Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-18
THE CROWDED HIGH SCHOOL.
The "Half Day. Plan to be Adopted
Until the New Wing IL Finished.

Until the New Wing Is Finished.
FOURTEEN HUNDRED PUPILS NOW AND ONLY ROOM
roR SEVEN HuSDREp-How TIE KSLAraEp
BUILDING WILL BE ARRANaxp-nusRuN NOTES,
ETC.
The high school, in common with the other
schools in the District, will be opened on
Monday next and then, more easily apparent
than now, will be visible the lack Of facilities
for teaching the young idea how to
shoot at longer ranges than those permitted
the pupils in the eighth grade. One thousand
four hundred and fifty lads and lassies will pre-
sent themselves before Principal Lane and
show their title to admission. OF these $50 will
enter the school for the first time. Use I'D all the
available space you can in that building;
squeeze classes into every available corner;
cramp the movements of all the students; do
the best you can in every way and you will yet
fall short by fully 700 pupils in the matter of
accommodations. To remedy this
NEW WING
has been added to the old building, but IL will
not be ready until November /. In order that
each scholar shall have an opportunity to
familiarize himself or herself with the work,
which is ahead, a half day plan has been
adopted, which will be in force for ten weeks
This looks to the giving of half day OF in
struction to the first and second year pupils
until the wing is ready for occupancy and then
the course of study will be pursued throughout
the entire school day by all.
THE COMPLETE INSTITUTION AFTER NOVEMBER 1.
Mr.. Lane escorted STAR reporter through
the building this morning and showed how
complete the institution would be after Novem-
ber1. The southwest front of the old building is
to be devoted to studies in natural science-ele-
mentary biology, entomology-in fact. general
natural history. The old rooms have been re-
arranged; partitions have been torn down
and Others regretted elsewhere-all in
the line of Improvement. New tables
at which pupils can study practically
have been designed by Mr. E. S. Burgess and
are now being placed in position. On the
southeast corner is the propagatipg room and
here growing plants will be kept to be used in
the study of botany.
THE MUSEUM.
The old chemical laboratory has been made
a part of the corridor which connects the old
building and the new wing and on the west
side OF this corridor is the museum room. The
work OF museum making is being actively
carried on bya large number of the pupils, and
they are receiving great deal of valuable
information and advice from those
who have made a specially Of such
labor, The present plan is to gather
In TINS room complete collection
OF the fora and fauna of the District of Column
bla and there is mach material already in.
Prof. Geo. Marx has promised a complete col
lection Of the spiders which crawl around over
the varied surfaces to be found in
this little garden patch of governmental
territory and this, added to Titus Ulke's very
fine aggregation of lepidoptera already
donated, will be of interest to many students
MIR. Il. s. Burgess has very fine display of the
woods of the District and this will also be in
the museum.
BOY AND GIRL CURIOSITY COLLECTORS
Quite large number of the boys and girls in
the school are enthusiasts and they have spent
not little of their holiday time in doing all
they could to add something to the collection.
While the school, of course, is and is
going to be grateful for any donations
which may be made to the museum it will en-
deavor. SO far as possible, to gather by its own
exertions the necessary material. A great many
curios, many of them of no particular scientific
value, have been contributed by scholars and
there are promises OF many more objects of in
terest. Mr.. j. b. Daish, pne of the teachers,
has devoted the entire summer to course of
study at the National museum in order that he
might fit himself to instruct the boys. He has
wrested with photography under the instruction
mysteries of several degrees Of ethnology
under the guidance of Prof. Mason. The OBJ
ject Of this toll is to cultivate scientific tastes
in the scholars.
PRINCIPAL LANES VIEWS.
Principal Lane values such work very highly.
He said to the reporter II am not
an anti-book man, but I do believe
in this kind of training; there should
be more of these practical museums in our
schools. They bring out the latent enthusiasm
and help to form character. 1t would sur
prise you to know how many pupils
are interested in this little collection. 1 find,
though. that the German boys are more in
cined to the work of collection and classical
ton than the American youth. Last years
work III this line was revelation to parents,
children and instructors"
OTHER CHANGES IN THE ENLARGED BUILDING.
The old botanical laboratory will be turned
into class room while all the apparatus, &C.,
used in the chemical laboratory has been slowed
away in the exhibition hail. where it will have
TO stay until the new wing is ready to receive it.
The west side of the new wing on the third
floor will be devoted to scientific work. The
physical lecture room, which will seat one
hundred and twenty-five students is having
sloping floor placed therein and SO pitched
that those III the will be able to see all that
the instructor is doing An apparatus room
Across the hall is class room i'm
which chemistry will be taught, and
behind it is smaller room for
the necessary apparatus. The delicate balances
used in this study viii be kept in small apart
ment beyond the apparatus room. The chemical
laboratory is fine place, As by
90 feet in size, and situated on the
east side of the wing. In here will
be five demonstrating tables each of which will
give the necessary space to twenty-four working
pupils. Everything necessary for chemical
work will be provided, and the room will have
that which few laboratories have-perfect VEN
tilaton.
On the second floor are class rooms. teach
ers room and study hall which will accommo-
date ninety pupils.
On the first floor there are additional en-
frances for the boys-one on street at the
west side and one on p street at the north side
of the wing.
THE LIBRARY.
The east room next to the girls private stair
way on the first floor is the library, and to
this especial attention is to be paid.
When Mr.. Lane first went to the school
he was librarian and the library then consisted
of few volumes of an encyclopedia lying on
the floor of a small unfurnished room: now
it contains 5000 books, most of them
valuable works of reference. The librarians
desk will be in one corner of the
spacious apartment, and will be inclosed
by railing. A number of small tables will be
provided, at which pupils may sit and on which
books most in demand will be kept. The library
will not be place in which to sit and
read but o. place to work. The school will.
however, be without library until November