Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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PAGE TWO STGNEHAM SCHDDLS JUNE 1951 Stoneham Baseball 1951 Faced with the well nigh im- possible task of duplicating the star-studded record of last year’s Stoneham High team, the present edition of the DeTesomen have their hands full. Last year’s lea- gue champs presented their suc- cessors with but one returning veteran, Eddie Casey; the rest of the present squad had to be select- ed from a mediocre and youthful junior varsity nine. Accordingly, the present team, composed as it is of sophomores and juniors, presents a task of building for future seasons. A better than average junior varsity team this year, plus a junior high aggrega- tion that represents encouraging ninth grade potentials, a zeal and spirit that pervade all squads — these are the factors that promise bright skies on Stoneham’s future baseball hori- zon. S toneham Schools | Junior-Senior High Have Good Attendance School Enrollment The following is the attend- ance record during 1950-51 East School 95 percent Emerson School 94 percent North School 95 percent South School 93 percent Robin Hood School 94 percent Junior High School 96 percent Senior High School 96 percent Average 95 percent The children are to be con- gratulated on a record of 95 per cent attendance during the past year. According to the best possible figures there will be another in- crease of over 100 in the Stone- ham Junior-Senior High School next year. If this continues, the problem of looking after these increases will become more acute. In 1960 there will be at least 1600. The present high school building has a capacity of 750 and some kind of a build- ing program is needed to care for the future enrollment of Stoneham Schools. A phase of the School Health Program is the testing of ears. The pupils of grades 2 through 11 are tested in groups. The first grade pupils and those discovered to have defective hearing, after the group testing has been checked are then tested individually. Miss Viola Hathorne, the school nurse, is testing Paul Farrell in the picture shown above. Demand For Business Course Graduates Still High Don’t try to tell Stoneham High School girls that thirteen is unlucky! That’s the number of seniors from the business course already happily at work in desirable full-time positions, positions with starting salaries that average better than $30 a week. That is the proud record thus far for 1951 of the high school placement office under its capable director, Mrs. Mar- garet G. Garvin, but it should be no surprise. Last year, too, every qualified graduate was successfully placed. Such results are not an acci- dent. Repeatedly, now requests for girls come from business concerns which have previously employed graduates of 1950 and or funds for further education are not available, the opportu- nities of this course deserve seri- ous consideration. The business world i s constantly seeking skilled help and is prepared to pay for it. The work of the placement office, of course, neither begins nor ends when a girl gets a job. Much preliminary work in contacting business firms pro- vides a list of the jobs that will be available, and later on, tests and interviews are arranged. Once the girls start on the job, the school follows their progress very closely. As a result it is often possible to help employers adjust minor difficulties, and al- so to secure valuable informa- e arlier years. These calls reflect the continued confidence of em- ployers in the sound business training Stoneham girls receive. They reflect too their confidence in the judgment of the place- ment director. The simple truth is that there are more jobs for skilled gradu- ates than there are qualified candidates, according to Mrs. Garvin. This fact, she continues, has special significance for par- ents with children going into grade nine and about to choose a course of study. Certainly in cases where either the interest Training For Citizens S t 0 n eham’s Americanization class is conducted on Monday and Thursday evenings from 7-9 at the High School. Older per- sons and those unable to go to school evenings receive help at their homes on Thursday after- noons. The course begins on Oc- tober first and concludes on April first each year. The subjects taught are: 1. Study of the United States Government and its Constitu- tion. 2. Simple reading and writing for illiterates. 3. English construction for the advanced pupils. 4. Backgrounds of American History. 5. American way of life. Pupils are shown an occasion- al film — one which has to do with government study. Also, they are introduced to our Pub- lic Library and its privileges. Once a year the classes con- tion for further improving the training which the school offers. Although the work of the placement office deals principal- ly with students in the business course, it is not confined to this group. On several occasions stu- dents in both the college and general course have been suc- cessfully placed, and it is hoped to expand this service as time goes on. Part-time placement is also handled at the school, and increasingly townspeople have begun to call this office when they need help of this kind, as noted in the above picture of Leo Barbo, Shirley Ewing and Margaret Gavvin. Teachers Visit Homes Last fall the elementary teach- ers took over the job of visit- ing every home and taking a census of all boys and girls be- tween ages of five and eighteen years of age. This contact made it possible for parents to be- come better acquainted with the teachers and aided the School Committee in getting the cor- rect information for the state aid. duct an exhibition of treasures which they brought from their native countries. First and second papers are filled out, checked and mailed to the Naturalization Bureau. Everything is done to develop in these pupils the highest stan- dard of citizenship. Besides our own Stoneham foreign-bom, we have pupils from Woburn, Read- ing and Wakefield who pay tui- tion to get into this course.

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STONEHAM SCHOOLS VDL. I, NO. 1 PUBLISHED BY THE SCHDDL COMMITTEE STONEHAM, MASS. Faculty Meetings During the year the faculty have been carrying on a program of general school information, so that all teachers may become ac quainted with every phase of Stoneham Schools from first grade to twelfth year. This has included a demonstration of read- ing in the primary grades and an exhibit of arithmetic material. They have explained the place- ment of seniors in high school into regular employment and the guidance program. The entire social studies, commercial sub- jects, foreign languages, science, and English were considered. The special curricula in art, music, health, home economics, indus trial arts and audio visual aids were discussed. Those teachers who participated did an excellent job and a much better understand- ing of the school system has been accomplished. High School Band Th e High School Band will conclude its activities for the year with participation in the observances here on Memorial Day. High spots during the year have been the football games, Boston University High School Day, the Firemen’s Parade, and the Spring Concert. Band membership should in- crease next year. The group will not be as hard hit by gradua- tion as in previous years and benefit should begin to be felt from the grade school instru- mental program. It is planned to admit as members those who are now in junior high school and those newly entered pupils who have progressed sufficient- ly in their musical studies. Everett Hunt Retires Mr. Everett Hunt has served Stoneham as a selectman and was a School Committee mem- ber for many years. During the nine years that he was a select- man he worked for the new post office, the Border Road im- provement, the new Town Hall and served as chairman of the Better Housing Program. He has been a member of the School Committee for twelve years, and served as chairman for eleven years. He is an advo- cate of better schools and par- ticularly for a number of years has urged the citizens of Stone- ham to seriously consider a new senior high school building. He j was a member of the Building j Committee of the Robin Hood School. In retiring, the School Com- mittee feels that he will be a distinct loss although he assures them that he will continue to show his interest in all school activities. He has served the community of Stoneham well and deserves the appreciation and thanks of every citizen. Instrumental Music One of the projects undertak- Girls’ Glee Club, Gilda V. Wip- en by the music department this year was the organization of in- strumental instruction in the elementary grades. The instruc- tor of the wood wind and brass instruments for the elemen- tary grades is Mr. Paul Monaghan: for the junior high school, Mr. Victor Ferri; and the instructor of the stringed instruments in both the elemen- tary and junior high schools is Mr. Harold Sawyer. A concert was presented by the ele- mentary school children in May. Mr. Ferri and Mr. Sawyer’s groups entertained at the Par- ent-Teacher meeting on May 16. The annual Spring Concert of the high school music clubs was held on April the thirteenth at the Stoneham Town Hall Audi- torium with the following organ- izations participating: Band, Chester P. Jordan, Con- ductor; Orchestra, Rolland Tap- ley, Conductor; Boys’ Glee Club, Calvin K. Schraga, Director; ; perman. Supervisor of Music; Senior and Junior High School Choirs. For the second consecutive year the junior high school choir was represented at the Northeastern Massachusetts Mu- sic Festival held in Marblehead on .May fifth. Rolland Tapley, who brings to his work with the Stoneham High School Orchestra a thor- oughly professional approach, was proud indeed to introduce the newly acquired set of tym- pani at our Spring Concert. They were excellently handled by Rob- ert Simmons. These are the ma- chine kettle drums which are tuned by the feet of the per- former to actual notes of the scale. When asked to name a typical problem which faces the conduc- tor of such a group, Mr. Tapley surprised us with this answer: “That of getting the glamour Continued on Page Four

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JUNE 1951 STDNEHAM SCHDDLS PAGE THREE Winter Carnival - 1951 Adult Education Stoneham takes great pride in the opportunity it offers adults to continue their education. It A leader in student member- ship, the Blue and White Club exemplifies school spirit with its aim of scholarship, loyalty, and sportsmanship. Besides the Boy’s Glee Club and the Blue and White Scholarship, it sponsors the Win- is the only town in this vicinity which maintains an evening school and makes it possible, through the payment of a small fee, to have non-residents take advantage of its eiducational courses. The school is in session from Oct. 1 until the end of March and meets Monday and Thurs- day evenings. An enthusiastic class of 64 members received certificates this year in either shorthand, typewriting, English, or sewing. As part of the closing exercises, the sewing class presented a fashion show, demonstrating the work that was done. The sew- ing teachers served as commen- tators in giving details of com- parative costs, modern methods, etc. Students in the commercial subjects were presented certifi- cates not only for the comple- tion of the prescribed courses but also some received awards for special work in shorthand and typewriting. These special awards were for eligibility for membership in the Order of Gregg Artists or for artistic or speed typewriting offered by the Credentials Department of the Gregg Publishing Company. It is commendable to note that the work for these special assign- ments was done outside of class hours since the class schedule does not allow for extra work of this nature. Because there is no age limit or educational requisite for those who wish to enroll, the members range from those who were unable to graduate from ' high school to those with col- lege degrees who wish to take refresher or new courses. This means the courses must be made flexible in order to meet the needs of all students. However, the requirements are stringent enough to make pupils feel a sense of accomplishment when ter Carnival, a fun filled week of hockey, skating races, skiing and basketball, climaxed by the coro- nation of the king and queen at the spectacular Carnival Ball. This 1951 version of the glitter- ing spectacle featured a winter wonderland motif. A spectacular series of acts and skits — featuring such talented performers as John Burr and John McLaughlin in “The Spaniard That Blighted My Life,” and the Junior High group in “Frosty the Snowman,” — was presided over by beautious queen Ann MacLean and popular king Richard Shurtleff. they complete the course or courses satisfactorily. In order to offer a flexible course and at the same time maintain high standards, this means a great deal of extra and individu- al work must be done by the teachers. The teachers ac- cept this as a challenge and feel that it is a joy to teach students who attend from choice and ' who are eager to learn. This attitude on the part of the students inspires the teachers to give their best because they feel their efforts yield commensurate returns. Writing Committee Education is in the process of change and development. Every scientific study shows that man- uscript writing is the most suit- able for the child’s early writ- ten expression. It is now used in the vast majority of the cities of our country. A writing committee consist- ing of Misses Irene Bagley, Jo- aquina Malva, Louise Wood, Es- ther Melkonian, Marguerite Ver- rill, and Ruth Gerrish, chairman, was appointed September, 1951 by Miss Alice E. Fernow, Ele- mentary Supervisor, to study the writing situation in the Stone- ham Schools and to compare the results of cursive and manu- script writing. This committee has come to the conclusion that manuscript writing is best suit- ed to the muscular development of both hand and eyes in the primary grades. Manuscript writing is much simpler than cursive because letters are easi- ly formed, using only straight lines, circles and curves. The familiar symbols which the child sees every day in his •reader are the symbols which he sees when he writes. A dou- 1 ble set of symbols is confusing to the child and difficult to re- member. Manuscript writing is accurate, neat and legible. In manuscript basic handwriting the transition from unjoined to joined writing is accomplished without confusion. Many courses of study have been compiled to develop the manuscript type of writing. This committee has met month- ly and after listening to an ex- pert from each company stress the good points of his system of manuscript writing, the com- mittee has agreed that the books School Costs In Stoneham In a study made by Superin- tendent Raymond C. Burdick out of twenty-five towns in Massa- chusetts with populations be- tween 10,000 and 20,000, Stone- ham’s educational cost in 1950 was very low — $173.63 per pu- pil. Eighteen schools had a high- er cost and the average cost was $187.19 while the state’s average was $203.94. Another in- dication that Stoneham is low in cost is that only 31c of the town tax dollar is spent on schools and the average 38c is spent by these same towns. According to a study of sal- aries in these towns, Stoneham had an average of $3032 per year and the towns’ average was $3129. This indicates that the salary schedule is about av- erage with other comparable communities. On the other hand a further analysis shows the per pu- pil wealth (assessed valuation) is higher than the average of these towns. Stoneham has $9778 per pupil while the average is $9560. In other words, Stoneham can afford a better educational program including kinderga ' rt- ens and industrial arts, if the tax payers are willing to pay for it. Certainly there is need for improving the maintenance of the Junior-Senior High School, by Stone and Smalley, published by Charles Scribners’ Sons, will benefit the Stoneham Schools to a greater degree than any other system. The committee recommends that manuscript writing be adopted in grade one in the Stoneham Schools starting Sep- tember, 1951. Cursive writing will be introduced in the second half of the second grade instead of in the beginning of the first grade. Open House During the year every school had had at least one “Parent Night.” Picture shows a science class in high school in which each parent attends the classes of their children. Parents have shown much interest in meeting the teachers and discussing the work of their children. School exhibits and special programs were also carried on in the elementary schools. When the parent shows interest in the school system, the children will certainly do a better job.