USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Randolph > Randolph town reports 1875-1890 > Part 46
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Paid Colin Boyd, Keeper of lockup, $142 28
D. B. White & Co., supplies,
5 01
F. F. Smith, charcoal,
3 30
Royal W. Turner, coal,
6 00
James Fardy, ironwork, .
3 50
$160 09
The following sums of money have been paid to the sev- eral physicians, for medical aid to persons under charge of the Overseers of the Poor, to April 4, 1887 : - Dr. Thaddeus T. Cushman, $50 00
Dr. Charles C. Farnham,
50 00
Dr. Augustus L. Chase,
. 50 00
.
30
Dr. Emory A. Allen, $50 00
Dr. Warren M. Babbitt, 50 00
Dr. Frank C. Granger, . 50 00
$300 00
Paid Warren M. Babbitt for medical aid to poor of other towns, previous to April 6, 1886, $20 00 Frank C. Granger for medical aid to poor of other towns, previous to April 6, 1886, 39 00
The undersigned auditors of the town of Randolph, re- spectfully report that they have examined the accounts of the selectmen and find them correct, with proper vouchers for all orders drawn on the treasurer.
CHARLES G. HATHAWAY, ELISHA MANN, JR., C. F. McMAHON, Auditors of the Town of Randolph.
Randolph, March 18, 1887.
ALMSHOUSE ESTABLISHMENT.
APPRAISAL OF STOCK, FURNITURE, PROVISIONS, &C., March 1, 1887.
2 horses,
$400 00
2 cows,
130 00
2 swine,
24 00
16 hens,
12 00
6 tons English hay,
120 00
3 tons swale hay,
12 00
1 ton salt hay,
12 00
31
1 road scraper,
$175 00
2 horse carts, 100 00
1 farm wagon, 70 00
1 carryall, 95 00
1 two-horse wagon,
70 00
1 swing drag,
50 00
1 mowing machine,
40 00
1 hay-cutter and feed trough,
8 00
2 gravel screens,
15 00
2 cart harnesses,
30 00
1 carriage harness .
10 00
1 pair double harnesses, . 50 00
1 two-horse sled with shafts and pole,
25 00
4 draught chains,
10 00
2 grindstones,
8 00
1 carriage jack,
2 00
6 baskets,
2 00
3 ploughs,
18 00
1 harrow,
5 00
8 hay and manure forks,
5 00
4 shovels,
3 00
2 iron bars and 3 picks, .
5 00
2 wood saws and saw-horses,
3 00
4 hoes, 8 garden and hay rakes,
4 00
4 scythes and snaths,
3 00
2 hand saws and plane,
4 00
1 bit-stock and iron vise,
4 00
3 stone hammers and 35 drills,
45 00
40 flour barrels,
6 00
7 cords wood,
56 00
4 tons coal,
28 00
.
.
50 00
1 stump-puller and hook, ·
32
75 bushels potatoes,
$45 00
Garden vegetables, .
8 00
6} barrels flour,
39 00
45 pounds butter,
13 50
75 pounds lard,
7 50
350 pounds salt pork,
42 00
100 pounds ham,
12 00
50 pounds corned beef,
5 00
50 pounds crackers,
3 00
38 gallons molasses,
15 00
15 gallons vinegar, .
3 75
2 bushels beans,
5 00
12 jars of preserves and pickles,
2 00
320 pounds sugar, . .
22 40
12 pounds dried apples,
1 50
20 pounds tea,
10 00
15 pounds coffee,
3 75
Spices, .
2 00
10 pounds tobacco, .
5 00
Grain and meal,
12 00
1 cooking range and furniture,
45 00
1 small stove, .
5 00
1 fire extinguisher,
40 00
9 flat irons, 4 50
16 00
1 ice chest,
12 00
21 boxes soap,
9 00
Crockery ware,
40 00
Wooden ware,
15 00
Tin ware and clothes wringer, . .
18 00
10 hand and 3 hanging lamps, . 6 00
2 lanterns, 2 00
.
·
.
1 sewing machine,
33
1 clock, .
$4 00
12 cuspadores,
6 00
26 iron bedsteads,
156 00
12 feather beds,
75 00
24 under beds,
36 00
80 sheets,
40 00
1 web sheeting,
4 00
36 colored blankets,
36 00
26 white blankets,
26 00
64 pillow cases,
12 00
12 bed spreads,
10 00
36 comforters,
36 00
54 feather pillows,
32 00
41 towels,
5 00
5 table cloths,
6 50
7 small and 4 dining tables, 20 00
1 black walnut extension table,
10 00
1 all-wool carpet,
22 00
50 chairs,
25 00
1 churn, .
4 00
6 brooms,
1 50
Coal shovels and hods,
5 50
3 axes, .
3 00
1 wheelbarrow,
3 50
1 tobacco cutter,
4 00
Shingles,
124 50
$2,886 60
.
34
ESTIMATE OF EXPENSES FOR 1887.
The following estimate of expenses for the ensuing year is presented for the consideration of the town : -
For schools (see report of school committee), . $8,375 00 Stetson high school (see report of trustees), 2,000 00
miscellaneous town expenses, .
1,800 00
poor in almshouse, ·
2,000 00
poor outside, 3,600 00
poor of Randolph and Holbrook, 800 00
military aid,
800 00
interest on town debt,
600 00
town officers, .
2,000 00
reduction of town debt
highways, general repairs,
·
2,000 00
highways, special repairs,
1,000 00
paving,
300 00
removing snow,
200 00
fire department, .
1,980 00
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN B. THAYER,
RUFUS A. THAYER,
PETER B. HAND,
Selectmen of Randolph.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF RANDOLPH.
1886-87.
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
In accordance with the requirements of the law which gives to the school committee the general charge and super- intendence of the schools in a city or town, your school board beg leave to submit the following report to the citi- zens of Randolph, and to render to them an account of their stewardship.
The committee feel sensible of the importance of the trust reposed in them, and have endeavored to perform the various and important duties devolving upon them in that responsi- ble position. We are justified in stating that our schools are in a very prosperous condition, and have been managed carefully and judiciously.
Section 1 of chapter 44 requires every town to maintain a sufficient number of schools for the instruction of all the children who may legally attend school therein. The age between five and fifteen has no significance except as a partial basis for the distribution of the income of the school fund ; children between the ages of eight and fourteen years are proper subjects of the compulsory laws. There is no law for- bidding a child entering school before he is eight, or forbid- ding him to continue attending after he is fourteen years of age. The period from seven to fifteen includes the time in which children wandering about the streets and growing up in ignorance and not subject to any proper parental control, may be classed with truants.
Section 21 of chapter 44 of the Public Statutes provides that the school committee shall have general charge and superintendence of all the public schools. The Supreme
38
Court has decided that the power of general superintendence includes the power to organize the schools. (This includes the High School.)
The distance which children may be required to walk to and from the school-house, depends upon their age and strength, on the state of the roads and the weather. Taking the school children as they are and the conditions of travel in our town, it does not seem wise to require young children to walk more than one mile to reach school. For longer distances transportation should be furnished at the public expense. If this is not done some children will suffer from fatigue and exposure and their attendance will be irregular and incomplete.
It is not wise to crowd too many pupils under the care of one teacher. In primary schools the number is limited to thirty-five, but we know of teachers having as high as fifty ; but in inclement weather the number generally falls off.
In the higher grades, from forty to fifty is generally the number allowed. Primary schools derive most of their training from direct teaching and not much from independent study. We are happy to state that our primary schools are in the hands of most excellent and competent young ladies, who exhibit their good work to the satisfaction of all. The older children can control themselves. They require simply to be directed in their work. The one requires individual attention, - the other may be taught in classes. The com- mittee have endeavored to manage so that there may not be too many nor too few schools for economy or for progress in learning.
It is the imperative duty of the school committee to bring all the children over which they have control, into school. The reasons for this are clear to the minds of every intelli-
39
gent citizen. The private individual must be educated that he may take his place in life. The member of society must be made intelligent that he may be able to control himself and prevent himself from becoming a public burdeu and an enemy to good order. There is no place for ignorance in a free state, and particularly in our own beloved commonwealth where such facilities for a good education are afforded.
Business men are offering the highest rewards to those who know how to direct the forces of nature, coupled with good moral character and integrity of principle, without which education is not complete. People are demanding a form of education at once practical and useful to the nature and wants of man, and it is most important that every child should receive the advantages of such an education. Teach- ers, school officers and parents should unite their efforts to secure the attendance of the children at school so that the registers should correspond with the enrolment of the annual census.
Remembering that ignorance is barbarism every citizen should unite with the school authorities in compelling the attendance of children at school, and feel alarmed when he finds one growing up in the community in a state of igno- rance. No child should be absent except for good reasons. And those reasons should be limited to those providential interferences over which parents have no control. If a child is in need of better clothes, and his parents are unable to furnish them, let them be supplied at the public expense. If the parents are in want, let them be relieved at the public expense if necessary, and not permit the child to be put to labor at the expense of his public-school instruction.
No thoughtful parent will plan his affairs in the house, in the shop or on the farm, so as to require his child to break
40
up into fragments the short term of his school life. If a parent is not thoughtful, the community in which he lives should be thoughtful for him.
The child must not be deprived of his natural rights. Any parent who neglects to send his child to school for at least twenty weeks in one year, is liable to a fine of $20. And any truant officer may be directed by the school com- mittee to prosecute the same in the name of the town.
Sect. 1, chap. 48, provides that no child under ten years of age shall be employed in any manufacturing, mechanical or mercantile establishment in this Commonwealth. No child under twelve years shall be employed during the time which school keeps. No child under fourteen years of age shall be so employed except during the vacations of the public schools. Nor shall such employment continue unless such child presents a certificate showing that he has complied with the requirements of the law, under the direction of the school committee. It is the duty of the truant officers to visit the establishments employing children once in every school term, and as often as the school committee may direct, and inquire into the situation of the children employed therein and report all violations of the law to the committee.
On no account should weak or uncultivated persons have charge of the education of the children in the public schools. We know from our own experience, as well as from observa- tion, that a teacher from his life and teaching, may lead his young pupils to the performance of such intelligent and hon- est conduct, as will finally produce in them an improvement in the very material of which they are composed. The changes wrought give strength and beauty to both mind and body. They adorn and elevate and refine our homes. We
41
have known such results to have been produced by skilful teaching.
The next grade above the primary is the intermediate, continuing the work already begun. Spelling by writing, penmanship, reading, the fundamental operations in numbers, with easy problems, elementary composition more advanced in its character than that produced in the primary course ; punctuation and the use of capital letters, the elements of geography, singing and gymnastics - all these are carefully taught in the intermediate school. The intermediate teacher guards against unimportant knowledge or the kind above the comprehension of her pupils.
Our children enter the grammar schools about the age of twelve years.
We are happy to bear testimony to the ability, devotion and industry of our corps of school teachers and to give them credit for the faithful performance of their high and noble work.
During the past year the schools have kept the usual thirty-eight weeks.
The corps of teachers remained unchanged. The health of the school children has been remarkably good; some few cases of sickness being reported by the selectmen to the committee, who generally manage so as not to allow disease to spread among the children.
We must feel thankful to the Supreme Ruler for his good- ness and mercy in sparing us the loss of any of our number during the past year. The number of school children enrolled last May from five to fifteen years of age was 685. The subjoined report will give the attendance in each school.
42
STATEMENT OF ATTENDANCE, 1886-7.
SCHOOLS.
TEACHERS.
Whole No. belonging.
Average Whole No.
Average Attendance.
Percentage of attend-
Number over 15 years.
|Number under 5 years.
Between 5 to 15 years. Not absent for any
Prescott Grammar.
Thomas H. West.
50
49
46
94 10
28
Isabella G. Driscoll.
54
51
48
94
3
1
Kate E. Sheridan.
48
45
40
90
1
Mary A. Molloy.
31
29
28
96
Prescott Primary.
Mary E. Wren.
34
33
30
91
13
1
Kittie R. Molloy.
44
42
40
96
3
Sarah J. McGaughey.
56
4.1
39
95
5
North Grammar.
Joseph Belcher. Alice A. Smith.
40
37
32
87
North Primary.
Emma D. Stetson.
35
31
28
90
1
1
Carrie L. Wilkins.
35
27
23
87
No. 1. Ungraded.
Minnie W. Corliss.
41
34
31
91
37
4
3.
Ellen P. Henry.
43
40
33
83
36.12
5.
Sara C. Belcher.
31
23
18
78
6.
Mary L. Howard.
28
28
26
92
7
3
639 573 619
90 15
NAMES OF PUPILS NOT ABSENT DURING THE YEAR.
M. Everett Baker.
Charles A. Payne.
Charles E. Clark.
Blanche Beatrice Day.
Joseph H. Clark.
Julia Linnehan.
Patrick F. Clark.
Annie Elizabeth Tucker.
William F. Donovan.
Lizzie Dolan.
Edward D. Page.
Lizzie Brady.
ance.
term.
6
69
63
57
90
43
We think that it is appropriate upon this occasion to men- tion that during the past year we were visited by one of the agents of the State Board of Education, George H. Martin, Esq., who thoroughly inspected all our schools, the buildings, und also the out-buildings. He complimented the town upon the efficiency of our schools, the manner in which they were supplied with all the conveniences and appliances necessary to education, neatness and good order. He complimented the teachers upon their good work and declared that Randolph was far ahead of many towns in this Commonwealth. He addressed the teachers and the committee in the Prescott Sehool building, and also delivered a lecture in the town hall in the evening upon Education.
We are happy to state that all our school buildings are in good order, except Tower Hill school-house, which needs some repairs. A new fence at the west side of the North Grammar school yard is required, and some others need to be repaired.
We respectfully ask : -
For teaching, · . $6,600 00
For fuel,
350 00
For care of rooms, · 425 00
For permanent repairs,
200 00
For incidentals, &c.,
300 00
For books and supplies,
500 00
And the dog money.
44
EXPENDITURES FOR SCHOOLS, 1886-7.
FOR TEACHING.
Paid Thomas H. West, 1 year, .
$1,000 00
Joseph Belcher 1
·
1,000 00
Isabella G. Driscoll, 1 428 92 ce .
Alice A. Smith, 1
386 83
Kittie E. Sheridan, 1
399 00
Mary A. Molloy, 1 .
380 0C
Mary E. Wren, 1 ce
380 00
Ellen P. Henry, 1 ce
368 75
Sarah C. Belcher, 1 ce
ce
342 00
Emma D. Stetson,
1 ce
342 00
Kittie R. Molloy, 1 e
342 00
Sarah J. McGaughey, 1
ce
342 00
Minnie W. Corliss, 1
ce
329 50
Carrie L. Wilkins, 1
ce
310 50
$6,714 40
FOR FUEL.
Paid R. W. Turner & Co., coal,
$263 05
Edwin Mann, wood,
10 00
Daniel Leahy, wood bill, 1885, ce ee ce
2 50
29 50
Thomas Riley, preparing wood,
10 50
John Wales, ce
5 00
John T. Wales, ९९ ce
.
3 00
Morton Holbrook, " ce
.
4 25
Rose E. Stetson, ce ce
.
1 25
Herbert C. Wilbur, shavings,
40
.
362 90
Mary L. Howard,
1
.
$329 45
P
45
CARE OF ROOMS.
Paid Galen Hollis, bill of 1885,
$25 00
Rose E. Stetson, bill of 1885,
5 00
John T. Wales, ce
13 00
Margaret Riley,
220 88
Lawrence Hayes,
18 33
Galen Hollis, .
50 00
Rose E. Stetson,
23 50
Herbert C. Wilbur,
25 00
John T. Wales,
20 00
Julia O'Connor (cleaning),
17 00
Boy, drawing water for cleaning,
5 00
$422 71
MISCELLANEOUS.
Paid James Fardy, door irons,
$3 00
Charles Prescott, supplies, bill 1885,
2 56
Joseph Belcher, ee
50
E. A. Perry, labor and materials,
44 60
John Wales, use of wells, 2 years,
6 00
Colin Boyd, lighting hall for lecture, 5 00
ce " care of committee room, 6 00
2 53
John B. Wren, stationery, postage, &c., Thomas Dolan, taking census, Re cash paid out, ·
20 00
G. W. Pollock, caning chair, ·
85
Lawrence Hayes, use of well 1 year,
3 00
N. H. Tirrell, setting glass, &c.,
·
4 50
Patrick Bohan, labor, . .
4 75
Peter Sheridan, labor, 4 38
Galen Hollis, truant officer, 1885,
15 00
ce floor brush, 2 65
.
3 65
46
Paid T. H. West, tuning piano, $2 00
A. J. Gove, teams and expressing, 24 51
John Lyons, "
·
.
1 50
Thomas Riley, removing snow, .
4 63
C. A. Wales, supplies,
50 95
N. Rosenfeld, ce 10 15
David J. Foley, truant officer, .
20 00
Daniel H. Huxford, printing, 9 75
Nathaniel Noyes, labor, .
4 09
S. B. Woodman, repairs, . .
4 25
D. B. White & Co., supplies, 9 13
Rose E. Stetson, broom, . 35
$270 18
PERMANENT REPAIRS.
Paid Peter Sheridan, labor No. 1 schoolhouse, . $14 00
F. L. Bodwell, material and labor No. 1 schoolhouse, . 41 37
S. B. Corliss, stone for vault No. 1 school- house, . 15 50 ·
J. B. Rhines, shingles, nails, &c., No. 1 schoolhouse, . 71 79
N. H. Tirrell, painting Prescott Primary schoolhouse, . 93 00
N. H. Tirrell, painting No. 3 schoolhouse (West Corner), · 35 00
N. H. Tirrell, painting No. 5 schoolhouse (North street), 24 00
$294 66
BOOKS, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, &C.
Paid Ginn & Co., merchandise, &c., $26 39
Knight, Adams & Co., merchandise, &c., 16 32
47
Paid Cowperthwait & Co., merchandise,
$35 35
William Ware & Co.,
ee
99 46
Charles H. Whiting,
18 70
J. L. Hammet & Co.,
26 95
Harrison, Hume & Co.,
ce
1 13
Harper Bros.,
ee
96 84
Carroll W. Clark,
ce
6 00
Boston School Supply Co.,
Re
206 09
Lee & Shepard, er
12 00
Claflin & Brown,
4 50
Clark & Maynard,
ce
12 00
Geo. F. King & Merrill,
ce
1 13
$562 86
STETSON HIGH SCHOOL.
BOOKS FURNISHED BY SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
Paid Harrison, Hume & Co., merchandise,
$13 50
Thompson, Brown & Co., "
·
55 03
Knight, Adams & Co., ce
26 02
Winkley, Dresser & Co.,
- ce
7 90
D. Appleton & Co.,
ce
29 31
Carl Shoenhof,
ee
8 00
E. N. Lovering,
ce
51 63
Clark & Maynard,
ce
13 65
Ginn, Heath & Co.,
ee
56 48
Claflin & Brown,
ce
3 50
Charles S. Reid,
ce
4 07
Urma C. Alden,
Re
15 00
Thomas Hall,
ce
11 87
.
.
.
$295 96
48
RECAPITULATION.
Paid teaching, . $6,714 40
Fuel,
329 45
Care of rooms,
422 71
Miscellaneous and incidental,
270 18
Permanent repairs,
294 66
Books, school supplies, &c.,
562 86
ce for Stetson High School
.
.
295 96
$8,890 22
FUNDS APPLICABLE TO SCHOOLS.
Town appropriation,
. $7,500 00
ce for books, .
500 00
Received from state school fund,
194 31
ce
Coddington fund, . .
92 00
town treasurer, dog license,
573 05
$8,859 36
Expense of schools,
. $8,890 22
Income from all sources,
8,859 36
Excess over amount applicable to schools, $30 86
THOMAS DOLAN, JOHN B. WREN, T. T. CUSHMAN,
Randolph, March, 1887. Committee.
.
.
·
STETSON SCHOOL FUND.
In compliance with law and custom, the trustees present this, their annual report to their fellow citizens, for the year ending March, 1887.
The funds remain invested as in former years, as follows : 10 shares Hide and Leather National Bank (par), $1000 00 10 shares Eliot National Bank (par), ·
1000 00 10 shares Webster National Bank (par), 1000 00 · 10 shares Shoe and Leather National Bank (par), 1000 00 10 shares Exchange National Bank (par), 1000 00
10 shares Boylston National Bank (par), 1000 00
10 shares Tremont National Bank (par), 1000 00
20 shares Old Boston National Bank (par), 1000 00
13 shares Shawmut National Bank (par), 1300 00 all of Boston, Mass.
13 shares Randolph National Bank, Randolph (par), 1300 00
$10,600 00
TURNER FUND.
City of Minneapolis, Minn., Bond, $1,000 00
The income of the fund is considerably less than it was some years ago, and for this and last year the bank tax paid into the state treasury has not been received therefrom by the trustees. The banks have paid said tax under protest, awaiting adjudication by the courts as to whether the tax has been legally levied or not. This Iquestion affects the fund
50
unfavorably ; it being a benevolent fund, the state treasurer declines to pay over the amount due until the court has de- cided the questions of law involved. The fund has suffered already on this account between three and four hundred dollars in the last two years. Whether this is to be a per- manent loss depends upon the uncertainties of litigation. The trustees have warrant to hope that ultimately it will be received in full. This year there has been a falling off in receipts from the use of the hall, of about seventy dollars, as compared with those of last year, attributable mainly to want of stage accommodation. The trustees have, in view of loss of rentals, enlarged the stage in the belief that the town will bear the expense. There is an article in town- meeting warrant, asking this action.
The financial statement herewith exhibits the receipts from all available sources, and the expenditures in connection with the Stetson High School, and for necessary repairs, heating, &c., of the town hall.
There were admitted to the school last spring forty-one pupils from the first classes of the grammar schools, making a total of eighty-five pupils at the opening in March, 1886. The school has been in session this year, as formerly, the period of thirty-eight weeks, under the instruction and general management of Mr. Edwin N. Lovering as princi- pal, and Miss Mary S. Stone and Miss Ada H. Tucker as assistants. The services of these teachers merit and receive the approval of the trustees, and they are pleased to believe, the confidence of the people of the town, that their admin- istration of affairs and instructions are potent for good upon the children of the school.
At the opening of the school, Miss Ada B. Chandler, in consequence of a sad family affliction, was unable to resume
51
the position which she had occupied with such marked satis- faction to patrons and powers, and Miss Stone has filled the position during the year. Miss Tucker was engaged to sup- ply a need of greater teaching force, induced by the estab- lishment of the English courses of study, apart from the former four years' classical course, which had dominated the school.
In regard to these English courses, the trustees have to say : At the beginning of the school year a radical change was made in the curriculum of the school. It had been the feeling of the trustees for some time that the best interests of the school demanded this change, so that pupils who intend to remain in the school but one year, or two years at the most, should not be compelled to pursue any study the full benefit of which can only be derived by several years of continuous work. Again, boys who propose to engage in mercantile life, or find employment in the leading industry of this town, need that special training in bookkeeping and arithmetic which it was impossible for them to receive when the school offered to them but one course of study, and that a classical one. The result of this has been that the teachers of the school have found it impossible to arouse any enthu- siasm in pupils who were pursuing a course of study which was distasteful to them, and at the same time unsatisfactory to their parents. With these facts before them, at the unani- mous desire of scholars, parents and teachers, the board decided to introduce a two years' business course and a four years' English course for the special benefit of those who wish to complete a four years' course without studying the classics or higher branches of mathematics. That the matter may be thoroughly understood there are included in this
52
report the three courses of study now open for choice to the pupils when admitted to the school.
Attention is called to the fact that the business course and the first two years of the English course are identical, and also, that the last two years of the English course and of the classical course differ only in respect of one study, those in the former studying German, and those in the latter, Latin. At the end of this trial year the trustees are of the opinion that the plan is decidedly a wise as well as a popu- lar one, in view of the facts that, of the entering class about three-fourths elected either the business or the English course, and, also, that during the year an unusually small number of pupils has withdrawn from the school. There certainly has been no recent year when so much honest and satisfactory work has been done as in this, so there is suffi- cient reason to believe that the change is one which will prove advantageous to the best interests of the school.
The school year was brought to a happy close on Friday afternoon, March 11th, by the graduation exercises of the senior class in the Town Hall, which was taxed to its utmost seating capacity to accommodate the friends of the class and the many friends of the school generally, among them the town officials and the clergy, by special invitation. These exercises were of a high order of excellence, evincing dili- gent application to study by the participants and thorough instruction by the teachers, and were listened to by the large audience in the most flattering manner, with the closest attention to the end. The following-named ( the graduating class) received the school's diplomas :-
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