Newtonite ◆ Friday, April 29, 2011 • Volume 90, Issue 6
Non-profit org. US postage paid Newton, Mass. Permit no. 55337
Newton North High School, 457 Walnut St., Newtonville, Mass. 02460
Meeting ends in frustration Samantha Libraty Jared Perlo Tension ran high during Wednesday’s Student Faculty Administration meeting, with several faculty members walking out after the meeting was adjourned due to lack of student representative attendance, according to principal Jennifer Price. History teacher Gregory Drake, faculty co-chair, presented a motion that called for a quorum, which means there needs to be 16 members present in order to run a meeting. Because there was not a quorum, the meeting was adjourned. Out of the 12 student representatives on the committee, four attended Wednesday’s meeting. Drake said that some faculty members left because “we weren’t going to find any solutions with four students.” Price said, “I have been frustrated all year with the lack of student leadership and participation in SFA. “I am hopeful that the students, under the direction of student co-chair junior Allision Wu, will find a way to actively engage in the SFA and begin to represent their constituents properly.
“This followed a conversation at the last SFA meeting about the importance of student participation and leadership.” After the meeting was officially over, “there was a productive conversation on how to make SFA more effective,” Drake said. Although some faculty members were frustrated, many of the student representatives, including junior Joanna Saikali, feel that it was inappropriate for them to walk out, she said. “There should definitely be more students showing up, but this week was different because upper classmen have SATs and AP exams,” Saikali said after the meeting. “It was wrong for the faculty to walk out. Students were there to fix the issue, and the faculty just gave up.” Wu said after the meeting, “The frustration the faculty showed was not completely unwarranted, but on the other hand, it could have been dealt with by much more effective means.” Although some meetings this year have not been as productive because of the lack of attendance, the representatives have been communicating outside of meetings, according to Wu.
by
and
Jacob Schwartz
Facing the Mustangs: Junior Will Spiro cradles the ball in the game against Needham Tuesday, April 12 at home. The Tigers won 14-5. See story on page 14.
Cindy Bergan appointed assistant superintendent Hilary Brumberg Earlier this month, math department head Cindy Bergan accepted the position of assistant superintendent for secondary and special programs. Because it is so late in the school year, this school will hire an interim math department head for next year, according to vice principal Deborah Holman. A small committee, co chaired by Career and Vocational Technical Education department head Diana Robbins and Special Education department head Walter Lyons, will choose candidates to be interviewed, Holman said. Principal Jennifer Price will then choose the 20112012 interim math department had from that candidate pool. “We’d like to have an interim
in place by the end of May,” Price said. The position of interim math department head will only be posted internally and will be open to anyone certified in mathematics, she said. Bergan, who co-led the committee to hire a new English department head this year, said that often an interim is used for a year because it is “less complex” to hire an interim on such short notice. She said, “They’ll try to involve as many people as they can because they want to hear the voices of the department. “It is very important that the new person understand the extent to which collaboration is used in the building,” she said. Next school year, the math department will do a full search for a long-term department
head. The district will then advertise both internally and externally, Bergan said. As assistant superintendent for secondary and special programs, Bergan will work with the four middle school and two high school principals to “collaborate on aspects of teaching and learning,” she said. Bergan will also oversee four district-wide special programs: Career and Vocational Technical Education, METCO, Community Education and Summer School. “I will work with the directors of these programs and see how these programs are being integrated into the school system,” Bergan said. “My role will be to support them and see what kind of resources I can bring.” The assistant superintendent
for secondary and special programs is a new position in the Newton Public Schools. It was created when superintendent David Fleishman eliminated the positions of deputy superintendent of schools and executive director of instructional programs. These changes will be effective at the end of this school year, according to a letter Fleishman sent to NPS staff in February. In the letter, Fleishman said his sole purpose in restructuring the assistant superintendent positions is to “serve schools as effectively as possible and ultimately create the most optimal conditions to improve student learning.” Bergan, who has taught at this school since 1999, said that she has had “wonderful oppor-
tunities” at this school. “The math department is a collaborative group of educators who just care deeply about teaching and learning.” Bergan said she applied for the assistant superintendent for secondary and special education position knowing that however the application process worked out, she would be “very happy,” because “I love my current job, and I am excited to work with another amazing team in the central office.” In a letter to NPS faculty announcing Bergan’s appointment, Fleishman said that Bergan’s “well-deserved reputation as a highly respected leader in Newton will enable her to be a major contributor at the district-wide level” and that he looks forward to working with her.
Samantha Libraty Students from this school will be walking in a Tiger team at Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger Sunday, according to sophomores Caroline Ayinon and Deanna Cortina. Ayinon and Cortina are heading the Tiger team. This is the first year that there has been an official Tiger team, they said.
They created a group on Project Bread’s team site and invited many students via Facebook, Ayinon said. She volunteered at the Walk for Hunger last year, and she asked Cortina to walk with her this year, she said. “We later thought of organizing a schoolwide team.” Cortina said, “We knew that
a lot of students participated in the Walk for Hunger individually or with their parents, so we thought it would be a good idea to combine and walk in a team representing this school.” The Tiger team will meet in Newton Centre and walk 6.5 miles to the Cambridge Boat Club, Ayinon said. The Walk for Hunger is a
fundraiser for Project Bread. “Walkers raise money by getting sponsors to pay them a certain amount per mile or a flat donation,” Ayinon said. The Tiger team is aiming to raise $1,000, she said. “But we know the Tigers can go above and beyond if we work hard,” she added. Cortina said, “The money we
raise goes a long way to help others that aren’t as fortunate as us. Being high school students, usually our focus is on ourselves, but this walk lets us focus on those who are in need and do not have the simplest thing, like food.” Students interested in partcipating can go to www.projectbread.org/goto/tigerwalk.
by
Tiger team to participate in Walk for Hunger by
See inside for Springfest, old school demolition and sailing
page 4
pages 8-9
page 13