Noriega Home School

03/09/06 - posted by Lisa

I have very fond memories of my 3 years at Noriega Home School on 44th Avenue. I transferred into Noriega after the school year had begun in the fall of 1967, and Mrs. McKay, my first grade teacher, welcomed me into the class. She was a lovely lady and a wonderful teacher. I had Mrs. Webber for 2nd grade, and remember being terrified of those math sessions at the front of the classroom (sitting on my hands so she wouldn't see me trying to figure out the subtraction problems)! I can't remember now if it was high second or low first, but I had a semester in room 9 in the bungalows with Mrs. Pierce. It was my favorite time at Noriega and I loved the warm feeling of all that wood in the room - it seemed very old-fashioned and warm. I had Mrs. Burns for third grade and remember her telling us how her husband worked on the building of the Golden Gate Bridge. She was a no-nonsense lady and she didn't put up with any naughtiness. Some of my most vivid memories of Noriega Home School were lunches in the cafeteria under the supervision of dear Julia G. Merrill, our principal. She'd sit up there at her desk on the dais in her white knit dress, eating her cottage cheese and fruit while we dined on the cafeteria fare and listened to classical music - quite charming, really. I feel badly that she frequently had to wait for me to finish my lunch -I was such a slow eater. Another fond memory was visiting my brother in his kindergarten class with Miss Cook. I'd slip down the hallway and go into the room to see him during my lunch (on the days I didn't linger in the cafe!). The May Festival was such a treasure - I loved learning and performing the dances, and going to the bazaar afterward. My favorite P.E. activity was kickball (I was actually pretty good at it) and I once slid into home and knocked out a loose tooth on one of the brown benches! I remember playing jacks before school started (and during lunch, too, I guess) and doing tricks on the jungle gym. All the girls wore skirts back then so we had to hold onto them when we did the turns! After school there was a girl who supervised the school yard so we could come back to school and play on the equipment. I remember that she had this rubbery stuff called gymp(?) and I probably still have some piece of a keychain that I never finished tucked away somewhere! Oh, such happy childhood memories. I hope to hear from other kids at heart who walked the halls of Noriega with me.