John H Reagan High School - Spur Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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i Mrs. Clara Ashley — Al. l. University of Texas English Mrs. Glynn Bates — B.A. Northwest State, La. Journalism Mrs. Lorene Denney — B.A. University of Texas English Mrs. Karen Easterly — B.A. Austin College English Mrs. Susan Edgar — B.A. University of Mississippi English Mrs. Jane Goodnow — B.A. University of Illinois English, French Mrs. Carolyn Haynes — M.S. Texas A. M. English Mary Johnson — B.A. San Jose State College English Mrs. Kathy Miller— B.A. Oklahoma Baptist University English, Speech, Forensics Mrs. Joan Muller — M.A. Texas Technological College English Mrs. Patricia Needles — B.A. Houard Payne College English Mrs. Marilyn Neiman — B.A. North Texas Slate English Mrs. Glory Novosad — B.F.A. University of Lexington, Ky. English. Drama Mrs. Waldron Plicque — B.A. Huston-Tillotson College English, History Mrs. Araminta Seal — B.A. Baylor University English, Creative Writing Mrs. Janice Stanford — B.A. Sam Houston Stale College English Mrs. Dorothy Strieber — M.A. University of Dayton, Ohio English, German Mrs. Joy Webb— M.A. University of Texas English THOUGHT, IDEA, EXPRESSION are emphasized in Mrs. Araminta Seal ' s Creative Writing class. Administration — 207

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FRESHMAN STU- DENTS RECEIVE graded themes from Mrs. Susan Edgar. t English Courses Geared for University ENGLISH DEPARTMENT . . . Courses in the English Department are designed to give students a well-rounded approach to grammar and literature. In grammar both the traditional approach and a thorough linguistical study of the language are employed. Themes, book reviews and novels complete the planned curriculum designed to present to the stu- dent the meaningful literary works of the past and present. The English Department of Reagan is geared toward giving the student a f irm base for university English courses. Novels such as Moby Dick, Silas Marner, The Crr cible, Huckleberry Finn and The Scarlet Letter are some that are studied for their liter- ary significance. These books provide a firm back- ground for students so that they may draw relation- ships between the novel and present time. Open to all seniors who have creative ideas and are recommended by teachers is the Creative Writing class. These students are allowed to express themselves freely and sometimes write to music. Many of the sub- missions to the literary magazine, the Ariel, come from this class. Usually selected by 12-B students, World Litera- ture broadens the student ' s literary background by going into famous novels and works. Also a part of the English Department are the journalism classes where the Spur and Radar are produced. The advanced class serves as a lab where second year students put into practice the basic facts about newspaper and yearbook production learned in the first year class. Study i v.. a PAUSING DURING HER LECTURE, Mrs. Wray Plicque allows her students time to ask questions. 206 — Administration

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Lan guages Communication Aim of Teachers, Students r FOREIGN LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT . . . Never before has communication played such an im- portant part in world affairs. In high school, students must begin to respect the traditional customs and ideas of other countries. This is one of the purposes of Reagan ' s Foreign Language Department. Besides the classical Latin, Reagan offers three contemporary foreign languages — French, German, and Spanish. Salve is one of the first words that Latin students learn. From this fundamental expression, they acquire a wide vocabulary that helps them understand the history of certain English words as well as the vo- cabularies of the five Romance languages. Although Latin is no longer spoken and is often called dead, students seem to revive it as they study the cultural aspects of ancient Rome. French students find it difficult to master the gutteral sound of the language. They also learn that French is as hard as English when it comes to silent syllables. Songs, plays and novels are an active part of the curriculum. Guten Tag and Auf Wiedersehen are common ex- pressions heard around all German classes. The lan- guage lab is quite valuable, as it is to all modern languages. Several classes had Mrs. Edda Hodnett, a native German, as their teacher, while others learned under Mrs. Dorothy Strieber, who has also lived in Germany. Spanish is perhaps one of the more useful languages that students take, since Texas is so close to Mexico, and the Spanish have had such a great influence on the state ' s culture. ItITtII IH ' MM ' IHO i ' i:u«l LATIN TEACHER Mrs. Cora Fuller sits quietly while students continue on translations, declensions and verb conjugations. i STUDENTS 1 WATCHING FOR STUDENT mistakes in French pronunciation requires concentration from Charles Griggs. STRING- !lll(i ««s a || 208 — Administration .