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By Rebecca Penzias
Instead of being accepted or rejected by schools this year, an unusually large number of Newton South seniors are in the most dreaded sort of college limbo: the waitlist.
According to South’s College and Career Councilor Barbara Brown, a combination of record high numbers of applicants and a high number of applications per student is behind the waitlist phenomenon.
As the numbers of applications grow, colleges fear that they may enroll more students than they have capacity for. Because applicants are considering more and more colleges, however, schools also fear undershooting. This all makes it increasingly uncertain for colleges to know just how many students will show up in September. Read more »
By Roxanne Glazier
Replacing the soon to be retired Kathryn Daviau and Dr. Edward Jackson, Josepha Blocker and Henry Turner will take up the roles as South housemasters at the start of next year.
Blocker will replace Daviau as Wheeler Housemaster. She is currently the Dean of Students at the nearby Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. Previously, Blocker worked at Newton North as an assistant housemaster and as a computer science and math teacher.
While at North, Blocker was a part of the NEASC Committee and worked as the advisor for the Class of 2006. Blocker holds degrees from Tufts University and Simmons College. Read more »
By Rebecca Goldstein, David Han, and Nathan Yeo
After teaching at Newton South for seven months, English teacher Brody Lipton had a profound impact on many of his students. Following his resignation on April 9, students reflected on the teacher who many felt inspired them.
English department head Fran Moyer stated in an email statement that Lipton resigned for “personal reasons.”
Lipton’s leave was unexpected. “When we got the news…it was a complete surprise,” sophomore William Lind said. Read more »
By Jeremiah Davis
Facing rising costs, the City of Newton has proposed an additional $12 million in taxes via an override.
Two organizations, the pro-override Move Newton Forward (MNF), and Newton For Fiscal Responsibility (NFFR), which is against it, are currently the main players in the outcome of this vital vote. Read more »
By Jesse Zhang and Nathan Yeo
A trend of successes and failures for override votes in other Massachusetts cities this year indicate serious challenges for Newton lawmakers seeking a $12 million override.
Newton is not the only cash-strapped city in Massachusetts to seek an override in the last few months. Many other cities have sought approval to raise taxes in order to continue spending increases. A declining housing market and a probable recession, however, have resulted in taxpayers voting against overrides in many of these communities.
In Chelmsford and Holbrook, voters rejected two $2.8 million overrides on April 1, resulting in the elimination of varsity sports and staff cuts next year in both cities’ schools. Read more »
By Roxanne Glazier
The Mock Trial team defeated the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School (PVPA) at Boston’s Faneuil Hall on March 28, winning State Championships and qualifying to compete at Nationals. South also received $2,500 and the Silver Bowl for their victory.
Attorney Coach Elliot Loew is very pleased about winning the state championship and going to nationals. “South has never come close to a state championship so far…This is where all the other teams in the state want to be,” Loew said. Read more »
By News Staff
For the first time in its 10-year history, the Newton South Speech Team won first place at the Massachusetts Forensics League State Speech Championships.
Newton South received 247 “sweepstakes” points, beating out Natick High School by 15 points. While Speech and Debate tournaments are mostly individual competitions, sweepstake points are awarded to the teams depending on how well their members did.
Strong showings by all team members, as well as three first-place finishes, led to South’s victory. Read more »
By Roxanne Glazier
Winning gold and silver, Newton South’s Madrigals and Symphonic Band captured glory at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association (MICCA) festival on Saturday April 5.
Madrigals won the gold medal, the first any Newton music group has ever won. Their impressive win qualifies to perform at an event in Symphony Hall on May 3. The band took home silver, but came within one point of gold. Read more »
By Chris Erspamer
Newton South students gathered together to view presentations about past and current genocides. These presentations were organized by schoolteachers and administrators and took place in April during the annual Holocaust week, also known as the Days of Remembrance.
Students heard from speakers describing genocides in Armenia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. Over the course of the week, a total of 16 presentations took place. Among those speaking were survivors of the killings in Cambodia and Darfur as well as the Holocaust. A grandson of an Armenian survivor was also present. He was an expert on the Armenian genocide and a member of the non-government organization Physicians for Human Rights. An award-winning documentary film on Darfur, The Devil Came on Horseback, was also shown. Read more »
By Jesse Zhang
The Newton South Orchestra and Madrigals held a benefit concert yesterday to raise money for the Nathan Alden Robinson Scholarship Fund.
Robinson, a 15 year old freshman at North and talented musician, died of rare flu complications on Friday, March 14 at the Children’s Hospital in Boston.
Robinson’s parents, Don Robinson and Stacey Alden, created the Scholarship Fund in remembrance of their son. All of the money raised at the concert will go to this fund.
“We at South wanted to honor his memory and support his parents. His father is a trombone teacher, and his mom is a violin teacher. Some of our students here at South have them as instrumental teachers,” music department head John Rossini said. Read more »
By Idun Klakegg
To prepare the school in case of a violent intruder, Newton South practiced the first ever lockdown drill on April 9.
Principal Brian Salzer believes the lockdown drill was “well communicated” and an “absolute success.” According to Salzer, faculty and staff were also pleased with the drill. “Teachers are grateful and appreciate knowing what is expected of them,” Salzer said.
For the next drill, “the police and fire department want [someone to pose as] an actual intruder” to help make the experience more realistic. Read more »
