I went to this school in the late 80's. Back then, the principal was John Mancuso. The Athletic…read moreDirector was Al Stuhlmiller.
I have pretty much fond memories of this school. Mr. Mancuso was very caring. He wanted our class to produce the most Regents Scholarship winners ever before he retired, and we did. I also had a good relationship with most of my teachers and learned much from them.
They just had started offering AP exams when I entered, starting with AP Computer Science I believe. They shortly thereafter expanded to AP English, AP Calculus AB, and AP Chemistry. Computers for word processing were not really a thing, at least not for me until I went to college. Typing was still taught in the high school by Paul Olkowski. If you wanted to be fancy, you typed up your report or paper, but most people hand wrote them in cursive. Teachers still used a mimeograph to mass produce handouts and tests (they wrote up or typed up a master copy in special ink, and placed it the mimeograph, which spun around and around to reproduce copies). The office had a copier, but they weren't used for teachers since copies were expensive.
They had not built the newer wing in the northwest corner of the school during my time there or had the parking/drop-off lane on the west side of the school. Most students there today probably don't realize they are new.
They also added an extra class period, by shortening the other periods from 45 to 40 minutes, I think it was, in my sophomore year, to allow for students to meet the new, more rigorous, state requirements.
Backpacks were not used like they are today. They were so light for us that the style back then was to drape them over one shoulder, like a purse, but on your back. I usually got most of my homework done at school: during lunch, study hall, or in class after I finished my work early. I usually had just a notebook or two and maybe a book to take home to study.
We also still used lockers, which were a social hangout back in the day. When went to them between classes to exchange books, unless your classes were farther away, in which case you got books for both classes at your locker in advance.
A bad event that happened was in 11th grade physics lab with Arthur Clever, when my scientific calculator disappeared (i.e., was stolen). I didn't realize it until the next day and I was bummed. But we were not allowed to use calculators for the most part, even for final exams and calculus class, except in physics lab.
John Sliwa, a now recently-retired and beloved teacher, was in his first year year out of SUNY Fredonia when I took his Regents Course I Mathematics (basically algebra and some basic logic, geometry, and probability) class in 9th grade. He was a long time softball coach there too.
Anybody also used to be able to enter (or leave) throughout the day at the many entrances they had, without checking in at the office. Even a student who had graduated the previous year just walked in and hung out in the halls, waiting for a period to end to see the students. We were also allowed to leave and do whatever during our lunch period. I remember a me and a few of my friends drove three miles to Fredonia to Burger King at Routes 60 and 20 for lunch.
Drivers ed was taught in the school, and most everybody who had turned 15 signed up for lessons in the evening. Most got their permit at 15 and full driver's licenses at 16 in their junior year. The student parking lot was full much of the time. The DMV was right by the high school on W. Lucas Avenue, near Central Avenue.
If you were eligible for a free lunch (most weren't), you got embarrassed each year when your homeroom teacher asked for a show of hands of those who needed an application for free lunches. There was no school breakfast program back then.
Our baseball team was fabulous, winning the state championship for Class B in 1988, and then finishing in second place the following year. The part of Woodrow Avenue next to the high school was renamed Marauder Drive in honor of the feat in 1988. They also put in a small electronic scoreboard at the varsity baseball field by the tennis courts in my years as a student there. Now there are fences and dugouts.
When I got to college and beyond, I realized this wasn't a great school academically and many of my peers had received better educations and were more challenged. That is the only reason I am lowering the rating to four stars. Dunkirk is a lower-income, working class city though, so you can't expect much. The schools and library in neighboring Fredonia were better since many of the faculty and staff at the college lived there.
