March
2005
FRONT PAGE NEWS
MORE NEWS
IN BRIEF
Future of THE DAYTIME uncertain
by R. P.
Anticipating what promises to be a “particularly
difficult year for us all,” according to Anne Larner,
chairman of the Newton School Committee, Superintendent
Jeffrey Young set the stage for drastic cuts to the school
system, one of which threatens the future of this newspaper.
On March the 7th, in the Day Auditorium Young presented
the FY06 budget plan to the school committee. “I
don’t want to give anyone the impression that everything
will be fine. It’s not. But I don’t want
to say that the sky is falling. It’s not,” said
Young. “My purpose tonight is to present a picture
of reality...fiscal constraints.”
The maintenance of effort budget has taken $142.5 million
this year to support and in order to uphold this next
year, will take an increase of $10.3 million. The school
committee’s requested
budget stands at $132.7 million, or an increase of $5.5
million, which results in a $4.8 million deficit. “We
must have a balanced budget and live within it,” Young
stated before he proceeded to the in-depth statistics.
Fixed and mandated costs amount to $2.6 million in new
funds which includes utilities, tuitions, contractual
services, and transportation.
These items are “must pay” expenses, says
Young, and reflect a utility cost increase of 20%. Other
program additions, including high school textbooks, pupil
services, special education and English Language Learners
(ELL), present a $1.1 million need, $100,000 of which
will be spent on new math and science books.
6.8 Full Time Equivalent positions (FTE) will follow
numerous North students in a redistricting to South.
Young emphasizes that this will not be a cut, but merely
a transfer.
Education for preschoolers proves to be “...costly,” as
well as the ELL program. Young also argues his point
that although taking a huge amount to support, “...we
must educate them.” This amounts to a total of
$10.3 million needed to fund all educational programs.
A problem facing the school system is that Young’s
proposal does not reach the maintenance of effort level.
Another issue Young brings up is that the maintenance
of effort may not be “...good enough because of
its recent history...there is nothing in my crystal ball
or tea leaves,” that predicts the budget will not
tighten up in the future.
Young, however, points out efficiencies achieved thus
far. This includes consolidation of bus routes, collaborative
purchasing for furniture and professional development,
the school and city collaboration regarding maintenance,
and repair requests as well as successful completion
of annual audits.
A concern brought up by Young was that class sizes are “creeping” up
and rising by a substantial number. He states that these
sizes are getting “larger...by my standards and
by your standard.” With 244 elementary school classes,
approximately 4 classes go over 25 kids. The average
student class size in elementary schools is 20.3. If
the budget passes, then this amount will increase to
21.2. About 1% of classes exceed 25 kids now, and that
number will grow to 4% if the budget goes through. “It
is an adverse impact,” said Young.
District wide, - 14.6 FTE operations support, - 1.0
curriculum specialists, and cuts to the summer workshop
projects and equipment will result in - 13.6 FTE , a
move worth $916,486.
At the elementary school level, 32 aide FTE’s,
9.7 FTE teachers, 6.9 FTE library/media, and 2.4 FTE
specialists (music, art, gym) will be cut, a total of
- 51.0 FTE.
At the 4 middle schools, 12 FTE aides, 9.4 FTE teachers,
5.5 FTE specialists/reading/guidance/health [this is
where THE DAYTIME will lose its advisor], 0.5 assistant
principals, as well as $20,000 from athletics will be
removed next year, if the budget follows through. This
accumulates to - 27.4 FTE and a total savings of $1.1
million.
At the high schools, 10 FTE aides, 10.1 FTE teachers,
0.7 department heads and $80,000 from athletics will
be gone. The total amounts to 20.8 FTE cuts and $887,738
being removed.
Young concluded with the statement “...school
is going to open in September and we’re going to
be ready...let us take pride. [We] have a reservoir of
strength and good will. The staff is going to have less
support. We have to be honest and say, ‘It’s
not going to be the same.
There is a reality and a human limit. It’s a matter
of work smarter. The challenge exists.’ The bigger
challenge is our future...feel proud to work in Newton.”
by S. S.
Until last month, Day's nurse, M. L. S., was not
a United States citizen. Until she completed the final
steps to achieve citizenship at the Kennedy Library and
Museum in Boston, she was a subject of Canada.
However, after she took the final oath, she became both.
The main drive to become an American was "...wanting
to be able to vote", but also "...wanting to
have an impact" on her children's lives, she said
during a recent interview.
Like most government-involved processes, becoming a
citizen requires one to fill out a lot of paperwork.
However, M. L. S. said that one could download the complete
application off of the Internet. Filling out these forms
was "...a little daunting," she chuckled.
"The most daunting part was recording the number
of days," she left the U. S. in the past 5 years.
However, this wasn't too hard; being a nurse for the
past 5 years, she could only leave the country during
school vacations.
"A Republican government is not necessarily what
I want... [but] change is gonna happen." In addition
to this, M. L. S. said that while there are many people
unhappy with our current government, she still wants
to be able to have an effect on her children's lives.
"Coming from Canada, there wasn't much of a push," to
become a citizen, she said. Plus, she doesn't lose her
Canadian citizenship by becoming an American. However,
to members of the Day Community who are not yet citizens,
she says "...do it". Why? Because "...you
feel like you're a part of the country," and its
excitement.
by D. W.
Within the confusing mess of private blogs and personal
web-pages that can be found on the internet is a website
called Proboards.com. This site is an HTML-based service
that allows anyone to create an online forum.
On January the 6th, 2005, E. D., an 8th grader
at F. A. Day, decided to utilize the services provided
by Proboards.com. From then on, the website http://www.onop.tk/
was the unofficial F. A. Day Forum. Since then, the site
has acquired numerous members from all over the 8th grade.
“I think the goal sounds interesting,” said
S. F., 8th grade Blue Team social studies teacher.
S. F. believes that the forum could exist “...as
long as it exists within the standards of decency,” meaning
that the users need to be respectful of others on the
forum.
S. F. foresees two potential obstacles for the forum’s
well-being. He cautions kids against “hateful speech” on
the forum and “believing that the net doesn’t
lie.” Although computers can’t lie, the people
operating them can. However, the main purpose of Moderators
are to prevent those things, referred to on the forum
as “flaming” and “spamming”.
Even though the forum consists mostly of 8th
graders, there are already a few 7th graders who are
registered members, and more are coming slowly, but surely. “We
really just try to spread [news of the forum] by word
of mouth,” said D. A., a Global Moderator
on the forum. “Members tell friends who tell friends
who tell more friends, and word gets around. It's worked
pretty well so far, and we hope it'll attract more people.”
Some may worry about the safety precautions taken with
this website, seeing as it is entirely student-run. All
E. D. had to do to register was “...simple things
like submitting my e-mail address, and agreeing to their
privacy policy. The whole thing was free, and I didn't
have to give any information away about where I live,
what my name is, etc.”
For protecting the regular users of the forum, “The
moderators and I set up a profanity-blocker so people
can't use obscene words,” explained E. D.,” and
I've made a full-name rule, so everyone knows who everyone
else is.”
Internet stalkers can’t do much with their real
names on the internet, due to the fact that “...you
are always aware of a person's name, and no one except
people who go to Day have accounts on the website.” Moderators
also have the power to delete a member’s profile
if their presence is creating a negative influence on
the forum.
Unfortunately, the administrative staff of the forum
is not exactly what one would call diverse. “Thus
far, all moderators are 8th graders,” says D. A.. “E.
A. was
our only female moderator.” Since then,
E. A. resigned from her position, leaving the administrative
staff to once again consist of 8th grade boys. E. D.
has made a point of diversifying the Moderators, but
so far no one has made themselves noticed for commendable
conduct.
As with the popular AOL Instant Messenger, there is
a certain “lingo” to the forum, such as the
words “thread” and “post”. “Just
like IM has it's own shorthand and words unique to it,
forums have their own vocab,” explained E. D. “There
are forums everywhere on the internet; it's just another
kind of chatting.” E. D.
recommends asking someone who is already a member of
the forum.
The topics discussed on the forum are incredibly varied.
These topics are channeled into “threads”,
which are the places one can post. Threads are usually
based on one specific topic to create some sense of structure
on the forum.
Thread topics range from politics to things to say during
an awkward silence to iPods versus other MP3 players,
and many more in between. As of March the 8th, there
were 82 individual threads on the entire forum, and more
are added regularly.
E. D. encourages “...anyone and everyone” to
join the forum. “Anyone can make threads, so if
there aren't any conversations on the site right now
you feel like talking in, you can make some that make
you feel more at home. Just remember that we have to
keep them appropriate.”
When asked what he would like to say to those considering
joining the forum, D. A. replied, “Go for
it. You have nothing to lose by joining it, and everybody
has something that can contribute to the community. We're
always looking for more members. Hey, while you're at
it, tell a friend!”
by A. G. and R. J.
Helen Zia delivered a speech on challenges faced by
Chinese immigrants in the 20th century at The Museum
Of Fine Arts on Wednesday February the ninth.
All immigrants to America have faced challenges. The
Chinese were no exception. The constant harassment and
neglect of Chinese immigrants in the twentieth century
is missing in history (M.I.H.), as Helen Zia, the award-winning
journalist and author of the book ASIAN AMERICAN DREAMS,
would say.
This presentation was hosted by Jennifer Jones Clark,
a senior executive of Facing History And Ourselves. Facing
History And Ourselves is an organization whose sole purpose
is to discover important facts that are M.I.H., so that
they can bring them to the general public.
The guest speaker, Helen Zia, spoke of the number of
Chinese-Americans who have contributed interesting and
unique things, such as the bing cherry. It was also a
Chinese-American who brought oranges to Florida.
Zia also talked about the challenges for the Chinese.
Some people, such as Vincent Chin, were put to death
around the time when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Chin was mistaken for a Japanese (his case was that of
a hate crime, though, and was probably not meant for
him).expain, please
During the clip presentation of the documentary “Becoming
Americans: A Chinese Experience” by Bill Moyers,
Facing History showed a segment concerning Anna May Wong.
Wong was one of the best actresses in her day, only she
wasn’t given proper credit. She was forced to play
either the evil one or the one whom the guy left. According
to the morality of early Hollywood, she was not allowed
to screen kiss one of another race, so she missed all
the star parts.
She then toured Europe. After that she went to China,
planning to stay there for the rest of her life. She
only lasted nine months there. The Chinese thought it
was a disgrace that she was cooperating with racist American
directors that made her play stereotypical roles.
After Zia spoke about Wong, two others talked including
the assistant curator of Chinese Art, Hao Sheng and Madge
Meyer. They spoke about their own personal experiences
and how it affected their lives.
Finally, at the end of the lecture, Park invited the
three speakers up on the stage to answer questions the
audience had. The program was coordinated and arranged
by Lois Solomon.
by N. G. and M. W.
Newton teachers, without a contract for the past 6
months, recently accepted a new 2-year contract by a
75-25 margin.
The Newton Teachers Association and the Newton School
committee finally reached a compromise over the teacher’s
contracts on February 17. All Newton teachers have been
working without a contract for 14 months. The vast majority
of the teachers voted to accept the contract on March
the 3rd.
Key to the contract is a 51/2% raise the teachers will
receive over the next two years, another 1/2% at the
end, and the city will continue to pay for 80% of the
teachers’ health insurance, leaving 20% to be paid
by the teachers
The teachers’ salaries will be increased by 2.5%
by August the 31st.
Another 3% will be added during next year. The remaining
.5% raise will take effect at the end of August, 2006,
which is also the end of the contract.
Most of the teachers seemed relieved that the contract
disputes had been resolved. Matthew Briggs, a Newton
South teacher, said, “It's a tough situation. Everybody's
trying to find some middle ground. Whether the city can
come down a little bit and we can come up and again it's
a process of finding some equal ground so I think a lot
of people are happy about [the contract].”
Previously the teachers had stopped performing all voluntary
activities.
These included after school activities, chaperoning
field trips, dances, and attending meetings that would
take place before and after school.
Several Day field trips, including Day’s 7th grade
ski trip had been canceled due to the action [but was
rescheduled after the teachers voted - Ed.]. Teachers
resumed all voluntary activities after voting to accept
the contract.
In total the changes in benefits and wages for the teachers
will cost the city an additional $7.6 million.
by B. M.
As mentioned in last month’s DAYTIME, the fecal
coliform report from the DOE, which was finally given
to THE DAYTIME by the Mayor’s Office, reveals some
unsettling facts about Cheesecake Brook. Every .02 gallons
of water collected at Cheesecake Brook, where it meets
Watertown Street, has 1076 colony-forming units of fecal
coliform and 764 units of E. Coli, which is a potentially
lethal bacteria.
These figures greatly exceed the recommended high of
100 fecal and 75 E. Coli. In the underdrains, or small
drains under the sewer designed to catch leaks which
flow into Cheesecake Brook (and, therefore, no longer
usable), there are 53,000 colony-forming fecal coliform
units and an equal amount of E. Coli. In another underdrain
test, 56,000 fecal coliform units were measured and 39,000
E. Coli were measured. This reveals that, in fact, some
users are flushing wastewater into the brook.
One student in fact witnessed what he described as “...soapy
water, like dishwater or bath water, cascading into Cheesecake
Brook from a pipe where it meets Eddy Street.”
Monitoring the water quality of Cheesecake Brook will
be an on-going DAYTIME project.
Charles River water pollution
is a major problem
by J. T.
On the 15th of February, a hearing concerning water
pollution in the Charles River took place at the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) in Boston. This polluted river
runs through many cities, all of which are supposed to
input annual reports on what they are doing to fix the
problem. Not all of the towns are reporting.
As Roger Frymire, a resident of one of the affected
towns pointed out, many bridge drains and street drains
have serious problems, or do not work at all. The Harvard
Bridge has severe drainage problems; they are 80% clogged.
River Street Bridge, which is made of concrete, has concrete
chunks falling from it into the water below. The Anderson
Bridge has sand with grass growing from it in several
places.
Many drains on roads by several park lands do not work
at all. The rainwater simply keeps flowing, washing some
of the park land itself away and creating excessive sand.
On Storrow Drive, snow mixed with dead animals, trash,
and other pollutants has been shoveled into the river,
or so near that waste matter would doubtlessly fall in.
Robert Zimmerman, of the Charles River Watershed Association,
or CRWA, believes that rainwater should be caught as
soon as it falls from the sky.
Otherwise, it collects on rooftops, pavement, sidewalks,
and other places, and flows along quickly, picking up
chemicals and pollution, until it reaches a waterway.
If the rainwater were captured right away, it could be
released straight into the ground, where it could seep
into a waterway.
That way, it would reach the waterway much cleaner.
In 1995, the Charles River was judged as grade D in
water pollution.
Several years later, it was a B. Now it has descended
again to a B-. Kapy Baskin, also of the CRWA, believes
that towns could improve the situation if they would
set a goal, and work to achieve it. “Some towns
are already good at that, some could improve. Everyone
should keep going to reach the goal of a fairly clean
Charles River,” Baskin says.
Despite past efforts, storm water pollution is still
a big problem.
Several towns and cities, such as Cambridge and Needham,
have good systems going. These cities can be used as
role models, for other towns to follow their example
and methods.
Carol Rawbn*, also of the CRWA, believes that two good
focus points could be unused parking lots and pavement.
If an unused parking lot was turned into a small park,
or even if the pavement was just taken out, rainwater
could flow straight into the ground. It could make a
big difference. Many of the materials, currently used
to pave sidewalks, parking lots, and buildings, are bad
for the environment. If different, cleaner pavers could
be found, rainwater flowing on the pavement would not
pick up harmful chemicals.
For Sherrie Brokopp of the Ecology Institute, increased
focus should be on the use of trees and open air. “[We]
need to respect the natural ways nature has of getting
rid of storm water,” Brokopp comments. She suggests
putting canopy covers over certain parts of the city,
so as to catch rainwater as it falls and to create more
open space.
Most of the water pollution in the Charles River is
caused by everyday lawn keepers(?) and chemicals employed
to take care of property. Kreig Austin, a resident of
Dedham, has been a volunteer water tester for several
years now. “Rivers are part of a vast network of
habitats,” Austin says, “so it is important
to keep rivers as clean as possible.”
Maria Pologruto, a permits engineer, has recently been
put in charge of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System, or NPDES. NPDES helps to eliminate contaminants
from the river. The NPDES aim is to make sure the City
of Newton does the best job it can to clean up the Charles.
“Pollution prevention is everyone’s joy
and responsibility to take a part in,” Pologruto
comments.
by M. G. and R. P.
Many students spend their mornings before school has
begun socializing in the cafeteria, and it is considered
by most an enjoyable place to spend time. But many students
feel that eating in the cafeteria is a whole different
matter.
A number of students have expressed concerns regarding
several aspects of the school cafeteria, one of the most
common being the cost of the food.
Most people feel that the food at the Day cafeteria
is extremely expensive, a fact based on the statistic
that if a student purchased a $3 dollar meal, without
snacks or drinks, every day of a 180-day school year,
it would total $540.
“Almost everything in the Day cafeteria is overpriced,” commented
a 7th grader, who did not want their name used.
Regularly purchased at the cafeteria is pizza, priced
at $3 per slice.
But off school premises, a slice of pizza is commonly
sold for $1. Other $3 meals include chicken patties,
and chicken nuggets. A number of students have said that
$3 seems like a high price for the small portions of
food that are given.
Costs frustrate students trying to put together an inexpensive
lunch. For example, a bagel (95 cents) and cream cheese
(35 cents) cost over a dollar. Even if the prices remain
the same, students would like to see cheaper meal options
available.
They also hope that the portions for existing meals
at existing prices would be increased.
“I don’t think that the lunches are expensive
at all,” said cafeteria manager L. C. “I
think the problem is that students aren’t getting
everything in the lunch that the $3 covers.”
In addition, those who purchase lunch have complained
about the long lines. With such a limited amount of time
that students are given to eat, there is nothing more
frustrating than the experience of finally sitting down
at your table only to hear the call for “Five minutes
until the end of lunch!”
The line begins as one large one that branches off when
students reach the food, depending on their choice of
food. The line to the left leads to the pizza and specials,
while the other leads to the chicken meals, bagels and
salads.
Even after reaching the food at the front, students
have to wait once again to reach the cash register. Some
people believe that it would be a shorter wait for lunch
if there were two completely separate lines.
“The length of the line really depends on what’s
being served,” commented Vice Principal Jamahl
Mosely. “If it is pizza day, lines tend to go quickly,
but on days when tacos or nachos are served, more preparation
is required and lines go more slowly.”
Many students are unhappy with some of the sanitation
issues in the cafeteria. The several students in the
clean-up crew, who are given the task of sweeping the
floor simply dump trash under a table at the front of
the cafeteria, because there is no other place to put
the trash. Although this does remove the trash from beneath
the tables, most people find the large accumulation of
garbage extremely unpleasant.
The other task of the clean-up crew is to mop the tables.
Clean tables are extremely important to those who eat
in the cafeteria, as few people enjoy eating their lunch
on a table covered with someone else’s food and
trash.
But it seems that the current system for cleaning the
tables is not very effective. The mops are used for all
six lunches and remain soaking in the buckets of dirty
water throughout the day.
“The point of mopping the tables was to clean
them,” said a frustrated student. “Though
our faculty thinks that this does clean them, it actually
makes them even more gross.”
Principal Search
by A. B.-H.
The Principal Search Committee held their first meeting
on February 17, during which they began to review the possible
candidates' resumes. Over 40 resumes were submitted, and
the Committee members are gradually narrowing the list
down to 8 semifinalists. All other information regarding
the candidates and selection process is strictly confidential.
"So far there are a lot of strong candidates who
want to come to Day, and be a part of the Newton P ublic
Schools,"
said J. H., Green team science teacher.
During the week after February vacation, the Committee
will begin to interview the 8 semi-finalists and come up
wiht 3-4 finalists. |
