Meadowbrook High School - Sceptre Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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Es Mi Tiempo. Shirley Winters and Al- len Misegades have their t-shirts exam- ined by Mrs. Shelton, Mrs. Sumner and A Picasso? Art 2 student, Pam Sink Mrs. Davidson during Foreign Lan- examines her classmates’ art works. guage week. Election Time. Rodney Fleisher pre- Cracking Up. As part of Mr. Cundiff’s pares the showcase on voting before the social studies class, study on world cul- 1984 presidential election for Ms. Peters tures Tana Harrison begins to break history class. open a coconut. 8 Classroom Activities

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Programming A Change Academics keyed into a new attendance policy, extended computer us- age and initiating ESL students. t was a year of change throughout Academics. The major transfor- mation was the advent of a new attendance policy. Seven teach- ers enforced a new program, which mandated, if a student missed more than 5 days that were not made up after school, the student’s grade would be affected. Teachers stressed teaching methods that en- couraged more discussion rather than strict book work. Guest speak- ers from Russia, China, Zambia, Gha- na, South Africa etc. spoke to stu- dents in Mrs. Barbara Winston’s ge- ography class and opened the minds of many students to international di- plomacy. IWE, ICT and DE students worked at such places as Ukrops, The Medi- cal Center or Spa Lady while some students learned marketable job skills by spending half of the day at ‘Tech. Behind the leadership of the new drama teacher, Miss Priscilla Barth, the drama department was rebuilt by emphasizing skills in communica- tions and self-esteem. Performances consisted of small mime productions acted out for English classes, Miss Meadowbrook and Battle of the Bands. The changing fashion scene was well represented by the fashion mer- chandising classes through fashion shows in the cafeteria and field trips to New York. Field trips were also taken to Italy, France, Switzerland, Washington D.C., The Virginia Muse- um, James River Park and The Swift Creek Mill Playhouse by foreign lan- guage, history, English 11, gym and drama students. Computers played a vital role in modernizing education. Each depart- ment received its own computer as well as the office, the library and the guidance department. | English as a Second Language stu- dents adapted well to their new sur- roundings in America by learning a new culture and language and shar- ing theirs with us. Academics Divider 7

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CEG PLL ig | gov eC yunt ig changes were occur- ing in the way teachers teach. Most had started to partially or completely use a variety of teaching methods, rather than strict bookwork and homework. Although most had not abandoned textbooks, more and more were using discussion periods with question and an- swer learning. ‘| lecture sparsely, preferring large and small group discus- sions with question and answer teaching’’, said English teacher Mrs. Fran Boswell. This feeling was shared by a lot of teachers, but many other approaches to Making it Perfect. Mr. Milo Beckner and some of his students: Steve Hess, David Austin and Kelly Edelman work on the cars they have made in shop class. teaching were used. There was wide spread use of audio-visual aids in all classes. Overhead projectors were used in geometry and pre-calculus classes. Mrs. Karen Schaefer said that she used such objects as: oranges, rolls of paper tow- els and tape measures in some of her lectures. Audio-visual aids were used in many other classes to make ordindary classroom activities more inter- esting. In foreign language classes emphasis on culture was evi- dent. Foreign food days and fes- tivals were common, providing Food for Thought. In homeconomics class, Stephanie Moore puts the finish- ing touches on her chocolate cake. The ordinary classroom was an arena of inquiry filled with guest SDGdk ens ms DLO = jects, demonstra- tions, etc. an easy and delicious way of learning about foreign cultures. Social studies, also learned about other cultures in much the same way. Culture days, however, can- not compete with person to per- son discussion, provided by guest speakers. Mrs. Barbara Winston's history classes heard from Mrs. Thurston on the U.S.S.R.; Mrs. Susan Wong on No Typoes. Coretta Oliver loads her typewriter to start an assignment in business class. Slider. Daily practice in band does not bother trombone player, Mike Jones. Classroom Activities 9