USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1942 > Part 13
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Transportation
It is the opinion of the School Department that the problem of the transportation of pupils will have to receive very care- ful consideration. It may be necessary to change the present arrangements to correct existing shortcomings. A change will mean a substantial increase in the cost, but improved service will justify the increase.
Food Preservation
A functional Victory Garden Program is operating in the Department of School Gardens and Clubs. Last summer the
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surplus produced in these gardens was preserved by the mothers in the homes. This is worth while, if food preserva- tion is the sole end, but in and of itself such a program has no educational value for boys and girls. They should receive formal training in both the production and preservation of foods, not only for the crisis, but also for the ultimate job of citizenship and homemaking. Therefore, it has been decided to supplement the food-raising program with its corollary, a food-saving program. It is hoped that this project may receive joint sponsorship with the county to the extent of 50% financial support.
Adult Alien Education
Changed conditions have made it necessary to open a class for those of our inhabitants who desire to prepare themselves for United States citizenship. This is consistent with the policy of the School Department to provide such services as will best meet the needs of our people.
A class was opened in the Washington School on Octo- ber 27, to continue for twenty weeks on Tuesday and Thurs- day evenings. The enrollment as of the close of school in December was nineteen.
Cafeteria
The Cafeteria Reserve Fund allowed us to furnish lunches to pupils through June without advancing prices.
By September sharp increases in the costs of materials, services, and equipment made it necessary to advance the charges for pupil lunches. At the moment this increase is nominal. Further advances may be necessary. It will con- tinue to be our policy, however, to provide the best we can for the lowest price.
Enrollment
As of the last day of school in December, there are 29 more pupils enrolled in elementary schools than on the correspond- ing date in 1941. The High School enrollment shows a de- crease of 130 pupils for the same period, the loss being about evenly divided between the junior and senior classes. This reduction made it possible to close in on one position, begin- ning in September.
The two Adams Schools are overcrowded. There are cer- tain grades in the Nevin School which are too large, and there are other scattered cases of overcrowding in the various schools of the town.
In September, the fourth grade at the Center School was closed, and the pupils sent to the Pratt, Shaw, and Hunt
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Schools. The teacher was transferred to the Nevin School, where an additional fourth grade room was opened.
North Weymouth Government Housing Project
It is fortunate that this development is in a section of the town which has additional school space. The Athens School has four rooms which can be put into operation by purchas- ing the necessary furniture and equipment. The pupils al- ready enrolled from this section are being absorbed by the Bicknell School, where the classes at present are not over- crowded.
Guidance
A program in guidance was inaugurated beginning last September, and began to justify the importance which had been attached to such a step. Unfortunately, the induction of Mr. Walter Gutterson into the armed forces interrupted this important work. It is the plan to continue what has been started as soon as the services of a specially trained and quali- ed individual can be obtained.
Maintenance
Some of the work which should have been done in 1942 was not possible because of inadequate funds and impossibility to obtain help. Although allowances were made for increased costs, charges in most instances were greater than anticipated. Next year it will be necessary to carry on an extensive paint- ing program for the best maintenance economy; the Old Pratt School should be entirely re-shingled; one of the High School boilers should be re-tubed; the work on unfinished grounds should be completed. Plans for 1943 will give due signifi- cance to the necessity for minimizing the use of critical materials.
Retirements
Two teachers were retired during the year in accordance with the provisions of the Massachusetts Teachers' Retire- ment Association.
MISS WINIFRED L. CONANT had taught in the third grade of the Edward B. Nevin School since September 1923. Because of ill health, she asked to be retired under the dis- ability clause. Her retirement became effective on June 30.
MR. EVERETT N. HOLLIS retired on October 6, after forty-four years of service as follows:
Principal, Pratt School 2 years
Principal, Bates School 18 years
Principal, Edward B. Nevin School 1 year
Commercial teacher, High School 23 years
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MR. IRVING S. NEWCOMB was retired on August 3 under the provisions of the Weymouth Retirement Association. He had been a janitor at the Jefferson School from June 29, 1930, until that date.
Committee to Study Needs of Vocational Education
The work of the Committee for the year 1942 was to have been limited to a study of the adequacy of our facilities to house such a vocational educational program as was reported at the Annual Town Meeting in 1942. The Committee de- cided that because of the "freeze" in building materials it would be better to defer such study. The request will be made to the Annual Town Meeting to continue this Committee for 1943.
Conclusion
The interplay of complete cooperation and confidence which has permeated the entire department personnel from School Committee to student body is responsible for such success as may have been achieved in meeting the problems of our present crisis.
Our work has been made easier by inter-department co- operation throughout the town.
I am deeply grateful to all.
Respectfully submitted, CHARLES R. THIBADEAU, Superintendent of Schools
HIGH SCHOOL Report of Mr. Wallace L. Whittle, Principal
The effect of the war on the High School has been shown to a marked degree in many different ways. The High School office has been deluged with requests from all governmental agencies to change the program to meet this or that need. It has been a serious problem to separate the changes which would be of definite value to the war effort from those which would not be of any real value. Many of these requests were the result of the necessity of speed in the war program and, therefore, were not too carefully conceived. Many of them conflicted with one another. It was our duty to determine the best policy within our means to do the greatest good to the war effort without too much sacrifice on the part of the pupils. We feel that our judgment has been sound and, in general, has met with public approval.
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There is little doubt that pupils and teachers alike are working under a strain not present before. The teachers have been extremely busy assisting in rationing registrations, draft registrations, and other similar outside tasks, thus having less time available for individual help to the pupils after school hours. We hope, for the benefit of the pupils, that such future work may be kept at a minimum, but we shall be glad to do whatever we can at any time to aid in the war effort.
At the beginning of this school year, a course in Aviation was introduced into the business and general courses in the junior year. This course will not only help to meet the pres- ent needs, but will also have a lasting value, inasmuch as aviation is definitely becoming of increasing importance. It is our intention to add a more specialized course for those pupils who have shown interest in and adaptation to a con- tinuation of this study. The freshmen also are receiving in- struction in aeronautics in the general science course. These courses have been correlated with those given in the seventh and eighth grades, so that a long range program may follow the one covering the present emergency.
The college preparatory curricula have had no new courses added to them. However, the subject matter of aviation has been rather thoroughly covered by changes in the courses of study in the mathematics and science fields. In this way, the technical side of the subject may be more thoroughly cov- ered by a group which has had the previous training suit- able for that part of the subject.
After the Christmas vacation, physical education work will be required of all juniors and seniors. This change is made at the request of the government for more intensive training for the older group of boys and girls. Because of the limita- tions of the physical plant, the sophomores will have to with- draw from their gymnasium periods except in certain cases where election of the course is possible. All boys and girls of seventeen years or more will be enrolled in this course.
We are also attempting to organize a general mathematics program which will not only answer the present urgent need, but will be of lasting benefit in the post-war period. This subject will include some of the more practical phases of algebra and geometry as applied to everyday use.
I should like to call to the attention of all parents the fact that necessarily there must be more time allotted for this in- creased tempo of work. The general consensus of those people connected with the organization of the war effort is that these changes or additions are of vital importance to successful prosecution of the war. Therefore, I hope that we may expect full co-operation from the parents and pupils
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alike, to the end that we may all do everything within our power to accomplish this most important task of winning the war.
We plan to make future adjustments whenever and wher- ever the best interests of all will be benefited thereby. Such contemplated changes may include any number of courses for the pre-induction training of pupils and training for work aiding the war effort. We hope to have some of these in effect by February 1943.
The dietitian is expending every effort to keep the opera- tion of the cafeteria at high efficiency. Due to the scarcity of some foods and the high prices of others, this task is becoming increasingly difficult. It is hoped that the nutritional values may be maintained at a level not below the standard of the past and at the lowest possible price to the pupils.
I feel that the present transportation problem is one of vital importance and one that should be remedied immediate- ly. At no time do all pupils arrive sufficiently early to start school at the scheduled time. This situation has a deteri- orating effect on morale and deprives those children of part of their education each day. The most serious side of this problem, however, is that of safety. Many of the buses are far too heavily loaded, and I am personally very much con- cerned about risk of accident. I feel that the town should take immediate and definite steps to improve this situation by appropriating sufficient funds to transport our children safely and properly.
As suggested in last year's report, a change has been made in the awarding of honors. The honor roll of the past is now designated as "High Honors," and another roll has been added, that of "Honors." The latter is composed of pupils maintaining a fully certified record throughout the four years. We feel that this addition gives recognition to those who have done consistently better than average work.
The addition of the Aeronautics Club to the list of extra- curricular activities has interested many pupils. This group discusses the technical side of aviation and puts the knowl- . edge obtained to use in building flying models. These planes are not toys but scientific models which are extremely in- structive.
The athletic activities have continued along the same high plane and will, we hope, continue to do so in spite of trans- portation and heating difficulties. The band has assisted, as usual, at the football games and had the place of honor in the Armistice Day Parade at Hingham.
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The awards given in June are as follows:
Weymouth Teachers' Association - Emma Corbo, Marie Kezer, Stanley Sulis
Weymouth High School Alumni Association - Elva Dowd, Matthew Harrington, Jr., Robert Wood- worth
Alice W. Dwyer Scholarship - Jane Connell
Frederick W. Hilton Scholarship - Marie Kezer
The Monday Club of Weymouth - Alice Toomey, Davis Watson
Sons of Italy and Daughters of Italy - Emma Corbo The Weymouth Catholic Club - Marjorie Mooney
Weymouth Post No. 79, American Legion - Jane Connell
Weymouth High School Art Department - Ida Hosmer
The award of the Weymouth High School Class of 1921 to the senior making the most "meritorious progress" during the four years was given to Gus Hanson.
Robert Watson received the Washington and Frank- lin Medal for Proficiency in American History.
Marie Kezer was given the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution Good Citizenship Award.
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COURSES OF STUDY Report of Flora Haviland McGrath Director of Courses of Study
In changing times or in days of a great national emergency such as ours today, the schools must acquire fluency in adapt- ing their curricula so that a positive contribution may be made to those forces which mould public thought, which make for successful living in a democracy, and which insure victorious outcomes.
A concrete example of school co-operation in the total war effort is evidenced in the addition of a pre-flight aero- nautics course in the grades and complete concurrence with various departments in correlating their work with this program.
The purposes of this course are to make the boys and girls more air-minded in the world in which they will find them- selves within the next decade and to make them more vitally cognizant of our great national aviation program.
Pre-flight Aeronautics Course of Study
Although the program had its inception with the U. S. Gov- ernment and the Civil Aeronautics Association, the request for this specific program came from our Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Charles R. Thibadeau.
Following the completion of a summer course in pre-flight aeronautics, Miss Marie Ghiorse and I outlined a program for study to use as part of the regular science course in grades VII and VIII. This course, which is now in use, will be added to or changed as need and use demand.
Briefly, the program is as follows:
1. Brief history of aviation
2. Identification of modern planes of all nations
3. Appreciation lessons based on knowledge and skills which the successful aviator must acquire
4. Illustrations of air-flow, thrust, lift, and drag, and an elementary explanation and study of the instrument board
5. Simple, brief weather study including impor- tance of weather to aviator, cloud formation, simple experiments with heating and cooling of water to illustrate principles of condensation, study of high and low pressure areas, fog belts, and other related materials
In grades I through VI, the program is planned by the teachers to include the making of model fields, the collection
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and identification of plane models, stories, and other materials related to aviation on a primary level.
The excellent co-operation of the art department and the manual arts department in working out a high degree of correlation between their work and the aeronautics course is very gratifying.
Tests and Measurements
During the past year, the testing program has been carried out by making use of both mental ability and achievement tests. At the present time, there are from one to three rec- ords for every pupil with the exception of those who entered grade I in September. These pupils will be given tests in January and February.
During the month of May, each eighth grade pupil was given an achievement test and this record together with pre- vious test records was used in partly determining his choice of course for further educational work. .
Arithmetic
A committee made up of members of the teaching force is now at work on a revision of the arithmetic course.
Language Activities
The new language courses which have been, for the most part, the work of teacher committees, have been completed and are now in use in grades II, IV, and V. The Manual for Grade III is on the press. Those for grades VI, VII, and VIII are nearing completion.
General Supervision
In conducting the work of general supervision, those methods and procedures which seem to do the most for the child have been suggested wherever necessary. A serious effort is made to conduct the program according to the most democratic procedures.
In Conclusion
To Mr. Thibadeau, Superintendent of Schools, to all princi- pals and teachers, and to all others who co-operate in the successful conduct of school tasks, I wish to extend my ap- preciation and thanks.
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WEYMOUTH VOCATIONAL SCHOOL Report of the Director, Mr. Francis E. Whipple
The stresses and strains of war-time necessities have made themselves felt strongly in the school. The fact producing the most noticeable strain has been the lowering by most industries of the employable age to 16. Primarily the reason for this change has been the lowering of the selective service minimum age to 18 years. The great increase in both wages and employment available to boys and young men has made certain youths impatient with the orderly processes of educa- tion. The glamour of big wages earned with very little previ- ous preparation has worked its magic and many boys, upon reaching the age of 16, are terminating their formal schooling in favor of immediate cash return for their labor. I do not at all disparage the boys who have turned to the military and naval services. They are rendering an invaluable service to their country. We have had several leave for this purpose.
It is unfortunate that the courses in the school offer help in the war effort in only three areas, with no training for boys in the fields of machine work, radio, electricity, and air- planes. These have proven to be of utmost urgency for pro- spective military personnel, so much so that the government is urging the establishment of so-called pre-induction courses in these subjects. All of these subjects have a place in de- fense industry as well as peace-time values.
For the fourth consecutive year, all available seniors were placed in the industry for which they were trained. Usually these boys are released to industry about May first, but de- mands and war necessities make it desirable to recommend that the academic work be expedited and they be released about March first, next year.
The drafting department has prepared for the committee studying vocational education facilities in the town, several sets of plans for a proposed new building. These have been studied by the committee and general basic ideas agreed upon. The actual construction of any building must await, of course, the termination of the war and release of materials to building activities.
During the year, we were able to add an electric lift, a high pressure grease gun, and a Delta drill to the automobile equipment, a Delta drill in the cabinet shop, a folding ma- chine in the print shop, and numerous small tools in the sheet metal shop. Two heavy grinders, the gift of a local machine works, were very useful and welcome.
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The total enrollment figures for the current school year are given below:
I
II
III
Total
Auto Repair
35
24
10
69
Cabinetmaking
14
16
14
44
Printing
6
12
5
23
Sheet Metal
33
19
15
67
88
71
44
203
Of the 88 freshmen admitted, 3 were admitted as special students without completing the eighth grade; 56 had com- pleted the eighth grade; 22 were members of or had com- pleted the ninth; 4, the tenth; 1, the twelfth; and 2 were repeaters from last year.
There were 32 non-residents enrolled. This is 11 less than last year.
At the date of writing this report, 54 have left since the opening of school in September. With few exceptions, all left to find employment in defense industry. There were, on December 23, 67 freshmen, 44 sophomores, and 38 seniors enrolled in the school. It may be that our facilities will be relieved to the extent that they can be made available for pre-induction training for high school boys after our seniors have been released to industry.
The most direct and immediate contribution of the school to the war production program has been the operation of courses for the training of welders and sheet metal workers. These are federally supported courses of an intensive nature for men and women of employable age, that is, between 16 and 70.
The welding department began operation March first, and has, since June, operated 24 hours per day, six days per week. Since August, the trainees have been wholly employees of the Bethlehem-Hingham shipyard, selected by them to learn welding operations. At the present time, these trainees are at the school for from five to eighteen days. Upon passing certain tests, they are transferred directly to production work on the ships.
The number of trainees for the sheet metal program has been limited by the available unemployed and to persons on the W. P. A. Both men and women have been enrolled. In welding, men only have been trained, but women will be ad- mitted in January.
At a demonstration and parade of civilian defense activi- ties, our truck was fitted up with sheet metal products, a
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welding machine and burning equipment. A demonstration was presented at the assembly on Legion Field.
Since the establishment of these courses, the following numbers of men have been trained:
Sheet Metal Work
Persons now enrolled (December 31) 10
Trained and employed in defense industry 113 42
Discharged or left
Trained, but no record of their employ- ment available 22
187
Working hours of this course: Monday through Friday,4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Arc Welding
Persons now enrolled 34
Trained and employed in defense industry 296
In U. S. Armed Services 8
Discharged or left 27
Trained, but no record of their employ- ment available 9
374
Working hours of this course:
Shift 1 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Sunday to Saturday
Shift 2 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Monday to Saturday
Shift 3 3:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Monday to Saturday 1
During the year, a wide variety of repair and construction jobs have been completed, and with only three or four ex- ceptions have all been done by our own crew of men. These items range from the rebuilding of an entire boiler room down to the making of the smallest electrical repair. It has been the aim in every case to do each job in such a manner that the cost will be as small as possible, consistent with that quality of workmanship which will stand the test of years of use.
I wish to extend to the Superintendent of Schools, to my assistant, to the teaching staff, and to the maintenance de- partment, my thanks for the excellent support and co- operation they have given me during the year.
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CHANGES IN PERSONNEL
RESIGNATIONS
High School
Rosemary Doherty Eleanor R. Madigan Madelyn M. Wilson
Athens School James Humphrey School Hunt School
Shaw School Edward B. Nevin School
Mildred E. Clifford Elizabeth A. Groht Marie G. Keohan Marion S. Spencer Mary M. Leonard Ralph B. Stewart Marjorie R. Candy Phyllis S. Pray
LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR MILITARY SERVICE
High School
Vocational School
Abigail Adams School Bicknell School Hunt School
Edward B. Nevin School
Walter C. Gutterson Katharine M. Hale Francis X. Kelly
Robert E. Mitchell
George H. Klay James H. Pollard, Jr. (as of Dec. 31) Charles E. Wintermeyer William J. Doyle Edward F. Tracy Daniel A. Johnson, Jr.
Consistent with the statutory regulations and the School Department policy, these teachers have been granted leave of absence and the vacancies have been filled on a temporary basis.
RETIRED
High School Edward B. Nevin School Jefferson School
Everett N. Hollis Winifred L. Conant Irving S. Newcomb
ELECTIONS
Vocational School Abigail Adams School Athens School Bicknell School James Humphrey School
Jefferson School Junior Annex
Jean C. Kyhn Catherine Nolan Kathryn A. Scully E. Louise Rubolino Geraldine R. Colligan Catherine Quirk Jeremiah McFarland, Janitor William Kearns
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Hunt School
Center School
Edward B. Nevin School
Pond School Superintendent's Office
TRANSFERS
Marjorie F. Bentley Leona A. Gregory Carmella Locantore Malvena E. MacDonnell Russell H. Mazzola Dorothy U. Murphy Dorothy Pearson Thomas L. Stetson
SUBSTITUTES
High School
Athens School
Junior Annex Hunt School
Mary L. Gloster W. Margaret Lincoln Louise A. Kalaghan Carmella Locantore Anne Connell Elizabeth C. Getchell Alice L. McMorrow Kathleen W. Weir, Clerk
Athens to Hunt Center to Shaw
Center to Edward B. Nevin Center to Edward B. Nevin
Junior Annex to High Junior Annex to High Athens to High
James Humphrey, Grade VII- - Assistant Principal to Princi- pal at Shaw, also Acting Principal at Edw. B. Nevin
Mrs. Irene F. Bates Mrs. Eleanor M. Howley Mr. John B. Merrill Mrs. Marion L. Ray
Mrs. Mildred C. Crawford
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