USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Town of Newton annual report 1869-1870 > Part 12
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WALCOTT STREET. From Lexington Street, Auburndale, easterly to Rowe Street. Distance - 1-4 mile, 18 rods.
WALES STREET. From Washington Street, Lower Falls, to Needham line at Stone Bridge. Distance - 17 rods.
WALNUT PARK. From Washington Street, Newton Corner, past the residence of John C. Potter, to Waban Park. Distance -72 rods.
WALNUT STREET. From Crafts Street, Newtonville, southerly across Watertown Street, Lowell Street, and Washington Street, past High School-house, across Homer Street, past Newton Cemetery, across Beacon Street, past Oak Hill Railroad Station, to Centre Street, near the residence of Amos Pierce. Distance -2 3-4 miles, 10 rods.
WALTHAM STREET. From Washington Street, West Newton, - near John Mead's store, - past " Davis School-house," and the resi- dence of Mrs. Sarah Fuller, to Waltham line. Distance -1 1-8 mile.
WASHINGTON PARK. From Walnut Street, Newtonville, to Cary Street. Distance - 1-4 mile, 18 rods.
WASHINGTON STREET. From Brighton line, Newton Corner, - near E. A. Smallwood's residence, - through Newton Corner, Newton- ville, West Newton, and Lower Falls, to Needham line, at bridge near " Rice's Mill." Distance - 4 7-8 miles, 16 rods.
WATERTOWN STREET. From Washington Street, West Newton, - near Railroad House, - past the residences of Adolphus Smith, and J. A. Faxon, to Watertown line. Distance - 1 3-4 mile.
WARD STREET. From Brighton Street, East Newton, - at Harbach Corner, - past Ephraim Ward's residence, to Brighton line, near the residence of Daniel Knowles. Distance - 7-8 mile.
WEBSTER STREET. From Waltham Street, West Newton, - opposite " Davis School-house," - past the residences of N. T. Allen, and the late Dr. J. H. Brown. Distance - 1-8 mile, 22 rods.
WINCHESTER STREET. From Nahanton Street, South Newton, - near the residence of David Hall, Jr., - to Boylston Street, near the residence of Mancy Thornton. Distance - 1 1-2 mile, 32 rods.
WINTER STREET. From High Street, Upper Falls, to Chestnut Street, near Loring Wheeler's store. Distance - 22 rods.
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WINTHROP STREET. From Perkins Street, West Newton, westerly. Distance - 49 rods.
WOODLAND AVENUE. From Washington Street, opposite the resi- dence of T. C. Severance, past the Female Seminary and over Railroad, to Auburn Street, opposite the residence of Benj. Bourne, Auburndale. Distance - 3-4 mile.
WOODWARD STREET. From Boylston Street, - near Moses Crafts' blacksmith's shop, - past the residence of Samuel N. Woodward, to Beacon Street, near the residence of E. J. Collins. Distance - 1 mile, 28 rods.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
FOR THE
GOVERNMENT OF TOWN MEETINGS.
Approved by the Court, December 29, 1857.
1st. No final vote shall be reconsidered, unless the person moving the same shall have made a declaration of his intention to do so at the time of its adoption, and shall have been one of the majority acting thereon ; and no article in any warrant shall be again taken into consideration, after it has been disposed of, unless ordered by a vote of two thirds of the voters present.
2d. No person shall speak more than twice upon any ques- tion, without first obtaining leave of the meeting, except for the correction of an error, or to make an explanation ; and not until others, who have not spoken upon the question, shall speak, if they desire it.
3d. All motions submitted for consideration of the Town, shall be in writing, if so required by the presiding officer, or by the meeting.
4th. Every person speaking shall address the chair, standing and uncovered.
5th. No vote fixing the period for closing a ballot shall be re- considered after such ballot shall have commenced ; but it may be in order to extend the period without such reconsideration.
6th. Committees shall be nominated by the presiding officer of the meeting, unless otherwise ordered by a vote of two thirds of the voters present ; and in nominations at large, no person shall nominate more than one member of such committee.
7th. All motions to lay on the table, to take from the table, to take any article from its regular order, or to change the order of business, shall be decided without debate.
8tl1. The duties of the presiding officer shall be determined by the code of Rules governing the presiding officer of the House of Representatives of this Commonwealth, so far as they are adapted to the conditions and powers of the Town.
BY-LAWS.
Approved by the Court, Dec. 29, 1857.
COLLECTION OF TAXES.
ART. 1. The assessment of all taxes shall be completed and a list of the same delivered to the Collector on or before the first day of July of each year.
ART. 2. The appointed time for collecting poll-taxes of persons having no other tax, shall be from the 20th to the 31st of July, and all other taxes from the 10th to the 20th of November of each year.
ART. 3. It shall be the duty of the Collector, during each of said periods, to appoint at least eight different times and places in different parts of the town, when and where he will meet the inhabitants and . receive their taxes ; and he shall, immediately after receiving the tax- list from the assessors, make out the tax-bills, and send the same to each of said inhabitants and each non-resident, as he can find, with a notice thereon of said times and places, and the penalties of non- payment of said taxes ; and the Town shall furnish printed blanks for the use of said Collector.
ART. 4. At the expiration of the time appointed for said payment of taxes, the Collector shall issue a summons to all delinquents; and if any taxes remain unpaid more than ten days after the service of said summons, the Collector shall immediately proceed to collect the same, with legal fees therefor.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.
No action shall be had at any Town Meeting on the report of any Committee previously chosen, unless the same shall be specially noti- fied in the warrant for calling said meeting.
PASTURING OF CATTLE OR OTHER ANIMALS IN STREETS AND WAYS.
No person shall pasture cattle or other animals in or upon any of the streets or ways in the Town of Newton, either with or without a keeper, under the penalty of five dollars for each and every such offence ; and it shall be the duty of the Selectmen to prosecute every violation of this By-Law ; and all fines or penalties collected for such offences, shall be paid to the Treasurer for the use of the Town.
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BY-LAWS OF THE TOWN OF NEWTON
CONCERNING
Truant Children and Absentees from School.
Adopted March 2, 1863.
SECT. 1. The Town of Newton hereby adopts the provisions of the forty-second chapter of the General Statutes of this Commonwealth, so far as applicable to Truant Children and Absentees from school, and all the provisions of the two hundred and seventh Chapter of the Acts of 1862, and the several Acts in addition thereto, or in amend- ment thereof.
SECT. 2. Any person convicted of any offence described in said Acts, or either of them, shall be punished by fine not exceeding twenty dollars, or by confinement in any institution of instruction, house of reformation, or suitable situation, which shall be provided for the purpose, for a term not exceeding one year.
SECT. 3. The Selectmen of the Town shall provide a suitable lock- up, or institution of instruction, or house of reformation, or some other suitable place in the Poor-house belonging to the Town. or some other place in the Town aforesaid, or in the County of Middle- sex, which shall be assigned and used for the confinement of persons convicted and sentenced to confinement under said Acts.
SECT. 4. Three Truant Officers shall be annually chosen in the Town of Newton, at its Annual Meeting in March, to serve one year, whose duty it shall be to make complaints of all persons who have violated any provisions of the Acts aforesaid, or either of them.
SECT. 5. The Selectmen of the Town shall fix the amount of com- pensation of said Truant Officers, for their services, as they shall think just, and the sum shall be paid from the Treasury of the Town.
SECT. 6. It shall be the duty of the School-Committee, and of the Teachers of the Public Schools in said Town, to report the name of every person or persons violating any or either of said Acts, to the Truant Officers of the Town, that they may be complained of there- for.
To the foregoing By-Laws, the following was appended; viz., -
SUPERIOR COURT, SUFFOLK, SS. January Term, 1863. I approve the By-Laws of the Town of Newton, relative to Truant Children and Absentees from School, hereto annexed.
MARCH 2d, 1863.
THOMAS RUSSELL,
Justice of Superior Court.
BY-LAWS OF NEWTON.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
MIDDLESEX, SS.
At the Superior Court, begun and holden at Cambridge, within and for said County, on the second Monday of December, being the thir- teenth day of said month, Anno Domini, 1869,
The following By-laws adopted by the inhabitants of the town of Newton, in said County, at a legal town meeting, held on the second day of November, A. D., 1869, were presented to.the Court by Mar- shall S. Rice, Esq., Clerk of said town, and being seen and examined by the Court, and found conformable to the Statutes of this Common- wealth, are, on this twenty-seventh day of December, A. D., 1869, approved by the Court, to wit : -
SECTION 1. - No person shall play at ball or throw balls or stones, or snow-balls, within any of the streets or public places in said town of Newton.
SEC. 2. - No owner, or person having for the time the care and use of any horse, shall ride, drive, or permit the same to go at a faster rate than eight miles an hour, in any street, way, or public place in said town.
SEC. 3. - No person shall drive, wheel, or draw any coach, cart, handcart, handbarrow, or other carriage of burden or pleasure (except children's hand-carriages drawn by hand), or drive, or permit any horse, neat cattle, swine, or sheep under his care, to go or stand upon any sidewalk in the town.
SEC. 4. - Three or more persons shall not stand in a group, or near to each other, on any sidewalk, in such a manner as to obstruct a free passage for foot passengers, for a longer time than twenty minutes at any time, nor more than five minutes after a request to move on, made by any Police Officer or Constable.
SEC. 5. - No person shall fire or discharge any gun, fowling-piece, or firearm, or make any bonfire or other fire in any street or public place in said town.
SEC. 6. - Any person violating any of the provisions of these By- laws shall be liable to a penalty of not less than two, nor more than twenty dollars for each offence.
After the above By-laws had been read to the meeting, they
Voted, that we adopt said By-laws as By-laws of Newton.
Voted, that the Selectmen present said By-laws to the Superior Court for approval.
A true copy,
Attest :
MARSHALL S. RICE, Town Clerk of Newton.
In testimony that the foregoing is a true copy of record, I hereto set my hand and affix the seal of said Court, this eighteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Attest : JOHN JAMES SAWYER,
Assistant Clerk.
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THIRTIETH
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
BOARD OF SCHOOL-COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF NEWTON.
FOR THE YEAR 1869-70.
BERTY AND UNION.
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FOUND
BOSTON : SAMUEL CHISM, -FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, No. 134 WASHINGTON STREET, 1870.
SCHOOL-COMMITTEE FOR 1869-70.
JOHN B. GOODRICH, CHAIRMAN. ROBERT R. BISHOP, SECRETARY.
GEORGE E. ALLEN. CALVIN CUTLER.
NOAH S. KING. HORATIO F. ALLEN.
JOHN A. GOULD. ISAAC HAGAR. J. TUCKER, JR.
SUB-COMMITTEES.
- High School - GOODRICH, G. E. AL LEN, CUTLER, BISHOP. Grammar Schools - G. E. ALLEN, HAGAR, KING. Intermediate Schools - H. F. ALLEN, GOULD, CUTLER. Primary Schools - TUCKER, BISHOP, GOODRICH. Music - GOODRICH, GEO. E. ALLEN, H. F. ALLEN.
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TEACHERS.
HIGH SCHOOL.
PRINCIPAL. . FRANCIS A. WATERHOUSE. ASSISTANTS. A. AMY BRECK, MARGARET KYLE, CARRIE SPEAR.
No. I. CENTRE.
GRAMMAR. DAVID S. FARNHAM.
INTERMEDIATE EMMA W. YOUNG, Asst.
. FANNIE A. SHAPLEIGH.
SUB-INTERMEDIATE .S. J. NICHELS. PRIMARY ISABEL C. PATTEN.
SUB-PRIMARY ETTA M. WHITE.
No. 2, UPPER FALLS.
GRAMMAR. 66
. LEVI C. WADE.
E. FARNUM, Asst. INTERMEDIATE. CLARA M. HOVEY.
SUB-INTERMEDIATE .. M L. PERKINS. PRIMARY. H. L. MACREADING.
SUB-PRIMARY
SIBYLANNA CLARK.
No. 3. LOWER FALLS.
GRAMMAR LUTHER E. LELAND.
MARTHA C. HAGAR, Asst.
INTERMEDIATE. . ELLEN M. GIFFORD.
PRIMARY.
A. HENRIETTA CAMPBELL.
No. 4. AUBURNDALE.
GRAMMAR. CHARLES A. CHASE.
. ADELAIDE B. POOR, Asst.
INTERMEDIATE MARY C. SANFORD.
PRIMARY
ISABEL TREADWELL.
No. 5. WEST NEWTON.
GRAMMAR . LEVI F. WARREN.
LYDIA C. DODGE, Asst. INTERMEDIATE. . E. E. SIMMONS.
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.. LUCY G. COE. ELLA G. BATES.
PRIMARY HATTIE L. BUTLER.
. KATE D. MAY. 66
SUB-PRIMARY SARAH E. FOSTER.
No. 6. NEWTONVILLE.
GRAMMAR JOHN S. HAYES.
. CLARA A. ARMES. INTERMEDIATE.
M. ANNIE PRESCOTT.
SECOND INTERMEDIATE
SOUTH PRIMARY JULIA W. BUTTERFIELD.
. JULIA A. GOODWIN.
SUB-PRIMARY LYDIA B. BIRD.
NORTH PRIMARY. . M. A. WILLARD. 66 SUB-PRIMARY ELLA M. ARMES.
No. 7. NEWTON CORNER.
GRAMMAR JAMES H. Foss. 66 HATTIE GOODRICH, MARTHA A VERRY, HATTIE F. COLE, Assist's.
INTERMEDIATE SUSANNA M. DUNCKLEE.
MARGARET BAMFORD. MARTHA C. HARRISS.
PRIMARY FANNIE A. VALENTINE.
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A. A. LEONARD.
. ANNIE C. GRANT.
PRISCILLA P. EDES. SUB-PRIMARY.
No. 8. OAK HILL.
GRAMMAR
HENRY F. HOWARD. PRIMARY.
. SARAH E. KING.
CHARLES E. WHITING.
VOCAL MUSIC
REPORT.
TO THE CITIZENS OF NEWTON : -
THE School Committee of Newton have attended to their duties for the past year, and herewith submit their report.
The general condition of the schools has been prosper- ous, the degree of progress good, the animation of the teachers, the spirit and attention of the pupils, and the co-operation of parents, marked and deserving of praise. The reports of the sub-committees upon the various grades state in detail the condition and progress of the schools.
Within the year, the last of the series of costly build- ings erected by the town for school purposes, the house at the Upper Falls, has been finished and occupied ; and the largest of the series, the house at Newton Centre, has been consumed by fire. For the past few years the town has been lavish in many expenditures on behalf of the schools. A series of buildings has been erected through- out the town, which, at least for size, are hardly equalled elsewhere ; the appliances and means of education have been multiplied ; and in the direction of these efforts, no pains have been spared on behalf of our youth.
The subject of the best mode of educating the young must always occupy the best thoughts of an intelligent
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community. We are never content with such an educa- tion for our children as we ourselves have received, and we spare no pains to give the best facilities for improve- ment to those whom we love most, and who we wish should shun the errors into which we have fallen. Our very anxiety to provide the best things for them may tend to an injudicious accumulation of the means of knowledge ; or parents, where every means are provided, may be- come less careful of the mental growth of their children, and cease personal effort and personal watchfulness in proportion as good teachers, and fine school-houses, and improved books are multiplied. As improvements in these auxiliaries of education are constantly introduced, it may be well to remember that they can never take the place of a proper school system, and of constant fidelity on the part of the parent and teacher in the matter of the child's mental growth.
The school system of Newton, as it now stands, is the result of that change in the Massachusetts school policy by which graded were substituted for district schools. If it has its excellencies, - and if its excellencies preponder- ate over its defects, as an earnest examination will show that they do, -this. renders its defects less likely to be observed, and ought to make us more careful to guard against them. In our large cities the schools are graded with much greater exactness than they are or can be with us. The effort is to unify. To a large extent, the exces- sive gradation compels the scholars to assume a mental uniform. The exclusive attention of scholars of the same grade is directed to an exact line of study, and the result is great proficiency. The old district schools, on the con- trary, were, as nearly as well could be, the opposites of
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this. In them all classes of minds, all grades of profi- ciency, and quite diverse courses of study came together. Schools like ours in this town seek to reject the injurious tendencies of the former, and the loose methods of the lat- ter, system, and to combine the excellencies of both. We grade our schools that those pursuing the same studies may receive common instruction, the stimulus of co- operation, and the best facilities ; but we do not intend to carry it to such a point that the method of education shall become like a mechanical process, and our children, like coin at the mint, the subjects of an unvarying impress. We propose the development of the mind by a course of regular, systematic, thorough study. Still, it is the development of the mind which we seek.
However correct our theory may be, it cannot produce the best results, unless the teacher in his place, and the parent in his, perform their parts and fulfil their duties in the best manner. How much is comprehended in what a teacher may be and do, - in what he may do; in the spirit and way in which he may perform his duties ; in the spirit he maintains in the school-room; in his insisting that a scholar shall understand the subject, as well as the formula of the book ; in his pressing the child hard enough to draw out all his faculties, and yet not so hard as to impair his health, his youthfulness, or his vigor ; not so hard as to secure present attainments at the expense of future prom- ise, and yet hard enough to secure in time the best prom- ises of the future, -in what he may be; if he has re- sisted the natural temptation to grow careless and monto- onous in his work : if his mind is on the alert for new points suggested by the scholars, and he is ready to elucidate them, and bring them out clearly and sharply, well knowing
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that to solve a point suggested by the scholar is worth much more to him than presenting a point himself; if he is not content with present attainments, but seeks to do better and more every week and day; if his bearing and manner shall command respect, and his justice be such that the strong sense of justice in children shall recognize its impartiality. If these qualities combine, we have the model teacher.
And how much more, even, than what a teacher alone can do, can a parent do, if he realizes it, to enforce the lessons of the day. An illustration of the lesson, drawn from every-day life, an example drawn from outside of the book ; familiar conversation upon the rea- son of the thing learned at school, which the scholar did not quite understand, or the teacher, pressed by other cares, could not explain fully, or, if explained and understood, has since gone out of the pupil's mind, or which he was too timid to state his difficulties about to his teacher as freely as to his parent, - work like this will tell in the future of a child ; and the spirit and animation which a true parent can infuse into a child is unlike any other in- fluence, and better than any other influence, which can come over him, and better and beyond all instruction.
The course of study in the Newton schools, including the preparation for, and course in the High School, is not the best which could be chosen, if the intention were alone to prepare for one or another of several positions in life, or courses of after-study. Accordingly, we hear complaints that too great knowledge of the English branches is required in order to enter the High School, on the part of some, who wish their children to fit rapidly for college ; and com- plaints that so much attention is given to the languages at
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the High School, on the part of others, who desire their children to obtain an education which shall fit them for business ; and in the lower grades, the course of study might also be changed, if special ends were in view. But the common schools are for the education of those who will enter all the avocations of life, and the proper course of study in them is one which advances each class of scholars as much as is possible consistently with retarding the others as little as possible. Such a course we be- lieve that adopted in our town to be. And so far as the High School is concerned, until the class of scholars desir- ing to enter college shall greatly increase, it is not practi- cable to separate them, as may well be done in Bos- ton, from those pursuing other studies of an advanced nature.
It appears by the report of the Secretary of the Board of Education, that for the school year 1868-69 the town stood the seventh in the State, instead of the fourth, as the previous year, in respect of the amount appropriated for school purposes for each child between five and fifteen years of age, - the amount being $19 19 for each child. In the same year, the town appropriated .00449 of the valua- tion for school purposes, and in this respect stood the twenty-seventh in the State.
Statistics relative to the schools for the present year will be found at the end of this report.
A series of teachers' meetings for the discussion of top- ics of joint interest, and the interchange of views, has been established within the year, and by the good attendance and spirit manifested, excellent results are hoped. The villages are wide apart, and the two lines of railroad keep one side too distinct from the other. All that can be
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done to bring the teachers together, and to inspire a com- mon purpose, promotes the cause in which they labor.
There is one duty on the part of teachers upon which the Committee must insist : that the school registers shall be properly kept, and at the end of the term properly com- pleted, and promptly returned to the local committee. It can hardly be needful to repeat here for the benefit of teachers the statutes of the Commonwealth in this behalf, printed upon the first page of the register, or the direc- tions for use carefully given therein,- and yet it is impossi- ble to make a correct statistical table from the registers for the past year, even after a careful revision ; and in many instances, both in keeping the register in term time, and more especially in making the summary at the close of the year, the requirements have been in no sense complied with.
The Building Committee, consisting of the Board of Selectmen and two members of the School Board, having in charge the erection of a new house at Newton Centre to take the place of the one destroyed by fire, have adop- ted plans, and the building is under contract. The con- tract provides for the completion of the building, ready for occupancy, by the first day of September next; it is with a builder of established reputation, and the Town may reasonably expect that the schools will commence the fall term of the present year in the new building.
The matter of school accommodations at the North Vil- lage was referred at the last town meeting to the School Committee, and having investigated the subject, this Board report that one hundred and fifteen pupils are registered in that place. The numbers have increased, and are in- creasing, rapidly, and the present building is inadequate to
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the wants of the neighborhood. We accordingly recom- mend the enlargement of the building, by the addition of two rooms.
The Committee, upon consideration, have changed the school year, so that after the present year it shall begin at the end of the long summer vacation and close at the end of the spring term. The occurrence and length of the va- cations will be established hereafter, a sub-committee hav- ing the matter in charge. Accordingly the present school year will cover the period of about eighteen months, in- stead of twelve. Except in the case, perhaps, of a few, scholars of an advanced age desiring to enter the High School, no inconvenience will be felt by the extension of the present year, if proper attention is paid to grading and promotion, while the advantages of the change, as to the beginning and end of the school year, are believed to be very great. The course of study has been somewhat re- vised and enlarged.
ROBERT R. BISHOP, Secretary,
For the Committee.
HIGH SCHOOL.
THE close of the first decade of the existence of this school suggests a brief review of its history. It was established with much want of agreement upon its expe- diency, and the Committee of that day speak of it as " an experiment, which they will continue to watch anx- iously yet hopefully, leaving the results to speak for
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themselves." It commenced with seventy-five pupils, all of whom were over fifteen years of age, under the instruc- tion of two teachers, one of whom has ever since con- tinued to add a peculiar value to the privileges of the school. It at once engaged the interest and pride of the community, and through its whole career has justified its reputation as a school furnished with all the means and appliances of the highest English and classical education recognized in our common-school system. During this time the school building, supposed to provide amply for the wants of the far future, has been greatly enlarged. The force of teachers has been doubled, and the pupils now number nearly one hundred and fifty. The course of study has been much amplified, and the facilities now afforded in this institution for a thorough education we be- lieve to be unexcelled by any similar school in the State.
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