Garfield Junior High School - Gleaner Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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year course of mathematics at Garfield Junior High School, We have learned many interesting and profitable ways of showing the value of mathematics, both in the world of today and that of yesterday. To illustrate its value now, we are given a special day each term, on which to display posters, busts, books, pamphlets, and models. For instance, one of the posters might show a picture of one of our Bay bridges and beneath it might be the slogan, Impossible without Math. These posters are made from pictures taken from a magazine or drawn by the pupils themselves. Then they are mounted with much careful planning as to the color combination and the printing. Posters, booklets, and models such as these make handsome and fitting decoration for a mathematics class. Quite often pupils bring poems and short plays which illustrate a decided point in mathematics; several times, these have been grouped to form an enjoy- able program for the teachers, parents, and pupils. To understand more clearly the use made of mathematics in past ages, we give reports about the mathematical contributions of different peoples, or contributions such as those of Euclid and Archimedes. Many of the reports date back farther than four thousand years ago, when the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, and Chinese were even then prac- ticing the use of mathematics. In Tent 19, we all keep notebooks. In the front of them we keep a record of our test grades, make-up test grades and daily work. In the back of the notebook we keep an outline of the history of mathematics and hints for success in a mathematics course. These activities are not just recreation but are really studies that are necessary to a thorough knowledge of the subject. The pupils who do all this almost always have the highest standings possible in the Standardized Tests given by instructions from the school board. This ought to prove to your satisfaction that these activities do not interfere with regular class work. The pupils in this class will probably remember the things they learn here all their lives because they are taught not merely rules, but the reason these rules are true. Every member of the class has a duty to perform, which tends to build up character and make them live up to responsibilities. And every morning we have a short daily drill, which makes clear to us points which have not been thoroughly established in our minds before. With the fine ideas and modern methods of teaching, we thoroughly enjoy our mathematics course. If you think of mathematics as an aid to civilization without which modern man would be lost and think of it in its historical sense, I ' m sure you will no longer see it in the light of a drudgery, but in a new light, one in which mathematics will appear as an interesting, exciting adventure not to be patiently borne, but eagerly sought after! Sylvia Berry, High Nine. Garfield Junior High School, April 5, 1935.

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plays were to make the kids appreciate. such things. I think it ' s a good idea, don ' t you? Yeah! Ya-know there ' s going to be one every Sat — Whatsa matter, can ' t you hear me? I said, ' There ' s going to be one every Saturday morning at ten at the United Artists. ' Yeah! ' N Conny said that the next one was going to be a knock-out, so let ' s go, huh? Yeah! Well — Hello — Hello — Operator — we were cut off. That you Marge? Well, as I was say- ing — Oh Gee, there ' s Mom calling to me to hurry with the ' phone — so I guess I gotta hang up. Well, so long! Tell you the rest at school! So ends the ' phone conversation of the two Garfieldites. Joan Gay, High Nine. EDUCATION WEEK During Education Week, April eighth to twelfth, several fine pro- grams were presented by Garfield music organizations. The first of these was an afternoon concert given by the Girls ' and Boys ' Glee Clubs. That evening the Boys ' Glee Club sang at the x merican Legion Memorial Hall. Every year each grade ' s most talented pupils give a program before their classmates. From these programs, the best numbers are chosen to be presented before the school. This program took place on Wednesday, April 10. The performers, Bill Stafford, Joanne Eraser, Jeanne Eggleston, David Burr, Charles Bishop, Jack Duffy, Barbara Bullock, Claudine Hunter, Frank Currier, Jack Lewis, Marjorie Newcomb, John De Lancy, Harrison Williams, William Hoffman, Bernard Wallace, and Beryl Ginner displayed the best of Garfield ' s talent very well. They deserve to be con- gratulated. On Friday, the orchestra gave a concert, closing the music programs for the week. Under the direction of Mr. Minzyk, it proved itself to be one of the best programs that Garfield has ever had. On Thursday evening, all parents and friends were invited to come and see a pageant, and, incidentally, inspect the tent city. A number of teachers had prepared exhibits of the work their classes had been doing and a variety of subjects were represented. In one tent, there was a flower exhibit; in another, the sewing exhibit; mathematics posters, and models were shown. Myth books, maps, art, and EngHsh proj- ects were on display. These activities gave the parents just a little glimpse of what we do in school, and the pageant helped them to observe other activities. Trillis Ellsworth, High Nine. A MATHEMATICS COURSE AS IT SHOULD BE Many of you, I ' m sure, have usually thought of a mathematics class as being only a daily grind of tedious, lengthy problems of no real mean- ing to the majority of the pupils. Have you ever thought of mathematics as being importantly linked with history throughout the ages? And have you ever thought about the great part it plays in the world today? I ' m afraid that many have not. But these are facts, facts which I have learned to appreciate in my three-

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A BEAUTIFUL SCIENCE PROJECT Walking into Miss Lowrey ' s tent during the exhibit gave one the feehng that he was walking through the door of a cabin into the country. All was very beautiful and the work of the children in making it so was agreed upon by many parents as excellent. The first thing that impressed one was the bright coloring of the many flowers beaming from all parts of the room. There were poppies shining like the morning sun; buttercups that looked as if they had been shel- lacked by an expert painter reposing next to blue lupin; mustard that had been woven into long climbing vines was wrapped around the beams as if growing. As you gazed at the colorful flowers, your eyes fell upon a beautiful rock garden with a miniature waterfall trickling down its mossy sides, running into a field of plants and flowers; it was large enough to be in- teresting. The plants were what you would expect to find in a formal rock garden in a public park. On the wall, there were interesting charts made by the pupils. Most were colored and were made to help us save our wild flowers. Some said, Save our Poppies. Some said, Save our Wild Flowers. Others said, Protect our Wild Flowers. We are sure they are helping us save the wild flowers. On a table were the scrap books ; some had fancy covers ; others plain ; some thick; others smaller; some had bright colors, while others had more somber colors. But no matter how they were compiled, we enjoyed all of them. A few of the most interesting booklets contained pressed wild flow- ers; there was given the flower, the name, and family. Others were on electricity, magnetic forces, current and units. Also there were miscel- laneous topics of interest. Turning around, you would see the prints: smoke prints, blue prints, and splatter prints, all of which were done by the students. The prints were of leaves and flowers, though not done in colors. As you were leaving the scene of beauty, the spell was broken; you were no longer in the country, but on the Garfield grounds proceeding toward another tent. But the beautiful effect remained with you. Bernice Blomy, Clyde Paxton. PARTICULARS ABOUT ATTENDANCE RECORDING Are we all aware of the business which is transacted in the Health Tent during the ninth and tenth periods? Several collectors are sent to gather the attendance slips prepared by our instructors during the day. These reports are presented to attendance checkers who endeavor to separate chronic absentees from legitimate absentees. Mrs. O ' Neill and Mr. Perry are in charge. Collectors and checkers volunteer their time and labor to promote habits of regular attendance in our school. Their reward is one-half point toward their Honor Society standing. Students who have so ably assisted in this important work are :