Scituate High School - Chimes Yearbook (Scituate, MA)

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18 CHIMES sembly a short talk was given by a representative of the Greater Boston Community Fund on the urgent needs of the fund. The talk was fol- lowed by motion pictures on the same subject. During the football season short rallies were held in the afternoons before the games and were in charge of the cheering squad. Many times short motion pictures were shown to complete the assemblies. At one of the longer assemblies the students and faculty had the privilege of hearing a piano recital given by Mr. Smith, Miss Maxim, Miss Reynolds and Mr. Fuller. The selections were both classical and popular. This was the last time we had the pleasure of hearing the delight- ful playing of Mr. Smith, for he left a few days later to take a position in Washington. The first formal assembly of the year was the one in observance of Armistice Day. It was conducted by Scott Amiot, president of the Senior Class. Josephine Miles and Donald Kennedy read essays they had written on the subject, What Armistice Day Means to Me. Two Navy officers gave exciting accounts of their experiences. Joseph McKenny, Director of Physical Educa- tion in the city of Boston, addressed the students in one of the assemblies. He spoke on the sub- ject Community Recreation Center for Scitu- ate. He was a very interesting and excellent speaker. At an assembly in December the football squad and the victorious hockey team were given their certificates. Attention was called to the large number of underclassmen who received first team certificates and to the others who went out for sports but didn ' t make the team. Coach Vines and Coach Dixon received gifts of appreciation for their untiring patience and grand coaching. The annual Christmas assembly was in charge of Charles Fleming, the president of the Junior Class. The Glee Club under the direction of Miss Reynolds, sang many Christmas songs and carols. Members of the student body read poems and letters, and Clara Vespaziani of the Junior High School played many selections on the ac- cordion. Mr. Wilcox acted as Santa Claus on the occasion and distributed humorous gifts to members of the faculty and student body. The school orchestra also took part in the program. During the year the Junior, Sophomore, and Freshman classes all put on very entertaining and individual programs. The Juniors staged a Truth or Consequences show which was very humorous. The Sophomores planned a musical program and did a wonderful job in putting it over. The Great LaFollette, a headliner in the field of magicians, entertained the student body at one of the assemblies. The remaining assemblies of the year were a movie and lecture by Eugene Fanning, Motor Vehicles investigator for the State of Massachu- setts, called Safety and the Automobile ; an assembly starring Ruth Tingley, accordionist, pianist and singer, and Stan Brown, Wizard of the electric banjo; a picture, Amazing America ; John Hinds, well-known reader; a very interest- ing musical by a blind pianist named Carmelo Cascio; an d a delightful assembly given by the Glee Club and Band. DANCES The dances of the year were all a great success. The first dance of the season was given by the Athletic Association after the Marshfield-Scituate football game, and was attended by many stu- dents from the neighboring towns. The Junior Social was also a very successful affair. It had many surprises and unusual dances supervised by Jimmy Rago, the leader of the orchestra. At Christmas time the Senior Class held its annual dance, which was very entertaining. The hall was gayly decorated for the occasion by the Art Department. The Sophomore Class gave a Sports Dance af- ter the Scituate ■ Hanover basketball game. It was supported by many students from Cohasset and Kingston as well as a large crowd from Scituate. A feature of this dance was a waltz contest. The Freshman Class gave a dance after the Scituate-Cohasset basketball game, which drew one of the largest crowds of the year. The Fresh- men should be given a lot of credit, for this was their first dance. In March, the Freshmen and Sophomores united their talents in giving a very fine dance, which as usual had a large crowd in attendance. FIRE SQUAD This year at Scituate High School we have a new organization, known as the fire squad. There are thirty-eight boys, mostly juniors and sopho- mores, participating in this work. The duty of each boy is to go to his assigned post in case of fire or fire drill. Each floor, called a section, is under a section leader who sees to it that every- one gets to his post. Robert Glynn is fire chief and Edward Soule, Bob Mongeau and Charles Fleming are his as- sistants.

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CHIMES 17 — C lOO OOKING back through the past months, one p , would truly say that this has been a very active year. Dances and games have been very frequent, and both have attracted crowds. The students contributed to their utmost in both the T. B. and Junior Red Cross drives. Each class filled the annual Christmas boxes for the Red Cross to be sent to needy children in other countries. This year has also been one of the best in the sale of war bonds and stamps. NEW TEACHERS Two new faces appeared in the halls of Scituate High School last September. Upon inquiry we found one new-comer to be Mr. Nelson, our new principal, who was to take the place which Mr. Parkhurst had left. The other was Mr. Dodge, the new manual training teacher, who succeeded Mr. Sandberg. We found out later that he had many other talents than just wood and plastic working, after seeing him volunteering his services to Mr. Dixon in assisting both the football and basketball teams. He is an excellent basketball player himself and also a good referee. Both Mr. Nelson and Mr. Dodge arc very well liked and very welcome here. Mr. Leach and Miss Reynolds came later in the year to replace Mr. Smith when the latter went to teach in Wash- ington. Mr. Leach took over the band and Miss Reynolds, the chorus. The work of both has been greatly appreciated. REORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL BAND The school band was reorganized when Mr. Donald Leach of Whitman, the leader of many bands in the neighboring towns, came to Scituate this fall. A call for all former members of the band and orchestra was sent out and was answered by about thirty enthusiastic musicians. Many of the members of the group were Junior High School students. Their response is very gratifying be- cause in order to keep a standing band in the school, the musicians should be started in the lower grades. The band played at the all-school play Johnny on the Spot and also at many of the assemblies. Also a joint concert with the Marshfield band was given toward the end of the year. Mr. Leach is a very capable and talented leader. In addition to this he is an excellent trumpet player, having an orchestra of his own which has played at many of our dances. SALVAGE DRIVE In the early fall many girls and boys aided in the collection of waste paper and scrap metal. They worked in groups of five or six, assisting in collecting and preparing the scrap for ship- ment. All together, many tons of tin and paper were gathered and shipped. For the part the school played in the salvage collections, Colonel Schuyler presented the school with a projector which will be used for showing slides. OTHER WAR ACTIVITIES Under the direction of the Scouts many of the girls have worked daily throughout the year at the Cohasset Hospital as nurses ' aides. They give from three to six hours of their time a week, and are employed in doing small necessary jobs around the hospital as they are needed. The girls say the work is very interesting, and since many of them wish to take up nursing as a career, it is very profitable training. Other girls have done their bit by rolling bandages for the Red Cross. Boys and girls alike helped out in the fall and early spring by working on the many farms in the vicinity. They also helped to pick apples at Bulrush Farm and did other odd jobs around town. Some of the girls collected money at the movie theater for the Red Cross and T. B. drives. LIBRARY ASSOCIATION A newly-formed group in Scituate High School is the Library Association. Its purpose is to help pupils in finding books which they need for as- signments and also to prevent loss and damage through carelessness in handling. The group is under the guidance of Miss Gile, who is in charge of the hbrary. Barbara Tindall is president; Anne Heffernan, secretary; and a committee made up of Ann Graham, Ligi Goddard, Ellen Calla- han and Albert Avery completes the organization. ASSEMBLIES The first assembly of the year was in charge of Mr. Wilcox to acquaint Mr. Nelson with the regular formalities of our assemblies. At the as-

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CHIMES 19 LUNCH PERIOD DANCING For a long time there has been a question about what the students should do during the ten or fifteen minutes after they finish lunch. It has been the custom of the pupils to congregate in the locker rooms, hall and cafeteria. Gathering in the halls caused confusion and blocked the passageways. Staying in the cafeteria made it difficult for the girl workers to prepare for the next lunch period. A committee of students selected from each class met with Mr. Nelson to discuss possibilities. They finally decided to have dancing in the au- ditorium as soon as the students had finished eat- ing. Music was provided by the piano, Louise Reddy playing for the first lunch period and Emily Whittaker for the second one. This short interval of entertainment affords opportunity for conversation and get-togethers that naturally cannot exist during class periods. The plan went over very well in the first lunch period, but in the second the older boys are very shy or re- luctant and prefer not to dance. COMMERCIAL NEWS In the fall, the senior stenography class issued a newspaper called the Commercial News. It contained news from each commercial class, jokes, shorthand notes, and other articles. The winter edition was made up by the junior class. This work gave the classes a chance to practise cut- ting stencils and mimeographing in an interesting and enjoyable way. SHOP There have been varied activities in the shop this year. Under the able supervision of Mr. Dodge, students have made many articles, from tie-racks to dressers. Lamps of all sizes have been turned on the lathes. The shop has some new machines which make the work easier. Mr. Dodge introduced a new and interesting subject to shop students this year, work in and study of plastics. Because of the war plastic was hard to get but with the supplies available, boys have fashioned many interesting and useful things. PRE-FLIGHT AERONAUTICS The pre-flight aeronautics course offers pre-in- duction training for boys who plan to join the aviation branches of the armed services. In this course basic principles of theory of flight, air- craft recognition, aircraft construction, aircraft engines, meteorology, and air navigation arc taught. Field trips and a number of moving pictures supplement regular classroom work. ART ACTIVITIES At the very beginning of the school year, Paul James and Polly Hardwick entered an art con- test at the Women ' s International Exposition in New York. Paul, a graduate of the class of 1944, submitted a water color painting, while Polly sent in a pencil sketch of one of the faculty, Mr. Wilcox. Paul received an honorable mention and a prize of ten dollars, and Polly re ceived a huge 1945 calendar with the twelve winning pictures on it. During the month of November and the first part of December, the art room was in a dither! Every available art student was working madly on linoleum blocks for a calendar they designed, using sketches of historic landmarks of Scituate. We made sketches, transferred them to the lino- leum blocks, and cut out the blocks. Henry ZoUin drew the Cudworth House; Ruthie Whit- taker, the high school; Albert Avery, Lawson ' s Tower; Josephine Miles, Minot ' s Light; Ora Brown, the Old Oaken Bucket; Alette Dolan, Second Cliff; Shirley Litchfield, the Hatherly School; Mary Fresina, the Jenkins School and the town seal; Madeline Riani, the Old Scituate Light. George O ' Neil entitled his sketch Moss- ing. Last but not least were Polly Hardwick ' s pictures of the Boston Sand and Gravel and the harbor with its boats and pier. The calendars were sold before Christmas for thirty-five cents each. In this way we made a little over fifty dollars which will go towards purchasing a drop curtain for our stage. Decorations for the class dances, and posters for various occasions, have been made in the art room. Just recently, some of the students in Junior and Senior High entered a contest put on by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The results of this contest have not, as yet, been tabulated.