Catholic Boys High School - Rocket Yearbook (Little Rock, AR)

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Those crazy Americans and their ceremonies! states Javier Binaghi to Russell Bur- nett and Domingos Carvalho. f at s PROFILE: Javier Enrique Binaghi From: Las Toscas Argentina Staying with the Morgan family avier thinks that being a foreign exchange stu- dent not only teaches one about another culture and language but also it can be the experience of a lifetime. Javier noticed that there are more com- mercials on American television than in Argentina. Although he finds baseball boring, which may dismay some students he thinks that football is very enjoyable. He also enjoys several types of music and likes rock-n-roll the most. Javier like the other exchange students cant enjoy the freedom of driving a car himself in his home country since licenses aren't issued until a driver is 18. On the other hand, there is no mini- mum age for purchasing alcohol in his country. Javier likes the CHS pep assemblies, but finds that an all-boys school is a new experience. Javier found the first day of school a challenging exper- ience: I felt very lost because I didn't speak very good English, and I clidn't know anybody here. Domingos flashes his Portu- guese smile. The Yank computers are so confusing. Russell Burnett writes a program, with an ac- CCHI. Q ,Student Life

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OPEN IN STUDENT EXCHANGE Catholic High is the magnet which draws a multiplicity of students into its corridors and classrooms. Most of these students come from cities in or around the center of the Land of Opportunity, rang- ing from the hub city of Little Rock to the far-off suburbs of Conway, which includes our North Little Rock contingent. Some students, however, have come from an even greater distance. From farther than the city limits of Little Rock, past North Little Rock, outside the state, beyond the boarders of our country, and, in some cases, out of this hemisphere, come the foreign exchange students. The three Uavier Binaghi, Russell Bur- nett, and Domingos Carvalhoj aren't Musketeers, but they are our gazetteers, who have a lot to teach us about geography. And from us, U.S. citizens and Arkansans, they will learn of a culture different from that of their own country. They also Cand who can blame them?D came to have fun. While they are temporary residents, they live with host families who often either have or had a son attending Catholic High. Philip Kerr observes, They bring with them their customs, beliefs, and ideals, from which we learn a lot about our world. Since we agree, the year- book has asked them to share some of their thoughts. PROFILE: Domingos Carvalho From: Lisbon, Portugal Staying with the Wofford Family ' Domingos always wanted to be a foreign ex change student he finally decided to become one when his friends who had been foreign exchange students persuaded him to be one In regard to sports he finds that basketball and football are his favorite American sports One big difference he notes about American television as opposed to Portugese TV is that his country has only two stations from which to choose Nonetheless American movies and soap operas are seen much in Portugal Domrngos also likes a wide variety of music but shares Russell s view on heavy metal Domin gos also enloys the pep rallies even though he doesn t fully understand them But he does under stand and appreciate the Rockettes He also dislikes the absence of girls in school saying It isnt good that boys and girls arent educated together It s not normal Yet his first day of school was a good start because he had already met a few people in football PROFILE Russell Burnett From Northcliffjohannesburg South Africa Staying with the Wujek Family rence a new way of life get a new perspective and see if the grass is greener on the other side H enyoys American sports and thinks football is very entertaining He likes all types of music except heavy metal a view of head bangers shared by many He enjoys classical and orchestral music but finds FM 104 to his liking when it comes to rock music Russell finds that the pep rallies bring a wel come break to the long day He says that Amen can television has a much greater variety to chose from than television in his country When asked the perennial question what he thought of the absence of girls at Catholic he said It is a pity my school was also all boys He feels that girls would be a great addition during lunch Russell says that he feels at home because on the first day everyone was friendly and sang Happy Birthday to him and this made him feel very welcome 7 7 , . 7 ' 9 S 7 3 7 . . , I . , . Russell wanted to come to America to exper- . . 7 9 ll ' ' ' .YY e ' 9 , - . . , , , 4 7 7 , .

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THAT UNITE GENERA- TTONS OF CHS STUDENTS He gazed fondly at the dull band of metal. With his eyes, he traced the hairline crack in the stone. If he peered long and hard enough, he could just discern the faint lettering carved into the ring. The words ran over his lips as if an incantation. His first ring mass had all been a dream. High school was forever, it was for life, but to him and his classmates, the seniors receiving their rings were moving beyondg they were dying. During the next year's mass he knew those faces that solemnly bowed to the cross before the rings. Slowly, he began to realize it would not be long before he stepped up to take his own ring and the responsibilities it entailed. He wanted merely to possess that hard-won confidence a senior with his ring held. As a junior, it finally dawned on him how close the day was. His feelings churned. He desired to hold that ring, but he longed never to have it, to shoulder its responsibilities. He wished that day farther away. He was just growing up, and high school was already almost over. Then, when he came to that day, he felt nothing that he expected. His hands quivered so with excitement that the candle he held shook. For the first time he felt the senior. His classmates complained that their rings were too loose or tight. Laughter accompanied many an elevated fourth finger. Were they all so innocent of what they held? For they wore not a cheap band of metal and glass, but the sum of their experiences, what had molded him and his classmates. He saw now how all before had been cheap talk. It was such a fallacy to compare it all to butterflies evolv- ing from cocoons- just as if seniors were larval. Receiv- ing that ring was not the first chapter of the end, but the last of the beginning. r 1 F In the final moments of the ring mass, the seniors' candles illu- minate the gym.