Austin High School - Comet Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Editor s Journal | by the Soviet government, Davis and Martin feel that, al- though the package would probably be checked by the government and a few items may be removed, the mater- ials would eventually get through. They did note, how- ever, that it is possible that they would never receive a reply from the Soviet school. Senior Talent Show Despite the many changes in the school calendar due to House Bill 72, the Senior Tal- ent Show remained a Maroon tradition. For a while, seniors were unsure whether the show would be produced because of the new anti-assembly policy outlawing class inter- ruptions. However, the show appeared as planned, after Senior Class President Paul Ceding convinced a teachers committee to allow the show to go on. The show was cut down from an hour or more to half an hour. And in order to in- sure that the acts only take up 30 minutes, tryouts were held weeks in advance to choose only seven acts. Also, in years past the show was only for fun. This year, the acts com- peted to involve the entire student body. When the student body en- tered the gymnasium on April 25, students were given bal- lots with the seven acts listed. Seniors, Pete Moreno and Phillip Patterson of the band. The Matrix opened the show as students found their seats. After this hard-rock band music ceased. Red Jacket of- ficers, Courtney Parsons, Tina Thomas and Laura Witt danced to the music of Ynz. Many of the voters felt the girl ' s performance was so pro- fessional that the other acts could not meet the competi- tion. Following the officers ' dance was the Jackson Five act. Kenneth Black, Wayne Brum- ley, John Donovan, Rod Edens, Doug Ruby and Drew Tate played the well-known performers. Then, a large clan of mean, motorcycle mamas came out on the gym floor to dance to The Gap Band ' s Burn Rubber. The group of senior girls were: Amy Francis, Jennifer Williamson, Stacia Harris, Suzanne Schulze, Tami Johnson, Grace Benevides, Melanie DuPuy, Charlette Ro- gers, Nicole Tatum, Elizabeth Turley, Nancy Sanders and Maria Adams. The most unforgetable act was performed by Michael Quiroz. Not only did he lip- sync to Tina Turner ' s Better Be Good To Me but he dressed and moved like her. Some stu- dents said it was the mini- skirt and high heels that won the talent show for him, while others claimed it was his guts. The Stop-stops follwed Michael ' s act. These girls were have said to be the younger sisters of the Go-gos. Laura Williams sang, as Susan Skaggs accompanied with voice and tambourine, Becky Youman played the bass guitar, Michelle Ullman banged the drums and Susan Locke played the keyboard. The girls performed Head Oi ' er Heels. We Are the World was the most touching and final act. The entire talent show cast and crew joined in a multi- person lipsync act called AHS for AFRICA. Some of the most memorable performers were Earl Kinard as Stevie Wonder; Susan Skaggs as Cyndi Lauper; Clif Jenness as Willie Nelson; Becky Youman as Bruce Springsteen; Chuck Coffman as Kenny Rogers; and Eric Meizner as Daryll Hall. The act was particularly meaningful because it was de- dicated to all of the students and faculty who gave money in December to Africa. Many tears were shed by seniors and their teachers and spon- sors during and after the show, proving that the show was indeed a moving and memorable success. Calendar changes The proposed school calen- dar for the 1985-86 school year was announced at the end of the year, and it included some changes. The fall semester was to start after Labor Day, on Tues., Sept. 3, and school should be in session until a staff development day on Oct. 18. Winter vacation will start on Dec. 23 and classes should resume on Jan. 3. Three more staff development days in which the students will have the days off were proposed forJan.23and24, andFeb. 7, A one week spring break, March 24-28, which will in- clude Good Friday, will coin- cide with The University of Texas ' spring break. And fi- nally, school will be ending much later, with Tues., June 3, the last day for students, and Wed., June 4 as the last day for teachers. Prentice resigns During the first week of May, journalism advisor Tom Prentice called his editors and future editors of the SFA Ma- roon and Comet into his glass- walled office. He said he had some good news and some bad news. The good news was that he was offered a job with the Texas Daily Newspaper As- sociation (TDNA) which not only paid more, but was far away fromthe frustrations and bureaucratic hassles of the high school teaching pro- fession and its House Bills. The bad news was that after seven years of supervising yearbook and newspaper pro- duction, he was going to leave Austin High to accept the job offer in June. He was going to stop working with the kids he had grown accostumed to and cared for. ■Some of the students shed tears while others simply stared at Prentice with mixed feelings of congratulations, admiration and disappoint- ment. Well, what are you going to be doing in this other job while you are not here, hassl- ing us? asked one of the stu- dents. Prentice, who had origi- nally planned to teach for ten more years, smiled and said he would become the director of TDNA ' s publications and many other activities, such as a summer internship program for college level students. The students knew he would have a successful future because of the work he completed at Au- stin High. In the seven years that Prentice advised SFA ' s journalism department, its Wayne Brumley as Michael Jackson i 0 I i, lf ' Clif Henness lipsyncs Willie Nelson i senior class ' rendition of We Are -World . publications received a well- known professional reputa- tion. At the end of Prentice ' s an- nouncement, he asked the students to leave before he shed a few tears himself. Then the phone rang for the third interrupting time during the meeting. The students laughed. At least, I ' ll have a secret- ary to answer that %?! phone, judas priest! exclaimed Prentice. Graduation and finals This year ' s spring semester final schedule was the most bizarre ever recorded. Not only were seniors required to take all of their finals and at- tend classes after they took the exams, but the under- classmen final exam dates and times confused students and teachers alike. On Tues., May 21, seniors were required to take their Hu

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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

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our Of Spurgeon Bell, distinguished Senior class president Paul Gerling alumni, and junior Ned Sherman lis- speaks to students and guests at ten to Dedication Day ceremonies. Dedication Day. first, third and fifth period fi- nals, and on Wed., May 23, second, fourth and sixth period exams were issued. The exam periods were an hour long for the seniors and the graduates were required to attend the classes between each final exam. Also, on Thurs., May 23 seniors were expected to be in their classes for a daily grade. Any classes missed on Thursday were counted as an absence toward the five day limit. According to Principal Jaq- cuelyn McGee, in the past years, seniors were never re- ally released from school a few days early, they just took it upon themselves to miss those days. She went on further to explain that the major differnece in this years ' s schedule was that the absence policy was strictly en- forced and that this year seniors were not exempt from finals becaus of HB 72. Seniors were scheduled to graduate May 28, at2;00p.m., but were not required to be in school on Fri., May 24 or Mon., May 27. Most seniors expressed glee in getting out of Texas ' schools before House Bill 72 and all of it ' s reforms did any- more damage to them. One example of the reforms that even the district felt impelled to execute was a new final exam schedule for under- classmen this year. Students complained that the state ' s education proposals were bad enough without the help of the district. On Fri., Mav 24, when seniors were out of school, underclassmen took their first period final from 8:55-10:55. Then they resumed regular classes through sixth period. The following Monday, they took their second period exam for two hours and then com- pleted the average school day. On Tues., May 28, the stu- dents took one and a half hour Milderd Pickle Mayhal, former Social Studies teacher, was honored at the Dedication Day ceremonies. Tenth Anniversary Celebration ends with Dedication Day X he lakefront campus for Austin High School was dedi- cated on May 2, 1976 as AISD ' s Bicenntial gift to Au- stin. Ten years after the in- stitution opened on Town Lake, the Student Council celebrated its anniversary April 29 to Dedication Day on May 3. Each year SFA observed the anniversary of the ' dedica- tion ' of the lakefront campus, but since a decade passed at the location and since Spring Thing was cancelled the coun- cil planned a week of activities leading up to Dedication Day. Their plans included trivia an- nouncements, receptions, photography and art exhibits, school tours, and spring-time intramural sport ' s competi- tions. The council sponsored a fun run, and a golf and Softball tournament. The fun run was held on May 1. Neal Tuttrup, junior, and freshman, Melissa DeLeon ran to two top times for the male and female divisions in the three mile run. Alumni and faculty joined the stu- dents in the fun run as well as the golf and softball tourna- ments. Due to April showers the golf tournament was can- celled for students and faculty after Ken Macaluso took the winning alumni title. Despite the rain, student softball players from each class and the faculty battled for blue rib- bons. Of course, the senior class robbed the under- calssmen of their egos and smushed the faculty team. Consequently, the seniors took home the blue. An all-school Dedication Day assembly on May 3 wrap- ped up the week ' s activities. The Hall of Honor Steering Committee announced Dis- tinguished Alumni, Spurgeon Bell, class of ' 25, and Jaquelvn McGee, class of ' 46; Honored Faculty installed in the hall were Mildred Pickle Mayhall, Social Studies (1956-1964) and Maurice Price, English (1956- 1978). Also the Maroon Soci- ety representives installed were Melissa Macaluso, Catherine Schneider, David Shivers and Becky Youman.