Memorial High School - Reata Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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MATH Blood weat and tear Math-ster minds battle problems of numbers, variables and equations. ombinations of knowledge in Geometry. Algebra, and Calculus helped students to succeed in various tournaments and contests. Sopho- mores. juniors, and seniors. picked by their math teachers, competed against other high schools such as Dulles, Clear Creek. Jerse Village, Richardson in Dallas. and lilos Alamos in San Anto- nio. in tests of their mathematical abil- ity. t'You've got to be good in math and dedicated enough to wake up in the morning and waste your Saturday, said Sophomore George Calfisch, who participated in a number of math con- tests. Various high schools sent letters announcing contests to Mr. Bill Hill, math department chairman. and then math teachers were asked to pick one or two of their best students to send to the contest. I liked to participate in contests and also I liked to exercise my mind. Jun- ior David Ronn said as to why he went to math contests. I went because I'm a fool. But it looks good on your college applica- tions. Junior Andrea Vine said. Usually the math contests consist of various tests with so homores taking the geometry or algelijra parts. juniors the trigonometry test. and seniors the tests pertaining to calculus, according to Ca fisch. The scores of these various teams are added together to give a total score for one hi h school. The Clear Creek Math Contest. though. was a relay with sophomores. juniors, and seniors each working on a different part of the same math prob- lem. with the answers needed for the next groulp to continue on the problem. Memoria placed second and sixth in the contest with the senior team and second team of juniors and sopho- mores. ' It was fun because it was so hard. said Sophomore Janis Doan. It seemed li eIdidn't know an thing. but I was surprised at how well I did, , she commented in reference to -the Dulles competition. You see a little bit of the country- side on these trips to various math con- tests. Calfisch said. The school paid for the motel and bus ride for the contestants when they needed to travel outside of Houston. Numbers ANTS.ON A PERPETUAL CRAWL over a lattice moebruss strip exemplify apparently paradoxi- cal propertres to Freshman Holly Stroud's Geometry class. Geometry students spent most of the year bisecting ang es and planes. Photo by Kathy Epps. You couldn't party, though, because you had to concentrate on the test the next morning. Calfisch said. Sophomore Ed Wakil said he liked to participate in the contests because It's un. I guess. Besides. I like waking up early on Saturday morning. - 30 - - Roberta Diakum WITH THE HELP OF HER TEACHER Mrs. Marcia Waller, Freshman Lynn Mandel learns a concept of Algebra I. Students tackled the basics, such as equations of a line and factoring polynomi- als. Photo by Kathy Epps. s.ia--4

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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

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U ALPHA THETA and the Science and Philo- ophical Society combined to listen to speakers n careers relating to math and science. MEM- ARE, FROM BOTTOM TO TOP: Sponsor Gladys Wood, MAO President Tom Schom- Secretary-Treasurer Katy Bremer, Vice Jacki Gelb and Secretary-Treasurer Virginia Smith. AT LEFT ARE: Michael Carlson, Ed Wakil, Susie Woodhams, Karen Fernbach, Tina Woodhams, Evan Davis, George Caflisch, Annette Odgen, Laurie O'Donnell, Ann Weber, Kris Tita, Julie Browning, Joanie Weiner, Patti Robbins, Kira Obolensky, Lisa Rawl, Chrissy Burnley, Doug Baron, Greg Stocks, Jennifer Kraft, Barry Schuman, Robert Carington, Joe Wakil, David Chenevert, Mark Durcan, Robert Thompson, Leland Putterman, John Waggoner, Greg LeSartre, Bruce Rougraff, and Peyton Randolph. Photo by Trent Rosenthal. - 6 ' m a t h . A FASCI- NATION with numbers has caused junior David Ronnis feel- ings of enjoy- ment toward Besides being fun, math was very important in daily life. Ronn said, To get anywhere in this technological world. you must have a comprehension of math. Numbers can also be used to understand everyday occur- rencesf' according to Ronn. I Another major factor which influenced Ronn was his choice to enter medicine. I plan to go into medicine, so I would be stud- ying great amounts of math in college, said Ronn. His appreciation of math was a major factor behind Ronn's par- ticipation in math contests. I traveled to math contests so I could apply my knowledge to something other than problems out of a book. Even though Ijust encountered more problems, I liked to see different applications of a formula. said Ronn. Even thou h he didn't win a trophy or ribion in a math con- test, Ronn placed between sixth and tenth places. +30 - i Barry S dmma WHILE JUNIOR STUART NELSON FEEDS INFORMATION into the computer on the phone Junior Steve Orr types out the information that is printed out on sheets. Games such as Star Trek could be played on the Computers in Mr. Donald Haynes' classes. Photo by Kathy Epps. Numbers 165