James Madison High School - Log Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 31 text:

Our gym was also used for several other activities.'Mr. Terezano, the Annex gym teacher, had co-ed gym classes for several weeks until Miss Mirsky arrived to give him a hand. We were quite amused as we watched him try to ex- plain why girls could not play the same sports as boys! Most of the free periods were spent in the gym, but those spent in the assembly ran a very close second. Annex assem- blies were quite unusual, although not always successful. We won't forget our music class or that wonderful talent show we had to endure. It was in that very auditorium where we first heard the words, Don't reach for your books until you are told to do so! , words we would hear countless times during the next three years. We also enioyed several very serious and important assemblies. We elected our officers, a necessary activity that had long been missing in the Annex. Toward the end of the year at the dear Annex we began to sense the changes that would soon be upon us. We an- ticipated meeting our counterparts from the iunior high schools, who, after two years in isolation were as eager as we to find new comrades with whom they could share the coming challenges. Yet, we were confident that we had gotten the upper hand . We had experienced Madison life and we knew its standards, its traditions, and its strong, proud spirit. We, of that freshman class, have since evolved into the Senior Class of '68, after undergoing many additions to our ranks, but, we will never forget the wonderful, little world we had at the Annex. BILLY BLANK All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today. Chinese proverb gh is

Page 30 text:

lIHIlllEllliE It didn't look like much but the name sounded great, James Madison High School Annex . We were finally in high school, and our old elementary and iunior high school experiences were only memories. Traveling to the Annex lactually the top floor of P.S. 222l, was not an easy task. There was not one bus which stopped less than two long blocks away, and during the winter we had a school full of cold freshmen. However, upon entering the building, the warmth of our group made the whole trip worthwhile. lt seemed as if everyone knew everyone else, an unusually pleasant situation in our harsh, often uncommuni- cative world. We were like one big family. Who can forget Mr. Hirsch, our administrative assistant, running through the halls blowing his whistle to keep the lines moving land heaven help you if you crossed that white linell? lt is easy to picture Mr. Gitter's smiling face as he waited outside room 430 for his next class of budding geniuses , There was no one among us who was prepared for the lengthy homework assignments but we somehow managed to hand them in on time. The classwork came as a surprise too. What purpose would it serve if we knew what made a car run or how to use the axiom of addition? Such was our fate... If main building lunches seem unbearable, an average lunch period at the Annex was unforgettable. During periods four lwe called it the Breakfastl, five, and six, the gym was converted into our lunchroom. Every day for an entire year six hundred freshmen ate cold lunches with cold milk in a cold gymnasium.

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IHIIllEllGE Camps and hotels were evacuated, summer iobs were quit, bonfires and hikes became memories, new wardrobes were purchased and school supplies were bought. We all awaited the start of our Sophomore year. We were determined to make a success of the new year. So, even if some of us had to climb five long flights of stairs to reach our destinations, or had trouble finding out that room 409 was directly across from room 416, we all man- aged to find our official classes and ready ourselves to face the challenge. The pressures of trying to receive good grades were hard enough, but this year we found another obstacle in facing the upperclassmen. Those who had been running their previous schools now had to succumb to the rulings of their senior Student Government officers. When the eighth period bell sounded, the halls became mobbed with reioicing, screaming iuniors and seniors who were on their way home, and school became unbearable for us. The ninth period crawled by, the O period dragged on even longer, and during period Y the sun slowly began to set. Z period arrived as the moonlight danced through the fourth floor windows. The rest of the city was eating supper or watching television while we were laboring over similar triangles, the digestive system and the causes of feudalism. However, we took the late hours in stride and in a few short weeks the 5:30 classes became routine and even almost tolerable. We were ready to face the year ahead. Synonomous with the months of October and November was Sing. So, once or twice a week we all stayed until 7 P.M.