THE BLACKBIRD
Published by the Joarnalism Class of Rocky Mount Senior High School
VOL. XXXVin—No. 1
ROCKY MOUNT, N. C.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1967
Mr. Colombo Challenges Students
In Opening Day Assembly Speech
1 r% I _i_. « «. . -
MR. DAN. V, AVENT
. Assistant Principal . .
MR. VINCENT J. COLOMBO
Principal .
RM Welcomes Mr. Avent
As Assistant Principal
Mr- Daniel Avent has been fishing, golf, and is very mter-
ITYKvl fr\ fill flia J. 1 • - It. ..
named to fill the position of as
sistant principal vacated by
coach Dudley Whitley.
Mr. Avent comes to Senior
High from Northern Nash High
School where he was assistant
principal and also in charge of
transportation. He taught chem
istry, biology, and physical
science. Before teaching at
Northern Nash, he taught at
Bailey High School.
A native of Nash County, Mr.
Avent attended the University
of North Carolina for two years
- iind Wesl‘>yan College tor two
years. He did his practice
teaching at Senior High.
When asked, he said, “I’m
happy to be back here. I have
tlie greatest respect for the
faculty and the administration,
and the students are of the
highest quality I have ever
seen anywhere.”
Besides being assistant prin
cipal, Mr. Avent teaches two
classes of chemistry and one of
practical mathematics. He has
a variety of hobbies—hunting,
ested in the school’s athletic
program.
Mr. Avent’s wife, Barbara is
also a teacher. She teaches
first grade at Williford. He also
has a son, five years old.
Mr. Avent calls himself a
“country boy,” for he owns a
farm near here. He starts his
day by going to the farm and
making sure everything’s in
shape.
Friday, September 1, Rocky
Mount Senior High opened its
doors to 1,048 students with
Principal V. J. Colombo pre
siding.
Fifty-one faculty members
were present, nearly one-fourth
of them new to Senior High.
There were many new faces to
be seen, many new students ~
some of them sophomores,
others newcomers both to
Rocky Mount and to our school.
Bobby Thompson, Vice-Presi
dent of the Student Organiza
tion, opened the program with
the call to order and pledge of
allegiance. Student Organiza
tion President Benjie Smith
then gave his welcoming ad-
follow^ by a prayer by best we know how.
then dismissed
The Principal s message was all students who had previous-
a timely contrast between the ly attended Senior High to their
f I wasted homerooms, asking that all
his wealth and talent and St. sophomores and new students
Francis of Assissi, also a weal
thy young man, but one who
used his resources to the ful
lest. As applied to the students
of Rocky Mount Senior High,
this should have great mean
ing. We can waste our year,
our talents, by refusing to do
our best, or we can be like St.
Francis, using our energies as
remain in the auditorium for
their homeroom assignments.
The regular schedule of clas
ses began at approximately
10:00, with fifteen minute clas
ses until 11:30, when all stu
dents were asked to return to
th^ homerooms for fifteen
minutes. Schdol was then dis
missed at 11:45.
Staff Begins Annual
For Year 1967-’68
The 1967-68 Hi-Noc-Ar annual
staff has been working dili
gently this summer to prepare
for the upcoming annual. The
32 staffers have been selling
advertising to local merchants
to pay for tlie cost of the publi
cation.
Co-editors Doug Bradham
and Margaret Winstead travel
ed to Cambridge. Md., in Au
gust with their advisor. Miss
Alma Murchison, to the Ameri
can Yearbook Company to see
how they could improve their
yearbook. The two editors and
their advisor were accompani
ed by Mr. Joseph Alligood who
is a company representative
from Wilson. During the year
Mr. Alligood will advise the
staff on their layouts and gene
ral appearance of the book.
While at the American Year
book Company, the Hi-Noc-Ar
editors took a tour of the plant
and were given information on
how to improve their yearbook.
The yearbook convention was
held August 28 and 29.
Other officers of the annual
are Tommy Smith, busines^
manager; Barden Robbins, id-
vertising manager; Dianne Joy-
n^, circulation manager; and
Kitty Keel, copy editor.
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
NCEA Schools — District
Meeting, October 20.
NCTA Schools — District
Meeting, October 20.
Thanksgiving — November
23-26, Inclosive.
Christmas Holidays — De
cember 21-January 1, Inclu
sive.
Baser Holidays — April 12-
16, Inclusive.
Mr. I^arry Craven
Is Drama Teacher
At Sr. High School
Among the new members of
tlie Rocky Mount Senior High
School faculty is Mr. L. B.
Craven, the new dramatics
instructor. This year Mr. Cra
ven hopes to have a large group
of students who are talented
and who enjoy acting.
In addition to teaching dra
matics, Mr. Craven enjoys
hunting, fishing, and playing
the organ. He comes from
Dunn, having taught at the
high school there for two and
a half years. Although be is new
to Senior High he is not new
to Rocky Mount. He attended
Fanny Gorham Elementary
School in the secondand third
grades. He was graduated
from East Carolina University
in 1960.
A Reassuring Year Begins
As S.O. Meetings Assemble
When the Student Organiza
tion convenes in a few days,
members will have gained valu
able information from attending
various meetings during the
summer.
Rocky Mount Senior High’s
Student Organization has a
ye^-round job, and its present
officers have been on the job
aU summer to help make this
year an especially good one.
We have been well-represented
this summer. Rocky Mount
^nl three delegates to Mars
Smith. Vice President Bobby
Thompson and Secretary Ken
Thompson. During the third
week of August, a Rocky Mount
group, headed by Karen Colom
bo and Miss Kitchin, and com
posed of half the cheerleading
squad, represented Rocky Mount
Senior High at the School Spirit
Workshop at Broughton in Ra
leigh.
The President's Cabinet has
been chosen but ha.s not yet
been approved. Plans are being
made for the fir.si Cabinet and
Many New Courses Offered
For First Time At RMHS
mi in inaae lor itie lir.si Cabuiet tmd
Hill m mid-July. Accompamed S.O. meetings, probably to take
were S.O. President Benjie I weeks of school.
Milton Fields Family Hosts
Mario E. Obreque Of Chile
*■ .
New courses and new faces
among the faculty of Rocky
Mount Senior High mark the
beginning of the 1967-68 school
year. Twelve new teachers
have joined our staff. In tlie
science department are Mr.
Earl C. Burnett — biology and
chemistry; Mr. Jerry B. Carter
- biology; Mrs. Christine W.
Tripp — biology; and Mr. Dan
V. Avrat — chemistry. Mr.
Avent is also Assistant Princi
pal In the language department
are Mrs. Ann B. Brinson —
Spanish; Mrs. Joyce W. Bass --
English; Mrs. Tedia M.
Grimes, and Mrs. Rachel G,
Smtih, also teaching English.
Mr. Larry B. Craven heads our
dramatics department. In the
social studies department are
Mrs. Ruth Bell, Mr. Shelton J.
Chesson, and Mr. Jim M. Tapp.
A number of courses are be
ing offered at Senior High on
alternating days. Among these
courses are physical education,
notehand, public speaking, Dra
matics I, Journalism I, Read
ing II, personal typing, boys
and girls chorus, and Art I.
Those students having alterna
ting day courses labeled MW
will meet every Monday, Wed
nesday, and Friday for the
first three weeks of every six
weeks period. Those having al
ternating courses labeled TR
will meet every Tuesday and
Thursday and each Friday for
the last three weeks of every
six weeks period.
There are several new cours
es being offered this year at
Senior High. Public speaking
(one-half unit), taught by Mr.
Larry B. Craven, is open to all
students to help them adjust
to everyday speaking condi
tions and to develop a subject
oraUy with skill. This course
will also include some debat
ing. Reading H (one-half unit)
is a course open to juniors and
seniors with emphasis on speed,
comprehension, word analysis,
and development of vocabu
lary. Preparatory office oc
cupations (two units) is a
course open to seniors planning
to enter the field of office oc^
cupations immediately follow'
ing graduation from high
school. This involves part-time
office work. A two period math
course, taught by Mr. Julius
Abernathy, is being offered for
the first time this year. It in
cludes trig, calculus and alge
bra 3, analytical geometry.
Notehand (one-half unit) is for
college-bound seniors who wish
to learn a method of talring
notes rapidly.
Mario E. Obreque-Jara, our
A.F.S. student, arrived August
25 and was met by his Ameri
can family, the Milton Fields,
who reside at 1322 West Tho
mas Street. Lewis Fields, a
senior at ^cky Mount Senior
High, is his American brother.
Mario, who is from Concep
cion, Chile, is beginning a year
long stay in which he hopes to
get a better and more intimate
understanding of American
life.
Mario’s father is assistant
general manager of the Con
cepcion newspaper. His sister
Patricia, seventeen, is in the
United States as an A.F.S stu
dent in Illinois.
Mario said that thirteen sub
jects are required in Chilean
schools, and that students may
not choose their courses.
Among others, he took English,
Spanish, chemistry, biology,
physics, psychology, civics, his
tory, and music. He hopes to
become an architect and plans
to study civil engineering at the
university in Santiago, Chile.
He enjoys sports and plays
right wing on his soccer team.
Soccer is the number one sport
in South America. He is also a
short distance runner on the
track team and plays a little
basketball. .Jazz music and
stamp collecting are his favo
rite hobbies.
have picked anyone better than
Mario to stay with us.”
Commenting on his new
family, Mario said. “I feel like
this is my real home and fami
ly. Mrs. Fields even resembles
my mother.”
1
Mrs. Fields remarked of
Mario: “We like him and have
Jeans over his
1^ country a^ language. If I Chilean “brother”, Mario
had gone to Chile, I could not Obreque.