Norwich bulletin., 1917-10-02

12 months. city of Waterbury, 3, town of Montville, 2S; per cent. above nor nal age, city of Waterbury, 19.42, town of Montville, 20.
 Causes of Retardation.
 According to law all children must enter school upon reaching the age of years. We find, however, that many enter at and even years of age. S by September and who are in the first grade are said to be one year ever age. Those in the second grade who years old are likewise one year over age and so on through the grades there are pupils one year or more over age From study of t:e figures given above some differences may be drawn regarding the causes of retardation- They are based on tie actual conditions as found in these three towns. They are not conclusive, but they suggest some probable causes. More than one-half of the retarded pu- pills attended schools outside of this district. Nearly one-half of the re- tarded pupils who have attended in these towns only have been very ir- regular in attendance. The causes may be summarized thus: Shifting population. poor attendance. poor health, late entrance of foreign born with no schooling, naturally slow, poor teaching, and TO apparent reason
 Ill another table the manufacturing city of Waterbury and the manufac--
  as regards shifting school population and retardaticn. For every change in the school population in Waterbury there are relatively nine such changes in Montville. The degree of retarda- tion is practically the same, 20 per cent. of pupils are above normal age, which is probably about the state ave- rage. The superintendent of schools of Waterbury. in his annual report says, "A very large per cent. of those whc are above normal age are pupils | who have entered school later than seven years of age and those who I for long periods and those who have | been shirting from building to build 1 ing and city to city" The rapidly l changing school population of Mont | CTS.
 Retardation is a result of non-pro- | motion. In Montville 80 per cent. were | promoted, which is not high.
 It is always pleasure to report | the names of pupils who have been l perfect in attendance during the year. Twenty pupils have had persect at l tendance and will receive certificates tary of the state board of education. 1 Three pupils have been perfect in at 1 tendance for four years or more.
 Savings Deposits Have Increased.
 More than twice as much money l has been deposited this year as last l year This is very encouraging. The l silver cup which was held last year l by the Chesterfield school has been | won and will be permanently held by 1 the Black Point school in East Lyme. | The basis of the award was the ave- i rage amount deposited per pupil reg | istered, multiplied by the ratio of ] the number of pupils who deposited | as much as the average amount, to | the whole number of pupils. The sec ond place was obtained by the Elan ders school of East Lyme, and the | third place by the Jordan school of | Waterford.
 Plans for the Coming Year.
 In the report a year ago reference was made to the possible plan of en- riching the course of study in the Paimcrtown and Uncasville schools. | With the completion of the new build iugs this year some of these plans will he put into effect. The school day for the older pupils has been increased from five to six hours, as five hours is too short a time for both the regular l academic and vocational work. Courses will be given in sewing. cooking, wood mechanical drawing. science. and advanced work in arithmetic The assembly hall and gymnasium will be used during the | winter for physical training and folk