USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Attleboro > Reports of town officers of the town of Attleborough 1941 > Part 7
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SCHOOL SAVINGS BANK
Statement December 31, 1941 Dr.
Balance on deposit Jan. 1, 1941, including interest ($1,510.22) $ 3,871.90
Deposits in First National Bank from Jan. 1, 1941-Dec. 31, 1941 . 7,584.51
Interest from November, 1940, to November, 1941
49.70
$ 11,506.11
Cr.
Transferred to pupils' individual accounts, Jan. 1, 1941 to Dec. 31, 1941 . . $ 7,199.00
Withdrawn, 1941, from interest to cover expenses. 27.26
Balance on deposit Dec. 31, 1941, including interest ($1,529.40) 4,279.85
$ 11,506.11
Total amount deposited since October, 1908. $203,778.94
Number of individual accounts opened at First National Bank from October, 1908 to December 31, 1940. 7116
January, 1941, to December 31, 1941 194
7310
Number of pupils depositing in the school bank Dec. 31, 1941 1451
Rank
Finberg.
197
197
90
ANNUAL REPORT
Deposits since the Establishment of the Bank in 1908
Deposits
Year
190S-1935 (inclusive) $166,905.96
1936.
5,072.90
1937 5,950.33
1938.
5,655.94
1939
6,666.65
1940
5,942.65
1941
7,584.51
Total deposits to December 31, 1941. $203,778.94
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS
When the Willett School was opened in September, two rooms for eighth grade pupils were opened at the Richardson School. This arrangement placed ·n the Richardson School all the elementary grades from the kindergarten through the eighth. At the Richardson School, also, was opened a domestic arts room so That the girls in the seventh and eighth grades in the Bliss and the Richardson `schools have the same fine opportunity to learn cooking and sewing as the girls un the other schools in the city having eight grades. The establishment of these wo domestic arts rooms this year, one at the Willett School and the other at the Richardson School marks a distinct forward step in our educational program.
The new shop at the Willett School accommodates the boys in the seventh and eighth grades and also the boys of the Vocational School. The shop is well outfitted as a general shop, and has equipment for sheet metal work, metal turning and simple electrical wiring, as well as the usual woodworking equipment. This shop is prepared to give any boy, so inclined, a good start towards becoming a machine operator, or a career in mechanics.
The Manual Arts Course at the High School has been broadened and am- plified so that it follows naturally after the course in the seventh and eighth grades. Three metal turning lathes have been added to the equipment as well as machines for working on sheet metal. Any boy taking this course at the High School can more intelligently enter the Jewelry Trades School, or take up some manual trade in industry.
The boy or girl who has no inclination to go to college, and does not care to take commercial subjects, has an excellent opportunity in our schools if a boy, to lay the foundation for a good trade or, if a girl, to acquire those domestic arts and skills which have always been essential for the efficient management of a home.
As a further forward step in education, the first three grades have been supplied with a complete set of Work-Play Reading material. This is the first time in years that all the primary grades have been so well prepared to teach reading and already excellent results are being secured. Our aim is to teach reading according to the ability of the child to learn, and to supply each pupil with a quantity of reading material suited to his needs.
Applying to all subjects the same principle that has been applied to reading, classes this year have been divided according to the mental ability of the pupils, those of about the same learning capacity being placed in the same learning groups. This arrangement will work to the advantage of both groups, the slower groups completing the minimum required for promotion, and the faster groups having an enriched course of study to keep them working to the limit of their ability to learn.
Stanford Achievement Tests in reading, language, arithmetic and spelling were given in grades, V, VI, VII and VIII in May. Metropolitan Achievement Tests in reading were given in grade IV. A pupil's rank, on these tests was a factor in determining promotion in June.
91
ANNUAL REPORT
Criticism of the public schools is general. There is so much to criticise that nearly anyone can find something that is wrong and needs correction. This situation is not confined to Attleboro but exists all over the country. Each critic has his own ideas for the correction of educational faults. The trouble is, the critics do not agree on the remedy to be applied. Meanwhile, the schools go on.
To my mind, the schools reflect the times in which we live. They will not improve until our modern democratic civilization demands it and is willing to pay for it. The cost of the schools is always a topic for conversation when the tax rate is under consideration. How to keep the cost down and at the same time improve educational opportunities is a difficult problem. I know of no one who has solved it.
Attleboro schools have a good reputation in Massachusetts. The per pupil cost compared with the rest of the State has always been low. The teachers are earnest and loyal, and anxious for good results. All the tests that have been given over a long period of years show that our standards are high. We have no educa- tional frills. Perhaps we should have more. The aim of the schools is to take all the children of all the people and give each one the education best suited to his needs. This can be done only partially under the present system, but the teachers are doing the best they can. The results speak for themselves. People like to move to Attleboro because the city has clean, honest, efficient government and because the schools are good.
Respectfully submitted,
Lewis A. Fales.
A REPORT OF THE ACTING PRINCIPAL OF THE HIGH SCHOOL
Mr. Lewis A. Fales, Superintendent of Schools:
I herewith submit with pleasure my annual report for the Attleboro High School.
I. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENROLLMENT FIGURES.
1931 853
1935 941
1941 851
Mr. Mack, having made a similar study in 1935, made the following state- ment: "This would seem to strengthen the conviction that we have reached an approximate level of about 900 pupils each year."
Such a level would depend on the economic condition existing at the time. During the trying period through which we are now passing, industries are making demands greater than during the past few years. As a result the enrollment has decreased to a figure approximating that of 1931. It is my firm conviction that a post-war period, accompanied by a "let-up in production, would see the enroll- ment figures mounting to the level of 1934 and 1935. The present enrollment figure, plus the classes in Jewelry Trade School, makes the new addition as wel- come this year as it has been in the past.
II. SCHOLARSHIP
English Department,
A school-wide attack on problems of spelling and vocabulary building has been instituted and every teacher of English is playing a part in this program. The effort will be continued with vigor throughout the year.
Material recommended for outside reading has been in need of revision. A new list of novels has been prepared for college-preparatory freshmen, and a sophomore list of novels has been revised. The program is now expanding.
92
ANNUAL REPORT
Every teacher in the department is working on a completely revised and enlarged set of lists of novels, plays, poems, essays, and other non-fiction for use from freshmen through senior year. Miss Smith, the librarian, is cooperating in every possible way, and we are all receiving splendid cooperation from the Attleboro Public Library.
Several teachers are investigating with the head of the department the most urgent textbook needs. They have secured samples of the best books offered by the leading publishing houses, and these books are now being studied and com- pared to determine which ones are best adapted to our needs.
A plan to prepare and make available to all teachers of the department exercises to supplement composition texts is already in operation. This service is to be steadily expanded until it answers the needs of teachers and pupils com- pletely.
This year the "Blue Owl" has been supervised by Mr. Wendell Weeks, head of the English Department. The Ad-selling campaign produced over $600, a substantial increase over last year. The Subscription fund has risen to over $600, likewise a definite gain. The material for the first issue of the "Blue Owl" was in the hands of the printer the last week in November.
Social Studies
Two projects contemplated by the department are:
1. Further cooperation with the national committee, of which Mr. Nelson Rockefeller is chairman, for the improving of relations with Latin American countries.
2. Collaboration with the 1944 Committee by stressing the history of Attleboro and the study of local problems.
The study of Latin American relations has already been started in Miss Simonds' modern history classes; and first steps have been taken in regard to the need for becoming familiar with available records of Attleboro. Mr. Edgett's problems of democracy class studied maps and other source material on the city's early history.
Mr. Edgett's problems of democracy division made traffic surveys to deter- mine the possibility of diverting traffic away from the center of Attleboro, and plans for a community house, where athletic and social affairs might be held. The class felt honored to have a set of suggestive plans for an athletic field in back of Willett School used by the school committee in laying out the grounds.
From the plans for a city hall, with a park adjoining, on the site of the Sanford Street School, and for the opening of new streets through the parking lot on North Main Street, a wooden model of a civic center was constructed by one of the pupils.
A unique contribution by the problems of democracy class was a series of three maps, for 1900, 1920, and 1940, composed of dots indicating the location of population, as determined by counting the number of people on each street, according to the street directories of each of these years. By comparing the three maps, it is possible to visualize the shift of population in Attleboro over a period of forty years.
These projects were entered in a state-wide city planning competition last spring at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where they received a medal because of their originality and actual usefulness to the city. Our entries have been taken by the chairman of the state committee to exhibit at other schools, in order to interest them in participating in the contest this year.
Foreign Languages
The French Conversation Club is now in its second year. Both enthusiasm and membership have increased. Sixteen advanced students are now enrolled in the course which aims at greater confidence and fluency in spoken French.
93
ANNUAL REPORT
Science
A course in elementary chemistry with laboratory work for those girls who are to become nurses is being considered. At present there is a laboratory class after school to take care of the requirements of these girls. A number of girls elect college preparatory chemistry who would much better be served by such a course.
Commercial
The office practice class consists of a small group of senior girls who have shown, during their junior year, evidence of more than average ability in short- hand and typing. The class is handled as nearly as possible like an actual busi- ness office. The girls take turns serving as managers and assistants for two weeks at a time during the year. The manager is responsible for checking attend- ance, answering the telephone, meeting all people who come to the room, and, with the help of her assistant, checking the work of all the pupils. The teacher acts as a court of appeal if any problems arise which the manager cannot settle.
Just as in an office the various workers are engaged in different jobs, so in the office practice classroom there are many types of work being done at the same time. Some pupils may be learning to operate the calculators or the adding machine while others are cutting stencils or making duplicate copies on the mimcograph or hektograph. One girl is always transcribing at the dictaphone while others may be typing and filing cards or letters. Py using a rotating system, all the pupils have an opportunity to practice on all the types of machines before the year is over. Besides the practice in machine work, they learn to do various kinds of typing which they may encounter in an office, such as, writing telegrams and cablegrams, filling in names and addresses on form letters, typing bills, filling in printed legal forms and bills of lading.
The work of the advanced shorthand class has been made more interesting to the pupils through the use of the transcription tests which the Gregg Publish- ing Company sends out each month. Certificates are offered to pupils trans- cribing these tests with 90 per cent accuracy. The rate of dictation begins at 60 words a minute for the first test and increases 20 words for each following test. The dictation lasts for five minutes and the pupils are allowed forty-five minutes for transcription on the 60 and 80-word tests and sixty minutes for the 100- and 120-word tests. These certificates have been a great incentive to the pupils in improving both their shorthand speed and their transcription skill. In last year's class nineteen out of twenty-two earned the 100-word certificate and six received the pin awarded for the 120-word test.
Manual Arts
The old "Manual Training" idea has gradually evolved into a General Shop course wherein skills are being emphasized in woodworking, sheet-metal, and machine lathe work. As evidence of this I submit some of the projects completed by the boys under the direction of Mr. Spatcher:
1. Banquet tables for Sturdy Memorial Hospital.
2. Museum of Art display tables.
3. Museum of Art exhibition panel for pictures.
4. Built-in closet for Science Department of A. H. S.
5. Stage extension for band and for graduation exercises.
6. Twelve stretchers completed for civilian defense, with fifty more under construction.
7. Christmas lighting exhibit at the Murray Church.
Mechanical Drawing
The work in the Mechanical Drawing course has, insofar as possible, par- allelled the work in the woodworking department. The young men have studied drawings, orthographical and pictorial, and have learned to use working drawings and blue prints in connection with shop projects.
ANNUAL REPORT
They have drawn up problems for use in the shop mathematics class.
In addition to this they have studied the type of mechanical drawings used in the various industries, and have done some advanced work in the field of perspective and advanced machine drawing.
Visual Education
Over a period of years a program of visual education has developed, and is, at the present time, under the direction of Mr. Kenneth Goding, head of the science department. The commercial geography classses have made very good use of these films. A follow-up study is being made, whenever possible, im- mediately after viewing each film. Some of the most interesting films shown during the past year are listed below :
1. Bakelite-The Fourth Kingdom
2. Asbestos
3. About bananas
4. Coffee From Brazil to You
5. From Mountain to Cement Sack
6. Wildwood, a 100% Mechanized Mine
7. Nature's Most Versatile Product-Asphalt
8. River Rouge Plant
9. The Story of Gasoline
10. The Land of Cotton
11. Beyond the Rainbow
12. Alaska's Silver Millions
13. Through Oil Fields of Mexico
14. The Voice of Business
15. The Story of My Life by Mr. Shoe
16. The Making of Steel
17. Sulphur Mining
18. Steel-Raw Materials
19. Story of the Fire
20. Waterpower
A. H. S. Library
During the year 1940-1941 there were 6,277 more pupils who used the library than there were in 1939-1940. 1,029 more books were circulated. Each year an increasing number of pupils have made use of the library since the room was enlarged by the building of the addition to the high school.
Music
The orchestra and vocal units under the direction of Mr. Gibb, are holding the interest of a large number of students as the following figures will show:
Upperclass Chorus 42
Freshman Chorus Glee Club 68
38
Orchestra 28 Home Music. 25
The Attleboro High School Band has had a very successful year under the leadership of Mr. Zambarano, its director, and Mr. Cooper as drill master. The band is annually called upon to appear at many civic functions such as Armistice Day, Memorial Day, Hallowe'en, as well as the more important home football games. We have been honored by being asked to appear on several special occasions such as the Community Chest Luncheon and the Women's Clubs Scholarship meeting at the Bates Theatre where we were well received.
Last year the Attleboro group joined in its annual concert with the band from the Cranston High School, and a fine performance was put on in each school
95
ANNUAL REPORT
which was both musically and financially a great success. A suggestion to combine our Blue and White with the Red and White from North Attleboro in a gala patriotic concert has been advanced to add interest and variety this year.
The band is out of the red for the first time in its history, having made the final payment on a bill of over one thousand dollars for uniforms. Now free from this debt we should be financially able to compete next May in the all-New England Music Festival to be held in Providence, Rhode Island.
III. ATHLETICS
The 1941 football season was the most successful in years as the team went through the season undefeated. Great credit is due Coach Howard Tozier and his able assistants for this splendid record.
During the football season seventy-five boys were outfitted and played on the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman squads.
The basketball teams, first and second, had about twelve members each.
If to this number you add the twenty-five girls who went out for field hockey and the fifty girls who are interested in basketball, you have some two hundred and thirteen players taking part in the above-mentioned sports. To this number must be added the members of the track and tennis squads and you will realize the interest that is being taken in our athletic program.
During the present year we are attempting to stimulate interest in some of the sports which have not been too well attended in the past. It is to be hoped that more students will participate in some branch of athletics during their high school careers in order to derive the many benefits which are rightfully theirs.
IV. GUIDANCE
This year every freshman is being interviewed by Mr. Allison to discover the students' attitude, progress, work habits and, if possible, post-school plans. We want the members of the entering class to feel that we are interested in each one, and that we are ready to help in any way we can.
We are giving the Terman Group Test of Mental Ability to all freshmen. The judicious use of mental tests in a school system nearly always brings, as a matter of natural evolution, fundamental changes in curriculum, methods, classification of pupils, and vocational guidance.
The school employment service has helped sixty students to find part-time work after the student graduates. We try to find out in advance, the location of the place of work, type of work, number of hours, pay, number of people working, health and safety conditions.
We have many calls for full-time workers. These requests we have, in many cases, been unable to meet due to the fact that most of our graduates are em- ployed or are away at school.
We are making a survey of our 1941 graduates to determine their employ- ment status.
All pupils taking the college preparatory course are interviewed by the senior adviser, Miss Edith Claflin. These interviews are for the purpose of checking requirements of each institution and making certain that the pupil in question is adequately prepared to enter the desired school.
V. EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Student Council
The Student Council, under the guidance of Mr. Kendall Gleason, has developed new strength recently and has become interested in several worthwhile projects. Several assemblies have already been put on under the direct super- vision of the Council, and in every instance they have been an unqualified success.
The present day national emergency program has found the Council co- operating in every way possible and already a campaign for the sale of Defense Stamps is well under way. A committee of students has recently made a study
96
ANNUAL REPORT
of fire drill technique, and it hopes to devise a drill program that will adequately and efficiently protect the entire student body. Junior Red Cross
A Junior Red Cross unit is being formed, and its members are trying in every way to fit themselves for service to their community and country. Yarn for sweaters is to be distributed in quantities directly from the school, and a course in first aid is being given consideration.
Print Club
The Print Club, under Mr. Tunstall's guidance, has completed numerous projects such as the printing of tickets and programs for school functions as well as occasional forms or blanks for general use. This has provided some excellent training for the members in design, art, composition, and use of good English.
Senior Play
The Senior Play, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" was coached by Miss Beatrice Smith, our librarian. It was a great success, and was enthusiastically received by a large audience. The manual arts department aided in designing and constructing the scenery used.
Photography Club
The Photography Club, under the direction of Mr. David Lupien, got off to a good start this year. Pictures of the "North" game were taken by members of the club and used in the first issue of the Blue Owl
At the present time the club is working on plans for a dark-room and hopes to realize this ambition in the near future.
VI. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. A revised course in elementary chemistry, offering enough laboratory work to meet the requirements of the various schools of nursing, could well be added to the Civic Arts Course. Such a course would be of great value to young ladies who wish to meet this requirement without taking the College Course or college chemistry.
2. In the manual arts department a blower system to remove dust is definitely needed. About one hundred boys are working in the shop daily, and such a system would help to protect and safeguard the health of everyone in this department.
3. A motion picture machine to show sound film is needed for use in the classrooms. This would increase the effectiveness of the visual education pro- gram. As it is now, the assembly hall or room 304 has to be used as a projection room, and Mr. Young has to bring the projector with him each time a sound film is used. Such an arrangement is oftentimes inconvenient, especially if the assembly hall or room 304 is being used at that particular time. In any event the class viewing the picture has to be moved from its own classroom to the assembly hall or to room 304.
The use of such a machine in the classroom would necessitate the installation of dark curtains in the classrooms to be used for that purpose.
VII. TABLES
Enrollment September 19, 1941
Boys
Girls
Totals
Seniors
62
94
156
Juniors
78
96
174
Sophomores
114
161
275
Freshmen
128
115
243
P. G.'s.
2
1
3
384
467
851
97
ANNUAL REPORT
Enrollment December 1, 1941
Seniors
155
Juniors.
174
Sophomores
270
Freshmen
244
P. G.'s.
3
Total.
846
Trade School-rooms 108 and 08-45 pupils in alternate weeks.
Enrollment by Course, September, 1941
H'd Man'1
College
Tech.
Com'1
Arts
Arts
Civic Arts
Total
Seniors
48
9
54
3
4
37
155
Juniors
50
9
53
18
28
47
205
Sophomores
49
11
77
22
29
'56
254
Freshmen
62
16
80
16
34
29
237
219
45
264
59
95
169
851
Distribution of Last Year's Graduating Class
Institutions of Higher Learning
42
Girls in Training
7
Girls Working
64
Boys Working
47
In the Service.
3
Post-Graduates
2
Trade School .
1
Married.
1
Unaccounted for
9
176
Pupils Leaving School
Employed
11
Continuation School.
2
Transferred to other schools
7
Working at home.
8
Unaccounted for
17
45
Respectfully submitted,
Freeman Hall, Jr.
98
ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF CONTINUATION AND VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS
Mr. Lewis A. Fales, Superintendent of Schools:
I herewith submit the annual report of the Continuation and Vocational schools.
During the school year December 1, 1940, to December 1, 1941, 88 pupils have left the school. Information has been secured about these individuals as follows:
Employed.
Boys 31
Girls 43
Total 74
C. C. Č.
7
7
Unemployed.
4
1
5
Transferred to other schools.
1
1
2
No information.
0
0
0
Occupational Distribution of Those Employed
Jewelry and allied industries. . 19
21
40
Textiles ..
3
5
8
Retail store.
2
6
8
Dairy.
1
1
Paper box manufacturing.
1
6
7
Printing.
1
1
Carpenter work.
1
1
Mfg. electrical appliances
2
2
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