St Sebastians School - Arrow Yearbook (Newton, MA)

Page 17 text:

school for the Catholic boys of Boston and the surrounding towns. It was to be staffed by members of the diocesan clergy, who were especially adapted to the work. The Cardinal determined that the School should be called St. Sebastian's Country Day School . He selected the martyred soldier saint to be the patron of the School because he felt that it harmonized best with the military spirit of the age. At the close of the interview, the Cardinal appointed Father Mclnnis to be the first Head- master, and directed that the first freshman class be opened in September. The new St. Sebastian's Country Day School found itself possessed of three build- ings, set in ten acres of land, on the summit of one of the highest hills in Newton. The buildings were indeed in a sadly dilapidated condition. The gymnasium was roofless, the school building had been wrecked by both weather and vandalism, and the dining hall was the drainage centre for the seasonal waters pouring down from the hill above it. It was necessarily determined that a complete program of physical renovation must be undertaken. From August lst until january lst, a large group of artisans tore down and built up at a furious pace. At times it seemed as though the work would never be com- pleted. Meanwhile, the time for the opening of the School approached. Only one building was even passably available, and that the dining hall. Accordingly, the dining hall was divided by a crimson velveteen hanging, which obviously had done service in some dramatic offering which called for a regal setting. The western end of the dining hall was furnished with the appropriate desks and chairs for students and teachers: the other end was equipped with dining tables and chairs. The kitchen had been entirely refurnished and newly equipped. On September 29, 1941 the new students picked their way precariously over yawning pits and scattered timber to enter a hall dedicated to education, though ofttimes redolent of food. There were twenty-one students on hand, with eight professors prepared to guide them through the mazes of the old classical forms. Slowly but surely the other buildings were rounded into shape. The School build- ing proper, beautifully renewed, this time including a lovely chapel, was opened for use in the second week in December. One month later, the gymnasium was com- pleted. St. Sebastian's Country Day School was finally set for the years ahead. That first year the faculty organized in the following fashion: Religion ,... ............................... F ather Mclnnis Latin ..... . . . Father Collins English ...... . . , Father Meehan Mathematics. . , . . . Father Sennott History ..,.. . . . Father McColgan French ,..... .,..... . . . Father Julien Physical Education ...,... . ...... . ........ .. . Mr. Bernard T. Duffy The first year was most interesting to all concerned. The faculty was finding its way, the students were receiving almost individual attention because of the small number registered, traditions were being set, and the first faltering steps into the world of sports were essayed with varied success. By the end of the year, the form of things to come was definitely emerging.

Page 16 text:

1 Z-Ni- 'iniv 211 -,.-gi . V -':'f -1, 5 gaifibffffg A . ,,. . :ilk p f 1 ,' K' I, ff'l Wm-f 's , ' SE 4? v '5'?'7 2' 74 al ys,'2 'g, 4 . 5 l A- 5 ' T'Q,+if1fJVi . is 'i wiiw i'T1 ff - ff!3f '.1E.:ff,,41ei5 l. tm ff A4 I fi, Vi:,f,.1-I-165 1. .' JPL' E,-:f'f75Q 'lH1,fii 'il' 'itzlfft 5? ' 1. 1 ' il 3545 . 3 'WI-f - -6-., if-'Mi-imiifiyaflu, a1iiif:5'4iL? ' fi:+f?'2f?'i,y' .'-'iff' 3' ' . 555 - fe fa, -1 751-:fi 1 , .s 1- .. 1 . . ,sr..z1--.Sm ... a:. F 4 7 ' ' 74' fi. 'tfv' -'JL' .li ds' 7 f1?'7-':':- G .:..,. ,L N.. t. Dx W X?-4 'T '1i3f-ff51?--1333! ' ,M X A 71 X S -T ?'3 i:sQQQ ti ' '-'Q if f -ata' . , fx.: 1 JST X Qt- fe Xi-E-x -Q N--- 17' - livlfi:i1:xftig iji5L'Xi5i4:g:'x K Y - ' -gz HISTORY OF ST. SEBASTIAN'S 1941-1945 Cwlxnwvur N July 14, 1941, the property of the old Newton Country Day lull' J' School on Nonantum Hill in Newton was purchased by Cardinal 5' if O'Connell. The Newton Country Day School had been, in its Q C incipiency, a novel experiment in the educational field. It was Ffh ,Gi the world's first Country Day School. The Country Day School 1 ii ? ' I 1 1 idea had been conceived by Professor Shirley K. Kerns, at the time a very successful teacher in the Middlesex School, at Con- cord, Mass. With the help of those interested in the education of boys of college preparatory age, Mr. Kerns purchased the site of the present St. Sebastian's Country Day School, and opened his school in 1907. The experiment proved to be highly successful. The Newton Country Day School flourished until 1939, when it finally closed its interesting career. For several years before this time, His Eminence, the Cardinal, had been consider- ing the need of a school for boys of the Newton Country Day type. It was necessary to obtain a property near enough to the City, and yet sufficiently removed to afford the necessary playing fields. In 1941, the attention of His Eminence was called to the old Newton Country Day School property. The buildings had been terribly wracked by the hurricane of 1938, and the months that followed the abandoning of the School had brought the inevitable deterioration caused by the New England climate. In spite of all this, the Cardinal purchased the property for the purpose of establishing a Country Day School for the Catholic boys of Greater Boston. On July 15, 1941, His Eminence called the Rev. Charles D. Mclnnis to his summer home at Marblehead and outlined his plans for the new School. Father Mclnnis had been one of the professors of Dogmatic Theology at St. john's Seminary for fifteen years. His Eminence specified that the School was to be strictly a college preparatory

Page 18 text:

Several precedents were set, which will no doubt become traditional in the School. First, at the end of each seasonal period, the Reds and the Blues played it out for the School Championship in each sport. These games engendered a tremendous amount of intramural spirit compounded of equal parts of heat and light. Second, two supper parties were organized, one at Christmas, and one at the end of the year, each followed by appropriate entertainment. These were held in the dining hall, and were most happily successful. At the final supper party of the year the practice was introduced of awarding a scholarship to the boy who led the class in scholastic attainment. Richard Donahue of Winchester received the first scholarship of this kind at the Year's End party in 1942. At this party also the athletic awards for the year were distributed for the first time. The year concluded on this pleasant and happy note. We of the student body turned to a welcomed summer vacation shadowed only by the ever thickening clouds of the war. SECOND YEAR The second year saw us re-assembling with the assurance of old-timers, diluted slightly by the knowledge that scholastic difficulties had thinned our ranks. To the sophomoric mind the presence of gullible freshmen afforded prospects of delight- ful fun. But the first attempt at mild hazing did not seem to meet with the approval of the Headmaster, and that form of entertainment was dropped abruptly and per- manently. We found that our class had had its ranks filled by the addition of several new students. The freshmen were finding their way with the halting uncertainty that novelty engenders in inferior minds. There were a few changes in the faculty. Fathers McColgan and Sennott, who had been loaned to the School by the Seminary for the first year, returned to the exclusive work of training the clerical students of the Archdiocese. Father McColgan was succeeded in the History department by Father Keating, and Father Flanigan took over the English course from Father Meehan. Father Meehan, who was also on temporary assignment, assumed the onerous duties which always bedevil the way of a teacher in mathematics. Father Cuffe established the course in Greek, which we found to be amazingly like Greek. The grounds had been landscaped during the summer, and a new drainage system had rid the dining hall and the school basement of the seasonal freshets which had annoyed professors and pupils alike during the preceding year. The student body settled into the easy movement of class work, salted by the occasional alarums and excursions caused by our attempts to find the wealg points in the disciplinary outworks thrown up against us. But the faculty proved to be not only alert, but tirelessly on guard. The freshmen were of no help in these crises. At the Year's End party along with other awards, both scholastic and athletic, the freshman, Myron Bullock, received the scholarship granted the freshman class. His work had been amazingly successful. On this occasion too, the custom was introduced of allowing the successful captains of the Red and Blue teams to hang on the walls of the dining hall a shield on which were inscribed the ,details of their victory. We might add that registration at the School for the new incoming class was quite heavy, even before we closed for the year. At this time, George Gilbert joined the Navy. He was our first Volunteer to the Armed Forces. THIRD YEAR The third year of the School showed a marked increase in the enrollment. There were thirty-five new freshmen. We had been hearing fine comments during the