Seneca High School - Arrow Yearbook (Louisville, KY)

Page 16 text:

Lonesome,s Legend Five Track Program was initiated here in 1959 in the seventh grade, and it was extended each year until by 1964-65 the entire school was divided into Advance, Superior, and Regular classes. The academic progress of each level was developed to best suit the various abilities and desires of the great variety of students found in a school of this size. Educational Television was introduced in 1958-59 and by 1960-61 my school was participating in the full-time program which included General Science, English 11, American History, and Seventh and Eighth grade Mathematics. The Redskins seemed to thrive on their academic diet, and this is probably one of the reasons that Seneca was chosen as a pilot school when the time came to separate the Junior and Senior High Schools, giving each its own area of the building as well as separate faculties and administrations. Scholastically the Redskins have always tried for the top. Senecais first Beta Club was installed in 1953-59, and since that time has become the largest in the nation even though its entrance qualifications are among the most difficult. When the first graduates, the Class of 1961, reached Seniorhood in 1960, twenty-four of its deserving members were tapped for the National Honor Society. Me plenty proud of those two organizations- you betchum! Oh- oh- there 1 go. When 1 get too ex-. cited 1 lapse into the old Kickapoo Joy Juice lingo. When Seneca first opened its doors to the first fresh- man class sixteen courses were offered. These included English 1, General Science, Spanish 1, Latin I, Civics, Algebra 1, General Mathematics, Industrial Arts, Home Economics, Art, Mechanical Drawing, Health and Phys- ical Education, General Music, Chorus, Band, and Or- chestra. When that first class reached its last year in high school a total of eighty-five subjects were offered. Now, this is only hearsay, but I have heard people, who I presume understand this business of education better than 1, say that many small colleges have less academic variety than MY school has to offer. That really makes me feel that MY school performs a great public service. Okay, Okay, its YOUR school, too! Any casual observer can see the physical changes that The 1962 Natimial Honor Society.

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Mr. Wich with the 1959 drum major, majorettes, and band. and there that I would make good on this job. They weren,t going to confuse ME with my scalp-mad an- cestors. That first year at Seneca was a busy one for me. Everyone pitched in and with all those mothers, the Dad's Club, the teachers, and the students working to- gether, a dreamed-of stadium began to materialize. In October 1959 we had a regulation football field ready for those football games. Those 'sunny days on that new field were the best ever. My band had gorgeous new red and gold uniforms to wear when they put on their half-time spectaculars, and my gridiron warriors had red, white, and gold outfits to don when they faced the opposition. l've always felt about my braves the way King Arthur must have felt about his knights of the Round Table. To me they are unbeatable because they have the right purpose in mind-to bring glory to Seneca as a result of their having disciplined their fine young minds and physically fit bodies to -withstand the hardest attack. Our fencing team always appealed to me for somewhat the same reasons. They were keeping a tra- ditional sport alive when they practiced, and the dex- terity with which they learned to handle the blade fitted in with my pictured vision of the armored medieval knight going into battle, determined to gain honorable victory for a just cause. As you may have guessed by now, I made it my business to attend some history classes-not many were offered in Dogpatch. Seneca was a leader in the adoption of many aca- demic changes in the Jefferson County schools. The Mr. Matthews and Mr. Mayer sponsored the fencing team.

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A 1962 aerial photograph showing the combined Seneca and Goldsmith Elementary school layout. occur around a school, the wing that is added and the third floor containing additional classrooms tell the story of an ever-increasing population. As I survey the out- lying-areas it is equally obvious that we have expanded our health and physical education facilities. Instead of one baseball diamond, I now see five in constant use. The blacktop play areas support many basketball stanch- ions. The athletic field is surrounded by a hard-surface track that is used for everything from track meets to national competitive bicycle meets. ln our first few years of athletic competition with other high schools, our gymnasium seemed quite adequate. Now we find it necessary to hold our home basketball games at other locations so that the ever-increasing crowds can be ac- commodated. ln fact, the gym is hardly large enough to hold the daily Physical Education classes that all students are required to take through their freshman year. These changes do prove that the Jefferson County Board of Education was alert to the future needs of the citizens when they purchased this fifty-one acres in 1959-The Leaky Pen goes to press. 1954, built Goldsmith Elementary, and decided on con- struction of Seneca so the so-called World War II war babiesn would have adequate school facilities available when they reached Junior High school age. Was l ever glad that my school housed those Hbabiesn-they were terrific! When school opened in 1960 the final thirty-two room addition to the building had been completed. We now had a larger library, much needed science and language laboratory space, and additional vocational facilities. The faculty had increased to 101 and the stu- dent body to 2500. We were ready to be evaluated and in November 1960 Seneca was accredited by the South- ern Association of Colleges and Schools. This meant that grades earned by the Redskins would be repre- sented by Carnegie units which are required by most colleges as entrance units. So, I carved another notch in the Seneca totem pole that day. We were on our way! Graduation 1961 was a great thrill to me. Those kids were the ones who published our first y e a r b 0 o k ARROW '59 and twenty-two of them started my favorite 1958-59 Arrow staff plans the first edition. I3