Woonsocket High School - Quiver Yearbook (Woonsocket, RI)

Page 24 text:

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

Page 23 text:

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

Page 25 text:

THE QUIVER ‘23 the number of students will perhaps be doubled and Woonsocket will be able to hold its own in numbers among the cities of the United States. Yes, a new era is awaiting us, an era of efficiency and prosperity, influenced by an increase in culture among our citizens. With thj coming of our new High School an important question has arisen. It is a generally admitted fact that every high school stu- iuit should have an adequate lunch at noon. Lunches brought from I' ine usually amount to but little, and are far from satisfying. Under ire present conditions it has been impossible to have a lunch counter which might supply the needs of the students. A satisfying lunch should be .available to every student at a low price, and especially so. 'hen it is considered that there is a growing tendency in favor of lengthening the school day. Therefore, those who have the authority to do so should see to it that our new High School be well equipped in this respect. new and very pleasing feature which has been introduced at the school is the taking and preserving of group pictures of the various s' hool organizations. There have been photographs taken of the ath-k tic teams, the girls' gymnasium class, the school orchestra, and the g aduatir.g class, all of which will be carefully preserved, so that, in tl e future, they may awaken pleasant reminiscences of former times. Uuthermore, a list of the graduate and information about each is be-i'.g kept. Hitherto there has been no such record, and the addresses ot graduates of the school in former years had been lost, with the result that it was a very difficult task to trace them. All hail to the revived Woonsocket High School Alumni Association! May it long endure! SCHOOL NOTES A weekly magazine, printed in French, L'illustration, has been subscribed for by the school board for the French classes. The registration this year has been 280, a gain of 26 over last year. Since the school was opened 39 years ago, this gain has been equalled cnly twice, in 1892 and in 1901. Although the attendance has been greater this year than last, there have been 150 less cases of tardiness, and 270 less than the year before. Of the pupils in attendance, 28 per cent, were born outside of Rhode Island, and 40 per cent, were born outside of Woonsocket. The following states are represented: Maine 6, New Hampshire 2, Ver- mont 1, Massachusetts (19 towns) 38, Connecticut 3, New Jersey 2, South Carolina 1, Illinois 1, Montana 2. Foreign countries are also