Mount St John Academy - Veritas Yearbook (Gladstone, NJ)

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cone Four ----- 0ur Seniorlear Senior Year at last!! lVe thought it would never come. ,lust imagine, only nine short monthsleft.This thought made us both joyful and sorrow- ful at the same time. But, no matter what our feelings were, NVE were Seniors, the ones who marshalled. edited the Year Book. held important posts. and were looked up to by the younger students, fso we imaginedj We quickly assumed our various duties and became engrossed in just being Seniors. In October. we had our Senior Retreat with the Seniors from St. John's Villa in Staten Island. We spent three quiet days at St. Joseph's Villa, praying, meditating, and listening to Father Fogarty. This Retreat held a special meaning for us: it was our last Retreat at St. John's, and only the first of a succession of lasts. The fall days began getting shorter, and suddenly winter seemed very near. The first crystal snowfall of the year came on the same day as the Student Council Dance, Autumn Leaves. a seemingly inappro- priate titlc. Our next thought looked toward Thanksgiving. not only in terms of a vacation, for there was work to be done. Our class president, Eileen Engerud, initiated a campaign for Thanksgiving Baskets for some poor families. This was given a Bon Voyage with posters and a huge red box displayed at the end of the school hall, a substitute pantry for those families not so fortunate as ourselves. Vacation arrived bringing the end of what we knew' was a successful campaign, for much food and generous contributions had been given in response to our plea. A final chilling blast, and we knew winter was here, carrying in its weight more snow., ice skating, and the happiness connected with Christ- mas preparation. The classrooms changed their dress for Christmas dec- orations. The true spirit, however, of Advent was gained by a few of us in little daily gatherings around the Advent Wreatll in which we were given opportunity for quiet reflection on the meaning of the season. Several times, we gathered with a few more of our companions and tried to share our new- born ideas. We came to realize what we had missed in t-he previous years when we had not considered Advent so deeply. All the classes held a jolly Christ- mas party together and we went home for the Christmas holiday. I

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Scene Three- - - Our ,Junior Year g At Last! After threshing over in our minds the fact of finally being Juniors, we immediately began the year by having a class meeting con- cerning our Prom only 8 months away! Facing our financial problems, our first concrete action was appointing the bakers for a cake sale. By the end of the first cake sale we had our Prom arranged and the decor- ations decided. The Autumn Frolic was held at Halloween and saw our Lise crowned Queen. That was our first excitement, to he closely followed by a one act play in honor of the Marian Year, in which a few of us had leading roles. The most united class in the high school, we were accused of pos- sessing a one track mind. Of course our thoughts didn't dwell completely on the Promg we had our rings for diversion. When Christmas came around we literally squealed with delight at our new badges of dignity. However, there was nothing dignified in our ostentatious display of them. After our vacation we returned to begin preparations for the first dance we held. Modern Daze proved that our creative and artistic abilities had not decreased since our Freshman year, and we were so fired by our success that we began our decorations for the Prom. In the meantime, as soothing balm to our aches and worries, came our Retreat. It came, and went, leaving a mark on our frenzied souls, making us think, plan, and hope. they had dreamed of. our exams and were at last SENIORS. May 21 approached very quickly. F lnally our long awaited Prom was here. For weeks we secretely planned, designed, wrote letters and visited lumber companies. We drew up plans for our arbor and then made roses to put on it. It seemed that we made thou sands of roses, but we could have used twice the num ber produced. Saturday morning dawned a warm sun ny day, and we were all very joyful. That same day some of us took College Boards, but at night very happy Juniors gathered with their escorts for the night It was only a fleeting moment from our Prom to graduation and the realization dawned: we had passed

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The week after New Yearis, the underclassmen had their retreat, so we took those few extra days for Year Book preparation. When we came back, we faced a whirlwind of Yearbook deadlines, College Board Exams, and Mid Terms, one right after the other, in less than a month. February and March passed without excitement and in April. the Dramatic Club presented a Pas- sion Play. These two months were months of waiting: waiting for Easter, an- swers to our College applications and exams. and yes, even waiting for Gradu- ation. April brought Easter and hopeful signs of Spring. The grass really did look greener, and the first flowers that bloomed were brought to school to decorate Our Lady's statue. Suddenly it was May, and even more suddenly we were caught in the close-of-school-rush. With the rest of the school, we prac- ticed for the Spring Concert, and looked forward to the Junior Prom. We saw the Juniors gathered in small groups, and heard snatches of conversations, which abruptly stopped when anyone approached. We talked of gowns, and dates and tried to realize that this year, the Prom was being held in our honor. Secretly, we were busily writing songs, making wills, and dreaming to the strains of Pomp and Circumstances , as we practiced for our Class Night and Gradua- tion. We wanted graduation to come, yet, we tried to put it off, wanting to- be together just a little longer. At the same time, we were reading the Yearbook, and signing it. We all had writer's cramp, but, after all, What price glory? Finally the day we were all anticipating arrived: our High School Com- mencement. If there was any rustling in Chapel, as we lined up for Mass, we didn't hear it. We were all deep in thought, thinking along the same lines, yet, each one's musings were quite distinct and personal. We were reviewing our years of High School which were just ending and looking ahead to the un- certain years of the future which were just beginning. Then .... Graduation itself, at which we had the honor of the presence of our beloved Bishop, the Most Reverend James A. McNulty. His Excellency's presence added immeasureably to the solemnity and the memorableness of the ocassion. . For many of us this would be the last time to kneel in the first benches reserved for Seniors. Now the future remained as always only pressing harder upon us. We had tried to pave the road as best we could in preparation to travel upon it. We realized now our high school years could never be fully for- gotten. All during our lives some occassion would present itself, and the neces- sity would be there to draw some fragment from the content of knowledge learned during those years. I8