Richard Montgomery High School - Rocket Yearbook (Rockville, MD)

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THE ROCKET Thf. Shop Where Many Useful Articles Are Made provcment over those of the former classrooms where the teacher had to keep his own room clean. Montgomery County High School now offers many types of studies that appeal to the students. The courses offered are: academic, commercial, general, technical, and vocational. New subjects that have become very popular are Music, Art, Physical Education, Home Arts, and Shop. Classes have become laboratory work periods rather than recitation periods and pupils have much wider experience in expressing their own views, and in working with materials. There is a special period each day for educational and vocational guidance for the students. Special Assembly periods are carried on by the pupils. Assembly programs are worked out and presented exclusively by the pupils in the high school. This gives many students the chance to show their individual talents and ideas. The Montgomery High School Bank is a very important part of the student life. It is a branch of the Farmers Banking and Trust Company. It is operated by a small group of Seniors selected by the principal and the banking teacher. It has a Board of Directors made up of student and teacher stockholders. The first school in Rockville gave the students no chance to get a hot lunch unless they walked home for it. Now Montgomery County High School has a cafeteria that serves the whole school. It offers a large variety of foods that are nutricious and appetizing. Girls also get training from this in preparing and serving the lunches. Tennis—One of Our School’s Newest and Most Popular Sports Twenty-seven

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THE ROCKET The Lirhaky A Cozy and Attractive Corner of M. C. H. S. OUR SCHOOL TODAY The general conditions and atmosphere of Montgomery County High School have greatly changed since the first Rockville High School was built sixty years ago. The alumni are proud to have witnessed the changes that have made this school outstanding and both they and the present students revel in the belief that their spirit has been a mighty factor in the amazing growth. Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the school today is the student-controlled government, known as the Junior Republic, which is patterned closely upon that of our United States Government. This form of government enables the students to more freely express their ideals and beliefs. It familiarizes them with our national government, and gives them valuable training in the actual making of laws, in executive affairs and in judicial work. Interest is added to student life by the awarding of honor letters obtained by participating in the activities of the school. These activities arc ranked by points that are given as they are earned. The minimum number of points required for a letter is one thousand. These points must be realized from a variety of activities—in government, in scholarship, and in athletics. Therefore only a well-rounded individual may receive this honor. The faculty consists of fourteen women teachers, and eight men teachers including the principal, Mr. Schott. Each teacher is a specialist in his own field —a great contrast to the old system under which one teacher might teach from one to a dozen different subjects. These teachers now teach in well ventilated and bright rooms that are kept clean by janitor service. These conditions are a great im Our Sunny Cafeteria Twenty-six

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THE ROCKET The students of M. C. H. S. are very fortunate in having a library which contains books for all the uses in their school work. Books of reference, outstanding magazines and newspapers, and novels of every description can be found here. The pupils use their library for leisure time as well as a place for the research work which is so essential to their studies. In speaking of our growth, we must not fail to mention the new building program of our school. Already the first unit of the elementary school is nearing completion on the old Fair Grounds. Here in a few years, one will find a real school community —elementary, junior high, and senior high schools. We have included in these pages a picture of the elementary school so that you may see the type of architecture used. It seems that Sixty Years of Progress” is not an empty boast, when one reviews the above accomplishments of our school. In closing we wish to quote from a letter from E. D. Grizzell, Chairman of the Commission on Secondary Schools, Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Middle States and Maryland, to Mr. Schott: It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the Commisison of Secondary Schools, by unanimous vote, has approved the application of the Montgomery County High School for inclusion on the list of accredited Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.” Surely Montgomery County High School has come a long way in the six decades since its simple beginning. The First Unit of the New Elementary School Twenty-eight