Agawam High School - Sachem Yearbook (Agawam, MA)

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• » Juniors . » As we became juniors, our heads were held high and we glowed brightly just as the stars we were all becoming. The year was starting off in a very hectie way with the new 7 day schedule that had no activity periods, (what was to happen to our social lives?) This schedule caused a great many hassles. Thank goodness for the fantastic team work of our officers: President, Fred Withee; Vice-President, Patti DeCosmo; Secretary, Dina Catti; Treasurer, Maria Cavallo; and our junior class advisor Mrs. Hamilton; we made it through our year happily and proudly. They did an exceptional job with class activities, especially dances. The Disco was enough to make everybody want to move. Because of the popularity of Disco, a Disco sock hop was held. This proved that Agawam High was number one when it comes to entertainment, and the turn out was extraordinary. Everybody had the greatest time. Unfortunately, Saturday morning rolled around and we had to force ourselves out of bed and sleepwalk (or drive) to the school for our PSAT’s. We were glad to get that off our minds. Of course, there were a lot of other activities that everyone looked forward to, the prom was the “Main Event” everyone waited for. It was the first time we could attend one without having to Ik- taken by an upperclassman. It was a beautifully enchanting evening. Then there were the Hallies, which were always fun to attend. The cheerleaders put on great shows and the band added the music to get everyone psyched. It was about time all of us learned what our mouths were for. Nobody’s ever seen so many young adults acting so crazy until they’ve seen the class of 1980. Our school sports had risen to the top again with the spotlight shining brightly as our football team pulverized West Side 42-6, (that day we all had something to be thankful for.) The Mirror strutted it’s stuff’ when it won the award for the best school newspaper in the area. (Congratulations!). It seemed impossible that we were ever going to see our class rings, but we were so occupied, that the time Hew by. All the rings looked so good on our fingers, (it takes a star’s hand to make it look fantastic.) W'e all flashed our hands around in everyone’s faces to show we were important, (we were juniors.) Our junior days seemed so few and passed quickly. We all realized it when the seniors left and we watched some of our very close friends graduate. The tears fell like leaky faucets because we were going to miss them and we knew we were the next ones to leave. But the tears were also for joy because we knew next year was going to Ik the most important year of our lives and as stars, we would make it our best performance. k 19

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As Vt waft£ Boohobfoms... Tlic class of 1980 rose to be natural born stars from day one of being sophomores to the special day of being recognized as seniors, (wow did that day feel great!) To start off with the hardest tiling possible, we had to muddle through our sophomore year (what a goal!) we all waited excitedly for activity periods where some of us could catch up on our seemingly endless homework while the rest of us caught up on our social lives. Our rallies didn't seem as exciting to us as they did to the rest of the school, but slowly we learned. Some of us added a little touch of our talents to help out in extracurricular activities. The band and colorguard won first place in the Columbus Day parade and second place in parade in Philadelphia. An outstanding job was done by the Chorale in the Christmas Fantasy”, (it made us all feel like we were little kids again.) The sports for that year rose to new heights, with the exception of the loss of the West Side game. We knew we'd beat ’em from then on (step aside West Side, here come the rowdie Brownies.) Most outstanding was the success of the hockey team gaining the Western Mass, title. That was enough excitement for everybody, but high school was still to prove itself to be the “top.” Those fabulous, witty mimes; Stromberg and Cooper showed us a collection of enchanting skits that everyone enjoyed. The Marine Band made us feel great pride. Career Day was very informative and started us all thinking about our futures, (which seemed so terrifying.) Our first dance was a treasured experience with the excellent sounds of Tymc”, (some of us wished the time wasn’t going by so quickly.) Our great success was due to our fantastic officers; President; Donna Shoemaker; Vice President, Patti DeCosmo, Secretary, Dina Catti; Treasurer, Maria Cavallo; and our sophomore advisor, Mr. White. The biggest decision of the year was to pick out our class ring. Choosing the special one was very tormenting, but after a lot of time and concentration, the orders were sent in. The days were going by too quickly to even notice and soon we faced the sad day when “our seniors were leaving. Inside we felt something very tender. It must have been a point added to our stars because we were now Juniors.

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0 0 0 Vkbi Ifhe SHain This is the year the stars shine bright, (everybody put on your sunglasses!) We had been looking forward to this year all our lives and we weren’t going to let it pass by without making ourselves famous. We had a fantastic crew behind stage putting our act together for the year: President, Vin Cingras; Vice-President, Sue Garvin; Secretary, Dina Oatti; Treasurer, Maria Cavallo; and our senior class advisor, Mrs. Hamilton. Our first act was a magazine drive to help us pay our dues. The results weren’t as big as expected, but were fairly good. We also started off the year with many fantastic dances. We enjoyed ourselves very much and couldn’t wait for the next one. The band and color guard added some class to our senior year, and won first place in the Columbus Day Parade and the competition in Lowell, (that’s the way to go!) The football team missed the chance for the Western Mass, title bv losing at Holyoke. The rallies were the best of all our years. We found ourselves sitting under the giant letters spelling SENIORS!” As stars, we deserved that title, (it felt great!) We showed those underclassmen what the real meaning of senior was. As seniors, we had many tough decisions. We had to go through those grueling SAT’s and hope and pray we did well so our results would look superb on our college and scholarship applications. The difficult part was trying to figure out what college we wanted to go to and what scholarships we could apply for. The next thing we had to do was hope and pray for good test scores. Just as the decade changed from the seventies to the eighties, there were many changes in our school. As we walked down the hall and looked around, what used to be windows was now a brick wall! The whole school was being renovated. Because of all the commotion over rebuilding, the boilers were never connected and unexpected cold days came. That’s when we really knew what Eskimos felt like! We had to learn how to write wearing mittens. After a lot of publicity, something was done and we could then walk around dressed normally. The thing that was really hard to adjust to, was the lack of a homeroom period. We all felt so lost without it. I think we never did get used to it. Of course, as stars we had to have the comeljack of the Winter Olympics. That was one fantastic show and the stars were the best i as usual.) I think the highlight that we all waited for was the Kid Party. That had to Ik the most enjoyable night of our year. This was the only time we could go somewhere as ourselves without wearing disguises so that nobody would recognize us. One thing that really had us worried was that we almost lost Max-Ed. That is one privilege stars should liave, and the school committee finally realized it. The days are Hying by too quickly and we all realize graduation will be here soon. The night will Ik filled with showers of tears and love. That will Ik our last performance together and we’ll make it so unique everyone will want an encore. Watch out world, here come the stars of 19S0 from Agawam High School. We Love You! Lisa Rachele Literary Staff Sachem 'SO