Perry Meridian High School - Passages Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

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group for one last deciding step. This select crowd of students had to be in- terviewed in English and in their foreign language. Out of thousands of entrants in the beginning and out of thirty- two finally selected, three students from Perry managed to get this award. The foreign language department underwent a new textbook adoption. Mrs. Patricia Theobald, teacher of French and German, said, I would have liked to have more time to plan for class and to do more traveling. If we had these two items, it would have given the student more incentive to participate. We have planned a trip to London, Paris, and Germany, and twenty students have signed up for it. It will have been very good to be with their cultures and to commtmicate with them. The Renaissance Festival in Boone county was an activity that the language students and club members participated in. We also went to see an lU soccer game. Joanny Mueller ' 84 and I represented Perry at the Celebration of the Treaty of Paris in Bloomington. It featured an actual re-enactment of the signing of the treaty and a former French president, Giscard d ' Etaing. Mrs. Theobald ex- plained that many students took Spanish because they thought it was easier. She said that it was easier to spell, but it was just as hard to learn as the others. On a different subject, she said, I thought that my classes were academically improving. Mrs. Ann Phillips, teacher of Spanish stated, Department tests were something new in this department. They made coverage equal among the teachers and made the department more standardized. Advanced classes would have liked to do more outside activities and to get more foreign magazines and newspapers from overseas, but this was too expensive. In Spanish, we had two lU Honors Abroad award winners; we have had two winners in one course only one other time. Mr. Strain said that he tried to make his classes more lively with new games, crossword puzzles, and jokes. Mrs. Alma Higbee, teacher of Latin and Etymology and language depart- ment supervisor, said, There were roughly 600 students enrolled for foreign language courses. That meant that almost a third of the student body studied a foreign language which was a good sign. Ron Subris ' 86 mentioned, Taking a foreign Ismguage wiU have helped one to get a better job possibly at a company with international af- fairs. Most of the teachers made it easier to learn by adding humor to the class. Mike Fasel ' 84 said, I learned about other countries and their cultures. Darla Wells ' 85 said that she liked to go out to eat with her classmates and teachers at foreign food restaurants. Matt Kinsey ' 86 ex- plained, I wanted to be more in- telligent about the ways of other peo- ple and their culture. I liked the teachers I had because they not only taught the subject, but they demonstrated it. They made it easier to understand. Mehssa DeGolyer ' 86 stated, Taking a foreign language has prepared me for college. I Kked it when the teachers asked foreign visitors to come in and talk about a subject. Suzanne Thoman ' 86 com- mented, I liked how the department set up tutors for people who had trou- ble in a certain area pertaining to their foreign language, and it was good that the teachers spoke in their languages all of the time to get students used to what it was like in a foreign coimtry. Melanie Heidergott ' 86 said Speak- ing a foreign language was fun. I liked to do those dialogue skits. I loved the opportunity to go where my language was spoken during the Christmas season. Suzanne added for a final comment, I liked French because it was the language of lovel Lora Lumpe ' 83 won the foreign language department award. She said, I took French for a full five years, and I thought it was a pretty neat language. I was very honored to get the award. She continued, I thought that knowing French helped me in my other classes like English literature and humanities. She men- tioned how she got started in a foreign language — I showed an in- terest in it for college, and I pursued it. LANGUAGE 153

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Stttdeitts Speak for Xheniselves » in a Foreign Language Many have heard that familiar state- ment that Goethe said years ago A man who is ignorant of a foreign language is ignorant of his own language. These words have in- fluenced students throughout the years. Students who took advantage of taking a foreign language would be able to communicate with those of other countries easily through speak- ing a foreign language. In order for the countries of the world to stay up- dated on advances in health, environ- ment, political concerns, and other necessities in the future, students of the world needed to continue to study foreign language. Perry ' s department that contributed to the world ' s foreign language needs consisted of five teachers and one student teacher who were qualified to teach the students the language of their choice. The students ' choices were French, German, Spanish, or Latin. Foreign language students from all over the state who signed up to par- ticipate in the Indiana University Honors Abroad Program had a chance to be awarded a trip to where their language was spoken. They all had to take a grammar test of their language. The people with the highest scores ad- vanced for more competition. The re- maining group had to fiU out long forms about their personal life. The judges selected students from that 1 52 LANGUAGE

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' ' They Are Meeting the KTeeds of Students ' ' The math department at Pern ' sensed for many students as one of the more educational academic points of high school life. Many students gained knowledge about algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and especially computer math. Since computers have begun to enter the lives of manv students, the math department met the needs of the students and future business people. William Fulton, the math depart- ment award winner, commented, I liked math and did things better related to math. Over his four years of math, he accimiulated the highest point total among those in the ES math program. He received a 790 on the SAT in math. He participated in Butler ' s Math Contest every year of high school, and in his freshman, sophomore, and jimior years, he plac- ed in the top ten placers. I felt Perry Meridian had one of the best math pro- grams among high schools in this area, and I was glad I got the chance to take advantage of it. I thought the school had prepared me well for college. Karen Gootee ' 86 said, In my math classes I liked to discuss each item in detail. Kyle Brunning ' 86 com- mented, I liked solving the hardest problems which might help me get a job some day. The math teachers had much to say about their department. Mr. Al Boehm, geometry and algebra teacher, said, It was good that the math department expanded its computer courses, purchased more tools, and improved their math help sessions. I would like to have seeni more com- puter hteracy and to have more time exposure for students to experience the utilization of computers. On occa- sion I like to have guest speakers come in and give the utilization of math in various careers. He added, This department did an outstanding job of teaching. We had to have ex- cellent quality in caring and to reaUze that the structure was only as strong as its foimdation. We tried to get the total class involved with the class. I saw the students wanted to do a bet- ter job and trying to be enthusiastic. Mr. Clore commented that the math department would like to have had more computer courses that would have allowed one to only have taken the equivalent of Algebra I and II. He also said they would like have had an algebra course for Applied Geometry students to continue on the same math plan. Algebra III and IV-A would be a second year of algebra for students who were successful in Ap- phed Geometry. He continued, We started the IDEA program in ninth grade Algebra I and II ES select students. We participated in two math contests-the Franklin College Na- tional Contest and the Marion County Math Contest. About the department award, he said, We tried to select a student who performed the most outstandingly in math with the em- phasis on their junior and senior year points. A new face around the math depart- ment was Mrs. Tamara Jones, an In- diana State math education graduate. She explained that she tried to explain as much as she could and to incor- porate number and age tricks into her teachings. Mrs. Penny Kroening, Ap- plied Geometry, Introductory Algebra, and General Math teacher, stated, I would have Uked to teach other than lower level classes for a change and for the department to add another teacher to make classes smaller. We started an opporttmity bulletin board in the math department workroom which was a place to put things to let students know about the oppor- tunities in the math area. Mr. Dick Chew, AppUed Math, Algebra, and Computer Math teacher, commented, More kids were involved with com- puters. We had a math convocation about vocational training concerned with math. They had a representative 154 MATH '