Valparaiso High School - Valenian Yearbook (Valparaiso, IN)

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STATE CHAMPIONSHIP boys’ cross country team members Eric Chilian. Scott Sienkowski, Brett Polizotto, Dave Ziegert, Todd Etzler, John Reggie. Leo Frey. Craig McFarland, and Scott Schroer are honored during a pep session. RECEIVING THE Mental Attitude Award for Cross Country, senior Scott Schroer is the eighth student from VHS to be honored with this award. ADDRESSING THE STUDENT body. Principal Garth Johnson accepts the Excellence in Education award from Mr. Phil Whitman, representative for the G.S. De- partment of Education. 16 Pep Sessions, Convos

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RECEIVING A REPRIMAND from the Wiz- ard (Dave Whyle), the Jester (Tim Hay- den) begins to think about his famous dancing father. 1 Pointing q foil musical MUTE KING SEXTIMUS (Pat McDonald) cannot talk, so he spends his time chasing ladies-in-waiting around the castle. THE NARRATOR THROUGHOUT the play, the Min- strel (Jim Dalfonso) recalls his true version of “The Princess and the Pea.” Dipping his paintbrush into assorted oil col- ors, the artist slowly begins creating a scene. Gradually, his sketch begins to come alive as each dab of color is applied to the canvas. Leaning back, the artist admires his creation. Though at first glance the painting seems complete, the artist knows that in order to make it three-dimensional he must add extra flair. He dips his brush and thoughtfully touch- es up the shading. Again and again, he adds and blends until he is finally satisfied. Like a painting which required hours of labor and dedication, the fall musical “Once Upon A Mattress” needed the behind-the-scenes work to produce a successful show. Before presenting the show on opening night, the 30 member cast spent eight weeks in con- centrated rehearsals where they learned and polished dances, songs, movement and lines. Much of the artistic color had to come from the careful development of character. Court members, from the domineering queen to the moat-swimming princess, found their individual identities and developed each aspects of their role’s personality. “It was important that we all had definite characters,” explained “Princess” Dee Dee Brauer. “Because in order to be able to react, you needed something to react to.” According to Ms. Noble, visual humor, exag- gerated movement and a great deal of energy were necessary in making the fairy-tale paint- ing come to life. “In many ways this show was like a series of cartoons,” she stated. “A pic- ture was painted as we moved from scene to scene.” In order to properly costume actors, decorate the ‘castle’ and promote the performances, an amount estimated at $3677 was spent. Other additives such as script rental, royalties, pro- grams and make-up also contributed to the pro- duction expenses. Ms. Noble explained that she chose “Mat- tress” because it wasn’t a typical musical. “There were a lot of different types of charac- ters for different types of people,” she said. Because the musical portrayed a fantasy in- stead of a realistic story, the roles were defined and created by the individual actors. The panto- miming of a mute king, the antics of a jester and the brave deeds of the chivalrous knight done to protect his damsel in distress were situations that painted a story far beyond a mere fairy tale. — Jennifer Carmichael Fall Musical 15

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Are they only entertainment? OBERON CASTS a magical spell on a flower to be delivered to the Queen of the Fairies. SENIOR BARBI JONES enjoys dancing at one of the ACTORS FROM the National Players many soc hops held by different clubs throughout Association present “A Midsummer the school year. Night ' s Dream” during a convo. Valparaiso High School has a reputation as being a very highly acclaimed, academically sound school, and the school year proved to be a year of awards for VHS. In past years, convocations and pep sessions were basically times for student entertainment. This year, however, many events, were held to present some award or to recognize an out- standing athletic team. In early November, the boys’ cross country team won the state championship, and a pep session was held in its honor. The nine member team was the first in 17 years to bring the state trophy to VHS. Senior Scott Schroer received the Mental Attitude Award for 1983. Based on his skills as an athlete, his grades and school- work, and all-over leadership quality, Scott was the eighth Mental Attitude winner from VHS. Later in November, Mr. Phil Whitman, repre- sentative for the CJ.S. Department of Education, presented a plaque to Principal Garth Johnson for Excellence in Education. A few weeks be- fore receiving the award, a committee consist- ing of students, teachers, parents, and commu- nity leaders met with the representative to dis- cuss all aspects of the high school. A flag was also presented to Mr. Johnson in September at a conference at the White House. According to the director of convos. Mr. Glen Ellis, these were not the only reasons for the convocations. “We try to reach a medium be- tween education and entertainment for the stu- dents, Mr. Ellis said. “Costs are also a deter- mining factor of which convos can be sched- uled,” he added. “Dreammaker, a multi-media show, seemed to be only entertainment, but there was a sublined message telling the stu- dents not to be afraid of dreams.” Geneticist Sam Rhine presented “The Most Important Nine Months of Your Life,” as he does every year for sophomores and new students. Once again becoming a prime source for stu- dents to raise funds, soc hops were also a big attraction for students after basketball and football games. A disc jockey for a band sup- plied music for students. Different clubs took turns sponsoring these dances that were held from 9:30 to 1 1 p.m. — Abby Huseman Pep Sessions, Convos 17