USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Attleboro > Reports of town officers of the town of Attleborough 1939 > Part 7
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97
ANNUAL REPORT
JEWELRY TRADES SCHOOL Financial Statement
Appropriation :
Salaries .
$4,982.00
Equipment.
400.00
Maintenance
1,600.00
Rent
1,000.00
Expended :
Telephone
39.36
Gas.
60.29
Electric Lights
70.67
Power
268.05
Supplies
795.11
Maintenance and Replacement.
423.88
Janitors' Supplies
3.86
Miscellaneous.
19.92
$1,681.14
New Equipment
319.68
Rent .
999.96
$3,000.78
Teachers' Salaries
4,967.00
$7,967.78
7,967.78 $ 14.22
Balance
The State will not reimburse for new equipment or rent.
New Equipment. $ 319.68 Total cost. . .$7,967.78
Rent. 999.96
-1,319.64
Credit tuition received or due.
$1,319.64
-1,038.36
$5,609.78
1-2 x $5,609.78 to be received from State
$2,804.89
Tuition
1,038.36
To be credited against cost.
$3,843.25
Total cost to City to Dec. 31, 1939.
$7,967.78
Credits.
3,843.25
Net cost to City to Dec. 31, 1939
$4,124.53
RESIGNATIONS
The following resignations and retirements occurred during the year:
1939
Teacher
School
Reason To be married
June 8
Evelyn Y. Griffiths
High
June 16
Jeanette S. Smith
Tiffany
To be married
June 17 Etta E. Moore
High To be married
July 3
Helen B. Davis
Washington
August 4
Helen L. Macleod
Richardson
August 21
Hope P. Bosworth
Sanford Street
To be married To be married To be married Hamilton
September 22
Ruth L. Southwick
Farmers
October 19
Nellie L. Barker
Bliss
To be married
$7,982.00
$6,648.14
98
ANNUAL REPORT
RETIREMENTS
1939
Teacher School
July 1
Kathrina S. Thayer Finberg
after 45 years of service in the same school
July 27
Mrs. Florence J. Pike Farmers after 18 years service in Attleboro
The following janitors also retired during the year:
July 1
Charles C. Rockwood Bliss
July 1
Willard I. Alger Bliss
September 1
Thomas F. Dean
South Attleboro
December 31
Peter Gagner Finberg
PENMANSHIP Summary of Penmanship Awards 1938-1939
S. S.
Button
G. S.
Button
Palmer
Button
Merit
Button
Prog.
Pin
Junior
Cert.
Stud.
Cert.
H. S.
Cert.
1939
Total
1938
Total
Bliss. ..
35
48
39
51
63
22
60
31
349
323
Briggs Cor.
16
17
8
14
15
11
2
83
81
Capron .
7
19
14
8
48
58
Carpenter St ..
22
23
45
37
Dodgeville
13
17
5
9
16
5
65
98
Farmers
18
28
15
21
14
5
1
102
119
Finberg
21
7
19
13
15
17
16
108
121
Lincoln
1
11
12
15
18
3
33
37
130
180
Plat. .
10
4
11
25
26
Pleasant St.
15
17
18
50
55
Richardson. .
28
36
46
47
52
56
58
33
356
399
Sanford St.
22
28
24
64
26
51
72
24
311
372
So. Attleboro .
17
10
9
17
7
1
61
45
Tiffany
29
48
39
44
32
44
29
18
283
228
Washington ..
37
34
33
34
23
21
23
4
209
247
Totals
291
347
292
337
281
236
299
179
2262
1938 Totals
353
272
320
261
321
309
321
280
2437
Per Cent of Pupils in Each Grade Who Have Received the Palmer Award for the Grade
Grade
June Enrollment
Pupils Holding the award for the grade
Per Cent
High, Commercial.
16
14
89%
VIII.
322
305
95%
VII
360
320
89%
VI
369
340
92%
V.
326
308
94%
IV
315
301
96%
III
334
316
95%
323
314
97%
I.
319
299
94%
2684
2517
93.7%
High
Bank St.
5
19
24
36
13
13
12
II.
99
ANNUAL REPORT
Summary for Seven Years
Year
Number of Awards
Per Cent of Pupils having award for Grade
1932-1933
. 3306
90%
1933-1934
3203
91%
1934-1935
. 3032
91%
1935-1936
2736
93%
1936-1937
2933
96%
1937-1938.
2610
95%
1938-1939
2517
93.7%
SCHOOL SAVINGS BANK
Statement December 31, 1939
Dr.
Bal. on deposit Jan. 1, 1939, including int. ($1,465.33) $ 4,046.41
Deposits in First National Bank from Jan. 1, 1939-Dec. 31, 1939. . . 6,666.65
Interest from November 1938 to November 1939.
59.21
$ 10,772.27
Cr.
Transferred to pupils' individual accounts, Jan. 1, 1939 to Dec. 31, 1939. $ 6,602.70
Withdrawn, 1939, from interest to cover expenses. 37.52
Balance on deposit Dec. 31, 1939, including int. ($1.487.02)
4,132.05
$ 10,772.27
Total amount deposited since October, 1908. $190,251.78
Number of individual accounts opened at First National Bank from October 1908 to December 31, 1938.
.6771
January 1939 to December 31, 1939.
187
6958
Deposits Since the Establishment of the Bank in 1908
Year
Deposits
1908-1927 (inclusive)
$116,362.48
1928.
8,752.85
1929
8,586.30
1930
7,853.17
1931
8,026.85
1932
5,165.36
1933
3,713.67
1934
3,941.93
1935
4,503.35
1936
5,072.90
1937
5,950.33
1938
5,655.94
1939
6,666.65
$190,251.78
100
ANNUAL REPORT
A school system today consists of many varied endeavors. The activities of the High School, the Vocational School, the Jewelry Trades School and matters pertaining to health, music, art and athletics are contained in the reports of the principals, directors and supervisors accompanying this report. These reports give many details regarding important phases of school work. I commend them to your careful reading.
For several years reduced expenditures have prevented any expansion of the school program. Economy has been practiced wherever possible. Too much has been saved by neglecting the school buildings, and not making needed repairs when a few dollars spent at the right time would have saved large sums required later. Children have been and can be educated in poorly equipped buildings, but can be given the educational opportunities they deserve, only in buildings provided with the proper facilities and equipment. Some of our textbooks need to be replaced by newer texts which bring the subject matter up to date. Teachers are doing their best to keep the schools up to a high standard. They are loyal and self sacrificing, and interestd in doing their best to meet the individual needs of their pupils. To them belongs the credit for such progress as the schools have made.
Lewis A. Fales. Respectfully submitted,
101
ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE HIGH SCHOOL
Mr. Lewis A. Fales, Superintendent of Schools:
Following is my fourth annual report as principal of Attleboro High School.
The chart below shows the growth of the high school over a period of ten years.
Enrollment Over a Period of Ten Years, 1929-1939 (As of November Each Year)
1000
.
950
900
850
800
750
700
650
Building constructed for this
number
600
1929
1931
1933
1935
1937
1939
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
These figures show a rather steady increase from a 1929 enrollment which was only slightly greater than the planned capacity of the building (600) to a 1939 enrollment (980) which probably represents a peak in the school's growth. As- suming a continuation of present local economic conditions, it is unlikely that the high school enrollment will exceed 1000 (except during early registration in September) for a good many years to come.
102
ANNUAL REPORT
Enrollment by Curriculum (As of June 1, 1939, for the Year 1939-1940)
Man'l. H'd.
Class
College Prep.
Com'l.
Arts
Arts
Civic Arts
Total
Seniors.
69
25
22
15
42
173
Juniors.
61
68
2
18
97
246
Sophomores
68
03
38
15
56
267
Freshmen.
Bank Street
57
40
27
19
18
161
Bliss. .
26
16
12
8
7
69
Finberg
0
9
3
1
5
18
Lincoln .
4
9
14
13
6
46
St. Joseph's
2
5
4
1
1
13
Repeaters
1
2
2
0
0
5
03
81
62
42
37
312
Totals.
288
264
124
90
232
998
Enrollment by Class (As of November 27, 1939)
Seniors-176 members
Sixty credits are required for full senior standing. Pupils who do not make quite this number of credits in three years are required to sit in junior home rooms but are permitted to elect enough subjects to make the total of eighty credits required for graduation.
Juniors-207 members
Forty credits are required for full junior standing. Of these two hundred and seven juniors, twenty are so-called "near-seniors," the majority of whom are taking a sufficient number of credits to graduate in June provided they pass everything. The largest class ever to graduate from Attleboro High School numbered one hundred and ninety-four in 1935. The graduating class of 1940 may exceed even that number.
Sophomores-288 members
At least fifteen credits are required for full class standing.
Freshmen-316 members
Freshmen are accepted upon recommendation of their eighth grade principal.
P. G.'s-3 members
Of 980 pupils still registered, November 27, 1939, 460 were boys and 520 girls.
Enrollment by Subject (As of June 16, 1939 for the Year 1939-1940)
It may be of interest, also, to note the subjects which these pupils study. A few subjects ,of course, are required for everyone. These are English (four years), United States history, and mathematics. In addition, specific subjects are a necessary part of course requirements in all curricula. A pupil in the commercial course, for example, must pass bookkeeping (at least one year;) a pupil in the civic arts course must pass elementary physics; a college-course pupil, Latin (at least. two years); and so on.
103
ANNUAL REPORT
English
1045
Elementary Science
168
French
257
Biology . .
145
German.
164
College Chemistry.
47
Latin .
195
College Physics.
16
Algebra.
182
Descriptive Chemistry
56
Plane Geometry.
76
Household Chemistry
21
Solid Geom. and Trig.
23
Elementary Physics.
127
General Mathematics.
57
Typewriting
267
Commercial Athithmetic
89
Stenography
71
Shop Mathematics
64
Bookkeeping.
150
Household Arithmetic.
44
Office Practice.
13
Ancient History
03
Junior Business Training
96
World History
60
Commercial Geography
154
Modern European History
96
Nutrition and Clothing
93
U. S. History and Civics .
300
Household Management
22
Problems of Democracy
28
Manual Training
121
Community Civics.
219
Mechanical Drawing.
112
Economics and Law
89
Art.
151
Music
244
Pupils Dropping Out
Since September 7, 1939, the beginning of the school year 1939-1940, 42 pupils have left school. Exactly what happens to these individuals and how they adjust themselves to out-of-school life is a question to which, it must be admitted, the school does not have a complete answer. Only the following information is available.
Transferred to other high schools.
7
To Vocational School.
2
To Jewelry Trades School
2
Army.
1
Known to be working
4
Have home permit .
3
No information
23
42
It is hoped that some day facilities may be made available to enable the school, along with other social agencies in the city, to fulfill its responsibility toward these young people who for one reason or another find it undesirable or impossible to continue in school.
The New Addition
Soon after the September opening of school in the current year, when all new equipment had finally arrived, the school began to realize the full benefits of the new quarters. Briefly, they may be set down as follows:
1. Improved lighting in all rooms. This could be made still more adequate in the old rooms by the refinishing of walls and ceilings, a few each summer.
2. A modern system of heating and ventilation in all rooms of the addition. Repairs should be made in the humidifying equipment of the old building. Un- questionably a good many colds and pupil absences are chargeable to the dry air being forced into rooms during the fall and winter months.
3. A new study room accommodating ninety pupils where ideal conditions of seating and light prevail. The assembly hall as a study room has been done away with. It is still necessary for pupils to study in the rear of classes; but this number, which used to average ten or a dozen per room each period, is now reduced to about eight.
4. Additional locker facilities. The new lockers, conveniently placed in the new corridor walls, promote greater neatness, honesty, and increased respect for property rights.
104
ANNUAL REPORT
5. New and enlarged toilet room and shower equipment.
6. New stairways making easier and safer access to and from the gymnasium floor.
7. A modern cafeteria with seating and table accommodations for approxi- mately 225 pupils.
8. Greatly expanded quarters and additional new equipment for a broader program of training in woodworking and the mechanic arts.
9. Provision for almost double the old number of typewriters. The subject is now elective for qualified pupils regardless of their course.
10. A new advanced course in office practice (for a selected group of senior girls.) These students are chosen for excellence in English as well as in com- mercial subjects. They are given training in the personal qualities required for successful office work ,in the use of such machines as the dictaphone, adding machine, calculator, hektograph, mimeograph, in filing, in advanced trans- scription, and in other matters of office routine.
11. New quarters for the household arts department, consisting of a large sewing and finishing room where girls may also receive instruction in home management, and a modern laboratory divided into five kitchen units.
12. Two non-college science rooms where facilities of gas, water, and electricity provide an opportunity for the teacher to supplement the work of the textbook by suitable demonstrations. These rooms make it possible to free the former single science room for the use of college-preparatory students only who are still required to do intensive work in the laboratory.
13. New rubber tile flooring in the corridors. This has resulted not only in the greatly improved appearance of the corridor but in the almost complete elimination of the noise which was always a problem in the old creaking wood floors.
14. An enlarged library to accommodate upwards of forty pupils.
The curriculum figures given earlier in this report show that approximately 71% of students in the high school are enrolled in non-college preparatory work. The benefits of the new addition cited above, and the more complete statement of the principal's report of a year ago anticipating these benefits, afford a general picture of what the school is now able to offer this large group who will go directly into work occupations after graduation.
New Courses
Following intensive study by a committee of the faculty, two new subjects were added to the curriculum in the spring by vote of the school committee. These are the office practice course already referred to and a course known as Problems of Democracy. The former subject, strictly vocational in character, is limited to a small group of advanced students in the commercial course. It is from this group that the school seeks to answer the needs of business and pro- fessional establishments in Attleboro which seek alert and well-trained young women in office positions. The second course is eventually to be required of all seniors except those going to college. It is an attempt to give seniors-so soon to become voters !- an appreciation of the problems of local and national govern- ment which confront us today. Prominent among the problems considered in this course are taxation, relief, and unemployment. Since 1936 the curriculum of the high school has been modernized by the addition of new subject offerings, including these latest two. The other courses have been general mathematics and junior business training, both offered in the freshman year. The civic arts curriculum, organized in 1937, remains the third most popular curriculum in the school. This development is reflected in a greater homogeneity in the more specialized classes of the college preparatory and the commercial group, affording opportunity for more intensive work and a better kind of product.
105
ANNUAL REPORT
Occupations of Graduates of June, 1939
Total number of graduates
161
Working or at home.
106
Institutions of higher education:
Atlantic Union College
1
Bates.
Bentley School of Accounting
1
Boston College.
1
Boston University-Business Administration.
1
Boston University-Sargent School of Physical Education.
1
Bridgewater Teachers College.
2
Brown.
2
Bryant
2
Burdett.
2
Emmanuel
1
Framingham Teachers College
1
Junior Colleges. .
3
Katharine Gibbs
5
Kenley's Civil Service School
1
Nursing School.
9
Providence College.
3
Rhode Island School of Design.
2 1
Skidmore ..
University of Maine.
1 1
University of Missouri.
1
Wheaton.
Total. 44
Other types of education :
Post graduate study at A. H. S.
3
Cole Trade School, Southbridge, Mass.
1
C. C. C. (Colorado)
1
Total. 5
Married.
1
Unaccounted for.
5
Total 161
Follow-up of Graduates
Annually in the fall, a brief questionnaire is mailed to every graduate of the previous June. The information gained from the returns of this questionnaire may serve a variety of valuable purposes: (1) establish contact with graduates known to be without a job with some local industry looking for help; (2) check on the effectiveness and carry-over of school training; and (3) aid in keeping high school instruction in step with the demands of modern business, industry, and higher education. Below is a sample of one of the blanks.
Dear A. H. S. alumnus:
Where are you? what are you doing? and how goes it? Answers to these questions will help your high school to keep in step with progress. If changes in the school's programs are needed for better preparation for your life work, prompt return of the attached card with blanks filled in will be the surest way to bring them to pass. Will you help? Let's make the returns 100% unanimous. If you care to write me an addition- al personal letter, it will be more than welcome.
Best wishes!
2
106
ANNUAL REPORT
Principal
Name.
(New) Address
(Cross out "new" if there has been no change)
Present Occupation and Location. ..
How long after graduation before you secured your present position !?
Weekly Income (check) ($10-15) (16-20) (21-25) (26-30) Married or single ?.
Advancement and special honors.
What high school subjects do you feel have helped you most ?.
What would you like to have taken?
What single factor do you think is chiefly responsible for your success?
A few letters received in response to the principal's invitations to write him personally indicate an appreciation of school and teachers which is one of the real satisfactions of the teaching profession.
The High School Building and the Public
As a public building, the high school should of course be available to the maximum extent possible for those worthy local organizations which for years have been accustomed to use this as a meeting place. The number of calls for the use of the building, however, has so increased that during the past fall, as never before, the school has been faced with the difficult problem of adjusting its program to the calendar of outside organizations. The school's calendar of athletic, social, dramatic, and musical events must necessarily be drawn up during the school year, while other organizations may plan in advance from year to year. In the future, greater restriction upon the use of the building by outside organizations may be advisable if the educational program of the school is not to suffer. It is to be hoped that when plans are considered by the city for a modern building to replace the old Bank Street and Sanford Street properties, serious attention will be paid the need of another auditorium as well as another gym- nasium.
Student Activities
The school's program of so-called extra-curricular activities is continuing as an active expression of its belief that in these activities there is great possibility of training of the kind not so readily obtainable in the classroom. A revived Drivers' Club for those students soon to apply for their drivers' liense is repeating its effective program of two years ago. The Hi-Y and Tri-Y Clubs, both com- posed of junior and senior students, have a worthwhile purpose in the support of school enterprises such as field hockey and the school handbook. A new Printing Club has already won praise for its good work in assisting with the advertising of a number of school events of the past fall. This club is composed of a small group of enthusiastic boys who by their own efforts have raised sufficient funds to purchase a small press and a modest supply of type. This activity may well be the forerunner of a new subject, some day to be accepted into the cur- riculum, to supplement the training of both the English and the manual arts departments.
Beginning in September, the homeroom period has become an increasingly important part of the extra-curricular program, particularly in matters of pupil guidance. A variety of original programs have been sponsored among the twenty-seven homerooms, perhaps the most successful taking the nature of Christmas parties before the December vacation. Several rooms prepared large boxes with Christmas dinners and toys for needy families of the community.
The Student Council, composed of class officers, the editor of the school magazine, and representatives from all home rooms, is an active force in the life of the student body. It conducts and supervises the various class elections, supports athletics and other student activities and cooperates with the faculty
107
ANNUAL REPORT
for the smooth running of the entire school. Following visits to other schools, a special committee of the Council, through assemblies and announcements to the student body, has had an effective share in the management and operation of the new cafeteria. A rally prior to the Thanksgiving Day game which was organized and conducted entirely under the auspices of the Student Council, was pro- nounced the best in the history of the school. A committee of girls has for the past three years accepted responsibility for conditions in the girls' room. Similar- ly, in all aspects of student life, the policy of the school has been to place the responsibility for successful student affairs upon the pupils themselves. The school, conceived distinctly as a cooperative enterprise and as a trial ground for future citizens, is managed jointly by the administration, the faculty, and the student body. To quote from a recent educational article on this subject, "The dictator spirit is conspicuously absent." A few years from now we can scarcely criticise these young people for failure to take an active part in the affairs of the community, and for failure to assume individual responsibility for good citizenship and good government, if we have not provided previous opportunity for learning the meaning of responsibility during their high school days.
An improved Blue Owl made its appearance before the dismissal of classes for the Christmas vacation. Not only was this first issue earlier than in former years; it also set a higher standard of literary and journalistic achievement for succeeding staffs to emulate. Returning to a policy of years ago, staff members are once again chosen by competition, the English faculty assisting in the final selection of the students who will be responsible for the quality of the publication. For the financial success of the Blue Owl the school is indebted to the generosity of business men of the city whose advertising in the magazine and the yearbook constitutes its chief basis of support.
Athletics
The past year marks the beginning of a more adequate program of physical education in the high school, made possible by the selection of four new teachers qualified for work in athletics. Approximately seventy-five boys have partici- pated in organized football during the past fall, there being three distinct teams each with a schedule of interscholastic competition. On November 15, a fresh- man-sophomore football contest contributed greatly to the development of interest in the sport and stimulated class spirit to an amazing degree. This game is to be continued as an annual contest between the two lower classes. It is an example of the spirit of athletics at its best.
The improved shower and dressing room facilities now make it possible for the football squad to dress in the building.
About forty girls are taking part in basketball under the supervision of two new teacher-coaches. From this larger number a smaller group is selected through inter-mural games to represent the school in interscholastic competition.
Field hockey, a new sport for girls, has been promoted by the Student Council and financed partly by the girls of the school. Appreciation is due the General Plate Company for the use of a corner of its field for afternoon practice. With the coming of spring there may be arranged a few games with other schools. This is a fine sport for healthful out-of-door exercise which has been taken ad- vantage of by a number of girls not out for basketball.
With all the sports of the school-football, basketball, hockey, baseball, track for the boys, and basketball and field hockey for the girls-we are still providing physical education for fewer than 25% of all boys and girls. However fine may be a school's general equipment and program, it is still not a modern high school wherever such a condition exists.
Music
The music department of any school yields returns which are tangible and definite not alone to the participants themselves but to the community at large.
108
ANNUAL REPORT
Over two hundred pupils are taking advantage of the school's program in glee club, orchestra, band, and music theory. As an aid to this department there should be a combined radio-recording machine available with a supply of re- cords. These instruments are now on the market at a very reasonable figure.
Reading
The testing program in reading begun two years ago is being continued with special texts and remedial exercises provided for a small group of underclass pupils with deficiencies in this important tool of learning. The earlier years of the lower grades will, of course, bring greatest rewards in this work.
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