Cathedral Preparatory School - Literulae Yearbook (Erie, PA)

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Another change of classes, and the third period be- gins. When this period is finished, the boys get their Mass Books and proceed to the Cathedral. A different member of the faculty celebrates Mass each week. It is a dialogue Mass with the boys singing hymns and an- swering the priest in Latin. There is a brief sermon, a large portion of the student body receives Communion, and the Mass is completed. Half the students hurry to lunchg the other half goes to class. The enrollment is so large that only half the students can fit in the cafeteria at one time. The lunch hour provides a break in the otherwise busy day. It is a time to sit and talk, to refresh oneself for the work of the afternoon ahead. Some boys go outside for a breath of fresh air before classes begin again. During each lunch period there is an impromptu rally. An important game is coming up tonight and everyone is eager to help cheer the team on to victory. When the bell rings, the rally breaks up and everyone goes back to class. There are three more periods in the afternoon. At 3:20 the final bell rings and school is dismissed. The students go to their lockers, take the books they need for homework, and stream out of school, happy that one more day is finished. But some still remain in the school. For a large number of boys there is practice in one of the ten sports in which Prep has a team. There are clubs to suit everyone's tastes, from bowling league to a chess and debate club. The art room is crowded with boys making posters for sports events. Perhaps there is a committee meeting to help plan for the next school dance. There is plenty of activity going on for those who are interested. By five-thirty the halls are once again empty. The boys who have jobs cleaning up after classes are fin- ished and go home. The lights are turned off and the doors are locked. Everything is ready for tomorrow o

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o The tower clocks on the Cathedral read eight o'clock as students waiting to enter Prep's seven doors listen to the chimes. The doors are opened and the boys pour into the empty corridors. The halls reverberate with conversations and an occasional boisterous laugh. Prepsters hurry to their lockers to get books for the morning classes. Here and there someone is catching up on his work, perhaps finishing an assignment which is due today, or else doing some last-minute studying for a test. Those whose work is finished gather in small groups to talk and to wait for another day of school to begin. In the attendance ofiice the assistant headmasters are greeting boys who have sad stories to tell. These stu- dents left for school so eagerly that in their haste they forgot perhaps their locker keys or their blazers, and no one can go to class without either. The priests listen patiently to their stories and mete out the appropriate corrections. At 8:27 the first bell rings. There is a flurry of activity as everyone hurries to his first period class- room. Those who like to cut things closely and come in just on time are taking their books from their lockers. Within three minutes, the corridors are empty and si- lent. When the bell rings at 8:30 to mark the start of the first period, everyone is already in class. That is, almost everyone is in class. Those who have cut things a little too closely are going down to the attendance office to receive tardy slips and demerits. There are more sad stories for the assistant headmas- ters to listen to. Finally the school settles down into class routine. Today the periods are shortened for Wednesday morning Mass. The classes, which are ordinarily fifty- five minutes long, have been cut to slightly more than a half hour. The bell rings for the change of classes, and thirteen hundred boys stream through the corridors to- ward their next classroom. They have three minutes to get to wherever they are going, and there is good-na- tured jockeying for position. Monitors stand at strategic points along the corridors to keep the students in a reasonable semblance of order. Second period is a Student Council meeting. The representatives of the different school organizations and one elected representative from each social studies class assemble in the auditorium. Any student who wants anything changed in the school can drop a resolution into the box in the attendance office and the Student Council debates it. Would the majority of the students want the change? The representatives vote on the reso- lutions, speaking on behalf of the boys whom they represent. Resolutions which are passed are given to the Headmaster to be approved. If prudently possible, he follows the council's suggestions. 25?-S' - V .. -.yung .5 13:54, ci gg - - - - rx 4' A: w ' - i '.f-:Mt-12 ' .Z ..: 'f 1 -1' -' '-..r,m-sg. ,fftm 4- . V- 4 THE STUDENT COMMUNITY AND ITS ACTIVITIES 13

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