North Side High School - Legend Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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Introductions to Culture, Tongues of Foreign Countries Foreign language comic books increase comprehension and under- standing of the new tongue; that ii , if you get the right book. Miss Frances Plumanns isn ' t yelling at her French class . . . she ' s leading them in the French song, In a Tiny House. A subject has been added that is foreign to the history of North Side. Now we can communicate in four languages, French, Spanish, Latin, and, most recently offered, German. Although four years of each language were presented, Ger- man in its experimental year, was a beginner ' s course. Two classes, taught by Mr. Leslie Roberts, learned the basic funda- mentals of speech and comprehension of the German lan- guage. Emphasis was given to the cultures of the romance languages, Spanish and French. Mr. Ramiro Ramirez, a new teacher from Cuba, helped the students to understand how people in other countries really live. The stories translated in the books have a lot to do with the customs of the country under study, and add a lot to our understanding. Strains of Christmas music drifted down the halls, add- ing to the spirit of the holiday season. Even Christmas cards, adorned with Latin phrases, decorared the teachers ' rooms in festive colors. These touches combined to greatly increase the universal tradition of Christmas. Sprechen sie deutsch? Ja ' says Mr. Roberts, instructor of the newly formed German class, as he uses a map to explain his lecture. 18

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Conquering classroom confusion, these sophomores retreat to the hall to practice their presentation of Thornton Wilder ' s Our Town. Self- expression Abilities English is one thing we all have in common. Not only do we speak that language, but we are required to take at least seven semesters of it. In following the revised city-wide course of study, our English Department did not forget the basic rules that we have to know about grammar. We still memorized and read parts of Julius Caesar, but with the added aid of a recording of this famous play as done by professionals. The Atlantic Monthly, supplied at no extra cost to our scholars, was provided to study the contemporary writers of today. Seniors will never forget those short stories, poems, and essays they analyzed in English 7; nor will they forget the impressive F ' s received for just one run-on sentence. Underclassmen worked hard too. Teachers, realizing what lay in store for their students, bombarded them with knowledge in every aspect of our English language. Litera- ture told us the thoughts of the past, and our own individual thoughts were set down in compositions. Language, spelling and vocabulary were always stressed in order to build and maintain a generally good English skill. The library offers Michael Wall essential reference material for work on an English term paper. 17

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Provided by French, Spanish, Latin, and German Courses Breaking the pinata is an old Spanish Christmas custom. When burst, Pam Richard ignores John Stubbins ' example of Roman warfare and the pinata yields goodies and a scramble follows. strikes out on her own by stabbing Tom Beaver. In conjunction with textbook study and lectures, Miss Jane Felger uses duo-language maps to help explain the culture of our Spanish-speaking neighbors in the West Indies. 19