East Mecklenberg High School - East Wind Yearbook (Charlotte, NC)

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East’s curriculum includes many types of classes; sophomores in an orientation class spend one part of their year’s class work in the award winning art department where they are introduced to one of the many types of classes offered at East. A forty-five minute break for lunch in East’s cafeteria presents a welcome chance to talk with friends. Seniors, using their privilege of leaving classes five minutes early for lunch, take advantage of the short line and eat while underclassmen stand in line for their lunch. East is many places during different times of the day Although there are many social functions at East, the only formal occasion is the annual junior-senior prom at Park Center, where students have an opportunity to enjoy themselves. As was King Arthur’s Camelot merely a physical structure reflecting the attitudes of its inhabitants, so also is East Mecklenburg the physical buildings which house and represent the characteristics and ideals of its students, faculty, and administrators. Perhaps it is only coincidence that the four most commonly used entrances as well as the main entrance bring the visitor first past classrooms before he can reach a particular room or office, and perhaps it is only coincidence that the library is the geographical center of East, but even if these are just coincidences, it gives the visitor a feeling of the academic atmosphere. But while the main emphasis of the school is on academics, there are other aspects of student life recognized by the faculty and administrators and provided for the students. Any visitor to East after the school day ends at three o’clock would notice many of the thirty-nine active organizations meeting or working on a project, and there are usually students in one of the nine sports offered at East engaged in either practice or actual competition with a visiting team. The major accomplishment of East is not that it offers so many activities in which most of its students participate, but rather that it offers so many varied activities that any student may participate in the areas to which he can contribute the most and from which he may gain the most. This, then, is why East, like Camelot, will be forever remembered by those who lived and worked there. Page Seven

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Students always take advantage of the school library’s facilities. Here students, as those in the foreground, may study during their lunch period for a test the next period, or, as those in the background, may work on a research paper or other class assignment. Page Six

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Students participate as spectators at many school functions. In the darkened auditorium a receptive audience enjoys the annual Variety Show sponsored by the Student Council. In addition to such special events as the Variety Show and special assemblies and inductions, an active dr amatics department offers East students a variety of programs, both recreational and informative. East offers its students an education, but this edu- cation is not limited to just the traditional aspects of a high school education — that is, solely an academic education. Rather, East challenges and stimulates the student to grow and mature emotionally and physically as well as academically. Just as in King Arthur’s time when the young boy progressed from page through squire to knight, so might three years at East — Sophomore, Junior, and Senior — be likened to a similar growth and development. The sophomore year is mainly one of orientation and scholastic development, with participation in extra- curricular activities mainly limited to the role of spectators and club members. By the junior year the student is accustomed to high school life, the academic requirements on his time, and also the various a ctivities offered. He may then decide how much more he may do in addition to his schoolwork. By the time the student reaches his senior year, the apex of his high school career, he has grown and matured enough to realize his potential, he has followed leaders before this year and is able to lead his peers and underclassmen, either by holding some important office or by simply setting an example. Exuberant school spirit carries over to the athletic events where students cheer their teams on to victory. Posters, pom-poms, and booster tags supplement the cheering at many games where excitement, fun, and good sportsmanship are rules rather than exceptions.