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

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 Santa's reindeer. Tina Kosteas. Doreen Lieursi. Nahry Kretchman. Liz Boy Ian and Carol Morris, arrived with Toys Marie Cramsic. Joe Bruno and Donna Dudek a few months early Seemingly lost. Tom Ferrity, Larry Ji- menez. Carol Abato, and Angelo Latona try to find their was back to Sesame Street The devil made me do it”, claims Angel Tracey Ronca as Tracie Boccafola gives a devilish grin. 18 Dress Down Day

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September Blues When all the clothing stores in the Sunrise Mall start to put out winter sweaters, when the Jones Beach busdrivers begin to exhibit a slight feeling of relief, when Tony the Tiger starts advertising pencil cases on the back of your cereal box. you know it can only mean one thing . . . It’s that time again. September brought with it the end of those carefree summer nights and wonderful summer bar beques. Those relaxing days on the beach were replaced by the drudging of getting up at 6:00 a.m. and pushing yourself to school with half closed eyelids. This September in particular saw many changes. For the fresh men and sophomores it meant a challenge and perhaps a bit of a scare, a beginning to a new phase in their lives. For the juniors and seniors it was a return to a familiar place which did not look as famil- iar as they thought due to rearran- gements in the school. There were so many changes this year that I felt I was starting the whole process all over again, Nancy Kretschmann. senior, comment- ed. That the first week or so brought confusion for all students is no question. There were new rooms to locate and new routines to learn, although most were mer- ely temporary. One could tell by the hordes of students down in the guidance offices that a good per centage of the schedules were la- boriously being altered. Victor Chang, junior, stated. I expected my schedule to be wrong. It would have been a surprise if it turned out right. Much of the first week was spent filling out the usual forms: book receipts, copies of schedules for friends and. of course, the infamous Delaney cards. Those things are a pain in the neck.” Sherry Karmel, fresh- man, lamented. Right from the start, returning students could feel the changes which had occurred since they’d last been there. Homeroom had been switched so that it now took The Commons is once again crowded with students on the first day of school, as they talk to friends they haven't seen since June. place between first and second periods instead of the beginning of the day. Most students were not pleased with this new policy. Larry Abuhoff, senior, stated, It is stupid to have homeroom after first period. It encourages people to cut first period with the excuse that they slept late. Alternate School students found another change; their home base had been moved to downstairs where part of cafeteria A had been, cut- ting the cafeteria s size much to the bewilderment of many hunga ry scholars who had once made it their haven. But one thing all could probably agree on as being distinctly differ- ent was the crowdedness of the hallways due to the newly arrived freshmen. That was not the only big difference this year. This was the first year that Mr. Douglas Be- geal was the school's principal. It was indeed an auspicious begin- ning for the new administrator and everyone was very pleased with the fine job he did. With all the new changes, we were certainly off to an uncertain start, but, as often is the case, the horse a legnth behind ends up in the winner’s circle. One of the problems faced by freshmen and sophomores at the beginning of school is finding out that their locker has been stolen'' by an upperclassman. Jerry Schroader watches as custodian George Freudenberger clips the foreign lock off his locker. Opening Of School 17

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Samurai Band member Jay Nachbar entertains the SHO-Band troops. New recruits are a main objective for these Hari Krishnas • Steve Mormino. Eric Sekler, Phi Czarnec, Al Schellhorn. Chris Jorgensen, and Bob Derasmo as they chant, in front of Woodward Park way School. Spirited In the beginning, approximately 1962. the Dress Down Day tradition was in its formative years. Wait a minute. inter .upted Iris McNulty, senior. Why do they call it Dress Down Day instead of Dress Up Day? Well, we have come a long way. The tradition started with each of the four classes pouring enthusiasm and crea- tiveness into skits, costumes and food booths all related to a chosen theme. A noisy, colorful dance brought the school gym to life. (The Commons wasn't added until 1969.) After an evening of fun. which also included inaugurating the class offi- cers. a group of faculty members judged the classes by awarding points for each activity. The winning class was allowed for one day to deviate from the formal dress code and thus we now have Dress Down Day. In all the years I can recall. stated Mr. Clifford Mackin. Assistant Principal, the senior class had won the contest. It be- came an academic lesson in futility for the freshmen, sophomores and juniors. A de- cision was made by students and faculty to initiate Senior Dress Down Day. The date was moved to late October to incorporate the Halloween spirit, and a parade to Wood ward Parkway Elementary School bridged a gap between the young students and ven- erated seniors. It has become the seniors' privilege to leave school early afternoon and spend the day according to their lik- ings. Creativeness mounted in those twenty years as timely Mediterranean fruit flies buzzed about and Creatures from the Daler Lagoon attacked with loaded water pistols. Other strange sightings reported were a walking-talking-basketball hoop, five-foot tall Conair hair dryer, brush and comb as well as oversized Presidential Jelly Beans. Faculty and administration retained their active part by awarding a Dean's Award, prize for funniest, group recognition awards, etc. The spirit lived on as well, as seniors spent afternoon and evening busily prepar ing. Donna Dudek. jock-in- the-box ex- plained. Building Santa s sled was the har- dest part; yet it was all worth it. The name of the game was have fun. forget all inhibition and go for it! I think we had great participation this year. announced Ondine Stettner. Presidential Jelly Bean. But I don't want to see another jelly bean again. Accompanied by the Samurai Pep Band, the colorful parade greeted the elementary school students much to the excitement of both. The 1981 Dress Down Day was such a success that bubbling juniors could be heard discussing plans for next year. I can't wait until our turn. I’m already think ing about what to go as and with whom. blurted Mary Winterfeldt. junior. And the tradition goes on. Our own version of Beauty and the Beast — Paolo Scagliarini and La Se- nora de Perez. Minney and Mickey Mouse. Sue Ho- horst and Maureen Buckley, came all the way from Disneyland to join in the festivities. Dress Down Day 19