For 364 days a year, teachers at Salk Middle School and General Douglas MacArthur High School get along very well. Nestled close to each other on Old Jerusalem Road in Levittown, the two sister schools share faculty members, buses and fields in harmony - almost every day. But on that 365th day, the "Battle of the Basketballs" takes place, and competition is fiercely friendly. Sponsored by the Salk-MacArthur PTSA, the "Faculty Basketball Game" has become an annual event which draws over 500 fans from both schools, including students, faculty members and parents. This year's event - held on November 6 in the Salk gymnasium - was no exception.

Just prior to the event teachers in each school volunteer to play and set about organizing their teams. Cheerleaders from each school arrive to lead the crowd in cheers, and the MacArthur Pep Band entertains the fans from the bleachers. As screams and cheers echo out onto the street, fans spur their teachers on with supportive signs, bearing teachers' names for good luck.

Aside from the funds that this event generates for the PTSA who uses this profit to sponsor programs for the students in both schools, the occasion is another link in the special chain that unites the two schools. This year's game, sprinkled with laughter and comradeship, was a tightly-contested one which kept the fans on the edge of their seats until the final buzzer when Salk edged ahead of MacArthur by one basket to win the game with a score of 54-52. As the end-of-game handshakes were being exchanged, more than one MacArthur General was heard to whisper, "See you next year, Salk!"