USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > Town annual report of Swampscott 1925 > Part 10
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1,000 00
Series May 1, 1915, Acts of 1913
1,000 00
Series 1916, Acts of 1913
2,000 00
Series 1917, Acts of 1913
500 00
Series 1920, Acts of 1920
1,000 00
Series 1921, Acts of 1920
2,000 00
Series 1922, Acts of 1920
1,000 00
Series 1923, Acts of 1920
1,000 00
Series 1924, Acts of 1920
1,000 00
$15,850 00
Temporary Loan Notes
Issued in Anticipation of Revenue.
No.
Date.
Payable at.
Amount.
Rate.
When Payable.
297
Dec.
4, 1925
Ist. Nat'l Bank, Boston "
$25,000 00
3.57
Nov,
10, 1926
298
Dec.
4, 1925
25,000 00
3.57
Nov.
10, 1926
299
Dec.
4, 1925
=
10,000 00
3.57
Nov. 10, 1926
30I
Dec.
4, 1925
=
10,000 00
3.57
Nov. 10, 1926
302
Dec.
4, 1925
5,000 00
3.57
Nov.
10, 1926
Town Debt December 31, 1925
Permanent Improvement Bonds,
Inside Debt Limit
$345,200 00
Permanent Improvement Bonds, Outside Debt Limit
63,000 00
Water Bonds
263,000 00
Sewer Bonds
210,100 00
$881,300 00
Less Water Sinking Fund
134,740 72
Net Debt
$746,559 28
¥
25,000 00
3.57
Nov.
10, 1926
300
Dec.
4, 1925
$100,000.00
108
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
General Debt Statement Indicating the Borrowing Capacity, as of December 31, 1925
Total Bonded Debt
$881,300 00
Less :
Water Debt
$263,000 00
Sewer Debt
210,100 00
Permanent Improvement Issued Out- side Debt Limit
63,000 00
$536,100 00
Net Debt
$345,200 00
Val. 1923, less abatements, $17,537,577 00
Val. 1924, less abatements, 18,522,504 00
Val. 1925, less abatements, 19,444,450 00
Gross three years' valuation
$55,504,531 00
Average valuation
$18,501,510 00
Three per cent of average
valuation
$555,045 00
Less :
Net Debt
$345,200 00
Borrowing capacity
$209,845 00
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES W. LIBBY, Town Treasurer.
1925]
TRUST FUND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
109
Report of the Trust Fund Commissioners
Joanna Morse Library Fund.
Balance, January 1, 1925 Principal
$5,196 00 1,449 17
Income accrued
$6,645 17 336 41
Total
$6,981 58
Less withdrawals
168 54
Balance, December 31, 1925
$6,813 04
Ellen R. Whittle Library Fund.
Principal, January 1, 1925
$2,000 00
Income accrued
281 70
$2,281 70
Dividends
115 48
Total
$2,397 18
Less withdrawals
375 21
Balance, December 31, 1925
$2,021 97
Mary L. Thomson Library Fund.
Balance, January 1, 1925
Principal
$1,000 00
Income accrued
125 21
Dividends
56 96
Total
$1,182 17
Less withdrawals
53 58
Balance, December 31, 1925
$1,128 59
$1,125 21
Dividends
110
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
Fund for Perpetual Care of Cemetery Lots.
Balance, January 1, 1925
Deposits
$17,567 88 2,015 50
Dividends
$19,583 38 899 69
Less withdrawals, purchase of addi-
tional land and care of lots
12,465 75
Balance, December 31, 1925
$8,017 32
Municipal Insurance Fund.
Balance, January 1, 1925
Principal
$3,500 00
Income accrued
1,165 73
Dividends
206 46
Balance, December 31, 1925
$4,872 19
Phillips School Medal Fund.
Balance, January 1, 1925
Principal
$1,000 00
Income accrued
1,050 61
$2,050 61
Dividends
96 43
$2,147 04
Less withdrawals for medals
38 01
Balance, December 31, 1925
$2,109 03
High School Alumni Fund (see note)
Balance, January 1, 1925
Principal
$2,154 56
Additions to Principal
Received from Swampscott
Woman's Club
$100 00
Received from Swampscott Teachers' Association 25 00
$125 00
Total Principal $2,279 56
Amount carried forward
$2,279 56
$20,483 07
$4,665 73
1925]
TRUST FUND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
111
Amount brought forward
$2,279 56
Income accrued
$681 07
Dividends during 1925
130 17
$811 24
Less
Withdrawal, payment made on account
of Scholarship awarded by Executive Committee of High School Alumni Association
100 00
$711 24
Balance, December 31, 1925.
$2,990 80
Note .- This is not a town of Swampscott trust fund as defined by Chapter 282 of the General Acts of 1915, but is held by the Town Treasurer as Trustee for the Swampscott High School Alumni. It is included in this report in order that the members of the High School Alumni may be kept informed of its existence.
Respectfully submitted,
For the Trust Fund Commissioners,
JAMES W. LIBBY.
Treasurer of Trust Fund Commissioners and Custodian of all its funds and securi- ties, as provided for by Chapter 282 of the General Acts of 1915.
WESTON K. LEWIS, HENRY S. BALDWIN,
Trust Fund Commissioners.
SWAMPSCOTT, December 31, 1925.
112
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
Report of Board of Assessors
To the Citizens of Swampscott:
The Board of Assessors submit the following report for the year 1925. The property in town assessed by the local Assessors April 1, 1925, amounted to $19,513,791, an increase over the previous year (1924) of $879,195. The real estate valuation April 1, 1925, was $17,870,147, an increase over the previous year (1924) of $782,009. The valuation of personal estate assessed by the local Assessors April 1, 1925, was $1,643,644, an increase over the previous year (1924) of $97,149.
The tax rate for 1925 was $26 per $1000, an increase from the previous year (1924) of $1.00 per $1000. The following tables show how the Assessors arrived at the tax rate :-
LIABILITIES TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT, 1925
Overdrawn Accounts, 1924
$ 5,005 53
Town Appropriations (not bonded)
526,201 20
State Tax
31,200 00
State Assessments
14,982 69
County Tax
30,473 85
County Assessments
5,307 94
Over-lay, Current Year
3,000 00
Total Liabilities, 1925
$616,171 21
ASSETS TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT, 1925
Transfer from free cash
$ 8,900 00
Transfer from Excess and Deficiency Poll Taxes
5,005 53
5,128 00
Property Taxes
Valuation $19,513,791, $26 per $1000 507,358 56
Estimated Receipts 89,779 12
Total Assets, 1925
$616,171 21
For departmental expenses we recommend a general appropriation of $3,100 for the fiscal year 1926.
EDWARD A. MAXFIELD, CLARENCE B. HUMPHREY, JOHN B. EARP,
Assessors.
December 31, 1925.
1925]
ASSESSORS' PROPERTY REPORT
Valuation of the town of Swampscott April 1, 1925. Table of aggregate of polls, property and taxes as assessed April 1, 1925.
Number of residents assessed on property
2912
Number of firms, corporations, etc., assessed on property
42
Number of non-residents assessed on property
421
Number of non-residents, firms, corporations, etc.,
assessed on property 34
Number of persons assessed on property
3409
Number of persons assessed poll tax only
1112
Total number of persons assessed
4521
Number of male polls assessed
2564
Value of assessed personal estate
$1,643,644
Value of assessed buildings, excluding land
$11,163,756
Value of assessed land, excluding buildings
$6,706,391
Total value of assessed real estate
$17,870,147
Total value of assessed estates
$19,513,791
Number of horses assessed
41
Number of cows assessed
22
Number of dwelling houses assessed
2105
Taxes for State, County and Town Purposes
On personal estate
$ 42,734 74
On real estate
464,623 82
On polls
5,128 00
Total Tax
512,486 56
Tax rate per $1,000
26 00
BOARD OF ASSESSORS' REPORT
113
114
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
Statistics of the Town of Swampscott, 1883-1925
ASSESSORS' VALUATION APRIL I.
JANUARY I.
YEAR.
REAL ESTATE
PERSONAL
TOTAL
RATE TAXES PER $1,000
YEAR.
NET DEBT
1925
$17,870,147
$1,643,644
$19,513,79I
$26.00
1926
$345,200.00
1924
17,088,098
1,546,498
18,634,596
25.00
1925
246,900.00
1923
16,157,425
1,526,754
17,684,179
26.00
1924
291,900.00
1922
15,321,512
1,414,422
16,735,934
25.00
1923
343,900.00
I921
14,226,510
1,391,298
15,617,808
24.00
1922
341,500.00
1920
14,007,916
1,316,938
15,324,854
23.00
I921
344,100.00
1919
12,771,170
1,179,422
13,950,592
20.00
1920
236,600.00
1918
12,619,556
1,1IO,776
13,730,332
20.00
1919
251,750.00
1917
12,141,32I
1,000,682
13,142,003
20.00
1918
312,000.00
1916
11,532,432
4,928,18I
16,460,513
20.00
I917
330,800.00
1915
10,810,305
5,028,193
15,838,498
17.80
1916
363,900.00
1914
10,508,225
3,531,119
14,039,344
16.80
1915
344,100.00
1913
10,028,325
3,174,590
13,202,915
16.40
1914
293,500.00
1912.
9,413,525
2,974,381
12,387,906
16.00
IGI3
276,600.00
I9II
9,050,850
2,771,167
11,822,017
15.00
I912
273,150.00
19IO
8,489, 200
2,698,340
11,187,540
15.00
IQII
194,639.00
1909
7,675,905
2,450,02I
10,125,926
16.00
I91
184,295.00
1908
7,312,165
2,680,490
9,992,655
16.00
1909
191,295.00
1907
7,099,090
2,317,468
9,317,468
14.50
1908
176,420.00
1906
6,303,625
2,093,820
8,397,445
14.50
1907
167,320.00
1905
6,030,185
2,117,442
8,147,627
14.50
1000
151,320.00
1904
5,489, 12I
2,206,172
7,695,293
12.90
1905
II0,020.00
1903
5,135,124
4,286,981
6,422,105
II.50
1904
114,770.00
I902
4,762,665
1,744,874
6,507,539
12.00
1903
75,270.00
I90I
4,668,985
1,598,745
6,267,730
12.00
1902
70,600.00
1900
4,446,900
1,138,275
5,585,175
II.OO
I90I
68,100.00
1899
4,200,175
1,199,045
5,399,220
11.50
1900
64,300.00
1898
4,135,582
1,318,591
5,454,173
14.00
1899
59,000.00
1897
3,997,975
1,304,163
5,302, 138
12.00
1898
71,000.09
1896
3,896,059
1,245,245
5,141,304
12.00
1897
78,250.00
1895
3,756,900
1,444,947
5,201,847
I2.00
1896
84,500.00
1894
3,619,525
1,529,675
5,149,200
II.OO
1895
66,333.30
1893
3,439,975
1,649,953
5,989,928
II.00
1894
71,166.66
1892
3,271,279
1,504,170
4,775,449
10.00
1893
37,499.90
189I
3,122,350
1,771,373
4,893,723
10.00
1892
42,333.36
1890
3,001,550
1,857,777
4,859,327
10.00
1891
48,666.66
1889
2,585,43I
1,453,30I
4,038,732
8.40
1890
52,500.00
I888
2,465,256
1,501,530
3,966,792
8.50
1889
56,000.00
1887
2,417,556
1,288,498
3,706,054
8.00
1888
57,500.00
I886
2,383,055
1,275,405
3,658,460
9.50
1887
55,500.00
1885
2,365,280
1,130,863
3,496,143
9.00
I886
47,500.00
1884
2,371,610
1,135,215
3,506,825
II.OO
1885
49,000.00
1883
2,259,855
1,589,566
3,849,41I
8.50
1884
50,500.00
PROPERTY
VALUATION
115
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
1925]
School Committee-1925
Rev. Edward Tillotson, Chairman Telephone 2481 Mrs. Mabel A. Hardy, Secretary Telephone 4041
60 Monument avenue
28 Orchard road
Dr. John Vannevar
53 Farragut road
Telephone 6111-M
Regular meeting, second Tuesday of each month.
Superintendent of Schools
Harold F. Dow 62 Thomas road, Telephone 9600
Office of superintendent of schools, Hadley School, telephone 2067. The superintendent's office is open on school days from 8 A. M. to 4.30 P. M .; Saturdays from 9 A. M. to 12 M.
The superintendent's office hours on school days are from 8.30 to 9 A. M. Other times by appointment.
School Calendar-1926
Winter term closes Friday, February 19
Spring term begins
Monday, March 1
Spring term closes Friday, April 16
Summer term begins Monday, April 26
Summer term closes Wednesday, June 23
High school graduation
Wednesday, June 23
Fall term begins
Wednesday, September 8
Fall term closes
Thursday, December 23
Hours of Session
Junior and senior high schools and grades V and VI, 8.30 A. M. to 1.30 P. M.
Grades III and IV, 8.30 A. M. to 1 P. M. Grades I and II, 9 A. M. to 1 P. M.
116
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
No School Signal
Two double strokes on the fire alarm, 2-2. Street lights turned on for five minutes.
7.20 A. M. No school in the junior or senior high schools.
7.50 A. M. No session in grades I to VI inclusive.
IMPORTANT: If the signal is not given at 7.20, but is given at 7.50, sessions of school will be held in the junior and senior high schools and no school in grades I to VI inclusive.
117
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
1925]
Report of the School Committee
-
To the Citizens of Swampscott:
We submit a brief foreword to the interesting reports which fol- low. The year just closed has been one of normal growth and devel- opment, and the reports of our Superintendent and High School Principal deserve, as we trust that they will receive at your hands, a thoughtful and careful reading. We have given many hours to a careful and thoughtful deliberation of the many problems that have been presented to us, and our conclusions have been reached with a consideration of the greatest good for the greatest number. We record again with pleasure and satisfaction the debt which is owed to our efficient Superintendent. We believe that he is constantly trying to raise to a higher level the general efficiency of the whole school system. Backed in his efforts by the loyal and hearty co- operation and interest of principals and teachers, they are giving to us school work of which we may well be proud.
The introduction in the High School of manual training and do- mestic arts has already done much, we believe, to increase the esprit de corps there, and we are glad as a committee to testify our belief in the general efficiency of our local High School.
The Hadley Annex, now nearing completion, is a structure worthy of the position where it has been placed, and will relieve the pres- sure fearfully evident in the Hadley school.
In the early fall your committee was approached by the Nahant School Committee to see if some arrangement might be made where- by our Superintendent could give supervision to the Nahant school system. We felt honored that Nahant should come to us for such help. After very careful thought and with full assurance that the efficiency of our own school system would in no wise be impaired, we granted him leave of absence for one day each week, affecting there- by a reduction in our administration expenses of nearly a thousand dollars. We have reason to believe that the Nahant school system already values his services and our kindness in releasing him for one day each week, and so well ordered is our system here that no ill effect is at all in evidence.
Our budget for 1926 is about eight per cent larger than it was last year. This increase is due largely to two facts; first, we de- sire to increase the pay of the teachers in the elementry schools, raising the maximum to fifteen hundred dollars; and, secondly, much needed repairs must be immediately made at the Phillips High
118
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
School and the Hadley School. We hope very much indeed that fa- vorable action upon our budget will be taken by the Finance Commit- tee and supported by the town. So far as the work of the school department is concerned we are of the firm conviction that we are getting an honest return for every dollar that the department spends.
We endorse most heartily the recommendation of the Superin- tendent asking for the appointment of a committee to consider the needs of the Palmer school district. That section of the town is growing rapidly and we need to do all in our power to anticipate this growth.
Citizens, we are proud of our schools, of the personnel of the teach- ing and operating staff, of the efforts being made daily to give your boy and girl the best of educational opportunities, and here we record with pleasure the deepening interest which we feel is being gendered by the Parent-Teachers' Association. We encourage you to visit our schools, get acquainted with the superintendent, the principals and the teachers; where we as a committee, or they in their respective capacities, err, and being but human, we all err at times, offer the kindly criticism that is constructive, and give us and them the same privilege.
Help us to hold our school department to the high level on which we firmly believe it now stands, and let us go forward, committee, superintendent, principals and teachers, parent and child to higher, greater and better things educationally. We cherish the earnest conviction that never has the world been better worth preparing for from an educational point of view than it is just now.
Respectfully submitted, EDWARD E. TILLOTSON, Chairman, JOHN VANNEVAR, MABEL A. HARDY,
School Committee.
119
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
1925]
REPORT OF CLERK OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
To the Members of the School Committee:
Following is a classified statement of the expenditures of the School Committee for the year ending December 31, 1925.
Statement, January 1, 1926
Expended
Estimated
School Committee
$ 508 16
$ 450 00
Superintendent
479 95
450 00
Pay Roll
117,067 44
117,834 00
Text Books-supplies
7,422 36
7,730 00
Fuel
4,352 83
4,456 00
Miscellaneous Operating
3,383 41
3,000 00
Repairs, etc.
3,535 67
2,950 00
Libraries
125 79
200 00
Medical Attendance
450 00
450 00
Transportation
700 00
700 00
Tuition
142 23
200 00
Sundries
1,197 80
830 00
New Equipment
1,045 42
1,200 00
Totals
$140,411 06 $140,500 00
Classified Statement
General
High
Elementary
GENERAL EXPENSES
School Committee
$ 748 16
Superintendent
6,944 95
EXPENSES OF INSTRUCTION
Supervisors
12,085 40
Principals
$ 3,200 00
$ 8,443 28
Teachers
21,588 80
56,692 32
Text Books
1,151 16
2,214 24
Supplies
885 47
3,171 49
EXPENSES OF OPERATION
Janitors
2,166 40
6,186 24
Fuel
690 16
3,662 67
Miscellaneous
912 61
2,470 80
EXPENSES OF MAINTENANCE
Repairs, etc.
1,713 60
1,822 07
AUXILIARY AGENCIES
Libraries
18 60
107 19
Health
100 00
350 00
Transportation
700 00
Tuition
30 00
112 23
Miscellaneous
339 31
858 49
OUTLAY EXPENSES
New Equipment
1,045. 42
Totals
$20,823 93
$32,796 11
$86,791 02
120
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
School Appropriation Expended
$140,500 00
140,411 06
Balance unexpended
$89 94
Americanization App. $1,125 00 Expended 990 65
Manual Training App. $5,960 00
Expended 5,942 66
Unexpended Balance $134 35
Unexpended Balance
$17 34
Respectfully submitted, ARTHUR W. STUBBS,
Clerk of the Committee.
121
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
1925]
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the School Committee of the Town of Swampscott:
Mrs. Hardy and Gentlemen :- It is with pleasure that I submit herewith my sixth annual report as superintendent of the Swamp- scott schools.
The year 1925 is notable in the annals of the school department, principally because of the final attainment of an appropriation to furnish tangible relief for the Hadley school. At the time of last year's report comment was made of the constructive work of the building committee appointed the year previous to investigate school needs and to secure plans and estimates for a building to furnish such relief as was found necessary. The report made by this com- mittee was eventually accepted by the citizens of the town, and late in the summer the contract was let for the erection of the new building, on the site recommended by the committee, adjacent to the Hadley school. Work has progressed very satisfactorily, and at the present time it seems safe to say that the building will be ready for occupancy well before the opening of the fall term in 1926. Our plans call for the transferring to this building of the first six grades, the manual training shops and the administration offices, all housed now in the Hadley school, leaving the present Hadley school in its entiety available for Junior High school purposes.
At the close of school in June the following teachers resigned: from the High school, Miss Barbara Davidson, Miss Margaret Thomp- son, Miss Lucy A. Young, Mr. Joseph Stanton; from the Clarke school, Miss Lucretia Collins; from the Machon school, Miss Marion H. Fogg. Their places were filled by the election of Miss Alta Randles, Miss Theresa Duff, Miss Leota Whitcomb, Mr. John Craw- ford, Miss Dorothy Verdi and Miss Ruth Hartman, respectively. For the first time in several years, we carried over from one school year to the next our Junior High school faculty intact, and there were no changes in the Hadley or Palmer schools or among our supervisors. Our turnover, then, was not out of proportion to the number of teachers engaged in our schools, although with four resignations in the High School, the problem of organization at the start of the year was correspondingly greater in that building.
It is pleasant to record at this point that the request of the school department for a special appropriation to establish manual arts and domestic science classes in the High School was looked upon favor- ably by our citizens, so that when school opened in September our High School youth were able to elect courses in these subjects. The manual training shop is situated in the little building in the rear of the High School, formerly used for a chemical laboratory, and the work there is in charge of Merle G. Hall, a graduate of the Fitchburg Normal School and a man who has had varied experience in the in- dustrial field. The domestic science and art equipment was placed in the lunch room in the basement of the High School, and that work is in charge of Mrs. Bertha Wales, a local woman who combines the
122
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
experience of housekeeper and mother with special work taken at Simmons College. The High School principal's report speaks author- itatively concerning the splendid effect which the acquisition of these two departments has had on our High School. I am glad to endorse what Mr. Thompson has said concerning this. We are holding pupils in High School better than we have ever done before, have reduced the percentage of failures and heightened the morale of the school. It seems safe to say that no expenditure made by the town for school purposes in recent years has brought a greater or quicker return in increased efficiency than has the appropriation made for this depart- ment.
For some time it has seemed that the penmanship of the pupils of the Swampscott schools might be improved. Two years ago, we changed from the Palmer method to the Houston method and be- lieve that we secured better results by the new system. However, in order to bring this important subject of the curriculum to a higher point of efficiency, we secured this year the services of Miss Lillian Hewitt as Penmanship Supervisor on a part time basis. Miss Hewitt has studied in many of the leading penmanship schools in the East. She has been supervisor of that subject for several years in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Athol and Ware, Massachusetts. She comes to Swampscott four days each school month, and we believe that at the end of this school year and increasingly in the years to come, marked improvement in the hand writing of the Swampscott boys and girls will be observed.
Through the generosity of the local Chapter of the Red Cross, a long felt need was supplied the school children of Swampscott at the beginning of the present school year by the opening of a finely equipped dental clinic at the Machon school. This clinic has been in operation every Monday morning from nine to twelve, and during this time all the children of the first six grades have been examined and treatments given as follows:
Amalgam Fillings
34
Cement Filling's
34
Extractions
28
Silver Nitrate Treatments
15
Miscellaneous Treatments
20
Thus far, the entire expense of equipment, installation and main- tenance of this clinic has been met by the Red Cross. At the present time, however, the fund set apart by them for this purpose is ex- hausted, and other means of support must be found if this worthwhile work is to be continued. The laws of the Commonwealth state that any expenditures of public funds for the maintenance of such a clinic must be under the direction of the Board of Health, so the school department is unable to ask for an appropriation to continue this work. It is understood, however, that the Board of Health is willing to carry this on, provided sufficient funds are granted by the citizens of the town. It is hoped to move the clinic from the Machon school
123
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
1925]
to the Hadley Annex at the completion of the latter, as this would provide a more central location. We respectfully endorse the request of the Board of Health for the small sum necessary to maintain this dental clinic through the year 1926, and urge upon all interested citizens the desirability of a similar endorsement of the project.
In general, the year just passed has been most successful from the standpoint of scholastic and extra curricula achievement. Pupils from the senior class of the Swampscott High School took college entrance examinations in forty subjects and received passing marks in thirty-three, a rating of seventy-five percent, a record equalled by few comprehensive high schools in this year's examinations. A member of the junior class who took three of these college entrance examinations passed them all successfully- and received 100% in algebra. The above figures prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that our high school is doing a far better job in preparing boys and girls for college than it is given credit for.
Again, it is a pleasure to commend the work of our supervisors. The annual Musical Club concert, under the direction of Miss Naza- rian, was the usual success; the field day, under the direction of Mr. Cuddy, Mr. Hutchinson and Miss Boynton, was a splendid exhibition of the work of the physical training department; and the art depart- ment, in charge of Miss Fowler, has done excellent work throughout the year. The Junior and Senior High School Dramatic Clubs also maintained in their annual productions the high standard set in the past.
Attention is called once more to the statistical table at the end of this report, giving the attendance data for 1925. This is the poorest showing that the Swampscott schools have made for several years. It is true that our attendance was very seriously affected by illnesses throughout the entire school year, and that part of the report, ac- cordingly, may be excused, but to my mind there is no excuse in a town where a one session day for all grades is in vogue for the large number of tardinesses and dismissals. The teachers are constantly striving to improve the punctuality and to decrease the number of dismissals, but in the final analysis this is a matter where the atti- tude of the home is the largest and most potent factor. We urge again, then, and more strongly than ever before, the cooperation of all parents, first in getting children to school on time, and secondly in allowing them to stay there until the completion of the day's work.
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