George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

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GCM 152 CURRICULUM ■ i Fine Arts departments

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revitalizes old ideas Improving material within old fields was concentrated upon in the Social Studies department. Most active were government teachers, who used new-inquiry materials and expanded the elective program. A team-teaching approach in ge¬ ography was coordinated by Miss Diana Berda and Mrs. Donna Rorer. Using a regional approach, stu¬ dents changed teachers each quarter. An interest in archaeology grew out of a summer institute at Williamsburg, attended by Mrs. Martha Williams. Her commentary and slides helped members of U.S. History and World Civ. I classes gain insight into the field and many decided to participate in a prospec¬ tive dig” at Fort Belvoir. Extended Easter vacation al¬ lowed Mrs. Betty Little and Miss Sula Floros to take students to the Soviet Union in a warmer season to study comparative government on location. World Civ. I and II students were inspired by an assignment of quar- Below right: Mr. Ric Berard displays his Morp Costume. Left: Conceptual diagrams give World Civ. students a chance to demon¬ strate their creativity. Opposite page: World Civ. I students take time out to show their terly conceptual diagrams. The vi¬ sual projects ranged from games such as Coup d’ Etat” and Em¬ pire” to mobiles and a red house that one entered to totally experi¬ ence Europe in the Age of Reason. Advanced Placement European History was extended to a fuli year course. A seminar approach was used by students to prepare for college-level exams. This course proved so popular that an addi¬ tional course in A.P. American His¬ tory was planned for the next year’s juniors. The Morp, a dance sponsored by Mr. Ric Berard’s Sociology class, involved many in the Social Studies faculty as dance teachers and DJ’s. Stressed in the department was understanding and handling of con¬ cepts. This approach to learning history was considered by some to be more valuable than rote memory of names and dates. The teachers worked actively for new materials and ideas, to be implemented in coming years. skili in flying paper airplanes. Opposite page, below: Liz Sorgen and Judy Renfroe have an after-class talk with Mr. Robert 4 Wallace. Below left: Mrs. Martha Williams calls out grades to an apprehensive class.

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CURRICULUM 153 meet creative chaiiesiies 1 Instrumentalists at Marshall were kept busy during the fall by football marching season and preparations for the many concerts of the winter and spring. This provided opportu¬ nities for GCM’s bands — the Wind Ensemble, Stage Band, String Orchestra, Concert Band, and Con¬ cert Jazz Band, under the direction of Mr. John LaCava and Mr. Tony Aversano — to gain performance experience and bring music to the public. A unique opportunity for this year’s band members was to partic¬ ipate in President Nixon’s second Inaugural parade as part of the 1976 — member marching band. Both the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble went on concert ex¬ change trips to Wilmington, N.C. and Red Lion, Pa. The Music Theory class, taught by Mr. John LaCava, analyzed the structure and composition of music historically, from the times of early Gregorian chant through the Ren¬ aissance and Baroque periods. Collaboration with in- strumentalists sparked many of the choral concerts this year. There were performances by the Girls Chorus, Mixed Chorus, Girls En¬ semble, Concert Choir, and Madri¬ gals, under the direction of Mrs. Mary Gay Craig. The Concert Choir and Madrigals gave special Christmas Concerts at the Washing¬ ton Cathedral and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Madrigals went on a summer concert tour of Mexico. Adopting a policy of exposing art students to many medias, the Art Department offered courses ranging from a general survey of possible techniques to individu¬ alized instrution geared to meet student’s special interests. Far left: Mrs. Mary Craig directs a dress re¬ hearsal for the Christmas Concert. Above left: Mrs. Jane Dodson supervises her students’ art work. Left: Music Theory students reinact a Medieval gypsy songfest. Above: Mr. Tony Aversano strikes his hands so as to produce a sharp percussive noise. I