USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Norwood > Norwood annual report 1951-1953 > Part 60
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One of the purposes of this program was to inform the members of Area Il School Committee Association of the educational and financial advantages to their communities in making use of our school, which is supported by monies front State and Federal Funds, as well as from the Henry O. Peabody School Corporation.
The panel presentation proved very stimulating and provoked much profitable discussion from the floor. In all, it was a very enjoyable evening.
The personnel of our faculty remains unchanged for a third year. Miss Bertha Bechunas, school secretary, subinitted her resignation in September to be married.
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Miss Bechunas was one of our original Business Department graduates and was instrumental in setting up our business office. We regret the termination of a very pleasant school association.
We have entertained many interesting visitors this year, including several from foreign countries. During the National Food Service Association Convention held at the Hotel Statler, in Boston, in November, forty members visited us to observe the operation of the School Lunch Program. Visiting members represented thirteen states, including Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Arizona, Iowa, Alabama, and New York. After a tour of the kitchens and school, the members were served a luncheon featuring New England dishes.
However, the most frequent visitors are our own graduates. Many return for guidance and placement, and some come "just to visit." We welcome their con- tinued interest and are pleased that they maintain such a close connection with the school.
The Peabody School has enjoyed another year of pleasant school and com- munity relations. This school is the sum of the effort and devotion on the part of the faculty to a type of school in which we believe. Our continued development is also due to the inspiration and leadership of the Superintendent of Schools and to the co-operative interest of the Norwood School Committee, the Trustees of the Corporation, and our Community.
As Director of the school, I express my personal appreciation to those who have assisted me during the year.
BLANCHE L. MARCIONETTE
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
I herewith submit my fourteenth annual report as principal of the Norwood Junior High School.
Because of increased enrollment in all the elementary schools, eight classrooms in the Norwood Junior High School are being used for an elementary school unit. This together with the increased enrollment in each of the three junior high school grades, has caused the school to be used to capacity. Fortunately we have not been forced to overcrowd any classroom, but we would find it extremely difficult to add one more classroom group to our school.
Considerable adjustment was made in order to provide space for the elementary unit to insure most beneficial results when the age groups from kindergarten through grade nine were using the same building. Even after the requisite plan- ning, minor adjustments were necessary to provide for the safety and convenience of the smaller children. One of the results was that the older students were deprived of most of their play area in the rear of the building, so that noontime recereation took place across the busy street at the Civic Association grounds. While this arrangement has helped considerably, it is not an ideal solution, especially since
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
the Civic Association grounds are not under the jurisdiction of the School Depart- ment.
A large portion of our school yard is necessarily used for play purposes by the elementary unit, so that grass is disappearing from a considerable area, and con- sequently the grounds have lost part of their beauty. Appearance of the grounds, however, is a small matter compared with utilization for play purposes which is so neccessary in an elementary school program. I point this out not because I regret that the need must be met in this manner, but only to record a matter that will have to be given attention in the future. When the building is again used exclu- sively as a junior high school, much work and expense will be required to have the grounds either in keeping with the building, or suited to the recreational needs of adolescents.
A constant review of the curriculum frequently causes some change, and this year proved no exception. For girls who elect Home Economics in Grade 9, an additional classroom period was provided, while two periods of related art work were required. Our guidance program has been modified, and will be further changed so that homeroom teachers will share the guidance work with the specialists in each grade.
I shall not mention the building needs, since it is understood that the interior of the school, and particularly the auditorium which is used for so many public functions, will be put in proper shape both by painting and repair during the summer months.
My recommendations, therefore, have little to do with the physical improve- ment of the plant, but rather that we continue our efforts to review the purposes which the Junior High School serves, in order that we may retain the best of the old and keep up to date on the newer proven effective methods of teaching, so that our pupils will have the benefit of the educational opportunities which we can afford.
I wish to thank the teachers of Norwood Junior High and our Special Service teachers for their unfailing cooperation and excellent work. I am grateful to you, Mr. Lynch, for your guidance and support in all matters pertaining to school.
Very truly yours, JOHN J. CORCORAN Principal
REPORT OF THE ART DIRECTOR
This is the annual report of the Art Department for the year ending Decem- ber 31, 1953.
Art and the New Teacher
When a teacher joins our school system there always exists the problem of making her familiar with the art program as it applies to her grade. In addition she must also become acquainted with our general philosophy and with our cus-
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tomary methods of material handling. Because we have added so many new teachers this problem has occupied much of my time. Some of these people have had no previous teaching experience. This has made the job more difficult since they have not had a background of work in other systems upon which to draw.
I have tried to make all our new teachers feel confident toward their new art situations. I have tried to build up within them the feeling that they also can participate in the creativeness of this program by helping in its design as we try to plan a series of initial lessons which might enable them to work along with their class in each of the art activities. Each teacher has also been encouraged to observe the work done in other classrooms that she may become more readily acquainted with the type of work we believe to be most advantageous to our students. I have made myself freely available to them during my regular classroom visits and have offered them the opportunity of meeting with me after school hours to discuss individual problems. Literature which reflects the significance of art education in the contemporary elementary school has been made available. Though it is too much, perhaps, to expect all our new people to proceed with complete confidence during this first experimental year I do believe the development of good funda- mental attitudes toward art has made much progress.
A Fresh Approach to Color
During this year I have stressed to our teachers the importance of color understandings as they concern the child because the emotional response to color bears greatly upon his happiness.
In the past few years color has seen a new birth on the American continent. Beginning with the interest in technicolor movies the new use of color has ex- panded to the printed page, to contemporary costume, and to the products of industry.
In our classrooms we have made changes in keeping with color progress. First of all we have concentrated much attention upon the basic color theory of the three primaries, the secondaries, and the black and white modifiers.
To increase the child's use of color we have offered him the following materials: the standard crayons, wider color assortments in construction papers, tempera colors, finger paints, water colors, and a choice of four colors of plasticene modeling clay. We are experimenting with new methods of crayon application and have built up an interest in the color of other inaterials, namely: plastics, glazes, and colored enamels.
We have tried to achieve for our teachers and students alike a fresh approach to the problem of more adequate color usage in the classroomn.
Art and Ceramics
A very popular aspect of our art work has been the introduction of ceramics to the elementary school. This is a clay material modeled by the child which is fired at a high temperature in a kiln. Following a "bisque" firing the piece is returned for "glazing". This glaze, which is the application of color and finish to the original piece, is then refired. Though clay is an inexpensive art material it has been inost successful. The art of ceramics has found many important applications
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
in contemporary life and I feel it has been an appropriate addition to our art curricula.
A new kiln has been made available for us and it has been properly wired to efficiently handle the firing needs for all the schools. I wish to thank Mr. Lynch and the School Committee for solving this problem.
The Appreciation of Paintings
This year we have modified our art programı that it may include more offerings which have to do with the place of pictures in our modern life. In the field of painting we have tried to accomplish this in a unit of work conducted by our 6th grades called, "The Study of Famous Paintings". Each child in the room is given ten small reproductions, all different. After a preliminary study of their impact, type, color, style, and school, these are mounted on a large piece of colored con- struction paper and folded in such a way that they make a neat book, and yet can be unfolded in order that they might display them in their own rooms at home. In conjunction with their English each youngster chooses the picture which he enjoys the most and writes a short story giving the reasons for his selection. This is then incorporated as part of his unit.
As an outgrowth of this study the class brings to school reproductions of paint- ings which they have found in magazines and they mount these on a bulletin board and consider them their own art collection. To assist the teacher in this unit she has available a box of colored slides and a series of filmstrips.
The Studio Has Moved
Several years ago an Art Workshop room, which we called the "Studio", was started in Room 209 of the Junior High School. It served many art purposes for which there were no other facilities. Because the Junior High School needed that space we were forced to seek new quarters and are now established on the ground floor in the room formerly occupied by the adult education department. Since this room had not been maintained for some time it was in very poor condition and we feel fortunate that Mr. Lynch and the School Committee looked with favor upon its reconditioning. Though not quite large enough to serve our purposes adequately it has, nevertheless, established a new location for me, has provided a central location for our new kiln, is a convenient spot for teachers to use as a workshop and conference center and is within easy access to our general supply room.
Junior High
Our program at this level continues to place its emphasis upon that type of classroom lesson which seeks to help the child apply aesthetic discrimination. As a programı basically built around that lesson which offers better appreciation of the part that art can play in a creative and enjoyble life, it seeks to show the child that though he may not be naturally endowed with pictorial creative ability of high order he need not feel that his innate artistic judgment is of no avail. We want to show that through tlie cultivation of taste and good sense he may discern between objects which are merely decorative and those which are attractive and functional. Then we hope he may obtain enough art self assurance to confidently
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choose those objects and aspects of his life which are based upon art quality. Among the Junior High activities were the following:
1. The Study of Symbols. We take for granted many of the symbols which have become a part of our lives and this unit was developed to show how symbols are created and the new uses to which they are put. Each student made up a mural illustrating his idea through the use of pictures cut out of magazines to symbolize what he wanted to express.
2. Contemporary Architecture. Through the development of simple floor plans this unit sought to show the difference in the thinking that goes into the modern home plan compared to the older dwelling. New materials were discussed and how they have been adapted to home construction. Particular emphasis was placed upon the fact that the modern home is a living and play center for the whole family and that it sought to incorporate more visual contact with the vistas which surround it.
3. Industrial Design. The 9th grade boys made scale clay models of motor cars which they felt were improvements in design compared to current models.
4. Ceramics. The 9th grade boys and girls took a lively interest in this de- partment and were fascinated to see what extreme heat could do to a soft powdery material like clay.
Art and Home Economics
As an outgrowth of the important part that art plays in modern living, par- ticularly in the home, the Home Economics Division of the 9th grade has initiated a new art program.
As an initial unit for this course the topic of Textiles was chosen. After many class discussions concerning the design possibilities inherent in the many synthetic textiles recently invented, the class created patterns applicable to home use. Using professional textile colors each pupil created a pattern, cut the design of each color from stencil paper, and laying these over the material completed a practical art problem.
This unit was followed by another on Home Arrangement. It was demonstrated that with a given amount of furniture and equipment a pleasant and efficient atmosphere could be rendered any room by the proper positioning of these com- ponents.
The following films were presented: Bright Future, Color Keying, Inside Decoration, Art of Living, and Making a Mural.
Art Personnel - Senior High
Mr. Lloyd Schultz, our High School art teacher, has been given a leave of absence for one year in order that he might do graduate work at the School of Design, University of Illinois. His position was temporarily filled by Mrs. Ellen Fialko, former Supervisor of Art for the Town of Canton, Mass. For personal reasons she asked to be relieved of duty and her position as a temporary substitute is presently occupied by Mr. George Pappas, formerly of the Needham Junior High School. Mr. Pappas is a graduate of the Mass. School of Art, with accomplishments in graduate work at Boston University, Harvard and M.I.T.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Senior High
Our High School course continues to present specialized art techniques.
Last spring a series of discussions centered around the problems of contemp- orary painters and their experiments as compared to the attitudes and ideals of the so-called "traditionalists".
Following this was a presentation of some of the aspects of modern design, using montages, free form, plaster sculpture, clay, wire, as well as the photographic process. Mr. Schultz tried to show that contemporary design seeks to make an object inherently beautiful and functional within itelf rather than to make the design merely an embellishment upon its surface.
This fall Mrs. Fialko did some interesting projects in the study of textures, mobiles, and interpretive drawing.
Miscellaneous
We were happy to assist the Town of Norwood in the production of materials that were used for Christmas decorations.
Conclusion
I would like to thank Mr. Lynch, the Norwood School Committee, and all the Principals and Teachers for another year of progress.
WALTER E. LUNSMAN Art Supervisor
REPORT OF THE VOCATIONAL-INDUSTRIAL ARTS
The annual report of the Vocational-Industrial Arts Department for the year ending December 31, 1953 is herewith respectfully submitted.
Vocational Education
September, 1953 marked the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Norwood Boys' Vocational School. Much has been accomplished in the training of our students during this first period in onr school's history. Many projects have been made for the school department, as well as for the town, which I am sure have impressed those concerned, as the type of construction has been of the highest quality.
During these ten years we have never had to be concerned with the lack of sufficient applicants to our school. Each year has seen a capacity enrollment, with a group of boys always on our waiting list.
As the school is limited to an enrollment of thirty boys, our number of graduates is small each year-the average being five or six. However, on this tenth anniversary we shall graduate the largest class ever-ten boys. Three years ago,
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in my report I made the statement that this outstanding group would make us proud of their achievements during their three years of trade experiences. The results already indicate how successful the boys have been and I am happy to report they are the best to represent our school.
Since the establshment of our school we have tried to be alert and guided by a firm sense of purpose to prepare our boys for effective work. We have also given any necessary help to assist in attaining a socially useful life after termination with the school.
In our vocational education curriculum, we have emphasized the development of certain skills, abilities, understandings, attitudes, working habits, appreciations. as well as the knowledge and information required by boys who expect to enter and make progress in employment on a useful and productive basis. No matter what trade these students enter, the training received in our school will be of great value to them.
Just recently we cooperated with the town decorating committee for the Christ- mas display. Time was an important element, and we were asked to do a job which looked like a tremendous task, but, with an enthusiastic group of boys, we turned out three 12-foot snow men in two days' time. Also in one day we made and turned over to the committee about two dozen 5-foot stars that were wired for electric lights. Our school has already been ready to cooperate in any community project.
The State Department of Vocational Education has suggested that our related work program be reorganized, with a qualified full time related subjects teacher, who could handle all our academic and related work. To look ahead for the future, I believe an assignment of a trained vocational teacher would strengthen and help to smooth out the type of program we have had in past years.
Industrial Arts
Recently an impartial survey of present practices concerning direction and objectives in industrial arts was made in the public schools of the United States. From this survey some basic concepts were drawn up concerning the characteristics of a good program, and what may logically be expected from a course in industrial arts.
It is interesting to note how closely allied to this survey has been our own industrial arts program. We have realized that it is not so much a matter of teaching skills and imparting information that is important, but what would happen to the boy while engaged in industrial activities. We have felt that it is not of primary importance that each boy learn to make a mortise-and-tenon joint, but it is important that he learn to work cooperatively with others, and to respect the rights and privileges of other students. We have assumed that basic objectives are accomplished also when a boy learns to make an end table or sets a page of type.
Learning to think and to plan is a basic concept that is probably one of the most important objectives to accomplish, and most difficult to achieve. Some one is quoted as saying that 10 per cent of a class think, 20 per cent think they think, and the other 70 per cent will go to any length not to think. Our program offers a real opportunity to teach thinking and planning for the pupils, because they work on projects or at tasks in which they are interested. They are not required
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to make set projects from instruction sheets prepared by the teacher, but may select projects within their own ability to complete.
One more concept relates to the fact that success is a much better teacher than failure. We have endeavored to guide our boys carefully in the choice of projects so that they will not be faced with situations beyond their ability to complete successfully. In this respect industrial arts is fortunate, as we do not have prescribed project to be made, and require no specific examination that each student must pass. Rather each pupil works on a different project of his own choice and at his own rate of speed.
Our Junior High School industrial arts program offers a good program of activities, and while it is not as broad as we would like to have it, nevertheless our facilities for training are adequate, and, for most boys, attractive in a well organized environment.
Conclusion
In concluding this report, may I express my gratitude and appreciation to those who gave me such splendid guidance and advice on many administrative problems.
CLIFFORD H. WHEELER, Director Norwood Boys' Vocational School
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF GUIDANCE AND PLACEMENT
Herewith, I submit my eighth annual report as Director of Guidance and Placement.
Guidance
During the past year, we carried on our guidance services, in so far as time was available, according to the pattern described in previous reports. These in- cluded the many and varied aspects of the educational, vocational, and placement phases of the program.
We helped the students on such vital matters as: subjects to be studied, adjustment of program and scholastic difficulties, post high school educational institutions, interpretation of vocational guidance tests, vocations, applications for college and college entrance examinations. part time and permanent job placement, collection and display of college catalogues and occupational information materials, educational and vocational information from motion pictures and guest speakers.
Placement
We helped eighty students secure permanent or part-time employment during the past year. Sixty-seven percent of the present seniors, sixty-three per cent of the juniors, and thirty-seven per cent of the sophomores reported that they engaged in some type of part-time employment.
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TOWN OF NORWOOD
Other Activities
Many conferences are held, both during the day and evening, with parents concerning matters pertaining to their children. It is always a satisfaction to be of help to the mothers and fathers of our students.
It is also a pleasure to talk with the many college admissions officers and representatives of the various business firms who visit us each year. There is a mutual benefit derived from these meetings.
During the year, the Director attended several conferences at colleges in this area and also had the opportunity to describe our guidance program to many individuals and groups. One of the latter was the Parent-Teacher Association of the Norwood Junior High School.
Follow-Up
A follow-up of the 146 graduates of the Norwood Senior High Class of 1953 showed the following distribution: (Does not include Boys' Vocational School, or Henry O. Peabody School graduates.)
Number
Per Cent of Class
Attending School or College
61
41.78
Employed
72
49.32
In Armed Services of United States
10
6.85
Married
3
2.05
Of the sixty-one members of the Class attending school or college on a full- time basis, the distribution was as follows:
Type of School or College
Number Enrolled
Per Cent Of Class
Four or Five Year College
33
22.60
Junior College
4
2.74
Business or Accounting (Less than four years)
12
8.22
Schools of Nursing
9
6.17
Miscellaneous
3
2.05
A broad classification of the number of members of the Class employed, shows the following distribution:
Type of Employment
Number Employed
Per Cent Of Class
Industrial
14
9.59
Secretarial, Stenographic, Clerical
27
18.50
Sales and Distribution
10
6.85
Telephone Operator
15
10.28
Waitress
3
2.05
Miscellaneous
3
2.05
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Conclusion
We are grateful to the parents, clergy, and all other citizens of the community who have the interests of youth at heart.
In closing, we extend our sincere thanks to all members of the School Depart- ment who by their help have aided the young people of Norwood in situations where guidance was needed.
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