Golden West High School - Sunset Yearbook (Visalia, CA)

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Change in priority? Not at Golden West Teachers and students were quick to react in 1987 when the Visalia Timcs-Dclta editorialized that Golden West may have a priority problem just because it failed to enter a team of six students in Tulare County’s academic decathlon. The editorial suggested that Golden West failed to prove that “getting kids excited about academics is the No. 1 challenge.” Had the Timcs-Dclta looked beyond the onc-day-a-ycar decathlon that invlovcs just a handful of students, - it would have dis- covered there arc dozens of activities and competitions at Golden West that get students excited about academics. The Math and Home Economics depart- ments competed against Valley schools in several competitions. Musical groups received excellent and superior ratings at a competition festival. Regular in-class com- petitions took place in science classes, agri- culture students competed for the title of State Farmer and other awards, journalism students won the Valley sweepstakes award, etc., etc. Our views No academic decathlon team? How can this be. « .. jij.'i iru vrrv What a shame Golden West High School I skipping the academic decathlon this year. Academic decathlons arc a swell idea. They give kids with brains who aren t exactly gridiron material a chance to show off nh»lc- Golden West should be P The o ficiM reason is lack of interest on thei part of Golden West students. Can this possibly be true? They don't seem to have any problem at Redwood and Ml. Whitney. True, teen-agers can be difficult to motivate (asx one to clean up his room), but no one expressed any interest at all? For Golden West administrators to ndmil they failed to persuade students to get involved — this is a chance to show off ;jc school- implies a priority problem. It also implies they didn't try very Educators' No. 1 mission Is to educate, to advance the cause of ih'nkmg analysis, skills essential to America's future well-being. If we can have football teams, which arc also part of education, we can have academic decathlon teams. In this day and age. w'tn japan and other nations nipping at our heels in the science and industry race. getting kids excited about academics Is the No. 1 challenge. Golden West knows that, so why not PIw'eVcfusc to believe that Golden West students aren't interested. School board President Elisa Maas has right. ” we can't RCt the students motivated. she said, then we need to work harder on It.” A TOP LEFT: Assistant principal Ed Jan .cn presents a trophy to Brian Doc following a Math Department competition. MIDDLE LEFT: Joe Viccnti receives congratulations and a trophy from assistant principal Ed Janzen after winning a math contest. LEFT: Home Economic students Henry Renteria, Joey Jeffus, Chris- tine Dias and Regina Powell receive a cake from the FHA for the awards they won at a competition in Delano. TOP RIGHT: Dan Parkinson won a physics class contest with this tower he constructed from one sheet of 8 1 2 X 11-inch paper. ABOVE: Pathfinder Editor Patrick Ban- and sports editor Michael Jordan receive the Valley’s sweepstakes award for journalism. 220

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Visalia Times-Delta Top 10 TV shows 1. Family Ties” 2. The Cosby Show” 3. Cheers 4. Night Court” 5. “Murder She Wrote” 6. Who’s the Boss?” 7. Growing Pains” 8. 60 Minutes” 9. “Golden Girls” 10. Moonlighting” Top movies Platoon” A Room With a View” Children of a Lesser God” Hannah and Her Sisters” The Mission” Star Trek IV” Top Gun” Crocodile Dundee” Hooslers” The Color of Money” Top singles 1. Lean on Me” by Club Nouveau 2. Let’s Walt Awhile by Janet Jackson 3. Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship 4. Mandolin Rain by Bruce Hornsby The Range 5. Somewhere Out There” by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram 6. “Tonight, Tonight, Tonlght’Y by Genesis 7. Jacob's Ladder” by Huey Lewis The News Top video rentals 1. Back to School” 2. The Karate Kid Pt. 2” 3. Running Scared” 4. Allens” 5. Ruthless People” Top LP’S 1. Licensed to Kill” by Beastle Boys 2. Slippery When Wet” by Bon Jovl 3. The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby The Range 4. Graceland” by Paul Simon 5. Control” by Janet Jackson 6. Invisible Touch” by Genesis 7. Life, Love and Pain” by Club Nouveau Contract dispute tops local news VUTA President Chris Phillips, above, and VUTA nego- tiator Jay Hoyt, right, discuss contract negotiations at a school board meeting while GWHS teacher Bob Rankin, far right, marches in an informational picket line. (Photos by Malt Black) The event that affected students and teachers the most in 1986-87 was the breakdown in contract talks between the Visalia Unified Teachers Association and the Visalia Unified School District Board of Education. The result of that breakdown, following several months of negotiations, was a teacher slowdown and the possibility of adding extra days to the school year. In an attempt to draw attention to the teacher cause and the services teachers provide, many teach- ers entered the work slowdown, refusing to perform extra duties outside of the seven-hour day. In mid March, school officials were working on a plan to add extra days to the school year so the district could meet minimum classroom hours and qualify for slate educational funds. Gifted, migrant student may feel budget cutbac HR - nS DM 219

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Changing from the ‘me generation’ Today’s teenagers have been accused by some of forming the “me generation, ” a group, they say, that only thinks about themselves. There were many exceptions to that seen at Golden West High School in 1986-87. Future Homemakers of America students, for example, con- ducted a canned-food drive during Thanksgiving to collect food for needy families in Tulare County. Student govern- ment conducted a similar drive at Christmas which many students responded to. Several students, including mem- bers of the Science Club and FHA, took part in Hands Across Visalia, a community effort to raise funds for Visalia-area needy families. Students who took a Peer Counseling class together during the first semester formed a peer counseling group second semester in an effort to help other students with problems and concerns they encounter. TOP LEFT: Student Body President Frank Nctto looks over the canned food collected by students for needy families during Christ- mas. LEFT: Students who formed a peer counseling group to help students cope with their problems and concerns arc, front row - Melissa Loscc, Alison Gordon, Charlotte Berry, Lara McCaffcry, Christie Akkcrman. Middle row - Kara Trapp, Charicc Rchfcld, Jeanette Cook, Pauline Mendes, Pam Walker, adviser Dorothy Collins. Back Row - Vera Montanez, Brandy Caine, Nicole McGivcm, Larry Fishburn, Adam Davis. ABOVE: Kim Whyte takes part in Hands Across Visalia, an event held to raise funds for the needy in the Visalia area. Photos by Matt Black 221