Newtonite ◆ Friday, Dec. 18, 2009 • Volume 88, Issue 15
Non-profit org. US postage paid Newton, Mass. Permit no. 55337
Newton North High School, 360 Lowell Ave., Newtonville, Mass. 02460
Fewer N’s in first term than last year MARENA COLE MATT KALISH After faculty revised the Nrule last year, there has been a decrease in the amount of students receiving N’s, according to assistant principal Deborah Holman. The percentage of seniors receiving an N first term this year decreased by two percent from last year to 6.54 percent, juniors by half a percent to 6.7 percent and only 2.5 percent of freshmen received N’s first term. Sophomores went up over 3 percent to 7.76 percent. “We want to look at all the numbers to see what we were doing right with conveying the message to the freshmen and not the sophomores,” Holman said. An N is a mark given to students indicating that they will receive no credit for a class because they have not met the attendance requirements. Last year, an N-rule committee revised the N-rule after discussions with faculty. The revised rule, which was put into effect this year, outlines steps for follow-up after unexcused absences. According to the current rule, a student will receive an N in a class that meets four times a week if he/she has nine total absences, three unexcused absences or nine total tardies. In a class that meets twice a week, a student will receive an N if he has four total absences, two unexcused absences or four total tardies. According to the rule: ◆ For one unexcused absence, the teacher must talk with the student about the absence. The rule also recommends that the teacher notify the housemaster, call a parent or guardian and require the student to make up time with the teacher. ◆For a second unexcused absence, the teacher must notify the housemaster within one day at most. The housemaster will call home, talk to the student and work with the teacher to assign a detention. ◆For a third unexcused absence, the teacher must notify the BY
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Teddy Wenneker
Against Framingham: Senior Lucy Abbott, a captain, tries to hook the ball over Framingham defenders here Friday, Dec. 11. The Tigers defeated the Flyers 54-36.
housemaster. The housemaster will then meet with the student’s parent or guardian and “assign the appropriate consequences,” it says. Any additional unexcused absences will result in an immediate suspension and a required parent/guardian re-entry meeting, it says. Adams housemaster James D’Orazio said he’s seen a decrease in class cutting this year. “Study hall attendance has been very good,” he said. “The culture is starting to shift in a positive way.” D’Orazio said the follow-up steps have encouraged teachers and housemasters to collaborate. Typically, he said, in the case of an unexcused absence, a teacher will confront the student and make a phone call home. “That’s usually the end of it,” he said. “If it happens again, then I know there’s a more serious issue here. I’ll make a call or have meetings with the parents and the student. “These steps have allowed us to focus on what’s important, which is having students in classes. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s gotten much, much better.” Beals housemaster Michelle Stauss said that with follow-up steps, students are less prone to cut class. “I’m sure there are other factors at play, but I’m also sure the follow-up steps and proactive interventions have made an impact,” she said. “I believe that students are taking class attendance more seriously, given that as a whole, the junior class received fewer N’s this quarter.” Stauss also said that currently there is good communication between teachers and housemasters. “Teachers are definitely communicating their concern over any student’s absences,” she said. “All of us in the school want students to attend class. Showing up is half the battle. “It’s not necessarily the specific policy, but our collective efforts that make the impact.”
Main Street may be closed for lunch after vacation REBECCA HARRIS When students return from the December break, it’s likely that Main Street will be closed during lunch, according to Riley housemaster Mark Aronson. At a Student Faculty Administration meeting Wednesday, Dec. 16, Aronson spoke about the growing trash problem on Main Street. Students have continued to leave trash on Main Street during the lunch block, despite posters asking them to pick up after BY
themselves and the housemasters’ message that Main Street would be closed during lunch if the trash problem persisted, he said. “We have no alternative,” he said. “We’ve pretty much tried everything.” When he asked custodians about the trash problem, they expressed “disappointment” in Newton North students, he said. “It’s really about personal responsibility,” he said. Principal Jennifer Price said
that she “would fully support the housemasters’ decision to close Main Street.” The trash on Main Street is unacceptable and “embarrassing,” she said. Price also said that the SFA should consider where students will eat in the new building. “What I envision and what you propose may be different things, but I think we should have a conversation about it,” she said. “I feel pretty strongly that it should be in the cafeteria.”
Additionally, sophomore Allison Wu withdrew a proposal that would have allowed sophomores with open campus to leave the cafeteria during cancelled classes. Aronson said that he didn’t see any serious problems with the current situation. “Things seem fine the way they are,” he said. “As it stands, it seems like a ‘no harm, no foul’ policy’” because there aren’t any consequences for sophomores who leave the cafeteria unless they cause trouble,
See ToBGLAD — Pages 8 and 9
he said. Faculty co -chair Gregory Drake said that “while we believe morally that students who have earned open campus have earned the right, we logistically don’t see any way to do it.” Also, student co-chair Ezra Cohen drafted a sample course assessment that teachers could use mid-year. The assessment is part of his proposal to encourage teachers to use such assessments in the classroom, which is still under discussion.