Classical High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

Page 31 text:

masters in the realm of music. The music department at Classical is renowned throughout the Springfield area for its fine performances, especially those of Madrigal and the band. Mr. Jacobs is one of the two teachers responsible for such work. He is a graduate of Lamson School of Music and Lowell State College, and has studied at various other music institutions. The groups which he directs are Boys’ Chorus, Freshmen Girls’ Chorus, Upper Girls’ Chorus, Choir, Madrigal, and the string ensemble. Mr. Alfred Jacobs Both the choral groups and band have had an active schedule this season. The -singers again presented their annual Christmas and Spring concerts. On May 13, the Madrigal and Boys’ Chorus also performed at the Western Massachusetts Music Festival. Madrigal will cli- max its many outside engagements with its formal concert on June 5. Besides playing at Classical assemblies, pep rallies, and games, the band has played at other city schools. The members have also played at such outside activities as Armed Forces Day at the Armory and at Westover Field, Mr. O'Keeffe is the skilled director of the Classical bands. He leads not only the large Class- ical marching band, but also a student dance band and a German band, which has been very pop- ular with outside groups. Mr. O’Keeffe has received his training at Boston University and Colum- bia University. The skill of both him and his students is recognized and appreciated each time people hear the Classical band rehearsing early in the morning or playing at a concert at night. Mr. Vincent O’Keeffe individually aids students such as John Carpenter, Jim Podworski, Ken Kanner, and Steve Kutner, 27

Page 30 text:

an aesthetic expert, Halina Lewantowicz watches Mrs. K. Helena Laramee explain the techniques of sculpturing. Again the Classical Art Department had a very educational and successful year. Such success is due to Mrs. Laramee, teacher of Art I, II, III, and IV. A very skilled artist herself, she has studied at the Massachusetts College of Art and the University of Massachusetts. Before coming to Classical, she taught in other Springfield schools. But students hope she never leaves Classical, for she is not only a skilled teacher, but also a kind and true friend to all. As proof of the outstanding talent present in the department, Classical students won many awards this year in the Scholastic Art contest in Boston. Mrs. Laramee and some students were present to see the awarding of numerous certificates and gold keys by Scholastic Magazines and the Boston Globe. Certificates of Merit winners from Classical included Elaine Leiper, Halina Lewan- towicz, Richard Marcuson, Margaret Nystrom, Peter Pawlowicz, Ronna Safford, and William Wegeman. Joyce Lichwala received a gold key for a costume design; James Marcuson and Alex Mapp received keys for photography work. There is also evidence of artistic talent in the varied activities of Classical, such as Carousel, fashion shows, dances, and Library Week. Russell Jacques and Thomas Nadolski are two of the students working on Senior Prom decorations. 26

Page 32 text:

the very important school librarian, To make sure the book fair is a success, Miss Brown calls together many of her assistants. Standing left to right are Francine Uretsky, Judy Anthony, Marilyn Hallbourg, Linda Freedman, Michael Ouellette, Patti Mapp, Peter Pawlowicz, Janice Shonak, Margaret Brunelle, Carolyn Brown, Bob Fleisch- ner, Regina Aronson, and Donald Rising. Miss Brown, Beverly Forgette, Barbara Hursh, and David Howe are seated, Miss Isabelle Brown is the important and always active school librarian. She has received degrees from Mount Holyoke and Syracuse University. Each day Miss Brown and her student assistants discharge, renew, collect, and repair books, answer varied questions, and keep the library neat and orderly. Classical High School students can be proud of their new library. In its second year of operation, Miss Brown and her aides have offered thousands of books to students and have answered numerous reference questions. Besides having a large collection of books ranging from dictionaries to popular fiction, the library has a fine assortment of records and magazines which are very helpful to both students and teachers. It also has sponsored a very successful book fair where students purchased hundreds of pocket books and thus helped support their library. To delight of the English teachers, the best-seller was Roget’s Thesaurus. The average circulation this year has been nineteen articles per day and the average attendance has been eighty-nine, Going over their many duties in prep- aration for Library Week are, standing left to right, Sandra Ellingham, Marilyn Martyny, Valerie Caswell, Rita Brown, Jeri Searleman, Ann Murray, Elaine Roos, Richard Lerner, Arnold Shtrax, Peter Fantl, and Anna Ladue. Seated are Terry Howard and Barbara Scougall.