Greenville High School - Tau Yearbook (Greenville, NC)

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MR. VICTOR M. DAVIS Principal

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THE TAU Mr. Rose ' s Message DECADE ago there were only nine pupils m the Junior Class of the (jreenville High School and none in the eleventh grade. This year the enrollment of the Junior Class is seventy-seven, while the Senior Class has enrolled fifty-eight. These figures serve to show great in- creased interest in high school training in the town. Realizing the above condition and realizing that the citizens of Greenville desire the very best for their boys and girls, the present Board of Trustees of the Greenville City Schools, citizens of vision and citizens of public spirit, have determined to give to Greenville the very best to be had within local means. Elsewhere in this volume is to be found an engrav- ing of the high school plant that is to be. This engraving is more than a dream — it is fast approaching a reality. The plans are very definite and have been adopted. When it is completed all three of the buildings will be one unit; and, in time, the com- pleted plant will be used exclusively by the high school department. The present school administration realizes very keenly that in the past it has neglected to train and develop the bodies of the pupils. I n the future this will not be so. Rather, in the new scheme of things, when the gymnasium and swimming pool are completed, there will be a very definite place in the school day for work in health and physical education. This work will be done for the purpose of showing the pupil at an early age what are the. limitations and possibilities of his hinnan machine. The completed high school plant will not be merely usable. It will be beautiful as well, beautiful in its surroundings and beautiful on the interior. The completed plant will face east towards the ravine. The bottom of the ravine will be filled a bit higher than it now is, the floor leveled, the sides terraced, shrubs planted, gravel walks laid out, and everything else done to make the place one of the most beautiful in the town. In this work the schools are being aided by the civic organizations of the town and municipal government as well. In beautifying the new plant the school will continue to depend a great deal upon the student body. The grounds of the present building reveal very clearly the pride which the Greenville High School student body takes in its school. A number of the shrubs in front of the present building were planted by members of the Class of 1925 — planted when they were freshmen. Four short years have done a lot. This class can never pass the present building without feeling a bit proud that it had something to do with the beautification of the grounds. And so in the future, as the larger plant is developed and made beautiful, the classes of the high school will be allowed this same privilege, the privilege of making some part of the plant belong to them peculiarly. And this act is symbolic of the idea which is in the minds of the School Board and Faculty, namely that the Greenville High School belongs to the boys and girls of Greenville, and as a high school will always reflect the spirit of the boys and girls who enter its portals, who laugh in its halls, who play on its playgrounds, who sing in its- auditorium, and who work in its classrooms and laboratories. Junius H. Rose, Superintendent. T r

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THE TAU To tke Members of the Class of 1925 ■rN j OU have honored, and at the same time embarrassed me, by your request -SMfr, t:hat I use a full page of your annual for a farewell address. I am honored to think that you have asked me for this article, and em- barrassed to think that as my words increase from one to the five hun- I ' ' S dred and fifty you have requested, my readers will decrease from five hundred and fifty to one by the time the bottom of this page is reached. In order to encourage you to persevere unto the end, 1 have added a joke near the bottom of the page. When I was first asked to contribute to The Tau I planned a masterly sort of farewell address which would rival the one which made Mr. Washington famous and which has so endeared him to the hearts of all high school English students. But, to my regret, I have had to spend so much time in figuring how certain Seniors could possibly graduate that I have had no time for flights of fancy. My original plans called for a medley of prophetical, sentimental, and philosophical discourse which would bring back fond memories of happy days in American history. A lack of time, however, demands that I put in a few words that which I would tell you. I have never been guilty of overpraise at any time, but I do feel that it is not amiss to express the appreciation of the entire faculty for what we consider has been a class with an unusual degree of loyalty. Your work in the Senior play and the Girls ' Club and the interest manifested in various high school activities have all served to stamp you as a class with spirit and fight. As a class you have devoted considerable time to growing along the lines in which we were so desirous for you to develop. We do not expect every boy in the class to become a statesman, nor do we expect all the girls to become Ma Fergusons. We do, however, predict that each of you will find a niche somewhere and work out a life of some value to others as well as to yourselves. When you graduate from high school, all too often the school becomes a part of a dim and rather vague p.ast. May I urge that you do not forget the school you are leaving. We would not tell you what the farmer told his son whom he found paint- ing the front door with black paint, Go, and never darken my door again. (This is the joke which was promised to those who waded through to this point.) But instead, we would ask that you renew as often as possible your high school associations. Even when you have attained dignity which clothes all college Freshmen, you should return occasionally in order that those who are still mere high school students may get some of the crumbs of wisdom which fall from the lips of wise men. And in conclusion, you will pardon me if I become personal and ask that you let me know hoAv the future serves you. It will always be a pleasure to me to know how you are and where you are and if life has been kind to you too. My permanent ad- dress is Raleigh, Tenn., and nothing would give me more pleasure than to hear from you, or, perhaps to be of some assistance to you in case I could serve you in any pos- sible way. That our paths may cross often is the sincere wish of one who has been the friend of each of you personally as well as of your class. Victor M. Davis. 13