Ledger Looking Back 25 Years: September 19,m 1996

SEPTEMBER 19, 1996

The Whitehall school district is cruising along the information highway and it is going to be a great ride, Whitehall High teacher Al Anderson predicted Friday. “It’s exciting,” Anderson said. Over the summer, the district installed the hardware and connected the schools to the Internet, clearing the way for almost endless possibilities, he said. Already students in Advanced Placement English are writing papers comparing the Democratic and Republican party platforms using the Internet as the primary information source, Anderson noted.

This year the science classes will be able to view NASA photos from the Hubble telescope, the earth science class will be able to follow weather patterns, the English classes will have vastly expanded resources and the art classes will be able to take “virtual tours” through the masterpieces of the Louvre, he explained. “All of a sudden, we’re a lot bigger than we appear,” he said. The business curriculum has already changed to include an advanced telecommunications class taught by Julie Kieckbusch.

Whitehall High School’s Homecoming is next week, promising to be one of the best. Under the direction of the student body officers, there will be games, class competitions, a bonfire, a parade and much more. Monday is Pajama Day. Every person who wears pajamas will earn points for his or her class. There will also be the Car Stack, the first of the week’s lunch games. . . . Tuesday is Grease Day – not grease, the oil, but “Grease,” the movie. Students will dress up in 1950s styles. . . . Cross Dress Day is on Wednesday, with boys dressing like girls and vice versa.

Thursday is Toga Day. Students will wrap sheets around themselves like a toga.

On Friday, each class builds a float to enter in the parade. Also on Friday, the Senior Parents will sponsor a barbecue from 4:30 to 7 p.m. At the game’s halftime, royalty will be crowned, and the winners of the class competition will be announced.

Trojan Educator of the Week is Tom Jenkin, the H.S. counselor/U.S. history teacher. He was nominated by Mrs. Thronson because of his outstanding leadership at the start of the year. “Time was not an element; he was there to help the kids to get their schedules and feel good about starting their year at WHS.” Thank you, Tom! We all appreciate your extra effort to make WHS the great school that it is!!

Trojan Athlete of the Week is Clinton Paquin, a senior at WHS. He was nominated by football coach Mike Battaiola because he played a strong defensive game with 3 interceptions in Manhattan on Sept. 13. He is the son of Butch and Kathy Paquin.

Trojan Student of the week is Misty Phillips a sophomore at WHS. She was nominated by Al Anderson because she immediately emerged as a student leader in English by helping her classmates. She is the daughter of Fred & Becky Phillips.