Mepham High School - Treasure Chest Yearbook (Bellmore, NY)

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Io show our appreciation, the faculty and student body presented a bronze plaque to Mr. Mepham at a special student dedication assembly on September 2 1, 10 57. This gift is now located in the main foyer and contains the following appropriate inscription: I o WELLINGTON C. MEPHAM I district Superintendent I hrough whose keen foresight, unlading perseverance and wise guidance, this central high school has been established, we, the faculty and students, humbly and sincerely dedicate our efforts that we may advance the ideals which he has so deeply inspired. One part of our school that has become famous is the home economics room. It is fully equipped from Magic Chef gas ranges and modernistic sinks to maple house furnishings. Art is sponsored in an equally beautiful room. Science classes are separated into their individual rooms—biology, chemistry, general science, and physics. Each is complete with the necessary equipment — gas, water, electricity, glass cabinets, work tables. Mepham also boasts an excellent gymnasium which makes sports a pleasure. It can be divided into two separate rooms, one lor the girls and one for the boys. In addition there are two smaller gyms used lor corrective work: each is wood panelled and contains all sorts of devices lor building a healthy body. 16

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We ate lunch in the Bellmore ( irammar School cafeteria or on ti h grounds ol our tiny campus. Assemblies also were held in the adjacent school. However, we did have entertainments. which were impromptu selections by the less shy students. Our many activities, athletics. and clubs of today were unheard ol: then students went home to study — and study we did! It was in our freshman year that we attained the highest percentage ol students who passed—95.135 per cent lor the entire school. Spring was one of the I est times of the year, and that period when studies suffered the most. Directly outside the classroom windows were several huge cherry trees which imparted their ethereal aromas to Mepham’s struggling students. W ho could work under such conditions Don t think, however, that our social lile was neglected. e gave several dances which were held in the elementary schools ol our district. Our great dramatic attempt was a one-act play named I'Jmer. If must have been a success, lor we had to put on two performances. So much lor our early lile in our small, wooden schoolhouse. olumes could be written about our work and antics, but space does not permit it. Never shall we lorget, however, those joyful days in the old school. And then September 1957! Camp Avenue, North Bellmore. New ork. A modern, red brick building on a twenty-one acre campus— this is Mepham I ligh School grown up. With an increas ed facu Ity, student body, and janitorial stall, three classes ol students, entered the new structure in the year of 57. What a change lor the entire group! An almost unbelievable metamorphosis had taken place, and an entire school had to readjust itself. I he process was, however, quick and easy. New subjects were offered, new teachers were added, new students were enrolled, new departments came into existence and new facilities were employed. By far the most interesting new thing was the school itself, and we are still showing it off. 13

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Mepham is proud, too, of its auditorium, whicli is an architectural achievement in itself. It seats about 850 students, and has a sixty-foot stage. On the north wall is a huge, colored map ol Long Island and its vicinity. Imported curtains adorn the stage and the huge windows facing the south. Directly behind the stage is the music room which is arranged in three tiers to facilitate practice and contains lockers for uniforms and musical instruments. (1 lUlliani I [unioiia Chxii.tij, tSx. i LiLxarij uaitox uun