Memorial High School - Reata Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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BEDROOM SLIPPERS AND A BATHROBE com- bined with dramatics won second place for Sophomore Gil Agnew in Spanish play competi- tion. Tri-ad was held in April providing competi- tion in Spanish, German, French, Russian and Latin. Photo by Scott Waughtal. IN PREPARATION FOR THE AP TEST, German VI Seniors Virginia Smith and Kelly Truesdell read books by modern German authors. Teacher Frau Foxx discusses the novels. Photo by Kathy Epps. SPANISH PLAYS PRODUCED ELABORATE COS- TUMES, from hoop skirts to big hats, for compe- tition in Tri-ad. Second place was won by Sopho- mores Melinda Hail and Mary Welch. Photo by Scott Waughtal, , THOUGH SHE never really thought ' , 1 about class - rank, valedic- fi --be ' torian Kris Tita ' triumphed over her 579 class- , mates with a schedule heavy in sciences. math. and foreign lan- guage. Kris said she took all the K courses she could. including Biology I and II. Chemistry I and I . Physics I. fourlyears of English. four of math Sinclu ing Calcu usg. and four of rench. though she ropped French VI after the first quarter. People's reactons to her rank var- ied from l'really and you're kid- din to Can I touch you? gl'he said nothing really very con- crete. ,Kris said. T ere was nothing really unpleasant or exceptionally funny either. She had not thought of it much. she said. and receiving the news on the first dag back from summer vaca- tion was a ig surprise. I thought a little bit about it. like 'I wonder who it's going to be.' fbutj it was such a sudden shock. she explained. It was a good way to come back. As with all winners. Kris felt pres- sure to stay on top after the first quarter. I did worry a little bit. she admitted. People tended to expect me to do well. and tsomej said vin- dictive sort of things. I didn't want to lose my rank. Everybody wants to knock off number one. h She refused to be labeled a book- worm and spoke distastefully of the stereotype. I wouldn't sa it's fthe rankin iso much brains - Iam not one of those bookworm type . . . I try to do my ggmework every night tthoughtj. - - D. Virginia Smilh l68 Advanced level courses

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I , 5 .lv RH A SHOWING HOW lT'S DONE, Calculus student Elenor Coldren completes a problem on the board for her classmates to check, Teacher Mrs. Gladys Wood awarded any students who did a problem with two free points on a test. Photo by Kathy Epps. FORCED TO MUSTER UP THE STRENGTH of all his facial muscles in order to catch a glimpse of an elusive antibody, Senior Tom Rivers struge gles with a Biology ll lab, as Maria Perez waits for her turn to eye the marvels of science. Photo by Kathy Epps. ,' ,N Q N- , 2' ,ii x' X ' ' H. H ls4fz21,q'3' tMt , ' Q T T fi f, if L T we if ? iiA vg '57, 4 2,: .,i.,w j' gs' ' K' V' f 995 5. N ' 7 X . .:'3'gf,q xl X ' 7-,I Advanced level course 167

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RAI YS BIECTS lood weat and tear rlarder suhiects challenge brains tn evels of deeper understanding 'C Urllilllled from 1661 People think '6Oh my God' when .you say you're in Spanish VI: if we had nother teacher it might be hardj' eirdre said. It's fun anyway. Some people expect fluency by the 'ixth year of language study. but ccording to Senior Karen Prescott, a rench VI student, it is not that easy. 'I'm taking French VI because I want .o learn to speak French fluently. They other peoplej expect you to be fluent, nut I'm not yet. The course encompassed French life n all aspects, according to Karen. 6'We cover the way the French live: current Lhings, what teenagers do for fun, slang anguagef' she said. They read Jimmy arter's interview in a French issue of layboy, had French dinners, and a ardi Gras party with the French Club. The third leg of advanced foreign anguage, German, was taken by only .wo students. Seniors Virginia Smith nd Kelly Truesdell. Taught by Mrs. ary Fox, students could either pre- mare for the advanced placement test or follow another program of literature. German VI is not a brainy course, Kelly stressed. People are often impressed when I tell them I'm in German VI, but I'm not fluent at all. Mrs. Fox explained the AP course's dif- ficulty. If one chooses to follow the AP course, a full year of reading - and it includes seven major late 19th and 20th century works, and a selection of German poetry - then it is a challenging but rewarding experience, she said. Forjuniors, brain power could be chan- neled into an expansion of American His- tory: AP History, similar to the German VI program. According to Nanet Ruzek, It fsubject matterl goes back before the explorers, then goes through our present history. Besides the history, Junior Eng- lish complemented the history in succes- sive periods in a pilot program to better prepare students for college entrance tests. lt's not hard if you study, Nanet assured. It seemed as if this was the stand- ard reply from the brains in the heavy courses. After all - it was only studying. -30- I WITH HER FEET PROPPED UP ON A DESK, Junior Karen Chadderdon attempts to find a comfortable position during her Advanced Placement American History class. Photo by Kathy Epps. IN ORDER TO POSSIBLY PLACE OUT OF A FEW COLLEGE COURSES, Juniors Laura Elkins, Hugh Hwerton, Katrina Heinreich and Stephan Parpart study for the AP Test. A special class was made to help students with the test. Photo by Kathy Epps. Advanced level courese 169