wqr or1 aaatr (]UUll15PtlD
at VOLUME
1
NO.
i~arrt5 i~tB17 (@ UPP1l5
1
ยงr11uul <!lullrgp DECEMBER
-.1984
THE TRADITION CONTINUES On October 25th, the rededication of Town send Harris High School was held at Colden Auditorium at Queens College. The ceremony began at ten o'clock with the faculty and alumni marching down the sides of the stage in their caps and gowns,.while the Queens College Symphonic Wind Ensemble played the processional. Students a lso took part in the processional . The honorable Reverend Robert L. Polk began the proceedings with a prayer. The Honorab~e Kenneth L . Shorter, a graduate of the Townsend Harris class of 1930, conducted the ceremony . Man y guests attended this joyous occasion . Among those on stage were Queens Borough President Donald Ma n e s, President of Queens College Saul B . Cohen, President of the New Yo r k Cit y Board of Education James F. Regan, President of the Townsend Harris Alumni Association Henry D . Shereff , Townsend Harris alumnus Dr. Jonas Salk, Chancellor of the New York City Board o f Education Nathan Quinones, and the oldest living alumnus "o f Townsend Harris, Rabbi Moses Rosenthal. Chance llor Quinones Spoke Nathan Quinones, Chancellor of the Board of Education . addressed the students of Townsend Harris and said, " P a r t of your function i s to expand the good beyond what it happens to be . What should you do with yourselves toward the bene fit of others '? " Dr . Ma l c o l m Largmann ~ principal of Townsend Harris, made clear the expec tat ions for the new school in his speech: " Th e Townsend Harrisite is expected to make a commitment to this community; we take as our example the distinguished alumni; their efforts ~ave established a legacy for future generations_
Dr . La r g ma n n led the present stu ~ dents at the new Townsend Harris in the Ephebic Oath , an oath that had been recited by former students at their graduation . Among the speakers was a student representative, Heather Nash . She had this to say about the school o n b e h a I f 0 f the stu den t s : " Our school is nurtured by the devotion and dedication of many people; our commitment is to the quest for aca ~ demic achievement . " There were three honorary degrees presented during the ceremony by Dr. Saul Cohen : Joseph Barkan, Doctor of Pedagogy , and Joseph Flom , Doctor or Humane Letters; Dr . Jonas Salk was last . Dr . Jonas Salk Honored The degree of Doct~r o f Science , honor is causa was p resented to the very hono rable Jonas E . Salk, M.D . , for his con tribution to medicine and humanity by inventing the poli o vaccine i n 1954 . Dr . Salk's speech was d irected to everyone , but he spoke mainly to the students of Townsend Harris : "I'm sure we all feel the same thing today ; we 're seeing a dream com~ true. I believe what this mea n s and signifies is an evolutionary experience . We can choose the futu re; we can create the future . Those of you will have the oppor tunity and wil l be provided b y the alumni, Queen s College, and the City of New York . There wi ll . never be another occasion such as this. I feel ex tremely pri vileged. This significant moment will not remain an i s o l a t e d eventi it will be r e p e a t e d the wo rld over. Th e wisdom "must come from t hose who select t o come here as well a s those who are se lected to come.~The purpose of the school wi l l be to bring out the best in you , and your purpose will be to bring out the best in each othe r ." Carol Cespedes Karen Greenberg er
WHERE HAVE ALL THE BELLS GONE? As we discussed chaos and order in our classes, we fancied that chaos would come to us one day, because our school has no bells. However, time changed all that. Instead of finding it chaotic, we found i t rather advantageous, for eliminating bells meant cutting down the number of stimuli which led students to rush out of their classes. Also, unlike students in other high schools, we are not bored by the same teachers each day. The substitution for those noninterchangeable periods is replaced by a schedule with diversified bands which change each day . Our first impression of this schedule was that it might be peculiar and even dumb. Now that we are more familiar with these procedures, i t is rare that one of us spends time wondering, as many of us had done before, wh y we have bands and no bells. Time has cured all of our negative thoughis. We are now adjusted to telling teachers, "The band is over." Christine Holowinsk y Haera Hwang
WHOSE LUNCHROOM IS 'IT ANYWAY? Students and teachers ~hould not eat their lunch together. Our school's cafeteria is crowded and does not need more people . Our lunch bands are our' 0 n 1 y f r e e tim e; man y 0 f us use t his ban d asp r i vat e tim e. So me students use it as a study or make-up time for homework, reports, etc. When a teacher is present, we feel uncomfortable. Those students who wish to consult a teacher during lunch should do so in the teachers' room. Many students are disturbed about the time they spend waiting for their lunch. Students have to wait on a very long line, but a teacher is served immediately. This is very frustrating for the student. Our lunchroom should be a students' cafeteria, not a teachers' dining room. Dawn Cabage
IS THIS BAND BENEFICIAL? Enrichment is an excellent addition to our school because it provides a time and place for students who share the same interests. It opens the doors to our intellect and imagination, filling us with zeal. We k n ow t hat ot her hi g h scho ols i ~ the me tro p o l i t a n a rea s~Lh a s Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and other superior schools sponsor debating t~ams, newspapers and science projects. In Townsend Harris, though, we have all these activities, but also have more intellectual challenges, especiall y from the visiting professors of Queens College . The majorit y of students throughout our school indicate that the y feel enrichment is exhilarating, a beneficial band that enables the students of Townsend Harris to pursue their interests in special areas. Another way Townsend Harris is different from other high schools in the metropolitan area is it offers its stud~nts the opportunity to participate in extracurricular a c t Lv t tLe s during school time . Students are not obligated to stay after school in order to take part in the activities. Enrichment " is such a grand success because both students and faculty work so hard to make it run. Martha Douvogiannis Doreen SooHoo
Whr )
QILuE!11r
iIl1llllUH'Il~ L~urris L~i!Jl! §r!!lIul
at
(])1lrL'llS
(ÂŁulll'!J1'
Dr. Malcolm Largmann, Principal NEWS: Carol Cespedes, Karen Greenberger, Holly Hatcher, Marc Malkin, Heather Nash, Doris Sachs, Cheryl Shustack, Matt Sultan, Marcia Valentine "FEATURE : Heather Berman, Dineen Casale, Russell De Castro, Debbie Dermack, Christine McGrath, Lauren Nussbaum, , Rose Quiles, Debbie Warren EDITORIAL': Dawn Cabage , Martha Douvogiannis, Christine Holowinsky, Audrey Houston, Haera Hwang, Dorene SooHoo SPORTS: Kevin Kim, Daniel Lew, Gia MaIka ART: Darrin Fallick ADVISOR: Mrs. Sheryl Rubin
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The .editorial staff of The Classic represents its views. We welcome any suggestions, questions and comments. We would like to hear your views on the happenings at Townsend Harris. Please write to , u s c/o Mrs. Rubin's mailbox. Michelle Gnyp
STUDENTS SEE SPANISH CULTURE
A DEDICATED On Friday, November 16th, Townsend Harris Spanish teacher Mrs. Joan Walsh took all five Spanish classes to see the Boston Flamenco Ballet perform at Town Hall . Mrs . Walsh and six parents and aides chaperoned the students to the city . The performance began with the Estudientina Singing Group , which consists of college students. The gr.oup sang many Spanish songs , in cluding the national anthem of Puerto Rico, wh ich the audience joined i n singing . The show cont i n u e d with a pantom ime of Cer vantes ' fi ctional character, Don Quixote . A Spanish breakdance act fol lowed the pantomime . The F lamenco Ballet performed many folk dances from all parts o f Spain . La Jota , the regional dance of Zaragoza, the province o f T~wnsend Harris student Teresa La zar , wa s one of the many reg i o n a l dances per formed . The students returned from the city a r o u n d one o'clock , and ended the trip with lunch at our local McDonald's . Heather Nash Marcia Valentine
FOLLOWING THE PHOENIX On Thursday , October 25th, there was excitement in the air as the Townsend Harris community prepared for Founder 's Day . Dur ing the ceremony at Colden Auditorium man y 's p e e c h e s were made and the Ephebic Oath was recited . Stud en t s w e r e taken back to the school to continue with the r e s t of the day's exciting activ ities . The faculty and students had an enthusiastic approach towards the day. Al l were dressed in proper a tt i r e. The young ladies and gentlemen of Townsend Harris were well dressed, and many a student a dded miscellaneous accessor ies , such as t ies and jewelry . The en~ire stude n t body looked smashing in its firs t . important as sembly. To conclude the day , t ime capgules were presented to Dr. Largmann . The capsules i n c l u d e d various memoirs of our first few months in high school ; as well as of events in 1984. Each homeroom presented its own ,capsule . As the day drew to a close , the stu~e~ts realized that this would offlclally begin the ir journey ahead, the beginn ing of the best years of their lives . Dineen Casale Debbie Warren
DR. LARGMANN "I miss the classrooms ," recalls Dr . Largmann , as he remembers his days as a teacher at Brooklyn College and as Chai rman of the English Department at Tilden High School. Now , as the principal of Townsend Harris High School , he has the opportunity to "create a school from scratch ." As he awakens each m9 rn ing at f i v e o 'clock, he looks forward to each day at our school. " Ea c h day is an adventure ," he says, as he explains his good days and h is bad da ys . When creat ~ve things occur or when the students are pa rticipating in activit ies, he fee lE confident. Sometimes the days are long and because of various meetings he attends he returns home between the hours of seven and ten P .M . , tired but having successfully completed another day, knowing there are many more to embark upon . . Dr . Largmann is very satisfied with the performance of the staff and wishes to congratulate these ded icated educators who helped in the organization of the school. The Townsend Har ris faculty was selected f rom v a r io us teach e r s wh o appl ied . The sta ff, composed o f t he best o f New York Cit y , was chosen by Dr . L a r g ma n n as well as b y P ro fessor Robert Haan of Queens Colle ge . Dr. Largmann is very excited about the new sign which represents and adve rtises our school . He expects many speake rs for the en richment bands. He looks forward to our new building, which will be constructed on the Queens College campus . He hopes that our twel fth grade will present a great deal of sophistication and will be a model for the lower grades . A certi ficate of merit , presen te d by the Co uncil of Superviso rs and Adminis trators of New York City , han gs upon the wall of the princi pa) ' s office . It reads, "In recogn i t ion of f i f teen or more years of d isti ng uished supervisory serv ice t o the children of New' Yo r k. " .We , th e pup i ls o f the old, but new Townsend Harris are proud to have a dedicated prin cipal to head the studen ts and staff of Townsend Harris High School . Russell De Castro
3
ENRICHMENT IS ON THE MOVE
STUDENTS GO TO THE POLLS <I
The enrichment activities at Townsend Harris officially began on October 4th. The coordinator , Mr . Art Boulanger, organized approximately twe lve clubs from the survey forms ea ch stude nt filled out. The clubs are : New p a p er / J o u r n a li s m Mu s i c / Ch o r u s Art is t Squad St uden t Go vernment Deb at in g Team Gymnastics Ae rob ics/Modern Da nce S l imnastics Volle yba l l Drama Scien ce Research Ita lian Club Lite ra ry Ma g a z i n e Fa itasy /Role Playing Chess / Tr ivia l Pursuit Math Te a m The Artist Squad has already b e gun f o r e i g n relations : exchanges o f artwork between New York City high s c hoo ls and Tokyo students . The adv isor of the club is Mr . A . Morales . Member Lana Khodosh said , " Thi s p r oj e c t is so that the peo - " pie of New York can better develop f o r ei q n relations with Japan ." At~ t he Role Pla ying Club spec ia l ac tivities are done for the en joyment of the students . In th e
wo rd s
of
stud ent
Jas o n
Cua --
drado , "The club is exciting and y o u r e a l l y get into the fun and g a me s." Student Joseph Bawar said, "T h e c lub is interes ting and it i mp r ov e s the creativity of our i mag ination." The Italian Club has already s t a r t e d tackling their Italian lessons and conversations . Every e nr i c h me n t band the Italian Club beg ins b y listening to a song by Pavor ot ti. One day, the aroma of zeppoles filled the school. The students made this food with the help of Mrs. Walsh . Future plans are be ing made by the club to see an Italian cultura l event . Marcia Valentine
The f irst elections of the Student Senate at Townsend Harris High School were held on November 5th. The elections were open to all stu dents for the offices of Chairperson, Associate Chairperson, School Accountant, Historian , and Chief of Communication . The primaries , held on October 29th , resulted in the choice of three candidates for the job of Chairperson: Sophia Georgiou , J ulie Tromberg and Diana Zickhur . The can didates 路 f o r the position of Asso ciate Chairperson were Cheryl Shu stack, "Va r s h a Gosh and Felicia Shpall . For the position of School Accountant , Richard Jones, Suzanne Offerman and Lana Khodosh were chosen to run. Cheryl Gerchak and Carolyn Innes ran for Historian, an d Cindy Ortiz , Mo n i c a Pintado and Lisa DeMairo ran for Chief of Communication . The final elections were held on November 5th. Diana Zickhur was elected first Chairperson of the Senate, Cheryl Shustack , Associate Chairperson, Suzanne Offerman, Accountant, Cheryl Gerchak , Historian , and Monica Pintado , Chief of Communication . Heather
~a sh
DEBATERS DEFINE THE ISSUES Th e first Townsend Harris presidential debate was held on Novemger 1st in the l ibrary during En r i c h me n t. It was held to allow all stu dents the opportunity to view the dif ferent issues of t h e Reagan/Mondale 1984 presidential campaign. Each team member spoke on an issue . The members of the Mondale team and their issues were : Maria Al ex a n d e r - Abo r tion Ruth Beattie - Church and State Veronica Fernandez- Fa irness Traci ~ashley- Taxes Vadim Rubinstein- Deficit On the Reagan side we r e: Michelle Drossman- Taxes Sean Gralton - Church and State Jinny Kim - Abortion Robert Mansuri - Fairness Dionne Papino- Deficit The victory was obvious to both teams ; the Mondale party won ~he debate . Christine Holowinsk y Audrey Houston "
QUEENS COLLEGE AT OUR SERVICE One of Townsend Harris' many advantages is its partnership with Queens College. This privilege is the link that supplements our facilities with many others. There are two large gyms equip ped with gymnastic apparatus and other sports equipment. The auxiliary gym is located in the baseme n t and the lar ger gym is on the second f l o o r . It is usually divided into two parts. The south side is open Tuesday , Thursday and Friday f r om 12 :30 to 2:30. Both the No r t h and South side are open Saturday and Sunday 12:00-3:00 and are also open Monday and Tuesday 7:30-9:45 p m The auxiliary gym i s open Tuesday , Thursday and Friday from 12 :30 to 2 :30 . It is" also open Saturday and Sunday 12 :00-3 :00 and Mon day and Tu e s da y evenings from 7:30 -9 :45. Queens College has a large indoor pool also . It is open for use b y Towns e n d Harris Students at spec ified times . In the future the pool might also be used for an extra-cur r icular swim team from our high school . Th e hours are Mon d a y 12 :30 2: 00 and 7 : 30 to 9 :45 pm, Wednesday 12 :30- 2 :30 and Saturday and Sunday f rom 1 :00 until 3 :00 . Qu e e n s College also has two we i gh t rooms . One is for men and the other is for women. They are equipped with universal weights , free we igh t s and specialty weights. Th ey are open Monday through Friday 12 : 30-2: 30 , Monday and Tuesday eveni n g 7 : 30-9 :4 5 and Saturday and Sunday 1: 00- 3 : 00 . There a r e twe lve tennis c ou r t s whi c h are readily a vailable to us at convenient times. There is no supervision as o f mid-October . Players must play on the ir own and must supply their own equipment . The hours are Monday through Sunday 7 :00 am until dusk . One of t he most important things t hat is a vailable to us is Queens Co lle ge 's tremendous l ibrary. The Paul Kl a pp e r library has over half a million books. There are two divisions inc luded in the l ibrary; one is for books concerning the topic of art and the other is for books on music . In order to borrow books , the student must have his zebra st r ipes on the back of his student identification card . The stripes ca~ be applied for at the main desk in t he l ibrary. To do so , one's soc ial security number is needed . Books are due within three weeks of the date they are borrowed and can be renewed for another three weeks . The books must be returned to the library division from w~ich they were borrowed : The penalt y is ten
cents for each day they are not returned after the due date that the library is open. The hours of the " " library are Monday through Thursday 9 :00 am to 9 :00 pm, Friday 9 :00-5 :00 and Saturday and Sunday 12 :00-5:00 . Your student identification card also enables you to use any of the CUNY colleges library . There is also a l a r ge campus around Queens College which includes a soccer f i eld, a track , a baseball field and a lacrosse field. A f e e of $9 .00 is to be paid for the use o f any of the special facili t i e s. NOTE: Students must have their ident ification card with them for use of any of these faci~ities . Fo r mor~ information, call . . . General information Campus f a c il i t i e s Recreation Library information .. on returning books . . on t h e art library . . on the music library . . Mr . Ma t h e w Simon, Chief Librarian Phys ical Ed . Dr . Richard We t t a n Cher yl
520-7000 520-7609 5'20-765 2 520-7616 520 -7250 520-7243 520-7345 520-7246 520-7215 Shust ac k
WE' VE GOT THE SPIRIT On Wednes da y, Oc tob e r 3 1 s t , the students and f a c ul t y o f T ownsend Ha r r i s participated in t he f i r s t Spir it Da y. Bo t h teac hers an d stu dent s were in v ited t o dress up in cost u me, t o express the sp irit that we share at o u r sc h o o l . The response t o the in vitation resulted in an o verwhelmin g schoo l population of clowns , witches and gods . Man y laughs were shared when the students and teachers wa l k e d throu gh the ha lls, in c ostume, on their wa y to class . Ma ny stude nts we r e s urprise d to fi n d t heir teachers d~essed i n Ha ll o ween att ire. Mr s. Eiseman 's mad scientist c ost u me and Mr s. Rubin 's Med u sa out fi t we r e jus t t wo 0 f the tea c h e rs ~ cos tum e s that brig htened the day, and sho wed the ever present spirit that haunts the ha l ls of our school . F r id a y , Nov e mb e r 3 0 t "h was an 0 th e r successf ul Spir i t Da y . Ag a i n , bo t h t e a ch e r s and st udents s h owed their e nthus iasm , hats and sungl asses . Co ntests were he ld dur ing the l unch bands. Ma ny students entered the Most Outrageous, Funniest, and Best Hat "a n d Sunglasses competitions. There were six big winners, but we had n o losers. Maria Alexander , Suz a n n e Of fer man , Karen Gr e e n b e r g e r, Rob e r t Ma n su r i, Sean Gr a l t o n and Yv o n n e Bro wn wo n in the ir l un c h ban d s , and wer e a war de d Dun k in Mu n c hk i n s. Stude n ts an xi ousl y a wa it anoth er e x cit i n g Spir it Da y. De Bbie Dermack He ather Na s h
TEACHERS TELL.ALL One question that might have popped into everyone's mind when we entered Townsend Harris High School was, "Where or how did we get the wonderful teachers ,I . that we have?" r-.' .l-il Mrs . Rita Grunberg of the Mathematics Department formerly worked a t Hillcrest High School in Queens , where she taught algebra, trigonometry and calculus. When asked how she had heard of our ' school she replied. "I always thought that Queens should have a specialized high school . " Accord ing to Mrs . Grunberg , her motivation for applying to Townsend Harris was her desire to teach "beyond numbers ." Here at Townsend Harr is, Mrs . Grunberg hopes to b~ ve the opportunity to fulfill her wi s h o f h e l p i n g students in ma t h e ma t ic s . According to ~ r s . Grun b e rg, " Math is the law- the bas is o f a ll e lements of life." Mr s. Renee Sil ver taught French, a n d En g lish as a second language at John Bo wne High School in Queens, wh e r e she was also a grade advisor . She is f luent in Latin and German and enjo ys teaching the language " she 1 0 v e s . " Hi:'s , S i 1 v e r 's dec is ion to j oin ~ he teachin g staff at To wnsend Harris was partly influenced by a friend who had also applied to the school, and ~argely b e c a u s2 th e school lists languages as one of its priorities . This g iv e s her the perfect opportunit y to d o wh a t she loves best, to tea c h lan guage. Mrs. Si lver thin ks ver y hi ghl y of the students at our school. She regards them a s " f u l l o f po tential, ea ger to l e a r n , a n d una fraid to learn. "
Mr. Francis Polizzi taught English for . eight y e a r s at South Shore High School in Brookl yn and later became a reference libraria n at Lehman College. When Mr . P o l i z z i came to Townsend Harris, he ' felt' that since the curri - , culum had to be created, the program should be f r e s h and f l ex i ~ l e for the benefit of the students . Mr . Polizzi is impressed b y the relaxed , c lose and informal atmos phere and relationships between students and teachers at Townsend Harris and thinks that that 's " g r e a t . " Such an atmosphere makes communication easier and more beneficial. Mr . Polizzi spent time this summer attending seminars in writing and computer instruction, and planning the . the school 's curriculum with our English teac hers. He is current l y working with members o f the L i t e ra r y Ma g a z i n e Club and hopes to establish an annual poetr y and language arts contest in t he near future. Ho~ d id the teachers prepare for the new students ? All the teachers met at Queens Coll~ge to take a vigorous writin g course where the y learned the v a l u e of communication . The y also spent a strenuous t wo weeks at the computer lab learning the app.
liin I -.J "
licat i on ,~
o f 't h e
c o mp u t e r
i n
t h e Lr
respective fields . Much time was spent wr i t i n g curriculum . Rose Qu iles
HARRY HARRISITE
6
THE JOB NEVER QUITS The Enrichment Program is unique. It is composed of different groups, f rom which a student can choose a variety of interests. Among these groups are: student government, chorus , the newspape r and drama. Mr. Bo_ulanger, Co o r d i n a t o r of the Enrichment Program says~ "Each group has to be entertaining, yet ~s also a learning experience. Al l of the groups are available to eve r y s tudent in the school . However, one problem that many of the students f a ce i s t h a t they wan t to b e involved in mo r e than one group . Mr. Boulanger has a solution to this problem, "They c an see other clubs for that one band, provided that they notify their teacher and they get their attendance taken." Another problem that some students may ~ave to face is that they may want to be involved in an activity that has not been organized as yet. tn this case , in order to have this group established, the students must have a minimum of ten students and a teacher to run the program . This teacher must be willing to supervise this program on a regular and voluntary basis . The Enrichment Program does not only consist of various groups . It also consists of different types of speakers . These speakers talk about anything from tec hnology to making pottery . The goal of the school is not to get a hi gh l y specialized speaker, but someone who enjoys what he is doing and wants t o share that with others . For examnle. a c ou p l e of weeks ago, a String Quartet performed at the school. They were musicians who wanted to share their musical abilities with the music classes . Howeve r, anyone who was interested could have gone and seen it . Mr. Boulanger explained that what he looks for in a speaker is, "Information, to entertain and stimulate the students." However, many times people want to speak at different schools but either change their minds or are not willing to work for free. Mr . Boulanger 's work is never done. ~ot only is he coordinator of the Enrichment Program, but he also has to find a place of enrichment for every student in the school. It is his responsibility to know where every student is dur ing enrichment and to also make sure that everything runs smoothly . It i s not always a lot of f un to be t h e coordinator of the enrichment program . Many heartaches come along with the job . However, being a speaker can be challenging and rewarding. Whe~ Mr . Boulanger was asked if the speaker gets as much out of i t as the students, he replied with a smile, "More." Doris Sachs
TRAVELS WITH RICHARD
~.i
r.,. .. f ...
t
1
The alarm wakes Richard Jones, Jr . at 4 :45 A.M . He gets ready to go to Townsend Harris High School at Queens College. He gets dressed, has a bite to eat, and leaves his house . It is now 5:45 A .M . and Richard runs to get the Staten Island ferry . Yes , Richard lives in Staten Island and goes to high school in Flushing, Queens . He chose to go to Townsend Harris because he wanted a better educa tion ard broader horizons. Richard felt that his zoned school could not offer him a superior education . After he takes the ferry, Richard has to take two trains and two buses to get to school . He travels two and a half hours each morning, and was only late once . He looks forward to school, and enters his classes with a smile on his f a c e. He looks forward to seeing all the friends he has made , and is ready to learn from excellent teachers . At 3 :11 P .M . the school dav ends, and Richard goes on his traveling expedition once again . He does some o f his homework on ' the ferry, since the r i d e is s mooth and quiet . When h e .r e a c h e s h is home at 5 : 45 P .M ., he i s ti r e d. He would pre fer to get home earlier so t h a t he can f i n i s h his homework before it gets dark. Richard understands that he must make sacrifices if he wants a better education and future rewards. He does not take tennis lessons and is not . on the bowlin oo team anymore. He said he would like it better if the school day ended an hour earlier . "Aside from the difficulties of traveling, " Ric h a r d s aid \.;r i t h a s mil e, " for a n e w school i t is ' g o i n g ' oka y." J
Debbie Dermack
MUSICAL HEAVEN IS IN HELL
:1r . Ne 1 s on , 0 u r mu s i c te a c he r , sele ct e d a s ma l l g ro u p o f stu d ent s t o ex p e r i ence a t a st e of cu l t u r e , a n op e ra t ic play h e ld at the Ne w Yo r k St at e Thea t e r , wh ich i s p ar t o f Li n c o ln C e n t ~ r . Thi s pres e n t a t i o n wa s a pla y cal l e d " : 1e p h i s t o p h e 1 e s . " .. As we e n te r ed t he t h e a ter , we we r e me t by an us her dres sed i n a n el ab or ate unif orm of b lac k and wh i t e . As t he ush e r wa s esc orti ng u s t o o u r s ea ts , we no tic ed how l arge an d a r ti s tic t he bu ilding wa s . Af te r we we r e seated we n o t ic ed t h a t we we re i n t h e f if t h bal co ny and we h ea rd a s tud e n t say , 'hope \,; e c a n s e e f ro m he r e . " Wh il e we wa i t ed fo r t he p e rfor ma n c e t o be gin we noticed how f a s t t h e t h e ater wa s fillin g . Our e y es s ta r ted wan derin g a rou n d t h e t he ater, l o o ki n g a t t h e a r ti s t i c and c ol o rfu l arran g emen t o f t h e c a r p e t , c u r t a i n s a nd l i g htin g sy s t e m t h at l o o k ed li ke a ~ ?a r k l i ~ g ~ i am o n d . A ~ e nse of a n t ic ip a t io n g r e w s t ro ng e r a nd stron ge r a s t he t he ater f i l l ed. As t he l i g h t s d i mmed t he cu r t ain r o s e and t he aud ie nce s tar te d t o appla ud . The p e rfo r me r s we r e d resse d i n co lo rfu l a t t i r e . Th e l eading charac te r in t h e pla y wa s t h e de v i l , p la y e d b v Samu e l Ra mey . His perf o~m anc~ ca p t i v a t e d t h e a ud ienc e . The st o r y t o l d of Dr . faus t , who ma d e a de al wi t h t he d ev i l . He o f f e r e d his s o u l t o t he d e v il i n exc h ang e fo r a w i s h t o b e s e n t ba ck in t im e s o t h at h e co u ld be reunite d with h i s maid en . "I f I ag r e e t o t hi s w ish you r s oul is et er n a l l y mi n e , " sa id t he d ev i l. His wis h wa ~ f ul f i l l e d, a n d h e re mained w i t h h i s maid e n ,f o r a l o n g ti me. T hen it wa s time fo r h i m t o f u l f i l l his ba rga i n wi t h t he de v il . In h ell , h e re ma in e d c o n d e mn e d t o e t e r nal s u f feri n g . As t he p lay en ded a nd t he l i g h t s b righ t en ed , t he a udi e nc e b ro k e i n to bo i s t e ro u s app lau s e , a n ind i ca t ion o f t hei r en j oymen t a n d sa t is fac t i on .
iIi
~a r tha
Douv o gi anni s
NIX NEVER STOPS Ms. Ni x has been te aching fo r twelve y e a r s . She d e c i d e d t o c orne t o o u r s c h ool fr om Tilden Hi gh Sch o ol i n Br o o kl yn b e ca u s e we are a new school and she would ha ve t he o ppo r t u n i ty t o f or mul a te a ph y s ical fi t n ess p rog ram . Our dri ve f or ph ysi cal fitness co n d itioni ng sep ar ates ou r gy m p rog ram f r om mos t o th e r sch oo l s be c ause t he y are s p orts o r i e n t e d . Believe it o r not, Ms . Nix i s n ot b ein g pa i d b v t he te a cher s t o wo rk us ha rd s o th at we do no t h ave the strength t o chit chat i n cl ass. Hs . Ni x ' s g o al is f or e a ch an d e ver y one o f t he s tud e n t s rea ch his or her maximum f i t n e s s level . She explained that ma ny s t u dents f e e l the e xer ci ses a r e ve ry ti rin g, b u t at o ur ag e , h er r out ine sh ould n ot b e t oo hard. Fo r t his s em e s t e r , s h e h as plann ed a va ri et y o f s p ort s ac t iv i t i e s fo r o ur gy m cl asses. We wi l l b e p lay i ng soc c er , vo l l ev ba l l and ba s k e tba l l . Badm int on , ' tr a ck a n d f iel d a n d eleme nt ar y g ymnastics a r e the indiv idual' s p or ts plan ned. Th e on e mil e r un is o n e of t he many mor e phy s ica l f i t ness te sts we ha ve t o loo k forwa r d t o this y ea r . Th es e tests
~)
;:<:,>:~ \. ~1
I
h a v e a ccomp l i sh ed fr om -\ ) t he trainin g we re ceive du r ing cl ass e s . Wr i t te n ex a ms ar e g i v e n , b es id e s p h y s ica l tests . Ms . ~ i x exp l a ined that t he goa l of t he se test s is t o see i f we un ders tand t he principl e s and reas onin ba rel a t e d to our exer ci ses. These te st s a r e a l so g e are d t o b ro a d e n ou r r a n g e of educ ati on . Ms . Ni x e njoys phys i cal e duca t ion ; it k e ep s h er ac t iv e and h eal th y. Sh e would li ke a l l of us t o be ac t i ve a nd h ealt hY.' , to o . Ke v in Kim Daniel Lew Gi a Ha l ka
,