USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Merrimac > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Merrimac 1928 > Part 4
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It is not sound business policy for any community to tolerate second and third rate school buildings; in the end the whole tone of the community life is lowered,
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SCHOOL REPORT
and the money sunk in upkeep and repairs on gone-by structures constitutes a dead loss.
Merrimac is fortunate just at the present time in : that her bond liabilities are nearing a conclusion.
A citizen of Merrimac the other day said, in sub- stance, "Why talk about a new building? Why not keep going just as we are? What was good enough for a generation back is good enough for a generation hence."
Most of us are given to fantasies now and then, and most of our fantasies occur in fields in which we have only a smattering of the facts at hand. To us New Englanders there is something particularly appealing about the dream of the little red schoolhouse and the schoolmaster of yore, the self-abnegating soul whose chief pay was his joy in invigorating life through knowledge. But most of us would dislike to see this schoolmaster pinched and cramped under the congested and unhygienic conditions of our present Centre School. At heart we realize that he and his pupils had space and quietude in which to breathe and grow and wax strong. In other words, he and his pupils had, almost without cost, those essential conditions for proper growth and development for which we are ask- ing today. The very citizen who spoke, Santayana-like, in undertone of sweet regret for a vanished world, doubtlessly lives a life as consistent with the present as this schoolmaster's was with the past. It is to be ex- pected that he went in his automobile to a modern heated home and enjoyed his electric lights, telephone, and radio. Probably, too, his wife does not spin. And yet. .....
"Where shall our children play?" I asked.
"Same place as they used to years ago," he re- sponded.
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SCHOOL REPORT
I am glad to record the question and the answer for the consideration of citizens as they watch the street and the Square and grounds about our Centre School, 1929.
I have centered my report unapologetically about your chief need, omitting many details which would usually come from the superintendent. Only a word or two more.
My term of office has been rather short to attempt at this time a significant summary of the strong and weak points of your present system. Then, too, there are ways and means today which are much better than mere judgment for comparing school accomplishment with certain nation-wide grade medians. Early in 1929 I hope to start a sort of preliminary survey. In this work I know that I shall have hearty cooperation, and no one will be more interested than the teachers them- selves in helping to determine which subjects are cry- ing loudest for more and better instruction.
Since my term of office your staff has remained unchanged, except for the sad loss by death of Mrs. Twombly, second-grade teacher at Centre School. The principal of your high school, Mr. Chauncey D. Mac- Kay, was new to you this fall, I am informed. I take this occasion to commend him to you, heartily.
Near the end of 1928 a number of much-needed books and maps were added. This was made possible through the prudent planning of the school funds by my predecessor, and by you, members of the Merrimac School Committee.
During 1929 there is plenty in sight to do, but there is scarcely need of taking space here to mention it
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SCHOOL REPORT
in details, since it can doubtlessly be handled through the regular channels.
I wish to express my appreciation, members of the Merrimac committee, of the untiring interest in the boys and girls of the town which you have shown at all times during my work with you, however difficult the problem at hand.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN C. PAGE
1
SCHOOL REPORT 15
.
HONOR ATTENDANCE
Not Absent for Six Years September 1922 to June 1928 Grace Chaput Donna Hall
Not Absent for Four Years September 1924 to June 1928
Charlotte Franklin Frances Gilmore
Not Absent Three Years September 1925 to June 1928
Florence Hutchins Rita Hardy
Not Absent for Two Years September 1926 to June 1928
George Hoyt Lois Schultz
Jennie Joudrey
Linna Carroll
Frances Hutchins Pearl Morgan
Lorin Clark Flora Bell Joudrey
George R. Clark, Jr.
Not Absent for One Year September 1927 to June 1928
Claudia Chard
Hilda Kidston
Mildred Deminie Alice Doust Dorothy Eastman
Gertrude MacCarron
Arlene Merrill
Ruth Munroe
Kenneth Fowle
Nordis Sande
George Trefethen
Helen Franklin Dorothy Hale Ernest Hughes
Reginald Hardy Constance Sanuk
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SCHOOL REPORT
John Walker
Sylva Clark
Ruth Eastman
Donald DeLong
Arthur Hoyt
Harriet Hutchins
Ernest Rogers
Frederick Mckinnon
Evelyn Gilmore
Mary Rand
Beatrile MacCarron
John Franklin
Virginia Reardon
Berdino Schiavoni
Leon Dow
Dana Colby
Geatrice Urquhart
Marjorie Fowle
John MacCarron
Harold Colby
Howard DeLong
Harrison DeLong
Robert Calnan
Elaine Noone
Margaret Dow Arline Hirst Mila Magie
Marjorie How
Bertha Clark
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SCHOOL REPORT
COMMENDABLE ATTENDANCE
Not Absent Over Five Days September 1927 to June 1928
Evelyn Beloff Arthur Carroll
Evelyn Pettigrew
Harris Purdy
Esther Sargent
Marjorie Sargent
Palmer Sargent
Paul Schultz
Charlotte Staples
Rosamond Foster
Henry Whitcomb
Helen Fraser Ernest Frye
Marjorie Williams Robert Bean
William Bushong
William Calnan
Everett Carroll
Eugene Deminie
Paul Metcalf Carey Reynolds
Ransford Spinney
David Stewart
Gertrude How
Jeanette Odiorne
Ruth Sheldon
Dorothea Larivee Waldo Lehto Jean MacDougall Allen Manning Henry MacCarron Sherman McCitcheon Raymond Odiorne Helen Peaslee
Nellie Slobon Allegra Spinney Helen Urquhart Herbert Brown John Fitzgerald Hepke Kotyebue John Lancaster Edward Larivee
Edith Gillen Brooks Gilmore Lucille Godin Virginia Goodwin May Hammond Frank Haskell Wilfred Journeay Margery Kidston Edith Kirstead Lois Lane Nina Laraway
Laurence Colmon Theron Condon Irma Corney Marguerite Deminie Anna Eaton
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SCHOOL REPORT
Donald MacDougall
James How
Francis Slobon
Elsie Raymond
Elwood Thornton
Winnifred Reardon
Phyllis Colby
Thelma Sande
Helen Earl
John Smith
Rosella Lawrence
Edwin Davis
Elizabeth Metcalf
Everett Eaton
Arlene Smith
Roland Roberge
Georgene Smith
Leon Smith
Rosalie Thornton
Mythel Collins
Gertrude Webster
Arlene Hazeltine
William MacCarron
Mary Hutchins
Thomas Mann
Sylvia Tammik
Elbert McConnell
John Joudrey
Paul Morgan
Thomas Jones
Roland Ray
Henry Lay
John Slobon
Margaret Tammik
Chester Streeter
Bernice Trefethen
Inez Blackden
Donald Harvey
Muriel Corney
Alice Raymond
Mary Manning
Charlotte Sande
Gladys McGregor
Philip Brown
Ruth Metcalf
Geraldine Douglas
Hortense Sande
Marion Harvey William How
Lucille Schiavoni
Glenna Blackden
Pearl Raymond
Ray Brown
Lillian Sande
Horace Fairbanks
Arlene Webster
Harold Fitzgerald
ATTENDANCE DATA
Total Average Percent Member- Member- of Atten- Days Attended
School
ship
ship
dance
School Year 1927 - 1928
Merrimacport
22
19.54
96.30
3173
Ethel Davis
Centre I
48
41.32
93.02
7026
Catherine Collins
Centre II
.40
36.73
95.87
5117.5
Clara Twombly
Centre III
. 40
37.14
93.66
5852
Sarah Titcomb
Centre IV
.45
43.35
94.85
6909.5
Sadie Mackenzie
Centre V
.46
43.33
93.88
6834.5
Grace Sawyer
Centre VI
.36
33.28
95.15
5296
Wilma Kingsbury
J. H. S. VII
.
. 43
40.9
96.49
6655
Rose Schifino
J. H. S. VIII
.33
29.02
96.98
4876
Chester Wickett
Total
Elementary .... 353
324.61
94.92
52339.5
Senior High
. . .... 102
97.61
95.72
16166
Aubrey Tabor
Town Total
. . . . . 455
422.22
95.11
68505.5
SCHOOL REPORT
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SCHOOL REPORT
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE HIGH SCHOOL
Doctor J. C. Page, Superintendent of Schools and Members of the School Board
Gentlemen :
I submit herewith my first annual report of the Merrimac High School.
The enrollment for the fall term is as follows :
Boys
Girls
Totals
Freshmen
17
13
30
Sophomores
5
15
20
Juniors
6
16
22
Seniors
8
9
17
Totals
36
53
89
The percent of attendance, 96.67, is highest for many years and seems especially creditable since the prevalent grip and severe colds kept many from at- tending school.
The High School still remains in class A as ap- proved by the State Board of Education, and enjoys the certificate privilege from the New England Col- lege Certificate Board.
Several series of books have been changed for more modern texts, and reference books for the pur- pose of broadening the subject have been supplied for some classes. The School Board has been very kind in
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SCHOOL REPORT
meeting the demands of the High School in these re- quests in the interest of progress. . .
College preparatory standards are maintained in college preparatory subjects thus enabling those stu- dents going on to college to gain the certificate privi- lege in all subjects in which they earn 85% or better. This is the privilege granted to the average college preparatory school. The faculty is maintaining a high degree of scholarship and give the students ample op- portunity for college preparation. i
In the English Department, twenty points of out- side or home reading are now required. The various approved books are evaluated according to the length and the selection, difficulty in reading, etc., and each student is expected to read and report in writing on a total of twenty points of such reading material. These reports come periodically and are due at stated times.
Due consideration is being given a course in World History to supplement work of the History Depart- ment. This subject is popular in High Schools in that it gives a broad scope and realization of history to the student who takes the General or Commercial course and therefore cannot afford the time for both Ancient and Modern History. The course commonly starts with the dawn of civilization and dwells briefly upon ancient, mediecal and modern history.
It would seem wise to reorganize a few of the subjects of the Commercial Department. It is suggest- ed that more time be given to commercial arithmetic than to commercial geography, since the arithmetic is fundamental to the bookkeeping I and II courses which follow in the Sophomore and Junior years. In the past it has been necessary to instruct the Students in com- mercial arithmetic with the sacrifice of bookkeeping I.
1
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SCHOOL REPORT
Consequently we have not had the time to give a well rounded course in bookkeeping. A consequent change in commercial geography, bookkeeping I, and office practice is evident by a study of the courses of study offered in the High School, which follow this report.
The first two issues of the schoo 1 periodical, the Jamaco Journal, have been printed and bound by a printer. Last year the commercial department print- ed the paper on the school duplicator, as well as com- piled and bound the paper. The burden fell upon the commercial teacher and upon those students who were capable of typewriting the material. The work this necessitated can hardly be realized by one not well ac- quainted with it. The paper printed by this method to the layman did not reflect the work actually put into it. Consequently the Journal this year is neatly printed as only the commercial printer can make it, and is finan- cially self supporting. As a result, the commercial de- partment has adequate time for expedient routine work.
An athletic association has this year been organ- ized. The object of the asociation is to support athlet- ics in the school both financially and morally. This or- ganization composed of the students and teachers, has done a great deal in sponsoring athletics. Organized cheering has also substantially raised the school spirit in this connection. The school as a whole again suc- successfully conducted a magazine subscription cam- paign. The money was raised for athletics.
The majority of the students are realizing the vital importance of completing all home lessons. For the benefit of those parents who do not understand high school procedure, I would explain that most high "school work is dependent upon the home work done by the student. Each day the teacher discusses, examines
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SCHOOL REPORT
or explains the work done at home the evening before. Consequently the responsibility cannot be overempha- sized that parents have in inducing students to faith- fully complete each home lesson so that during the class next day, they can intelligently participate in the class work.
Playground facilities about the high school are very meager. In the fall and in the spring the boys and girls participate in their respective sports on the high school grounds. Because of the filling in program of gradually leveling off the field with ashes, a large part of the playground cannot be used. As an incen- tive to baseball and other outside activities the large field to the West of the building should be filled, lev- eled and grassed wihin the year. There is space and the situation for a fine playground if it can be utilized. The proximity of the field to the high school makes it doubely desirable.
The class in Chemistry this year overcrowds the science laboratory. The work of the General Science class is impeded because of scant facilities in science. The laboratory is too small and the sinks are too close. I suggest that this be remedied, and that a door be cut between the science store room and laboratory so that classes in the adjacent room will not be disturbed by anyone going from the laboratory to the store room as is now necessary.
An electric synchronized timing system would wisely replace our present wall clocks which keep dif- ferent times or else do not go at all. Such electric sys- tem as that generally used in modern schools is per- manent, accurate, and dependable.
Supplementing this report of progress and of sug- gestions, I express my gratitude to the members of the
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SCHOOL REPORT
school committee and to Doctor Page for their inter- est and cooperation in the administration of the High School.
Respectfully submitted,
C. D. MACKAY, Principal.
HIGH SCHOOL COURSE OF STUDY
FIRST YEAR
College Preparatory English I Latin I Algebra Aicient History
Commercial
English I Com'l Geog. 1/2 yr.
Bus. Pract. 1/2 yr. Two Electives
General Science
Ancient History
Algebra (Latin)
English I ) General Science Two Electives **
Com'l Geog.
Bus. Pract.
Ancient History
Algebra
SECOND YEAR
English II Latin II French I Geometry
English II Bookkeeping I Two Electives * *
English II
Modern History
Two Electives * *
Modern History French I
Bookkeeping I French I
Geometry (Latin)
Geometry English III
English III
American History
American History
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SCHOOL REPORT
THIRD YEAR
English III American History
General
HIGH SCHOOL COURSE OF STUDY College Preparatory Latin III French II Review Math.
Commercial Bookng. II 1/2 yr. Office Prac. 1/2 yr. Stenography I
Physics or Chemistry Typewriting I * *
Bookng. II &) Office Prac. 1
French II
Stenography I
Typewriting I
Physics or Chemistry French II
(Phys. or Chem.)
English IV
English IV Civics
English IV Civics
Civics
Latin IV
Stenography II
Electives to make
French III
Typewriting II * *
four (4)
Advanced Math.
Chemistry or Physics French III
Stenography II Typewriting II
Advanced Math.
Chemistry or Physics French III
Chemistry or Physics
SCHOOL REPORT
* **
26
General Electives to make four (4) units * *
Review Math.
FOURTH
27
SCHOOL REPORT
MERRIMAC HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1928
Robert Greeley Casazza Marguerite Antoinette Deminie
Nina Lilla Laraway Waldo Nicholi Lehto Ruth Marie Liberty May Brewster Hammond Muriel Jean MacDougall Florence Evelyn HargravesAllen Reed Manning John Henry Haskell
Evelyn Blanche Hirst
Roy Edward Morgan
Margery Anna Kidston
Harris Henry Purdy
Edith Elaine Kierstead
Marjorie Abbie Sargent
Georgianna Rebecca Lan- caster
Lois Nathalie Lane
Bearice Gertrude Smith Phyllis Mae Turner
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1928
*George Woodbury Bacon *John Chapin Lancaster *Irving Alexander Blake *Robert Malcolm Carter *Rosella Lawrence
*Phyllis Colby Helen Elizabeth Earl
*Ruth Dean Eastman
*John Robert Fitzgerald
*Charlotte Christin Franklin
*Louisa Donna Franklin *Charlotte Ellen Haskell *Ernest William Hughes Stanley Lovering Judkins
*Rusell Beauregard Kelly *Hepke Ernest von Kotzebue
*Edward Rudolphe Larivee
* Rose Emma Mader
* Andrew Sinclair Marshall *Elizabeth Margaret Met- calf
*Constanti Paul Sanuk
*Francis John Sloban
* Agnes Arlene Smith
*Rosalie May Thornton
*John Oliver Walker
*Gertrude Elizabeth Web- ster
*Charles Lincoln Whitcomb
Entered Merrimac High School.
Albert Philip Messier
CONTENTS
Appropriations Made in 1928
5
Appropriations Recommended for 1929
8
Balance Sheet 1928 45
Liabilities
48
Jury List
49
Town Officers
.2
Report : Assessors
.63
Fire Engineers
59
Municipal Light Board
72
Police Dept.
. 55
Public Health Nurse .54
Public Library
61
Sealer of Weights and Measures
. 67
Selectmen and Overseers of Poor
11
Tax Collector
75
Town Accountant 13
50
Town Forest
65
Town Treasurer
53
Trustees Kimball Park 52
68
SCHOOL REPORT
Attandance Oata
19
High School Graduates 109
High School Principal's Report .20
Honor Roll of Attendance
15
School Committee's Report for 1928 5
Supt. of Schools Report 10 .
Town Clerk
Water Commissioners
PRINTING AND BINDING BY THE HERALD PRESS CENTRAL WHARF NEWBURYPORT, MASS.
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