Valparaiso High School - Valenian Yearbook (Valparaiso, IN)

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FRESHMAN BIOLOGY EXPERIMENTS enabled freshmen like Jennifer Mutka to apply scien- tific skills learned in class. MANY FRESHMEN EXCELLED in VHS extra- curricular activities. Mark Hanner chose to pursue his interest in drama by successfully auditioning for a role in the fall play, “Cheaper By the Dozen. 8 Freshman Feature

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STUDENTS CROWDED THE bleachers on Friday nights to watch the Viking football team in action.Sophomore Dan Betjemann, juniors Doug Klemz, Todd Agnew and Matt Krysinski, senior Jeff Adney, and juniors Jeff Hood and Joe Gerzema lead the cheers. 7 Student Life Division

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UJhot ' s neuu? It was like mixing a cake. Sophomores, juniors and seniors were dropped in the “bowl,” Valparaiso High School. But in 1986, a first-time ingredi- ent, the freshman class, was added to the mixture. Students and faculty members wondered: Would the freshmen destroy the batter? Could they adjust to life in an overcrowded bowl? Some freshmen felt the transition from junior high to high school was, liter- ally, “a piece of cake.” “I had no trouble adjusting to life at VHS,” said Jessica Dunn. “The staff and upperclassmen made the freshmen feel very warm and welcome in a time when we were all very apprehensive.” Another freshman described her ad- justment to VHS more bluntly: “I thought it would be so exciting . . . but it complete- ly bored me,” said Susan Law. Two orientation sessions — one oc- curring in the spring of their eighth grade year and the other on August 26 — were intended to help freshmen adjust to the VHS environment. At these sessions, stu- dents were given tours of VHS. However, frosh according to freshman Maureen Sullivan, the maps of VHS distributed at orientation left some students feeling rather disoriented. “I knew where all my classes were, but the map drawer forgot to include the bathrooms,” said Sullivan. Familiarity with VHS was not solely ac- complished through orientation, however. Par- ticipation in extra-curricular clubs and organi- zations or participation on freshman athletic teams also helped freshmen become more at- tune to VHS life. “Sports helped me adjust be- cause I met upperclassmen, and they told me who and what to look for,” said Janine Rose. Though orientation sessions and familiar- ity with the building may have eased adjust- ment, some freshmen encountered problems as VHS students. Lockers, measuring six feet from the floor to the top, proved to be an unlikely nemesis for Kim Dennington, who commented, “It’s hard for me to reach the top shelf of my locker.” Even the red-carpeted VHS library was not immune to the confusion. “No one told me that the library had two floors,” said Becky Stanier. Problems with upperclassmen, rather than with physical facilities, haunted others. “These seniors come in to the lun- chroom and get right up in front of the line, and it ticks a lot of people off,” said Jeff Gordon. Hallways, which often were packed wall-to-wall with students during passing periods, also showed no mercy to many VHS freshmen. “I’ve seen seniors knock a freshman down in the hallways and just keep on walking,” said Gene Corneil. At VHS, the 427 freshmen were the missing ingredient that gave “the mix- ture” consistency. And it was a mixture Betty Crocker would’ve been proud of. by Pete Yelkovac ELECTIVE FIRST-YEAR foreign language clas- ses enabled freshmen to learn Spanish, French, German or Latin. The large number of freshmen taking a foreign language necessi- tated a total of 16 first-year classes. 9 Freshman Feature