Venango Christian High School - Saga Yearbook (Oil City, PA)

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The End by Frank Shialabba Is there a man who9s never said. This tvorld of ours is good as dead. Arise, awake. and see the vice. I say, would you please pass the ice. M Today9s a day of rest, you see, Indulge and let your soul be free. ...and then you say he prayed too long. His death, in part, U’l rigA Me wrong “Of all whom I have seen and heard. The sick in mind is most absurd. Of all the vile forgotten men. Mot one to me9s the more condemned. “If left to me this world of ours Would surge and plunge and reach the stars. The end of sin and strife and dread.99 This world of ours is good as dead! For Cheats Are you really observant around your school? Or do you take Venango for granted? Here is a test of your school perception. Don’t peek during the test. We aren’t taking the grade. In fact, don’t read your questions until you get home, or don’t cheat if you feel compelled to answer them at school. We know you flunked. On to the questionnaire. Remem- ber, you may not pile up points but your humility will improve dras- tically. 1. What color are the walls in the cafeteria? 2. What is on your homeroom bul- letin board? 3. What color is the floor in your homeroom? 4. How many doors lead into the gym? 5. How many fire extinguishers can you picture? 6. What color is on the walls in the office? 7. What kind of pen does your best friend use? 8. How many buses arrive at Venango in the morning 9. Can you count all the rooms on the second floor? Oh, all right, peek. I'm a loner. Right now. I'm a teen- age loner and when I reach 21, I’m going to be an adult loner. It all stems from my crowd complex. You see, I can’t stand crowds. I just don’t know how to like them. When I see a room with more than three people in it, I go a funny color of purple and begin to hiccup. When there are four of us trying to sit in a seat accomodating two and a half on a bus, I go crazy. And when I’m standing in one of six lines out in the school hall trying to get to class in three minutes, I end up going to the office. Another thing: lunch. I eat in a cafeteria. (Another thing I could say a few carefully selected words a- bout) And if you’ve ever eaten in a cafeteria, you know what you find. Rationed food and enormous crowds. 5 minutes left. Five minutes to find a chair (not to mention a table), eat and wade through a line 30 people deep and 60 people wide to take my dishes back. Another enjoyable event that cli- maxes my fun-filled, lively day in a sardine can is my rush to the bus. Just because of my good luck, I was assigned first bus. This means I have three minutes to get out of my last class, run down the hall,(takes me about a minute and a half) down the stairs and three-fourths of the first floor hall. I'm completely ig- noring the door...it's hopeless. I’ve also given up trying to get to my locker after school...it's pitiful. But, after a year and one month, I've finally mastered getting to my bus on time. Getting on it is another thing, but I do get to it. You see, we’ve got 20 seats, each seating two and one-half (they can say three till they're blue in the face. I say two and one-half) and an aisle. That stands ten. I usually end up very near the bumper, but not far enough away to be called anything else. My mother has 4 boys, 4 girls, 2 cats, 1 dog and usually 27 neigh- bors’ kids around the house. When I try to get to the kitchen to eat, I feel like I’m walking to the conces- sion stand at Yankee Staduim. Well, I give up. Despite it all. I’ve come to this conclusion: I need people; people make crowds; crowds are a mess and nothing ever seems to go right, does it? The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance. 6

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AN INTERVIEW WITH NEW FACULTY MEMBERS by Nancy Petulla It is difficult to make an exact statement,” SISTER VIRGINIA decided, except that the girls have to raise their standards.” Then we asked, DO VENANGO CHRISTIAN STUDENTS HAVE AS MUCH SCHOOL SPIRIT AS OTHER STUDENTS? SISTER MARY MICHAEL: In some ways, perhaps. We have some kiddoes who could learn to apply themselves scholastically. 1 would like to see more enthusiasm in the matter of scholarship. SISTER JANET: Well, they have wonderful school spirit, es- pecially the in-coming freshman. They were really interested in the Christmas Drive. They talked over making posters to encourage the rest of the school to do their part. I think they only learned this from older brothers and sisters and older friends.” FATHER MURRAY: The school spirit seems to be growing I think it is something the students and faculty build up together.” MR. CAVANAUGH: There is good school spirit; I have had some association with school spirit and I think it is improving here.” FA I HER KREBS: believes, The school spirit is very impressive at the present time.” SISTER MARY LOURDES: Venango has great school spirit if one bases it on the rally. In fact, I was pleased and edified by the way they attend Mass, but scholastically! hope to see the girls and boys doing better.” SISTER TERESITAthinks that the school spirit is in the process of being organized as an educational unit. There is more interest in per- sonal activities than in school functions.” Finally, one question concerned student-teacher relationships: IS THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN STUDENT AND TEACHER DIF- FERENT HERE THAN AT OTHER SCHOOLS? The replies were more thoughtful: Well, to some degree it is easier than at previous schools. I have many extra curricular activities and more of a chance to under- stand the students,” relayed SISTER MARY MICHAEL. One thing, the students have not hesitated if they needed any help,” SISTER JANET said, but I think the student has to consider the school as a Mystical Body all working toward a single goal.” MR. CAVANAUGH tells us, No. I haven’t found much yet.” FATHER KREBS says, The problem is that I have taught the lecture methods and students just took notes. Whereas, with these stu- dents, it is very much easier to supply the need. The students are very open to ask questions for additional help.” The communication between student and teacher is on a per- sonal basis rather than strictly being student-teacher. I don’t think it is what it should be. I don’t understand the courtesy or lack of cour- resy here,” says SISTER TERESITA. SISTER MARY LOURDES ended with, The communication is favorable. ” Sister Mary Michael: Spanish, His- tory Sister Mory Lourdes: Office Prac- tice, History, English, Reading Father Hartle: Math, Religion, Phy- sical Science, Algebra Father Krebs: Religion, History, Latin 5

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Shakespeare Goes Modern The Shakespearean play, Hamlet, is a classic; that is, it has a universal theme, and centuries have not caused its appeal and worth to be lost and for- gotten. It has been reproduced many times and is presently popular on Broad- way in New York City. This is John Gielgud’s production of Hamlet, starring Richard Burton as Hamlet. It is one ot high quality in the dramatic field and entertainment. It achieves this quality by the effectiveness of the scenery, costumes and character portrayal and the functional relationship between them. The scenery and props used are extremely simple and plain and used for a definite purpose. It imitates the Elizabethan theaters of Shakespeare s time where elaborate scenery was not to be had. But beyond this, it functions as a maintainer of the audience’s interest and attention upon the plot and the char- acters and by making the play’ s universal theme of revenge and the restless mood more noticeably by the contrast of the dullness of the setting. Simplicity is maintained in the cos- tumes of Gielgud’s production of Hamlet as it was in the scenery. A contemporary touch is also add- ed to this Elizabethan play by the use of current styled clothing. This helps overcome some of the aesthe- tic distance of the audience from feeling, emotions and thoughts of the characters by bringing them closer to present day standards. ALTHOUGH the costumes are simple and current, each has a spec- ific function. Hamlet was clothed entirely in black, having only his face and hands uncovered. This effect focused the viewers’ concen- tration on these features of the head, where one could see the raging passion of revenge for his father’s murder, and the hands with which Hamlet killed Laertes and Claudius. The color mirrored the darkness of his soul and his mood. Claudius’ dress depicted his playboy personality and actions by a loose, light-colored sweater with patched elbows, not usually worn by men of his age, and most unlike a king. This symbolized the unwhole- some relationship with the wife of his brother, the king, and the result- ing murder of the king’s brother. Polonius, Lord Chamberlain, wore attire suitable for a dignitary, as he was to be portrayed. His white beard, cane and cravat character- ized him as a wise and sophisticated old man. LAERTES DEPICTS the vital- ity of youth by his very casual, light colored apparel, while Ophelia is presented as a picture of youth, beauty and innocence by her long, flowing hair and carefree style of dress, in contrast to the queen’s short-curled hair and train showing dignity and experience. The quality and talent of the actors and actresses in a cast can either make a play a success or not, even though the material presented is excellent. In John Gielgud’s pro- duction of Hamlet, the presentation was excellent. He enabled the view- er to experience emotionally what he observed. He showed the wrath of revenge and partial madness as a result, but he also maintained the idea of his symbolizing man by not becoming too aloof from reality. An example of this is the famous ex- cerpt from Act III, Scene I, starting with the line, ' To be, or not to be: that is the question...” Many actors have presented these lines with maj- esty in a booming voice. Burton in- terprets them with thoughtfulness and in a soft tone of voice, making the listener meditate along with him. He also showed his ability to portray revenge and anger. An example of this is the scene with his mother in her closet, when he scolds the queen for her wretchedness and disloyalty to her former husband, the king. Sit you down and let me wring your heart: for so I shall if it be of pene- trable stuff.. ' CLAUDIUS AND the queen could have been portrayed better be- cause their wickedness was not as noticeable as it should have been. Polonius was presented very well, for his gestures, tone and walk all depicted that of a dignified, wise old man with wit. This is shown es- pecially well in the scene in which he is advising the king and queen about the cause of Hamlet's madness. Laertes was portrayed well. He showed the parallel between the re- venge of Hamlet against Claudius and his revenge against Hamlet, both caused by the murder of their fathers. He portrayed his vitality and confi- dence of youth especially well in the last scene in the fencing dual. BY THE employment of simple but extremely functional scenery and costumes and effective character por- trayal by a talented cast, John Giel- gud's production of Hamlet is a work of dramat ic art of high quality in pre- senting a universal theme of revenge and forces of evil verses good. 7