Santa Teresa High School - Compendium Yearbook (San Jose, CA)

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KICKIN’ BACK ... Eric K regel gels comfortable while chatting with classmate Richard Herrera. Each take some time . out to catch up on the latest gos- A. ip. Richard admits that “the class is work, but we all try to find time to talk with our friends when the teacher al- lows! Photo by Tanya Pino. Special Education 4T

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here at best of us be- come even better a id the J dering eyes, few announcements, begins instructing day's lesson plan. Ti scenario of a day iri cial education class. Contrary to what most people think, Santa Tere- sa's special education program is aimed at helping those with minor learning disabilities rather than iso- lating the students from the real world.” The somewhat stereotypical view of Special Education as a program for severely handicapped students is completely false. Led by Leslie Suckow, Lana Ellis, and Jerry Rome- ro, the goal is to aid the student in overcoming his or her particular dis- ability. Some examples of these, which can all be cured, are dyslexia and other reading and writing prob- lems. For example, actor Tom Cruise's dyslexic reading disability has not prevented him from becom- ing a leading celebrity, and the same potential success holds true for ev- eryone in the program here at ST as stated by Mrs. Suckow. Most of the students have an average or above average I.Q. The only thing that holds them back is their minor dis- ability which can be minimized. That's where our help comes in! The students usually spend a few periods in the specialized classes while the rest of the day is in the reg- ular mainstream courses. Vice prin- cipal Karalee Roland, head of the de- partment, believes this new ap- proach to the program allows the student to feel less sheltered. Before the kids felt as though we were isolat- ing them from the rest of the student body. Now, however, they are able to interact with everyone else which makes them less self-conscious around others concerning their dis- ability. One of these students, Frank Giuliani is now a member of the Civil Air Patrol United States Air Force Auxiliary and on his way to gradu- ation. Without the program, I wouldn't have had the motivation to overcome my handicap. It's helped me tremendously! By Tanya Pine. ATTENTION. PLEASE! Mrs. Suckow lectures the class as Mike Tindall listens intentively. Paying dose attention saves the students a lot ot time behind the X oks at home. Many ol the kids lack concentration so we focus on teaching them to learn better study skills. Photo by Tanya Pine. Academics

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ANXIETY ATACK. Blc in mouth, junior class vice- ■ president Kelly Travers stresses ■ut about homecoming activities at a class meeting. Her favorite ex- cuse: Miss Rores, you have to be- lieve me. I was walking to school reading the newspaper about a Mexican homework thief. The next thing I knew, he came up to me and said, ‘Your homework or your life.' 1 said. 'ST, sehor. Here is my tarea.’ Photo by Terri Lin. EXCUSE The Voice of Au- thority won't listen to your rea- sons. So you try a lit- tle . . . ABUSE top, don't tell me. I know the story. 1 swear to God, I was on my way over when a tru- ant officer asked me for my autograph. And you'll never believe what happened next! I ran into, uh. Madonna, yeah, that's it! Hey, you really should be glad I'm only ten minutes late, considering that last night I hardly slept at all because I had a close encounter with some lit- tle green men from outer space who were going to take me to their leader Excuses. We all make them to get us out of tight spots, whether we're late to class, forget a huge home- work assignment, or can't explain why we don't have an admit for the week we were stricken with viral pneumonia. Maybe they're not as weird as the one featured here, but many of us have to admit to occasionally making up some pretty wild ones, ranging from the classic blame-it-on-the-dog or my-car-broke-downs to some that would make a creative writing teach- er proud. I usually say something like, The report was supposed to be about the history of Japan?! I thought you want- ed it on the mystery of Spam! said an anonymous source. Seems like no one wants to admit to excuse-mak- ing. To tell you the truth, most of the excuses I make are to guys I don't want to date, confessed senior He- len Chiang. ”1 once told this guy who called me up, ’I'm in the middle of eating dinner.' Problem was, it was only three o'clock when he called! Others resort to a) doing their homework during E period, b) forg- ing signatures, or c) never attending class at all and avoid excuse-making altogether. That may be the easiest way! Gosh, I'd love to finish this article, but a yearbook-eating monster just came in and destroyed the printing plates, and ... Well, excuuuuuuuuuuse me! By Terri Lin. POP THAT TOP! Looking down !o open a container of Yoplait. junior Deidre Smith contemplates the calor.c differ- ence between low-fat and non fat oqurt. Deidre finds excuse-mak- ing most necessary when she's ab- sent. Whenever 1 miss school. S always use the same excuse: 'Really, there was a big family emergency!' Pholo by Shelley Woods.