Melrose High School - Log Yearbook (Melrose, MA)

Page 33 text:

Please Excuse The Interruption Pam Czarniawski reports , “ There will be a mandatory meeting of every club that ever existed. This concludes the important announcements. And also, a trivial note, there ' s been a bomb scare! 8:10 A.M.: the late bell rang; we fell into our homeroom seats. Some dozed: some did last night’s English homework. Then, suddenly, a loud sound boomed from a corner of the room. What was it, you ask? Veteran MHS students recognized the cheery voice that assaulted our eardrums as the dearly beloved morning an- nouncements (perfect cure for insom- nia;. No announcement was ever trivial and every meeting was manda- tory. This year we again had to muster the energy to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silent meditation. Yet there was an alternative. If we chose not to stand and mumble the Pledge, we could sit (inconspicuously) and count how many words the week’s announcer mixed up, mispronounced or forgot. Then, the following four seconds were called a moment of silent meditation. Next, we were treated to a sneak preview of the luncheon menu. This served to depress most students especially if the only thing they had to get them through D block gym class was the thought of a bacon burger. A new policy was introduced this year. Rather than always interrupt- ing last period classes, vital news was announced at the end of D block, right before lunch. There were, of course, three types of teacher reactions - those who continued their lectures, talking right over the public address system and choosing that moment to introduce their most important points; those who shook fists in the general direction of the speaker; and those who just gave up. The intercom system also served as a missing persons bureau. Messrs. Frontero, LaRosa or Croston could reach anyone, anywhere, anytime. It seemed there were a certain few always being called to the office. Oh well, bagged again! There were humorous features, too. A separate calling system allow- ed a secretary to reach a teacher on a private speaker. Thus, many of us in the open classroom could hear the poor secretary who tried for five minutes to call an invisible teacher with no results! Many believed that we could have done without the intercom system quite nicely. But then, how would we ever know that there was a bomb scare, a bell to disregard, or a cancelled track meet? You decide. CAFE STAFF - KNEELING: E. Maranto. FIRST ROW [ L to ?].- A. Mahoney, A. Gibelli, J. Vesce, M. Goveia, M. Doucette, A. Snow. SECOND ROW: E. Higgins, A. Paleo, E. Moore, A. Farese, M. James. CUSTODIANS [L to R]: E. DiMuzio, J. Murphy, K. Alkins, L. Spadafora, G. Noonan. OFFICE STAFF [ L to ?]. L. Lockhead, E. Eichel, M. Fisher, A. Previte, M. DeSisto, D. Alcorn, J. Northrup. NOT PICTURED: A. Cann, P. Morris, M.L. Wenner. 29

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Inward Bound Many a day during our time at Melrose High, it rained. Not only did it rain, but it poured - torrents as a matter of fact. Two minutes out there and you were drenched to the skin. Needless to say. on those days, all outdoor activities had to be cancelled. Did our imaginative gym teachers leave us to get bored and sore with the usual hum-drum excercise periods? Luckily not! Instead we got to see how many kids could pile, cram, and squeeze onto a balance beam. We also got to hop (or be thrown) over an electric fence, trying to escape from our imaginary prison. Plus, we got to swing across a mountain gap while carrying explosive nitroglycerin! Heaven forbid that your feet touched the floor-you were finished! For the students who survived these adventures, there was more- an obstacle course! Naturally, there were a few of us who didn’t particularly enjoy being hurled over a ten foot “elephant or slithering around a chin-up bar. How- ever, being the genial, fun loving, enthusiastic students that we were, we took all of this in stride, psyching ourselves for what was next. Now you want us to stick a Rand-aid on the wall? One - two - three: Breathe! It just had to be what we least expected. Sure enough, it was! Now really, how many gym classes in other schools had to make a human ladder, kid on kid, foot on shoulder? And Why? To put a Band-Aid on the wall as high as possible! Thanks to our spirited gym instructors, we surely had the only Band-Aid deco- rated gym! All in all, gym had a funny twist to it. It made us laugh to see our classmates dazzled, baffled, and to- tally perplexed. We all got together, worked as a unit, and shared a good time. We’ll never forget those rainy day gym classes! William Tryder Mary Vahey Physical Education Science Pamela Ann Waterbury Language Arts Lisa Mutti Language Substitute Terry Ward Occupational Ed. NOT PICTURED: Evelyn Nelson Occupational Ed. Nancy Werneth Language Arts 28

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Mr. LaRosa and Mr. Connolly. Hail. hail, the gang ' s all here! Bill Perna. Kevin MacCormaek, John Kelly and Ernie Karelas. Bru hing up in his favorite course Bill LeBlanc produces a masterpiece. ■Joyce Copeland shares a few good study hall laughs. Touche! Fencing was a popular offering in the gym classes. 30 Headed for the lunch-line blitz - Bob Greenberg, Lisa Traveis and Ron McPherson. Dave Leonard takes in some big ' 78 news items - Panama Canal and Mideast negotiations , Presi- dent Carter ' s energy proposals, the McKenzie, DiCarlo Trials, the coal strike...