Harwich High School - Soundings Yearbook (Harwich, MA)

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ADMINISTRATION School Committee ' s Responsibilities Never Cease The Harwich School Committee, including Mrs. Crowell, Chester Powers, Dr. Robert Dolan, Richard Gomes, and Harold Gabriel, meets every two weeks to discuss the constantly changing concerns of our small Cape town. Some of the routine problems the committee must face on a regular basis are those of budget, discipline, and employment. The school committee is responsible for three basic things: setting policies, hiring and firing both the teaching and non¬ teaching staff, and controlling the financial expenditures. The most crucial issue the committee faced this year was the voters turn-down of the long-hoped for building proposal. Mrs. Carolyn Crowell, Chairman of the school committee, pointed out that the intermediate school is ” . . . the main concern. While it is acceptable for town office use, it is not safe for children.” The state also does not accept it as a proper school. The committee has researched the possibility of rebuilding and refurnishing our present intermediate school, but the expense of doing this would be much too costly. With the continued rise in Harwich ' s school population, this will remain a highly debated item. Mrs. Crowell feels that the building proposal will be a long time coming due to our present economic condition. She commented that we will have to tighten our belts and get by with what we’ve got for now. The committee feels that Harwich schools offer special advantages to the Mrs. Carolyn Crowell children of this town. Our special needs programs provide for handicapped students. We also have the type of school system in which teachers try to reach out to students who couldn ' t be reached before. Now additional, help can be given to those students whose learning rate is different from that of other classmates. Another advantage of our school system is enthusiasm for bar basics. We have tried to take the best of the experimental, modern ideas, while at the same time staying with the more basic ones. According to the school committee, Harwich sports and other non-academic activities have maintained a fairly good balance. They feel the emphasis is neither too great nor too weak on this subject. Sports and extra-curricular activities teach children the aspect of human relations, and it is a vital part of the school experience. One area, however, that the committee has tried to push for a long time is that of more intramural sports in order to get more students in sports. With a school population of close to 1600, Harwich continues to grow - despite the impact of the new Technical School. And as the town grows, so too do the responsibilities of the school committee. Mr. Neal Todd Superintendent of Schools : ' im Mr. Frederick Ebbett Assistant Principal 18

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FACULTY Schools Get Tested Too! We will be seeing some new faces in our classes next Fall, and they will not belong to students. For several days the senior high school will be evaluated by professional experts from the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. This examination is conducted every ten years in order to assure us that a diploma from Harwich High will be recognized by any college as valid proof we have met their standards. To prepare for this test the entire faculty including every teacher and administrator has been involved in an elaborate and formal year-long appraisal of our facilities, curriculum, and themselves. A steering committee chaired by Dr. Meredith Drew has guided the effort, department by department. Through regular faculty meetings much hard work has already been accomplished and it is expected that, on test day, the school will receive high grades. Mr. Drew on Sabbatical Lea ve. After well over twenty years without a single day of sick leave Mr. Harold Drew, chairman of the Science and Mathematics department was granted a one year leave of absence for 1976-77. Using hi home in Barnstable as a base of o studying advanced topics in oceaimjpgSfxhy and Other sciences at Woods Hole College. Upon com»gf tlbn,:- return aeaiaafi kt Fall to h: m .... | : Cod Community s program he will ern in the chern lab . .. ' ' ■ ,r ' i i-nWiftii - mm m - ' ' - iSwn

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MR. DAVID ATWOOD Algebra, Advanced Math, Psychology ’’Students now openly question the relevance of things they are requested to learn and to do. MRS. MARY BOLTON English, Short Story Youth today are more com¬ mitted to humanity than ever before. MR. RICHARD BESCIAK European History Student attitudes about school and the future seem more positive today than five MRS. LOUIS E AUBREY ' ears a S° ’ ’ Home Economics . . . . .—... I-.ii.imii-. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmrn Yes, I think student attitudes are changing . . MR. ROBERT BRIGHAM Special Ed., Driver’s Educa lion . ; Sometimes we get discour¬ aged with the attitudes of today’s youth when in fact we should realize that they are taking on more responsibility than in the past. ’ ' MR. GLENN BRYANT Guidance People who cruize the qual¬ ity and responsibility of today ' s young people don’t know the kids I know. MR. PAUL CLEVELAND English, Media Too often a student’s atti¬ tudes are influenced by the desire to follow the leader.