Teacher Throwback: Mr. Baptist and Mrs. Greenbaum reminisce
Walking through the halls of Moreau Catholic as a student is one thing, but coming back years later to actually teach here has to be a crazy experience. I recently got the chance to sit down with two of our very own teachers who used to walk these same hallways back in the day: Mrs. Greenbaum, who graduated in 2008, and Mr. Baptist, who graduated in 1985. Talking to them was like opening a time capsule, and hearing how much our school has changed and how much it’s stayed the same is fascinating.
If you think Moreau looks different now, try imagining it with half the campus. Back when Mrs. Greenbaum was a senior, the library was just being built, the track was made of dirt, and the spot where the Capurro Plaza is today was just a random curb and a bush behind the gym where she and her friends would hide out to eat lunch.
Rewind another two decades to Mr. Baptist’s time, and the campus was almost unrecognizable. The Student Center did not even exist yet; it was just a giant parking lot where they parked the school buses. Even the current art rooms were the cafeteria back then. Plus, Mr. Baptist admitted that in his entire four years here, he never set foot on the third floor once.
The student vibes and dress codes were completely different back then, too. Mrs. Greenbaum basically lived in a uniform of cotton twill khakis, Converse high-tops, a cross-country hoodie, and whatever color polo shirt she wanted. Her high school soundtrack was full of 2000s R&B like Beyoncé and Mariah Carey, though her cross-country team always blasted E-40 to hype themselves up before meets.
Mr. Baptist’s era was way more intense with the rules. The girls had to wear gray herringbone skirts with collared shirts, plus leg warmers, which were apparently the ultimate ’80s flex, while the guys could not wear jeans or sneakers at all. Detentions were super strict back then with zero excuses, but the music made up for it. They were listening to what we call classic music now, like Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and early rap, along with Bay Area favorites like Huey Lewis and the News.
Spirit Week was also on a whole other level in the ’80s. While Mrs. Greenbaum remembered a pretty chill high school experience with Sadie Hawkins dances, Mr. Baptist shared a story about a senior prank that sounds like something straight out of a movie. During Spirit Week in 1985, a group of seniors drove to a local dairy drive-through in Newark, unbolted a massive six-foot ceramic cow off a 30-foot sign in the middle of the night, hauled it to school, and somehow managed to hoist it onto the roof of the gym. The Dean of Students had to call the police, but even he had to admit it was the greatest prank he’d ever seen.
What’s really cool is why they both ended up coming back. Mrs. Greenbaum always knew she wanted to teach math, and when the opportunity came to return to Moreau, she jumped at the chance to coach cross country and work alongside the teachers who inspired her, like her old coach, Mr. Wilder. She said one of her favorite full-circle moments was sharing a classroom with him her first year and just chatting as adults before first period started. For Mr. Baptist, who stayed connected with his high school coaches and teachers for decades playing golf and cards, coming back to teach felt totally natural. For him, the weirdest full-circle moment was actually sensory. He said walking into a third-floor bathroom and smelling the same powdered Boraxo hand soap they used in 1985 instantly made him feel 16 again.
It’s pretty crazy to think about how much history is packed into this school. Whether it’s shifting uniform rules, legendary senior pranks, or just the nostalgic smell of old bathroom soap, Mrs. Greenbaum and Mr. Baptist prove that while Moreau keeps evolving, the spirit of the campus and the connection students build here never really goes away.