USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Middleton > Town annual report of Middleton, MA. 1961 > Part 8
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Another need lies in the area of curriculum development. Our educational program must be subjected to constant scrutiny, up-dated and revised where necessary to insure that is is providing adequately for all our students. Much experimentation in teaching methods and the use of newly developed teaching materials is going on in educa- tion today. Some of these new approaches are so startling as to be impractical of acceptance generally, and will undoubtedly gradually pass from the educational scene. Others, however, well-conceived and thoroughly tested will survive and in the years ahead bear important- ly on the reshaping of the curriculum. To make full and effective use of these newer developments in education requires that teachers have adequate time for continuous research and the construction of teach- ing units and materials for classroom use. To expect them, however, to do this sort of creative work on marginal time is not realistic. To give added encouragement to the staff to move forward in this important area of curriculum development, consideration should be given in the future to making funds available so that some propor- tion of this work can be carried on during the summer. The report of the Evaluation Visiting Committee will provide a basis for determining initially the need and the extent to which this kind of summer curriculum study work should be undertaken.
The report of Principal Trask which follows and which is compil- ed from reports of the several departments describes some of the things that have already been done to strengthen our program. The report evidences that Masconomet students are being challenged in several ways and, moreover, are meeting these challenges. Our graduates having good success in gaining admission to colleges and other post-secondary schools. The retention power of our school is high as revealed by the study of drop-outs completed this past summer.
We have a fine student body and a first-rate teaching staff. The excellent cooperation of students, teachers, administrators, School Committee, and parents in all matters concerning Masconomet Region- al High School is most heartening to me as superintendent and I
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know accounts for the excellent progress that has been made during the past two and one-half years. I am confident that with this same unity of spirit and cooperation by the entire Masconomet Community we will continue to move forward productively in the year ahead.
Respectfully submitted, JULIUS H. MUELLER Superintendent
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REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL of
Masconomet Regional High School
To the Superintendent of Schools, the School Committee, and Citizens of the Masconomet Regional School District
I herewith submit my first annual report as Principal of Masconomet Regional High School.
"Education for All", the theme chosen this year to unify the thoughts of department chairmen as they organized their annual reports, represents well the major goal being pursued enthusiastically at Masconomet. Since joining the staff on July 1, 1961, I have been gratified beyond expectation in finding a teaching staff with enthu- siasm combining with unusual talents and a true cooperative spirit directed at making Masconomet the truly "Comprehensive Secondary School" that is so often described in contemporary writings about modern school programs.
Neither words nor pen can capture the spirit and personality that exists here, but the following attempt to highlight the activities both in and out of the classroom illustrates in a small way the accepted challenge of doing many things for our youth and doing them well. As we entered our third academic year as an educational institution we found ourselves confronted, on the one hand, with enrollment problems that prompted the label "operation shoehorn" and, on the other, with firm convictions that we can and must simultaneously qualify stu- dents for college admissions, train for productive skills, stimulate a thirst for learning, help youth understand themselves and the culture they have inherited, develop persons with moral fibre and worthy goals, and promote informed, active, and excited citizens ready and will- ing to preserve and defend the freedoms and privileges granted them through our democracy. The belief that all youth are entitled to excel- lent educational opportunities tailored to individual needs and abilities is demonstrated in any number of ways from the program of "home instruction" via telephone for the physically handicapped to the Special Education program for a small minority of slow learners.
Overcrowded? Yes, as indicated by study periods of 200-250 pupils at a time in the Cafeteria and complete utilization of all instructional spaces with several teachers forced to teach in several different rooms to provide as complete an offering as possible with present facilities. Overcrowded? Yes, but functioning well because of the
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highly commendable attitude and actions of both faculty and students who anticipate relief in the near future through the construction of a new junior high for grades 7 and 8. Even though the completion of such a new building is too far in the future to avoid probable double sessions for a year or two, the staff and student body are saying by proclamation and by example: "Let's improve, if possible, those pro- jects and activities already valued at Masconomet and let's continue to examine our curriculum and modify both content and methods whenever innovations prove to be more than temporary novelties."
CURRICULUM PROGRESS REPORTS
By design, the space allotted to each major subject field is limit- ed. No attempt has been made to describe the programs in any detail, but rather space has been confined to illustrations of how our pro- gram is attempting to provide for special and varied needs and interest of our students and descriptions of outstanding activities or events that increase our pride and support our reputation as one of the outstanding secondary schools in New England.
English
English teachers continue their dedication to the ideal that all Masconomet students shall have every opportunity for self-expression. Since, to be effective, communication cannot be confined to the class- room, much emphasis is placed upon quality participation in writing and speaking activities before their peers elsewhere and the general public. Originality, and excellence are fostered by four school publi- cations especially created for interested and talented students. Triskelion (school annual - formerly MITOBO), Regional Review (school newspaper), The Best From Masconomet (literary anthology), and The Kaleidoscope (literary magazine) all continue to provide challenge for students. In addition, the English Department has pro- vided student reporters for several local papers.
During the last summer one poem from original poetry by Masconomet students was selected to appear in a special national anthology Sermons in Poetry. Poetry by our students has appeared in the Poetry Anthology of the National Poetry Association.
The popular Masconomet Book Fair was held in November this year and was a financial success as well as an educational success. Over 1,000 books were purchased in two days by students. The profits will be used this spring to establish the Alice E. Howard Conference for Young Writers. This project will enable juniors and seniors interested in writing professionally to meet an established author and to discuss with him problems of mutual interest.
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A very successful production of The Diary of Anne Frank was performed in the Henry F. Long Auditorium, under the supervision of Mrs. Jeannette Scholer. Other projects emphasizing oral communi- cation include the American Legion Oratorical contest and a choral speaking group which was formed this year for the first time.
Social Studies
The Social Studies Department started the 1961 program under what we hope were unusual circumstances, namely, seven new members on the teaching staff.
These new members have adjusted rapidly to our program and have contributed well to the two areas receiving particular emphasis at this time. These are the areas of "Citizenship Education" and "Education for International Understanding." Special programs ar- ranged through the Social Studies Department are taking students outside the classroom and into the political and social projects such as Student Government Day, Salem State College conference on Human Rights at Home and Abroad, field trips to the United Nations, State House, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, etc. As well as taking students outside, efforts have been successful in bringing important resource personnel into the school to stimulate and inform the general student body. Mr. James Castle, Selectman of Topsfield, Mr. Edward Kennedy, Dr. Amyla Charkravarty, and Dr. Takahashi, a Japanese national are examples of such persons.
The newly formed Debating Club and the Archeological Club are added activities through which interested students can develop specialized skills and broaden their knowledge.
Mathematics
The mathematics curriculum is receiving perhaps as much attention these days as all other subject fields combined. Several nationally recognized committees have made sweeping proposals for changes in content and teaching methods in mathematics. Masconomet has accepted the recommendation of the School Mathematics Study Group (SMSG) and this year instituted its program in grade seven. This adoption was made feasible only through the interest of Mrs. Lillian Taylor who, during the previous two years, undertook special courses in the modern mathematics program. In addition to the SMSG program, all levels of math have been modernized in order to help all students achieve a higher level of sophistication in mathematics. At the eight grade level, the two most advanced groups are studying Algebra and are using some of the advantages of programmed learn- ing which promotes a higher incidence of self-learning. A College
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Mathematics Review in the eleventh grade has been introduced to reach those students who have not experienced strong success in math to date but profit from a review of Algebra and Geometry.
Special enrichment programs have been introduced for the more capable mathematics students. The successful participation by Mas- conomet students in interscholastic mathematics contests has proved very motivating to the students gifted in math. One of our 1961 graduates, Barbara Bamford, won top honors for seniors in both leagues of ten teams each last year, thereby earning a $100 scholar- ship awarded by General Electric. This year we have twenty different students active in these math competitions.
Students have also been encouraged to participate in the tele- vision courses offered by Continental Classroom.
In order to keep themselves up-to-date in this rapidly changing field, teachers have been attending in-service institutes and have returned to summer school classes.
Science
The year 1961 has been an exciting, busy, and rewarding year for the Science Department at Masconomet. It should be recorded as a year of state and national recognition for Masconomet through the activities and achievements of both teachers and students engaged in science projects. One hundred eight students exhibited projects in the local science fair last spring, and from this developed a first prize and grand prize winner at the Lowell Technorama. These honors went to Joseph Litwin, who went on with his project (working seismograph) to win a second prize at the Massachusetts State Fair and a fourth prize at the National-International Fair in Kansas City, Missouri. In Biology, Linda Munroe won first prize at the North Shore Biology Conference. In the TV Science Quiz Show on the Dateline Boston Program, four seniors tied North Quincy, a school four times the size of Masconomet.
Miss Louise Swenson, Department Chairman and Chemistry teacher, has brought even more recognition to Masconomet by being appointed to serve on two national committees - the planning committee for the 1963 National Conference of Science Teachers Association to be held in Philadelphia, and the national nominating committee to select candidates for the 1962 election of the National Science Teachers Association.
In keeping with the philosophy that a good comprehensive high school should meet the needs of all students, two new courses have been added to our science program. A grade ten Biology and a grade
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nine General Science course have been designed to make science, in general, more meaningful to boys and girls who are not scientifically inclined. In these courses more attention is focused on understanding and background for the appreciation of science and environments in everyday life. It is interesting to note that of 1020 students all but 150 are enrolled in science courses. This is particularly significant when one considers the fact that science is an elective in grades nine through twelve.
Four different science clubs continue to capture the individual interests of students and the Photography Club continues to grow in its interest to students who not only learn many important skills re- lated to photography but also provide an extremely important service to the school through coverage of all major activities.
Classroom instruction in all classes has been enhanced through the utilization of the resource file of local scientific talent. This sur- vey was completed last year and provides a variety and quantity of excellent persons willing to share their special talents and knowledge with our students.
Foreign Language
No longer is foreign language learning restricted to a rather selected few who may need a couple of years of the language to meet college entrance requirements. Masconomet like many other schools makes foreign language study available to all students at the seventh grade level to encourage early interest in language learning and dis- cover special talents. Urged and aided by federal funds and expert research in the field of language teaching, methods of instruction have shifted to the hearing-speaking approach to learning the language. Such an approach means organizing activities around tape recordings, records, filmstrips and much oral speaking on the part of both teacher and students.
Efforts by our Language Department to make careful selection of materials and to present an interesting and instructive program are appreciated as evidenced by increased enrollments in elective language courses and an enthusiastic growth in the various language clubs. The language enrollments showed about a 20% growth this past year.
The present shift to strong emphasis on developing proficiency in a modern foreign language means stressing four to six years of un- interrupted work with a single language with a small number of students electing a second language in high school.
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Members of the staff at Masconomet have accepted with vigor the pressure to keep pace with the rapidly changing practices in language teaching. The school and department was honored by the selection of Mr. Richard Merrill, Department Chairman, to study during the academic year at Emory University. He is a participant in one of the French Institutes sponsored by the National Defense Education Act. Miss Allison Parker, teacher of Spanish, was also selected for a NDEA fellowship this past summer and studied for seven weeks at the University of California. Current thinking of language experts expressed at her Spanish Institute is now shaping the curriculum revisions at Masconomet. Other members of the de- partment are likewise continuing to take courses in their areas to expand their general professional competence.
Preparations are now in progress to schedule French Team meets with other schools in the area and plans are being formulated for an International Fiesta, to be held at Masconomet in the Spring. Students are also being prepared to enter several oral language con- tests sponsored by language teachers' associations. These activities are new in the field of language teaching and are aimed specifically at challenging the talented students and making languages live outside of the classroom.
Business Education
All students are not and should not be seeking a college educa- tion, but all students should be developing saleable skills. Many such skills can be developed to very satisfactory levels in our Business Education program, but we also recognize that students enter this field with a great variety of interests, aptitudes, skills and hopes. Some may be called "slow learners" while others are quite talented. Steps are being taken to provide meaningful and beneficial training for this challenging range. A "Record Keeping" course has been added for students who have difficulty with Bookkeeping. A "Secretarial Training" course is now available for talented students who have mastered Shorthand and who desire further intense training for em- ployment in the secretarial field and plans are being made to allow two years of training in Office Practice for those students seeking a stronger vocational-clerical background.
An activity sponsored by the Business Education Department and proving to be of significant value to students in gaining poise, practicing social skills and performing a service for Masconomet is the corps of receptionists who greet visitors at the main entrance of the school and assist them.
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"Education for All" is a dynamic challenge and although follow- up studies of our graduates indicate successful employment by those who have succeeded in our courses, we recognize and accept the challenge of developing our curriculum to meet changing needs in changing times.
Home Economics
"Dacron Polyester", "Acrylic", "Laminated" - these are a few of the words added to the supply of such common fabrics as cotton, wool, linen or silk. Increased knowledge of nutrition and the part it plays in the general health of the body has created interest and con- fusion about such terms as "Poly-unsaturated" or "cholesterol level'. These are just a few examples that indicate how Home Economics is going far beyond plain cooking and sewing. Although we continue to teach basic skills in foods and clothing, we are presenting knowledge and concepts about the myriad of choices that consumers in food purchasing, equipment, fabric selection and care and home furnishings should comprehend.
Field trips such as visits to the home furnishings at Jordan Marsh Company in Boston and a visit to a modern super-market in- cluding a talk by the manager about meat cuts and the general pur- chases of foods are important features of the course. Rosemarie Walsh, a Senior at Masconomet, was chosen as a representative from the Home Economics Department to be a member of the Jordan Marsh Fashion Council for High School girls in 1961-62, and as such reports to the class concerning information received at monthly meet- ings attended in Boston.
Plans for growth in this department include encouragement at a Chef's Club for boys in the Junior High School, a Home Economics Club for girls who are unable to choose a course in the department during the regular school day and for a more formal program of guidance that acquaints students with opportunities and careers in this field.
Industrial Arts
Industrial Arts today has shifted from the so-called "Manual Training" program, wherein almost total emphasis was placed upon thorough development of a few simple skills with hand tools, to the use of a variety of projects used as a vehicle to stimulate the explora- tion of many facets of today's industrial complex. Wise choices as to vocational and avocational activities demands knowledge about in- dustrial processes, knowledge about the old and the new in materials and consumer goods necessary or desirable in daily living.
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Students enrolled in our program will have experienced with wood, plastics, metals, electricity, printers ink, drawing tools, and power tools as well as hand tools. Another value of the project ap- proach is the desirable emphasis placed on completing a useful article that approaches quality craftsmanship and allows for originality and creativity.
The Industrial Arts Fair held last May in the Cafeteria displayed a large variety of student projects that were functional, well con- structed and well designed. Tables (both modern and colonial) lamps, chairs, bookcases, Welch cupboards, a boat, metal coffee tables, maga- zine racks, sign brackets and wall lamps were a few of the projects displayed.
At the Massachusetts Industrial Arts Fair held at Lexington High School, Vance Perry won first prize at the Sophomore level for his chess table and three honorable mentions were gleaned by other Masconomet students.
Space limitations are going to restrict the expansion of our Industrial Arts program and such important units as electricity and electronics will undoubtedly be slow in developing until added facilities are made available and another instructor added.
The explosive diversification of occupational opportunities in our present world of work makes it impossible to give our students the vocational training necessary for job entry but we do acquaint them with the basic skills that can be further developed later through specialized training in industry.
Art
Creativity, stimulation of the imagination, and an increased ap- preciation of the aesthetic qualities of life and living, are important goals in our educational program and it has been through the talents and ambitions of our Art instructor and supervisor, Mr. Theodore Meinelt, that a very high quality of Fine Arts is caught as well as taught. His devotion to the numerous display cases throughout the school coupled with his inspiration of both students and teachers to become art conscious has provided outstanding experience in educa- tional window shopping. Interesting and varied exhibits have been maintained as a continuous part of living at Masconomet by combin- ing the services of other departments of the school, who offer techni- cal material keyed for interest and understanding and the talents of the Art Department which arrange the displays for enjoyable con- sumption.
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The classroom program for grades seven and eight is planned and participated in by all students in the grades. Basic art learnings that will be useful in the students' coming years at school are present- ed, with the hope that they will be used continuously as the years go by. Included is the use of art for the individual, the home, and the community with emphasis on both experience and appreciation.
Art at the High School level offers a creative outlet to the student as well as providing necessary technical information needed to complete a project. A great deal of emphasis is placed on encourag- ing each student to use his own ideas and unique talents in such projects.
Art activities beyond the classroom have been numerous during the past year. The Art Service Club, consisting of a representative from each homeroom, works on problems to better the school through the service of art. This group meets monthly, although individuals contribute time and talent as the need presents itself. The art show held in the Spring in conjunction with the Homemaking and Industrial Arts Department was well received. It presented a variety of demon- strations along with an exhibition and collective showing of "Design for Today."
Carla Dayton, a present Senior, won recognition for herself and the Art Department by winning the Topsfield Fair contest for a premimum list cover design. School publications, the school play, and many other school sponsored activities have sought and obtained the advice and services of the Art Department during the year.
Music Department
In the three broad areas of general education or "Education for All", Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, it is the latter, literature and the arts that teach us how to appraise and judge and, as individuals, decide what spiritual and cultural growth will match our materialistic or scientific growth.
Music, as an art, at Masconomet is continuing to provide learning experience in vocal and instrumental organization which will be stimulating and significant enough to be a continuing source of enjoy- ment to participants throughout their lives. Increased participatioon, high level of achievement and numbers qualifying as participants in highly competitive district and state music organizations, are clear indications of excellent progress in our school music program and a deserving credit to the talented and industrious staff.
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