v88i11 by The Newtonite

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Newton North High School, 360 Lowell Ave., Newtonville, Mass. 02460

◆ Friday, Oct. 16, 2009 • Volume 88, Issue 11

Local program to celebrate 30th anniversary

MATT KALISH nderstanding Our Differences, a disability awareness program, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Parents of children with intellectual disabilities developed the program 30 years ago, said Janet Rosenfield, co-president of the organization. “These parents thought that they could break down stereotypes and barriers and make the experience at the schools more inclusive for everyone,” Rosenfield said. “The goal of this organization is to have students learn about disabilities.” Parent volunteers who are trained to deliver the curriculum teach the program to Newton students in grades three to five at all elementary schools. The program is made up of seven units: blindness and low vision, deafness and hard of hearing, physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, Autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, and chronic medical conditions, which include asthma, diabetes and epilepsy. After a 15-20 minute presentation, students are split into groups in which they rotate through different activity stations. Then, a guest speaker describes living with that disability. Career and tech. ed. outreach counselor David Ticchi is a speaker for the organization. “This program is extremely worthwhile,” Ticchi said. “Any student with whom I’ve had a conversation with always remembers the great effect the program had on them,” he said. “As a blind person and a longtime faculty member of Newton Public Schools, it’s very apparent that it positively affects people.” The program has educated more than 25,000 Newton students. BY

“Over 200 schools nationwide have purchased the curriculum, including many communities within Massachusetts,” Rosenfield said. Sophomore Katie Dimond, who went through the program at Pierce Elementary School, said the program gives a realistic perspective on disabilities. “It teaches people about what it’s like to live daily life with a disability,” she said. According to sophomore Becca Trayner, who went through the program at Horace Mann Elementary School, the program “teaches people to treat everyone equally.” The organization will host an anniversary celebration Tuesday evening, Nov. 10 at Brae Burn Country Club, Rosenfield said. “We will be honoring Carol Kanin, the President of the Board of Directors for the past 11 years,” she said. Also receiving an honor will be Ming Tsai, the James Beard award-winning chef of Blue Ginger in Wellesley. “He is being honored for his groundbreaking work with Senator Cynthia Creem on development and passage of legislation requiring restaurants to provide options to those with life-threatening food allergies,” Rosenfield said. Governor Deval Patrick will be the guest speaker at the event. Tickets are $50, and can be purchased at www.understandingourdifferences.org. Proceeds from the event will fund a new unit on life-threatening allergies for the program, Rosenfield said. Currently, Beth Mendel is the Executive Director and Carol Weigert is the Newton Public Schools Program Director. Jennifer Stone is the co-president of the Board of Directors with Rosenfield.

Senior wins leadership award

MARENA COLE Mayor of Boston Thomas Menino has presented a We Are Boston Youth Leadership Award to senior Andre Donegan. Menino presented the award at the fourth annual We Are Boston Newtonian gala at the BosAndre ton Convention Donegan and Exhibition Center Tuesday, Oct. 6. Menino presented the We Are Boston Leadership Award to cellist Yo-Yo Ma, as well as individual awards for community leadership, corporate leadership and youth leadership. “I was shocked,” Donegan said. “I didn’t think I would win, because I heard I had a lot of competition. “I was really happy when I got BY

in brief the e-mail saying I won,” he said. “That night was a really great experience too, to meet the mayor and Yo-Yo Ma.” In a press release, Menino said the awards aim to recognize those that “help to make Boston culturally vibrant by embracing and promoting our city’s diversity, immigrant heritage and contributions.” Donegan said his youth minister submitted a letter of nomination for him, which detailed his accomplishments and leadership abilities.

Seniors win PSAT awards

MARENA COLE Seniors have won honors based on their PSAT scores. Senior Sarah Hackney is a semi-ﬁnalist in the 2010 National Achievement Scholarship Program, an academic competition for black high school students in this country, said assistant principal Deborah Holman. BY

Gaby Perez-Deitz

“A Streetcar Named Desire”: Senior Sam Kiley, as Mitch, portrays his character’s conflicted emotions. The show opened yesterday and will be performed tonight and tomorrow in the little theatre at 7:30 p.m. See review on page 6. “She has an opportunity to continue in the competition for monetary scholarships, to be awarded next spring,” Holman said. Additionally, the National Merit Scholarship Program has selected six students from this school to be Merit Scholarship semi-finalists. Over 1.5 million juniors take the PSATs annually and 16,000 have been chosen as semi-finalists, Holman said. According to Holman, the students have an opportunity to compete for Merit Scholarships, worth $36 million collectively, to be awarded next spring. Those selected are seniors Naomi Genuth, Nathan Harris, Nikolai Klebanov, Nathaniel Roth, Alexander Talishinsky and Michael Weinfeld.

School ‘Jeopardy!’ to feature staff

STEVEN MICHAEL TV Production has tentative plans to host a game show based on the television show “Jeop-

ardy!,” said English teacher Neil Giordano. Giordano’s Advanced Television Production class will produce the show, which will air before the new year, he said. Advanced Television Production produces Tiger Magazine, this school’s television program, on which the “Jeopardy!” segment will air. “If it works, it may become its own show,” Giordano said. The game show segment will feature staff and faculty members in a full-year tournament, taped every few weeks in the studio, Giordano said. Giordano said some aspects of the show are not yet determined, including who will moderate and who will write the questions. One possibility is to use authentic “Jeopardy!” questions from the television show, which have been archived, Giordano said. The idea for the show came from sophomore Gus Svikhart, who is coordinating plans for the

show, Giordano said. Five teachers have already expressed interest in participating in the game show, but he said they will need either nine or 27 teachers in order to have a tournament. Tiger Magazine will have its season premiere later this month on NewTV.

Class of ’13 elects ofﬁcers

MARENA COLE Freshmen have elected class ofﬁcers and representatives to the Student Faculty Administration. Elections were Wednesday, Oct. 7. Ten students ran for ofﬁce. Class president is Carl Whitham. Vice presidents from F. A. Day are Ivan McGovern and Justin Piselli, and from an independent school is Caroline Nunberg. No students from Bigelow ran for vice president. Representatives to the SFA are Winston Huang, Kristian Lundberg and Jack Reibstein. BY

2 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Students, staff share opinions on grading GEORGINA TEASDALE At this school, teachers create their own grading systems and give assignments independent of others who teach the same classes. Therefore, there are bound to be discrepancies between the teaching styles and expectations of teachers who teach the same course and level. Students and teachers discussed grading discrepancies and ideas for avoiding them. BY

Teachers

World language department head Nancy Marrinucci: “I don’t know I can say that it is easier to get a A with one teacher over another. “This department is one of many singleton classes which means there aren’t many sections of one class. “In terms of classes with multiple teachers, I wouldn’t say it’s easier to get an A, but it’s the discretion of the teachers how to scale the grades. On the ﬁnal, they are scaled the same.” English and special education teacher John Callahan: “I imagine there’s some, but I think overall there’s some fairly clear standards Newtonian for grading. I John guess in math Callahan and science it’s a little more clear-cut because it’s based on numbers.” Callahan said he doesn’t think it’s a problem unless the difference is really big. “Grades are overemphasized, anyway,” he said. Science teacher Karen Tokos: “I think every teacher has unique expectations for the class, but we collaborate together in developing our expectations in order to be as consistent as possible. “When students perceive a problem, it is important for them to be in conversation with their

opinion

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

mass interview

teachers for them to understand the expectations.” Tokos said the science department has a standard set of labs and activities all students do. “Every student, regardless of their teacher, has a certain set of experiences by the end of the year.”

Seniors

David Foust: “Some teachers are harder than others even in the same level, and it’s kind of annoying. “It might be a problem, but Newtonian I don’t know David Foust if people can fix it because teachers have their own style.” Naomi Genuth: “Different teachers have different standards, and some grade harder than others. “Sometimes students think it’s unfair, but it’s to be expected because everyone has different standards.” Aliza Lurie: “It depends on the way teachers grade, if they’re willing to give something half credit, or they mark it completely wrong. “It also depends on the standards the teachers hold their students to. If they have higher expectations, they grade harsher. “I think in terms of half-credit versus no credit, if you understand the main concept but make a small error, you should still get credit. “I think by giving half-credit on a problem they could be more consistent.”

Juniors

Jared Kalow: “Yes, I think there are discrepancies because that depends on the teacher, and they have the right to make their own teaching style. I don’t think they should regulate a teacher and force them to go on a stan-

Newtonite The Newtonite, founded in 1922, is the newspaper of Newton North High School, 360 Lowell Ave., Newtonville, Mass. 02460. Production advisers — Sue Brooks, Editors in chief — Eli Davidow, Tom Donnellan Matt Kalish, Ellen Sarkisian Volunteer layout adviser — Rob Managing editor — Prateek AlGreenﬁeld lapur News staff — Ilana Greenstein, News editor — Marena Cole Rebecca Harris, Stephen Michael, Sports editors — Meredith Abrams, Rebecca Oran Josh Bakan Features staff — Emmett Greenberg, Arts editor — Alicia Zhao Jacob Brunell Features editors — Emily Amaro, Sports staff — Evan Clements, NiJay Krieger cole Curhan, Jeremy Gurvits, Elliot On campus editor — Olivia SteaRaff rms Arts staff — Eliana Eskinazi, Kate News analysis editor— Georgina Lewis, Fatema Zaidi Teasdale News analysis staff — Kellynette Photography editors — Shira Gomez Bleicher, Gaby Perez-Dietz, Teddy Art staff — Julia Belamarich, Puloma Wenneker Ghosh, Anna Kaertner, Maia Levoy, Graphics managers — Max Fathy, Stephen Lu, Maddie MacWilliams, Ben Hills Hannah Schon Advertising managers — Chris Photography staff — Helen Gao, Keefe, Jack McLaughlin Anna Gargas, Jaryd Justice-Moote, Business manager — Chris Welch Edan Laniado, Jesse Tripathi Circulation managers — Caleb Circulation staff — Spencer Alton, Gannon, Dan Salvucci Alison Berkowitz, Stoddard Meigs, Exchanges editor — Peter TaberMichela Salvucci, Stephanie Vitone Simonian Production staff — Graham Stanton Adviser — Kate Shaughnessy The Newtonite staff does all the typesetting and scanning of photos, art, and ads to bring 16 issues a year to camera readiness for a circulation of 2,600. To place an ad in the Newtonite or contact us by phone, please call 617-559-6274. Yearly subscriptions cost $20. Readers can also reach us at thenewtonite@gmail.com. To ﬁnd the Newtonite online go to www.thenewtonite.com

Maddie MacWilliams

Inconsistency in course difﬁculty can be unfair for everyone. dardized system. “I don’t think it’s a problem unless it’s unfair to the student.” Flannery Sockwell: “I think it’s better when teachers collaborate or there is only o n e t e a c h e r, so it’s fair and there is continuity between the classes. To r e d u c e the discrepancies between classes, SockNewtonian well said, “The Flannery teachers of the same subject, Sockwell of the same grade, of the same level, should have a meeting to determine some standards they’re all going to follow.” Benji Nitkin: “Some teachers are harder than others. In some classes, tests and quizzes are far harder than homework while with others it’s a fair distance. “It’s annoying if you get a low grade even though you put

a ton of work into it compared to another class where you’d get a high grade.” Rachel Rensing: “I think teachers fall into three categories: ones who are lenient, ones who are strict and ones in between. I prefer teachers in between. “If every class had the same assignments, they could issue rubrics, but as long as teachers use different assignments, worksheets and projects, we will just have to deal.”

Sophomores

Sarah Bajwa: “It depends on the teacher. Some are harsher graders. Some teachers give partial credit while some just mark it wrong. “It’s a probNewtonian lem for some Sarah students who Bajwa maybe don’t get good grades on tests because they don’t get par-

tial credit. Whereas for good students who do well on tests, they might not mind because they’re already getting good grades.” Katherine Rogers: “Yeah, deﬁnitely. Teachers grade differently within the same level. “It’s not a huge problem within the school, but when colleges look at your grades, they don’t know how the teachers graded, so it’s not fair to some students.”

Freshmen

Maliha Ali: “It depends on the teacher and how they interpret how you’re doing and your progress in the class,” she said. Tim Pan: “The grades are still proportional in that class. It’s not fair in the long run because your GPA will be lower.” Gianna Romanelli: “It can be a problem for both students and parents. Parents are always concerned about students’ grades. It gets them more involved with the school in a negative way. “The school could use a different grading rubric, which is standard.”

Two nights makes more sense It seems like every year, Back to School Night follows the same drill. For parents to get the basics of their child’s curriculum, they visit A1-G1 for only 10 minutes each. But due to the current arrangement of Back to School Night, disadvantages are posed for the classes that do not meet during A1-G1 and for the classes that don’t even meet until the second semester. As the current system stands, the parents get a very limited perspective of what their child’s schedule really entails for the entire school year. For example, maybe a student has a full year two period-a-week elective like Close-Up that happens to meet during even-numbered blocks, such as E2 and E4.

editorial That doesn’t allow parents to get a good glimpse of what their child is learning about the current political affairs in the United States because this class does not meet during a block that is part of the Back to School Night schedule. Or perhaps a senior has an English class that meets during the ﬁrst semester, but he switches to another English elective that only meets for the last half of the year. Parents would never get the opportunity to learn about their child’s second semester choice. As a solution to this dilemma, we suggest that there be two Back to School Nights, one scheduled in the ﬁrst semester, the other in the second semester. This can ensure that par-

ents get a solid perspective of their child’s classes for the whole year. With two separate nights, a class can solely focus on the ﬁrst semester’s material, and at the second Back to School Night, it can focus on the class progress and plans. It can provide the parents with a more detailed perspective on their child’s class and curriculum rather than a simple meet-and-greet.

Letters Readers are invited to submit guest articles and letters to the editor. Letters should be put in the Newtonite box in Beals House or emailed to thenewtonite@gmail.com. The Newtonite reserves the right to edit all letters, which must have the writer’s name, class and homeroom. The Newtonite serves as a forum for student opinion.

news

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 3

‘Deal or No Deal’

Club Day

Math teacher appears on Teachers Week MARENA COLE Although she didn’t win anything, math teacher Audrey Prager said being on Deal or No Deal” for Teachers Week was “a lot of fun.” “Meeting the other teachers was really fun,” Prager said. “I think we really bonded as a group.” “Deal or No Deal,” a game show on Newtonian NBC, ran five Audrey episodes from Prager Monday, Sept. 28 to Friday, Oct. 2, where all of the contestants were teachers. Prager said that she and her daughter went to an audition June 21 at the Boston Seaport Hotel. “The line went on forever,” Prager said. “There were approximately 3,000 people there. “We got there at about 10:30 a.m., and we didn’t get inside until 2 p.m., and we didn’t have the interview until about 3.” According to Prager, 200 contestants were chosen as ﬁnalists and returned the next week. “It was a more lengthy process, with more individual tapBY

Gaby Perez-Dietz

In the cafeteria: Seniors Monique Pacheco, Haniya Syeda and Alejandro Theodosiou promote Art Club at Club Day Monday, Oct. 5.

ing,” Prager said. “It took about 3 hours. “At the end of the process, they said they’d call us in mid-July if they wanted to use us in the show. I got a phone call on July 16 asking if I would be on the show.” Prager said the studio provided a hotel for the contestants in Waterford, Conn., where the shows were taped. All ﬁve episodes were taped Tuesday, July 28, she said. In the game during Teachers Week, 22 teachers stand on the stage, each with a briefcase. In the beginning of the game, a wheel is spun, with 22 corresponding numbers. The number the spinner lands on corresponds to the teacher who is picked to play. Each briefcase is unmarked but numbered and contains an amount of money ranging from one cent to $500,000. The teacher then chooses to either keep their briefcase or swap with another player, but they don’t know how much money is in any of the briefcases. Prager said she was never picked to play, but she was on stage in each episode. “They might still call me again,” Prager said. “It’d be nice to do it again next summer.”

North students to visit abroad in four exchanges MARENA COLE ELLEN SARKISIAN This year, students will go on exchanges to China, France, Italy and Spain. Students from this school have hosted Italian exchange students, will host students from Beijing, Paris and Burgos, and will be hosted in the other countries. Each exchange will include sightseeing and cultural exposure, according to exchange coordinators. Costs of the exchanges have yet to be ﬁnalized. In China, students will attend classes at the Jingshan school, make cultural presentations to classes and attend an English seminar taught by chaperones, said Donna Fong,the exchange coordinator. They will also go on “day excursions to historical sites such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven,” she said. “All participants live with host families, in order to practice their Chinese language skills,” Fong said. Students from Jingshan School will be here from the beginning of November until the end of January. Here, the students will attend classes and, due to their shortened stay, may make cultural BY

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presentations to middle schools instead of elementary schools. Teachers will help teach Chinese classes in high schools and middle schools. The students will live with host families in Newton so they “may experience the diversity of American life,” she said. The exchange began in 1985. On the French exchange, students from this school will attend school in the morning and visit the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Palace at Versailles among other cultural sites, said French teacher Fiona Blyth. She will lead the exchange with French teacher Suzanne Putzeys. The group will leave for Paris Feb. 4 and will stay in Paris for a month, she said. Students will attend morning classes with their hosts at l’Ecole

Massillon and go on excursions in the afternoons, Blyth said. In addition to the Versailles trip, students will go on a twoday trip to Normandy, which will include the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, the D-Day beaches and the famous Bayeux tapestry of 1066. During school vacation in Paris, students will vacation with their host families, she said. “The hope is that the students will learn about another culture and how to adapt to living with a family from a different culture,” she said. Applications for the trip are currently being reviewed, she said. Massillon students will arrive April 9 in Boston and stay for three weeks. The exchange began in 1978. In Spain, students from this

school will stay with host families in Burgos and sightsee in and around the city, said Emilio Mazzola, an Italian teacher who will lead the group. Tentative dates for the trip are Friday, Feb. 5 to Friday, Feb. 26, Mazzola said. “Whatever Burgos has to offer, we will take advantage of it,” Mazzola said. “We’ll visit anything that’s an expression of art.” Students will also attend classes at the Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente School in Burgos. Students from Spain will arrive in Boston Sunday and stay until Nov. 8, Mazzola said. Applications are due in November. The exchange began in 1979. In Italy, students from this school will visit Venice, Rome and Pisa and stay with host families

in Florence, said Maria Procopio, an Italian teacher who will lead the group. “In Florence, they will visit every museum in the city,” Procopio said. “They’ll eat and digest some of the most famous art in the world.” Students will attend classes at Liceo Antonio Gramsci in Florence and they will take day trips, she said. “They’ll be exposed to real Italian culture and see it from an insider’s perspective,” Procopio said. Applications are due in early November. Students from Liceo Antonio Gramsci visited this school from from Sept. 11 to Sept. 25. The exchange began in 1982. Financial aid for exchanges is available through the Global Education Leadership Fund.

4◆ Newtonite, Newton North

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arts

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 5

Performing Arts Calendar 2009-2010 Theatre Events November

“20th Century” by Ken Ludwig will go on stage Nov. 12 through Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Lasker Auditorium. “It’s a comedy about a ﬁnancially ruined theatre producer’s zany plots to win back his former lover and leading lady, Lily Garland,” said senior Ingrid Rudie, a director with senior Julia Mandel-Folly. According to Rudie, “outrageous characters and wild twists drive this over-the-top farce.”

December

“Caligula” by Albert Camus will show Dec. 10 through Dec. 12 in the little theatre at 7:30 p.m. A play about the Roman emperor Caligula and his quest to ﬁnd happiness, “‘Caligula’ deals with loss and change and with understanding things that cannot be understood,” said senior Seth Simons, a director with senior Chris Annas-Lee. “The play asks, if life is meaningless, then where

Music Events November

Harvestfest I will feature Concert Choir, Family Singers, Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble Nov. 18 at 7 p.m., and Harvestfest II will feature Orchestra, Jubilee Singers and Tiger BeBop Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. Massachusetts Music Educators Association Senior District auditions are Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. at Milton High School.

December

A Singer-Songwriter Symposium with special guest Catie Curtis will take place Dec. 3. “Students will have the opportunity to compose and perform original music with one of this country’s ﬁnest singer-songwriters, Catie Curtis,” Young said. Interested students should burn a demo of their music on a disc in mp3 format, include their names and contact information and submit it to Young by Nov. 10. Accepted students will attend

do we ﬁnd meaning in life?”

January

“Freshman Cabaret,” with sophomores Caleb Bromberg, Pam Chen, Maddie Cetlin and Sonya Douglas directing, will show in Lasker Auditorium Jan. 7 and Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. “The Cabaret is a medley of songs, dances and skits performed only by freshmen to highlight the talent of freshmen who will be appearing in future productions,” Bromberg said.

February

“All My Sons” by Arthur Miller will go on stage under the direction of seniors Jordan Ascher and Jen Diamond. It will be in the little theatre Feb. 4 through Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. “It’s about a family and how they fall apart after coming to terms with the realities of war,” Diamond said.

March

and musical direction by Richard Travers, will go on stage March 11 through March 13 at 7:30 p.m. and March 14 at 2 p.m. in Lasker Auditorium.

April

“Spontaneous Generation,” this school’s improv troupe led by junior Mercer Gary and sophomore Graham Techler, will go on stage April 7 through April 10 in the little theatre at 7:30 p.m. According to Techler, the shows will be focused heavily on the audience. “There are scenes where audiences get up on stage or suggest topics for the actors. It’s all based on what the audience gives us to work with,” he said.

May

A joint Shakespeare production with South will show May 6 through May 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Lasker auditorium.

June

The school musical, “Cabaret,” with direction and choreography by Kirsten McKinney

The third annual Playwrights’ Festival will be in the little theatre June 3 and June 4 at 7:30 p.m.

workshops on songwriting, arranging, performance techniques and more, culminating with an evening concert featuring both student works and performances by Curtis.

March

January

MMEA Senior District Festival is Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 at the Boston Latin school. MMEA All-States Festival auditions are Jan 23 at Shrewsbury high school. “The small portion who are at the very top of districts receives an all state recommendation,” Young said. Jubilee Singers will perform in Lasker Auditorium Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. MMEA Junior District Festival auditions are Jan. 30 at Concord-Carlisle high school.

February

The MMEA Junior District Festival is Feb. 5 at Lincoln-Sudbury high school. Winterfest will take place Feb. 11 in Lasker Auditorium at 7 p.m.

The MMEA All State Festival is March 18 through March 20 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. According to Young, this festival is for those who are accepted by All States. Students work with “top-notch professionals” and perform in Symphony Hall. The choruses and Orchestra will perform Mozart’s “Requiem” March 28 at the Presbyterian Church in Newton Corner at 7:30 p.m.

April

The music department will take a tour to Italy April 14-25. Springfest will take place in Lasker Auditorium April 12 at 7 p.m.

May

All music groups and ensembles will perform at Pop’s Night, which is May 20 at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria.

June

Jubilee Singers will perform June 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Lasker Auditorium.

Maia Levoy

arts

6◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

‘Streetcar’ explores issues in American life ALICIA ZHAO Starting off the theatre season with drama and intensity, “A Streetcar Named Desire” contrasted different ways of American life and the issues that ensue when they clash. BY

review With English teacher Inez Dover directing, Tennessee Williams’ famous play opened last night, and will run tonight and tomorrow night in the little theatre at 7:30. The story begins with Blanche, a schoolteacher from Mississippi, arriving in New Orleans to stay with her sister Stella. As Blanche, played by junior Mercer Gary, sniffs the air in disgust in a pompous manner, her disapproval of the lower middle class neighborhood is apparent right from the beginning. Gary presented Blanche as a conceited, mentally frazzled character who is well aware of her fading beauty and attempts to cover it up. For instance, she always wants to dim the lights and constantly needs reassurance on her appearance. When Stella arrives, the two sisters rejoice, and the audience learns that Blanche is unwell. She drinks excessively and frequently becomes emotional, and because of this, she tells Stella that the school has forced her to take a leave of absence. In contrast, Stella has started a brand new life with her husband Stanley. Blanche sees that the two love each other, and in several scenes she urges Stella to leave Stanley, claiming that he is too primitive and common to match their upbringing. However, Stella doesn’t even consider the idea. Playing Stella, junior Kelly McIntyre was accepting of her life and didn’t dwell on the past like Blanche. She wants to let Blanche into her life, yet that wouldn’t be possible with Stanley around. With a certain gruffness to

Gaby Perez-Dietz

Tension: As Stanley and Stella, senior Ryan Vona and junior Kelly McIntyre attempt to suppress their discontent as junior Mercer Gary, playing Blanche, remains oblivious to their emotions. his manner, senior Ryan Vona convincingly portrayed Stanley’s brutish, impulsive and violent nature. A dynamic and practical character, Stanley makes sure that he retains power at all times—as shown through his ordering Stella around and taking care of her affairs. He realizes that Blanche is trying to take Stella away from him, and as a result, he tries to get rid of Blanche. In a powerful scene, Blanche turns on the radio in one room while Stanley is with his friends in another room. Annoyed with the music, Stanley storms into the room and throws the radio out of the window. When Stella, upset with Stan-

ley’s actions, reprimands him, he shocks the audience by hitting her. Soon, the scene breaks out in crying and beating, and results in Stella and Blanche leaving to stay with a neighbor. However, after taking a shower, Stanley seems to regret his actions. He begs Stella to return to him in a dramatic rage of shouts, and when she actually comes out, the two embrace passionately and Stanley carries her home. This confuses Blanche, who doesn’t understand why Stella keeps going back to Stanley. While staying with Stella, Blanche herself becomes romantically involved. She meets Mitch, one of Stanley’s friends. Senior Sam Kiley played Mitch

as a sensitive, honest man who has a sick mother at home. Like Blanche, he is lonely and in need of somebody, this being one of the main reasons for their mutual attraction. As their relationship develops, Blanche is conﬁdent that they will marry. But when Stanley ﬁnds out about Blanche’s past and tells Mitch in an attempt to sabotage her, unexpected consequences follow. Illustrating the laid-back, rustic lifestyle of a lower middle class neighborhood, costumes by junior Christopher Rao were from the 1940s. For the most part, all of the men wore plain shirts and slacks, while the women wore simple dresses and gowns.

But Blanche, indignant to retain her upper class status, often wore fancier outﬁts with pearls and shawls. Technical director Michael Barrington-Haber designed a set portraying the balcony and Stella’s and Stanley’s house. The house, consisting of only two rooms, showed the compactness of their living space. This allowed the audience to grasp the fact that there was little room for Blanche to ﬁt in—both physically and psychologically. Through an emotional portrayal of Blanche’s internal and external struggles, “A Streetcar Named Desire” addressed social issues that still impact the people of this country today.

Exhibit displays student work Presentation includes 15 pieces by North artists

ALICIA ZHAO Aiming to increase support for art education in schools in Massachusetts, a photography exhibit is now open to the community, said John Michael Gray, who organized the event with Timothy O’Connor. This exhibit is on the second ﬂoor of the Massachusetts State Transportation Building in Boston Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and will last until Nov. 27. As co-directors of the New England Art Education Conference Inc., Gray and O’Connor said that N.E.A.E.C. is coordinating the exhibit in cooperation with the Massachusetts Art Education Association. “The N.E.A.E.C. also runs the Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards which have the goal of showcasing secondary student art work in Massachusetts and sending award-winning works onto the national competition,” Gray said. Open to all Massachusetts high school students, Gray said, the exhibit serves the purpose of showcasing student photography in a public venue. Each school was allowed to submit up to 15 photographs. BY

courtesy Serena Haver

On display: This photograph by sophomore Serena Haver is one of the 15 that is showcased at the Massachusetts High Schools Photography Exhibit.

photography teacher Ron Morris “I’m always ﬂabbergasted by the talent of these kids.” Participants from this school are: sophomores Serena Haver and Aaron Siegel, juniors Kat Blyum, Anna Gargas, Andrea Marzilli, Lucy Mazur-Warren and Jess Pincus, and seniors Ariella Brown, Sherrie Deng, Micah Dornfeld, Kaeleigh Dreschel, Hannah Howcroft, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, Eddie Pang and S o p h i a Ve n touris. Gargas said that her work encompasses Newtonian beauty and Anna sexuality. “The Gargas photograph represents society’s view of male and female and what’s in between,” she said. In the picture, Gargas said, the girl is very feminine with make up and frilly textures. “Yet, she appears somewhat unhappy and the photograph is in black and white when in reality everything is in gray tones,” she said. “The line between masculinity and femininity is a very hazy,

foggy and squiggly line. It’s practically nonexistent.” Gargas said she hopes for people to see her piece and find it beautiful. “I want them to slow down and think about themselves,” she said. “ I want them to think about sexuality and what it means to be beautiful.” Photography teacher Ron Morris said that he judged the pieces based on— “technical expertise, imagination, quality of seeing, what the image says and more.” “Most of these artists will find that their work stacks up pretty well,” Morris said. “It’s helpful for artists to see their work in different places because it’s like seeing it for the first time—like seeing a picture of yourself.” Because the venue in downtown Boston has a lot of traffic, many people will be able to view the students’ works, Morris said. “I’m always flabbergasted by the talent of these kids, the variety of work and how competent they all are,” Morris said.

features

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 7

Introducing new classes Students discuss and perform Shakespeare EMMETT GREENBERG Shakespeare, a new course this year, is designed for students who want to understand the allusions behind William Shakespeare’s plays, English teacher Tim Finnegan said. “The ideal student for this class is someone who struggles reading Shakespeare, but desires to understand what he is reading and is willing to share what he doesn’t understand,” Finnegan said. “I want students to take risks, to make Shakespeare come alive in their performances.” The ﬁnal project of this course will be to take an entire play by Shakespeare and present it in a condensed, one-hour production. The course is only offered to seniors and is for the first semester only. It is available for honors or curriculum I credit and is run at a college-caliber pace, Finnegan said. Students read about and compare issues that include revenge, imperialism and tragedy. Through histories, comedies and tragedies, students explore these issues by comparing a Shakespearean text with other playwrights’. “We might pit ‘Hamlet’ with Thomas Kyd’s ‘The Spanish Tragedy,’ for example,” he said. “We also cover critical articles that debate Shakespeare’s work, most of his tragedies and sonnets. We take two contradictory articles and ask the students how they can reconcile the two. “The Shakespeare course is designed to satisfy our dual-temBY

Prateek Allapur

In a dramatic reading: Seniors Ariana Tabatabaie, Rob Benner, Elliot Raff, Alex Martin, Rob Lasell, Ryan Vona and Michaela Bethune act out a scene from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” poral realm—to understand the playwright in his time and place among his contemporaries, as well as in our modern time and

our romantic fascination with him.” Students’ lack of willingness to learn about Shakespeare and

his work is a major reason that Finnegan chose to teach this course. “Shakespeare is one of the

most important figures in the English history,” he said. “His name is synonymous with the English language. Yet many people don’t take the time to sit down and struggle with his work. “We need that exposure and understanding. This course is designed to defeat outlines and SparkNotes.” Shakespeare’s work, Finnegan said, is essential to understand today because it is referenced so frequently. “There are as many allusions in modern writing to Hamlet as there are to Jesus Christ,” Finnegan said. “It’s a shame for people, not just students but even adults, to see one of these allusions while reading, not understand it, and to just say, ‘whatever’ and let it pass over their heads.” Senior Elliot Raff said he chose to take the class because he has always enjoyed the works of Shakespeare. “I thought it would be an excellent way to explore it more in-depth,” he said. Raff said he enjoyed the way the class was organized as “group-oriented,” allowing students to go in-depth and explore the meaning of individual lines as well as the entire story. Senior Michaela Bethune said she enjoyed reading each play out loud. “We take different parts and act it out, so it’s easier to understand. “He wrote it so it’s meant to be read out loud and acted out, and it’s easier to understand that way,” she said.

Short Story offers students new ways to study literature ELLEN SARKISIAN Students practice “devoted exploration” of short stories in The Short Story, said English teacher Peter Goddard. The class, offered to seniors, is new this year. “I thought it would be a good idea because I think short stories provide an opportunity to talk about a whole piece of literature,” he said. “As a result, you can have interesting conversations about the scope of a piece of literature and characterization, because most stories focus around the change in a character.” He said he wants students to be able to “read good literature” and strengthen their close reading skills, which is “attainable in a short story.” “I think it’s something we were missing,” he said. “I love the pace—that we can talk about different things each day and ﬁnd connection points between stories.” The course is discussionbased, Goddard said. The class will decide whether they want to write substantial short stories of their own. Senior Naomi Genuth said the class usually starts with the reading and discussion of a poem, followed by a discussion of short stories students have read for the class. There are also in-class writing assignments about the stories, she said. Now, the focus is on thematic BY

Shira Bleicher

During a lecture: English teacher Peter Goddard discusses the short story “Brokeback Mountain” on Wednesday, Sept 7.

senior Ryan Kwan “With short stories, it’s always something new.” approaches, such as love stories, Goddard said. Later, they will be looking at stories by a single author. A challenge in the class is knowing how long to spend on a particular story, and knowing that some stories work together and that some don’t, he said. Goddard said that because students elected to take the course, there is an “element of motivation” to the class. Genuth said she decided to take the class because most English classes only do short stories occasionally. “I thought it would be really Newtonian interesting to Naomi take a class that Genuth focuses solely on short stories,” she said. “I like the discussions we’ve been having, and the overall tone of the class—casual, laid-back, but still academic.” She said she “wasn’t really sure what to expect” from it. “It’s a new kind of class.” Senior Ryan Kwan said he also enjoys the class discussions,

and was surprised by how much he en joyed reading the stories. “I was surprised by the depth of the content of short Newtonian stories and how much you could Ryan Kwan really dissect them,” he said. Hearing how different people think about the same story during discussions is also enjoyable, said senior Borja Jones. According to senior Sherrie Deng, the novelty of the material is another important aspect of the course. “It’s not focused just on one text, but because we get new readings almost every night, it spices up the discussions,” she said. “I didn’t expect us to move so fast, but it’s awesome,” Senior Nikolai Klebanov said he decided to take the class because it was different from regular English. “It just appealed to me,” he said. He said his favorite part is that “with short stories, it’s always something new.” “It’s nice that we have really good discussion,” Klebanov said. One aspect of the course that was surprising was the pace, according to senior Nat Roth.

8 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, O

Introdu New C

Class explores U.S. history through Hollywood ﬁlms PRATEEK ALLAPUR n American History Through the Hollywood Lens, a new class this year, students watch movies that present views of American history and write analytical essays about the movies. “The idea is that we want to look at Hollywood’s interpretation of American history,” said history teacher Duncan Wood. The movies will be divided into different themes throughout the year. “We are going to do this through different subjects, such as race, the position of women in American society, the position of couples, how American political lore is represented in history through the movies, and also how the aspect of the Maﬁa is represented in movies,” Wood said. Wood said the purpose of the class is for students to see the different ways Hollywood has interpreted U.S. history and how these interpretations have changed over the years. “As the mood in America changes, the mood in Hollywood changes,” said Wood. According to Wood, sometimes the mood in Hollywood, as represented by the movies it makes, is ahead of the curve on issues such as race. BY

“Around the time of the movie ‘Birth of a Nation,’ Hollywood is right on target as to what Americans are feeling, and as a result, it is a horribly racist movie,” said Wood. “However, starting around the 1950s, Hollywood really gets ahead of the curve and begins making movies that are much more procivil rights.” Wood said that American History Through the Hollywood Lens is different from other history courses because students can really focus on a time period and see what people were thinking and what filmmakers in Hollywood wanted them to see. “Through the years, I’ve come to the realization that there’s a whole treasure trove of American film out there,” said Wood. “It’s like our Louvre, the Hollywood collection, and I think it’s just really useful for the students to learn about the country through these films. “We are watching movies, but there will also be some work involved,” he said. “The work involves an analytical essay for each movie and a research paper after we finish a section or theme, like race.” The class involves a lot of group work, such as jigsaw assignments,

where students take a look at different aspects of a historical period and piece it together. “Each group will be in charge of a certain piece of the history, and at the end of the unit, kids will be in charge of each film, and they’ll have to analyze the film and present that to the class,” said Wood. “Since this is a new class and it has not been taught in this school before, I’m making stuff up as I’m going along,” Wood said. “It’s a great class and very enjoyable to teach.” According to Wood, anybody can register for the class because it’s unleveled, and even if students don’t have an understanding of how a film is made, they will after this class. “We spend a lot of time discussing why the stories are constructed in certain ways and why different scenes are shot in different ways,” said Wood. The class has already watched “Birth of a Nation,” “Gone With the Wind” and “The Searchers.” According to Wood, other movies the students will watch this year include “The Defiant Ones,” “Casablanca,” “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Bringing Up Baby,” “His Girl Friday,” and “It Happened One Night.”

Working backstage provides ‘behind-the-scenes’ experience

JAY KRIEGER ntro to Technical Theater is a full year class that is available to all students who are interested in learning what goes into creating a production. “We’ve been trying to create this class for a while and the after school theater program evolved into the class,” said technical director Michael Barrington-Haber, the teacher of the course. “The students will learn about different forms of the technical side of theater by working with lighting, sound and set design,” he said. Barrington-Haber teaches Stage Techniques, and this is his ﬁrst year teaching Intro to Technical Theater. “For six years we have had the Stage Techniques class, but that is more learning by doing, whereas in Intro to Technical Theater we do book work in addition to building sets, lighting and sound.” The class helps build sets for Theatre Ink productions as well as helping with lighting and sound design. “I enjoy learning about building different types of sets, learning to use tools and different materials,” senior Sam Kiley said. “I like the fact that we are working behind the scenes on major North productions,” he said. Kiley’s class is currently helping build the set of the upcoming Theatre Ink production of “20th Century.” Barrington-Haber said his favorite aspect of teaching the class BY

In Earth, Labs and Literature: Seniors Sophie Bell, Olivia Glenno actions and their effects on their environment in class Thursday,

New course combines ELLEN SARKISIAN arth, Labs and Literature “weaves together literature about the environment and environmental science,” said science teacher Ann Dannenberg. The course, offered to seniors, is new this year. Dannenberg teaches the course with English teacher Liz Craig-Olins. It counts for English credit and for science lab credit. Once a week, students go to Cabot Woods or Bulloughs Pond to monitor water and soil quality, observe nature, idenitify plants and study populations, Dannenberg said. They also write reflections based on their scientiﬁc observations and what they see, hear and feel in the natural environment, said Craig-Olins. In class, students work in groups to discuss readings and their own naturalistic writings, alternating between a focus on English and science every week, said senior Emily Lemieux. “Students are reading the best kind of prose that is based in a solid knowledge of science,” said Craig-Olins. The readings, which are by naturalists from the 19th century to the 21st century, address quesBY

Teddy Wenneker

Behind the scenes: Technical director Michael Barrington-Haber and junior Zack Grannan help build sets during Intro to Technical Theatre. is that it reaches out to students who want to work backstage. “The class can open up career options such as makeup, set design and lighting for museums or stage,” Barrington-Haber said.

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“In the future, the class might evolve into a major or expand into speciﬁc classes for theater production such as light, sound, etc.,” Barrington-Haber said. “Students with any or no experience can join and become involved in the behind the scenes production of plays and other productions,” he said. Barrington-Haber said he would like to take the class on ﬁeld trips to go see plays and other professional productions downtown. The class of six students recently built sets for “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a Tennessee Williams play, which opened last night in the little theater.

tions about the interactions of humans with their environments: poetic, political, philosophical and physical, she said. She cited the works of Rachel Carson, an advocate for the environment, saying that her writing “invites us into the natural world. She offers it to us in such a lyrical way, as well as modern writers like Annie Dillard, Aldo Leopold and Gary Snyder.” The students will also be doing projects about different topics in ecology. Last Wednesday, the class went to Nahant, where they visited the Northeastern Marine Biology Laboratory. “We looked at tide pools, studied specimens from the ocean, and studied the bones of whales,” Lemieux said. “I think it’s a very cool idea, putting English and science together,” said Lemieux. “That’s why I took it in the ﬁrst place.” Dannenberg said that she “hopes that students will learn to look more carefully around them, think about the consquences of their actions and be more reﬂective about their lives.” Craig-Olins also said that she wants “students to have a heightened awareness about the natural world and gain an appreciation

Oct. 16, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆9

ucing Classes

Class to study history, culture of hip-hop music H OLIVIA STEARNS ip-hop: Literature, Culture and Music will have more of a focus on the culture around music than on the music itself, said English teacher Peter Goddard. “Hip-hop is a tremendous force in both history and pop culture,” said Goddard, the co-creator of the class with English teacher Adam Carpenter. “It is a signiﬁcant part of our country’s history that a youth movement has transformed into a worldwide cultural force,” Goddard said. The music that came from an oppressed community is now one of the most popular music genres, he said. “This is something very important that people should learn about,” he said.

The major question of the class, Goddard said, will be “What makes language successful?” He said that he plans to answer this question by exploring the time periods in which the music was most popular as well as the messages the music sends. “Discussing this is something that Mr. Goddard and I feel students can get a lot out of,” Carpenter said. They plan to run the curriculum in chronological order, Carpenter said. “We will look at the spiritual sides of hip-hop and its origins in Western Africa as well as the transition to America,” Carpenter said. There will be a unit about the birth of music in the United States, Goddard said. They will also discuss the

change in hip-hop from its time of formation until now, he said. “We plan to talk about the musical, technological and lyrical aspects of all music,” Goddard said. Carpenter said, “We will also talk about the several different aspects of hip-hop, such as grafﬁti-ing, MC-ing, DJ-ing and breakdancing.” Learning about this music from an academic perspective, Carpenter said, is something from which all students can beneﬁt. “We are planning on listening to a lot of music and doing a lot of reading,” he said. “I can’t wait to open students’ minds to the intricacies of the hiphop experience.” Goddard and Carpenter will teach the class, which is available to sophomores, juniors and seniors, during the second semester.

EMILY AMARO MARENA COLE tudents enrolled in Greengineering get the opportunity to examine challenges and design solutions around the central issue of energy, said English teacher Stephen Chinosi. The Biodiesel course is new this year. Each year a new course will be added, Chinosi said. “This year we are examining biodiesel as an energy source and will look at all of its aspects from organic chemistry and mechanical engineering to ﬁnance and market economies,” Chinosi said. The Greengineering program is designed to work as a proﬁtable corporation with all of the aspects involved in running a business. “The students in the think-tank have self-selected assignments in teams such as the fuel team, safety team, production team, and the business team to help focus the solutions on tangible and measurable results,” Chinosi said. The Greengineering team takes grease from cooking in the kitchens here and at South and turns the grease into usable biodiesel fuel, he said.

Recently, Greengineering has found a new, larger source of grease, he said. “We have two major contracts with a restaurant and a local recycling company that will provide us with 200 gallons of waste grease a week,” Chinosi said. “Then, we will process the grease into biodiesel and sell it wholesale to the recycling company for their ﬂeet of trucks and then sell the rest to a local home heating oil company.” In the future, Chinosi said the Greengineering program may have solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectricity courses. Senior Brendan Hathaway said an enjoyable aspect of the class has been the incorporation of many different subjects. “It’s been great learning about something really different every day,” Hathaway said. “I don’t know a lot about economics, and I’ve been learning a lot about that. “I’ve been engaging in a lot of new studies, and the curriculum holds a lot of potential,” he said. “It’s been really rewarding. We’ve also been working on managing safety equipment.”

Hathaway said one Saturday, he, Chinosi and seniors Paul Batchelor and Alyssa Wolyniec spent an entire Saturday creating biodiesel. “I woke up at the crack of dawn, at 6 a.m., before the sun was even up, because we met at the school at 6:30. We basically worked all day, from 6:30 to 3,” Hathaway said. “We put the biodiesel through a washing process to eliminate everything that’s not fuel,” Hathaway said. “We had an emulsiﬁed layer—a soap-like substance—that hadn’t fully reacted to create biodiesel. “We had to eliminate that, so we did some research, and got rid of it with vinegar and heat and time. “It was a literal crash course in making biodiesel, and I now know a thousand times more about making it than I did before.” Hathaway said the class plans on teaching others about the beneﬁts of biodiesel on the environment. “We’re also planning on reaching out to middle and elementary school students, giving presentations and making kids interested in saving the world,” he said.

Biodiesel turns grease into fuel BY

AND

Teddy Wenneker

on and Brendan Hathaway give a group presentation about human Sept. 8.

s English and science for elegant science writing,” said Craig-Olins. “We want them to probe the mysteries of nature as well as understand the science,” she said. Also, she said, they want students to understand the “fragility of the landscape” and “feel a kind of stewardship for the world around them.” “I have always been interested in science writing, and have wondered about how to get it into a course on literature.” Craig-Olins said she “strongly believes” in this interdisclipinary approach. “The confluence of these two feels like a natural to me. “It’s a wonderful thing – we can combine poetry and reflective writing as well as the scientific. It’s a combination of observation and reflection.” Dannenberg said they “started this course because we both have a passion for the outdoors and wanted to present a different opportunity for seniors to make their senior year stand out as special.” Her favorite part of teaching the course is “working with another teacher whose perspective is completely different from mine.” She said she also enjoys the aspect of going outdoors. Craig-Olins said this is different from a regular course in that

students are not “looking for a hidden meaning” in the literature, but can appreciate the writing and the substance without “pulling it apart to read between the lines.” However, a challenge of teaching the course is that the class is large, with 45 students. “There are built-in management problems,” said Craig-Olins. “Because we want to teach together at the same time; it’s a double-size class.” Getting to know the students one-on-one has been a challenge, but we’re getting there, said CraigOlins. Another challenge is accommodating the interests of students who are taking the course for “such a wide variety of reasons,” Dannenberg said. “We’ve invented it from scratch, so working out how to put our many ideas into practice is hard,” she said. Craig-Olins said, “I don’t think students really knew what to expect—some were pleasantly surprised, and some are still wondering how the two connect.” Yesterday, the students were to have gone to Walden Pond, where they heard from experts on Henry David Thoreau, who promoted active involvement in conservation of nature.

Matt Kalish

As part of the project: Senior Sam Shames transforms grease into oil during his Biodiesel class.

10 â&#x2014;&#x2020; Newtonite, Newton North

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Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Talk of the Critic’s Corner Alien vs. Predator Let me start off by saying Alien vs. Predator isn’t a very good movie, in the standard sense. It has a poor cast, a poor script and it is a little too long. Yet, it is a great sci-fi action film that fans of the Alien and Predator series (well, the first one, anyways) will enjoy. This is a pure action movie that has many “did you see that!” moments that make it a memorable rental, but for anyone looking for a movie to revolutionize the sci-fi genre, keep looking. -RENT

Ocean’s 11 A recently released convict (George Clooney) partners up with a celebrity poker coach (Brad Pitt) to pull off the ultimate heist. Their goal is to rob one of Las Vegas’ major casinos—rumored to store more than $50 million on nights of major boxing ﬁghts. While the plot isn’t original, it is enhanced by the original characters and an antagonist who is easy to dislike. Ocean’s 11

delivers on laughs and generally interesting characters. Clooney and Pitt are joined by a sly and hilarious cast that includes the timid and awkward Matt Damon, the slick-talking Bernie Mac, the revenge-driven Elliot Gould, the stunning Julia Roberts and the greedy and heartless Andy Garcia. -BUY

Max Payne Max Payne is a good example of a great video game that has a very poor movie adaptation. The story is simple: a cop’s family is murdered, and it turns out their deaths are involved in a conspiracy linked to a street drug that makes people see things. In addition to the plot being mundane, the acting is some of the worst and really makes you wonder why Mark Wahlberg would agree to be in this ﬁlm. Tie in a forgettable love interest and poor action sequences, and it doesn’t get much better. What bothered me most was how it strays from the source material. The director found it necessary to include

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a drug that makes its users see angels and demons, which was random and unnecessary to have included. Do yourself a favor and skip this clichéd and stereotypical “action” movie. -PASS

Enemy at the Gates Enemy at the Gates gives the audience a ﬁrst-hand look at the brutal and graphic nature of the Battle of Stalingrad. Jude Law stars as a private in the Russian army who is a skilled sniper, thus demoralizing the attacking German army. Ed Harris stars as the Germans’ most infamous sniper, who is sent into the heart of Stalingrad to kill the Russian sniper. The movie is ﬁlled with a tense atmosphere as Law and Harris play cat and mouse throughout the war-torn city. The movie is a little on the long side, yet the great characters and amazing set designs more than make up for its few short-comings. -RENT

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Favorite Artists

◆Elvis Presley ◆Frank Sinatra ◆Ray Charles ◆Sha Na Na ◆Skeeter Davis

Favorite Movie ◆Groundhog Day

Favorite Show ◆This Old House

Favorite Movie ◆It’s a Wonderful Life

Favorite Show ◆Wife Swap

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◆Rascal Flatts ◆Pink ◆Carrie Underwood ◆Sugarland ◆Def Leppard

Favorite Movie ◆Tommy Boy

Favorite Show ◆Tool Academy

Newtonian

Anne Dudek ’93 was a prominent cast member of the television show “House,” where she portrayed Amber Volakis from 2007-2009. She has also appeared in other shows such as “Bones,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “ER,” “NUMB3RS” and “Mad Men.” Dudek has also appeared on the big screen in movies such as “White Chicks,” “The Naughty Lady” and “Speed Dating.” Dudek appeared on stage early in her career and was featured in “American Theatre” magazine as one of the “ten young artists to watch.”

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sports

14 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Injuries strike football

JOSH BAKAN Injuries have been an obstacle for football, 1-4, said senior Humberto Castillo, a captain with seniors Faisal Mayanja, Conor O’Neil and Eddie Pang. “We’re banged up right now, so we need to step up,” Castillo said. Recently injured are seniors Maxx Lyman, a defensive end, Alex Talishinsky, a left tackle, and Troy Peterson, a running back. Although Talishinsky is injured, the offensive line has made great strides this year, Castillo said. “Our offensive line has been stepping up, and they’ve been doing a whole lot better than at the start of the year,” he said. Leading the defense have been Mayanja, a middle linebacker, senior Andre Donegan, a defensive end, and junior Ben Clark, a safety, Castillo said. Coach Peter Capodilupo said, “We’re not good at some techniques. We hustle and work hard, but we’re not as experienced as we want to be. “We’ve been hit by injuries, but when someone goes down, we keep working. This is a good group of kids. They care about each other.” Today, the Tigers visit Weymouth. “Their running back is a big guy,” he said. “It was hard to bring him down last year. But our defensive line is better than last year.” Next Friday, the Tigers visit Braintree, which they “have a very good chance of beating,” Castillo said. Saturday at Wellesley, the Raiders beat the Tigers 23-15. “Wellesley is a very skilled team,” Capodilupo said. “We played alright. I was not upset with our effort.” Friday Oct. 2 at Needham, the Rockets beat the Tigers 9-0. “We were shooting ourselves by committing stupid penalties,” Castillo said. “After Talishinsky got hurt, we weren’t really focused.” BY

Shira Bleicher

Hosting Milton and Natick: Junior Margo Gillis finished first with 18:26. Senior Susannah Gleason, a captain, finished fifth with 20:25. Natick beat the Tigers 27-28. Milton beat the Tigers 23-33.

Girls’ cross country, 4-6, to host Warriors Tigers to send junior to Bay State Invitational at Northﬁeld Mountain ELI DAVIDOW With the last meet of the season here against Brookline, it is critical for girls’ cross country, 4-6, to emerge victorious, said coach Peter Martin. The Tigers host the Warriors Wednesday. “With Brookline, the meet should be very close,” Martin said. “They’re going to be the last team on our home course, so it’ll be important. “The meet will show to us the course of our improvement,” he added. Helping out those new to varBY

sity, Martin cited seniors Susannah Gleason, Shoshana Kruskal and Jaya Tripathi. “They have done a very good job of leading the younger members,” Martin said. Tomorrow the Tigers are sending junior Margo Gillis as an individual to the Bay State Invitational at Northfield Mountain to help her prepare for the State Meet there later this season. This is Gillis’ first season on the cross country team. “The course at Northfield is very difficult,” Martin said. “It’s uphill the first half and downhill

the second half. “I’m expecting Margo to do very well indeed.” Working on the basic things will enable the Tigers to qualify for States, Gleason said. Gleason is a captain with Kruskal and seniors Julia Belamarich and Adele Levine. “With intense workouts, hopefully it will let us do our best,” she said. In the most recent meets, Wellesley defeated the Tigers here 21-40 Wednesday. Tuesday, Oct. 6, the Tigers defeated Norwood 15-50 and

Braintree 15-49 in a dual meet in Norwood. “There were more good performances and in that situation, we came out on top,” Gleason said. Gleason finished first with 21:43 and Gillis followed her with 21:44. Here against Natick and Milton Thursday, Oct. 1, the Tigers lost 27-28 and 23-33 respectively. “They both have strong teams,” Gleason said. “Both of them did really well there.” Gillis took ﬁrst place with a time of 18:26.

Injury sets back boys’ cross country

Shira Bleicher

Leading the pack: Senior Michael Goldenberg, junior Ezra Lichtman, junior Dan Ranti and senior Jake Gleason are top ﬁnishers for the Tigers, hosting Natick and Milton Thursday, Oct. 1 at Cold Spring Park. The Tigers defeated both teams 15-48.

BY JOSH BAKAN Despite a key injury, boys’ cross country, 9-0, is still contending for States, said senior Michael Goldenberg, a captain with senior Jake Gleason. Sophomore Justin Keefe chipped a bone in his ankle against Framingham and Walpole Thursday, Oct. 1, Goldenberg said. “He’ll probably be out for the season,” Goldenberg said. “We were looking to go undefeated, but losing Justin hurts a lot.” “We have a really good group of core runners,” he said. “We have about five good runners while other teams have one or two.” Coach Jim Blackburn said senior Mike Weinfeld replaces Keefe as one of the team’s top ﬁve runners. “Justin was one of our top runners, so that hurts us in our big meets,” Blackburn said. Other top runners are Gleason, Goldenberg and juniors

Ezra Lichtman and Dan Ranti, he said. The Tigers are focused on their biggest meet of the season against Brookline here Wednesday, Blackburn said. “Both of us are undefeated,” Blackburn said. “With Keefe, we had an excellent chance of beating them. Now, there’s a chance that we lose.” Wednesday at Wellesley, the Tigers beat the Raiders 19-43. Lichtman placed first, Gleason placed third, Ranti placed fourth and Weinfeld placed fifth. Tuesday Oct. 6 at Norwood, the Tigers beat the Mustangs 1643 and beat Braintree 18-45. “As a team, we did very well,” Blackburn said. “We weren’t concerned about the meet.” “We didn’t rest up for that meet,” Goldenberg said. “That makes us slightly slower and more tired, but it gives us more training.” Ranti and Lichtman finished at 17:36. Gleason finished at 17:57.

sports

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 15

Girls’ swimming to host Dedham MEREDITH ABRAMS Focusing on turns, breakouts and finishes, girls’ swimming, 34-1, has come a long way this season, coach Kirsten Touhy said. “The fruits of the labor of what we’ve been working on all season are becoming apparent,” Touhy said. “While we may not be winning every meet, meets are much more competitive than in past years, and they should be proud of themselves,” she said. “Right now, I want them to maintain their focus and their intensity,” she said. “I need them to continue to push themselves, to continue to bring their times down. “In addition to maintaining focus in practice, I also need them to maintain focus on winning in meets, and I need them to stay healthy. “Overall, I’m feeling really very good,” Touhy added. “We have worked hard, times are continuing to come down and we may have broken through a plateau in several events with several individuals.” So far, the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay have qualified for States, along with sophomores Stephanie Brown and Hunter Hedenberg in diving. The relays will be swum by whoever is swimming fastest at the time, Touhy said. Senior Zoe Talkin qualified for sectionals in the 100 butterfly, and sophomore Thao Bach BY

qualiﬁed for sectionals in the 200 individual medley, the 100 breast and the 100 butterﬂy. Talkin, a captain with seniors Caeden Brynie and Carissa Chan, said everyone has shown great improvevment with stroke technique and endurance. “We’re a very strong team, we work really hard in practice, we’re dedicated, and we just keep getting better and better,” Talkin said. Hosting Dedham Tuesday, Touhy said she predicts a win. “Dedham has a very small team, and we have the sheer numbers to beat them,” she said. Friday, the Tigers visit Needham. “We will have some very fast swims, and I expect many qualifying times at that meet,” Touhy said. Touhy predicts another win against Weymouth at home Tuesday, Oct. 27. “They’re still building, and though they have some very strong swimmers, we just have more depth,” Touhy said. Tuesday, the Tigers defeated Brookline 100-81 at Brookline. “We did have some great swims and very exciting races,” Touhy said. “Our swimmers did a great job, and we had several people break through their plateaus.” Framingham beat the Tigers 92-89 at home Tuesday, Oct. 6. Walpole defeated the Tigers 103-81 here Friday, Oct. 2.

Edan Laniado

Diving: Sophomore Hunter Hedenberg sets up here against Braintree September 29.

Field hockey, 2-7, works on slowing down offensive plays ELI DAVIDOW With precise execution, the chances of qualifying for the postseason are still alive for ﬁeld hockey, 2-7, said coach Celeste Myers. “We’re very skilled as a team, perhaps more skilled than in the past,” she said. “But sometimes we rush a lot of plays or hold the ball too long.” Myers also cited team chemistry as a key element to claim a playoff berth. “That will be the thing that pushes us forward,” she said. “We’re just a young team pulling it together, so at this part of the season, we need to be calm and collective as a team to perform.” Sophomore Katya Villano has been a player who has performed well in recent games, said senior Leanne Luke, a co-captain with BY

Edan Laniado

Driving the ball: Sophomore Alison Berkowitz brings the ball downﬁeld as the Tigers, 2-7, host Natick. Natick won 3-1.

senior Tal Shemesh. “Katya has deﬁnitely improved as a forward,” she said. “She’s scored a lot of goals as of late, and she’s been key in a few games.” The last four games pose some of the most difﬁcult challenges of the season, Myers said. “In terms of passion, these teams we’re playing soon are all motivated and excellent,” she said. “We’ll have to bring our intensity and our passion to win to that level.” From game to game, the Tigers will approach every opponent in the same manner, Myers said. “Our strategies won’t change when we play different teams,” she said. First at Wellesley Wednesday, the Tigers expect is to see another challenging opponent, Myers said. “We haven’t played Wellesley

so far this season, but we are probably going to see a good team in team,” she said. In the Tigers’ next two games at Brookline Friday and here against Needham Wednesday, Oct. 28, the team expects a tough time, Myers said. “They are teams that we have already faced and had trouble with, so both games should be challenges,” she said. The Tigers finish their season against Dedham Thursday, Oct. 29, which should stand as a difficult game, Myers said. In previous games, the Tigers hosted and beat Braintree 2-0 Friday for the second time. “It was definitely a confidence booster,” Luke said. Here Thursday, Oct. 8, Natick defeated the Tigers 3-1. Framingham shut out the Tigers 3-0 Thursday, Oct. 1.

Girls’ soccer, 1-6-3, develops talent despite injuries JOSH BAKAN Despite injuries to two captains, girls’ soccer, 1-6-3 as of Wednesday, has been competitive in every game, coach James Hamblin said. “We’re in every single game,” he said. “We have good determination and good communication. Some results just haven’t fallen our way.” Senior Kim Gillies, a captain with seniors Lee Ford and Camilla Jackson, is out for the season with an ACL injury. Jackson was out with a hip ﬂexor injury, but returned Wednesday, Oct. 7. Stepping up recently have been junior Ellen Goldberg, a midﬁelder, and sophomore Holly BY

Szafran, a forward, Hamblin said. “Ellen has been really consistent in the midﬁeld,” he said. “She has scored one goal. Holly has been working hard. She’s scored two goals.” Goals for the Tigers are to “put the ball in the back of the net,” Hamblin said. “We want to score more goals without giving up too many.” Gillies said the Tigers are “passionate and willing to go after balls, but we need to work on ﬁnishing shots and capitalizing on our opportunities to score. “Our defense is generally strong. There have been a few communication breakdowns, but

overall, it’s strong. “The offense had been OK. We’re a young team, so we don’t have a lot of experience. “A main goal is to keep improving. When we break down for ﬁve minutes, the other teams have been able to capitalize. Even if the result doesn’t show our effort, we hope to keep improving as a team. I’m excited for the rest of the season.” Monday, the Tigers visit Dedham and then Wednesday, they visit Wellesley. “Dedham always has a strong program,” Gillies said. “If we work hard on the quality of our possessions against Wellesley, our passes and our

shots, we’ll get good results.” Next Friday, the Tigers visit Brookline, “a very organized team,” Hamblin said. “When we last played them, we tied them 1-1,” he said. “It was a very even game. We’ll be better and stronger than last time, though. Monday, Oct. 26, the Tigers host Andover. “We don’t know much about Andover,” Hamblin said. “They’re not in the Bay State Conference. Our conference is tough, so it’s hard to compare them to other teams.” In the penultimate game of the season Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Tigers host Needham.

“We must be more focused than the last time we played them,” Hamblin said. “We let in some soft goals. We have to hit home at this point of the season.” Friday, Oct. 9, Braintree beat the Tigers here 3-0. “It was raining, and we haven’t had many games in the rain,” Gillies said. “We fell asleep for a couple minutes.” Thursday, Oct. 8, the Tigers tied Natick here 1-1. “The game came down to the last minutes,” Gillies said. “We couldn’t capitalize on our opportunities on our possessions.” The Tigers were to have visited Weymouth yesterday.

sports

16 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Boys’ soccer to host Wellesley T

said. “Gianluca is a very physical MEREDITH ABRAMS hough boys’ soccer, 1-6-1 player, he has a good understandas of Wednesday, is still ing of the game, and he’s a good struggling to ﬁnish on vocal leader. “Luke is a very athletic kid, scoring opportunities, the Tigers have found an ability to compete fast, good in the air and he’s for all 80 minutes of a game, said really stepped up to be a key contributor.” coach Brian Rooney. Hosting Welles“It took us a coach Brian l e y We d n e s d a y, long time to get Rooney said they into the game,” Rooney would be a solid Rooney said. “We have an ability to opponent. “ We f o u n d “They can put ourselves falling pass the ball and move it the ball in the back behind, so we around.” of the net,” he said. started getting into the game and now we have “But we’re a little less concerned an ability to compete for the en- about who our opponent is. We’re more focused on scoring goals.” tire game.” Friday, the Tigers host BrookHe said that the strength of the line. team is technical skills. “If we can play with them, “We have an ability to pass the ball and move it around pretty we’ll get a little bit of a hint if well, but we struggle to be ag- we’re improving, because they’re gressive enough, and when we a team we’ve already played,” do create chances we have a hard Rooney said. Viscomi, a captain with seniors time ﬁnishing,” he said. Rooney cited juniors Jeremy Ben Gross and Gabe Paul, said Gurvits and Gianluca Viscomi the team has improved greatly and sophomore Luke Westman since the start of the season. “We’re going through a tough as key players. “Jeremy is skillful and talented transition, but we’ve started getand is important in helping cre- ting up the intensity level, movate scoring chances,” Rooney ing the ball around better, and BY

Teddy Wenneker

Hosting Dedham: Sophomore Andrew Redmond approaches the goal for the ﬁrst point of the game. The Tigers won 4-0 Wednesday at home. playing great in games,” Viscomi said. Monday Oct. 26 the Tigers visit Weymouth and Wednesday, Oct. 28 they visit Needham. “Needham is another team that beat us the ﬁrst time,” he said. “We have a good chance to compete in that game.” In the most recent game at

home Wednesday, the Tigers shut out Dedham 4-0. The Tigers lost 1-0 in Natick Wednesday, Oct. 10, and 1-0 at home against Braintree Tuesday, Oct. 9. “We gave up a goal in the box in the ﬁrst half and had a really serious attempt the second half, but we couldn’t score,” Rooney

said of the game against Natick. Thursday, Oct. 1 the Tigers lost 2-0 to Framingham at home. “They put a lot of pressure on us in the ﬁrst half and scored early,” Rooney said. “But the second half, we applied more pressure.” The Tigers were to have hosted Weymouth yesterday.

BY EVAN CLEMENTS aving each player feel satisﬁed with her skills as an athlete and having team cohesiveness are goals for volleyball, 12-1, coach Richard Barton said. “On all positions we have players with strong abilities who can play under all conditions,” he said. “We want to follow the two-second rule.” The two-second rule states that when a player makes a mistake, they take two seconds to reﬂect on it, and then they let go of it and continue playing. Commenting on the State Tournament, for which the Tigers have qualified, Barton said, “I don’t think there is any one team that could definitely beat us... there are plenty that could beat us, but overall we’re equal, so other factors play into it.” Senior Ellie Bernstein, a team captain, said, “our team has become much more dynamic and communicates much better than earlier in the season. “We need to start games stronger and play at a high level throughout the game,” she said. At Weymouth today, Barton said, “I think we’re stronger than Weymouth...we’ve improved and

they’ve improved, but we should have a strong outcome.” Tuesday, the Tigers visit Wellesley. “They’ve only lost to the strongest teams, but as far as I know we have better hitting, setting and blocking,” he said. The Tigers visit Brookline Thursday. “[Sophomore] Maya Midzik, one of the better hitter/ blockers in the state, is intent on having a great match against us, however, we started out stronger,” Barton said. Needham visits the Tigers Tuesday, Oct. 27, and the Tigers host Ursuline Thursday, Oct. 29 in their ﬁnal regular season match. Wednesday, the Tigers defeated Dedham 3-0 at Dedham. “We played a very strong match against an inexperienced team,” Barton said. Monday, Oct. 12, the Tigers won the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Showcase of Champions in Springﬁeld. Thursday, Oct. 8 the Tigers defeated Braintree 3-2 at home, Tuesday, Oct. 6 the Tigers beat Natick 3-0 here, Saturday, Oct. 3 they defeated the Lions 3-2 at Newton South and Friday, Oct. 2 the Tigers beat Framingham at Framingham.

Thursday, Oct. 8 the Tigers defeated Weymouth 68.5-39.5 at home, and Tuesday Oct. 6 the Tigers defeated Dedham 59-49 at home. “It was a good match for us because Dedham is a very strong team,” MacDougall said. “They have three players who are very skilled, but we have team depth and that prevailed.” Junior T.J. Ryan, a captain with senior Ben Sauro, said the team is looking ahead to the State Tournament right now. “We have a lot of younger, ﬁrst-year players stepping up, we have a lot of talent and we’ve gotten better at handling pressure,”

Ryan said. Sauro, Ryan and junior Eric Regensburg went to the Bay State Conference match at Wellesley Monday Oct. 5, ﬁnishing eighth with a gross score of 249 points. “It was tough, and it was a challenge for everyone out there,” MacDougall said. At Braintree Thursday, Oct. 1, the Tigers won 70-38. “We had a pretty dominating effort,” MacDougall said. “Braintree has some good golfers, but they’re not up to the level and depth we are, and that pulled us through.” The Tigers were to have hosted Brookline yesterday.

Girls’ volleyball makes tournament

Edan Laniado

Against Natick: Junior Melissa Jewett sets the ball to junior Emily Hutchinson as senior Maia Levoy watches on. The Tigers won 3-0.

Golf relies on depth against challenging BSC teams MEREDITH ABRAMS aving qualified for the State Tournament, golf, 8-4, is facing some of the toughest teams in the Bay State Conference in the coming weeks. “It will be a good test for us heading into States going up against those teams,” coach Bob MacDougall said. MacDougall said those matches are the focus of the team. “We want to get through these four matches and get ready for States on a high note,” he said. “We want to come in well, playing against good competition. “The tournament is very unBY

predictable. It’s a course where some guys have played a lot, and some haven’t. If we’re playing consistently, we should do well. “I hope we come prepared, and I hope we have fun, relax and play well, because if we want to make ﬁnals we’re going to have to go out there and get it,” MacDougall said. Depth is the strength of the team, MacDougall said. “Players can have a bad day and it’s not as much of an issue,” he said. Experience has also improved over the season, he said. “At the start we lacked some experience,” MacDougall said.

“But a bunch of players came a long way, and I’m real happy with their improvements.” In their ﬁnal regular season match, the Tigers visit Needham Monday. “It’s always a tough course, and they’re very good,” MacDougall said. “They’ll be looking forward to beating us at their home course, as we beat them at home earlier in the season. “It will take a special effort, but I think we can do it,” he said. Wellesley defeated the Tigers 54.5-53.5 Tuesday at Wellesley. “They’re a very tough team,” MacDougall said. “They were just better than us by a stroke.”