Gar Field High School - Indian Echoes Yearbook (Woodbridge, VA)

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Determined not to teach, Mrs. Parr has been a teacher at G ' -F since 1946, be¬ coming Gar-Field ' s first full time guidance counselor in the fall of 1960. At that time, the senior class of ' 61 had only 67 stu¬ dents, a far cry from 525 students in the senior class of ' 74. When Mrs. Parr first came to Gar-Field there were 450 students and 35 members of the faculty. At that time, G-F included grades 8-1 2 and it was the only high school at this end of the county. There was no stadium, just the wooden bleachers. One of the problems that Mrs. Parr has seen while teaching at Gar-Field has been that the school had so many stu¬ dents, because it was the only high school in the area. In those days, she taught Math, General Science, and Spanish. The Woodbridge High School was later built and Gar-Field ' s enrollment was down for one year, but it was soon on the rise again. 1965, as Mrs. Parr recalls, was the beginning of the very rapid growth of G-F Every morning there was a group of new students. When asked about the size of the building as compared to the size of the student body, she laughed and replied, Well, we ' ve had three additions, you know, to the old building. The biggest transaction for the students has been the move into the new school, and the end of the three year long split shift history. Proportionally, G-F ' s school spirit and pride has not changed, considering the size of the school from year to year. It has always been here. To Mrs. Parr it has not changed simply because there is too much going on at the same time, so the involvement is spread out. G-F has not always had Mrs. Parr. Before she came to Gar-Field grounds, she attended college. Upon graduation she began her career in education, teach¬ ing three years before she married. That ended teaching for a while, for this was during the depression and few women were hired during this time. Jobs were scarce, and on the most part, men held the positions. Later, Mrs. Parr began substituting and finally taught for one full year in the Valley, where her husband was principal. World War II came and her teaching ended once more until her husband got out of the Navy in 1946. Then it was on to Gar-Field High School. What would Gar-Field do without Mrs. Parr? Well, next year we ' ll find out because this is Mrs. Parr ' s last year at G-F. All students, faculty, and administra¬ tors alike will miss her. She has been great for Gar-Field High School. Mrs. Parr Tells G-F ' s Story The many duties of Mrs. Parr never seem to cease. 10 Student Life Students find that Mrs. Parr is willing to take time out for their needs.

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Listening is the key word to learning as teachers practice what they preach. Gar-Field Dedicated At Last. Administration, parents and children congregate after dedication. Gar-Field Senior High School was opened for almost ten months before it was finally dedicated on September 30, 1973. Everyone was surprised when it was announced that the school was finally going to be dedicated because it had been put off for so long. The dedi¬ cation was postponed so many times because of scheduling of other events in the building filled the calendar. Administrators, parents, and students were welcomed by Lilo Frank, president of the Student Government Cooperation. Lilo introduced the Gar-Field High School Symphonic Band and also told the audience how great she thought the new school really is. Guest speaker for the occasion was Stewart Beville, former Supt. of Schools in Prince William County. Mr. Beville is currently the director of Off-Campus Affairs at Virginia Tech. The prayer was given by Rev. Duncan, pastor of Dale City Baptist Church. The dedication was a very simple ceremony even though the new” Gar-Field Senior High School is not a very simple school. After the ceremony itself there were tours of the school and an open house for all those interested. Most of the discussion between guides, which were students at Gar-Field, and citizens were based on the open concept of teaching. Citizens expressed good views on this new concept of learning. They were mostly amazed at the open classrooms and how students and teachers could possibly work in them, especially in the Math and Foreign Languag e departments. Teachers were available in the pods for questions of any sort. They talked to parents, citizens, or just about anybody. The teachers wanted people of the com¬ munity to be pleased with Gar-Field and the new open concept of teaching. Although not many people showed up for the dedication, it proved to be a pretty big success. Gar-Field Senior High School has finally been dedicated. G-F students volunteer for dedication tour guides. Student Life 11