USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Ipswich > Town annual report of Ipswich 1916-1918 > Part 31
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War Activities.
The pupils of all our schools have had a part in those ac- tivities growing out of the undertakings necessitated by the war. In every way an effort has been made to avoid duplication. The Junior Red Cross, instead of forming another individual unit, worked under the direction of the Senior organization and was responsible to it alone. The same is true in reference to the Pig and Poultry Clubs. This simplified operations and resulted in a larger amount of work being done with little or no over- sight except by the regular teacher.
With the Victory Boys and Girls the case was a little dif- ferent. This was a national organization and our own unit was directly responsible to an authority outside the local official
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leaders.
In all of these our pupils have shown an admirable spirit and have striven to deserve first place in our efforts to win the war.
Community Chorus.
A Community Chorus was started last fall and under the direction of Prof. Eben H. Bailey has proved to be a very help- ful and inspiring influence in this community. These gatherings are held in the Manning Hall every Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock and everyone is most cordially invited to attend and to take part in the singing. These occasions have been attended by people of all ages, creeds, and nationalities within our town limits-a heterogenous assembly to be sure- but unified and made homogenous by their innate love of music and the power of song.
Great variety and range both in the character of the music attempted and the manner of rendering the same have been offered at each meeting. A large portion of the time is devoted to chorus work, and this is interspersed with instrumental num- bers and selections by soloists or quartettes. The Greek Or- chestra has favored us on several occasions as have also Miss Bailey, Mr. Albert Dodge and Master Louis Bean, The best singers in the community are enrolled in our membership and to them we are greatly indebted for many excellent programs.
On the whole I feel that this line of community work has given us splendid results, and furnished to our townspeople a source of good, wholesome enjoyment.
Child Welfare Work.
We have made arrangements with the State Department of Health to hold a Child Welfare exhibit sometime in April or May of this year and the Town Hall has been secured for that
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purpose.
From the same department we have secured the services of special lecturers who will give illustrated talks on the various subjects connected with this important work. These will be given under the auspices of several of our local organizations in the hopes of reaching a larger number of people and of giving the information thus obtained the widest possible circulation. Moving picture films are also to be pressed into the service. Through the courtesy of Mr. Bragdon these will be shown at the Opera House. In each case previous announcement will be made through the public press.
Night School.
Owing to the epidemic of influenza we were obliged to postpone the opening of the night school to the last of Octo- ber.
In addition to the method of advertising usually employed, arrangements were made with the proprietor of the Opera House to throw upon the screen two or three times each week a : the special slides furnished for this purpose by the State Board of Immigration. These slides are in three different languages, English, Greek and Polish, and should reach the majority of our non-English speaking population.
Still the enrollment is not up to the measure of other years. This is due to several reasons that may be readily understood by a slight survey of the situation. Many of the former pupils have passed beyond the legal limits of school attendance, viz: twenty-one years of age. The younger portion of these people receive their instruction in English through attendance in the day school and so do not fill the places made vacant by those who pass the age limits. This should be a source of gratifica- tion as it furnishes indisputable evidence that our schools are accomplishing something in the work of Americanization; and
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1
this is about as far as the schools can be expected to go in the work under our present age limitations.
Another view of our night school work is not so assuring. Every inducement has been held out to the young people of our town to take advantage of the opportunities offered through work in the night school. The response has been far from en- couraging or satisfactory. Only when it is too late will the real significance of these wasted opportunities be realized. But we are living under the reign of law whether we are conscious of the fact or not, and the day of reckoning will surely come. The longer it is postponed, the sadder the awakening.
Many successful men-men prominent in the large affairs of the world - received their start in life at the night school. There are thousands who will gladly testify to this fact, and it is our hope that more of our young people will resolve to avail themselves of these privileges.
As usual the foreign element formed the larger part of the enrollment and made the best attendance records. The Eng- lish departments were so thinly attended that it became neces- sary to close them before the end of the term.
Total enrollment 85
Average attendance 56
The High School.
In spite of many changes and interruptions the Senior High School has completed another successful year. Many of our . pupils withdrew from school to take advantage of the high wages paid for unskilled labor, and have not thus far returned. This reduced the membership very materially. and at the begin- ning of the fall term our enrollment was slightly below that of last year, There were fewer pupils entering from Rowley than for several years, but during the fall and winter terms additions have been received from not a few other cities and towns, until
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now our membership is quite or fully up to the average for this season of the year.
The school spirit is excellent. There is a cheerfulness and an atmosphere of serious application to the work in hand that is delightful to witness. An unusually large class (twenty- seven) has started for college. These pupils realize that a spec- ified amount of work must be done and well done in order to reach the desired goal. This creates a very healthful influence throughout the school and there are but few who are not reached by it. The excellent work of the last graduating class also contributed to this end as it gave an impulse to all the lower classes.
And right here let a word be said in reference to the grad- uating exercises of the Class of '18. By common consent it was; regarded as one of the best graduations that the school has ever held. The members of the Junior class worked to the point of exhaustion in order to make the occasion a pleasing and fitting one for the leave-taking ceremonies of their school- mates. Outside aids and helps of every kind were conspicuous by their absence. The glee club and the school chorus fur- nished the musical numbers. Every detail of the work of prep- aration was taken up by the undergraduates in the spirit of helpfulness and most hearty good will. This evidence of school loyalty was a characteristic feature of the occasion and prom- ises much for the welfare of the school.
The numbers of the class program showed the care and preparation which the pupils had given to their part, and the whole program was completed without hesitation or delay. Doctor Murlin, the President of Boston University, made the address which was most enthusiastically received. From be- ginning to end the exercises were marked by a simplicity, a sanity and a soberness of thought which are always prima facie evidence of a well conducted school. In place of noise and
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parade, there was an air of refinement, of dignity and repose. The school is to be congratulated upon its ability to construct first-class graduation programs.
But this graduation is a thing of the past. We must not rest, upon our laurels here. There are heights beyond. The organization of the school is not at present as perfect as it should be. Let it be remembered that Mr. Marston is the only male teacher in the school. Male teachers could not be ob- tained last year. The amount of responsibility placed upon his shoulders has been more than doubled. This he has borne without complaint. Still the standard of the work has not suf- fered. But relief should be given by another year at least.
There is another thing that brings an additional burden to him as well as to the whole corps of teachers. We have too many small classes. To be sure we are, under the present ar- rangement, doing the best we can for the individual pupil, but at altogether too large a cost of time and effort. This is due chiefly to the late shifting of courses at the express wish of the . pupil. This should not be permitted after the second year. By that time the pupil should have discovered his aptitude for cer- tain lines of work and should be compelled to hold to the course selected. Otherwise he works injury both to himself and to the school. For when he attempts to do the work required by the college and for which he did not make suitable prepara- tion, in a majority of instances he fails. He becomes discour- aged and the school receives a bad name. We will admit that college requirements are still rather arbitrary, but yet no pupil should be given any encouragement to enter the higher school without devoting two years of the four at least to a thorough preparation.
The trouble is truthfully speaking that the school is not to blame. Neither is the boy. College men cannot always tell what they wish to become or do in after life. Why should the
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high school boy be expected to do so? Too many of us are still in the shifting, drifting class, and we do not count ourselves as very blameworthy. Happy is he who finds his work and knows it when he has found it.
Under ordinary conditions a boy selects his high school course-and the college boy as well-because his "chum" has chosen it. "If it is good enough for John, it is good enough for me," he argues. This method of selection is by no means con- fined to his first year. The danger lies in his having too many "chums," of many minds.
Now this method is perfectly natural but is not scientific. And so we are going to try to assist the pupil to make a choice -wisely if possible. To this end a Teacher-Counsellor Asso- ciation has been formed, by which the pupils are to choose from the list of teachers some particular one of them who shall act as his special guide and counsellor. The teacher so chosen is to act in full sympathy and co-operation with the parents and the pupil's former teachers in an effort to become acquainted with any marked trend or tendency or aptitude the boy may possess. In this way, with the help of carefully kept records, we are in hopes to be able to assist the boy so that his choice may be something more than the result of whim or caprice.
Boys who make no choice of a Counsellor have one as- signed them by the Principal. The Counsellor is expected to hold frequent conferences with the parents, and to keep fully posted as to the pupil's work and conduct. This will bring pupil, parent and. teacher into a close and sympathetic touch, and if all are sincere and work harmoniously, great good must result. In this way we are in hopes to reduce the number of disappointed misfits, reduce the number of classes, and to give the boy a right start at the earliest possible moment.
The small class nuisance has been attacked from another angle. The School Committee has made a rule that all new
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classes must have a membership of at least ten pupils. The rule is not ironclad, and this year conditions were such that not a few of the pupils would have suffered loss had not the rule been suspended for the time being.
The school work has not been given a fair trial under the two-session plan, inasmuch as the electric car lines failed to maintain the old schedule. Pupils were from fifteen to twenty minutes late in the morning and they were obliged to be dis- missed thirty minutes before closing time in the afternoon. This robbed the pupil of his study period in school and com- pelled more home work.
But conditions are fast returning to normal and, as was said at the outset, the school is doing good, honest work.
Recommendations.
(1.) Wiring the Manning Building for Electric Lighting.
The present system of lighting by gas is inconvenient, inad- equate and expensive. On dark days and during the sessions of the evening school the light is wholly insufficient and very trying to the eyesight. Pupils should not be allowed to work under such conditions as the continual eye-strain is bound to result in very serious consequences.
Again, we need the electrical connection for the use of the lantern. We have a good machine and a fine series of slides. At present we can use these only in the hall on account of the lack of proper connection in the various class rooms where the great value of such a help can be most clearly demonstrated.
These connections are also needed in the laboratories for the performance of the various experiments required by the work in physics and chemistry.
The present cost of the change of systems may be a little in excess of what it would have been before the war. But I feel
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that the increase in the quantity and quality of the work that can be accomplished by the change will more than offset any problematical difference in price.
(2.) Relaying Two Floors in the Manning Building.
These floors are the same ones that were put in place when the building was constructed. After the wear and tear of forty- five years it is not strange that they should show signs of hard usage. To clean them thoroughly or to keep them clean is an impossibility. Neither can the desks be securely fastened to such a foundation.
Relaying two floors this year would do much towards im- proving the appearance and the sanitary conditions of the rooms.
(3.) More Rational Method of Instruction for Defective Children.
Some provision should be made for a more rational method of instruction for the defective children in our schools and a more rigid system of grading. More account must be made of their individual differences and better conditions provided for their mental and moral advancement. This is a large problem and should receive the most careful consideration. The con- tributing causes must be first studied and then removed .if pos- ble. We feel that much can be accomplished on this side of the question by securing the co-operation of the parents in pro- viding a reasonable amount of sleep and proper food. A well enforced curfew law would be helpful.
Tentative plans for the employment of a special teacher are under consideration.
(4.) A New Fence On the Eastern Boundary.
Building a line fence on the eastern boundary of the school
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grounds running parallel to Manning Street. This old fence is both a nuisance and a scandal and would have been rebuilt last year had men and material been obtainable.
(5.) Straightening the Rear Line Fence.
Straightening the line in the rear of the Manning and Win- throp schools is recommended. The additional space is need- ed for a suitable playground for the pupils of these two schools. At present the children are crowded into narrow spaces and sharp angles which furnish no room for organized play. The improved appearance of the school grounds would more than. compensate for the slight cost of this change.
(6.) Sanitary Conditions at the Payne and Cogswell Schools.
For several years past the school authorities have called at- tention to the sanitary conditions at the Payne and Cogswell schools and have asked for an appropriation sufficient to cover the expense of the proposed change. Recently the matter has again been called to our attention. and steps have been taken « to ascertain the probable cost. But we find that the State im- poses so many restrictions on work of this kind that it will be impossible to undertake any remodeling or improvement along this line. When you know that improvements are to cost more than the buildings themselves are worth, it becomes neeessary to abandon the project. That is precisely the case here, and we feel obliged to dismiss it.
It is possible that some good may come out of this an- nouncement, for it will relieve the school authorities of inten- tional neglect and place the blame where it belongs.
(7.) Change of Text Book.
A change of text book will be desirable as soon as the map
.
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of Europe assumes permanent shape. Other changes are under consideration and will be made as soon as the same can be done most economically.
(8.) Change Recommended in Age Limit for School Attandance.
. A change in the age limit for school attendance to 16 years instead of 14 as at present has been recommended, and our Representative has been notified of the fact. As there is an omnibus Bill on educational matters covering this item in a modified form, there is a possibility that this most desirable change may become a law.
Having gone over the ground very carefully the Committee has agreed to ask for an appropriation covered by the follow- ing budget. It should be remembered in considering these es- timates that more than $2000. will be refunded to the town in the shape of tuition from the town of Rowley.
Budget.
General Expenses
$ 4,000.
Teachers' Salaries
29,000.
Text Books and Supplies
3,400.
Transportation
2,700.
Janitors' Services
2,500.
Fuel and Lights
4,000.
Buildings and Grounds
2,500.
Furniture and Fixtures
400.
Diplomas
100.
Insurance
300.
Other Expenses
100.
Total
49,000.
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IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT.
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Acknowledgments.
In closing, I wish to ackuowledge with a deep sense of grat- itude my feelings of obligation to all those who by their loyalty and fidelity have assisted me in carrying on the work of a most strenuous and trying year. To the School Committee and teach- ers for their rare good judgment and conscientious devotion to the interests and upbuilding of our schools; to Mrs. Mary B. Maine for her co-operation and assistance in providing special books and periodicals for the use of both teachers and pupils, and especially in extending the benefits of the library to our rural schools; to the Police Department for their assistance in returning boys to school and in rendering aid of various sorts to the Attendance Officer; to Mr. J. A. Huckins and his employees for their continued interest in and care for the school grounds; to these and to all the good people of the town who have so generously supported me, I ender my heartfelt thanks.
Respectfully submitted,
JOSEPH I. HORTON.
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL.
To the Superintendent of Schools,
Ipswich, Mass. Dear Sir :-
In compliance with your request I herewith sub- mit a brief report of the work we are trying to accomplish in the Junior High School.
The school year has been very much interrupted owing to illness of pupils and teachers. Besides the loss of actual time, we are called upon to meet the many demands necessitated by war time conditions, such as work in connection with the va- rious war drives, and the formation of various clubs regarding the food supply, etc. We are very willing and glad to do our bit, but nevertheless it is bound to detract somewhat from the attention given strictly to school work.
The courses in the Junior High School have remained the same as outlined in last year's report,-the academic, commer- cial, household arts, and industrial arts.
As we have received no help this year from the Senior High teachers, the commercial work has been done by the reg- ular teachers in connection with arithmetic, language and spel- ling. The Superintendent has willingly helped us by giving his time three periods a week to the teaching of elementary science.
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Our Latin class is very small, only two pupils taking Latin in the Senior High School.
We had no Manual Training teacher during the first quar- ter of the present school year. The boys have not had quite the chance to specialize in this line of work as the girls have had in domestic science. At present, however, the boys are gladly and happily working with their new teacher.
Early in the Spring our pupils gave a patriotic concert and prize speaking contest from which a sum of money. was realized for purchasing a screen, rattan couch, and table for the upper hall of the building. These articles, with furniture previously bought, will provide a place where a child who is ill may re- tire from the class for rest and first aid treatment.
One new feature has been introduced into the educational scheme, - physical training, including gymnastics, setting-up ex- ercises, organized play, and folk dancing. Obviously, the chief aim of this phase of our work is to improve the mental and physical health of the child. Ten to fifteen minutes daily are devoted to this work. The teachers act as supervisors, while the pupils elect captains or leaders who teach and develop the exercises. In this way we expect to develop self management and co-operation on the part of the students.
For several weeks the Junior High School has maintained a column in one of our local papers. The short parapraphs and news items are crude and of necessity simple and child- like. But with earnest endeavor and practice we hope this column will show signs of improvement in the construction of English as well as in content. The seeing of these compositions in print will serve as an encouragement to the writers and act as an incentive to others to put forth some effort along this most important line of school work.
During the Red Cross drive in December the Junior High School was officicially organized for Junior Red Cross work
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under the leadership of Miss Alice Lockwood.
The school has made a very good record this past year in government savings. The pupils have shown great enthusiasm. The seventh and eighth grades combined own $1900. in liberty bonds, $785. in war savings stamps and $36.25 in thrift stamps.
In the United War Work Campaign fifty-seven boys and girls pledged themselves to earn and give $144.50 to the "Vic- tory" boys and girls fund. Already $69.72 has been paid.
Both teachers and pupils have lived in a happy and con- genial atmosphere during the year. Our teachers have worked hard and worked together for the welfare of each and every pu- pil. The children, with very few exceptions, have responded nobly.
In closing I would like to say that the teachers would glad- ly welcome the parents and friends to the school at any and all times.
KATHARINE F. SULLIVAN, Principal.
HOME GARDENS.
The home garden proposition was worked out on a little different plan this past season. During the early Spring the pu- pils in the schools were strongly urged to plant a garden. When it came to planting time, cards were distributed to the children which were taken home to be signed by both parents and children. In this way there were very few homes visited where the children who had earlier promised to plant gardens had failed to do so.
During the spring and summer seasons the inspector of home gardens attended the bi-weekly meetings of the county supervisors held at Hathorne under the direction of the county agent, Mr. Ralph Gaskell. These meetings were very helpful and kept the supervisors in touch with what was being done throughout Essex County.
These home gardens were much more successful this year. They were better cared for and were planted more extensively. One boy gave the following report of his garden:
Sold ---
8 bus. Potatoes at $1.60
$17.80
Corn
4.00
Beans 2.00
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2 bus. Carrots 2.00
11 bus. Onions 11.00
Total $31.80
In addition this boy had seven quarts of beans and six bushels of carrots which he did not sell.
A second boy reports as follows:
Raised-
5 bus. of Potatoes. 350 lbs. Squash. 250 lbs. Pumpkins. 35 qts. Beans. 250 ears of Corn.
1
This child sold products to the amount of $18.50.
A great many boys and girls who did not sign the cards gave as their excuse that they intended to work with their fath- ers in the larger family garden. Many of them did work and worked hard.
One hundred and thirty-two gardens were visited.
Of these-
41 were excellent. 43 good. 31 fair. 5 poor.
4 children had moved and were obliged to give up their garden.
2 children planted gardens twice, only to have the wood- chuck eat them each time.
6 children had no gardens.
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IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT ..
Club Work.
The direction of the local poultry and pig clubs also fell to the lot of the garden supervisor. In May Mr. Rice, the state pig club leader, and Mr. Gaskill gave short talks to the pupils of the upper grades on raising pigs to help win the war by pro- viding some of the much needed fats. As a result, over fifty boys and girls raised pigs the past year. Many of these chil- dren raised two and three pigs. Those who were unable to procure a pig from the local farmers were supplied by the Es- sex County Farming Association.
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