Morton High School - Top Hat Yearbook (Hammond, IN)

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Page 12 Mathematics , Science Classes The Students of Today Will Make the Progress of Tomorrow LEARNING TO work the slide rule is an interesting part of Glenn Flansburg ' s Algebra VI class, agree this trio. They also studied logarithms, permutations, combinations, probability, and progressions. JOANN EVANS, Christine Swalick, Judy Thomas, and Mrs. Nancy Squibb, plane geometry teacher, decorate a Christmas tree with ornaments they made in geometrical forms. Students in another geometry class, this one taught by Miss Marjorie Groves, are trying to prove theorms on the black- board. THOSE PROBLEMS must be hard, judging by the faces of these students in Charles Chidester ' s practical math class. The course consisted of a review of fundamentals of arithmetic computation.

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Page 11 but Aren ' t Limited to English Students at Morton last year had opportunities to learn to read, write, and speak their own language more effectively through the MHS English Department, headed by Miss Mabel Hunter, and the Speech De- partment, of which Winston Becker is the head. They might also have studied another language through the Foreign Language Department, of which Walter Ruff is the chairman. Freshman and sophomore English classes con- centrated on underclassmen’s learning good grammar and becoming familiar with various types of literature. Basic theme -and letter writing skills were taught students during their first two years in high school, during which they also were exposed to such literary works as myths, David Copperfield, Silas Marner, Julius Caesar,” and short stories. Juniors had opportunities to improve their writing in either English V or Composition V; the former was less difficult than the latter. In American literature, juniors developed a better understanding of American culture from colonial times to the present. Seniors could take a survey course in English literature, studying the great authors of England, their writings, and their influence today. They were also offered an advanced composition course, in which they could learn style and sentence improvement. Journalism students made up a large part of the staff of the Mortonite, MHS newspaper. SPANISH IV students are enjoying themselves while learning the cha-cha from Miss Della Narcisi, their teacher. In speech classes students learned to overcome self-consciousness in public speaking situations, including the following: making introductions, after-dinner speeches, and announcements; telling stories; carrying on discussions; debating, and radio speaking. They also learned the methods of organizing speech material and the fundamentals of parliamentary procedure. Four semesters of Spanish and four of Latin were offered Morton students. They could learn the basic vocabulary and grammar of a foreign language, and therefore learn to read and write that language. Ad- vanced Spanish students read an entire Spanish novel, and Latin IV students studied writings of Livy and Julius Caesar. NOW THERE will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth!” This cry of doom is heard by students in Walter Ruff’s freshman Latin class as the next victim is selected to recite.

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Mathematics and science are needed not only by those students who plan to enter the fields of engineering or science, but by all students who hope to be able to think out adult problems logically, who want a well-rounded education, and who desire a broad outlook on life. Only with these attri- butes will adults of tomorrow be able to make progress no matter what their fields. Morton’s Mathematics Department is headed by Glenn Flansburg. The Science Department is the only chair- manless department in the school. Students in general math and prac- tical math classes reviewed the fun- damentals of arithmetic. Freshman algebra introduced stu- dents to signed numbers, equations, formulas, and graphs; junior, or ad- vanced, algebra went further, dealing with imaginary numbers, logarithms, and determinants. Plane geometry was offered to sophomores, while seniors could take solid geometry and trigonometry. The latter course dealt with triangles and their functions. All Morton students must take health and safety, offering instruction in principles of physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as safety. Each Morton student must also take two semesters of at least one other science. Biology dealt with botany and zoology and gave students many op- portunities to use microscopes. Physics students learned about physical science — motion, light, power, sound — and Morton’s junior chemists studied the various forms of matter and the chem- ical changes which they undergo. FLORENCE HART is busy examining a specimen under a microscope in the biology laboratory. Biology students, taught by Donald Harper, Julian Rasmussen, and Gerald Spitzer, ROBERT ATKINS of the E. I. du Pont de Ne- mours Co. holds the atten- tion of one of Mrs. Esther Hand’s physics classes as he discusses opportunities in the field of science. MRS. HAND, Richard Jarnagin, Tony DeRosa, and Carol Krupa are in- tent on watching a demon- stration being run in the physics - chemistry labora- tory. often took field trips to discover the wonders of nature and gather specimens for use in the lab.