Technical High School - Tech Tiger Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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As the library is the heart of the school, Mrs. Brazeau is the nucleus of this room. We all know her from our fresh- man year when she introduced us to the library, our junior year when she assisted us with material for our themes, and our senior year when we’re old friends. The spirit captured in our library is familiar, for it represents Tech. We con- gregate there realizing we have been given adult privileges and must live up to them. The library acts as a sounding board for grievances, a mixing place for homework and recreation, and liaison between teach- ers and pupils. Our library is a place to be proud of — we are. As seniors, one main project is to study the classics, including Milton and Shakespeare. We also study modern writers, and of course we continue supplementary reading. Although the English fundamentals continue in our senior year as they have throughout our course, something new is added in this last year. We gain experience in interviews and in writing business letters. Also we get practice in taking objective tests such as we encounter in applying for entrance to college, the armed services, or employment. After gathering all the knowledge we are capable of in high school, we are ready to pass on to loftier fields. Accordingly, with this knowledge well in hand, we leave, Left to Right: Sean Boardway, U. S. A.; Wong Lam, Toy Lam, Canton, China; Angelo Passidakis, Sparta, Greece | } 11 Mrs. Brazeau better equipped to use and understand the English language than when we entered. Co-operating with the English department is the library, which should be the heart of the school. Tech can proudly say, “Ours is”, for a student may go there any time of the school day and find a pleasant, well-lighted room suitable for studying or just browsing. There is an atmosphere in this room of capricious moods that encour- ages people to stop by, maybe to pick up the newest fiction, or to do some plain, old fashioned cramming for “the” test. In this welcoming atmosphere, the library habit creeps up on a Techite fast. Left to Right: William Fraser, David Wilson, Clifton Johnson at the mike, Curtis Wyler operating the machine ; a F 1 3 you? uunds naan UF be o Dv: ‘MIND READERS !? ferer or mumbler ? + Gre you o mul . 4 Gre you a fade-out + Cre you a hesilctor’ + Cre yous alloper ‘igue Cre you a eker gobbler A) (On end ANALYZE your

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Senior Testing Program ENGLISH As many teachers remind us, English is one subject we cannot drop. Thus, in Tech, from our entrance as freshmen until our graduation as seniors, we take English. As freshmen we read books like Silas Marner and The Yearling; we get acquainted with classmates and teach- ers through talks and compositions on our interests, hobbies, and personal experiences. Such compositions occur all Miss Hilliker and News writing class and LIBRARY three years, but in our freshman year are stressed. Always we learn rules of grammar and spelling to improve our speaking and writing. Junior year, our interests turn to literature and re- search. We progress from novels and autobiography to essays, poetry, and drama. Later in the year a research theme is due. After this workout, the teachers, feeling we have had enough, pass us on to our senior year of English. Left to Right: Mr. Black, Miss Whalen, Miss Carey, Mrs. Lemay, Mrs. Tabackman, Miss Hawkins, Miss Adams, Mr. Doane, Mr. Briggs Since our English faculty consists of human beings, not slave driving monsters, they have hobbies like normal people. These go from singing to painting; pho- tography to sailing; and include bird lore, collecting records and books, and seeing how people live throughout the world. The years they’ve taught at Tech range from one to fourteen. Their outside ac- tivities include teachers’ Hadassah, and Martha Washington Stamp Club. Class advising, drama club, and organizations, service on the yearbook are some of their extra-curricular activities.

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Donald McLeon and Sally Elphinstone use Linguaphone in Spanish class French class seeking material in LaPressa For only four people, the teachers who for a living valiantly try to teach us some French, Spanish, or German have a wide span of interests. They have survived nine to twenty-five years of Tech and its pupils. Before this they have taught in other schools reaching from California, Pennsylvania, to Massachusetts. Mostly though, they have made their home here at Tech. For activities while in Tech, one finds being a Junior Class Advisor her interest, while another likes to participate in the Chess Club. After school, the women enjoy housekeeping, and making fancy cakes. Along with this they read, travel, take part in sports, and paint. The men paint also, particularily water-color painting. After this they mountain climb, hike, and garden. Any Techites having these teachers are very fortunate, for besides holding various degrees, these teachers have a wealth of experience and travel behind them upon which they base the knowledge which they willingly pass on to us. LANGUAGES As we wander through Tech on the second floor, we halt in surprise, for we hear odd sounds issuing from sev- eral rooms. Stopping to listen awhile, we try to determine what these weird noises are. We soon discover that they are just some earnest students trying their best to pronounce a few new words in French. Being intrigued with what is coming forth, we pause a while. It is soon shown to us that French is not all learning vocabulary and reading literature, but it also means mastering many grammar points, just like English. Now language minded and with one ear full of French, we move on to learn something about Spanish. This time, although the sounds still seem weird to us, they have a different swing to them. They also seem to have acquired a slightly metallic sound. We take a peek through the window, and discover that the class is learning Spanish with the help of a phonograph. This accounts for the metallic quality we noted a moment ago. After listening to the phonograph, the students themselves read, while a wire recorder takes down what they say. The recorder helps them to see their mistakes, and enables them to begin to sound like true Spaniards. Moving on down the hall, we come upon a class read- ing newspapers. Goodness, what can this be? Oh! it’s just a German class learning their German by studying a German newspaper. Through these papers the language classes learn much about Germany, the German people, and their customs. After all this language, we feel that we have learned enough to say an adios, an au revoir, and an auf wieder sehen to you. Left to Right: Fales Newhall, Mary McCarthy, Elsa Jaede, Howard Mitchell