Newtonite U Friday, March 4, 2011 • Volume 90, Issue 3
Non-profit org. US postage paid Newton, Mass. Permit no. 55337
Newton North High School, 457 Walnut St., Newtonville, Mass. 02460
Main Street plans drafted JARED PERLO History teacher Ty Vignone and librarian Kevin McGrath are spearheading an effort to enliven Main Street and make it a more appealing destination for students. In a revised proposal submitted to the Student Faculty Administration, the two teachers and many students made a case for installing benches and other amenities along Main Street. The SFA has suggested that Main Street is not being utilized enough, aside from students talking to their friends at lunch. The proposal seeks to add “chairs, benches or tables with umbrellas and plants,” it stated. In addition, SFA members discussed the possibility of adding a stage to Main Street where “talent and/or presentations from members of the school community” could take place, according to the proposal. Eating, however, would still not be allowed on Main Street. Principal Jennifer Price said she would not contemplate the idea of eating on Main Street at the moment. Students left an overload of trash in the old building, something that Price said “was not helpful” to custodians. “Allowing students to eat along Main Street in the new building would put an unnecessary burden on an already thin custodial staff,” she said. Chief innovation officer Steve Chinosi also proposed to add a lounge area directly inside of the cafeteria. Chinosi briefly mentioned that perhaps a different student government would be responsible for the area every term. Price requested that the SFA review the proposal in future meetings. Sophomore Winston Huang also submitted a proposal to the SFA Wednesday, aiming to allow varsity athletes to receive one physical education credit per school year for their participation in sports. The topic has come up in previous SFA meetings, according to history teacher Gregory Drake. Price said it is not clear whether the proposal follows physical education graduation requirements under Massachusetts law. BY
In the air: Sophomore Victoria Holland performed with the Dance Team on Senior Night Thursday, Feb. 17.
Teddy Wenneker
Foundation plans process to sell plaques ALEX FEIT In order to raise money for Newton Public Schools, Newton Schools Foundation (NSF) will ask permission from the School Committee to sell name plaques that will be placed in various areas of this school, according to School Committee member Kurt Kusiak. “We are attempting to raise funds for the technology needs for all of our schools in Newton because it has become clear that our yearly budget is not sufficient to do so,” Kusiak said. BY
Kusiak said that NSF is presently seeking to sell plaques that would be placed on the back of auditorium seats. NSF is also exploring selling naming rights to certain areas of the school such as athletic facilities, auditoriums and classrooms, he said. According to Kusiak, NSF is “also considering selling bricks or tiles on hallway walls with donors’ names,” he said. Although the current proposal is to raise money to fund the Newton Public Schools’ technol-
ogy needs, “exactly where the money will be spent has yet to be decided,” Kusiak said. In fact, none of the details have been set, according to NSF co-president Liz Richardson. “This naming process must have a team effort that includes both high school principals and staff, along with the NSF and School Committee,” Richardson said. “This is going to be a respectful process, where we are going to be able to raise badly needed revenue, but also honor people
important in the schools and community,” she added. Kusiak mentioned that the program will “hopefully, in the long run, relieve Newton Public Schools from having to pay for some of our schools’ technology needs and free up some of our yearly budget allocation for other pressing needs, such as hiring teachers or paying for much-needed building maintenance. The plan was recently presented at a School Committee meeting Monday, Feb. 14.
Teachers start new summer trip to Italy HILARY BRUMBERG To give students a global lense about the history, language, literature and culture of northern Italy, this school is starting a two-week summer trip there, according to Latin teacher Sherley Blood. The main destination of the trip, which will take place July 12 to July 27, will be the “beautiful mountain town” of Piacenza, Blood said. There, students will stay in a family-owned hotel and participate in classes on Italian history, architecture, contemporary politics and literature, helping them understand the “interconBY
nectedness of our world and the borderless nature of global issues,” according to the trip’s mission statement. Students will take three to four excursions to Venice, Florence and the Italian Riviera. They will also visit a field school that studies Etruscan and Roman archeology, Blood said. “It really appeals to students of Latin because of the archeology element and the connection to the art of both Romans and Etruscans.” Another day trip will be to the museum and mansion at Lago d’ Garda, a “gigantic” lake where the Roman poet Catullus and his
family lived, Blood said. “Catullus is famous for his poetry that sounds like it could be written today, but it was written 2,000 years ago,” she said. Because the course is for credit, students will be expected to read articles and historical accounts, keep a traveler’s notebook of their experiences, write two short papers and complete a final reflective paper or project, according to Blood. World language department head Nancy Marrinucci said that the trip is different from the Italian exchange because the exchange is only available to students of Italian and focuses
primarily on Italian language and culture. Chief innovation officer Steve Chinosi, whose family lives in Piacenza, had the idea to start the exchange. “This trip is truly unique,” he said. “It offers our students a glimpse at incredible places that most tourists will never discover. This is a real learning adventure through some of northern Italy’s hidden gems.” The trip costs $3,850 and is available to freshmen, sophomores and juniors at this school and South. If interested, contact Blood or Chinosi as soon as possible.
See inside for student bands, Mountain Classroom and winter sports
pages 8-9
page 12
pages 14-16