Laurel School - Leaves Yearbook (Shaker Heights, OH)

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LAUREL LEAVES

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DEDICA TION For outstanding exhibition of bravery on the battlefield, we, the Class of 1960, in lieu of appropriate medals, dedicate Laurel Leaves to our four class advisers, Mrs. jordan, Mrs. LaChance, Miss Bretschneider, and Mrs. Lawyer. For five years, the school has coped with our conventionally radical period of adoles- cence, and our adopted mothers of erudition have guided us calmly, sensibly, even cheerfully to our pres- ent venerable position of young-women-about-to-commence''. When we shed our straps in 1955, Mrs. jordan greeted us with that impish smile and laugh so indicative of her famed Southern charm. With that, our mounting fears of upper school disappeared, and we laughed Qand screamed a bitl through a record-breaking junior ac year. Of course, Mrs. Jordan laughed too until we embarked upon a ''make-study-hall-lively campaign. At that point, she decided she'd better stay with us another year to keep us in line. We were overjoyed when she told us she was graduating to freshman year with us. We were ostracized that year to the other end of the hall, but we found our way daily to Mrs. jor- dan's English class on the third floor. There we met the honorable Mr. Shakespeare for the first time in our reading of As You Like It and Julius Caesar, which we also produced in the classroom with Mrs. jordan, of course, as our appreciative audience. With her censoring of our first class song at Christmas that year, we won first prize and thus gained the respect of the upperclassmen. We continued winning and Mrs. Jordan was always behind us with a smile. When june 1957 came, we were reluctant to leave our secluded, private niche and our mother of two years, but then, she reminded us, we were growing up. Yes, but that didn't dull the edge of our ebullient, often mischievous spirit! Mrs. LaChance found us in big study hall, but she had a hard time keeping us there. Her down - to- earth common sense with her cheerful smile made us realize eventually that the primary purpose of rules was not violation of them. Through her, we learned to use a bit of discretion in our display of enthusiasm, but not without trial and error. In her history classes, we became familiar with the world situation then and now , explained in clear, unbiased terms which helped us immensely in developing our way of thinking. Indirectly, Mrs. LaChance showed us our own importance in the world, and immediately we decided to behave civilly. She sent us on to junior year, hopeful that our futures were bright and would bring eventual reward. As juniors, we received our basic introduction to noblesse oblige and late .hours of y:mx-Q-b, inverte- brates, and MacBeth. Miss Bretschneider not only stimulated our intellects through studies of Chaucer, Blake, Wordsworth, and Tennyson, but also she never stopped giving us advice outside of the classroom. College was a formidable thought and Miss Bret, through years of experience, was a competent consultant. She was consulted so much -on any number of subjects she finally made us write our requests on paper. She too spent what spare time she had coralling errant juniors from the halls into study hall. She also spent a good deal of her time in Miss Waltemeyer's ofiice pleading our cause and entertained us after lunch with tales of her cats and English summers. Her final words to us in June were, They told me I really had a handful when I got you, but, you know, I've actually grown quite fond of you. We'd grown quite fond of her too, and, as seniors, we still stop in for an occasional chat on the third floor. As seniors, we hardly ever have those moments to chat. It's Mrs. Lawyer who sees to it that we accom- plish what's to be done. Mrs. Lawyer had been our friend and teacher for years. She was always organizing something like schedules or Thursday morning study hall it seemed to us, but she always had time for her seniors , and we are proud to say we are no exception. Not only does she keep us relatively quiet in Senior Dining Room, she is a delightful companion at the lunch table. Her interest in us never ceases, nor does her concern about our future plans and present actions. She is the one who stresses style and polish in our public appearances such as Senior Play or the Christmas Luncheon and then beams with pride when the final curtain goes down or when we win the class song. She is the one who gives up her free periods to drill us in math for our SAT's then delights at the rise in scores. In June and in years to come, when we recall our Laurel days, our class advisers will stand out among our worthy and wise faculty. They endured a great deal. We hope the progress we have made and hope to continue making compensates for their battle scars. 5