Memorial High School - Reata Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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NATIONAL SPANISH HONOR SOCIETYVMEM- BERS, BOTTOM: Susan Hollo, Sponsor Winifred Cotenllo, Deidre Hoppe, Carrie Bratton, Miguel Baldwin, Tina Woodharns, Karen Provonzano, Bob Mclean, Linda Hood, Elizabeth Isenseo. TOP: Patti Robbins, Tracy Cole, Dede Ingram, Stacy lkard, Karl Flivas, Diana Kokernot, Vera Flusswurm, Hal Waughtal, Paul Tucker, Bronwyn Campbell, Emily Anderson. Photo by Kathy Epps. FOREIG LAN UAGE Blood weat and tear Foreign languages teach uriderstanding FRENCH Opportunity to find out the best cook among French students came during the French club dinner last fall. Teachers and students from all French classes enjoyed everything from hors d'oeuvre to dessert - crepes. eclaires. fondue. vichyssoise. and crois- sants. President. Senior Eddie Burke. said. Everyone brought enough food and it was really very successful. It was also a very good chance to get to know each other. Vice President Ellen Bartell said. We used French recipes and served all regular French food - at least what we thought was regular. The French club didn't have regular meetings and was very informal. It was not rigidly structured because many times it was difficult to dedicate your time. Burke explained. Senior Katharina Kucharsky said. Sometimes we saw a film or attended a play. but it was reallyjust a kind of social thing. The reason that many students chose French was because of the language itself. Freshman Barbara Cannon said. I like the sound and the style of the lan- guage better than that of German or Spanish. Sophomore Ed Wakil thought that French was more popular than any ENGLISH. SPANISH. AND Portu- guese were not .fi .. -iw,-WW'1fa ir 5 enough for sophomore A George Caf- lisch. He ' f wanted to know a fourth language - French. his class LIILIIIAI Being the best in give him any satisfaction before Caf- lisch skipped from the second to the fourth level. I took the test in August because if I had taken French III. I would haye wasted my time. What we were supposed to do in French Ill we were . doing in French IV anyway. he explained. The class was still doing some grammar but with more emphasis on the more subtle parts of it. It was not an easy class. but I didn't have to study IOO hard getting it into niy brain because it went in pretty easy. hc said. He also studied French culture and history and Caflisch was glad that his teacher. Mrs. Marilyn Benoit. read some short stories in class. Caflisch said he could understand the reading better than others because he spoke Italian fluently. another Roman language. and knew the Latin way ol' structuring sen- ICIICSS. Caflisch was born in Italy. where he liyed for eight years. Then his fam- ily moved to Nigeria and. after a cou- ple of years. to Angola. Two years later. he came to Pittsburgh where he I degged to take French as an elective. -- l'a'r'z1 Ri4.r.s'ii'1ir'rt1 I l other foreign language and his twin brother Joe said. I like discussing in French. French teacher Mrs. Karen Ivy tried to make her classes speaking rather than writing. We followed what we should. but we added a lot of living French and joked around in the language. she said. RUSSIAN The Russian club and Russian classes I and II studied the culture and language in hope of better understand- ing the Russian people. Someday we'll either be fighting or working and trading with the Russians. and I wanna be in on it. said Sopho- more Park Burrets. Russian is the second most impor- tant language in the world. for science. war, and diplomatic relations. English. ofcourse. is the first. said Sophomore Karl Wilson. Any American who can speak Russian has a guaranteed future in important affairs. he said. Junior Stuart Nelson said. Russian- English translators are the highest paid translators in the world. It's something to fall back on if you can't do anything else. Besides. Russia has an interesting culture as well as an unusual language. and that's really why I was in the Rus- sian club. Anyone could come to the club

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FOREIGN LANGUAGE Blood, weat, nd tear Foreign languages teach understanding of culture UEpluribus unum was just one of the things that Latin stu- dents covered as they plowed their way through a forest of Latin verbs. nouns. adjectives and Roman history. And plow they did because Latin is not a simple language to learn. Question: But why would anyone want to take a language that is not simple and that is not nationally spoken any- where today? Answer: To help me with my vocabu- lary. said Freshman Tessi Quebe. Often known as a Classical language. Latin is a basis for all languages. Since many English words are derived from Latin. the language is useful in improv- ing ones vocabulary. In fact. vocabulary played the largest role in why students chose to take Latin. I might want to study lan- guages and it's tLatinj a very good background for foreign languages and English vocabulary. said Senior Katharina Kucharsky. Latin teacher Miss Karen Kirkland said students choose Latin, To improve their vocabulary and English skills and to improve test scores for those interested in law and medicine or sciences where things are Latin based. One parent viewed Latin as that horrid course I was required to take in junior high school yet a few students said that they took Latin at their par- ents' suggestion. My mother said it would be good for me to take for my English. Fresh- man Lisa Robertson said. My parents said you'll never forget it and it will always help you. said Sophomore Stephanie Hicks. A few students took Latin for some slightly different reasons. This class is an edu- cational experience that can't be denied. said .Iunior Steve Rowland. Vocabulary and grammar were not the only things touched upon in Latin. The Latin I classes did reports on ancient Rome's emperors: Latin II classes translated Caesars Gallic Warsg and a Roman feast was held by each Latin class just before Christmas in which everyone literally stuffed them- selves with such delicacies as baklava. Saturnalia cookies. tabouli. and poor- boys from Antone's. Like the other foreign language clubs, there was a Latin club, The offi- cers were: President Marjianne Nelson, Vice-President Charlotte Prendergast, Treasurer Katy Crawford, and Histo- rian Debbie Lansdowne. The club participated in an event called the Roman Games Cpatterned after ancient timesb and they planned to participate in them again this year. Besides going to the Roman Games. we also took part in Triad com- petition this yearf, said Vice-President Charlotte Prendergast, Triad is an annual district-wide foreign language competition. SPANISH Blurs of softly glowing candles dot- ted the darkness of the small smoke- filled area behind the auditorium cur- tain. The stage. bathed in gold and red. provided a tense. secretive atmosphere for the nervous initiates as each of them filed by the officers of the Span- ish Honor Society, Deirdre Happe, Annette Ogden, and Leland Putter- man, on the night of November 29, 1977 to receive his certificate. The members are not supposed to tell anyone about their initiation, said Senora Winifred Coterillo. She later added that a vague account of the meeting could be given as long as the person did not go into great detail. After the short ceremony the new members paraded over to Ninfa's where they enjoyed Mexican food and talked of various club activities. Common to all new members was that they each had to be a sophomore in fourth year Spanish. You must have at least two A's for the quarters last year and an 'A' for the first six weeks this year, said Senora Coterillo. teacher of levels fourth through sixth Spanish. Some Sophomores who are in third year Spanish can get in the Sociedad Honoria Hispanica CSpanish Honor Societyj if they got all A's in second year Spanish and one A in third year. she added. During Christmas the new members got a chance to participate in the club activities for the first time. A list of Spanish children was made and each member was assigned a child to give a small present. The children were members of very poor families picked by the Spanish Honor Society. The children and grandchildren of some of the custodi- ans were fortunate to be put on the club's Christmas list. Despite all of the humane things the club did. they were not renowned for their frequent meetings. We don't have many meetings at all. said .lunior Elizabeth lsensee who was trying to cajole some Math students into buying her Spanish Honor Society candy. Hmainly, because I don't think that the Spanish Honor Society is supposed to be as much of an active club as much as it is a club to honor the people who are very good at Spanish. - 30 - 4 Debbie Lansdowne Languages ' l6l

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C onlinued on page 163 meetings, said Nelson, Secretary of the club. President. Senior Jane Berryhill said. Both of our parties were worthwhile. The students from Clear Creek made the second party great. The food we all prepared was dif- ferent but fun, said Freshman Sophie Magnier. Dreaming of being a spy someday. Sophomore Jamie Turner said, We liked to get rowdy sometimes at the parties. during meetings and especially in class. But Russian teacher Mrs. Szyfman had ways to subdue her. stu- dents. Give them a difficult test. it's easy to control. Mrs. Szyfman said. GERMAN The German volunteer program con- sisted of a group of German speaking nothers who spent an hour each in :onversation with one of the schools German classes. This program originated as German .eacher Mrs. Mary Fox was confronted fvith a steady decline of students enroll- ng in foreign languages. She set out to 'ind a suitable solution to the problem. It became increasingly clear to me s foreign families moved to our com- unity that we have a wealth of untap- ed resources in the form of women whose native tongue is German. said Mrs. Fox. Benefits were plentiful in this volun- teer program. Most important. stu- dents see the foreign language as a liv- ing tool for communication. said Mrs. Fox. Not only did Mrs. Fox feel the pro- gram was helpful, but German students did also. I can become more familiar with the language and its usage. said Sophomore John Payne. Women who were in the volunteer program shared their talents in a sec- ond Ianguage by expressing a variety of subjects. In their fthe volunteersj con- versations with the students, the volun- teers brought first hand knowledge of customs and events in their native countries. said Mrs. Fox. Strong feelings about the value of taking a foreign language were shared by both Mrs. Fox and the students. Being aware of your own language and culture while learning about another country's language and cul- ture. broadens your horizons. Mrs. Fox said. German student Susan Schomburg agreed. It's good to have a second Ian- guage. I am also planning to go to Europe sometime, she said. - 30 - - FfL'll'lIL'I' Ellieredge, Cum Heii'elL Dclvlrit' l.un.i'dnii'nc'. Vera Rtissii-in'm. Eilene Wvlxlz I . FRENCH HONOR SOCIETY, BOTTOM: Ellen Bartell, John Murphy, Vera Russwurm, Eddie Burke, Mercedes Malek. TOP: Barbara Kuchar- sky, Michelle Pikar, Kathy Confor, Sponsor Mrs. Judy Deaton, Marsha Webber, Susie Prince, Lily Talish, Kate Kucharsky, Debbie Amerso, George Caflisch, Jean Leifeste, Kira Obolensky, Kate Mueller, Micheal Carlson, Joariie Weiner, Donna Marshall. Photo by Trent Rosenthal. CONTRIBUTING HIS IDEAS to the group, Ger- man ll student Senior Mike McCulloch explains to Freshmen Tanya Grubich, Dana McDougal, and Laura Groppe how to make their skit, The Dating Game, work. Photo by Kathy Epps. c .v 3 f E FRENCH DRAMATISTS NEVER HAD SUCH WILLING ACTORS as Seniors Kris Tita, John Murphy, and Evan Davis. These and other French IV students as well performed for their class as part of the course which stressed the French way of life. Photo by Trent Rosenthal. Languages ' 163