Memorial High School - Reata Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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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

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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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BRAINY SUBIECTS Blood weat and tears Harder subjects challenge hrains to levels uf deeper understanding By Virginia Smith rain-strain pains afflicted many students taking Calculus. Biology ll. Chemistry II. Physics Il. and the sixth level of Spanish. French. or Ger- man. Most. however. felt the courses were not beyond their capabilities. Calculus students. according to teacher Mrs. Gladys Wood. covered basic methods of integration and dif- ferentiation. as well as preparing stu- dents for the Advanced Placement Test. Senior Karl Hood felt it was not difficult. It's all formulasf, he said. All you've got to do is memorize them. Classes consisted mostly of note-taking. and Mrs. Wood was fondly described as the bionic armf' She also gave suggested homework problems, according to Karl. with stu- dents putting problems on the board during class for two points on their six weeks average. Most of the students survived the year with the well worn battlecry HCALCULUS - FAIL! For those interested in pursuing a medical career orjust studying biology in depth. Biology II took a deeper look at the study of life. I want to go into medicine. Senior Diana Prince explained. and it's the only s ience I wanted to take. The course 'xpanded Biology I. she said. covering physiology. animal and plant phyla. genetics. and plants and how they grow. The entire third quarter was spent dissecting. It's not hard. Diana said. because there's very little outside work. Sheis fteacher Mrs. Carolyn Schofieldj got everything planned. She makes learn- ing more fun than most teachers do. With lectures two to three times a week. guest speakers and filmstrips thrown in. both Biology II classes C30 students over alll reached the end of the year a little wiser for the wear. If anyone desired more than a Chemistry I view of test tubes and lec- I66 Advanced level courses tures. Chemistry II teacher Mrs. Doro- thy Rae held class every day third period. It's a riot class Senior Les Kallos described. It's the same as Chemistry I. but more in depth. You don't cover as much. but it's much deeper. Topics covered. according to Les. included electron configurations. acids. bases. solubility. and molarity. The class size of 22 hindered students to a certain degree. When we have to work in labs. it's difficult. Senior Heather Hindman said. It's also diffi- cult to keep order. Physics ll. with ten enrolled. offered students the intimacy of a small class. Senior Martin Chenevert said he took it because l've had Chemsitry II: I'm interested in math . . . physics has lots of mathematics. The course. accord- ing to Martin, covered applying math to laws of nature and doing problems involving motion. expansion. and nuclear decay. Mr. Mike Saathoff taught, but it was almost completely independent. Martin said. It doesn't require all the memorization that other sciences do. Class clown Senior John Lee kept everyone amused until he got all the fun out of it he wanted. accord- ing to Martin. Students who studied a language two years in junior high and managed to stick out three years in high school could reach the foreign pinnacle of lan- guage in Spanish VI. French VI, or German VI. Spanish VI students read literature. plays. novels. and newspapers. accord- ing to Senior Deirdre Happe. She is in the class. she said. because I'm inter- ested in pursuing it probably in college. It's not hard. Spanish VI students spanned the entire day of Teacher Mrs. Winnifred Coterillo. Due to schedule conflicts. one student took it second period. eight third period. and four fifth period. ffonlinued on page I 691 is 1 i l AFTER TAKING LECTURE NOTES, Senior Les Kallos still needs Mrs. Gladys Woods' help to complete his Calculus assignment. Calculus was a college-level course that was offered as an elective to seniors. Photo by Kathy Epps. BIZARRE PARTICLES OF AIR seem to shock Senior Charlie Stern as he examines them in his Biology II class. For many students, the high point of the course was the dissection of fetal pigs. Photo by Kathy Epps.