Richmond Hill High School - Archway / Dome Yearbook (Richmond Hill, NY)

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FRANCIS GRIFFITH Principal The theme of this year's Affrhwayf' the editor said to me, is Sammi and Silemef' A broad theme, surely, for it is as all-embracing as life itself. Life is filled with sounds and silences, beginning with the birth cry and ending with the silence of the grave. It would be pleasant to wish you a life filled with joyous sounds and peaceful silences but such a wish would be vain. In the years to come you will inevitably experience sounds and silences which will shake you to the depths of your soul. Rather I hope that you will meet the sounds and silences of life without losing your head and that you will accept success and failure, joy and sorrow, and every other vicissi- tude, welcome or baleful, with good sense, modesty, and courage. CAIBA-1 Q-W

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Sound and Silence, each the antithesis of the other, each equally significant and important in the daily milieu of mankind, When does either become cloaked with consequence? To seek the answer, you need only look within the realm of your own experi- ences. How often have you met the noisy crowd and looked upon it with irritation? Yet the claque, an equally noisy crowd at the opera, affords great encouragement to performers. Although the decibels may be equal, the sounds are not the same. Wherein lies the difference? Obviously, the difference lies in the purpose. In the daily pursuit of your broadening future, you will discover that there is a time for Sound and a time for Silence. Many centuries ago, Dionysius implied this in the aphorism, Let thy speech be better than silence, or be silent. In the presence of those who are wise, there is nothing of greater service than silence. Sound, or Silence-which shall it be? It shall be the one which shall serve you best for the time and purpose it is meant. H . KOCH Administrative Assistant Main Building HARRY T. HERENSTEIN Administrative Assistant Annex Dear Seniorr: Why did you pick Sound and Silence as your theme? Do you think you are the noisiest class in the history of Richmond Hill High School. That I very much doubt! But if you are, you are certainly in the temper of the times. Let us consider this matter of sound. We, of these days, have our ears assaulted continually by radio, television, hi-H, stereo-to say no word about the combo that may practice night and day nextdoor-to say still less about bulldozers, concrete-mixers, fire engine sirens, and twenty-ton tractor-trailers making up time. What we need to do is to relieve the impact of all this sound by deliberate periods of quiet. We are noisy in a crowd, happily sog we can be silent alone. To say nothing and listen to nothing for a while will refresh us. That mari had a very good idea who thought of putting a blank record into an overworked jukebox, so that people might buy a few minutes of silence if they wished. For physical health, we alternate activity with restg let us, for mental health, alternate sound with silence. In choosing Sound and Silence for your theme, therefore, you have shown great wisdom, and this noisy world might learn a lesson from the Class of 1960. HERBERT WHITE Administrative Assistant Main Building More and more, boys and girls are going to high schools and colleges. Over the years the increase has been tremendous. To quote a French pO6t, Let ignorance talk as it will, learning has its value. And we all believe it. School is not over with a diploma. All our lives we continue to learn, for living and learning are synonymous. When we stop learning, we stop living. To the noisy class of june 1960, remember that work, not noise, produces results. It has been said that people who make no noise are dangerous. Let the class of june 1960 be the silent worker and the vocal citizens, who will always try to do a good job, and yet speak up for a better world to live in.