USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > Town annual report of the officers of Wakefield Massachusetts : including the vital statistics for the year 1946 > Part 14
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When the present supervisor took charge eighteen years ago, only two areas, the Common and Nasella were used by the Recreation Commission.
This past year the staff consisted of a supervisor, an assistant super- visor, who was also a specialist in folk dancing and pageantry, a handi- craft specialist, three men assistants, and six women assistants.
Demonstration Day during the last week of the playgrounds consisted of the finals in the baseball leagues held at the Common in the afternoon. Also horseshoe finals, and volley ball and dodge ball contests for the girls were part of the program. Demonstration Day continued at night at Vet- erans' Field under lights where the pageantry and folk dancing classes put on an exhibition of their season's work. The handicraft prize exhibits were also on display that night.
An attendance of over 2,000 parents and friends of the participants were able to view the exhibitions due to the innovation of having the af- fair at night under lights.
Before the evening was brought to a close relay races by the boys and a double header by the adult softball teams made a full day of the activi- ties program.
Our handicraft supervisor spent a day at each playground laying out the work so that the instructors on the grounds could carry on this work during the week. A varied program was enjoyed by about 400 boys and girls throughout the town's different play areas.
About 350 boys made up the different baseball teams on the play- grounds. The boys too young for baseball enjoyed using the swings, slides, see-saws, lighter games and story-telling.
A story-telling hour was an important part of the daily program. At no set time, but whenever the tots appeared a little tired of playing an ex- perienced story-teller on every playground would entertain them with ap- propriate stories.
Educational movies for boys and girls under twelve years of age were held weekly up-town and at Greenwood. The programs consisted of ani- mal pictures, cartoons, and singing reels for the younger children. The alder boys and girls enjoyed mostly sports and travel pictures. The at-
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
tendance at these shows became so large that the Beebe Memorial Lecture Hall could not hold the crowd so we shifted to the High School Auditorium where 700 boys and girls weekly enjoyed the programs. At the Greenwood Union Church Hall an attendance of from 250-350 attended each week.
Block dancing on the tennis courts Wednesday nights proved popular with the young people of the town.
Special contests such as athletic days, costume parties, pet contests, amateur shows, peanut hunts, doll carriage parades, and curly hair, or freckle-face contests were held weekly at each playground. Prizes were awarded and many parents attended these affairs.
Disciplinary problems have disappeared from our playgrounds almost entirely since we have men instructors on the three large areas. On play- grounds where we have only women instructors it is too much for the woman to take care of the little boys and girls and also to organize the older boys and girls into games. Therefore, for the best results in taking care of those who come to our playgrounds, and who need organized play, it is hoped that at least a man in addition to the woman, for Hart's Hill and for Nasella, will be employed next summer.
There have been no serious accidents this past season. Only a few minor scratches were reported. Every play area has a first-aid kit.
The Annual Track and Field Championships were held at Walton Field with about 450 boys and girls competing in running, jumping, and throw- ing events.
The Recreation Commission in conjunction with the Moth Department experimented with D.D.T. in order to lessen the mosquito nuisance at Vet- erans' Field this past summer. In spite of the heavy rains immediately fol- lowing the application of this chemical the nuisance was lessened. It showed that a proper amount sprayed at right intervals would eliminate this nuisance entirely.
We wish to publicly thank the four package goods stores of Wakefield -Palumbo's, Tine's, Jeffrey's, and City Hall Package Goods Store-for the free tonic given to the boys and girls of the playgrounds at the Common on Demonstration Day and at the Athletic Day at Walton Field.
The Wakefield Item has been very generous with the amount of space given to the Recreation Commission's work daily. We are also thankful for the numerous pictures of our special weekly contests appearing in the Item.
These pictures and clippings have been clipped regularly from the paper by the children, and many have made scrap books from this ma- terial that will be enjoyed by them in future years.
The Greenwood Church is thanked for the use of its hall; the Moth Department, for spraying the D.D.T .; the Municipal Light Department, for furnishing light for our adult softball teams; the Park Department for its splendid co-operation in all requests, and Jerry Hennigar of the Lafayette Building for services rendered to our pageantry and folk dancing classes.
The Commission believes that it would be a wise move to encourage
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REPORT OF RECREATION COMMISSION
more baseball among the older boys up to nineteen years of age to be played as twilight baseball.
Clubs like the Elks, Lions, Rotarians, K. of C., C. Y. O., and 9:29ers would be doing the community a great service if they would sponsor such a team, outfit them, and supply them with a coach.
The Recreation Commission would organize the league, provide the playing areas, arrange schedules and officials.
As soon as the tennis courts of the town are attended to and made sat- isfactory for use tennis tournaments could be arranged for boys and girls of High School age.
WILLIAM G. DILL LEO V. WALSH JOHN A. POWERS S. MORTON SHERMAN ANNA A. MCINTIRE MARY LAZZARO
MICHAEL ZAMMITTI
Recreation Commission
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
Report of School Committee
- -
ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE School Committee for 1946
James M. Henderson, Chairman 118 Prospect Street
Mrs. Mary Louise Tredinnick, Secretary 129 Pleasant Street
Walter C. Hickey, Treasurer
25 Gould Street Paul A. Saunders 309 Albion Street Marcus G. Beebe 7 Whittemore Street William J. Lee 53 Cedar Street
Term Expires 1948
Term Expires 1948
Term Expires 1947
Term Expires 1947
Term Expires 1949
Term Expires 1949
SUB-COMMITTEES
The Committee as a whole acts as sub-committees with the following chairmen :
Mr. Saunders-Text Books and Courses of Study
Mr. Lee-Legal and Statistical
Mr. Hickey-Finance
Mr. Beebe-Buildings and Public Property
Mrs. Tredinnick-Personnel and Salaries
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS -
Willard B. Atwell, 94 West Chestnut Street
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS R. Edgar Fisher, 24 Summit Avenue
SECRETARY TO THE SUPERINTENDENT
Pauline E. Meads, 12 Park Avenue
CLERK
Norma B. Jackman, 27 Aborn Avenue
1
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Post-war problems of readjustment and the study and enactment of constructive policies to further the growth and betterment of education in Wakefield have taxed the time and resources of the School Committee dur- ing 1946.
Significant because of its potential effect on the pattern of education in Wakefield, was the completion of the first school census by School Com- mittee Agent Thomas F. Kenney.
Immediately contingent upon the school population figures presented by this census was the appointment of a sub-committee consisting of Mar- cus G. Beebe and Paul A. Saunders to survey Wakefield's need for addi- tional school facilities. Their report, published Oct. 24, 1946, recommended, in brief, construction within the next 5 years of a central intermediate school to accommodate 700 pupils, on the lot south of the High School, and in the near future, an addition of at least two classrooms at the Hurd School.
An advance in fair and efficient administration of school personnel was achieved by the adoption as of September 1, 1946, of a new salary and pay- roll plan. These plans, largely the work of Chairman James M. Henderson, for the first time in the history of the department placed all positions of an equal value on an equal pay footing, while the payroll policy greatly simpli- fied office handling. The salary plan is based upon training, experience and professional improvement. The payroll plan results in even dollar pay- ments, semi-monthly.
Two changes in physical set-up have marked the school year. On May 14, 1946, the Hamilton School, built in 1883 and unused for school purposes since 1932, was deeded to the Catholic Arch-Diocese of Boston, through Msgr. Florence J. Halloran of St. Joseph's parish.
On August 14, 1946, the School Committee voted to close the Woodville School for one year. Action of the committee was taken after school census figures indicated a probable enrollment of 32 for grades 1 through 4. The building formerly accommodated in 8 grades, 250 children. The committee hopes that development of the district may soon warrant reopening of this school which is one of the more modern of Wakefield's grade school build- ings.
Due to the closing of the Woodville School and to increased traffic hazards in other districts, the committee has authorized the following bus transportation over and above legal transportation requirements:
Transportation of Woodville pupils to Franklin School
Transportation of certain Lincoln School pupils in crowded grades to the Hurd School
Transportation of head of the lake pupils for whom there is no room at the Hurd School to the Montrose School
Transportation of Montrose School pupils suffering traffic hazard to the Montrose School
Two buses, making four trips a day accomplish this service.
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
Changes and repairs, needed, but impossible to carry out under war restrictions, were this year required by the State Department of Public Safety. For these changes, which were mandatory, the Finance Commit- tee allotted to the School Department $7,500.00.
Under the special appropriation voted by the Town Meeting for the purpose, alterations and improvements have been made at the West Ward School. These included a new vestibule, a new stairway, painting, plaster- ing and lighting.
The facilities of Wakefield High School have been granted once more for the Regional Veterans' High School which serves ten towns, and many returned veterans have been awarded high school diplomas through their studies at this institution. A detailed report of this activity is included in the report of the superintendent of schools.
Wakefield High School was again given an "A" rating by the 2 classify- ing agencies, the College Entrance Examination Board and the State De- partment of Education. Wakefield High School has held this honorable standing without interruption for 24 years.
In June, the committee deemed it essential to give to Superintendent Atwell assistance in the burden of educational detail which expanding school needs and increased state and federal requirements have brought about. Superintendent Atwell's tenure of 35 years, the second longest in the state, merited this step. R. Edgar Fisher, head of the History Department and teacher at Wakefield High School since 1921, was appointed Assistant Su- perintendent of Schools under the immediate supervision of Superintendent Atwell.
In keeping with a modern trend urged by educational authorities, two young men teachers were appointed to the grade schools.
Another innovation which has been gaining great popularity through- out the state was adopted in October when the committee voted to use the services of the Community Lunch Program under the joint state depart- ments of Education and Public Welfare. It is too early to report on this new system which has been in actual operation only since November.
On January 16, 1947, the committee accepted with regret the resigna- tion of its chairman, James M. Henderson who had given unceasingly of his time and talent during one of the most crowded years in the history of the department. Pressure of business forced his resignation as chairman, but not as committee member. Paul A. Saunders was elected acting chair- man until Town election.
The School Committee continues in its earnest effort to serve the young people of Wakefield in the preservation of democratic ideals through the great cause of free public education.
PAUL A. SAUNDERS WALTER C. HICKEY MARCUS G. BEEBE WILLIAM J. LEE MARY LOUISE TREDINNICK JAMES M. HENDERSON
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
I herewith submit the annual report for the School Department.
Late in June the School Committee created the office of Assistant Superintendent of Schools, and R. Edgar Fisher was appointed and assumed his duties on July 1st. Mr. Fisher has served as a high school teacher and a high school principal before coming to Wakefield where he has been the head of the History Department for several years. Mr. Fisher's appoint- ment was a happy selection. He has shown an excellent co-operative spirit and is doing splendid work.
On January 31st T. Frank Shea retired after serving as principal in Wakefield since 1902. We wish him many years of enjoyment from his release from his arduous work. Francis Dinan was elected to succeed Mr. Shea. Mr. Dinan had been a high school teacher and served as a lieuten- ant in the Navy.
Helen Gilmore, Lillian Shaffer and Maude Parks retired during the year after long service in Wakefield. We wish them much happiness in their release from their many years of good work with us.
The following paragraphs are taken from the report of the High School principal:
"The enrollment at the beginning of the school year was as follows:
Boys
Girls
Total
Seniors
81
117
198
Juniors
103
111
214
Sophomores
140
125
265
Freshmen
151
144
295
-
475
497
972
This enrollment was 21 less than last year.
Beginning in September pupils were assigned one period a week in the Library for study or library work. It was thought that by so doing all study pupils would be removed from the Auditorium. This has not been realized. There are seven periods a week when no pupils study in the Auditorium, but there are study pupils in the Auditorium the other 21 study periods each week.
In September we set up a new program in vocal music. Last year we had about seventy pupils enrolled in the two singing groups which was too small for a school of nearly 1,000 pupils. Unfortunately, many of the up- perclassmen have done little or no singing in high school and were not in- terested in enrolling in any of the groups. We had, however, a fine response from the sophomore and freshman classes. The enrollment to date is 135 boys and girls in the Chorus, 25 in the Boys' Glee Club, 40 in the Girls' Glee Club, and 15 in the sight-reading class. The Chorus and Glee Clubs gave a Christmas program at a special assembly. Considering that these groups have been organized but a few weeks, they did very well.
This year, Mr. Joseph Cassano gives a course each week to senior boys in Military Intelligence.
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
During the year fourteen boys who had left to join the Armed Forces and have been discharged from the service have taken courses with the U. S. A. F. I. and the Veterans' School in Wakefield and have received their diplomas.
Twenty members of the Class of 1946 entered college in July or Sep- tember. Many others were unable to enter college for lack of room in the colleges due to the large number of veterans of World War II who were given preference."
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
For the past several years the Beebe Library has been using a room in the Montrose School as a branch library. The Library has taken over the old Montrose Chapel now, thus giving the School Department full use of the classroom.
The total enrollment for grades 1-4 at the Woodville School has been only 32. It was felt wise to close this building until such time as the num- ber of pupils in this district increases to numbers enough to make reason- ably full classrooms.
The children who would attend this school are being transported to the Franklin School. Some pupils in crowded grades of the Franklin and Lin- coln Schools are transported to the Hurd School.
Because of lack of sidewalks and resulting travel hazards on Salem Street beyond the junction of Lowell Street, the School Committee has felt that as a safety measure it should transport the pupils living beyond this junction, and therefore made a contract with the Lynnfield Commun- ity Bus Line to carry these children.
The following paragraphs are taken from the report of the Supervisor of Elementary Instruction and from the principals:
"Last year science readers were given to the pupils of grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. This new subject was well received, and this has done much to enrich the curriculum. It has provided a wealth of material and experiences for the children and has helped considerably to integrate all subject matter and skills.
Following the demonstration in group reading that was held last year at the West Ward School by Miss Mabel Kernan for all the teachers of grades 3 through 6, many teachers have availed themselves of this oppor- tunity to improve the reading in their classes. In some of my classroom visits it has been gratifying to hear many teachers state that this group reading had improved the reading and had also cultivated in the pupils a stronger desire to read. This improvement in reading has been transferred into other subject-matter fields.
Assemblies are held every two weeks at the Warren School. They have proven to be very popular and beneficial. All parents are invited and many of them attend.
The Parent-Teacher Association of the Warren School has presented to the school a new Ampro 16-millimeter moving picture sound projector. It has already been put to good usage in the assembly program.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
The transfer of the seventh and eighth grades from the Hurd School to the Montrose and Lincoln Schools has made possible single first and second grades. Single grades at the primary level are much to be desired and from the school point of view the present arrangement is good. The real answer to the problem is an addition to the Hurd School to provide the necessary room space and a much needed auditorium.
The Lincoln School has likewise been handicapped without an audi- torium for assembly programs. There apparently is no immediate solution to this problem, but the school curriculum could be considerably enhanced by an effective assembly program.
There has been a serious lack of audio-visual aid materials in the ele- mentary schools. We need more projectors, phonographs, films, records, charts, maps, etc. to enliven the curriculum and make the learning process more effective and certainly more pleasant.
The playground at the Franklin School is in poor condition. Filling in this land would provide adequate playing area and help eliminate the pos- sibility of pupil accidents."
VETERANS' SCHOOL
The following are excerpts from a report by Howard J. Heavens who was appointed to take charge of such a school :-
"At the instigation of the State Department of Education money was appropriated through the State Legislature to undertake to fulfill their ob- ligations to the veterans of the state by granting them free of charge the chance to complete their education which was interrupted by their induc- tion into military service.
As a result other centers located in high schools were appointed to take over the work, and Wakefield, among others, was established a Regional School to begin January 1, 1946.
The objectives of the school are three-fold, and are expressed as fol-, lows:
A. To give the veteran opportunity to gain credits to satisfy the re- quirements for a high school diploma or a State High School Equiv- alency Certificate.
B. To give the veteran the opportunity to gain credits necessary to satisfy the requirements for college admission, or to prepare for examinations.
C. To give the veteran the opportunity to secure courses for refresher for college or for certain job requirements.
At first the response was small. Perhaps there were thirty the first week, but as time went on the school steadily grew. The school reached a registration of 246 by June 15, representing ten communities, namely Everett, Lynnfield, Malden, Melrose, Reading, Saugus, Stoneham, Wake- field, Winchester and Woburn.
During the latter part of spring, a college at Camp Devens was organ- ized and candidates were to be examined for there and elsewhere in Sep- tember. A summer session was necessary for the preparation of these boys.
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TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
We operated for six weeks, five hours per day, five days a week. It was cal- culated that a boy coming full time for the six weeks could finish three whole year courses. This proved to be true in the majority of the cases.
The summer sessions opened with 187 registrants and increased to 254 before the end of the summer. We sent 72 boys to the Devens exams,-63 passed them and were admitted. This is in addition to a large number of boys who qualified for other colleges.
This fall we reopened September 12 with 143 new registrants besides many hold-overs from the preceding terms. By December, the end of our fall term, there were 301 students in the school.
Since this is an adjustment period for the veteran, there has been a considerable amount of coming and going. However, the percentage of regular attendance is remarkably high, averaging better than 85%.
The curriculum is purely academic and limited. It has been purposely made so for the following reasons. Academic credits are the only kind col- leges will accept. A boy can obtain his high school diploma through aca- demic credits as well as by others. Our corps of instructors can teach academic subjects as well as can be done in the best schools anywhere. Vo- cational courses as such are terminal courses. By that we mean, a boy who wants commercial courses will not ordinarily go to college afterward. Hence, if a boy wants such work, it is better for him to use his G. I. credits at a school which specializes in those courses and where the instruction ought to be much better than it could ever be done here without being un- reasonably expensive."
HEALTH
The following are paragraphs from the report of the School Physician and the School Nurse :-
"We have examined or inspected all the pupils in the schools this year. As a rule the health of the students has been very good. Of 2709 examina- tions made, the following defects were found-750 were in need of dental repair; 226 should have their tonsils removed; 117 were found to have hard wax in the ears; and 2 had valvular heart disease. These all had notices sent to their homes with recommendations for correction, and a good many had the corrections made. The two with valvular heart conditions were referred to the family physician for advice and treatment.
Contagious diseases in children attending school is still at a minimum, there being 26 cases of chickenpox, 1 of whooping cough, 2 of scarlet fever, 22 of measles and 3 of mumps. In all these cases steps were taken to pre- vent the spread of the disease to other people.
Immunization against diphtheria was carried out last fall to a much greater extent than previously, because of the appearance of a number of cases in cities between here and Boston and also a few cases in Lynn. We immunized 227 children in the various classes. A total of 92% of the chil- dren in the first grades have been immunized to diphtheria. We gave booster shots to 616 children in the grade schools to bring their immunity up. We also immunized 37 pre-school children while we were giving the
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
injections and 25 booster shots to pre-school children. All this made a total of 1433 injections that were given between the last of September and the 4th of December. I feel that our school population is very well protected against this disease.
Through the cooperation of the State Department of Public Health, by sending out an X-ray technician and nurse and the furnishing of films by the Southern Middlesex Tuberculosis League, payment for which was through the sale of Tuberculosis Seals each December, we were able to have all of the Freshmen and Seniors given a chest X-ray. This is an excellent bit of preventive medicine and has been carried on for several years. The findings this year were 4 cases, 1 pulmonary tuberculosis suspect, 1 acute non-tubercular disease, 1 chronic non-tubercular pulmonary disease, and 1 bone cyst or tumor. All these cases were referred to their family physician for treatment."
The following is a summary in brief of the work done by the nurse other than the regular routine :-
First Aid Cases
280
Home Calls 79
Taking children to North Reading for checkup 8
Taking children to Waltham for checkup 3
The maintenance work of the department has been greatly expedited by the efforts of Assistant Superintendent Fisher.
TEACHER SHORTAGE
There is a definite shortage of teachers for the elementary schools. Smaller classes are being graduated from the State Teachers Colleges, and the members are being placed long before June. Salaries of teachers are being raised in most communities but our schedule is not high enough to be a strong drawing offer.
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