USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Norwood > Norwood annual report 1951-1953 > Part 37
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43 Garages
6. Plotting 1952 land transfers on the Assessors' Plans.
7. Plans and descriptions for tax sales.
8. Plans and staking out new burial section at Cemetery.
9. Plotting 1952 burials on individual lot plans.
10. Particular sewer and water connections for new houses.
11. Pole locations on various streets throughout the Town.
12. Plans and descriptions for zoning changes.
13. Installing master meter for checking water complaints.
14. Making various reports for State of Massachusetts.
15. Attendance at State and County hearings relative to new highway layouts and requests for State Aid on Town Highways.
16. Various plans for location of traffic signals.
17. Investigation and reports on various drainage conditions in the town.
18. Gas main locations on various street.
19. Information for various engineers, builders and developers working in Nor- wood.
20. Attendance at Selectmen's meetings, Planning Board meetings and Board of Health meetings to answer questions and give advice on Engineering problems.
21. Parking area rear Norwood Theatre - plans and specifications.
22. Various surveys and plans showing locations for new industries.
23. Achorn Street surveys and estimates.
24. Specifications and plans for transformer vault on Washington Street.
Respectfully submitted,
ALBERT W. THOMPSON
Town Engineer
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
NORWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
.O
AASS . .: 22.9
C. PEB .
. 23
TOWN OF NORWOOD MASSACHUSETTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31
1952
187
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
REPORT OF THE NORWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE 1952
School Committee
Term Expires 1953
John F. Kiley
14 George Street, NOrwood 7-0198
John F. Reynolds 1953
31 Oak Road, NOrwood 7-0851
Frances L. Blanchot 1954
226 Vernon Street, NOrwood 7-0299-W
1
Thomas R. Bowler 1954
112 Winslow Avenue, NOrwood 7-1180-R
John J. Cavanaugh 1955
235 Railroad Avenue, NOrwood 7-0679-M
Edward H. Thompson 1955
9 Garner Road, NOrwood 7-1735-R
Elizabeth V. Syverson, Clerk of School Committee
Committee Meetings
The regular meeting of the School Committee is held in the Committee room, Room 100, Junior High School Building, at eight o'clock on the third Wednesday of each month.
Superintendent of Schools
Lincoln D. Lynch, 21 Florence Avenue Telephone NOrwood 7-1266
The Office of the Superintendent of Schools is at the Junior High School, and is open from 8 A. M. to 5 P. M. every day, from Monday through Friday, inclusive. Telephone NOrwood 7-0133.
Secretary and Clerks
Elizabeth V. Syverson, 15 Park Street Telephone NOrwood 7-0021 Principal Clerk and Secretary to Department Head and Clerk of School Com- mittee.
Elvie A. Schaier, 44 Highview Street
Junior Clerk and Stenographer.
Telephone NOrwood 7-2227-R
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TOWN OF NORWOOD
School Calendar
Monday, September 8, 1952 - Schools open
Dismissal at noon P. M. Faculty Meetings
Holidays
Monday, October 13, 1952 - Columbus Day recess.
Monday and Tuesday, November 10, 11, 1952 - Armistice Day recess.
Thanksgiving Recess: Schools close at noon Wednesday, November 26th, and re-open Monday, December 1st.
Christmas Recess: Schools close Tuesday, December 23, 1952, and re-open Monday, January 5, 1953.
Winter Recess: Schools close Friday, February 20th, and re-open Monday, March 2nd. Friday, April 3, 1953 -- Good Friday.
Spring Recess: Schools close Friday, April 17th, and re-open Monday, April 27th. Friday, June 19th - Tentative closing date of school.
No School Signals 2-2
Repeated at 7:15 a.m. No sessions, Kindergarten through 12th grade, all day. Repeated at 7:30 a.m. No forenoon session, Kindergarten through 9th grade. Repeated at 7:45 a.m. No forenoon session, Kindergarten through 6th grade. Repeated at 12:30 p.m. No afternoon session, Kindergarten through 9th grade. Repeated at 12:45 p.m. No afternoon session, Kindergarten through 6th grade.
Note: When the No-School signal is sounded, all street lights are illuminated, if possible, for three minutes.
Radio Stations (WBZ, WEEI, WHDH, WNAC) will broadcast notices between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., and when possible, at noon and at night.
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
To The Citizens of Norwood:
The reports of the Superintendent, Principals, and Supervisors, present vital facts related to Norwood Schools. Items which the School Committee regards reportable and not included in the aforementioned reports are submitted herewith.
This statement, and the reports of school officers, taken together, are adopted as the Report of the School Committee, it being understood that such adoption does not commit the Committee to the opinions or recommendations made therein.
With no desire to "labor" the point, but to be "on record" concerning our
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
continuing efforts to keep the Townspeople of Norwood informed, we would refer the reader to previous Town Reports, and call attention to the need for additional school sites and now, particularly, to the need for additional school housing facilities.
Maintenance
It is our firm conviction that, before the town undertakes what appears to be a rather large capital investment in new school sites and buildings, it would be well to complete such improvements in existing school buildings and upon existing sites as might be suggested by the desire to make them modern, up-to-date and efficient.
To list a few, and without reference to minor improvements, the following are worthy of consideration:
All schools need outside painting,
the Junior and Senior High Schools need much interior painting,
all schools, excepting the Peabody School, need more efficient lighting.
the Junior and Senior High School gymnasia need new lighting and painting,
a playground should be planned and finished for the school sites near the intersection of Dean and Neponset Streets,
new furniture should replace much of the old in each of our elementary schools, automatic heat controls should be installed in the Senior High School,
the Senior High School library should be modernized and outfitted,
new power mowing and snow removal equipment should repace our old equipment,
a new school truck should replace our old one,
electric power outlets should be installed in each of our classrooms,
filing cabinets should be purchased for each homeroom in the system,
new electric clocks and bell signals should repace the old "hand-wound" clocks in the Winslow and Shattuck Schools,
vacuum pick-up machines should be bought for each of our elementary schools, there should be installed a new curtain in the Junior High School gymnasium, the Junior High School building should be pointed,
the large store-room in the Junior High School should have a concrete floor and a fireproof ceiling,
a photography laboratory should be built and installed in the Senior High School,
the athletic field and track at the Senior High School should be reconditioned, hard-surface play areas should be built on each of our school grounds, and
exhaust fans and hoods should be installed in the chemistry laboratory in the Senior High School.
In addition to the aforementioned, there is also required the usual repair and replacement needs of the schools which usually require an annual appropriation of several thousand dollars.
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TOWN OF NORWOOD
CHANGES IN PERSONNEL 1952
Resignations
Mr. Robert E. Duke, Junior High School, to teach in Japan.
Mrs. Grace White, Junior High School Home Economics, to stay at home.
Miss Georgia Christopulos, Balch School, to teach in Germany.
Miss Carolyn Stimson, Callahan School, to study dramatics.
Miss Jeanne H. Lockhart, Shattuck School, to teach elsewhere. Miss Anne E. Nolan, Shattuck School, to be married.
Miss Marjorie N. Rappold, Winslow School, to be married.
Mrs. Aileen Lee, Division of Special Services, to stay at home.
Miss Lucille Kaizer, Division of Special Services, to teach elsewhere.
Mrs. Phyllis McDonough, Junior Clerk, Junior High School, to stay at home.
Transfers
Mr. Umberto Napoleone, from Balch School, Grade 6, to Junior High School Elementary Unit, Grade 5-6 - Head teacher.
Miss Esther A. Studley, from Balch School, Grade 1, to Junior High Elementary Unit, Grade 1-2.
Military Leave
Mr. Henry F. Fairbanks, Senior High School, on military leave since January 20, 1943.
Appointments
Mr. Robert J. O'Donnell, Junior High School
Mr. George S. Elias, Junior High School
Miss Ruth P. Coleman, Part-time Junior High School, Music
Mrs. Mildred H. Nelson, Junior High School Home Economics Miss Mary M. Dunn, Balch School, Grade One Miss Patricia Gindele, Balch School, Kindergarten Miss Eileen T. Kavanaugh, Balch School, Grade One
Mrs. Adelaide Bowler, Balch School, Grade One Mrs. Claire Curran, Balch School, Grade Six Miss Ann C. Sullivan, Callahan School, Grade Two Mrs. Irma Diggs, Callahan School, Kindergarten Mrs. Jennie Mann, Callahan School, Grade One Miss Joan R. Cooney, Shattuck School, Grade One Miss Barbara Hughes, Shattuck School, Grade Five Miss Sylvia L. Trees, Winslow School, Grade Five Mrs. Marion F. Randig, Winslow School, Kindergarten Miss Mary D. Higgins, Giade Two, Winslow School
Miss Kathryn B. Moore, Grade 3-4, Junior High School Elementary Unit Miss Elizabeth J. Costello, Division of Special Services
Mrs. Winnifred L. Paine, Kindergarten, Junior High School Elementary Unit Mrs. Ann O'Brien, Junior High School, Junior Clerk and Stenographer
Retirements
Miss Gertrude D. Cuff, Winslow School, Grade One
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Resolution
GERTRUDE DOROTHY CUFF
We, Members of the Norwood School Committee, in appreciation of the excel- lent service rendered our schools and our Town by Miss Gertrude Dorothy Cuff, over a period of thirty-eight years, extend our best wishes for continued good health and fortune.
Mindful of the hundreds of children whom it was always her pleasure to teach and in their behalf, we convey to her the message of gratitude for her devotion to her work and their best interests.
We trust that there are ahead for Miss Cuff, many years during which she may look back upon and derive much satisfaction from her excellent record as a servant of our Town and its people.
Edward H. Thompson John J. Cavanaugh Frances L. Blanchot
John F. Reynolds
John F. Kiley
Thomas R. Bowler Norwood School Committee
July 16, 1952
Appreciation
We, Members of the Norwood School Committee, appreciate the willingness of the employees of the Norwood Schools in the performance, each according to his capacity to contribute, of the many and difficult tasks they have so generously undertaken.
Miss Frances L. Blanchot Thomas R. Bowler
John J. Cavanaugh John F. Kiley
John F. Reynolds Edward H. Thompson Norwood School Committee
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Herewith I submit my seventeenth annual report as Superintendent of Schools.
Transfer - St. Catherine 9th Grade
When, during the summer, word was received that the ninth grade was to be transferred to our Junior High School, many people were much pleased.
Naturally enough the pupils and the parents who were to be affected by the
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TOWN OF NORWOOD
change were, for a while, disturbed, for it meant inany new adjustments for them.
However, seating facilities at St. Catherine are taxed to capacity and Monsignor Minihan made it clear to all that it had to be donc.
To set everyone at ease, a meeting was arranged, early in the summer, between all of the pupils and parents involved in the change and representatives of the Junior High School staff.
The building was open for inspection, the course of study was explained, particularly the many choices open to ninth graders in their pursuit of a high school education.
Everyone was made to feel as much "at home" as we could make them and every pupil was made to feel that he "belonged" with us.
Now after four months, I am happy to report that as far as I am able to determine, the adjustment is complete, the pupils are happy, the teachers are, to put it mildly, most satisficd.
It was with a great deal of pleasure that I called Sister Anne Magdalene to tell her how well her ninth grade has fitted into our program.
I believe that there is justification for the hope that our Senior High School will be better as a result of the advantages which come to these youngsters as a result of being members of a larger ninth grade class. The larger size class makes possible a greater variety of offerings than would be possible with the smaller. It is therefore casier to place pupils in the kind of division and study where he may be expected to perform to best advantage.
New Elementary Unit
We now have a new elementary school in the Junior High School Building.
Under the direction of Mr. Umberto Napoleone, the school is most capably managed.
However, it is still the Junior High School building, and the elementary unit has to "fit in" so-to-speak.
The parents of the children in this school have been most cooperative notwith- standing the fact that except for the Kindergarten all classes are double grades. Duc in part to the smaller size of classes, and, in great measure, to the competence of the staff, the problem has not been difficult.
As far as physical facilities are concerned, much is to be desired. These young people need a school building and grounds planned for them and for others their own age and grade.
New School Housing
In previous reports, I have recommended that new school sites be secured to meet the needs of our expanding school population.
It is casy to understand why any community might be unwilling to build new school houses as long as there is space in any of them. Now, we are facing the day when we will not have room for the wave of children which is fast filling all available rooms unless new construction is started forthwith.
At a recent Town Meeting, our Townspeople were brought face-to-face with the facts of school enrollments. I believe they are convinced that new school building plans should be made at once.
I sincerely hope that progress will not be delayed because of sectional rivalries
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
which develop concerning the best location. Speaking for the parents with whom I come in contact, for the teachers whom I represent, and for myself, It is more important that the building be constructed upon some one of several sites that are available, than it is to suffer stalemate because of indecision.
Division of Special Services
The Division of Special Services has been working with us, in Norwood, for two and one-half years. The members working under my personal direction have, cooperatively, developed the kind of program of which Norwood may be proud and it is my privilege to report to the School Committee what they have done and are doing for us.
The aim of the Special Services Department is to give special attention to the needs of the children whose problems cannot be handled in the large classroom situation. All of the groups are kept small enough so that each child receives individual help. Currently there are four members of the group - Miss Mary A. Casey, Mrs. Evelyn Ramsdell, Miss Rita Mclaughlin, and Miss Elizabeth Costello, who joined the staff this year.
At the present time they are working in the fields of Speech Correction, Lip Reading, Remedial Reading, and Testing. The following is a brief explanation of the work being done in each field.
Before the Speech Correction Program was started, every child in the schools from grade two through high school, including the Henry O. Peabody School was given an individual speech test. Note was made of all those who needed help in correcting speech defects. Among them were children who stammer, who speak so rapidly and excitedly that their speech is not clearly understandable, those who lisp, who do not use R and L, those children who have cleft palates, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and those with nasal blockage which makes their speech thick.
The reason that first graders are not usually included in the Speech Correction Program is the fact that normal speech may not be perfectly clear until the child reaches the age of seven. Some children do not make S and L sounds and their blends until they are seven. However, children from first grade classes who started to talk late, who had serious illnesses in infancy, or who fall into the above mentioned cleft palate and cerebral palsy groups are included in the program.
Each year, in the fall and at the start of the new calendar year, new children coming into the Norwood School System are tested. Rechecks are also made to see that children have not developed impediments not present during the initial testing. There are few towns or cities which have approached the speech problem in this matter. From many of them we have learned that their program "grew"; in Nor- wood, it was planned.
The children needing help have two lessons in small groups each week. Thus it is possible to give each child individual attention to his own particular problem. Miss Costello and Miss Mclaughlin work with the children needing speech cor- rection.
Those who need special instruction in Lip Reading are selected as a result of annual audiometer tests given in all of the schools by the school nurses. They submit to the Special Services Department, a list of all of those whose hearing was found to be defective. They meet in small groups and are taught how to read lips to better eqnip them to meet their particular problems. Some of these children also need speech help, for not hearing themselves or others clearly, they may also
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TOWN OF NORWOOD
have defective speech. Miss Costello who works with all of the Lip Reading groups works to give them a tool to take the place of their impaired hearing.
In the reading field Miss Casey works exclusively with the primary children. Children do not all learn at the same rate of speed, some need a far more patient, detailed program than do others. Since reading is of so much importance to every- one throught the school years and in later life, it is necessary that each child be given the best equipment as early in his school life as possible. Reading is pro- gressive, and those who have not learned well from the start, cannot be expected to sail along as the work becomes progressively more complex. Miss Casey takes children in grades two and three and works with them in small groups to see that they get the foundation they need. Many of them gain more self-confidence working in these small groups with others progressing at the same rate. In the second half of the year she also works with those first graders who are behind their mates in reading progress. To each she gives the tools he needs so that he can work with his classmates in reading. As not all children are ready to read when they enter the first grade, they are able to catch up to those who were by means of this special reading help given by Miss Casey.
Reading in the upper elementary grades changes greatly from the kind found in the primary groups. At the lower level the emphasis is on oral reading. There are many illustrations and large print with comparatively little reading matter on each page in the book. From grade four on there is a definite change. The print is smaller, there are more paragraphs on each page and fewer illustrations. New subjects such as social studies and science are introduced. In arithmetic there are problems to be read and solved. There are dictionaries to be consulted and references to be checked. All of these need skills not learned in the primary grades. Some children who are excellent oral readers in the primary grades find it hard to adjust to the more rapid reading so necessary as they go on into the fourth and fifth grades. They must learn to read silently far more rapidly than they did orally. There is less stress placed on oral reading. It is to help children over this adjustment that Mrs. Ramsdell has small groups in reading on the upper elementary level. She patiently develops their skills and fosters their interest in reading for enjoyment so that they will be better equipped to go forward.
At the Junior High School level Miss Mclaughlin is working with small groups establishing their skills and techniques in the further use of references, ahnanacs, indices, and increasing their silent reading rate so that they can handle the more difficult materials and the new subjects they meet in the upper grades. They have to learn when to read carefully and when to skim through a selection for important facts. They must develop discrimination and a plan for their approach to reading.
In the field of testing, members of the Special Service group give individual and small group tests to help each child best meet his needs. When the principals or the classroom teachers want to know more about a particular child to see how to plan for his needs, a member of the department gives detailed tests to find out as much as possible about each child. The classroom teacher is not in the position to give individual tests to children, for to get the best results quiet and personal attention are necessary, and this is not possible in a class where many children are working on many projects.
Members of the Special Service Department work in close cooperation with the principals, the classroom teachers and the home in order to learn as much as possible about each child. Knowing the parents and having them know those
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
working with their children makes the problem much easier to ineet. In the field of Speech Correction, for example, many of the defects could not have been cleared up without the enthusiastic cooperation of the parents who see that their children practice the proper way to place their tongues when making the "S" sounds, and others. The child, himself, is far more willing to discuss his problem when he knows that his parents have been told what is being done and that they are there at home waiting to help. In reading, the parents are invaluable allies, ready to praise achievement and the home prop needed to see that the boy or girl reads the books he took from the library. The department could not operate effectively without the assistance of these understanding parents.
These are the fields being given attention currently by the Special Service Department. The members hope to be able to control Speech Correction so that in the future, time may be given to Speech Improvement. Then, the hope, they will be able to work with large groups in the individual classrooms to improve the overall level of speech. Then they will be able to work with kindergarten and first grade children to speed up their learning and use of all sounds. However, until the needs of all of those with corrective problems have been met, they cannot turn to the field of improvement. In reading, they would like to create an active interest in reading in every child, for our heritage of literature is too valuable to be missed by anyone; but here again, until they have given individual attention to each child who cannot work with his mates at the grade level, they can only think about the possibilities of opening new vistas to all the children. Another field into which they wish to enter is that of working with the non-English speaking displaced children who have become a part of the Norwood School System. They would like to have special small groups for these children so that several times each week they might meet together to work out the problems of learning English and its use. However, all of these are for the future.
This is the third year of the Special Services Department as a separate group in the school system. They have met some problems of the children and seen them conquered by the children, by small group work. Many times the progress is so slow that for a time there does not seem to be any, but suddenly, the child finds himself, and as he does, he grows older, more confident, more secure in his own knowledge that he did it himself. One of the greatest satisfactions is that which comes from seeing a former clinic member in a school or on the street and have him give a casual, friendly greeting. He is self-assured, he now belongs with his mates.
Conclusion
May I take this opportunity to express to our new teachers a word of welcome and satisfaction, to our older teachers and other co-workers a word of gratitude and to the School Committee, a word of appreciation for the helpful support and encouragement which has been given me.
LINCOLN D. LYNCH Superintendent of Schools
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TOWN OF NORWOOD
TABLE I
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT RECEIPTS*
Received 1952
Anticipated 1953
Tuition:
City of Boston and Commonwealth of Massachusetts
$16,080.63
$12,000.00
Other Municipalities - Vocational
9,011.83
9,000.00
Adult Education
244.50
150.00
State Reimbursement:
Vocational Schools
25,552.09
25,500.00
State Support - Chapter 70
54,579.28
55,000.00
Federal Reimbursement:
George-Barden, Smith-Hughes (Vocational)
1,473.82
1,500.00
H. O. Peabody Income Account (Vocational)
24,443.48
24,000.00
Sales - Work & Products:
Girls' Vocational School
3,022.33
3,000.00
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