USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1956 > Part 12
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Industrial Arts
Our shop program is manned by a very efficient, interested, and intelligent staff of instructors. At present no attempt is made to develop specialists. Our objectives in industrial art instruction are much broad- er than those of vocational training. We hope the outcome for the pupils will be of significant personal-social adjustment. Our pupils work in the various shops and gain general experience and manual dexterity in working with all kinds of material. There will be a lively demand for those pupils trained in our shop in the ever increasing industrial plants featuring light industry now locating in the immediate borders of our town. If we are to take full advantage of our five fine shops, we should increase our shop teaching staff from three full-time instructors to five.
Home Economics
Home Economics courses have for their general aim the improve- ment of home life by developing among pupils desirable appreciations
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and understandings of the significance of family life. Certain knowl- edges and skills are likewise useful in this respect. The attainment of this objective eliminates one of the chief causes of personal and social maladjustment. Instruction in home economics thus assists directly in one of the most significant yet difficult aspects of guidance. The informality of the laboratory work and the necessity for cooperative effort in the performance of many of the tasks provide valuable experience in social living. Special interests may, and often do, grow out of home economics activities. In a study of foods, a girl may develop an interest in the work of the dietitian or researcher in food chemistry. The work in a unit on dressmaking may lead to an interest in the vocation of costume designing. It is hoped that various aspects of the course in home economics will arouse a genuine and intelligent interest in one of the greatest of all vocations for women - house- keeping. It is in this direction that our relatively new home economics program is developing.
Athletics
Athletics take a prominent part in the Reading High School life and townspeople maintain a keen interest in the success of the school athletic teams. Within the past year there has been a reorganization in the duties of the teacher personnel connected with intra-mural and interscholastic athletics. This has made for better direction and more efficiency. Care is used by the administration to so organize all our extracurricular activities that the "tail does not wag the dog", or, in other words, extracurricular activities are not allowed to take more than their proper share of the pupil's time to the detriment of his scholastic effort. Our teams have been well coached and have the healthy respect of our opponents. They have won their share of games. Physical fitness, health, and sportsmanship is stressed.
Art
The classes in the Reading High School have gone beyond the limited usefulness of skill training and the class work is not restricted. to drawing and painting. Instead, the teacher has the pupils use the opportunity during art classes for student self-expression and avenues are opened to develop observation and imagination. There are three directions in which our Art program is expanded. They are in the matter of (1) enjoyment and appreciation, (2) knowledge and informa- tion, and (3) creation and expression. An effort is made to develop a sensible balance between these three concepts of art education. The pupils work in all sorts of materials. The art work is not restricted to the classroom but flows over into the entire world of the pupil. "Enjoyment of beauty wherever found" is the basic philosophy. This includes Art of the past, present, and future; practical or fine, secular or religious.
The Art department, rather than following the formal class ap- proach, is conceived along the lines of the "work shop." It is to be hoped that in the near future more pupils may be encouraged to partici- pate in this worthwhile learning process, not only for diploma credit but for sheer enjoyment of self-expression.
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Yearbook
For the third year in succession the Reading High School yearbook, PIONEER, has won a first-place award in the yearbook contest conducted annually by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. The PIONEER, an all-school publication, competes with books entered from all over the country by schools with an enrollment of 901-1500 pupils.
Publication of the yearbook involves the efforts of more than 100 pupils, and gives the members of its many staffs experience and train- ing in writing, editing, proof-reading, business management, adver- tising, lay-out, art, photography, and manuscript typing, as well as an opportunity to work cooperatively on an extensive project.
Rocket Hi-Lites
The school paper is another expression of pupil effort and interest. This six-page paper, printed in regular newspaper style, provides an- other 60 pupils with an opportunity to participate in a worthwhile learning experience. The paper is well conceived, well written, edited, and printed. Each publication is anticipated with pleasure by pupils and parents.
The Foreign Affairs Club
A new organization formed this year is the result of the interest of our pupils in the present confused international situation. Interest of the pupils in foreign affairs is encouraged and engendered by many of our teachers, especially those teaching history. We are looking forward to interesting sessions of this club which meets weekly.
The holding power of the Reading High School seems to be very good. We feel this is due to the fact that we try to individualize the school work as much as possible and also because the Guidance De- partment and the entire staff make an effort to help pupils over the rough spots in their school life. Most of the drop-outs occur in the latter part of the sophomore and the junior years. This is perhaps due to the fact that those pupils who will not make the effort to do the school work reach the age of 16 and may legally drop out of school, or they are old enough to get a job. Many of the boys who drop out of the junior and senior classes join some service in the armed forces. Most of the pupils reaching the senior year remain through to grad- uation. Last year out of 212, only five dropped out. Our all-over drop- out, 9th through the 12th year, is less than 5%. 72% to 12% is not considered excessive.
The distribution of last year's graduates (1956) is as follows:
26.5% went to degree-granting colleges.
7.0% went to junior college.
6.0% went into nursing.
13.0% went on to prep school and will probably go to college next year. With more attention to school work, most of these could have qualified for college in September 1956.
8.0% went into the armed services.
1.0% went into apprenticeship training.
Of the 45 who went directly to work, many will do very well in business and some will take higher education in evening schools.
Respectfully submitted,
RUDOLF SUSSMANN, Headmaster
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REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE WALTER S. PARKER JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
I. Enrollment - December 3, 1956:
Special Class
11
Grade 6
122
Grade 7
246
Grade 8
284
663
Grade 8 Electives:
Business Training
60
French
35
Home Economics
50
Latin
81
Shop
49
Study
9
284
II. Service Groups and Club Activities:
1. Student Council
11. Handy Anns
2. Traffic Leaders
12. Camera
3. Engineers 13. Dramatics
4. Orchestra
14. Shop Aids
5. Boys' Chorus
15. Clerks
6. Glee Club
16. Band
7. Librarians
17. Conversational French
8. Art
18. Teen Age Book Club
9. Junior Red Cross
19. Square Dancing
10. Baker and Hostess
20. Current Events
21. Remedial Mathematics
III. Instruction:
A. The following standardized tests have been used during the year:
1. Otis Quick Scoring - for rechecking I.Q's.
2. California Short Form - Grade 6.
3. Standard Achievement - Grades 6 and 8.
4. Differential Aptitude Test - Grade 8.
5. Cooperative Tests in General Science - Grades 7 and 8. 6. Curriculum Tests in Mathematics - Grades 7 and 8.
The Mooney Problem Check List was administered to Grade 7. B. The four Sixth Grade groups again were taught on a depart- mentalized basis. With the addition of an extra group this year, Sixth Grade pupils were organized on a homogenous basis. Their teachers have felt that this has made it possible to work more effectively than
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with heterogeneous grouping and that all pupils will benefit accord- ingly.
C. During the past year we have had practice teachers with us from Simmons College, Salem State Teachers College, Boston University and Emmanuel College. I believe that working with these practice teachers should result in benefit to those members of our staff with whom they are associated, as well as to the practice teachers themselves.
D. We continue our early closing Thursdays for meetings of teach- ers with Grade or Department chairmen. Our teachers are unanimous in feeling that the results of these meetings are significant enough to justify the time used.
IV. Miscellaneous:
A. Four meetings of the Parent-Teachers Association were held during the year. The first meeting in the fall is an informal tea and. open house at which parents have the opportunity of becoming ac- quainted with all teachers. The three other meetings take place in the evening.
B. Our enrollment this fall reached an all-time high, and all avail- able space is being utilized. The school library is now used for regular class work. Overcrowding in Grade 6 was eased by the transfer of 16 Sixth Grade pupils to the three Highland School groups now being housed in the Senior High School. The opening of the new elementary school, when completed, will relieve the situation until the fall of 1959 when it is anticipated that there will be more than 700 pupils in Grades 7 and 8.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT FOR 1956
Submitted by Ara A. Karakashian
During 1956 the Guidance Department continued its work of past years, initiated some new projects and curtailed others. Curtailments were necessitated by lack of guidance personnel to do the required work effectively or by restrictions of time and space.
Among the new projects begun in the Spring of 1956 was a Pre- school Registration Program for prospective first-graders. The principal aim of this program was the establishment of ground-work for better understanding and cooperation between the school, the child and the home. A handbook containing information relative to school rules and regulations, policies and practices, as well as hints to parents on how they might best prepare their children for school and help them after they had entered school, was prepared by supervising principals and guidance personnel. This booklet, together with forms necessary for registration, was distributed to parents who brought their children to the pre-school registration programs at the Eaton, Highland and Pearl Street Schools. The main features of these programs were in- dividual interviews conducted by first grade teachers, the Supervisor of Health, Mrs. Clewley, the School Nurse, Mrs. Bell, and the Guidance Director. This situation provided school personnel an opportunity to observe parent-child dynamics and to obtain background information vital to proper placement and guidance of pupils entering our schools
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for the first time. Staff meetings were held before and after the pre- registration programs to insure, as far as possible, that data would be obtained and recorded in a uniform and meaningful manner and to consider ways and means of improving the program in the future.
A second project of time-consuming proportion was the compiling and analysis of statistical data for the purpose of developing our own norms for some of the standardized achievement tests being used in our over-all testing program. Local percentile rank norms were de- veloped for grade-level scores achieved by all first-graders on the Gates Primary Reading Tests and for grade-level scores achieved by all 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th graders on the several parts of the Stanford Achievement Test Battery. Norms were developed for each grade in each school separately and for each grade for all schools combined. Resulting tabulations and inferences to be drawn therefrom have been discussed in staff meetings with administrators and teachers with an eye toward eventual curriculum modifications and classroom organi- zation.
Townspeople should be reassured that test results showed that Reading Public Schools are doing a good job of educating the children of Reading. The "average" Reading pupil appears to be from 5 to 6 months advanced over his counterpart in the national norm groups. This holds true at all grade levels involved in the analysis and in almost every subject matter area. In addition, from 10% to 20% of pupils in each grade examined was two or more years advanced on the national norms for almost all subject matter areas. On the other side of the coin, however, certain undesirable conditions were made evident by the analysis. Consistently over-large spreads in achieve- ment were found in the language usage and spelling areas. Towards the end of the fourth grade the percentage of pupils who are two or more years retarded in key subject matter areas becomes large enough and tends to increase sufficiently in succeeding years to suggest the advisability of reorganizing classes somewhat differently than we are now doing. Partial homogenous grouping at the higher and lower extremes in our elementary school classes from grade 4 may be a possible solution. Organization of a summer school for remedial or re-educational instruction of low achievers from grades 3 through 5 may be another solution. These and other possible solutions are being studied and evaluated critically in staff meetings.
It is expected that effective guidance at the elementary levels will be greatly enhanced by the addition of an elementary adjustment counselor to the staff in September of 1957. The school adjustment counselor will work exclusively with children in grades 1 through 8 who need special help in making satisfactory adjustments to their various environments. A good deal of his work will involve close liaison between the child, the school, and the home. By state law, the person employed in this position must be approved by the Commissioner of Education and the Director of the Division of Youth Service for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Town will be reimbursed $4,500.00 by the State for the employment of a school adjustment coun- selor.
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In addition to the usual programs of vocational and education information which have been conducted in the past, the group guidance program at the High School level has been expanded somewhat more this year. The reorganization of the school day with a longer activity period has enabled us to schedule a series of guidance films stressing the development of efficient study habits, note-taking techniques and personality development. These films are alternated with home-room projects utilizing such instruments as the Mooney Problem Check List, Wrenn Study Habits Inventory and the Kuder Preference Record. Early in 1957 work will begin in homerooms in reviewing and bringing up-to-date choice of study work sheets begun in the 8th grade and aimed at helping pupils select suitable four-year programs of study at the high school level. It is hoped that this work will help eliminate much of the indecision and confusion that occurs in the Spring of each year when undergraduates must select a course of study for the next year. It is further hoped that this program will eliminate the flood of requests for course changes in the Fall of each year and will aid and expedite the permanent organization and scheduling of classes.
Some preliminary work was begun in 1956 in following up Reading High School graduates. Double postcard size questionnaires were print- ed and were used with alumni groups at reunions to see if they would yield the type of information we are seeking or should be seeking. Limitations of time and clerical help have mitigated against any sys- tematic follow-up studies to date, however. It is hoped that some con- structive work may be accomplished in this area during the summer of 1957.
Gradual improvement has been made in part time and full time placement practices and record keeping but much work still has to be done in this area.
Lack of guidance personnel continues to limit the amount of in- dividual counseling at all levels. The needs of college bound seniors are quite well taken care of by Mr. Baker and all freshmen and senior girls are scheduled for regular interviews with Miss Nichols. Although attempts are made to have personal interviews with other pupils, cases referred by administrators, teachers or parents, and appointments made voluntarily by pupils constitute the bulk of the counseling load. There has been an increase in the number of cases requiring several interviews and, in many instances, referral to specialized public and private agencies.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT
J. Douglas Oliver, Director of Music Marie Hagman, Supervisor of Music Wilma Recklitis, Junior High Music Frank Durant, High School Music Basic Philosophy
The philosophy guiding the activities of the Music Department is the desire to offer as many students as possible the greatest possible amount of music appreciation. Future professional careers in the field
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of music are neither emphasized nor encouraged in that possibilities for livelihood in music are very limited. Therefore, the program is designed to offer the average student an understanding and apprecia- tion of music which will furnish him a means of enjoying leisure hours in adulthood. Thus, all activities, whether they be those of singing scales, or singing popular songs, or instrumental lessons, - all these have the same goal: a greater appreciation of music.
The program is generally divided into two sections: the vocal and the instrumental. The vocal, or general, music class begins in grade one and continues through grade eight. The program sets forth a definite course of study including rhythmic activities, rhythm games, dances, part singing, note reading, and listening to great music. At the end of the eighth year, the student should be able to read simple vocal music, harmonize in part music, and be familiar with some of the great composers and their works.
The instrumental phase is geared to the exceptional rather than the average student, and begins in grade three and continues through High School. Exceptional students are encouraged to engage in the study of a musical instrument which means private study and practice at home. Class lessons are offered to all students for one year, after which the students are encouraged to change to private study. Private lessons are offered in the schools on woodwinds by Mrs. Toll, on brasses by Mr. Reed, and on strings by Mr. Doyle. These lessons form the background of all our instrumental groups, and without these, our instrumental program would probably be non-existent.
Musical Organizations and Activities
The following is a list of the musical organizations and the musical activities of these groups in the various Reading schools under the guidance of the Music Department with the assistance and cooperation of the administrations and faculties of these same schools:
High School
Band. Membership between 30 and 40. The band appeared at eight football games, played for the arrival of Santa Claus, also for school assemblies, for the Memorial Day parade; they appeared at the Northeastern Music Festival and at High School graduation, also in the Spring Concert given in May.
Chorus. Membership between 30 and 65. Appeared at the Christ- mas Assembly and also the Spring Concert.
Music Appreciation Class. Membership about 15. No public ap- pearances.
Sixth Grade General Music Classes consisting of all sixth graders. No public performances.
Seventh Grade General Music Classes consisting of all seventh graders. Over 100 students, all volunteers, appeared at the Spring Vocal Concert. About 50 volunteers appeared at the Music Appreciation Course given last year to the Reading teachers. About 165 were ob- served by Professor Kelley, of Boston University, and his entire class of 50 student teachers as "one of the few schools in this area (Eastern Massachusetts) presenting general music classes of quality" .*
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Eighth Grade General Music Classes consisting of all eighth grades. No public performances.
Girls' Glee Club, consisting of 50 girls, appeared at special school assemblies and were observed by the Boston University Group referred to above. Also appeared at Spring Vocal Concert. This group appeared at Music Appreciation Course.
Boys' Chorus, consisting of 42 boys, sang at special school as- semblies and were observed by the Boston University group. They also appeared at the Music Appreciation Course and at the Spring Concert.
Orchestra, consisting of 35 members, appeared at school assemblies and at the Spring Instrumental Concert.
JHS Band. A new organization last year. Membership about 52. Appeared at school assemblies and at the Spring Concert. Appeared in concerts in each of the three large elementary schools to motivate younger students to greater participation in future years.
Elementary Schools
Lowell Street School. General music presented to all students by classroom teachers, with guidance and cooperation of a music super- visor. No public performances.
Highland School. General music presented to all students as above. A Christmas program and a Spring Concert by grades two and three for the parents. Also a debate on a musical topic and a concert pre- sented by 60 sixth graders for parents.
Joshua Eaton School. General music classes as above. Also a pro- gram presented to the P.T.A. by the entire second grade class and a Christmas program presented by grade three.
Pearl Street School. General music classes as above. Also a Spring Concert presented to the P.T.A. as well as a Christmas program. Also an operetta, "Hansel and Gretel" involving about 50 fourth, fifth and sixth graders.
Three elementary schools had orchestras:
Pearl 20
Highland
40
Eaton 40
These groups each played for their own schools and then combined to present an evening concert for parents and friends.
Problems
The chief problem confronting the Music Department is the high rate of mortality of students in both vocal and instrumental music in the upper grades, especially in the High School. It is the feeling of your Department Head that this is due to two factors:
1. That students, parents, and faculty members, and even admin- istrators, consider music to be the equivalent of an activity instead of the equivalent of any other subject in the curriculum requiring as much preparation and concentration as Latin or Algebra.
2. That musical groups must be scheduled with an eye to the type of competition that might be offered by other groups meeting at the same time. For instance, no student is going to pay $150.00 to purchase an instrument, invest $250.00 in lessons, carry a heavy instrument to
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school, and deprive himself of an hour's television leisure a day while he practices, if he is to be denied the privilege of participating in athletics because he plays a musical instrument. Until the scheduling of musical groups is reevaluated and restudied, the high mortality of musical students will continue. Another problem is that of the new grade school teacher who must be trained in the methods and materials of music. Any means whatever which could maintain experienced teachers in the elementary schools would certainly benefit the student.
Goals
1. Increase participation in all forms and phases of music.
2. To endeavor to make music such that all students of all twelve grades can find some phase for participation.
3. To continue to improve the quality of our music as well as the manner in which it is presented so that the Town of Reading may be justly proud of all concerned.
J. DOUGLAS OLIVER,
Director of Music
*Professor Kelley
ANNUAL REPORT - SUPERVISOR OF HEALTH
The pattern followed in carrying out the health program in the Reading school system varies yearly with the demands of the day, but remains essentially the same.
All essential health services - testing of vision, hearing and phy- sical appraisal, with the necessary notices and parental conferences - were completed for the school year ending in June 1956.
The organization, administration and physical carrying out of the clinics for the giving of Salk Polio vaccine in the spring of 1956 required many hours of preparation and work from the complete health staff, far more hours than could possibly be justified were the purpose not so great a one. It is the only way we could have reached the large number of children in need of protection from paralytic poliomyelitis. Seven clinics were held during the school year and two in the month of July. The figures for these clinics run thus:
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