V90i7

Newtonite ◆ Friday, May 13, 2011 • Volume 90, Issue 7

Non-profit org.

US postage paid Newton, Mass.

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

Representatives propose Senate JARED PERLO Student Faculty Administration members put forth a proposal Wednesday to form a new governmental group.

Senior Jared Kalow and junior Allison Wu, the student co-chair, presented a proposal to form a North Student Senate, which would replace the SFA. This proposal was made in response to an SFA meeting Wednesday, April 27. It was adjourned because there were not enough student representatives in attendance to officially hold the meeting.

In the current version of the North Student Senate proposal, the Senate would be comprised of four student representatives from each grade, along with two faculty advisers and principal Jennifer Price.

The issue was met with immediate skepticism by several faculty members. History teacher Gregory Drake, the faculty co-chair, said, “I’m not sure how I feel about this.”

Fellow history teacher Ty Vignone voiced a similar opinion. He said while he thought the Senate could potentially be useful, there may not be enough time left in the school year to go through with it.

Kalow and Wu wrote in theSenate proposal that, “the student members of the SFA have received criticism for being apathetic and not fully representing their constituencies. The stu-

BY

Jacob Schwartz

In the zone: Junior Katie Caruso attacks the ball as sophomore Madison Beatrice looks on. The Tigers shut out Needham 4-0 Friday at home. See story on page 9.

dent members of the SFA met separately from the faculty and identified several issues with the SFA that needed change.”

Wednesday’s SFA meeting was largely devoted to discussing ways to make the SFA a more efficient government.

Drake wanted members to be aware of the low student attendance and particiaption, and brainstorm ways to increase it.

Drake cited a large number of first-year representatives as a possible reason for the lack of student participation in SFA. After some SFA student members have been criticized in the past few weeks, several faculty members credited Wu for being an effective leader.

Adams housemaster Jamie D’Orazio said that he incorrectly assumed SFA leaders were being inactive.

After meeting privately with Wu, he said that he finally realized how hardworking the students are.

Student members said one of Wu’s initiatives was creating a Facebook group, which is an easy way for members to be informed about SFA activities.

At the meeting, Wu, speaking for all student representatives, apologized for the low attendance in the meeting Wednesday, April 27.

Refering to the faculty walking out after the meeting was ajorned, “It was also not properly responded to,” she said.

Taiwanese chefs demonstrate traditional cooking SAMANTHA LIBRATY Culinary students, city officials, reporters and members of the Taipei Culture Center held a Taiwanese cooking demonstration at this school Wednesday.

The Newton Higlands offices of the Culture Center of Taipei Economic and Culturein Boston, organized the event. Jack

BY

Huang, the director of the Culture Center, said, “We have renowned Taiwanese chefs come from Taiwan every year to teach the local Taiwanese-American community Taiwanese cuisine.

“It is my job to introduce the chefs to our mainstream American society through culinary exchanges.

“These chefs have experience cooking for some of Taiwan’s presidential state banquets,” Huang said.

This year, chefs Chia-Mo Chen and Chie-Wei Lu came to demonstrate traditional Taiwanese cuisine and the art of food sculpting for culinary students and other members of the com-

munity, according to culinary teacher Bill O’Neill.

Through culinary exchanges such as the Taiwanese exchange, O’Neill said, “The students will get a new experience with a cuisine that they have not been exposed to in their own program, and they will have an opportunity to work with chefs

from Taiwan.”

He added, “From the demonstration, our students will increase their competencies and skills in Taiwanese cuisine.”

Sophomore Allison Hurwitz, a culinary student, said, “I liked it because it was different, and it was interesting to learn traditional Taiwanese cooking.”

Greengineers receive Earth Day Network grant AMANDA HILLS Because this school’s Greengineering program received a grant from the Earth Day Network (EDN), there will be a ribbon-cutting event in the Greengineering lab from 1:30 to 2:30 Tuesday, according to science teacher Matt Anderson.

The Earth Day Network connects major companies with schools that could potentially benefit from the company’s help, according to Anderson, a Greengineering teacher along with chief innovation officer

BY

Steve Chinosi.

EDN is most well-known for its annual Earth Day Celebration in Washington, D.C. It connected UPS, a shipping company, to this school’s Greengineering program, Anderson said. The grant is funded by UPS, he said.

Chinosi said that a representative from the EDN heard of the Greengineering program and became “immediately astounded by our Greengineering program,” after visiting.

According to Chinosi, the

page 7

EDN had the greengineers compile a wish list of items. They received everything on their wish list.

The program is receiving a centrifuge, a dry wash tower, a sewing machine, chemicals and new pumps for filtering the fluid, according to Anderson.

“UPS uses a lot of fuel, so they were into our project. The grant has provided us with a number of pieces of equipment we couldn’t have otherwise afforded,” he added.

Chinosi said, “ This new

equipment empowers students to take their designs and build better machines. It is also expanding our students’ role in a national movement towards Greengineering.”

Anderson said that the new equipment will also help the Greengineers be more efficient in producing biodiesel and hopefully less wasteful in their filtering.

According to its website, the Greengineering program’s mission is to “design new solutions for known problems and issues

page 9

that affect local and global communities.”

The new equipment will help them to continue to turn leftover cafeteria grease from schools and Legal Seafood into biodiesel.

Principal Jennifer Price, superintendent David Fleishman, Career and Vocational Technical Education department director Diana Robbins and city officials will attend the ribbon, Anderson said. Students from the Greengineering program will also be in attendance.

page 4

opinion

2 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, May 13, 2011

Consider issues when voting Every Wednesday, the Student Faculty Administration meets to discuss its goals for the year, and the changes it wants to make.

Students on SFA are currently working to make Main Street a more desirable student hang out spot.

editorial

courtesy Eber Torres

Site-seeing: Mexican exchange students, who were hosted by students at this school, toured Boston this past week. They returned home Sunday.

The class president and vice-presidents are responsible for planning class events, like dances, carnivals and proms.

Every grade needs an effective student government in order to accomplish these tasks and then some.

Class elections should not be seen as a popularity contest, but as a chance to have a say in who will be the voice of your grade.

It is not an election to vote for the most popular or humorous candidate––he or she is not always the best fit for the job.

Positions should not be chosen based on social status or a funny speech.

Every single member of the student government has to be committed to his or her job.

They need to recognize that they have earned the

votes of their classmates, and they are responsible for taking initiative and following through with what they promised to their peers.

A good speech with clearly outlined goals and ways of achieving those goals should be the primary decision factor for students who are voting.

If we all turned our backs to the podium so we could not see who was speaking, would the results turn out differently than when facing forward?

Then, maybe, we would vote for whom we truly thought would represent the class, and not for the prom king and queen?

Members of the student government have the power to amplify the student body’s voice and actually act on ideas.

Students need to realize how influential a good student government can be.

In the upcoming class elections, students should cast their votes wisely and thoughtfully.

Think about which candidate will put in the time and effort necessary to execute the plans you envision for your class.

Julia Moss

When casting student government votes, students should vote for the candidates who they think are most qualified.

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

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

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 — 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.

Student encourages discussion TO THE EDITOR: The last issue of the Newtonite published a front-page article entitled “Meeting ends in frustration” about the SFA meeting (or lack thereof) that occurred Wednesday, April 27. I was one of the four students in attendance, as a representative for the Class of 2013.

letter I am writing this letter mostly to voice my feelings on the current problems facing SFA right now. I arrived at the SFA meeting at 7:05 that morning, but for a minute, I thought I’d stumbled into a court martial.

The three other students in attendance were seated at the far side of the table, looking tired and bedraggled, facing a grim principal Jennifer Price, who, as I walked in, was explaining her political move of ending this SFA meeting and getting the debacle published in the Newtonite.

I was outraged. The SFA is supposed to be a forum where students, faculty and the ad-

ministration come together to discuss problems facing the school and find solutions.

Ms. Price did not want to have that discussion. There is a problem with SFA right now, regarding participation.

I was angry with the 12 that slept through our meeting, but the response to a problem should be to discuss it. And there are productive conversations to be had—I believe it was history teacher Gregory Drake, the faculty co-chair, who referenced the conversation that occurred after the meeting as one such conversation.

Previous to that Wednesday, the largest issue was lack of student participation, but because of Ms. Price’s poor handling of the situation, the problem facing SFA (which is divided half teachers and adults, half students) is now open hostility between the students and the faculty and administration.

I, and the other students, have ideas about how the SFA can work together to solve these problems—whether it means changing the meeting time or

working to enfranchise both the SFA student representatives and the student body itself—but we didn’t have a chance to talk about these options on Wednesday.

Only four students showed.

At the end of that Wednesday morning meeting, we were also the only remaining members who wanted to do what SFA is meant to do: discuss the problem.

—JORDAN ECKER SOPHOMORE

Letters Readers are invited to submit guest articles and letters to the editor. Letters should be put in the Newtonite box in the main office 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, May 13, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 3

Two students run marathon HILARY BRUMBERG While many of their classmates walked 20 miles Sunday, May 1 in the Walk for Hunger, senior Megan Altieri and junior Manny Lopez ran 26.2 miles in the Providence Marathon.

Altieri and Lopez trained for six months along with 41 other sophomores, juniors and seniors from South, Brookline High School and Sharon High School as part of the Dreamfar High School Marathon Team.

The majority of the students who participate in Dreamfar ran the full Providence Marathon, but students who had difficulty or were injured in training were given the option to run a half marathon, according to special education aide Drew Pierce, a coach.

Altieri, who completed the marathon in four hours and 50 minutes, said the enormity of her accomplishment did not sink in until two hours afterward, at which point she said, “Oh. My. God. I ran a marathon.”

Whenever Altieri tells people she ran a marathon, they say she is “absolutely insane,” she said.

When he joined Dreamfar, running was a “totally new thing” for Lopez, who completed the marathon in four hours and 35 minutes, he said. “I ran a mile here and there before, but nothing like this.”

Students who participated in the Dreamfar team trained Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays starting in November.

BY

courtesy Drew Pierce

26.2 miles: Junior Manny Lopez and senior Megan Altieri ran the Providence Marathon Sunday, May 1 as part of the Dreamfar High School Marathon Team.

“We start out really slow with a walk/run for half a mile and build mileage really slowly,” said South special education teacher Jamie Chaloff, Dreamfar president and founder.

During Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, students from each school ran shorter distances ranging from four to eight miles, according to Pierce.

On Saturdays, all 43 students met at this school as early as 6:30 a.m. and ran up to 21 miles, he said.

As team coaches, Pierce and special education aide Leigh Paris ran with the team and provided advice on stretching, nutrition and maintaining proper physical condition.

The mentors also offered mental support. “It’s all about supporting each other,” Paris said.

Dreamfar is technically for “at risk students,” Chaloff said.

However, it is open to all sophomores, juniors and seniors because she believes that every high school student is at risk for something, she said.

Chaloff said Dreamfar is about more than just running a marathon. “It breaks down all kinds of barriers. People in all parts of any school become best friends.”

She waited until she was 46 to start marathoning, she said.

It inspired her to “bring it to high school students to show them that with hard work, they can do just about anything they want.”

Newton Initiative creates community meadow BY

NED MARTENIS As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.”

But at Edmands Park, Joe Wooters and senior Jacob Maman are giving the rain a helping hand with the Edmands Park Meadow Initiative, according to Maman.

The Edmands Park Meadow Initiative, a volunteer group started by Wooters and Maman, plans to add a plot of flowers to the meadow, Maman said.

Last year, Wooters started another program to create the first meadow in Edmands Park, which is close to Cabot Park.

Maman, this school’s liaison and organizer, started the initiative as an AP Biology environmental service project. “Last year, someone created a flower meadow and I had wanted to help,” Maman said. “It looked really immaculate.”

A meadow needs a flat, welldrained area, preferably at the

top of one hill and at the bottom of another, Maman said. The field itself should be wide open, with few large trees, as tree roots can interfere with flower growth, he said.

Plans for the meadow include more flowers and a path, Maman said. The City of Newton will send a contractor to turn over the soil in the area to be seeded.

Then the initiative takes over and begins to plant flowers, he

added.

The meadow, originally a parking lot, will need to be cleared of rocks and weeds, Maman said. Next, they will plant seeds for perennial flowers such as Black-Eyed Susans, he said.

Maman said “the meadow will be very low-maintenance— after planting, we will just let the flowers grow.”

He said the mix will not require as much effort to keep alive, especially during the sum-

mer, because perennial flowers require much less water than other flowers.

Maman said, “We’re hoping for as many volunteers as we can get, although 10 to 12 is about our limit in terms of organizing.”

For work, he said, “The participants will enjoy some light gardening.”

The Edmands Park Meadow Initiative can be reached at newtonmeadow@gmail.com.

Model United Nations finishes club meetings

land as well as several historical figures, such as Samuel Adams, William Grenville and Jack London, Kalow said.

The club was also represented in “traditional UN Committees” such as Special Political and Decolonization, as well as “non-traditional” committees such as the Gilded Age, he added.

Kalow received an award from NMUN for Outstanding Delegate in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for representing Ecuador, he said.

However, receiving awards was not the group’s main goal, he said. “The idea of Model UN is to simulate the UN and by doing so, learn about the world’s issues and how to solve them.”

“The awards are just an addendum to reward good debating, writing and ideas,” Kalow said.

The group also held elections Thursday, April 28 for various organizational positions for next year, Kalow said.

According to Kalow, junior Gabe Dreyer was elected to the position of secretary-general, while juniors Allie Phillips and Emily Schacter and sophomore Sejal Vallabh were elected as under-secretaries-general.

in brief

the basis of creativity, humor and wit. Perfect grammar was not necessarily an indicator nor a requisite for a winning submission,” he said.

The winning captions were displayed prominently outside 241, and winners also received gift certificates to the Tigers’ Loft, Pipala added.

According to Pipala, if there are future rounds of the contest, students should be encouraged to submit their work.

“Being able to utilize the target language in a creative and witty manner is not an easy task, and it demonstrates a great deal of understanding,” he said.

“I had hoped this to be a learning opportunity for students to expand their vocabulary and practice grammatical structures,” Pipala said.

“Two members from Sibling Connections came into my Leadership class asking for us to help them spread the news to the school and community,” Jewett said.

The walkathon is a threemile walk around this school’s track. Participants register to walk and pledge money for Sibling Connections, according to Jewett.

Sibling Connections provides events and a summer camp for children in foster care to reconnect with their biological siblings, its brochure stated.

In Massachusetts, there are 10,000 foster children—more than half have also been separated from their sisters and brothers, according to the brochure.

Sibling Connections’ two main programs are “Camp to Belong Massachusetts” and “Sibling Sundays,” the brochure said.

Jewett said, “This organization is important because there are limited ways for these children to meet up with their siblings.

The walkathon is from 11 to 1 Students can sign up during lunches outside the cafeteria or online at SC-Walkathon.org.

ALEX FEIT Model United Nations has suspended its debate for the school year after performing well in various conferences and getting “back on its feet,” according to senior Jared Kalow, its secretary general.

After being in session since September, the club does not have any more conferences that it wishes to attend and does not have a need to hold club meetings due to time constraints, Kalow said.

“With APs, finals and seniors leaving, there is not much time to have a full topic to debate,” Kalow said.

The group met its primary goals this year by simply having a “working Model United Nations club” with weekly meetings and scheduled conferences, Kalow said.

The club had a good year with debate and conference attendance, according to Kalow.

“I hope that our successes this year will continue on to next year,” he said.

Recently, the group attended the Northwestern Model United Nations (NMUN) conference in Illinois from April 7 to 10, representing Ecuador and Switzer-

BY

Teaching intern starts language contest ALEX FEIT Students have been using their world language skills along with their creativity to write witty captions for a contest held by the World Language department, according to Spanish teaching intern Chris Pipala.

The contest began a month ago when Pipala received a humorous picture from a friend and thought about how caption contests could be turned into a school activity, Pipala said.

“I had always liked reading the captions people submit to similar contests online and in the paper,” he said.

In the first of two rounds, around 25 students and faculty members sent in their ideas in Chinese, Italian and Spanish for a “fill-in-the-blank” picture located outside 241, the World Language department office, Pipala said.

Teachers of each language were then asked to check off their favorite submissions, and scores were tallied up to announce winners, which totaled seven, Pipala said.

“Judgments were made on

BY

Sibling Connections to hold walk here SAMANTHA LIBRATY Sibling Connections, an organization that helps foster children stay in touch with their siblings, will hold its fourth annual Sibling Connections Walkathon at this school Sunday.

Seniors Josseline Godoy and Melissa Jewett are helping to fundraise and spread the word about the walkathon, according to Jewett.

BY

arts

4 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, May 13, 2011

Hilary Brumberg and Jacob Schwartz

Musical run-through: Sophomore Shereen Sodder plays the vibraphone (left) and seniors Sam Melnick and John MacGaffey and junior Sam Bell-Gurwitz and freshman Ezra Dulit-Greenberg (right) practice a song for “Sunday in the Park with George” during rehearsal Monday.

‘Sunday’ to touch on power of creativity MALINI GANDHI As artists and performers who have dedicated themselves to Theatre Ink, seniors Skylar Fox and David Gore identify with both the joys and struggles that come with the process of creation.

So, when they stumbled across the Pulitzer-Prize winning musical “Sunday in the Park with George,” a touching tale that weaves together the parallel stories of two young artists living in different centuries, both attempting to find meaning in their lives and work, they were drawn to its subtle beauty and universal message.

“Art is an important part of our lives as actors, and ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ demonstrates the incredible power of creativity to connect us to other people and to ourselves,” said Fox, who will be directing the show along with Gore.

The musical, which will be performed Thursday, May 26 through Saturday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 29 at 2 p.m. in the auditorium, is centered around Georges Seurat’s masterpiece “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” a busy painting of vibrant colors that depicts park-goers gazing out at a shimmering bay.

The first act follows the life of

BY

Georges Seurat himself in 1880s Paris as he attempts to create his masterpiece. It also introduces the various people in George’s life who will become the figures in his iconic painting.

Played by senior Edan Laniado, George is constantly struggling to balance his passion for art with his personal life, especially when it comes to Dot, his model and lover played by senior Kelly McIntyre, whom McIntyre describes as having “a lot of soul and spunk.”

In attempting to portray this confused, passionate young man, Laniado said he has found George to be “honest and realistic.”

“I keep finding parts of George that remind me of myself. I play the piano, and my experiences writing music and the intense focus I have when I create a song are very similar to what I see George going through,” said Laniado.

As the second act begins, the audience is suddenly plunged more than a hundred years into the future, where Laniado returns to portray George’s greatgrandson, also named George and also a struggling artist.

According to Gore, George finds himself losing the personal connection to his artwork as he becomes increasingly caught up in the commercial world of

critics and money. One of Gore’s favorite musical numbers, the fast, frantic song “Putting It Together,” is a biting commentary of the modern art world.

It is only when George returns to the park that he realizes that he and his great-grandfather are not so different after all, and he embraces the privilege and responsibility of being an artist, according to Gore.

senior Skylar Fox “Art is an important part of our lives as actors, and ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ demonstrates the incredible power of creativity to connect us to other people and to ourselves.”

This touching realization is demonstrated by the fact that the finale for both acts is the same: the beautifully harmonious song “Sunday” which Gore said “gives him the chills.” “‘Sunday in the Park with George’ is a show about starting over, moving on, and embracing new possibilities,” said Gore. “I hope members of the audience are able to reconnect with them-

selves and realize where they are in their journey and where they hope to go.”

And yet in preparing for the performance, the cast and crew are experiencing their own journey of creation.

One of the most demanding creative endeavors required to capture the essence of the production is a full three-dimensional rendering of the park, as well as a backdrop reproducing Seurat’s original painting that continues along a series of arches.

Sophomore Amalia Sweet, the show’s co-artistic director along with senior Marissa Goldman, is responsible for recreating “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” a process she described as a difficult yet interesting.

“Everything has to resemble the original painting, but we still have some artistic choice.

Whenever you reproduce something, there are always some changes,” Sweet said.

Since “the painting is not fit for the stage and the stage is not fit for the painting,” it has been a challenge to re-expand the painting and add cut-outs of trees, people and other objects, according to Sweet. Fox noted one memorable scene in which George “erases” a tree from his painting, and it literally flies off

the set.

In addition, senior Anna Gargas is in the process of handmaking the costumes using multi-colored tweeds in order to bring the figures in Seurat’s painting to life.

As for the directors, one of the most challenging aspects of the creation process for them has been attempting to find their own angle to the musical, according to Fox. “The score and the script are traditionally acknowledged to be tough, and yet the one of the most difficult parts for us is drawing upon past productions in order to create a vision that is uniquely ours,” Fox said.

The directors have also placed a large emphasis on cast member bonding, because one of the key messages of the show is that art brings together communities.

“This is not the type of show where there are one or two stars. What I love so much about it is that it is really an example of ensemble theatre—every character is fully realized, and every character plays an important part,” said Fox. Gore added, “ We have a sort of unconventional community. It’s really important for the cast to come together and display this bond when we are on stage.”

Annual Pops Night to culminate musical season FATEMA ZAIDI As an end-of-the-year celebration, the music department will hold its annual Pops Night on Thursday starting with a potluck dinner at 6 p.m. in the cafeteria, according to fine and performing arts department head Todd Young.

“It is a celebration of music at North,” he said. “We do a potluck dinner, followed by a concert and then awards and scholarships.”

All of the ensembles will be given the chance to perform, he said. “That includes both Jazz Ensembles, Jubilee, Concert Choir, Family Singers, Tiger BeBop, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Orchestra and Honors Strings,” said Young.

In particular, Young said he is “looking forward to all being together and celebrating the good things from the year.”

Students are doing what they usually do to prepare for

BY

Alec Mapes-Frances

Saxaphone: Sophomore Zach Balder practices X-block in preparation for Pops Night, which is Thursday.

Pops Night: in-class rehearsal, Young said.

According to Young, it’s a lot of fun because “there are always people to celebrate, such as retirees.”

This night will be different from other music shows because, “It will be much more relaxed—all about the fellowship of the evening,” he said.

Newtonian F a m i l y Todd Singers and Young Orchestra are l o o k i n g f o rward to performing in the show, said Adam Grossman who teaches Family Singers, Music Theory, Orchestra and String Ensemble.

“Family Singers will sing ‘Trashin’ the camp’ from Disney’s version of Tarzan,” said

Grossman.

Orchestra is also performing fun and entertaining music, he said.

“They are performing the ‘Magical World of Pixar,’ which is a medley of Pixar songs,” according to Grossman.

Grossman is looking forward to Pops Night because, “We’ve never done a performance in the cafeteria, and I’m excited to see what the setup will look like from past years because it’s a new area.

“Of course, everything we do at this school is new and exciting,” he added.

Students who have won awards will be called up after the potluck dinner, he said.

Junior Caroline Ellison, a member of Orchestra, said she is excited for Pops Night.

“I’m looking forward to the show because I like to hear all the different groups perform their fun music,” she said.

arts

Friday, May 13, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 5

‘Art Morning’ displays talent MALINI GANDHI With walls bursting with colorful artwork and hallways crammed with voices, this school’s annual “Art Morning” showcased an incredible variety of talent ranging from intricately carved sculptures to photographs bathed in softness and shadow—art that made you laugh, art that made you think and art that made you marvel.

BY

review The exhibition, which took place Friday, May 6 from 7 to 9 a.m. in the first floor art wing, featured a staggering quantity of work from nearly every student currently enrolled in art and photography classes, according to art teacher Sandra Truant.

Truant said students choose many of the pieces to display in the art show. The other pieces are either Boston Globe Scholastic Art Award winners or Truant’s selections.

“It’s a culmination of our

work this year, and I hope students feel proud today of what they have created,” Truant said.

“Art is meant to be displayed, and the exhibition is a perfect opportunity for family and friends to see and admire student artwork.”

As a stream of people made their way around him at the exhibition, photography teacher Ron Morris gestured to the artwork on the wall behind him and noted with a laugh that “you would think I’d get used to ‘Art Morning’ after a while, but every year I am completely blown away once again.”

Two of the most striking pieces were gold-key award paintings by senior Phoebe Nesgos, each depicting a girl kneeling on the ground and gazing out at the viewer with a nonchalant, almost indifferent expression.

While the first painting was softer, with the girl dressed in pale blue and her skin a light rose, the second was darker

Jay Feinstein

Art Morning: Freshman Jonathan Hamel admires student work Friday, May 6. and vibrant, and the girl’s skin was burnt orange broken up by black shadows.

The technique demonstrated in each piece was impressive— the detailed folds of the girls’ dresses and the shadows playing on her cheekbones breathed an astonishing life into the paintings.

The power of shadow to

Jay Feinstein

Observing artwork: Freshmen Elaine Joyce and Ayaka Kitamura attend Art Morning.

transform a scene was also demonstrated in junior Aaron Seigel’s photograph “The Seamstress,” a gold-key award recipient.

In the photograph, a lone, blinding light bulb from the right-hand corner illuminated the sharp profile of a woman, her arms draped in cloth as she leaned over a slanted ironing board in a workshop otherwise completely enveloped in darkness.

The way the viewer’s eyes were drawn to the concentrated brightness of the bulb and the way the woman seemed to emerge from shadow into a single circle of faded light gave the photograph an eerie, shuddering feeling.

Another profound piece was senior Abigail Wolfe’s darkly humorous painting “Suburbia,” which depicted a giant, curved hand delicately plucking a small green house from a quiet suburb and prying off the house’s roof.

The entire painting was skewed— the golden oval frame itself was tilted, and in the painting tiny people clung to the giant slanted fingertips.

The contrast between the absurd situation with the peaceful title “Suburbia” presented an intriguing message.

A table filled with sculptures of terrifyingly detailed mythical creatures created by Art Major 2 students drew many visitors.

Junior Ellen Adams’ centaurlike creature possessed the slight upper body of a woman accompanied by the massive lower body of an animal covered with hundreds of twisting curls, while sophomore Amalia Sweet’s disturbing, twisted gray rabbit sculpture had hollow eyes, bulging teeth and claws pawing the air.

Junior Rosie Sokolov’s photograph “Man in Telephone Booth” was a twist on a generic city scene.

The outlines of the city buildings, the slant of the road and the sharp lines of the telephone booth were precise and defined, but the blurred, indiscriminate shape of a man looming behind the swirling reflections on the telephone booth glass added an element of uncertainty.

Demonstrating the value of experimentation and creativity, “Art Morning” provided a glimpse into the incredible artistic endeavors at this school.

A further exploration into the work of this school’s artists can be pursued in this school’s first Art Yearbook, which can be ordered online, according to Morris.

Nitrous Oxide, Playwrights’ to end theatre season RYAN CONDON While the year may be coming to an end, Theatre Ink is still working hard on what will be its final shows of the season.

Nitrous Oxide, Theatre Ink’s sketch comedy troupe, will be performed Wednesday, June 8 and Friday, June 10 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the little theatre.

The troupe performs original sketches written by group members.

“The group is a really great and different experience, because it’s so organic,” said senior Derek Butterton, who is directing the group along with junior Graham Techler. “The sketches that we do evolve and grow over time.”

The show is designed to make the audience “laugh and just have a good time,” said Butterton. “It’s not intended to be serious—it’s supposed to be to be laugh-out-loud hilarious.”

The group, which is in its third year at this school, has been “meeting on weekends to practice and rehearse the sketches,” said Butterton.

“Only recently have we begun staging them and blocking them.”

The group also uses improvisation during rehearsals in order to develop and improve the sketches, Butterton said.

“Last year, one sketch we had

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about screenwriters actually ended up being about fascists in Candy Land. Nitrous Oxide is fun to be involved with because it’s so different from any other program in Theatre Ink.” In addition to Nitrous Oxide, the Playwrights’ Festival, a collection of student-written 10-minute plays, will go up Thursday, June 9 and Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the little theatre.

Butterton, who is directing the Festival along with senior Aviva Galpert, said that the plays were written in December and submitted to a panel that consisted of both students and faculty.

Ten of those plays were chosen to be included in the production, he said.

Galpert said, “I love that the Festival provides students with a chance to create theatre that is entirely original, and I very much admire the students who have been brave enough to sumbit their work in hopes that it will be presented to the community.

“I wanted to co-direct the Festival because directing a full-length play at Newton North was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, and I wanted another opportunity to be involved with a play in a directorial capacity,” she said.

According to Butterton, “The production is unique because it’s very student-driven. Students write the plays, direct the show and act in it as well.”

The plays in the Festival include a wide variety of genres and themes, Galpert said.

“There will be some shows that are funny, some that are thought-provoking and some that are both,” she said.

The production only began auditions two weeks ago, but there were many months of preparation before that, according to Butterton.

“We have been revising and editing the plays that made it into the program,” he said.

“The plays were designed to stand alone, but there are a lot of hidden connections throughout the production,” said Butterton.

“The show is designed to be an engaging experience that lets the audience members become invested in the performance.”

Galpert said, “I hope that the performance is treated by audience members like any play by a professional playwright because I really feel that our playwrights earned that.

“I’m confident that, given the strength of our production team, from playwrights to actors to designers, it will be dynamic and emotionally powerful.”

Jacob Schwartz

Playwrights’ Festival: Freshman Alyssa Steffens and sophomore Bob Waters rehearse for the upcoming Festival.

6 â—† Newtonite, Newton North

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Friday, May 13, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 7

Military poses option after high school JAY FEINSTEIN KAYLA SHORE Rugged war heroes and epic battles beckon many to what seems like a glorious life of heroism and war in the military.

Of the many who idolized the military men and women they saw on screen as children, few make the choice to enlist.

Senior Rory O’Neil plans to enlist in the naval reserve after college. “It’s always something that I wanted to do. I’ve always had a calling to serve,” he said.

O’Neil said he has been interested in the military since elementary school. “In third grade, the events of September 11 were like a wakeup call for me,” he said.

From then on, one day serving the country became a reality for him. “It’s not just something you read in the paper, and it’s not just something you see on television,” he said. “I knew that sometime, it was going to be my turn to give back.”

O’Neil is the sole person in his family with this passion, though. “Nobody wanted me to take this route,” he said. “At first my parents gave me a downright ‘no.’”

After some time, his parents understood. “I let it be known that this was what I really wanted, and it took quite some time for my parents to realize that I was serious.

“Some people go to me and say stuff like ‘ Wow, you’re throwing your life away,’ but those people don’t understand this option,” he said.

“This isn’t only a choice, but it is also something I strongly believe in. It has nothing to do with social status, income or grades. It’s something that if you’re interested in, you go for.”

According to O’Neil, timing is something that is important to consider before enlisting in the military.“I chose to serve after college but many people enlist after high school.”

Larry Allen, a counselor and this school’s liaison to the military, agreed that for some, the military is an excellent option after high school, as both an opportunity to serve one’s country and an opportunity to better oneself.

“Service for the country can occur in two domains,” said Allen. “One is community service, the other is the military.”

Serving for one’s country can also benefit those who serve, he said.“It gives a lot of responsibility to its members at a young age,” he said. “They typically won’t get that level of responsibility anywhere else at that

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AND

Hilary Brumberg

Serving the country: Sergeant Spencer Hoffman and Gunnery Sergeant Schutze stand with counselor Larry Allen and principal Jennifer Price outside after Price presented Schutze with an award for his work in the community. age. Members learn teamwork and develop leadership skills— things that one can transfer into the civilian world.”

While the military may be the right choice for some, Allen cautioned against making a swift, gut decision. He strongly emphasized that researching one’s options is crucial for all students, and that going into the military is no exception.

“We want them to understand exactly what their commitment entails,” he said.

Allen understands the consequences of being unaware of what one is getting in to.

“My first professional goal was to be an officer in the Marine Corps.

“I didn’t do my homework, and I was in for a shock when I went to boot camp in Quantico, Virginia,” said Allen. Allen enlisted in 1967—a turbulent time for race relations, and Allen encountered a lot of racism, he said.

“I was very bitter, but I finally resolved the bitterness and resentment. I’ve taken that lesson to share it with kids,” he said.

Allen said that he sees a lot of patriotism and support for the military in Newton.

“The perception that the City is anti-military is not a reality for me. It’s important to dispell the notion that Newton doesn’t value the service that members of the military provide,” he said.

He added that the community seems to be even more receptive, “especially for those who saw Don’t Ask Don’t Tell as a barrier to full inclusion in the military,” he said.

According to Allen, even though the climate in the military and attitudes towards it have changed since Allen enlisted, Allen stressed that students should thoroughly research all of their options before they make a commitment.

Sergeant Spencer Hoffman, a Marine recruiter and a Marine himself, who has worked closely with Allen, relayed the level of commitment that Allen emphasized.

“The only thing we promise is a challenge: a mental and physical challenge,” said Hoffman of the Marines, the elite and selective military force. “It will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done.

“In the Marines, you get more responsibility as a 19-year-old

than most people get in their entire lives,” he said.

The immense responsibility that students must take on shapes Marines into excellent citizens, said Hoffman. “Honor, courage, commitment, poise, confidence,” intoned Hoffman, speaking to the skills and qualities the Marines develop in its members.

Marines and all members of the military do a great deal for this country and for others, and enlisting gives members the opportunity to do so in very powerful way, he said. Hoffman himself spent some of his time in the Marines administering humanitarian aid in Djibouti and Ethiopia. These were “experiences that just blew me away,” he said.

Opportunities like this make Hoffman grateful to live in this country. “I’m thankful to be an American,” he said of the opportunity he has had in the Marines to not only serve his country, but to also help the people of other nations.

It’s not easy to be a Marine, or to serve in the military in any capacity.

To educate students about the military and what it does for

this country, sophomore Caroline Ball created the club “Tigers and Troops: Side by Side” at this school earlier in the year.

“Our goal is to teach about what the military does for us and what it’s like to have family in it,” she said.

There are many misconceptions about the military that the club tries to address, she said.

“Several people assume that people in the military are either unsuccessful or not making a smart decision, but serving in the military is just like any other career path,” she said.

“Many people in the area are condescending and unaccepting of people enlisting in the military, but in actuality, it’s a very patriotic thing to do.”

Ball’s brother and her brother’s friends and fiancé are in military, she said.

“At first it was frightening, and our family was scared, but at the same time, I looked up to him for his bravery and his patriotic qualities,” she said. “Few women go into the military, so it was a big step for his fiancé when she enlisted.”

According to Ball, “support is needed in a military family. That is what the club is for.”

Senior teaches origami class to aid Japan after disaster RYAN CONDON Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper, is rarely thought of as being able to make a difference. Senior Sarah Wen knows better.

When Wen heard about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, she wanted to help, she said. She had heard of Paper Cranes for Japan, a program that uses paper cranes to help fund the relief effort, she said.

She decided to do something unique to her own talents.

That’s when Wen had the idea to teach a class on how to make the origami cranes, in order to aid Paper Cranes for Japan, she said.

She is now teaching sched-

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uled classes to anyone who wants to learn origami in the library during her free blocks.

Paper Cranes for Japan is a project sponsored by Students Rebuild, an organization that mobilizes young people around the world to take action on global issues, Wen said. The program has received a donation from the Bezos Family Foundation that will give two dollars for every crane sent in.

“Origami is a really simple and calming experience,” said Wen. “I really think a lot more people should try it out, and they can make a difference at the same time.”

Wen said, “Taking the class and doing origami is a chance

to get away from the pressure of schoolwork and studying for a little while and just relax. A lot more people enjoy it than you might think.

“I love it when another student is really struggling with a certain fold, but I can come over and help them. As soon as they see it, they say ‘Oh, now I get it, that’s how you do it!’ and it feels good to know that I helped them,” she said.

Next year, Wen said that there may be an origami club for students who are interested.

If teachers want to take their students to the class, they can email a request to English teacher Kevin McGrath in the library.

Julia Moss

Origami: Senior Sarah Wen teaches students how to make paper cranes F-block Tuesday in the library.

8 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

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Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 9

Drills help boys strengthen team GLORIA LI Varsity boys’ tennis, 6-6, often practices drills against the junior varsity team in order to strengthen the team as an entity, according to senior Eric Krasnow, the captain.

“The loser generally has to run suicides,” he said. “It builds fitness in a friendly and competitive manner.”

According to coach Phil Goldberg, the strength of the first doubles team is due to these team-building exercises.

“Junior Shelton Cochran and sophomore Kris Labovitch are the strongest on our team and can be intimidating to others,” he said.

Although the Tigers have some outstanding players, Goldberg said he expects the match against Brookline at home today to be tough.

As for the individual tournaments at home tomorrow and Sunday, some of the best high school tennis players in the state will be there, he said.

“I think that the competition will be tough there as well,” Goldberg said.

Goldberg said, “Our number one singles player, junior Parker Swiston, and our first doubles team are our best chance of moving to the individual tour-

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naments.”

The Tigers will play at Dedham Tuesday, and Goldberg said he thinks that the Tigers will match up well against them.

The boys will then proceed to play at Wellesley Thursday.

They will also face Needham Tuesday, May 24 at home.

“Wellesley and Needham are both in the hunt for State Championship titles, and we will try to stay at a parallel with them as long as possible,” he said.

Wednesday on the road, the boys lost 5-0 against Needham.

“Junior Parker Swiston put up a valiant effort against one of the best players in the state, and we’re impressed by how well Swiston matched up against him,” Labovitch said.

Facing Natick at home Tuesday, the Tigers won 3-2.

Friday, on the road, the Tigers lost to Framingham 3-2.

Thursday, May 5 at Brookline, the Tigers lost 4-1.

The team won 5-0 Tuesday, May 3, at Milton.

Krasnow said, “Everyone played really well there, and we only lost one set between the two teams.”

Monday, May 2, against Weymouth at home, the boys dominated in a sweeping 5-0 victory.

Jacob Schwartz

Groundstrokes: Junior Richard Han hits a backhand Monday against Weymouth.

Girls’ track, 7-0, pinpoints consistency, execution PERRIN STEIN As the dual meet part of the season comes to an end, girls’ track, 7-0, is preparing for the State Coaches Invitational and the Division I State Championship, according to senior Amy Ren, a captain with senior Ellen Goldberg.

“We’ve had a good season thus far, winning the relays and the league championship title,” she said. “Even though we’ve had a lot of adverse weather, we have kept working hard.”

According to coach Joe Tranchita, the Tigers are “currently working on improving

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our execution and on developing consistency of performance.”

By focusing on these two areas, the Tigers hope to do well at the State Coaches Invitational tomorrow.

The State Coaches Invitational is an individual competition that includes students from around the state. Twenty-one students from this school will compete. According to Tranchita, this meet is similar to the State Finals, which will be held at the end of June.

“The intent is to offer the better athletes in the state a chance to go head to head in an attempt

to improve on state-qualifying standards,” he said. “It is a highquality meet in which participants must have reached certain performance standards.”

A week later, Saturday, May 21, the Tigers will travel to Notre Dame Academy. That same day, the Tigers will compete in the South Shore Meet at Norwell, which includes many teams from around the state, according to Ren. In the final meet of the regular season, the Tigers will participate in the Division I State Championship at Andover Saturday, May 28, which

includes all Division I teams in Massachusetts. The Tigers hope to win this meet, as they did last year, Ren said.

Wednesday against Brookline marked the last home meet for the seniors. The Tigers won 99-18.

Ren, who was the fourth leg in the special 4x400 relay, described it as a “bittersweet moment.”

Sophomore Maeve Larkin and freshman Infiniti ThomasWaheed set personal records and qualified for States, Ren said.

“The underclassmen are all

doing extremely well, so I know that we’re definately leaving the team in good hands,” she said.

Goldberg and freshman Lizzie Rudie were the only two members who competed in the night meet against Weston Saturday, May 11. Rudie achieved a personal record of 12:33 in the two-mile, and Goldberg finished second in the discus.

At home, Thursday, May 5, the Tigers beat Framingham 89-29.

Saturday, May 1, the Tigers participated in the State Relays at Franklin. The Tigers beat Andover 73-60.

Confidence rises for softball JACOB SCHWARTZ Softball, 9-5 Wednesday, has reevaluated itself as a team after a lapse during the first half of the season, according to senior Ali Pappas, a captain with senior Meghan Pursley.

“We tried to improve how we work as a team. We seem like a more put-together team now,” she said.

“Now, all of our team effort is forcing our competition to work much harder, and I think that was different in the past.”

Coach Lauren Baugher said, “We’ve been going on a little ride recently,” following a 4-0 defeat of Needham at home Friday.

It was the third straight victory in what became a fivegame winning streak at press time.

“I think that the girls’ confidence level has been rising,” Baugher Newtonian said.

The team Ali Pappas hopes to eliminate unnecessary errors when the Tigers play at Weymouth Monday, according to Pappas.

These errors impeded the Tigers from defeating Weymouth

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Jacob Schwartz

Relay throw: Junior Lydia O’Connor guns the ball into the infield Friday. The Tigers beat Needham at home 4-0.

in a 6-3 loss earlier in the season, Pappas said.

Pappas said she has noticed that the strength of the team’s opponents has varied in comparison to past years.

As a result, she said she did not know what to expect against Wellesley at home Wednesday.

Facing Brookline Friday in the seniors last regular season home game, capitalizing on hitting will be important, Pappas said.

Framingham and Needham will host the Tigers Monday, May 23 and Wednesday, May 25.

The Flyers and the Rockets traditionally have not matched up to the Tigers, Pappas said, but considering how the competition has been unpredictable this season, “anything could happen,” Pappas said.

On the road Wednesday, the Tigers beat Braintree 5-2, avenging a tough 5-4 loss from earlier in the season.

Junior Katie Caruso was 3-4 with an RBI-triple and two singles. She is batting .431 on the season so far.

The Tigers defeated Natick 5-0 on the road Monday. Junior Clare Doolin pitched the complete game shutout.

At home Friday, the team shut out Needham 4-0. While

the Tigers had trouble fielding at first, they “were able to bounce back from errors we had early on with strong hitting,” Baugher said.

In the fourth inning, senior Jazmin Brito and sophomore Madison Beatrice hit back-toback triples, as the Tigers scored three runs in the inning.

Senior Rachel Miller gave up only five hits in a strong pitching performance.

At home, the Tigers defeated Framingham 12-7 Thursday, May 5.

On the road, the Tigers demolished Brookline 28-0 Monday, May 2.

The Tigers were able to win by dramatic proportions because they “capitalized on the hitting part of the game,” Pappas said.

“We knew the pitcher and knew that she pitched a little slow, so we worked on timing our swings.”

Pappas said she wanted to acknowledge junior Christina Caira for hitting a home run.

The game only lasted five innings instead of the usual seven due to the mercy rule, Pappas said.

The Tigers were to have hosted Dedham yesterday. The Mauraders were ranked 16th in Eastern Mass. Monday.

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Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 11

Boys’ lacrosse improves offense

Tigers to face Brookline today GLORIA LI Coach John Gaustchi of girls’ tennis, 5-3, said he sees Wellesley, Needham, Framingham and Brookline as its four biggest rivals.

Because the girls play against teams with varying strengths and weaknesses, they tailor their practice sessions according to their upcoming upponents, Gaustchi said.

“Although practice techniques change, the goal of the team remains consistent. Our overarching goal this season is to gain consistency in our playing,” Gaustchi said.

According to senior Emily Chan, a captain with senior Emily Kelly, the Tigers will do well at Brookline if they have their consistency mastered by today.

Chan said she hopes that the Tigers will make it to the MIAA girls’ tennis individual tournament finals after preliminaries tomorrow and Sunday.

Gaustchi said, “Last year, Emily Kelly and Emily Chan were our numbers one and two there, respectively.”

Chan said she expects that the Tigers will beat Dedham today at home.

“Our record has been better

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than theirs, so we plan to do well against them,” she said.

Chan said she’s anticipating the night match Thursday against Wellesley at home, and she expects the Tigers to put up their best performance there.

She said she expects a similarly tight match against Needham when they play on the road Tuesday, May 24.

The Tigers were in the lead, 2-1, against Natick Tuesday when they were rained out at home. The match has been postponed to Thursday, sophomore Sejal Vallabh said.

Friday, the Tigers lost 4-1 against Framingham at home.

The girls won 4-1 over Milton at home Tuesday, May 3.

“The first doubles was able to make a great comeback during the third set there,” Vallabh said.

Monday, May 2, against Weymouth at home, the Tigers won 4-1.

Chan said, “Kelly won 6-0, 6-0 in first singles.”

According to Chan, the Tigers also won the second and third singles as well as the first doubles at that match.

“It was a good win, not a tight match at all,” Chan said.

Jacob Schwartz

Net game: Junior Katie Regan hits a half-volley.

Boys’ track awaits end-of-season meets GLORIA LI Boys’ track, 7-0, plans to win the rest of its meets this season, according to coach Jim Blackburn.

Senior Dan Ranti, a captain with seniors Ryan Donovan and Isaiah Penn, said he expects the Tigers to perform well in the 400-meter at the Coaches’ Invitational at Durfee High School tomorrow.

The BSC Meet scheduled for Wednesday at Weymouth is a standard meet, and Ranti said

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he thinks that the Tigers will take a sweeping victory.

The top-performing boys are all expected to be at the Division I meet at Andover, the last meet of the season, Saturday, May 28, Ranti said.

“Blackburn has his eyes on States. He’s looking to pull us together as a team in order to win there,” Ranti said.

Wednesday against Brookline at home, the boys claimed a 97-39 victory.

Thursday, May 5, against

Framingham at home, the Tigers won 94-42.

Ranti said, “Senior Ben Clark performed exceptionally well there. He won both the shot-put and the discus.”

The Tigers also won the 100meter, the 200-meter and the triple jump, Ranti said.

Sunday, May 1 at the State Relays, the Tigers finished first.

According to junior Young Guan, the Tigers scored 50 points there. “We won the shot

put, the relay and the sprint medley,” Guan said.

Guan said that the boys earned a lot of unexpected points from the high jump and triple jump relays and the fourmile relay.

Ranti said, “Freshman Gabe Montague performed well, and we’ll be expecting a lot from him in the coming years.”

In addition, Guan said that freshman Nick Fofana won the javelin with a throw of 146 ft.

5 in.

Volleyball expects success at States KRISTIAN LUNDBERG Boys’ volleyball, 11-2, has flourished in the regular season, as coach Richard Barton had expected.

With the first round of postseason play to begin at the end of next week, the Tigers hope their regular season success will translate into a State Championship, Barton said.

“I knew that we had a strong team at the beginning of the season, and we’ve played well up to this point,” Barton said.

“Right now, we’re trying to speed up our offense and play more controlled defense, so we’ll be ready when we play against hard-hitting teams.”

Barton said he expects Brookline to be the only team from the Bay State Conference besides the Tigers to qualify for the State Tournament.

“There’s a chance we could play them in the finals if both of us make it that far,” he said.

Along with the Warriors, Barton predicted that the team would face stiff competition in the State Tournament from South and Quincy.

“South and Quincy are two of the toughest teams in the state, so we have to do well against them and march to the State Semis,” Barton said.

If the Tigers were to advance beyond the quarterfinals, Barton said he expected to face

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Maliha Ali

Mid-air: Senior Zach Knotts jump serves against Braintree.

JAY FEINSTEIN Strengths of boys’ lacrosse, 8-4, have been changing, according to coach Bussy Adam.

“We used to be the best at defense, but now our offense is coming together,” he said.

“Now that our offense is becoming more solid, we have a more balanced team.”

According to junior Jake Shearman, a captain with senior T.J. Ryan, the team has been improving team unity.

The Tigers will host Brookline today, marking the second game against the Warriors this season. The first time the Tigers played Brookline, they beat the Warriors 13-7.

“They’re a well-coached team, and they’re steadily improving,” Adam said. “We’re confident that we can do well if we don’t turn the ball over too many times.”

Tuesday, the Tigers will visit Dedham, Adam said. “They’re one of the weaker teams in the Bay State Conference, but we’ll continue to work hard and prepare for it.”

The Tigers will visit Wellesley Thursday for a “tough game,” according to Adam.

“They’re undefeated and probably the best team in the league now,” he said. “They have strong attack, they have solid defense and they have an outstanding goalie.”

According to Adam, the Tigers will need to make sure that they are very prepared.

At home Saturday, May 21, the Tigers will play Concord, Adam said.

“We haven’t played them for a while,” he said. “They’re wellcoached, and the game is going to come down to possessions and turnovers.”

Monday, May 23, the Tigers will host the Needham Rockets for their penultimate game of the season. “They’re an outstanding team in the league,” Adam said.

“We’ve struggled in the past with Needham, but this year we are a more athletic and skilled team.”

For the Tigers’ last game of the season, they will host South Tuesday, May 26.

Dubbed the DePeter Cup after the late Tom DePeter who taught at both North and South, it is the third annual night game between the two rivals, Adam said.

“We’re a stronger team, but it’s a big game, so it’s up for grabs,” he said. “We’ve won for the past two years.”

Tuesday, the Tigers lost to Natick at home 7-6.

Friday, the Tigers visited Framingham, losing 9-5, “It was not a good game for us,” Adam said, adding that several things went wrong.

“The offense failed to execute. They couldn’t figure out the defensive slides,” he said.

“In the future, they will need to recognize defensive situations and protect the ball a little better. We can’t give up the ball so easily.”

On the road Tuesday, May 3, the Tigers defeated Milton 17-4 for one of the best games of the season, according to Adam.

“We had control for most of the game,” he said. “Eight different kids scored.”

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Haverhill in the semifinals for a chance to play in the finals.

“I’m very confident in our chances at States,” he said.

In recent action, the Tigers shut out both Weymouth on the road Wednesday and Brookline at home Monday, winning both matches 3-0. Friday, the Tigers were edged 3-2 at Natick in their second loss of the season.

“Natick played well, and it was an okay game,” Barton said.

The Tigers shut out Braintree at home 3-0 Monday, May 2.

Friday, April 29, the Tigers defeated previously undefeated Framingham 3-1 at home to vault the Tigers into a tie for first place in the Bay State Conference. With the victory, the Tigers avenged their only loss of the season—a narrow 3-2 defeat to the Flyers—on the road in the team’s second game.

“Compared to last time, we were much stronger after an hour of play, and we were more strongly conditioned,” Barton said. “When we’re fresh, we’re the stronger team, but when we get tired, it’s a flip of the coin.”

Senior Nick Link, a captain with seniors Mikey Barbone, Zach Knotts and Matt Laredo, called that victory “our biggest win of the season.”

“We really wanted that one,” he said. “We pulled together and came back from a deficit in the fourth set to win.”

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12 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, May 13, 2011

Ultimate faces tough squads

BY JAY FEINSTEIN AND EMMETT GREENBERG Ultimate Frisbee continues its season bolstered by its strong offense, according to coach Matt Anderson.

“We have a strong starting line, but our defense is improving,” he said.

Even though much of the team is new this year, “the team has been better than I thought we’d be,” Anderson said.

The Tigers are progressing as a team, said sophomore Nick Roberts, a captain with seniors Evan Zhang and Dylan Wolff.

“We’re gaining a better understanding of the game, and we have good chemistry,” he said. “We need to improve defensively, work on our man defense, work on covering people, marking up.”

According to Roberts, “We have some very good players, a good deep game, and as a team, we’re very fast and athletic.”

Saturday and Sunday, the Tigers placed ninth out of 10 teams at the Amherst Invitational Ultimate Tournament, according to Roberts.

“We’re happy about it because some of the other teams were some of the best in the

country,” he said. “We were placed up a division—a higher one than we expected—and we were playing against some really strong teams.”

Before the tournament in Amherst, the squad played in a smaller-scale tournament at Northfield Mount Hermon Saturday, April 30, Wolff said.

The team finished 3-2 in a three-way tie for second place, Wolff said. “In the first game, we played really poorly against Four Rivers, so it was a disappointing loss,” he said.

“We were the better team against Four Rivers, but we made too many mistakes,” he said.

“We improved later on in the tournament, and we played a good game against Northfield Mount Hermon.

“We were missing some key players, but we played tough,” he said.

According to Wolff, “We’re getting better, improving our knowledge of the game and our fitness. We have some very skilled handlers and cutters, and we’ve done well, since we lost some seniors last year, and some of our players are coming from the B team.”

Jacob Schwartz

Impromptu practice: Junior Jamie Moore snags the disc Tuesday, May 3. The team tossed the disc in front of the theatre entrance before its game against Weymouth.

Girls’ lacrosse contends for first place in division KRISTIAN LUNDBERG Girls’ lacrosse, 8-2 Wednesday, finds itself in contention for first place in the Bay State Conference Carey Division.

As of now, Needham is the only team standing in its path.

The Tigers, holding the second-best record in the Carey Division of the Bay State Conference, have won four of their past five games.

Coach Kim Hamilton said the Tigers’ success stems from the team-wide contributions on offense and defense.

“Everyone on the team can play defense, and we don’t rely on only a few people to score all the goals,” Hamilton said.

“We have a solid defense and an offense that can keep possession and run plays.”

In practice, the Tigers are working on “situational play, strategy and how to prepare for games,” Hamilton said.

“My hope is that they will be challenged enough at practice, so they’ll never enter a game where something surprises them,” she said.

The Tigers will take on Brookline on the road today.

Afterwards, the team will return home to face Waltham tomorrow, Dedham Tuesday and Wellesley Thursday. Hamilton said that Wellesley is one of the team’s strongest opponents, but she added that “every team is a challenge.”

The Tigers will wrap up the

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Gabe Dreyer

One-on-one: Freshman Shannon Fitzgerald tries to shake a Milton defender.

season with two away games, against Waltham Saturday, May 21 and against Needham Monday, May 23. Because the Rockets and the Tigers are onetwo in the division, the season finale could determine which team wins the division.

The Tigers defeated Natick 22-19 on the road Tuesday.

“We definitely needed to improve our defense, since it was such a high scoring game,” said junior Kayla Farina, a captain with junior Michela Salvucci.

Farina led the Tigers with six goals as they rebounded from a 15-9 loss to Framingham at home Friday. Although the Tigers had smooth transitions for most of the game, the Flyers’ defense buckled down in its defensive zone, holding the Tigers to three goals in the first half.

Up 6-3 at the beginning of the second half, Framingham extended the lead to 13-6 by controlling possession and converting on its opportunities.

Although the Tigers made the game slightly more interesting with two goals late in the half, Framingham wound down the clock with long possessions in the Tigers’ defensive zone, eventually winning by a final of 15-9, dropping the Tigers to second in the division.

Saturday, April 30, the team traveled to Woburn, defeating the Tanners 16-9.

The Tigers were to host South yesterday.

Baseball pushes to qualify for State Tournament KRISTIAN LUNDBERG Striving to qualify for the State Tournament, baseball, 5-7 Wednesday, hopes to boost its record above .500, coach Joe Siciliano said.

Siciliano said the Tigers are “a little behind the eight ball.”

“If we keep working hard in practice, I’m confident that we can put ourselves in a position to accomplish that goal,” he said.

In order to advance to postseason play, Siciliano added, the Tigers need to improve their pitching, which “is still a work

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in progress. “ What’s been hurting us is that it’s been inconsistent throughout the season.

“Other than that, our hitting isn’t too bad, and our fielding is good,” he said. “We mostly commit fewer than two errors per game, which is very good for the high school level.”

The Tigers will host South tomorrow in a non-league game, and the team will host Weymouth Monday.

Next, the Tigers will travel to Wellesley Wednesday and

Brookline Friday and then return home to face Framingham Monday, May 23 and Needham Wednesday, May 25. The Tigers will wrap up the regular season on the road against Waltham Friday, May 27.

Siciliano stressed the overall strength of the Bay State Conference. “In my opinion, it’s one of the toughest leagues in the State,” he said.

According to senior Danny Anderson, a captain with senior Jack McLaughlin, “Wellesley and Needham will challenge us.

We always seem to go into extra innings with Needham.”

Despite this, the Tigers are “making good progress” towards qualifying for States, Anderson said.

“We’re going to need to play how we want to play in our next few games,” he said.

Wednesday, the Tigers lost at Braintree, 9-1.

Monday, the Tigers defeated Natick 6-0 at home. Sophomore Brendan Ryan hurled a two-hit shutout to raise the team’s record to .500 with the win.

Friday, the Tigers were shut out at Needham, 3-0.

The Tigers defeated Framingham 3-2 on the road Thursday, May 5, in a “big win” for the squad, Anderson said.

Saturday, April 30, the Tigers beat Catholic Memorial 4-1 due to strong pitching, Siciliano said. “Junior Tom Clarke shut them down, and we had good defense,” he said.

Friday, April 29, the Tigers edged Milton 4-3 on the road.

The Tigers were to have traveled to Dedham yesterday.