Robert E Lee High School - Traveler Yearbook (San Antonio, TX)

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meant that in competition locally, in the city or on state-wide level, the more active clubs came out on top. l l T l ..f'l.lnd, this campus had its share of winners. t German Club, Future Business Lead- ers of America and Health Occupations copped tops in Texas awards for their activities. These kudos were received at state conventions. Office Education Association stu- dents entered l0 contests at the district level and came away with IO first places. N French Club, Junior Classical League 'and Publications staffs hovered near the top in state competitions. This in spite of lower enrollments. Alliance Francaise tackled l l pro- iects ranging from window washes l This was a part of initiation. l to crepe demonstrations l Laszlo Beres 'did this and it was successful. l, and most were dubbed a success by,Mrs. Lillian Brinkley, club sponsor. One of the group's proiects might have been classified a failure. But, it was an effort to be commended. French Clubbers sold soft drinks in the Cafete- ria, and students didn't buy them. C'est 1 la vie. The active group cancelled its trip to ' New Orleans. That brings up another high point for clubs, especially foreign language clubs - trips. National Spanish Honor Society stu- l dents trekked to Mexico City, and Ger- man Club visited the world famous 1 Wurstfest in New Braunfels. Another activity which proved popu- lar among clubs was the service pro- 1 iect. Probably the leaders among cam- ' pus groups was the Optimisses organi- zation. The peripatetic misses entertained at the State Mental Institution, Ella Austin Community Center, children's hospitals, nursing homes and the Sunshine Cot- tage for the Deaf. The highlight of the year was Hal- loween, said Kathy Beissner, club president. Three groups visited three different children's hospitals, in cos- tumes, and played games, sang songs and entertained the patients. Each of the places we visited asked us back to have other parties, Kathy said. Perhaps the most unusual project of the year came from the active Junior Classical League. And, only in San Antonio could this happen. Latin students, gaily decked out in classical costumes, pulled a flower- laden chariot in the Battle of Flowers Parade, an annual post-Easter celebra- tion through the streets of the Alamo City. So, there it was - trips, proiects, money-making schemes -- all repre- sentative of the spirit of this campus. One other club activity sent calorie- counters into orbit - the banquet. Banquet scenes ranged from Naples, La Louisiane, The Magic Time Machine, San Francisco Steak House and Mortaz Mexican Buffet to Oak Hills Country Club to private homes. That was the scene - an active one, indeed - for clubs on this campus. Cynics might cry, High school students don't care about clubs. But, they did. A A BUGLE CALL enterpriser allows editors Kathy Cunningham and Patsy Goodman to clown around for a day with the Alzafar Shrine Circus. Ubiquitous lpage 46l covers clubs' unique activi- ties. lMike Calabrol . 2 A P V Y The unusual project of raising chickens occu- pies Pat Schreiber's time. lOOo!s Prim Reb lpage T621 dissects Leeites for a closer look at what they're really like. lMark Eidelbergl f f

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SWMMHWE HU itil? A person who thinks that clubs exist only for social climbers must not have been on this campus. The only climbing club members did was to the top. And, the word social appeared most often connected with service and project. Assistant Principal Buck Barrow, whose responsibility it was to schedule club activities, said the key to being a better adjusted human being was becoming involved - in club activities, or anything else that was constructive. Happy people do a better job, mused Barrow, lovingly called Kojak by his masses of admirers among the students. And, the second good thing about belonging to clubs is that it gives a stu- dent a chance for enrichment within a field that he or she is particularly inter- ested in, Barrow continued. Mrs. Mary Lou Davis, vocational counselor, said the state agencies which coordinate vocational education are so sold on club activities that they require vocational programs to include clubs as a part of the total program. Vocational students might lose con- tact otherwise, because they work half a day, Mrs. Davis reasoned. The kids would miss out otherwise on some of the things they need - associations with other students from other schools, being away from home - to name two, she added. Mrs. Davis cited a recent graduate as an example of what clubs can do. Jim Summersett, a 1975 graduate of this school, was president of the state organization of Texas Association of Health Occupations Students. He also had his pilot's license and flew around the state doing his presidential thing . . . but, that was another story. Anyway, after his year in office, Summersett decided that he would like to combine his interest in medicine with his interest in people that he had devel- oped through his associations in TAHOS, said Mrs. Davis. Presto, a scholarship to Trinity Uni- versity awaited young Summersett. He would work toward a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a master's in Hospital Administration. He'll be snapped up right away with those credentials, predicted Mrs. Davis Mark another positive stroke for beg- longing to clubs. But, should a person belong to just any club? lsn't there something basi- cally dishonest about just JOINING? Barrow and Mrs. Davis agreed that students must be selective in their join- ing, and try to associate themselves with people of kindred interests. Other- wise, it might be a waste of time. hat about the fear of some stu- dents jand their parentsl that club activ- ities might detract from a student's making his grades? After all, that's what a school is all about. l've never seen a kid taken out jof club or organization activitiesl who raised his grade because of it, Barrow said, adding that most often the student becomes soured on school and the whole thing. Mrs. Davis added another important plus to belonging to clubs. ' Outside activities are extremely important to colleges. They want well- rounded persons, she explained, not- ing that club listings on transcripts show what the student has done. But, mere listings do not an active club member make. What did the clubs do this year? That was the important question. lt was a different year, offered Fred Kinman, Science Club sponsor. Our membership seemed to be down a little, but our activities were up a lot. Kinman suggested that because quantities of students are lower, people thought maybe the quality of projects would be lower, too. l lt didn't work that way, according to Kinman's assessment. We just worked harder to get quality, he said, adding that that's part of the game', anyway. Science Club activities typified clubs on campus - a fairly equal blend of social, educational and benevolent action projects. Our candy sale may have topped all others, Kinman remarked, noting that more than S400 was realized from appeasing the cam- pus sweet tooth. Honor student Lenora Wong headed the Science Club. All in all, it's been an active club and a fantastic year, Lenora said. The group visited San Mar- cos for a Southwest Texas State Univer- sity-sponsored biology field day. They also toured places of interest in Hous- ton. Sure, you may be saying, but there always is more interest in science and stuff - like ecology and all that pollution stuff. Okay, let's look at another club - one entirely removed from science and stuff. Take the Involvement In Your Future chapter of Future Homemakers of America, for example. Just remember- ing the name is a sort of test for mem- bership. We have had a very successful year, began Mrs. Jean Pearson, chair- man of the Homemaking Department and one of the club's sponsors. Sounds like a typical beginning, you say. What else can a sponsor say? To quell the most cynical non- believer in club activities, look at these statistics on this club. Enrollment skyrocketed from 35 to 250. For the first time, we have had FHA in the classroom, said Mrs. Pearson. ln other words, all students taking home- making courses could beong to FHA. ln October, we took two buses of students to the State Fair of Texas, Mrs. Pearson continued. This was the first trip for the FHA since T967. lso, for the eighteenth year in suc- cession, FHA decorated the red and grey Christmas tree in the Main Build- ing. Some of the speakers for their meet- ings talked on plants, rape prevention, hair styling, caring for the aged and the bicentennial. We have had another first this year, beamed Mrs. Pearson. A boy jKen Beardl was elected secretary-trea- surer of the local chapter. Some clubs just naturally offer more of a challenge than others it seems. Winners come from the more active clubs, offered Mrs. Davis. By this, she IEEE ILUUE

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