USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Carver > Town annual reports of Carver 1957 > Part 5
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In the matter of considering the growth at the school we find one factor which makes it difficult to form conclusions as regarding grade groupings, etc. We have several grade groups where the number of pupils is in the vicinity of forty. While this number of children per grade is too large for satisfactory individual attention it likewise results in a very small group- ing if two sections of the same grade are employed as a solution. If the decision is made in favor of two sections for such a group one is open to the criticism of extravagance; yet
98
if one leaves the group as it is and maintains only one section then we are equally open to the claim of failing to give ade- quate individual help for the child. Over the years past we have resorted to the device occasionally of dividing one grade group in such a manner that a combination room results as has been the case this last year of the fifth-sixth combination. We feel that an instance of this sort is about the best practical solution that can be offered and we may find in the years to come that we will have to use this device in other situations in order to more adequately divide the pupils among the teaching staff.
In trying to prepare adequately for the future the com- mittee has given some thought as to the future location for Carver pupils. If additional sections of grade groups are to be set up within the school then we shall have to adapt other spaces to care for them. It is possible in the coming year we may have to use the library for a classroom and move other groups around so that the Domestic Arts room is used more for a full-time classroom than is the present practice. In line with thinking ahead for the best provision for the town's children as they seem to increase in number in schools, the committee gave considerable thought as to what should be done with the Benjamin Ellis School and whether or not it should request the vote of the town to restore it to the custody of the School Committee to serve as possible insurance against the need for additional classrooms. The question in the minds of the authorities of the school department centered around this one item, - whether it would be better to add to the Gov- ernor John Carver School or better to retain the Benjamin Ellis School for the time being until the future could be more readily determined. It seemed in weighing all the factors that it would be likely better to retain the Benjamin Ellis School for the time being which would give the assurance of two small classrooms and would, at least, provide a time during which the town could more carefully consider the total future picture.
99
It is most difficult to predict what Carver's future solu- tion shall be for its secondary school problem. We have been advised this year that Silver Lake will no longer take grade nine from Carver beginning September, 1958, due to the growth of their own pupil enrollment. The committee has completed arrangements with the Middleboro School Depart- ment for this grade to be accommodated there on that same date and there is little question but as the years come by Carver will gradually have to withdraw from the Silver Lake School. Middleboro has also offered to accept up to eight or ten other pupils of other grades who can meet the admission requirements regarding scholarship and conduct if these re- quests are made by Carver students and parents. The Mid- dleboro School Department has also written that Carver's opportunities for the future "will be dependent upon more specific information as to the future of Lakeville" in their schools.
Considerable thought and time has been placed by the members of the School Committee and of the Regional School Planning Committee on finding possible solutions for Carver's high school pupils. The following steps have been taken along from time to time:
1. Investigated the possibilities of a regional school with Plymouth and Carver so far as it was possible for com- mittee members to go. However at the present writing there seems to be little likelihood that this event can come to pass.
2. Explored somewhat the possibilities as to whether Car- ver might become a permanent partner with Silver Lake at the 10-11-12 level.
3. Some brief study has been given to the cost of adding onto the Governor John Carver School so that grade 9 might be contained locally and with the chance taken
100
that grades 10-12 could be accommodated in some neighboring community.
4. Make arrangements with the Middleboro School Depart- ment to place grade 9 at Middleboro.
We are fortunate to be able to report very slight change in staff this year as compared with last year. One resignation was presented to the committee in the late spring of 1957, that of Mrs. Clare Neal, who was teaching one of the primary grades. Mrs. Neal submitted her resignation for personal reasons but later discovered that it would be necessary for her to remove her home to the state of New Jersey. Her position thus vacated was filled with the appointment of Mrs. Mabel J. Eayrs, of Middleboro, who is a graduate of one of the Boston Training Schools for primary education and comes to us with twelve years' experience in the primary grades in the town of Milton. Too much cannot be said in favor of a permanent staff and the fact that our teachers continue from year to year enable us to give consistently a steady and worth- while pattern of education.
The committee and superintendent engaged in consid- erable study and discussion concerning the possibilities of a ruling for setting a policy to be applied in cases of pupils who were over the mandatory legal age of school attend- ance but who were not making the effort to profit in their opportunities. As a consequence of this the following regula- tion was adopted by the committee on August 27, 1957:
"Effective on the above date, the Carver School Commit- tee has voted that a pupil having reached the age of 16 and failing in his work at school because of poor conduct, attendance or attitude will be denied his tuition and trans- portation expense. A statement from the Principal or Director of the school showing the condition prevails will be sufficient for the Committee to take action under
101
this rule. Parents of a pupil denied his tuition and trans- portation expense will have to make their own arrange- ments with the school if such a pupil is to continue in attendance."
It is not the intent of the committee to penalize any pupil but rather it is the intent that students enrolled in schools outside of the town and at considerable expense to Carver shall realize they have an obligation to do as well as their capacities and circumstances will permit. One can be sym- pathetic with a pupil who, in spite of good effort, conduct and attendance, cannot succeed perhaps as well as he might like to; but contrasted with this there seems little need for patience for the pupil who wastes his effort and opportunity and who admittedly goes to the school "for the ride." Carver is fortunate in that it has very few pupils of this latter cate- gory, but it is the intent of the Department that we shall not support and encourage this sort of approach to school.
Considerable work has been done this year on the Gov- ernor John Carver School in order to get the maintenance caught up and keep the building in first class appearance. During the summer a contract was let to the low bidder, John Wholan of Middleboro, for the painting of rooms No. 21, 22, 25, 26, stairwells south wing, fire doors and the second floor corridor. During the summer, pointing work was done on the certain parts of the brick work in need of this attention and that portion of the building sealed with a water repellent sealer where it had never been previously applied. As the end of the year drew near it became apparent there would be some surplus funds to permit additional work of this sort and the committee thought it better to proceed with it rather than to leave it to the 1958 budget. Accordingly, the rooms No. 14, 27, 28 and 29 were painted, together with the north rear stairwell and the corridor on the first floor. It will probably require only two more steps in the future and the building will have been completely redecorated. Since
102
its occupancy in 1951 both inside and out our building always remains clean, neat and attractive and it should be entered in the public record here that our janitor, Mr. H. Albert Raymond, ably assisted by Mrs. Raymond, keep it in first class order. It is often a subject for conversation by those visiting our school when they see the neat and clean condition in which we live.
There are no major changes to report in curriculum con- tent for the year past. Mr. Shaw's report discusses very ade- quately our aims as relates to teaching, curriculum, etc. This last year we were able to bring out a publication which has been long in the making and represents the work and effort of the teachers of the union school system; in fact, it includes work and contributions by some who have since left us and gone to other systems. For the first time we have been able to get our Course of Study material mimeographed and bound together into one copy so that each teacher now has in her possession a complete book of the Course of Study for the entire system. This is a valuable aid not only to the teacher in the immediate classroom with a particular grade but as well permits the teacher of any grade to see where her part fits into the total picture of the education of the child of the eight grades. We expect to continue to enlarge and re- fine this as time permits and to change it, revise and bring it up-to-date as needed. A change was authorized this year in the Penmanship system, both for reasons of economy and for better use of the time as relates to the school week. It is our policy at the moment to try to train our pupils as intensively as possible in the first six grades and to use the time in grades seven and eight strictly for remedial purposes for those pupils who cannot make the standards of reasonable legibility and conformity.
We recognize that the costs of maintaining schools do not decrease as the years go by but we also point out that we remain in a favorable comparative position in these
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times. In the matter of tuition rates we have the following items:
Silver Lake Regional $400.00 per pupil
New Bedford Vocational School 325.00 per pupil
Middleboro High School 286.00 per pupil
Of these rates quoted here, the two higher ones have a marked influence upon the amounts of money required for the educa- tion of the secondary school pupils. The committee members have given considerable thought from time to time as to the problem of teachers' salaries, in fact this is one of the major problems of any school committee today. For this school year, 1957-1958, the average teachers' salary in Carver, consider- ing all salaries except those administrative in nature or having any administrative allowance attached to them, comes to $3,872.00. This salary is slightly below the median salary reported by the Massachusetts Teachers Association in its bulletin No. Q16-IVa of November 15, 1957 which shows the median salary in towns of group 4A (towns similar to Carver ) is $3,960.00. We are probably approaching the time when some equitable form of salary plan will have to be devised which will enable us to offer an attractive future to teachers entering the system but equally permit variations to enable us to recognize worth to the school system. There is a growing interest in all school systems in the so-called "Merit Plan" for payment of salaries. The teachers of this school union already have a committee working on the subject to study it, become acquainted with it and to see if some ideas can be advanced which will be useful in the future years. There is a growing feeling in this nation that teachers' salaries ought to be more professionally comparable to other professions having to do with people and if we are at all alert to the needs we probably shall have to have a plan worked out within the next three or four years that will offer some positive approaches to the whole question of adequate pay for teachers.
104
The year just closed in Carver is one in which we have continued to try to solve problems and develop and strengthen our school system. Steps have been taken to raise the aims of the secondary pupils and efforts have been made toward a permanent solution for the secondary school question as re- lates to Carver. Only time alone can prove or disapprove the value of decisions made to this date, but whatever has been said or done has been so because of the evidence at hand at the time the decision was made. The interest which the principal and teachers take in the success of their school and the concern and care which the school committee takes in making its decisions are all factors which help us to maintain a good school system, one which is progressive in the best sense of the word.
Respectfully submitted, GEORGE R. AUSTIN,
Superintendent of Schools, Union No. 35
105
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE GOVERNOR JOHN CARVER SCHOOL
To the Superintendent of Schools:
I herewith present my report as principal of the Governor John Carver School for the calendar year 1957.
Mention should be made of three activities which took place during the school year which ended in June: the spec- ial class, the School and the Public Health Nursing Program and the graduation.
The special class, under the capable instruction of Mrs. Winifred Nickerson, completed its first year as a part of Carver's educational program. The results were most pleas- ing. The class members made substantial progress in the academic areas of the program and were introduced to crafts and manual arts work. Small classes, specialized in- struction, and a sympathetic environment have produced good educational results. The children involved were experi- encing success in the basic subjects of reading, arithmetic, and English, which would have been denied them had they been enrolled in the regular classes of the school. The pro- gram is varied and challenging; pupil interest is high. A commendatory report from the State Department of Educa- tion followed its inspection of our special class program.
Another new feature of our program, which completed its first year in operation, was that of the Public Nursing Health Program. We at the school feel that this project is working out most favorably. Under the present program Mrs. Mary Korpinen is in attendance for the greater part of the time between 8:30 and 1 o'clock for each school day. The school duties of the nurse are many and varied. During the summer months the Family Data Sheet for each child
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entering the first grade is completed by home visits, and such sheets must be made out for children transferring to the school. A health card is prepared for each child enrolled in the school. With the aid of the school doctor the nurse carries out the state prescribed physical examinations for pupils of grades 1, 4, and 7, and for all children taking part in the school's sport program. The school nurse administers the eye and ear tests, and records weight and height. In co- operation with the State Department of Health, dental clinics are held annually. The nurse is in attendance for children who are ill at school and arranges transportation for those too ill to remain at school. Another duty is the giving out of health information. All children who have been absent from school report to the nurse on returning to school. Under the present arrangement all excuses for absence are submitted to the school nurse. I can report most favorably on the pro- gram at the end of its first year in operation.
The school year closed with an enrollment of 293. The average daily attendance approximated 94% of the enroll- ment. A child who was absent 7 days during the school year exceeded the absence of the average child. 13 children had perfect attendance.
Graduation exercises were held on June 6, 1957. The American Legion Essay Award was won by Kenneth Heleen for his essay "The Symbol of a Nation." The Legion Auxiliary Poster Awards were given to Ronald Pimental and Albert Thomas; the Humane Society Poster Awards were presented to Elizabeth Weston, Rebecca Shaw, Kathleen Halunen and George Young. The evening's program was prepared by the students under the direction of Miss Barbara Trombley and dealt with the story of American music. A list of the gradu- ates follows:
Henry Kent Andrade a Robert Gregory Majura a
Charles Clarence Austin a Peter Francis Mazzilli b
Priscilla Ann Barrows a Harrison Thrasher Nye, Jr. a
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David Henry Deroches a Charles Francis Parker a
Alice Mildred Duverger a David Warren Parker a
Manuel Vieira Fontes d Anna Pesonen a
Joseph Alton Gacia
a Sylvia Pesonen a
Douglas Roy Gould Robert Gideon Hacking
a Robert Francis Peterson d
b Patricia Ann Pimental a
a Jacqueline Mary Pina a
a Kuno John Ritval a
Eleanor Lorraine Heikkila a Anne Marie Silva a
Kenneth Eric Heleen a Lottie Sharon Smith a
Joan Nancy Kallio a Susan Elizabeth Summers a
Edwin Christian Lopes a Ronald Arthur Thomas c
Elaine Marie Thompson a
a-Silver Lake Regional High School b-New Bedford Vocational High School c-Bristol County Agricultural School d-Out of School
The school year 1957-58 opened in September with an en- rollment of 288 and since that time reached 307, and at the close of December had leveled off to 297. This gives us an average of 37 pupils per grade, but our lower grades are exceeding that number. One change in the teaching staff was made necessary by the resignation of Mrs. Clare Neal. We were very fortunate to be able to fill the position with a teacher of eleven years of experience with grade one by the appointment of Mrs. Mabel Eayrs of Middleboro.
Every effort is being made to increase the efficiency of our teaching, and to add to the value of the work taught at
Elizabeth Ann Halunen
William Jay Harriman
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the school. During the year four teachers availed themselves of the help offered by educational courses given at The State Teachers College in Bridgewater. The introduction of the Study Guide discussed in Mr. Austin's report is of great value to the teachers in planning the school work. The teachers of the three upper grades are experimenting with a series of diagnostic tests in arithmetic and English. Each skill taught is isolated in a test situation-so that failure in a certain area of the test shows that the student has not mastered that particular skill. An analysis of the test indicates zones of strength and of weakness. In this way the child can see what he has mastered and where he is in further need of in- struction and self effort. We have indications that such infor- mation creates an incentive in the child to master where he has failed. These tests are being drawn up by the teacher to cover the course of study offered here in the Governor John Carver School. The tests are not used for marking purposes; rather, they serve as a guide to instruction.
An accounting of the various drives held during the year is in order. The following amounts were collected:
Junior Red Cross
$45.53
March of Dimes
21.10
Poppy Drive
23.38
Magazine Drive
1,173.56
Christmas Seals
10.70
Insurance
260.25
Teachers Scholarship Musical
151.43
With the exception of the magazine drive the funds collected are turned over to the proper authority. 61% of the children enrolled availed themselves of the protection offered by the Insurance program. From the student fund two reproductions of chairs used by Governor John Carver were purchased; these made their local debut in the Carver float in the May- flower II Parade, and they are now housed in the teachers'
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room. The Prang Civil War Pictures given to the town by Mr. and Mrs. Norman Young have been framed and are on display in the school library. On December 31, 1957, there was a balance of $327.39 in the school fund, -money raised largely by the annual magazine drive.
The lunch program offered still continues to be a credit to the school and to the town. Its success is recognized by the fact that Mrs. McLure has been elected to serve on the state-sponsored panels discussing the problems of the school lunch. We have found it unnecessary to increase the cost of the meal which is still twenty cents per day. The finan- cial side of the program is given below:
Receipts
Balance on Hand Jan. 1, 1957
$464.54
Sale of Pupil Lunches
8,111.30
Sale of Teacher Lunches
672.20
Reimbursements from Commonwealth
3,568.58
Other Income
194.47
Expenditures
Food
7,259.70
Wages
5,230.80
Services
318.10
Supplies
183.36
Equipment
0.00
Balance
$19.13
As I stated in my last report we have assets and liabili- ties not listed previously. To clarify the picture they are as follows:
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Dec. 31, 1957
Closing Cash Balance
$19.13
Value of Inventory
613.97
Reimbursement Claims Due
802.87
Total Assets
$1,435.97
Bills Payable
$1,344.27
Balance
$91.70
Within the last two years three college scholarships for Carver students have been established in the Town of Carver. While this may not strictly fit into the province of this report, I believe that the existence of these scholarships should be brought to the attention of the public. All are granted to pupils in degree-conferring institutions. The Teachers' Asso- ciation Scholarship Fund is given by the teachers of the union-two of every three years a Carver pupil is open for the award. The scholarship is limited to those studying for the teaching profession. The second scholarship is offered by the Parent Teachers Association, and the third is donated by the Carver Kiwanis Club. All scholarships are for one hundred dollars.
I will close with an expression of gratitude for the co- operation of all those who take part in the school program. The staff is ever aware of the support given it by you, Mr. Austin, and by the School Committee of the Town of Carver.
Respectfully submitted,
HENRY M. SHAW,
Principal.
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ANNUAL REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF MUSIC EDUCATION
To the Superintendent of Schools:
Our music program is designed to include various types of musical experience including areas of listening, singing and rhythm.
In the singing area, all grades are given opportunity to perform with a group and alone if they so desire. We teach note reading from the board to Grades I and II. At the end of Grade II, we present books, and the children then sing notes from the book. From Grade III to Grade VI, we con- tinue to teach the mechanics of music to make the children more able to sing independently, even though the songs are previously unfamiliar. Grades VII and VIII sing in two and three parts, and we try to make the groups as proficient as possible.
In the listening area, we try to help the children to become familiar with good music. We feel that they cannot dis- criminate between good and poor music unless they are exposed to all types. We also try to correlate art and music by use of musical color and moods.
In the rhythmic area, we have done much work with dancing. We began with folk dances to insure the ability of the children to follow directions. They are also taught to coordinate strong and weak beats of the rhythms used. We then taught the children to waltz correctly. They also learned proper ballroom courtesy. We found that the children learned these rhythmic activities very well and with much enjoyment.
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This year we have placed added emphasis on a special singing group from Grade III to VIII. We have selected students who sing well, have interest and ability. We are endeavoring to train this group for performance. They are also taught correct stage deportment. They are beginning to become aware of the marriage of music and lyrics in song.
We believe that the most important function of a music program is to give the children a variety of experiences. We feel that in this way, we can help the children to become aware of their musical interests and capabilities.
Respectfully submitted,
BARBARA E. TROMBLEY
Director of Music Education
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SCHOOL CENSUS Age-Grade Distribution, October 1, 1957
Governor John Carver School Elementary:
AGES
5-7
7-14
14-16
16-21
BOYS
GIRLS
BOYS
GIRLS BOYS GIRLS BOYS
GIRLS
TOTALS
Grade 1
22
20
2
4
.
.
48
Grade 2
2
2
13
12
. .
.
.
..
36
Grade 4
17
25
. .
. .
42
Grade 5
23
18
Grade 6
..
18
20
1
0
.
.
8
7
7
3
.
9
Silver Lake Regional High School:
Grade 9
2
4
11
8
25
Grade 10
5
7
6
10
18
Grade 12
8
8
16
Silver Lake Vocational High School:
Grade 9
2
2
0
1
5
Grade 10
.
.
. .
0
2
1
1
4
Grade 11
1
0
1
1
3
Grade 12
..
. .
. .
. .
1
0
1
New Bedford Vocational
High School:
4
0
7
0
11
Bristol County
Agri. School
1
0
2
0
3
Wareham
High School:
1
0
. .
1
Sacred Heart
Parochial:
1
1
0
1
.
18
Grand Total
407
Total number of children, age 7-16, resident in the town
Pre-School
46
Out of School
. .
.
.
·
4
1
38
30
73
Other Schools
·
·
.
1
0
9
5
15
Military Service
.
.
.
. .
4
0
4
. .
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