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PITCH
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VOL. 12, ~O. 9
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WALTER JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL
Ten WJ art students win Gold Key awards
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Gold Key winners Alan Murray, Mary Schmidt, Emily Kaufman, Judy Jenkins, and Louise Stone show their 'Midas' touch.
Ten WJ students received awards in National Scholastic Magazine's annual art show, The Hecht Company sponsors the show which is conducted by the magazine for junior and senior high school students. Emily Kaufman, Louise Stone (both winners last year), Alan Mu ray and Ma y Schm·at had wiO:in/portfolio:, Lorr~neOlson Judith Jenkins D bbie McFar'land Mar'lyn Po' t·e Nan y ' i n ius' C stup, and Phillip Wolcott were Gold Key winners. Several other students received certificates of merit. Students from more thah 200 schools in the Washington area entered 2,000 pieces from which 400 were selected for the exhibit. Gold Key finalists• works are submitted to the national competition in New York. There winners are granted art scholarship.s of various sizes. WJ has been more successful
Senior class signs Drifters; prom location still tentative "Yes, the Drifters have been signed,'' confirmed Mrs. Joan Schwartz, Senior Class sponsor. "And we•re waiting to receive the contract from the Spades and Rainoows." WJ's twelfth annual Senior Prom will be held on June 14, but arrangements for its loca-
March 1, 1968
in the Gold Key awards in past from Montgomery Junior College years than this year, Teachers to do the prejudging. The judg~ sent as many pieces as they felt were in no way affiliated with were "outstanding pieces of the County or the Hecht Company art." A series of directives or the National Scholastic Exfrom the Board of Education's hibition, The Art Department which preSupervisors of A rt led to confusion concerning the number of viously had about 20 had only 10. Mrs. Dottie Johansson, art entries to which a school was teacher, commented, ''The li.mit~. In addi~ion, the Board'.s teachers involved with the studirectives mentioned the possi- dents would perhaps have been a bility of the prejudging of the better jude-e." t i h. 1 . .1 f en r es, w i e a s1mi a~ no ice The action in Rockville of prefrom th: HechtCo_mp~nymcluded judging the works was in direct no mention of preJudgmg. contrast to the rules governing In Rockville, the Supervisors school participation in contests of Art had been asked by the conducted by outside agencies. Hecht Company to limit the num- ''The screening and selection of ber of entries. Rather than have winning entries must be the total the teachers judge which of their responsibility of the sponsor of works to send, two men came the contest."
WJ announces twenty finalists
Twenty students from WJ have National Merit Scholars. The become Finalists in the National list of those receiving a scholarMerit Scholarship Program. ship will be made public on May They will now begin competition 2. for the National Merit $1,000 The National Merit Scholarship Scholarshir, Qualifyin~ Test is desimed to T:-.e 20 1 inalists from ·w J are te::,t a1>11,ty ,, • dfiI,lY xnow1eoge tion are still tentative. lt 1s of May, Students will be notified Donald Alexander James rather than ability to recall hoped that the ballroom at the of the exact date later in the Beeghly, Cynthia Friedman, memorized information. It Statler Hilton Hotel can be se- year. Debbe Jacobs, Mike Krueger, covers the following areas: Engcured, This room would be According to .Stan Rosenberg, Madelyn Ladner Nancy Lewal- lish Usage, Mathematics Usage, larger than that of last year and Senior Class president, ''The Ien, Elizabeth McHahon, David Social Studies Reading, Natural it has just been redone, total cost for the affair shouldn't Merrill, Maureen Moore, Patri- Sciences Reading, and Word UsThe tickets may cost about exceed $4,200," Mrs. Schwartz cia Myskowski, James Olivier, age, $10, the same as last year, and added that hopefully the profits Ray Parks, Eric Peterson, Don Each state selects its Semiwill go on sale in the latter part from the Senior Variety Show Rothberg, Judy Silberstein, Bar- Finalists, Finalists, and Schowill cover some of the expense, bara Slavin, Susan Thomas, Iars. This year there were 70 This will help lower the price George Tomlin, and Tom Tyler, Semi-Finalists in Maryland, The of the prom, There is also Even though there were only lowest qualifying score was 147, hope for another fund-raising 19 Semi-Finalists, two students the second highest in the country, activity to replace the Donkey transferred to WJ after the anNational Merit Scholars are Basketball Game, which was can- nouncement was made: Maureen chosen from the Finalists by the celled because of the teacher Moore and Eric Peterson, Nancy Selection Committee. The Finalfessors on Columbia's staff. strike. . Ickler has left WJ to bring the ists who receivetheScholarships . Nancy Hart ' .prom chairman ' numb er of F.m a1·ists to 20• · Each is given one of four ratings: are Judged on past accomplis hsecured the Drifters through an . . Th Medalist first class, second . N y: k "W t Students who become Finalists ments and future potentia1. ey • . agency m ew or , e wro e f both class or third class. t th ki f ·n1 t· are selected from the group of are eva1uated on scores o o em as ng or i orma ion s h l t· The purpose of the convention d th ' t . Semi- Finalists. usually over the NMSQT and the c o as 1c an ey were very promp m . . 1 nk was explained by Mrs. Hochen, t . t W ked 97% oftheSemi- Finalistsachieve Aptitude Test, c ass ra , re urnmg our reques • eas . t d d t "(It) is to learn new techniques . . Finalist standing This year courses. comp1e e , gra es, au ofor the contract signed it and • . . b th 1 for the newspaper, yearbook,and t ·t b k ,, N, '. ed there are 14,000 Finalists m the iography, and e counse or or sen 1 ac ancy exp1am , . t literary magazine." . .... .... . .. . .. . .. ... ' ..... country, and 2,900 will become principal's stat1:m~A..5.:...~, "· ......... __,_-•.•.· •.•-..-· ..-....... .-.-.:·····-............... _.. •..-·• ·····•. ·.·.........••••••••••••••••••·• ··-•.•.•-·.·.•.•.•'-----.--•·•.,•--.··.--.. ... · · ... ,............._._._•••.•·'··-----;·;·.............. :.............. :·.-.:.....:·.-.--·-.-..............................:..-..-.- ·' .......· :.-·· ............, . _:........, •... ··....•·•.•···········•···•❖•.....•.....·······•·w· .•.. · .•..•. ;_\ {ii ::=::~ ·.·;.,
Students to attend New York convention "Those seminars sound really• . trip . will . round off great This • . . • what I have learned in JQurnal1sm and will be especially helpful . if I make Pitch staff next year," commented an enthused Junior . t .• journalis Forty-two WJ students along with over 5,000 representatives from other high schools throughout the United States will attend the forty-fourth annual Columbia Scholastic Press Association Convention in New York. The convention will be held at Columbia University from March 14 to 16. Members of the Pitch, Spectator, and yearbook staffs, and the Junior journalism class will leave from WJ by chartered bus, Wednesday, March 13. They will be chaperoned by their respective advisors: Mrs. Ellyn Hochen, Pitch; Miss SusanSullivan,Spectater; and Mr. John Bledsoe, Windup. Meetings and discussions will be held on March 14 and 1~. Two of these discussions will be led by Nancy Nelson, Pitch editor, and Patty Burke, associate editor of Windup. Coneluding the convention will be a banquet at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. E a ch school submits every issue of its paper to the Press Association to be judged by pro-
Dr. Reddicl{_ views strike
"The old regime has left and new leadership has taken over" said Dr. Donald H. Reddick in his speech during a PTA meeting on Tuesday, February 20. Dr. Reddick spoke for over 30 minutes, without notes. "l have something to say" he began, as he emotionally discussed the recent Montgomery County teachers' strike. Reemphasized the problem of communication and the events leading up to the strike. He said that presently, "there are satisfying moments... as teachers." •1 have fr u strati on s and teachers havefrustrations,"continued Dr. Reddick, but •we are not going to play games" anymore. "We have a fine board of education, a good superintendent, •• community ...and teachers.• Last year Dr. Reddick in-
directly predicted a strike although he claims that he wasn't talking about Montgomery County. However, his statement of only 12 months ago that in 18 months "the parents will say 'why aren't the teachers in school?'" seems very appropriate today. Lack of communication due to the absence of "professional negotiations" was one of the major causes of the strike according to Dr. Reddick. "We did not have them (professional negotiations) and we do not have them (today)." The goals of the strike, according to Dr. Reddick were: I) recognition of a professional association,2) a procedure for teachers to be involved in "levels leading up to meaningful decision - making" , and 3) a provision for •peaceflll settlement." The MCEA is "responsible for
~tting recognized , • s a 1d Dr. Reddick. Presently they are trying to get a professional negotiation bill passed ttt Annapolis. The strike itself was about salaries only *in part." There were many reasons, but most important "those who walked the (picket) line...wanted to accomplish something." Dr. Reddick emphasized the point that the teachers who marched were not "militant " teachers; *all teachers marched. Those teachers that walked the line weren't marching for their own salary.•• they were for the beginning teacher." Dr. Reddick also spoke about the particular problems at WJ Last affecting the teachers. November, emphasized Dr. Reddick, •a magician with a slide rule" predicted that WJ wottld need six less teachers this ye:;
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However, wJ only had 45 less students, and a faculty shortage resulted. Classes became overcrowded and some teachers lost their planning periods. The "numbers game• and "salary inequities• particularly upset Dr. Reddick. He said that if he had remained an assistant principal, his present salary would be $241 more than he earns as principal at WJ. Concerning his position in tht strike, Dr. Reddick said "I make no apologies for what I did." He mentioned a statement by assistant superintendent Gordon Anderson, saying that you can't be a principal and a member of a profession. Anderson said that a man with one head can't wear two hats. Dr. Reddick loudly proclaimed, "if I can't wear two hats in Montgomery County, I will wear none."