USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Carver > Town annual reports of Carver 1947 > Part 4
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E. Tillson Pratt School 36.12
Personal Property 6,909.17
Real Estate 65,240.12
72,373.29
$73,302.77
Overpayment on Health Case
12.90
Motor Vehicle and Trailer Excise Levy of 1947
486.60
Tax Titles
284.08
Departmental:
Temporary Aid
$1,193.11
School
344.38
Cemetery
35.00
Federal Grants:
Aid to Highways:
Aid to Dependent Children: Administration $10.14
State
$20,625.00
County
3,000.00
Aid
108.29
23,625.00
$118.43
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6,000.00
State Assessments 1947
589.27
County Tax 1947
7,709.24
1,572.49
Cemetery Sale of Lots and Graves Fund Gift for Erection of Library Building
40.00
Post-War Rehabilitation 750.00
988.51
$929.48
Trust and Investment Funds Income: Benjamin Ellis School $202.39
$236.31
Accounts Receivable :
Estimated Receipts to be Collected 15,666.79
Old Age Assistance: Administration $45.03
Assistance 1,038.45
$1,083.48
1,201.91
Unexpended Balances
81,485.36
Reserve Fund-Overlay Surplus
723.71
Overlay Reserve for Abatement Taxes: Levy of 1946 $425.84
Levy of 1947 2,202.62
2,628.46
Revenue Reserved until Collected :
Motor Vehicle and Trailer Excise
$486.60
Tax Title
284.08
Departmental
1,572.49
Aid to Highways
23,625.00
Surplus Revenue
44,458.23
$172,215.58
$172,215.58
TRUST AND INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS
Benjamin Ellis School Fund
$2,500.26
E. Tillson Pratt School Fund 4,079.21
$6,579.47
McFarlin Parkway Fund
$133.29
35,820.46
Rosa A. Cole Library Fund
1,134.48
Mary P. S. Jowitt Library Fund
131.58
Cemetery Perpetual Care Funds
24,421.11
Post-War Rehabilitation Fund
10,000.00
35,820.46
$42,399.93
$42.399.93
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Trust and Investment Funds: Cash and Securities: Custody of : Trustees
$6,579.47
Town Treasurer
25,968.17
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
John Carter, Chairman
Term Expires 1948
Harriet J. Snow, Secretary*
Term expires 1949
Frank H. Cole
Term expires 1950
*Resigned November 18, 1947 George R. Austin, Superintendent of Schools 35 Peirce Street, Middleboro
STAFF
Center School-Henry M. Shaw, Principal Marion I. Griffith
Hattie J. Griffith
John F. Murphy, Jr.
Doris F. Moore
E. Tillson Pratt School-Gladys E. Burgess, Principal Betsy A. Burkhead
Benjamin Ellis School-Florence L. Gordon, Principal D. Mabel Macomber
Supervisor of Drawing and Manual Arts-Stella F. Mor- rison, Plympton
School Physician-V. Vernon Mayo, M.D., 119 Summer Street, Kingston, Mass.
School Nurse-Madeline A. Baker, R. N., Middleboro
SCHOOL CALENDAR
1948 Winter Term: Begins Monday, January 5; closes April 16.
Vacation: February 23-27.
1948 Spring Term: Begins Monday, April 26; closes June 11.
Holiday: May 30 (31). Closing Exercises: June 10.
1948 Fall Term: Opens Wednesday, Sept. 8; closes Decem- ber 22.
Holidays: Oct. 12, 22; Nov. 11; Nov. 25-26.
1949 Winter Term: Begins Monday, Jan. 3.
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Requirements for Admission to the First Grade
1. A child who will reach his sixth birthday on or before December 31st may be admitted to the first grade in September, 1948 without examination.
2. A child whose sixth birthday occurs in the two months after December 31st, may be admitted the preceding September if readiness for school can be demonstrated by means of appropriate tests. Parents having a child whom they wish to be examined under this rule are required to make application to the Superintendent of Schools on or before August 15th preceding the open- ing of school in September. A special form will be furnished for this purpose upon written request from the parent.
Closing of Schools
It is the policy of the School Committee to close schools only under the severest weather conditions or on such occasions when it is dangerous to operate school busses. At other times parents are expected to use their own judgment in sending children to school. When a decision to close schools has been made, this information will be broadcast through the courtesy of radio stations WEEI, WBZ, and WNBH.
From the records of the School Committee:
February 2, 1948
Voted: That the report of the Superintendent of Schools and other officers of the school system be hereby adopted as the report of the School Committee.
JOHN CARTER, Chairman,
CONSTANCE HOLMES, Secretary,
FRANK H. COLE,
School Committee.
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Financial Report of the School Committee for the Year Ending December 31, 1947
Balance
Balance
Expended Appropriation
Funds
Appropriation
$49,933.00 $49,655.64 $277.36
E. Tillson Pratt
Fund
75.51
75.51
Benjamin Ellis Fund
377.39
177.07
$200.32
Totals
$50,385.90 $49,908.22 $277.36 $200.32
EXPENDITURES
Supervision and Law Enforcement:
School Committee, Salaries
$120.00
School Committee, Expenses
50.20
Superintendent, Salary 1,368.00
Superintendent, Travel
157.50
Superintendent, Expenses
36.75
Union Office, incl. Clerical Assistance
444.87
School Census
25.00
Attendance Officer
27.08
$2,229.40
Expenses of Instruction:
Supervisors
$933.18
Teachers and Substitutes
18,717.72
Textbooks
625.85
Supplies
833.84
21,110.59
Operating Expenses:
Janitors' Salaries
$2,260.00
Fuel
1,510.24
Cleaning, Lights, Tel., Jan. Supplies and Misc.
1,166.41
4,936.65
Maintenance of Property:
Repairs and Miscellaneous
$1,507.58
1,507.58
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Auxiliary Agencies:
Transportation-High School
$5,309.00
Transportation-Elementary School 6,196.08
Insurance 192.60
Health 610.10
Tuition-High Schools
7,473.49
Miscel. Aux. Agencies
67.37
19,848.64
Vocational Education:
Tuition
Transportation
Outlays:
Equipment
$275.36
275.36
Americanization Classes
Total Expenditures
$49,908.22
REIMBURSEMENTS
Superintendent of Schools-Small Towns (See Note)
Chapter 70, Part I- Teachers
$1,700.00
Insurance Dividends
21.40
State Wards-1947-Tuition
916.65
State Wards-1947-Transportation
251.20
State Wards-1946-Supplementary reim- bursement-tuition
.
11.74
General Transportation-Chapter 679, Acts of 1947
10,001.69
Wards, City of Boston-Tuition
194.11
Wards, City of Boston-Transportation
52.64
Vocational Education-Tuition
178.95
Vocational Education-Transportation
49.00
Total Reimbursements
$13,377.38
NOTE: On November 12, 1947, the State Department of Education approved the sum of $726.61 as reim- bursement for Carver under this claim, but as this amount had not been paid from the office of the State Treasurer to Carver by December 31, 1947, it could not be classed as 1947 income.
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REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To Members of the School Committee:
Following is my annual report as superintendent of schools for the town of Carver, which is a part of Superin- tendency Union No. 44. In keeping with the request made of school officials this year, considerable of the detail has been omitted so that there remains only the mere essentials in this, the superintendent's portion, and as well in the reports of other persons connected with the schools.
The year 1947 has been an unusual one for the schools of Carver in that there has been not one change among the staff of teachers. When schools closed at the end of the year 1946 one teacher was lacking at the Center School and the staff of that school had been obliged to operate it on the basis of four teachers. In the opening days of 1947 an application was filed by Mrs. Doris F. Moore which we were happy to receive and the committee immediately recorded her election. This appointment brought the number of teachers in Carver back to the usual nine and permitted the department to operate the Center School on its expanded program. Additional information about this program can be found in the report of the principal of the Center School.
The problem of financing school costs has been no less in the past year than it was the year previous, and it is apparent that the question of adequate support for public schools will be a topic which will require con- siderable and careful thought. Carver, in keeping with other towns of class IV, has made rapid and satisfactory advances in the matter of teachers salaries. It still will have to make further advances if it is to equal the state- wide average of $2,400.00 for classroom teaching in the towns of this group. The town faces increased costs in tuition for junior and senior high school pupils, and we find ourselves paying higher prices for text books and
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the usual materials and school equipment. There seems to be no hope in the immediate future for a decline in the costs of material and equipment, and there probably will never be a time, even in depression years, when the services of teachers can be obtained at pre-war prices. All of these problems of the future support of public schools will have to be clarified through the enactment of some sort of legislation which will provide greater state aid to municipalities which are unable to meet these costs without aid.
A study of the school census contained elsewhere in this report will show that we have the largest number of pupils in the local schools since before 1939, and if the growth which we experienced in the year 1947 continues, definite steps will have to be taken before 1949 to provide at least one more classroom in the town. Both of the two primary schools are now filled to capacity and the Center School is the only building where additional pupils may be absorbed; it will not be possible to take in additional pupils at this school unless they can be assigned to grades with low enrollment. The last class numbering less than 30 will be graduated in June 1948, and the grades after this one number 31-35. The only available space which the School Committee controls at the moment which could be made usable for school space is in the basement of the Benjamin Ellis School. This room could be made usable with the installation of a false floor, artificial lighting, additional radiation, drinking facilities, and chalk boards. In addition to this, sufficient furniture would have to be bought as all of the spare furniture within the town has been put to use. It is quite possible that the establish- ment of an extra room in the South Carver region would require children of the town to travel a long distance to attend school but it seems that it is the best suggestion that can be put into more or less immediate operation if the situation warrants it.
In concluding, it is appropriate to say that those of us
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who work in and for the schools find it a continued source of encouragement to work under a School Committee whose sole interest is to obtain the best the schools can give for the children of Carver.
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE R. AUSTIN, Superintendent of Schools.
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE CENTER SCHOOL
To the Superintendent of Schools:
The present enrollment of the Center School is 125. This represents an increase of 16 over the figure of last year and 41 over the enrollment of 1945. This rapid growth means that the day when Carver's middle grades averaged twenty-five pupils is over; as is a junior high school grade of twenty. Now our middle grades average thirty-five while our junior high school grades are rapidly approaching that figure. This latter fact will add greatly to our out-of-town tuition costs.
We have a number of pupils who need five years to com- plete the four year course now offered at the Center School. Whenever possible these pupils take three years to complete the seventh and eighth grades rather than repeat the work of the fifth and sixth years. This is done by means of a VII B class. Separate classes are held in Arithmetic, Language, History and Geography. The work is largely remedial, and every attempt is made to enable the pupil to enter the regular seventh grade the following year. In this way the pupil does not merely repeat a given year's work.
Early in the school year we undertook a magazine drive. Over seven hundred dollars worth of subscriptions were sold netting the school $163.59. Three months later I am happy to state that no one has reported the failure of
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his subscription to arrive nor has any publishing house written back for clarification of addresses. This speaks well of the work done by the pupils. Janice Williams of Grade VIII was the school's honor saleslady. From the funds made available we have electrified a sewing machine and have made up a retroactive increase in the price of milk purchased by the pupils. A balance of $102.11 is on hand. I was reluctant to approve of the campaign and am now anxious to know the attitude of the parents regarding the matter.
During the spring of 1947 a battery test entitled "Pro- gressive Test in Social and Related Subjects" were given throughout the school. The grade standing of each class was most satisfactory and is summarized below. The results are given for grades as of May, 1947.
Grade
History
Geography
V
6.2
5.4
VI
6.5
6.7
VII A
9.0
9.5
VII B
7.4
7.9
VIII
10.1
9.9
The work of the Carver pupils in the ninth grade of the Plymouth Junior High School is most gratifying. Seven of the seventeen pupils appeared on the recent honor list.
About sixty pupils are purchasing milk at 31/2 cents per half pint as offered by the State Milk Program. Milk is thus made available to the school children at 14 cents a quart, a considerable saving over the current market price. Mrs. Baker and the teachers wish that more would avail themselves of this opportunity. The response in Grades VII and VIII is far greater than in the two lower grades in the school. Parents of pupils in grades V and VI should consider the advisibility of taking advantage of this milk plan, the cost of which amounts to 18 cents per week. Thanks are given to Mrs. James S. McKay, Chairman of the Carver Christmas Seal Fund, for a sum
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of money sufficient to furnish milk to one child for the school year.
With the coming of Mrs. Doris Moore to Grade V, Mrs. Hattie Griffith was free to resume her work in Domestic Science. Space and equipment are lacking: two sewing machines serve a sewing class of fifteen girls. The girls of Grade VIII are currently engaged in dressmaking. They made a shopping trip to Middleboro where they pur- chased material and patterns. Their work has reached the modeling state. A prize has been offered for the best dress resulting from this activity.
Mrs. Doris Moore joined the teaching staff in January of 1947. She came to us with eight years of teaching ex- perience gained in Abington and Weymouth. Her work has met with great enthusiasm on the part of the pupils in her classes.
School opened in September with no changes in the teaching staff. This results in a continuity of work not found when the length of period of service of the teachers is limited to one or two years. Three of the teachers com- pleted the course in Visual Aids offered by Boston Uni- versity.
Graduation exercises were held in the Town Hall on June 12, 1947. A dramatization of Dicken's "Oliver Twist" was presented under the capable direction of Mrs. Hattie Griffith. A list of the graduates follows:
*Lilly Marie Aho
*Pricilla F. Johnson
*Matilda Antone
*Constance G. Kingman
*Norman D. Bolduc
*Gordon W. Miller
*Paul E. Closuit
*Gordon S. Nye
*Frances Correio
*Wayne D. Owens
* Ann Dempsey
*Eila M. Peltola
*Arne M. Erickson
*Corrine H. Pierce
*Faith A. Garnett
*Pauline J. Story
*John Gomes
įJohn J. Sullivan
*John T. Tillson
*Elwood E. Holmes
*- Plymouth Junior High School
1-Left School
1-Moved from Carver
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We appreciate the interest the two local Grange groups are showing in the public schools of Carver. "Know Your Schools" has become an annual feature of the South Car- ver Grange. To carry out this slogan we suggest that parents plan to visit the Center School on any Wednes- day or Thursday morning. This will give them an oppor- tunity to see the work done in Household Arts and Manual Training as well as in the regular school subjects.
The success of the school program is due to the efforts and co-operation of the teachers, the drawing supervisor, the town librarian, the school nurse, and the school custodian. They join me in an expression of appreciation to you and to the school committee who initiate and so liberally support the school activities.
Respectfully submitted, HENRY M. SHAW, Principal.
REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF ART AND MANUAL TRAINING
Mr. George R. Austin
Superintendent of Schools, Union No. 44
Dear Mr. Austin:
In compliance with your request, I herewith submit the annual report of the Art and Manual Training De- partments for the year 1947.
Numerous Fine and Industrial Art projects were ex- hibited in the Town Hall at the close of school, last June. Woodwork, pierced brass, hammered pewter and alu- minum, etched aluminum plates and bracelets, designs, paintings, and murals were accomplished by the grades at the Center School. The types of work believed to be of most value to these pupils at elementary level, were woodwork, metal craft, tin craft, and posters.
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Pupils in seventh and eighth grades competed in the Animal Poster Contest sponsored by Massachusetts' So- ciety For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals. Grades seven and eight have completed several murals since October. This type of work is best accomplished as a group activity. Grade seven, studying South America, brought material into the classroom, assembled it, and are now in the process of decorating a screen with scenes of Latin America, introducing industries and customs of its people. This is a very colorful affair, and has proven interesting to class members. Grade eght completed a large map and mural portraying "The Westward Movement," a correlation with Social Studies. Nearly every pupil made a contribution to this map which was rendered in color and illustrated trails, forts, modes of transportation, famous pioneers, and various divisions of land and early frontiers of our United States. The mural represented Covered Wagon Days as the center of interest, augmented by Dan- iel Boone on the forest trails, Indian Chiefs, who made life hazardous for the pioneers, new inventions including the canal boat and steam engine, both of which blazed the frontiers of transportation, and the Forty-Niners in the gold rush to the Pacific, and Mission Life in California.
Grade six made several posters and small murals, cor- relating with Social Studies. "Life in Feudal Times" always fascinates the pupils. Tournaments, castles, nights in armor, shields, helmets and customs evolve and pro- gress as the project advances, and the class learns by Doing, through research and Art. A similar study was made of Norway, its people and industries. Tumbling waterfalls, fjords, mountain scenery, and ships with the dragon figurehead, together with ancient Norse customs, made colorful posters and murals of enchanting Viking Land.
Grade five was given the opportunity to use Finger- Paint. This is a creative medium which aids the pupil's imagination, and stimulates inventiveness through ex-
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perimentation in overcoming fear, regarding ability to create independently, by building confidence in them- selves, and promotes a desire to use finger painting as a recreational activity during periods of leisure. These Creative Designs were placed away to dry, and a few weeks later were used in construction of picture frames. Grade five also constructed a large map of the United States. Each pupil was responsible for printing the name and drawing the natural resources on one or more states. This project was integrated with Geography, and proved most successful.
Grades three and four completed a unit on Indian Life, to gain a realization of what the Red Man has contributed and still continues to contribute to American life. Pupils constructed wigwams, canoes, and gay head dresses with appropriate tribal designs and colors. To culminate the unit, a map of Carver was constructed; old legends and historic places of interest were noted, and where camp grounds and Indian villages once existed, a Redman was placed on the map. Lakenham, the Indian name for Car- ver was printed thereon.
Grades one and two had several lessons in Paper Craft, folding, cutting, coloring, and pasting. This is a "must" lesson which is repeated at intervals, but supplemented with new ideas throughout the year. Jointed figures of persons and animals have been frequently used to teach correct proportions and forms. Mr. Gray Squirrel con- tributed an amusing project in the October lessons. A group of pupils made a large, old oak tree, and then others placed their squirrels here and there on the branches.
JUNIOR RED CROSS CONTRIBUTIONS
In December 1947, nine-hundred twenty articles were made by the pupils in grades five, seven and eight for the Junior Red Cross. These articles were sent to the Veter- ans' Hospital at Bedford, Massachusetts to be used in Christmas festivities.
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MANUAL TRAINING
Four hours each week is devoted to Manual Training. Boys in grades seven and eight make projects in wood according to their grade level. Aluminum, brass, copper, plastics, and clay have proven advantageous media for creative self-expression. Masks have been made, over a clay form, by using papier mache which is suitably colored to imitate colored characteristic features and facial ex- pressions.
In all classes each holiday was observed by construction of sand tables, poster making, murals, or gift novelties appropriate for the occasion. "School exhibitions of pupils' work are desirable because children are interested in seeing what other children can do."
Respectfully submitted, STELLA F. MORRISON
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL NURSE
Middleboro, Mass. Dec. 31, 1947.
To the Superintendent of Schools :-
I wish it were possible to present a more varied sum- mary of my work, but since reports follow more or less a planned pattern, I herewith submit my third annual re- port for the Town of Carver, year ending December 31, 1947.
Under the able direction of Dr. William Mayo, the an- nual physical examination of all children was conducted in the three schools. All defects were noted and notices were sent to all parents. Follow-up visits have been made and in most cases I found the parents more and more health conscious and anxious to have the necessary cor- rections made at their earliest convenience.
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All pupils were weighed and measured three times dur- ing the year, and it is especially gratifying to find so few underweights. In spite of the increased cost of living most pupils bring adequate and well-balanced lunches. The milk which is available for 31/2 cents per day per pupil is a welcome addition, and all were urged to take advantage of nature's best food. Through the kindness of Mrs. James McKay, Chairman of the Christmas Seal Sale, a sum of money was presented to cover the cost of daily milk for several pupils, as well as to care for a deficit in the Benjamin Ellis and E. Tillson Pratt Schools caused by the 1/2 cent increase for the latter part of the year.
Audiometer tests of hearing ability have been con- ducted in all schools, three failures were noted. Those pupils have been referred to their family physicians; and are receiving the necessary medical care.
In the spring a very successful Diptheria Prevention Clinic was held in Town Hall, sponsored by the Board of Health, and conducted by Dr. William Mayo, who was assisted by Miss Christine B. Higgins, R.N., of the Mass. State Department of Health and your School Nurse. Forty- seven children were given three toxoid injections at three week intervals, and forty-eight were given booster doses, making a total of ninety-five immunized. Once again the large number treated was made possible through the kindness of the transportation contractors in placing their buses and drivers at our service.
In May a Tuberculosis Follow-up Clinic was held in Town Hall under the direction of Dr. Richard Sherman, assisted by Mrs. Eliabeth Cochrane, R. N., of the Plymouth County Hospital. Six pupils were x-rayed and given physical examinations. All reports were negative but none was discharged and all will be re-examined in one year.
A Pre-School Clinic was held in Town Hall in May with
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ten children and their parents attending. At this time pupils who were entering school in September were given an opportunity to have a complete physical examination, thus any defects noted could be corrected before classes started. Vaccinations were also done when requested. I hope that next year more parents will respond to the notices sent and that the attendance will be greatly in- creased.
In November, a Mental Clinic was held in Town Hall, conducted by Dr. Olga Steinecke, assisted by Miss DeMayo, when eight pupils were examined.
This year, at the suggestion of our Superintendent, Mass. Vision Tests are being conducted in Grades I-III-V and VII. In this manner the machine will be used in each building, thus enabling the children who failed the Shell- en Test in grades II-IV-VI and VIII to be re-tested by the Mass. Vision Test. Since a great deal more time is re- quired to examine eyes by this method, it is hoped that this arrangement will prove satisfactory.
During the year I have made 148 visits to the schools, 86 home visits, and 283 class-room visits. These consisted of routine health inspections, class-room talks and con- ferences with teachers.
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