Emerson High School - Emersonian Yearbook (Gary, IN)

Page 20 text:

Safety Courses Put Accent On Staying Alive Mr. Spiece shows off the new driver training car. Traffic accidents are increasing only because peo¬ ple neglect to obey laws and fail to assume propter driving attitudes. Safety courses throughout the country, and at Emerson in particular, are striving to instruct students at the age when they first begin to drive so that they may grow up aware of their driving responsibilities. Health and Safety, a half¬ semester course, is required for graduation. It cen¬ ters on psychology of the driver, effects of certain diseases on drivers, traffic laws, auto parts and gauges, and the car’s abilities. At the end of the semester each student is required to build a scale model of a trouble traffic area, improving the traffic condition. Another requirement is the health report. Each student presents an oral report based on research done on a part of the human body or on some disease. Driver Training is a six week non-credit course. A skilled instructor teaches the young driver to handle an automobile in actual traffic conditions, and he really gets a workout in Gary’s unpredictable traffic situations. Coach Szulborski gives his okay on an excellent safety project to Dennie Davis, Sandy Lowther, and Maria Velligan. 16

Page 19 text:

The Musically Inclined Find Many Oudets The downbeat is given in five music classes at Emer¬ son. Vocally, there are A Cappella and Glee Club; instrumentally. Band and Orchestra; intellectually, Theory and Harmony. The results of our music courses are extremely pleasant to the ear. Their work is heard at various occasions throughout the year. In the vocal department Glee Club and A Cappella can be heard at Christmas Vespers service, caroling in the halls on the last day before Christmas vacation, or at their spring concert. The Band plays and marches at football games. It has been called upon, too, by the city to play at certain civic affairs. Mayor Chacharis came to Emerson this year and personally gave to each member of tbe Band a medal for taking part in tbe grand opening of our through streets. Orchestra members play during inter¬ missions of school plays. Orchestra, as well as Band, gives annual concerts. Theory and Harmony is required for students wish¬ ing to earn a major in music. In this class students are tutored on the technique of writing music and the study of chords. Student musicians strike a note of harmony in Band class. Miss Sayers gives the downbeat to the Glee Club. 15

Page 21 text:

Special Programs Encourage Teenage Minds JOE BERG—FIRST ROW: Tom Torrie, Paul Dawson, and Jeff Davies. SECOND ROW: Helen Young, Maria Velligan, Sally Stewart, Karen Skubish, Karen Pittman, Sybil Russell, and Susan Cbarbonneau. FOREIGN AFFAIRS—Left to right: Joyce Dixon, Steve Whetmore, Karen Skubish, John Karedes, and Liz Henderson. Although there is a dance almost every Wednesday night, the small group pictured below are able to attend only a few of them. Their Wednesdays are reserved for the Gary Joe Berg Advanced Study Program. Joe Berg, a Milwaukee industrialist, founded this program for the advancement of sciences and humanities outside of the schools. Students recommended by teachers are given special tests by the Berg instructors. Those who receive the highest scores from each school are chosen as representatives and take the course they desire in science, humanities, and foreign languages. The projects for the year were indeed fascinating. The psychol¬ ogy department did research on the problem of cheating in school. Chemistry students experimented on the treating and finishing of modern textiles. The study of radiation was the topic of the physics section. The biology department did re¬ search with various cultures. Another special student program is the World Affairs Forum. Members meet at a different school each month to discuss the various phases of the world problems. The host school pre¬ sents a panel discussion on a specific topic chosen at the be¬ ginning of the year. Emerson’s topic was “The Testing and Tam¬ ing of Nuclear Power.” Miss Hazel Greiger sponsors the group.