious world in which each individual is capable of doing his job well. SL ENOGRAPHIG EXCELLENGE A combination of accuracy and speed is the ultimate aim of every pupil who anticipates a future asa stenographer. Among the seniors, Dorothy Porteri is noted for accuracy; Anastasia Theodore has exhib- ited the ability to take rapid dictation — and to transcribe it. From Mrs. Moriarty’s group, Rose Riskalla excels in accuracy and speed. Skilled Pupils (Pictured Above) TOP ROW — Dorothy Porteri, Raymond Kratovil, Alice Bous- quet, Lorraine Levreault, Anna Rueli, Estelle Gibeau. . . . BOTTOM ROW — Anatasia Theodore, Rose Riskalla, Louise Fiorentino, Jean Kirk, Jean Ivory. JUNIOR STENOGRAPHY The Junior stenography classes have produced a number of promis- ing students this year. Mrs. Davis mentions with pride the work of Louise Fiorentino, Mary Derderian, and Raymond Kratovil. (A humorous anecdote about Ray concerns his transcribing a letter which began, “My dear Sir.” Ray read the identical outline, “My Desire.” Mrs. Davis commented upon this decidedly novel method of address!) Mr. Campbell refers to Jean Ivory, whose skill he attributes to her wide vocabulary; and to Jean Kirk and Elizabeth Forkey, outstanding for their perfection in notes. PENMANSHIP ESSENTIALS Since much more than mere shorthand skill is essential for Stenog- raphy, it has been deemed necessary to require the successful comple- tion of not only a year of the rudimentary essentials of our English I course, but also of penmanship. Students soon learn that the mastery of penmanship is largely a matter of co-ordination and continual practice. Only patience, prac- tice, and a tenacious will can help the confused, potential penman. Like any subject, penmanship has its outstanding pupils. From Miss Libby’s classes, Alice Bousquet merits attention due to her “outstanding natural ability, position, and skill.” Lorraine Levreault has gained recognition for her vast “improvement in uniform slant and accuracy of letter form.” For splendid co-operation and a genuine desire for proficiency, Mr. Miller recommends Estelle Gibeau and Anna Rueli. It is the consensus of opinion among the penmanship instructors that muscular co-ordina- tion, an eye for good form, and speed in writing contribute more than anything else to the ultimate success of a penmanship student. ABOVE—Typical Shorthand Class. Mrs. Davis, teacher. LEFT — Mr. Macalpine’s Penman- ship Class, Room 212.

Page 19 text:

Ruin ABELERAUR CC”

Page 21 text:

Experts ABOVE — Typical Typewriting Class; Miss Hunt, teacher RIGHT — A Machine Calcula- tion Class; Mr. Oswald, teacher. Se: TYPEWRITING PERFECTION Freshmen who pass arithmetic entrance examinations now are per mitted the very real privilege of taking typewriting during their first year. Miss Libby has been particularly pleased with the unusual per- fection in the material submitted by Nadina LaZazzera. She also praised Shirley Gendron, a student who has achieved proficiency through sheer persistence. In Mrs. Moriarty’s class, George Johnson’s accurate rate of over 40 words per minute has evoked many admiring comments from even the most skillful of Type. II students. Mildred Cherichetti and Rosemary Drazek, in Miss Hunt’s group, merit atten- tion for their “unusual accuracy.” Miss Walker lists the qualities which distinguish Madeline Quillici, Jean Kirk, and Beatrice Thibault from the average type. student in their class: “uniformly accurate. work, care in using the correct technique, and absolute dependability.” Since speed and accuracy are expected from senior typists, theit proficiency evokes little attention. TOP, Left to Right—M. Quillici, N. LaZazzera, S. Gendron, J. Kirk, B. Thibault, G. Johnson, B. Belsky, B Graves, B. Vaughan, M. Berry. . .. BOTTOM—R. Drazek, M. Cherichetti J. Simeoli. MACHINE CALCULATION ACCURACY Accuracy: this is the watchword of the machine calculation classes. Work must be correct the first time, a fact which presents an annoying problem for some of the more careless students. Another qualification for a good operator is the necessity for a knowledge of arithmetic. The machine is empowered to accomplish only the mechanical phase: the actual brainwork still rests with the individual. By January, most operators have acquired the manual dexterity necessary for speed and the remainder of the semester is devoted to constant practice. Of course, as in every subject, some students achieve excellence far in advance of others. The work produced by Elizabeth Belsky, Mar- jorie Berry, Beverly Graves, Julia Simeoli, and Barbara Vaughan had merited all A’s when this book went to press. Mr. Oswald feels, however, that of even more importance than the few who show unusual ability is the fact that in his classes, “everyone has shown improve- ment” since the beginning of the year. LER]