Weldon E Howitt High School - Hi Life Yearbook (Farmingdale, NY)

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Above Left: Marching Band members Frank DeFiore and Andy Segale add music to Dress Down Day festivities. Above Right: Security guard Bernie attracts a crowd in bus parking lot. truancies is a five day sus- pension,” Patrick Healy, 12th grade dean, explained. Students were prohibited from sitting in the fields where they would be unsu- pervised. “This rule has helped us, not the kids,” Healy commented. In pro- test to these new rules, sev- eral petitions were signed by large numbers of the student body. Their efforts were unsuccessful, how- ever, since the adminis- tration refused to meet the students’ requests for more Top Left: Signs reading 'Your children need our contract are carried by demonstrating teachers. Top Right: Teachers express dissatisfaction at their work situation. lenient rules. The calendar, which in the past had offered a Feb- ruary recess, now consisted of a longer holiday season break. Students could only hope for snow storms to break the long monotony. In several nearby high schools, Halloween caused an upheaval of rowdiness, in students. However, the traditional Dress Down Day helped prevent the on- slaught of the ghastly be- havior which usually emerges on Halloween. This year the traditional af- fair was accompanied by members of the school band which helped create a party atmosphere, prompt- ing the Seven Dwarves to dance with the Dallas Cow Girls. Football games are foot- ball games regardless of whether the team leaves the field victorious or de- feated. However, there was a certain excitement in the stands when fans realized they were watching the un- defeated, unscored upon Dalers of 79. These events, in addition to the arrival of new stu- dents, changed the atmop- shere of the school and made 1979 unique. CHANGES “Dress Down Day was really fun; I think that it was one thing that made the year speciar’ — Audrey Hyman, senior. 7 don’t like the fact that there was no February re- cess. Your mind just goes haywire after a point. Too much school in one streak is not good — Clayton Hughes, senior. v J 17

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Changes and Events Make School Year Unique Dark tans, sun bleached hair, physically fit bodies, and rested minds entered the school building on Sep- tember 6th. The sophomores seemed lost and naive. The juniors were confident as they walked through now famil- iar halls, and there was the usual air of superiority about entering seniors. The common belief that another ordinary school year was beginning was merely a myth, since every year is unique. During the first week of school the students were greeted by demonstrating teachers. For the first time in history, members of the Farmingdale Federation of Teachers began the school year without a contract. The controversy between the school board and the teacher’s union, which con- tinued for two months into the school year, caused un- certainty for students and parents alike. The teachers demonstrated their feelings to the parents on open school night by wearing buttons which read, “I am working without a con- tract. Above: Announcers and camera men aid fans in cheering on football team. Top: Varsity cheerleaders spark enthusiasm among spectators. Students were also greeted by a revised set of rules and a changed calen- dar. The rules, which con- cerned cutting, truancy, and loitering on school grounds, had evidently been made more stringent and intentionally more bind- ing. There has been less cutting because of the new rules, and even less truancy since the penalty for two

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Library Open for More Than Studying I LITERARY THOUGHTS Getting thrown out is the best part of being in the library — Glenn Weiss, senior. Above Left: Madelyn Murray helps a student check out a book. This place is dedicated to Yvonne Bourgeois? Who's Yvonne Bourgeois? — Martin Rom anelli, senior. Above: Lucy Lane and Russell Bier make use of the library's extensive The library’s a good place to go if you’re feeling depressed or you don’t want to be with people. It’s really quiet — Christine Kwiatkowski, junior. The library attracts a certain kind of person. It has a nice atmosphere — Donna Swift, sophomore J By the senior year each student has probably found one particular spot in the building that he considers his own personal niche. In spite of the attraction of the Commons and the pool, many students find the li- brary the ideal place to “hang out.” Although its