Harbinger The Algonquin
february 2015 vOL. 27 NO.3
The science behind snow day decisions
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The Student Newspaper of Algonquin Regional High School 79 Bartlett street, Northborough MA 01532 | arhsharbinger@gmail.com
Snow much digging to do
Ross Grasso & Jared Woislaw
StaffWriters Snow days have long been a staple of the New England high school experience. Even with five snow days over the course of three weeks, few students truly understand the complexities that go into the decision to cancel school. When snow is in the forecast, Northborough-Southborough Public Schools superintendent Christine Johnson and other administrators from the eleven neighboring school districts log on to what they affectionately call “The Breakfast Club Snow Chain”. When the weather forecast is predicting unfavorable conditions for school, the districts rely heavily on each other to share thoughts and information. “When there is snow in the forecast, I am up at 4:30. The first thing I do is check the weather,” Johnson said. “I make contact with [the Department of Public Works] in our communities and check on the road conditions. I continue to monitor the forecast, [and when] ‘The Breakfast Club’ is up and running, we all log in at about 4-4:30 and look for shared information. But, most importantly, [are] the conditions in our own community.” According to Johnson, her most important source of information is the Department of Public Works (DPW): the biggest factor behind the decision is the conditions of the roads. Johnson ideally wants to make the decision by 5 a.m. “We will call homes no later than seven [in the morning]. We are very cognizant of the fact that the earlier the notification, the better for parents and students,” Johnson said. Temperature dips have also sparked conversation about possible school cancellation among students and faculty. “In the 15 years I’ve been driving, I’ve only seen one day canceled just because of temperature,” school bus driver Patricia Franklin said. Despite weather sources, sometimes it is a tough call for administrators to make. “In the situation with the rain [December] when I made the decision I got the indication our roads were plowed and sanded, but we have someone who has the best sense of humor, and she’s called Mother Nature,” Johnson said. “When the ice line hovers at 30 degrees and I have my fingers crossed it goes up to 34 [Mother Nature] is going do the opposite.” Despite the call to cancel school, a student may stay home if that student’s parents feel it is unsafe. The student handbook for the Northborough-Southborough School District says that if a child’s parent does not feel that it is safe for their child to go to school, the child can stay home. However, Johnson hopes that she can make the safest decision possible. “I just try to make the right decision with all of the information I have,” Johnson said.
WHAT’S INSIDE:
Photo clare strickland
Head of maintenance Bud Richardson shovels snow off of the library’s roof on Thursday, February 12. Snow piles around Massachusetts grow as space to put the snow runs out. According to the Washington Post, the average winter snowfall by this date in Worcester County is 40.6 inches. At the time of this photo, the county already had close to 92.1 inches of snow.
Teaching assistants bridge the studenteducator gap, make impact on learning Annie Campbell & Brooke Suitum
Editorial Board & StaffWriter Instead of taking a study or enrolling in another academic class, some juniors and seniors devote their time in school to being teachers’ assistants. Students serve as another teacher figure in the classroom to help answer questions and lighten a teacher’s workload. Throughout the different departments, teaching assistants are responsible for contributing in different ways.
Photo natalie lambert
Student teacher senior Emily Lowe helps freshman Sofie Hopkins in Genevieve Jackson’s biology class.
Finalists recite at Poetry Out Loud page 10
Freshman biology teacher Genevieve Jackson spends her third period class with her teacher assistant, junior Jess Powell. “If I do a diagram on the board, she will copy down the diagram and use that to teach absent kids the following day, or she will use it when we are going around to individual groups,” Jackson said. “She has been just like a second teacher. She goes around to all the tables, just like I do, so it just makes people’s questions get answered faster.” Senior Emma Bacon works with social studies teacher Steven Godbout and special education liaison Felicia Rutigliano for a US History II class. “I work one on one with a lot of the kids who need a little extra help or explanations,” Bacon said. “I have designed two different classroom activities using the iPads and actually taught a class by myself this past week on answering open responses.” Typically, the student-teacher assistants had shown interest in previous classes in the subject and decided to pursue a teacher mentoring position for further enjoyment. “I loved biology as a freshman, Mrs. Jackson brought up the idea, and I was interested in it,” Powell said. “It was something cool to see how it is from the teacher’s point of view, without actually taking the class.” Senior Nicole Federici works with Susan Vaughan’s CP Biology class and Christine Connolly’s Honors Biology class. “I asked about mentoring opportunities because I had had [a teacher’s assistant] in my physics class when I was a junior,” Federici said. “It seemed like fun and a good way to get a feel for what a teacher’s job is like.” Some teachers’ assistants went looking for the opportunity, but for Bacon, the position came to her. “[Mr. Godbout] knew I was really interested in history, so he offered the spot to me, and I jumped at the opportunity,” Bacon said. “I like working with people and helping people, and that is ultimately what I want to do when I’m older.”
Winter One Acts warm up the stage page 11
Wrestling team wins as individuals page 16