USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Duxbury > Town annual report for the town of Duxbury for the year ending 1931-1935 > Part 35
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The bay is one of the biggest assets we have, and by next June can give employment to a good many men, not for a week or two, but every day, I would say, for many years.
I wish to thank every one for their help and coopera- tion.
Respectfully submitted, HARRY C. FOYE, Shellfish Warden.
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Report of School House Committee
To the Citizens of Duxbury :---
Your Committee has returned to the Town Treasurer the $250.00 appropriated for its use.
After serious onsideration of the school-house problem, the Committee came to the following conclusions :-
The present method of housing the Primary grades is unsatisfactory and uneconomical. The buildings are out- worn and so located that they do not give the younger children, who need them most, the advantages enjoyed by the High School pupils-such as hot meals in the middle of the day, properly ventilated rooms, and the use of an auditorium for play in inclement weather. It would be greatly to the benefit of these children to be housed in a single building which would give them these desirable features.
The Fifth and Sixth grades are now in the High School building, where they must mingle with children in some cases as much as ten year older than they are. This is an unhealthy situation which is worthy of much considera- tion in any plans for an arrangement of school buildings. During the last two seasons the schools in the village have been crowded, and much congestion has existed in the Fifth and Sixth grade rooms at the High School, while at Tarkiln the grades have been rather small. In a single building, this congestion could be relieved and each teacher's load evenly distributed by proper shifting of the grades.
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By placing all the younger children in one building, the distance which many of these pupils are carried would be greatly increased; but your Committee feels that the ad- vantages of a centralized system would outweigh this dis- advantage. Transportation costs on the whole would not be increased.
The cost of a suitable School House with modern fea- tures, of brick construction and attractive colonial design, would be in the neighborhood of $60,000. At the present time this could be financed in such a way that it could be entirely paid for in ten years and the interest kept up with an addition of approximately $1.25 in the tax rate per annum. It is probable that lowered cost of supervision, lower heating costs, and smaller repair bills would take care of additional costs of providing new services. How- ever, it is entirely probable that, with any increase in school population, one teacher would have to be added to the staff. This would make an increase of about $1,000.00 in the annual school budget.
The majority of the Committee feels that the building should properly be located near the present High School building in order to simplify use of equipment by all grades and in order to give the younger children the use of Train Field. A suitable playground for the smaller children could easily be laid out on land already owned by the Town, and this could be kept for the use of the little tots exclusively. Flexibility of all operations could be thus obtained without adding land cost to the necessary build- ing costs.
Taking into consideration the times through which we are passing, the tremendous burden on taxpayers called for by relief and the New Deal, and the difficulty many of you are having in paying the taxes already assessed, your Committee has decided to ask the Town to postpone a final vote on this question for at least another year. Increased
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school population may perhaps enforce a decision before very long; but, until it does, we feel that the above rea- sons and advantages do not warrant the expenditure under present conditions.
Our discussions and thoughts have given us a fairly clear picture of what should be done when the time comes. We hope that you will agree with us and render us your wholehearted support when we call on you to formulate a definite plan.
MRS. PAUL C. PETERSON, RAY O. DELANO, CHARLES R. CROCKER, WENDELL B. PHILLIPS JOSEPH W. LUND, Chairman.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN of DUXBURY
AS
BURY
ETTS + 489
INCORP
RPORATED
JUNE
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31st.
1934
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE
George M. Mayers, Chairman
Term expires 1935
Miss Susan Moulton, Secy.
Term expires 1935
Joseph W. Lund
Term expires 1936
J. Newton Shirley
Term expires 1936
Benj. O. Dawes
Term expires 1937
Regular meetings of the School Committee are held in the Duxbury High School building at eight o'clock on the evenings of the second and fourth Friday of each month.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
George E. Green, Duxbury, Massachusetts Office Telephone : 346
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
Dr. Connie H. King, Telephone: Duxbury 212 SCHOOL NURSE AND ATTENDANCE OFFICER Miss Annie Williams, Telephone : Duxbury 175
STAFF
George E. Green Superintendent B. S., Bates College, Graduate Work at Boston Uni- versity.
Leroy N. MacKenny Submaster B. A., University of Maine, Graduate Work at the Uni- versity of Maine.
Harold K. Halpert
Latin and History
Director of Orchestra
B. A., Brown University.
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Kenneth O. Macomber Manual Training, Print Shop. Coach of Boys' Basketball and Baseball. Gorham Normal.
Amelia E. Hausman French B. A., Middlebury College, Graduate Work at the Uni- versity of Colorado.
Winifred E. Sanders English B. A., Bates College, Graduate Work at the University of New Hampshire.
Florence M. List Coach of Girls' Basketball, Commercial B. S. Ed., Salem Teachers College.
Thelma S. Friedrich Home Economics B. S., Massachusetts State College, Graduate Work at Columbia University.
Ellen W. Downey Seventh Grade, Mathematics, Music Partridge Academy.
Margaret J. Coffin Sixth Grade Washington State Normal School.
Jane White Fifth Grade
Bridgewater Normal.
M. Abbie Baker Tarkiln Primary School
Partridge Academy.
Margaret Bockmann Tarkiln Primary School
Wheelock Normal.
Sara Paulding Village Primary School Partridge Academy, Study at Columbia University and Harvard, Hyannis Normal School Diploma.
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Eleanor J. Dempsey Lesley Normal.
Village Primary School
Dorothy Rust Point Primary School Salem Normal School, Study at the University of Vermont.
M. Ruth Schofield Opportunity Class Salem Teachers College.
Samuel Warner Supervisor of Drawing Boston Art Club, N. E. Conservatory Art Department.
May Blair McClosky Supervisor of Music
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Report of the School Committee
To the Citizens of Duxbury :-
The School Committee is pleased to report that 1934 has been a year of achievement. Owing to the practice of econ- omy wherever practical, the budget has been balanced to date.
At the High School one new department has been added an Opportunity Class to aid children requiring special assistance and training. An additional teacher was elected for this special class. Two vacancies caused by resigna- tion of former teachers, have been filled.
The faculty members who have entered the Department this year are carrying on their work with the same fine spirit of co-operation that prevails throughout the school system.
To Mr. Samuel Warner, teacher of drawing, the Com- mittee extends sincere thanks for his work in producing stage scenery of unusual merit.
During the past year, equipment at the High School has been augmented by the acquisition of a moving picture machine to aid visual education, a second hand printing press in excellent condition, and a drill press for use in the Manual Training Department.
School repairs have been taken care of as far as possi- ble under the present appropriation. Further repairs must be provided for during the coming year.
The School Committee asks an appropriation of $43,000 plus the dog tax for the year 1935.
Respectfully submitted,
DR. GEORGE M. MAYERS, SUSAN P. MOULTON, JOSEPH W. LUND,
BENJ. O. DAWES,
DR. J. NEWTON SHIRLEY,
Duxbury School Committee.
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Report of Superintendent
To the School Committee of Duxbury :
As Superintendent of Schools, I herewith submit for your consideration, my eighth annual report.
The key note of our program for 1934 has continued to be rigid economy without curtailment in the essential ac- tivities. Code regulations, early in the year, increased the cost of materials and supplies considerably, but in the late fall these regulations changed somewhat so that the total expenditures were kept quite close to those of the pre- vious years. The organization of the Opportunity class necessitated the employment of one additional teacher, Miss M. Ruth Schofield, a graduate of Salem Teachers College. She has had especial training for this work. Two other teachers resigned to accept positions at higher sal- aries ; and the vacancies were filled by Miss Flornce List, a graduate of the Commercial Course of Salem Teachers College, and Miss Eleanor Dempsey, a graduate of Lesley Normal School. These new teachers are doing excellent work, but the fact that so many of our teachers are being offered more attractive positions should be a warning that, compared with other good schools of the state, our salary schedule is low. If we are to compete with such schools, something must be done to make this salary dif- ference less marked.
The enrollment of pupils in our schools has not in- creased during the year, mainly because there was an un-
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usually large graduating class last June and the present senior class is very small. This condition seems to be only temporary, however as the probable number who will en- ter school next fall is large.
There was a serious epidemic of measles starting on the first of January and lasting well into the spring term of school. This sickness caused much excusable absence and reduced our attendance percentage from 93.8 of the pre- vious year to 92.5 for 1934. In spite of illness, I believe this percentage is inexcusably low for a community so favorably endowed with transportation facilities and well equipped with comfortable school rooms. I have appended hereto a list of the pupils who were not absent during the entire school year. An interesting feature which a study of this list brings to light is that a large number of the children named therein must travel more than the aver- age distance in order to get to school.
ACADEMIC
The organization of the Opportunity Class has entirely justified the extra expenditure of money entailed. In this group are children who, because of sickness and other misfortunes, have failed to acquire all of the fundamen- tals necessary for successfully doing the work of the reg- ular grades. The number of pupils in this class is kept small so that the teacher may give individual attention and may help each child to realize a measure of success commensurate with his abilities. An effort is made to se- cure and hold the interest of these pupils through careful alteration of mental activity and hand work and through a correlation of the two. The acceleration in the regular school work has increased, and the work on some of the shop projects is quite remarkable.
Along other lines our work has progressed much as re- ported in previous years. The usual percentage of gradu-
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ates entered college or continued their ducation in other institutions. Intelligence and achievement tests were given with sufficient regularity to enable us to compare the pro- gress of each child with the normal achievement of aver- age pupils of the same age and grade level.
There has been a definite swing of high school pupils towards the commercial subjects. This has not yet caused any change in methods of procedure but has necessitated the addition of several new typewriters and other miscel- laneous equipment. The printing and manual training departments have been reorganized in new, better quarters. Home economics seems to be more popular. A class for older girls, which started in September, did not require, however, any additional outlay in teachers salary nor in any equipment other than the few necessary books.
ACTIVITIES
Extra curricula activities have become almost too much a part of the regular program of the school to be consid- ered "extra." They flourish because they appeal directly to the interests of the individual. Although teaching by these devices is not so carefully systemized, it is neverthless quite as effective, in a general way, as the more formal academic work.
The school magazine is an outstanding example of this because it offers training in composition, in newspaper make-up, and in printing, and at the same time it devel- ops such traits of charcter as cooperation, thoroughness, and punctuality.
The Student Council affords concrete examples of gov- ernment and many a member of this group has, I am sure, been forcefully impressed with the difficulties one meets in assuming leadership in ones community.
Three operettas were presented during the year, one by
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the Junior High School, one by grades 5 and 6, and one by the children of the Point and Village Schools. I believe that work of this nature is of such benefit that no further comment is necessary.
The orchestra gave its annual concert in the spring. This group lost heavily by graduation but we are fortu- nate in having a large group of lower class children taking violin lessons. These pupils should become quite expert before they reach the upper high school grades and will undoubtedly form the nucleus for our musical activities for some years to come.
The Senior Class of 1935 chose "Clarence" by Booth Tarkington for their annual play. This was given early in December and measured up well with the presentations of other years.
The basketball season was quite successful for both girls and boys teams, and the baseball team won a fair share of its games. Besides these sports, in which we par- ticipated with other schools, intense interest in tennis con- tinued, and other games were enjoyed within our own group.
GIFTS
Many gifts have been made to the schools. Help and assistance have come from the various departments of the town, the Parent-Teacher Association, the Grange, the Community Garden Club, all the patriotic organiza- tions, and many citizens and parents who wish their names withheld. The generosity of these individuals and organizations is especially appreciated in these times of great need.
The Partridge Scholarship this year went to Pauline Brett, who entered Massachusetts State College in September. This scholarship is being more earnestly
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sought after each year, and has a most salutary effect up- on the industry of those pupils who plan to enter college. Its value is so great that I sincerely hope it may be con- tinued without interruption.
REPAIRS
Repairs and new construction have been more exten- sive this year than for several years past. This was due, partly, to the accumulation of work deferred during the period of enforced retrenchment and partly to the ne- cessity for more room, brought about by the organization of the Opportunity Class.
Every desk top in the Village, Point, and Tarkiln school houses was carefully sanded and revarnished. Little other work was attempted in these buildings beyond the usual routine cleaning because of the extensive work necessary at the High School.
At the High School the need of a room for the Oppor- tunity Class forced us to do considerable remodelling dur- ing the summer months. A partition was built through the room formerly used for a shop. This afforded a space for storage of miscellaneous supplies and for materials used in the lunch room. It also provided a small well- lighted classroom. The walls of this room were repainted, blackboards were put up, a linoleum floor was laid, proper lighting fixtures were installed, and new desks were pur- chased. This made a very comfortable room, somewhat small, but adequate for the time being.
The manual training equipment was moved into an un- finished room under the southwest end of the building. This room had never been provided with heat or lighting facilities necessary for an ordinary classroom. A par- tition across this room set off a space in which all the printing equipment was placed. Several windows built in this partition make it possible for one teacher to super-
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vise the work of the two groups simultaneously. Celotex was used for the ceilings of these rooms, electrical wiring for lights and machinery was installed, an inexpensive asphalt floor was laid, and racks were built upon which to pile excess lumber and supplies.
Leaks in the New High School building were becoming so serious that extensive repairs were made to prevent damage to ceilings and walls. Much brick work was cut out and replaced, and copper around the cupola was re- paired. Copper and zinc pans were made to take care of water from leaks which could not be repaired because of the peculiar nature of the original construction.
About three hundred dollars was spent in painting the lavatories and corridors in the High School.
Repairs which should be anticipated for another year in order to avoid more serious consequences later on should include pointing of masonry in the foundation of the Vil- lage School, painting lavatories at the Point School, new platforms and repairs to the roof of the south wing at the Tarkiln school. At the High School, repairs to the walls should be continued and there should be further painting both inside and out.
F. E. R. A.
No F. E. R. A. money has been available for strictly educational purposes in Duxbury, but much good work has been done on and about the grounds. A fine new tennis court was completed late in the fall, and a junior baseball field was cleared and graded and will be ready for seed- ing as soon as the weather permits in the spring. The grove at the south end of the High School building was also cleared up and all the wild cherry and useless bushes about the school grounds were trimmed out. A new pro- ject which has yet to be approved provides for the clear- ing of the school grounds at Tarkiln.
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CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I believe that although our school popu- lation did not increase during the past year, this in no way indicates there is to be a swing back to fewer pupils. On the contrary, every indication still points to ever increas- ing numbers. There will be a small graduating class this year, and the last census shows that we may expect at least fifty children to enter the first grade in September. The numerical difference between these two groups of children seems to indicate an increase of from twenty to twenty-five pupils in our schools.
Such extensive and costly repairs as new floors and new platforms which must soon be installed in the primary schools, if a reasonable degree of safety to the children is to be maintained should be carefully considered as we dis- cuss the need of a new school building.
A careful estimate of the necessary expenditures for next year leads me to recommend the sum of $45,000 for carrying on our schools. Of this $45,000, there is available for school purposes approximately $1,600 from the Hathaway fund. It is customary to apply the dog tax, which averages $400, to the support of school. These two items reduce the necessary appropriation by about $2,000. I therefore suggest that the school committee ask the citizens of Duxbury to vote approval of an appropriation of $43,000.00 and application of the dog tax to school use.
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE E. GREEN.
ENROLLMENT AND DISTRIBUTION BY SCHOOL AND GRADE DECEMBER 31, 1934
Grade
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 P.G. O.P. Ttl.
High
38 39 39 29 24 27 25 13 7 8 249
Tarkiln
15 17 11 9 52
Village
25 15 26 66
Point
38
38
Total
53 42 26 35 38 30 39 29 24 27 25 13 7 8 405
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THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN WERE NOT ABSENT DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR 1933-1934
Eunice Arnold
Patricia Murphy
Gladys Arnold
Lois Otley
Joseph Berg
Edna Paghera
Olive Davis
Ray Parks
John Deering
Gertrude Putnam
Russell DeWolf
Fremont Shirley
Dorothy Eldridge
Ella Swift
Charlotte Hagbourne
George Teravainen
Kenneth Howland
Kendall Thomas
John E. Merry
John Williams
FINANCIAL STATEMENT RECEIPTS
Appropriation
$44,500.00
Dog Tax
413.10
$44,913.10
EXPENDITURES
Teachers Salaries
$26,399.00
Text Books
713.45
Supplies
847.16
Janitors Wages
3,335.40
Fuel, Lights, etc.
1,961.70
Repairs
1,332.00
Health
908.25
Transportation
5,990.00
New Equipment
1,736.65
Miscellaneous
1,535.39
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Libraries
153.78
Total Expenditures
$44,912.78
Balance
.32
$44,913.10
LUNCH ROOM 1934
Month
Received
Expenditures
January
$271.51
$272.22
February
227.41
216.46
March
189.36
236.53
April
225.87
231.18
May
298.50
272.02
June
114.19
163.45
September
248.76
152.05
October
277.44
343.18
November
250.37
262.30
December
211.77
214.84
Totals
$2,315.25
$2,364.23
Balance January 1, 1934
161.87
Cash Receipts
2,315.25
Total
$2,477.13
Inventory
44.92
$2,522.05
Expenses
$2,364.23
Bills unpaid
68.09
$2,432.32
Balance on Hand January 1, 1935
$89.75
1) 13
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Report of School Nurse
To the School Superintendent and The School Board of Duxbury :
With the exception of a few measles cases stringing a- long during the first four months of the past year, we have been free from epidemics.
I have assisted the school physician when he made the physical examinations of the students, also carried some to Childrens' Hospital in Boston, one to Wrentham, and South Hanson Hospitals for special examination. I have carried three to be examined by the Chadwick Clinic. The Chadwick Clinic became obsolete today. The same work will be carried on by the counties. The center for this district will be the Plymouth County Hospital at South Hanson. There will be a travelling clinic carried on in the same manner as the Chadwick Clinic. There will be, when the date is agreed upon, slips sent to the parents for their signature if they give their consent to the child being ex- amined and x-rayed. This year the sixth, ninth, and eleventh grades will be tested if the parents permit.
I also assisted the town physician when they gave the toxin antitoxins. We were delighted to get the response from parents when we sent out the consent slips for this clinic.
We have not yet given our hearing tests as the Audio- meter is in such great demand, we were unable to get it until March.
Two students were greatly benefited by spending the summer at the Bailey Camp at South Hanson. This was
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made possible by the Duxbury Nurse Association's sale of Christmas seals last year. We hope they will meet with the same success this year, as this not only gives the child a vacation, but they are taught many useful and sanitary habits and customs.
The school physician found the children in very good condition, with a few exceptions. The parents of these few were duly notified and advised.
We were fortunate in having two groups of women this year assist with clothing for children. The Grange Serv- ing Club have made over clothing all the year, meeting weekly and sewing. The Red Cross group met also at in- tervals and made clothing for children. Some of this ma- terial was given by the Red Cross and some donated by the members. I wish to thank both groups. They have given a much needed service, I wish also to thank the school teachers and town officials and for the assistance they have given. Many children have been given lunches where it was ncessary and paid for by private funds do- nated by individuals.
Visits and other activities are tabulated below.
Visits to schools
576
Visits to homes of students 875
Food carried to homes of students
17
Blankets and quilts given
7
Clothing given students
31
Shoes given students
25
Rubbers
9
Carried to hospitals for special examination
3
Placed in hospital for treatment
6
Respectfully submitted,
ANNIE L. WILLIAMS.
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Report of School Physician
George E. Green Superintendent of Duxbury Schools Duxbury, Massachusetts
Dear Sir :
I herewith submit my annual report as school physician for the year 1934:
375 pupils were examined by myself and school nurse this fall. Physical defects noted were reported to the parents in order that they could be corrected. The general health of the students as a whole is excellent, with the ex- ception of teeth. There are a large number of children in the school who should have dental care.
The annual pre-school clinic was held in the spring and the school in cooperation with the P. T. A. held its an- nual well baby clinic.
Respectfully submitted,
C. H. King, M. D.
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Report of Music Supervisor
The music program in the Duxbury Schools this year has consisted of the usual routine work in theory, read- ing, and singing, and as always, an effort has been made for the production of fine tone in singing.
The operettas which have been given by the grades and the High School have tended to arouse in the pupils an in- terest in better music. In several schools, this has been followed up by introducing a still better class of music through Victrola records. These records have been pur- chased with the money taken in at the entertainments. Once a week, in all grades, the music program included a listening lesson. Records are selected to make a varied program, and the children are encouraged to listen for in- struments they may recognize. Thus, they are making a study of different musical instruments, and learning to classify them. A notebook is kept by the children, in which they write what they learn of the lives of the great mu- sicians. A fine start has been made in the study and ap- preciation of better music.
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