Rock Island High School - Watchtower Yearbook (Rock Island, IL)

Page 16 text:

Halls are filled with Christmas lanterns and a snowman who counts the days until • vacation. Bits of carols float through the halls. Cookies in intricate shapes and bright¬ ly clored with candy and powered sugar are distributed at festive club meetings. Merry Christmas greets you in all the ton¬ gues that are taught at Rocky. Then suddenly Christmas is over. School loses its holiday appearance and prepares itself for the mid-year grind. Mountains of books are carried home and both the mid¬ night oil and the bedroom lamps are burn¬ ed until early morning. Sleepy-eyed stu¬ dents trudge to school, steal a final glance at their notes and plunge into exams. Nails are chewed to the quick in anticipation of the results. And when report cards are finally distributed, relief greets many, and more worries face a few. But, it is a new semester. It ' s the time when juniors undecidedly array themselves with ring after ring in a futile attempt to make their final choice. Surrounded by brightly colored illustrated pamphlets and endless catalogues, seniors ponder over the huge decision of which college to attend. Sophomores read and re-read their lists of subject choices, and then, two minutes be¬ fore registration, choose their curriculum for the coining year. A new semester is a time for preparation.

Page 15 text:

Athletes, Spectators Invade Gym as Shield Against Onset of Winter Stamp Clap! yell the cheer¬ leaders as the Rock Island student section rises en masse to support the team through a grueling cage session. The pounding of hammers ceases. The football field is no longer filled with gyrat¬ ing padded players. The homecoming excit- ment, with golden crysanthemums gracing the coats of apple-cheeked girls cheering on their team, has ended. The pigskin sphere is stored away. Downy, white snow flakes begin to lay a soft blanket over the decay¬ ing leaves. Winter is blowing in on the breath of the north wind. Cheerleaders trade their outdoor slacks for pleated skirts. Players in shorts dribble basketballs down a shiny varnished floor. Crimson and gold beanies bob up and down decorating the gym; “All boys move forward one. It ' s time for the Cha Cha. Wearily a hundred boys trudge one step forward and grin deter¬ minedly at their new partner. Strains of the newest tunes float over the gym. Friday dancing classes have begun and winter is truly here. Minds, beginning to grow stale, are stimulated by the invigoratng cold. As frosty breaths ore exhaled new goals begin to appear. Winter has come, and with it a new outlook. Swan Lake? Highland Fling? No, it ' s the world-famed match between the dainty and graceful faculty and the handsome Lettermen. A familiar sight to all Rocky boosters is also an incentive for the inexperienced Pebbles to someday be able to live up to its reputation. 11

Page 17 text:

The corridors are filled with tinsel and aluminum foil, and the smell of pine as Christmas comes to Rocky. Christmas Slowly Fade as Semester Ends 13