Gratz High School - Gratzonian Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Senate 'l'HlC highest governing body in the school is the Senate. Its function is to take the proper steps towards correction of conditions which arise about the school. These conditions are reported by a corps of monitors, representatives, members of the faculty, and the Senate and Court. The Senate consists of thirteen members, namely, president, two viee-presi- dents Qone boy and one girlj, two senators from each grade Cone boy and one girlj, except the 10A and 10B grades, which have only one. They are elected at the close of each term for the following semester. The Senate mects once a week, on Tues- day, in the Students Association office for the discussion and solution of problems. The Senate's main project this term was a novel houseclcaning campaign. During this time the various grades were made responsible for specified floors of the school building. It was their duty to try to keep that floor as clean as possible. In this way, the work of the Students Association is interlocked directly with class activities, therefore, making cooperation between the two much easier to accomplish. The eflicieney of the Senate is further heightened by the semi-monthly meetings of the House of Representatives. In this new plan, instead of meeting as a group, the representatives of the individual grades meet their respective senators for a discussion of problems and ideas. The combination of 'these things with the regular activities of the Senate make it one of the most important parts of the Students Association. This semester our President was .lane VVells and the 12B Senators were Rosanna Hoster and David Brunner, each of whom made this term's Senate projects a success. SENATE Sealed: Theodore Stepek, Shirley Pepp, Ros- anna Hoster, President Jane Wells, Evelyn Bender, Gloria Lorch, Ruth Dunn. Standing: Martin Carbonell, William Finnel, William Sharps. img, Twenty-two

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serves to acquaint the students with the duties and responsibilities that are connected with the running of the government. At Gratz. one of the major extra-curricular activities that a student may par- ticipate in is the Students Association. This organization was planned along the lilies of the national government, and while it does not expect to run the school, its prime objective is training in citizenship, and, secondly, to set up situations for students to learn democratic principles. It has three branches: the Senate. thc Court and the House of Representatives. each of which is nominated and elected directly by the students. However, the electing of officers is a privilege accorded only to members of the Students Association. Beside these three main groups, there are various committees which function under the direction of the Students Associa- tion. Some of these are: the monitors, Building and Grounds Committee. Six-Footers and Five-Foot I emmcs. Also, there are several committees which are jointly man- aged by the faculty and the students for the mutual good. These are the Assembly Program Committee and the School Health Council. The Sponsor of the Students Association is Mrs. Marion W. Wallace, who came from the VVilliam Penn High School in 1927 where she was assistant sponsor of student activities. Upon her arrival, she began the organization of our Students Association and has been its guiding light up to the present. Under her supervision Gratz has become one of the first schools in the city to have an extensive form of stu- dent government. Wlieii Mrs. Vvallace took her sabbatical leave from February. 1939, to February, 19410, Mrs. Marjorie Lange took over the reins of sponsorship and has kept the Students Association up to its high standard of excellence. Questioned on the importance of the student government movement, Mrs. VVal- lace stated, Instead of being an extra-curricular activity, student government is so important, in my estimation, that it should be made a regular part of the curriculum. Dues Collection 7'tt'cn flu-our

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iv? COURT Arnold Carnevale, Janet Tophimv Chief JU' tice Inez Jones, William Kotsch, Herbert Ro gove, Sylvia Zimmerman. ourt T HE Co11rt is also an important organ of the Students Association. The Court has a system of penalties for those students who, after trial, are found to be guilty of some infraction of the rules. However, this is not its main objective. It tries to guide the student by helping him to realize that he was wrong and to curb further misdemeanors. The Court consists of seven members, namely: The Chief-justice and two asso- ciate judges from each grade Qone boy and one girlj. These judges are elected only from the IIB, IZA, and IZZB grades. They are elected at the close of each term for the following semester. The Court meets each Monday afternoon for the hearing of cases. A very important committee which works under the Court is the Six-Footers' Committee. It is composed entirely of boys who are six feet and over and its re- sponsibility is to cover those portions of the school building and grounds not covered by other groups of monitors. It has come to hold an important place in the Stu- dents Association. This term, under the joint sponsorship of the Senate and Court, the Five-Foot Femmes were organized as a committee of girls to augment the Six- Footers. Though new. it has shown itself to be a valuable asset to the Students Association. The Court had one main project on which it concentrated its efforts- a big no-smoking campaign. With the cooperation of all concerned a decided change in the prevalence of smoking on school premises was noticed. VVe can only hope that the Courts in the future will continue to function as elliciently. This term our Chief-justice was Inez Jones and the 12B Associate Judges were William Kotsch and Janet Topham, all of whom must be congratulated for their splendid work on the Court. Tzccnfy-three