Bishop Amat High School - Tusitala Yearbook (La Puente, CA)

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Arranged Marriages Enlighten Seniors osing for a family portrait, Mark Ewing-Chow rid Terry Bustos eminate happiness. Fate rought them together, but hard work kept them wat way. fs. Rosann Ramirez :cial Studies llothing. People take life r too seriously. Perhaps it e learned to laugh at ore things, especially our- rlves, we would be much atter oft. Mr. Victor Rodriguez Fine Arts, Band, Choir, Music Ministry A Substance abuse tdrugs, alcohol, food, etc.i. As a part of the Christian Vocations course requirements, every senior had to experience married life before they graduated. For many, the idea of dra- matizing marriage and in the process, meeting someone new, held a great deal of intrigue. Others that were not so apt to put much energy into the project did not gain as much knowledge and ex- perience from their two weeks of mar- ried life. Christian Vocation's teachers, Mrs. Paula Sheldon, Mrs. Marita Brys, and Mr. Tim Murphy added an extra touch of enthusiasm to the two week period with several different activities. First of all, the temporary marriages began with a mock wedding. Couples were an- nounced by Mrs. Sheldon after having been randomly matched by the three teachers. Due to the fact that there were more ladies than gentlemen, compensa- tion was made by creating some polyg- amist marriages. The short ceremony was followed by a reception immediate- ly afterward. Cake and punch were pro- vided and couples were given time to introduce themselves if they had not met before. Symbolic wedding gifts were exchanged and excitedly un- wrapped during this time. Activities and discussions were de- signed to simulate real marriage issues, conflicts, and situations. Among them were a lunch date and the infamous baby experiment. A new twist was ad- ded by switching the traditional egg ba- bies to five pound sacks of flour. Most people agreed that this was more realis- tic though much less convenient. After only one day with the baby, many par- ents had a story or two to tell. Ray Genato stated, My most memorable experience was when I took my babies to one of my soccer games. I had asked the stat girls if they would kindly baby- sit for me. They did all right by leaving them inside the bus which left. Lucky for me, the same bus came back. What a worrisome experience! After two weeks of working together, it was the consensus of most couples that the marriage project was among the most memorable as well as valuable projects of their four high school years. Shawna Sands stated, I realized the responsibilities of taking care of a fam- ily to a certain extent. I also learned to compromise. Some students had to compromise more than others. This was most often the case in the polygamist marriages. It was imperative that the group worked together. Joe Meyers re- lated about his wives, We all partici- pated equally. Participation with enthusiasm, that was the key. Just as in real marriages, the people involved learned to commu- nicate and had more fun the more they put into the relationship. Mr. Tom Salter Science, Physical Educa- tion, Head Coach Frosh Football, Baseball, Bas- ketball Mr. Michael Sandoval Fine Arts D.C. . . students who are not concerned about good dis- cipline throughout their educational career. Mrs. Dorothy Schutz Adm., Alumni Director, Master Teacher Program Director, Mathematics Nhat is too serious to be joked about? 2 Mrs. Paula Sheldon Adm., Counseling DE., Religion Nothing, provided. a healthy perspective is re- iieeted in laughter. A good sense of humor . . . is ot- ten a means of releasing tension before an issue can be seriously tackled. lournalism!Senior Marriages 153

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Vince Arrellano, Ruben Duran, Rigo Arrellano, and Brian Albert attend to their children. Many of the guys proved to be outstanding fathers. Paul Davis discovers the inconve- nience of having a large baby. The creative tools used in making the babies were amusing as Wendy Ham and Melinda Ortaliza discov- ered. 152 Academics 'Xb fx The Reality Of Journalism Explored The Sunday funnies or a television news program were the only examples of journalism to which some students could relate. For others, it meant something much deeper. Seeing one's own words printed in black and white produced an over- whelming feeling of satisfac- tion. The emotions were similar for photographers. Don't believe for a second that working as a school journalist was all peaches and cream, however. Good journalists had to be abso- lutely dedicated to inter- viewing and taking photo- graphs, which wasn't too tough. True commitment was evident when students actually met their copy, pho- tograph, and lay-out dead- lines with quality work. The newspaper and yearbook staffs took on these chal- lenges. While the newspaper cov- ered the events affecting the campus on a periodical basis, the yearbook related the his- tory of the year in one re- lease. Whether staff mem- bers realized it or not, they were also worthy of being covered in the very publica- tions they produced. No one could deny that the days when the newspaper was dis- vi? . f 'if5 Q tributed or Yearbook Day were characterized by stu- dents excitedly awaiting their copy of a publication created just for them. The newspaper and yearbook were as much a part of the school as the people and events they recorded. The journalists sustained work- ing long hours to provide the student body with quality pages. Both the newspaper and yearbook staffs were de- signed to mirror their profes- sional counterparts. Stu- dents were expected to re- sponsibly report, write, and revise their work many times over. All in all, the key was to be accurate and concise, meet deadlines, and keep cool. Anyone that did not exper- ience working with a journal- istic staff could not begin to realize the enormous amount of effort, work, and time be- hind the neat, printed pages of a newspaper or yearbook. The Lance and the Tusitala are two products of the journalism pro- gram. Hours of hard work, dedica- tion, and sweat went into producing these two publications,

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After the rush to the truck, Mrs. Kathleen Chavez and Mr. Marcus Lewis take a break. These two lunchtime moderators were often seen talking with students and keeping an eye out for trouble. Mr. Michael Sandoval and Mr. Ron Woolsey have a friendly chat with a student at lunch. Although not regu- lar moderators, they also contribut- ed to creatin a more o en and uni- S D fied campus. 154 Academics Bilinguists Reap Benefits The Foreign Language De- partment consisted of courses in French, Latin, and Spanish. Students had to complete a minimum of two years of the language of their choice by the time they graduated. However, stu- dents often chose to take an additional one or two years of the language they had been studying. Each student had their own reason to con- tinue study. It could have been a particular interest in the language itself or a desire to meet the requisites of a college. The Spanish Department offered an accelerated pro- gram which included an Ad- vanced Placement course. This enabled students to re- ceive college credit for their high school Spanish class. Junior Hyacinth Dagala commented, I took Spanish IV because I'd like to learn how to use Spanish in other places, not just in the class- room. It's pretty challenging too. Many colleges prefer that three years of a lan- guage be masteredf' Being able to read, write, and speak a foreign language also had its advantages in the job market. Junior Rob- ert Bautista looking far ahead into his future specu- lated, Spanish IV will allow me to use Spanish fluently. With knowledge of fluent Spanish, I can work easily with Spanish-speaking peo- ple in future jobs. French and Latin were not commonly spoken in the community. Those students who had the desire to visit different parts of the world and were eager to learn more about foreign cultures, stud- ied the languages that would be most beneficial to them in their future. Since the Eng- lish language largely stems from Latin, students chose to study Latin in order to broaden their vocabulary. This could be to a studentis advantage in advanced Eng- lish courses or to one inter- ested in classical literature. Junior Jennifer Cochran dis- closed, I've always wanted to learn how to speak French fluently. It's such a beautiful language, but now that Iim going to Europe this sum- mer, I can use it for more practical things like ordering a croissant or something. It's a really hard class, but it's worth it! Some students looked forward to possibly having the opportunity to be a foreign exchange student in France or Mexico. Some hoped to use their knowledge of a language to communi- cate with a wider range of people. The Foreign Language De- partment prepared students for their future. Those who planned ahead took advan- tage of the classes that were offered.