Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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taop: EI (i I it THE w. IT. s. dei}atp:h THE CO M VIEHCIAL OEPART VIENT H OW many people liave ever thonjulit of the ad- — vauta -e the Coininercial Departmeut affords W the pupils of the Waketiekl Hiy-h School? Perhai)8 if more cousideratiou was gfiven this course, there would be more interest sliowu in it. What does this department afford the averatje boy and girl who must leave school after their hijj-h school course? This is the only departmeut in the school in which the boys and girls are fitted to earn tlieir own living- after graduating-. It (jualities the student to take dictation witl) the average stenograi)her and gives him a moderate rate of speed in ty])e-writing-. C ' omi)lex book-keeping is also taught while letter-writing re- ceives careful and thorough attention. But with all these advantages there is still one very necessary thing lacking in this Iepartment. That is room space to accommodate all the classes. The com- mercial department in the Wakefield High School numbers eighty-two students. At certain times in one of the three rooms used for this department, there are fifty i)ui)ils some studying and some reciting at the same time ; wliile in the next room, separated by a partition which is merely a frame work, Iwenfy-four or twenty-five type writers are going at once. Other students are forced to study in a room wiiich should be used for drawing purposes only, and whicii has no desks or conveniences for liolding pajjcrs or books. li some of the good citizens of our town would come and visit our school and note the crowdeil conditions, I am sure that they would go away thorouglily con- vinced that the right time has come for our town to have a new high school. 31ari()n- Kennkdv, Com. ' 15. Her manners are beyond criticism. She does not chew gum, neither does she laugh or talk loudly in ]nib- lic places, or at the office. She regards i)unctuality as a necessity, and arrives at the office a little before time, rather than late, and IS not afraid to remaiii after hours, if there is any- thing to be done. Accuracy is a very important element in the making of an ideal stenographer. She i)ractises shorthand until she can read it cpiickly and accurately. H ' an em])lojer has to wait for liis stenographer to make out shorthand o itlines in a liurry letter, it oftentimes loses liim busi- ness. Accuracy aiail ability to read notes (juickly are necessary to the ideal stenographer. ' Anyone can write shorthand, but if he cannot read it, what is it worth? There is no profession in whicli there is so much neeil of good t nglish, as there is in stenograi)hy. If the employer lacks a good knowledge of English, and makes an error in dictating, the stenograjiher must correct it. But if the stenographer is the one tiiat is deficient in this respect, and the errors are not cor- rected, tlie em])loyer is likely to be ridiculed, and he will soon find it necessary to get a new assistant. The ideal office assistant is very careful about her spelling. Careless mistakes in siielling, such as p ' inciple for ' l)rincipal, know for no ' to for ' too , are ver.v annoying, and show very little thought on tiie part of the stenographer. The ideal stenogra])her regards honesty as the best l)olicy . She is always ready to admit an error, and while at the office considers only the interests of lier emi)l()yer. Siie is courteous and considerate at all times, as she is the representative of iier employer. A stenographer, having these cljaracteristics, is work- ing to success, and deser es to be called an ideal office assistant . i I. E. KicKKK, Commercial ' 15 THE ID6AL OFFICE ASSISTANT Our building is a hive of ind.ustry from morning till THERE are many necessary- (lualitications in the making of the ideal (flii ' e assistant, but ai - evening and, in the winter months, even into (he night. pearance is regarded as the most essential. With the forenoon sessions for upper classes and after- The ideal office assistant dresses neatly, and noon sessions for the freshmen, the elementary Evening attractively. i)ut not in the extreme of fashion, taking pai ' ticular notice of the little but iinijortant things, that help to make an attractive |)ei-sonal appearance, such as shtjcs i)olished, hair combed in a becoming manner, finger nails neatly manicured. At the office she shows the utmost care in keeping her desk and offic-e sur- roundings in order. School and School for .Millinery, the Boys ' Debating Society, the (iirls ' l)el)ating Society, the monthly meet- ing of the Wakelield I mi)ro enient .Vssociation. and the regular meeting of tlie (iirN ' (Jlee Club, there woidd seem to be little further use to which the building- eoulil be put. We wonder that the janitor can tind oppor- lunitx to keep the building in condition.

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THE W. II. S. DEI5ATEH pa(4p: 8p:vex tried the newspapers, but they liave au agfreeineiit ainoug- themselves not to advertise in anything but newspapers. At last we succeeded in getting; an ad- vertisement from a jewelry house, but the proprietor is a resident of Wakefield. After the advertisements and the reading matter have been sent to the printer, comes the long j d) of cor- recting ' proofs. Tliia reijuires a visit at the printing- office at least once a day for about three weeks. After the pai)er has been printed and bound, the managei-s must begin to make plans for the sale of the paper. They naturally rely uiK)n the school to back them in the enterprise, but again they are doomed to disappointment. In planning for the publication of the last Deuatek, we estimated that we couhl safely reckon on selling- copies to one liaif the student body. When all returns were in, we found that one hundred and fifty-two of a student )ody numbering four hundred and seventy-six l)upils, had bought coj)ies — twenty coj)ies going to the Freshman class, numbering- one huiulred and torty i)U- pils. Judging fi-om tlie criticisms that we hear favorable and otherwise, there is no lack of interest in the enter- prise. What is the matter then, and what shall we do about it ' i M. W. TiiuKsiiKi:. ny FIKST SCHOOL DAy IN LONG TROUSeRS With Ai-oi.ixjies to R. ] I. I). 1 STAIiTEI) for school one bright Maich morn- ing, feeling very big in n)y fiist i)air of long S trousers. I had at last i)ersuaded my father to let me put them on, though he still maintained that fifteen was too young I was walking along quietly, occupieil with ray thoughts, never di ' eaming that anyone was near, when I heard some one giggle, and on turning around I saw two girls whom [ had known for a great many years. They were laughing and giggling, seemingly very much amused at their conversation, though I was too far away to hear what they said. In spite of my embar- rassment I trieil to appear nonchalant and natural. I kicked the stones from my path, threw several into the air and caught them, broke up sticks and threw them far and wide, and jumjied a low fence; but the girls only laughed the more. When I arrived at Main street the upper classmen were just going to drill and I heard some remarks not very complimentary, such as Aren ' t the babies grow- ing up quick? ' Gee, some class to the ' freshie ' , which made me feel very small and insignificant. The freshmen boys greeted me more kindly ; several congratulated me. Hut the girls all laughed and one remarked, Doesn ' t he look cute ! J ut when her com- panion said ' Some cJass ' ' I couldn ' t stand it any longer, and I replied, ' Well, you know what you can do, if you don ' t like them. I regretted this at once, as it brought a laugh from the jjujiils in the corridor and someone said, Pretty touchy, isn ' t he ! I could feel my face grow red and I hurried to my seat, though I ilid not arrive there without accidents- I trip])ed over the feet of several boys and buini)ed into a girl, knocking a l)ook from her hand. When I returned it to her, she looked me over from my head to my licels and grinned. I was never so thankful before for the shelter of my desk cover, and I did not i)ut it down until the last bell rang. In class the teachers called me Mr. instead of Master, and that also made the boys laugh. I decided that I had been ridiculed enough for one day and would take the car home from school. I rode on the front platform with the motorman and succeeded in escaping the eyes of the i)asseiig-ers. I was just a few feet from home and was beginning to breathe freely again, when I heard S(»me one cough, and looked uji to meet the siuiling eyes of one of my schoohriates. IShe seemed to be stricken with a chok- ing fit, but her cough didn ' t sound natural. Feariug her ((uestions, I started for the house on a run, fol- lowed by the taunting remark, Fraid cat. I was thankful when at last the door closed behind nie. IJut I did not ha e peace even then, as my small brother greeted me with, ()h. Mama, see Bobby in his new trousers. He ' s a real grown-up man. Aw, shut up, I ' ve heard enough of that today, I said. That was tlie last straw, and I rusheil up the stairs to the seclu- sion of my room. L. C. S., ' 18. The High School always welcomes the Grand Army Veterans. Their presence at the Friday session before Memorial Day is an inspiration to nobler living- and higher thinking. They personify unselfishness. We sit at their feet in loving respect and honor.

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THK W. H. S. DKBATKK rA(iE XINK c=; a l}=3 Issued b J the Senior Class olt the WdkeHeld High School Alec G. Williams Margaret Clark ) Marion Keiitiedy ) Millard Threslier Arthur Maxwell Noriuau Kiutjstou Eliot Z wicker Editor. Assistant Editors. Business Manayer. Assistant Business ! lana j:er, Exchange Editor. Athletic Editor. T we sTRioe HIS Dkuatku is the jood-l).ve number for the memhers of the Senior class. Tlie time has come when we must say oood-hye to the teacdiers who have helped u«i, and the huildiny- which has sheltered us. We are about to drop the baud which has led us, and to strike out for ourselves. Let us strive. The world with its work and play, pleasures and sor- rows, is ours, and we must use it an l use it well. Let us not forijet we are of the seneralion which must soon rule the land. As we step on to the staye, some- body steps off, and in jroino- says, My place is yours, use it well. Let us never fortjet the ideals which have been tauoht us. Let us give our lives to the world, that the world may be benefited by them. Oh, friends, let us be good, be honest, be true, merciful in l)ower, and courageous in trouble. May the light of (io( shine ever upon us. The Dekatkr says good-bye and God speed to the class of 1915. OiK fathers are citizens of liie town of Wakeliehl. ' IMiey are good citizens and we are prou l of them. We are citizens of the Wakefield High School. We also must be good citizens. The Debater questions if the citizens of our school live up to their citizenshii) as well as the citizens of the town of Wakefield. The town of Wakefield goes to great expense each year, that its streets may be clean and beautiful. Do the citizens of our school attend to paper in the aisles and empty desks? The town of W akefield maintains good order in its midst. Do the citizens of our school liave tlie same respect for law ? l,et us think this over from the teachers ' i)oint of view, (iet to know the teachers. We shall discover that they are human, after all, and have many of the same views of life that we have. If we were to do these little things, and other duties that come our way, we should indeed be citizens of a community that we could be proud of. Let us remem- ber that in our little town we have the opportunity to accpiire those qualities which make for good citizenship- In two of the greatest disasters on the sea that the world has ever known American men have shown that they can die like heroes. Let us, the living, show that we know how to live like heroes. 1mim;ovk your oiq)ortunities. Young man in the Freshman class, have you improved your opportunities this winter? Are you going to become a Sophomore