Reading High School - Arxalma Yearbook (Reading, PA)

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. Its Golden Anniversary As in most true histories, some tragedy usually occurs and, unfortunately, this is no exception. On February 11, 1975, a disastrous fire destroyed the Castle's auditorium. As a result of the one million dollar catastrophy, the heart beat of the school was silenced for months. After beingcompletely reno- vated, the facility was first used publicly on April 20, 1976 for the opening night of the school show George M. Yes, some things have changed at Reading High School since the doors were first opened in 1927. There have been many changes in the main building. We no longer have the Red and Black On-the-Air program, but we now have the Knight Life school television show. Boys are taking home economics, and girls are taking shops, and the Reading-Muhl- enberg Area Vocational-Technical School has added a new di- mension to high school education. Old Auditorium Extent of Fire Damage Despite all these changes, one thing has remained constant, and that is the respect and pride which each student and per- son connected with Reading High can' have. Developing the leaders of tomorrow is a difficult task, but Reading High School has been doing a very admirable job for fifty years, and for this we should respect and thank her. In the future, the Castle will be only a memory to us. We will look back to our years at Reading High School, and maybe think briefly of something which we could have done differently, but no matter what the case, we will realize that Reading High has been a definite influence in making us what we are, and for that we should be grateful. -lVlay the future of Reading High School continue tg be bright! New Auditorium Reading Senior High School 1977 Golden Anniversary-9

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. Celebrates . . . 4' Q97 't QI' 0 fir .i ,ii 7 'is1. I f 94 f .ee '.'.Q w Lim V5 of X ' . - if V:-ff-Qi O Q 2 'ifi, i 'i ' fxj. Xf'G.Ql:f: Sirk Qf 1.1- 2 9,34 ci 9 A ,b. X 'S ' fri' eeee Al 9 e 'Sgt at 'if .QF , ' i ii-Sexy 0 .- ,-, ,-l 1 X O Wk X gal.. 3 .... ,K l -4775354 ee e i e f e School Motto Joe Red Knight Joe Red Knightingale Die Cur Hic lTell Why You Are Herel Our official school seal was originally designed in 1907 by Joseph Weitzenkorn for use at the High School for Boys. its design contains the colors red and black, which have become the school colors, and the Latin motto Dio Cur Hic meaning TeIl Why You Are Here. Another carry-over from the Boys' High is the school newspaper The Red and Black which was first published in November 1897 as a monthly. ln September of 1927, it appeared as a weekly as it does today. Miss Betty Stoudt, a member of the first graduat- ing class, originated the name Arxalma , meaning fostering citadel , for the Castle's yearbook, first published in January 1928. One hazy winter morning in 1930 Miss lVlildred E. Bunyeon, a Reading High graduate and English teach- er, was climbing the hill to school and all she could see was the four Castle towers pointing to the sky. This beautiful sight inspired her to write a poem when she arrived at school which developed into the words of our school song The Arxalma Song. lVlr. Luther Goodhart, also an alumnus and music teacher, wrote the melody. This song was used for the first time in the first commencement pageant Fair Learning's Gift in June of 1930. . Since 1974, the Dr. Ralph C. Geigle Education Complex was used for more than a center for athletic events. From that year to the present, commence- ment exercises were held in the gymnasium. Our pres- ent-day graduation ceremonies include such features as slide programs, speakers, student talent, and, of course, the traditional procession and presentation of diplomas. -Golden Anniversary Commencement Exercises of the Past Commencement Exercises of the Present

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Continuous Educational Enrichment Assured by the Board of Education President-Mr. Mark L. Brown Secretary-Superintendent of Buildings Mr- Harrv L- Clamp Vice-President-Mr. Ronald E. DiBenedetto Treasurer-Mr. Richard H. Kauffman ' a-- Board of Education of the Reading School District SEATED-Mrs. Mary Ann Chelius, Member: Mr. D. Frederick Muth, Esq., Assistant to the Solicitor for the Board of Education of the Reading School District: Mr. Mark L. Brown, President of the Board of Education of the Reading School District: Mr. Ronald E. BiBenedetto, Vice Presi- dent of the Board of Education of the Reading School District: Dr. Jack D. Neal, Superintendent of the Reading Public Schools: STANDING-Mr. Albert B. Landis, Superintendent of Supplies - Purchasing Agent of the Reading School District: Mr. Richard H. Kauffman, Treasurer for the.Read- ing School District: Mr. Mark J. Smolkowicz, Member: Mr. Harry L. Cramp, Secretary-Superintendent of Buildings of the Reading School District: Mr. Harold R. Jackson lResigned as of April 27, 1977l: Mr. Harry P. Storch, Jr., Member: Mr. Robert R. Rundle, Member: Mr. Vincent J. Strollo, Jr., Member: Mr. Andrew J. Ferrara, Member: ABSENT-Mr. John M. Stott, Esq., Solicitor for the Board of Education of the Reading School Dis- trict: Mrs. Jane Bishop, Member lElected by the Board of Education to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Harold R. Jacksonl During the December 1976 reorganiza- tion meeting of the Board of Education of the Reading School District, Mr. Mark L. Brown was named president of this import- ant educational group. Upon assuming his new role, he announced three objectives he hoped to fulfill during his term in office: First, I shall neither hesitate to rebuke members of this board who contribute to lowering the respect that an elected board should receive, nor will I hesitate to defend this board from public attacks based upon prejudice of erroneous information. I will insist that the board do its business in a business-like fashion and attend to its con- cerns promptly. Second, I shall press for the building of a new school to replace Riv- erside, Charles Foos and Fifth and Spring schools, an addition to Tenth and Green school to relieve overcrowding, and support whatever physical changes are needed for the modernization of our buildings. Third, I will take leadership in pressing for curricu- lum change and whatever changes may need to be made in administration. Mr. Mark Brown is well qualified for his new civic role as president of the School Board. His background includes his work as eastern representative of the Department of Labor Studies of Pennsylvania State Univer- sity, Chairman of the Teachers and Instruc- tion Committee of the Board of Education, Chairman of the Reading-Muhlenberg Voca- tional-Technical Joint School Committee, 10-Board of Education of the Reading School District and a member of the health, medical and museum committees. Mr. Brown also taught two years at Reading High School, and has been active in labor organizations in the community, state and nation. Personnel changes on the Board were Mr. Harold R. Jackson's announcement of his resignation to be effective as of April 27, 1977: and the school board election of Mrs. Jane Bishop to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Jackson. As in previous years, the Board of Educa- tion endeavored to provide the necessary ways and means whereby educational pro- grams could be enriched or expanded, school services could be increased, sound new edu- cational practices could be introduced, and educational facilities could be provided for, enlarged, or modernized. In addition, the Board of Education also capably handled countless other routine and special matters which provided for the con- tinuous enrichment of the school curricula, and the expansion of school services and fa- cilities. Continuing the policy established last year, a student from Reading High School served as a representative to the Board of Education. Because of the continuous foresight and dynamic action of the Board of Education, the Reading School District continues to be known as one of the outstanding school sys- tems in Pennsylvania. Senior Mitchell Youngerman served as the second Reading High School student representative to the Reading School Board.