vol88i4

Newtonite

Newton North High School, 360 Lowell Ave., Newtonville, Mass. 02460

◆ Friday, March 27, 2009 • Volume 88, Issue 4

N-rule

Vandalism hits parts of school

Consequences might be more immediate

The proposed process

If students were tardy to a class, teachers would develop their own approach. A tardy of more than 25 minutes would be a cut.

Inside this issue...

“The custodial staff was patient and managed to get the paint off, but there is still a reminder left.”

Cafeteria manager Maria Mastroianni said there has been a series of acts of vandalism in the cafeteria’s kitchen.

Over the past few months, incidents have included thefts from the drink coolers and break-ins to the walk-in refrigerator, she said.

About three weeks ago, eggs were thrown in the kitchen, and broken in coffee pots, she said.

“They ripped the lock off the refrigerator but didn’t take anything,” Mastroianni said.

The next week, raw chicken from the freezer was thrown under the counters and left there over the weekend, she said.

“About a week ago, the ice machine was empty and unplugged,” Mastroianni said.

Keefe said the cleanup is “just a pain in the neck. It’s an inconvenience for everybody.”

MATT KALISH Because the School Committee has delayed its final budget vote two to three weeks, scheduling and planning for next year are also delayed, principal Jennifer Price said Wednesday.

She said the mayor has promised to pay back the $1 million he borrowed from the School committee last year.

Also, according to School Committee chair Marc Laredo, “We are postponing the vote so that we can gather more information about whether we will receive any federal money.

“If there is an additional infusion, the superintendent will revisit the budget and give us further recommendations.

“We know that there is $1.8 million in federal money for special education, but we don’t know exactly what we can spend it on, and obviously that is a huge factor.”

How much more money the city could get is unknown, he said.

Asked whether superintendent Jeffrey Young’s being a finalist for the Cambridge schools affected the delay, Laredo said no.

“They are completely separate issues,” he said.

In the original proposed budget, juniors and seniors would have been limited to 26 blocks of classes, but the School Commit-

tee voted to change it so that the limit remains 30, Price said.

“Superintendent Young said that class sizes will instead be increased,” she said.

In the current $164.1 million budget, the high schools would lose 14.4 full time teaching positions.

“I am working on scheduling for next year as best as I can, but since the exact amount of FTEs we will have for next year is still up in the air, it’s a headache,” Price said.

Additional cuts are necessary because of some much needed additions on all levels, Price said.

One addition could be a program evaluator for the district, who would give “a quantitative and qualitative analysis of our programs,” she said.

“You add all that up, and you have to have additional cuts.”

Part of the FTE cuts result from predictions that the high schools will lose about 85 students, Price said.

“On top of cuts due to a decline in enrollment, 8.9 FTEs are being cut from the high schools,” she said.

The result of proposed cuts has been an outporing of concern from high school parents, Price said.

See editorial page 2.

AND

MARENA COLE AND MATT KALISH Consequences for unexcused absences could change under a new draft of the N-rule.

Having begun discussion of the rule in January, principal Jennifer Price told faculty Tuesday, March 17, “At some point we’re just going to have to make a decision.”

She also said that she needs to look again at juniors’ open campus privileges, noting that 146 sophomores were not eligible for open campus this year.

“I’d have a tough time giving those individuals open campus next year,” Price said.

Under the new proposal from the N-rule Committee, students would receive an N if they missed 25 percent of a class.

All absences except for schoolsponsored events would count towards the N, including suspensions, excused and unexcused absences.

Tardies

MARENA COLE ELI DAVIDOW Police are investigating vandalism that has occurred in the building during the past few weeks, according to Lt. Bruce Apotheker.

Senior custodian Tim Keefe said molasses was spread on all of the doorknobs in Pilot on the fourth floor, and an obscenity was written on the floor Tuesday, March 17.

“We thought the molasses came from the Tiger’s Loft, but we checked the labels on the containers in the Loft and in the cafeteria, and it was a different brand,” Keefe said. “It came from outside of the building.”

English teacher Alicia Carrillo said that Wednesday, March 11 when she came into her classroom “something on the wall” caught her eye.

“I looked on the wall and saw a patch of blue paint,” she said. “I then looked over and saw every single desk had a stroke blue paint on it.

BY

BY

◆For one cut, a student would have to talk with the teacher of the class, and his housemaster would be notified. It would also be highly recommended that teachers call students’ parents/ guardians and have the students make up time. ◆For a second cut, after notification from the teacher, the housemaster would call home, see the student and assign a detention. ◆For a third cut, the teacher would have to notify the housemaster, who would meet with the parent(s)/guardian, and assign an appropriate consequence.

Any additional unexcused absence would result in an immediate suspension and a required parent/guardian re-entry meeting.

To excuse an absence, a parent would have to call by 10 a.m. that day. If a parent called before 10 the next day, a correction would be issued. After 10 the next day, the absence would be unexcused.

Links co-director David Turcotte, an N-Rule Committee member, said having three cuts result in a N by the end of the term is too far away.

“We don’t want students after missing three classes to have no credit for the quarter, and to feel they have no reason to keep attending,”’ he said.

Non-profit org.

US postage paid Newton, Mass.

Permit no. 55337

School Committee delays budget vote BY

Shira Bleicher

Minga fashion show: Junior Sydney Massing-Schaffer poses at the show Barney’s of New York sponsored Sunday, March 15 at the Windsor Country Club. Minga aims to increase awareness about child sex slavery and ways to prevent it.

Open campus for ’11 SFA considers eligibility rules REBECCA HARRIS Juniors might not automatically have open campus next year.

Instead, under a proposal before the Student Faculty Administration Board, they might have the same rules for eligibility as sophomores do.

Junior Camilla Jackson, who submitted the proposal, said she did so because there are students in this school who are not in good academic standing and have frees but do not seek help.

“Juniors will only be eligible and given the privilege for open campus if they are considered to be in good academic standing with satisfactory attendance,” the proposal says “We have identified an achievement gap at North, and this proposal focuses on closing that gap.”

According to Beals housemaster Michelle Stauss, 146 out of 448 sophomores did not qualify BY

Sophomore sleepover page 3

for open campus.

Math teacher Janice Lichtman suggested adding provisions for academic support, “to show this isn’t punitive.”

Also, the board has voted down two proposals.

The first, from sophomores Mercer Gary, Jared Kalow, Emma Leader and Ana Mijailovic, would have allowed sophomores to leave the cafeteria after signing in to a cancelled class.

The proposal said that the cafeteria lacks resources that might help students, such as computers, and also prevents students from going to teachers for extra help.

Principal Jennifer Price acknowledged flaws in the current system, but she said that changes weren’t likely.

“I know this isn’t perfect, but it is the way it is,” she said.

Also, the board voted down junior Ezra Cohen’s proposal to ban the use of collective punishment.

‘Anything Goes’ page 5

Mexican exchange page 12

Boys’ lacrosse page 16

opinion

2 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 27, 2009

Good to see last of 26 blocks

J

uniors and seniors no longer have a 26-block limit next year.

If the 26-block limit had remained in the budget, students would not have been able to take courses they really wanted—an elective, a second language or a second science.

The School Committee voted to change the proposal thanks to a strong outcry against a 26-block limit, which goes to show how important a public presence is.

This change will probably

Prime pranks for April Fool’s Day

editorial result in larger class sizes, but having a larger class is better than not taking the class at all.

Reductions will occur, but to restrict students from expanding their learning goes against what this community strives for.

With the final vote coming next month, we hope that the School Committee does its best to restore the necessary FTEs and to create the best learning situation possible.

J

Shira Bleicher

From the tropics: It’s definitely not New England weather.

Don’t shortchange physical education

S

tudents are organizing Wa l k / R i d e D a y s during which they will walk or take public transportation to school.

By doing so, students are showing their concern for environmental health and for their own health.

Seniors have also received a $500 grant for pledging not

editorial to tan before the prom, in yet another example of students’ awareness of health-related issues.

We commend these efforts, but we are concerned about the possibility that lack of funds could stifle students’ efforts.

User fees are unfortunate enough. But decreasing the physical education requirement makes little sense to us.

With students apparently more interested in their physical well being than ever, it seems an especially poor idea to cut the physical education requirement.

Cuts to physical education classes are unfair to students who are making every effort to improve on physical and personal health.

Also, with fewer semesters of physical education, students would have less time after taking required classes to take elective gym courses, which would decrease class sizes in many gym classes offered.

Time to step up, help Doherty family MARENA COLE t’s always good to help a family in need, and people in the school community are stepping up to do so for a family in Nonantum.

Fire destroyed the Doherty family’s home Thursday, Feb. 12.

The Dohertys, including Mary and her sons Collin Doherty ’07 and Donovan Doherty ’07 and Harrison DiLiello, lost their home and all their possessions—from clothes to furniture to dishes to cooking utensils.

Any homerooms interested in helping to gather supplies to provide the family with care packages of basic household goods can contact main office secretary Andrea White.

BY

courtesy Paula Strayhorn

Fire destroys the Doherty family’s home in Nonantum.

Newtonite The Newtonite, founded in 1922, is the newspaper of Newton North High School, 360 Lowell Ave., Newtonville, Mass. 02460.

Editors in chief — Eli Davidow, Matt Kalish, Ellen Sarkisian News editor — Marena Cole Arts editor — Alicia Zhao On campus editor—Olivia Stearns Feature editors — Emily Amaro, Jay Krieger Sports editors— Meredith Abrams, Josh Bakan Photography editors — Shira Bleicher, Gaby Perez-Dietz, Teddy Wenneker Graphics managers — Prateek Allapur, Peter Taber-Simonian Advertising managers — Joe Connors, Chris Keefe Business manager — Chris Welch Circulation managers — Caleb Gannon, Dan Salvucci Exchanges editor — Georgina Teasdale Adviser — Helen Smith Production advisers — Sue Brooks, Tom Donnellan

News staff — Rebecca Harris, Rebecca Oran Features staff — Jacob Brunell Sports staff — Evan Clements, Nicole Curhan, Emmett Greenburg, Jeremy Gurvits, Elliot Raff Arts staff — Eliana Eskinazi, Kate Lewis News Analysis — Kellynette Gomez Art staff — Julia Belamarich, Puloma Ghosh, Anna Kaertner, Hannah Schon Photography staff — Anna Gargas, Helen Gao, Jaryd Justice-Moote, Lucy Mazur-Warren, Jesse Tripathi Circulation staff — Spencer Alton, Jackie Assar, Rebecca Kantor, Sydney Massing-Schaffer, Stoddard Meigs, Brooke Stearns, Daniel Tabib Production staff — John Synnott, Alison Wu

The Newtonite staff brings 16 issues a year to camera readiness for a circulation of 3,000 and goes on line daily during the academic year.

To place an ad in the Newtonite or contact us by phone, please call 617-559-6274. Yearly subscriptions cost $20. Readers can also reach us at Newtonite@newton.k12.ma.us.

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

BY JOE CONNORS, ILANA GREENSTEIN AND EMILY MCLAUGHLIN unior Mike Kenslea said he convinced his 3rd-grade class he was moving to Australia.

Senior Gabe Nicholas and sophomore Joseph Morgan both said they put toothpaste into an Oreo cookie and gave it to someone.

And freshman Angus MacDonald said he sewed his sister’s pant legs together.

“When she tried to put them on, she just fell,” he said.

What was the best April Fool’s prank you ever pulled?

Junior Jakob Levin said, “One year in elementary school I walked around all day and told people that it was snowing.

“I’ve always wanted to switch the sugar and salt in my house though.”

Also, junior Adam Schaffer said he “found a fake cockroach thing and brought it to school.”

“When you push a button and someone touches, it buzzes,” he said. “I put it on the teacher’s chair and she freaked out.”

Sophomore Josh Winik said he put a rubber band around the sink spray hose, and when it turned on, it sprayed the person in the face.

“A few years ago,” said freshman Caroline Ellison, “I changed the auto-correct on my parents’ computer to change a few common words to ‘April Fool’s.’”

Freshman Gerardo Esparza recalled that in elementary school he said that the teacher wasn’t going to come into the room.

“Then everyone started to play around,” he said. “When the teacher came in, she got really mad.”

One time, freshman Hannah Lloyd said, she switched around the cereal bags to different cereal boxes and confused everyone in her family.

I

column People can also make donations to the Doherty Family Fire Fund at Village Bank, 307 Auburn St., Auburndale, Mass., 02466.

Also, Paula Strayhorn ’06 said friends of the Doherty family will have a fundraiser next Saturday at the Post 440.

At the fundraiser will be live entertainment and a 50/50 raffle, along with an auction of gift cards and baskets, she said.

Tickets are available at Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub, DePasquale’s Sausages, Guiseppe’s and the West Street Grill and Tap. They cost $15.

It will be good to see students participating in this drive.

Newspaper wins awards in NYC

This newspaper won honors Friday in New York City including a Silver Crown for overall excellence and five Gold Circle awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

According to the association, the Newtonite is the only high school newspaper north of Maryland and east of Ohio to win a crown.

On a CD, the judges also gave special praises for the paper’s coverage of breaking news.

Issues submitted were from the 2007-2008 academic year.

Editors in chief were Jon Herrmann, Jessica Hills and Lucy Xu, all ’08, and seniors Will Feinstein and Ben Plotkin.

Gold circles, which honor the achievements of individuals, include ◆first place for news briefs writing for the work on page 1 of the May 2 edition. The briefs are by seniors Maalika Banerjee, Will Feinstein and Ben Plotkin and sophomore Rebecca Harris. ◆a certificate of merit for page

Teddy Wenneker

Presentation: Bruce Watterson of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association congratulates junior Ellen Sarkisian for the Silver Crown as adviser Helen Smith watches. one design in tabloid format in color to Plotkin for the December 21, 2007 issue that shows a snowball fight ◆a certificate of merit for news page design in color to senior

Sam Schauer for page 3 of the October 17, 2008 issue ◆a certificate of merit for a single subject news or feature package tabloid black and white to Feinstein and Plotkin for a page on scholarship prospects, which ran as page 7 in the October 17, 2008 edition and featured a picture of senior Willie Adelson doing push-ups. ◆a certificate of merit to Feinstein and Plotkin for “More than 60 displays open to visitors” about last year’s student showcase, which ran as page 9 in the May 2, 2008 issue.

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 newtonite@newton.k12. ma.us. 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, March 27, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 3

Sophomores have sleepover

Visit to D.C.

BLAC gives program about attending Obama’s inauguration

OLIVIA STEARNS Members of the Black Leadership Advisory Council started a Newton North chant as they waited for the inauguration to start.

“We wanted it to be known that Newton North was there,” said senior Paris Mongo, a leader.

“There were a lot of people there and everyone was talking, but when Obama started to speak, everyone just went silent,” Mongo said.

BLAC presidents and members talked about the highlights of their experience at the 44th presidential inauguration while presenting a slideshow.

Along with Mongo, speakers were seniors Kendra Dolor and Jazmynne Miller and juniors Vanessa Atocha, Vivian Guzman and Latifah Smalls.

When the students were talking about what they would like to accomplish this year, they thought it would be a good experience to go to Washington, D.C., Mongo said.

“As the election approached, we thought, ‘What better way to witness history than to just go to the inauguration?’” she said.

BY

Fund raising efforts

The council members raised money with activities including bake sales and present wrapping at the Chestnut Hill Mall.

“We wrote letters to everyone from Rep. Barney Frank to Oprah asking for help to send us on our trip,” Mongo said.

In addition to raising money for the trip, the club raised awareness about a women’s shelter called Second Step, Mongo said.

Once the group arrived in Washington, the students had an opportunity to sightsee at the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument and the White House.

“We woke up at 4 in the morning the day of the inauguration, bundled up and waited in line for hours to get tickets,” Dolor said.

Media exposure

After the students returned, Channels 4 and 5 as well as the Boston Globe and this newspaper did interviews and wrote stories about BLAC. “Seeing Barack Obama become president allowed me to believe that I can do anything I want to do with my life,” said Mongo.

After the slideshow, members talked about what it means to be a part of BLAC. “It helped me become more of a leader in other aspects of my life,” Dolor said. “I love the fact that leaders and members all work together to get everything done.”

Talent show tonight

BLAC will host a talent show tonight in Lasker Auditorium.

Tickets are available from any BLAC member. They cost $5 for students and $7 for adults.

Jaryd Justice-Moote

On Main Street before midnight: Right by the Riley house office Friday, March 6, students enjoy the sounds of Sometimes Why. According to Class of ’11 vice president Emily Cetlin, approximately 230 sophomores attended the sleepover.

‘Greening’ of new school theme of dinner Newton Schools Foundation sponsors fund raiser at local restaurant WILL FEINSTEIN Seventy guests, including teachers, administrators, city officials, parents and benefactors attended a Newton Schools Foundation fundraiser dinner Tuesday, March 3 at Ariadne Restaurant in Newtonville.

Retired principal Jennifer Huntington and principal Jennifer Price were the hosts. Following the “Green and Global” theme of all Newton Schools Foundation winter dinners this year, the title of this dinner was “The Greening of the New Newton North.”

Building commissioner Nick Parnell spoke first about the new building and how it will be ecofriendly.

“What we’re trying to do is show that you can be sustainable and environmentally friendly even while building a 413,000 square-foot building,” Parnell said.

Parnell mentioned the benefits of a “saw-toothed” design to get maximal natural light in the building. He also said the new school will make the most of natural landscaping and rainwater collection.

“We’re trying to minimize the amount of energy required,” he said.

Answering a question about the current building, he said up to 70 percent of it is recyclable after it is torn down.

After Parnell spoke, Huntington and Price introduced English teacher Steve Chinosi to talk about a project within the high school.

Huntington and Price both spoke about the mission of the Newton Schools Foundation, which is to enhance and broaden community support for public education and to provide private funding for innovative and challenging programs in the Newton Public Schools. Chinosi’s biodiesel project is one such program.

Referring to his long commutes from New Hampshire, Chinosi said the biodiesel project “was born out of an unhealthy situation.”

He introduced the idea of biodiesel to one of his English classes last year.

“They didn’t see the engine,” Chinosi said. “They didn’t know anything about it yet, but they just liked the idea.”

A class research project evolved to having three converters for a capacity of 130 gallons per day, he said.

“Immediately it was a project,

Model U.N. wins awards at conference

this school was assigned France, which has veto power on the UN Security Council, shows that the organizers respect the dedication and ability of the students.

Issues delegates debated included the prevention of nuclear terrorism and human rights in multinational corporations.

“I hope the students learned how difficult yet rewarding it can be to interact and reach compromise with people with very different viewpoints from their own,” Drake said.

BY

STEVEN MICHAEL This school’s 20-member group won Outstanding Large Delegation at the Boston Invitational Model United Nations Conference Friday, Feb. 27 to Sunday, March 1.

Seniors Sara Adelsheim, Adam Levin and Andrew Whittum, juniors Prateek Allapur, Max Fathy, Kenneth Landers and Ben Miller and sophomore Jared Kalow also won individual awards.

“We always perform well and often win individual awards, but the Outstanding Delegation Award is a real testament to the hard work of the entire club,” said history teacher Gregory Drake, a co-adviser with history teacher Albert Cho. Boston Model United Nations is an international conference, with attendance of 1,200 students from 50 schools and 20 countries, Drake said.

This school’s delegation represented Argentina and France.

Drake said that the fact that BY

Robotics and Science Teams to compete in Nationals

MARENA COLE Two teams from this school will compete at the national level in Georgia this spring.

Ligerbots, the robotics team, will compete at the Nationals Thursday, April 16 through Saturday, April 18 in Atlanta, Ga., said senior Sarah Sanchez, a cocaptain with South junior Jeremy Pearlman.

“We don’t really know what to expect yet,” she said. “We’ll go BY

Ben Plotkin

Greetings: Principal Jennifer Price and retired principal Jennifer Huntington introduce speakers at the dinner March 3. and immediately it was an integration of ideas,” Chinosi said.

“That is what we do at Newton North. We integrate ideas and we integrate the curriculum.

“The kids now had this tangible thread rooted in a real-life concept going on in the world.

in brief down there, do our best and see what happens.”

To raise money, the team is selling buttons and T-shirts, she said.

The team qualified at the FIRST Boston Regional robotics competition at Boston University March 5-7 by winning the Rookie All-Star award, Sanchez said.

“It was amazing,” Sanchez said. “We’re a new team, and it’s hard to qualify as a new team, but we did it.”

The team will also compete in a FIRST Robotics competition today and tomorrow in Hartford, Conn.

Having qualified at the State Science Olympiad Saturday, March 21 at Framingham State, the Science Team will compete in the Nationals, said senior Nathaniel Gilbert, the captain.

“We were consistent across the board,” he said. “The vast majority of the team came home with individual medals.”

According to science department head Amy Winston, the team took first out of 36 others.

“Without generous and overwhelming support from the community and the Newton Schools Foundation, this would have been impossible.” editors’ note: The Newton Schools Foundation hosted Newtonite reporters at the event.

The team will compete May 15 and 16 at Augusta State University in Augusta, Ga. “Our goal is to place 10th, but the competition at Nationals is extreme,” Gilbert said.

A tentative cost for sending the team is $10,000, Gilbert said.

“We haven’t determined exactly what we’re doing in terms of fundraising,” he said.

13 seniors reach level of Merit finalist

MARENA COLE Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program total 13 from this school, said assistant principal Deborah Holman.

They are Daniel Abromowitz, Maalika Banerjee, Royce Brown, Gregory Cohan, Elizabeth Cooke, Thomas Dinsmore, Anna Dukhovich, John Heilbron, Adina Hemley-Bronstein, Anne Kenslea, Adam Levin, German Novikov and Danylko Villano.

“These finalists will continue in the competition for more than 8,200 Merit Scholarships to be awarded in the spring,” Holman said.

BY

arts

4 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 27, 2009

Students to play in Symphony Hall All-State Festival this weekend ALICIA ZHAO Four students from this school will perform at Boston Symphony Hall tomorrow in the 55th annual Mass. Music Educators’ Association All-State Festival.

“The original festivals were fairly loosely organized with local conductors, and students came and went,” said Thomas Wa l t e r s , t h e concert’s coordinator. “ N o w, w e have nationally recognized conductors, a three-day stay in Boston and the concert at Symphony Hall. That in itself is a huge opportunity for students.”

Participants from this school will be juniors Samantha Gluck, Nikolai Klebanov and Hayley Travers and sophomore Carissa Lin. They will perform with more than 500 other students representing more than 300 public and private schools, Walters said.

Gluck and Travers, both altos, will sing with the All-State Chorus in “Fanfare for a Festival”

by Ron Nelson, “Hold On” by Moses Hogan, “Sicut Cervus”

by Palestrina, “The Awakening”

by Joseph M. Martin and “We Beheld Once Again the Stars” by BY

courtesy Spontaneous Generation

Improv: Spontaneous Generation will perform next Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30.

Spontaneous Generation to give four performances ALICIA ZHAO Improv is like a theatre thriller, said senior Gabe Nicholas, a codirector of this school’s Spontaneous Generation troupe.

“You could mess up any moment,” he said. “It’s very exciting.”

“Sometimes, you end up with a dead audience that doesn’t laugh, and that’s hard. The improvers should fuel the audience and the audience should fuel the improvers back.

“But when the audience doesn’t respond, you feel bad about yourself. That’s why you have to be able to fuel yourself up. You can’t be discouraged by the lack of response.”

Under the direction of Nicholas and senior Nathan Wainwright, Spontaneous Generation will present four shows in the little theatre next Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30.

There will be contest games, scene games and musical imBY

prov.

“In contest games, we are in some sort of competition—either against the clock or against each other in a battle of improv skills,” Nicholas said.

For example, “Doo Run” is a “rhyming tournament of champions,” he said. Other contest games include “But Not Really,” “Chain Death Murder,” “Challenge in a Minute,” “Death by Improv” and “Gun Slayer,” he said.

According Nicholas, scene games such as “Equivocate Debate ’08,” “Parallel Universe,” “Spinoffs” and “Three Rooms” involve the cast improvising situations with developed characters and environments.

In the end, there will be improvised singing, Nicholas said.

“First, we’ll invite an audience member on stage and ask them questions about their life,” he said.

“Then, we’ll take what they

said and improvise a musical about them.”

Cast members are seniors Dan Abromowitz, Rebecca Daniels, Michele Kaufman and David Waldinger, juniors Chris AnnasLee, Eddie McAuliffe and Seth Simons, sophomore Mercer Gary and freshman Graham Techler, with junior Nathan Harris at the piano, Nicholas said.

The directors will take part in the performances as well.

According to Wainwright, living in the moment is the best way to do improv.

“A lot of people get really nervous with improv because they like to have structure and they want to know what will happen,” he said.

“But it is best to just to let things happen and relax.”

The troupe’s adviser is Mike Manship, a member of Urban Improv.

Tickets are on sale for $5 during lunches.

Z. Randall Stroope.

Klebanov, an alto saxophonist and Lin, a clarinet player, will play with the All-State Band in “Symphony No.3 Don Quixote,” a new piece by its conductor Robert W. Smith, Walters said.

The two other groups are the All-State Jazz Ensemble and the All-State Orchestra.

Fine arts department head Todd Young, who is the assistant conference chair, said the levels of the ensembles are “phenomenal.”

“The concert offers students the chance to play with other students who are at the very top of their game,” he said.

“It means that you’re performing next to students who are the best of the best.”

To qualify, students auditioned for Districts in January, Young said.

“It’s been stressful and nervewracking, but all of that hard work paid off,” Gluck said.

“This is definitely an experience that most others don’t get to have.”

Students were to have rehearsed with the All-State music groups eight hours yesterday and another eight today at the Seaport Hotel, Young said.

Meanwhile, music teacher Richard Travers and Young were to have attended workshops and seminars with other music educators in a three-day conference

Well prepared, Musicianship attends BSO rehearsal

PATRICK ALVES fter careful preparation, the Musicianship class attended a Boston Symphony Orchestra open rehearsal.

On the program were “Symphony No. 4” by Charles Ives, “Night Ride and Sunrise” by Jean Sibelius and “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Fine arts department head Todd Young said the students had been “researching all the above for about two months prior to the trip.”

The eight of us in the class shared oral and Powerpoint presentations with each other about the works, composers and guest artists. With sophomore Teddy Wenneker, I researched Ives and his symphony.

Ives, a successful insurance salesman, focused on more than his music.

He started composing his fourth symphony in 1910 and didn’t finish until 1916, according to Gerald Brennan, Ives’ biographer.

The American Symphony Orchestra premiered the piece in Carnegie Hall April 26, 1965, almost 50 years after the completion of the work and 11 years after Ives’ death.

When Ives was young, his father trained him to sing along with him in one key, while his father accompanied on the piano in a different key, Brennan says on the BSO website.

Also, they both would sit at the piano and play four different melodies at the same time.

Ives’ music definitely reflects this education.

Researching Sibelius, whose “Night Ride and Sunrise” was second on the program, were BY

A

Teddy Wenneker

In Musicianship class: Fine arts department head Todd Young, senior William Saltus, sophomore Jesse Simmons and junior Ryan Vona get ready for class. The students researched composers and musicians before attending a Boston Symphony Orchestra open rehearsal last month.

personal experience junior Tyler Wasson and sophomore Jesse Simmons.

Known for his “Finlandia,” the national anthem of his native Finland, Sibelius wrote “Night Ride and Sunrise” in 1908. It

premiered in St. Petersburg in 1909.

The piece is a symphonic poem, which means the music tells a story.

Junior Ryan Vona and sopho-

more Caleb Gannon researched Rachmaninoff and his rhapsody.

According to the score, Rachmaninoff wrote the rhapsody in Switzerland from July 3 to August 18, 1934. It contains 24 variations

on one short theme by Niccolo Paganini, a violinist.

Under the direction of Leopold Stokowski, the Philadelphia Orchestra premiered the piece at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, Md., November 7, 1934, with Rachmaninoff himself playing the piano solo.

With the Boston Symphony Orchestra Stephen Hough played the solo. Junior Lucien Swetschinski gathered information on him.

Hough’s career started in 1978 when he was 17, Swetschinski said. Hough was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition and won the piano section.

In 1982, he won the Terrence Judd Award in England and in 1983, he took first prize at the Naumburg International Piano Competition in New York. Hough has a master’s from Juilliard.

Senior William Saltus found out about the guest conductor, Alan Gilbert.

Next season, Gilbert will be music director for the New York Philharmonic.

Gilbert attended Harvard, the Curtis Institute of Music, the New England Conservatory and Juilliard. In 1997 he received the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award.

Young had said his goal for this assignment was that students, armed with in-depth understanding, would enjoy and understand the pieces.

Finally, Thursday, March 5, the rehearsal began, and we were sitting in one of the world’s greatest concert halls.

We listened to one of the most famous symphony orchestras in the United States play music we cared about and knew about.

arts

Friday, March 27, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 5

Gaby Perez-Dietz

“Heaven Hop:” Senior Rachel Bronstein as Bonnie leads a tap dance in “Anything Goes,” this year’s all-school musical.

‘Anything Goes’ a Delightful, Delovely show ALICIA ZHAO harming characters, memorable music and lively tap dancing combined for a “Delightful, Delicious, Delovely” production of Cole Porter’s musical, “Anything Goes.”

Under the direction of John McGee, a cast of 51 showed great energy and skill during performances of this year’s all-school musical Thursday through Sunday.

BY

designed a set that displayed multiple levels of the ship’s bow.

With lighting by senior Kristof Janezic, the set had a romantic, ’30s atmosphere.

C

Outstanding music

Romantic storyline

Set on a ship heading from New York City to England, the story centers on Billy Crocker, a “broken down” Wall Street broker.

Billy illegally boards the ship to pursue his love interest, the New York debutante Hope Harcourt.

When the two meet, however, Hope reveals that she is engaged to a wealthy English gentleman, Sir Evelyn Oakleigh.

Still infatuated with Hope, Billy attempts to stop the marriage with the aid of his two friends, the gangster Moonface Martin and the nightclub singer Reno Sweeney.

Amusing characters

Junior Ryan Vona portrayed Billy as a confident, versatile young man who would do anything for love.

In “It’s Delovely,” he convinces Hope to give in to their love for the night as they enjoy a romantic evening.

To stay on the ship, Billy has to hide his identity. He takes on different disguises and accents, ranging from a sailor to an old woman to a wanted criminal.

Sophomore Fionnuala O’Donovan played Hope as pure and scrupulous. Hope soon becomes fed up with Billy’s different identities.

After Billy goes through a few disguises, Hope angrily exclaims, “I enjoy a joke, but I can’t love a clown.”

While the two lovers try to sort things out, romance ignites between Sir Evelyn and Reno.

Freshman Graham Techler cleverly portrayed Sir Evelyn as awkward and old-fashioned.

Reno’s fervor, however, appeals to his gentler, sillier side.

Junior Hayley Travers protrayed an independent, caring Reno who first flirts with Sir Evelyn to help Billy and then shows her fond feelings for him in “I Get a Kick Out of You.” Meanwhile, sophomore Edan Laniado’s humorous portrayal of the reckless and simple-minded Moonface added to the fun.

courtesy Theatre Ink

review Moonface dresses as a minister to conceal his identity, and during the trip he becomes good friends with Billy and Reno.

Accompanying him on the trip is Bonnie, a flirtatious and lively woman played by senior Rachel Bronstein. She is easily drawn to men and not shy about them knowing her feelings.

As the ship nears its destination, Billy finally reveals his true identity to save Hope’s respect for him. The crew locks him up in a room with Moonface, who has confessed to being a criminal.

While Billy yearns for Hope and complains about the situation, Moonface tries to cheer him up and sings about seeing the silver lining in “Be Like the Bluebird.” Here, Laniado garnered laughs by mimicking a bird with cheerful tweets.

Hope later visits Billy in his room, only to tell him that her mother has ordered her to wed Sir Evelyn immediately. Still, she confesses her love for Billy right as she leaves, making for a bittersweet scene.

But there is a happy ending.

Billy and Moonface take on one last disguise as pirates and crash the wedding, resulting in Billy marrying Hope and Sir Evelyn marrying Reno.

Flavor of the ’30s

Despite the Depression going on during the 1930s, the cast conveyed a hopeful outlook.

Senior Jasmine PullenSchmidt designed costumes based on social status of the period. For example, Reno wore fancy silk dresses while girls in the ensemble dressed in red, white and blue, enhancing the upbeat atmosphere.

Also, senior Phoebe DeGroot

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Music teacher Richard Travers conducted a 22-member orchestra of students and professionals that brought vigor to the rich score.

For instance, the orchestra set the sensuous mood for “Let’s Misbehave,” in which Sir Evelyn and Reno talk about acting on impulse and letting their feelings go while there still is time.

Audience members enjoyed the lively “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” with the whole cast dancing and Reno telling everybody on board to confess their sins.

Especially thrilling was the tap dancing in numbers such as “Anything Goes” and “Heaven Hop.” Having worked with the choreographer Kirsten McKinney, dancers impressed the audience with their sense of rhythm and synchronization.

From its engaging characters to its catchy music, the show sent across the message that anything can change for the better.

Gaby Perez-Dietz

All aboard: As Billy, junior Ryan Vona pretends to be a sailor and flirts with sophomore Fionnuala O’Donovan as Hope.

features

6 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 27, 2009

Microcredit Day Robin Hayashi

Publicity a focus in high schools

ELI DAVIDOW Statistics sometimes can be scary, Matt Brooks said.

He said that according to the World Bank: ◆50 percent of the world’s population is starving ◆67 percent cannot read ◆33 percent of the world lives without clean water and ◆39 percent of the people have no way of keeping themselves clean.

To help people in devastated areas, Malawi in particular, the MicroLoan Foundation, for which Brooks is a spokesperson, teaches about microloaning.

The MicroLoan Foundation is BY

Shira Bleicher

M i c r o L o a n Fo u n d a t i o n : Boston College senior Matt Brooks speaks on campus.

on campus

targeting high school students to pass on its information, Brooks said.

“With a very little amount of money invested, it has a huge, huge effect in Malawi,” he said.

“The money will help people build businesses there and potentially, it may double their pay.

“You need to have money to make money.”

Brooks applied for an internship last summer with the foundation, and he has been working there since September.

He began his presentation,on Microcredit Day, Tuesday, March

17, “Small Change, Big Changes: Global Poverty, Microfinance and You,” by asking members of the audience how much money they had spent during the past week and what they had spent it on.

Things that people had spent money on included groceries, ice cream and concert tickets.

But Brooks explained that in other countries, including Malawi, the ways people spend money are “very different,” because they do not buy many luxuries.

“The average person does not spend on stuff like arcades or sweaters from J. Crew,” he said.

“Imagine if you had five children and you had to put food on the

‘One Hen’ shows how credit system can work JAY KRIEGER “One Hen” is the story of Kojo, a native of Ghana, who takes a small loan from his mother and starts his own poultry business, said the author, Katie Milway.

Milway is a partner at The Bridgespan Group, which consults nonprofit organizations.

She read her book during a presentation on Microcredit Day. During the course of the story, Kojo evolves into an entrepreneur and learns new skills to expand his business.

After Milway read “One Hen” there was a video depicting the true story of Kwavena Darko, on whom Milway based the character of Kojo.

Unlike Kojo, Darko encountered obstacles trying to get a loan.

At first he was denied a loan, yet with persistence, he was able to acquire one.

In 1966, Darko started his own poultry company.

Following the video, Amma Sefa-Dedeh, who attends Babson, organized a role play.

Students formed groups and took on the roles of real people who have small businesses in developing countries.

Seta-Dedeh gave each of the groups a situation, including one in which a group member decides not to pay back his loan.

The group must decide whether to help him repay his loan.

“If you didn’t have credit you would join a trust group,” he said.

“The group makes sure everyone pays their loan.

“If one person backs out on paying his loan, then the bank assumes everyone has and will not give a second loan to that group.”

table with only $10 a day.”

Brooks said that although Malawi is the 27th poorest country in the world, about 63 percent of the population has $2 to spend every day.

“There’s still a staggering amount of poverty,” he said.

Malawi, about the size of Pennsylvania, also has a life expectancy of 43 years, Brooks said.

“The country’s completely lost,” he said. “The problem is that many drugs are out of reach in sub-Saharan Africa. ” The MicroLoan Foundation’s website is www.microloanfoundation.org.

Accion gives small loans MARENA COLE Microfinance aims to serve the smallest of businesses, said Diego Villalobos, a spokesperson for Accion International.

“There are a lot of people in the developing world in real need of a secure financial system,” he said.

“Microenterprise is the smallest type of business,” Villalobos said.

“It can range from selling fruit on the street to barefoot taxis.

“I grew up in Costa Rica on a small farm. Every year my grandfather would go to the bank and ask for an advance of money so we could buy feed and seed.

“Around eight months later, we would get our cash back from the crops we sold so we could pay the bank back.

“In Costa Rica, you could get credit. However, in most developing parts of the world, that doesn’t happen.

“Accion and others started looking and seeing these people really need a hand, that and so Accion focused on how we could give it to them.”

Microfinance loans work differently from traditional loans, using a system called village banking, Villalobos said.

“In village banking, a loan officer works with an entire village,” he said.

“To make sure we can collect at the end of a loan period, we gather people in groups in small villages that can guarantee the other person’s loan, so the loan officers won’t have to confiscate.

“There are about two million borrowers out of about one billion who live under the poverty line.”

“It’s a challenge reaching out to the entire market.

“We also have to give a financial education to small entrepreneurs who have never had a bank account and never had a loan.”

BY

BY

Shira Bleicher

Raising money: Juniors Hayley Travers and Esme Moskowitz look at handicrafts made in Guatemala that seniors Anne Kenslea and Mary McGrath are selling to raise money for the Microcredit Club on Main Street Tuesday, March 17.

Club runs fundraising events Five committees work on projects, handicrafts ELLEN SARKISIAN Microcredit Club aims to raise money through bake sales and handicraft sales to loan to those in need, said junior Leah Cepko.

The club has five committees.

The Communications, In-school Handicrafts, Out-of-school Handricrafts, Sweetness and Special Events Committees organize events and raise money for the club.

Cepko and junior Brett Sagan, members of the club, presented a slideshow about microcredit and spoke about the club on Microcredit Day, Tuesday, March 17.

Microcredit means that “small loans at low interest are given to new businesses in the developing world,” Sagan said.

Because the loans require no credit or employment history, businesses in developing countries can get credit they would not otherwise be able to get, he said.

BY

“Because it’s low interest, it’s easier to pay back,” he said.

“The rate of repayment is 95 percent.”

Cepko then talked about clients in Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Tanzania.

The club raises money to send the clients through Kiva, a microcredit website, which is an “umbrella organization” that consists of many smaller microcredit organizations, Sagan said.

Cepko and Sagan gave a tour of Kiva, showing how to create accounts. Once users sign up, they can search for clients to whom they wish to loan money, using region, occupation and gender as criteria.

Through Kiva, clients can post information about themselves, and Kiva agents go to locations without computer access to enable clients to set up pages, Sagan said.

Clients who use the microcredit service agree to loan terms, usually of about a year, he said.

“When the loan is repaid, the money is taken and given to someone else,” Sagan said. “It’s a cycle of charity.”

In the club, members use Kiva to decide which clients they will give loans to, depending on their repayment record and what they will be using the money for, he said.

Sometimes, leaders of the different committees decide on the client, Cepko said. In addition to regular clients, there are sometimes applications to receive loans in group, Sagan said.

Those who are interested in joining Microcredit Club may contact senior Emma Mayville, the president, through Barry house.

The club’s email is microcreditclub@hotmail.com.

feature

Friday, March 27, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 7

Delivers sixth Huntington lecture

Ibokette cites decline of US-Africa relations D.C., with African diplomats en- to denounce Reagan’s policy in stance,” Ibokette said.

Once the Cold War ended in countering segregation.

Southern Africa.

“The United States set up a “The result was the Com- 1991, the interest of the U.S. Special Protocol Service Section prehensive Anti-Apartheid Act government in Africa declined, in the State Department, which in 1986, which was what many he said. was responsible for resolving is- people here thought broke South In 2002, with the beginning sues with African diplomats and Africa’s backbone of apartheid of the war on terror, the United States was less concerned about landlords,” Ibokette said. government.

“By the ’60s and ’70s, the “African scholars, on the other political instabilities in Africa, civil rights movement contributed hand, insisted it was merely a Ibokette said. significantly to U.S. diplomatic contributing factor, arguing that Then, in 2007, the United interest in Africa, but the Cold the mobilization of South African States set up an Africa ComWar was the main cause of U.S. blacks was what overthrew the mand, the base for all military actions for African countries, in interest in Africa.” government.”

The Kennedy presidency Congress passed the act over Germany.

Now, the question is whether highlighted a period of interest, the veto of President Reagan, especially with the beginning of marking the first time that had “the age of Obama” will signal a Matt Kalish ever occurred on a foreign policy turning point, Ibokette said. the Peace Corps, Ibokette said.

Isongesit Ibokette President Gerald Ford set his issue, Ibokette said.

“Given the economy we’re terests in things American are ris- sights on Angola, an African “The fact that the act passed in and Obama’s tendency to be ing, so it becomes interesting how country that was thought to have shows how politically involved ‘race neutral,’ I’m concerned the degree of U.S. government too much of a Communist influ- Americans were with Africa,” that he won’t change the policy,” ence and where a civil war was he said. involvement has declined.”

Ibokette said.

Prior to the 1940s, this coun- occurring, Ibokette said.

“Since then, things have been “There has been no large-scale pro-African grassroots movetry had no official relationship “Ford set aside $6 million to going downhill.” with African countries, Ibokette prevent Socialist influence in President Bill Clinton traveled ment in the U.S. since the ’80s, to African countries, and some and I don’t think any big change said.

Angola,” he said.

“With the ending of World War In 1978, President Jimmy called him the “first African- is on the way.

“The U.S. has a lot of global inII and the beginning of the Cold Carter visited Nigeria, “the first American president,” Ibokette War, African nations were becom- time a U.S. president had gone said. fluence, and a strong diplomatic “While he was very comfort- presence in African countries can ing independent,” he said. to Africa,” Ibokette said.

“For the first time in history, “There was a general sense able in the African countries, go a long way in changing the during the interlude between of concern over human rights, his policy didn’t have much sub- minds of African dictators.” the Korean and Vietnam Wars, but overall Carter saw Africa as CAPTIVATING JEWELRY • DELIGHTFUL TABLE LINENS the United States discovered an area that wasn’t within Soviet The control. He wasn’t as concerned Africa.”

Wellfleet Collection In 1958, President Dwight as his predecessors were.”

Eisenhower created the Bureau During Ronald Reagan’s presi◆ dency in the 1980s, he focused on of African affairs.

Newton North students and families, “The effort in creating the bu- Southern Africa. mention this ad and get reau was to establish a friendly “Reagan’s Cold War strategy 10% off (not fine art) relationship with emerging Afin Southern Africa was to support 1: a flammable odorless very toxic/poisonous gas used to rican nations to counter Soviet the apartheid régime as a means 51 Union Street chemical products; is also of fighting Socialist it régimes in present in the relationsmanufacture with them,” Ibokette Newton Centre, MA said. the region,” Ibokette said. ◆ exhaust gases of internal-combustion engines and 617-527-1487 Meanwhile, problems were “College students, churches FANCIFUL ITEMS FOR ENTERTAINING • SPLENDID CERAMICS also emerging in Washington and manyin other groups began furnaces 2: an ingredient cigarettes ARTISTIC TREASURES

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car·bon mon·ox·ide car·bon mon·ox·ide mon·ox·ide car·bon 1: a flammable odorless very toxic/poisonous gas used to manufacture chemical products; it is also present in the exhaust gases of internal-combustion engines and furnaces 2: an ingredient in cigarettes

1: a The flammable odorless very toxic/poisonous used to best way to handle smoking is to nevergas start. manufacture chemical products; it is also present in the 1: a flammable odorless very toxic/poisonous gas used exhaust gases of internal-combustion engines and to 1: a flammable odorless very toxic/poisonous gas used to manufacture chemical products; it is also present in the furnaces 2: an ingredient in cigarettes manufacture chemical products; it is also present exhaust gases of internal-combustion engines and in the The best way to handle smoking is to never start. exhaust gases2:ofaninternal-combustion furnaces ingredient in cigarettes engines and furnaces 2: an ingredient in cigarettes

The best way to handle isfind tohelp. never start.

If you do smoke and wantsmoking to quit, you can The best way handle smoking is to never start.

Talk to to your school nurse or doctor.

You can find more information about smoking and quitting on our web site www.nwh.org and through The American Society at The best way to handle smoking isCancer to never start. www.cancer.org, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at If you do smoke and want toat quit, you can find help. www.cdc.gov/tobacco, and www.gottaquit.com.

Talk to your school nurse or doctor.

You can find more information about smoking and quitting on our web site www.nwh.org and through The American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/tobacco, and at www.gottaquit.com.

If you do smoke and want to quit, you can find help.

Talk to and your school nurse oryou doctor.

If you do smoke want to quit, can find help.

You can find more information about smoking and quitting on our web Talk to your school nurse or doctor. site www.nwh.org and through The American Cancer Society at You canwww.cancer.org, find more information about smoking quitting on Centers for Disease Controland and Prevention atour web If you do smoke and want to quit, you can find help. site www.nwh.org and through The American Cancer Society at www.cdc.gov/tobacco, and at www.gottaquit.com.

Talk toCenters your school nurse or doctor. www.cancer.org, for Disease Control and Prevention at You can find more information about smoking and quitting on our web www.cdc.gov/tobacco, and at www.gottaquit.com. site www.nwh.org and through The American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/tobacco, and at www.gottaquit.com.

UNIQUE GIFTS • FINE ART

MATT KALISH Since the days of President Ronald Reagan, U.S. diplomatic interest in Africa has been on a steady decline, said history teacher Isongesit Ibokette.

On the other hand, Ibokette said, non-governmental organizations, academics and humanitarian organizations’ focus on Africa has been on the rise in the past 15 years.

Also, he said that American popular culture now has “a huge presence in Africa.”

CNN, he said, has especially narrowed the gap between the United States and Africa.

“Many teen-agers now have a ‘50 Cent’ T-shirt, or a ‘SnoopySnoopy’ shirt,” he said.

Giving this school’s sixth lecture in the series named for retired principal Jennifer Huntigton, Ibokette spoke to an audience of students, faculty, retirees and parents Thursday, March 12.

“When I talk on the phone to my family back in Nigeria, they tell me that we have elected an African president, and I say ‘No, he’s American. He has never lived in Africa.’

“But they insist he is African.

In most African cultures, an individual is identified by where his father was born.

“The fact that Obama has never lived in Africa is irrelevant to them.

“My younger brother told me, ‘We used to export labor to the United States. Then raw materials. Now we’re sending over presidents.’

“The point is that Africans’ inBY

8 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

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arch 27, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆9

Shira Bleicher

structural steel and metal decking are also

rogress

www.ci.newton.ma.us

Interior work under way for new school building ELLEN SARKISIAN onstruction on the new building is on schedule, said Jeremy Solomon ’88, the city’s director of communications and policy.

“We are making impressive progress,” he said.

“The foundation has been poured and the structural steel has been set.”

Now, electricians and masons are doing work on the interior because exterior work is difficult to do during the winter, he said.

They are working on the roof decks and have completed the concrete floors in the academic wing, he said.

Exterior metal framing and sheathing are also nearly 98-percent complete in the academic core, he said.

BY

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Underground plumbing and electrical work are complete in the locker rooms, Tiger’s Loft, cafeteria and kitchen, Solomon said.

They are also 90-percent complete in career and tech ed., he said.

Metal stairs and railings are being completed along with duct work, he said.

In addition, interior brick walls are under construction, and waterproofing and fireproofing are under way, he said.

“Most important, we are on schedule for the anticipated opening of the school in September, 2010,” Solomon said.

“The construction team is on an expedited schedule.

“It’s a very ambitious schedule in a project this size to get the work done in that time.

“We are very pleased with the progress.”

’08 Electrical graduate helps with construction

Last year’s outstanding tech student also takes night course in economics at Boston College

Shira Bleicher

omplete. The ground floor is 98-percent complete, as lete, and exterior masonry is ongoing. Underground the city website says.

MEREDITH ABRAMS hen Dan Giovannucci, an Electrical Major, graduated last June, he was tech student of the year.

Giovannucci enrolled in night classes in economics at Boston College and went to work with Griffin Electrics.

Now he is working on the new Newton North.

“I was at a job interview with Griffin Electrics, and someone mentioned the company had gotten the job at Newton North,” he said. “I mentioned that I went to high school there, and it would be cool to work there.”

Giovannucci is getting electric conduits ready to run wires through to supply power to the school.

Newtonian “Taking Electrical at Newton North helped me learn things Dan like what the materials are and Giovannucci how to use them, and how much power is needed for a specific item,” he said.

“One time in class, a kid forgot a transformer in a doorbell and used too many volts, and it sparked.

“Also, to get a job as an electrician, you must have some basic knowledge, or you won’t be able to do anything. Class prepared me for that.

“I chose an economics class at B.C. because working in the electrical field, or any similar BY

Matt Kalish

in this wing. Also, concrete in other parts of the wing is 45-percent ing on the city website says.

W

trade, can be dangerous.

“I know of one guy who had 14 pieces of sheet rock fall on his leg. The accident crushed his muscle and broke his ankle, and they didn’t know if he would be able to work again.

“So I decided that economics would be good in case I ever got injured, or if I just wanted a change. It gives me choices in the future.

“Studying the economy also helps me see the world from new points of view and see the laws of economics in every-day life.

“I like the class a lot. My teachers are really nice, and night school is a lot cheaper than day school.

“In the next five years, I see myself getting my electrical license, finishing up my college degree, and I also hope I’ll own my own house by then.

I’ll be really happy.”

Giovannucci said he is enjoying the choices he has made.

“I can pay off college with the money I make working,” he said.“I will have a job, degree and no debt.”

Also, he said, working on the new Newton North reminds him of what he did in Electrical.

“It’s really nostalgic,” he said. “I remember all the good times I had in those classes with Steve Grimaldi, my teacher.

“I feel proud building this school for my friends, and their children, and maybe my children in the future. I’ll be able to tell them ‘You’d better go to school because I built it just for you.’”

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10 â—† Newtonite, Newton North

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Friday, March 27, 2009

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features

Friday, March 27, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 11

Housemaster describes his responsibilities

BY ILANA

it.

GREENSTEIN dams housemaster Jamie D’Orazio said this school has a pulse to

A

“There is a central nervous system,” he said. “If someone’s on the fourth floor, he or she would know something is happening on Main Street.

“The new school will have that same sense because of its design. Everybody knows what’s happening.”

He said the school is connected, and that the house system helps bring about this connectedness.

This feeling isn’t there at South because the building is so spread out, he said.

“Someone at South will say, ‘Did you hear about this?’ and the other person will say, ‘No. When did it happen?’” he said. “And the person will say, ‘Last week’ or ‘Two weeks ago.’”

Outlining his responsibilities, D’Orazio said he enforces rules, sometimes suspends students and serves as a problem solver.

“If I can’t fix a student’s problems, I’ll find someone who can,” he said.

A major challenge, he said, is getting to know students, especially the 475 in Adams house.

Last year, he said, the students in Adams were all seniors and he knew them all.

This winter, he said, he went on the New York trip that social studies teacher Ty Vignone organized for about 50 freshmen and got to “see them as students, not issues. The trip was a ball.”

Among the hardest parts of his job, D’Orazio said, are expulsion hearings.

“I’m in this building to teach,” he said. “If I wanted to be an enforcer, I’d be a cop.”

Expulsion hearings with the principal occur if a student has been involved with drugs or weapons or has struck a teacher.

Expulsion means a student cannot come back to this school or to any public school in Massachusetts, he said.

In the course of a day

Talking about how he is apt to spend his day, D’Orazio said he starts by checking e-mails from parents.

He said he also has situations come up, such as when a girl lost her jacket one morning.

“A student came to me and said she borrowed a locker because she’d lost her lock,” D’Orazio said.

“When she came to get her jacket then, there was a strange jacket and hers was missing.

“She had to go home and didn’t know what to do. I told her to wear the jacket.

“What ended up happening was a freshman boy came to his locker and wore the wrong jacket. He realized it was a girls’ jacket and put it in the science room.

“I wish I got easy situations

Subscribe to us

Gaby Perez-Dietz

Adams housemaster Jamie D’Orazio says: “Members of the Class of 2012 may come back five years after graduation and not recognize anyone, but their impact of the institution will never be forgotten. That’s something you cherish for a lifetime.”

House plan started in 1950s •In 1958 a House Plan Council that the Newton High principal, Harold Howe, had established reported the ideas it had developed to the School Committee for three houses at Newton South and six at this school.

The houses were meant to give “a sense of belonging,” the council said in its report.

•In 1959, with 3,200 students, grades 10-12, in three buildings, Newton High opened its six houses: Adams, Barry and Beals in Building 1, Palmer and Riley in Building 2 and Bacon in Building 3.

Every house, each on its own floor, had its own teachers, students, housemaster, counselors and custodian.

•In 1960, Newton South opened with three houses.

•In 1967, the Murray Road School opened in Auburndale and stayed open until 1978.

At Murray Road 110-140 students and five to seven teachers made all the decisions about the curriculum together. It stayed open until 1978.

•In 1973, Newton High and Newton Technical merged to become Newton North.

•In 1981, Bacon closed as enrollment declined.

•In 1983, this school added a 9th grade and like that all the time.”

Later in the morning, in Cblock, D’Orazio said, he teaches a freshman English class, which has been reading “The Odyssey.”

D’Orazio said he enjoys teaching freshmen because he gets to see them in the hall for three more years.

“When I walk down Main Street, I recognize at least 80 kids,” he said.

After lunch and toward the

became a four-year high school. Warren Junior High closed, and Bigelow and F.A. Day became middle schools.

•In 1985, a group of teachers and administrators began meeting in 3106, where the social studies department head John Livingston taught his classes.

•In 1986, the 3106 Committee recommended the clarification and redesign of the house system, with redefinition of roles and “more efficient and effective use of state-of-the-art technology.”

•In 1989, Palmer closed.

•In 1992, English teacher Peter Capodilupo became the coordinator of a 9th-grade pilot project, which became a house for the Class of 1996. the other four houses included students from the top three grades.

Also, house common rooms on Main Street closed. Counselors had already moved to the third and fourth floors for more space and better ventilation.

•In 1993,a ‘97 house opened. Upperclassmen were in Barry/Beals and Riley/Adams.

•In 1994, there were four houses, one per class.

—COMPILED FROM NEWTONITE FILES BY MATT KALISH

end of the day he has meetings with counselors about individual students and with the other housemasters.

In the meetings, the housemasters discuss common problems, D’Orazio said.

“In the face of a problem, we try to act in the way that Newton North should respond to that problem,” he said. “We want to keep it consistent.”

At the end of the day if it’s a Monday, D’Orazio said, he

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attends educational team conferences at which a counselor, teachers, parents and a student meet to get a better picture of the student and how he is doing.

Importance of the house system

D’Orazio also talked about the house system. He said it’s necessary because the school is so big and the houses make it feel smaller.

“If I could have my own school,

I would want 700-800 students and staff,” he said. “That way you can get to know people on a much more personal level.”

Looking back at the history of the house system, D’Orazio said it started at the old Newton High.

In 1963, when South opened, it too had houses, D’Orazio said.

When the current building opened in 1973 and Newton Technical and Newton High combined to become Newton North, the six houses had offices, counselors’ offices and common rooms for students along Main Street.

In the current building, the principal at the time, Richard Mechem, wanted his office to be on the third floor so the housemasters would be more visible, D’Orazio said.

The walls in Barry were painted yellow, Beals light green, Adams dark green, Palmer blue, Riley purple and Bacon red—parts of the building students now refer to by color rather than by house name.

During the 1980s, enrollment began to decline and in 1984 the school added 9th-graders. Faculty from the old F.A. Day, Bigelow and Warren Junior Highs accompanied them to this building.

“Being in a house meant you had a certain identity with that house,” D’Orazio said.“That identity started to fade, and the housemasters’ roles changed.”

In 1992, the principal, James Marini, changed the house system to be by grade, with Adams becoming the freshman house under the leadership of English teacher Peter Capodilupo.

Looking toward the new building

Houses in the new building under construction, D’Orazio said, will still “have a sense of location where kids will congregate and feel as though they are part of the house.”

D’Orazio said he hopes his office is “near the action, not on the fourth floor.”

He said he will bring the Adams house spirit along with him in the form of a plaque, which honors Enoch Case Adams, who was principal of Newton High from 1897-1921.

D’Orazio said schools are like rivers, and that his link to this school will stay with him until the day he dies.

“My connection with students will stay through my life,” he said.

“Even when I leave and you leave, and we don’t know anyone here, we will still have a connection to this school because you people touched people who went here.

“Members of the Class of 2012 may come back five years after graduation and not recognize anyone, but their impact on the institution will never be forgotten. That’s something you cherish for a lifetime.”

—ELI DAVIDOW, EMILY MCLAUGHLIN AND FATEMA ZAIDI CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY.

features

12 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Group explores Mexican culture in Guanajuato BRIANNA CARUSO FATEMA ZAIDI La Prepa, as the students still call it, is quite relaxed and open compared to this school, said junior Kendra McCabe, who went on the Mexican exchange last month.

“All the hallways and places to hang out were outside,” she said.

“Both of the schools have frees and electives.”

According to junior Lauren Milione, the school has no scheduled period for lunch.

“You get to go whenever you have a free,” Milione said. “You also get to pick your teachers.”

McCabe and Milione were part of a group of nine students who went to Guanajuato during February on the first exchange since 2005 with the Escuela Preparatoria de Guanajuato, newly renamed Escuela del Nivel Medio Superior de Guanajuato.

A group of 12 students and a teacher from Guanajuato are to arrive here tomorrow and to stay through Friday, April 16.

Guanajuato is the ideal city for an exchange, said world language department head Nancy Marrinucci, who led the group with Emilio Mazzola, a teacher of Italian.

“Students were in love with city and were very comfortable BY

AND

Friday, March 27, 2009

February travels

with it,” she said.

“They learned a lot about Mexican family culture, being adventurous in what they ate and taking advantage of learning something new every day.

“It was warm, all of the houses were painted different colors and the views from the city were spectacular.”

She said that everybody there was extremely welcoming.

One memorable sight in Guanajuato is El Pipila, a statue on a hill in the middle of the city, Mazzola said.

El Pipila was a hero of Guanajuato, he said.

During the revolution of independence, he helped villagers gain access to grain that landowners and politicians locked up, Mazzola said.

The group also went to the Diego Rivera Museum in Guanajuato and to a silver mine where they traveled about 200 feet under ground.

Mining silver is one of Mexico’s biggest industries, Mazzola said.

In addition to Guanajuato, the students visited Mexico City, where they heard mariachi music and saw more murals by Rivera.

They also visited the Aztec ruins in Teotihuacan.

The exchange dates from 1997.

—JAY KRIEGER CONTRIBUTED.

Better than e-mail

Class, teacher use Skype to link Newtonville with Guanajuato MARENA COLE While leading the exchange in Mexico, world language department head Nancy Marrinucci used Skype to communicate with her students here.

Skype is software that allows users to make phone calls over the internet.

“We could have just as easily written her a class e-mail, but by talking to her in Spanish we could BY

practice oral communication skills,” said junior Kristi Freedman, a member of the class.

The students told Marrinucci what the class had been doing, found out how Marrinucci’s trip was going and updated her on the boys’ basketball team among other sports.

Computer teacher Chris Murphy set up the conversation in a computer lab.

courtesy Tiffany Chen

In Guanajuato: Students enjoy the opportunity to mingle outside the classroom building on a warm, sunny day .

courtesy Laura Valley

In Paris: Sophomores Ramzy Kahale and Jocie Sobieraj, junior Laura Valley, and sophomores Isabel Dover, Eleana Gudema and Josseline Godoy visit the Saint-Michel fountain, which is near Notre Dame Cathedral on the Isle de la Cité.

Students express gratitude for their French host families JAY KRIEGER One of the aspects of going on the exchange is to live with a host family for the duration of the trip.

“I had worried that it would be awkward, but the whole family was really nice,” said sophomore Ana Mijailovic.

“When I missed my family and friends, my host mother was nice and we talked,” she said.

The host families took the students on vacation to different parts of Europe, and Mijailovic said she especially enjoyed going to Barcelona.

“I felt like a French tourist in another European country,” she said.

“My biggest challenge on the exchange was keeping up with the language and how quickly some people spoke.”

Next Saturday, in an exchange that dates from 1978, 21 Massillon students and two teachers will arrive here and stay until Saturday, April 24.

The Newton students returned Friday, March 6 from a month’s visit in France. They attended classes at Massillon, which is in Paris.

How to respect cultures and explore a different environment BY

file photo

are important aspects of the exchange, said French teacher Fiona Blyth.

“Going on the French exchange is a unique opportunity to spend time with a family, who have a different culture and speak a different language,” she said.

“My most memorable moments were watching my students become more independent and even getting all their clues right for a scavenger hunt in Paris.”

The students also took an

excursion to Normandy, where they visited World War II memorial sites.

In the village of Bayeux they saw the Bayeux tapestry, which tells the story of the Norman invasion of Britain in 1066.

Sites the students visited in and around Paris include the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Musée Picasso, Montmartre and Versailles.

The Newton students were visiting France to be immersed in the French language and culture, yet they could see a similar interest among the French themselves.

“It’s surprising how much the French love speaking in English to Americans,” junior Laura Valley said.

“Everywhere we went as a group, it seemed that when people would hear us speaking English, they would talk to us in English even though we would speak to them in French.

“My host family was very supportive. At dinner we mostly spoke in French, but when I didn’t understand something or they wanted to go into greater detail, they would explain in English.”

features

Friday, March 27, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 13

file photo

At Jingshan entrance

Beijing another ‘city that doesn’t sleep’ ELIAS MENNINGER BEIJING—How is school?

Probably not as good as mine.

As I sit in a Chinese class where I can’t understand a thing, I begin to think what I would rather be doing, and in reality there isn’t anything else.

I remember some of my friends said, “Elias, why are you spending your last months of high school in China?”

“First, because I want to explore the world and also because I think that Beijing is one of the greatest cities there is,” I replied.

Think of a city that doesn’t sleep. That is Beijing.

I am an 18-year-old exploring a different lifestyle and a different culture. I am neither bored nor ready to go home.

So far, my experience has been amazing.

I get to see a world where Communism is still very much present and thriving.

The economy is still owned and operated by the government, but private companies are making their way inside.

At the Jingshan School, I have joined the swim team, and my Chinese is dramatically improving.

I can actually carry on a conversation with someone.

There is nothing more I could ask for.

To anyone even remotely BY

personal experience thinking about applying, don’t hesitate.

Don’t think about missing your friends or family because you make new friends, and your host family becomes your family too.

I went to a soccer game with my host father and brother.

There, I file photo yelled and Elias screamed just Menninger like everyone else.

Even when I walk around Beijing with my school uniform on, there is nothing else I would rather be doing.

I still have a solid two months left and it keeps getting better and better.

The country continues to grow at an amazing pace and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down.

The exchange is an experience you will never forget. It is a place of harmony and guanxi (connections).

If you are interested about my experiences, head over to my blog, eliasbeijingtrip.blogspot. com.

courtesy Simona Leone

In Florence: On the steps of the Piazzale Michelangelo are, in front, juniors Angela Galvagno and Simona Leone, senior Olivia Donnini and junior Sarah Finelli. Behind them are seniors Chris Popma, Emily McKelvey, Louie Gonzalez and Olivia O’Connell and sophomore Christopher Rao. In back are seniors Lizzy Seaman and Natasha Link.

In Italy, a chance to make friends, explore culture EMILY AMARO Saying goodbye to Italy was the hard part, said junior Simona Leone.

“I cried at the airport and I didn’t want to leave,” she said.

“My host and I had become like sisters.

“The family was supportive, and I did not have any trouble adjusting when I first got to Italy.”

In Florence, a group of 11 students attended the Liceo Scientifico Gramsci and visited sites including the Duomo, the Bargello and the Accademia to see Michelangelo’s statue of David.

The students also visited LucBY

ca, Pisa, San Gimignano, Rome and Venice.

According to Laura Sweeney, the teacher of Italian who chaperoned the group, the program offers “the ultimate experience for an Italian language learner.”

“There is no better way to learn a language than to be immersed in a culture that speaks that language,” she said.

“Living with an Italian host family offers students a wonderful glimpse into every day life in Italy and helps students learn about their culture, values and beliefs, which in turn broadens

their global perspective.”

“The host families were wonderful. The students raved about their hospitality and the delicious homemade meals.

“While at the airport on the day of our return to Boston, several host parents commented on how their Newton North student had become very much like a son or daughter to them,” she said.

The Italian host students will be visiting at the end of this summer in September.

Newton North students have been participating in the Italian exchange since 1982.

Close Up trip gives first-hand look at government JACOB BRUNELL Rep. Barney Frank met with students for 30 minutes in a hearing room this month in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

He spent time answering students’ questions about his views and spoke about his job as a Congressman.

Commenting on the Massachusetts ballot questions in the November elections, Frank said he opposed Proposition 1 about the repeal of the state income tax because the state would have lost a major source of revenue.

Proposition 1 failed.

Frank said he supported Proposition 2 about the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana because he said that people “have the right to be stupid,” and the state doesn’t need to interfere with that right. Proposition 2 passed.

But Frank said he opposed Proposition 3, which prohibited dog racing in Massachusetts, as he said that too many people employed by the greyhound tracks would lose their jobs. Proposition 3 passed.

With an opportunity to discuss issues with politicians including Frank and a chance to tour the nation’s capital, 46 sophomores and juniors participated in the week-long Close Up program in BY

Kate Lewis

In Washington: Juniors Marisa Cohen and Ali Abdallah walk near the Capitol Building during the Close Up trip.

Washington, D.C. from Sunday, March 1 to Friday, March 6.

The program is an optional, intensive course for students taking the Close Up class at Newton North.

Accompanying the students to Washington were social studies teacher Ty Vignone, librarian Kevin McGrath and retired librarian Susan Huntoon.

“The main goal of the trip is to enable students to have a hands-on experience with how our government functions and h o w, s o m e Newtonian times, it can be dysfunctional,” Ty Vignone Vignone said.

“For me, the highlights of the trip were being at the center of our government on Capitol Hill, and being able to discuss important issues with the students, like the stimulus package and the Iraq War.” Trip participants flew to Washington, D.C., and stayed in Arlington, Va. At the same hotel were more than 200 other students from eight other states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and New

York.

Each student from Newton roomed with one other Newton student, as well as two students from another state.

“I roomed with one girl from Chicago, Ill., and one girl from California,” said sophomore Natasha Antonellis. “I think that although we might have had different views on some issues, it was an eye-opening experience.

‘In Newton, people generally have opinions similar to mine on most political issues.”

Over the course of the week, students visited memorials and museums, including the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and the National Air and Space Museum.

In their free time and in daily workshops, they discussed and debated issues under the guidance of adult Close Up instructors.

The third day of the trip, for instance, students got to pose questions about domestic issues, including gay marriage, and the economic stimulus package, to Loren Smith, a conservative working for the federal agency, and Stefan Hankin, a liberal political pollster. editors’ note: Jacob Brunell went to Washington with the group.

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sports

Friday, March 27, 2009

Newton North, Newtonite ◆ 15

Volleyball starts fresh

One starter returns to squad from last season JACOB BRUNELL Boys’ volleyball will begin this season with a fresh slate, coach Richard Barton said.

The Tigers’ main goal this season, no matter how they do in its first half, is “to be a strong and cohesive unit by the second half and win some games in the tournaments,” Barton said.

All the varsity starters from last year have graduated except for senior Jon Lee. Last year, the team finished its regular season 12-6 and won the first two games of the South Sectionals before losing to Brookline in the semi-finals.

Monday, April 6, the Tigers

will open in Natick against a team favored to win the state championship, Barton said.

“Although it will be a tough match, it will also be an interesting one as well,” he said.

Wednesday, April 8 in Framingham the Tigers will “have to stay focused the entire time to win,” Barton said.

“We have a lot of all-around good athletes on the team,” he said.

“Even if some of them have played little volleyball before, this factor helps them excel at the sport.

“We are in a very strong league,

so if we want to win games this season, we will have to turn this relatively inexperienced squad into a competitive team fairly quickly.”

Lee said the team has a lot of potential, and we can make it far, but we have to get to know each other better.

He also said the team needs to work on defense and communication.

“We have a lot to improve on, but hopefully we can make it to playoffs,” Lee said.

“I hope that this season we can bring it together and show everyone what we can do.”

MEREDITH ABRAMS Softball hopes to improve in practice every day and to become one cohesive unit, said coach Lauren Baugher.

“The girls are expected to be successful on and off the field, and to work hard and do anything for their team,” Baugher said.

Last year’s record was 13-8, with three Bay State Conference all-stars, senior first baseman Allison Clott, and juniors pitchers Rae Copan and Leanne Precopio, returning this season.

The Tigers play their first game next Friday hosting Belmont at Albemarle.

“They’re usually a good team,”

Baugher said. “But I schedule teams that are good so we can see where we are relative to others.”

Monday, April 6, the team visits Framingham.

“Every team we play is good, but that’s a conference game, so it’s really important,” Baugher said.

Wednesday, April 8, the Tigers host Norwood, which Baugher said has strong pitching, at Norwood.

Thursday April 9, the Tigers visit Saugus, “a good team that will fight us hard,” Baugher said.

According to Clott, the Tigers

have melded together well.

“This season I think we will have a good record, and hopefully get a few rounds into the postseason tournament,” she said.

Clott said the team needs to improve on the “mental aspect of the game.

“We have a lot of very good athletes, and so far we’ve molded together really well. All we need to do is play as well as we can and be consistent.”

“If we can do that we can have a good record and get a few rounds into the playoffs.

“I want us to play hard every game, to steadily improve and to give 110 percent every day.”

BY

Softball to host Belmont BY

lay-up. But the Tigers were not able to close the gap.

“Basketball is a game of runs,” Connolly said. “When we got our run in the third quarter, they started to score baskets when we got close. They made certain plays to keep their lead.”

Walk/Ride Days support environment

MARENA COLE Finding environmentally friendly ways of commuting to school on Walk/Ride Days makes a difference and results in rewards, said senior Ariel Yoffie, a coordinator.

The first Walk/Ride Day is today, and there will be two more: Friday, April 17 and Friday, May 29, Yoffie said.

“To participate, you need to walk, ride a bike, or take public transportation to school on the Walk/Ride Day, and wear something green,” she said.

Walk/Ride Days are part of a larger program called Green Streets Initiative, an “international initiative to get entire cities to participate in Walk/Ride Days,” Yoffie said.

Specific rewards for participation include green apples, cookies and T-shirts, which will be available on Main Street, she said.

“The cookies and green apples will most likely be donated by me, and the T-shirts were donated

by Green Streets Initiative,” she said.

“Students should participate because they are not only saving the environment, but also helping themselves by exercising.”

BY

Brockton beats basketball in finals

ELI DAVIDOW Brockton topped the Tigers 67-54 in the Division 1 South Sectional finals at U. Mass. Boston.

“I’m very proud of my guys,” coach Paul Connolly said after the Saturday, March 7 game. “We hadn’t shown as much resiliency in any of our previous games.

A few people have told me now how much better our team got from the beginning of the year to the end.

“That is a coach’s ultimate goal.”

The Tigers, 21-6, rank seventh in the Boston Globe’s Top 20. The BY

Teddy Wenneker

At try-outs: Freshman Gage Neirinckx leaps in front of the net for a spike. Last year, the Tigers finished 12-6.

Wrestler finishes third in New England

JOSH BAKAN Junior Sam Shames placed third out of 22 in the 103 division at the New England Wrestling Championship at New Haven, Conn., Saturday, March 14.

In the quarterfinals, Shadai Lariviere from Cumberland, R.I., beat Shames 8-2. Lariviere went on to win the New Englands.

In the consolation finals, Shames beat Robert Lonergan from Jonathan Law 3-0. Lonergan who had finished second in the Connecticut All-State Tournament.

It was Shames’ fifth victory of the tournament, the 100th of his career and his 48th this season, coach John Staulo said.

Shames beat East Longmeadow senior Chad Roberts 5-2 in the consolation semifinals.

“Some kids are not really up for the consolations when they lose, but Shames and Roberts didn’t give up,” Staulo said. “This was the 16th time they wrestled in two years.”

Shames said that the last two times they wrestled, it ended in overtime.

“I wrestled my match rather than his,” he said.

BY

Teddy Wenneker

On the fastbreak: Junior Kourtney Wornum-Parker passes the ball to junior Greg Kelley, lunging over Brockton’s Henry Vargas. Brockton defeated the Tigers 57-54 in the South Sectional finals.

in brief Boxers, 23-1, rank second.

In the first quarter, the Boxers kept a five-point lead on the Tigers.

But as the teams battled back and forth, senior Geoff Woodbury consistently scored, making free throws and a three-pointer.

He ended the game with 14 points, leading the Tigers.

In the second and third quar-

ters, the Tigers “got off to a quick deficit,” said senior Matt Berkowtiz, a co-captain with senior Craig Marriro.

“Brockton beat out our defenders, and they got in the lane quickly,” Berkowitz said. “Our poor offensive performance was because of their good defense.”

The Tigers were down 52-37 at the end of the third quarter.

With 2:38 remaining in the game, the Tigers climbed back to the score of 58-51 on a Woodbury

PIZZA 308 WATERTOWN STREET WEST NEWTON

527-0203

Roberts finished second in Massachusetts All-States, losing to Shames in the finals.

Senior class wins cash for prom in raffle

JOSH BAKAN More than 300 seniors out of around 420 pledged not to tan before the prom, said Danielle Kutas, the ’09 class president.

“Knowing we’d get something in return and doing some good was incentive for a lot of people to sign,” Kutas said.

Tanning for too long can increase the risk of melanoma by 35 percent, Kutas said.

“If you tan for 10 or 15 minutes, your body will get the vitamins that sunlight gives you,” she said. “Lying outside for 10 minutes longer can increase your risk.”

Kutas and the other senior class officers, Jon Berman, Emily McKelvey, Tiffany Mui and Sam Resnicow, went to senior homerooms for signatures.

“The New England Melanoma Foundation sent us a letter saying that if we got 70 percent of our class to sign, we could enter a raffle,” Resnicow said.

Fifteen high schools in New England participated and there were two winners per state, Resnicow said.

“Newton North finished second to Belchertown and won $500, which will go directly towards prom,” he said. “Prom can cost up to $40,000, so we’re spending a little towards everything.”

BY

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sports

16 ◆ Newtonite, Newton North

Boys’ lacrosse to visit Andover

Tigers look to strong offense

Team looks to returning seniors; coach Adam expresses confidence

JOSH BAKAN aseball’s goal is to stay competitive from the early part of the season to the end, said coach Joe Siciliano.

“Our goal is to come to practice every day and work hard, acting like we play in games,” said senior Billy Uberti, a captain with seniors Alex Clark, James Krasker and Lenny Tocci, the assistant captains.

“At our practices, it’s clear that everyone’s been giving 110 percent so far,” he said. “We’re the type of team that works so hard in our practices, that Newtonian we will be able Billy Uberti to turn a 2-1 loss into a 3-2 win in a game.”

The Tigers, 10-10 last year, have players returning, including Uberti, a first baseman and a first team Bay State Conference all-star.

“He can hit to all fields and he’s being recruited by some colleges,” Siciliano said.

The Tigers also have returning experience from Clark, Krasker and Tocci.

“They all hit last year,” Siciliano said. “They’ve been working hard on their swings.”

The team may face difficulty from inexperience in the pitching staff, Siciliano said.

“The pitching staff has not pitched a varsity game,” he said.

“Even with a lack of varsity experience, they’re a hard working bunch of kids,” Siciliano said.

“They’ve worked hard in the off season and we have very good leadership.”

The Tigers will host Framingham Monday, April 6 at Albemarle.

“We’re going to have to work the count against them,” Uberti said. “They beat us last year, but it was a very even game. Every game in the Bay State Conference is a tough game.”

“We play in the toughest league in the state,” Siciliano said. “Everybody is competitive.

You can’t walk onto the ballfield and beat any of these teams.

“We play nine innings and we play with wood. We’re the only league in the state that does both of those things.”

The team will host Norwood Wednesday, April 8.

“They’re a big, strong team but we beat them last year,” Uberti said. “It’s going to be a hardfought game.”

MEREDITH ABRAMS oys’ lacrosse hopes to make progress steadily in all areas of its game and to improve upon last year’s 12-8 record, coach Bussy Adam said.

“Winning half of our games is a goal, and we want to be able to focus on everything, and to improve our stick skills and general understanding of the game,” Adam said.

The Tigers will also work on developing defense, Adam said.

Although senior Nick Toyias is new at goalie, Adam called him a “great athlete.”

Thus far, the Tigers are “encouraged” by their roster, Adam said.

“It was really competitive at tryouts—there were about 70 people—but we feel pretty confident in the 25 guys we selected,” he said.

“One of our main strengths is that we have lots of returning, talented players with experience.

“Seniors will be expected to lead from the front and set a good example for younger players.

“Inexperience will be a concern for new players, and we want to set challenges for them, but they can make it far if they work hard at it.”

Today, the Tigers open at Andover, a match that is traditionally challenging, Adam said.

BY

Baseball to open against Fliers BY

Friday, March 27, 2009

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Teddy Wenneker

Looking for a teammate: Sophomore Phil Wittum cradles the ball as he looks for a possible pass.

B

“The first game it is always difficult to work out the kinks, but we’ll give it our best shot,” Adam said.

“Last year, we lost to Andover in the second half, and we always hope to win the first game.”

Tuesday, the Tigers host Framingham at Warren, their home field.

“We’ve been the better team the last couple of years, but they’re an improved program, and they’ll be tough and prepared,” Adam said. “But I think we will come out on top.”

Thursday, hosting Norwood, the Tigers will aim for revenge.

Norwood won 12-6 in Norwood April 7 last year.

“Even though they’re a fairly new team, that will be a tough match,” he said.

According Toyias, a captain with seniors Sean Keefe and Brian Tully, the Tigers have “got a lot of great guys coming back, and a lot of good underclassmen eager to play.”

“I expect to make it to at least playoffs,” Toyias said. “Senior leadership will be really important as the season progresses.

“We want to lay the foundation to build the skills of the younger kids, so they can learn the fundamentals of lacrosse. We have been moving at a much faster pace then we were last year.”

Experienced players to boost girls’ team ELI DAVIDOW fter a rebuilding season, girls’ lacrosse has a more experienced team, said junior Kim Gillies, a captain with seniors Alyssa Hanson, Brittany Jaillet and Amanda Taylor.

Last year, the Tigers finished 5-11-1, missing the post-season.

“Every season is a completely blank slate,” Gillies said. “Hopefully, we’ll get some more wins this season because we’re more BY

A

experience.

“We know that we’ll have to do all the little things right. We’ll have to know how to cut, catch and throw.”

The Tigers’ main goals are to make the State Tournament and also “really develop as a team,” Gillies said.

“We want to focus on the team aspect of the game,” she said.

Key contributors to the Tigers’ game include Taylor, who is “always solid in net,” and Jaillet,

who led the Tigers in scoring last season, Gillies said.

“Both of them are completely reliable,” she said.

Opening in Framingham Tuesday, the Tigers expect “one of the hardest games of the season,” coach Kim Keefe said.

“I can say with all confidence that they’re the strongest team in our league,” she said. “It’s going to be one of our major opponents this season.”

Norwood, “a pretty good team

last season,” according to Keefe, hosts the Tigers Thursday.

The Mustangs beat the Tigers 10-8 last season.

Braintree, which visits the Tigers Monday, April 6, and Walpole, which hosts the Tigers Wednesday, April 8, will both have similar line-ups, Keefe said.

“They’re both like us,” she said. “Everyone else in our league is very strong and just about as good as us.”

Outdoor track teams aim to be undefeated EVAN CLEMENTS EMMETT GREENBERG iming for undefeated seasons, boys’ and girls’ outdoor track will start Wednesday at Dedham.

The boys are going for their 13th straight undefeated season and Bay State Conference championship. The girls are going for their eighth straight for both.

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All-stars return to boys

Boys’ outdoor track needs to stay healthy, coach Jim Blackburn said.

“Just having our whole team in tact would be key,” Blackburn said.

Team strengths are hurdles and distance events, and weaknesses are the shot-put, javelin and discus, Blackburn said.

The Tigers return four Bay State Conference all-stars:seniors Sam Arsenault, Tony Chen, Jared Forman and Dan Hamilton,

the captains.

Arsenault is starting the season injured and will be unable to compete against Dedham.

Having Arsenault back will be the key to beating Brookline Tuesday, April 7, Blackburn said.

“He wins four events for us: the 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, high jump and long jump,” Blackburn said. “ We’re obviously a much stronger team with him than without him.”

Girls rely on veterans

Girls’ outdoor track, coming off a 6-0 season, looks to succeed because of “a solid core of veterans,” coach Joe Tranchita said.

The returning Bay State Conference all-stars are seniors Michele Kaufman, Emma Kornetsky, Carolyn Ranti, junior Monet Lowe, and sophomores Margo Gillis and Emily Hutchinson.

Throughout the season, Tigers will rely on their veterans, particularly in distance, Tranchita said.

The strongest are Gillis and Ranti, who are the team’s best distance and mid-distance runners, said Kaufman, a captain with Kornetsky and senior Sophie Duncan.

Gillis runs the 800, the mile and the two-mile. Ranti runs the 800 and the mile.

“Our goals are to have all members develop and learn, and ultimately to win the Bay State Conference,” Kaufman said.

Commenting on the opening meet Wednesday at Dedham, Tranchita said it should be relatively easy.The following Tuesday, the Tigers visit Brookline.

“It should be a challenge but still a good meet to have in the beginning of the season,” said Kaufman.

Teddy Wenneker

In the S.O.A.: Junior Emily Denn prepares for the first meet at Dedham.

Volleyball, softball to start their seasons—See page 15