Thomas Starr King Middle School - Echoes Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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The Aiiendance Office Encourages Thrifi' wifh Time One H undred Fourfeen We are diredred in 'rhe care of our maierials

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' THRIFT - We have a Thrift Department at work throughout the year, trying to establish thrift habits in all phases of our school life. In our Physical Education classes we learn to guard our health in order not to lose any school time or cause our parents extra burdens. In learning how to concentrate we are developing habits of study which teach us the true value of time. In learning to take good 'care of-.our books and clothes We are becoming respon- sible and reliable, which are the ideals of Starr League. Each week in our home room business meeting, we discuss Safety measures for preventing accidents. These discussions show us the value of human life and how to avoid accidents which mean suffering, expense, and loss of time. All of these habits go hand in hand with the saving of money. Our Thrift department checks very carefully on the regularity with which deposits are made in the bank. If a pupil makes deposits regularly-at least once each month-and also shows he has lived up to the other thrift habits of regular attendance, neatness, and carefulness, he is awarded ai Thrift Cer- tificate at the end of the term. He is at the same time helping his home room win the honor banner. The various home rooms are aroused to competition by having the greatest percentage of savers. Each new saver receives a button to wear telling that he, too, is a saver. The following is the organization through which we are constantly striving to add to our list of savers. There is a faculty committee guiding the committeemen from each home room. The captains from each grade section meet with their committeemen each Tuesday to outline the weekly talk to he given to the home rooms on Wednesday, business meeting day. A check-up is then made to see how many pupils are developing the habit of regular saving. History seems to show that most successful men and women have been thrifty. SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES The Thomas Starr King building is used :frequently by the various community Improvement Associations. This not only makes possible a ser- vice to the community, but brings to the attention of alert citizens the physical needs of the school. The school is closely tied up with the local librzuy. Girls from the library classes go to the local Branch Library and bring back a delightful spirit of co-operation. A most interesting community project was a Scout Dinner held in our school cafeteria. All the Scouts of the Northwest District met for dinner around the tables of our cafeteria. It was a grand rally, and certainly made for real community spirit. The girls in the cookery classes frequently give teas and invite their mothers and favorite teachers. Mothers and teachers seem to be able to understand boys and girls so much better if they can do it over a cup of tea. The Uteacup is so friendly! One Hundred Thirteen

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Once a month Boys' Starr League and Every Girl Club each have an open meeting to which all parents are welcome. At these meetings, mothers and fathers are happy to haye-fa first hand contact with the social program of the school. ' The B7 home room teachers act as hostesses for tea parties for the mothers of all the entering pupils. At these teas the mothers and teachers talk over the ideas and ideals of junior high school that are different from the elementary school. Once a year one .night isset aside for the boys and their Dads A good spirit prevails. Fun and frolic are there and all Work better after such an event. Groups of mothers meet frequently. llfleasures and progressive educa- tion are discussed. All of these activities and many more help to tell the life of the school more closely to that of the community. dnrzual, 1929 WHERE THE HARDEST WORK IS PLAY Wlieii a pupil hrst enters dramatics, he learns how to study plays. His first task is the finding out of the relationship of the various characters in the play. This entails careful perusing of the play, and forms in the pupil the habit of careful and penetrative reading. After having understood the general nature of the play's characters, the pupils proceed to read their lines. By noting such things as contrasts of words and coniiicts of characters, together with a careful study of the play's climaxes, and the looking up of such hard wordsfjas may be outside the reach! of his vocabulary, the pupil is enabled to read 'ivith greater expression and meaning. This last is further aided by a careful search for the beautiful thoughts that may be in the play, or the no less beautiful truths that may be voiced by some character. Throughout the B9 term the pupils also discover how to use and develop their voices. ln the A9 term of dramatics the pupils are initiated into the technique of a play. As this is the term of public interpretations, they also practice proper teamwork-the key to successful staging of a play. They must forget their own identity, and live before the audience only as the characters that they impersonate. That they have succeeded in doing so, is shown by the many successful plays they have produced. Most important among these are the semi-annual graduation plays, as Seventeen, Penrod and Sam - two of Tarkington's comedies on American life, The Big Race, a comedy on school life, and Once There Was a Princess. Besides these plays there are others given in mid season and these invariably prove interesting. Chief among these are, The Man Without a Country, -a well given interpreta- tion of that famous epic: A Slave With Two Faces, a study of fearg Pals, dedicated to the teacher of Dramatics and Not Quite Such a Goose. Marry other plays for special events have been produced, not the least among them being: Fingers, CA Drama of Boy Lifej, Samuel French. The Exchange, Althea Thurston. T heir Tomorrowsf' Tacie May Hanna. One Hundred Fifteen