THE BLACKBIRD
Published by the Journalism Class of Rocky Mount Senior High School
VOL. xxxvm—No. 6
ROCKY MOUNT, N. C.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1967
Drama Students Enjoy
Annual New Y ork Trip
The Edsonian Dramatic Or
ganization of RMSH, under the
direction of Mr. Larry B. Cra
ven, made its annual visit to
Newf York City December 13-17.
The students met at the train
station at 6:15 p. m. Wednes
day, December 15, and depart
ed from Rocky Mount at 6:50 p.
m. All students rode together in
reserved seats on a private
car. Upon their arrival in New
York, they took a private bus
to the Hotel Piccadilly, where
they stayed.
Thursday-Friday
Thursday the group took a
walking tour of Rockefeller
Center, and, due to the Christ
mas season, they were able to
see the famous decorations on
the plaza. Also that morning
they visited the NBC studio for
the taping of a television show.
After lunch the students met and
v/alked to Radio City Music Hall
Students Enlist
In Armed Forces
Tliree RMSH boys are leaving
Senior High to enlist in various'
branches of the U. S. Armed
Forces.
They are Ron Fly of 1010 York
Street, Wayne Daniels of 1306
Branch Street, and Bill Wood
of 1213 South Franklin Street.
Ron has already left for a 4-
month stay at Fort Jackson,
S. C. Wayne is planning to join
the Navy January 1, and Bill
plans to enlist in the Army soon.
to see Walt Disney’s The Hap
piest Millionaire, starring Fred
MacMurray. A walking tour of
Fifth Avenue, including Saint
Patrick’s Cathedral, Saks 5th
Avenue, Tiffany’s, and F. A. 0.
Schwartz was also scheduled for
the afternoon. After dinner the
students saw the Broadway pro
duction of I Do! I Do!, starring
Mary Martin and Robert Pres
ton.
Friday consisted mostly of
an all-day tour of the city, which
included such interesting spots
as Greenwich Vilage, China
town, Lincoln Center, and the
United Nations Building. Fri
day night the group saw Mel
ina Mercouri and Orson Beam
in a performance of Ulya Dari
ing.
Saturday-Sunday
Saturday morning was set
aside for shopping, but during
the afternoon the group was once
more on the go. They were to see
either another theater perfor-
manc or tour the Museum of
Art. Saturday night they were
at the New York City Theatre
to see Brigadoon, starring Bill
Hayes and Linda Bennett.
Sunday morning the students
were able to sleep or to attend
church if they wished. After
lunch they packed and climbed
aboard a bus which carried
them to Pennsylvania Station
where they boarded the train to
Rocky Mount. The next morn
ing, bright and early, all these
students and their director arose
for another exciting Monday at
RMSH.
“Cy-Anta Claus” Highlights
Christmas Assembly Today
The Service Club of RMSH
will present its traditional
Christmas assembly program
today during activity period.
MR. C. M. EDSON reads a
letter to “Cy'anta Claus.”
First on the program will be
“Cy-anta Qaus,” as Mr. C. M.
Edson, former principal of
RMSH, returns to participate
in the annual assembly for the
first time since Christmas, 1964.
He will read several lett^s to
“Cy-anta” written by students
in Miss Murchison’s and Miss
Kitchin’s accelerated English
classes.
Traditional Program
Following a devotional by
Tommy Smith of the Service
Club, Miss Alma Murchison
will narrate one of her tradi
tional Christmas stories. Miss
Murchison has been an im
pressive part of the program
for the past several years.
Mr. Parry and the 3rd Period
Choir will conclude the program,
with a rendition of Mark Law-j
rence’s “The Meaning of Christ-1
mas” and Irving Berlin’s “White
Chirstmas.” This will be the
second time the choir has per
formed in an assembly at Sen
ior High during the Christmas
season, "niey also sang last Fri
day during activity period.
Barbara Buchan of the Service
Club is chairman erf the as
sembly program.
NEW YORK BOUND—Jill Joyner, Belinda
Weede, Kathy Malone and Bill Nichols board
an SCL train to New York with a group of
dramatics students from RMSH with Mr. Lar
ry B. Craven. (Photo by Killeforew)
Clubs Participate In Annual Projects
As Festive Christmas Spirit Is Initiated
The National Honor Society
and the Good Sports Club have
once again sponsored Christ
mas projects.
Gathering at Margaret Win
stead’s house, all the NHS stu-
tions for the tree. These in
cluded popcorn and paper chains,
other ornaments. Lois Watson
was decorations chairman.
The tree could not be over
6 feet tall and all decorations
had to be inflammable. Mary
Jo Sheridan, President of the
National Honor Society, said,
“I appreciate the co-operation
from all the members of the
National Honor Society as we
have worked on this project.
I feel that the work was worth
while if it helped put the stu
dents in the spirit of Christmas.”
The Good Sports Club has
placed a tree in the lobby be
tween the auditorium and the
main office. They also decorated
the windows in that section.
The purpose of sponsoring the
project was to help remind the
students that Christmas, too, is
a time to show school spirit.
Kitty Keel was overall chair-
Senior High Choirs Present
Annual Christmas Concerts
With the arrival of the Christ
mas season in all its glory,
the RMSH Choir, under the di
rection of Mr. Harold Parry,
has been busily performing
throughout the city, doing its
part to help celebrate the sea
son.
Performances
The 47-member 3rd Period
Choir began its performances
Friday, December 8, at R. M.
Wilson Junior High School. On
December 11 they traveled to
the YMCA to entertain the Cur
rent Topics Club in a 6:30 con
cert. They performed at Engle
wood Methodist Church Decem
ber 12 at 7:45 p. m. The Lions
Club enjoyed the Choir Decem
ber 14 at the Heritage.
Friday, December 15, during
activity period, both 2nd and
3rd Period Choirs performed in
an assembly here at Senior
High. There are two choirs:
the regular 3rd Period Choir
and a 50-member 2nd Period
Choir.
On December 18, the 3rd peri
od group sa^ at the Heritage
again, this time for the Rotary
Club. Tarrytown Mall was the
scene of the both groups’ per
formance Dec*ember 19 at 7
p. m. The Choirs conclude their
Christmas contributions with the
traditional RMSH Christmas
assembly today.
Repertoire
The 3rd Period Choir’s re
pertoire includes Neidlinger’s
“Birthday of a King,” a tradi-
tional Chri'tmas favorite, Pi-
toni’s “Cantate Domino,” 3
carols arranged by Norman
Luboff; a French carol, “Whence
Comes This Rush of Wings,”
an Austrian carol, “Still, Still,
Still,” and a Spanish carol, “A
La Nanita Nana,” an arrange
ment of the Bach Gounod “Ave
M^ia” entitled “Holy Mom,”
“Jingle Bells,” Irving Berlin's
“White Christmas” with a solo
by Brian Lamm, and Mark
Lawrence’s “The Meaning of
Christmas.”
The 2nd Period Cl>oir’s reper
toire is smaller because of less
time for practice. They have pre
pared a rendition of “Joy to
the World,” Schirmer’s “The
Gift of Christmas,” and “An
Old Fashioned Christmas,” ar
ranged by Wamick.
man.
The Club was instructed by the
fire department that the tree
could have no lights and could
not be over 7 feeet tall.
Ginny Gregory, President of
the Good Sports Club said, “I
am proud that our club can
take a part in bringing the spirit
of Christmas to Senior High.”
Committee Offers
Office Candidates
For Sophomores
The nominating committee of
the Sophomore class of Rocky
Mount Senior High recently
submitted its slate of candidates
for office for the second semest
er of the 1967-68 school year.
The candidates for president
are Mary Grace Farris and
Kirby Carrington. The candi
dates for vice-president are
Emily Balance and Elmie Mur
ray. Jamie Corinth and Widgie
Kornegay are runninig against
each other for the office of
secretary. Competing for the
office of treasurer are Diane
Lovelace and Roland Valentine.
Petitions were encouraged.
Anyone wishing to, submit a
petition musit have first ob
tained the signatures of 55
sophomores supporting the peti
tioned candidate. All completed
petitions had to be returned to
Miss Kitchin by the end of the
school day, Thursday, Decem-
er 14.
Immediately after school on
Thursday, all candidates and
their campaign managers met
in the (^neral Purpose Room
for additional information.
Tlie candidates gave their
campaign speeches on Monday,
followed by actual votir^ on
Tuesday. Due to the deadline
of the Blackbird, the names of
the successful candidates could
not be included in this issue of
the paper.