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

Page 22 text:

For the students ' cars ' protection, the parking lot has a guard and guard rower. It is also chain locked during the day. Life is often hectic for the Principal. Since it is impossible to be everywhere at one time, Mr. Murphy does much of his work by phone. 20 Student Life

Page 21 text:

Ill Thongkhau Yuenyoung poses for the camera. She is one of the many Laotion refugees at Rocky this year. Displaying their colorful native costumes ore Bao Young, So Lee, Muang Saechas, Mai Mee Lee, Yien Orn Saechoo, Tong Her, and May Yang. Two Laotion students, Tong Lee and Sousko Kongkousonk, study by a window In the new Laotion classroom. Student Life

Page 23 text:

Adjustment-Keynote For Rocks It wasn ' t easy; over half the students who entered Rocky the first day were to¬ tally unfamiliar with the building. During the opening day assembly Senate Presi¬ dent John Shallman proclaimed to the up¬ perclassmen, ”1 stepped on a few fresh¬ men on the way over, The juniors and seniors related to this. With only five min¬ utes between classes and with throngs of underclassmen wandering, hopelessly lost, even those who knew the set-up at Rocky found it difficult to get to class on time. Construction continued far into the first quarter: 227S and the Library shared a new fire escape; double classrooms turned into two single classrooms: Mr. Casey taught in what was once a teachers ' lounge (forcing many teachers to keep their lunches outside on a windowsill) and the student lounge became a deans’ at¬ tendance complex. Two hour parking became a reality shortly after school started. The signs that read, Two hour parking. School days only, eight a.m. to three p.m. popped up on the side streets surrounding Rocky. Stu¬ dents forced themselves to wake and leave for school earlier in order to get the precious few parking spaces on 23rd Ave. Two lots existed for student parking: many disgruntled students, however, refused to park in the lots for access to their cars was prohibited during school hours. Protests en¬ sued; a group of students went straight to Superintendent James Hopson with the problem. The administration stood their ground, locked lots remained, and Rocky students accepted the situation. The lunch schedule changed from four overlapping to three nonoverlapping per¬ iods, and the bullhorn was silenced for good. The Warchrower also changed. When the new adviser, Mrs. Simanek rook over the helm after Mrs. Conrad ' s twelve year reign, the staff decided that a totally new look should follow. They felt that it was unfair to reproduce Mrs. Conrad ' s book, so, a completely different format was used. By the time the school year ended, ever- ything clicked. The halls seemed less hec¬ tic: the lunchroom appeared less crowded; the students look less hassled. Rocky had adjusted: it became a four year public high sch ool, the only one in the Illinois Quad Cities, with an enrollment hovering near 2400. Mrs. Conrod, former advisor of the Watchtower, poses with ten of her twelve Rocky yearbooks. Finding parking on 23rd Ave is often difficult. Students who wont o good parking place usually arrive at school early. Student Life 1