Meadowbrook High School - Sceptre Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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students and | of Meadowbrook me you to our |. The map and key will aid you ing your destination. A Plea for Academic Sanity Judge: The Case of Students Who Choose Not To Stay After Hours vs. Students Who Choose to Stay After Hours to Work on Academic Skills The defendants have been ac- cused of insanity for staying after school for extra academic work when it 1s not always re- quired. How do you plead? Defen- dants’ Lawyer: Your honor, my clients plead not guilty by rea- son of academic sanity. re these students out of their minds?” “‘Why would they stay beyond the required Cie vas Some students extended their academic ability only until the 1:50 p.m. bell, while others will- ingly remained past the regular day. Reasons for staying after hours varied from necessity to freedom of choice. As Senior Chris Miller stated, “During school hours you just don’t have the time to finish and you can work at your own pace after school.” Sophomore Tammy Breedon explained, “I can con- centrate better alone and with quiet. Finished! Four months of overtime resulted in a color-coded school map printed by Michie Izquierdo, Beth Aker, and Sindy Chavez. Required work was not al- ways what kept students after school. There were other volun- tary reasons, such as, catching up on computer math and tech- nical drawing, getting ahead on that term paper for English or History, perfecting that chem- istry experiment, or helping to put up a showcase. Extra work time was often re- quested by students to make up work or to improve grades. Freshman Karla Jones, staying after for Algebra, said, “I didn’t understand and the teacher ex- plains better after school be- cause you're by yourself.” Ju- nior Michelle Paley, working on Oilice, Tech=commented, =I stay to catch up from missed school ... I don’t want a zero.” The map of the school, on the wall across from the office, was a special project undertaken by three art students, Freshmen Beth Aker and Sindy Chavez and Junior Michie Izquierdo. The idea originated with art teacher, Mr. Everett Butler, when he saw the new wall added to the building. The map and its color-coded key indicating specific areas, was intended to help people find their way around the school. The project took four months (September-January) and two to three hours a day, to com- plete. When asked why they took on such a large task, the girls agreed that it was for the enjoy- ment. Michie added, “The idea of painting something that will last years and that many people will see, it kind of got to me, too.” If Murphy’s Law applied to this project, something usually goes wrong. There was no ex- ception to these girls. Sindy Chavez said, “Sometimes we couldn't get the right colors or we didn’t have enough paint, or one of us couldn’t stay after school.” Many students, faculty and staff appreciated their efforts. “Mrs. Fisher, the custodian, stopped by everyday to look at it and would say, ‘it’s looking good’,” recalled Beth Aker. Judge: You have presented a very convincing case for staying after hours. Jury, how do you find the defendants? Jury: Your honor, we find the defendants sane and academi- cally competent! om) Straight Lines. After class, Mr. Sterling Hawkins helps Mitchell Stockwell with a mechanical drawing problem while Bao Dao and Jeff Horton observe. After Hours 29

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Night scene. After school is a good time for David Webster to perfect his com- puter graphics program. “Get to work fingers!” After hours, Sharon Brown works to complete as- signments for Typing I. On the edge of their seats. Battle of the Brains team Philippa Bates, Conor Shiel, Kathy Walker, and Matt Harrah compete after school in a practice round vs. last years team. Getting ahead. Beyond the 1:50 bell, Michelle Davis selects a book to read while Tawnie Newman tackles her homework. 28 After Hours

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Exchange Means Change Visiting students from other lands find new and remem- bered interests in the U.S. Geovanni Barakat enjoys rock music that is popular here and in El Salvador. A re American girls pretty? Geovanni Barakat of El Salva- dorgexclaimeds sy cs ether blonde hair and blue eyes 1s very different from the black hair and brown eyes of girls in my country. Geovanni, an 18 year old stu- dent from the city of San Salva- dor, came to visit the U.S. for a year in the summer of 83. His main purpose for coming to stay with his uncle in America was “to learn English.” The interna- tional language. ““My father said, “The best way to learn English is to go to America,’ ex- plained Geovanni.” Although he found the work difficult due to the language barrier, Geo- vanni really liked attending MBK and specifically liked the people. “People like Mrs. Rog- ers, the Guidance Secretary and my teachers Mr. Kane and Mr. Cathers are very kind to me 30 Exchange Students I have not met a lot of friends because people are afraid to talk to me since my English isn’t that great,” he re- flected. Both in El Salvador and in the U.S. Geovanni enjoyed the music of the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, AC DC, Oli- via Newton John and Pat Bena- tar. The punk and new wave fads raging in the U.S. were also popular in the modern cap- ital city of San Salvador. For fun, teenagers in El Salvador have “parties in the homes and dance to Michael Jackson. “Geovanni sounded like an All- American teenager when he said his favorite foods were “hotdogs, french fries, coke, and Big Mac’s.” Geovanni explained that there was no drinking age in San Salvador. The driving age was 16 years old(if you paid $1000) or waiting until 18 years old. The behind the wheel courses were not required as in the U.S. people learned to drive from their parents or friends. Although Geovanni found the U.S. friendly, as an only child expressed he missed his family and looked forward to being together with them. S hu-Yin Shih, Su-Jung Shih, and Shu-Yi Shih, better known as Pacy, Peggy and Jen- ny were three sisters that came to explore the United States from Taiwan. Peggy, 19, Pacy, 18 and Jen- ny, 17, agreed that the biggest difference between the U.S. and Taiwanese educational sys- tem was that the children were in school primarily to study. The emphasis was on “school as a place for learning, not as a place for meeting boyfriends and having parties,” related Peggy, who spoke for the sis- ters: Learning English was the main reason they came to the US. Peggy remarked. a We wanted to understand the American way of life better.” According to these Taiwan- escestudents on Lném Us Saestue dents have more freedom and school work was much easier.” To Taiwanese teenagers, drink- ing wasnt important. There- - fore, there was not a need for organizations to help alcoholics in Taiwan. In order to obtain a driving permit in Taiwan, an exam and a road test after your 18th birthday were required. Fitting in with American people was not easy for Peggy, Pacy and Jenny. Peggy said, “It took my sisters and I almost a year to adjust.” During their stay, the girls lived with their relatives but they will return to Taiwan after college. Even though they noticed there was a large cultural gap between the two countries, Peg- gy felt that “we will go home knowing what it is like to be “Westernized’.” A ll in favor of more parties should have gone home with Al- berto Baboun, an exchange stu- dent from Chile. Alberto found life in America was almost per- fect, with one excepirom “Americans need to have more parties, in Chile, there are par- ties every weekend and they are always ‘smashin’” Alberto stat- ed. Alberto was visiting the United States during the sum- mer break and staying with host family, Mr. and Mrs. Walsh. While in the United States Al- berto had explored Williams- burg, Dansville, Washington D.C., and Massanutten where he enjoyed skiing. Academically, Alberto thought that his school in Chile was more advanced. His school Su-Jung Shih continues the musical career that she began in Taiwan.