Oceanside High School - Spindrift Yearbook (Oceanside, NY)

Page 18 text:

SCIENCE Kirke E. Davis Leon H. Sayre J. Howard Cooper John C. Martin INDUSTRIAL ARTS The Science department of Oceanside High School consists of Mr. Kirke E. Davis, who teaches chemistry and physics, and Mr. Leon Sayre, biology instructor. In the science laboratory on the third floor of 0.H.S., classes in instruction in chemistry and physics are held, and students spend two periods a week doing lab work. Thus, by experimenting individually with the principles of science, they learn the application of these principles and independence with the tools of science. In the Junior High School building is the science room of Mr. Sayre, where high school students study the fundamentals of biology, and prepare themselves for scientific professions. A special feature that was recently instigated by the science department is the Radio Communications course, which is designed to train radio technicians and operators. Until the recent ban on private radio stations, Mr. Davis and his students had a short-wave radio station which kept iu communication with otter high school stations . The Industrial Arts Shop of Oceanside High School plays an important part in the mental and physical development of the citizens of our argosy. Classes under the direct ion of Mr. J. Howard Cooper, Industrial Arts instructor, and Mr. John Martin, assistant instructor, have devoted much time to making splints for the Red Cross and are now engaged in making bedside tables to be used in Army, camp infirmaries, wherever the need is greatest. Lathes, drills and other machines are in constant motion, as O.H.S.'s Shop goes, all out for defense, and machine-minded Sailors prepare to make their contributions to the American Way of Life. A Junior Defense Training Course for Pench Machinists is now a part of the Shop's curriculum. Students taking this course and completing three hundred hours of intensified training are eligible for employment in large defense plants. Boys of all sizes and ages are being taught to use their hands and their minds to the greatest advantage of themselves and their country.

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SOCIAL SCIENCE Roland W. Loveland Gertrude Gunther Alan I. Chase Fordyce C. Stone The prime purpose of the Social Studies department is to acquaint the students with the past and present history of the world, and the economic theories and practices that have so much to do with our Way of Life. The faculty members of this department are Mr. Alan I. Chase, American history, Miss Gertrude Gunther, modern European history and American history, Mr. Fordyce C. Stone, American history, economics and economic geography, and Mr. Roland Loveland, world history. History, now a compulsory three year course in our school, serves to give a thorough knowledge and an intelligent understanding of America's activities. It is not only the background of all the social studies, but for literature, fine arts and many others, as well. The courses now offered at Oceanside prepare us for the American Way of Life bygiving usa complete understanding of the problems of our country, and the world. Economics and economic geography stress the theories behind the happenings of today, and create a greater knowledge of the natural forces of our country. By stressing the products vitally necessary for defense, where grown, substitutes, and how dependent we are on them, and by clarifying issues of tax laws, money and bonds, to the students of these classes come toa truer realization of their responsibility in maintaining this American democracy. Highlighting the year were many features that made the work more interest ing. Movies of factory life were shown and the economic theories behind our current defense measures were checked, thus bringing thesubject nearer to the students. Comparing thecauses, thedefense activities, and the methods of the two World Wars proved of real interest and value. Students of the history classes participated in the American Legion Oratorical Contest on the subject of the Constitution. 11

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FOREIGN LANGUAGE MATHEMATICS Gertrude Gunther Anne D. Raynor Charles Pieper Alice E. Kinkade Elaine Rapp Alice Lentzsch From the study of foreign languages, more is to be learned than a mere knowledge of grammar. We learn of the economic and geographic facts that govern the destinies of countries, and we gaina greater appreciation of the American Way of Life by comparing these lands with ours. From the study of French the confused situation in that country prior to her overthrow becomes a stirring example of what must not happen here. Latin gives us deeds of the patriotism of Roman heroes, and a knowledge of German is certainly essential in achieving the permanent peace that must come before we can realize our heritage. Spanish is ever-important in this era of Pan-Americanism and the Good Neighbor policy. This year has been a momentous one for the language classes. An assembly put on by the Spanish students and designed to make 0. H. S. South American conscious, taught the student body a few everyday Spanish expressions. Students of the French class have translated modernized Aesop's Fables, and several modern popular songs, which they have sung in French. Miss Elaine Rapp and Miss Alice E. Kinkade are the mathematical pilots of the individual craft of our argosy. Striving to fill the minds of us Sailors with the axioms and theorems of plane and solid geometry, algebra and trigonometry, they are entrusted with the teaching of one of the most important tools of our nation, mathematics. The preparation we Sailors receive from this intensive training in mathematics willbeof much use to us, even if our future lives are not directly connected with the fields of engineering, navigation, mechanics, orscience, that make use of such knowledge. The sharpening of wits and orderliness of thinking that come to us as a result of a study of mathematics are well worth the time spent. This year the plan of the Math department has been to make math live for the students. In stressing the students' application of what he learns, the department made arrangements for an outdoor session of the trigonometry class in which the fundamentals of trigonometry were used in surveying.