Westlake High School - El Paisano Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Crammin In preparation for an upcoming computerized math lest, sophomore Kenneth McMullen looks over his notebook before school. Many stu- dents waited until the last minute of study time, causing more stress and anxiety. Sure Signs of s Sweat beads on the forehead • ' Irritating tapping on a table IS- Annoying chomping of gum Cold Sweat Actors fight stagefright; calm nerves Stage fright. Experienc- ed by not only actors, but anyone in front of large audiences. It ' s tense on stage be- cause when you mess up lines, you can ' t stop and start over. You ' ve got to recover and make it look like nothing went wrong, senior Tom ones actor Greg Lusk said. Sometimes the goofs, which went with perform- ing, proved embarrassing and nerve racking for everybody concerned. The first time 1 per- formed on Hyline this year, my contact lense fell out. I had to go through the whole routine half blind, senior Anna Barnes said. Cook books With no time to waste, senior Kevin Buttery studies his notes while making his din- ner. Being able to do two things at once remained an essential skill for many stu- dents. EASY GOING Before beginning his major paper over Romeo and Juli- et, freshman Dennis Webb reads and listens to his newest Van Halen tape. For some, walkmcn created a less stressful atmosphere for both reading and studying. PASSING NOTES During a half-time perfor- mance, junior Susie Hanle, sophomore Kim Curl, senior Shanon Mills and senior Courtney Cobb perform to Side By Side. RING MASTERS On stage in their fall performance , choir members do their telephone ringing number. The full spring per- formances of Bye Bye Birdie proved just as successfuL Take a Number ACADEMICS

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stocks off the New York Stock Exchange. Julie Olher distributed $5,000 in funds to her class. My partner, Anna Barnes, and I bought stocks in Pan-Am, Coke and Wal-Mart. We also bought preferred stocks in smaller companies. We realized too late that it was better to purchase stocks from one company rather than many small companies. Therefore, we lost 520,000, senior Nisheeth Parekh said. Instructors judged the individual per- formance of seniors awarding a prize of a few bonus points, or at least an improved possibility of obtaining some brownie points to those who earned the greatest percentage of profits. MONEYWISE As she takes time for a brief stock market review, sopho- more Andrea Shone reads her favorite financial magazine. While becoming more in- volved with money, students practiced economic skills by playing the stock market. Underalls Displaying her new fashion line of lin- gerie, senior Drina Boban discusses her strategy for selling brassieres in economics. Most seniors were required to invent a business and present it as part of a major grade in economics. TOUGH CHOICE Traversing the crowded depths of the old gym, junior Daniel Cohen searches for a solution to the frustrating problem of schedule conflict during spring registration. With several course closings, students searched for classes to fill in their schedules. Accounting classes prove beneficial Useful balancing act Leaning over the desks to avoid the crack- ing whip, fingers furiously punched in numbers as students desperately tried to finish their accounting homework— and not just for the sake of getting the assignment done. Accounting has re- ally helped me under- stand the process of orga- nizing money. It ' s really becoming a challenge because if you miss one day, it could doom you for the rest of the semester, senior Kristi Chapman said. Even though accoun- tants learned many use- ful lessons such as balanc- ing their checkbooks, which helped the 50% of the class who had check- books, they also had e- nough spare class time to do other things. Accounting helped sometimes, like when we learned to balance check- Fast cash Visiting the Texas Commerce Bank drive-thru on the route to Barton Creek Mall, sophomore Scott Heare obtains money for a spring shopping spree. Because of their convenience. Republic Bank and Texas Commerce Bank acquired business from student mall patrons. Learning bank procedure, both in class and out, gave business students an added edge in the real world. books. Then, at other times, it only confuses me . It did however, give me a good opportunity to finish my trigonometry home- work, senior Carlie Tilly said. The business-related classes did help the 10% to 15% that planned to major in business in college, while others gained more immediate skills. I learned how to type well and sneak food into class. The greatest chal- lenge was eating and opening coke cans with- out the teacher noticing anything, senior Rachel Silber said. Overdrawn Picking up some clothes from Kim ' s Cleaners, senior Ricky Jones digs deeper into his checking account to pay necessary expenses. Chauffeured While utilizing their mar- keting skills in economics class, seniors Willie Baker and Carl Amoscalo explain their solution to the closed campus problem, an escort service providing under- classmen with transportation off campus. ONE FOR Edited by Brian Steeg I THE MONEY!

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How DO YOU GET PSYCHED UP FOR PERFORMANCES?! Students face heavy workloads PRESSURE UNDER UNDER UNDER UNDER Unfinished English papers, unread history and undone algebra assignments. Students faced them everyday, but some found ways to overcome the demanding pressures of school. Frenzied is how I ' d describe how I am when I get nervous about a test or uptight about finals. I usually find myself chewing on my lower lip and becoming very argumentative, junior Andrea Brannan said. While individual quirks varied as one-of-a- kind reactions, three out of five students turned to chewing gum as a response to pressure. Chewing gum is a habit of mine and I ' ll go through piece after piece. On top of that, I ' ll twirl my hair too, senior Shelley McDill said. Though some pressure-relieving habits happened voluntarily, students responded differently and many found themselves hyperactive when they studied. When anything important is coming up, I usually end up running a few miles so I can relax, I just get too much adrenaline flowing senior Sean Lanahan said. Drum roll With the expertise of any band member, sophomore Jeremy Thompson shows Michael Webber the finer points of percussion. Jeremy frequented Tommy ' s Drum Shop, purchasing the latest percussion equipment PULLING POWER Backstage and in control of the curtains, sophomore Bob Holmes and senior David Grey wait for their cues. Technical theatre students faced pressure while making certain that each show went smoothly. All in a day ' s work Part-time jobs, homework, chores incite anxieties in students with 36-hour days Three tests, going to work, doing algebra homework then washing the dog, all in a day ' s work. Students found pressures in all aspects of daily routines. To many, school fell as one of the primary fo- cuses of pressure. This, coupled with the pres- sure of part-time jobs and obligations to mom caused some to recognize their problems. My pressure is from having to go to school, then to work, and then home where it ' s time to do school work or help around the house, senior Karen McLean said. Competition remain- ed an inevitable aspect of school life. To do the best and accomplish the most proved a seemingly un- accomplishable goal. Most of my pressure comes from how well I do in school. I have to do my best because of the pres- sure of what college I go to, senior Wendie Schlageter said. Self-satisfaction and accomplishments also caused academic pres- sures. Often the pres- sures felt by students were self-inflicted, but a strong personal desire to achieve a top quarter rating usually prevailed. Most of the pressure that is placed on me is by me, junior Laura Brooks said. I want to do exceptionally well, so I can get in A M. Backstage Stagehands share the same applause as actors for unseen work—and shouldl In performances, the audience watched the ac- tors play out roles that were memorized after months of rehearsal. The audience then showered the performers with . applause. What the . audience might not realize is that their applause complimented the stage manager and backstage crew as well . It ' s hard work; ev- erybody in rehearsal ask- ing questions at one time over the headset. It ' s def- initely a challenge to run a show, but afterwards it ' s very satisfying, junior Caroline George, stage manager for Tom ones, said. A lot went on behind the scenes. Lighting and sound were monitored at all times as well as the counter unit fly system used for dropping scenes into place. I found that lighting for Zenith was the most difficult. We had so many lighting cues it took two of us to keep track of things, senior lighting director Eric Moreland said. Doing a show seemed the best way to learn all the duties and responsibilities of back- stage crew work. I was told to be there at six to mop the stage for Zenith. Something hap- pened to the guy doing sound so Mr. Bentley asked me if I wanted to do it. I freaked, but Blake Vackar gave me a crash course in sound engineering and every- thing went off great, se- nior Robbie Hill said. Pressure to make sure everything back- stage flowed correctly came from the students desire to see things done right, and the director ' s attempt to hold the show together. There ' s a real pres- sure to do things right: bringing in the lights, sound, and backdrops in perfect syncronicity with the actors on stage. It ' s critically important to have perfect timing. The real pressure though comes from trying not to make Mr. Bentley angry, sophomore Bob Holmes said. Next time a standing ovation is being given for the actors and directors, just remember the guys doing the dirty work . Edited by Wendy Willlis | © TWO FOR THE SHOW lO