North High School - Polar Bear Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

Page 7 text:

With a population of only 750 students, the process of holding together all the aspects of a school is more difficult. However, whenever people meet in work, despite their number, interaction is bound to occur. L ike any school, group activities existed, yet lack of participation plagued several of them. Girl ' s swim¬ ming, student council, and other groups faced the problems of running a program with less than an adequate number of members. Likewise, some classes, such as ROTC, neared the possibility of extinction in the future due to lack of in¬ terest by the student body. However, the smallness of classes led to more individual attention, and a closer knit relationship between students themselves as well as with the instructor. Even with a decreased student body, some groups did exceedingly well. North High football saw its best season in many years, with the team going to state; an event which produced as much spirit from our populace as it would from a larger school. Band, with close to one hundred members, per¬ formed as in years past, and received an invitation to Hawaii to participate in the King Kamehahmehah Day parade. With a smaller amount of members to work with, more effort was put out to achieve goals, and several clubs and teams were preserved through determination—true proof that good things DO come in small packages. 3

Page 9 text:

Each year brings with it new school and community events, and 1974-75 was no exception. From the very first, new things began to happen. Instead of counseling sessions to plan out schedules, registration was held in the gym and lunchroom. This procedure allowed students the chance to choose the class, hour, and teacher they wanted. At the end of September, the Pep Board of past years was revived, consisting of the presidents of several school clubs. The board planned spirit week. Later in the fall, the Polar Bear Band and Model United Nations members were given the honor of par¬ ticipating in President Ford ' s visit to the Iowa State Capitol building. The band alternated playing with other city high school bands and the UN delegates listened to his speech from select seats near the Presi¬ dent. Christmas time brought two new events, a Christ¬ mas dance and a Christmas musical. The dance, unlike Homecoming, was held in the student and lost money despite its enjoyment by the approximate crowd of sixty people who attended. The musical, Babes in Toyland, however, proved a success.