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

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18 Sec No Exceptions! s many new options arise for students each year, so Ae may old ones be taken away. The seniors at Classical T were faced with just that crisis. Their option in taking physical education was no more! They were stranded in the same, dull routine which they had faced in their freshman, sophomore and junior years. The option of taking gym was a privilege granted to those students who reached the final year of their secondary educa- tion; a privilege long awaited for and well appreciated by all seniors; a senior privilege! For one reason or another, un- known to most students, this privilege was taken away. Seniors were required to take gym. This decision not only affected seniors, but the underclass- men as well. No longer could juniors get out of gym to take Driver Education. They had to find an “‘extra”’ study period to take the course. Sophomores were not given health classes during a marking period of gym, previously a mandatory course. Even the athletes were affected. No more athletic studies were granted to allow them time for homework. Every- Mr. Robert Farr - Science Mr. John Denis - Language —i Voeees oa Mr. David Douglas - Language Mr. Elliot Dyer - Art FACULTY iting | ee ¥ : E- i i a Ml i one took gym all the time! There was, however, one advantage to this dilemma, as small and insignificant as it may be. Seniors and juniors only had gym class twice a week, rather than the previous four times a week. For the juniors it was a great improvement — for the seniors it was another senior privilege taken away. English Mrs. Frances Evans - Social Mr. Craig Dinnie - Mr. Robert Donovan - ndust. Arts

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Mr. Henry Brady - English ls English Mr. Mrs. Kathleen Briotta - Michael Burns - Science Mr. John Christie - Music This can’t be the detention hall? Mr. William Conway - Social Rules And Regulations aa) t seemed to many students at Classical this year that along | with the new administration came many new and strict rules. Rumors were circulating the school. Students heard ne if they skipped one period and got caught it meant six hours of detention, while for skipping a whole day, they would receive twelve hours of detention. Another rumor heard around school was that if a student missed more than thirty days of the school year, he would automatically be required to repeat the grade he was in. Blue and White interviewed Miss Ann McCarthy and Mr. James Nodurf, two of Classical’s assistant principals, to learn the truth of the matter. The facts differed greatly from the rumors. A student caught skipping one class received four hours of detention, not six, while a student caught for skipping the entire day was given five hours of detention, not the twelve hours which You skipped a class! the rumor stated. Along with these rules for punishment of skip- ping were regulations for tardiness and detention. As for tardiness, after a student was tardy seven times, a letter was sent home to the parents of the student making them aware of the problem. Ten tardies during the year may have resulted in suspension, depending on the situation. In relation to this, a new rule passed this year stated that any student late five times received an hour of deten- tion. As for priority of detention, a teacher’s detention out-ranked office detention. Students may have felt that four hours detention for skipping a class seemed terribly strict. The administration felt that by being strict with the students who abused privileges, they would discour- age continued abuse and protect the privileges of the good stu- dents. When asked why all these changes were made, Miss Ann McCar- thy stated that the rules were always there, they were just being enforced more. FACULTY 17

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Miss Marilyn Freedman - Math Mrs. Carol Hoffman - Social Foreign Tongues Parlez - vous francais? i Habla Vd. Espanol? =) { a student’s answer to these questions was yes, then 41 Classical’s foreign language program was designed for him. ) French, Spanish, and Latin, Classical had them all. With this extensive program students had many options in choosing which language to take and what level to work in. French classes offered students a wide range of levels beginning with French I and advancing as far as French VAP; an excelled course for those students who wished to have advanced placement credit for college. French was a greatly favored subject of many students and often prompted them to visit France on a special school trip during the April vacation. Mr. Francis Girr - English Mr. Richard Guzowski - Science - ™ | ; 4 | j Mr. Edward Hart - Math Mr. Armen Jermakian - Math Another of the languages that allowed students freedom of choice was Spanish. Spanish was popular with many students due to its increased use throughout the community and abroad. The sequence for Spanish went as follows: Spanish I, Spanish 2j, Span- ish 3X, and Spanish 4X. This year the Spanish 4X class was based on a newly formed curriculum centered around new texts and teaching material. The course not only allowed students to learn the Spanish language, but also to become acquainted with the geography and culture of Spanish speaking people. This year Latin was also popular with many students. It seemed to be one of the classic languages that met success in its attempted revival. It was especially liked by students planning to enter medi- cal fields of study in college along with those interested in its roots in modern day English. So, if foreign languages were a student’s interest, Classical was defintely the place to pursue the interest. FACULTY 19