I was working on the yearbook the other day, and I was in need of some inspiration for my spread. As always, I turned to past yearbooks. Opening the cabinet where they are stored, I was immediately struck by a shiny gold yearbook on the bottom shelf. Naturally, I picked it up and started flipping through. Seniors section, faculty section, all the normal things were there. But then I noticed the glee club… and the girls field hockey team… and students listing their own nicknames as part of their write-ups. This is weird, I thought.

I flipped back to the cover and realized I had picked up the VHS yearbook from 1960.

This yearbook reflected that 1960 was a very different time, especially for VHS. Classes that were provided then have vanished, along with certain activities and sports that are no longer participated in.

Subjects that used to be taught include mechanical drawing, industrial arts, plane geometry and economics. There was also a specific female teacher to be the dean of girls and a specific male teacher to be the dean of boys, which were disciplinary roles at the school. Now, VHS just has all staff in charge of keeping students in line, while the principal and assistant principal do the punishing. However, the deans only had to control 3 grades. In 1960, the high school consisted of grades 10, 11 and 12 with each grade being a lot larger than the average grade size in 2011.

You may find these things odd, but nothing compares to what the lunch ladies were back then. They were considered the kitchen help, plus cafeteria manager, plus dietician and were given almost a whole page in the yearbook.

Another big difference between then and now is the clubs and activities. Practically all clubs then were run by teachers; whereas now, the club organizations are mostly student-run with teachers acting as supervisors.

Today, we as teenagers are much more independent than they were back then. We are now trusted to be responsible enough to run these clubs. I believe that in some ways this prepares us for the real world where we have to do things on our own.

Not only do teenagers today have independence, we also have integration between boys and girls. In pre Title IX 1960, certain clubs such as Tri-Hi-Y which was girls community service projects, Girls Athletic Association (G.A.A) and Future Teachers of America consisted of all female members. G.A.A was considered a club where girls could play sports amongst themselves; boys had their own actual sports teams. It is obvious that since this time, we value equality between men and women more. In fact, the passage of Title IX made it the law to treat boys and girls equally when it comes to sports.

Three of the clubs that according to this book have now been active for at least 50 years in VHS include the National Honor Society, the school newspaper, The Fairviewer, and the yearbook, Shadows.

In the last 51 years, VHS has had the creation of many new clubs and activities, including DECA, Environmental Club, Heroes and Cool Kids, Peer Leadership, STAR Club, Yoga for Athletes, and VHS Historical Society. Not to mention the addition of the French, Spanish and Mandarin Clubs and the French, Spanish, Mandarin and Math Honor Societies.

In 2011, there is a swim club, while in 1960 it was considered a sport. Also, over the years, more sports have been inserted on to the VHS list of sports inclusive on that list are many girls sports.

Over time, trends have changed for the better, sports and clubs have appeared and disappeared and subjects have transformed. There is no mistaking that it is a new age, but who knows if any of those sports and styles will come back to VHS in the future.