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

Page 21 text:

STUDENT GOVERNMENT To make an ideal democracy, every citizen should have the opportunity to voice his opinions, and to take part in the running of the government. In a nation, or even in a city, this is impossible, particularly in war- time. But in a small village or a school like North Shore, where we have a small body of people, such a plan may be carried out. Here at North Shore, each student has the oppor- tunity to help run things, to help solve the problems that arise, and to do his share in assuming the responsibilities of the democ- racy. But before a student accepts this re- sponsibility, he must have an interest in the affairs of his government. With this idea in mind, our student coun- cil has tried in the past year to promote greater interest in school affairs. Even if it meant hot arguments and verbal battles, we wanted everybody to know the circum- stances, to take stands and debate points, and above all, to vote with judgment and sincerity. The plan worked. To begin with, we had excellent attendance at Town Meet- ings. People seemed interested in hearing other people ' s views as well as in giving their own. Everyone is familiar with the hot debates and arguments that took place. Not just a few people took part in these con- troversies ; nearly everyone contributed something. And finally, people seemed really to think about their ballots. This year still more jobs had to be handled by the students; jobs connected with the controlling of the school ' s wartime program. To mention a few of these new tasks, there was the Air Raid Precaution program, which was handled mostly by the Seniors ; the Jun- ior Red Cross ; the waste paper collection ; and the selling of Defense Stamps in the lunchroom. All these problems gave many more students the experience of government than ever before. So, at the end of the first war year in the history of the school, we hope that we have laid a firm foundation for a satisfactory war- time program which future student govern- ments may use and develop. 17

Page 20 text:

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

Page 22 text:

THE PARENTS ARE APPARENT One of the nicest things about North Shore, and one of the things which sets it above other schools, is the way the parents take part in everything that goes on. Not content with being onlookers of school life, they play an active and important role in it. Everyone knows that mothers work on the lunchline, but few people realize what a job it is to keep track of who serves on what day and to get substitutes when some- one cannot come on a certain day. The members of the office committee ad- dress and fill envelopes. They work at the switchboard, take messages and keep the attendance lists. Some of the mothers put in hours of pa- tient work on the library and the Art Li- brary. One parent is editor of the Notes, and another has charge of subscriptions for the skating rink. The task of decorating Leicester was undertaken by parents, and the faculty teas, one every month, are given by mothers of the different grades. At Christmas time, the fathers pound nails and paint chairs for toy shop, and the moth- ers sew doll clothes and make scrapbooks. One of the most important parent com- mittees is the Costume Committee. For weeks before the opera the members of this committee worked out color combinations, designed sarongs, sewed stripes on the mounties ' trousers, and made ruffles for the bridesmaids ' costumes. The finished prod- ucts were as beautiful as any you ' d see on the Broadway stage. The cannibals ' outfits were true masterpieces. During the opera the mothers helped can- nibals on with their wigs, pinned on bustles and helped in hundreds of other ways. You get so used to seeing the parents around North Shore that you may take them for granted, and forget that in most other schools they are completely separated from most events. When you stop to think about it, though, you realize that without parent participation North Shore would be lacking a part of that famous spirit you hear about so much. 18