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Newtonite

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US postage paid Newton, Mass.

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Newton North High School, 457 Walnut St., Newtonville, Mass. 02460

◆ Friday, April 8, 2011 • Volume 90, Issue 5

FY12 budget cuts educators HILARY BRUMBERG PERRIN STEIN Tackling the budget is an annual undertaking for the School Committee and superintendent, requiring “as much creativity as possible in order to prevent a negative impact on the classroom,” according to superintendent David Fleishman.

At a meeting Wednesday, the School Committee passed Fleishman’s $171,620,000 budget for Fiscal Year 2012.

With the $4.4 million deficit, 9.8 full time educators (FTEs) will be eliminated at the high school level, among other efficiencies.

Beginning in November, the School Committee created Budget Guidelines and system-wide goals, according to member Reenie Murphy.

Fleishman used the School Committee’s guidelines “a lot,” he said. He was especially mindful of the committee’s warning that it might be impossible to continue the current breadth of programs and class sizes, given the budget gap, Fleishman said.

Based on the budget gap, 2.9 FTEs were cut from this school, and 6.9 FTEs were cut from South. This difference in the number of reductions is to adjust for enrollment increases and to equalize class sizes by level at both high schools, Fleishman said.

These cuts could change BY

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Emma Hanselman

Traditional ribbon dance: Senior Anita Li performs at Asian Culture Night Saturday.

based on state aid, which will be decided upon in the state budget later this spring, according to the FY12 budget. In the best case scenario, NPS would receive $696,113. It would use the money to add back FTEs, including 3.1 regular education FTEs and 1.8 special education FTEs at the high school level.

Also, current negotiations between the Newton Teachers’ Association (NTA) and the School Committee about a contract for educators’ salaries and benefits could affect the FTE reduction allocations, according to NTA president Mike Zilles.

Since September, teachers have been working without a contract, so the provisions of last year’s contract are still in place. When a new agreement is reached, the School Committee and Fleishman will revise the budget based on the new contract, he said.

According to Zilles, it is urgent that the NTA and the School Committee agree on the terms of a new contract as soon as possible because it could reduce the number of positions eliminated and programs lost in the current budget allocation.

“If we cannot agree on a contract until next school year, it will be difficult to make changes because the cuts called for in Dr. Fleishman’s FY12 budget will already be in place and staffing for next year will already be set,” Zilles said.

Fees added, raised for extra-curricular activities HILARY BRUMBERG PERRIN STEIN Every year since he can remember, freshman Sam Jones’ parents have paid hundreds of dollars in fees for him to participate in soccer and baseball.

Starting next year, based on the FY12 budget, his parents will also be asked to contribute a $125 fee for his occasional attendance of Model U.N. Jones said although “Model U.N. gives me confidence in speaking and a perspective on what’s happening in the world,” he will not participate next year because of the $125 fee.

“It’s unfair to ask my family to pay for clubs on top of sports if I can’t go to every session of Model U.N.,” he said.

Next year, involvement in unlimited non-athletic schoolsponsored extra-curricular activities (clubs), such as Model U.N., will cost $125. The price for participation in school sports will increase to $400 for football and ice hockey and $300 for all other sports, according to the budget. Depending on a

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student’s role in drama productions, participation may be $150 per show.

These fees are being added to help offset the $4.4 million budget gap and to minimize its effect on the classroom, according to superintendent David Fleishman.

“While the increase in fees will be a challenge for some students, we will do everything possible to provide financial assistance so that we don’t lose participants,” Fleishman said.

Based on analysis of other fees the Newton Public Schools has added in past years, along with examination of neighboring districts’ fees, Fleishman and the School Committee determined each fee, he said.

According to the budget, an estimated 13 percent of students who currently participate in clubs will no longer do so after the fee is added; 25 percent of students who play school sports will no longer do so with the fee increase; and 25 percent of students who currently participate in drama productions will no

longer do so with the fee.

Despite this loss of participation in clubs, school sports and drama, NPS is expecting to gain $905,750 from these fees in FY12, according to the budget.

The Newtonite surveyed 186 students and asked if they would still participate in the school-sponsored extra-curricular activities they currently partake in if participation fees were added or raised. (See graphs to the right.)

According to the survey, 74 percent of students who currently participate in clubs said they will not do so next year because of the fee and 47 percent of students who play school sports said they will stop due to the fee increase. Also, 66 percent of students who currently participate in drama will not continue due to the fee, according to the survey results.

Fleishman said although these fees do not seem to account for much of the NPS budget, the revenue will “accrue to enrich programs and to preserve as much as possible.”

If you currently partake in a school-sponsored extra-curricular activity, would you continue to do so if a participation fee was added or raised?

Clubs

Sports

Drama

Newtonite survey of 186 students

Loss of federal stimulus aid furthers budget deficit HILARY BRUMBERG PERRIN STEIN In FY11, the Newton Public Schools received $1,852,827 in federal stimulus money for special education programs, according to the FY12 budget.

The stimulus money allowed for the creation of Central High School, the preservation of 13.6 FTEs of special education staff, the support of out-of-district tuition and the usage of more assistive technology, according

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to the FY12 budget.

It will expire at the end of FY11, except for the $861,981 allocated for the Educational Jobs Grant, which are funds the federal government used to create and retain education jobs over a two-year period, so they will continue in FY12, according to deputy superintendent Paul Stein.

Although the majority of the federal stimulus money expires at the end of FY11, NPS plans to

continue many of the programs that this money was used for, according to the FY12 budget.

“These funds were originally used for valuable, excellent programs, so we want to preserve these things,” superintendent David Fleishman said.

As a result of keeping these programs without federal funding, Fleishman and the School Committee looked at different ways to offset the loss of $990,846, he said.

One way to offset the loss of the federal stimulus money was to cut 4.2 FTEs of special education at the high school level.

Originally, the federal stimulus funding was created in 2009 when Congress looked for ways to quickly infuse money into the economy in order to add jobs, according to assistant director of Student Services Abigail Hanscom.

This stimulus funding took the form of aid for special edu-

cation throughout the country, as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, she said.

According to Hanscom, “Going forward, there will be appropriate programs to be in compliance with student IEPs and to meet their needs, but the programs may be structured differently than they were in the past in order to achieve equity in staffing across both high schools.”

opinion

2 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, April 8, 2011

Use knowledge gained at school in the real world AMANDA HILLS From kindergarten through high school and beyond, we are taught core subjects like English, history, math, science and world language.

Our teachers cram informa-

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symposium tion into our heads about literature, world wars, grammar, biology, geometry and other topics that seem completely irrelevant to our lives.

What do we actually gain from all our effort and hard work? How much of what we learn in school is applicable to life beyond these four walls?

An educated person is not always someone who is schoolsmart, but also someone who is street-smart.

Someone who is educated can take what he or she learns in school and at home and apply it to real world situations.

Learning and absorbing life skills are important aspects of being an educated person.

Educators share different viewpoints on what it means to be educated.

Riley housemaster Mark Aronson said he thinks being educated is about having a consciousness towards the world you live in.

“It’s an awareness of yourself and the world around you,” he said.

Physical education teacher Lauren Baugher said that she feels someone who is educated is dedicated to learning.

She said, “A n e d u c a t ed person is someone who is always open Newtonian t o l e a r n i n g .

They are well Lauren rounded, have Baugher a good concept of different subjects and a zest for learning. They want to improve and gain knowledge.”

Math teacher Janice Licht-

man said she thinks an educated person is logical and reasonable.

She said, “Being educated means to know how to think for yourself and to figure out what you think for yourself. And to know how to find information, to think logically and solve problems. You have to have some basic concepts and know a little about different subjects, but it’s more about Newtonian your ability to Janice think.”

Lichtman I t a l i a n teacher Maria Procoppio-Demas thinks that being educated means being open to obtaining new knowledge.

She said, “To be educated is to have an open mind to different ways of life, to be open to new things, to enjoy all aspects of life and to Newtonian fall in love with David books and the Turcotte knowledge they contain.”

Special education teacher David Turcotte thinks that being educated is about problem solving. He said, “Being educated means being resourceful.

You can find a way to figure out what you need and how you’ll get it.”

Everyone has a different view on what makes an educated person. Some see it as being knowledgeable in core subject matters, while others think it has more to do with resourcefulness and awareness.

Being educated does not necessarily revolve around being book-smart. From school, we gain life skills that will help us succeed in the future not only academically but socially as well.

Newtonite The Newtonite, founded in 1922, is the newspaper of Newton North High School, 457 Walnut St., Newtonville, Mass. 02460.

Circulation managers — Phil Rubin, Michela Salvucci Online Editor — Henry DeGroot Adviser — Kate Shaughnessy Production adviser — Tom Donnellan News staff — Emmett Greenberg, Jared Perlo Features staff — Anna Clements, Jared Freedman Sports staff — Jesse Metzger, Infiniti Thomas-Waheed Arts staff — Ned Martenis, Noah Thompson News analysis staff — Kellynette Gomez Art staff — Catherine Chen, Arielle Conti, Rin Rogers Photography staff — Judith Gibson-Okunieff, Emma Hanselman, Jenny Lewis, Solomon Mercurio, Ivan McGovern, Teddy Wenneker Circulation staff — Irene Betts-O’Rourke, Eyob Gizachew, Sam Jones, Phillipine Kugener, Matthew Soloman Production staff — Charles Attisano The Newtonite staff does all the reporting, production work and photography to produce 16 issues a year for a circulation of 2,000.

To place an ad in the Newtonite or contact us by phone, please call 617-559-6273. Yearly subscriptions cost $20. Readers can also reach us at thenewtonite@gmail.com.

To find the Newtonite online go to www.thenewtonite.com.

Editors in chief — Hilary Brumberg, Ben Hills, Perrin Stein Managing editors — Jay Feinstein, Jacob Schwartz Graphics manager — Gabe Dreyer News editors — Alex Feit, Samantha Libraty Sports editors — Gloria Li, Kristian Lundberg Arts editors — Malini Gandhi, Fatema Zaidi Features editors — Meredith Abrams, Julia Oran, Kayla Shore Freelance editors — Ryan Condon, Steven Michael News analysis editor — Amanda Hills Talk of the Tiger editor — Julia Moss Photography editors — Maliha Ali, Alec Mapes-Frances Production manager — Gabby Ginsberg Advertising managers —Tiphaine Kugener, Evan Nitkin Business manager — Alison Berkowitz

courtesy Teddy Wenneker

Volunteering: Senior D’Jaidah Wynn plays with children while on a trip to Nicaragua.

Budget cuts are necessary Every year, the superintendent makes difficult decisions regarding budget cuts for the upcoming fiscal year.

It is tough to choose what costs can be lowered and what costs must be raised.

editorial Superintendent David Fleishman has to make cuts that will allow the school system to maintain the highest quality of education within a budget of $171,620,000.

These decisions must be made carefully to ensure that no classroom or extracurricular activity suffers too great of an impact.

Fo r F Y 1 2 , F l e i s h m a n raised the user fee for athletics from $210 to $300 per person with a family cap of $900 per year.

All drama participants will

have to pay a $150 user fee per person per show with a cap of $450 per year. In addition, students participating in non-athletic schoolsponsored extra-curricular activities will have to pay a fee of $125.

However burdensome these fees seem, they are necessary. While, they may be frustrating for students, increasing these fees will stop some programs from being cut.

In tough financial times, this is necessary. If these costs are not raised, more faculty members would be in danger of being cut.

At this school, 2.9 FTEs will be cut.

Last year, the positions of assistant principal, library department chair, on campus coordinator and executive secretary were eliminated.

With even more faculty positions being eliminated this year, user fees must be raised or added, in order to prevent many faculty members from being cut.

In FY12, there will be an increased number of classes with over 25 students, despite these new fees. This is a drastic change and will require a large adjustment for both teachers and students.

By instituting these fees, we can prevent school-run programs and activities from being eradicated all together, keep our class sizes from becoming too large and also help preserve some jobs.

Budget cuts will never satisfy every program. Fleishman does not want to have to eliminate programs all together, so certain measures must be taken, no matter how frustrating they seem.

Education is always changing AMANDA HILLS It is first period on a Monday.

A student walks into his biology class, takes out his notebook and pencil and yawns. His mind goes into sleep mode, as he assumes that nothing useful will be taught during the class period. As he travels from class to

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column class, he follows the same routine. The student is physically in the class but not mentally.

Our generation is living in a very different world from the one our parents grew up in. We have people who are inventing, thinking and progressing at a rate that is new and startling.

Necessary survival skills for this world are changing. Now, teenagers learn how to avoid cyber-bullying, as opposed to how to avoid being picked last for dodgeball in P.E. But one standard should never fluctuate: the standard for education.

Correction:

The motivation behind learning has changed.

It has come to revolve around what looks good on a transcript and what will supposedly get you far in life. Parents pressure their kids into getting good grades by pushing the idea into their head that if they are not the best in their class, they will not succeed in the real world.

Education is no longer about absorbing information because it is valuable.

Race to Nowhere, a documentary about the stress of school focuses on “the dark side of America’s achievement culture.” It points out: while much of the world is progressing, another part of it seems to be backtracking. Education is not what it used to be.

It is our generation’s responsibility to bring back the positive connotations of education. We need to regain that drive we once had for learning.

It is now our job to redefine

In the March 25 issue in the article “Hilda Carp inspires students” on page 2, Language Lab coordinator Hilda Karp’s name was misspelled.

education as stimulating and enlightening. We need to get rid of our contempt for what sometimes seems like pointless information, and replace it with a craving for knowledge and a determination to learn.

There will always be monotonous teachers, boring classes and dull courses that you will have to take.

But students should want to learn and succeed in school because they want to feel cultured and knowledgeable not because they or their parents think that good grades look impressive.

We need to appreciate and take full advantage of the education we’re exposed to.

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, April 8, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 3

Atrium plans move forward JARED PERLO Members of the Student Faculty Administration have further drafted and discussed plans for reinvigorating Main Street with a student-friendly vibe.

The most recent prospective plan for introducing more culture into Main Street involves morphing a portion of the cafeteria closest to Main Street into a lounge area.

Chief Innovation Officer Stephen Chinosi saw the area as a prime location for a laid-back space with counters and chairs for students to relax in.

“This is huge,” Chinosi said several times when talking about the space.

Although not part of the latest written proposal, history teacher Ty Vignone said he might seek help from the drafting classes to come up with a student-friendly design for the area.

Vignone and student SFA members agreed that adding televisions to the cafeteria would make it an even more appealing place to relax. Students could hang out in the cafeteria and relieve pressures and stresses from the day, Vignone said, suggesting that students could watch ESPN while eating and relaxing.

Principal Jennifer Price mentioned that Brookline High School had succeeded in making its cafeteria a student hot spot. She advised SFA members to visit the school to see what BY

did and did not work for them.

Whitsons is currently responsible for most of the cafeteria, including the snack bar area.

Librarian Kevin McGrath said that Whitsons is responsible “for the space up to the wall.”

Price said that “the snack bar will [soon] be open,” another appealing cafeteria amenity.

Another part of the proposal is to add countertops around most of the cafeteria. The proposal included counters on the border of Main Street and the cafeteria, as well as having counters overlook the multipurpose field.

Vignone proposed having stools available for students to sit on, but Adams housemaster James D’Orazio said that he thought stools would add an unnecessary burden to the custodial staff. He pointed out the extra work of having to lift and reset every stool to clean under the counters, and he thought some custodial equipment might not be equipped to clean underneath the counters.

D’Orazio did agree that the improvements would make the cafeteria a better place in which to spend time. “It’s a place to go,” he said.

A subcommittee is also discussing additions to Main Street. It has met several times and some of its members include D’Orazio, Vignone, junior Caleb Bromberg and parent Claudia Wu.

courtesy Gabe Dreyer

Cityscape: In this untitled photograph, junior Gabe Dreyer contrasts old buildings from the new ones on West 18th Street in New York City near The High Line Park.

Teen center sets up fund for freshman Tyler Wise BY

SAMANTHA LIBRATY Fundraising for the family of freshman Tyler Wise has begun, according to Ellen Manning, assitant director of the Bibbo Teen Center.

Wise was in a car accident in late February in New Hampshire. He sustained injuries to his legs and head, according to Manning.

Wise is currently at Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in

Boston, Manning said. He woke up from a coma and can speak, she said.“His parents have been with him in the hospital constantly,” Manning said. “This has made a huge impact for their family,” she added.

Manning and kids at the Teen Center decided to set up a fund at the Village Bank to try to help raise money for the Wise family. Manning said she knows the family well because

Wise spent a lot of time at the Teen Center.

“I asked permission from the family first,” she said, adding that the family will decide what the money will go towards.

“I think that setting up this fund and continuing to fundraise is just one way we can support a family that is going through a hard time,” Manning said. “We’re all about community—that’s what the Teen Cen-

ter is about and what Newton is about,” she added.

A fund was set up at the Village Bank, and people are being asked to donate. “I tried to spread the word through Facebook, the PTSO, the school community and The Newton Tab,” Manning said. Students from the Teen Center thought of ideas to fundraise, according to Manning.

“We are going to go to New-

ton businesses and give them letters that explain the Wise family’s situation, asking them to donate money,” she said.

“I believe everyone can do something. Through the fund, we are supporting the community and raising kids’ awareness that your life can be changed in one second,” Manning said.

Donations can be sent to the Wise Family Fund at the Village Bank.

Juniors raise money to install solar panels

mote energy efficiency within our school community.

“We then decided to give the proceeds to the Green Decade Coalition, a local organization that this school has partnered with in order to help fund installing solar panels,” she added.

Snow said, “I created the Environmental Service Project seven years ago in order to foster stewardship towards the environment.

In addition to learning a lot about their environmental topic, students also learn important life skills of collaborating with outside professionals and creating and sticking to deadlines.”

The students were able to get the light bulbs donated by Energy Star’s “Change a Light, Change the World” program.

According to Energy Star ’s website, “The ‘Change a Light, Change the World’ campaign is a national call-to-action to encourage individuals to help change the world, one light— one energy-saving step—at a time.”

in brief

international students, and it’s exciting that we get to make music together,” he added.

organization of the presentations last year.”

Due to the amount of time that has passed since the last event in 2009, members of MVP decided to revive the club, Kalow said.

“A few of us really felt that MVP’s message was getting lost,” he said. “We decided to bring it back.”

Sophomores, juniors and seniors will be coordinating the event after having submitted applications last year, Kalow said.

According to Kalow, he and senior Sasha Land, another club officer, selected recipients who were “committed to the values of MVP and willing to take an active role” in the program.

Applications for next year’s MVP members will be handed out during the event, Kalow said.

“We welcome as many members as possible and would definitely like to see MVP grow next year,” he said.

The initiative, run by Northeastern University, is nationwide and continues to spread its message of raising “awareness about the level of men’s violence against women,” and challenging “the thinking of mainstream society,” according to the foundation’s website.

Several schools in the area, including South, maintain an MVP club, Kalow said.

HENRY DEGROOT For their AP Biology class, juniors Pamela Chen, Wainy Ngan and Melody Tang are raising money by selling compact fluorescent bulbs. The money raised will be donated to the Green Decade Coalition (GDC), which will put the money toward solar panels for this school.

They sold light bulbs outside of EnviroJam Friday. According to Chen, “The $1 light bulbs went quickly, due to interest and to our fairly aggressive marketing tactics.”

They also sold 150 $5 Newtonian tickets, which Pamela will also go Chen towards the GDC. “Also, we raised interest outside of school as well, and we are going to have to ask for a whole new shipment of bulbs next week, which is extremely exciting,” she said.

Biology teacher Zachary Snow assigns his students an Enviromental Service Project, which is a yearlong project that they work on for a grade.

Chen said, “We decided to hold a CFL fundraiser to pro-

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Australian musicians to perform next week SAMANTHA LIBRATY About 40 music students from Haileybury College in Melbourne, Australia, will be visiting this school Sunday through Thursday, according to fine and performing arts department head Todd Young.

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The students are high-school aged and will be staying with families from this school, he said.

The trip is part of a performance tour the college has put together. According to Young, the students will perform in San Francisco, Newton/Boston, New York City and Los Angeles.

Groups from Haileybury have come to this school in the past. “Former music teacher Richard Travers made a strong connection with them,” Young said. Students from the college have traveled to this school a few times over the years, he said.

This school’s music program has done international performance tours before, Young said.

“It is important that we make this connection and help them out, because when we go on trips, families open their homes to us and are very generous with their time and resources,” he added.

The students will arrive Sunday night, come to school Monday and visit Salem and Boston Tuesday. Then, they will be in school Wednesday to rehearse and perform at Springfest I that evening, Young said.

“It is very exciting that we get to make this connection with

Club to host event for violence prevention ALEX FEIT Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) will be hosting MVP Day, an event designed to spread awareness of gender violence and inequality according to senior Jared Kalow, an MVP officer.

The event, which will take place Wednesday in the film lecture hall and the little theatre during E-, F- and G-blocks, will “emphasize the role of the active bystander in gender Newtonian violence” Jared through meKalow dia presentations, speakouts and training, Kalow said.

“I hope students are already aware of gender violence in our community,” he said.

The club has hosted MVP Day in the past.

However, the club was not able to hold its presentation last year.

“MVP used to be a major part of the school,” Kalow said.

“Budget cuts really stopped the

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arts

4 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, April 8, 2011

‘Green’ concert full of energy MALINI GANDHI The lobby outside the auditorium is filled with color, sound and a pulsing energy that envelopes the throng of people in giddiness. Donuts touched with cinnamon sizzle in a frying pan, colorful purses are crammed on a long table, and in the corner, a group of men pedal stationary bicycles to the blast of music streaming from the little theatre.

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review These fun-filled, seemingly unrelated occurrences are, in fact, united by a common purpose: the need to save our planet. The donuts fry in oil that will later be used to make biodiesel, while the purses are hand-made with various recycled materials.

And the men pedaling the bicycles, affectionately dubbed the “Biker Dads,” are powering the light and sound systems for the annual carbon-neutral concert that all of these festivities revolve around: EnviroJam, which took place Friday in the little theatre.

Introduced by one of the performers with the joke “What is environmentally-friendly and something you can put on toast?” EnviroJam was fabulously energized, allowing the audience to experience the vivacity of this school’s musical talent, while also celebrating some of the innovations that accompany this new era of green awareness.

Indeed, the benefits of the concert were far-reaching.

Started by two of biology teacher Zachary Snow’s AP Biology

students four years ago as part of their Environmental Service Project, proceeds from EnviroJam benefit the non-profit environmental organization Green Decade in an effort to install solar panels in the Newton Public Schools. In addition, this year some of the money will also go towards a Disaster Relief Fund for Japan.

As for the biodiesel made from the donut oil and the acessories constructed with recycled materials, both are featured projects of this school’s Greengineering program, a group that seeks to “invent and create to save the planet,” according to senior Skylar Fox, who introduced the concert.

During intermission, the Greengineers held a fashion show of sorts, with various students sporting everything from bows to laptop cases—all, of course, made from recycled materials, demonstrating the “magic of greengineering,” according to Fox. The show itself was filled with laughter, music and plain goofiness. Various student bands and a cappella groups, as well as the Improv troupe “Spontaneous Generation,” presented an engaging compilation of upbeat, inspirational music and theatre that left the audience with a desire to reach farther and ultimately make a difference.

The concert began with the alternative rock band “Common Illusion,” which was made up of sophomores Alec Mapes-Frances and Owen Weitzman and freshman Emmett McCleary.

Their opening song “In the Airplane Over the Sea” by Neutral Milk Hotel had a strong beat,

Jacob Schwartz

On acoustic guitar: Biology teacher Zachary Snow jams with a group of students playing various string instruments during the first act of this year’s pollution-free EnviroJam. with Mapes-Frances’ forceful, pleading voice rising over thrumming chords, while “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie was softer and touched with harmony.

Bursting with an uncontrolled enthusiasm, Spon Gen’s performance was one of the highlights, with its slightly crazy, always genuine snippets of improvised dialogue and farfetched skits evoking constant laughter from the audience.

Each scene was inspired by an audience response to a question posed by the group.

The question “What’s the first kitchen utensil you use in the morning?” led to a series of wild, loosely connected scenes inspired by a coffee maker, while “What is your favorite breakfast food?” yielded a hilarious skit about a rather defensive chef cooking an omelet.

Seniors Kelly McIntyre and

Fionnuala O’Donovan performed the striking duet “Two Birds,” written by McIntyre.

The piece had a jazzy feel, with abrupt, tumbling piano chords and trills constantly moving and fluctuating, but McIntyre’s pure voice accentuated by O’Donovan’s breathy harmony transformed it into something more innocent and drifting.

This school’s all-girls a cappella troupe Forté delivered another uplifting performance, with its selections “Stand by Me”

by Ben E. King and “Everybody”

by Ingrid Michaelson proving to be softly inspirational songs to smile at and sway to.

Junior Melissa Weikart soloed in “Stand By Me,” her rich, soulful voice vibrating over a bouncy rhythm, while in the softly whimsical love song “Everybody,” O’Donovan provided a gentle, endearing melody.

The concert was brought

full circle with a pounding, energetic performance by the NNHS Faculty Band, which consisted of Snow, physics teacher Matt Anderson and chemistry teacher Brian Gagne.

After a blaring piece entitled “We Will Become Silhouettes”

by The Postal Service that included an impressive guitar solo from Anderson, the band broke out into its annual Recycling Song, which had a wild beat mixed with entertaining rap lyrics, bringing the audience to its feet.

Even beyond the incredible display of green awareness and the interesting exhibition of environmentally friendly innovations, EnviroJam proved to be fun and entertaining, keeping the audience on its toes and begging for more. After all, when have you ever seen your science teacher jam to the lyrics “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”?

Springfest to feature talent of seven ensembles MALINI GANDHI Throughout the school day, the first floor music wing hums with an ever-changing conglomeration of voices and instruments, fluctuating in volume and intensity as the day progresses and new groups of musicians emerge and chatter.

A little before 9 a.m. on a Monday, the quiet, resonating voices of the Concert Choir rise and fall as they move through scales, while a lone, heartwrenching guitar solo emanates from behind a closed door. But come F-block, the air is pounding with the clash of instruments as the Wind Ensemble practices a powerful piece.

The blocks change, the students mingle, but the music remains, a daily testimony to the dedication and work ethic that is going into preparations for Springfest, which will kick off the spring music season Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.

According to fine and performing arts department head Todd Young, the director of Concert Choir, “Springfest gives students the opportunity to get up and perform work they have labored on. I hope students enjoy this unique performance experience and perform at the high level they are capable of.”

Springfest I will include performances by Concert Choir, Jubilee Singers, Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble, while Springfest II will feature Honors String Ensemble, Family Singers and Orchestra.

Concert Choir’s performance will reflect “a return to shorter, varied pieces after our lengthy

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Maliha Ali

Symphonic Band: Freshman Aaron Weinberg spends class time preparing for Springfest. performance of Schubert’s Mass in G,” Young said.

According to Young, the centerpiece of its program will be “Wayfarin’ Stranger,” a traditional gospel tune arranged

by Gilbert M. Martin that has proven challenging, specifically during one section in which six different parts are sung simultaneously.

“The piece requires the singers’ complete focus and attention to detail, but the students have risen majestically to the challenge,” Young said.

Concert Choir will also perform “Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes” by John Wall Callcott, a famous Renaissance

madrigal, as well as a “lighter, more pop-oriented” arrangement of “I Will” by the Beatles.

Also taking on a challenge, Symphonic Band will present all four movements of the “Second Suite in F” by Gustav Holst, a traditional military piece that is “not watered down” and requires students to “do things they aren’t used to,” according to Richard Labedz, the director of both Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble.

However, Labedz noted that the student response to the piece has been positive.

“It’s very catchy, and from the minute I played the recording, the students seemed excited,”

Labedz said.

Wind Ensemble will present “Overture for Winds” by Charles Carter, which will be conducted by teaching intern Jesse Gottlieb, “Irish Tune from County Derry” by Percy Grainger and possibly a joint piece with a group of 40 student musicians visiting from Australia.

The evening will conclude with a performance by the Jubilee Singers, who will sing a variety of songs that reflect the group’s “growth and musicality,” according to director Sheldon Reid.

A notable aspect of Springfest II is that it will feature this year’s Concerto Competition

winners.

In this annual competition, soloists audition in front of the entire music department, and the top students are selected to play a piece of their choice with the Orchestra during Springfest, according to Adam Grossman, the director of Orchestra, String Ensemble and Family Singers.

“It’s an unusual opportunity that is meant to feature dedicated and advanced students,” Grossman said.

This year ’s winners were junior Laura Cooke, who will perform the first movement of the Elgar “Cello Concerto”; seniors Ezra Lichtman and Evan Zhang, who will play the first movement of the Bach “Concerto for Two Violins”; seniors Ellen Goldberg and Carissa Lin, who will perform the second and third movements of the Bloch “Concertino for Flute and Clarinet” along with the String Ensemble; and senior Peter Wu, who will play the first movement of the Hayden “Trumpet Concerto.”

The concertos will also pose a challenge for Orchestra, because “learning accompaniments is always difficult,” according to Grossman.

Also performing, the Family Singers will tackle “a variety of short, contrasting pieces,” according to Grossman.

Their selections will include the Russian piece “Serenade” by Anton Arensky, which will feature a cello solo by senior Linda Bard, “All The Things You Are”

by Jerome Kern, “Peanut Song”

by Jean Berger, “Blackbird” by the Beatles and “Three Hungarian Folk Songs” by Bartok.

arts

Friday, April 8, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 5

Improv troupe prepares for annual productions FATEMA ZAIDI “Teacher!” shouted sophomore Sam Raby. A scene of a teacher arguing with another teacher ensued for three seconds. “Salon!” Raby screamed.

And a different scene was presented of a barber shaving too much hair off a person who didn’t understand what a buzz cut was. Twenty more occupations and locations were shouted out, one after the other.

Afterwards, the cast acted out the same scenes replayed from memory in a minute and fifteen seconds.

This is what a Spontaneous Generation rehearsal looks like.

But before practicing “Death

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by Improv,” the troupe members improvised other scenes in which they had to make up verses to a song with a shared tagline.

Then each person had to remember his or her improvised verse and overlap it with other actors’ verses. Such is the talent of the improv troupe.

Newtonian SpontaneGraham ous GeneraTechler tion “is the one and only improv theatre troupe in which we make up

Jacob Schwartz

Introduction: Senior Skylar Fox explains upcoming acts.

everything on the spot based on the audience’s inspirations,” said junior Graham Techler, a co-director with junior Nicole Bunis.

It took place in the little theatre Wednesday and yesterday and continues tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

The show is really audiencebased and requires its involvement, making it a huge part of the show, Techler said. “It’s fun because it’s short form and long form, and we can have games like Freeze, Style, Death Pendelum, Challenge, etc.,” he said.

“Freeze” is another game that involves the audience. In this game, two of the members of the improv troupe have to begin a scene, but they have to stop when someone from the audience or another cast member shouts, “Freeze!”

Whoever shouted “freeze” has to take the place of the last person and start a brand new scene.

In the game “Styles,” actors do a really short scene based on the audience’s suggestion and then, when the actors are given a film genre, they do the scene again in the style of that genre, said Techler.

Another improv game is “Spinoffs,” in which one actor orders the other actors’ actions, occasionally freezing the other actors or changing their actions randomly.

In “But Not Really,” an actor has to leave the theatre while the others ask the audience for an activity. Objects and places that correspond with that activity are changed.

But these changes have to be expressed without words.

The extra element of not being able to express the changes in words often creates a hilarious scene.

“All of the games are really exhilarating and have a Newtonian lot of energy,” Nicole said Bunis.

Bunis “And obviously,” adds Bunis, “they are really impromptu.”

Although the show is all about improv, the rehearsals

Jacob Schwartz

Spontaneous Generation: Seniors Edan Laniado and Mercer Gary and sophomore Jack Reibstein present a scene as a part of the troupe’s performance at EnviroJam Friday.

Jacob Schwartz

Improvisation: Senior Derek Butterton and junior Nicole Bunis play an improv game as a part of EnviroJam. help the cast members improve their improvising skills.

“We play the games over and over based on each other’s inspiration to work on improving time, pace, structure and group mind,” said Techler.

But the show is not only about improv acting, there is improv music too.

Senior Kelly McIntyre is the improvisational musician, and this is her first experience in improvising on the piano. “I auditioned to improv on the piano kind of on whim,” she said.

McIntyre does the background music during the games, and she also plays along during the musical, she said.

“I kind of just have to feel the mood of the scene and then come up with something off the top of my head,.”

McIntyre has been playing for 10 years, but she has been into song writing for four years, she said. “I just pick a key and just go with it,” she said.

Past Spon Gen shows reflect how having the audience can add to the show.

“Last year we had the lovely Ms. Monahan come up and did a musical based on her life,” Techler said.

“In the past, we had Mr. Travers come up too,” said Techler about retired music teacher, Richard Travers.

This year, Spon Gen is different from last year because there is a smaller troupe, said Techler.

“Literally, everything will be different this year because it’s improv and a new audience,” said Techler.

The adviser of the show, Mike Manship, has been its adviser for eight years.

“Spon Gen is unstoppable — there is no show like this in Massachusetts that does a two hour show of improv and improv music as well,” said Manship.

Techler said he has had an amazing time directing it as well.

“Putting together a group of people and turning them into a well-oiled improv machine is

very rewarding,” he added.

Impov Jam also features improvising skills and will take place Wednesday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the little theatre.

Improv Jam is different from Spon Gen because it features people from improv club, whereas Spon Gen is limited to those who are chosen from auditions, according to Bunis.

“But we do a lot of the same stuff,” said Bunis.

Both Spon Gen and Improv Jam “provide a really fun environment where you get to be creative and crazy and put it into good use,” Bunis said.

“We work with a great group that’s really funny and are really dedicated to what we do,” Bunis said.

Adam Brown, Theatre Ink director, is the adviser of the improv club.

According to Brown, Improv Jam gives members of the improv club the chance to perform twice.

There was an Improv Jam Wednesday, Dec. 15, but the upcoming one will present their recent improvising skills, he said.

“It’s really special because people who are involved with other things like sports can still go to the club and get the opportunity to perform. And it’s just really fun,” said Brown.

The musical is one aspect that makes Spon Gen different from Improv Jam, where a person from the audience is brought up and interviewed and then the troupe does an improv musical based on his or her life, he said.

“I think improv is very freeing because it allows you to think but not do. It helps to teach skills like thinking on the spot and making creative decisions,” he said.

And according to Brown, improv skills don’t just help in theatre.

“It’s a life skill,” he said.“Big corporations bring famous improv troupes to help their management learn how to improv, so it is really just a great skill to have.”

6 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

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Friday, April 8, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 7

Students build community connections KAYLA SHORE I don’t have time for this. Too much homework. Practice every day. Rehearsal until 11. Valid excuses, maybe, but Newton Athletes Serving the Community (ASC) makes it possible for everyone to better the community.

ASC was founded eight years ago by a group of parents who wanted their children, who were student-athletes, to have the chance to volunteer and participate in community service.

“A lot of students have a lot of things going on,” said ASC president Mary Cross, who was one of the original members of the organization. “And a lot of community service requires kids to commit for a long stretch of time.” This group of parents searched for opportunities that were one-day events.

Starting out at this school and quickly spreading to South, ASC creates volunteer opportunities for students by working with different organizations, such as the Special Olympics, and by participating in events like the Walk for Hunger. A little under half of ASC’s 300 members are North students, according to Cross.

“One of the major benefits of ASC is that it transcends schools, helping foster friendship and camaraderie among students between the two schools,” she said.

“We want it to be very low pressure in terms of participaBY

tion,” emphasized Cross. “We try to make it so that if you can come and do it today, we’ll be happy to see you. And if you haven’t been able to come for four months, we’ll still be happy to see you.”

Although ASC originally stood for Atheltes Serving the Community, the organization now reaches out to all high school students.

Anybody is welcome to join, stressed Cross. “You don’t have to go to school in Newton, you don’t have to live in Newton, you don’t have to be an athlete, you just have to want to help,” Cross said.

Even though many of the 300 or so members of ASC may not be able to participate in any events for a stretch of months, the organization still logs an impressive total of 1,200 to 1,500 volunteer hours per year, according to Cross.

The most recent ASC event was the Kevin Clancy Basketball Tournament Saturday, March 5. Organized by Newton Parks and Recreation for Special Olympians in the area, all 20 of the games were held at this school.

According to Cross, ASC volunteers helped escort team members to their games and served as time keepers and score keepers. In past tournaments, volunteers have also served as referees.

“It is one of our favorite events each year,” Cross said.

courtesy Michael Norman

Pep talk: Rick Cass, an organizer of the Kevin Clancy Basketball Tournament, encourages the Newton Celtics.

courtesy Michael Norman

Keeping score: Senior Hannah Herrlich, an ASC president, volunteers at the Kevin Clancy Basketball Tournament with South students Jonathan Katz and Scott Reibstein.

ASC organizes events by either contacting different community service organizations or by receiving requests from certain organizations, said Cross.

Through yearly commitments, ASC often builds connections with organizations. ASC has created a real relationship and partnership with Special Olympics of Newton, she said.

One of the most successful events this year was a fishing derby with Special Olympians this fall, said junior Alessandra Denaro, a student co-president of ASC. “It was a really cool experience, something that you don’t get to do a lot,” she said.

“It’s a great opportunity for meeting a lot of people, interacting with people, getting to know them and making connections with them.”

“The Special Olympians love it that we go,” said junior Stephanie Brown, a co-president with Denaro and senior Hannah Herrlich.

ASC is also very involved with Christmas in the City (CITC), said Cross. Each year, ASC, along with many other individual volunteers and groups, helps CITC put on a huge Christmas party for the homeless, with over 3,000 guests in attendance.

Cross said that ASC helps bring in gifts in the morning—at 6 a.m. on a Saturday—and they then

participate in the party.

“We all dress up in costumes, so the kids get to come in and see their favorite cartoon characters,” said Brown. “The kids are so excited to see you,” she said. “They come up and give you big hugs.”

Denaro and Brown both joined ASC last year after hearing about it from enthusiastic friends. “Everyone there was really welcoming,” Denaro said.

“It’s a great way to make a lot of new friends,” said Brown.

As co-presidents, their responsibilities consist mainly of “opening up the North community to ASC,” said Denaro.

This spring, Denaro and her co-presidents plan on having an ASC day at this school to make more people aware of the organization.

According to ASC’s website, one of its goals has been to spread the program to other areas so that students outside of Newton have the chance to participate.

ASC presented to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Assosciation in 2005 in the hopes that other regions would adopt similar programs. Schools expressed interest, said Cross, but no programs were ever implemented.

Matt Westman ’05 took his ASC experiences to his college

campus. At Middlebury College, Westman organized an event with his basketball team and the Special Olympics. According to Cross, Westman received a special award from Middlebury because of his exceptional community service.

Cross said that her daughter was also inspired by her community service through ASC. She chose to attend Tulane University, located in New Orleans, immediately following Hurricane Katrina, largely because she had discovered the importance of helping others through ASC, Cross said.

ASC’s next events are tonight’s Boys and Girls Club Luau and the Walk For Hunger Sunday, May 1.

Any student can register for these events, said Cross. To join ASC, all students have to do is register on its website, newtonasc.org. They should also friend ASC on Facebook, although email is ASC’s primary means of communication. Students will receive emails to alert them whenever a new event is approaching, but there is no pressure to attend, she said.

Brown, Cross and Denaro all urge students to try ASC. They all emphasize the opportunity to make new friends and the rewards of helping others in one’s community.

Asian traditions celebrated Vibrant customs displayed at Asian Culture Night AMANDA HILLS Asian Culture Night was an evening filled with dancing, singing and other aspects of Asian and American culture. It was held Saturday in the auditorium from 7 to 9.

A multi-part performance by students from the Calvin Chin Martial Arts Academy kicked off the event.

The students started with a traditional lion dance, which involved people inside a lion costume throwing oranges and heads of lettuce into the audience. Their performance also included demonstrations filled with kicks and many other martial arts techniques.

Numerous songs and dances followed, highlighting the talents of students from the Asian-American community at this school.

The dances used many colors, mainly black, green and red and intricate hand motions and dramatic facial expressions to convey the meaning and story

BY

of the dances.

The second act began with a Tae Kwon Do demonstration presented by students from J.H. Kim Tae Kwon Do Institute.

There were young children, teenagers and adults involved in the demonstration.

They displayed various Tae Kwon Do skills, such as kicking, punching and breaking through pieces of wood using their physical strength.

Their rhythmic moves were similar to a dance––they moved in unison with each other, performing choreographed moves that appeared to have taken a lot of practice to memorize.

The audience could not help but frequently clap at the students’ sophisticated techniques.

More songs and dances followed, all with vibrant costumes and traditional Asian music.

Student bands and musicians performed all of the live music.

Some of these performers included student band Stone Cold Fox, freshman Calvin Kwong

and a band led by senior Josh Brooks.

The evening concluded with a fashion show of different styles of Asian dress, a tradition of Asian Culture Night.

On one side of the stage, students came out wearing traditional Asian clothing. On the other side, students were dressed in typical examples of American dress.

By having these two opposite styles presented together, it “showcased the different worlds and influences that shape our students,” according to English teacher Charlene Beh, one of the two advisers of Asian Culture Club.

The event raised over $600, which will go to the Red Cross for Japan earthquake and tsunami relief efforts, according to English teacher Michele Leong, the other adviser.

In addition to raising money for Japan, Asian Culture Night brought cultural awareness to Asian-American traditions.

Emma Hanselman

Dance to the beat of the drums: Junior Joy Kang performs a Korean dance as a part of Asian Culture Night Saturday.

8 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, A

Where Are Alumna writes for Boston Globe JACOB SCHWARTZ Amalie Benjamin ’00 had her career planned out before she even received a high school diploma.

In her junior and senior years, she was sports editor for the Newtonite under former adviser Helen Smith.

Now, she is a general-assignment feature writer for The Boston Globe sports section, and she has covered the Red Sox, as well as other major sports teams in Boston.

According to Benjamin, Smith “played a huge role in my decision to go into journalism. She was possibly one of the most important people to meet in my career.

“She pushed me and helped me understand what it really means to be a journalist.”

Honing skills at a young age helped Benjamin find a path to her journalism career.

“Helen taught a very high standard of what was acceptable.

It was always ‘there is nothing you can’t accomplish, no inter-

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view you can’t get,’ and this was important to my growth as a journalist.”

As sports editor, Benjamin covered beats for girls’ basketball, girls’ lacrosse, girls’ cross country, girls’ swimming, boys’ tennis and boys’ soccer.

After graduating from this school in 2000, Benjamin attended Northwestern University, working as sports editor for The Daily Northwestern, as well as writing and editing for the school’s magazine dedicated to the football team, she said.

“Journalism actually wasn’t my major. I got a degree in English, but I spent quite a lot of time at the newspaper,” she said.

After Benjamin interned for The Washington Post, the Boston Globe hired her in April 2004.

Benjamin worked in the weekly Globe Northwest section of the paper, covering high school sports in northwestern Massachusetts, which she said she enjoyed.

“Covering high school sports again taught me to be more creative with my stories. They are

courtesy of Newtonian, DGA Productions

Career path: Amalie Benjamin ’00 went from writing for The Newtonite to The Boston Globe. never handed to you, you have to go out and find them.”

Starting in 2005, Benjamin was a beat reporter for the Boston Red Sox. During her time in this position, Benjamin covered the 2007 World Series, in which the Red Sox defeated the Colorado Rockies in four games, earning only their second World Series victory since 1918.

Also in 2007, Benjamin traveled to the Dominican Republic in order to write about the Dominican Academy, in which local teenagers hoped to fulfill dreams of playing Major League Baseball.

“Meeting these kids was an incredible experience,” Benjamin said. “Just to see what they were going through and how much they want to make the major

leagues.”

Benjamin encourages aspiring journalists to “work as much as you can and write as much as possible. The more experience you can have, the better.

“My second piece of advice is: Don’t go into journalism because you are a sports fan,” Benjamin said, “go into journalism because you enjoy storytelling and writing.”

Graduate runs space MEREDITH ABRAMS Even the CEO/President of Virgin Galactic, the company attempting to commercialize space travel remembers this school as a challenge.

North was, “fantastic,” said George Whitesides ’92, “though also a bit of a pressure cooker.”

However, it was not always due to the environment, he said. “That was mostly internally imposed,” said Whitesides.

In retrospect, Whitesides said he could have been less stressed.

“I could have smelled the roses a bit more,” he said.

Following high school, Whitesides attended the Woodrow Wilson school at Princeton University, where he received an undergraduate degree in public and international affairs.

Then, he earned a masters degree in geographic information systems and remote sensing from the University of Cambridge.

While at this school, Whitesides did have time for extracurricular activities though—ice hockey, mock trial, student government and music, to name a few.

“My senior year ice hockey season was memorable—we went 19-0-1, I think,” he said.

Whitesides also enjoyed the opportunity to play in the Boston Garden a few times during the State Tournament, he said.

He had success with the mock trial team while at school, he said.

“We went to Nationals,” he said.

“Mock trials was a very close-knit group of friends.”

As for the arts, Whitesides said he, “loved singing and playing music as well—we did Mozart’s Requiem, which was a lot of fun.”

Whitesides has been involved with several charities throughout his profesional career.

As the co-founder and director of Permission to Dream, Whitesides helped provide telescopes for underprivileged children.

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margie.kern@sothebysrealty.com 617.686.0981 margaret.szerlip@sothebysrealty.com 617.921.6860

karplibermankernSIR.com

Commercial space travel: Geo company which is attempting t Along with Permission to Dream, Whitesides co-founded Yuri’s Night, an annual global celebration of space that has been held in more than 50 countries.

Before joining Virgin Galactic, Whitesides was the Chief of Staff at NASA. The teachers at this school had a big impact on Whitesides’ time at the school, he said.

He cited English teachers Lyn Montague and David Outerbridge, English teacher and football coach Peter Capodilupo and history teacher Ty Vignone as a few of his favorites.

There were, “too many great teachers to mention them all,” he said.

This school did a good job of getting him ready for life after high school in several ways, Wh-

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 9

pril 8, 2011

They Now? DeNucci becomes representative, state auditor MEREDITH ABRAMS Following a Golden Gloves boxing championship while a junior at Newton High, Joe DeNucci launched a political career after high school that lasted until last year.

After graduating from Boston University, the Newton High alum spent 10 years as a Massachusetts House representative and 24 as the state auditor.

DeNucci said his time at Newton High instilled in him the desire to be a “somebody” which led to his political career.

“When I was in high school, I had to be someone,” DeNucci said.

“I think it gave me the courage to do what I wanted to do, and to do the right thing—I learned that in high school.

“I would try to be liked and helpful, and that’s what I ended up doing for a living,” he said.

“I got a lot of that from Newton High.”

As a student at Newton High, DeNucci played football and baseball for the school. “Sports were absolutely what it was all about,” he said.

“I would go to the Newton

BY

High football and baseball games as a kid, so they were very important to me.

“I remember Howard Ferguson, the football coach,” he said.

“He was a great coach, but he thought I was such a wise guy.

“I would arrive in class late, and when the bell rang, I wouldn’t be in my seat, so they’d send me downstairs to the office, and who was downstairs? Mr. Ferguson.”

DeNucci said that what affected him the most after Newton High were the people he encountered.

“I’ll never forget the wonderful people I met,” he said. “I was with people who had more than me, and I met lots of different types of people, but I loved them so much.

“I had my beefs here and there, because I was Italian, but that’s high school—you just have to keep going—and I never got much of that at Newton High.

“I did the best I could, and I don’t have bad feelings with anyone,” DeNucci said.

He said he thought Newton High was a phenomenal high school.

“I found it to be the best,” De-

travel company

courtesy of Newtonian, Joe DeNucci

From the ring to the State House: Newton High alum Joe DeNucci won a Golden Gloves title as a junior. He went on the become a House representative and then the state auditor.

Nucci said.

“I had a lot of friends, met a lot of great people and had a lot of great teachers,” he said. “There was never anybody not prepared for that job.

“If there was ever something you needed help with, they would understand that and give it to you,” he said.

“And if you didn’t do the right thing, you had to pay the price,”

DeNucci said.

“I’ve tried to do what I could to help people, and to this day they thank me for what I did, and Newton High got me started for that,” he said.

Research company co-founder recalls excellent education NED MARTENIS It’s not just us—James Heywood ’85 remembers the old building as falling apart too.

Heywood said that “the building looked old the day it was built.” The worst, he said, were the science rooms, where the Lexan windows turned yellow within minutes.

However, “though the school looked terrible, the education was anything but,” he said. A self-described geek, Heywood said that the school and the engineering program in particular supplied a solid education.

In junior high, Heywood said, “I had a miserable experience. But that’s what’s so great about high school—it’s big enough that you can be a geek and not be abused.”

Heywood, president and

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co-founder of the Patients Like Me research company, went to Carnegie Mellon University for two years and MIT for his degree. He studied mechanical engineering but moved into the field of medical research, he said.

Following his transition into medicine, he helped to start Patients Like Me after his late brother, Stephen Heywood ’85, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

His advice for students looking to enter the health science field is to study engineering.

“Disciplines in engineering allow you to be effective in anything, be it business, biology, computer consulting or just about anything you can think of.”

As a prank while at this

school, Heywood remembers crashing the school computer with his friends. “That’s how we had fun,” he says.

Heywood said that, along with computer pranks and swimming for the school team, the Shakespeare elective was a “really neat course.” Taught

by Peter Capodilupo and Lyn Montague, Heywood said, “the Shakespeare course was highly memorable.”

Heywood said that “they, like every other teacher in the building, were really great teachers because they always cared.”

When he was in college, he says that he and another alumni from this school realized that they were much better prepared for college than any other student.

Courtesy of Newtonian, George Whitesides

orge Whitesides ’92 is the CEO/President of Virgin Galactic, a o send customers into space. itesides said.

“It prepared me by setting a high standard of excellence, training me to multi-task and building some lifelong friendships,” he said.

Going to this school affected Whitesides’ life after high school by pushing him to work hard, he said.

It also taught him to, “aim for high goals,” he said.

One recommendation Whitesides made to students is to do interesting things during the summer.

“Co-ops or internships at exciting companies are a good start,” he said.

Students at this school are lucky to be here, Whitesides said.

“This school is just incredible,”

he said. “I hope students take full advantage of what they have in front of them.

“It’s really a privileged opportunity,” he said.

Montague said that he remembered Whitesides being a wonderful addition to his homeroom class.

“All I remember is that he was the most energetic, wide-awake good-humored, happy, friendly kid you could ever imagine,” Montague said. “He was just a great kid.”

Montague and Whitesides stayed in touch for a short time after Whitesides graduated, he said.

“I know he was a president of a class at college, and I know he was getting things done,” Montague said.

Courtesy of Newtonian, James Heywood

Studying illness: James Heywood ’85 co-founded Patients Like Me, a research company.

features

10 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, April 8, 2011

Speaker presents about race, sexuality

Poet performs for culture day RYAN CONDON Poet Joshua Bennett presented in the auditorium B-block Thursday, March 31 as part of Black Culture Awareness Day, organized by the Black Leadership Advisory Council.

Bennett, has been on HBO’s “Brave New Voices” and has presented his poetry at the White House.

During the presentation, Bennett gave an inspirational and energetic performance, reciting some of his work and answering students’ questions.

The first poem Bennett recited was titled “10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Woman.”

Bennett said this heartfelt poem “was inspired by another poem I heard called 10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Man.” Bennett described some of the obstacles that black women face in this culture and how Bennett wishes he could change them.

His next piece, “Balaenoptera,” was about how he imagined his future wife to be. The poem’s title is the scientific term for a blue whale, and in the poem, Bennett described how the blue whale has a heart the size of a car. He went on to describe how this heart has “the biggest heartbeat God ever BY

made…and now it’s yours.”

After he presented the poem, Bennett talked about how he participated in a mentoring program at University of Pennsylvania, and he mentored the same student for all four years.

The next poem, “Derek,” was about the student he mentored.

In the poem, Bennett talked about how black youth today are focusing on other activities instead of schoolwork. This poem was a highlight of the performance, and Bennett delivered a recital full of emotion and meaning.

Bennett’s presentation concluded with the poem “Tamara’s Opus,” which was about his deaf sister and how Bennett grew up being the only person in his family not knowing how to sign.

Bennett described his difficulties with his sister’s deafness and how he was sorry for not learning to sign earlier.

After sharing his poetry, Bennett answered questions.

He described the inspirations for his poetry as coming from “Lupe Fiasco’s first two albums, as well as a lot of gospel music.”

He explained, “Many rappers these days aren’t aware of the world around them, and that needs to change.”

Gabe Dreyer

Poetry: Joshua Bennett recites his work on black history.

‘African Connections’ remembers roots HENRY DEGROOT RYAN CONDON “African Connections,” a presentation in which African-Americans living in Newton shared their experiences, took place in the auditorium A-block.

The speakers presented about their countries of origin and the history and culture of those countries. The speakers included Patrick Kuffour, Bernard Kufour, Kyla Kouadio, Anne Nananjakko, juniors Mwamburi Mkaya and Mwambunga Mkaya.

The Mkaya brothers presented first, talking about their home country of Kenya.

They included a description

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AND

of the differences between urban cities in Africa and more traditional villages.

Mwamburi, who visited Kenya over the summer, visited both his home village of the Lou tribe and the capital city Nairobi. He said that while the cities are very modernized, the villages have maintained their connections with their heritage and culture.

Nananjakko, a Ugandan, who works in Special Education, grew up in Africa and has spent the last nine years of her life in the United States.

She said that there are some huge differences between her home country and the United States. Although many African

countries are still very poor, they have a wealth of untapped natural resources and through constant growth are making a lot of progress to catch up with the Western World, she said.

Nananjakko also discussed how urbanization of African regions can affect their culture.

In a question and answer session, Nananjakko spoke about how Africans can get caught up with modernization and forget their roots.

She discussed Uganda’s close ties with Libya, in relation to current events. She said that because of heavy Libyan investments in Uganda, Uganda’s economy has recently taken a turn for the worse. She

also voiced her opinion against Uganda’s president offering political asylum to Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, Libya’s leader of its military forces.

Nananjakko also spoke about how corrupt the Ugandan government can be. She said the current president of 24 years has changed the constitution to fit his own personal needs and to stay in office.

Other speakers reflected more on their country’s economy, geography and culture rather than their personal experiences.

Overall, “African Connections” was an insightful look at African culture, both new and old.

Panel members share their experiences STEVEN MICHAEL Students and faculty participated in a panel discussion about race and their personal experiences C-block in the little theatre.

“Learning sustains the human spirit—it also opens you up to people,” said counselor Larry Allen, who moderated the discussion.

Allen asked questions of the panelists, who responded with stories of their experiences about being a minority at this school.

Students on the panel cited discomfort in class discussions about racism and slavery.

“If there’s a discussion on racism, I don’t like being the spokesman for black people,” said senior Tylor Hart.

Music and science teacher Sheldon Reid discussed the double aspect in conversations of speaking both for yourself and the black community “knowing that people come to you with preconceived notions.”

Several of the students on the panel are in the METCO program, in which students living in Boston take a bus to this school every day.

On the topic of the supposed

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Gabe Dreyer

Opening up: Music and science teacher Sheldon Reid speaks as a part of the panel during the C-block presentation.

FATEMA ZAIDI Quincey Roberts, co-founder and CFO of Boston’s Hispanic Black Gay Coalition (HBGC), spoke E-block about being both black and gay. His was one of the four presentations on Black Culture Awareness Day. Roberts began the presentation by saying, “I was born gay, like most gay people are, but I didn’t come out until I was 23 years old.”

He is from a religious background and grew up in Henderson, NC, a tiny and racist town, he said.

Masculinity was “the thing” in Henderson, so before Roberts came out, he said, he really created that image for himself.

“I was the popular guy in high school—the editor of the school newspaper, and I was on the track team. But I had a secret,” Roberts said.

“I thought that if I came out, I would lose everything,” he added.

Afterwards, Roberts revealed his coming out story.

“I never thought that the word ‘faggot’ would make me come out of the closet, but it did,” he said.

According to Roberts, he was outside of a church on Mother’s Day with his openly gay cousin Jonathan when he came out to his mother.

The first reaction he heard was, “‘Those folks’ in Boston turned you out,” he said.

Roberts said, “There is a common perception that being gay is a white thing. But it’s not.

It’s a human thing.”

He was always taught that being gay was a sin, but homosexuality is nowhere in the bible, he said.

“My mission is spreading love. God is love,” Roberts said.

Now, Roberts’ mother is accepting of her son’s sexuality, and everybody in his family except his father has met his partner, HBGC co-founder Corey Yarbrough.

“I always say that I have two families—my chosen family and my birth family,” he said.

“My chosen family is HBGC, and they lifted me when I didn’t have my mother to call—they were there,” he said.

When asked why he thought it was so hard to be both black and gay, Roberts replied, “Being black and gay in a racist town, not only did we have to deal with racism, we also had to deal with sexuality. So that was two strikes against us.”

He also hopes to spread awareness in churches peacefully because many church goers in North Carolina do not feel comfortable revealing their sexuality, he said.

But HBGC’s main goal is to empower LGBT people of color, and the five main areas that it covers are support, one on one counseling and mentoring, spiritual growth, community service and network building and HIV and STD prevention, he said.

“I hope that in the next five or 10 years, groups and clubs like the GSA or HBGC won’t be necessary,” Roberts said.

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divide between black students residing in Newton and black students residing in Boston, the panel minimized the issue.

“Because I lived in Newton, there were times I was picked on for not acting black enough, not sounding black enough,” said English teacher Adam Carpenter ’95.

“I think that is dissipating now.”

In particular, the panel debated the usage of the n-word in popular culture and daily life.

Junior Monica MacKenzie said the n-word gives power to other people.

“You are belittling the person you are speaking to. When you say someone is under you, who are you?”Reid said, “It’s an understandable mode of thought.” However, “the word is not neutral.”

Junior Swardiq Mayanja said that when he was six or seven years old, one of his white classmates called him “a dirty n—.”

He cautioned to “be careful when you use that word or someone younger will learn it.

It will not go away if Lil’ Wayne sings it in every song.”

Allen added, the n-word is “very hurtful.”

features

Friday, April 8, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 11

Former addict describes dangers of marijuana JACOB SCHWARTZ Marijuana is a gateway drug.

And Glenn Hall should know.

One joint of the drug at the age of 13 led Hall to what could have been life-long consequences from many other drugs.

Now, he is a prevention specialist and substance abuse counselor for Freedom From Chemical Dependency.

“For the next 22 years, I developed addictions to five drugs,” Hall told students in the little theater A-block Tuesday, in his presentation, “Marijuana: How Harmless Is It?” The presentation was a part of the week-long program, “Just Think: Teens making smart decisions.” The events continue tomorrow with a free community expo at this school from 12 to 4.

Hall’s drugs of choice, including marijuana, nicotine, alcohol, cocaine and heroin, eventually put his life at risk, he said.

“I had so much weed that I

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Gabe Dreyer

Prevention: Former drug addict Glenn Hall describes the perils of doing drugs during presentations Tuesday.

could’ve gotten everyone in this school high a few times over.”

Psychologically, marijuana also caused problems for Hall, he said.

“The specific damage it had with me was that it interfered with my adolescent development. In other words, it made me forget to grow up.

“I smoked it for 22 years. I started when I was 13, and by the time I was 20 years old, I was still 13.”

Hall’s lack of maturity and the fact that all his friends did drugs caused many problems in his life, he said.

“I used drugs in order feel good. But I wanted to use more than I wanted to stop.

“Nobody wants a drug addict,” he added, “because a drug addict is a liar, a thief and a con artist. A drug addict isn’t able to be true to anyone because a drug addict isn’t true to themselves.”

The first joint of marijuana

in Hall’s life was provided by his best friend, Eddie, according to Hall.

At points in his adolescence, Hall also provided Eddie with new drugs. “Eddie trusted me. fourty years later, Eddie is dead.”

According to Hall, before he went into rehab, someone would always knock on his front door, offering him drugs.

Now, “When someone comes to my house, it’s not for business, it’s because they actually want to visit me,” he said.

“What’s wonderful is that if you aren’t doing drugs, guess what people don’t offer you anymore: drugs.”

Hall said he would always remember the date August 3, 1993. On this day, Hall overdosed on heroin. Three days later, he entered rehab.

Seventeen years later, Hall travels the world, teaching students of the problems marijuana causes.

Speaker teaches about risks of prescription drugs HILARY BRUMBERG During his D-block presentation, “‘Study Drugs: Adderall, Caffeine, Energy Drinks and Ritalin,” Freedom From Chemical Dependency prevention specialist and substance abuse counselor Glenn Hall discussed the perils of misusing prescrip-

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tion drugs.

Prescription painkillers and Attention Deficit Disorder medications are powerful and addictive, he said.

According to Hall, teenagers more commonly abuse prescription ADD medication, such as Ritalin, and abuse of prescrip-

tion painkillers (opiates) is on the rise.

Many teenagers abuse Ritalin with the hope that it will help them stay awake to do homework, he said. However, the medications are intended for people who need help slowing down due to a chemical imbal-

ance in their brain.

Therefore, Hall explained, teenagers who take Ritalin without a perscription are actually “risking a lot” because it futher slows them down, thus hindering their ability to do homework more efficiently.

Another drug on the rise for

teenagers is caffeine, which is found in chocolate, some sodas, coffee and energy drinks.

Hall said that it is not necessary for teenagers to rely on energy drinks. “ Your body already has enough energy to make it through a day,” he said.

Myths about drugs, stress discussed RYAN CONDON Prevention specialist and substance abuse counselor Glenn Hall spoke about myths relating to stress and substance abuse B-block, for his presentation, “Stressed Out: The Myth that Alcohol and Other Drugs Reduce Stress Hall works for Freedom From Chemical Dependency, a “Nonprofit Substance Abuse Prevention organization” dedicated to educating students about the dangers of drug addiction, Hall said.

A former drug addict, Hall discussed how drug users take drugs to run from stress.

“When you take drugs, it only pushes the stress aside for a while.

“When you do that, you’re using up all of the chemicals in your brain that help you relieve stress, but you’re doing that in one short period of time, so you don’t have any left afterwards, and you can’t cope,” Hall said.

An alternative to a drug-induced high intended to relieve stress is a natural high.

“With a natural high, you are feeling good without forcing your body to feel good. That way, your body knows how to come back and recover those chemicals,” he said.

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Some stress reducers include listening to music, sleeping and exercise, he said.

Hall noted that his colleague, Dr. Alex Packer, has a book on natural highs titled Wise Highs.

Hall said, “There are so many natural highs, it’s hard to count them all.”

The myth that alcohol reduces stress was also one of the subjects Hall examined.

“How many of you have heard, ‘Honey, I’ve had a long day, fix me a drink?’” said Hall.

“That is completely untrue. Taking alcohol, or other drugs for that matter, might make your stress disappear for a little bit, but when the drug wears off, you’ll feel even more stressed than before.”

Another myth that Hall discussed was that teens do not have stress. “Most adults dismiss the idea that teens have any problems. They think, ‘Well, they don’t have to pay the bills or make their bed, how can they possibly be stressed?’” said Hall.

“However, I’ve found out working at FCD that you guys have the worst job—you’re always under scrutiny,” Hall said. “Everyone has stress, but the difference is how you handle it.”

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12 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, April 8, 2011

Koffman & Dreyer Attorneys at Law 85 Cabot Street Newton, MA 617-965-9525 www.koffmandreyer.com

Real Estate Matters house and condo purchases/sales condominium conversions ownership dispute resolution Joan A. Koffman

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Serve or not, that’s not the issue. Ask questions, make up your own mind. Friends, Teachers or Counselors are not experts on the Army. Talk to a Recruiter. At least then you’ll have the right answers.

Please friend us on Facebook. http://facebook.com/waltham.r.station William D. Maldonado Sergeant First Class United States Army US Army Reserve Recruiter US Army Recruiting Station 633 Main St Waltham, MA 02452

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www.nwh.org Advertise in the Newtonite! Call 617-559-6273.

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 13

Friday, April 8, 2011

Talk of the

Tiger

Seen on Campus

Julia Moss

Julia Moss

Emma Hanselman

A Gum Chewer’s Locker

Secret Door Behind the Loading Dock

Mysterious Boxes Outside Cafeteria

“Now THAT is a sticky situation.”

—freshman Sebastian Maxim

“This must lead to the dungeon where the school puts kids they expel.”

—sophomore Tara Cabache

“Are there bodies in there?”

—freshman Maddy Waters

“Using gum on a locker to count down the days until the end of school?”

—junior Ben Kaufman

“Looks like jail to me.”

—senior Anita Sodder

“The new school really is boxy.”

—senior Marissa Goldman

Critic’s Picks Bulletstorm The ad campaign for Bulletstorm, which came out last month, billed it as a new variety of first person shooter, repeatedly mocking games such as Call of Duty. This game does not completely live up to those expectations, but it is very good.

First, the negatives. The game’s story is very, very, short.

It will probably take about six hours to beat, and there’s no competitive multiplayer.

However, the game is still quite impressive. Bulletstorm sticks in humorous moments at every opportunity possible, and the characters, such as player character Grayson Hunt, are very amusing. The story about two spaceships crashing on a distant planet after a battle works well, and the villain, General Sarrano, is entertaining.

There are also some amazing setpiece battles, which I am not going to spoil.

The main different gameplay mechanic of Bulletstorm

is the skillshot system. If you kill enemies in creative ways, through combinations of the environment, slides, kicks, your electronic leash and weapons, you get more points. You can use points to buy more ammunition and gun upgrades. This mechanism works well, as the game constantly introduces new skillshots and some of them are very challenging.

Bulletstorm is definitely a fun game but is a little too short.

Grade: A-

Red Dead Redemption This game is about half a year old by now and is still one of the best games Rockstar (Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt) has ever produced.

Red Dead Redemption is the story of John Marston. Marston is a former outlaw told by the government that he has to hunt down the members of his old gang or his family will die.

Set in 1911, the game takes place at the very end of the old

west era, and it really plays up the setting. While the first parts of the game take place in your typical western, the last third is set in a fairly modern city. The game’s story is surprisingly emotional, and it works very well.

Redemption plays a lot like the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series of games from the same developer, only set in the old west. The horse controls in this game are a huge improvement over GTA’s incredibly oversensitive driving.

The gameplay adds new twists to the old GTA formula, such as the lasso that enables you to capture criminals alive, which yields more money than killing them.

You will also have a variety of weapons with which to hunt down your gang.

Every category of weaponry, such as pistols, rifles and shotguns, feels different, and the game encourages you to use all of them.

Red Dead Redemption is one of the best games out there.

Grade: A

Assassin’s Creed 2 Assassin’s Creed 2, the second video game in the Assassin’s Creed series, is a historical, though action-packed, video game. It is an open-world sandbox game and is set in various cities like Tuscany and Florence in Renaissance Italy.

The story of this game is very complicated. In the present day, a man named Desmond Miles, with the help of his ally, Lucy, escapes from Abstergo Industries.

Until his escape, Desmond was being held captive in Abstergo by the villains, known as the Templars.

Lucy turns out to be a member of the Assassins, an ancient conspiracy that is fighting the Templars. The Assassins are losing the battle, and they need Desmond to help, as he’s descended from the Assassins.

To train him, they use the

Animus, which lets him relive the memory of one of his ancestors, Ezio Auditore de Firenze, a nobleman in Renaissance Italy.

The rest of the game follows Ezio’s struggle for revenge against the men who killed his family, and Ezio eventually ends up becoming an Assassin.

The gameplay of Assassin’s Creed 2 controls amazingly well. The only complaint could be that the control is perhaps too fluid in parts — you’ll try to climb up a building, jump, and fall. The gameplay is based around dodge and counter attacks, hiding and blending with groups of people and moving around the rooftops of Italy. The game continuously throws new enemies at you, such as guards who can chase you on rooftops, to challenge your new abilities.

Assassin’s Creed 2 is an excellent game and is sure to be a favorite.

Grade: A—NOAH THOMPSON

Spring Training

SPRING IS ON THE WAY?

Julia Moss

sports

14 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, April 8, 2011

Junior starts girls’ Ultimate Frisbee team KRISTIAN LUNDBERG NED MARTENIS On a rainy, sloppy Tuesday afternoon when other teams may have decided to hold practice inside, the girls’ Ultimate Frisbee team held practice outdoors at Cabot Park, braving the rain and the cold to dive for muddy discs.

The team was smaller in number than this school’s coed Ultimate teams, but no less enthusiastic, cheering whenever a player caught the disc or made a defensive play.

Perhaps this enthusiasm and effort in practice is a microcosm of the work needed to establish the fledgling team.

Girls’ Ultimate Frisbee, new this year, will run alongside coed A and B Ultimate teams, the respective equivalents to varsity and junior varsity teams.

Those teams are coed, but boys comprise the majority of the players on both the A and B teams. The style of play for the A and B teams is more intense and physical, according to junior Tiphaine Kugener, the founder of the girls’ team.

“I knew people who wanted to be on the boys’ team, but the boys dominate that team. So the idea came up — ‘why not start a girls’ team?’” Kugener said.

“Many of the girls who would want to play Ultimate might not get any playing time on the A team. And a couple other schools also have all-girls’ teams, so I wanted to start one here.”

According to Kugener, she faced relatively few difficulties in starting the team. “Ultimate is just a club, so it was much easier than starting a varsity team. Once we had a coach and found practice space, all that was left was recruiting players,” she said.

The team currently has “six to seven games and a few tournaments” in its schedule, Kugener said. “Our goal is to challenge our opponents,” she said.

The team will be coached

by Dana Christensen, who has

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AND

been trying to start a girls’ team for three years at this school.

“Some other schools have girls’ Ultimate teams,” Christensen said. According to Christensen, “There are so many good athletes that this additional team seemed like a good fit.”

Ultimate Frisbee is a game similar to football, in which the goal is to catch the disc in the opponents’ end zone.

However, rules are playerenforced, and, in general, the game is more about sportsmanship and respect than aggressive play.

“Our goal this year,” Christensen said, “is to get the fundamentals of throwing and disc handling. What’s great is that we’re mostly starting from scratch here, so most of the players are getting a good grounding of the basics.”

Christensen said she hopes “the underclassmen will develop as a team,” and that any success this season will “make them want to come back.”

One main difference between girls’ and the co -ed teams, Christensen said, is that the girls’ team focuses more on having fun. “We’re going to play hard but not at all costs,” Christensen said.

According to junior Rosie Sokolov, a captain with Kugener and junior Madeleine Aquilina, one of the goals of forming the team was to “create a new tradition.”

“We thought that once we created the team, there would be a lot of great athletes who would join, and there were,” she said.

Sokolov said that she helped Kugener, but Kugener “did most of the organizing.”

“The idea to form the team came up a few months ago, and it was a month and a half ago when we were able to finalize it,” she said.

“We started to practice about three weeks ago, and our season started Saturday.”

Finding all-girls’ teams in Massachusetts can be difficult,

Gabe Dreyer

Backhand: Junior Rosie Sokolov, marked by sophomore Yarden Gavish, tosses the disc.

Sokolov said, so the team often needs to travel farther when it plays away games.

“We had to travel to Somerville for our first game, so we may need to travel more to play other girls’ teams,” she said. The Tigers defeated Somerville, according to Kugener.

Kugener said she was pleasantly surprised by the interest level in the team.

“I was always optimistic about the amount of participation, but still, I was really surprised that so many people joined the team,” she said.

According to Kugener, the players on the team have varying levels of experience.

“Personally, I didn’t have that much prior experience, but some of the girls have been playing since they were young,” she said.

“By the end of the season, our goals are to have fun while giving everyone a basic understanding of the sport and to establish ourselves as a legitimate team.”

Rules of Ultimate The goal of Ultimate is to catch the disc in the end zone to score a point.

The offense can advance forward by passing the disc to teammates, but players cannot move with the disc—they are allowed only a pivot foot.

If the offense fails to complete a pass, the defense immediately takes possession of the disc.

The first team to score 15 points wins the game.

Fun Facts There are no referees in Ultimate. Players call their own fouls, and players on the field resolve disputes.

There is no scheduled time limit for a game. Halftime occurs after one team scores eight points.

Otherwise, the action is mostly continuous.

The sport was invented in 1968 by a high school student in New Jersey.

As of 2009, 4.9 million people in the United States play Ultimate. compiled by Kristian Lundberg from usaultimate.org

Tigers open season against tough foes KRISTIAN LUNDBERG itive in those games, Siciliano In the first few weeks of the emphasized that the team needs season, baseball’s hopes of the pitching to develop during qualifying for the State Tour- the season. nament will be put to the test “We have good hitters, so against tough opponents. hopefully the hitting will come The Tigers begin the season through, but we have some unMonday at home against Nor- tested pitchers who are new to wood, followed by tough games the team,” he said.

Wednesday at Braintree and “This year, our pitching will Friday against South, according be crucial to our success.” to coach Joe Siciliano Siciliano. said the playcoach Joe “Brainers’ hard Siciliano tree has trawork in the ditionally offseason was been a very evidentduring “Every game that we play strong team, the tryouts. will be tough, because and Newton “Hopefully there’s not an easy team South had a we can continin our conference.” great season ue that hard last year. Norwork during wood is going to be very strong the season,” he said. as well,” Siciliano said.

Senior Jack McLaughlin, a After the opening few games, captain with senior Danny Anthe Tigers will play a stretch of derson, said that the key to the four games in six days, includ- Tigers’ success this season is ing non-conference matchups at to “play every game for the full Xaverian Thursday, April 21 and nine innings.” at home against Catholic Memo“We have to make sure that rial Saturday, April 23. we can close out games when “All the teams that we face we have a late lead,” he said. this year will be good,” Siciliano According to McLaughlin, said. “Each and every game that the team’s strengths are its “enwe play will be tough, because thusiasm and experience.” there’s not an easy team in our “I think hitting will also be conference.” strong for us this year,” he For the Tigers to stay compet- said.

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Gabe Dreyer

At the plate: Senior Alex D’Agostino swings in the Tigers’ scrimmage against Waltham.

sports

Friday, April 8, 2011

Tennis relies on baseline strength GLORIA LI Girls’ tennis, 0-1, lost to Wellesley, 4-1, on the road Wednesday.

“The team did work well together for the first game of the season,” sophomore Danielle Handler said.

Coach John Gaustchi said, “The season has started off fairly well in that we are all continuing from where we left off since everyone practiced during the off-season.”

Senior Emily Kelly, a captain with junior Emily Chan, said, “I think that the team’s greatest strength this season lies in the fact that the team members have good ground strokes.

“Despite the strengths, we really need to work harder on coming in more to the net, keeping our playing more consistent and playing with an additional dose of pressure during practices,” Kelly added.

Gaustchi noted that another challenge has been the fact that the weather has not been ideal for tennis.

“We’re doing more warm-up drills than focusing on actual match playing just to keep everyone healthy in this chilly spring weather,” Gaustchi said.

According to Kelly, “the team’s ultimate goal this season is to make it to the tournament.”

“Everything that we’re doing during practice now is, we hope, really just going to help us build up to that point,” Kelly said.

Gaustchi said that this year, the most outstanding players on the team have been Chan, Handler, Kelly and sophomore Sejal Vallabh.

Kelly said she believes that she and these players all have “a good baseline, are strong hitters and are fairly consistent.”

This year, the team has different lineup options, more depth and more opportunities to go further into the season, according to Kelly.

Kelly said, “The team has a good mix too. The junior varsity and varsity teams practice together, and I think that that’s great because there’s no schism this way, and we can truly all be one team.”

Gaustchi said, “the difference in levels of talent between our strongest players and our weakest ones isn’t as great as the difference for other tennis teams in the league, and this is one of our advantages.”

Tuesday, the Tigers expect to win on the road at Norwood, Kelly said.

“In past years, we’ve done pretty well against them, and so I think that this will be a good game to start off the season with,” she said.

The Tigers expect to earn a victory against Braintree Thursday at home, as well.

Chan said, “They match well, and they are very consistent. But last year, we won against them twice, so this year I don’t expect it to be any different.”

Kelly said she thinks that the match at Walpole Tuesday, April 26 may be a tight match, the way it was last year. “ Walpole had some hard hitters on their team last year,” she said.

Chan noted that Walpole’s players “know how to place the ball better.”

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 15

Volleyball looks to start strong KRISTIAN LUNDBERG Less than halfway through the season, boys’ volleyball coach Richard Barton said he believes his team is “a state contender.”

“As of now, we have a much better idea of where we stand,” Barton said. “Although we’ve been strong so far, we need to have even stronger passing, blocking and attacking.”

According to senior Zach Knotts, the Tigers, 2-1, have already “filled the spots” of last year’s seniors.

“Our ability to find key players met my expectations for the squad,” Knotts said. “I knew we’d figure out the logistics and move on to a more intense level of volleyball.”

In the beginning of the season, Knotts said, the team’s goal is to “get off to a good start,” according to Knotts.

“We need to focus one week at a time, so our immediate goal is to win the first few games,” she said. The team would be strong at hitting this year.

“We have enough hitters to fill two solid teams, so it’s by far our greatest strength,” he said.

Knotts said that he noticed after tryouts “there were major

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Gabe Dreyer

Home opener: Junior Michael Thorpe passes the ball.

improvements in hitting, passing, setting and serving.”

Monday, the Tigers will square off against traditional rival Brookline on the road.

“Brookline will be one of the strongest teams this year,” Barton said. “We have a friendly but fierce rivalry with them.”

After hosting a “weaker ” Weymouth team Wednesday, the Tigers will face two stronger teams when they travel to Needham Friday and host Wellesley Monday, April 25, Barton said.

“Needham beat us twice last year, so I expect a solid game.”

For the second time this season, the Tigers will take on Norwood Wednesday, April 27.

“I expect them to be a weaker team, so we should be able to win that game,” Barton said.

The Tigers defeated Braintree 3-0 on the road Monday.

“It was not a pretty picture for Braintree,” he said.

The team lost Friday at Framingham, 3-2, in what Barton called a “championship-level match.”

The Tigers routed Norwood 3-0 in their season opener at home, Thursday, March 31. “We crushed the hapless Mustangs,” Barton said.

Tigers open season today at Albemarle JACOB SCHWARTZ Practice has paid off for softball, which has won four of its six scrimmages. Now in their third week of practice, the Tigers have focused intensely on offensive and defensive situations, according to coach Lauren Baugher.

Baugher commended excellent play and effort in practice by senior Rachel Miller and junior Katie Caruso.

Today, the Tigers open their regular season at home against a solid Lincoln-Sudbury team, according to Baugher.

“Honestly, they are a good all around team, and they hit the

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ball well.”

Senior Ali Pappas, a captain with senior Meghan Pursley, said she hopes “the team continues to work on all aspects of the game,” including “bunting, pitching and outfielding,” she said.

“We’ve also worked a lot on our hitting, which has helped.”

According to Baugher, “really, every team we play this year will be a strong team.”

While playing at Norwood Monday, the team “will have to focus on the little things, such as fielding the ball behind the pitcher and capitalizing on all our baserunning,” Baugher

said.

The Tigers will face rival Braintree Wednesday, returning to Albermarle Field.

“The two of us have always been at the top of the Bay State Conference. Last year we won the Bay State Conference in the regular season, and I think they could be seeking some revenge,” she said.

Less than a week after their first encounter today, LincolnSudbury and the Tigers are scheduled to meet once again Thursday, this time on the road.

Baugher said she hopes “there are things we can see

from the first time we play that we can anticipate the second time around.”

The Tigers’ preseason scrimmages have been very successful for the team.

Sunday, the Tigers tied Concord-Carlisle 4-4, beat St. Mary’s 5-0 and tied Reading 4-4.

The squad also hosted a scrimmage against Lexington Thursday, March 31, winning 7-2.

The Minutemen ended the Tigers’ season in the State Tournament in each of the past two years, making the win especially meaningful fora the Tigers, Pappas said.

Girls’ lacrosse has competitive edge GLORIA LI Girls’ lacrosse, 1-0, has players who are competitive with each other, according to coach Kim Hamilton.

“They push and challenge one another throughout each practice, and I can already see great team chemistry taking shape,” she said.

One of the major goals for the team this season is to play as one entity by working hard to improve not for individual gain but for the good of the team, according to Hamilton.

“We also want to continue playing well under pressure in practice, so they will be able to play well under pressure in real games,” Hamilton said.

“This year ’s team is very strong as a whole, a very solid team,” Hamilton continued.

Some players who stand out include juniors Alison Berkowitz, Kayla Farina, Hannah McGoldrick and Michela Salvucci, she said.

“They have exceptional stick skills along with speed and a great knowledge of the game, and they are great team players,” Hamilton said.

Practices have been intense, and the team focused on numerous aspects of the game to

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strengthen the returning players and to catch up the new players so they’re all on the same page, according to Hamilton.

Hamilton said she expects that every game will be a challenge.

In past years, the Tigers have defeated Weymouth, so they expect to do so again in today’s home game, according to Hamilton.

Hamilton, however, said she thinks that the game on the road against Norwood Tuesday and the game at home against Braintree Friday are unpredictable.

“In previous years, we have lost to Norwood, but last year, we managed to beat them.

“We usually beat Braintree, but last year we lost both games with them, so it is hard to say how we might do,” Hamilton said.

Against Walpole, Tuesday, April 26, Hamilton said she does not want to go into the game expecting to win or lose.

The Tigers played their first game Tuesday, winning 17-5, at Brookline.

Farina, the captain, said, “We had great transitions on the midfield, and our hard work as a team contributed to our victory.”

Gabe Dreyer

Pressure: Junior Kayla Farina tries to evade her defender.

sports

16 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, April 8, 2011

Tigers expect success at States

Boys’ lacrosse bonds as team JAY FEINSTEIN Despite being a young team, boys’ lacrosse, 2-0, has a group of athletic players, according to coach Bussy Adam.

“Our goals are to improve every day and to get better,” he said. “We want to get the most out of what we have.”

The Tigers are putting an emphasis on teamwork, he said.

“We have some specific talented players, but they’re not our focus. We’re putting effort into getting all players involved.”

Team-oriented drills helped prepare the Tigers for their first two games, he said.

The team won at Brookline Tuesday, according to junior Jake Shearman, a captain with senior TJ Ryan.

“We wanted to capitalize on attack, and we did,” he said.

The Tigers won their season opener at home against North Andover, 4-0, Thursday according to Shearman. “We had a solid defensive game,” he said.

“If there was anything we could do better, it would be communication,” he said.

Next, the Tigers will host Norwood Tuesday. “They beat us last year, but the game is still up for grabs,” he said. “They

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have a new coach this year, and they have some good scorers.”

Friday, the Tigers will visit Braintree. “They’re usually pretty well coached,” Adam said.

Saturday, April 16, the Tigers will host a non-league game against a physical Winchester team, Adam said.

“They have a really good goalie, so we’ll need to have good offense for this game.”

On the road Wednesday, April 20, the Tigers will play a talented Catholic Memorial school, according to Adam.

“Last year, they made the tournament, but this year, they are loaded with good attackmen,” he said.

At home Saturday, April 23, the Tigers will face a tough Waltham team. “They beat us last year in the Suburban Cup,” Adam said. “This year, we’re more skilled, but they are still very aggressive.”

The Tigers will host Walpole Tuesday, April 26. “They’re a dominant team in the league, but we expect to beat them,” Adam said.

Thursday, April 28, the Tigers will host Weymouth.

“They have decent defense,” he said.

Team focuses on hurdles

Gabe Dreyer

Possession: Senior Kevin Malloy sprints up the field.

Returning athletes lead girls’ track Tigers look to establish depth in different events PERRIN STEIN With over 90 people on the girls’ outdoor track team, the Tigers, 2-0, are making an effort to become a unit through “team building exercises,” according to senior Ellen Goldberg, a captain with seniors Margo Gillis and Amy Ren. Goldberg hopes that girls are working on new events and improving on their performances, she said.

That way, by the end of the season, the Tigers will be able to win All-States and State Relays, as they did last year.

Coach Joe Tranchita said he is confident that the Tigers

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will find success this season, he said.

There are many returning members who “should provide us a solid nucleus to build upon, while offering tremendous leadership and mentoring for our many new members,” he said.

Because there are so many new athletes on the team, Tranchita said that he is “focusing in practice to get all members in condition and to teach and establish our 16 event groups.”

As of now, the only events in good shape are the discus, high jump and long jump, according to Tranchita.

Thus, “we need to establish depth for our team in as many different events as possible,” he said.

“There’s an awful lot to do in a very short and limited time, with a whole lot at stake.”

Braintree will host the Tigers Tuesday.

Last year, the Tigers defeated the Wamps 94-35, so hopefully, the meet will be an easy win this year, according to Tranchita.

Freshmen and sophomores will participate in a special meet Saturday, April 16.

Even though this meet does not count for the team’s record, Tranchita said he hopes every-

one will work hard to compete well.

The following Wednesday, April 27, the Tigers will face Needham at home.

In recent action, the Tigers won at Weymouth Tuesday.

Ren said, “Due to inclement weather, we didn’t run all the events.”

In the first meet of the season, at Milton, the Tigers had difficulty getting over “first meet jitters—getting new members accustomed to meet day preparation,” Tranchita said.

Despite this challenge, the Tigers defeated the Wildcats 84-42.

New members help deepen boys’ tennis KRISTIAN LUNDBERG Before the season, boys’ tennis coach Phil Goldberg had expected the newer players to add support mainly to junior varsity, as was the case last year.

After tryouts, he realized that he might need to revise that expectation.

“We had seven freshmen and four sophomores make the team this year, which is a lot of new players,” he said.

“What stands out for me is how motivated and hard working they are.”

During tryouts, Goldberg said, the competition level increased from the past season.

“The competition was very noticeable as compared to last year, and we had to cut players who had serious tennis skills,” he said.

“We kept 24 on the team this year, and I would expect three to four of the new players to make the varsity team.”

However, although the Tigers “will be a slightly deeper team,” Goldberg said that it would be difficult for “the new players to crack the starting lineup.”

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Gabe Dreyer

Scrimmage: Senior James Pospishil serves Wednesday.

GLORIA LI Boys’ outdoor track, 2-0, is looking to win All-States this year, said senior Dan Ranti, a captain with seniors Ryan Donovan and Isaiah Penn.

“Many of the members of our team are outstanding, and we’re planning on doing some serious damage out there at All-States this year,” Ranti said.

To reach this goal, Ranti said he hopes that the team will work harder on the hurdles, which he said is the team’s weakest point.

“There’s really only one good guy doing the hurdles right now, so we’re hoping that some of the sprinters will step up and try it out in order to improve our team in that aspect,” Ranti said.

Otherwise, Ranti said he believes that the team has strong distance runners, a strong group of sprinters and throwers with a lot of depth.

“Our jumps though, are okay.

There could still be improvement in that respect,” according to Ranti.

Coach Jim Blackburn said, “We could improve on the 400meter hurdles, the 100-meter and the 4x100.”

The Tigers will be square off at Braintree Tuesday.

Ranti said, “Braintree is alright, but typically we don’t regard them as a major event of the season. They have a couple of good guys, but they aren’t anything compared to us.”

The boys expect to win against We l l e s l e y Newtonian Wednesday, April 20 at Dan Ranti home, according to Ranti.

“Wellesley is a team with a fair amount of depth and strength, but their depth can’t be compared with ours,” Ranti said.

The Tigers expect to win against Needham Wednesday, April 27 at home.

“I think that Needham will be pretty much the same in comparison to Wellesley,” Ranti said.

“We’re planning on using our distance team to beat them, since our distance running is one of our greatest strengths,” Ranti said.

Tuesday, April 5, the Tigers, defeated Weymouth 72-64 on the road during a downpour.

The meet was close, but the Tigers pulled out a victory, Ranti said.

“Junior Justin Keefe came back from his sickness, and he really just led the team by winning the 4x100 at the start of the meet,” Ranti said.

Penn won the 100-meter, senior Ezra Lichtman won the 800 and sophomore Carl Whitham won the shot put, according to Ranti.

Blackburn said that in the 80-47 win on the road against Milton, the Tigers were especially strong in shot put.

Senior Ben Clark’s performance in the 400 was especially outstanding, Blackburn said.

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The Tigers will face two early season tests at home when they take on Wellesley Thursday, April 21 and St. John’s Prep Wednesday, April 27.

“Wellesley is one of the best teams in the state, so a close game there would be huge. St. John’s will be tough, as they always are,” Goldberg said.

However, Goldberg said he expects to win Tuesday against Norwood at home, Thursday at Braintree and Tuesday, April 26 at home against Walpole.

“Norwood, Braintree and Walpole are usually weak at tennis, so I’m hoping for wins there,” he said.

Senior Eric Krasnow, the captain, said that the Tigers “have a couple big matches, such as games against South and Wellesley, early on in the season.”

Krasnow also said that the freshmen are expected to make a “large impact” on both the varsity and junior varsity teams.

“There is definitely a lot of new talent, and so I expect to see new tennis styles and energy on both varsity and JV,” he said.