Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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238 SO MANUEL LS. ver NDS SALUTATORY—THE HIGH SCHOOL The class of 1926 bids you a cordial welcome to its graduation exercises. School officials, teachers, parents, under-graduates, friends, all of you who have contributed to our opportunities and pleasures for the past four years. We are glad that you could be here tonight, to enjoy, we hope, the last cere- mony in which we may play a part as members of the South Manchester High School student body. We have had visiting days at which time large numbers of you have come to the school to see the work of the classes and to inspect the running plant of the school. During the last three years these visiting days have been evening occasions, and we have come back to our reg- ular work and you have come to school with us. The favorable comments which this practice has received made us feel this year that you might like to hear and know something more about the type of work we are doing in high school. We believe that the high school should mean something to you, should be not simply a big brick building with rooms and desks and the persistent clock that makes bells ring. It has meant something more than that to us. It has meant the involving of new world’s knowledge, the devel- opment of new fields of activity; the appreciation of learning as science, as an art; and above all it has suggested to us the various channels into which we shall steer our vocational desires. Tonight then, our program will be a sort of demonstration. We shall show you something of the actual work which has been done in our classes. We shall take snatches of class room experiences and weave them into a pattern which it pleases us to call our high school life. The musical part of our program, the orchestra, the choruses, and the instrumental numbers will indicate to you that we have not lost the appreciation of the fine arts. In this respect our art department will demonstrate a practical lesson of interior decorating. Art and music are the finer elements of our life and through our work in these courses we develop results for the proper use of our leisure time. The science department will perform experiments for you and give you a glimpse of what a class might be doing in one of our laboratories where experiments which stimulate still further things and cause us to build up theories and laws which explain the wonders of science, are made. Mathe- matics, will be demonstrated with practical applications. Latin, the founda- tion of the classical department, will be defended, if indeed it needs a defense, with a literary exposition. We shall show something of the work of the French department by means of collected posters which will give opportunity for French conversation. The direct method of French instruction is utiliz- ed in this school in such manner that all conversation wherever possible is conducted in French. With the social science you will get a practical illus- tration of how important a part knowledge of government and history may play in our every day lives. The commercial department, perhaps the largest of any in school, has combined its forces into an office scene created to give an opportunity to watch the application of some of our lessons car- ried into an actual business office. And as we are taught the right and to avoid the wrong way of doing things you will notice the characters of this little sketch represent these principles. The cooperative department which brings us in touch with the trade school will give a laboratory demonstra- tion of some of the work carried on in the technical field and will indicate the close relation which exists between the academic training and the techni- cal theory. After listening to the program tonight you will have a clear conception of what the modern high school is trying to accomplish. The high school of today is not a very old public institution. In colon- ial days the Latin grammar school modeled on the Latin grammar school of England, with its curriculums restricted to the study of the classics, was the only form of secondary education,

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 27 IVY ORATION As we, the class of 1926, gather here this afternoon, our memories take us back three years to our Freshmen days, when our ambition was to become Seniors. Graduation seemed a distant goal to us then—but the days full of work and happiness have passed all too swiftly and we are, perhaps a bit startled to find that we have reached our goal. Our associations of four years here have meant more to us than words can tell and the fact that we are no longer privileged to enjoy them brings us to a realization of the love for this school which has grown in our hearts. It is to leave something tangible as a token of our love and appreciation that we have assembled here today to plant the ivy—a symbol of growth, expansion and loyalty. During the four years we have worked and played together in these halls we, as a class, have done our best to uphold the high standards of our school, and we are proud of our scholastic standing. Our athletic teams have had a very suc- cessful season. The basketball team was one of the best in New England. Our third year of football produced a team capable of holding its own with the best. The baseball team won a majority of its games and we were repre- sented by the best track and tennis teams in years. The Dramatic Club successfully presented its ambitious production of “Littke Women ” and the Debating team, although defeated, gave a good account of itself. Truly we have reason to be proud of our leadership in academic work, and in our social and athletic organizations. Freshmen: Your class has shown a great deal of spirit this year in athletics and clubs. Your basketball team won the class league and a large percentage of its members is on the honor roll. Keep it up—but do not for- get that you are here primarily for academic purposes. Sophomores: Next year you will be upper classmen and more respon- sibilities will rest on your shoulders. Try out for the athletic teams and the Dramatic and Debating Clubs as they need new material to progress. Even if you do not make them you can at least give them your support. Juniors: On your shoulders rest the responsibilities and privileges of Seniors. The school activities will measure their success and growth by the strength of your support and leadership. We place our trust in you to maintain the standards and ideals of this school. Classmates: In a few days we shall no longer be the Senior Class of South Manchester High School. We shall have taken leave of our High School and of each other, to begin a new manner of life; but wherever we may be our memories will bring us back to our happy days together; and may our ivy carry thoughts of us to those we leave. With the presentation of this trowel to the Junior Class we hereby resign all Senior duties and privileges and accept for ourselves the larger responsibilities of life. George Bantly Krause

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c SOMANHIS EVENTS a By the middle of the eighteenth century the people realized that the classic curriculum was inadequate for the needs of the American youth and that a broader form of secondary education was needed. Thus, developed the academy which offered a larger range of subjects. Meantime the older education of home and community still continued. Children learned by taking part with their parents how to manage the daily routine of life; most of them receiving in the home the necessary preparation for the moral and practical side of life. Our growing industrialism, changing conditions in the community, the needs of society to be served, the character of the individuals to be educated, demanded a new form of institution and in answer to this demand has grown our modern high school which has three fundamental aims: first, the preparation of the student to become a good citizen of the community ; second, the preparation of the individual as a good worker and producer; and third, the preparation of the individual to utilize leisure and develop person- ality. These three aims taken together constitute the social aim of the high school. The high school realizes that the entire development of the student depends upon his physical well being and the establishment of good health habits. In former days students received exercise through manual labor or by walking long distances to and from school. Today, because of the changed social and economic conditions, the student has not the opportunity to receive indirect exercise and he must be provided with some sort of physical training; otherwise he will fail in health. The forms of this exer- cise vary with the school. It may be given by military drills, formal gym- nastic exercises, athletics, and games. In our own school the effort is made to establish good health ideals through gymnasium work and sports for all classes. We are well equipped with a good gymnasium and swimming pool, although the growth of the high school has been so rapid that already the gymnasium has proved inade- quate in size to meet all the requirements of physical training. There is also a need for outdoor fields near at hand which can be easily reached by our athletic teams. With a larger gymnasium and outdoor fields near the school we would be equipped to give a splendid foundation of physical soundness to our high school boys and girls. With the establishment of physical requirements attention may be drawn to the social interests of high school. They are accomplished through var- ious studies, social activities, and the general environment of the school. Although all subjects should contribute to good citizenship, the social studies—geography, history, civics, and economics, have this as their domin- ant aim. History emphasizes the growth of institutions so that their pres- ent value may be appreciated. Geography shows the interdependence of men and their common dependence on nature. Civics directs attention to the informal activities of daily life that regard and seek the common good. Through clubs and social activities the student receives the actual experience in social intercourse. The preparation of the individual as a good worker and producer is accomplished through study and actual training in a chosen profession. The various curriculums are so planned as to equip the individual to secure a livelihood for himself and those dependent on him; to serve society well through his vocation; to maintain the right relationship toward his fellow workers and society; and, as far as possible, to find in his vocation his own Hest development. The trade school and commercial courses are very good examples. In the trade school course the student goes half time to the high school and half t ime to trade school where he receives the actual experience in some trade. In the commercial course he receives his training in high school, pursuing such practical studies and actual practice in them as fit him for commercial and office work,