Our School


     
  
      


                                                                         Photo from Spindrift, 1960 ed.

       

 


                                                    ― Bobby Rydell, 1960
                                Click on the blue panel above to listen
  

As we continue our technological time travel, our cyber-, if you will, and move from life in America and life in its suburbs, in general, when we were growing up, we now drop anchor in port Oceanside and zero in on life in the halls, classrooms and other areas of our own Oceanside High School. 
   

 
                                                                                                                                                                               Photo from Spindrift, 1962 ed.
  
A typical class in session.                                                           Photo from Spindrift, 1959 ed.
How many classmates can you name?

  

Our library when it first opened in the 1955-'56 school year                                                                                         Photo from Spindrift, 1956 ed.
Can you still see that prissy little Miss Morrissey behind the desk?
   

Our auditorium during the first school year (1955-'56) in the then brand new building                                            Photo from Spindrift, 1956 ed.
  

                               Cover of our school's dedication ceremony program booklet, September 21, 1955.
    
Notice the artful detail above the entrance,  three relief sculptures of a lamp set upon a book, each an ancient symbol of learning that also appears in our school seal, immediately below. Only two of these sculptures now survive and are relegated to a closed courtyard.
    
                           Click here for more from the dedication ceremony program booklet.
  

 Page from the Oceanside High School Sailor's Handbook*  (larger than actual size)
 ______________

* 

 Issued to students upon entering high school as sophomores, updated annually, as necessary, and "provided by your Board of Education in order that you may have readily available information which will be of service in planning your high school career more successfully."  Pretty lofty claims for a rule book full of "thou shalt nots." (I guess that's OK if "more successfully" means "without detention.")
  

Below, your 1960 Sailors Association Inc. proudly presents the original floor plan of our school (also from our school's September 1955 dedication ceremony program booklet and reproduced in our Sailor's Handbook), as it was during our high school years. Looks smaller than it seemed at the time, doesn't it? (It remained that way only until 1963, when its first expansion construction occurred, and its stately front entrance with the lamps of learning was forever obscured.)

 


 


                                                                                                                                                                                                 Photo from Spindrift, 1962 ed.
  

                         Original design of our school grounds with athletic fields (Source: dedication ceremony program booklet, September 21, 1955)
  

Click here for more cool stuff from the Sailor's Handbook.
  

      
Do you remember what time our school days were over every day, when the last bell rang, and "you finally lay your burden down"?

It was 2:36 p.m.  

In fact, here is the schedule for our entire school day, according to the 1959-1960 edition of our Sailor's Handbook:

1st Period .............. 8:15

2nd Period ............. 9:03

3rd Period .............. 9:51

4th Period ............ 10:39

5th Period ...... 11:27 am

6th Period ............ 12:15

7th Period .............. 1:03

8th Period .............. 1:51

 -

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

 9:00 am

9:48 am

10:-36 am

11:24 am

12:12 pm

1:00 pm

1:48 pm

2:36 pm

  

So besides studying "American history and practical math" and otherwise getting a first-rate formal education, what went on from 1957 to 1960 in those classrooms and hallowed halls (while we were racing around to get from one class to the next in only three minutes)?

High school was for us, as it is for all kids, much more than just an education. In fact, the education can almost be viewed as secondary. It was a daily social event of incredible importance. No matter what else we did outside of school, for those years, it was, in fact, the epicenter of our young lives.
  

On the pages linked below, you can revisit the rich array of sports, theater arts, music and other extracurricular program activities that we availed ourselves of, programs that taught us teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship, community service and a host of practical skills to prepare us for the real world, and that filled our school days and kept us off the streets of our little town, and of the others nearby that were just like it. And if that wasn’t enough, we had sororities, fraternities and what were called "social" or "social and athletic" clubs to strengthen our bonds of friendship for our lifetimes ― and many of us also held jobs after school.
  

                                      Posted on an OHS online alumni  message board on the worldwide
                                       web on August 31, 1999, by a near contemporary of ours from the
                                    class of  1961 of another, unidentified, New York State high school

  

To proceed with your , and continue to rock, roll, read and reminisce, click on any or all of the following:
   

  
     
  


    
The following additional sites are also recommended for your enjoyment.  And once again, when you are done surfing, be sure to come back to our class site for more cool  stuff.
 
     And don't forget to come back on 		.
board the "Spirit of '60" to finish your

 

 
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