USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1945 > Part 10
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Opening Day for 1946-1947: September 4, 1946
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Meetings of the Committee
Regular meetings of the School Committee are held on the first Tuesday of each month at the High School Building at 8:30 p. m.
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Entrance Age
No child shall be admitted to school in September unless he has reached the age of five years on or before the first day of April preceding.
A birth certificate is required for entrance to the first grade. Chil- dren entering for the first time will be admitted only during the first two weeks of school.
Vaccination
No child shall be allowed to enter the first grade without a certifi- cate of successful vaccination.
Employment Certificates
Employment certificates, educational certificates, and newsboys' badges are issued at the office of the Superintendent of Schools in the High School Building from 9 a: m. to 10 a. m. every week day, except Saturday.
All persons must make personal application and present a birth certificate.
"NO SCHOOL" SIGNAL Adopted September 1, 1944
All "No School" signals are sounded on fire alarm box 222 (three rounds), and are interpreted according to the following schedule :
7:15 a. m. No school all day
All schools
7:30 a. m. No morning session
Grades I through VIII
7:45 a. m.
No morning session
Grades I through IV
11:45 a. m.
No afternoon session
Grades I through VIII
12:00 noon No afternoon session Grades I through IV
In addition to the fire alarm signal, announcement will be made over Radio Station WEEI whenever possible.
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT ROLL OF HONOR
Branch of Service
Date of Leave
Richard F. Zeoli
Army
Jan. 15, 1941
William J. Doyle
Army
Feb. 15, 1942
Francis X. Kelly
Army
Feb. 26, 1942
Katharine M. Hale
Navy
Nov. 3, 1942
James H. Pollard, Jr.
Army
Dec. 31, 1942
Patricia A. Lyons
Navy
Feb. 1I, 1943
Nellie G. Beaton
Navy
May 28, 1943
Paul C. Cleaves
Army
June 30, 1943
Harry Arlanson
Navy
Nov. 26, 1943
Norman D. Loud
Army
Jan. 10, 1944
Date of Reinstatement -
Edward F. Tracy
Army
Apr. 24, 1942
Nov. 1, 1945
Robert E. Mitchell
Navy
May 11, 1942
Dec. 5, 1944
Daniel A. Johnson, Jr.
Navy
July 13, 1942
Jan. 1, 1946
Charles E. Wintermeyer
Army
July 13, 1942
Nov. 13, 1945
George H. Klay
Navy
Oct. 12, 1942
Jan. I, 1946
Walter C. Gutterson
Army
Nov. 16, 1942
Nov. 9, 1943
William M. Hughes
Navy
Feb. 22, 1943
Nov. 5, 1945
Stefani Konrad
Navy
Aug. 16, 1943
Oct. 18, 1943
Thomas L. Stetson
Army
Aug. 20, 1943
Nov. 7, 1944
Date of Resignation
Catherine J. Nolan
Army
Feb. 22, 1943
Sept. 4, 1945
Geraldine R. Colligan
Navy
Nov. 18, 1943
Dec. 4, 1945
102
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
To the Citizens of Weymouth :
The School Committee submits its report for 1945, together with the Annual Report of the Superintendent, Mr. Elmer S. Mapes.
Mr. Charles R. Thibadeau, our Superintendent of Schools, resigned on July 1, 1945, to accept a similar position in Stamford, Connecticut. The School Committee accepted his resignation with regret, as he had proved himself to be an outstanding school administrator. It was realized, however, that he was going to a larger community with greater opportunities.
There were many candidates for the position created by Mr. Thi- badeau's resignation. After careful study of the various applicants, the School Committee chose Mr. Elmer S. Mapes to fill the vacancy.
Mr. Mapes was born in New York State and received degrees from Alfred College and Cornell University. He has been in school work all his life, as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. He came to Wey- mouth from Bristol, Rhode Island, where he had been Superintendent of Schools for fifteen years.
Mr. Mapes has been with us since August 1, 1945, and in this short time he has endeared himself to everyone in the School Department. We look forward to many years of efficient school service under his direction. 1
During the past year, World War II came to an end. The war years were difficult ones for the School Department, and 1945 was no exception. Twenty-one of our personnel had left to join the Armed Forces, and their places had been hard to fill. Many of these positions were filled' by married women who had taught in our system. They have done a fine job and the Department appreciates the help they have given. As this report is being written, nine of the twenty-one enlistees have already returned to their former positions in our school system. We welcome them back and hope that others will return to us shortly.
The School Committee was saddened by the death of Dr. J. Her- bert Libby which occurred in September. He was a member of the School Committee for eighteen years, from 1922 to 1940, and served as school physician from 1914 until his death. Dr. Libby was a kindly, courteous gentleman. His conscientious zeal in the performance of his official duties and his keen interest in the improvement of the Weymouth schools were of great value to the town. The good that he did will be lasting.
The School Department is looking forward to an increased enroll- ment in the Weymouth School System. Now that the war is over, more of our young people will take advantage of our educational facilities and will complete their high school work. We are studying the possi- bilities inherent in an enlarged curriculum which would meet the needs of a greater proportion of our future citizens and which would better prepare them for a place in society. The increased population of our town will also result in a larger school enrollment. These new citizens have already made their presence felt in the lower grades of our primary schools. With these thoughts in mind we have been giving consideration to our school buildings and our future needs in this respect. You will no doubt hear a great deal about this subject in the years ahead.
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Our transportation problem is still with us but conditions are improving in this department. We have devoted a great deal of time to this subject. Meetings have been held with the owners of the trans- portation company doing the school work now and also with others who are interested in this work. During 1946 manpower and rolling stock problems should be easier to solve. The School Committee expects a decided improvement in school transportation in 1946.
We feel that we have a good school system in Weymouth. We realize that it can be improved. Some of the improvements should be made quickly and we intend to recommend them to you soon. Others will have to take place over a long period of time. We hope to be able to report progress from time to time.
The following figures show the School Department expenditures for 1945 and the estimates for 1946:
Expenditures Estimates
1945
1946
Administration
$ 16,648.39
$ 17,013.00
Teachers' Salaries
400,796.58
418,782.45
Textbooks and Supplies
18,159.39
20,200.00
Transportation
22,090.20
26,675.00
Support of Truants
1.71
300.00
Tuition
795.08
800.00
Janitors
41,280.05
42,964.45
Fuel
11,016.93
13,000.00
Light, Power, Water
6,071.24
6,800.00
Maintenance
38,243.20
41, 166.45
Other Expense
1,589.03
2,311.00
Day Household Arts
3,972.19
4,352.89
Day Industrial
47,678.66
50,384.95
Americanization
168.00
War Veterans' Retirement
1,350.00
Traveling Expense :
Out of state
76.38
250.00
In state
88.66
200.00
TOTALS :
1945 Expenditures
$608,507.69
1946 Estimates
$646,718.19
Respectfully submitted,
Joseph W. Mahoney, Chairman
Ethel G. Taylor, Secretary
(Mrs. Arthur R.)
Wallace H. Drake, M.D.
Clayton W. Nash
William F. Shields
Harold A. Spalding, M.D.
104
In Memoriam
Dr. J. Herbert Libby
Member of School Committee 1922 - 1940
School Physician 1914-1945
105
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the Members of the School Committee:
I take pleasure in submitting my first report as your Superintendent of Schools, the sixtieth report in such a series.
In my short period of service I have come to appreciate the excel- lence of the Weymouth School System. This excellence lies not so much in its buildings and physical facilities as in the competence of its teachers and the fundamental soundness of its curriculum and teaching methods. A fine spirit of cooperative helpfulness seems to exist among all the personnel from the School Committee down. Such a spirit does not become established quickly but is inevitably a product of long years of working together toward a common goal. I sincerely hope that with this fine cooperative spirit we can continue to work together to improve the Weymouth schools.
Reports of Various Departments
Due to the aftermath of wartime conditions it is still considered necessary to limit the length of the various town reports. As a result it will not be possible this year to print the annual reports of supervisors. However, I should like to quote very briefly from a few of them.
1. Art
"Frequent integration of art with other subjects takes place throughout the system. Academic subjects are given added interest by drawings, booklets, maps, murals, or three-dimensional models. These are made in close cooperation with the Art Department. In fact, art has become a very active mode of expression for all subject matter and has proved its value in many ways."
2. Music
"The growth of instrumental music in both the grades and high school is positive and gratifying. All schools have progressed in number and in a higher level of proficiency . .. The High School has a band of seventy, an orchestra of forty-three pieces, and a choir of sixty voices. These groups-have shown a decided improve- ment during the year and we plan to put on two public concerts."
3. Physical Education
"The results of a standardized physical efficiency test given to 400 freshman and sophomore high school girls this fall show a serious deficiency in the program . . . There was an appalling lack of muscular strength and coordination. The answer to the problem lies in a systematized program from the first through the twelfth grade."
4. High School Library
"The library is playing a more vital role in student life. But in order to play its full part, the library should be placed on the first floor ... In addition to large cabinets to facilitate the filing away of many magazines, shelving for at least 800 books has been
106
added ... The circulation record shows an improvement over the previous year's record."
5. Agriculture
"Home ownership projects fell to a new low - only one boy reported and that was for a small home vegetable garden. The trend toward actual experience on a farm or some agricultural enter- prise has supplemented the home project, and well it may, because real farm work is much to be preferred to home projects below the commercial level. During the past project year, 33 boys reported 36,988 hours with a value of $15,752.16, with a per boy average of 1,120 hours at $477.33."
6. Clubs and Gardens
"The work in gardening has centered, as usual, in the classroom lessons in grades seven and eight ... The object is to foster an interest in growing things, to teach a few fundamental principles and correct practices, and to encourage home vegetable and flower grow- ing. Classroom experiments are conducted and nature study is en- couraged, especially a familiarity with the pupil's own immediate surroundings."
7. The report of the Supervisor of Manual Arts points out the desirability of an additional teacher in the fall. The Domestic Arts report comments on the need for more and better equipped instruc- tional space. The Health Department report notes the great ex- tension of the program in the elementary grades and the splendid work being done by the part-time nurses. The report of the Super- visor of Attendance indicates that the type of service being rendered fully justifies this position.
Attention should be called to the reports of the Director of Courses of Study, the High School Principal, and the Director of the Vocational School. In the latter, the recommendations of a faculty committee for changes, improvements, and additions in the Vocational School program should be given especial consideration.
Physical Education and Health
The draft examinations in World War I and II revealed more dramatically than anything else could ever have done the deplorable physical condition of a large proportion of American youth. The phy- sical training courses in our schools came about largely as a result of the situation revealed by the first war. The second war brought a demand from the armed services for a thorough physical fitness program in our high schools to harden our boys to prepare them for the strenuous physical conditioning of the Army and Navy. If this training is neces- sary in wartime, it is just as essential that we have a vigorous, healthy race to carry on in peacetime. In other words, the modern school has as much responsibility for proper instruction in health and the develop- ment of the physical fitness of its pupils as it has for any phase of the curriculum.
Our physical education program for both boys and girls from grade one through grade twelve needs strengthening. The program should be
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made compulsory, more time should be allotted in the school day, and more instructors should be employed. The Bicknell, Hunt, and Nevin Schools all have good gymnasiums with locker rooms and showers, but no lockers. Lockers should be provided for seventh and eighth grade pupils. Gym classes for these pupils should be set up with longer per- iods, and the pupils should be required to have regular gym suits and to take showers at the end of each period. Boys and girls would then enter high school prepared to participate in a comprehensive and thorough physical fitness program designed to fit the varying needs of different students. Insofar as possible, the program should be corrective and it should reach the young people who need it most, and not just those who are athletically inclined and already in good physical condition.
Guidance
The High School now has a well-organized guidance department. Educational guidance should also be carried on in the seventh and eighth grades as recommended by the Vocational Teachers' Committee and as outlined in the report of the Director. (See page 116.) This could be largely a group guidance program which could be fitted easily into those elementary schools with a departmental setup in the upper grades. In the smaller schools the regular classroom teacher could give more attention to the guidance function than formerly.
Transportation
Since the division of the contract to transport school pupils between the Lovell Bus Lines and the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Company in February, 1945, and the purchase of six new busses by the Lovell Company, the school transportation service has been greatly im- proved. The Lovell Bus Lines have four additional busses ordered and they expect delivery in the next month or two. Since September, one additional High School route has been added in the morning and three additional trips are being made at the close of school. Under the con- tract now being negotiated with the Lovell Company, one more High School route will be added in the morning, effective April 1.
The division of the town for transportation purposes between two companies, the increase in the number of bus routes, the reduction in the overcrowding of busses, and the purchase of new equipment by the Lovell Bus Lines should result in a decided improvement in service. To bring about this improvement it has been necessary to budget for a big increase in transportation costs. This was essential for two reasons: (1) to insure the safety and welfare of the pupils being transported ; (2) to insure the prompt and regular arrival of these pupils at school in order that the school might function in an orderly manner with uninterrupted schedules.
Budget
A good budget serves two purposes: (1) it is a summarized state- ment of the cost of a desired educational program; (2) when adopted, it becomes a guide to the administration of the schools and the expendi- ture of the funds which it provides.
The estimates for the 1946 budget are listed on page 104 in the
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report of the School Committee. The major increases are due to the following causes :
1. The return of veterans at higher salaries than wartime substitutes and the increase in the Emergency Increment allowance because of the return of the veterans, and the employment of more regular teachers, all of whom take the place of substitutes who did not receive the Emergency Increment.
2. The need for additional primary teachers because of increasing enrollments.
3. The addition of two physical education instructors and a remedial reading teacher.
4. The need for replacing worn-out and outmoded textbooks plus an anticipated increase in the cost of books and supplies.
5. The necessity for improving pupil transportation facilities.
6. The need for new equipment.
7. The desirability and wisdom of making needed repairs and im- provements to school buildings, together with the increased cost of all maintenance work today.
A Long Range School Building Program
In a ten year period following the first World War, Weymouth carried out an extensive school building program aimed at enlarging and modernizing the school plant. As evidence of the extent of the construction work in this relatively short period of time the list of new buildings and additions is given below :
High School Addition
. 1923
Vocational School
. 1926
Bicknell School
. 1926
High School Addition.
. 1927
Pond School
. 1928
New Pratt School.
1928
High School Cafeteria Wing. . 1931
Hunt School Addition.
. 1931
Bicknell School Addition.
1931
Abigail Adams School.
1932
Then came the long depression period of the thirties and the recent war years. The only building projects carried out in this thirteen year period were the Auto Mechanics Building in 1934 and the Addition to the Nevin School, built in 1939. The large amount of construction work which was accomplished in the period following the first World War, together with the slowing of the growth in school enrollment, undoubtedly lessened the seriousness of the almost complete halt in school construction so that the Weymouth schools probably did not suffer too greatly by the cessation of building activities. As we face the needs of the next decade, it can be pointed out that another result of this long halt in school building work has been the rapid paying off of the debt incurred in the earlier years. In 1943 the last bond payment on the 1923 Addition to the High School was made; in 1944 the original Bicknell School and the Pond School bonds were paid off; in 1945 the final payments were made on the Abigail Adams School, the New Pratt School, and the Addition to the Nevin School; in 1946 the last payment will be made on the Hunt School Addition; and in 1947 the bonds for
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the 1927 Addition to the High School will be paid in full. The only bonded indebtedness remaining will be a $6,000.00 payment in each of the years 1948, 1949, and 1950 for the Bicknell School Addition.
Now we are in another postwar period, a prospective period of prosperity and great building activity. Again the opportunity presents itself to modernize our school plant and to provide for the growth in school enrollment that will come in the next ten or twelve years. Be- fore the first units in a new building program are undertaken it would be wise to consider the essential steps in a long range school development program rather than to make decisions on a short-time basis or in a piecemeal manner.
The first logical step is to determine the type of organization under which a school system is to operate and the type of program to be carried on in the new buildings to be built. We now have the traditional 8-4 organization with eight elementary grades and four high school grades. Another possibility is the 6-3-3 setup, viz. elementary schools housing grades 1-6, junior high schools for grades 7-9, and a senior high school for grades 10-12. The junior high is a transitional school breaking the gap between the lower school with its typical one teacher for each class to the senior school with its departmental organization. The junior high with its broadened curriculum also furnishes a try-out period in which pupils discover their interests and bents for the wisest selection of high school courses. Weymouth's present school 'plant was built for the 8-4 type of organization, and a complete change now to the 6-3-3 plan would be very costly. However, there is nothing sacred in the 6-3-3 organization, and a modification to a less costly 6-2-4 setup would have definite advantages over the present prevailing 8-4 plan. This could be brought about by concentrating all 7th and 8th grades in four centers located in one building in each of the four sections of the town. In fact, this is the direction in which previous planning and building has pointed. This type of organization now exists, though the program needs some expansion, in the Bicknell School in North Weymouth and the Hunt School in Weymouth Landing, and until the High School became too crowded, in the so-called Junior Annex serving East Wey- mouth. A forward-looking plan would complete this type of setup for the whole town by either adding to the High School again for an East Weymouth Junior High, or erecting a new, modern, centrally located Elementary-Junior High building for the whole East Weymouth area; and by an addition to the Nevin School in which all South Weymouth 7th and 8th grade pupils would be housed.
Under this plan four junior high districts would be set up, over- lapping the present elementary districts: (1) the Bicknell School would continue to serve the approximate area from which it now draws 7th and 8th grade pupils; (2) the Hunt School district would be extended southward to take in part of the region now served by the Shaw School, and it might also take in the western edge of the Adams School district; (3) the East Weymouth junior high district would include the area which now feeds the 8th grades located in the Junior Annex (less a small fringe bordering the Hunt School district as noted above) plus the northern half of the Pratt School district; (4) the Nevin School or South Weymouth district would comprise the present Nevin and Pond
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districts plus the southern half of the Shaw and Pratt districts. This would mean that all 7th and 8th grade pupils would be brought together in fairly large groups with the resulting advantages in departmental teaching, gymnasium and auditorium facilities, and a broadened program in music, art, science, industrial arts, household arts, physical education, and guidance ; and it could be done by transporting very few more pupils than at present.
The High School would continue as a four year school for the en- tire town. Certain of the facilities located in the original building are inadequate and outmoded, particularly the science and art departments. Space should also be provided for the music department. The Vocational School is also housed in cramped, cheaply built quarters.
The American high school is now a common school, as much so as the grammar school of a generation ago. It is no longer a small selective institution with its only objective preparation for college. As a common school it should have a comprehensive program serving the needs and interests of the children of all the people. This means that a much larger percentage of the students should be taking practical, vocational, or technical courses.
Ways of meeting the need for the modern facilities noted above have been under consideration for some time, and these needs could be met by an addition extending westward from the present north wing to a point parallel to the auto mechanics building or garage, from which point it would extend southward to join the garage in one connected building. This new wing would provide up-to-date, efficient, and ade- quate space for an enlarged vocational and technical program which could be planned to dovetail more closely with the regular high school program than at present. It could also contain modern commodious. laboratories and classrooms for the science department. The old Voca- tional School building could be used for the Junior Manual Arts classes and perhaps for a short time prevocational course. The needs of the art, music, and other departments could then be met by rearranging the present building. The building program should then definitely include funds for the modernization and renovation of the interior of the original High School building built in 1898.
The expansion of the high school and vocational school plant des- cribed above has been considered by the School Committee and the Com- mittee to Study the Needs of Vocational Education in Weymouth which was created in 1941 by the Town Meeting. At a recent joint meeting of these bodies a tentative plan was approved and the meeting unani- mously voted that as a first step in the project an article be presented at this year's Town Meeting proposing the construction of a machine shop adjoining the auto mechanics building plus a small addition to the latter. These additions to the Vocational School plant would be defi- nitely planned as an integral part of the ultimate expansion program as outlined above.
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