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Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Boston, MA Permit No. 54523
Vol. XXX · Issue IV
Newton South High School’s Student Newspaper · Newton, MA · Established 1984 · November 8, 2013
Teachers see decrease in independence Nathaniel Bolter Sr. News Editor
MOVING FORWARD photo by Sofia Osorio
Mayor Setti Warren, left, speaks as community members look on at a meeting on Oct. 21 to process Newton’s two teen suicides. Warren, Larry Berkowitz and Joanna Bridger of the Riverside Trauma Center, Superintendent David Fleishman, South Principal Joel Stembridge and other school leaders attended the forum to share information about how to respond to the sudden deaths.
In the wake of two student suicides at Newton North and South last month, the district promotes awareness of and education on mental health issues Sasha Kuznetsov & Kylie Walters
were welcome to freely discuss mental health. According to Tom Denton, the Director of Guidance at Needham Public Schools, Sr. News Editor, Editor-in-Chief open communication between students ollowing the suicides of Newton regarding sensitive topics is integral to a North senior Karen Douglas and community’s recuperation after tragedies. South sophomore Katherine Stack “Often adults think ... they have to just last month, Newton Public Schools (NPS) work on helping the students, but students and South officials are working to implehelping each other is really huge,” Denton ment mental health education and spread said. “[Needham] students have really awareness in Newton’s community. learned a lot about mental health ... and all Douglas went missing Oct. 3 and was the different things that are part of someone found dead Oct. 5 in Natick. struggling, and they’re not ashamed of that.” On Oct. 16, Stack also took her own Junior Max Cooper agreed that student life. The next day, students and faculty communication is necessary in preventing observed a moment mental health issues of silence in A block If you have something to say, you should definitely be from escalating. “Right classes. now, what the commusaying it and don’t just think that because it has not nity needs to do is [to Looking forward, NPS Superintenhave] students ... really been heard before, it won’t be heard now. dent David Fleishman make sure that they’re - Max Cooper, Class of 2015 said one of the major focal points for the heard,” Cooper said, “If you have something district will be mental health. “In both cases, From 2004 to 2006, over the course of to say, you should definitely be saying it and both families have acknowledged that these 18 months, Needham, a neighboring district, don’t just think that because it has not been girls suffered from depression, so that seems experienced four suicides — two high school heard before, it won’t be heard now.” like the issue to focus on,” he said. “How do students, one 8th grader and one graduate. Senior Rosalie Goldberg said students we identify kids with depression even though In response to these tragedies, the com- should look out for each other. “It’s hard to we knew both of these kids had depression munity formed the Needham Coalition for fathom that in a community someone at and both of them were getting a lot of support Suicide Prevention, which trained citizens your school can be gone … The big message out of our school and in school?” across the town to recognize and aid those here to all students is be nice and listen. Of South principal Joel Stembridge struggling with mental health issues. course you should always be nice, but just agreed that increased awareness and educaSchools in Needham incorporated open your ears up and listen for people who tion surrounding topics relating to depres- training into the health curricula for all are saying things that might mean something sion and suicide would benefit the commu- high school students and eighth graders else deep down,” she said. “Just stop for a nity. “We definitely ... want everyone to have and a week every March was dedicated to second and listen to someone; that’s the the same information about depression and assemblies and discussions where students message that I got.”
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its connection to suicide and mental health awareness,” he said. In order to help the community process the tragedies, select students from North and South will work with counselors from the district to form a curriculum to present to students at both high schools during specified English periods in December. Throughout the year, students will be able to attend and register for presentations coordinated by Cutler Housemaster Donna Gordon regarding mental health. Additionally, the administration also plans to refine the wellness curriculum to better address mental health and emotional instability.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
PARCC Test
Administrators consider replacing the MCAS with the PARCC test.
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Money Matters
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The Roar explores the role of wealth in the college admissions process.
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English teacher Robert Jampol said the restrictions began with the inception of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). “The changes fall in with the same general pattern of state frameworks and MCAS and other attempts to define more narrowly just what we do,” he said. “In reality, not everything an English teacher does is measurable.” According to Jampol and other teachers, growing administrative oversight from federal, state and local mandates has restricted South teachers’ autonomy. One of these restrictions, Jampol said, is a trend toward uniformity in subject material that he has seen develop over his 33 years at South. “[Uniformity] means more restriction in what we teach and more impetus for all of us to use the same approaches: the same rubrics and the same lesson plans for the same courses,” Jampol said. Several teachers have identified this uniformity, along with the emphasis placed on results of standardized tests, as primary factors in their loss of independence to adapt their curricula. According to those teachers, classes are forced to conform to common standards and lessons instead. According to Jampol, this trend toward uniformity is detrimental because it obscures unique teaching styles. “During the rogue elephant era, my era, we valued our independence. Each course always had some common titles, common grammatical lessons, stylistic lessons, but that constituted only a third to a half of the course. We were all supposed to teach writing style, but I would do it in way that stresses my values, which I think are valid for most kinds of writing,” he said. “Nobody told me how to do my business.” History department head Jennifer Morrill, however, said uniformity improves teaching. “What we’re trying to do is identify best practices and spread them so that we all get better,” she said. History teacher Jamie Rinaldi agreed that uniformity among similar courses may not necessarily be a problem and that that he still enjoys relative freedom in teaching. “I still think we have more freedom to work here than any other district I’ve heard of,” he said. “I mean the [sophomore] honors TEACHER AUTONOMY, 2
Soccer Soars
The girls soccer team overcomes a slew of injuries in a successful season.
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NEWS 2 GLOBAL 5 EDITORIALS 6 OPINIONS 9 CENTERFOLD 12 FEATURES 15 SPORTS 20