february 2005
FRONT PAGE NEWS
MORE NEWS
IN BRIEF
by N. C. and A. L.
The disgusting conditions of Day’s bathrooms are a common complaint from students. In response to the issue, THE DAYTIME conducted a poll asking students what they felt was the worst part about the bathrooms.
Out of 118 students polled, 34 agreed that the smell of the bathrooms is the area in which the most work needs to be done. Even the school nurse agreed that the “...bathrooms smell like urine.”
Many students have complained about the smell of the first floor bathroom beside the cafeteria. This, however, is caused by the materials used when the tiles were replaced during the summer. The glue and leveling material did not have time to dry, and when the floors were washed the scent became even worse.
Smell however, is not the only issue. What turns one off more than going to a bathroom in which one knows that no privacy is guaranteed? The bent, lock-less doors allow absolutely no privacy for those who use the Day bathrooms. 24 students said that the toilets and stalls were the worst part of the bathrooms.
Hygiene is an essential part of maintaining healthy lives, particularly in a school environment where germs are so easily transmitted. But the dysfunctional sinks, lack of soap, and often empty paper towel dispensers leave little opportunity for students to remain hygienic and sanitary.
The question remains, why have Day’s bathrooms lapsed into such conditions? According to senior custodian Eric Raymond, despite the custodial staff's hard and thorough work, they simply cannot keep up with the demands of the bathrooms.
“We need new partitions, doors, floor tiles, sinks, and toilets,” said Raymond. These particular renovations are the responsibility of the city.
But much of the solution lies with the students themselves, as they are the cause of many of the problem. Take, for instance, the cleanliness of the bathroom floors. As indicated by the poll, the floors of the bathrooms are a major concern of Day students.
“[The floors] are usually covered with paper towels, puddles of water, and dirt,” commented a 7th grader who asked not to be named. But it is primarily the students who are responsible for the disgusting state of the floors. Indeed, a DAYTIME poll indicates that 62% of Day students feel that the students themselves are “...responsible for the bathrooms’ bad conditions.”
Rather than complaining, students could take action and responsibility for their own bathrooms. Cleanliness could be achieved by a partnership between students and custodians.
After using a paper towel, students should simply throw it into the garbage can instead of on the floor. And if water is spilled from the sink onto the floor, one should merely wipe it up before leaving the bathroom.
With each student conscientious and respectful of their environment, the bathrooms will slowly become much more sanitary.
Eight out of the 118 students polled said that vandalism was the worst part of the Day bathrooms. Once again taking responsibility, students can assist in wiping away graffiti from the stalls. And most obviously, students should refrain from drawing graffiti in the bathrooms or any other place in the school.
Even with students doing their part to improve the conditions of the Day bathrooms, the problems with the sinks and toilets will remain. However, the administration is aware of the situation, and is ready to do its part to make the Day sanitary facilities sanitary.
“We are in the process of fixing [them],” said assistant principal J. M. “But there is no lying or denying it: we are trying to make the bathrooms better for students.”
by J. T.
Recently, the federal government proved that Cheesecake Brook, the small stream that runs through West Newton, is indeed polluted. The government has determined that there is fecal coliform bacteria present in the brook.
Fecal coliform is the type of bacteria that comes from animal and human wastes. There are several ways that this bacteria could have entered the brook:
Cheesecake Brook is a watershed. This means that the banks of the brook run downhill, so every time there is precipitation, it flows into the brook, along with anything it picks up on the brook banks. For example, any animal wastes, chemicals, or garbage left on the ground goes into the brook.
There are three types of pipes that run underground through the city. The first type are storm drains. Storm drains takes water from streets and sidewalks into bodies of water. The second type are sewage pipes. These are the pipes that move sewage from houses to the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant in Boston. If sewage pipes were to leak, the sewage would go directly into a creek, brook, or river, including Cheesecake Brook.
Also, some pipes used to be made of lead, some of which might still remain. The third type of pipe are underdrains. Underdrains are under sewage pipes, to catch any leakage. These are no longer used, however.
THE DAYTIME will be sponsoring several tests on Cheesecake Brook with help from Jade science teacher, A. R., in the spring. These tests will look for fecal coliform and other harmful bacteria. When rainstorms are expected, the water will be tested. After it rains the water will be tested again. Students will be looking for increased bacteria counts after rain storms. Different points of the brook will also be tested, to see how much the bacteria is diluted by the time it reaches the Charles River.
by C. W.
Christopher Swain is 36 years old and is now living in Vermont. He attended Wesleyan college. He originally had no thought ever of being a swimmer or a person who was trying to change the way people look at clean water. He has swum the length of the Columbia, Charles, and Hudson Rivers.
He also has done the length of Lake Champlain. All that has changed now is that he has the courage and drive to make people think about how they can make a difference to our country’s water sources.
On Thursday, January the 20th, the same day he spoke with 7th grade science students at F. A. Day, he granted the following interview to THE DAYTIME. In telling his story, Swain hoped to enlist the aid of Day students in cleaning up bodies of water, such as the Charles River.
DAYTIME: what was the weirdest thing that you have ever found in a river?
Swain: A snowmobile...but I have also found cars, tires, washers, dryers, a BB gun, bicycles, shopping carts, refrigerators, beer cans... you name it and people have thrown it into a river in America.
DAYTIME: where could the water from the storm drains go if it doesn’t go into the rivers?
Swain: Well, storm drains to the nearest waterway...so there are a couple of options if you’re trying to treat your storm water.
One is that you can build a storm water treatment facility, where they actually filter the water, remove the contaminants, then return drinking water quality water back to the waterway.
You can do something short of that which is doing some filtration in the storm drain itself.
There are inserts you can buy, or your municipality can buy, that drop into the storm drain that filters some of what is going in there...typically bags that filter polypropylene, fibers and all kinds of things that the water goes through and pulls out some of the contaminants.
The other thing we can do, too, that’s pretty easy is to replace the storm drain system in certain areas with things called bio swails and that’s where you actually create a trench that you plant that’s dirt and you plant wetland plants in it that are native to the area and then you let the rain water run into that and then some goes back into the ground, some of it gets filtered by the actual vegetation. Another thing you can look at that will help a storm drain system is using permeable pavement.
DAYTIME: what improvements have you seen since you started your project?
Swain: One is really basic stuff, there are towns like one in British Columbia who have stopped using pesticides and herbicides on their city land...that kind of improvement where you can say somebody has stopped using the chemical, or a company has stopped discharging something bad.
The second thing is the kind of thing where government agencies doing enforcement actions...like when I swam in the Charles, the EPA did enforcement actions against a lot of upstream communities, like Newton who were discharging sewage illegally.
The third kind of thing you see is tough to measure. But it is whatever happens when kids learn about what’s going on. You guys aren’t all going to grow up and keep trashing the world because you’re smart and you can see that we’ve been doing that for a few hundred years.
DAYTIME: how did you become involved with environmental activism?
Swain: I was living in Oregon when I first got interested in this stuff and I got interested in the Columbia River. As a citizen I wanted to have clean rivers to swim in and clean water to drink. As a father, I wanted the same thing for my kids – to fish in clean water, to swim in clean water, drink clean water and in terms of the activism piece I really looked at it as a credibility issue. If [you] want to advocate for the water, you’ve got to get wet. So that’s how I started going in.
DAYTIME: what are the steps you take to improve the environment ?
Swain: The first thing I do is look at my own life and see what I am messing up.
The big things I look at are the biggest impacts I’ll have (and most of us will have) is transportation. A lot of that is usually cars and so one of the things I try to do is figure out ways that make more sense to transport myself around. And that’s hard, but, if I am in the Boston area, take the T, car pool with some other people going to the same place, walk a lot of times if you are in the city center. Those are probably the big things.
The next biggest thing is food. You like food. What ever food you eat, supports an economy and practices around making that food. So, if you eat conventionally grown food, that’s grown using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, and herbicides we are insuring that all those chemicals, when it rains, on those farms are going to wash into all the rivers and streams and lakes. So if you chose organic food or something like that that is not happening that way.
The third thing would be where you live and what you do around your house. If you build a brand new house, that’s going to be harder on natural resources than if you moved into one that has already been built...it is better on the environment. When you’re in your house basic stuff you do is going to make a big difference.
DAYTIME: where did the idea for swimming come from?
Swain: I think it came from a desire to establish my credibility. I knew if I didn’t swim the entire length of the river that people would forever be telling me that I wasn’t … well, I’ll give you an example.
On the Charles, if I am talking about something in Waltham, people could say, ‘Well, you’re not from Waltham, you don’t know what’s going on,’ or, ‘ You don’t understand what we’re dealing with up in Dover or Bellingham.’ .. and now I can say, ‘Look I have tasted every mile. I’ve swum through your poop I know what’s going on. I had to do that to have the credibility.’
DAYTIME: what can parents and kids do specifically to help you clean up the Charles River?
Swain: Two things. One thing if you want to clean up the Charles River it’s pretty easy to do, lots of stuff from trash cleanups or checking out what in your home impacts the water. The way people can help is to go on the web site www.swimforcleanwater.org and there is a list of 9 things that you can do before 9:00 AM, or before you go to school, or work, in the morning that will help, and that is a beginning.
They can support the whole swim for clean water education campaign and, again, through the web site or whatever works, whether it means buying a 100% cotton t-shirt or sending in a donation you know will help.
My situation today, for instance, is I came here to talk without being offered any money, with the hope that some of the parents and teachers will think it’s worth it.
Hopefully, they want to see the clean water message get out here and to other schools and might be willing to do something in support of it. Whatever money I raise as a result of coming here I will use to visit more schools and get that clean water message out.
Jim Smith has the whole world in his hands.
by B. M.
“My focus area is very small...it’s the entire world,” chuckled Jim Smith, foreign editor of THE BOSTON GLOBE. From tsunamis in Asia to foreign correspondents in London, Jerusalem, Baghdad, South Africa, and Colombia, Smith is responsible for the quality and content of all news stories in THE BOSTON GLOBE that take place outside the United States.
Smith attended Weeks Junior High School in Newton, where he was taught by former Day teacher, and current DAYTIME political advisor Marjorie Montgomery. In the 8th grade, he told Montgomery that he wanted to be a journalist. He kept that promise, and his journalistic career began with a position at the Associated Press, where he worked for 12 years in Connecticut, and then overseas in Holland, South Africa, and Japan before leaving to join THE LOS ANGELES TIMES. As foreign correspondent in Mexico City, he interviewed Mexican President Vincente Fox and covered a large amount news in the area, including riots. Montgomery remembers him calling to tell her that bullets were whizzing over his head.
In 2002 Smith moved to safety and the Boston area and became the foreign editor of THE BOSTON GLOBE. Smith described the significant change of going from a reporter’s job, which is all about writing, to an editor’s job, with no writing. Although many of his words are in the paper as a result of his editing, Smith admits that he misses seeing his byline.
Smith’s typical day begins in midmorning, when he arrives at the GLOBE. Upon arrival, Smith sets off to work, calling correspondents, watching stories unfold, and correcting stories. At 10:30AM he attends a meeting in which some of the content of the front page is determined. At approximately 6PM a final meeting is held a few hours before the paper is sent to press.
As a professional journalist, Smith was able to share some advice with THE DAYTIME, particularly in the area of interviewing.
“It’s important to listen. It’s a conversation, and most of the time, a response will allow you to open other doors,” remarked Smith. But he advised all journalists to be firm with interviewees, “...especially with public figures.”
THE BOSTON GLOBE experience parallels that of THE DAYTIME on a larger scale
by S. S.
THE DAYTIME is written, edited and laid out by about 110 Day students. Every month, except July, these staff members come early in the morning and stay late after school to produce their nationally-recognized paper. It’s grueling labor.
THE BOSTON GLOBE is written, edited, laid out and printed by hundreds of people who produce it every single day. The deadline for the first edition printed is 10PM, and printing starts at 11:30PM. The last edition leaves the presses at 5AM. Breaking news and updates are posted on the GLOBE’s web site, www.boston.com.
How do they do it? Well, editors, such as foreign editor Jim Smith, arrive at the GLOBE’s Dorchester headquarter in the morning. They find out what’s happening in each area, then meet at 10:30AM to decide what will go on the front page. They meet twice again later in the day, at 3:30 and 5:30.
The paper is laid out by graphic designers using programs such as Quark XPress, Freeland, and Adobe. Layout and graphic design is mainly done on Apple computers, but the Globe uses a variety of computers (including Compaq and Dell) to produce the paper.
The GLOBE is funded mainly by ads (which come at least 2 days in advance), which bring in thousands upon thousands of dollars. “The Book” is a copy of the paper with ads only, and is used to determine where the ads are and where articles can go. However, the front page is reserved only for news stories.
When the paper is checked and ready to go, it is sent to the engraving room where each page is made into a plate(s). If the page will be black and white, only one plate needs to be engraved. Color pages require 4 plates.
The paper then goes to the presses, most of which are located in the Dorchester building, the remainder of which are in Billerica. An entire paper can be printed in less than a minute, and the presses are running from 11:30PM to early morning. They print 70 thousand papers per hour.
Rolls of newsprint are transported from storage to the presses by Volkswagen Beetle-sized robots called Automated Guide Vehicles. They roam to the presses on tracks in the floor, and work as a team; if one somehow shuts down, all of them shut down.
The GLOBE takes a lot of money to produce, and a printing press alone costs approximately $15 million. One roll of print costs several thousand dollars. THE DAYTIME costs maybe a thousand dollars per issue. To the Globe, that is nothing.
by A. H.-B.
After Dr. Paul Stein transitioned from principal of Day to Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources at the Newton Education Center, his position was filled by Gina Healy, previously housemaster at Newton South.
It was always understood that Healy is Day’s interim principal, meaning that her tenure is temporary. A Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) has been organized to assist the superintendent in the appointment of a new principal.
Those who were interested were asked to write a paragraph explaining their reasons for wanting to be a part of the committee. Out of the 100 faculty and staff paragraphs that were submitted, a school-wide vote determined the appointment of 4 faculty and one support staff member. The elected Committee includes Sandy Calabro, John Hart, Joe Killilea, and Kathy McIntosh (faculty); Pat Cencini (support staff); one coordinator; assistant superintendent of schools and assistant superintendent for human resources.
The position has been advertised in THE BOSTON GLOBE and other newspapers several times since the summer, and a number of people have responded to the ad. Healy has also applied for the permanent position.
Although anyone could have responded to the advertisement, there are certain qualifications that the candidate must possess to even be considered for the position, most importantly an administrative license.
If the candidate does not have advanced degrees, he or she is expected to have taken extra courses in the field. Overall, the candidate must be qualified as an “...expert in the field.”
“Personally, I will be looking for an individual that I can feel comfortable communicating with, on a personal and professional level,” says Green Team science teacher John Hart.
SAC members will meet for the first time on February the 7th, to select 8-10 principal candidates for the semifinalist interviews. On March 2, 3, and 4, the semifinalists will be interviewed, and 3-4 will be selected as finalists.
During the week of March the 14th, the chosen finalists will visit Day, to witness the running of the school. The SAC “Newton Teams” will then visit the schools of the finalist candidates.
After one final meeting of the SAC members on March the 29th, the superintendent will begin to interview the selected finalists and check their references during the week of April the 4th. The principal of Day will be appointed by the superintendent on April the 11th, 2005.
“Above all,” said superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Young, “a middle school principal should love kids and enjoy being with them. In addition, he or she needs to be an instructional leader who is able to support the teachers in continuously improving curriculum and instruction. He or she should also be experienced in building a school community, so that staff and parents can work together for the overall good of the school.”
by N. F. and T. K.
For tickets and more information about this event, contact Cindy Kane. Tickets cost $25 each.
The 4th annual P. T. O. Silent Auction will begin at 7:30PM on March the 4th, at Post 440 on California Street. The P. T. O. Auction is a source of major funding for Day. The event will begin with a dinner catered by Baker’s Best. As they enjoy their meal, guests begin to select items and place their bids.
Back by popular demand, the Neil Miller Rock & Soul Review will be playing at the event. Many guests will gather on the dance floor after dinner has ended.
At around 9:30 a small live auction will be held. The silent auction, the primary event of the evening, will end at 10:00 PM.
In past years, dinner prepared by THE DAYTIME’s senior adviser, Robert Provencher, has been a popular hit, earning more than $1,000 last year. “ Prov” and his wife fete the lucky bidders with dinner for four at their home in Tyngsborough.
Other popular items include sports memorabilia, such as Red Sox tickets, Patriots tickets, and signed balls. Restaurant gift certificates and artwork are often offered at the auction.
In this year’s auction, a football, signed by Tom Brady, Adam Vinatieri and Richard Seymour, has already been offered, donated by the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and the Kraft Family.
A $100 gift certificate donated by Baker’s Best, a Paulette Ballet program, two tickets to Showcase Cinema, and a harbor cruise for 10 people have been generously contributed to the auction. Many other donations have been received in categories such as health and beauty, entertainment, and sports.
If interested in donating an item to the auction, contact Mary Scorzelli. In past years, the Silent Auction has raised about $15,000. The P. T. O. hopes to raise at least that, perhaps more, this year.
Previously, earnings have been used to buy to computers and other technological products for Day’s library, computer lab, and even THE DAYTIME. However, this year’s profit will be used for general funds.
Newton students respond to tsunami relief
by S. S.
December’s tsunami’s death toll has climbed to over 150 thousand people.
Much of Southeastern Asia is still in ruins. Children continue to search for parents. The effect of this tidal wave will be felt for years to come.
However, helping to ease the pain are scores of Newton students. Take, for example, Brown student J. M. This 14-year old raised $78 thousand in one week, simply by calling his father’s wealthy business associates. Out of 100 he called in the first few weeks, 43 made donations ranging from $100 to $500, which J. M. raised through a nonprofit organization called Do Something.
As of early January, Do Something’s “Kids Tsunami Relief Fund” had raised over $100,000, 80% of which is thanks to Mazza.
A few grades up from J. M., Newton North High School’s New Start program organized a candlelight vigil at City Hall on Monday, January the 31st.
Twenty, or so, students and teachers charged $1 per candle as they stood on a street corner from 4:45-6PM. One of these students, D. D., is the grandson of tsunami survivors.
New Start counselor C. E. said they were holding the vigil to remind people that “...help is still needed.”
If you would like to contribute to tsunami relief, please visit Save The Children at www.savethechildren.org, AmeriCares at www.americaresfoundation.net, or help New Start by donations to UNICEF, c/o Newton North High School, Office of Human and Civil Rights, 360 Lowell Ave., Newton, MA 02460.
by E. A., D. B., and W. H.
January the 28th’s school dance turned out to be extremely popular, as evidenced by the more than 200 students who braved sub-freezing temperatures to attend.
The dance’s DJ was Peter Hallisey for Boston Party Makers. He has his own company, Sound Choice. He uses CDs like old-fashioned DJs, but also uses a computer. While he doesn’t do many middle school dances, he likes Day because he lives about 10 blocks away, and, “My mom went to Day,” he said.
His jobs range from Quebec to New York to Ohio. The most popular songs included, “Let Me Love You” by Mario, “1985” by Bowling For Soup, and “Toxic” by Britney Spears.
Opinions vary about the dance. 6th grader N. S. thinks that too many people were talking instead of dancing, and that some songs were too “ girlie”. N. S. also thinks that too many people were fighting and that the food was too cheap, whereas 6th grader E. C. thinks that the food was good and that there were a lot more choices than the last dance.
Another thing E. C. liked was the songs. “Fun,” is E. C’s opinion of the dance. 8th grader Z. C. thought there were too many fast songs, but he was still able to have fun with his friends.
The chaperones enjoyed the dance as much as the students. “I think that the dance was a big hit; everyone was in a good mood,” said A. T., a P. E. teacher. T. M., Silver Team social studies teacher, said if she were a student, she would have been tearing up the dance floor.
Refreshments were available for students throughout the night. They included soda and juice for drinks, along with pizza and other snacks, unlike the 1st dance. It was 50-cents per drink, and $2 for a slice of pizza.
Most students thought that the food was sold at a good price, except for some students, like 6th-grader J. C. “The food costs too much money,” J. C. said.
Expensive, or not, these refreshments fueled the students for a long night of dancing.
by M. W.
For five months Newton teachers have been working without a contract, and the negotiations continue. Last month THE DAYTIME interviewed human resources director, Paul Stein, for the administration’s perspective. This month THE DAYTIME returns to the teachers’ representative, Cheryl Turgel, president of the Newton Teachers’ Association.
DAYTIME: What progress have you made creating a new contract since last month?
Cheryl Turgel: Not as much progress as we would’ve liked.
DT: So, the teachers have been working without a contract since September first.
CT: Right.
DT: So, what’s holding up the settlement?
CT: Compensation. Shortages in what was budgeted. And shortages in the present budget. The teachers are looking for a minimum...a cost of living increase in their wages; and, in addition, to maintain an 80/20 split on health care contribution rate. And there’s some language about elementary prep. time, [and] some other issues that are coming up that need to be ratified by the membership in order to move forword. And we haven’t come to agreement on those things with the school committee.
DT: What kinds of support have the teachers shown their union in contract negotiations?
CT: Well, we’ve had two public demonstrations at the Ed. Center. One on October 25th, and another one on January 10th, and there was a large turnout by our membership at both of those meetings at the Ed. Center, showing that they are supportive of what the team is doing. And in addition there was some picketing of the schools in the mornings. And that was a huge effort by the membership to be out in the mornings, to inform the parents of the fact that we are working without a contract because, before that, I think a lot of parents...even though it was in THE TAB... even though it was in the newspapers...I think parents still were not aware.
DT: If the contract doesn’t settle soon, what will be your next actions?
CT: I can’t say as yet [however, a week after this interview, Turgel issued a directive to all NTA members requesting that they withhold all voluntary activities. For middle schools, this would include, but not be limited to, “Chaperoning events: dances, sporting events, concerts, and overnight trips”, among other activities - Ed.].
DT: And is there anything else that you think we should know for this story?
CT: Although this is a really difficult negotiations process, we understand that the school committee thinks that they’re doing everything possible to come to settlement. And within the parameters that they have set up, they are.
But the point is that we’re not pleased with those parameters. In addition, the city has to reevaluate the way it budgets its money, and I know it’s a wonderful city and, and we’re very solvent… financially solvent and our streets are in really good shape.
If you drive into another city or town in comparison, you know, our schools were open the next day after that [weather] front...you know things like that.
All the services we get are wonderful however, the amount of money that is given to the schools is no longer enough with costs and mandates and it’s not only the city’s fault, there’s shortages of state funds and federal funds and we understand that.
But you can’t expect your employees...among which are the NTA and others who many, I’d say the majority of whom, can no longer afford to live in this city...you cant expect them to help you run the city by taking less money...by maintaining the city’s quality by taking less money in their own pockets, because they have to live and they have expenses and they have to take care of their families as well.
We definitely know and believe that, or believe and know that, we are not asking for anything unreasonable in trying to settle the contract and that we are just trying to give our members what they deserve to have...or the quality that they bring to the city.
by M. B.
On the snowy evening of January the 19th, a small group gathered at Village Books in Roslindale for the reading and signing of Clara Silverstein’s newly published book, White Girl: A Story of Desegregation.
The book is an account of Silverstein’s childhood in Richmond, Virginia, where she attended a predominately black school after the Brown vs. Board of Education case of 1970 enforced desegregation.
Silverstein, a white woman, endured verbal abuse from her peers, and was the victim of many threats. She frequently found herself slammed into lockers, as other predominantly black students expressed their race-based hate for her. Silverstein said that she was “...afraid and ashamed,” every day that she attended the school. After many years of bottling up the childhood memories of her middle school years, a conversation with her preschool daughter prompted her to write a book about her experience as an outcast.
“I was not prepared to go,” Silverstein says, “I was separate from the rest, and making friends was so difficult.” Silverstein experienced further exclusion, as she was one of only 100 white students, but she was also the only Jew.
Silverstein felt that, “Jewish traditions were lost moving to the South,”
and her view on religion made her feel reclusive. Only one other student from her childhood participated in the desegregation action with her.
Silverstein described the school as “...lacking racial harmony,” and she “...felt alone because the community did not support a white child like me.”
Silverstein’s grandmother attempted to convince her daughter to move her granddaughter to another school, but Silverstein’s mother felt that there would be Anti-Semitism. The resistance of Silverstein’s grandmother was not enough to end her distressing school experience, however.
She spent three long years afraid and degraded. “Elbows were shoved in my face and I was subject to all kinds of harassment,” she recalls. “We went to the bathroom two whites at a time, so [that] we could protect each other if anything were to happen.”
Moving on from middle school, Silverstein’s high school had a lesser percentage of African-Americans. However, Silverstein continued to feel the hardships that haunted her throughout middle school. When she graduated from highschool, she traveled North for college. “I had had enough of the south.”
Rarely is the other side of desegregation a topic of conversion.
Silverstein attempts to illuminate that other side in her book. The newton-author has written to educate, and to inform others of the unknown facet of the desegregation process.
Day’s Math Team scores some impressive wins
by C. A.-L.
For four years the Day Middle School Math Team had not won a single meet. Then, with a new coach and a few new students, they finally succeeded.
Their first win occurred at Oak Hill. Their bus did not show up to bring them to the opposing school, so they stood around in the cold for about an hour. Finally the league officials sent for another bus, “...and that was our first win.” commented Brian Marks, the team’s new coach.
Marks credits the Oak Hill win, and, later, the win at Bigelow, to N. G., J. L., P. M., the “unofficial Captain” of the Math Team, and C. W.
“We are doing more as a team...” said Marks. He also commented that “The kids are working well together.”
There are six teams in Day’s league, so the Day Math Team has beaten five teams twice in a row. But will they continue their winning streak? “The other schools are committed to beating us now,” said Marks with a smile.
Day’s A. D’ A. wins YMCA foul shot contest
by J. P.
6th grader A. D’ A. Silver Team student recently won the 2nd round of a foul shot shooting contest at the Arlington Boys and Girls Club. A. D’ A. made 20-25 foul shots. He also won the 1st round at the West Suburban YMCA.
“I didn’t think that I would win the contest.”
The contest was on January 9th and A. D’ A. moved on to the state finals in Manchester, Massachusetts. The competition will be much higher than round one and two, but A. D’ A. is on a roll and looks forward to bringing home a win for Day.
Dance the Dream
Day dance and health teacher, N. B., writes chapter for book
by N. G.
In 1997, an 8th grade F. A. Day dance class taught by N. B., dance and health teacher, choreographed an amazing dance. The dance class was made up of a very diverse group which included students of different races, ethnic backgrounds and four deaf students. They discussed their differences in order to come to greater understanding and connection to each other. The goal was to create a dance that would be shared with the community based on their experiences.
The students answered questions about their friendship groups and whether or not it was difficult to be friends with people from other groups.
Called “Dance the Dream”, it was performed for the entire school. The transformation the class underwent was never reproduced except in spirit.
“The dynamics and diversity of the group made it so very unique and the learning was amazing not only for the dancers but the community,” said Beardall. But, even now, the 1997 class is teaching others.
Recently this amazing story about this class was published in a book titled, THE ARTS, EDUCATION, AND SOCIAL CHANGE: LITTLE SIGNS OF HOPE, which is a collection of short stories that share how the arts effects social change. The stories are from all over the world.
The chapter about the Day dance class, was written by N. B.. The book is meant to teach educators, therapists, and college students about universality; about how the arts connect people no matter where they live.
N. B. said that when she first heard about the book, she found her notes she had taken while teaching the class, and turned them into a readable chapter. She then submitted the story to the publishers of the book, and it was accepted. N. B. said that she wished to share the story, “...with a larger community.”
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