McCluer North High School - Polaris Yearbook (Florissant, MO)

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Mr. Richard Banks directs the Girls’ Choir they sing “Away in a Manger.” The finishing touch is added to the tree by Senior Chuck Larkin. Bringing the holiday spirit to the students and teachers in the library, Choir IV sings ‘Gesu Bambino.” of. rb aXe mtd at-% Chribtmas Chncet Cyglir II offs “The Coven Carol.” . Choirs At Christmas 29 ¢ a - = 2

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PERFORMANCES PRODUCE PERFECTION Laryngitis; pnuemonia; sore throats; colds; getting teachers to sign permis- sion slips to enable singers to go carol- ing with the Madrigals; absences by both students and directors; difficult music. All of these problems plagued the choirs at Christmas. However, they still brought the sounds of Christmas to MN students, faculty and many other people around the St. Louis area. The first event on the Choirs’ agenda for Christmas was the Christmas Con- cert. On Saturday, December 6, every choir member met in the gym for re- hearsal. Rehearsal consisted of going over the processional at least four times and going completely through the pro- gram. After the grueling run-thrus, some students stayed and decorated for the following day's concert. Sunday, December 7 came and the big event arrived. First, both Junior- Senior Madrigal and Sophomore Mad- rigal greeted the crowd in the con- course. After they were through, the choirs entered the gym and began with the traditional Candlelight Procession of Carols. The processional was fol- lowed by each choir singing their se- lections. The program ended with the Choirs singing ‘Silent Night’ with the audience joining in. Various places around the St. Louis area were sites for both the Jr.-Sr. Mad- rigal and the Sophomore Madrigal to carol at. They collected money as they caroled for the Christmas Caroling As- sociation. Another performance for the choirs was in North's library on December 18. This was the only day that the MN stu- dent body and faculty had the chance to hear the choirs sing. Joe Naumann said, “The Halleluja Chorus gives me a lump in my throat everytime I hear it.” During the evening on Christmas Eve and during the day on Christmas Day, radio station KCFM broadcast se- lect parts of the Christmas Concert. This brought the sounds of Christmas and McCluer North Choirs to the entire St. Louis Area. So, even though many things can hinder a choir’s progress, it can still wind up being a busy and standout choir! 28 Choirs At Christmas ee

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Freedom for 52 Americans January 20, 1981 was a day when MN students saw history made. At approxi- mately 11:30 a.m., St. Louis time, the 52 American hos- tages, held in Iran for 444 days, boarded their ‘‘free- dom flight’’ back to the United States. It was on November 4, 1979, that the American Embassy in Iran was taken over by the Iranian mili- tants. After much negotiating, and a failed rescue attempt -by the U.S. military, Algeria finally became the prime negotiators between the United States and Iran and accomplished an agree- ment and terms for the hos- tages’ release. After 444 long days, the American citizens were finally set free. The hostage ordeal in Iran proved to be a great disap- pointment and aggravation for many politicians and citi- zens alike. President Reagan later stated that if a situation like the embassy takeover oc- curs again, the U.S. will handle it with a much firmer approach, possibly military force. Regardless o their feel- ings about the takeover, al- most every American felt great joy at the hostages’ re- lease. At North, cheers 30 Miscellaneous could be heard throughout the halls during third hour, January 20, when Mr. Hampton proudly an- nounced that the American hostages had been freed. Many students wore yellow ribbons to school to show their happiness for the hos- tages. Sophomore, Sheila Busse said, “I wore my rib- bon especially for local hos- tage Rocky Sickmann.” Many other students and teachers came to school groggy on January 21 from staying up late to see the television coverage of their fellow-Americans boarding planes and buses on their way home after 444 long days of captivity. Other students at North felt that the hostage situa- tion was very over played by the media. Many felt the way Senior Vicki Barth did: ‘I think the Vietnam Vets went through much more than the hos- tages held in Iran, and they didn't get any of the recog- nition or great welcome that they deserved.” Despite all the bad feel- ings that were caused due to the hostage situation, most everyone felt the way Junior Lisa Holtsclaw did: “I just think that everybody is happy that the whole situa- tion is over and that the hos- tages are finally free.” A legend lives on Millions of people around the world paid tribute to John Lennon by observing 10 minutes of silence on De- cember 14, 1980. The silent vigil was spent mourning his death and try- ing to reason why he was killed. For others it was spent reminiscing over his lyrical music and the contri- butions he gave to the field of music. “The tribute of silence was the best thing they could have done,” said MN senior and loyal Lennon fan, John Francis. Francis was among thousands who Not strictlysocial .. attended the tribute at For- est Park on the Sunday after Lennon's death. The ten minute silence and Len- non’'s death will be remem- bered by millions. As one of the Beatles, John Lennon became fam- ous for his poetic and peaceful writing. The Bea- tles started a new era in mu- sic and served as a model for groups of today. All his life he had preached peace, and it was a great irony that on Monday December 8, he was assassinated in such a violent manner. Yet, his peaceful way of life lives on with such songs as “'Yester- day’’ and ‘All We Need Is Love.’’ Yoko Ono, Lennon's wife, also carried on his peaceful way as she ex- pressed no hatred for Mark Chappman, Lennon's mur- derer. North goes to France “Mercedes and Cham- paign!’’ These two words, along with gracious people, beautiful countryside, fan- tastic food, and “no drink- ing age” could describe this year's voyage to Paris France! Nine lucky students from McCluer and McCluer North left on a Boeing 747 from O'Hare Airport in Chicago on Feb- ruary | for the adventure of their lives. The agenda in- cluded 5 days in Paris as a tourist, and another 16 days in Compiegne, France, as an adopted French family member. 'My trip to France turned out even better than ] had ever imagined it could be,’ is how Gregg Lesely felt on February 22, the last day of the trip. Compiegne had close competition with Paris, but undoubtedly turned out to be just as great! In a matter of days everyone felt as if they had lived with their host families forever. The food, home, and surround- ings had just become a part of daily life, when the trip : | 4 . | came to a close. It was cer- | tainly a sad day, the 22nd of February, when the nine | students had to say good- | bye to their new-found fam- ilies and friends, but the left — with the consolation of a dream that one day they might return! talk desegregation 4 What happens when you. | mix 30 students from McCluer North with 30 stu-— dents from Soldan High | School to talk about deseg-— regation? You get mixed feelings! The Conference's oul pose was to discuss the rea- t sons for desegregation, feel- ‘ ings and effects that devel- oped, and finally, ways to | City and County) : | rn a ee Re ee stop and deal with problems that arose because of de- segregation. The idea was | that since North had been desegregated for five years ; and had a Student Relations Committee, they could pos- sibly help and share their experiences with Soldan who was just going through the process that North had gone through. : As the two schools assem- bled, Soldan took one. side of the room and North the other. However, the ice was | soon broken and small group discussions began. | Surprisingly, the groups |