Cathedral Preparatory School - Literulae Yearbook (Erie, PA)

Page 12 text:

Right: Prep's faculty and staff are the pump-primers for each year. As their enthusiasm goes, so goes the nine months of school. A softball game at a late summer picnic gives a renewed spirit to many good people. Far Right: Parents too spend countless hours working to keep Prep alive and growing. Mr. Paul Lorei and Mr. Harry Grab help in getting the students and faculty ready for the Fall style show. Below: Students at Prep can seldom be accused of selfishness with theirtime. Senior monitors Don Pat- sy and Tim Watters spend a few quiet moments during seventh period getting some of their Calc. on paper. Center: A sense of caring for the needs of the individual is an active part of the life at Prep. Fr. Barletta, who does a great deal of guidance work, talks with Steve Ventrello about college plans. Cen- ter Below: Students take leadership roles in plan- ning the major events of the school year. Senior Class President Jeff O'Brien gives a great deal of his time to call bus companies for transportation to away basketball games. 8

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New Paces Innovation is what has characterized the American way of living since the first settlers came from Europe seeking a new life, a place to accept their many, varied beliefs. Those pioneers initiated a rugged individualism of the type never seen be- fore. The same has been the case in the most recent decades of our history: the challenges of the sixties turned into the resolutions of the seventies leading, hopefully, into the new ideas and lifes- tyles of the eighties. A sense of those new ideas and lifes- tyles grew at Prep this year. Hair styles, dress, music, interests and philosophies took on new variations and made their way down new paths. Short hair reap- peared and the people wearing it weren't part of the military. A long-standing tradi- tion fell when the Prep blazer effectively disappeared and sweaters and sport coats brought some color and variety to the halls and classrooms - and the stu- dents looked much better. While rock music held its own, disco died and a sound called New Wave won the hearts and ears of the adolescent consumer. The eerie, vibrant sound of this music created by the broader use of key- board, sax and percussion, replaced the muddiness of hard rock and the brashi- ness of disco. A new spirit of patriotism grew in Amer- ica warmed by the smiles of the returning American hostagesg the ideas of brother- hood andthe sanctity of life meant some- thing real once again. The Reagan admin- istration promised a new look at the abor- tion issue and students and faculty at Prep kept their voices loud in opposition to this taking of human life. Underpinning all of this came a new atti- tude of determination to take the raw ma- terials of idealistic youth and exper- ienced leadership and create a school, a country, a world in which could grow a unity in diversity - a real Christian life- style, a way of life in which everyone is treated as an equal. 7

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New Traces Permastone, stained glass, concrete and slate . .. raw materials . . . building blocks. . .the stuff monuments are made of. This is Cathedral Prep from the outside. But empty buildings are only skeletons. They are as lifeless as their makers who have turned to dust before them. It takes warmth and breath and beating hearts to give life and this does not, this cannot exist in the past. As we turned the corner of time and moved on into the eighties, a new spirit sprouted and developed watered by the sweat and tears of its caretakers, nour- ished by their energy and labor. This is Cathedral Prep . . . from the inside. Many things were important to us this year. Our status as a college preparatory school gave a great deal of value to all of the work which took place in the class- room. Academics and academic competi- tion grabbed the attention of all who were serious about a good preparation for the future. The numbers of students and faculty involved in interscholastic and intramural sports pointed to the importance of ath- letics in our living. This involvement didn't stop at only those who were on the floor or the field or the mat. The support of fans gave an added impetus to the competi- tors. Activities gave another perspective to growth and development. There is value in learning every day in all that one does and this value stood out in the fun, the socializing, the skill-building and the ser- vice to others which the clubs provided. Close to one hundred per cent of the graduating Seniors participated in some activity at some time during their four years at Prep. All of these are important. But they are only things. What was most important was the people these things were done with and for. This is Cathedral Prep . . . from all sides. From administration to fac- ulty to students to parents, the Gospel call to care for one another breathed life into the skeleton. lt lived. 9