USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Norwood > Norwood annual report 1963-1964 > Part 53
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The curriculum for the Food Program was reviewed at regular meetings throughout the year. Points considered were-students background and needs-methods of preparation-time available-placement and trade re- quirements. Three different program schedules were studied-1. a three- year undergraduate program. 2. a two-year undergraduate program. 3. a one-year intensive postgraduate program. The three-year undergraduate program was offered to boys as a pilot program. It was determined that this three year schedule does not meet the needs of boys in the Food Trades. Therefore, boys will be admitted only to the two-year undergraduate pro- gram, or the one year intensive postgraduate program.
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This year a plan of student rotation through the three phases of the food curriculum-Bakery, Cafeteria Service and Dining Room Service-was established for all students in the Food Program. A course in Food Prin- ciples is required of all Juniors and a course called Food Demonstrations is offered to all Seniors and Postgraduates. These courses add to the students understanding of the scientific principles applied to food preparation and offer opportunity for greater and more varied experiences in food prepara- tion.
Current employment in the dressmaking field is requiring a knowledge of fabrics, design and dressmaking equipment because many of the avail- able positions-other than alterations-require dual responsibilities :--- sewing machine demonstration requires also the giving of instructions in basic sewing and the selling of many small items of equipment for sewing :- custom dressmaking in a small shop is combined with the selling of ready- made dresses :- employment in a fabric department also necessitates selling small sewing equipment. Therefore, in this program, stress has been placed on knowledge of basic sewing principles and a familiarity with equipment and its uses. Classes in textiles are offered as a background and basis for the study of art.
The undergraduate Beauty Culture Program has been reviewed to ascertain whether or not the maturity of students is such at completion of training that the trainees are truly employable. The excellent placement record of the postgraduate Beauty Culture Program, and the numbers and excellence of candidates for the program give evidence that it is meeting its challenge.
To keep pace with business placement opportunities, new and advanced equipment was purchased for the Business Department and the curriculum was reorganized to make most effective use of this equipment. Three pro- grams have been offered in the Business Department-Business Machines- Advanced Secretarial and Accelerated Secretarial. Wherever possible, special individual programs that meet specific needs are arranged. Experiences of the last three years in the two secretarial programs are being studied and evaluated to determine whether to most effectively serve the students, one or both of these programs can and/or should be continued. Factors being considered are diversity of student backgrounds in the field-numbers en- rolling in each program-most urgent needs of students facilities-and teacher pupil ratio. Placement calls for the Business Department trainees exceeds the number of students to be placed.
The Practical Nurse Program has increased its enrollment and con- tinues to maintain its excellent record. This has been made possible through the outstanding cooperation of the Staff at the Norwood Hospital and the interest of our Advisory Committee.
Continual attention is given to the selection of candidates and the coordination of the curriculum. In the screening of candidates for the program a new battery of tests-The Psychological Corporation Test-has been introduced. These tests are more specifically designed for the Practical Nurse field. This summer the nurse instructors, related instructors and
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clinical instructors completely reorganized the curriculum to assure more effective correlation of all units and a balanced progression of material throughout the entire training. A master plan was organized and then it was broken down into individual lessons. An excellent working plan was designed which was implemented with the fall class.
The academic and related subjects have also been re-examined. The English instructor participated in the Secondary School English Summer Workshop which reviewed the course of studies and made general grade level recommendations. These suggestions were considered in the curriculum plans for Grades 10, 11 and 12. Individual remedial reading programs have been worked out with individual undergraduate students and also with post- graduate students recommended by their instructors as having reading problems.
This year the Social Studies course is being reviewed at workshop meetings and recommendations will be considered in the revision of the Social Studies curriculum.
The Science course of studies for the Practical Nurse Program was revised and reorganized to correlate directly with the other courses in the program. The Science courses at the different levels in the Food Program are being studied for upgrading and for additional stress on science prin- ciples as applied to the entire Food Industry. Additional courses in Related Science for Foods are planned for postgraduate students. Implementation and strengthening of the Science Program is dependent on additional staff.
The Art course continues to expand its offerings within the limitations of unsolved equipment problems-as there is no sink in the art room, some projects have to be eliminated.
Our school was fortunate in maintaining its able staff this year. There was only one change-a member of the faculty was named interim director from October 15, 1964 for the remainder of the school year.
In order to be assured that all students interested in applying to the Henry O. Peabody School were aware of our admission policies, general requirements, programs offered and general application information, a brochure containing this information was developed and copies were sent to the guidance personnel in all surrounding schools.
Because of increased interest in area vocational schools, and an interest in offering additional courses, many interested visitors from various sections of the State-and from out of State-came to tour the school and visit our programs. Guidance teachers were welcome throughout the year and were encouraged to bring interested students. The Blue Hills Regional Vocational School has been in the preliminary planning stage and this has brought members and interested parties to the school to see our programs. We welcomed them and were pleased to have them see our programs and the spirit of our school. By mutual cooperation and understanding, we can see that the best possible opportunities are offered the students of the area.
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We were privileged to entertain several groups during the year. These included the Tri-County Superintendents, Womens South Shore Guidance Group and a meeting called by the State Director of Vocational Education for the Women State Supervisors and the Directors of Girls' Trade Schools.
The Practical Nurse Class which completed its course in November received their pins and certificates of completion of course at an all school assembly. The Food Department-as its culminating project-planned, pre- pared and served a buffet to the senior class. It was outstanding.
This year the Women's Community Committee Awards were received by Gail Steeves in the Beauty Culture Department and Sherry Septelka in the Food Department for excellence in their field. The Rotary Club Scholarship was awarded to Albert Hayes for further study in his chosen field-Hotel and Restaurant Management.
A classroom area used by the Food Department for a related instruction classroom was furnished at one end of the cafeteria, and new furniture was purchased for the Science classroom.
The faculty, in cooperation with our advisory committees, will continue to evaluate the programs in light of the challenge to which we are com- mitted, and we will continue to be alert to new programs which will offer more and wider opportunities to all our young people in the community so that we will be ready for expansion when it becomes possible.
Thank you to the staff of the Henry O. Peabody School for your cooperation and loyalty. A most sincere thank you for outstanding leadership and encouragement to Dr. Philip O. Coakley, Superintendent of Schools. My association with Dr. Coakley, the Administrators, the Norwood School Committee and the Trustees of the Henry O. Peabody School has been a distinct privilege.
ANN E. DONOVAN
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Our enrollment for the next school year will increase to approximately eight hundred pupils. This is the highest number which we can satisfactorily accommodate if we are to maintain desirable class size, which is essential for sustaining and improving the educational advantages of our pupils.
Our concern for curriculum improvement is continuous. Last year we effected a major change in our science program when we revised our course of study to cover the material which had previously been a three-year course in two years, thus enabling our senior high school to offer a new science course in grade nine. During the present school year one of our eighth grade science classes is participating in a pilot course developed by the Physical Science Study Committee and supported by the National Science Foundation. This introductory course is designed to give students a begin- ning knowledge of physical science and to offer some insight into the means
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by which scientific knowledge is acquired. It will serve as a solid foundation for those students taking later courses in physics, chemistry, and biology. Emphasis is placed on student experimentation and guided reasoning as the result of such experimentation. The laboratory work is contained in the text and must be carried out by students in the course.
In the teaching of English grammar two of our teachers have used the newer linguistic techniques. At the end of the school year the pupils had a better understanding of the basics of English grammar as a result of this experience, and they developed attitudes of inquiry and challenge that served to add interest to the standard course in English grammar. More pupils are involved in the study of linguistics in this current school year.
During the summer two members of our English Department worked with other English teachers at Norwood High School and Henry O. Peabody School to prepare a cumulative course of study in the language arts from grades seven through twelve. The resulting curriculum guide for grammar and written composition is now used as a basis for such study on three levels in our English classes.
In both seventh and eighth grades our reading program has had some revision. Most classes have developmental reading three periods each week, with materials suited to the abilities of each group. This program has not been offered to those who take French five periods each week as an addi- tional subject, since these selected pupils are competent readers. It was felt that, despite the reading abilities of these groups, improvement in the area of critical thinking was needed. With this objective, a reading course for one period each week was designed for these better readers.
The increase of historical study which each passing decade, as well as the social change which has been so great in recent years, has shown that revision of social studies is needed. We have made a beginning by meeting with the Senior High School teachers to correlate our work in this field, and ultimately to revise our course of study.
Our pupils are achieving well in all areas, as indicated by the results of standardized tests. We strive for still better accomplishment, and our teachers are constantly working toward that goal.
During the summer our shower and locker room for visiting teams has been remodeled. The new flooring has given a clean, fresh appearance to what has long been an unsatisfactory area. Now all three shower and locker rooms have been completely renovated, and the new type of flooring has made it possible for cleanliness, so important in our physical education program, to be more satisfactorily maintained. A needed storage area for books has also been provided with the renovation of the visitors' shower and locker room.
Considerable painting should be done this year to maintain the physical plant. The deterioration of the exterior paint and putty has resulted in damage to window frames. Flashing on the roofs is eroding. Interior paint reuirements are not as pressing as those outside, but proper maintenance will soon require that the interior be painted.
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I wish to thank our Superintendent, Dr. Coakley, and the members of the School Committee for their constant support in all matters which have affected the education of our pupils.
JOHN J. CORCORAN Principal
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL SERVICES AND ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM
In this annual report it is our intent to cite curriculum changes and improvements in the Norwood Public Elementary Schools. Although this procedure is a departure from that utilized in the annual reports of previous years, it is felt that developments in certain areas of the curriculum are of such significance as to warrant this special attention.
What has been sensed vaguely for several years is now more clearly discernible i.e. a massive reformulation of what is to be taught in the schools of America is underway.
While the teaching of mathematics, science and reading has received major attention, other subjects in the elementary school offering, in turn, are being reviewed and revised.
It would not be practical to delve into the specific causes of the present curriculum reform movement in a report of this type. Suffice it to say that the reasons are valid ones and are related to the necessity for equipping the future generation with the new knowledges and skills required to function effectively in a world more complex than our own-complexities brought about by accelerating advancements in such fields as national defense, transportation and communication, industrial technology, automa- tion and data processing, nuclear energy and space science.
Knowledge is accumulating at such a rate that educators have the formidable task of determining curriculum inclusions which would offer the learner lasting value. In this endeavor the methodology in the teaching- learning process emerges as a key factor with crucial implications.
The significance of this concept may be illustrated by citing contem- porary method as well as content in a specific area of the elementary school curriculum.
Because of the questions, the widespread interest, and the urgent desire of parents to become acquainted with what is happening to the teaching of arithmetic, we will relate the foregoing to this area and portray how "Modern Math" has been introduced in the Norwood Public Elementary Schools.
Elementary School Mathematics
The expression "Modern Math" has come into use as an all inclusive term and refers to programs recently developed in experimental projects
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sponsored by certain universities and professional groups with the support of both public and private funds.
Generally the new programs realign content by introducing concepts to students earlier than previously thought possible. This reorganization eliminates topics that are relatively unimportant and intergrates those topics that are important, thus making room for newly developed fields such as probability and statistics at the secondary level; sets and the number properties at the elementary school level.
The teaching of the four fundamental processes of addition, subtrac- tion, multiplication and division as applied to whole numbers, decimals and fractions is by no means de-emphasized. Competence in these skills is still demanded and memorization of the basic number facts is still a necessity. However, the four basic operations or processes are studied in relation to one another and the contemporary program goes beyond the more mech- anical computational drills and the memorization of facts. It strives to demonstrate why the operations work and why the facts are true. It depicts mathematics as a body of knowledge developed by man incorporating unifying principles and a system of logic.
The methodology presents opportunities for self discovery, allows for a variety of approaches to arrive at solutions to problems and stresses the universal mathematical laws or principles involved. This is in order that the learner may acquire concepts which may be applied in solving problems in new situations. Thus it is felt the student will be better equipped to cope with the mathematical complexities not now either possible to identify or predict because of our rapidly changing world.
Our endeavor to introduce "Modern Math" into the elementary cur- riculum began in the year 1961 when an in-service course under School Committee sponsorship was brought to Norwood. The course was on the new approach to contemporary mathematics. Professor J. Franklin Fitzgerald of Boston University was the instructor.
Concurrently, ideas were explored on how best to introduce "the new approach" into the classrooms. The Director of Elementary Curriculum was charged with the responsibility for formulating a plan.
Experimental materials of The School Math Study Group (SMSG) as well as other programs were studied, evaluated and basic decisions made with respect to content inclusions and time allocations.
In-class instruction was initiated in April of 1963 in a pilot project of six weeks duration at the sixth grade level.
The project was carefully evaluated by informed teachers and adminis- trators. The results were of such promise as to suggest that the project be expanded to include grades four, five and six.
In April of 1964 the expanded project was introduced throughout the elementary schools in the grade levels cited above and again lasted for a period of six weeks. It became known as the "second phase" and involved forty teachers and twelve hundred students.
In Memoriam
MARY E. CASEY 1945 - 1964
The untimely death of Mary E. Casey on March 11, 1964 brought an end to a career devoted to helping the young people of Norwood. Over a period of twenty years. Miss Casey served faithfully and well as a reading specialist on the professional staff of the Norwood Public Schools.
Her professional attitude, competence in reading and testing, sincerity and dedication, won the respect and adiniration of all. An outstanding educator, Mary Casey will be long remembered by teachers, administrators, parents and children.
We, the members of the Norwood School Committee, resolve that this statement shall be transcribed in the official records of the Norwood Public Schools, copied for public announcement, and further, that a copy be for- warded to her family.
THE NORWOOD SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Francis X. Sheehan, Jr., Chairman
John J. Cavanaugh Joseph F. Curran Henry W. Diggs William F. Egan
Mary E. Hemman Joseph R. Olshan
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This new experience was also carefully evaluated by the participants. Their findings reaffirmed the earlier conclusions of the first experiment and served to establish the validity of both content and approach.
The "third phase" of the project was ready for introduction with the opening of school in the fall of 1964. It now involves all of the elementary grades, Kindergarten through Six, and its scheduling is designed to achieve effective integration with the traditional arithmetic program during this period of transition.
The dimensions of change brought about by the emergence of "modern math" make necessary a concerted re-orientation on the part of the individ- ual teacher. With respect to the professional staff as a whole, the effort required to effect rapid change is truly massive. The degree of success is largely determined by the competence and enthusiasm of the teacher. We are grateful in the knowledge that these two ingredients are not lacking in the teachers of Norwood.
We would also express our appreciation to the elementary administra- tors for their vital support and take this opportunity to cite for special recognition the invaluable leadership role undertaken by Mr. William P. Kenny.
We would conclude this report with a sincere acknowledgment of the contribution of Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Philip O. Coakley, without whose competent guidance and ceaseless effort to promote an educational environment which encourages growth, this "pilot project" would not have been possible.
UMBERTO V. C. NAPOLEONE, Director Elementary Curriculum and Special Services
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF AUDIO-VISUAL EDUCATION
Seeing is believing! This statement, heard so many times, takes on new meaning when applied to the Audio-Visual Education program. When we use movies, overhead transparencies, filmstrips, slides, charts, and models, our teaching "words" tend to create new concepts. Words spring to "life" and the student is at once placed in a "first-hand" relationship with the subject matter. The use of time-lapse, stop-motion, and in-the-field photo- graphy has done much to bring the outside world into the classroom. Next to field trips and on-the-scene teaching, Audio-Visual supplemented classes are the most realistic and meaningful experiences we can give our students.
Audio-Visual materials, contrary to popular ideas, are not used to give the teacher a break, or even to make her job easier. They do, if anything, make more work for the teacher, because in most cases the use of A.V. materials requires research and additional teacher knowledge to be used effectively.
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The demands for films, filmstrips, slides, records, and transparencies has been greater this year than ever before. We have used over five hundred films. This is an increase of about one third over last year. The increase in number of films does not necessarily indicate that individual students are seeing more films. It does show that more teachers are requesting films and that they are being used for more specific teaching situations, rather than for general showing. About a third of the films and materials used were produced and distributed free of charge, except for postage, by many of our leading manufacturers and industries.
To supplement the A.V. materials mentioned above, an instructional materials lending library is being formed. To date more than seventy-five companies have contributed wall charts, samples, pamphlets, and booklets, to our new library. More will be added in the near future.
During the year 1964, as Director of Audio-Visual Education in the Norwood Public Schools, I made over twelve hundred visits to the schools delivering films, servicing equipment and assisting teachers with A.V. problems. I also formed and trained A.V. Clubs at the Cleveland, Winslow, Balch, and Junior High Schools; set up the public address system for graduation, all home football games, rallies, and dances; spoke to Parent Teacher Association meetings; prepared transparencies for use at assem- blies, town meetings, P.T.A. meetings, and classes.
The success of this program is due to the help and guidance of Dr. Philip O. Coakley, the School Committee, principals, teachers, clerks, and my two building coordinators: Mr. Everett F. Learnard, at the High School, and Mr. James R. Fulton, at the Junior High School.
RAYMOND F. FLECK
Director of Audio-Visual Education
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
Elementary Grades
1964 was a year of vast reorganization within the Department of Music at the Elementary level. In September, Mrs. Shirley Johnson of the Music Staff assumed the position of Supervisor of Elementary Vocal Music. Also at this time three new elementary music teachers began their duties at the elementary schools. Each teacher was assigned to Grades 1-6 in two or three of our system's seven elementary schools.
Instrumental music lessons were once again offered to all children in Grades 2-6. The Junior High remained the site of lessons which were expanded this year to four days a week after regular school hours. Special emphasis was put upon the beginning of a program of string instrument instruction. The growth of bands was also substantial and at present the Music Department is conducting two beginner and two intermediate groups at the elementary level.
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Junior High School
Music has never been a more vital activity than the past year at the Junior High School. Membership in both the band and glee clubs has risen to an all time high. As an example: Band membership has increased from approximately fifteen in 1962 to approximately fifty-five in 1964.
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