Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

Page 26 text:

Editor s Journal gone up in smoke but they (students) love me so much that it makes teaching worth- while. Although each of the three had decided to retire before House bill 72, they all agree that this is not a bad time to leave. It (HB 72) gave me a boost to get out of the field, admit- ted Dumas, who had been thinking about retiring for a couple of years. HB 72 has probably done education more harm than anything that has come out of the legisla- ture. After contributing their tal- ents to public education for many years, each of the retir- ing teachers planned to either develop a private business or perhaps relax in the coming years. Funding for MX passed Two votes by members of the U. S. House of Represen- tatives were the ones needed for the House to approve President Reagan ' s MX mis- sile funding plans. Appa- rently, the two legislators reacted to the president ' s in- sistence to use the MX as a negotiating wedge at future arms talks in Geneva. This sort of congressional reinforcement for the peace through strength image was attacked by the Soviets. Al- ready the Soviets had reiter- ated during Geneva talks in March that there could be no agreement to limit offensive nuclear weapons until the Star Wars missile defense scheme was halted. In addi- tion, since the gaining legisla- tive support on the MX be- came more apparent, foreign relations advisors saw future negotiations between the superpowers in further jeopardy. After the April vote, 219- 213 in favor of releasing $11.5 billion for 21 more MX misiles, the support behind the MX was clear. Consequently, those opposing the MX plans explained their intentions of putting a lid on the deploy- ment of more MX missiles. Their goal was to limit the number of MX missiles to 40 rather than the President ' s proposed 100. Although the administra- tion battled over the MX de- ployment and production, the superpowers still made a point of propaganda and pressure toward negotiations. The Soviets were angered by the support for the MX but they were led to believe that domestic and Western pres- sures would lead Reagan away from the increase in the MX and the Star Wars plans. And Americans saw that the Soviet economy falling to the extremes of nuclear negotiations. The danger was if both nations were wrong the only yield from Geneva would be terms, as in weapons to human lives, for bargaining devices. Day extended at school Beginning next fall, AISD high school students will be experiencing a sch ool day ex- tended ten minutes longer than the current day. The cur- rent official dismissal time of 3:55 p.m. will be extended next year to 4:05 p.m., but classes will still begin at 8:55 a.m. The longer high school day is a result of an extension of the AISD elementary school day, which was too short to meet the state requirement of seven hours. Extension of the elementary day made an ad- justment of the busing schedule necessary, thus af- fecting the length of the sec- ondary school day. High schoolswill have to in- dividually decide how to han- dle the extra time, and SFA Principal Jacquelyn McGee said she planned to brainstorm with a teacher council in order to make the decision. Possible ideas con- cerning distribution of the ten minute extension include ad- ding time to the passing period (time between classes), extra lunch time, and ex- tended periods. But McGee not be good use of the time. McGee said the only major affect of an extended day will be adjusting the schedule. She does not expect it to affect school rules, alter the quality of the educaton students re- ceive, or result in the hiring of more faculty. Nor will there be any personnel expense or budget cuts for SFA as a result of the extended day. Supreme Court defeats school prayer Ever since the U.S Supreme Court prohibited public, re- cited prayer in public schools in 1963, efforts to put God back in the classroom only resulted in controversial de- bates. After the narrow defeat of a voluntary prayer constitu- tional amendment in April, 1984, the pro-school prayer campaign undoubtedly resur- faced upon the re-election of President Ronald Reagan, a strong supporter of school prayer. Reagan said in an ad- dress to the House of Repre- sentatives, I believe that the God who blessed this land of ours never deserved to be ex- pelled from our schools in the first place. In January, some members of Congress proposed an amendment that would per- mit a time of prayer during the school day for those who wish to participate. Public polls indicated that a lop- sided majority of Americans favored such a constitutional amendment to add a tone of morality within public school. Critics said that voluntary school prayer could embar- rass those who did not partici- pate. Principal Jacquelyn McGee said she believed in the constitutional wall separating church and state, and she feared that the amendment could be greatly abused. She added that stu- dents who desired to pray in school have always had their own individual freedom to do so. Critics argue that the First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion by saying ' Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, ' meaning the gov- ernment cannot favor or persecute religion. Therefore, the government should not take action in religious areas. No spring thing The short-lived Spring Thing tradition was cancelled this year. Since House Bill 72 strickly Robert Nicholson and Whitney Ayres con- tribute to the Fine Arts Fest Weeic . Counselor Gaylord Humberger and Mar- cos Meacham Speak against HB 72 at a student forum in May. hmited the number of school day interruptions. Principal Jacquelyn McGee decided to discontinue the SFA spring celebration that previously took place on a single day dur- ing school hours. According to Brian Schenk, social studies teacher and Student Council sponsor. Spring Thing evolved from a Senior Carni- val held during sixth period in 1977. In 1979, the idea be- came the school-wide Spring Thing, held during fifth and sixth periods, under the spon- sorship of Student Council. Within the next five years, students became so involved with the celebration that Spring Thing was considered a tradition similar to Home- coming and Dedication Day. McGee always supported the idea of getting students in- volved, and Spring Thing pro- vided a wide variety of ac- tivities for the student body u s h

Page 25 text:

from a tuition increase, ap- proximately 25 percent, would be alloted to financial aid. The Texas Public Educa- tion Grants Program would handle this financial aid pro- gram for higher education in Texas. SFA teachers retire T ' m the kind of teacher that puts ever ' thing into my teaching, commented Ver- nice Smith, English teacher. .Along with Smith, Charlie Davis, vocational education counselor, and Jim Dumas, math teacher, retired from their educational careers at the end of the school year. I ' ve enjoyed working in the schools in general. Austin High ' s a good place to be, recalled Davis, whose career m education has spanned 35 years, 16 of them at SFA. All three reflected on their j , years of teaching as being re- ' l| warding and agreed that being a part of SFA was an unforgetable experience. I ' m going to miss teach- ing. ..the kids, Austin High, and especially Jacquelyn McGee, said Dumas, who has taught math at SFA for 12 years. I ' ll miss my friends. Smith, having been an En- glish teacher for 19 years, de- cided last year that she would retire. I ' ve given 150% of my- self, she said proudly. But it ' s a great love for kids that has kept me from feeling how much I gave. She is one who believes that teaching is not only taught from the book, but from the heart. I think the greatest tribute, the kind of action that makes all of my work meaningful, was when a student of mine th at had made an ' F ' in my class came to me after school had ended, and thanked me for all that I ' d taught him, recalled Smith. Sometimes 1 wonder if my teaching has North Hill given to family memorial for a beautification project. By SARAH ENGLAND X hanks to Helen and Charles Morton, SFA ' s North Hill was the subject of a beautification project that fi- nally took advantage of its strategic position and natural assets. The plans included the planting of over 100 native Texas trees, shrubs, and flow- ers, and the construction of a wall for people waiting for the buses and an area for holding classes outdoors. All of the plants and funds for construction were donated by the Mortons as a memorial to their daughter Jane, SFA class of ' 60, who passed away in 1964 from a brain tumor. The first time I came to the new Austin High building I looked out the library window and saw that rocky hillside and thought, ' wouldn ' t it be nice to make that beautiful, ' said Mrs. Morton. We wanted the memorial to be somewhere where her friends would be reminded of her. The two ideas just came to- gether; helping Austin High and Janie ' s memorial. On Sat., March 23, about 50 students joined in to help clear away weeds and rocks and plant trees and flowers. With the help of most of the football team taking out their frustrations on the shrubs, the job was completed ahead of schedule. The volunteers were organized by Kim Curtis and Rod Edens and the whole affair was supervised by Brian Schenk. The Mortons treated the volunteeers to a lunch catered by the Pit Bar-B-Q. Prior to the meal, everyone held hands in a circle to sing the school song, Loyal Forever . R

Page 27 text:

Bill Glover, along with Tom Wllley and Del Moberg, was Laura Witt, Courtney Parsons, and Tina Thomas dance named Outstanding Teacher of the Year . at the Senior Talent Show. -. ' Wa t Michael Quiroz won the Senior Tal- ent Show with hlsTlna Turner imper- sonation. as a whole. She said students could organize the celebration and participate in its ac- tivities. Over the years. Spring Thing hosted tug-o- wars, chili cook-offs, car shows, various bands, Softball tournaments, mud wrestling, lots of food booths, and the Red Dragon ' s annual Spring Follies. Although Spring Thing was praised by students, teachers and ad- ministators. House Bill 72 managed lo subtract another great asset to a school spirit only found at Austin High. Editor ' s note: Editaitwn is more than the application of books, time and discipline. Beyond that, education is what is learned from experietKe, from others and from our own insights. It seemed that the Legislature was supposed to improve our educa- tion with its house bills, not try to replace educational experience and achievement with restrictions and repetitious school days. As a growing tradition, Spring Thing was a celebration that not only gave the student body a change in the every day ho- hum but it presented an oppor- tunity for creative and devoted students to coordinate festivities. It was a SFA learning experience for those who challenged to pro- duce it and an enjoyment for those who partiscipated in it. The celeb- ration itself characterized that special maroon spirit that made Austin High exceptional. How could it have been de- scribed as unnecessary interrup- tion of class time? Only good memories from the experience re- main. I believe when something receives nothing but positive criticism, it should be necessary to a school environment. Ground Zero takes off to USSR The world geography classes of Alice Davis and Cathy Martin launched a first strike of friendship to- wards the Soviet Union dur- ing their final six week period. Classes participated in a nationwide program called The Ground Zero Pairing Pro- ject, which sought to establish linkages between American and Soviet cities. These lin- kages were intended to form an educational and communi- cations bridge between the American people and the people of the Soviet Union. Austin High was been paired with School No. 1 in the Soviet city of Dzhambul, which is, like Austin, a capital city on a river, in the Soviet republic of Kazakh. The exchange of ideas among students in the US and USSR was designed to im- prove communications be- tween the two countries, and to possibly avoid the likeli- hood of future wars and dis- agreements. The classes contacted their sister school and assembled an idea exchange package for peace which included 250 student letters describing daily life and expressing stu- dent goals for peace, and mat- erials designed to give a por- trait of the school and commu- nity, such as newspaper and magazine clippings, a cassette of rock music, a map, magazines, drawings, bubble gum, and pictures of the school, teachers, and stu- dents. A cover letter, which was translated into Russian by Michael Katz, Chairman of the Department of Slavic Lan- guages at UT, was sent ahead of the package to School No. 1, explaining the ideas behind the project and requesting a reply from Soviet students. Regarding the possibilitv of interception of the materials