SUPPORT THE
‘MARCH OF DIMES’
THE BLACKBIRD
Published by Journalism Class of Rocky Mount High School
SUPPORT YOUR
BASKETBALL TEAM
VOLUME XXII
rocky MOUNT, N. C. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 195t
NUMBER 8
VIEWS and REVIEWS
by
Dick Gregory, Pres.
Now that the excitement of
newly elected Class officers is
over, the four Classes will settle
down and begin their activities of
the second semester. These officers
have a more difficult job now
that the Classes may meet every
week during Group Guidance. With
this more difficult job also comes
the opportunity for better Class
meetings, , more Class projects^
and a feeling of Class spirit. For
the first time in our high school
history, there is the opportunity
for a Class to become a unit and
feel close to your classmates as
you do toward your home room
friends.
The Class is an important
division of the Student Organi
zation. While the Homeroom
Division is the basic one, and the
General Division has the most
prestige, the Class division has a
definite place in the student
organization.
Class Promotes Purpose
As an important part of the
Student Organization, there are
excellent opportunities to carry
out the purpose of the Student
Organization.
There are many ways for
students to be democratic citizens.
One way is to give the speakers,
teachers, and students your full
attention during Group Guidance.
Another way is to participate in
class projects by accepting com
mittee assignments, by supporting
projects through intelligent votes,
and by boosting the school on all
occasions.
There are many ways students
can practice FOLLOWSHIP in
their Group Guidance or class
meetings. One way is to practice a
few of the suggestions or ideas
which are presented to you. They
are sound, good ideas or they
would not be given to you.
The main social activity of the
second semester, except for the
senior class, will be the Spring
dances. The benefits of these
dances will not just be the pleas
ure of attending them. These bene
fits will include the knowledge
and the enjoyment which the
students, who plan the dances,
will gain.
Neal Adkins Organizes
New Boys’ Gun Club
Supervising the new and very
popular gun clubs, this year is Mr.
Neal Adkins. There are two clubs,
a junior club composed of fresh
men and sophomores, and a senior
club for junior and senior mem
bers. The enrollment is all boys.
When the club was first an
nounced, 70 boys signed up for
the junior club, but the member
ship had to be narrowed down to
an approximate 40.
The remaining 30 boys joined
the newly formed dramatics club,
advised by Mr. Edson. The senior
club now has 24 members.
The Gun Club, to the individual,
would probably mean a club in
which the boys practice shooting,
but these clubs are entirely dif
ferent. They teach the boys the
mechanics or fundaments of dif
ferent types of guns. Each week
one of the members of Mr. Adkins,
brings a gun to dis-assemble and
put back together again. In this
way they become acquainted with
the various types of guns and the
parts of each. In studying about
guns, the boys have been taught
safety in the use of them in the
woods when huniting, at home, and
in a crowd of people. They also
learned how to fall with a gun,
whch is very important.
RMHS Supports 'March Of Dimes’
A Challenge To You
Remember that the individual
student is what is important in
every class. In order to make
your class important, be a demo
cratic citizen—a good FOLLOWER,
co-operate with your officers and
show them loyalty and respect.
Organization Pictures
Made For Hi-Noc-Ar
During the past three weeks
the Hi-Noc-Ar staff has been busy
getting pictures made of various
clubs, officers of spring and fall
semesters, and the band and choir.
Due to the weather, schedules
have been made and cancelled and
set for other days.
High School Students
Introduce Teen Time’
Have you heard your name on
the radio yet? If you have, you
probably heard it over Teen Time
which comes on Friday over WC-
EC at 4:00 p. m.
Bo Thorpe, acting as Master
of Ceremonies, and Fay Grady and
Kay Saunders have a very inter
esting program. Kay gives the
highlights of the weeks news
around RMHS. Fay Grady gives
the latest gossip and Bo tells of
the sports.
The three top tunes of the week
as voted by the high school are
played and dedicated to different
members of the school. There is
usually a guest speaker, either
teacher or student, giving com
ments on some matter of im
portance.
The above students—Shirley Robbins, Billy Cooper, Joyce McNeely
are members of the Senior Club, which sponsored the March of
Dimes Campaign in high schooL
Teaeh&r Ohib
Selects New Name
Last year one read of the activi
ties of the Future Teachers
Organization in the school. This
year this organizaton has taken
on a new name, The Musettes.
This title finds its origin in the
name of the sponsors of the
Future Teachers, which in this
district is the Mu Chapter of the
Delta Kappa Gamma, a national
fraternity for teachers.
Old and new members of this
organization convened at the home
of Betty Anne Cross for the pur
pose of electing officers on Jan
uary 17. Officers elected for the
new year are Betty Anne Cross,
president; Emily Baker, vice presi
dent; Julia Jordon, secretary;
Mary Jo McKinney, treasurer.
The time of meetings was set
for the second Monday night in
each month.
Class Officers Chosen
Officers have been elected by
the four classes to serve for the
second semester.
Those offcers in the freshman
class are Elsie Williams, president;
Marvin Ward, vice^ president;
Janet Spain, secretary; Elizabeth
Vann, treasurer. In the sophomore
class, Mary Wilkinson, president;
Betty Hedgepeth, vice president;
Mary Ruth Divine, secretary; Ed
ward Hallford, treasurer and Cla-
rando Mangum, parlimentarian.
The junior class elected Gene
Williams, president; Lloyd Throw
er, vice president; Shirley Rob
bins, secretary; Clay Daughtridge,
treasurer; Harold Harper was
elected president of the senior
class with George Harris, vice
president; Margaret Boone, secre
tary; Anne Zimmerman, treasurer.
During the week before elec
tions, campaigning was done and
speeches were made by the candi
dates in their g^^oup guidance
periods.
Registration for elections was
done before Christmas. All
students were urged to register
and vote. The voting was done in
the rooms of the class advisers.
Freshmen held their voting in Miss
Kitchin’s office, sophomores, in
Miss McLaughlin’s room; juniors,
in Miss Parker’s room and seniors
in Miss Craighill’s room.
The votes were counted by
Sheila Robbins and her election
committee.
Ann Steven's Carving
Entered In Competition
Ann Steven’s carving of a
horse’s head has been selected and
submitted for the traveling exhibit
in the 23rd Annual Soap Sculp
ture Competition, sponsored by
the Natonal Soap Sculpture Com
mittee.
This contest is entered annually
by thousands of persons—young
and old—who compete for cash
prizes donated by Proctor and
Gamble of Cincinnati. First, second
and third prizes as well as honor
able mentions are made. The prizes
range from 250 to 50 dollars.
This collection of sculptures
carved from white soap was on
display in the biology room 200
until January 30. It was opened to
the public and was visited by the
PTSA, eighth grades of each
elementary school, a Girl Scout
Troop, high school biology and
art classes, and the colored high
school art classes were invited to
visit the display if they desired.
These annual competitions are
entered by only a small number
of the hundreds of thousands who
follow this hobby' with widely
differing degrees of proficiency,
and talent but with equal enjoy
ment and delight. It offers a
medium for self-expression, at
such small cost and with so few
necessary tools, that everyone, no
matter how limited his budget,
can afford to try his hand at and
obtain both satisfaction and enjoy
ment. Entry blanks blanks for
the 24th Annual contest are ob
tainable at the offices of the
National Soap Sculpture Com
mittee, 160 Fifth Avenue, New
York 10, N, Y.
The major purpose of these
(Continued on page 4)
Service Club Collects
Students’ Donations
Over the intercommunication
system last Tuesday a program
was given with the highlight being
a transcription of George Newby’s
voice urging the support of the
March of Dimes campaign.
Because North Carolina’s funds
have been exhausted the need is
great. The goal for RMHS was
$400. Each student was given a
card board container with a place
for five dimes. They were urged
to bring all they could for the
worthy cause.
The annual drive for the March
of Dimes in RMHS was conducted
from Tuesday through Friday of
last week. The Service Club was
asked by the local polio foundation
to sponsor the campaign in the
high school. This was the first
project of the second semester
for the Service Club.
H. Conover To Choose
Jr.-Sr. Beauty Queen
Following vhe custom of the past
four years, the Blackbird Staff
has chosen a celebrity to select
the beauty queen who will be
crowned at the an„nviAl junior-
senior in May. The staff this year
has chosen Harry Conover of Con
over Modeling Company, New
York City, and they have received
his letter of acceptance to be
the judge.
Conover was brought to atten
tion of the staff by a member of
the staff who secured an annual
from Mary Washington College,
Fredericksburg, Virginia, where
Conover had chosen sixteen cam-
pas beauties. He offered modeling
jobs to one or two of the chosen
girls. This influenced the staff in
its selection of Conover for judge.
Judges for the past four years
have been Alan Ladd, A1 Capp,
Billy Rose, and Charlie Justice.
Departmental Projects
Featured At Jan. PTSA
Departmental information was
featured at the Rocky Mount high
school PTSA program held Jan
uary in the high school auditorium.
The teaching of art in the gram
mar schools and the high school
was reported on by Miss Doris
Meekins, local art teacher. Grace
Dew and Julia Robinson gave talks
on art as a subject.
Alice Barnes and Virginia Gray,
pupils of Miss Hazel Worsley,
represented the piano department
wth piano solos.
Miss Addie Lee Meador told of
her work with students who had
speech defects.
An art display, presented by the
biology department, was shown at
the meeting. The display made up
of soap carvings from the National
Soap Carving Committee contained
100 pieces. One of these carvings
was done by Anne Stevens, former
RMHS student.
A large crowd attended the
meeting.