Pontiac Senior High School - Quiver Yearbook (Pontiac, MI)

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t 1 ; i The Science Department—very few students haven’t indulged in, gulped, and swallowed at least a small portion of biology, chemistry, or physics before graduation from Pontiac High School. The faculty members who helped you to break test tubes, pick up liquid mercury, and peer through microscopes are, left to right: Mr. Brown, Mrs. Buckley, Miss King, Mr. Line, Mr. Spotts, Mr. Sweet, and Mr. Weirzma. studied in the course. Algebra III was made up of a review of Algebra I and II with new material introduced, followed by square root, exponents, radicals, graphs, quadratic equations in two variables, and a short study of logariths. Algebra IV included a further study of logarithms, ratio, propor¬ tion and variations, permutations and combinations, probability, statistics, and the scale of notation. Trigonometry taught the rela¬ tions between the sides and angles of a triangle and their calculations. In the solution of problems, the placing of the ability to use loga¬ rithms and the tables of natural and logarithmic functions of angles was stressed. Algebra III was re¬ quired for this course. Sulfuric acid, vertibrae, expan¬ sion of bridge construction, are they unfamiliar? If so, you didn’t scratch the surface of the science courses offered in Pontiac High School, mainly chemistry, biology, and physics. Biology would have given you an opportunity to further your knowledge of caring for animals, the importance of hygiene and well-planned diet, the cause and prevention of minor illnesses, and the work of those “wierd little things,” amoeba, bacteria, etc. This science made you observe objects of im¬ portance, besides the blonde next door, and en¬ abled you to put observations into practical use¬ fulness. As formaldehyde and other chemicals were mentioned in biology, you probably felt that you’d like to take some chemistry! ‘‘Pass the salt, no, that’s the iodine. Aw, that’s the sulfuric acid!” Besides these amazing bits of “info,” mech¬ anics, heat, sound, electrictiy, and magnetism were guzzled by the “studs.” The operation and func¬ tion of simple household appliances, furnaces, light bulbs, and the vacuum sweeper were explained, or were you “dozing” at the time of explanation? Wouldn’t “Ma” be surprised if you fixed this or that around the house for her? Physics taught the “how, where, and the what” of questions that are continually arising. After this brief resume, we hope that you have a better knowledge of the subjects offered in Pon¬ tiac Senior High School that will benefit you as a student, and aid you in making a place for your¬ self in this world of turmoil. No, you aren’t a guest at a dinner, or a hospital. These mystifying terms were a common lingo if you were enrolled in a chemistry class. Besides having learned the art of burning your fingers and how to spill acid on your clothes, time was spent learning how to solve for unknowns, the action of alcohol when put into the radiator of the family bus, to make blueprints, the making of gases, and a new product recently put on the merchants’ shelves, soap! The study of physics was almost as mystifying as the name implies. If you ever wondered whether it would be worth your while to crawl in your piano “to see how it works,” or drop your “vie” on the floor to “see if sound waves really bounce,” the time and consequences of such undertakings could have been saved by enrolling in a physics class. The sudden death of Mr. James H. Harris in February of this year, was deeply felt by students, of Pontiac schools, friends, and rela¬ tives alike. Mr. Harris was one of the best liked persons in the entire school system, and he was respected and admired by all. Although he had retired from the school system and his long held position as Superintendent of Schools, it was not uncommon to see his figure around the halls of learning occasionally. His death left a mark on everyone who knew him personally as “Jim”, or just as “Mr. Harris”; and this will be hard to erase. PONTIAC HIGH SCHOOL 21

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If you have ever torn your hair from its roots in desperation over your homework in Latin, Spanish, or French, you may have taken time out to think about the trials and tribulations of the masterminds who taught these brain-twister foreign languages at Pontiac High School. If you indulged in these courses to any extent, you struggled through the many translations under Mr. Gray, Miss Hook, Mr. Kuethe, or Mr. Mercado, pictured at the right. Debonair Mr. Gray keeps up-to-date on his Spanish and senioritas by spending each summer in Latin-Ameri- ca. Th ese “maestros” co-operated with the history de¬ partment to plan a special course in Latin-American relations for next year. Have you ever wondered just what those tant¬ alizing words accompanying Xavier Cugat’s ex¬ otic rhythms really meant? Have you ever had a sort of self-conscious desire to know a little more —even a lot more—about those French novels you’ve heard about? Have you ever been annoyed and puzzled as students mutter, “Amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant?” Is it “Qu’iereme Mucho’’ that has you crim¬ son with curiosity. Dash madly up to 302 or 304 and learn about the Spanish course. You found that the main object of this Spanish course was to give a working knowledge of reading, writing, pronunciation, and speaking of Spanish. Spanish is now considered by many to be the most import¬ ant of the foreign languages, in view of the present “Good Neighbor” policy of the United States. Maybe it’s Yvette who has you fascinated. From enrollment in a French class, you might have discovered that the reading and hearing of the language were stressed. A very good reason for this fact is the influence which this language has had upon foods, styles, luxuries, and etiquette. Then, of course, there’s the Latin. By the time you’ve finished with the mazes of Caesar and other translations, you’re bound to know that “Amo, amas. amat, etc.’’ means only “I love, you love, he loves, etc.” Construction of Latin sen¬ tences was studied, and, above all, more than one hour was spent tearing your hair studying the grammar connected with this course. (How well we know!) Courses offered in the mathematics department were geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. The Geometry I consisted of the study of triangles, including congruence, parallels, and perpendicular lines, the usage of the compass and protractor in the making of several fundamental constructions, polygons, and the area of several of them with their formulas. Circles, arcs, and angles; the measurements of angles and arcs; lace; proportion and proportion¬ al line segments; similar polygons; regular poly¬ gons and the circle; a small amount of elementary “trig,” and inequalities. All these were studied in Geometry II. The relationship between lines and planes, surfaces and sections of surfaces, areas, volumes, were discussed in geometry III. The prism, pyra¬ mid, cylinder, cone, and sphere were the five solids These four teachers, Miss Allchin, Miss M. Carpenter, Miss Steward, and Miss VanArsdale, are the “mistres¬ ses of math” in Pontiac High School. Two vacancies, left by Mr. Dudley and Mr. Morris, were filled by Miss Carpenter and Miss Van¬ Arsdale, who filled the ranks of the teachers of angles, squares, circles, and the such, after having taught commercial subjects previously. It was under their supervision that the many intriguing math displays were made and exhibited in the first floor show cases. 20 THE 1942 QUIVER

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erm ER 942 QU IV TH 22 The January Senior prom was certain¬ ly a huge success as you can plainly tell from the happy expressions on the faces of Wenona Dewey and Claud Edwards, on the left, and Muriel Nicyper and Waino Johnson. Here we have two slightly wind¬ blown but nevertheless attractive lassies. They are Marilyn Morrison, on the left, and Wenona Dewey.