McGuffey Foundation High School - Reflector Yearbook (Oxford, OH)

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5 E 'F L... MCGUFFEY The McGu,ffey Of Today The alumni of 1913 left the halls of McGuffey High School with a very differ- ent picture in their minds from that of the class of 1940. The high school, although it stands -on the same foundation, has changed a great deal. During the first years of the institution's existence, it was housed in the south wing of the building. In the spring of 1938 Public Work Administration money was appropriated for fire-proofing the old wing of the McGuffey High School building. During the entire year that followed, classes were held on the Miami Campus while workmen completely remodeled the old building, leaving only the original walls. In the fall of 1939, over two hundred students flocked into new rooms-rooms equipped with clocks, thermostats, telephones, etc. Fine new lockers, replac- ing 'cloak halls and stuffed desks, lined the halls. Steel, fire-proofed, and tiled floors took the place of the old hazardous ones. The music department, under the new plan, was placed on the fourth floor. Pianos were tuned, window shades went up properly, and glass enclosed book shelves stood in readiness with their cargo of kn-owledgeg the new McGuffey gleamed on the first day of school. One of the finest iinprovements in the new building is the science laboratory which occupies one half of the first floor. Mr. John Richardson, critic in phy- sical science and advanced math, planned the rooms and the placement of the equipment. The east section of the department is devoted to the sophomore biology classes. The western half was equipped for the junior and senior chemistry classes. The equipment, the finest in the state at present, cost nearly five thousand dollars and will accommodate fifty students. Because of some delay at the factory, the new material did not arrive until the beginning of the second semester, but the students in chemistry have been spending all their spare time making up for their lost lab periods. A lunch room with the best of cafeteria equipment was put in the basement on the south side. In 1910 only thirty-five were enrolled in the high school. In 1939-40 there were two hundred fifty-eight on the .lists, an increase of twenty-eight over the preceding year. Students from Bath, Somerville, Darrtown, Collins- ville, and Israel Township come to Oxford each day for their high school ed- ucation. These people are partly responsible for the large increase in enroll- ment. During the last decade several new courses have been offered. Journalism under Miss Hope Hamilton, advanced math, taught by Mr. John Richardson, consumers' business, a new course offered by Miss Mary W. Jones, and a mixed boys' and girls' chorus led by Miss Catherine Adams, have been placed among the elective courses for McGuffey students. 1940 marks a very definite mile-stone in the history of William McGuffey High School. With the aid of the finest equipment, the faculty hopes to be of even more service to the community and to build better citizens of the boys and girls that attend this institution.

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DIRECTOR DR. J. W. HECKERT-DIRECTOR OF MCGUFFEY SCHOOL

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DEDICATION To JOHN S. RICHARDSON Critic teacher of the sciences, this annual is dedicated in sincere ap- preciation of his high teaching standards, his desire to make McGuffey a better institution, his personal interest in all students, and his fine cooperation in all problems concerning the school.