Mondovi High School - Mirror Yearbook (Mondovi, WI)

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6 begin the new year of life’s work and the better and more comprehensive view of what is expected of us; let us choose ar ideal, a purpose in life; and let our daily work, beginning at this time be the beginning of a new effort on our part; let us do the work right here in Mondovi High School as we are expected to do it by our teachers, parents, and the community and make our own high school days and ourselves as high school students a success, and then our foundation for future success can truly be said to have been laid. THE SCHOOL BANK. The new enterprise begun by Mondov: High School in the organizing of a savings bank is truly a step in the right direction. The bank has been organized from the bottom up just as any large incorporated bank is begun,—with its stockholders, board of directors, officers and bylaws governing them. The object of the bank is to encourage students in the habit of saving, and no one can say the idea is not a worthy one. Without doubt, the bank itself is making good, moreover the grade students are benefiting greatly from it, but it is pitiful to note the disinterested, “school spiritless” stand taken by the high school students. As a school enterprise it is the duty of every high school student to take some interest in the project. But instead, a chosen few of the upper classmen are wont to look aloof at the idea as though their advanced stage of development was far above such a humble and childlike enterprise. They choose to consider it as a joke,—probably all right for the graders,—they sav, but doubtful whether it will be of any benefit to themselves. Well, truly, we doubt so ourselves. To be of any assistance to such a class of individuals would indeed be a wonderful enterprise and such an organization in our high school would indeed be worthy of praise, for significant to note, it is the same class of “select few” who are the first to criticize and retard the growth of any worthy step towards progress in the school. Though some of them pretend to be boosters they are far from being “true supporters” their boosting reaching no farther than a selfish furthering of their own interests. Jt is this same class of people who can pick out the weakest part of their school paper and criticize it, it is this little class of individuals who hurt our school more than any one else. To describe them takes us in a different trend than we began with, but it is something we have been aching to say for a long time, and now we feel much better. If the project of a school bank had its doubts as to worthiness and the amount of good it does for the students, we would far from hamper the outbursts of these criticisers. but when so worthy an enterprise and so progressive a step is taken up by the high school, we feel it the duty of every student, at least to keep to himself any unjust criticism of it. Aside from these chosen few are a number of loyal boosters, they are the ones who speak well of the enterprise, if possible they subscribe for stock or open an account and then the majority of the high school students are the disinterested ones. To these we appeal for more interest. If possible begin an account, it will pay good interest and may be the beginning of an otherwise impossible college education. KEEPING UP WITH THE TIME. The examination on current events given by -Principal Swartz to the student body recently, has brought out the fact that few of our students are keeping posted on the current news happenings of the day. Few students are reading the newspapers, in other words. Get busy students? Right now, the world is making history and our own nation is making history. Become interested in current topics now and you will always be interested. What are some of the national issues paramount today? Without doubt, preparedness can be said to he the paramount issue. Other issues are dominant too, and before long presidential candidates will launch their campaigns and it will be well for students to keep in close touch with the march of events the coming year. The outlook for the coming presidential campaign looks 22

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WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE? A semester of school work is over, one more year of life has gone by, and the year 1916, is before us. What has been accomplished? In the universe at large we find a hideous, almost word war raging havoc with the very foundations of civilization. All attempts to bring the warring nations to terms of peace has seemed to strengthen the belief that peace is farther distant now than it was at the outbreak oT the war. Science and invention have been busy, much has been accomplished. The United States as a nation has prospered and progressed. As a student, what has been your part in your school work the past semester, and what part are you to play in Life’s work-in the future? What has been your attitude? Was it selfish, conscientious, or indifferent? What are your thoughts of the future, or are you drifting aimlessly along with little hope or ambition ahead of you? And have you interest in your school work, or are you just passing away the time? Answer these questions yourself, be serious with yourself and think ahead of the present. Choose an ideal, a worthy one, prepare for that ideal and then strive to attain it. No one will reach higher than his aim. and without a purpose in life no one will make a success. A goodly number of students take a pitiful attitude toward their school work. First of all things, should come school work. It is your business and it should be ymur business to see to it that it is done in the right spirit, and not in the half-spirited, lazy, ami indifferent style characterizing so many students. Let us begin the new year by taking a better attitude toward our school work, let us begin to prepare for the part we are to take in life’s work. The work we do now is the foundation of what our future life is going to be and without a purpose to strive for, without an aim in life, and with an indifferent attitude toward our school work, our part in life’s work will be small. Seniors especially should begin to form some idea of what their life work is to be. What are your plans after graduation? Is your ideal a worthy one? Let us prepare right now for that ideal, do the work that is assigned to us, not because we have to but because it is our business to do it. No matter how easy it to slide through things now, thinking how easy it is to get along without any strenuous effort on one’s part, the extent of one's power is bound to show in the future. We are shaping our own destinies, no one but ourself is the loser. Think it over. Are you content with the present life you are living? Are you satisfied with your attitude toward your school work? No one should be satisfied with the work he is doing. The best of men and the best of students should feel that their standard of work can be raised by further effort and they should continually strive for a better standard. But let us 21

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 fascinating indeed, the candidates, especially the Republicans will be advanced from all parts of the country, and in the smoke of it all, it is said Roosevelt will walk in and cop the nomination. Such issues are intensely interesting to follow and every student should become versed in the issues of the day. Before many years a large number of us will have become voters and the success of your judgment and ability in choosing your ballot will depend in no small measure on how vou prepare yourselves now, and what you read. No me is denied access to a newspaper and it is part of your education that you read the practical and present-day topics as well as the history of the past. When you become interested in a subject look it up farther. If it is a dominant issue you can easily find some good articles on it in any of the leading magazines of the day. Education consists not only of the learning gleaned from vour text-books but of live present-day topics as well. Let us keep more in touch with national issues the coming year, they are bound to be interesting; let us make the newspapers a part of our daily study, say at least a half hour each day. ing of all, these self-same students can summon up enough fortitude to kick the Exchange Editor or the Editor-in-Chief for the absense of exchanges on the shelves Students, if you desire the privilege of reading an interesting and varied collection of exchanges it rests with your own care of the privilege. If you abuse your opportunity you make it bad for yourself and your fellow students. CARE OF THE EXCHANGES. Our Exchange list is constantly growing, every day’s mail brings us one or morf exchanges. They are interesting to read and are absorbed with interest bv the students. But the method of handling the Exchanges is deplorable. Instead of returning the copy in its proper place in the racks, it is left on the desk or inside the desk of some selfish student who desires a monopoly on every Exchange on the list, or by some student who is too lazy to return it after he has strolled over and gotten it. Other students persist in tearing off the covers, defacing the pages with writing and throwing them about. The worst offenders of the latter are the Freshmen but the former pertains to all classes. If has become so that no matter what number of Exchanges are placed on the Exchange shelves, hardly a dozen can ever Ire found when school is closed, the other remaining hundred or more arc scattered all over the entire room. Then, most gall- OUR NEXT ISSUE. Judging from the tone of the editorials just preceding this, our readers are apt to conclude that we were “peeved” when we wrote the above, and that if the issue were rightly named it would be that “Knockers Number” hinted at when we first took up our duties at the beginning of the year. But we feel much better now, in fact are very happy, especially when we view the very near future before us. By the time the next issue of the “Mirror” is issued, we hope to have swept all of our rival schools with victory for us, 6oth on the Forum and the basketball floor. Five debates are scheduled, the majority of these will have been played and we believe, won; the basketball championship will lie almost clinched and the “Mirror” will have gone through over a half years publication after having established a larger paper than all precedents; and on the whole we are very optimistic. Really, what more could we wish for? The cooperation of the students is admirable. (Some students are kicked on in our outbursts above but as mentioned before, they are only a chosen few, and an insignificant and purely imitational class, not representing the big majority of our true students.) The spirit is great. Half the victories are won already because of the encouraging support the students are lending. With this outlook before us this “Mirror’’ reaches you. When you receive the next issue, may it be one full of emulation and rejoicing over a successful outcome of our interscholastie contests. The next issue is picked for an interscholastic number, and students, let’s make it a good one. 23