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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1953-03-05, Page 3THURSDAY,, MARCH 5, 1953 CLINTON NEWS -RECORD PAGE THREE Bright Classrooms An Invitation To Pu ils ,y. This rear view of one of the classrooms in the new school points out some of the features which supply storage space, and added work- ing space for Clinton's youngsters. A length of blackboard on the side wall supplements the blackboard space at the front of the room. All of the wall space where there isneither blackboards, windows nor cupboards is used for good-sized tackboards, or bulletin boards a's they are more familiarly known. The six cuboards at the left rear are each two feet wide by six feet high. One of them is a teacher's cupboard and wardrobe, while the other five are equipped with shelves and a row of coathooks at convenient height for the children in that room. To the right rear is a project cupboard, and a sink for the use of the children during classroom hours. Each of the eleven classrooms is equipped similarly. STRUCTURAL STEEL For The New Clinton Public School Supplied and Erected by LONDON STEEL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, LIMITED 48 Burslem Street 4-1157 Our Sincere Congzitulutions To the Town of Clinton onthe erection of their -fine new - Public School Bernardo -Hill Tile Co. LIMITED 71 Queen St. S. Kitchener • TERRAZZO FLOORS - • ASPHALT TILE FLOORS • ACOUSTIC TILE CEILINGS • VITRO -GLAZE WALL FINISHES Installed by Bernardo -Hill --- 7111111A i Fine Buildings Deserve Fine Hardware Congratulatiois and Best Wishes to The Citizens of Clinton New Public School Equipped with Schlage Hardware First Name In Cylindrical Locks Made in Canada The distinctive beauty of Schlage locks is matched with an ease of operation and strength of construction that meets the needs of all architecture. Supplied by Wm. Knell & Co. Ltd. Kitchener, Ontario Builders Hardware Specialists From the pupils' point of view the extensive window area, which covers almost the entire side wall, provides plenty of Tight for study at the pupils' desks or from the blackboard. The blackboards through- out the school are installed, and are of black slate. Although there would be some in favour of using the new greensight board as being more rnodern, early plans had been to use some of the blackboards already in use in the old school. Then it was found that the cost of moving them would practically equal the installation of new boards. The entire length of the room under the Targe windows is devoted to continuous shelving, part of which will be closed 'n by six doors at the front of the room. Specifications call for each of the classrooms to be fitted with an electric clock, which hove not as yet been installed. New School Fills A Definite Need (By G. H. Jefferson) In connection with the country- wide observance of Education: Week, it seems but fair that the readers of the Clinton News -Rec- ord should be informed of the problems that have confronted your Public Scnool Board, anis the School Staff and of what is being done in an attempt to solve these. It is not merely a local problem, but is quite general throughout the whole country. For decades, the population of Clinton remained almost static. Admissions to public schools de- pend on the birth rate, as every child is by law, entitled, even com- pelled, to attend some Public, Sep- arate, or Private school up to the age of sixteen, except in a few very exceptional cases. With the increased prosperity of the town in the past few years the birth rate has increased, as more and more young people found employ- ment here, purchased or erected new homes, created markets for the varied businesses of the town. With this growth in population of young adults, came an increase in school enrolment. The Public School with eight classrooms built to accommodate 280 pupils at 35 to a room, became overcrowded. Even with 40 and 45 to a room it could serve less than 300. The annual influx of first -graders for years 30 to 35 in number grew ;.o between 70 to 80 per room. Thinking perhaps this startling increase might be but temporary, rooms were secured in the base- ments of churches to provide for the overflow that had developed. Ontario Street Church, the Presby- terian Church and the Church of England basements were acquired —certainly not ideal for education- al purpose—but the best to be had. However the increase proved not to be of a temporary nature. The churches often require the use of these same basements for the pur- poses for which they themselves had provided them; they are ex- pensive to operate: separate heat- ing systems, separate care -taking; separate supervision, and dupli- cation of supplies run high these days, GEORGE H. JEFFERSON Moreover, the Department of Education cannot for long condone the operation of the school they largely support with money grants under such conditions. Faced with problems of providing suitable quarters, the Board decided the only sensible solution was the er- ection of a new Public. School, a decision in which the electors backed their representatives in a pl ebiscite. The new building, now in the course of erection at the east end of Rattenbury Street is being con- structed for utility. It is not a show place, as some of the mod- ern schools have. been. It has been planned to give the taxpayer as much as possible for the money he is providing in useful and us- able educational equipment, .with- out adding to the burden of tax- ation more than necessary. Frills and fancies have no place in the work being done. With the completion of the new school, Clinton will have a public building to be proud of. It is cost- ing the taxpayer much money. Like .everything else it could have been built for less ten years ago, Our it did ten years ago. School build- CLINTON'S FIRST SCHOOL A historical booklet published in 1940 by St. Paul's Anglican Church, Clinton, was provided us by W. L. Johnson, who at that time was People's Warden of the church. Recorded there among much interesting data about Clinton is .the fact that the first school was of logs, built on the south- east corner of a one acre plot on which St. Paul's Church now stands. The first teacher was Alexander Osbaldestoh. ings and equipment have almost money buys much less today than doubled in the last ten years. Yet, there is an increased de- mand for improvements in the standards of education, and edu- cational services must be improv- ed. The new school should do much to meet that end in Clinton, but it cannot do it alone. Import- ant, too, is the personnel of the teaching staff, and their co-oper- ation with the governing bodies of the School Board, Town Coun- cil, not forgetting the Home and Church nor the Department of Education which in no small way assists in financing, supervising, and planning the Education of our greatest assets: our boys and girls, Large Airy Rooms For "leasant Living Clinton's fine new public school is rapidly nearing completion. Situated at the east end of maple -lined Rattenbury Street, the modern one -storey structure may well become the pride of every Clintonian. The main entrance and the front approach is done in marvellously smooth and white Indiana Limes - one, while the rest of the outer walls are finished in red brick. To the right of the entrance on a slightly raised level, is a triangu- lar-shaped plant box. Within the well -lighted vestibule is a conveniently placed bulletin board (tackboard is the modem name), and on the opposite wall is a spacious display case, for use in showing athletic and scholastic trophies, pictures, etc. A doorway on the left leads into the nurses' room (11'x23') which is complete with shelving, a cup- board and sink, as well as a wash- room. This room receives natur- al lighting from two crystal domes which admit light from the roof, as well as from large windows along one wall. The vestibule leads directly into the long corridor which runs the length of the school, with outside entrances at either end. Principal In Vantage Point Stepping around to the right the first doorway leads to the princi- pal's room (20'x10') which also has its own private washroom, cup- board and an additional small room for general storage space. The situation of the principal's roomhas its advantages. It is immediately, next to the Grade 8 classroom; from the the door the principal may have a good view down the entire length of hall, and a few steps leads him to the door of the playroom. Supervision in the new school will be a good bit easier than in the two levels and four locations of classrooms now in use. The Grade 8 classroom just south of the principal's room is fitted up in the same manner as the other nine classrooms. Eacn of them has black -board space on the front and one side wall. Win- dows extend the length of the out- side wall. Continuous shelving oc- cupies the three-foot space beneath the windows. Each classroom is equipped with a sink, project shel- ving and storage space, one teach- er's wardrobe and five such cup- boards for the pupils' use. These wardrobes are air-conditioned so wet clothing will dry while hang- ing there. Large Playroom Directly across the corridor from these three rooms is the playroom, or auditorium. This room is ap- proximately 73'x36', and is 16' high. It is finished in red brick to a height of eight feet, and from there to the roof is finished witn sandlime brick. It has two large entrance doors from the corridor, one small door leading to the stage (when it is built), one outside doer leading to the outdoor playground, and another small door leading into the kitchen. The kitchen is roughed -in, only for sink and stove, and the cup- boards for the kitchen are not in- cluded in the present plans. There is a pass-through in the wall be- tween the kitchen and the auditor- ium: a necessity when a good deal of serving is being carried on. Above the kitchen is accommo- dation for the heating equipment which supplies warm air to the auditorium, and a tiny projection room with two apertures at differ- ent heights which will be used in the showing of educational films for the pupils. The teachers' room is next on the east side of the corridor. It fs approximately 24'x12' and is fit- ted with clothes cupboard and shelving. The washroom, here, is accessible from either the hall or the teachers' room itself. Stoker -Fed Boilers Next, down the east side of the corridor, is the stairway leading to the boiler -room. (Your report- er found the construction of this stair to be quite novel. At first glance there doesn't seem to be much to hold it up). In the base- ment is the boiler -room equipped with two stoker -fed boilers that provide hot water for the radiant heating coils which are in the floors of all the rooms except the auditorium. The heat in each of the classrooms is controlled in- dividually. There is also a basement under the floor of the auditorium, ap- proximately seven foot, six inches in height, which will be used f:ir storage. Two Large Washrooms Continuing north along the cor- ridor we come to a short hallway leading to an outside entrance. On the right of this is the boys' wash- room and on the left, the girls' washroom. Each of these is ap- proximately 18'x22' in size, and is equipped with a circular Bradley wash -fountain. The washrooms are also roughed -in for hand -driers. There are three classrooms, then, on the east side of the cor- ridor, with windows looking to the east while the whole of the west side is taken up with six class - (Continued on Page Four) row...WMAI4,•,P..TOJ.......n..dC.......A....,.A....OV'.'J•A.,T.•O,OdA,Od•,f,,,,.p,,.�..�,•.d' all General Contractors Pupils Bide Their Time Till New School Opens These Grade 1 pupils will get about as much good out of the new school as anybody. They have lived and worked enough hours in the drab surroundings of the old grey public school, that they are probably quite satisfied to anticipate seven more years of school life spent in brighter rooms, As it is, they are studying in one of the lighter class- rooms of the old school. Here, four rows of desks practically fill the available space, while small windows provide lighting. Despite the efforts of their teacher, Mrs, Audrey Middleton, the walls and display boards continue to have a cluttered appearance be- cause the light is not good, the planning is out-of-date, opportunities for storage are limited. The white globe lighting fixtures suspended from the ceiling on chains will be replaced inn the new school by modern fixtures set flush with the ceiling. These will give beauty to the rooms and of the same time eliminate eyestrain on the part of both pupils and teachers, The old style school clock on the wall of this Grade 7 room will be replaced with one of the new electric ones called for in the plans for the new school. These students, (if lucky) will have only cne year to spend in the new school, but they have a good opportunity tc make the best of this final year. They are among the few fortunate ones to have new desks in their new cir.ssroom. Their teacher this year is Miss Edna Jamieson. Plans are to make use of the 214 stationary type desk units now in the old school, by placing them on skids in groups of three units each, Before school opening the desks' will all be sanded and re- finished so they will be as close to "like new" as possible. There also are 124 movable desks which are in usable condition, which with the kindergarten chairs will be token to the new classrooms. With the addition of 3.5 new desks each for the Grade 8 classroom and _. p ,be desks in sufficient for the extra alas real- now fanned there will numbers to accommodate the enrolment. The desks now In use in the Grade 8 classroom will be used os,spares, and will be repaired and kept for that purpose.