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

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Family-both in around My first impressions of this school had really begun a couple of years ago, when my sisters had attended this school. As | became more aware of what it had to offer, the impressions grew brighter and better. | had realized that this building is much more than just a school. As my sophomore year started, | had be- come more eager to learn and to begin planning for my future. When I walked in this building this morn- ing, | was stunned! Stunned not only at the school, but the people. | got the im- pression that | belonged and that | also had made the right choice for coming here. When | finish my senior year, | am sure that these first impressions will always be the lasting ones, and they will grow stron- ger into fond memories. Kim Costello, sophomore Variety-of student life North is a big difference from Florissant Junior High. The school is a lot bigger than F.J.H. Last year at F.J.H. | thought that was a big school but, when I got in it, it was like walking into a three-story house with a thousand rooms in it. The difference in population is a lot because every time | change classes and walk through the halls it is jammed all the time so | noticed a lot more people. North gives you a lot of free periods. Last year we didn’t have any free periods, but this year the free periods help me. One is because it is like time for me to do my homework. The snack bar is not as big as F.J.H. At F.J.H. the snack bar had a big variety of food. The hot lunches are just the same. John Dames, sophomore 130 Underclass Articles Freedom welcomed The differences between McCluer North and Florissant Junior High are many — the freedom where you don’t have to have a pass to be in the hall during classes and having hours off where you can get caught up on your homework or just talk. McCluer North also has a wide variety of courses to choose from. In junior high, if you took English that’s all you could take. Here, you can pick what kind of English you want, depending upon the indivi- dual’s interest area. Such as writing, reading, language, or use of words. Rhonda Poole, sophomore Last year, | went to Parkway Central, one of McCluer North’s rival schools. McCluer North was a big change for me. At Cen- tral, there was no such thing as commons or a smoking area. There they wouldn't think of a smoking area. The teachers were more strict at Central and there was no such thing as a choice of classes. Jennifer Hardiman, junior A tradition: star pride When | first saw McCluer North from the inside, my first impressions were that it was very big and full of people whom | didn’t know. | also felt the people of McCluer North were very proud of their school and what it does for them. The teachers were very friendly and | think they try to make everyone feel like they’re one of the family and that they belong. | think that is very important. And it makes me feel that if | have any ques- tions or problems all | have to do is ask someone and they will be more than hap- py to help me. All of my impressions were good and there isn’t anything about McCluer North that | didn’t feel good about. Tricia O’Gorman, sophomore Reviewing material for the junior-senior prom, Leslie Stanley and Lorna Osborne, juniors, confer about the plans.

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Crowding , Politenesss the crowds My first impression of McCluer North when | got to school this morning was: crowded! | walked into the concourse and thought, “Oh, my gosh! There are so many people in here. How will | ever get to my classes?” As | walked through the halls to find my classes, | saw all these strange faces. Half of them looked scared, about a fourth looked like it was no big thing and the other fourth looked like they were trying to look cool about everything but were really scared as any- thing. When | finally got to lunch I knew my first impression was right. It was so crowded in there my friends and I| were thinking about eating outside. By the time we got through the snack bar we had about ten or twelve minutes to eat. Everyone is so tall, too. I’m not short; I’m just average size but to a lot of these people here | look short! When you go through the halls all you see is the back of some person you don’t know. The only time you can see in front of yourself is when you are going down the steps. When you walk down the halls it’s not really like walking, it’s flowing with the crowd. | guess I’m just not used to going to a big school, but | like it here so far. Linda Bohn, sophomore Large can be beautifull! My first impression of McCluer North was how large this building really is. In my ten previous years of schooling I have not been late to one class on the first day. | have been late to two classes as a result of congestion on the stairways and its great size. There are three floors, two houses, rooms inside of rooms, two rooms with the same number and a lot of other things with which a new student, such as myself, must deal. | am sure that in time it will all become second nature. | will learn back routes, short cuts, and just become familiar with the school. These will all aid in cutting down the size at which | now perceive it, but the first impression is, HUGE! Doug Driemeier, sophomore Sharing the gift of gab, Chris Shilliot, sophomore, and Dave Epstein, junior, enjoy a relaxing hour of commons. for students At the very beginning, the first tew weeks, | couldn’t stand the changes. There are so many kids in the halls, I’m usually late for my classes. | think we should be allowed more time to get to our classes. | got used to all the people here but one thing I’m not going to get used to is all the people in lunch. If you try to save a chair for a friend, you might as well forget it unless you can sit on yours and your friend’s at the same time. Kids, without even asking, take the chair or chairs. People will put their books on a table thinking it’s gonna save the table and the chairs. It doesn’t save either one. You'll come back and somebody will have put your books on the floor. So don’t ever leave your table with just your books on it, because when you come back, some- body will be sitting there. Becky Brickson, junior Little change: even better McCluer North has changed in a few ways. Rules, of course, have changed; leaving school campus during commons and lunch periods isn’t allowed anymore. This rule has stopped some students but still you can see a lot of students leaving, and if you ever happen to be at McDon- ald’s during fourth hour, you'll see just a few students from school. So, instead of having all these wonderful fellow stu- dents and even teachers getting in trou- ble for leaving, change the no-good rule. Something that should also change at this school is the smoking area. During the winter months, if you haven't noticed yet, it’s no longer swimming weather, but rather winter coats and gloves. So how about an indoor smoking area. Greg Polk, junior Underclass Articles 129

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| Freshmen: new young The changes that I have seen in McCluer North this year are the freshmen. There are also a lot of new teachers and a lot of new classes. In certain ways | feel that the freshmen should be up here because that’s when they begin receiving their credits. In other ways | feel that some freshmen are very immature. They’re noisy; they act really unsophisticated. They really like the new classes they have this year. | think there is something I'll enjoy. Some of the new teachers | have met this year seem terrific. Move over ... We're growing Suzanne Cadamey, junior More independent My first impression of McCluer North was not fear like most ninth and tenth graders. | expected it to be a place where there were older people around, and dif- ferent people who would influence and help me grow as a person. McCluer North is a nice school, not what | expected but nice. More confident Matt Barry, freshman More stylish “See, Dad, this is how it works.” Paul Edelman, ju- nior, shows his dad how to run a table saw in the North: the |The changes: special one | fi My first impression of this school was magnificent. Never have | been in such a school. From the outside, you see a huge building, to me a very impressive build- ing. On the inside, seeing it as a stranger, it seems to be a maze from which there is no escape. But what | find interesting are the patterns. Once you have mastered the patterns of room numbers and floors, it changes from an endless maze to a fascinating structure from which | can gain much. What I believe is the most “impressive impression” is the atmo- sphere in the school — as a stranger and as a “native.” There is just something about this school and how much | had to do to get here that gives it a certain “aura” which is like none | have seen be- fore. Andy Theising, sophomore McCluer North has changed this year. Last year, when | was a sophomore, there was so much freedom. | loved it! This year, though, there have been subtle re- strictions placed on us, like not being able to leave the lunch area. It makes me think of my junior high days where school was synonomous with prison. | wonder if North, over time, will be like that. To think that it would change really bothers me. | mean, McCluer North is really a special school, and to change it would be terrible. Another change in North is the Monday morning advisement. It was hard to get used to it at first but now it’s not too bad. | can’t help wondering, though, if this type of advisement is the first step in trying to eliminate commons. Amie Hostmeyer, junior Underclass Articles I3l