Introduction

Rocco Laurie Intermediate School is located on Staten Island, NY. It is basically known as "IS 72" (Intermediate School 72 - the numbering of schools in NYC). That's the school mascot to the left.

I'm a graduate of the school. Over the next few posts, I'm going to dedicate some tributes to the people and places of this school. This is a school where I spent 3 years (6th to 8th grade). For nearly a whole day, you basically spent traveling from classroom to classroom with the same students, doing the same assignments, taking the same tests, and of course the same teachers.

I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane - whether you are faculty, student, or just visiting.




Rocco Laurie opened in 1976. It was an Intermediate School in Staten Island, NY set up to address the growing community of the Heartland Village neighborhood on Staten Island. Stanley Katzman was the first principal. Many of us referred to Mr. Katzman as "Stan 'The Man' Katz-Man". Stan wasn't a bad principal. Most of my memories of him were sitting in an office. When we first entered 6th grade, he addressed the new students and tried to have a "get tough" attitude by saying "You will be setup with a whole new set of rules and regulations". Stan was also a marathon runner and competed in the NY marathon several times - and was successful at completing it.

According to TV.com, Stan appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in 1982. I don't remember this, but it is listed.

Stan delegated much authority to his 4 Assistant Principals (APs). Each AP was assigned to a graduating class. You had Larry Ambrosino (Class of 79), Paul Goar (Class of 80), and Barbara Glassman (Class of 81). When your class graduated, you went back and took the next graduating class. I know Ambrosino would eventually be placed by Patrick Timpone. My class had Barbara Glassman. Barb would eventually become the principal (I believe succeeding Katzman).

Discipline was handled by Ray Guerrero -a.k.a. "Dean Guerrero" or "The Dean". I believe Ray was a former cop (I might be wrong). When you looked at Ray, he had a sense of power and authority. I never had to come up against him, but I know it wasn't a pleasant experience when you did.

In addition, everyone was assigned to a homeroom based on what Foreign Language you took. There were several Spanish homerooms. I took Italian, so there was only one homerooom for that.


The Fight Song

There was a fight song at IS 72. You sing along with it to the Notre Dame fight song. Some background, IS 72 became "Rocco Laurie Intermediate School" as a tribute to a slain New York police office, Rocco Laurie. The song would go as follows:

His name was Rocco Laurie
We're proud to bear his name
He fought for us in glory
Brought honor and acclaim

(I forget the rest...)

The Teachers

I think it's time to discuss some of the teachers during the time there.

First there was Mr. Shapiro. He taught Social Studies. He was one heck of a teacher. To this day, his social studies classes are in my mind. One thing he did really well is link the Fall of Rome with the beginnings of American History (linking the Fall of Rome with Barbarians, Dark Ages, The Crusades, Renaissance, Desire to Find Route to India...). His tests were not tests - they were examinations. They were tough, but fair. He might have been the teacher that best prepared me for.

Then there was Mrs. Swieg. She had on the bulletin board outside her classroom. "A Long Long Time Ago, Language Arts was born". Mrs Swieg said the first day of class, "I want to make Language Arts Fun"... and she did. She taught 6th grade English and then Journalism in 7th and 8th grade. She was quite a jolly elf - and a little on the chubby side. Sometimes we got way too wild in class - and she let us get away with it. She was incredibly nice - and even took the time to have a 9th grade get together after we graduated.

Then there was Mr. Rintel - a Science Teacher. He was not the most interesting dude, yet he carried a Playboy Bunny mug for his coffee or water. I always wondered about that....

One teacher to remember has to be Mr. O'Donnell. He was a Math teacher. He was a bit cocky - as he had a goatee. Sometimes I wondered how much he really wanted to be there. When he used to write what the lesson "Aim" was on the board, he used some artwork to denote the Aim. He used to say "BCOD - Behave and Cooperate with O'Donnell". He told some jokes and it made it funny.

Mr. O'Donnell used to hang around Ms.Perniola. She was probably the hottest teacher at the school, but she dressed a little frumpy at times. She taught Italian. My only thing I'll say on that is - in the words of the immortal Chachi Arcola, "Wha wha wha".

Lets not forget Mr. Levinsky. He was also a Math teacher. This guy was extremely cocky, but he was a very good teacher, so you can't fault him.

Ah, Ms. Zalantis.....English. She had a mole on her face - that's about all I remember.

Mr. Waters was the gym teacher. He was a short, stocky guy. He took gym seriously. My favorite line is one day to fire us guys up in gym, he told us to imagine Victoria "Ga Ga" Principal in a bathing suit. To this day, I still imagine that when I need firing up.

Mr. Nelson - He was an awesome 7th grade social studies teacher. Not the serious teacher that Mr. Shapiro ran. He also ran marathons like principal "Stan the Man" Katzman did. I remember one year Mr. Nelson finished the NYC Marathon and another year he hit the wall.

Mr. Levinsky - he was a cocky son of a gun, but he also was one heck of a teacher. What I liked about him is he wasn't all talk. A tough, but fair teacher - he also had a sense of humor. He was my 8th grade homeroom teacher. I remember late in the year in 7th grade he strutted (as he often did) into our homeroom and we asked him what he was doing there. He announced he was going to be our 8th grade homeroom teacher. What I liked about that was that he was honest and didn't keep the "big secret" on who you would have for homeroom next year.

Mr. Koehler - Science Teacher. He taught us about endocrinology! Good stuff!

Mr Staowitz - Science Teacher. All I have to say about him is - not one of my favories.

The Students

One thing I find amazing. For 3 years (in Intermediate School), you spend a good chunk of your day with the same people - namely the students. After you leave school, most likely you all will NEVER be in the same room again. During that time, you pick up lots of things about those people. My recap of the teachers helped me remember those things about the teachers. Now it's time for the students.

*** NOTE: All names are fictitious and will only contain first names.

1.Adam- better known as "Fred Flintstone". He was a bit chubby, but also a dead-ringer for the man from Bedrock. Adam also had a reputation for calling everyone around him a "Fruit Cake" (probably because he liked to eat it as well).

2.Brett- He was Adam's best buddy. This guy thought he was a tough guy, but that was probably because he wore Clark Kent glasses. We used to call him "Super Bret".

3-Cheryl - She was a hottie back in 6th grade and from what I've heard, she still is a hottie. She was a brunette back then, but now is a blond.

4-Danny - He was short. I remember he, liked the Kinks.

5-Eric - He was a fan of the Police and had a great painted denim jacket with the "Zenyatta Mondata" album cover. He was often at odds with Adam.

6-Fabio. Somehow Fabio got the nickname "Nixon". There was no rhyme or reason why he was connected with Richard Nixon - but he was. In fact in the 8th grade our school had a "mock" election for President, "Nixon" got more votes than Reagan, Carter or Anderson combined in our class. We were all saddened to learn that "Nixon"'s votes didn't register with the "powers to me" with Rocco Laurie. However, we will all remember our "electors" were firmly behind Mr Nixon or our buddy Fabio.

Another interesting story about Fabio. Fabio went to school one day in 7th grade wearing a belt that read "Disco". This was the period of the Disco backlash. Poor Fabio was picked on for this! The next day he suddenly abandoned his love for Disco and was a "Rock" fan - Denim Jacket and Safety Pins to boot! I wonder what ever happened to that belt Fabio had?

Fabio was a legend in his own mind, but clearly someone who deserves to be in the Rocco Laurie Chronicles.

7-Gary. His last name rhymed with a popular scouring pad used to clean pots. This guy basically had a personality that matched that abrasive pad. His claim to fame was walking around telling everyone (including me, but not just me), "Your Mother". Real cool, Gary - hopefully you made a something of your life. However, I highly doubt it.

8-Helen and Hunter - they were our yearbook editors. Ah yes - I think the word to sum them up was "pretty". They did a great job on the yearbook and they were a complete blast to hang with!

9-Johnny - This was a short guy who was another idiot. He wasn't in the track of classes like the rest of us, but we all knew him. The guy was - short. However he actually had musical talent. He was even in a band that sang songs like AC/DC. As much as this guy was a jerk, I have to give him credit for his musical talent - the guy could sing.

10- Kyle : His last name is the same as a famous female singer. He had an ugly hairdo, but he seemed like a good guy. I found out later he went to High School with Native New Yorker.

11-Luke: Great guy. Always wanted to be a dentist....I believe he did so - and more!

12-Marcus: Got busted once because there was some sort of poem in English class saying that "Marcus Wants a Doll". However he took it like a true champion. I believe he also was pretty successful.

13/14-Ned and Opie: They are grouped together. They hung out together and a lot of folks tagged them as "Gay". However, I really think they were just prototype Metrosexuals. Ned was not the nicest guy, but his buddy seemed pretty good.

15-Pete: He was your classic Star Trek geek. While he was a geeky and goofy guy, he still was a decent guy. He lived up the block from me when I was in grammar school. I moved and was reunited with him years later.

16-Quincy: Poor Quincy. Everyone picked on him. Quincy lived around the corner from Pete and I. He could best be described as a "Jolly Old Elf". Again a decent guy despite the fact we called him "The Water Rat".

17/18-Ray and Steve: Twins. Identical ones. I think for 3 years I was never able to tell these guys apart.

19-Tommy: He was in journalism class with me. From what I heard (I haven't seen him since graduation), he is doing very well. He is a successful political reporter and also writes his own Professional Wrestling newsletter. Back in School he never combed his hair. He also was a Mets fan. I was in his fifth grade class.

20-Ulysses: Tommy's best buddy. Don't know what happened to him. In High School he worked with a buddy of mine at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor. I was also in his fifth grade class.

Above, we have reviewed the people and stories that made up "Rocco Laurie Intermediate School" from 1978-1981. There very well may be more to share, and I will perhaps do that. I've also placed all of them on this site.

As one can read from the posts, life wasn't all cherries during these three years. It wasn't all bad, but it wasn't all great. Unfortunately, I feel the biggest disappointment of these four years was the racism and prejudice that occurred for these three years. Sure I'm a white male of Italian heritage. However when one is picked on because he is Jewish, or Irish, or Hispanic - that is wrong. That is just completely wrong. I still have a disgust in my mouth for many of the people I list in these chronicles - a few of them ruined it for everyone else. Their parents - they obviously couldn't have been any better. The apple doesn't fall from the tree. The administration and teachers - they needed to be held accountable for allowing such a thing to go on. They just weren't. Now all we can do is learn from mistakes.

Living in in my town, I am so relieved that I don't he.ar my children having to hear what I heard.

There were good times at Rocco Laurie and I hope these chronicles showed that side too. I'm still friends with some of them - and I think they share my feelings.