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

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i Ae The most important thing in life is being able to make contact, to commu- nicate, with another person. As stu- dents, we communicate in many differ- ent ways. The most common form of communication is speech. It is not surprising when a person can talk, but it may surprise you to find out that six percent of the student body claims to speak a second language in their homes. These languages include: French, Spanish, German, Italian, Rus- sian, Polish, and Greek. Other, less common languages that students speak. at home are Portuguese, Armenian, He- brew, Dutch, Arabic, Yiddish, Ukrain- ian, and Lithuanian. There are also quite a few foreign born students in our school, some for whom English is a second language. They are from al- most every area in the world: South America, Central America, The Virgin Islands, The West Indies, Europe, Far East, Middle East, Africa, and Canada. When encouraged by teachers to tell us about life in their native lands, these immigrants add cultural enrich- ment to our classes. Speech is not our only form of communication, how- ever. We are also dependent on the written word. The various organiza- tions at Classical constantly post signs on every possible door and win- dow that their members might see. We read signs that invite us to partici- pate in school activities. “Buy S.T.” or “Join the Senate” some cry, while others urge us to contribute to the Scribe tag sale or the Red Cross Blood Bank. | Traffic and street signs, found out- side of our school, are also impor- tant to read. They regulate and di- rect traffic in order to protect us - from accidents. These signs range from the hexagonal “stop” sign to the increasing number of signs that warn us of ‘Construction Ahead.”’ Graffiti is another way to communi- cate ideas. It is everywhere—chalked on boards, scratched on desks, and drawn on walls. It is obvious that some creative people feel compelled to share their ideas with the public and advertise anything from their po- litical opinions to their favorite sayings. STUD ENT — -—- —-aA ws

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Emphasis: Art Projects Classical was included in the Springfield Bicentennial project which involved all secondary schools in Springfield. Those participating at Classical were students of advanced art classes. Mrs. Schoppe, who is involved with the projects, describes them as ‘‘super graphics painted on ply wood.’’ When asked about the creative process, Mrs. Schoppe explained, ‘First the students had to select a topic associated with an event which took place in Springfield during the 20th century. Next they researched their project and compiled a group of ideas. Then the scene was drawn on a plywood panel painted with latex paint to make it weather resistant.’ In January, these panels were attached to the fence surrounding the Court Square construction site. Passers-by could, then, view some of the numerous events which have taken place in Springfield in the past 200 years. A great variety of subject matter was presented with drawings ranging from the Basketball Hall of Fame, to the changes in fashions, to the progression of architectural design over the last hundred years. Other panels depict the various city mayors and other notable personalities of the 20th century. Mrs. Shoppe commented that, generally, the students in Art I were enthusiastic and the ninth grade classes were smaller. But they worked together better than in the past. The ninth graders were exposed to a general survey of the different types of art. Some of the projects were relief printing, paper-mache, lettering, and poster making. The hope is that this gave the students more knowledge of the art courses available at Classical. Mr. Albert Zavala he de AEs = ® Mr. William Young Mr. James Wilkie — counselor One of the biggest needs of Classi- cal is a new building so that we can better equip all of our major depart- ment areas such as science labs and foreign language labs.” Mrs. Doris Wuraftic — English “Teaching in or attending an inner city school offers all of us a rare op- portunity to grow and to become aware of values and ideas other than those which immediately surround our otherwise limited lives.’ Mr. Neil Yesu — assistant principal “Change for the sake of change is not a motivating factor; change reflects the honest and sincere needs of stu- dents as perceived through the evalu- ation of basic educational precepts.” Mr. William Young — social studies Mr. Albert Zavala — social studies “The curriculum in Classical is var- ied, flexible, vast, and not stagnant. A high sounding new course. . . is not a guarantee of success. We need a keenly involved, highly articulate student majority.’ FACULTY 27

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-COMMUNICATION 29°