Putnam patriot., 1914-03-27
PARENTS NIGHT
Demonstration of Work at High School
Presentation of Play by French Scholars

One of the events which thrill the hearts of our citizens with justitiable pride took place in our High school on Monday evening. The occasion was Parents Night, and Principal Backus with his corps of able assistants had arranged an exhibition and demon stration of the various lines of work conducted in their regular school acu- vities. Invitations were sent by the teachers and pupils to the parents and evidently the response was very gene lal for the assembly hall was filled to it's utmost seating capacity, while scores of people, mostly pupils of the school stood at the rear and sides of the hall.
 The program opened with stereop- ticon lecture on Mexico which was given entirely by the pupils. Six girls and boys, speaking suceessively, gave the description of the views, each speaker having committed to memory the description of the group of views assigned to him. lAll the Participants are to be commended for the precision and promptness with which they took up the recital, and the clearnesss and expression Of their delivery, which, with the remarkable beauty of the views combined to make an instruc- tive and enjoyable feature of the pro- gram.
 If the major portion of the audience could not understand all that was said in the French play which followed they certainly did appreciate the effort and concentration required to commit to memory and render on the stage so lengthy a composition in a foreign lam guage, they also appreciated the effi- cient instruction Of the teacher of French which has brought about such a degree of proficiency on the part of the pupils. Those in the audience whose ancestry peculiarly fits them to most fully enjoy as well as most intel- ligently criticise the play speak in
 
 work of the four participants.
 When al the close of the play the au- dience moved to the gymnasium about thirty-five boys came on to the floor in gymnasium suits and proceeded to de- monstrale the work of the school along the lines of athletics and physical cul- Iure. Beginning with running exer- else they quickly fell into ranks and continued with dumb bells and gym nastic exercises. The ball race was followed with much enthusiasm. Di- viding into four companies one group performed on parallel bars, one on the horse, one did mat work and one high jumping. The floor was then cleared and class of girls neatly attired in Balkans and boomers marchedsupon the floor and after brief marching and running exercise fell into ranks and performed calisthenic exercises in varied forms. The interest of the au- dience naturally reached it's highest pitch in the relay race which followed and was scarcely less marked during the short basket ball game which con cluded the gymnasium demonstration. The audience was then at liberty to inspect the whole building but atten- tion was focused mainly on three rooms where activities were in prog ress. In the chemical laboratory par. ents saw their children handle with | intelligence and skill chemicals and apparatus. The needlework depart ment furnished a most interesting ex- hibit to mothers and fathers alike. | But after all has been said 1t must be confessed that the Scoutscooking class
 was the centre of attraction. sThe boys in white caps and aprons had some difficulty in carrying on their opera l tions in view of the crowds who sought to witness the proceedings.
 While this exhibition was well at
 tended 1t is to be regretted that.all our citizens could not have seen this dem- | onstration of the work accomplished in our High school in the past few
 months. The sincere appreciation of our citizens is due the school faculty. The able principal unassumlngly &C., cepted difficult task and has so qui- etly and unostentatiously brought or l der out of chaos and raised the stand ard of our school that we hardly real ized the moves by which 1t was &C., comp ished. To his worthy assistants
 who have faithfully and unselfishly cooperated with him in this effort is also due the appreciation of parents and l friends. While the expression of this appreciation in words will no doubt be gratifying to them, parents maysweil go a step farther and prove their inter- est and sympathy by their occasional presence in the classroom coming in touch with the everyday work of the teacher and pupil, and by giving their moral support in the home sto the ef- forts of the faculty to perfect the disci. pline and raise the standard of schol- arship in our High school:
 AN OBSERVER.