USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > Town annual report of the officers and committees of the town of Scituate 1898-1905 > Part 17
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A. J. Waterman, auctioneer's license, 2 00 F. T. Vinal, 2nd. for sealing weights and Measures, 18 33
County on account of Dog Fund, 358 84
Second District Court on account of
fines, 195 69
Fourth Nat. Bank, interest on deposits, 95 31
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F. W. Varney, tax collector on taxes of 1900, 1,874 79
Roland Turner, tax collector on taxes for 1901, 2,095 31
F. W. Varney. tax collector on taxes for 1902. 35,155 29
State Corporation tax, 1,672 61
State National Bank tax, 232 89
State, State aid,
1,494 00
On Town notes in anticipation of taxes. 61,500 00
On Town note dated Nov. 25, 1902 for
IO years on account of new road, 5,000 00
$115,244 49
To cash on hand Jan. 2, 1903,
$1,061 60
. CR.
Paid out-
Selectmen orders, $50,013 17
State Corporation tax, overdrawn, 53 47
County tax,
2,743 65
State tax,
1,290 00
State, on account of grade crossing, · 225 00
State, interest on same, 18 00
State on account of highway repairs, 88 50
State, for penalty for failure to make returns, 42 00
Geo. F. Edson, bounty on seal, 3 00
Interest on Notes, 2,99I 45
Collection on western checks,
46
Charles Spring by order Second District Court, 10 30
William E. Supple by order Second District Court, 16 85
John F. Turner by order Second District Court, 64 0I
Walter S. Harrub by order Second District Court, 123 03
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Town note dated Jan. 29, 1897, for 5 years on ac-
count of road leading from H. Pettis's to the Glades, 2,500 00
Town notes in anticipation of taxes. 54,000 00 1,061 60
Jan. 2, 1903. Cash to balance,
$115,244 49 ERNEST L. BONNEY. Treasurer.
I have examined the accounts of the Treasurer and find them correct.
FRANCIS B. LEE, Auditor.
DEATHS RECORDED IN THE YEAR 1902.
DATE.
NAME OF DECEASED.
AGE.
CAUSE OF DEATH.
Y. M. D.
Jan. 5
Clara Turner Batis
87
6
3
Paralysis
20
Ella Francis Cottle
51
10
15
Paralysis
Feb.
16
Charles Manson
56
6
25
Cardiac failure
27
Eunice N. Litchfield
82
3
11
Cardiac failure
Mar.
6
Bartley Forbes
45
Accidental drowning
19
Robert McNeill
2
11
9
Croup
Robert D. and Christina
24
Walter S. Brown
41
70
6
3
Tuberculosis
April
3
Genevra W. Vinal
32
6
14
Hemoptysis
May
11
James William Sampson
16
7
3
Diabetes
June
24
John Peterson
24
Fracture of skull
July
10
Eliza J. Rust
79
Old age
22
Charles W. Wellington
83
3
22
Old age
Thaddeus and Sally
28
Ralph D. Williams
54
2
22
Rheumatism
Pierce and Lucy
28
Catherine Gillis
87
8
Old age
Daniel and Kate
Aug.
15
Ellen Sullivan Dwyer
2
1
5
Convulsions
Gordon L. and Gertrude
25
Harry Joseph Vickery
2
1
14
Acute Bright's disease
Gordon L. and Gertrude
25
Irma Mabel Otis
9
Cholera infantum
27
Doris Bates Litchfield
7
1
General peritonitis
Sept.
2
Evelina V. Witham
8
6
1
Diphtheratic croup
5
Mary E. Burns Emily Cole
48
7
1
A poplexy
Oct.
7
Mary Emma Marsh
54
18
Tabes dorsalis
12
Ebenezar Bearce
70
7
9
Nephritis
18
Betsy Ann Otis
79
3
Old age
Charles and Emma
21
Charles Manson Mary M. Frazier
9
Cardiac failure
Hector J. and Annie
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24
5. -
Diphtheria
Albertus and Emma
16
Alice M. Vickery
1
Malformation of heart
George F. and Carrie
26
Jolin E. O'Neill
L. Clarence and Hattie
23
8
Disease of heart
21
Charles C. and Nellie James and Ellen William and Sarah Samuel and Mary Ebenezar and Mary
Benjamin T. and Eunice
5
Cyaussis nenatorum
26
John and Hannah Nichols Turner Joel and Mary
Moses R. and Polly
26
Mary M. Bowditch
General Tuberculosis
William H. and Annie
John and Mary Campbell
Henry and Mary
PARENTS' NAMES.
Scituate
Nov. Emma Belle Manson 3 8 George Martin Young
40 75
8
23
Jane W. Nichols
72 77
10
6
28
Mildred Louise Webb
8 10
17 Bright's disease
Dec. 1 1
John Studley Licetta Bell Frank Alexander Cole
62
10
- Inflammation of brain Carcinoma
29 29 30 28
George H. Curtis
51
10
21
Mary B. Bates
72
10
79
2
-
Bronchial pneumonia Chronic nephritis Complication of diseases Diphtheria Old age
Nov. 5
1901 May 11
Ellen J. Patterson
54
- - Carcinoma
William and Mary Pentz Ephraim L. and Thomas and Abigail David and Sallie Herbert and Amalia Homer and Lydia James and Rebecca Henry T. and Maude Rufus and Rhoda Ebenezar and Mary Charles C. and Nellie Asa and Sally
Timothy ------ Neland
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-
9
21 26
Frances M. Manson
Plegmasia alba dolens Paralysis Dropsy Old age
62 > 8
7
16 4
Oct.
Royal S. Witham
28
Mahala T. Vinal
1
MARRIAGES RECORDED IN THE YEAR 1902.
DATE.
NAMES OF PARTIES.
RESIDENCE OF EACH.
Age
PLACE OF MARRIAGE.
BY WHOM MARRIED.
Scituate
27
Jan. 13
Caroline A. Litchfield
Frank A. Goulast -
Somerville Scituate
19
Norwell
24
Scituate
Rev. Arthur W. Cleaves
Feb.
5
¡ Mary A. Burns
Scituate
28
Boston
N. R. Walch, Priest
Bessey Sullivan
29
Cohasset
Rev. Milo H. Gates
22
Hattie Peters Howe
Scituate
19
27
Scituate
Rev. John S. Bell
April
12
Mary Clements Young Thomas Ward
57
Cohasset
Rev. Charles W. Merriam
May
5
Adeline W. Mott
33
7
/ Margaret A. Diament
24
Cohasset
Rev. Wm. H. McDonough
66
26
Lillian Mansfield
27
Scituate
Rev. Arthur W. Cleaves,
July
14
Elizabeth Anna Mitchell
46
-
66
27
Hattie M. Damon
44 30 23
Boston
Aug.
7
Sadie M. La Bounta
New York
Cohasset
Sept.
4
Lulie Evelyn Higgins
Scituate
Scituate
Rev. Albert Bryant
) Nellie H. Cottle
( John Bowen
Brighton Scituate
18
Scituate
21
Oct.
1
Willina B. Sutherland
West Roxbury
23
Newtonville
Rev. Scott F. Hershey
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Andrew A. Sutherland
Cohasset
Rev. Frank Park
28
§ William J. Litchfield
28
Charles Henry Pratt
17
Otis Barker
Scituate
Rev. Albert Bryant Charles A. Feyht, Justice of the Peace
( Rev. William R. Cole
( Charles Baldwin Cushing
28 28 26 31
-
24
Cohasset
Rev. Alexander J. Hamilton
21
Lillian C. Nicholls
Arthur E. Gutterson
27
21
Scituate
29
Edith M. Burbank
§ Fred W. Gardner
19
§ Daniel E. Ward
11
Boston
25
/ W. Joreau Williams
§ De Witt C. Clark
38
41
Hanover Cohassett Scituate
Clifford J. Brown
( Walter W. Smith
18
[ William MacDonald
Scituate
( Rev. Albert Bryant, Scituate § Rev. Albert D. Spaulding, Scituate
Oct.
7
[ William S. Cooper Katharine H. Clark
Providence, R. I. Scituate
38 34
Scituate
1
40 43
-
Scituate
Hyannis
27
Hyannis
14
¿ Lizzie F. Goss ( Moses L. Brown i Sarah T. Bailey
Scituate
24 25 25
Scituate
Malden
30
Scituate
22
Annie L. Sarty
( Bartholomew Curran
Scituate
24 36 30
Cohasset
Nov.
26
1 Delia Freeman ( Darias Brison { Mary Farrell
Brookline Scituate Cape Breton
24 23
Cohasset
Rev. Wm. H. McDonough
) Rev. Albert D. Spaulding
Dec.
3
Oscar Johnson
Cohassett
39
Scituate
42
/ Rita I. (Page) Lawrence
66
( Arthur W. Starratt
-
21
S Edward P. Carrigan
Rev. Albert D. Spaulding Rev. C. B. Lynn Rev. Arthur W. Cleaves - Rev. Wm. A. Robinson Rev. Wm. H. McDonough
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Rev. Calvin M. Clark
9
§ Samuel Wilson Mabel W. Sables
26
BIRTHS REGISTERED IN THE YEAR 1902.
DATE.
NAME OF CHILD.
NAME OF PARENTS.
MAIDEN NAME OF MOTHER.
Jan. 5
Sarah Evelyn Whorf
George and Sarah
Briggs Osborn
24
Lionel Osborn Bush
John A. and Minnie
Buckley
Feb. 10
27
Ruth Monroe Murdock
William L. and Edith
Ferguson
Mar.
2
Lawson Cook Vickery
Charles L. and Ethel M.
Cook
8
Hazel Esther Bates
George H. and Mary E.
Fratus
14
Elinor Mary Welch
William H. and Elizabeth
Wood
20
Florence Goldrick Hyland
Edgar L. and Annie A.
Goldrick
22
Arthur Murray
Gideon and Victoria
King
April
8
Fred Thomas Stanley
Thomas P. and Mary E.
Flaherty
12 Esther Bella Berson
Samuel and Eva
Berman
14 Marion McNeil
Robert D. and Christie
McMillan
May
1 Mary Josepha Caruso
Alphonso and Mary
Caruso
14
Mary Eleanor Hyland
Wm. F. and Mary E.
16 Emery Nudd Cleaves '
Arthur W. and Mary E.
20
Harry L. Whittaker
George L. and Harriet M.
Spencer
24
Marion Eliza Fitts Alma Chipman Lincoln
Wm./X. and Edwina L.
Seaverns
Henry T. and Maud
Elliott
25 1
Frank Alexander Cole Edith Ruth Johnson
William H. and Ada
Miller
G. and M. L.
Larson
July
1
Phyllis Branch Gray
James L. and Mary E.
Barry
16
Josephine McCarthy
Mitchell
Aug.
2 1 23
S Mary Gordon
Albert F. and Sarah V.
Flanagan
23
/ Elizabeth Gordon Irma Mabel Otis
25
Paul Roderick Gannett
George T. and Carrie W. Prescott and Edith
Davie Staples
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Briggs Nudd
John T. and Julia E.
Jenkins
24
June
11 Florence Elizabeth Lavagnino
C. H. and Edith G.
Clark
Nan Murphy Dorothy Veronica Vickery
Joseph P. and Emma E. Gordon L. and Gertrude
McDonald
31
Charles Thompsonl
Edward and Bertha C.
Sept. 12 12 14 Nellie Gertrude Sharp
Mary Alice Bowen Gertrude Ward
18 Esther Ellis Damon Doris Grant Page
25
Marcus Timothy Flaherty
Conatty Breas
15
Irene Adams
Hector J. and Annie
Decosta
17 Mary M. Frazier
Charles and Emma
Pentz
17
Charles Manson
Charles H. and Cora F.
Smith
19
Joseph Bailey Trommer
John J. and Elizabeth
Boyln
21 4
Herbert Francis Campbell
Herbert F. and Marjorie
Dixon
Nov.
16
Doris Elizabeth Scannell
Martin J. and Julia M.
Dec. 13
- Damon
Benjamin L. and Caroline
Mersereau Bella McMillan
16 McMillan
Morris and Mary
Buckley
18
Robert O'Hern
Ernest W. and Dora F.
Harwood
19
Ernest Weston Gray
Moses H. and Margaret
Quinn
23
Eugene James Jellows
Aubery W. and Fannie
Whitcomb
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Merrill Hyland Woods
Scott
July
7
Fred C. Andrews Richard Godsoe Roberts
Frank. and Lulu Ralph L. and Annie M.
Nichols Quinn Hyland Jenkins Kendrick Dineen
Peter W. and Ella Ellie E. and Mabel Grant and Edna V. M. J. and Hannah Frank A. and Mary E.
Oct. 4 6 Helen Rosemond Willcutt
7 Mildred Agnes Turner
John and Lillian Edward and Bridget T.
Alfred F. and Mary A.
Feb. 13
Merrill Francis Turner
Mar.
19
Marion Gertrude Ellms
Job L. and Emeline F.
30
31
Marion Alice Totman
1901
Harry and Bessie
Fred and Helena
Tucker
John Walter Carson
Sullivan
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BROUGHT INTO TOWN FOR INTERMENT, IN THE YEAR 1902.
1902
NAME.
AGE. Y. M. D.
PLACE OF DEATH.
Jan.
1
George H. Gilbert
51
1
10
Somerville
5
Clara Turner Bates
87
6
3
Quincy
10
Jessie W. Henderson
31
7
7
Weymouth
Mar.
17
Emeline H. Bates
67
3
6
Whitman
18
Franklin Damon
80
10
15
Boston
26
Levi Vinal
78
6
Waltham
May
6
Henry T. Clapp
62
5
Boston
11
Priscilla T. Bailey
78
27
Newton
26
Anna D. Marshall
45
10
6
Boston
June
20
Mary S. Litchfield
84
3
24
Quincy
21
Allerton C. Bonney
21
4
11
Boston
July
25
Susan Bearce
54
1
25
Abington
Aug.
23
Lucy M. Brown
54
6
-
Boston
Sept.
4
Amelia S. Kelton
47
Burlington, Vt
7
Catharine H. Peverly
64
7
3
Chelsea
Oct.
15
Emma Williams
27
5
23
Brockton
16
John H. Doherty
28
Boston
26
William S. Hatch
75
9
14
Norwell
Nov.
11
Harriet Foulser
44
10
-
Cohassett
18
George D. Judd
48
Haverhill
Dec.
9
Daniel Duffy
51
-
Boston
1901
June
1
Ensign O. Beal
-
New York
5
J. Chester Young
60
Kirkland, Oregon
Aug.
3
William B. Hatch
Norwell
9
Otis Burrows
Boston
Dec.
28
Isabel Henderson
6
3 26
Weymouth
1 --
26
George Murphy
34
Ohio
23
Christine B. Bailey
-
Newton
SUMMARY.
Number of births in Scituate for the year 1902, Males, 17
50
Females, 33
Whole number recorded for the year,
54
Number of deaths for the year, 42
Males, I7
Females, 25
Brought to town for interment, 24
Brought to town for interment in 1901 and not then recorded,
4
Whole number recorded for the year,
70
Number of marriages recorded, 24
Number of licenses issued, 2I
Number of dog licenses issued for the year, I59
Males, I35
Females, 23
Breeder's license, I
Amount received for the same,
$435 00
JETSON
WADE,
Town Clerk.
Scituate, December 31, 1902.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
Town of Scituate
FOR THE
YEAR ENDING DEC. 31,
1902
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
To the Citizens of Scituate:
The main event of this school year has been the comple- tion of the new and beautiful Jenkins school. On a com- manding site, given by Mrs. Emmeline Jenkins of Boston, of beautiful structure, partly a gift also of the same gener- ous friend, the Jenkins school marks the goal, the beginning toward which was made in 1896. Then a Union school was granted for the west part of the town; now with a Union school in the east part, the High School in the Central part, the school system of Scituate, so far as it lies in the power of the citizens to make it so, is complete.
Besides the advantages to the school work of centralization and careful grading, there is now added the great advantage of nine grammar grades. This puts our schools on a foot- ing with any city schools, and we confidently hope that the work here may soon rank with the best. To this end, the High School courses have been revised. In the English course, special emphasis is placed on business preparation, which is continued two years, and may be for two more. The Latin-English course is planned with reference to the requirements for admission to the ordinary college.
The schools opened in September with large attendance. The High School enrolled 73 pupils, the Hatherly school 174; the Jenkins school, 184. The yearly school census gives four hundred and twenty-four pupils of school age.
The staff of teachers remains nearly the same as last year. Mr. A. L. Crosby. Miss Lura Stone, Miss Clara Shaw, teach- ers at the Hatherly school, have withdrawn during the year. Miss Margaret Sullivan, teacher of the Willow street prim-
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ary school, upon the closing of her school, secured a position elsewhere. Also, Miss Sarah Bailey, teacher of drawing, resigned her position. There have been added to the list of teachers, Mr. Edward R. Clark, principal of the Hatherly school; Miss Grace B. Simmons, teacher of the Ninth grade.
Any allusion to the subject of teachers would be incom- plete without tribute to the earnest, faithful, self-sacrificing service they render. More than upon the Superintendent or the committee, or even the generosity of the citizens, the welfare of the schools depends on the teachers, and Scituate has teachers that any town might be glad to secure.
The generous appropriation of last March has made it pos- sible to increase the salaries of the teachers so that the Gram- mar school principals now receive six hundred dollars a year; the grammar teachers, eleven dollars a week, the prim- ary teachers, ten dollars a week. As the school year,-ex- cluding the High School, which has forty weeks,-has been increased to thirty-eight weeks, the increase in salary is greater than the figures alone indicate.
Here as elsewhere, the scarcity of coal has been felt. The Hatherly school was fortunate in having coal sufficient for the fall term. The High School had some coal, the Jen- kins school, practically none. Wood has been the fuel used.
This unforseen extra expense of fuel, the increase in teach- ers' salaries above mentioned, the unusually heavy cost of books and supplies incident to the opening of the Jenkins school, partly due also to the growing needs of a growing High School, have used up the appropriation of last March, generous as it was, all too fast.
The interior of the High School, the exteriors of the Hatherly school and High Street school, some interior work at the Hatherly School,-constitute the list of repairs for this year. If there had been sufficient funds, the walls of the Hatherly school would have been tinted, but that had to be deferred to another year.
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The fall term at the Hatherly school was broken through cases of diphtheria and scarlet fever occurring among the scholars, four weeks in all being lost.
For convenience this year the Ninth grade was placed in the High School, but it is hoped in the near future to have the nine grammar grades in their proper place-the gram- mar schools.
The school work under the able and faithful direction of our Superintendent is increasingly satisfactory, but upon the condition of the work it is the Superintendent's place, rather than ours to dwell.
The committee estimate that for the support of schools the coming year there will be required for
General school appropriation,
$9,000 00
Transportation,
3,000 00
Salary of Superintendent,
250 00
Respectfully submitted, CLARA M. SKEELE, JULIA E. WEBB, HENRY E. DAMON.
December 31, 1902.
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IN MEMORIAM.
Just as this report goes to press the sad news comes to us of the passing away of Mrs. Bedelle at the Boothby Hospital in Boston, January 21, 1903.
Mrs. Clara Louise Bedelle was for more than ten years at the head of the East Grammar school, and later at the head of the Jenkins school.
She has labored long and faithfully. Early and late she toiled for the uplifting of those who came under her care. Hundreds of her pupils have lived to bless her for the in- fluence she has shed on their lives. The hearts of other hundreds now mourn that they will see her no more in her accustomed place. Friends, pupils, teachers, all realize the great loss the community and the schools have sustained.
"And if the ear
Of the freed spirit heedeth aught beneath The brightness of its new inheritance, It may be joyful to the departed one To feel that Earth remembers her in love."
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
To the School Committee-
The eighth annual report of the Superintendent is here- with submitted :
On no occasion since the writer has been acquainted with the schools has it been possible to report so much that is good concerning them. Probably, also, at no time in their his- tory, could so much pride have been justly felt in their pos- sesion, by the citizens of the town. Certainly at no time, have the pupils in the town of Scituate been taught under such ideal conditions as surrounded them during the present school year, 1902-1903.
To show how rapid have been the strides in the progress of our schools, a bit of history may not be out of place here. At some time previous to 1895, the exact time is not known to the writer, but it was probably in 1893 or 1894, two schools, the one at the Beach, and the Grove street, were closed, the pupils being placed in such of the remaining schools as seemed most convenient. Then it became evi- dent that the overcrowded condition of what was then called the West Grammar school, would render some future change necessary. The result was the building of the Hatherly school, and the dedication of the same on January 1, 1897.
But this was not to be a long halt. The tacit understand- ing of the voters at the time the Hatherly school was built seemed to be that Scituate harbor would soon be granted a building equally substantial. The realization of that un- derstanding came with the dedication of the Jenkins school on Saturday, September 13, 1902.
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As has been said before, there may be towns in Massa- chusetts of about the population of Scituate having the same scattered condition of its people, equally large territory, and a better equipment of their schools. But if there are any such towns the writer does not know where they are.
Grade for grade the schools compare favorably with cities and larger towns in the state. Teachers, as well as the writer, have watched carefully pupils who have come from other towns and cities, as well as those of our own pupils who have gone from our schools to those of other localities. The results of this have led us to see that a feeling of pride on account of our schools is not without some just cause.
The High School.
There is one feature touching the High School in particu- lar, about which it seems fitting, and even necessary to speak in this report.
The attendance is not what it should be. This statement is not based upon any knowledge of what the statistics are for this year, for they are not known at the time of writing. It is based on personal knowledge and observation from day to day.
If any one will notice, as the writer has several times, when visiting the school, the great number of notes from parents, on the spur standing on the Principal's desk, he can- not forbear to ask, "Are all these necessary ?"
Some may be forgeries, and concern the teachers more than the parents, so far as criticism is concerned. The great majority, practically all, of these notes, are from pa- rents requesting excusals for the absence or tardiness, or dis- missal from some part of the school session.
Perhaps all are necessary. If so, it is unfortunate. Nothing but sickness ought to keep a boy or girl from school.
Parents must not expect their children, if they are allowed to be irregular in their attendance, to keep pace with those who are regular and studious.
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Too much is often expected of pupils outside of school. In talking with a member of the senior class, not long since, regarding various absences recorded against him, he said that each time he had been obliged to remain out to work. When pupils succeed in reaching membership in the High School, they are usually mature enough to do some studying out of school hours. The curriculum is so ar- ranged that this must be done. Pupils then must have some time' outside of school, in which to prepare some of their lessons. What the schools require of mental and physical exertion is about enough for the average run of boys and girls. If parents persist in requiring for home duties some of the energy belonging properly to the school the school du- ties must suffer. If again, these home duties require ab- sence from school, the injury is still greater.
When parents will see to it that their children are regular- ly in school; when they require of them such study as is necessary and wise: when these conditions have been ful- filled and children fail, or do not make such progress as might reasonably be expected, then an investigation as to the "why" will be in order. Until then, however, spare the teachers.
The Hatherly school has suffered somewhat during the past year on account of changes in teachers. As has been said before, two teachers of equal ability and qualifications cannot accomplish results in a given time that either one could accomplish serving the entire time. Within a space of one year, grades seven and eight have had three different teachers. . The teachers of grades three and four, and grades five and six have changed once. Room one, under Miss Kane, is the only one that has not been interrupted in this way. Add to these changes the two breaks made by contagious diseases, and it is not strange that the work has not progressed as desired. The present corps of earnest teachers under the efficient and enthusiastic leadership of
Scituate
6
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Mr. Edward R. Clarke, has given the work of this year a start, the excellent results of which are already manifest. All are working together harmoniously, a condition neces- sary to secure the best results.
The Jenkins' school opened on September 15, 1902, with Mrs. Clara Louise Bedelle, Miss Alice F. Clapp, Miss Jose- phine I. Barry and Miss E. Gertrude Gardner as the teaching force.
Early in November it became apparent to all acquainted with her, that Mrs. Bedelle would be obliged to take a much needed rest. After Thanksgiving a substitute principal was secured to take charge of grades seven and eight, in the per- son of Mr. Robert W. Rice of Boston, who was at the time teaching in Salem, N. H. It is no easy task to take up school work in a new position in the middle of a term, un- der ordinary circumstances. But to follow a teacher of such recognized ability as Mr. Rice has, and at such a time, made the task doubly hard. The manner in which he has done it, leads all to feel that no mistake was made in select- ing him.
The work of the school has proceeded smoothly and vig- orously under his leadership, aided in no small degree by his- excellent assistants, and by the admirable material equip- ment provided by the liberality of the citizens, and the gen- erosity of Mrs. Jenkins.
The High Street School, having been under the imme- diate care of the same conscientious and faithful teacher, who has labored there for many years, has continued to show the same good results.
The attendance in this school has not been all that was to. be desired during the year. Another year will see a better record in this respect, unless unlooked for sickness hinders.
In closing this report, the following recommendations are submitted for your consideration :
First, That the language work in the Ninth grade be a.
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continuation of the work in the other lower grades, and that Part III of the Metcalf book be used as a text.
Second, That a truant officer be chosen by the Commit- tee, who lives in the vicinity of the High Street school.
Third, That the Eggleston small history be used as a text in grade six.
Respectfully submitted, EDGAR L. WILLARD, Superintendent of Schools.
December 31, 1902.
REPORT ON MUSIC.
To the Superintendent of Schools-
It is a great pleasure to write the report on music, as it brings clearly to mind the earnest, enthusiastic lessons we have had through the year.
The children accept even the drudgery-of which there is a great deal in music-with evident pleasure. In present- ing some new or difficult point, it often happens that tire- some exercises need to be sung over and over; this the chil- dren do with spirit and willingness, and the more attractive parts become most absorbing.
The gain has been noticeable in reading and in carrying the part assigned, independently of what may be said or sung. We find it necessary to resort to many devices to bring about the desired results, such as writing exercises on the board, which of course, uses up the time, but presents old principles in new and ever-changing form; and dictation ex- ercises which train the ear and give command of the voice.
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