Wyomissing Area High School - Colophon Yearbook (Wyomissing, PA)

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ENGLISH Twelfth Grade English Mild melee A solid foundation in the English language is nec- essary for success in almost any occupation one can choose. In Wfyomissingis program of expert instruct- ion, each brick of knowledge is securely laid in its place. Junior high English is under the able direction of Mrs. Helen Getz, who tackles the job of converting would-be spellers into polished writers ready for the Mrs. Helen Getz Mr. Russell Milford 18 Eighth Grade English A spelling test rigors of the senior high course. Students in grades seven, eight, and nine work for competence in gram- mar, literature, and composition.Much stress is placed upon spelling and vocabulary training is carried out in oral and written assignments which cultivate the ability of clear self-expression. Book reports come once a month, giving the student the opportunity to be- come well-versed in classical and contemporary lit- erature. This year one half of the eighth grade is taught English by Mrs. Florence Schrack, who includes the reading of Evangeline in her course. Thus, in these important years, the foundation is laid for a more advanced course in which all of these fundamentals are put to use. Dangling elements and misplaced modifiers can re- ally get one down, but in a senior high class, the studentis morale is always bolstered by Mr. Russell Milfordls Every-present humor. The use of the Read- er's Digest, grammar books, vocabulary aids, and lit- erature augment the course in tenth and eleventh grades. Here, too, oral and written composition are stressed by book reports and speeches. Friday themes always present a challenge to the Seniors, who come to ask themselves Who Am I?,' Then, of course, investigative themes take up a good deal of otherwise 'iusefulu time. These themes rep- resent the culmination of our high school English course.

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VA U TIO Unique to the year 1957 was the evaluation which VVyomissing High School underwent on March 5, 6, and 7. The meaning of this program is often misconstruedg therefore, the following passage is devoted to clarification of the background and pur- poses of the evaluating committee. In 1893, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, there was founded the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, which is one of six such regional associations. A further development in this organization occurred in 1920 when it established the Commission on Secondary Schools, designed to eval- uate and accredit the schools who became members of the association. A similar commission was set up for the evaluation and accrediting of member colleges. Today, more than eight hundred twenty- five secondary schools and two hundred thirty col- leges are members. To belong to the Middle States Association, a school must apply for membership and must be eval- uated. Few realize the work this entails, for the whole process involves a year at minimum. The school staff meets and goes over its complete program of courses. The Commission then sets a date for the visit of a committee which is composed of faculty members from other schools. After it has made its survey, the committee makes an oral report to the faculty and writes a written report to be sent to the Commission and to the school applying for member- ship. If the school has met the standards required by the Association, it becomes a member. The standards which determine accrediting of a high school were set up in 1940 and revised in 1950. They compose a book called Evaluatiue Cri- teria. The theory of the Association is that the Mr. Wertz, Mr. Rank, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Reitz Evaluating Committee committees are to help schools to raise their own standards. Thus accent is placed upon help rather than inspection. When membership has been obtained, a high school must pay a fee and file a record every year. It must renew its approval at the end of five years at which time the Commission has the prerogative of demanding a longer report or another evaluation. Usually, the former suffices. Wyomissingis last eval- uation took place in 1947, and, since one is obliga- tory every ten years, the committee made us a visit this year. Wyomissing High School recognizes the impor- tance of an accredited school for students who are college bound, and goes along whole-heartedly with the evaluation committee in every department of the school. Incidentally, Wyomissing is a charter member of the Association. Members of evaluating committee at the end of a long day's work 17

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ANGUAGES 'iThe immense value of becoming acquainted with a foreign language is that we are thereby led into a new world of tradition and thought and feelingf' The writer of these words has expressed the basic theory behind Wyomissing's language department, in which Latin, French, and Spanish are offered. Mrs. Florence Schrack, our new Latin teacher, has designed her course to increase appreciation of our heritage from the Romans, to enrich vocabularies, and to create a better understanding of English grammar. Latin is begun in the ninth grade at which level Mrs. Schrack drills in grammar. The soph- omores delve into the history and the myths of Rome, which include Ulysses, the Argonauts, and Julius Caesar. For the advanced group Mrs. Schrack re- serves the study not only of figures of speech and construction but also of Virgil and his epic poem, the Aeneid. Thus, she turns out promising pros- pects for the French and Spanish courses. Mrs. Norman Knipe, in both French and Span- ish, conducts informal and highly educational classes which are designed to teach grammar and construc- tion and to develop conversational ability. Two ramifications of the school language department are the French and Spanish clubs. Although the ro- mance languages formerly did not appear on the curriculum until eleventh grade, French is now being introduced into the grade school at the fourth grade level. Here in grade school, Mrs. Yvonne Millet continues her course through to the seventh and Twelfth Grade Spanish Mrs. Florence Schrack Mrs. M a d ly n K n i p eg M r s. Yvonne Millet eighth grades where French becomes elective. French, in the lower grades, lays a firm foundation for a more advanced study. Juniors and seniors find it different and exciting to make conversation in another language. In fact, many simple French and Spanish phrases are adopted into senior high slang. Eighth Grade French Ud, eg muy imeligente Le francais est tres facile Ninth Grade Latin What's the derivative? 19