Lake Braddock Secondary School - Lair Yearbook (Burke, VA)

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Enjoying the privilege of eating on the senior stage. Gary Richardson. Rick Filer. Kristi Staton. Eric Olfasson. Norm Frigault. Kris Timpe. and Miwon Yi adapt easily to being seniors. Kathy Quade looks up to find the old purple 83 slowly being transformed to a yellow 84 as energetic seniors continue the tradition of painting the press box before the first day of school. I • After receiving their schedules in the cafeteria. Eileen Bartnett. Dana Flem- ing, and Cheri Hunter check to see if they have any common classes. Lia Pannessa. Amanda Zubieta. Beth Stanley, and John Frazier listen atten- tatively as Dr. Alwood addresses the students at orientation . held in the Little Theater. First Day. Press Box. Fall Festival 5

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BIG DEAL At 8:15 A.M. on August 29. enrollment at Lake Braddock was at an all time high of 4.349- 400 students greater than the building was intended to hold. The brick, air- conditioned. semi-carpeted, twostorv structure used to house the vast number of students contained 533.660 square feet, a main hall that stretched across one-fifth of a mile, seemingly countless classrooms, a gym with a seating capacity of 3.000. a theater with 688 seats, and a cafeteria with eight food lines and a capacity of 800 seats. Built on 60.5 acres of Fairfax County land, the edifice was surround- ed by a 6,000 seat football stadium, a track, numerous practice fields, baseball and softball diamonds, eight tennis courts, a driver education range, and a 500 car parking lot. Not only the physical aspects of Lake Braddock were on a large scale, but also the extra-curricular activities seemed boundless. These included one of the largest sports departments in the state, and clubs and organizations to suit the varying interests of students. Lake Braddock maintained a theme of excellence in education by employing 289 teachers. 12 administrators, and of- fering a wide spectrum of classes. Vocational courses, business classes, computer science, music, drama, art. journalism, and the traditional academic courses were all offered. New course additions in ’84 included the im- plementation of the Gifted ajid Talented (GT) program for those wan- ting more intellectually challenging classes. Changes for the 1983-84 year were not limited to course selection. The absence of homeroom, the ban on alcohol insignias on t-shirts and in lockers, a reinforced effort to stop drug, alcohol, and tobacco use during school, a cement bear built before graduation in 1983 were all noticeable changes. All facts considered. Lake Braddock was definitely a BIG DEAL. Despite the monumental size of the school, it was extremely organized and well run. Students and faculty worked together and continued to rise above barriers in efforts to improve educa- tion and the environment in which students learned, thus helping to make a BIG DEAL out of Lake Braddock. 4 Opening

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Big Deal Even the name Lake Braddock Secondary hinted at the BIG size of the school. The first glimpse of the oversized halls, multi-purpose gym. and huge cafeteria left many students amazed. To several seventh graders fresh out of Kings Glen, White Oaks or most any other elementary school. Lake Braddock was a place for explor- ing and getting lost. If getting lost didn’t make a person late for every class period, then running from P.E. to art to music did. As one seventh grader. Kevin Barber said. It’s kind of exciting running across from one end of the school to another between classes, instead of staying in the same room all day.” Even with such large halls, great swarms of people often crowded them between classes making it necessary to ...weave in and out or else you can only move inch after inch, as seventh grader Kanu Jerath described it. After three periods of class. Pete Grace liked going to lunch and being able to choose from a huge variety of food. You can get just about anything you want- from pizza to fruit- pies! For those seniors who had been here since seventh grade, or even ninth grade, the school wasn’t at all in- timidating. It didn’t seem to matter if he building seemed smaller or bigger. Mr. Petty, a drama and past English teacher who had been here since the school opened said. “I like to think that it’s not the size of the school that mat- ters, but what the people inside do with it. Each student who came to Lake Braddock, for no matter how short or long a time, molded his own view of the school. No matter how big or how small the school seemed. Lake Braddock would always be a BIG DEAL. Marching band drum majorettes Karla Spagnola and Laura Hartford take time off from the pep band at the bonfire to enjoy the warmth of the flames. A cool drink of water is just what Ls needed for Steve Smith during a football camp practice. Breaking from the monotony of painting the pressbox during the summer. John Davis works on painting Carol Cole's nose. Performing their routine seen at pep rallies and assemblies, the Varsity Drill Team looks lively during the Fall Follies. 6 Opening