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

Page 25 text:

Dancing To A “Rocky” Beat School sponsored dances offered the Rocky students yet another op¬ portunity for dating and socializing. Organizations at the Rock held dances ranging from the Senate’s Sweetheart Swirl to the Senate- Key Club co-sponsored Beach Party. Al¬ though students enjoyed attending these dances with an escort, the postgame dances drew the crowds because a date was not required. Kicking off the chain of dances was a junior class sponsored party which was held in the cafeteria. It featured music ranging from upbeat rock and punk, to the radical Doors’ music of the 1960 ' s. Students enjoyed slam dancing to today’s new wave sounds as well as rocking to yesteryear’s pop tunes. A Keith Rapp is enjoying dancing at the Home¬ coming festivities with his date. Paula Huntly and Matt Dietrich seem to be having a great time at one of the post game dances. favorite dance for most Rocky stu¬ dents however was the Punk Party. Decked out in colored hair, leather, torn clothes and dog leashes, stu¬ dents appeared at the dance ready to punkout! Although jumping up-and-down and lying on their backs while kick¬ ing their feet in the air was a fa¬ vored pastime of students, a slow song p rovided the much needed re¬ laxation as the girls shyly awaited their favorite guy to ask them to dance while the guys stood around working up enough nerve. As a re¬ sult, that one special slow dance of¬ ten led to even more shared dances. Whether the dance was the prom or a punk party, the Rocky students definitely proved there was only one way to rock! Everyone seemed lively on the dance floor at one of the club sponsored parties. Dances 21

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Dating, Something 1 “What should I wear?” “What will we talk about?” “What are we going to do?“ Those were questions a girl would ask herself if she was one of the many Rocky students par¬ taking in that all time favorite pas¬ time of dating. Having a date was like not other feeling in the entire world. What else could make a stomach feel like it was about to bottom out and a head feel like it was about to explode? After all the initial fears were over, and the girl unlocked herself from the closet, chances were that things just might work out okay. Remember those little problems of not having any money or not hav¬ ing a car? Those problems were easily resolved if she could decide just to stay home with her date and catch a movie on television, or she o Look Forward To could have gone to a party. Of course a car was an important part of her date. But there were solutions to not having a car. The couple could have taken a taxi or a bus. The most logical an¬ swer was the double date. But even this had its dilemmas. For instance, the girl and her date might have had a quiet evening at the movies in mind while the other couple might have had plans for slam dancing at Mad Hatters. Double dates did have their good points like never running out of things to talk about. Conver¬ sation made the date and was the deciding factor as to whether or not there would be another. Kristy McMillan had her make-up done at Merle Normans for the night’s big date. After their Lettermen duties are over John Hass and Kristi Fackel will be meeting their respective dates. Tonya Douglas and Quincy Davis walk home after school while they make plans for the upcoming weekend. 20 Dating

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Testing Makes College Choices Easier Exams determined the academic success of Rocky students this past school year. The mere mention of th e word “test” left some students with a feeling of dread whether it was a pop quiz or a semester final. Students came to realize just what a “wrap up” test really was. It covered everything. There were other tests of a more formal nature too. The PSAT was given in October to about 150 juniors in order to single out potential na¬ tional merit scholars. In May the Advanced Placement Test was given to pupils who had taken advanced, specialized courses at Rocky. This examination deter¬ mined whether these students would have to take these same sub¬ jects in college. The ACT was given twice this school year. Mr. Paradiso organized a study seminar where specialized study skills were stressed. The par¬ ticipants were then divided into three groups where Mr. Motz, Oes- treich and Hultgren tutored the stu¬ dents respectively in science, com¬ munications and mathematic skills. After more than a decade of tak¬ ing exams, the senior Rocky stu¬ dents came away with a better un¬ derstanding of their potential as stu¬ dents. Many of those students opted for the college experience. For many, the search for the “right” school began in their junior year. Conferences were held with counselors, college catalogues pe¬ rused, part time job opportunites were considered, scholarship appli¬ cations were mailed, meetings were attended with college representa¬ tives and finally family visits were made to Macomb, Iowa City, Cham¬ paign or even Dallas, St. Paul and Boston. With a letter of acceptance, the de¬ cision had been made. Whether it was the best decision only time would tell. But it certainly was a de¬ cision which would positively re¬ shape the student ' s life. 22 Exams Heads bob in enthusiastic unison as Mr. Arm¬ strong ' s Physics’ students begin a crucial exam. Vance Kerr knows that every good research paper begins with a search for source materi¬ als. Ms. Stoit reciews SAT testing procedures with Greg Pearson.