USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of the officers of the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts for the year ending 1924 > Part 29
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The dental room at the Hedge school has been thor- oughly renovated, transforming it into attractive sani- tary quarters with a dental equipment which with a few additions, notably an instrument cabinet, would be very . satisfactory.
This room was formerly shared with the school phy- sician which was a very unsatisfactory arrangement, but
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he is now provided for in the newer part of the building.
On October 2nd, a conference on matters of policy in . the dental department was held at the clinic rooms in the Gov. Bradford building. Mr. Turner, the school dentists, Drs. Donovan and Dyer, the dental hygienist, and the school physician, were present.
It was agreed that in the opinion of those present the present practice of offering dental prophylaxis at a nom- inal fee to all pupils of the first to the sixth grades is of great value as a part of the health education program and that it should be continued. It was also agreed that an examination should be made annually by the school dentists of the teeth of the pupils of the first and sixth grades and parents notified of the findings in the case of each child so examined. It was the opinion of the dentists, concurred in by the dental hygienist, that an examination of the mouths of the pupils of these two grades would afford information of greater value than could be obtained by the examination of any other two grades.
Miss White, with the assistance of the principal and teachers, arranged a very interesting and instructive en- tertainment for the pupils of the Hedge school which was given in the attractive new auditorium on Friday, June 12th. This made a very fitting culmination of the year's work and served through the admirable play given by the pupils and the instructive and interesting talk given by Dr. Donovan, to drive home the essentials of the in- structions received.
The report of the Dental Hygienist follows :
Dr. J. Holbrook Shaw,
School Physician,
Plymouth, Mass.
Dear Dr. Shaw:
This report covers the work of my seventh year as Dental Hygienist for the public schools of Plymouth.
Plymouth Nantes
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It is my constant endeavor to improve the methods by which I teach the children the value of clean and whole- some mouths.
In grades one, two and three my program at present is as follows :
September : "Teeth". "What and where they are." "How to care for the teeth."
October : "Care of the teeth" review: give each child a wooden tongue depressor and teach the correct motions to be followed in brushing the teeth.
November : "Tooth brush drill." Each pupil brings his or her tooth brush to school wrapped. Three paper cups containing respectively water, salt solution and tooth paste are placed on each desk and all go through the various steps previously taught in unison. Each pupil individually is shown how to thoroughly rinse the mouth after the drill also how to rinse the tooth brush.
December : "Value of milk." Pupils are given a pic- ture of a milk bottle with a smiling face on it, to color.
January : "The six year molar." This tooth is talked about, specimens are shown and each pupil by looking into a mirror finds the tooth. (This is a permanent tooth and will be the last one in the child's mouth on each side until he is nearly twelve years old.)
February : "Importance of green vegetables and fresh fruits." By talking about them, showing pictures, allowing the pupils to color pic- tures, and reading stories concerning them I teach their importance.
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March :
"Decay." Specimens of various teeth that have been extracted in the school clinic are shown. Diet is stressed and stories about the effect of candy on the teeth are read.
April :
"The second teeth." A model of the second set of teeth is shown and their characteris- tics pointed out in a simple way.
May :
"Examination of tooth brushes." Each pupil brings his tooth brush to school. I examine it and if the bristles will come out it is replaced by a new one. (New brushes are furnished to the children for five cents.)
June :
"Awards are given out." All pupils who have taken good care of their teeth through out the school year are given an attractive pin, button or similar reward.
In the fourth grades we now use "A Child's Book on the Teeth" by Ferguson. This book is cleverly written and illustrated.
Each month we read two chapters and answer ten review questions on the chapters we read the preceding month. All a child needs to know about the teeth is in- terestingly told in this little book.
This year as an incentive, I have been using a card with a ladder outline on it. The pupil tries to climb the ladder by keeping his teeth cleaned. There is a rung for each month. This arouses interest and helps the pupil acquire the habit of caring for the teeth.
We are fortunate to have Dr. W. O. Dyer and Dr. E. H. Donovan still with us at the Dental Clinic, which is made possible by the Board of Health. Each dentist works two mornings a week for five months. The clinic does filling and extracting for children who could not otherwise have treatment.
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My work consists first of all in teaching oral hygiene, and I find the annual cleaning of the teeth which I do from the first to the sixth grade of great service in im- pressing the truths which I teach. I feel also that my work in the Dental Clinic as assistant is useful, and I enjoy it all.
The statistics of the year's work are as follows :
Number of prophylactic treatment. 1165
Number of oral hygiene lessons 330
Number of examinations 571
Dental Clinic
Number of temporary extractions 164
Number of permanent extractions 51
Number of treatments 28
Number of fillings 197
Number of operations
407
Number of patients
422
Number of new patients
167
Number of dismissals
69
Amount of money received for filling, extracting and tooth-brushes
$175 85
School Dentists-Dr. E. Harold Donovan, Dr. William O. Dyer.
Respectfully submitted, (Signed) GLADYS WHITE, Dental Hygienist.
SCHOOL CLINIC
The School Department and the Board of Health hav- ing made formal application to the State Department of Public Health for a school clinic for the examination of pupils ten per cent. or more below the average weight for height or otherwise in need of it, the examining unit con-
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sisting of three specialists in diseases of the lungs, nurses, nutritionist and typist came to Plymouth on April ninth and examined one hundred and ten pupils at the Cornish and Hedge schools.
Preparations had been made beforehand and the de- tails carefully worked out, so that although the schools were in session during the clinic no confusion resulted.
Of the ninety-nine children who received the tubercu- lin skin test twenty-seven reacted which is about the usual proportion.
The X-ray outfit followed the clinic several days later in the form of a completely equipped motor car and of the thirty pupils for whom the X-ray examination was recommended twenty-nine received it.
The report which was submitted later showed that the examiners found one pupil with pulmonary tuberculosis, six with the glandular type of tuberculosis, one being latent, and seventeen "suspicious". These have all been re-examined with three exceptions.
After persistent effort on the part of the school nurse the pupil said to have pulmonary tuberculosis was taken to the County Hospital. She has recently been dis- charged free from physical signs of tuberculosis and will be admitted to the Fresh Air School.
Of those said to have glandular tuberculosis one who was 7% underweight at the time of the clinic, is now overweight and in excellent condition. Two are in the Fresh Air School, one having reduced his percentage of underweight from 10% to 3%, the other has a vavular heart lesion and is still 15% underweight but in good condition. Of the remaining three one was overweight at the time of the clinic and still remains so and the other two have improved in nutrition.
Of those who were declared "suspicious" three have reached their normal weight and are in excellent condi- tion, seven have improved in nutrition, two remain the same and in two the nutrition is not as good as when
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examined. It had not been possible to examine the re- maining three at the time of writing this report.
Four of these "suspicious" cases, including the two whose nutrition is not as good, are in the Fresh Air School, where the demands upon their strength are not as great as in the ordinary classes.
Three had the benefit of the summer camp at South Hanson, and two who are still ten per cent. or more underweight are watched by the school nurse as mem- bers of one of her nutrition classes.
INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL
Within a few years there has come to be a much more hopeful and encouraging attitude toward the problem of the mentally defective largely through the work of the late Dr. Walter E. Fernald. Formerly the defective per- son was looked upon as a useless fellow, and a burden on the community, but now we are beginning to find out that he is a human being with the same hopes and aspirations as a normal individual. At the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Society for Mental Hygiene, Dr. Ransom A. Greene, Superintendent of the State School at Waverly said, "Mental defectives need to be given all advantages possible to the limit of their capacity for when given these advantages as much improvement can often be made with them as in normal individuals."
Dr. Greene also said that "there are approximately 60,000 backward children in Massachusetts whose needs can be understood and met, that there is no need for dis- couragement, and that instead of darkness ahead there should be hope for the future".
.At the beginning of the year following an examination by Dr. Patterson of the State School at Wrentham, eleven pupils were assigned to the "Individual" school.
i
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In September five more pupils were assigned to the school on the recommendation of the school physician, after making mental tests. Several children after re- maining in the school for varying lengths of time have returned to the grades and are doing well.
On November 30th Dr. Patterson came to Plymouth and spent several days making examinations of pupils retarded in their work. She was unable to examine all pupils who were referred to her however as the accident to the school nurse made it impossibe to get histories in all cases, and these are required before an examination can be made.
However as far as the "Individual" school is concerned there are only two or three seats available at present.
Reports of Dr. Patterson's examinations will be sub- mitted to the School Department later.
Much of the work of the school is necessarily manual, and many very attractive articles are made there, but there has been no suitable place to display them. A large show case with shelves and glass doors has now been in- stalled which is much appreciated as it displays the work of the pupils to advantage. Mr. Young of the High school assisted in putting the case into good condition, and the pupils of the school did more or less work on it.
No one can visit the school without being interested in the problem which these children, many of them very attractive, present, and the way in which the problem is being worked out in this particular school.
The children are delighted to show their work, and the teachers will welcome anyone who is interested enough to call. It would be a help to the school and to the commun- ity if more people would take the trouble to learn at first hand what good work is going on here.
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CONFERENCES
The monthly conferences with teachers for the dis- cussion of matters pertaining to health begun in 1924 have been continued during the past year and have in- cluded the following subjects :
"The Bad Effects of Overheated Air in the School room." "Posture."
"Health Teaching in the Primary Grades."
"Speech Defects."
At the conference in June the teachers were asked to submit questions and the following, among others, were sent in :
Do you think it advisable to send underweight pupils to the summer school?
Of what use are the tonsils ?
What would be a good corrective exercise for a child who stutters ?
What is the harm in children being overweight?
Since the opening of school in September a series of talks on first aid have been given by the school physician.
CONTAGIOUS DISEASE
There has been no serious outbreak of contagious dis- ease during the past year. In January one pupil at the Mt. Pleasant school contracted scarlet fever. The school was carefully watched during the period of incubation. Two more cases appeared elsewhere later but were in no way connected with the first case.
German measles continued throughout the spring months and there were one or two cases of genuine measles. With opening of school in the fall whooping cough appeared and had assumed the proportions of a mild epidemic with the close of school for the Christmas recess.
Late in the fall as a result of the taking of cultures two
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diphtheria "carriers" were discovered. The Board of Health was notified and the pupils excluded from school.
The room where these "carriers" were found was kept under careful observation for the rest of the term, the throats of all the pupils in the room being examined each school day, and cultures taken of all that were in any way suspicious, also cultures were taken from all those who returned to school after absence for sore throat.
Two more cases occurred in pupils in another room which was also kept under observation in a similar man- ner.
From recent elaborate field investigation in child hy- giene involving a study of 30,000 native born white chil- dren it is estimated that by the time the adult age is reached 89% of the children have had measles, about 78% whooping cough, 65% mumps, 52% chicken-pox, 12% scarlet fever and 9% diphtheria, but prevalent as these diseases are, the common cold is the worst offender as far as school attendance is concerned, one-fourth of all absences being attributed to it.
RECORDS AND STATISTICS
Beginning with the monthly report for April some changes have been made. An itemized list of defects found by the school physician during the month as a result of his examinations of pupils and the number of corrections and partial corrections of defects found is included. Also the number of thorough physical examin- ations is given separately from the less careful inspec- tion ordinarily required when the pupil returns to school after illness. Such inspections are not intended to dis- cover defects but merely to get assurance that there is nothing in the condition of the pupil to make it unwise to admit him or her.
Heretofore the thorough physical examination and the
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inspection have all been listed together as examinations.
It has until recently been the accepted practice of the school nurse to exclude such children as she deems unfit, for one reason or another, from school and no record made of the exclusion. It has even happened that a teacher has missed a pupil and not known why the pupil had left the school.
In order to prevent this a form is now used which re- quires the signature of the teacher before the pupil can be excluded. This also applies to exclusions made by the school physician, and both the school nurse and the school physician must initial the excluding card and state when the pupil is to return. All exclusions and admis- sions are kept in a special envelope for the purpose by the teachers and collected at the end of the month.
Beginning in September the monthly report now con- tains not only a list of names of children excluded by the school physician, the cause of exclusion, and the date of return as heretofore but in addition a list by name of all children excluded by the school nurse during the month, the cause of exclusion, and the date of return. By the operation of this system the right of the teacher to know why and when one of the pupils is taken out of school is respected and a permanent record of the transaction is made.
Another very helpful improvement in the keeping of records begun in September, consists in a change from the old form of "notice to parent" of defects provided by the State Board of Education to a duplicate form which leaves a record for follow up by the nurse, and requests the parent to report back on the back of the notice to the teacher what has been done or contemplated within two weeks.
Filing cases for the individual physical record cards of the pupils are now in use by the teachers, but as yet no guide cards have been received. These would be of great assistance to the teachers in finding the card which must
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be presented by the pupil whenever he is sent to the school physician for any cause whatever.
STATISTICS
Number of examinations 3613
(Includes 1363 compete physical since April 1st)
Number of notices sent to parents 901
Number of pupils referred to nurse 117
Number of permits signed by school physician 1303
Number of permits signed by other physicians 130
Number of exclusions
80
Number of corrections of defects since April 1st 185
Number of partial corrections of defects since
April 1st 173
Defects found beginning April 1st for which notices were sent to parents :
Eye,
34
Ear,
40
Heart,
9
Lung, 4
Nose,
32
Orthopedic,
72
Skin, 4
Throat,
261
Teeth,.
343
Unclassified,
23
Total,
822
Respectfully submitted, (Signed) J. HOLBROOK SHAW, M. D.,
School Physician.
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AMERICANIZATION AND EVENING SCHOOL REPORT
Mr. Horace F. Turner,
Superintendent of Schools,
Plymouth, Massachusetts.
My dear Mr. Turner :
I submit my annual report as Director of American- ization and Evening Schools for the past year.
Classes were opened this present school year October 26th. The general work of recruiting classes was carried on by means of posters, fliers, both in English and for- eign languages, letters, and personal solicitation by di- rector and teachers. More and more the classes however are being recruited by men and women who have previ- ously attended. This it seems to me is the best of all for it indicates that the men and women realize the value of what is offered and wish to share it with others.
The work is organized, as usual, conforming with the specifications of the State Board of Education, Depart- ment of Adult Alien Education. There are of course two different groups - those under twenty-one who have not completed the work as required by State Law, completion of the Sixth Grade. The other group men and women who are not forced to attend but who do so in order to learn English, to understand the History and Govern- ment of our Country, to be aided in qualifying to become citizens.
The membership includes fourteen different national- ities. Many are well educated in their native tongue, very few being illiterate in their own language.
Classes are being conducted this year at Harris Hall, Plymouth Cordage Company, The Cornish and Knapp School Buildings. At the Cordage Company sessions are held from five to six o'clock on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Classes at the Cornish and Knapp Buildings
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are in session from seven-fifteen to eight forty-five in the evening of the same days.
The present enrolment is as follows :
Plymouth Cordage Classes-
Beginners 15
Intermediate
11
Citizenship 17
Cornish School Building-
Beginners and Intermediates 11
Illiterate minors 12
Citizenship 17
Knapp School Building-
Beginners 21
Intermediates 13
Illiterate minors
30
Advanced
11
The largest single factor in obtaining good attendance is good teaching. We are fortunate in having a splendid corps of teachers for these classes. All are especially trained or experienced in this line of work. They are deeply interested, sympathetic, and appreciative of the difficulties of foreign speaking people, which are very necessary qualifications for teachers of such classes. The attendance thus far has been very satisfactory and steady progress has been made. But few have dropped out of classes and those either due to change of place of employ- ment or being put upon night shifts to work.
In April a Federal Examiner came to one of the school rooms and gave an examination to the men and women who were preparing for citizenship. They made a very creditable showing and the examiner was very compli- mentary as to the teaching and good training they had been given.
Men and women are aided in filling out of the Pre- liminary Form for Declaration of Intention, First Paper, and also for the Second Paper. Citizenship is not urged
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upon any. The becoming of a citizen should call forth desire and effort on the part of the immigrant. It is a goal to be prized and worked for. The men and women, who are spending three nights a week in the class room at study, usually after a hard day's work, are surely working for it and do value it highly.
I wish that the aim and scope of the work of these classes might be better understood among the Towns- people. There are many organizations that could from time to time, in cooperation with the School Department render a great service in real Americanization work for Plymouth.
One organization, the D. A. R., placed in the hands of the Director two hundred copies of Manuals of the United States for free distribution. These were very helpful and much appreciated by the men and women who re- ceived them.
In closing I wish to express appreciation to all who have in many ways contributed to the success of this department.
Respectfully submitted,
WILLIAM I. WHITNEY,
Director of Americanization and Evening Schools.
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SUMMER SCHOOL REPORT
Mr. Horace F. Turner,
Superintendent of Schools, Plymouth, Mass.
Dear Sir:
In the summer session of 1925 one hundred and twenty- five pupils were enrolled. The list shows distribution by grades :
Grade IV,
13 pupils
Grade V,
26 pupils
Grade VI,
34 pupils
Grade VII,
52 pupils
Total, 125 pupils
Compared to enrolments in former years the number of pupils from grades four and five has diminished. More- over, the number of subjects in which pupils from these grades required help has also diminished. I believe that in a large measure this was due to the method of indi- vidual tutoring introduced into the lower grades.
To some extent this method was used in the summer session, for two of the four teachers employed gave in- dividual attention for one period each day to those pupils who required it after they had had the regular class in- struction.
Very few pupils unable to profit by the course were re- quested to attend the summer session this year. This fact, of course, made it possible for us to give better in- struction to those who did attend.
Respectfully submitted,
MIRIAM A. JOHNSON,
Principal.
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SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
The Number of Pupils in Each School and Grade as of Dec. 31, 1925
Grade
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
High
144 107 70 85
406
Junior High
222 186
408
36
46
37
40
32
30
454
Hedge
39
42
39
41
38
40
1
34
38
381
41
24
28
Knapp
33
22
28
37
42
21
30
31
Cornish
30
229
28
Burton
144
37
Mt. Pleasant
30
35
31
38
39
41
214
Cold Spring
25
25
50
Oak St.
19
18
10
15
62
Lincoln St.
18
16
34
Manomet
4
12
9
7
7
7
46
Wellingsley
5
6
7
5
23
Cliff St.
3
4
6
4
4
3
24
Russell Mills
7
5
4
4
5
6
27
Cedarville
3
4
3
6
1
1
18
Alden St.
28
28
Spooner St.
1
6
2
9
South St.
30
30
Fresh Air
1
4
4
3
2
17
Total
334|293 259 284 264 |278 222|189 144 |107 70 85
EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS.
1924
1925
First
Subsequent
First Subsequent
Certificates to Minors 14 to 16
54
47
74
38
Certificates to Minors 16 to 21
93
151
80
202
20
Chiltonville
1
5
4
0
22
42
43
286
2,529
There were 135 minors between fourteen and sixteen years of age who, within the calendar year 1925, were employed while schools were in session.
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REPORT OF ATTENDANCE OFFICER
Mr. Horace F. Turner,
Superintendent of Schools,
Dear Sir :-
I respectfully submit the following report from Jan- uary 1, 1925 to January 1, 1926.
Absentee Sickness
Truancy Total
Burton School,
4
1
2
7
Cold Spring School,
2
0
0
2
Cornish School,
8
7
10
25
Hedge School,
33
19
6
58
Knapp School,
9
0
0
9
Lincoln Street School,
6
1
4
11
Mount Pleasant School,
16
5
1
22
Nathaniel Morton School,
71
54
9
134
South Street School,
9
19
5
33
South Spooner Street School,
13
2
4
.19
171 108
41
320
Cases investigated for Superintendent's Office,
23
Employment Certificates investigated,
17
Number of homes visited,
360
Visits to schools,
27
Total number of investigations,
387
Children found on street and taken to school,
2
Habitual School Offender brought to Court,
2
I wish to thank the Superintendent and teachers for the kind assistance which they have given during the past year.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN ARMSTRONG,
Attendance Officer.
Plymouth Twenty-one
.
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES
Horace F. Turner Alice Murphy
Office
Supt. of Schools 5 Bay View Ave.
Secretary 167 Court St.
High School
George C. Marsden *Nellie C. Allen
Prin.
100 Allerton St.
Span., Hist.,
Phys. Ed.
13 Whiting St.
Claire T. Carroll
Ruth E. Cummings
Dom. Sci.
17 Allerton St.
Marjorie E. Darling
Frank E. Fash
Sci., Math.
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