Melrose High School - Log Yearbook (Melrose, MA)

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NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS I must admit that I was confused on the sixth of September when I stood in front of Melrose High School. With me were 1500 other students-all trying to get through the same door. When I heard a bell (it sounded more like a fire alarm to me), I was still at my locker turning 10 to the right, 12 to the left . . . and then some Swedish words that I won’t even try to translate. The next stop was homeroom. We did many strange rituals. There was a silent meditation that never lasted more than a tenth of a second, and a public address system that nobody listened to. The voice droned on . . . When the bell (?) sounded, we could start fighting our way to the classrooms. If I found the right room and entered it, I still thought th at I was wrong. With the help of some understanding students and prominently displayed room numbers. 1 was assured that I had made the right selection. The language barrier was another major hurdle for me. The way that students speak is quite different from what my English teachers at home taught me. “I ' m bummed out! Wicked good! Ex! This is a veg! I doubt that I will ever find some of these expressions in my Plnglish grammar book. The most useful phrases for me were What? Can you say that again? Excuse me, you are speaking too fast! The most positive thing about MHS is that there are so many extra-curricular activities to choose from. There are so many different and interesting things to be involved in! That is very important, because it makes school more than just a place you have to go to. In Sweden, we are required to attend school for only nine y ears If you wish to attend a high school, or gymnasium as it is called, you must apply and be accepted. You choose a major such as science, language, or mechanics, and are placed in a class with twenty-five other students with the same career interests. These schools are from one to four years long. Some of these schools give a final education and others are just preparation for additional schooling. It is easier to get good grades in American schools than in Swedish schools. You really have to be something to receive a 5. which is the Swedish equivalent of an A. If the national average is a D in a certain course, the Swedish teacher must scale the grades so that the class average is a I). Most students get C’s, but absolutely no more than five students receive A’s. This creates intense competition between students and rivalry and arguements result. In Sweden, the government pays for education. We get school supplies and lunches free. Lunch is fifty minutes long and you are allowed to eat as much as you want. I don’t know if I would let some of the MHS football players in there! The students are responsible for themselves in Swedish schools. If we are absent or late, we take care of it ourselves. Few people skip more than they have to because it is the student who decides if he wants to continue his education. The- most important thing in a school is the people. The students at Melrose High are very much like the students back home. Your friends and your teachers are what you will miss when you graduate. Although some times were good and some were bad, you will never forget your high school years. I am glad that I have had the opportunity to attend Melrose High School. It is an experience that I will never forget. 10

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ONLY YESTERDAY It is amazing how quickly time can pass. You don ' t realize its passage until it’s too late. Our three years at Melrose High School have come to a close. It’s hard to believe we’re seniors, ready to graduate and venture into the world. It ms like only yesterday . . . Sophomore orientation in a hot cafe. The school seemed so large and we felt so small. Yet we managed and gradually came to find our way around the school — not without asking a few questions. “No, there is no room 405, kid! “Yes, the cafetorium is on the second floor!” We recovered by the end of our sophomore year; most of us had things straight. Now we could take a look at where we’d be spending the next two years. “Seniors have so much fun. I wish I got out on early release. Ha ha ha, underclassmen!” Junior year was hardest of all. “Do we have to take all these tests?” PSAT’s, SAT’s; it seemed like a conspiracy! College? Who thought about it then? Suddenly, it was goodbye class of 78 and we were the seniors. It’s over just like that. You sit there and think, “Where did the time go? What did I do?” We have learned from each other and have grown. We have come into our own. So long, Melrose High, it’s been an experience well worth having. See you in September? Sorry guys, not this time!

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CLASS Best figure-Denise Swal- low Most Active-Eileen Don- wan BESTS Cutest-Fred Sweeney Cutest-Peggy Cummings Messiest locker-Ricky Mc- Laughlin Best Smile-Curt Skane Best Smile-Lvnn LoPilato Most Active-Doug Emery Chatterboxes-Kevin DeYoung, Lynn LoPilato Artist-Margie Barrett Most Athletic-Matt Bennett, Jean Bushee Done most for class-Dan °allotta, Eileen Donovan Best looking- Arthur Anderson Most popular-Mary Alfano, Rob Ricciardelli 11