El Dorado High School - El Dorado Yearbook (Placentia, CA)

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f' ff l-,tic Swanson Eric's vitality .,,..u 'V short. X l. lb ir personal best A smile crossed Eric Swanson's face and laughter shone in his eyes as he wheeled through the door of the Economics class. y the look on his face, one could imagine that l-Iric's heart was singing: Hlt's a wonderful life! Eric, though confined to a wheelchair, did not let his wheels become a handicap. He maneuvered around campus and to all his classes with the greatest of ease, and enjoyed playing tennis during his 4th period IIE. class, Other students in wheelchairs, like Greg Piner and Gloria Caballero, developed tennis and other athletic skills that helped them realize their potential. El Dorado's special education classes, one of which was directed by Mrs. Cole, were made up of a broad spectrum of students. As Mrs. Cole put it, Each student has their own individual program. Some of the kids spent almost the entire school day in the one classroom, taking courses that were designed to help them. Others wer able to function well in regular classrooms and merely checked into the Special Ed class because their disabilities were physical. Still other students were involved in a combination of regular and special classes. Each curriculum depended solely on a persons unique capabilities. Special Ed students strove for success out of school as well as in. Taking ,jobs at K-mart and other businesses exemplified the extra effort the kids were willing to put forth. El Dorado was pi'oud of its Special Ed students for working a little bit harder to keep up and for wishing to achieve their personal best: this was what made them truly special. 5-D MW Q Greg Piner watches his opponent try to return his tough serve. Tennis and other sports helped the students re- main active. Greg Shumway shares a laugh with his friend at lunch: Art-n't the school lunches just fabulous! Shieda Alizadeh punches away dili- gently on a computer assignment. Classroom computers made learning fun for the students. 'Mui Gloria Caballero studies the computer screen intensely as she finishes her work. Gloria was a bright and cheer- ful senior this year.

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School hours belonged to teachers, homework, and the racking of brains for answers to complex prob- lems. owever, spare hours be- longed to the individual alone, he was free to spend them however he wished. The ways students at El Dorado chose to spend their free time were as different as the students' personalities them- selves. Special hobbies, talents, or even unique lifestyles marked a gamut of activities people used to shake the school-time blues. Since school work promoted stress for peo- ple. relaxation was crucial. Dana Vallez turned to dancing for relax- ation. Her dancing was beautiful and made her separate from the world for awhile. Tracie Shephard enjoyed writing as a means of temporary es- cape from reality. Writing allows a person to create his own world. Traci said, As a writer you're com- pletely in control of what will hap- pen. Not all outside activities were in- tended to get away from it all . Seemien Khan became part of two worlds: her American life at school and her Pakistani life at family par- ties. These two lifestyles contributed to making her a well-rounded per- son. Ron Varner joined the world of body-building in which he won com- petitons such as the Mr. Teen River- side Contest and the North vs. South California Muscle Classic, among other honors. No matter what stu- dents did during their free time, they were grateful for those tranquil moments when they could do what they alone wished. Cb Tracie Shephard shows the joy her writing brings. Tracie was convinced that good writing is developed through reading good literature. Stamp collecting can be a lucrative hobby Ior students. In 1987 this 82.00 Graf Zeplin was val- ued at 52,300 Seemien Khan and a friend model the beautiful attire of the Islamic culture. Seemien spent some of her spare time celebrating the Moslem way of life. Ron Varner strikes the classic muscle-man pose. Body-building had been his special talent for several years. 400 Those tranquil

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Exchom im new 99 oving to a new coun- try can be a trau- matic experience, considering the tasks involved: learning a new language, new life- style and meeting new friends. This year El Dorado welcomed four foreign exchange students to our campus. Jane Boserup and Lone Rasmussen from Denmark, Mischa Marx from the Nether- lands, and Sabina Kroll from Ger- many were the students this 1987- 88 school year 'Before I came to America, I tried not to expect anything and not to be prejudiced because I was afraid that I might be disappointed or absolutely wrong. Outside of America people always think of California as the sunshine state of beaches, summer, surfing and va- cations, however, now that I have experienced what the state is really like I have realized that it is not much different than in Eur- ope. The people basically act and dress the same, commented Sa- bina. Everything was pretty much as I expected it to be like in California, but I was surprised by the big freeways and highways and espe- cially the many different types of cars, Jane added. All four students mentioned that they were amazed that the driving age was sixteen here in California. In most European countries the driving age was eighteen, and most of the kids rode bikes or used the bus for transportation, t'Many schools in Europe do not have any sporting team or club activities for the students. You are just there to learn. We are offered IO-I2 different subjects spread over the week and we do not have nearly as many tests or homework, commented Jane. 'School starts so early here, in the Netherlands it usually began at 8:30 until 2:25, Mischa added. Before arriving in California, the exchange students had their own ideas of what California would be like. I was always dreaming back home of going to Hollywood and becoming a star, but it's not as easy as I thought it would be, commented Mischa who was very active in the drama department at ED. The exchange students felt that they were welcomed by the stu- dents at El Dorado and it was defi- nitely a year that they will never forget. 0 I ' s