the LION'SR A R
from the EDITORS A LETTER
Dear Reader,
It’s
fnally here — our high school graduation, and with it, our fond (and slightly chaotic) farewell to the people who made this paper, this year, and this four-year saga so unforgettable.
We could try to be stoic and cool about it, but who are we kidding? We’re feeling everything — gratitude, nostalgia, maybe a dash of delirium, and that strange mix of relief and sadness that comes with reaching the end of a very long group project.
Tis newspaper has been our home inside a school that never really stood still—where hallway chatter echoed louder than the announcements, where the WiFi only worked when teachers made us put our computers away, and where we learned to trust our voices and instincts.
Tank you for letting us take up this space. For reading. For noticing. For skipping to the crossword and pretending you read the editorial. We see you.
Now, some words to the people who made these years — and these pages — so roar-tastic:
To Our Fellow Seniors,
Look at us! We’re sleep-deprived, overcafeinated, slightly unhinged, but gloriously, undeniably done.
After four years of packed schedules, impossible assignments, unforgettable highs, and very avoidable lows, we’ve made it to the fnish line. It’s messy and magnifcent.
We’ve shared group chats, stress dreams, and the strange intimacy of passing each other between periods, nodding silently like veterans of a shared battle. We’ve learned together — in classrooms, sure, but also in auditoriums, practice rooms, parking lots, cafeterias, and whatever weird liminal space exists between the end of class and the start of WIN.
We’ve grown into ourselves. Yes, we’ve done so awkwardly, unevenly, and sometimes with great resistance, but we made it. Now, here we are, a patchwork of stories and identities and late-blooming confdence, holding it all together with a sense of humor and just enough energy to make it to the next thing.
T is farewell is bigger than just the newspaper — it’s about the shared narrative we’ve been writing every day without realizing it. Our class had style. Our class had strange obsessions. Our class made things — music, art, projects, change, jokes, movies, chaos, and occasionally, actual plans.
We don’t all know each other well. But we know each other enough. Enough to smile in passing. Enough to root for each other from a distance. Enough to feel, in this moment, like something meaningful is ending.
So to the Class of 2025, thank you. We’re not just walking across a stage — we’re walking away from a story we’ve written together. And it’s a good one.
To Our Reader Community,
It’s easy to write into a void — but so much more meaningful to write for a community. Whether you were an avid reader or just someone who liked to skim for typos (we forgive you), you’ve made our work feel real. You’ve reminded us that journalism matters, even at the high school level. Especially at the high school level.
We’ve covered stories about spirit weeks and cafeteria controversies, about climate action and mental health, about our generation’s fears and hopes.
At our best, we’ve been a mirror—and sometimes a magnifying glass—held up to the wild little ecosystem that is Newton South. And we’ve done it all while learning how to be people. Teenagers, yes, but also thinkers. Writers. Designers. Editors.
We’re incredibly grateful for the teachers who encouraged us, the students who challenged us, the administrators who usually didn’t yell at us, and the custodians who kindly ignored our snack trail during late-night edits.
Tis paper is nothing without its readers, so: thank you. For every time you’ve picked up an issue in the hallway. For every gentle correction. For treating us like real journalists. For reading this far into a goodbye letter that’s already pushing word count. (Impressive.)
To the Volume 41 Staf,
Tere is no other way to say this: you are the reason we didn’t lose our minds this year. Or if we did lose them, at least we lost them together, over Google Docs and graphics brainstorms and unreasonably dramatic layouts at Paste-up.
You pitched with heart, wrote with guts, and sent in proofs with seconds to spare. You showed up with iced cofee and wild ideas and patience (so much patience) when InDesign crashed for the ffth time. You were unafraid to rewrite. To cut. To fght for the right adjective.
All our love,
You made a newspaper that refects who we are — not just as a school, but as a generation navigating a world that demands everything and then some.
Tis year, we laughed (a lot), cried (a little), and created something that will last longer than any of our shared Spotify playlists. We’ll miss your chaotic genius, and we hope you’re proud of every headline, every photo caption, every typo we caught (and even the ones we didn’t).
Tis paper has always been more than a publication — it’s been our weird little family. And we love you for it.
To the Volume 42 Staf, Cue the dramatic music: we are ofcially passing the torch — and the shared Google Drive — to you. Trust us, you’re ready.
You are some of the most thoughtful, sharp, and bold voices we’ve ever seen walk into our beloved newsroom, room 1201.
You already know how to ask the tough questions and how to turn ideas into stories that matter. Now, you get to lead. To shape. To defne this next chapter.
You’ll make mistakes. You’ll print things with the wrong font. You’ll forget to do that one thing that was due yesterday. You’ll spend way too long arguing over a semicolon. And through it all, you’ll grow. You’ll build something that’s yours.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. To publish something weird. To throw out the template. To say what needs to be said.
Journalism is a powerful thing, especially when wielded by people like you. We’re so excited to see where you take this paper — and we’ll be cheering you on from the other side of graduation.
Oh — and a couple tips? Stock up on snacks. And never trust InDesign’s auto-save.
In Conclusion:
(Cue the Sentimental Music)
We came into this job with a couple spreadsheets, half a plan, and an unreasonably strong love of em dashes.
We’re leaving with full hearts, a paper we’re proud of, and friendships that will last us a lifetime.
Tank you for letting us tell stories.
Tank you for being ours.
It’s been so very real.
Risha Sinha & Grace Dempsey Editors-in-Chief, Volume 41, The Lion's Roar
LOOKING FOR A GREAT WAY TO THANK A TEACHER OR SCHOOL STAFF MEMBER?
Show your appreciation to the teachers or other school staff who have made a difference in your student’s life by making a gift in their name to Newton Schools Foundation!
Say “Thank you” (while also complying with NPS’ gift policy).
Newton Schools Foundation supports grants that fund new approaches in the classroom, professional development for teachers, and programs that promote equity for all students.
NewtonSchoolsFoundation.org
Photos
Writing
Graphics
fank you to Denebola for contributing this reporting:
Meet the '25 SENIOR CUP Nominees:
Each year, teachers and members of the graduating class nominate and vote for seniors who show excellence in service, leadership and scholarship for the Senior Cup; Denebola editor Ranya Almedhychy asked each nominee about their legacy at South
Hannah Schwager
"I talked with our athletic director about getting a cage for softball...now we've had it for the last two years, which has been really pivotal. I want to be remembered for being a leader, for being an advocate, for using my voice to for change"
Natalie Curtis
"I want people to remember to never give up on what you want... because a lot of peo ple doubted me and thought that I wouldn't get this far, but they were very wrong. So, you know... people that doubt themselves end up sad."
Risha Sinha
"I’d like to be remembered as someone who gave 110% and always took on a challenge with a smile on her face. Which is super duper corny. But I mean it. More than that, I want my friends and loved ones to remember me showing up for them."
Ethan Diamonstein
"I hope that people remember I put a lot into the South and South Stage community — put a lot of shows, put a lot of written pieces into it — and that at least a couple of people took away the messages of those pieces and were inspired."
Salila Cintron
"I hope that people will remember me as a positive role model that anybody could like approach or talk to at any time... someone that was approachable and really, really kind, and had like a social butterTy aspect."
Off TheyGo
Washington
Univ. of Washington Seattle
Irene González de las Casas
Tate Slater
California
Occidental College
Ishwar Madhusudan
UC Berkeley
Aviv Hoitash
Dhruv Vallurupalli
Univ. of Southern
California
Daniel Jang
Michael Shen
Scripps College
Tali Edelstein
UC Irvine Nain Kim
Loyola Marymount
University
Malachy Dubin
UC Santa Barbara
Ashish Uhlmann
Alez Zakuta
UC San Diego
Henry Jiao
San Diego State
Lani Folchi
Sara Volpe
UCLA
Chloe Hu
Helen Liu
Cameron Negahban
Auri Suder
International
Giulia Baiamonte
Alessio Bonaldo
Alexandra Bouchard
Fiona Cugini
Saja Elsherify
Aoba Fujita
Natsumi Fujita
Edden Gilman
Maya Goldberger
Cormac Healy
Alex Kagan
Meyssa Korideck
Ernest Lam
Mirae Lim
Jenny Lee
Liv Middien
Anahita Menon
Francesco Maria Musso
Itay Nuriel
Ella O’Halloran
Ben Parker
Bella Patel
Victoria Rubin
Gordon Wei
Trade School
Arizona
Arizona State Univ.
Noemia WachmanGoncalves
Senior Plans
Montana State Univ.
Gap Year
Gavriel Ben David
Koko Chitchian
Nilani Hernandez
Margo Fan William Johnston
John Robinson Montana
Colorado
Univ. of Colorado Boulder
Udaii Abu-Amara
Meghan Holt
Hugh Palframan
Teddy Shifman
Colorado State Univ.
Megan Tarmy
Amaya LeFevre
Alejandro Ruiz
Liam Torp
Other
Erik Manna Jack Moran
Texas
Univ. of Texas
Dallas
Isaac Gordon
Jordan Cooper
Daniel Drumond
Texas Christian Univ.
Audrey Grinspoon
Renzo Ortega
TheyGo
Plans 2025
Michigan
Pratt Institute
Colgate University
Pennsylvania
Drexel University
Union College
Sonia Milsten-Ockene
Bard College Zachary Levine
Hamilton College
Gass
Mateus Almeida
Richard Chin
Columbia Univ.
Andy Silberstein
Beloit University Sofa Jackson
Univ. of Illinois Urbana
Champaign
Jason Chiu
Michigan State Univ.
Peter Eliopoulos
Indiana University
Graham Blythe
Alissa Cafaro
Nisha Jha
Andrew Shore
Lauren Steel
Lafayette College
Gettysburg College Binh Hofman
Ohio
Ohio State Univ.
Clio McAneny
Ashley Phillips
Brendan Wilson
Case Western
Reserve Univ. Maya Hayao
Denison College Nash Bryden
Cleveland Institute of Art Carly Krasnow
Rensselear Polytechnic
Dickinson College Jake Sokatch
Temple University
Univ. of Pittsburgh
Univ. of Pennsylvania
Penn. State University
Eamon Gormley
Villanova
Haveford College
Virginia
Carnegie Mellon Univ.
Celina Poon
Aayan Sharma Joy Zou Alabama
Rutgers Univ.
Princeton Univ. Zain Kapoor New Jersey
Stevens Institute of Technology
Connor Bonegio
Wake Forest University
Oscar Mulcahey Arianna Yankovski
Univ. of North Carolina
Mia D’Souza Joey Giragos
South
Univ. of Tampa
Florida Tech
Gregory Karpov
Univ. of Miami
Ami Bouzaglo
Abigail Kessel
Univ. of South Carolina Lucy Gage
Morgan State Univ.
Off They Go Senior Plans 2025,
Maine
University
New Hampshire
Bowdoin College
Yasmine Burris-Khan
Colby
Fairfield Univ.
Lola Fayngersh
Leah Teleshevsky
Jacob Lewis
Alyssa Chen
Ethan Diamondstein
Cameron Garrett
Noah Huckman
Trinity College
Ella Gefen
Massachusetts
Matt Letourneau
Lesley University
Ajani McConnico
Jenny Mei
Nya Merritt
Leandro Bailon
Ethan Vagenshtein
Rokaya Emam
Taylor Joynt
Sam Letourneau
Wentworth Institute of
Technology
Zachary Levine
Bard College
Eden Levitt-Horne
University of Connecticut
Day Levy
Connectcut College
Elad Levy
Vanderbilt University
Zachary Levy
Emerson College
Jacob Lewis
Yale University
Angie Li
Northeastern University
Timothy Liang University of Michigan
Gabe Lieman
Univeristy of Wisconsin
Mirae Lim
Temple University Japan Campus
Becky Lin
Boston University
Kyle Lin
Boston University
Isabella Linscott
Sacred Heart Nursing School
Kiyani Liriano
University of Massachusetts Boston
Alon Lis
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Lukas Lisovski-Zic
Middlebury College
Darry Liu
University of Michigan
Helen Liu
University of California
Los Angeles
Justin Liu
Colby College
Sophia Liu
Sophie Livingston
Boston University
Zenzen Loo
Amherst College
Carola Lopez De Jesus
George Washington University
Siarah Louisius
Hanning Lu
Jessi Lu
Boston University
Renee Lu
Tufts University
Jayden Lubars
Zachary Luxama
Temple University
Nancy Lyu
James Ma
Madalena Madeira
UMass Amherst
Ishwar Madhusudan
Occidental College
Ember Mahnke
Wesleyan University
Oliver Malagodi
Wheaton College
Navaa Malihi
Yale University
Milana Mazaeva
Boston University
Clio McAneny
Ohio State University
Ajani McConnico
Lesley University
Samuel McFarland
Vanderbilt University
Conall McGovern
Andy McGuire
Dartmouth College
Madeline Mechanic
Skidmore College
Jenny Mei
Lesley University
Jake Melanson
University of Maryland
Julian Mendez
Anahitha Menon
Oxford University
Nya Merritt
Lesley University
Olivia Middien
St Andrews University
Guy Miller
Northeastern University
Matthew Miller-Licon
Sonia Milsten-Ockene Union College
Chen Mo University of Massachusetts
Amherst
Mina Moller
Otto Moller
Tufts University
Noah Molod
Skyler Montgomery University of Vermont
Jack Moran
Philips Exeter Academy
Oscar Mulcahey
Wake Forest University
Noa Munn University of Maryland
Francesco Maria Musso
ESCP Business School
Asher Navisky
Northwestern University
Cameron Negahban University of California Los Angeles
Lucas Nelson University of Michigan
Denis Nelyubin
Lee Nevo
Northwestern University
Keith Ngu
Sufolk University
AJ Nguyen
Tufts University
Alyssa Nguyen
Boston University
Vinh fi Nguyen
Mount Holyoke College
Ben Nir
UMass Amherst
Adrian Norviel
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Itay Nuriel
Leadership Program in Israel
Ben Nusinzon
Northeastern University
Shun Oe
Jack O'Neill
University of Vermont
Julian Ooi
Purdue University
Neil Nori
Adrian Norviel
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Itay Nuriel
Leadership Program in Israel
Ben Nusinzon
Northeastern University
Shun Oe
Kai Oge
Ella O'Halloran
Trinity College of Dublin
Jack O'Neill University of Vermont
Julian Ooi
Purdue University
Renzo Ortega
Ryan Othman
Faith O'Toole
Maya Paisner
Hugh Palframan
Univeristy of Colorado Boulder
Fiona Pang
Benjamin Parker
Univeristy of British Columbia Vancouver
Bella Patel University of Toronto
Anna Patterson
Rochester Institite of Technology
Bia Paulo Regis College
Alana Penix Merrimack College
Ashley Philips Ohio State University
Mary Pierce
Purdue Universitye
Celina Poon
Carnegie Mellon University
Jamaree Pope Merrimack College
Catalina Quach
Northeastern University
Leonor Quessa
Simmons University
Ruthie Quinones
Matthew Quisel
Harvard University
Kaiden Reitz
Ithaca College
Sawyer Reitz
UMass Amherst
Emmett Remis Brandeis University
Jianna Reyes
UMass Boston
Blanca Reyzin
Alex Rhein
Vanderbilt University
Joshua Rivers Boston College
Grace Robinson
Mass Art
John Robinson
Montana State University
Desmond Rohda College of Charleston
Alexandra Rotenberg
Joshua Rivers
Boston College
Grace Robinson
Mass Art
John Robinson
Montana State University
Desmond Rohda College of Charleston
Alexandra Rotenberg
Elon University
Linda Ru
Brandeis University
Victoria Rubin University College London
Samuel Rudenko
Northeastern University
James Rufo trade school
Alejandro Ruiz gap year
Ria Sabesan
University of Michigan
Amelia Sakai
Naomi Sandler
Bridgewater State University
Julia Sayers University of Maryland
David Schein
Curry College
Silas Schenker
UMass Amherst
Hannah Schwager University of Chicago
Jenna Schwartz University of Pennsylvania
Ruben Setboun
Syracuse University
Aaron Shad
Stonehill College
Aayan Sharma
Carnegie Mellon University
Cecilia Sheehan College of Charleston
Adam Sheena
Cornell University
Francisco Shelton
Merrimack College
Michael Shen
University of Southern California
Teddy Shifman
University of Colorado
Boulder
Eli Shilovitsky
Ron Shilovitsky
UMass Amherst
Karin Shimizu-Brennan University of Connecticut
Ellie Shinchuk
Sasha Shirpal
Sophie Shkolnik
UMass Amherst
Andrew Shore
Indiana University
Ben Shoshani
Vivianne Shreve
Cornell University
Andy Silberstein
Columbia University
Kaya Silva
Emerson University
Ethan Simpson
Anushka Singh
University of Pittburgh
Risha Sinha
Vivianne Shreve
Cornell University
Andy Silberstein
Columbia University
Kaya Silva
Emerson University
Ethan Simpson
Anushka Singh
University of Pittburgh
Risha Sinha
Harvard University
Cate Siracusa
Smith College
Tate Slater
University of Washington
Andy Smith
Syracuse University
Jake Sokatch
Dickinson College
Layla Sonderling
Vanderbilt University
Mia Songer
Westfeld State University
Jayden SooHoo
Gavin Sousa
Saint Anselm College
Eran Spitzen
Lauren Steel
Indiana University
Charlotte Storey
UMass Amherst
Austin Su
Auri Suder
UCLA
Tomer Tal
UMass Amherst
Kendrick Tam
University of Wisconsin
Madison
Megan Tarmy
Colorado State University
Leah Teleshevsky
Fairfeld University
Bennett Tellalian
OTr Terem
Yonatan Tevet-Markelevich
UMass Amherst
Aidan fomas
Endicott College
Liam forp
gap year
Emma Tian
UMass Amherst
Mads Traxler
Tufts University
Tati Trotman
Morgan State University
Miles Tucker
Colgate
Ashish Uhlmann
UC Santa Barbara
Ethan Vagenshtein
Dudley University
Dhruv Vallurupalli
UC Berkeley
Kaysean Verges-Radack
Sara Volpe
San Diego State University
Spiridon Vrettos
undecided
Athena Vu
Connecticut College
Mia Wachman Goncalves
Arizona State University
Feiya Wang
New York University
Leon Wang
Shelley Wei
Harvard University
Gordon Wei
University of Toronto
Josie Weiner
Villanova University
Micah Weisskopf
University of Michigan
Jillian Welbourn
UMass Amherst
Lawson Welch
Colby College
Matt Welch
University of Maryland
Wilson Wen
Northeastern University
Guy Wenderow
Bentley University
Christine Weng
Alexander Werdich
Madeline Wetlaufer
Syracuse University
Brendan Wilson
Ohio State University
Einav Wolf
UMass Amherst
Jason Wong
University of Connecticut
Branden Wu
Brandeis University
Samuel Xu Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tymur Yakovlev
Yvonne Yan
Yutong Yan
Purdue University
Porter Yanhs
University of Vermont
Arianna Yankovski
Wake Forest University
Emma Yao
University of Pittsburgh
Ryan Ye
Alma Yosfan
Wheaton College
Alex Zakuta
UC Santa Barbara
GiVanna Zammuto
Lavinia Zani
Jonathan Zarate
Kate Zella
Syracuse University
Daniele Zellino
University of Denver
Aretina Zhang
Brandeis University
Linden Zheng
Shira Zimmermann
Northeastern University
Gonny Ziv Petreanu
Talia Zolondick
UMass Amherst
Joy Zou
Carnegie Mellon University
Erik Manna
Joseph Manna
Tufts University
Ruby Marx
Clark University
Kai Oge
Ella O'Halloran
Trinity College of Dublin
Elon University
Linda Ru
Brandeis University
Victoria Rubin University College London
Harvard University
Cate Siracusa
Smith College
Tate Slater
University of Washington
Tali Wachman
Cornell University
Aaron Waksler
Colgate University
Feiya Wang
New York University
Photo by Grace Dempsey