North Shore Country Day School - Mirror Yearbook (Winnetka, IL)

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lationship between the resident master and his wife and the students is a normal and informal association. In this is the secret of the overwhelming success which the Stu- dent Residence has enjoyed in this first year of its existence. At times the enrollment at the house has run as high as nine students. The attend- ance fluctuates from time to time because temporary boarders may come or go. Four of the boys have lived at the house all year. Others have come for varying periods. The social life of the boys is adequate and complete. Relations with the day students are perfectly normal and there is no distinc- tion made between one group and the other. Each fellow is allowed one late night per week-end. This opportunity is usually ade- quate to satisfy one ' s appetite for social activity. The geographical representation at Lei- cester is very broad. Residents of the house have included two boys from Lake Forest, two from Winnetka and one boy from Glen- coe. Out of state residents include one fel- low from Washington, D. C, one each from Massachusetts and New York and two from California. IS

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LEICESTER For many years there has been a steadily increasing demand for some sort of facilities which would make it possible for parents living beyond commuting distance to send their children to North Shore. It has been gratifying, also, to receive from time to time inquiries from as far away as New England, from parents who would like to enroll their children with us if it were possible to furnish living accommodations under the supervi- sion and control of the School. The only way we have been able to solve this problem in the past has been to find places in the homes of faculty members or parents who were willing to accept such a responsibility on a definitely professional basis. This has worked out satisfactorily for both the children and the homes concerned. In fact, it has proved so successful that there has been a constant succession of such ar- rangements during the last six or seven years. Many parents, however, expressed a de- sire for living arrangements with even more supervision on the part of the School. To meet this demand the Board of Directors, after a careful stud} ' of the problem, voted in 1940 to inaugurate a new home residence department centered around a master and his wife, who would live on the grounds in the residence building known as Leicester Hall, where five or six boys could live under their direction and the direct supervision of the School without danger of its becom- ing an institutional dormitory. Accordingly, details of this plan were carefully worked out. A group of parents was selected to assist in planning the redec- orating and remodeling of the building and selecting the furniture and equipment. In January 1941 the two members of the Parents ' Advisory Committee appointed to work out the details of remodeling and re- decorating Leicester Hall for a students ' residence, began to meet with Mr. Bollinger. Blue prints of the building, and its existing condition were studied, and a new arrange- ment was worked out. About this time Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel French accepted the appointment as the heads of the household, and the plans were shown to them and their suggestions in- vited. Few structural changes were called for by the remodeling planned by the committee. Plumbing and wiring that absolutely had to be done were the most expensive items in the program. Two partitions had to be added in the second floor bedrooms, certain doors were blocked up, others were reopened, and two clumsy old built-in cupboards were removed and used in the dressing room. As soon as the construction work was un- der way, another sub-committee began plan- ning the decorating, and Mr. Bollinger began investigating the furnishing. Each boy ' s room was quite different from all the others. The floor plans differed widely to begin with. Each room was given a distinctive color scheme, worked out in bright plaid homespun curtains, and plain- colored couch covers, against neutral walls. Mr. and Mrs. French moved into Leices- ter Hall in May and began the process of making a home there, which has now been very successfully completed. Life at Leicester Hall closely resembles that in a well-run private home. The effect of this has been to provide the students with a normal, homelike environment. The re- 14

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MORNING EXERCISE We feel that morning exercises are an es- sential part of the organization of our school. The period each morning from 11 to 11 :30 is a time when the whole school gets together, from the youngest child in kindergarten, to the oldest senior. It is a time when we share our experiences with other members of the school, telling about what we are doing in some class, or what we did on some vaca- tion. In this way the high school gets to know the middle and lower schools, and vice versa. In addition, we feel that morning ex- ercises are important because of the experi- ence we gain in speaking before an audience as this is the only practice we get in public speaking. This year the morning exercise committee was working on a new system, which was begun last year. There are two elected rep- resentatives, a boy and a girl from each class in the high school, middle school and fifth grade. From these are elected a President and Secretary, the one presiding over the weekly meetings, the other keeping track of the different morning exercises which are suggested in the course of the meeting. When we have this complete representation of all the grades, it is easier to carry out our policy of having as many morning exercises as possible, which interest as many people as possible, as much of the time as possible. The better organization this year has made possible a great many more interesting morning exercises from outside the school as well as from within. In the first place there was the educational series. Tonv Sarg. Thomas Hart Benton, Professor William McGovern, and Dr. Kreuger were only a few of the many who spoke. Another out- side morning exercise, Mr. Giallombardo, world champion, and his tumbling team, was among the most interesting. But just as much as morning exercises from outside speakers, we liked and appreciated the sev- eral plays which the Lower School put on. Altogether we have had a very interesting and educational type of morning exercises which we have enjoyed hearing and enjoyed giving-. 16