The brownness of her eyes
glimmers and she rolls them to
one side as if straining to
remember an event of her past.
It is a past which is full of
accomplishments and involve
ment; more than is common to
the average man, and more than
is imagined by any of her
students who see her merely as
an instructor. Miss Kate Parks
Kitchin often smiles and
reminisces her childhood in
Scotland Neck. She recalls early
friends and feelings saying, “As
a child 1 grew up wanting to
teach.” She goes on to tell how
she and friends played school
with their dolls.
This little girl’s dream
Kitchin Completes 40 Years
became a reality. After attend
ing St. Mary’s and UNC-Chapel
Hill, Miss Kitchin began the
career which by tradition she
would end this year. However,
the School Board has invited her
to remain at Senior High for at
least part of next year.
Miss Kitchin chose the high
school level because she says
the students are “stimulating
and interesting.” In the forty
years she has been teaching in
Rocky Mount, she cites the wide
range of experiences young
people are now exposed to as
the greatest change. A shift of
eyes and position accompanies a
more serious tone, and Miss
Kitchin speaks of the student
government as the most
important facet of student life.
Seriousness fades into ani
mosity, and a bit boastfully Miss
Kitchin declares, “In thirty-six
years I’ve missed only four
school dances.” She has also
attended countless student
council workshops and conven
tions as an advisor and
chaperone.
Although teaching has claim
ed most of her time Miss
Kitchin is by no means a recluse
or a bookworm. Glancing
outside at the rain and the
dogwoods on campus, she says,
“I like to dig in the dirt,” and
amusingly adds, “I plant things
and they don’t grow.” She also
plays bridge, reads, walks, and
listens to music. “If I could have
chosen a talent, I would have
liked to have been able to sing
and play well,” she admits. Her
love for music is reflected in her
work with the North Carolina
Symphony and the Friends of
the College.
Like everyone, sometimes
this woman of steel heats to the
melting point. “When I get
really «ingry, I make a cake from
scratch,” she declares, joking
about taking her wrath out on
sugar and butter. Again a shift
of the eyes and a sober voice
says, “A man without a temper
isn’t worth a thing, but a man
who cannot control his temper is
worth less than nothing.”
As a single ray of light bursts
through the rainy sky and
pauses on her face, Miss
Kitchin modestly jokes, “You
see. I’m really a dull sort of
person.” Perhaps in her own
eyes she is, but then, she can’t
see the sparkle from the inside
out.
^.lOtUT/0^
Vol. 2, No. 9
GRYPHON
Rocky Mount Senior High Rocky Mount, N.C. 27801
June 1, 1976
Students Elected To Office
Elections of fall semester
officers for the school year 1976
were held May 19 and 21.
The Class of ’77 have chosen
Dee Rich as their president. A
member of the President’s
Cabinet, Dee is also a baseball
player and will be a delegate to
Boy’s State this summer. As of
press time, a runoff between
NHS INDUCTS NEW MEM
BERS: The following students
were recently tapped into the
National Honor Society: Jeff
Kearns, Deborah Umphlet,
Wendy Goff, Linda Mor
gan, John Jordan, Teresa
Barnes, Patricia Scarboro,
Debbie Gay, Beth Carrico, Sus-
san Fountain, Cindy Hartman,
Mary Sue Cummings, Melanie
Morgan, Sherri Bynum, Bettie
Whitaker, Amy Rodwell, Wade
Mayberry, Denise Butler, Mar-
tha Cash, Danny Claytor, Dee
Rich, Natasha Matkin, Paul Sas
ser, Mary Dresser, Jennifer
Spann, Debbie Sellars,
Nan Reese, Laura Hardy, Amy
Fisher, Olin , Wilson, Walt
White, Stephen Barnes,
Martha Harris, Johanna Lan
caster, Danny McDonald, Paul
Mayberry, and Kenneth Edge-
ton. (Photo by Woodley)
Denise Ward and Joseph
Williams for the office of vice
president had not been held.
Janet Winstead, homeroom vice
president, was elected secretary
of the rising senior class. A
member of the Phalanx Club
and homeroom treasurer, Chris
Dell was chosen treasurer for
the coming fall. SAC represen
tative from the senior class will
be Drake Mann and Veronica
Yates.
The rising junior class elected
Oie Osterkamp as their presi
dent. Very active in his church,
Oie was also homeroom
president first semester of this
year. Mae Jackson, first
semester vice president of the
sophomore class, was elected
vice president for this coming
fall. The Class of ’78 chose
Martha Brinn as their secretary.
A member of the band, she is
also in the Phalanx Club and the
School Spirit Committee. A
former student council repre
sentative, Celia Horne was
chosen treasurer of her class.
Charlotte Ward and Karen
Dudley were elected white/
black SAC representatives to
the superintendant’s office.
HI-NOC-AR DEDICATED TO MISS KITCHEN — Miss
Kitchin expresses graditude to the Hi-Noc-Ar Staff and
student body for dedicating the 1976 Hi-Noc-Ar to her.
(Photo by S. Woodley)
AFS To Send Elisa
Elisa Maria Gonzales Rojas,
16, (Elisa Gonzales) will be the
AFS Foreign Exchange student
for the 76-77 school year.
Elisa is from Naranjo, Costa
Rica, a city of 20,000. She has in
her family: her parents and
seven brothers and sisters with
ages from 19 to five years. She
will live with the family of Mr.
and Mrs. Robert W. Cobb here
in Rocky Mount. Two members
of the family attend Rocky
Mount Senior High, Suzanne, a
rising senior, and Travis, a
rising junior.
Elisa describes herself as a
very happy person. In her
personal statement, she says
that her biggest objective is to
“bring together the friendship
of all the countries in the
world.”
AFS STUDENT SELECTED for
next year — Elisa Gonzales, will
be next year’s exchange student
at RMSH.