Mount Pleasant High School - Netop Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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Calculating machines class at work Mathematics Since the use of mathematics in business. industry. and the sciences is on the increase, an effort is being made to provide for the needs of the pupils in later life. The aim of our Math Department can be accomplished by making certain that pupils have solid examples of the uses that math will be to them. Here at Mount Pleasant there are seven different types of mathematics which are taught to the students. These forms are algebra. plane geometry. solid geometry, trigonometry, review alge- bra. review geometry and basic math. The total number of students taking any one of these subjects is 858. We must be sure th-at the interest and the value of mathematics in education does not fall to the low level it had reached just before our entrance into World War ll. This subject, which played such a large part in the war. is now taking an important role in the post-war period in big business. taxation. and the manufacture of precision instruments. The Mathematics Department of this school is working hard to keep its subject on the high plane it deserves. ap- mv' .AK I i0llllllC.l'Ci2:ll During the term ending February. 1948. of the I577 students enrolled in Mount Pleasant. l438 took some commercial subject. This fact certainly proves that the commercial courses lead in popularity. No matter what type of course a student is taking. she is always strongly advised to take some subject such as typing or filing which will enable her to get an ofhce job if her other plans fail. There are three commercial courses: general, book- keeping. and secretarial. Each of these courses. if followed through. equips the student with all the training and experience required for the respective positions. No further schooling is necessary and on graduating. students who desire positions are helped in finding them. I.ast term all those who wanted positions. except two, were placed. Four rooms of typewritets. one of calculating machines. one of bookkeeping machines. and one of duplicating machines make up the very expensive equipment used by the Commercial Department. As you walk along the first floor corridor you can hear the girls fand boys. tool typing their way to future jobs. '77 0,7 fl of 11 jo-QQ.

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Physical Education for Boys Our Physical Education course rates high when com- pared with other high schools. Gym is compulsory at Mount Pleasant and the only ones exempted are those with a doctor's excuse. Apprritus is used as a basis of grading in the gym. with the skills becoming increasing- ly difficult as one enters a higher grade. There are six pieces of apparatus. with a maximum number of 15 points obtainable on each. Thus 90 points is required to compile a perfect score, with 75 points qualifying for an A. 60 points for a B. and a minimum of 45 points for a C. All the skills and exercises are devised to develop th: strength. endurance. and agility of our gymnasts. The gym class also has the opportunity of taking part in intra-class sports such as volleyball, baseball. basketball. and football. ln the spring and fall the boys participate in the popular activity of cross-country. which among the boys is commonly known as over the hill. Our excellent Physical Education course has proved to be a great asset both in civilian life and in the armed services. efbob ably N S 1 5 5 f Onlookers anticipate a display of strength Physical Education for Girls Have you ever looked into the girls' gym. where often eighty girls at a time are engaged in healthful activity of one kind or another? The teen-age girls in their neat blue cotton uniforms and blue socks present an attractive picture as they go through the lesson of the day. In our school. the gymnasium classes have plenty of variety. The aim of all gymnasium is to improve the health of the student by coordinating mind and muscle in the various phases of gym work. Exer- cises. apparatus work. dancing. and games are the four principal divisions of girls' gymnasium at Mount Pleasant. Exercises. snappy and precise. are taken to develop in the student strength and vigor. Need- less to say. exercises also help to keep our girls look- ing trim. Apparatus work develops strength and courage. Most of the students are especially en- thusiastic about dancing. which gives a sense of rhythm and makes a girl graceful and well-poised. Games are played on certain days because they help build character. as well as physical endurance. Each girl gives her best for the good of the team. She learns to follow rules without quibbling. and she learns to accept the decisions of the referee. Perhaps most important of all. in playing games a girl learns to lose gracefully and to win without gloating over her opponents. The girls' gym is a busy place after school hours, as well as during the day. Badminton. table tennis. volleyball. and basketball are among the favorite sports. Except in the winter months. the girls may play games outside the building. Golf, tennis. and softball have their loyal followers and are very popular. When at last play-time or work is over for the clay. the girls go down to the shower room. which is very well equipped and up-to-the-minute in its aopointments. Each girl has an individual marble shower stall and dressing room. and over the sound of the showers can be heard happy voices reviewing the fun of the dav. Then. one by one. the girls emerge. invigorated and fresh from their activity. and happy in the companionship of the friends made at gym.

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locial cience The Social Science Department is one of the high schools most important departments. Along with learning about historic characters and events in Amer- ican history. and Federal, State, and City govern- ment in civics, students learn to acquire improved habits in work and industry so necessary in later life These include accuracy, neatness, promptness, hon- esty, courtesy. and cooperation. Many assignments in the Social Science Department require reference work which gains for one the ability to obtain information quickly through the use of reference books, encyclo- pedias. and dictionaries. The principal objectives of the department are to afford an understanding of the evolution of our government from its European beginnings up to the present time. and to broaden appreciation for the historical opinions of different authors. You seldom read an editorial without finding some reference to or comparison with a historical event. ln order to understand the political and social problems of today and tomorrow. you must know something of the political and social problems of yesterday. French. Spanish, Italian hold the attention of this trio t ev efllg an QB C06 Forei Il Language Every day, several hundred pupils of Mount Pleasant set out for foreign lands. ln small bands. they tour with their guides - the tive teachers in the department of modern languages. Some go to Spain. or to the Central and South American countries: still others to sunny Italy: the rest to La Belle France. Their purpose is primarily to learn the language of the country: principally to read the language easily and with this key ever after their possession. to un- lock a wealth of literature and culture in the original form. And to a somewhat lesser degree. perhaps. and depending on individual talent and application. they learn to express themselves in the foreign tongue and to attain the spoken word, They come to know the physical face of the land: its rivers and mountains. its cities and villages. its monuments. its treasures of cathedral and palace. They come to know its human values: its people and their history, their customs, and costumes. and characteristics. And so, they should return day by day. advanced in their skillg inspired by contact with a rich and ancient civilization as well as with its current aspect: pro- vided with an outlook and understanding so vital in our contracting world.