Nashville High School - Scrapper Yearbook (Nashville, AR)

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Joining the 'krewe' at Mardi Gras NEW ORLEANS - What did Mardi Gras mean to you? Probably not much, unless you had the opportunity to experience Mardi Gras, New Orleans style. Mardi Gras was actually a religious celebration marking the beginning of Lent, but in New Orleans it was celebrated and enjoyed by all. For several weeks the entire town of New Orleans seemed to party every night. Parades were a main attraction in the Mardi Gras festivities. While I was in New Orleans with Julie Graves and her family, we attended two of these colorful parades. The first one, Iris, consisted of an allwomen krewe. A krewe was the group of people which organized and rode the floats in each parade. All of the floats in each parade depicted a theme. The theme of the Iris parade was “The Wonderful World of Make Believe.” The floats depicted such stories as “Peter Pan” and “The Wizard of Oz.” The theme of Tucks, the second parade we saw, was “Tucks on Vacation.” The people in the krewes each bought their own things to throw. Among the many common throws were beads, cups, doubloons, and even roses, tambourines, and frisbees. Some people attending the parades sold their catches back to the krcwcs to use the following year. This explained the beads dated with previous years. After catching a few parades, a visit to the French Quarter was an appealing way to end the evening, but in New Orleans the fun was just beginning. Our first stop was the Jackson Brewery to get a view of the French Quarter from the top. Later we took a walking tour and eventually found a restaurant with just enough room to fit us in for some oysters and seafood gumbo. Shopping in the French Quarter was quite an experience. We searched shops filled with Mardi Gras memorabilia to find just the right T-shirts, masks, and other souvenirs to take home. Another highlight was going to the Cafe du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets. These were kind of like a square doughnut covered with powdered sugar. “One of the best parts of a trip to New Orleans is going to the Cafe du Monde to have cafe au lait and beignets,” said Julie. Street entertainers were a colorful part of New Orleans night life. One interesting entertainer was a water glass player. By rubbing his thumb along the rims of different sized glasses filled with water, he created diferent notes. He played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” and songs by Led Zeppelin and Paul Simon. “There are so many people, lights and parades. The city just comes alive,” said Julie. People came from everywhere to enjoy the Mardi Gras celebration. We heard people speaking Spanish, French and people with Australian accents. Also, there was an American aircraft carrier docked in New Orleans with 5,000 sailors ready to join in the festivities. “I look forward to Mardi Gras every year,” said Julie, who was already planning her next trip. — By Kathleen Gregory ‘The city just comes alive.’ Julie Graves BETWEEN PARADES, Julie Graves and Kathleen Gregory show their catches from Iris. — photo by Jane Graves THE COORS WAGON and horses march in the Tucks parade. 28 Student life

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Summerof learning for five students Five students gave up two or three weeks of their summer fun to attend state gifted and talented programs, AEGIS (Academic Enrichment for Gifted in the Summer). Juniors Kim Byers, Tony Newton and Kevin Rose and seniors Stephanie Tanner and Shelley White were the five participants. Communications Kim went to John Brown University in Siloam Springs July 5-17. She was one of 37 students at a communications workshop, which dealt with television production and broadcasting. The students learned how to set up a camera, how to design shots, and how to edit tape. They also learned about interviewing and taping. For the first week of the program, the group spent most of its time in the classroom. Participants studied journalism, computers and television studios. During the second week, the students were divided into groups of six. They interviewed people in the Siloam Springs area, taped the interviews and edited them into a news package. “I enjoyed putting together the news package,” Kim said. “I really had a lot of fun doing it and learned a lot in the process.” The class had speakers from the media, including news personalities, authors and publishers. The arts Tony learned different aspects of art in “The Right Side of Technology in the Arts” program at Henderson State University July 26-Aug. 8. In addition to drawing, he studied photography, music, drama and graphics. “I liked photography the best because I’ve never done it before I’m glad I got to learn how to take pictures, develop and print film,” Tony said. The dean and the art teacher were so pleased with Tony’s artistic ability that they offered him a scholarship to Henderson. He was undecided about whether or not to attend. Thirty-seven students were m the program at HSU. On the field “What I liked best about the program was that it wasn't a classroom situation. ou got to perform out on the field,” Kevin said about the Ecology and Field Biology program. Students met at Henderson and then traveled to many places. They mostly studied ecology on the field trips. One of the places they ventured to was Caney Creek Wilderness, where they took tree core samples and studied its annual growth. Project Land Stephanie took part in the Project Land program June I4-July 2. The program was a study of six natural divisions of Arkansas. They include the delta, Crowley Ridge, the Ouachitas, the Arkansas River Valley, the Ozarks, and coastal plains. Students learned about plant life, rocks, animal life, industries and bodies of water. Students toured the nuclear power plant at Russellville and the National Center for Toxicological Research at Pine Bluff. “A lot of things were required of us, but it was still a lot of fun,” Stephanie said. Governor’s School There were three different areas at Arkansas Governor's School, which Shelley attended. In Area 1, students could choose from among six subjects. Shelley’s pick was language arts. “I ve had several friends go, and they told me it was a good area to apply for. I knew beforehand there was some creative writing and journalism involved, and I thought that it would be the most important subject to me,” Shelley said. Language arts was divided into four classes, but students were only required to pick two. All 400 students at AGS participated in Area II and III. Area II dealt with moral issues such as abortion, AIDS, homosexuality and capital punishment. Area III involved expressing personal feelings and discussing different psychologists. Free time While anending the AEGIS programs, these five students also had time to socialize with oilier students. There were parties, dances and entertainment during their free time. All five agreed that they had no regrets about going. They said the best thing about the program was the people. “All the people there were so friendly, and everyone got along with each other. I’m glad I went. It was one of the best things I could have done this summer,” Tony said. ' f 3 REPRESENTATIVES AT summer gifted and talented programs include (kneeling) Shelley White and Stephanie Tanner; (standing) Kevin Rose, Kim Byers and Tony Newton. — photo by Kathleen Gregory Everything in between 27

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