Hopewell High School - Kaleidoscope Yearbook (Hopewell, VA)

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Sidney Lanier Literary Society S the main object, the Literary programs of this year have been to intensify the study of Universal Litera¬ ture to a greater extent than in our daily classes. Our first program included a study of American Literature, enumerating the outstanding authors and their famous contribu¬ tions to Literature. The program following was devoted to English Literature in its various stages. A very interesting re¬ port was given on the Passion Play. The meeting before the Christmas holidays imparted the true Christmas spirit in the miracle play given, which was translated from Latin into English by the Latin students of both societies and in the Latin and French carols sung by members of the society. The Literature of the less familiar countries was condensed into one program. A contest was the main feature of the last program. A giant book, made of paper, was placed on the stage so that imper¬ sonated characters from familiar books were able to step from its pages. The remaining members contested in recognizing these characters as they appeared. The winner was Teddy Lindfors. At Christmas time our society established the precedent of caroling in the city. The citizens showed their appreciation by the many candles placed in the windows of their homes. April began the enthusiastic preparation of the final Literary contests between the two societies at the close of school. The students participated in the first preliminaries with eager efforts to outstand. The new talent in the society gained special merit. There were ten public readers, five essayists, nine public speak¬ ers and six debaters. The winner of the public reading was Frances Johnson; of essay, Margaret Argenbright; of public speaking, Edward Parker; of debating, Abraham Cohen and Mary Frances Wells. We are proud in having for our society five of the interforensic students, representing Hopewell High School, namely: Mary Frances Wells, debating; Edward Parker and Margaret Argenbright, public speaking; Frances Johnson and Abraham Cohen, reading. The last two presidents of the Sidney Lanier Literary Society have also been presidents of the Student Government, William Earl Pritchard and Custis Burton. The Literary Societies plan to combine their treasuries and present a Literary Night in token of devotion to Alma Mater. Page Eighteen

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Exchange present. It is the duty of the Exchange Editor to in¬ troduce the representatives to the students; he serves as chair¬ man of the convention and has only to introduce the various dele¬ gates by telling their names. They speak for themselves and all have individual and pleasing personalities. In reality each paper is a true representative and we do derive the same benefit as if conventions were held and each school sent some one to tell about their school. It is a necessity of every school paper to hold such a conven¬ tion, for it is through it that ideas may be received from dif¬ ferent sources for the improvement of their school and paper. The “Kaleidoscope” is certainly no exception. The word “Kalei¬ doscope” means an instrument containing loose pieces of colored glass and reflecting surfaces so arranged as to show symme¬ trical form. In our case it means an instrument through which the school is acquainted with the activities of numerous other schools, both American and foreign, in a concise form. The ex¬ change department endeavors to make true the title of our paper. Without the aid of our exchanges the meaning of our title could not be verified. We do thank every school with which we ex¬ change. It has been a pleasure to meet your representatives. Just as people are changed by associations of friends, so are papers influenced by their friends—the paper of other schools. In some instances the influence of associations of good ideas is not noticed in a concrete way, but to cite several such examples: A western exchange school gave us some very constructive criticism by telling us that our paper was too serious—that we needed more humor. Have you readers noticed that our jokes have improved and increased? It has been directly through our exchanges that we are attaining our aim—a perfect paper. Last year the goal of this department was that of forming an exchange with at least one school in every state in the Union. The department this year hoped to make this possible but owing to lack of funds we were unable to form any additional exchanges. Our wish for the 1931 staff is that they will have a wonderful year and that they will realize our goal—an exchange with every state in the Union and also with every foreign country possible. VERY month a great exchange convention is held at our school. Invitations are sent out to almost a hundred schools to have their representative, their paper, Page Seventeen

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Edgar Allan Poe Literary Society HE second year of the existence of the Edgar Allan Poe Literary Society has ended with as much success as did the eventful first year. The Society was organized in the fall of 1928 with the aim and ideal of affording the students who wished to join it, a society wholly devoted to the interest of literary subjects that could not be obtained from the classroom, and to be, in this respect, a real credit to Hopewell High School, and at all times this has been the aim of the Society. As an extra curricular activity, the Society has endeavored to uphold a high standard for its members. Fore¬ most is the standard for scholastic attainment in that each member must maintain a rating of C in classwork. Since the re¬ peated failure to maintain this rating calls for the expulsion from the Society, it encourges the members to strive for better grades. Another ideal has been that of cooperation, because through cooperation good citizenship is attained not only in the school life but also in the world after school. One of the first achievements of the year was the presenta¬ tion of an Armistice Day program in the auditorium. This pro¬ gram given at the request of Mr. Mallonee, featured a debate, and short talks on topics appropriate for the day. Not secondary were the programs in the group for they were devoted to a deeper study of literature. The Program Committee strived to give programs that would not only be interesting and entertaining, but would also be useful to every member. The program devoted to the study of drama reviewed the drama of the past arid present, whereas another gave a delightful study of famous characters in literature. In the midst of the varied interests and activities of the Literary Society, the students did not lose sight of the fact that they were successful in the contests with the Sidney Lanier Literary Society in 1929, and consequently their determination was greater to keep the cup in their Society and to prove them¬ selves equal to such worthy opponents. Lastly was the definite contribution of the Society, together with the Sidney Lanier Society, to the school in their presenta¬ tion of choral selections at the Commencement. This participa¬ tion was an evidence of their primary interest in the school and the cooperation with their sister society. Page Nineteen