Central High School - Blackhawk Yearbook (Davenport, IA)

Page 30 text:

Members of an eleventh grade gym (lass perform a pyramid. PHYSICAL Girls’ Miss Deone Gibson, girls gym instructor. The coming of the Great War made it necessary for the Indian” girls to com- bine physical fitness along with the regu- lar gym activities. Modeled after the National Victory Corps, the gym course includes many new features. The first five or six minutes of the class period are spent in doing various calisthenics. Sometimes this is followed by the obstacle course, after which aching muscles are suffered for a few days. Each girls' class is divided into teams throughout the semester with contests in basketball, volleyball, baseball, badminton, deck tennis, and ping pong. After the intra-mural class competition is over, the winners play in inter-class games to choose the final victor. Many types of dancing arc also pre- sented to the girls during the semester. Here they learn ballroom steps and intri- cate folk dances. Some of these dances are the Virginia Reel, the square dance, the schottische, and the rye waltz. 26 An eleventh grade gym class does tire chest lift as a uarming-up exercise.

Page 29 text:

Right: Holding a paneI discussion in Mrs. Torn- auist's speed) class are. left to right: Patience Sighsuander, Dick Uch- lorf. Donna Paulsen, and C saries Pritchard. Below: Speech and dramatics insltuclors, left to right: Mrs. Mae Urn a Tornquist. A. E. Keiher, and Miss Opal Munger. SPEECH and DRAMATICS Black Hawk, Chief of the Sauks, knew the ad- vantage of being able to sway an audience by skill- ful speech. Students of D.H.S. have followed the advice of this wise counselor of a century ago by taking speech courses, which include beginning speech, dramatics, and public speaking. A two-year dramatics course is offered, covering acting, make-up, history of the theater, and stage construction. Beginning acting teaches the funda- mentals of stage techniques. Students learn to don war paint in the make-up course. History of the theatre teaches the background of modern drama, while stage construction is a laboratory course in building materials used on stage. Public speaking may be taken by the student for three years. Mr. Keibcr teaches pub” students the elements of original oratory, declamator)- speak- ing, debating, extemporaneous speaking, oratorical speaking, and parliamentary law. Original oratory gives the student opportunity to express his own thoughts oratorically, since he must compose his own oration. Declamations of various kinds arc practiced, including humorous, dramatic, and oratorical. Debate teams are or- ganized, debating on the national debate question, which this year was, Resolved: That the legal voting age be lowered to eighteen.” Extemporane- ous speaking is mastered as the student speaks in round robin” fashion with others in his class. Romeo Tom Cosgrove and Juliet Jack Kuehl give an exercise in pantomine for Miss Munger’s dramatics class. 25

Page 31 text:

EDUCATION Building physical stamina and prowess, young braves in gym classes take part in strenuous exercises as preparation for the Great War. Health and fitness played a great role in the life of an Indian, and so today when strong bodies are needed for the preservation of Democracy, the accent has been put on this same toughening up” drill. As the young brave of yesteryear com- peted with his fellowmen in order to be- come a warrior, today young men partici- pate in the gym to reach the rank of Commando, attained by passing a ten-point program. These points are given for the fulfillment of ten separate tests including a pull-over on the bar, hand stands, twen- ty-foot rope climb, running the one-quar- ter mile in seventy seconds, scaling a ten foot wall, five dips on the parallel bar, head and hand springs, and the seemingly eternal stickler, the kip on the high bar. Ron Dat is scales the uall to earn points in the commando training course. The handstand is done in a boys’ gym class as part of the commando course. 27