Melrose High School Permanent Scholarship Fund

Helen G Kershaw

THE HELEN G. KERSHAW SCHOLARSHIP FUND, In 1963 and 1964 a group of MHS alumni under the direction of Miss Vivian Jarrett solicited contributions to establish this Scholarship fund. Through their efforts and additional contributions from the Junior Classical League, this fund was provided under the auspices of the MHS Permanent Scholarship Fund.

Miss Helen G. Kershaw joined the faculty of Melrose High School in 1928. She Served as Head of the Latin Department until her retirement in 1963. After her retirement, she returned for a brief time to serve as Acting Dean of Girls. Miss Kershaw was the founder of the Melrose High School Honor Society, member and chairman of the MHS Scholarship Selection Committee, and President of the Melrose Teachers’ Club.

The 1963 Yearbook was dedicated to Miss Kershaw with these words:

“Veritas et Humanitas” — these are the words Miss Helen Kershaw selected this year for our new school emblem. We feel this choice is symbolic of Miss Kershaw’s many years at Melrose High School. Veritas, or truth, has been the primary object of all her teaching. But truth alone does not make an education complete. ALL the meanings included in Humanitas–culture, goodness, sympathy for mankind, a desire to improve society–must also be in the ultimate goal of education. Through her teaching Miss Kershaw has striven to teach not only Latin, but through Latin, a way to humanitas . . . . .”

She made her home in Reading, Massachusetts. After graduating from Reading High School, she attended Radcliffe College in the Class of 1917. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and received her B.A. magna cum laude. In 1932 she also received a M.A. degree from Radcliffe. Prior to teaching in Melrose, she taught at Lunenburg, Shrewsbury, and Reading.

Miss Kershaw had been very active in the community life of Reading. She served as President of the Reading College Club, a member of the Garden Club,and a member of the Church of the Good Shepherd where she served on the Vestry and the staff of the Church School. In the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts She was a member of the Commission on Baptism, of the Department of Christian Social Relations, of the Diocesan Board of Episcopal Church Women, and of the Church Periodical Club.

Her lifelong interests centered around literature, art, music, and education. She continually sought to cultivate these interests through her extensive travels and her tireless participation

THE MELROSE HIGH SCHOOL PERMANENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND congratulates you upon receiving this memorial scholarship. The founders of this scholarship willalways be interested in your plans and progress.

Helen G. Kershaw Biography