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

U Friday, March 25, 2011 • Volume 90, Issue 4

FY12 budget proposes cuts HILARY BRUMBERG Due to an increased number With a $4.4 million deficit, su- of students on IEPs, 1.1 FTE perintendent David Fleishman’s reading specialists (0.6 FTE at Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year this school) are proposed to be 2012 will eliminate teaching added to the two high schools, positions and add extra-cur- providing students with “spericular activity fees, among cialized assessment and instrucother efficiencies at the high tion in reading, and consultation school level. to staff,” the proposal said. This Fleishman presented the will cost $87,714. proposed $171,620,000 budget Per School Committee budat a School Committee meeting get guidelines, a 1.0 secondary Monday, March 14. The FY12 reserve FTE split between the budget proposes a 2.6 percent two high schools will be added, increase over the total FY11 costing $54,000. budget of Fleishman $167,203,992. proposed genThis inerating addicrease does tional revenue size of budget deficit not fully covby adding new er increases fees and modiin employee fying existing regular education health care ones. At the costs or costs high school high school teaching associated level they are positions eliminated with an inUadding crease in ena drama fee rollment. The of $150 per fee for participation in $1.8 million participant non-athletic schoolloss of stimuper play with lus funding sponsored extra-curriculars a m a x i m u m “causes furof $450 per ther strain,” year per paraccording to fee for participation in one ticipant. This Fleishman. is expected season of most sports In preparto generate ing the pro $56,550 to posal, Fleishman said that he offset the cost of supplemental was especially mindful of the music and drama salaries, acNewton Public Schools’ Stra- cording to the proposal. tegic Plan, which highlights Uadding a student activity fee the importance of excellence in of $125 per student for particiteaching. pation in unlimited non-athletic Fleishman proposed instruc- school-sponsored extra-curricutional reductions, fee offsets and lar activities. Fleishman expects efficiencies to close the budget 2,175 students to pay, generatgap, totaling to a 0.6 percent ing $271,875 to offset instrucdecrease in funding at the high tional expenses and operation school level. costs of the school buildings.

First, the proposed budget Uincreasing the athletic fee cuts 9.8 regular education high from $210 per student per sport school FTE positions with an per season to $300, with a family equivalent impact on the two cap of $900. The fee for particihigh schools, saving $529,200 pation in football and ice hockey on salaries and $84,280 on ben- will increase to $400 per student efits. 2.9 FTE will be cut from per season. This fee is expected this school, according to the to generate an additional net proposal. revenue of $144,236 over FY11, Fleishman said that as a re- offsetting 42 percent of the cost sult of the eliminated teaching of the FY12 athletics program. positions, he and the School “While we are not happy to Committee will reduce the increase and introduce new number of courses offered and fees, we want to do everything increase class sizes in the high possible to prevent a reduction schools. in the breadth of programs and They will look at students’ an increase in class size,” Fleishfinal course selections before man said. “Thus, the increase in deciding exactly which teaching fee revenue will lessen the need positions to eliminate in order to to reduce teachers.” maximize offerings to students, Between the cuts, additions match final enrollments and and fees listed above, an estimonitor low enrollment classes, mated $920,889 will be saved according to the proposal. from high schools, the proposal Class sizes are projected to said. increase at both high schools The efficiencies Fleishman with a large number of classes proposed are expected to relieve with over 25 students, according an additional $1.2 million, he to the proposal. said. They include transitionIn addition, the proposal ing food services to privately eliminates 4.2 FTE high school managed food service program Special Education teachers and Whitsons New England, Inc., 3.8 high school Special Educa- saving $750,000 in FY12 and tion aides, resulting in savings more than $1 million per year of $420,000. in future years.

BY

$4.4 million 9.8

Gabe Dreyer

A musical inside a musical: Freshman Alex Shames, seniors Annie Gombosi and David Gore and sophomore Ben Lidsky dance in “Curtains.” See review on page 4.

’13 senior packets to change SAMANTHA LIBRATY Beginning with the Class of 2013, all senior packets for college will include a counselorwritten statement in place of the current teacher or faculty member assessment written for sophomores and juniors, according to guidance department head Beth Swederskas.

“Upon critical reflection of this school’s senior packet materials, the counseling department has decided to streamline the required documents that are included in the senior packet being sent to colleges and prospective employers,” she said.

As a part of these changes to the senior packet, teacher comments will include: “a sentence or two about the student in a class, athletics or an extra-curricular activity, the first few words that come to mind when describing the student or an anecdote that portrays a student’s character, work ethic and/or personality,” Swederskas added.

The main purpose of teacher comments is to provide addition-

al information about students, according to Swederskas.

The senior packet will now include “a student’s transcript, Newton North profile, GPA histogram, senior info sheet and the Secondary School Report Form that includes the counselor statement,” Swederskas said.

The packet gives colleges more information on each student.

Before these changes were made, “When there was something to be explained either academically or personally, on behalf of a student, a counselor would provide that information to colleges,” Swederskas said.

This system existed for over 35 years at this school, according to guidance counselor Larry Allen.

In the past, each counselor has been writing about 30 statements per year, Swederskas said.

With the new system, each counselor will be writing statements for all of their students, incorporating teachers’ comments, according to Swederskas. Counselors will now be

writing approximately 100 statements per year.

The increased workload for counselors will “significantly impact the current tasks that counselors are responsible for, and as the process continues to unfold, we will see if other changes need to be made,” she said.

The changes were brought about because “there are changing demands and requirements for a more concise way to represent our seniors that will result in a more streamlined senior packet being sent to colleges,” Swederskas said.

Because colleges’ requirements are changing, Swederskas initiated the review of the role of teacher comments within the senior packet last fall, she said. A Teacher Assessment Task Force was created to decide on changes for the senior packet.

The Task Force has been “meeting, discussing, creating and putting forward the proposal to make changes” since November, Swederskas said.

JARED PERLO Student Faculty Administration members decided to move forward in adding cultural amenities to Main Street several weeks ago.

The SFA held a unanimous vote to form a subcommittee, which would review the different possibilities for Main Street and the cafeteria. The subcommittee will be made up of several representatives from

different school groups, principal Jennifer Price said.

Price noted that there would not be total freedom. “It’s going to be important to set the ground rules,” she said.

Junior Caleb Bromberg said that a big part of the proposal was the establishment of what he described as “definite hangout spots.”

During the fourth term, some of the additions could be made

as a preview.

The proposal, written by librarian Kevin McGrath and history teacher Ty Vignone, argues that the school lacks social places and “options for places for students to go outside the cafeteria and library.”

The proposal emphasized the importance of Main Street in the school, saying that Main Street should be “both a passageway and a community space.”

BY

Main Street proposal approved BY

$125

$300

See inside for spring sports, Theatre Ink and presentation coverage

pages 13-16

pages 8-9

page 7

opinion

2 U Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 25, 2011

MCAS benefits school system According to the Massachusetts government website, the Board of Secondary and Elementary Education’s (BESE) goal is to “close all proficiency gaps.” The MCAS is a step towards doing so.

editorial Every year when spring comes around, students begin to prepare for the MCAS. Teachers ramp into highintensity mode, assigning more homework than usual and planning quickly moving classes, as they begin to realize that they haven’t yet covered what they need to.

When kids take their first MCAS in third grade, it’s exciting. You get to bring in gum and candy to eat during the test, you don’t get any homework throughout the week of the test, and it’s a whole day of no classes.

As you progress through school, the MCAS becomes more daunting. Once students have reached high school, a certain dread is correlated with the MCAS. Students hate the MCAS for various reasons. Freshman Emma Siegenberg said, “It makes you more stressed

than necessary.”

However, MCAS has actually been extremely beneficial to the school system.

By comparing test results, the BESE, which analyzes the scores, can identify any students struggling in certain subjects.

It provides the BESE with the information necessary to recognize who should seek further help in particular subject areas.

History department head Jonathan Bassett said, “Before the MCAS, there were students who passed classes but weren’t learning as well as they could. The MCAS forces us to provide resources towards those students.”

The government website also says that all students in public schools in this state must take the MCAS. By making this standardized test a requirement, the BESE can ensure that it is reaching all students.

For students, the MCAS is often associated with being extensive, boring and painful mornings of test taking.

However, it has immense long-term benefits for the school system that make the lengthy testing period worth students’ while.

Food disappoints TO THE EDITOR: As a freshman, I have been very frustrated with the food services this year. I often find myself spending almost half of my lunch period waiting in everlasting lines.

Well, ever since Whitson’s takeover of this school’s food services starting this past January, the food system has been inconsistent.

Some students have returned to class hungry and unfed because this new arrangement is just slowly starting to work, but quantity and availability of food are issues.

letter The idea of food service being served food-court style with different stations featuring healthier versions of students’ favorite foods is a great idea, but the services have downgraded.

This style of food service does not work for time management during the average student’s lunch block.

Optimistically, though, this is a period of adjustment for the new food service.

—JESSICA CHAIKOF FRESHMAN

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

Editors in chief — Hilary Brumberg, Ben Hills, Perrin Stein Managing editors — Jay Feinstein, Jacob Schwartz Graphics manager — Gabe Dreyer News editors — Alex Feit, Samantha Libraty Sports editors — Gloria Li, Kristian Lundberg Arts editors — Malini Gandhi, Fatema Zaidi Features editors — Meredith Abrams, Julia Oran, Kayla Shore Freelance editors — Ryan Condon, Steven Michael News analysis editor — Amanda Hills Talk of the Tiger editor — Julia Moss Photography editors — Maliha Ali, Alec Mapes-Frances Production manager — Gabby Ginsberg Advertising managers —Tiphaine Kugener, Evan Nitkin Business manager — Alison Berkowitz

Circulation managers — Phil Rubin, Michela Salvucci Online Editor — Henry DeGroot Adviser — Kate Shaughnessy Production adviser — Tom Donnellan News staff — Emmett Greenberg, Jared Perlo Features staff — Anna Clements, Jared Freedman Sports staff — Jesse Metzger, Infiniti Thomas-Waheed Arts staff — Ned Martenis, Noah Thompson News analysis staff — Kellynette Gomez Art staff — Catherine Chen, Arielle Conti, Rin Rogers Photography staff — Emma Hanselman, Jenny Lewis, Ivan McGovern, Sollie Mercurio, Teddy Wenneker Circulation staff — Irene BettsO’Rourke, Eyob Gizachew, Sam Jones, Phillipine Kugener, Matthew Soloman Production staff — Charles Attisano

The Newtonite staff does all the reporting, production work and photography to produce 16 issues a year for a circulation of 2,000.

To place an ad in the Newtonite or contact us by phone, please call 617-559-6273. Yearly subscriptions cost $20. Readers can also reach us at thenewtonite@gmail.com.

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

Gabe Dreyer

Out with the old: The previous building is being torn down to make room for fields.

First aid should be required JACOB SCHWARTZ Picture a fancy steakhouse filled with you and your friends.

The steak served to you is hard, and it is difficult to bite into.

One of your friends begins to choke.

As you ask if your friend is okay, he begins to bang on the table. “Someone help!” one of your other friends shouts, as you dial 911, while others just panic.

Your friend is choking. In order for him or her to survive, someone needs to perform back blows and chest blows as he or she is choking, or give Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if he becomes unresponsive.

This example displays why in order to graduate high school, students should be required to know how to correctly perform CPR and other life saving procedures.

School is supposed to help students with real life situations and learning these skills BY

does just that. Right now at this school, some electives teach important life skills such as CPR, including Lifeguard Training.

column Students can become certified in CPR if they decide to take one of these classes. These classes should be mandatory.

This school has incorporated these skills a bit in the swimming unit, during freshman P.E. classes, but it could be even better.

More life saving techniques should be taught at this school.

In freshman physical education, students take swimming lessons for three weeks. These lessons teach students how to be safe in the water and avoid danger.

Lifeguard Training is an excellent example of a class that should be mandatory for all students.

There is much potential in

students education in how to be safe in the water.

While public pools tend to have lifeguards, pools at other locations including hotels typically have a “swim at your own risk” expectation, with no lifeguard on duty. This is a situation when knowing how to use a backboard or how to safely save a drowning victim out of the pool is essential.

First aid should be taught in gym classes, along with how to use a defibrillator. If every high school graduate in America could do this correctly, then in some time, when someone is in a life-threatening situation, there would be many more people available to save them.

Revisit the situation with your friend. As soon as someone figures out that the person is choking, everyone who has graduated high school would be trained to stay calm, avoid panic and most importantly, save your friend.

Hilda Carp inspires students LYNN CHOU Hilda Carp has been working in the Newton Public Schools system for 50 years. She has seen everything from the Newton High School building that closed in ’73 to the previous building that closed this past year, to the building we’re currently in.

BY

guest column

You may know her as Señora Carp, Madame Carp, Signora Carp or as the lady that runs the Language Lab. Carp is an incredible person, and we’re lucky to have her at this school.

Originally from New York, Carp earned her bachelor’s degree in science, did her graduate work at Columbia University, received her master’s degree and even began to pursue her Ph.D. Hilda Carp inspires me because she commands a great deal of respect from her community. Some students don’t know her at all, and many find her strict. Whether you want to admit it or not, you can’t help listening to her. She tells you to do something, and you do it

without hesitation. There’s no denying that Carp is one of a kind, and she is everything from fierce, to adorable, to funny.

Sitting down to talk to Carp was truly special. She is a huge asset to our community. She said that she is “humbled and honored to be here.”

She said, “I love it here. I love the students, and I love the faculty. They’ve been absolutely wonderful to me.”

She said it is extremely meaningful to be respected by her students: “I love it. I want to be here, and I’m happy they want me here too.”

Carp’s philosophy is “you have to be humble in life to respect others and to have feelings for others.”

French teacher Suzanne Putzeys said she believes Carp is “very wise.” She said, “She grabs every opportunity to be with people, and she knows that to stay young she has to be with young people.”

Not many of us can ever match what Carp has done.

Through her 50 years here, her mind has stayed sharp and her heart generous. “She’s an amazing lady. She inspires me because I know I’ll never be like

her,” added Putzeys.

Though many students don’t understand her or haven’t taken the time to interact with her, it’s indisputable that Carp is extraordinary. Sophomore Becky Kalish said, “It’s really remarkable that she’s so dedicated to her job and that she loves what she does and loves interacting with all types of students every day. She’s kind of incredible.”

It’s rare to find someone who is so dedicated. Many students may not appreciate her now, but someday, when we’re her age, we’ll look back and remember her as the remarkable woman who ran the Language Lab.

Letters Readers are invited to submit guest articles and letters to the editor. Letters should be put in the Newtonite box in the Main Office or emailed to thenewtonite@ gmail.com. The Newtonite reserves the right to edit all letters, which must have the writer’s name, class and homeroom. The Newtonite serves as a forum for student opinion.

news

Friday, March 25, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite U 3

Ligerbots bond as team, plan to redesign robot

Robot challenge: The Ligerbots competed in a national robotics meet Thursday, March 10 through Saturday, March 12.

ALEX FEIT After finishing 17th out of 36 contenders at the Worcester Polytechnical Institute Regional FIRST Robotics Competition, the Ligerbots, the robotics team of this school and South, need to rethink their strategy, according to junior Paige Grody, a captain.

“The teams could have done a lot better if we were a lot more focused, but it’s hard to stay focused when school’s cancelled so often due to snow,” Grody said.

Although the robot didn’t do as well as the Ligerbots hoped, “We had a lot of fun dancing in between matches in the stands, cheering on other teams, exchanging buttons and more,” she said.

US FIRST, a national regulatory body for major robotics events, coordinated the round robin style tournament, which took place Thursday, March 10 through Saturday, March 12.

The competition, which was the Ligerbots’ first, involved students building controllable robots that can compete on a specially designed playing field, according to the FIRST website.

The robots are designed to fit inner tubes onto nine foot high elevated pegs in order to score points.

The Ligerbots encountered problems when their robot’s mechanical arm—used to place the inner tubes—didn’t work properly, Grody said. “We only really had a day to figure out what was wrong,” she said.

The team also had to refine its role on the playing fields.

“Originally we were planning on being a very offensive robot, but because our arm broke, we ended up playing more defensively,” Grody said.

“It turns out we were pretty good at it, but unfortunately, we couldn’t re-plan our strategy quick enough to make it to the top eight.”

EMMETT GREENBERG Solid preparation is the key to success for the debate team, which will participate in the Massachusetts Forensics League Finals state tournament Saturday, April 2, according to sophomore Jordan Ecker, a captain with junior Abby Holtzman.

“We want to really research background information for our topic so that when we show up for States, we’ll be really prepared,” he said.

This month’s topic for Public Forum, determined by the National Forensics League, is

whether North Korea or Iran is the biggest threat to the United States’ national security, Ecker said.

Ecker, Holtzman and sophomore Jonathan Kim have both qualified for the States, Ecker said.

Ecker and Kim will team up in the two-on-two Public Forum debate, and Holtzman will participate in the one-on-one Lincoln-Douglas debate.

“Our expectations are very high,” Ecker said.

The debate team’s toughest opponents are Lincoln-Sudbury, Manchester Essex and South,

“a historical rival,” according to Ecker.

The team debated at Needham Saturday, March 19. Sophomores Aneesh Anand and Kristian Lundberg went 2-2, he said.

Saturday, March 5, Ecker and Kim lost the Public Forum debate. They lost in the semifinals to South.

Lundberg competed in the Lincoln-Douglas and went 2-3.

He debated about private military firms.

“I was happy with our performance overall, albeit sad about the loss,” Ecker said.

Practicing rhetoric: Sophomore Zach Rosenof presents his opinions to the other debaters during an X-block meeting.

Culinary students participate in contest

auction, in which bidders wrote down their bids on slips of paper. McKinney said that the auction this year was “hugely popular, everyone loved it.”

“We are the only school that participates, which kind of makes us the ‘amateurs,’ but we won, and we’ll be back next year, as well.”

in brief

BY

courtesy Evan Nitkin

Debate to compete in States BY

RYAN CONDON Culinary Arts Major students from the Tiger ’s Loft Bistro participated in the 10th annual Death by Chocolate, a fundraising event sponsored by the Newton and Waltham Rotary Clubs Sunday, March 13.

The event involved many different businesses from the community donating 500-600 sample-sized desserts, which were given out for participants to judge.

Judges placed chocolate in five different categories: cake, brownies, cookies, candy and unique desserts.

“This year, for the third year in a row, we won best chocolate candy,” said culinary arts teacher Lisa McKinney.

“This year we submitted a candy called ‘ChocoLuau,’ which was Hawaiian-themed,” she said.

“It had a graham-cracker base with coconut cream, pineapple and mandarin oranges dipped in dark chocolate, and then covered in milk chocolate” she added.

McKinney said that she enjoyed being involved in the fundraiser because, “The Rotary Club has always been generous to the Newton Public Schools.

They donate yearly to three scholarships given to Technical and Vocational programs here at North.”

Part of the money raised goes to the William Rockwell Memorial Scholarship, as well as organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA and the Salvation Army, she said.

The event also had a silent BY

Assemblies to be held during safety week

HILARY BRUMBERG To show teens and their families how many resources are available in Newton, the PTSO and Students Against Destructive Decisions (S.A.D.D.) are holding a week of teen safety events called Just Think: Teens Making Smart Choices, according junior class adviser Nicky Franchi.

During the week of Monday, April 4, there will be assemblies for students during the school day on different issues at this school and South.

There will also be two free evening seminars with smallgroup discussions targeted at families.

“Breaking Free from Depression,” a video and panel discussion, will be presented at South Tuesday, April 5.

Thursday, April 7, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone, Jr. will speak. Barbara Spivak and Howard London, parents of car-accident victim Adam London, and parent Claire Masinton will present “A Promise to Adam.”

The culminating event of the week is a free teen safety expo from 12 to 4 Saturday, April 9 at this school. A variety of vendors that provide teen-related services will have tables, according BY

to Franchi.

The PTSO are organizing activities to “draw people in,” including raffles and games, according to Franchi.

“Our goal is to cover as much as possible at the expo,” she said. “We’re hoping as many people come as possible.”

The joint PTSO from this school and South had the idea for the week and pitched it to principal Jennifer Price in February, according to Franchi.

Price then suggested that counseling department head Beth Swederskas and Franchi get involved.

Franchi explained that she was a natural choice to help plan the week, being the faculty adviser of S.A.D.D., which—like the teen safety week—“promotes good decision making, smart choices and awareness,” she said.

Program sponsors school blood drive

SAMANTHA LIBRATY Wednesday, a Red Cross blood drive, sponsored by the Pilot Program, for all parents, students and staff will be held in the auditorium from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Individuals who are at least 17 years of age (16 with parental permission slip), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood,” according to the Red Cross eligibility criteria.

The criteria also said in order to give blood to the Red Cross, all high school students must meet certain height and weight requirements.

BY

According to science department head Amy Winston, the team won an award for the best website, ligerbots.com. Grody also was named a Dean’s List Finalist, which celebrates effective leadership and advancing respect for engineering, Winston said.

Now that the first meet is over, Grody wants the team to decide the future of the robot.

“If we want to be offensive, we definitely need to redesign the arm. But that’s something for the team to decide.”

However, regardless of the outcome of the season, the Ligerbots’ goal is still to have fun, Grody said.

“Yes, we want to win the competitions, but the key idea of FIRST is to have fun while being involved in robotics and engineering.”

The team’s next meet will be at the Boston Regional Competition Thursday April 7 through Saturday, April 9.

Gabe Dreyer

Every year the Pilot Program organizes a community service event, according to special education teacher Katie Cacace.

“Last year the students collected money for the Haiti disaster and then donated it to the Red Cross. We raised $1,325, which was matched by a local company, which was then donated to the Red Cross,” Cacace said.

The Pilot Program is working on promoting the blood drive, and “the students will work at the sign-up table, and they will volunteer at the blood drive to help the Red Cross,” according to Cacace.

As the Red Cross states, “Donors will get the gratification of knowing that they have helped someone in need. In just one hour of their time, they may help save as many as three lives by donating blood.”

Parents, students and staff can make an appointment to donate blood at the drive by emailing katie_cacace@newton.k12. ma.us or signing up in 205.

Student recites poetry at regional contest

SAMANTHA LIBRATY After winning this school’s Poetry Out Loud contest, senior BY

Derek Butterton advanced to the regional and state competitions this month.

Sunday, March 6, Butterton won the regional competition, advancing with four other students from the 16-person field to the state competition Sunday, March 13.

“I was very happy that I won,” Butterton said. “The whole event was very fun, and they gave us candy at the end!”

Butterton recited two poems at the regional competition.

He recited “Dover Beach,” a melancholy poem by Matthew Arnold about human sadness and “Altruism” by Molly Peacock, which is about how hard it is to maintain relationships, according to Butterton.

At the state competition, Butterton made it to the final round by placing in the top six. He said, “It was really fun. Various professional poets performed in the interludes, and they were excellent.”

This was Butterton’s first year competing in Poetry Out Loud. His philosophy teacher, Michael Fieleke, encouraged his students to participate in this school’s contest. Butterton went on to win this school’s contest, qualifying him for Regionals.

arts

4 U Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 25, 2011

‘Curtains’ contains comedy, suspense FATEMA ZAIDI Contrary to what critic Daryl Grady, played by senior Edan Laniado, may say, the first musical comedy in the new building, “Curtains,” was a magnificent performance, with a talented cast and crew who put on a hilarious whodunit show.

BY

review The play went up in the auditorium Thursday, March 17 through Sunday, March 20.

First Act

After the backdrop of “A New American Musical: Robbin Hood of the Old West starring Jessica Cranshaw” fades away, the curtains lift to a horrible show within a show of Robbin Hood.

Jessica Cranshaw, the lead actress of the show, played by junior Madeline Cetlin, never remembers when her lines are coming and could not carry a tune even if her life depends on it.

Then, when the cast unites for the company bow, Cranshaw collapses to everyone’s great relief.

The setting of a small hick town with an opera house, a boarding house and a hotel disappears to reveal the backstage setting of the Boston Colonial Theatre, complete with boxes, ladders and a brick wall covered in show posters all designed by junior Aaron Siegel.

Backstage, a tense environment is created as four actors, including the two lyricists, the producer and the financial backer of Robbin Hood read the

reviews for the opening night of the show.

After reading the nasty comments of the critics from several well known newspapers in Boston, producer Carmen, played by senior Kelly McIntyre, begins singing “What Kind of Man.” The rest join in this hilarious yet bitter song, in which Carmen exclaims, “Critics are so hated and excoriated.”

But the song’s mood takes a complete turn as soon as they all read a praiseful review.

Rather than insulting reviewers, they begin to comment on how kind and thoughtful critics can be.

McIntyre acted out Carmen’s role terrifically by creating a serious demeanor of a woman who only cares about money.

In contrast to her character is the sarcastic and comical director, Chris, played by senior Skylar Fox. Fox did a tremendous job in giving the musical a light and amusing tone with his gregarious attitude.

Chris does not try to conceal the fact that he is extremely happy after Jessica’s collapse, and he immediately chooses show lyricist Georgia Hendricks, played by junior Emily Paley, to take her place.

Georgia has always dreamed of being the lead, but she is also nervous and not quite confident in her skills.

Her co-lyricist, Aaron Fox, played by senior Sam Melnick, is infuriated with her new role because although he constantly argues with her, he is in love with her and is jealous of her

infatuation with Robin Hood’s leading man, Bobby, played by junior Jon Paul Roby.

Little does he know of Georgia’s true intentions, she is angry that Aaron never expresses his love for her, and she only fakes her obsession with Bobby to make Aaron jealous.

After a soft and endearing song, “Thinking of Him,” Jessica’s death is announced, and Lieutenant Cioffi, played by junior Graham Techler, enters the room to announce that the place will be quarantined and that he will determine who the murderer is.

The entire company loses hope of ever going to Broadway, but Carmen admonishes them in the sharp and witty song, “The Show Must Go On.” No one is inspired by her words, until Cioffi tells them that showpeople are his heroes in the exciting song, “Showpeople.”

The whole cast joined in this upbeat and amusing song, and the audience showed its appreciation through a loud applause.

Another song that brought bouts of laughter, applause and even whistles was “Thataway,” which was sung by Georgia and the company.

The song ended Act I and featured splendid choreography and hilarious lyrics.

Second Act

Other plots in the musical include two other murders involving producer Sidney, Carmen’s husband, played by senior John MacGaffey, as well as the stage manager, Joanie, played by ju-

Gabe Dreyer

‘Showpeople’: Junior Graham Techler, senior Kelly McIntyre and sophomore Anna Nemetz perform the song ‘Showpeople,’ inspiring the company to continue the show. nior Lior Percher.

The stage manager seemed to know secrets regarding everybody involved in the show, including Sidney. Thus, she would have been a great asset to Cioffi in his investigation.

Cioffi’s love for the sweet and tender Niki Harris, played by senior Nuala O’Donovan, poses another conflict, as he is too afraid to express his feelings. But this problem is soon solved as he gains the courage to convey his feelings.

He also finds it difficult to conceal his true passion for musical theatre.

Lastly, the shadow of having a murderer in the company brings shivers down everyone’s backs and brews suspicion.

Nobody can sleep properly and everybody is making empty accusations.

In the song “He Did It,” various members of the cast pointed the flashlight at the audience to indicate that anyone could be the murderer.

Finally, after recreating the company bow scene, Cioffi manages to gather all his clues together to help reveal the murderer and bring honor to his name.

Behind the scences Gabe Dreyer

Anxious: Junior Emily Paley plays Georgia Hendricks, a young lyricist who is chosen to play the lead role after Jessica Cranshaw’s death.

An array of costumes designed by senior Anna Gargas ranged from floral dresses to bandanas to mermaid tails, which gave color and flavor to the show.

Senior Kevin Zabrecky was in charge of lighting design.

Pink and red lighting gave the show a colorful mood, especially during the song, “A Tough Act to Follow.”

This song featured Cioffi and Niki, dreaming of being in a show together, for the life of showpeople is much more exciting to Cioffi than the gray life as a lieutenant.

The romantic song puts these two characters in the spotlight and allows the audience to sit back and enjoy.

The orchestra’s hard work shined through in the beautiful music, and the sound compared to the old school was terrific.

Senior Zach Gannon was in charge of sound design.

Overall, the musical “Curtains” showcased talented acting, great choreography and tremendous music.

Donations for Japan

During intermission, a donation booth was set up for relief in Japan.

The donations went towards the Japanese Association of Boston.

The two main PTSO organizers of the booth, Junko Shibuya and Michele Weinfeld, managed to raise $1,900.

Raffle tickets were also sold, and 50 percent of the total proceeds went towards the Red Cross Japan Quake and Tsunami emergency relief fund.

Seven music groups to perform for cancer charity NED MARTENIS Featuring local high school and college a cappella groups, the second annual “A Cappella for a Cure” concert will begin the spring music season with a deviation from the usual wind ensembles, orchestras and choirs, according to junior Emily Paley, the organizer.

Paley has arraigned for seven groups from the Newton-Brookline area, including two groups from this school and a group from Berklee College of Music, to perform at the event, which will take place Saturday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Newton Cultural Center.

But this is no ordinary conBY

cert. All proceeds go directly to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, a fundraiser for cancer awareness and treatment, Paley said.

In addition, in between performances, speakers will present on the importance of cancer research and share inspirational survivor stories, Paley said.

According to Paley, “A Cappella for a Cure” combines “the two things I love most—music and spreading cancer awareness.”

Paley said the ubiquity of cancer motivated her to start the concert.

“You really don’t meet people whose family or friends have

not been touched by cancer,” she said.

Relay for Life, the fundraiser that the concert benefits, is an overnight walkathon organized by the American Cancer Society that Paley has participated in four times.

It raises money for cancer detection, cancer prevention and giving aid to cancer patients, according to Relay for Life’s website.

Though the subject is tough, Paley said that the concert will be “a lot of fun.”

The event’s first year was a success, selling out and raising hundreds of dollars for cancer research and other programs,

she said.

One of Paley’s main goals for this year is to get more teenagers involved.

Groups performing will include this school’s Forté and Northern Lights, along with the Newtones and South Beat, both from South.

Pitch Slapped, from Berklee College of Music, will also perform, as will the Nobleonians, from the Noble and Greenough school and the Testostatones, an all-male group from Brookline High School.

Northern Lights will perform two songs, according to senior Kelly McIntyre, co-director of Northern Lights with senior

Johanna Gittleman.

McIntyre describes Northern Lights as “a travelling co-ed a cappella group that emphasizes structure in music ranging from the Beatles to now.”

The student-run group consists of 15 members including Paley, and it performed at last year’s “A Cappella for a Cure,” McIntyre said.

The group’s main goal for this year is to “stay excited and have fun at the concert,” she said.

Tickets are $15 and are available both at theatreink.net and at the door.

All proceeds will go directly to charity.

arts

Friday, March 25, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite U 5

EnviroJam to raise funds for solar panels MALINI GANDHI Combining an evening of student music with the pressing need to preserve the planet, this school’s annual EnviroJam concert will take place Friday at 7 p.m. in the little theatre.

The goal will be to “increase awareness about environmental issues and raise money to purchase solar panels for Newton schools,” according to biology teacher Zachary Snow, the event’s organizer along with chief innovation officer Stephen Chinosi.

The idea for a concert to benefit the environment was put into motion by two of Snow’s AP Biology students four years ago as part of their year-long Environmental Service Project, according to Snow.

Now an annual event, EnviroJam has proven to be both enjoyable and educational, according to Chinosi.

He cited the fun atmosphere as an appropriate way to “start the month-long celebration of Earth Day.” “We would like to see EnviroJam be the start of a conversation that focuses on this school’s environmental attitude and our culture regarding environmental ethics.

“It’s an opportunity to celebrate all the great innovations that are happening right in North and across the world in terms of environmental activism and brilliant green product development, along with good music,” Chinosi said.

This year’s EnviroJam will feature various student bands, such as the Ben Schwartz Band and Stone Cold Fox, as well as the a cappella groups Forté and Northern Lights.

A faculty band will also be performing, according to Snow.

BY

Jacob Schwartz

Forté: Rachelle Jereza ’10, junior Pamela Chen and sophomore Katherine Swager performed at last year’s EnviroJam, a carbon neutral concert. This year’s will be Friday at 7 p.m.

Snow said that he hopes the event will be “fun, entertaining and informative” and will also raise enough money to reach its goal.

Over the last three years, ticket sales from the concert have brought in over $5,000, much of which goes towards the non-profit environmental group Green Decade with the hopes of purchasing solar panels for the Newton Public Schools, according to Snow.

But the environmental benefits of EnviroJam extend far beyond the money raised.

In an attempt to reduce the

large amount of carbon emissions typically generated by music concerts, EnviroJam is carbon neutral, which means that the carbon is cancelled out, according to Snow.

To accomplish a carbon neutral environment, volunteers will pedal a stationary bike hooked up to the event’s power supply, he said.

In addition, some of the money from ticket sales will be used to buy carbon offsets, which are “credits that invest in renewable energy in an attempt to offset energy usage that is derived from fossil fuels,” Snow said.

According to Snow, preparations for the concert have already begun. “Some bands have already begun rehearsal, while a few student groups and the Green Decade are preparing to run booths at the event to raise awareness around several different environmental issues,” he said.

Chinosi, who runs the Greengineering department, said that his students are playing a large role in the organization process as well. “ The greengineers have teams of students coordinating all aspects of the event from

advertising to organizing the bands, the technical issues, the displays and overall making the event fun and informative,” he said.

Senior Skylar Fox, a greengineering student who is very involved in the event’s organization process, said he expects EnviroJam to be a “super-charged event.”

“It’s been exciting to be in greengineering and have the opportunity to work with such enthusiastic, inspired students,” Fox said.

According to Fox, the greengineers are in the process of brainstorming various ideas to liven up the event, including food, a raffle and modeling and selling some of the greenengineers’ products made from recycled materials.

They are also considering the idea of holding the event at an outdoor stage, which would be located in the mall area outside the cafeteria, Fox said.

“As a performer, I love the idea of using music to promote our message of saving the world. It’s been a really exciting process,” he said.

Senior Linda Bard, an officer of Forté, also said that her favorite aspect of the concert is “being able to perform as well as helping the environment.”

Last year, Bard’s father was one of the volunteers who pedaled the stationary bicycle to power the concert, which she cited as a unique, entertaining aspect.

“I feel very strongly about the environment, so EnviroJam has been a great experience.

“This year, I hope we can both raise money and allow people to enjoy the show,” she said.

Tickets are $5 and will be sold at all lunches.

Five students to perform in All-States tomorrow JAY FEINSTEIN Musicians at this school will perform in the Massachusetts Music Educator’s Association All-State Festival at Boston Symphony Hall tomorrow.

Five students will join the 534 from across the state who were selected to play at the festival, according to concert coordinator Carol Toth.

“There are five districts, and the top performing students in each district will play,” she said.

According to Toth, “The goal is to get high-performing students together and give them an opportunity to perform with other quality musicians and conductors.

“The students get a quality experience that will stick with them for the rest of their life.”

The festival is made up of four ensembles: an orchestra, a jazz ensemble, a choir and a symphonic band.

Juniors Laura Cooke, Ben Duvall and Joy Kang will play in the orchestra, senior Peter Wu will participate in the band and junior Pamela Chen will take part in the choir.

While the students are performing and practicing for the concert, a group of music teachers will participate in an annual conference.

Almost 1,000 educators attend the conference each year, said Toth.

“Many of the music teachers who are attending participated in the festival when they were younger, so going to this is giving them the opportunity for them to give back to current students,” Toth said.

BY

To participate in All-States, a student must first try out for Senior Districts, she said. If a student scores high enough, he or she is invited to audition for All-States.

“Only the top 25 percent are eligible,” she said.

According to Wu, the auditions are very organized.

“You have to play certain scales, play a piece given earlier and play a piece that you haven’t seen before to show your sight reading skills,” Wu said.

“Sometimes, it’s a blind audition, when you’re standing behind a curtain so they can’t see you.”

The orchestra will be conducted by Jeff Grogan, and it will play Symphony I Movement 4 “Titan” by Mahler, according to Duvall, who will be the 7th chair bassist.

“I don’t get a chance to play advanced music with other musicians of a high level often, so I’m excited for this opportunity,” Duvall said.

Under the direction of Dr. Anton Armstrong, the choir will perform a variety of pieces, including the “Star Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key, “Cloth of Heaven” by William Butler and “Dance the Hora”

by Joshua Jacobson, according to Chen.

The band will be conducted

by Heidi Sarver, associate professor of music at the University of Delaware. It will play “Perthshire Majesty” by Samuel Hazo, “American Salute” by Moron Gould, “Snowcaps” by Richard Saucedo and “Variations on America” by Charles Ives.

“It’s my first time participat-

Gaby Perez-Dietz

Practice makes perfect: Senior Peter Wu prepares for the All-States Festival, in which he, along with four other students, will participate tomorrow at Symphony Hall. ing, so I’m really excited,” said Wu. “I’ve always wanted to get to this level, and now I’m finally there.”

Specifically, Wu awaits being able to play at Symphony Hall.

“I am looking forward to being able to represent my high school at such an important place,” he said. “The acoustics are great.”

According to Wu, there were only two days of rehearsal,

which took place yesterday and today at the Seaport Hotel.

“Since there were only a couple of days of rehearsal, most of the preparing took place at home,” he said.

To prepare for All-States, Wu said he has been practicing the music that he was given prior to the first rehearsal.

“I go over my part, and I look up the audio version online,” he said.

“Also, our conductor gives

out handouts on things to focus on.”

Chen is especially excited for All-States because at first, she said, she didn’t think she would get in.

“I thought that I messed up during my audition, so I was surprised that I made it,” she said.

“I can’t wait to meet people from all around Massachusetts that love singing as much as I do.”

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6 U Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 25, 2011

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features

Friday, March 25, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite U 7

Alumni return to teach at this school JULIA MOSS At many high schools, students are more than ready to take off and start a new life by the time graduation rolls around. But something seems to be different at this school.

Our Tiger community is filled with a great deal of passion and pride, and some students find it hard to leave.

In fact, a remarkable number of alumni have returned. They have become teachers here, instructing subjects from culinary to math to physical education.

For these teachers, four years at this school just wasn’t enough.

P.E. teacher Mike Bower ’90 graduated with no idea that his job would take him back to the place he called his second home.

“When I was still in high school, I never really knew what I wanted to be,” he said.

“But I remember wishing for a job I could go to in my workout clothes. I definitely got that!”

Bower came back to this school as a teacher in 2000.

He said there was only one strange part of his experience returning.

“My father was a teacher at Newton North, so I became his colleague,” Bower remembered.

Bower is grateful to be able to fulfill his dream of being a teacher and continuing as part of the community he knows and loves.

“I’m a Newton kid, and even though I graduated 20 years ago, not much has changed,” he said. “There’s a pride that follows you, and I’m proud to wear the orange and black while I teach my students. Newton North is like my home away from home.”

Science teacher Al Calderone ’82 said he is thrilled to witness a new generation learn and grow at his alma mater. “When I was a student here, I went on the first exchange trip to Italy,” Calderone said.

“Now, students in the classes I teach are going on that same exchange. It’s amazing that kids are still inspired to do the same things over the years.”

Calderone actually decided he wanted to teach as a result of a science class he took at this school.

“I developed a passion for teaching when my teacher asked me what I thought would happen in the experiment we were doing.

“I realized that she wasn’t reading from the textbook, she wasn’t listing facts and vocabuBY

lary to teach us. I realized that teaching is about asking questions. I was hooked from that moment.”

Graphics Communications teacher Tom Donnellan ’90 knew even as a high school student exactly what he wanted his career to be.

He majored in graphics, and by senior year he was working in the shop during A, B, C and D-blocks.

The day after graduation, Donnellan started working at a printing company in Boston.

After working there for eight years, his graphics teacher and mentor, Bob Faulkner, asked him to interview for a job at this school.

“I was about to start a job as production manager at another company,” Donnellan said. “But I wanted to be at North so badly that I quit that job. My wife thought I was crazy, but teaching at Newton North is so much more rewarding.”

Donnellan was especially proud to have inherited the position from his mentor.

“I learned under Mr. Faulkner, and now, he has passed the torch to me,” Donnellan said. “It was like my father handing over the family business to me. It’s like I run a small business in a community, and now, I teach the kids like Mr. Faulkner did.

“He used to help me a couple days a week when I first started here, and he mentored me as a teacher. He passed away a year after that.”

Donnellan said that another reward of teaching at this school was the easy transition.

He said, “I knew who was who, knew how the school operated. I think we need to hire from within more often to help build a better sense of community that can enhance what this place already means to us.

We need to keep adding to the NNHS way.”

Math teacher Elena Graceffa ’99 also said she is very honored to be teaching at a place that brings back such good memories.

However, she admits that it was a bit of a strange transition going from student to teacher.

“When I first returned, it was weird for two reasons,” she said.

“One was that I would see my old teachers, but they were now my colleagues.

“I was suddenly collaborating with them and agreeing on grading systems with them instead of being taught by them. We were on an equal playing field.”

Graceffa also remembers

finding it slightly odd making a fresh start as a teacher, especially after she had established her role for four years as a student in the same building.

“I felt like by the time I had spent four years here, I was confident about my role as a student.

“When I saw teachers I had had in the past, they had known me as a senior. But now I was a freshman teacher, learning how to do things.”

After teaching at many different schools and finding it hard to make time for anything but work, Graceffa was unsure if she wanted to continue with teaching.

However, when her former math teacher from this school let her know about an opening here, Graceffa applied for the job.

“I found that North was a great place to teach,” she said.

“I already loved the community, and I already loved Newton North. It’s both daunting and exciting to fill the shoes of the giants of teaching who I had admired so much.”

Culinary Arts teacher Lisa McKinney ’81 was first inspired to become a teacher in junior high.

At Bigelow Junior High School, her home economics teacher, Sara Pettenelli was very impressed with her baking expertise.

“I thought, ‘Wow, could you imagine a better job than teaching someone how to cook?’”

McKinney said.

After taking the culinary exploratory course at this school, McKinney knew for sure where she was headed. “I decided this is what I want to do,” she explained.

McKinney holds memories of this school particularly close to her heart—and not only because she has been here for so many years. McKinney’s father, a graduate of Newton High, was one of the carpenters who helped build the old building in 1972. With memories of the original Newton High School, attending the old building, and now teaching at this school, McKinney has “always been home,” she said.

“My father died when I was nine,” McKinney said. “Some of my best memories are walking through the tunnel systems of the old building with him.

“It was a very emotional journey to leave the old building knowing that my classroom could have been a room that he helped build.”

Michael Bower

Al Calderone

Tom Donnellan

Lisa McKinney photos courtesy of Newtonian, file photos

Virgin Galactic CEO presents information on space tourism MEREDITH ABRAMS As the former chief of staff at NASA and the current CEO of Virgin Galactic, George Whitesides ’92 is striving to make space travel available to the average person, he said.

“We live in an amazing moment in time,” Whitesides said in a presentation Wednesday in the auditorium.

“It’s going to be a real gamechanger. When you go to space, you’re affected in a profound way—to see the world without borders.”

The presentation began with a video detailing major moments in the history of aeronautics, with the slogan, “Virgin Galactics…Your journey into space starts here. Make this your history.”

Virgin Galactic is currently in BY

Gabe Dreyer

Tickets to space: George Whitesides ’92 speaks about progress and potential of aeronautics in the auditorium.

the test phase of the production of SpaceShipTwo, which will be the first spaceship to take customers into space.

Tickets cost $200,000, and 400 people have bought tickets to date, including the husband of Katy Perry, comedian Russell Brand, Whitesides said.

The flights will take off and land in New Mexico. According to Whitesides, “The spaceport cost almost as much this school to build.”

“I grew up in a time when only astronauts could go into space,” he said. “Now it’s open for everyone. It’s a really exciting time when we are now learning dramatic things about our universe.”

Whitesides said that the project began with Richard Branson, the current owner of the Virgin

Group, the parent company of Virgin Galactic.

The project started out as a secret, Whitesides said. “The guys on the shop floor were working on an aircraft to compete for the X Prize, and they would say it was a cool project, but not their coolest.

“They were building a spaceship in the back of the factory,” he said. Whitesides also described what a trip to space with Virgin Galactic would be like.

“The entire flight would be about two hours,” he said.

“You would see the Earth beneath you, and see what it’s like to look at the Milky Way without the atmosphere in the way.”

Principal Jennifer Price concluded the presentation by giving Whitesides the first annual Alumni Achievement Award.

8 U Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, Ma

Spotlight shines

Stage crew: Senior Kevin Zabrecky adjusts the lighting.

Maliha Ali

Gaby Perez-Dietz

On stage: Seniors Rosie McInnes and Justin Phillips in “Eurydice.”

Much effort required to produce play Past, current Theatre Ink directors explain shows’ process JULIA ORAN Imagine going to see a show at this school, but instead of a well choreographed and rehearsed production, chaos has taken over the stage: none of the actors know where to go, the props are wrong, the music does not match the scene and the lights flicker on and off.

Without the hard work of student and teacher directors, this is what the productions at this school could look like.

Theatre Ink produces 12 to 14 shows each year, ranging from plays to musicals and from improvisation to sketch comedy.

While many students, family and faculty attend the shows, about 300 students are cast in shows each year and a selected few students and teachers become directors.

This year, seniors Aviva Galpert and Edan Laniado directed “The Skin of Our Teeth” and seniors Derek Butterton and Mercer Gary directed “Eurydice.” Additionally, world language teacher Dan Fabrizio directed “Under Milk Wood.”

However, before the shows were ready to be performed, hours and hours of work went on behind the scenes, including the process of choosing directors to oversee auditions, casting and rehearsals.

BY

Selection Process

Before being chosen as a director, students must undergo a complex and rigorous selection process.

Juniors can apply to direct full-length musicals and plays in their senior year. All grades can apply to direct Spontaneous Generation, Music Cabaret Troupe and Freshman Cabaret.

According to the application, the requirements to apply include, but are not limited to, “a passion for theatre,” a play proposal that offer an equal oppor-

tunity for all students, interviews, a typed paper answering a multitude of questions and of course, plenty of time to devote oneself to the production.

Laniado said his senior role models who directed plays inspired him, and he “always wanted to be one of them.”

To be selected as directors, Laniado and Galpert wrote an 86-page application and had two interviews with Theatre Ink director Adam Brown, current student directors, English teachers, fine and performing arts teachers, designers, technical theatre teacher Michael Barrington-Haber and student producers, who, in the end, choose the directors.

Laniado said he and Galpert looked at about 60 plays before deciding on “The Skin of Our Te e t h . ” H e c o m mented that this play was a “mix of everything we wanted,” and there were a lot of characters.

Gary said she and Newtonian Butterton chose “EuMercer rydice” because it Gary “was the first and only play that really struck us on both an intellectual and emotional level. We loved the modern re-telling of a classic myth, and all of the different directorial choices it opened up for us.”

Fabrizio said, “I decided to direct ‘Under Milk Wood’ because I had seen it a few years prior and had really liked it.”

Compared to the student selection process, his proposal “was similar, but not presented as one neat document,” he said.

Auditions

After the directors are chosen, auditions begin. When students or teachers direct a show, they only know some of the students who audition, so the directors need to make sure that they are not biased.

To deal with this dilemma, Gary said, “It was important to make it clear to friends that there was a difference

between friends Mercer and Derek and directors Mercer and Derek.”

Laniado said he was able to “be very professional” about auditions.

His advice was to “judge the students on acting, not on how you know them” and “to keep an open mind.”

According to Fabrizio, “The easiest way to be impartial during a process is to remember that it is not my job as a director to choose the top actors out of the group. It is my job to pick the actor that best suits the roles we are casting.”

Gary said “Eurydice” had just seven cast members, so she and her co-director Butterton had to “make some really tough decisions based on what was best for the show.”

However, “we really wanted a small cast,” according to Gary, “so that we could work directly and personally with each of our actors, and ‘Eurydice’ gave us that.”

Fabrizio said he chose “actors who could play old or young, who were physically dynamic, who had good control of their voices and who seemed to work well in a group.”

Fabrizio added, “Theatre Ink has a very supportive audition process—actors are encouraged to seek feedback from the directors after an audition, whether they have been cast or not.”

Overall, Gary commented, “Casting a show is inherently unfair, but we—all of Theatre Ink—really do it in the most fair way possible.”

Rehearsals

After the shows are cast, the rehearsals begin.

Fabrizio said, “The most important thing to do when conducting a rehearsal is to make the goal of the day’s rehearsal clear.”

Sometimes, he said, the cast covered multiple objectives, so “it took us a bit to get into our groove, but we certainly got into a good pace that resulted in a very productive rehearsal process.”

Laniado said that a typical rehearsal for “The Skin of Our Teeth” began with a 15-minute warm-up.

Then, if the actors were working on blocking for the show, they ran

through the scene and received feedback from the directors.

In addition, the cast worked on character development because, Laniado said, “As directors, we strongly believed every part was really important.”

Gary said about directing, “The only way to learn is through experience.”

She said it was some times difficult to be in charge of her peers, “but again, you have to separate your friend-self from your director-self sometimes.”

Overall, Gary said, “It starts with the director, but we’re just the jumping-off point. Then everyone else’s creativity and talent comes in.”

Looking Back

“One of the biggest challenges,” said Gary, “was learning to delegate and also to remember to thoroughly enjoy the process.”

Gary added that the most gratifying part about being a director “was seeing something that has been your brainchild for a year come to life and become something that moves and inspires other people, too.”

Overall, Gary said she was happy with the final product but thought they had too much rehearsal time for the show.

If given the chance, Gary said she “would love” to direct another show because “it was the perfect first-time directing experience.”

Laniado said he wished he could have had more than a month and a half of rehearsal because “the process was stressful for our cast.”

However, Laniado said it was an “amazing experience” when he was able to see his and Galpert’s “artwork come to life.”

Fabrizio commented, “The most difficult thing about directing ‘Under Milk Wood’ was reconciling the multiple backgrounds and levels of experience that everyone entered with.”

However, “the most rewarding thing,” he said, “was being able to see this group of 19 actors come together and form such a cohesive piece of theater that they could perform with pride for the community.”

arch 25, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite U 9

s on Theatre Ink Cast, alumni describe theatre experiences STEVEN MICHAEL JACOB SCHWARTZ Theatre Ink offers students the opportunity to act in, direct, design and manage this school’s stage productions. Students involved in the theatre program shared their experiences and the highlights of participating in a cast and crew.

BY

AND

Freshmen

Will Champion: “My experience in theatre has been marvelous. There is a sense of family you don’t always get elsewhere.”

Sollie Mercurio: “My best experience has been being onstage and having a great time.”

Tess Vasiliadis: “I’ve been in two shows—I was in ‘Freshman Cabaret’ and ‘Under Milk Wood.’ I really like it, and I like the people. Everyone’s

mass interview really accepting and really nice.”

Sophomores

Anna Nemetz: “Overall, the theatre at North is just so beyond theatre in a lot of other places. Every show I have been in has been so fun. You immerse yourself with talented people who love what they’re doing, and we all become so close because of that.”

Nick Rodriguez: “Auditioning for shows was probably the best decision I have made in my high school career so far.

It’s not just about the feeling you get after a show goes up, it’s the feeling you get from the people you’re around, and who you become a theatre family with.”

Juniors

Charlie Beers: “Since I started as a freshman, theatre has always been very welcoming. No one was rude or exclusive.”

Marina Miller: “It’s a really great community. It’s a lot of fun to be around all of these people.”

Lida Richardson: “Theatre has a strong community. I have done a lot of stage-managing and have learned a lot about managing large groups of people. It’s definitely a learning environment, but everybody is very enthusiastic about what they do.”

Seniors

Skylar Fox: “It’s been awesome.

Theatre Ink is definitely one of the best theatre programs in the country.

Students can act and direct. It’s a very exciting, very unique program.

Kelly McIntyre: “Ever since fresh-

man year, Theatre Ink has been an outlet where everyday after school I can do what I want to do.”

Nuala O’Donovan: “It’s a really cool community, and a tight knit group. I have really learned how to work with other students in a professional setting.”

Alumni

Elliot Raff ’10: “Acting in Theatre Ink is a wonderful experience. You develop relationships with people you never thought you would have, and everyone is open and accepting. Overall, it really helps your ability to work with others, as well as getting a feel for public speaking.”

Director describes unique Theatre Ink productions ADAM BROWN The lights go down and the spectacle begins! Live Theatre! Actors, technicians, crew, stage managers, designers and directors, all working together to create that special moment that will take our audience on a ride that will make them laugh, cry, smile and be moved by drama, comedy or musical theatre. How does this happen at Theatre Ink? As a “Teaching and Working Theatre” that produces 12 to 14 shows each year, we pride ourselves on being a student-centered community that emphasizes the process of artistic collaboration.

Our philosophy is to prepare students to be lifelong learners, critical and creative thinkers and problem solvers committed to open and honest communication.

We believe that these are universal skills that can be applied productively to any endeavor and are invaluable in today’s ever-changing world.

The study of theatre through this hands-on approach gives students an BY

Maliha Ali

Rehearsal: Junior Maddy Cetlin and sophomore Kyle Hartmann practice a scene for the recent musical “Curtains.”

guest column edge when they go out in the world.

In my opinion, it can be a differencemaker in their lives.

We also hope to expose the community to high quality, accessible theatre that gives people an open door to the arts at a reasonable cost.

I wish you could see how our students create, learn, develop and grow through every rehearsal, production meeting, crew day and performance.

What may seem like magic on opening night is the result of a process that requires months of hard work, planning, dedication and love for the craft.

Theatre is a special place where you do not have to be in a show to be in a show. Everyone plays and owns a piece of the performance that our audiences come to see.

When students own their work, they feel a sense of pride and ownership.

Business of theatre explained RYAN CONDON When one goes to a play or a musical produced by Theatre Ink, it may be easy to appreciate all of the hard work the actors do. However, what most people forget is that there is a whole other side to Theatre Ink: ticket sales and advertising.

While most people may not see the effects of the business side of Theatre Ink, it plays an important part in making the whole program work.

“We start to advertise for a play right around the time when rehearsals are starting for Newtonian the show,” said senior Anita Sodder, Anita one of the student Sodder producer coordinators for Theatre Ink, along with juniors Danielle Cambell and Katharine Norris.

Sodder said, “Our main form of advertisement for a play would be posters. We hang them up all around Newton.”

Norris said, “We work with Graphics to design the posters. It really BY

depends on the show what the poster looks like. We have done many different things.

“Sometimes the play has its own logo or design and we use that. Other times, we might take a picture of a student, have student art on the poster, or use a picture from the Internet.”

According to Sodder, “Usually it’s the same people who come to shows: parents and relatives, as well as teachers and students who might have friends in the play. It’s sort of a fan base.”

Sodder said, “We also work with the Theatre Arts Opportunities committee, which is a parent group that helps support North’s theatre program.” Sodder said that the committee “helps us spread the word about productions, and also fundraises for the theatre program.”

“The money raised by tickets and fundraisers accounts for a significant portion of the costs of producing a show,” said Sodder.

Advertising shows and selling tickets is often an under-appreciated part of theatre, but it is still an important aspect of making Theatre Ink run smoothly, according to Sodder.

Gabe Dreyer

Production process: Sophomore Elizabeth Bianchi assembles freshly printed programs for “Curtains.”

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10 U Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 25, 2011

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Friday, March 25, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite U 11

Talk of the

Tiger

April Fool’s Day Pranks “I was in Mexico, and we climbed this pyramid. When we got to the bottom, Mr. Mazzola jumped out and scared the bejeezus out of us.� —senior Monica Reuman

“Saran wrap on a “We screamed as if we saw “My class put a D PRXVH RQ WKH Ă RRU DQG slip n’ slide in the halltoilet seat. That’s the best April people walking by believed way and hooked it up Fool’s day prank.â€? us and got scared!â€? to the water fountain.â€? —sophomore —freshmen Jake Ezzell —sophomore Kyle Sydney Appelbaum and Alyssa Steffen Hartmann

“Before I knew “I switched places and classes with my twin English, one of my friends taught me sister, and we tricked some bad words to all our friends and say in class. But I teachers.� thought they were —sophomore Rowan just regular words!�

Sockwell —junior Hans Park

Campus aides, custodians uncover bizarre items JULIA MOSS At both our new building and the old one, the campus aides and custodians have made many unusual discoveries.

They have retrieved surprising forgotten items from the Lost and Found, removed animals from unpredictable places and found crazy belongings in deserted lockers.

Whether these weird things were lost by absent-minded students or planted in the school as a prank, the custodians and campus aides are the ones to find them. And sometimes, what they find is more than bizarre.

Campus aide John Staulo remembers that an unwanted reptile was found in the building, although he didn’t discover it BY

himself. “Someone put a snake in an old locker as a prank and then forgot about it,� he said.

In his 24 years working at this school, custodian Bob Falanga has also come upon extraordinary items both at the new building and the old one. “I’ve seen a few things in the old building that I can’t even mention in front of a lady,� Falanga said, wincing.

From the look on his face, whatever he was thinking of probably wouldn’t have been printable anyway. “We haven’t been in this school long enough for things to get too crazy,� Falanga said.

In the old building, Falanga remembers the crew cleaning out lockers for the summer and

once coming accross a machete. “That was one serious knife,�

Falanga said. “It was like a sword. We were cleaning out the lockers for summer vacation, and there it was!�

In another instance, Falanga found dead fish in a water fountain.

Apparently, that year, for a senior prank, students deposited dead fish all over the building—in light fixtures, in lockers and on the floor. “It smelled to the high heavens!� Falanga said. He had the pleasure of finding the last fish.

After all of the fish were thought to have been removed, Falanga still smelled something on the second floor. “The smell kept getting worse

every day,� he said. “I looked down on the water fountain and I could see a dead fish floating in the vent. The seniors had put the fish in the water fountain!

Never would’ve thought I’d have to unscrew the base of a water fountain to pull out a dead fish.

It was horrible.�

Although finding dead fish in a school seems like a once-in-alifetime experience, it happened again. This time, custodian Artie Coffey was the one to make the discovery. “There was this odor coming from Main Street,� Coffey said. According to Coffey, most people thought the smell was coming from the lockers.

Coffey, however, decided to investigate.

“I climbed up a ladder into the rafters and there was a big fish!� he said. “The student who planted it there got suspended.�

Campus aide David Mosca has also uncovered some ridiculous things. Mosca said that many years ago, this school had a beauty class in the career and tech ed program. “In that class, students learned how to do hair and all of that,� Mosca said. “I once had to cut open a locker, and when the door opened, a fake head with a wig on it fell out and scared the heck out of me!�

If you think you’ve seen anything weird at this school, think again. The campus aides and custodians have seen it all.

MCAS: The Best Medicine?

Julia Moss

features

12 U Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 25, 2011

Student entrepreneurs share experiences RYAN CONDON To most students from this school, the career plan is simple: get good grades, go to college and get employed. For them, running a business is years away.

However, it is not impossible to take the initiative and start a business. Many students, such as senior Ben Rosenblatt, have already started their own businesses by building on their education in the Career and Vocational/Technical majors at this school.

Rosenblatt has created an automobile detailing business named “High Grade Automotive.”

The business started up last year, but Rosenblatt describes it as “two or three years in the making.” Rosenblatt and his colleagues “wash, clean and customize vehicles professionally” he said.

He started the business because, “I’ve always loved cars. I guess you could say that I have a passion for them,” he said.

“My parents have been very supportive of what I’ve tried to do, and I’m lucky to have all of that support—it’s been amazingly helpful.”

As a freshman, Rosenblatt said he had the idea to start this business, “but it still required patience and perseverance to make it all come together. It’s been tough getting the whole project going, but it’s also been worth it.

“There’s a lot of behind-thescenes work involved in getting a business to run smoothly, more than you would expect at first,” he said. Some of these tasks are “numerous Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, along with a lot of other things one might not expect.”

Rosenblatt is also leading this school’s Auto Detailing program, which started last year as “a way for students in the program to experience auto detailing at a professional level, while also providing some community service,” said Rosenblatt. “By doing this, we are really trying to give back to the community that has really supported all of the great programs at this school,” he said.

“Organizing the Auto Detailing program was at least as challenging as the summer business. We have to devise ways to get access to public money to provide the materials we need, which is harder than it sounds,” he said.

Rosenblatt said he learned a lot through running his own auto detailing business. “My advice to a student who wants to start his own business would be that you have to really have a passion for it and be committed to the idea,” he said. “This isn’t something to take lightly or something everyone should do.”

After a good experience running a business last summer, Rosenblatt was motivated to try again, he said. “We are in the process of reestablishing ‘High Grade Automotive,’ but it takes a lot of work to get it going again and so we don’t know BY

Teddy Wenneker

Working: Senior Ben Rosenblatt details a car (above).

Junior Katrina Barry learns new techniques for creating designs during Graphic Communications (right). Senior Brian Zabchuck uses this equipment for his landscape and construction business (below right). when exactly it will be up and running again,” according to Rosenblatt Following a similar path as Rosenblatt is senior Brian Zabchuk, a carpentry major, who has started his own landscaping and construction business along with senior Sam Kinsella, a carpentry major.

“I got the idea in entrepreneurship class, and it just grew from there,” Zabchuck said. He also points out that coming from a “hands-on family” also helped him get to where he is now.

“In the beginning, I really had to get myself out there, network and get to know people,” he said. “I got a lot of work from Craigslist, family and friends knowing other friends who wanted a job done.”

Even though his business has already been established, Zabchuck still has a lot of work to do on a daily basis, he said.

“I have to do a lot of sending bills, sustaining our customer service and just keeping everything running. Making sure prices are okay and all of that maintenance-type of work that is tedious but still necessary.”

“If you have your own idea and want to start something, my best advice would simply be to work hard and provide quality service,” said Zabchuk, who is planning on studying business in college.

“I don’t know if you’ll get lucky and make it work out the way I did, but it’s always good to try,” said Zabchuck.

Junior Katrina Barry has also chosen to follow her interests in graphic design by starting a business called Black Dove, where she designs greeting cards, birthday cards and more.

“It’s really great because I get to choose my own hours,” said Barry. “I took Graphics and really loved it, so this is like the

Gabe Dreyer

courtesy Brian Zabchuk

next level.

“It started off as just making birthday cards, but it has grown to encompass a lot more,” said Barry. “Now we do all sorts of designs and cards.”

So far, Barry said that she hasn’t had many problems with the business, except that “making deadlines is hard sometimes with all of the schoolwork that I have.

“Making the business get off the ground took a lot of patience because I was already doing other things, such as schoolwork, which meant it took a lot of time before the whole thing really got going,” she said. “Still, though, in the end it was worth all of the stress and hard work.”

Barry said she was motivated to start her own business based

on her interest in her Career and Vocational/Technical Education major. Through Graphic Communication, Barry learned the skills she uses to make cards for clients of Black Dove.

Zabchuck and Rosenblatt were also inspired to begin their own businesses after taking construction and automotive, respectively.

“It’s great that North has such an amazing program for kids like me,” Barry said.

“It provides such an important opportunity to students that it’s hard to imagine not having it.

Other schools don’t have the resources we do, so it’s good to realize that and take advantage of it.”

Barry said she has plans

to continue the business next year and in college, but, “I don’t know what might happen after that. It’s too far ahead to see what will happen.”

Even though most students in the school focus on purely academic subjects, it doesn’t take much digging to see accomplishments in other areas of the school.

Many have used the knowledge they gained in Career and Technical/Vocation Education majors to help accelerate them into the business world.

So the next time you need a job done, from auto detailing to graphic design, take a look around this school because there are students here who run their own businesses, and they can help you.

Want to subscribe to the Newtonite?

Call Phil or Michela at 617-559-6273.

sports

Friday, March 25, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite U 13

Hornets stun Tigers with late comeback KRISTIAN LUNDBERG JACOB SCHWARTZ For boys’ basketball, the ending seemed like a painful, all-too-familiar script.

The Tigers could only stand and watch as the long inbound pass from senior Avi Adler-Cohen was deflected by Mansfield senior Daniel Dion. Dion swatted the ball to his teammate, junior Brian Hershman, who then threw the ball into the air towards the rafters of the TD Garden.

The basketball hung in the air as the clock expired, and so did the Tigers’ season.

For the second consecutive season, Mansfield defeated the Tigers in the playoffs in an exciting, yet heartbreaking game Friday, March 11. Mansfield senior Mike Lofton fed senior Chris Johnson in the paint for the go-ahead layup with three seconds left to cap a furious fourth-quarter comeback. The Hornets, who had trailed for most of the second half, escaped with a 48-46 win.

“If Mike goes up with the ball, he’d be forced to take a really bad shot, but instead he shares the basketball and makes the uncontested pass,” Mansfield coach Michael Vaughn said.

“That’s why he’s the leader of our team.”

The Tigers led 42-34 with three and a half minutes left in the game, but the Hornets came roaring back with a 10-2 run, tying the game at 44 with just over a minute left to play.

On the ensuing possession, junior Mike Thorpe, trapped at BY

AND

half-court, threw the ball over the head of Adler-Cohen, who jumped out of bounds in an effort to save the Tigers’ possession. In one motion he wheeled around and fired the ball into Lofton’s waiting hands.

Lofton, who led all scorers with 16 points, took it straight to the hoop for a dunk. The noise level skyrocketed as the Hornets took the lead for the first time since the second quarter.

Senior Tevin Falzon, a captain with Adler-Cohen, managed to draw a foul, and in clutch fashion he hit both his free throws to tie the game at 46.

“Last year I missed a couple of clutch free throws against Mansfield, so I went up to the line thinking, ‘I have to make these,’” Falzon said.

“I was in the gym earlier, working on my free throws, so I could go up with confidence in case a situation like that happened.”

Seconds later, Lofton fed the ball to Johnson for the winning score.

“Unbelievable. I’m going to remember that moment for the rest of my life,” Lofton said.

“I knew Chris would be there, so I dished it to him. It was just an amazing comeback.”

In the second quarter, the Tigers outplayed Mansfield, turning a five-point deficit to a five-point lead by the end of the half. Falzon dominated the glass, preventing Mansfield from gaining second chance opportunities. His 14 points and 17 rebounds led the team in both

categories.

“The key was just boxing out and going after the ball,” Falzon said.

The Tigers seemed to struggle in the first quarter, held to seven points by a stingy Mansfield defense.

“In the beginning, the team needed to get used to the new court. After all, they were playing at the Garden,” coach Paul Connolly said.

“We were able to keep our poise and we got better as the game went along,” he said. “We played great in the middle two quarters, but we fell apart in the beginning and the end.”

While Mansfield, the top seed in the section, breezed through the first few rounds of the MIAA tournament, the Tigers needed to upset secondseeded Weymouth on the road and third-seeded New Bedford in the Sectional semifinals to make the finals.

Although Adler-Cohen was stymied against Mansfield, scoring only three points, his strong overall performance carried the team throughout the season. In the first round of the tournament against North Attleboro, Adler-Cohen’s 13 points helped to carry the team, and his clutch three-pointer in the fourth quarter sealed the win, enabling the team to advance further in the tournament.

“Avi has been the heart and soul of our team,” Connolly said.

“He stepped up for us so many times this year. He’s what we want from a team leader.”

Teddy Wenneker

Drive: Senior Avi Adler-Cohen scores two of his team-high 19 points Tuesday, March 8 against New Bedford. The Tigers defeated the Whalers 67-44 to advance to the Sectional finals.

Boys’ track hopes to finish season undefeated GLORIA LI Boys’ outdoor track expects to win all of its meets this season, according to coach Jim Blackburn.

Blackburn said he believes that the main priority this season is for the team to bond and to be able to put in relentless effort in order to win all the meets.

“We have great people on the team and we have a great BY

record.

“We’ve been winning almost all of our meets. We’ve won 13 years in a row with only one loss last year breaking that record,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn said he has confidence in the team in that it will do better than it did last year.

“Although last year we didn’t win the State Meet, I really think we’ll win it this year,” Blackburn said.

“I expect that those who want to join the team will be willing to work hard and push themselves to develop the skills necessary to win in their events.”

The Tigers, according to Blackburn, are strong in almost all of the track and field events.

“Despite the fact that we could be stronger in the hurtles, we’re pretty solid when it comes to distance events, throwing

events, other jumping events and relay events,” Blackburn said.

“The team is also especially strong in shot put, discus, the 200-meter and the 400-meter,” Blackburn said.

According to senior Dan Ranti, a captain along with seniors Ryan Donovan and Isaiah Penn, “We have strong overall depth when competing as a group but not as much on the

individual level.”

“So, we plan on working harder on that aspect,” he said.

“We also plan on working to perfect everything that really contributes to making us a stronger team.

“Despite the fact that we suffered a close loss to Weymouth last season, we’re determined to put forth our best effort, and we will try hard to win the Bay State Championship this season.”

Softball anticipates regular season start JACOB SCHWARTZ She said that players with Continuing to put forth strong hopes of making the team must effort and qualifying for the “be kids who are dedicated, tournament are goals softball work hard and want to play.” hopes to accomplish this season, Baugher said she is also lookaccording to senior Meghan ing for players “who hit well and Pursley, a returning starter. are all-around players. Pitchers “We tried hard last year, and should have strong arms and be it definitely paid off,” she said. accurate.”

The Tigers, 8-4 last season, Once the season begins, the has been preparing for the team will practice fundamenregular season in a year-round tals, Baugher said. indoor softball “We’ll just league. be doing a lot Senior Meghan Players of drills, makPursley have particiing sure kids pated in games are hitting at the Strike and fielding “We tried hard last year, One facility the ball corand it definitely paid off.” in Danvers, rectly.” according to Many key Pursely. players for the Thanks to the indoor league, Tigers graduated last year. team chemistry has remained Senior Corrine Beatrice said, high, according to coach Lauren “We lost our star pitcher Rae Baugher.

Copan this year, so we will have Good communication and to learn how to work with new enthusiasm on the field will be pitchers this year. vital for softball, according to “My goal is for us to do as Pursley. “We have a relatively well as last year, if not better,” inexperienced team and that she said. should help us a lot.”

“We work well together, so According to Baugher, play- that shouldn’t be too hard. We ers have worked hard in softball all get along and have a good tryouts, which began Monday. team.”

BY

Gabe Dreyer

Windmill: Junior Clare Doolin pitches during softball tryouts on the multi-purpose field.

sports

14 U Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 25, 2011

Returning players boost boys’ volleyball Despite loss of ’10 middle hitters, team ‘will contend for state title,’ coach says KRISTIAN LUNDBERG Boys’ volleyball made a deep playoff run last year before falling to in-town rival South in the Sectional finals.

This year, the Tigers look to advance a few steps further.

“Our goal is to win the State Tournament,” senior captain Zach Knotts said.

“On a more immediate level, though, we want to come together as a team.

“We don’t have much time together as a team before the season starts, so we need to be able to mesh well together,” he said.

This year, the Tigers will play without last year’s captain Chris Keefe ’10, a middle hitter and an instrumental part of last year’s team.

According to Knotts, Keefe’s departure will leave a hole in the middle positions.

“We lost some solid players in the middles, so this year, our middle hitting will be an issue,” he said.

In their quest to win the State Tournament, Knotts said the Tigers again will face stiff competition from South.

“South, Brookline and Needham are all very good teams,” he said.

“They’ll be our main comBY

Gabe Dreyer

Teamwork: Boys’ volleyball players practice setting during tryouts Tuesday in the SOA.

petition.”

Coach Richard Barton expects the team to be “one of the best teams in the state.”

“We’re going to be contenders for the state title,” he said.

“By the end of the year, my goal is to be the best team in the state.

“We have a lot of returning players with a huge amount of athletic ability. I think that speed, power, height and experience will all be strengths for our team.”

According to Barton, after a relatively easy season opener at home Thursday against Needham, the Tigers will take on two tougher opponents in Framingham and Braintree.

“Framingham thinks it’s their year to knock us out, so they’ll be one of our key competitors this season,” Barton said.

“I don’t know too much about Braintree, but they have a couple of good setters and a good hitter returning from the previous year. They will probably have gotten stronger and bigger since then.

“That will also be a serious match,” he said.

The Tigers will travel to Framingham Friday, and they will take on Braintree Monday, April 4 on the road.

Mix of youth, experience spark boys’ lacrosse JAY FEINSTEIN Boys’ lacrosse hopes to do well in its upcoming season, said coach Bussy Adam.

“We have a great group of kids coming back. We have a bunch of experienced, talented players from last year,” he said.

Specifically, senior TJ Ryan, a captain with senior Jake Shearman, will return as a “one of the best and most athletic” attackmen, Adam said. “He’ll be one of BY

the team’s best scorers.”

Shearman will be a top defenseman, he said.

The Tigers will also have many new players, which will give them “an even mix of youth and experience,” Adam said.

“Our older players will provide the leadership and experience we need, and our younger ones have the enthusiasm and passion about the game that we want.”

According to Adam, if there

was one thing on which the Tigers would need to improve, it would be midfielding. “We’re going to be balanced at both ends of the field, attack and defense, but we might need help in the middle,” he said.

The Tigers’ goal is to make it to the tournament. “We want to make it as far in the postseason as we can,” Adam said.

The Tigers finished 9-11 last season, but they want to do better this year, he said.

According to Shearman, the Tigers struggled at the beginning of the season last year. “We want to start on a good note this year, so we don’t have to rely on the second half of the season to get wins,” he said.

Right now, the Tigers are working on filling positions from last year, he said. “Ultimately, we want a strong transition of the ball from defense to offense.”

According to Shearman, the

Tigers have a lot of skill, but now, they just need “to work on fitness.”

Thursday, the Tigers will host North Andover for the first game of the season. “They’re always pretty well coached,” Adam said. “They beat us the last couple years. They’ve always had a well-balanced team.”

The Tigers will visit Brookline Tuesday, April 5.

“They’re a very skilled team,” Adam said.

Girls’ tennis adapts to match play environment GLORIA LI Winning matches and making it to the league championship are the main goals this season for girls’ tennis, according to coach John Gautschi.

Senior Emily Kelly, the captain, said that in the process she hopes that the team will bond and become stronger together.

“We lost many good players last year, and we really want to BY

start off by building a strong foundation for the team this year,” Kelly said.

Kelly said she expects that the biggest challenge this season will be settling into the new tennis courts.

“This new home looks promising though because we will have a lot more time to practice than we have had in the past couple of years.”

Kelly said she hopes that this year the team will continue the successful streak of past years.

Gautschi said that he hopes that the team will show improvement since last season.

“Last year, we lost in the first round to Barnstable. But despite the loss, we had a very strong freshman class last year and hopefully any new candidates for the team can challenge

them,” Gautschi said.

Kelly said, “I consider last year as having been good since we got into the first round of the tournament. We did well since we had a great group of players.”

The team has been especially strong in teamwork for doubles and net playing in the last few seasons, Kelly noted.

Gautschi said, “Since being

the Sectional Championship team in 2005, we have been the third or fourth best team in our league of 12, with some strong post-season performances.”

This season, Kelly said she plans on focusing on match playing with the team.

“We need more experience in match playing, and we need to practice more with the pressure of a match,” Kelly said.

Varsity athletic awards night honors winter achievements JESSE METZGER In celebration of the end of the winter sports season, the athletic department hosted the Winter Athletic Awards Night Monday, March 7 in the auditorium.

This school’s athletes and coaches were recognized for their hard work and commitment throughout the season.

Mayor Setti Warren spoke to a crowd of students, parents and faculty about this school’s athletic program, congratulating the student athletes and recognizing the work parents have done for the program.

“Athletics are so important, not just in education but in life,” he said. “Thank you all for your effort.”

Athletics teach important lessons, according to principal BY

Jennifer Price, who spoke about how “it isn’t about the sport” so much as about “what you learn on the field, court or pool.”

Athletic director Tom Giusti also spoke, thanking members of the athletic department, as well as coaches and parents, for their commitment in providing a good experience for Tiger athletes.

Coaches and captains introduced their teams, highlighting their seasons and mentioning the hard work and achievements of particular athletes.

The members of each varsity team were called out on stage to receive a certificate and a varsity letter.

Special recognition awards were given to: U senior Avi Adler-Cohen in boys’ basketball

U senior Mike Atkinson in wrestling U senior Benjamin Clark in boys’ indoor track U senior Ellen Goldberg in nordic ski U senior Myles KamisherKoch in alpine ski U senior Jamie Lew in boys’ swim and dive U senior Zach McAuliffe in boys’ ice hockey U senior Amy Ren in girls’ indoor track U senior Ella Scheuerell in girls’ basketball U junior Mathew Houston in boys’ gymnastics U junior Courtney Leahy in girls’ ice hockey U sophomore Victoria Holland in dance U sophomore Rachael Vasilyev in girls’ gymnastics

Alec Mapes-Frances

Awards: Senior Mike Atkinson received a special recognition award for his performance in wrestling this season.

sports

Friday, March 25, 2011

Newton North, Newtonite U 15

Experienced girls’ track looks to win State Finals PERRIN STEIN After leading the Tigers to the State Finals during the indoor track season, coach Joe Tranchita hopes to lead the girls’ outdoor track team just as far into the postseason by competing well and working with experienced returning members, he said.

At this early point in the season, girls’ indoor track is focused on finding the best people for each event and teaching them how to prepare for these events, according to Tranchita.

All of this has to happen in the 10 days preceding the first meet of the season, so the preparation will be dificult, Tranchita said.

In order to overcome this challenge, the Tigers will need to be organized and work as hard as possible, according to Tranchita.

Once each athelete picks her events, senior Ellen Goldberg, a captain with seniors Margo Gillis and Amy Ren, said she hopes that everyone will “enjoy track and be motivated to BY

Ben Hills

Tryouts: Freshman Alana King practices with the javelin.

succeed in personal goals,” she said.

As always, the Tigers “will be working hard to record faster times and higher Newtonian jumps,” GoldEllen berg said.

Goldberg “We need to be confident that we will do well in all meets because it will help us succeed.”

Although track is perceived as an individual sport, coming together and bonding will help the Tigers succeed, according to Goldberg.

“Most of all, I hope that the team really comes together as a unit, and we support each other no matter what happens during the season,” she said.

Many girls are returning members from either the indoor track team whose season just finished or last year’s outdoor track team, she said.

Some of these athletes include Ren, who was also the

captain of girls’ indoor track and competed at Nationals; Gillis, a strong distance runner; and sophomore Carla Forbes, a strong jumper, who also attended Nationals, according to Tranchita.

It will be helpful for the Tigers to have experienced team members at such an early point in the season, he said.

The Tigers will compete against Milton on the road Thursday.

Because Milton is not in the Carey Division, the Tigers only have a meet against them every four years.

“They are a very strong team, and they should present some very tough matchups,” he said.

Tuesday, April 5, the Tigers will travel to Weymouth.

In the past, Weymouth has been the best team in the league, so the Wildcats will be the main competition, according to Tranchita.

“Opening up with two of the best teams will be very difficult with only 10 days to prepare,” Tranchita said.

Baseball expects competitive season KRISTIAN LUNDBERG Baseball struggled with inexperience last year, but this year’s veteran team, led by key returning players, has coach Joe Siciliano thinking about success.

“Last year, many of our kids were seeing varsity pitching and hitting for the first time,” Siciliano said.

“Our inexperience hurt us last year, but this year we have a senior-led team. This time, our experience will help us.”

Siciliano’s immediate goal is “to be competitive and play tough” during the season, he said.

“It’s the same goal I have every season. We want to be competitive every game.”

However, according to Siciliano, the competition in the Bay State League is “always tough.”

“The Bay State League is a baseball league. In the Bay State League, every team is going to be good,” he said.

“All of our opponents this year will be a challenge,” he said.

The Tigers will begin the season with a stretch of scrimmages against non-league opBY

ponents.

Siciliano said that he expects one of the team’s strengths to be its offense.

“The kids have been working hard on hitting all winter long, so I think that it could be a strength for our team,” he said.

Senior Jack McLaughlin, a pitcher and a returning captain, said that the team’s goal is to qualify for the State Tournament.

“We’re more experienced this year, and our experience will be a factor in close games,” he said.

Still, McLaughlin said that the Tigers need strong contributions from newer varsity team members.

“The expectation is for their best effort and for them to improve every day,” he said.

However, to make the State Tournament, McLaughlin said that the Tigers “are going to need the pitching to come through.”

“We’re going to need to play to our full potential every day,” he said.

The Tigers’ first game will be Monday, April 11 at home against Norwood.

Gabe Dreyer

Batting cages: Junior Andrew Mackowski hits soft toss at tryouts Tuesday in the SOA.

Pilot emphasizes community through basketball JAY FEINSTEIN JACOB SCHWARTZ Although it may sound cliché, winning is not everything for Pilot basketball.

The team, 11-1, steadily improved its team chemistry over the course of the season.

“We really have come together as a team and that’s what really matters,” said coach Peter Cavanagh.

A sense of community is always present for the Pilot basketball program, which had 34 members participating this year, he said.

“One of the things with Pilot in general is we really stress community, and this without a doubt carries on into the basketball program,” Cavanagh said.

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“Kids rely on each other and they must be accountable and hold others accountable for their actions,” he said.

“The group is dedicated to doing the right thing in class, which allows them to enjoy basketball.”

The team was strong on offense, Cavanagh said.

“However, we were developing our defense this year. We tried to implement a 2-3 zone defense,” he said.

While some players have returned from last year, many players graduated, as well. “We had a different group of guys than last year,” Cavanagh said.

“However, we really grew as a team and had a lot of success. That success is due to our

camaraderie,” he said.

“The kids care about each other, and it’s been really exciting to see that.”

The captains, juniors Miguel Rivera and Barry Santana, “did great jobs showing guys what’s expected of them,” Cavanagh said.

“They have shown them what they need to do in class to be able to take part in the basketball program.”

This year, Santana became the first player to participate in both the Pilot basketball program and this school’s varsity basketball team.

“It’s not too tough balancing Pilot and varsity basketball,” he said.

“I rest between playing on

each team.”

Sometimes, both teams had games on the same day, but, for Santana, that did not pose a problem, he said.

“It’s fun to be part of two teams. You really get a sense of community.”

Last year, he was part of the Tigers’ JV team in addition to Pilot.

“The more basketball I play, the more fun I have,” he said.

“I play basketball both after school and during school, and it never gets old.”

According to Santana, his favorite part of the team is winning.

“I also enjoy the thrill of competing with other teams.”

He said that he believes that

the basketball program helps students improve in school.

“It makes people go to class and not get in trouble. It helps you in life when you have something to focus on. It’s good to have a passion and basketball’s mine,” Santana said.

In the semifinals of the Greater Boston Basketball League tournament, the team crushed The Compass School of Dorchester 86-64 Tuesday, March 15 at UMass Lowell.

Also at UMass Lowell, the Tigers defeated the School for Exceptional Studies in the championship game, 54-47 Friday, March 18.

Rivera was named the MVP for the tournament, according to Cavanagh.

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16 U Newtonite, Newton North

Friday, March 25, 2011

Tigers hope to advance further in tourney KRISTIAN LUNDBERG For boys’ tennis, the team’s experience may be enough to lengthen a playoff run.

According to senior Eric Krasnow, the captain, the Tigers expect to advance further in the playoffs than last year’s 3-2 loss to Barnstable in the first round of the State Tournament.

“Although we lost our number one player last year, he was the only senior on the team at the time,” Krasnow said.

“Since we have many returning players, we expect to make States and advance further.”

As a result, Krasnow believes the team’s strength to be in its experience and cohesion.

“However, our biggest weakness is probably that we need to work on our mental toughness in match play.”

In general, Krasnow said, the team’s goals are “to strengthen our physical and mental games and work hard as a team to make the State Tournament.”

Krasnow also believes that the freshmen could contribute significantly this season.

“Since the incoming freshmen have not tried out yet, it’s difficult to know if they will provide any help on the varsity level. But, if freshmen do make the team, they will help bring new techniques and playing styles to the court,” he said.

Coach Phil Goldberg said the Tigers will face tough competition from Needham and Wellesley.

Among the team’s key returning members is junior Shelton Cochran, who was injured the previous year and missed most of the season, Goldberg said. The returning players are needed to “make the team better,” he said.

“Hopefully they have played a lot in the offseason and have improved.”

The Tigers’ season begins Tuesday, April 12 at home against Norwood.

Backhand: Junior Parker Swiston lunges for the ball as sophomore Ben Lidsky looks on.

PERRIN STEIN Members of boys’ indoor track received All-American status and members of girls’ indoor track broke the New England record for the shuttle hurdles at the Indoor Track Nationals in New York, Friday, March 11 though Sunday, March 13.

Together, seniors Ben Clark, Ezra Lichtman and Isaiah Penn, along with junior Swardiq Mayanja, came in sixth place for their Sprint Medley time of 3.32.46, which exceeded their

personal record by three seconds, according to Lichtman.

“At Nationals, there were a lot of remarkably good people,” Lichtman said. “For most of the season we were the top dog, but at this meet, we were at the middle of the pack, which really pushed us to do better.”

The day before the Sprint Medley, Penn ran the Emerging Elite Division 400-meter dash in 42.62. The Emerging Elite Division is for students with slower qualifying times than the nor-

mal race. Penn decided to run in this group so that he could be ready for the Sprint Medley, Lichtman said.

Mayanja also participated in the shot put as well as the Sprint Medley.

He fouled for all three of his throws, which “was really unfortunate, but there is always next year,” Lichtman said.

The girls, senior Amy Ren, juniors Stephanie Brown and Kayla Wong and sophomore Carla Forbes, finished eighth

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Indoor track teams shine at national competition BY

out of 30 teams in the shuttle hurdles. The Tigers’ time of 34.2 was only .18 seconds longer than the teams that received All-American status.

“They were very competitive, though they faced some tremendous talent—much greater talent than they have ever competed against,” according to girls’ track coach Joe Tranchita.

Just like the boys, the girls qualified for Nationals based on their time at State Relays, according to Wong. “There was

a competitive atmosphere because there were many people who were so good,” she said.

Along with participating in the shuttle hurdles, Forbes competed in the long jump, where she achieved a personal and school record of 19 ft. 5.5 in., according to Tranchita. Forbes also participated in the triple jump, but she did not score.

Brown broke her personal record in the pole vault, achieving fifth place in the Emerging Elite Division, Tranchita said.

Girls hope to make State Tournament GLORIA LI For girls’ lacrosse, a major goal this season is to have a strong work ethic, according to coach Kim Hamilton.

“This year, we have a lot of returning talent and players that have been playing year round,” she said.

“I am very excited that players will be in shape and ready to play on opening day,” Hamilton said.

“Each player needs to really put in 100 percent so that no matter what happens on the field, we can walk away with pride.

“We want to do the best we can as a team and that means working hard for each other and putting the team above oneself,” she said.

“That way, we’ll go further as a team this year.”

According to Hamilton, the team is aiming to make the State Tournament again this year and to advance past the first round.

Although the team is starting off strong, with many returning players, they will also have many challenges to face, according to Hamilton.

“Kids are so busy these days, it’s easy to make a team, but it is hard to stay on a team, so commitment is a major expectation,” Hamilton said.

One of the greatest challenges that the team will have to face this year, Hamilton said, is that the team is going to need to work hard to focus during practice.

Hamilton said she thinks that it is going to be a challenge to focus with the track team practicing and with students walking around the building area during practice.

However, she said that it will be worth it to be playing on the BY

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new turf.

“Girls’ lacrosse has always been off campus at Cold Spring Park, where there are no distractions at all.

“We will now have a twohour time slot here for practice, where we will have to get everything done, so this will be a major difference,” Hamilton said.

Junior Kayla Farina, the captain, was the second leading goal scorer last year as a sophomore, scoring 40 goals.

She will be expected to take over the center position this season, according to Hamilton.

Hamilton also said that she expects Farina to develop as a team leader.

Farina said that she hopes to get everyone together and create a team with more chemistry this year, which will help them on the field.

“I hope that this year the younger players will really step up and strive to play bigger roles so that we can have a winning season,” Farina said.

In addition, the schedule for the Tigers has changed this year, according to Hamilton.

Hamilton said, “We typically have to play everyone in our league twice, but this year we added two non-league games with Waltham, another league game with Brookline, another league game with Weymouth, and a non-league game with Newton South.”

The team will play a scrimmage tomorrow at the Falmouth Lacrosse Jamboree.

“We will be playing a bunch of mini-games to get to see how we look and try people at different positions,” Hamilton said.

The Tigers will play their season opener Tuesday, April 5 at home against Brookline.