Hyde Park High School - Aitchpe Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

Page 19 text:

other city hig-h schools, was then taken to the Atlanta Exposi- tion, where it ag ain won the palm and is now on exhibition in Baltimore, where it was taken at the special request of the Board of Education of that city. In athletics the year has broug-ht us additional laurels. The football team, which won the championship of the county last fall, was probably the strongest organization of the kind ever maintained by a Chicago high school. Its work was clean cut and vigorous, and its record is one of which we may be proud. No charge of foul play was sustained against it, CHEMISTRY LABORATORY. and its whole career was characterized by the quiet and gentlemanly conduct of its members. Such a team as this does much to rescue football from the charges of rowdyism and brutality which are, too often justly, preferred against it. The team won not only an elegant banner, but also a beautiful and costly silver cup, given by A. G. Spalding- to the winner of the county championship. This latter prize, however, is not entirely our property until after two more victorious seasons. A great, and we hope, a successful

Page 18 text:

Next year a considerable chang-e will be made in the arrang-ement of the work, particularly in the science courses. In the first year Physiog-raphy will take the place of Biolog-y, which will be advanced to the second year, Althoug-h this name is a new one, it is practically an old friend. Physical Geog-raphy was dropped from the course five years ag-o, but it now returns to us in a new form and revised and expanded to meet the requirements of modern science and pedag-og-y. It will undoubtedly prove a helpful and interesting- study, and it cannot help being- unobjectionable to all. Physics will come in the third year, and Chemistry in the fourth year, alternative with Geolog-y and Astronomy. On account of the difficulty of making- such a sweeping- change in one year Physics will be omitted entirely next year and Physiog-raphy will be studied in both the first and second years, while Chemistry will remain one more year in the third year and then will be omitted for one year. The number of students who are preparing- for college courses is constantly increasing. Last year 30 per cent of the graduating class went to college, and this year the pro- portion will be larger still. The new plan of admission which has been adopted by the University of Chicago enables us to give all the preliminary examinations in connection with our own class work, and if they are all satisfactorily passed, the University grants a full admission certificate without further condition. Although this is greatly to the advantage of the school, a great many still prefer to take their examinations at the University, believing that they can pass more easily there than here. The Drawing department won much praise by its exhibit at the State Fair in Springfield last autumn. Out of five first prizes offered to all the high schools in the state, in competi- tion, we secured four, leaving one to be won by the Calumet High School. The exhibit, together with those from the

Page 20 text:

effort will be made by future teams to retain this valuable trophy. One other banner has been secured during- the year, which was awarded to the winners of the team race in the g-reat inter-scholastic athletic meet held during- the winter under the auspices of the University. The baseball team, which won the championship in the spring- of ' 95, deserves more than a passing- mention. It had no easy task to perform, for opposed to it were some of the strong-est amateur nines ever org-anized in Chicag-o. Yet, although it played many close and exciting- g-ames, it never failed to outplay and outscore its opponents and thus added one more to the noteworthy banners which adorn our walls. This year ' s baseball team has excellent material and is under the best of manag-ement. Unless all sig-ns fail they will add another banner to our already larg-e collection. They deserve and are receiving- the cordial and enthusiastic sup- port of the whole school. The track athletics have been under excellent manag-e- ment, and have contributed much to the splendid reputation which the school enjoys in this department. Any one who visits Washing-ton Park on a pleasant afternoon will discover that many of the members of the school are enthusiastic and skillful tennis players. Many of these players have borne themselves well in inter-scholastic tournaments in the past, and no doubt will continue to do so in the future. There is no more delig-htful g-ame than tennis, and it deserves cultivation. It is interesting- to note that our school has the honor of holding- the presidency of three of our g-reat inter-scholastic athletic associations — the Baseball, the Athletic and the Tennis Associations. It is not a misfortune that athletics have come to occupy so prominent a place in the American school system. There