USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Norwood > Norwood annual report 1954-1956 > Part 70
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We have an excellent enrollment in this department in both Junior and Senior High Schools and feel that the pupils are profiting from this type of instruction which fits so naturally into their everyday lives.
Teen-agers constantly face new and important problems-those which include just growing-up, developing personality, getting along with the family and other people as well as their education for life and a future occupation. In Home Economics courses, we try to help them with personal and home-life problems, first showing them how to get a better picture of themselves in order that they may understand the problems which are typical of their own age group. After helping them to recognize their problems we encourage them to start doing something constructive about solving them. Learning about themselves and others proves to be a most valuable experi- ence, as well as great fun. All this, in addition to the technical instruction which is essential in order to cover all the usual activities of any household, goes toward making up the content of our Homemaking and Family Life courses. All Home Economics teaching is directed toward building a happy, successful life. As our courses progress and advance, thorough coverage is given not only to personal living but also to every phase of modern home and family living.
For a number of years we have been evaluating our material and methods of approach in an attempt to change the former more technical homemaking teaching into a program of education for family living and have woven into the traditional foods and clothing programs such goals as:
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1. Family centered experiences
2. Pupil help in planning home-life experiences
3. Teaching in the present with a look toward the future
4. Consideration of the pupil's background
5. Helping pupils to understand themselves
6. Saving teaching time in order to explore new areas
7. Living happily with family and friends
8. Personal growth and development
In our "Youth Problems" classes we make a complete survey of the personal problems of teen-agers and those problems which the pupils them- selves find most disturbing and troublesome receive our first attention. Through discussion we finally arrive at a positive approach to their daily living problems and eventually we lead this group to an understanding of the pleasures and satisfactions to be found in participating in the wholesome activities of the home, school and community.
It will be seen that it is not enough to center our courses on foods, cloth- ing and home management or other economic factors as important as these areas of home-life education may be. Therefore, we are getting away from the "perfect" standard to an ideal which can be approached in simple practi- cal ways with whatever materials we may have at hand. We find that a functional approach dealing with the relationships in current family life contributes much toward the development of meaningful insights. As a result pupils are finding more and more ways to express themselves through our Home Economics teaching and many find with us the way to develop their abilities and personalities.
We believe that effective teaching, given by understanding Home Eco- nomics teachers and focused on principles that make for happy family life under present day conditions can be of vital help to all of our pupils and should result in raising the standards of home life. As we help to build homes, we are helping to build countries. United and sympathetic in our efforts, Home Economics Education can be a powerful force in building a free world. We hope that we are contributing a large share toward these ends.
We have been enjoying the attractive and efficient new electric and gas ranges with which our foods laboratories at both Junior and Senior High Schools have been equipped. At Senior High School a new plastic tile floor inlaid with pattern to designate and set apart the several unit kitchens has called forth many favorable comments and has added much to the modernization and general appearance of the room. At Senior High we also have new fluorescent lights in all of our rooms, adding cheer and efficient lighting. Our continuously increasing patronage at the Senior High School Cafeteria has made it essential that we expand our storage and deep freeze facilities. We have also been obliged to add to our service personnel. All of this of course spells a healthy growth in this phase of our department work.
Our pupils have assisted with teas, refreshments and decorations at class parties, receptions, dances, faculty meetings and other social functions,
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always willingly and with enthusiasm. Thus the department provides practical assistance where it may be needed and profits by the experiences provided for their pupils.
This year the Norwood Mothers' Club increased their award for excellence in Home Economics, given at graduation time to include a gold token as well as the usual check. This was a thoughtful gesture which was much appreci- ated by the Home Economics Department and I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to the Norwood Mothers' Club for their continued interest in our efforts for "Better Homes for America".
May I take this opportunity to extend to the Federal Lunch Organization, The Norwood Mothers' Club, the Norwood School Comittee, all School admin- istrators, Home Economics department members, our cafeteria workers and all who have given their cooperation to the Home Economics Department this past year, my sincere appreciation.
AGNES M. BRIDGES
Supervisor of Home Economics Education
REPORT OF THE ART SUPERVISOR
I herewith submit my first annual report of the art program for the year 1956.
The transition from classroom art teacher to the position of supervisor came as a welcome challenge. It presented an excellent opportunity to organize a program, and then to foster its development from the expressive first grade to the mature concepts of the high school student.
When "pattern work" is removed from an art program, something con- structive and useful to the teacher must be put in its place. This replacing factor has to be based on good, contemporary art education principles.
That is why this year I am submitting to each teacher, printed informa- tion on each art activity that will be presented to their classes. A compila- tion of this printed matter at the end of a year or two shall be the art cur- riculum. These outlines are flexible, and shall be changed on evaluation of the project in relation to the students. Our art curriculum shall evolve as a natural consequence of day-to-day art activity.
A sequence of satisfactory art experiences from year to year is the back- bone of the art program; and at the very outset I established a schedule whereby each teacher in the system was given equal time consideration. The framework of our whole program is so dependent on each teacher, that with the organization of the Institute, I felt here was an opportunity for a logical consistency in our program.
The Institute
Our Wednesday afternoon meetings are not only useful in organizing our total art program in relation to the child, but also it enables the teacher to feel more of a kinship to the field of art. Direct experiences with materials and methods provides the teacher with a more sympathetic response to the
Resolution
MARIE S. BROWN
We, Members of the Norwood School Committee, in appreciation of the excellent service rendered our schools and our Town by Mrs. Marie S. Brown over a period of thirty-eight years, extend our best wishes for con- tinued good health and fortune.
We are mindful of her intense devotion to her work and are most appreciative of her interest and effort in behalf of the hundreds of Nor- wood children whose privilege it was to be numbered among her pupils and friends.
We trust that there are ahead for Mrs. Brown 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.
MISS FRANCIS L. BLANCHOT, Chairman MRS. ROBERT H. HEMMAN JOHN F. KILEY JOHN J. CAVANAUGH JOHN F. REYNOLDS EUGENE A. NELSON EDWARD H. THOMPSON
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children's work. The teacher feels more capable and qualified to assist the child in his art experiences. Another realization that is being fostered by the teacher's actively participating in art activities is that basically, each person can enjoy the activity, regardless of varied capabilities. To say that we worked in clay sounds empty and hollow in relation to the class of 28 teachers that pounded, pushed and pulled the clay to the limits of its crea- tive possibilities. Mural construction, unless a person directly experiences it, has many facets that can reduce the procedure to a discouraging experi- ence. The final result should be secondary to the actual work of the organ- ized group. At the Institute the teachers become part of a working group and were better able to understand the innermost workings of mural construc- tion. These problems and others were then given to the children, and I know that the teachers were able to help the students to a richer and more mean- ingful experience through having participated in them themselves.
On the last day of the Institute this year, we shall have an exhibit of teachers' art work done at these Wednesday meetings.
Our Handicrafts Program
A program, designed to present to the children experiences with ma- terials, was started this year. Miss Pacheco, from the Peabody School, guided the teachers at the Institute, and then visited the classrooms to assist in the presentation of the project. The program started out with simple stitching experiences that resulted in some fine articles, finished in time to be given for Christmas presents. Our handicraft experiences thus far have involved simple stitching and elementary work with cloth. As the students' capabilities increase, the program shall become richer with the introduction of more materials and different procedures. Many of the teachers have said that the students, at home, have continued their handicraft experiences. That in itself established the value and need of the course. The success of the course is due to the tireless work of Miss Pacheco, who has gone to great lengths to present a fine course to the school system. Miss Kingsbury, the director of the Peabody School, deserves our thanks for her concern and help in starting the handicraft course.
The Senior High School Art Program
This year we welcomed Miss Joan Chase as the new art teacher at the High School. Due to an increased enrollment in Art, one class has sessions at the Peabody School, with Miss Page as instructor.
At this level, the student puts all of his past art training to use. Art in relation to everyday living is of prime concern. This year, for instance, the students discussed house designs. A family was established, husband, wife and two children; income and habits of the family were decided on. Operating within these real limits, the student was asked to draw a floor plan of a house. Location and size of rooms were discussed; position of doors, traffic flow, position of furniture were considered. Using cardboard, pins, cement, and razor blades, the students then built the house over the floor plan, using that as a foundation. Individual rooms were painted, appropriate color schemes, or swatches of wall paper used. The exterior was then painted and the landscaping was designed. A meaningful project like this will intellectu-
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ally and aesthetically motivate the high school student, and give to him experiences that are helpful in later life.
Miss Chase has been instrumental in guiding the students in organizing attractive bulletin board displays, and at the Christmas assembly. a large simulated stained glass window design greatly enhanced the performance. The art department at the High School also contributed to the success of the senior play, with a very capable job of scenic design.
I would like to add a word of thanks to Miss Page for the fine way in which she is teaching the over flow group from the High School.
Junior High School Art Program
Mr. Lindgren is always capable of presenting to his students the more mature concepts of art for which they are ready at this level. Ceramic work, lettering, perspective, an understanding of figure drawing, work in black and white, water color and tempera painting are presented to the students. The emphasis tends to be in the field of design, and for many students who will not have a formal art course again, this area tends to give what they can constructively use in adult life. What is a well designed object? What is good taste? What kind of furniture shall I buy? Is this table suitable for its use? How can I make this room seem larger? Mr. Lindgren, by discussion, visual examples, and problems gives to the student better capability of selection to answer these questions. The club program is concerned with materials that cannot be given to the total student body. Copper enameling is an example; earrings and pins are fashioned for use by the students.
Elementary Schools
A traveling exhibition of a Japanese school's children's work was or- ganized and shown at all of the elementary schools in Norwood. Miss Canning, our school nurse, loaned an interesting collection of Japanese articles, a kimono, a decorative fan, wood carvings, block prints, etc .- for another traveling exhibition which was in transit throughout the town. Both displays were making the rounds of the schools at the same time, and were on exhibit at each school for about a week. In the future we hope to organize more travelling exhibits.
I am going to arrange an exhibition of our children's art work to send to the Japanese school whose work we have exhibited.
By utilizing the cafeteria table at the various schools, I hope that we can introduce more of a painting program for the elementary levels. The classrooms are not physically set up for this activity. Recently I experimented with groups at the Callahan School, and each painting session was very successful.
Each school put forth a fine display of bulletin board designs, both in the main hallways, and in the individual classrooms.
For Christmas gifts, some of the classes did ceramic objects. ceramic earrings, a decorative green felt Christmas tree pin, a needle card.
Because there were so many ambitious, unique activities throughout the year, and because we wanted permanent records of the work, Mr. John Sulli- van, the Camera Club director, referred two High School camera enthusiasts
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to me. They snapped colored slides which we hope to have duplicated, one for the classroom teacher and one for my records. On the last day of the Institute, besides our exhibition, we shall present a showing of these slides.
Although unique presentations attract attention and assume a certain distinction-as well they should-it is to the individual classroom teacher of our system that I should like to direct your attention; who, through day by day contact with the students, has done a good job. I thank them for their help and co-operation.
To the Principals, Mr. Lynch, and the School Committee, thanks for your support of the Art program.
JOHN LEVITSKY
Art Supervisor
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL HEALTH DEPARTMENT
My twentieth annual report for the School Health Department is here- with submitted.
The scope of the school health program has changed considerably in these twenty-nine years. Currently emphasis is placed not only on the prevention of disease as then, but on health promotion and rehabilitation when it is indicated. The school nurse works as a member of a team dedicated to furthering community health. Her activities bring her in contact and co- operation with the school, the home, the clinic, the health center, the family doctor, and the fainily dentist. Her program must be adapted to meet the changing needs of the community. She is concerned not only with the physical handicaps of the child but his mental and social ones as well. There is a greater need for the dissemination of reliable health information to combat the half truths with which the public is being bombarded by radio. TV, and the press. This is accomplished through health teaching and health counseling. So too must the nurse be aware of the social problems which are predisposing factors to delinquency as well as the need for treatment and correction of these conditions as a preventive measure. The nurse recognizes her responsibilities and accepts them by sharing in the planning and action of the other team members to attain one goal-better health for the child and the community. Her work is not spectacular nor is it uninteresting. Many necessary routines are monotonous but they do make an important contri- bution to the over-all picture of the child's school health program.
Screening Tests
The school health appraisals by the school physicians, George R. Allen, M.D., and Harriet E. Rogers, M.D., include each child in the system from grade K through 12. At each level there is a clamoring each fall to have examinations completed early so that the child may participate in all school activities. It is customary to start with the senior high group since their physical education and sports program is of a more strenuous nature following with the junior high and elementary grades
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The over-all health of the children is good. This does not mean however, that defects of a major and minor degree were not found. Many children had no defects while others had several. Some 4016 defects were noted on their records including 1760 dental defects, 10 emotional, 358 nutritional, 273 eye and ear, 567 nose and throat, 122 cardiac, 121 posture, 10 feet, and 793 other defects. Of the 4016, 2404 were referred to family doctors and dentists for diagnosis and treatment.
The dental examinations by the school dentist, Dr. Timothy J. Curtin, were made on all children from grade K through 12. 3492 were examined and 1760 found to be in need of treatment at that time. 453 had necessary work completed at the dental clinic while 827 were completed by the family dentist. 160 others were in the process of completion at the close of school in June.
Current literature paints a dark picture on the incidence of dental caries. It advances no specific means of control other than constant education to the end that the child and the parent learn the importance of proper nutrition, fluoridation of the water supply, and routine care of the teeth at all age levels. Over the period of years since we have had an active preventive dental program in Norwood there has been an appreciable improvement in the appearance of the teeth but there is still much to be accomplished in this area.
All children in the school system are screened for visual defects with the Massachusetts Vision Test. 3568 were tested. 206 failed the test and were referred to the ophthalmologist. 199 were accepted as needing attention. In addition, our other children already wearing glasses, had routine follow-up for necessary changes in their refraction.
The School Eye Clinic under William F. Ryan, M.D., held 21 clinics during the year. 184 new patients made 369 visits to the clinic. 124 of this group had their refractve work done under drop therapy. 18 were treated for diseased conditons of the eyes and lids and 8 were referred elsewhere for more intensive therapy than the clinic could handle. The eye clinic is not conducted under what might be termed ideal conditions. The room is badly crowded when the chldren and the parents are all present. Any privacy in the examination is impossible. Lighting, ventilation, and heating are in- adequate. It is a case of too much or too little most of the time.
Screening for hearing losses is done with the Maico Puretone Audio- meter. Group tests are conducted for children in grades 2 through 12 and individual tests for all who fail the group test and for all children in grade K and 1. This latter group is a large one. Individual testing is tedious and exacting since every effort must be made to avoid unnecessary referrals of hearing losses. The lack of sufficiently sound-proof rooms adds to the dif- ficulties since the testing must be done in competition to the usual noises found in any school building. The teachers help to keep the children as quiet as possible. Of the 3568 children tested, 67 were found defective and referred to an otologist for diagnosis and treatment. 63 were accepted as correct referrals.
Lip reading and special seating in the classrooms was arranged for children with permanent hearing losses. Our senior high students have had
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no lip reading this fall because of the shortage in the special services de- partment. One child entered Horace Mann School for the Deaf.
The 232 routine chest X-Rays of the twelfth graders and all new students in the foods department of the H. O. Peabody School in October showed no evidence of pulmonary infection. Negative reports were found for the 14 school personnel who were checked at the same clinic. The follow-up X-Rays and examinations for the tuberculosis contact children were done at the Tuberculosis Clinic held at the Town Hall each month in the Board of Health Rooms. Much time is thus saved that was formerly lost going to the Norfolk County Hospital in Braintree for them to have their check.
The number of children who take advantage of the diphtheria-tetanus program decreases each year as the children receive their inoculations from their family doctor durng their pre-school years. It would seem that the school has served its purpose in educating the parents to take advantage of this important treatment in preventing these infections so that this work might be taken over entirely by the family doctor or the Board of Healh in instances where there is no family doctor and relieve the school of that responsibility.
The Polio Program, previously concerned with only the younger ele- mentary children, was extended in May to include the children from 6-15, and in October for the 15-20 group. If the results continue to show the drop in incidence on paralytic polio as noted to date, the time and effort expended in conductng these clinics will be well spent. To say some 5000 injections were administered this year and that over 90% of our school children have been immunized at school or from family doctors gives little indication of the great amount of time and effort consumed in securing the parental con- sents, preparing for and administering the vaccine, cleaning up after the clinics, recording the date and lot numbers of the vaccine on the immuniza- tion record and health card, and making reports of same to the Board of Health. The 419 in the 15-19 age group will receive their booster injection in May 1957. Many of the school personnel took advantage of the opportunity to have the vaccine. We are greatly indebted to many volunteer nurses and doctors who helped make this program a success.
Because of the pressure of the increased enrollment it has been deemed advisable to discontinue monthly weighing and measuring, unless specifically indicated in any particular case, and adopt a schedule of weighing and meas- uring in September, February, and June only.
Accident and Safety Education
Again I would like to stress the need for more specific safety education at all age levels. We have only to see the enviable record of our boys' Vocational Class at the senior high to appreciate what can be accomplished in that area. Even though we do have an excellent insurance policy for acci- dent coverage every effort should be made to reduce the number and severity of accidents. A survey of the accidents reported this past year shows that a majority of them occurred between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and many of these during the noon recess with children not going home for lunch.
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Mental Hygiene
It is interesting to note in my first report that in 1929 we were fortunate to have had the services of the Habit Clinic for children from birth to 9 for a year and a half and that a second Guidance Clinic had been added to care for those children from 9 years on. Both were sponsored by the Division of Mental Health. We continue to hope that the time when we will be able to refer our children with mental and emotional problems to a Mental Hygiene Clinic is not too distant. Such reports as are available seem to indicate that the chances for an early clinic are excellent.
Home Nursing
The junior girls at the H. O. Peabody School earned their certificates in the Red Cross Home Nursing class. If this class could be offered to girls in the senior high school it would meet a need long recognized, for many of the girls step directly into matrimony after graduation and could use this training to good advantage in their homemaking.
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