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

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(Above, far lefi): Rohtri CjiA rcicives ihe Air Forte Association aw;ird from Mj|or Garland Virden (Ahovc. seiond from lefr): Principal Jtmmy Viramonlet prescnii Joe Feaiherling wiih (he Principals Award (Aho e): The Retired Offic Board. (Above right); Anihony Garza receives th Milhary Order of World Wars ascard (Far left): I ' heSoi of the American Retolnlion aw jrd is prt-stnied lo Tony Hei vol. (Left). The Danghteri oj Ihe American Retolutioit iv.ird IS presented to Robert Cash. (Below, left): Mattheu Pearce vworks on an assignment in the cadet orderly room. (Below): oe Feaiherling. Patrtcu Johnson. Steven Sass, Anthony Hervol. Leonard Flores and Mike Knight pass in reveiw at ihe ROTC awards parade April 29 in the Nelson Field parking lot Garland Virden 7D O 121

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iO ' j© wmm w m lm ,y tQ Q» Did you ever forget what day it was? Wednesday or Thursday? At Reagan, students never had that problem. Every Thursday stood out in bright blue. Why? Because it was ROTC uniform day. Seventy Reaganites wore blue pants, blue shirts and shiny black shoes, as re- quired by public law. It ' s part of the course of dress up. We have to be in uniform at least one day out of the week, as required by law . . . the federal government gives us money, so we obey their laws, explained Major Garland Virden. Another thing that stood out about the Texas Ilth Junior Reserve Officer Train- ing Corps, besides their uniforms, was their marching. The drill team won four third-place honors at regional competition March 6 at UT. They (the drill team) can march better than anyone else, and they practice after school every day but Thursday, reasoned Major Virden, on why they won. The cadet squadron commander of ROTC was junior Mike Knight. He directed the activities, ran the staff, and set up the banquet, garage sale, and military ball. How did he get the honor? I appointed him, answered Major Virden. The only problem ROTC had this year was a lack of students. With 70 mtnibtrs Major Virden explained why the decreasi happened: It became more difficult to get transfer from other districts. So, we lost ihi students who would transfer to Reagan ti join ROTC. And district bussing lost u about 25 students. Needless to say, ROTC was not f() everyone. You need to have an interest in the military or aviation. And you need to liki to march or fly, commented Majo Virden. He also added, You ' ll learn a lot. ' ' oi should join just to find out what it is like Sergeant Ernest Cline shows his Melanie Petty and Mark Board slow- The Military Bali Queen and her court: Linda Arldt, Biisey Major Garland Virden Aerospace Ed. I class the gig line ' on a dance at the ROTC Military Ball at the Maxson (queen), Elisa Macias Guerra. and Patricia Johnson. discusses military history ROTC unifortn displayed on a tnanikin Bergstrom AFB Officers ' Club. with a ROTC class, in the ROTC classroom. o I— o Thr Itxjt Ulh Junmr A,, lor,, R()T (rroni r,i» | Rcihc-r. ( tj cn, David Z.mor.. Raymond Wilion, Joe Fer.ihcrlirg, Deborah French. Anihony (.ana. Mike Knighi, MSgi. E. D Clinc. Major Garland Virden. Mark Board. Mar hall Sanderv. Bubhy Fean. Robert Solil. An drea Hervol. James Smilh. Patrick Flynn. Nha Nguyen. Rodney Lempa: (lecond row): Sam fhapa, Bobby Walpole. Richard Walpole. Tony Hcrvnl, (.rcgg (.i.ddard, (dntu Kn,i»lc , Mary Ann T irre . (third ro»): Mario Melendei. Charlei Ruebbling. Davitj Luna. Rots Lighiiey. rharlet Ybarra. Kevin Henson. Rei Engclke. Q. B (enter. Mike Muvlon. Nesie Collins. Patricia Johnson. Robert (ash. Aieerudin Ab dullah. Gerald (iuerra. Allan Shaw. Delia Wells. Marc Ferrari. Luke Fngelkc, Richard (.uerra. (fourth row) Michael San.hr, . Tea ( ameron. Al Black. Kedrick Stanley. Stephen Driskell. Leonard Flor Reggie Jackson. Mike Harris. Steven Robinson. James Penrod. Tomi Griggs. .Steven Sass, Rico Fresch, James Arldt. Marcus Lee. Evandlc Moore. Terry Perkins, Jeffrey King. Henry Vascjuer 120

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0) o o O CO 0) Resource Dept. teaches confidence; With 135 students enrolled in Resource classes, and an average of 10-14 students per class, Ms. Mary Crook and the other Resource teachers found themselves with their hands full this year. These kids have to be worked with in- dividually. Wherever they are academically is where we like to work with them, ex- plained Ms. Crook. So, with 14 students in a class, working with each individually was difficult. For teaching aids, Ms. Crook and the other Resource teachers used over-head projectors, film strips, record players cassette recorders and newspapers. Newspapers are big, said Ms. Crook. They teach Language Arts, math . . . and it ' s real, not something the teacher made up. Every student has a folder showing how- he ' s doing, what classes are needed and why, social evaluation, etc. The state and school need to see this to make sure the student is being treated individually and his problems are being addressed, said Ms. Crook. We could do a lot more teaching if there wasn ' t so much paperwork. What the Resource teachers tried to teach was how to make the students feel good about themselves and others. Most of the kids graduate on the Op- tion 2 plan (or work-study program, as the state calls it). This is where they take a year of pre-vocational, and work half-day as juniors. Once they ' re seniors, we try to have them working full-time at least one semester. A lot of them have gone as fas as they can academically, so they get a job and improve vocationally, said Ms. Crook. Individuality is important in the Resource Dept. We have a class (Personal Social Skills) that teaches the kids how to get along with others. Special Education students have a low self-concept. The class teaches them how to think better about themselves, explained Ms. Crook. The image that Special Ed. gives peo- ple is why the name was changed to the Resource Dept. To many people, ' Special Ed. ' means, ' retardos, ' and that ' s not fair. We don ' t have many retarded students. We have emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, health disabled (like seizures), auditorial- ly handicapped and speech handicapped students. Matter of fact, one of my students scored in the top 10 percent of the nation on the STEP test, Ms. Crook bragged. By the time they ' re juniors, or seniors, most of the students realize they ' re not bad people because they take Special Ed. classes. Having learning problems is not contagious, added Ms. Crook. Mr. Lawrence Britton retired this year after teaching at Reagan 1 1 and a half years. Mr. Britton was sponsor of the Human Relations club. Health teacher, and a former intramural, basketball and track coach. He said he intended to keep active in community and athletic groups and the East Austin Youth Foundation, which he co-founded in 1972. Ms. Lydia Scales, Resource teachers, retired this year after teaching 25 years in Austin, two years at Reagan. The old order passes and gives way to the new, said Ms. Araminta Seal, who retired this year after teaching English at Reagan since the school opened 17 years ago. That ' s the way it should be, don ' t you think. ' Ms. Seal started the Ariel, Reagan ' s stu- dent literary magazine, which won many state awards. I think now they should begin again, she said. Rename it; start a whole new goal, a new vision. Business teacher Ms. Lynell Suggs died suddenly January 23. This was her second year at Reagan teaching Typing, Shor- thand and Accounting. Other teachers who left at the end of the year were Kathryn Hartfield, Stewart Munroe (11 years). Sue Reese, Chris Scott, Ken Steele ( 10 years), and Joanie Turbin. Showing her class what iht hunun liver looks like. Human Biology leacher Lydia Scales explains ihe digestive system. W T I M Wf Ai the annual Iree-planling ceremony on ihe Rutar campus. Health leacher Lawrence Briiion turns diri over the tree planted in honor of his reiiremeni. I What are you doing out of your seal? Resource leacher Mary Crook asks a sfudeni. 122