regularly by school officials. Girls would be asked to kneel and the hems
had to touch the floor. Punishment for wearing a shorter skirt was having
to wear some embarrassingly ugly skirt kept for such special occasions in
the office.
The early 1970s brought a change in the dress code, allowing girls to
wear long pants. Jeans, however, were not allowed.
All cafeteria food was prepared on site. Food was served on real
plates with real silverware. We had some great gourmet meals and we had
three lunch periods of 30 minutes each, compared to our current two lunch
periods of 40 minutes each.
Home tours were sponsored by our school, featuring fashion shows,
refreshments made and served by our Home Ec. Department and music
provided by our own school orchestra.
The Math Department experienced many changes also over the years with
the so-called transition to 'New Math' in preparation for the computer
age. It lasted about two years.
"Hands On Math" swooped in and we spent hours being creative and
making a multitude of game pieces. Calculators moved in and "drill and
kill" took a back seat for a while.
Crazy hats and clothes and backward days were regular events.
In my off hours, I took kids snow skiing, ice skating and was a
counselor for church camps. We also took students out on our sailboat and
on camp-outs.
I'm totally exhausted reflecting on the past. There is a lot more, but
it's time to retire before my pencil runs out of lead. Oops! I mean,
before my computer printer cartridge runs out of ink.
* Friday will be San Fernando Valley resident Neala Yde Sullivan's
final day with Burbank Unified School District Friday. Reach her via John
Muir Middle School, 1111 N. Kenneth Road, Burbank 91504, or at
nealas@artsci.net
