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

Page 30 text:

Sciences Science, an essential part of our educational background, brings the student into immediate touch with Magnetism demvrwtrafion- the universe. Because fields of science form so large a part of our human knowledge and because they are basic for many other fields of knowledge, Wyomissing welcomes it in its high school curriculum. The Science Department, under the direction of Mr. Sheetz, Mr. th -n ., Weik, and Mr. Manderbach, begins C gl 5. . . . . . with a generalized study in Junior high and becomes specialized for senior high. Seventh graders, with Mr. Manderbach, study such topics as air, fire, fuel, water, and simple machines. Through the outdoor ed- ucation program the students col- lected insects and made winter gardens. Weather, the human body, communication, and the solar system represent some of the phases studied in eighth grade, while matter, energy and work, heat, light, food, environ- ment, and plant and animal life, also taught by Mr. Manderbach, are studied by ninth graders. Mr. Sheetz, teaching biology to the tenth grade, acquaints the students with the organs and various systems of plants and animals. Dissections give the students a better understanding of their studies. Physics students, studying under Mr. Weik, make an intensive study of heat, light, sound, electricity, mechanics, and atoms, and then prove related theories by grt 41p experimentation. Chemistry, one of the seniors' science courses, also taught by Mr. Sheetz, involves atoms and their relations, solving chemical equations, and experimentation. Mr. Weik teaches Senior Science, which is an advanced general science course covering parts of chemistry and physics, to seniors not taking chemistry. These students also do experi- ments, although they have no specific lab periods. Junior high science courses are compulsory while those of senior high are elective. . . . and these are The mechanical advantage of pulleys. lt'll work! Please? 26

Page 29 text:

Languages All right now, people. The third plural of amo is not amatl Conjugation of new verbs. Included in the curriculum at Wyomissing High School are the modern languages, French and Spanish, along with ancient Latin. Mrs. Yvonne Millet introduces spoken French on the grade school level. This course is con- tinued through the eighth grade where it then becomes an elective. Since the foundation of the Romance Languages is Latin, most ninth and tenth graders be- come well indoctrinated in this subject before progressing to French or Spanish. Mrs. Florence Schrack, the Latin teacher, stresses vocabulary and grammar as a prerequisite for translation. Un- til the latter half of the sophomore year, when the students study Caesar, the translations con- sist of mythology. This year a third year Latin class has once again been formed. Latin not only helps students when studying other lan- guages, but also helps them in English by improv' ing vocabulary through the learning of deriva- Mrs. Millet and pupils. tives. A new teacher on our faculty, Miss Pease, teaches French to juniors and seniors. In ad- dition, French is being offered this year to the tenth grade students for the first time. In this course, Miss Pease stresses the fundamentals of the language and works to improve the students' skill in reading, writing, and speaking. The first year Spanish students, taught by Mrs. Knipe, begin to master the language of our neighbors south of the border . The second year Spanish students translate old Spanish fables, learn some ancient Spanish history and become familiar with new grammar and verbal constructions. 25

Page 31 text:

Jlflatlzcmatics Because a sound background in mathematics is so essential in the sciences, this course at Wyomissing Checking the is a compulsory subject in the seventh h0mCW0fk- through eleventh grades. It consists of arithmetic, algebra, plane geom- etry, and, in the senior year, trig- onometry and solid geometry. This department, under the supervision of Miss Thelma Brunner, Mr. Clarence Weik, and Mr. H. Y. Brubaker, has as its basic aim teach- gown theorem. ing the students to think logically and then apply the rules in every- day life. In the seventh grade course known as math pupils re- view their arithmetic and study in- terest rates. Eighth graders, still hav- ing math , delve into such things as investments, insurance, bonds, ratios and proportions, and get a taste of algebra. First year algebra, under Mr. Weik, is taught to the ninth grade. Introduced to second year algebra by Mr. Brubaker, the tenth graders are instructed in solving equations, square roots, and factoring. This class helps the students develop quick and accurate thinking. juniors are introduced to' plane geometry, in which they study theorems and constructions and develop logical thought pro- cedures. In their senior year students may have, as a major elective, the course of trigonometry and solid geometry. Here they study the relationship between sides and angles of a triangle, loga- rithms, and also learn to visualize in the third dimension complex solid figures. This course provides an excellent foundation for those students who wish to continue the study of mathematics in college. Also on the curriculum is a math review course offered to seniors, which helps them prepare for the College Board Examinations, and an advanced algebra course for seniors who wish to continue their study of this subject. Deriving the Pytha- Senior mathematicians. Mr. Weik and ninth grade algebra class. j 27