Stratford High School - Mnemosyne Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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ood, according to Mrs. Baker. For each Friday game two new Jutines were made up by Mrs. aker and the officers: Drum Major enior Kelley Smith, Captains Senior erri Fisher, Senior Kim Hightower, enior Tria lnce, Senior Dana Jeber, Lieutenants - Laura Gattis, inior, Antoinette May, junior, julie oush, Senior, and Tracy Surber, anior. iThe entire week was needed to each the routines, learn spacing, Hd go over each step, one at a time. ich of the 94 girls had to try out for bth the jazz and the high kick rou- hes. Drum Major Kelley Smith, sen- Ir, said, Usually everyone made je jazz except those on grade or .eight probation, about 45 to 53 'aiting to be judged for Spartanaire try- its, Vicki Vanduzee and jacki Thees tended practice sessions every day ter school for two weeks in order to arn routines. A panel of 4 judges .viewed the 81 girls trying out, and lected 41 as new Spartanaires. bpling during the LaPorte game half- me in the Astrodome, Spartanaires ways manage to get the crowd's atten- Jn. made high kick each week. Then two days of practice would be used to synchronize the perform- ance with the marching band. Band member junior jeff Falick commented that it was really strange because we never actually saw them perform. We always had our backs to them until we played in the Astrodome. There we had to stand behind them so they could hear the music because the Dome was so big. l as Sai-it J- A victory line looks easy to do, but we had to practice it a lot. Each girl has an exact count she must do everything on, and if one person messes up, then the whole line gets off count, explained Senior Leslie Willis. Lt. julie Roush, surrounded by Karen Hutchens and Ann Henderson, per- forms in the new uniforms and stands on what she calls really heavy props. -.nf Intent on understanding Algebra, junior Leslie Hagedorn gets help from junior Marihelen Millar while Tricia Koch, jun- ior, looks on. With practice, there is not much time to do homework, so I just study when I can, Leslie explained. spartanaires 25

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Varying from their usual style, the Spar- tanaires wore side ponytails with flow- ers in their hair and can-can skirts. Drum Major Kelly Smith and Captains Kim Hightower and Dana Weber, all seniors, smile in the pregame victory line. Sometimes fans in the crowd just sat there, then the Spartanaires would start cheering and everyone would get more spirited. I really appreciate what they did for the football team and the school! Var- sity football player Mark Cabrisch, senior, commented about the efforts of the drill team that accom- panied the Spartans to the state championship. Lieutenant Laura Gattis, junior, said, The goal we strove for this year was to bethe number one drill team to complement the best foot- ball team in the state. The Spartanaires certainly worked as diligently as the football team, beginning their practices the last week of lune and attending a clinic at SMU in luly. There they won first place in pom pom and second in Dancing with her father at the Sparta- naire formal, Senior Maria Lawson exclaimed, l didn't quite know what to expect. I had hardly ever danced with him before. Prim , ,sf r . 1 I V W' -4 mf-'ffl is V2 1 marching. They collected a total of 44 ribbons with 5 girls receiving tri- ple ribbon honors. Sophomore Angel Bruzzese com- mented, The SMU summer trip was a lot of fun, but l was nervous. The officers and everybody were really helpful and a special tie developed between me and my big sister. Mrs. Shauna Baker, director of the Spartanaires, said, Sometimes tl new girls dor1't understand our go of perfection. We emphasize disc pline and association with others. From mid-August until la December, the football season dor inated the lives of the squad. Afte school practices started at 3:30 ar lasted until about 5:30 or 6:00 wht they got it right and it looke

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W' we 'Y xt x, X swf xsfw s Sf N is Watching the Spartanaire high kick rou- tine, Sophomore Betty Hamilton and lunior Leslyn Harwell kneel on the side- lines. Both Betty and Leslyn performed the jazz routine, in which they were dance partners. Dressed as a clown, Freshman Kristen Simms and lunior Linda Grimsby are ini- tiated into Spartanaires as new girls. Initiation was a way to lighten the ten- sion of try-outs and provided a good way for everyone to get to know each other, commented Senior Davette Ince. Enjoying an evening at the Spartanaire formal, Spartanaire Director Shauna Baker, Principal Dale Stafford and Con- gressman Bill Archer escape the dance floortotalk. 26 spartanaires Sh V4 Nerflf , .L l Uh' .pfj !,vHL!4 g.?fiE'f' Thai At each pep rally the Spartanairf kept their group collected whi cheering and clapping for the tear Varsity football player Ronnie Stuki lin liked the school spirit the Spa tanaires always showed at the pc rallies. We always wished each othi good luck. Head cheerleader Charles Lloy called the drill team the best boos ers the team ever had. They kept tl pep rallies going and made the sei son more fun for everyone. Tr Spartanaires made it a lot easier fi us as cheerleaders, especially at tl' games. They really got fired up. Yet, Mrs. Baker recognized th, the state championship real made the year complete. It was tl motivating device. We all were 5 proud. Still, it was a very long seasc with five extra games. Kelley Smith said, No one w ever forget the championship. Th whole school was a part of it. Du ing both the Plano and Churchl performances' the band and tr Spartanaires worked together. Tl drill team formed a huge numbi one while the band made the ou line of the state of Texas arour' them. I Laura Gattis commented, It was fantastic experience to stand in th middle of the Astrodome floor. takes your breath away, especial, when I stood there and thougl about winning the state champioi ship. I really felt like I was a part of too. . Not knowing that they would E performing in the Astrodome for tlf playoffs, the band and drill tea, were also scheduled to entertai during the halftime at the Houstq Oilers' game Dec. 17. Mrs. Bakl stated, For the playoff games vi repeated what we thought wel some of the best routines of th year. We had one special danc using the new fringe uniforms ari bright props that we used for tH playoffs and the Oiler game, too. t The new fringe outfits were mac by the parents for under S600 and group of fathers led by Mr. Dav Ince built and painted the boxes f- SBOO. Props are usually used on twice a season, but, like everythir else, their usage was extended tl' year for more variety in the pg formance, accordingto Kelley. , Although the Booster Club helps with costumes and props, the Spa tanaires raised money for their tri through calendar sales, Christm