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.
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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
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◆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