Woonsocket High School - Quiver Yearbook (Woonsocket, RI)

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THE QUIVER 21 EDITORIAL STAFF HARRY LEON, ’14, Editor-in-Chief. LORENZO EMIDY, ’15, Business Manager RUTH HARRISON, ’14. GLADYS DAY, ’14. NOVELLA EASTMAN, ’15. HELEN KELLY, ’16, KATHRYN NORRIS, ’17. EDITORIALS During the past year many changes have taken place at our school. Chief among these were the changes in the faculty. Miss Amey J. Cook, teacher in English, and Mr. E. B. Hill, the Commercial teacher, resigned, greatly to the regret of the students. Their places have been taken by Miss Jane M. Given and Mr. Philip J. Palmer, Furthermore, the faculty has been strengthened by the addition of Miss Muriel Mc-I ec, W. H. S., 1908, and of Mt. Holyoke, 1913. Miss McFee has charge of the German classes and of some of the Algebra classes. There have also been several important changes in the school curriculum. Greater freedom of choice than ever before is being allowed the students. The French classes have been opened to the Freshmen, Solid Geometry has been shifted from the fourth year to the third, and Chemistry from the third year to the fourth. Physics has been made a third year subject. Manual Training classes for the boys have been begun. Probably the most important innovation was the introduction of Science for first-year students. This subject comes twice a week, and has been compulsory for all Freshmen. Since the French course has been extended to four years, why should there not be a three years’ German course? Two years of German satisfies only the elementary requirements for college entrance, and one wishing to present advanced German is now unable to do so. Most high schools have a three years’ German course, and if a sufficient number of Freshmen should express their willingness to take the subject next year, there would very probably be a class. German is not

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20 THE QUIVEIl A TRIP TO THE STATE HOUSE On the twelfth of February, 1914, our class in Commercial Geography left on the 10:40 car for Providence, accompanied by Mr. Palmer, our teacher. The ride down was very enjoyable. We got off at Hill Street and walked to the State House. It was very cold, and in spite of one pupil's saying, “This is like Palm Beach, we could not imagine it so. We waited for a few minutes in the lobby for a guide. In the lobby are some cannon and flags. The guide soon appeared and conducted us up stairs. On the first landing is the seal of Rhode Island made in the floor. We first visited the Governor's reception room. 7he table is of Italian marble, and the guide pointed out to 11s the figures of a Puritan, an old lady, a girl, and several other things that can be seen very plainly. We were allowed to sit in the Governor's chair, which is in the east end of the room. Hanging from the middle of the ceiling is a chandelier, which, we were told, contains over five thousand pieces of glass. Over the fireplaces are two oil paintings, one of George Washington and the other of Nathaniel Green. They ore very beautiful and can not be bought for any amount. Leaving the reception room, we visited other places of interest. We were shown through the Senate Chamber and House of Representatives. The corridors are lined with oil paintings of ex-governors. I rom one of the windows we got a fine view of the east side of Providence. W e visited the room of the Secretary of State, and saw a charter from King George. At one o clock we went to the gallery of the House of Representatives to see how the business is transacted. On account of its being Lincoln’s Birthday, there was not much work done, but we got an idea of what it is like. It took several minutes for the House to come to order, in spite of the fact that the Speaker rapped several times. The pages were standing at the back of the room, and when a Representative arose to read a paper, a page would run to him and stand by him until he had finished; he would then take the paper to the Speaker's desk. The Senate and House came together after a few minutes and had a program to celebrate the day. We had only time to hear Senator Sullivan of Newport give the Gettysburg address and Lieutenant-Governor Burchard, a story of the life of Lincoln. At quarter of two most of the class left the gallery and went to the dome. The rest of the day was spent by some in Providence, while others returned to Woonsocket, well pleased with the trip. HAZEL M. BEAUREGARD. ’If,.

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22 THE QUIVER only a useful subject, but also a very interesting one. It is a pity that so few of our students are taking advantage of it. At last, at last, the great ambition of the people of Woonsocket is being realized. At last the High School, which we have patiently awaited for so many years is nearing its completion, and in a few months more will be ready for the use of our students. A noble structure it will be, a fitting memorial to those who have made it possible, a school of which all the people of this city, young and old, will have good reason to be proud, an institution of learning which will send forth into the world worthy representatives of our community. Day by day it rises, and soon its doors will be opened wide to all who may desire to enter and gain knowledge. No more will persistent freight trains chug their way into the hearts of teachers and pupils, driving their souls to a silent frenzy, violent expressions of which are with difficulty suppressed; no more will streams of water from the laboratories drip down to the recitation rooms below to the great consternation of him who may be sitting in the way; no more will fragments of plaster fall from the ceilings, endangering the heads of those underneath; no more will mice crawl into the principal’s desk and feast upon his lunch, or boldly enter classrooms, frightening the girls and invoking a shower of erasers and other missiles from the boys; no more will large classes be crowded into small and poorly ventilated rooms, the windows of which must generally be kept closed to shut out the noise and smoke of the trains. All these conditions are about to come to an end. Our recitations will be uninterrupted by trains, and our nerves will remain unimpaired; the ceilings will be firm so that one need not look upon them with apprehension; mice and other rodents will dread we hope, to enter the sanctuary; and pupils will be able to gather in classrooms with ample space in which to move about, and with fresh air to breathe. Now the Freshmen will have an opportunity to gather in the assembly hall with the other classes on special days and derive benefit from the words of the speakers: now the science and drawing pupils will have sufficient apparatus with which to do their work ; and now the students will be able to indulge in athletics for the amelioration of their physical constitution. With the completion of our High School a new era in education is hefore us. Among the youth of this city a desire for learning will, we trust, be awakened, a desire which has long been dormant, as is evi-denced by the small percentage of students in our school. Those who have begun their high school education will be more likely to continue until they graduate. In a few years