Belleville Township High School East - Yearbook (Belleville, IL)

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SPECIAL ASSEMBLIES E ast students have experienced a wide variety of assemblies ranging from lectures to musical groups. On November 21, the student body as¬ sembled to listen to Captain Jerry Cof¬ fee’s message of inspiration. As a prison¬ er war, Captain Coffee recounted how he eventually overcame the miserable condi¬ tions in Vietnam by keeping faith in him¬ self, in his country, and in God. The S.I.U.C. Jazz Band gave a special performance in mid winter this year. They played a wide assortment of contempo¬ rary Jazz and Blues. All of the instrumen¬ tal music classes went to the Perfor¬ mance Center to see the concert. There were many fine solos by various mem¬ bers of the band including two solos by teachers. The band played with excellent clarity and sharpness in every note. One member of the audience commented, “Wow! These guys are great. On March 4, Social Studies students met in B 100 to listen to Yaron Valler and Zippi Brand. They were two Israeli stu¬ dents touring the United States telling stu¬ dents about Israel. Students had a chance to see slides of Israel and talk about life in Israel compared to life in the states. Students also got an opportunity to see how other countries view the U.S. “They were very interesting. They both had different opinions on everything. We had a chance to learn about Israel and the U.S. through teenagers ' eyes, ex¬ pressed senior Julie Madden. On March 18, the army sent a rock band named Spectra to entertain the stu¬ dents. The four man band played hits from such artists as Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston, and Huey Lewis. Selections in¬ cluded ‘Livin ' on a Prayer, ' ' Greatest Love,’ ‘Hip to be Square, ' and two origi¬ nal songs written by the keyboard player. It was a nice change,” stated junior Terri Taff, “this year the Army band played music we really liked. Special Assemblies 17

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Little weevil in my bread I think I just bit off your head. I see the place where you have bled The dough around it is all red. Well, that’s okay for now instead I know that you are really dead. I wonder if your name is Fred? C apt. Jerry Coffey, a prisoner of war during the Vietnam Conflict, spoke to students at Belleville East about his experiences in North Vietnam. He told us about how he and fellow P.O.W.’s kept faith in themselves, in each other, in America, and in God. In his speech, he advised us to also practice these aspects of faith in our everyday life. 16 Special Assemblies

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Sophomore Choir entertains the students at the Christmas Assembly. With noisemakers in hand, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Zink. Miss Johnson. Miss Menke. Miss Ben- assi. Mr. Logsdon. Mr. Heiligenstein. and Mr. Cattaneo perform along with the orchestra. Yvonne Barnes, front, Kicks up her heels along with the rest of the Pom-Pon squad in their festive routine. Santa Claus makes his annual appearance, wishing students and faculty a very Merry Christmas. IN THE SPIRIT OF THINGS T he Christmas assembly this year was filled with excitement and en¬ tertainment. On the last day of school before Christmas vacation, the student body filled the bleachers of the gymnasium while listening to Mr. Curtis’ opening speech. For entertainment, the Orchestra and Jazz Band performed Christmas songs. During one of these songs by the Orches¬ tra, several members of the faculty par¬ ticipated in the song. With noisemakers in hand, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Zink, Miss Benassi, Mr. Aleman, Miss Johnson, Miss Menke, Mr. Logdson, Mr. Heiligenstein and Mr. Cattaneo performed with the Orchestra. Treble Choir sang several songs includ¬ ing Silver Bells. The Concert Choir also sang a few favorites. The Sophomore Choir performed the contemporary “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.” The Pom-Pon Squad did their part for the assembly by dancing in stockings, caps, and tinsel. By the time they had finished, most of the squad had lost their tinsel but not their sense of humor. Along with the squad, the student body got quite a kick out of the performance. The big moment that everyone was waiting for finally came at the end of the assembly when Santa Claus made his an¬ nual appearance. Santa Claus wished ev¬ eryone a ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.’ Students left the assembly in holiday spirit. 18 Christmas Assembly