South Side High School - Optimist Yearbook (Newark, NJ)

Page 3 text:

THE OPTIMIST —1958 City Schenls F . In the CUS = DY. |) a= ee mmuni- 1 may ‘operly Oint of | ‘eously | T Syed dtless The News has recently published con-| letters from the student bodies of | costs,| West Side and Weequahic high syery.| Schools, discussing the high aims of very: 4 the young people in the classes and ICES ! their desire to develop into worthy } citizens. Herewith, the South Side issue | High School Student Council offi- that] cers join the discussion with a retty thoughtful, well-reasoned letter. d, an! To the Editor: Sir—We are most happy to add our warm praise for the fine student bodies and faculties of West Side and Weequahic High schools and for their wish to publicize the many worth-while aspects of student life prevailing in. their schools. Ex- changes of South Side student dele- gations with East Side this term and with West Side and Weequahic |the year before have convinced us | that fine accomplishments are com- |ing out of all Newark schools. It is not just school pride that leads us to believe that we are as | well behaved, cooperative, diligent |and friendly a student body as may | be found anywhere in our state. Per- |mit us to cite a few observations ;made by outsiders about our overall conduct. After a track meet with an | out-of-city high school about a month | ago we received a letter from their coach that made us feel very warm. Part of his comment read: “We were most pleased with the courtesy and cooperation of your boys. This reflects excellent rela- tions between pupils and coaches and no doubt is indicative of good general school citizenship at South Side High.” Pride of Achievement While on the subject of sports, we might add that our record in sports ig one that over the years has found us among the leaders in city and county athletic competition in vari- ous fields. Our excellent school newspaper, The Hilltop Recorder, has won sev- eral prizes in the Columbia Scholas- tic Press Evaluation. A few months ago it received a letter-to-the-editor from an out-of-city high school pupil visiting our school for an entire day. A part of her comments read: What Is the Law? - “aw tation | yublic ‘eren- ound- r has aches gress tisla- dken 1ces, hers. 1 has neet- i Re- 3 hn con- dstin- yonse. st, got Now ie gat House I jury- il rights to the ion’s for- more Re- rats re- adminis- ation. In- nmodern ce Brown a White marking: that rel ZO 9 “Usually when someone visits a school the students are slightly cool toward the visitor, but the Sunny Siders all treated me as if I were one of them. The teachers included me in class discussions and in all corri- dors five or six students stopped to Saver Perhaps the cordiality and hospi- tality of our Hospitality Club con- tributes to such friendliness not only at PTSA meetings, but on all occa- sions. Incidentally, one of our girls was recently awarded the citywide PTSA scholarship for this term. Sir, our eagerness to accept re- sponsibilities, do the right thing and prepare for adulthood finds expres- sion in our school in many ways. We believe our student government is| one of the most effective and demo- cratic in our entire community, Year after year it helps many of us to develop qualities of responsible leadership and citizenship and fos- ters warm, friendly relationships and acceptance of each other regardless of race, creed or color. Day after day this student government helps to regulate the many student activi- ties with the sincere and considerate advice of an entire faculty and ad- ministration which is very much in- terested in our welfare, Our pride in the accomplishments of our very large vocal and instru- mental groups makes us wish we could sometime entertain the entire staff of The Newark News to a mu- sical program of the kind we put on twice a year. We might then make headlines! However, serious again, we are proud when the director of music for the Newark Board of Edu- cation sends us a letter that reads: “Friday night’s concert was superb! The music was outstandingly beauti- ful—the decorum and evident en- joyment of participants and audience was a joy to see,” Such a letter gives us as much or more pleasure than newspaper head- lines. These music groups have gladly provided many pleasant mo- ments for hospitalized people in St. Barnabas, Home for Incurables, the Hobby Club for Older People. Our band, cheerleaders and twirlers have often given voluntarily of their fine services to many civic celebrations and ceremonies. The J ast Spitfire ine Product South Side High’s Student Body Gives Views on Progress in Developing Newark’s n 5 ; Wilberforce and others, on scholar- Youth Thrift Encouraged Another school activity we are very proud about is the savings habit being encouraged for so many of us. Our school, according to the Howard Savings Bank officials, is almost at the very top of the entire state in the amount of money saved every year. On the subject of finances, we are also very willing to do all we can to help build, through stu- dent activities, the Scholarship Loan Fund intended for deserving pupils aiming for college. This term two of our students have been awarded | such help. | On the subject of scholarships a | ; goodly number of South Siders are, | or will be, attending Dartmouth, | Princeton, New York University, | Rutgers, Douglass, all of the New Jersey state teachers colleges, Up- sala, Newark College of Engineering, ships, and reports from deans of in- | struction indicate they are doing | very well scholastically and in social | growth. Our interest in the welfare of | others is shown by the many charity drives spearheaded in our school by the Red Cross Club. This grpup has made sizable collections for cancer, polio and Red Feather campaigns. It also has generously donated car- tons of toys for overseas children, the Crippled Children’s Hospital, baked cookies for veterans in the East Orange Veterans Hospital, sent Easter articles to the Holy Rosary Nursery in Newark. Sir, we could go on listing many| ; other worth-while student programs, In conclusion please note that all of | these activities are routine day-to- day affairs. All of our parents and all News readers would be happy to| be informed in more detail of all'| the many fine aspects of our growth | in all Newark schools. Please accen-| tuate the positive because thereby you also can help us grow. JOAN FORD, President. TROYCE BOWMAN, Vice President. MARVEL KING, Secretary. Officers of South Side High Student Government. Newark. West Orange Votes No WW FST Orange is a ‘ros w South Side High School Newark, New Jersey NJi ] [™ A off worn Uniy madi icle, remal. on hov EGS writer detect also fe f Pr