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JUNE 2005Volume 24, No. 11, June 08, 2005 FRONT PAGE NEWS
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7th and 6th grade end of the year activities have yet to gelby N. G. Teachers and administration have been scrambling to fill the void left by the discontinuance this year of the annual Canobie Lake Park trip. A meeting scheduled on Tuesday June 7th to discuss and choose the end of the year activities for the two younger grades had to be cancelled. At press time no decision had been made regarding a single “big event”, which may take place on June the 23rd, the same day the 8th grade takes its Odyssey tour. Teachers refused to speculate on the event, stating that they did not want to get anyone’s hopes up only to choose another option. Even though the “big event” has not been determined, individual teams will be conducting their own activities. For example, in the 7th grade activities include the Red Team’s annual Roman Feast, and the Coral Team’s 5th Annual Field Day. During the Coral Team’s field day students will compete teamwork activities, have a pizza party, and as always, have fun. S. S. a Coral Team teacher said that, “The [Coral] Team has worked very hard this year, [and] this is a gift from the teachers, to them.” In the 6th grade, Platinum is having a field day. The date and specifics for this activity had not been decided at press time. Other teams may be conducting their own activities. The 8th grade has other activities scheduled. For details on the 8th grade end of the year activities look at the accompanying article [above]. While the various end of the year activities will no doubt be memorable and enjoyable many students and faculty will miss the traditional Canobie Lake Trip [Assisting in the preparation of this article was M. W.]. Neighborhood Inclusion’s Mark Bunnag has returned to the U. S.by A. H.-B. A definite level of tension was lifted from the Day community recently when Mark Bunnag, previously a member of the Neighborhood Inclusion faculty, returned from his term in Iraq. Bunnag held the position of Non-commissioned Officer in Charge of the Armory for Combat Service Support Company. His unit was based in Al Taqquedum, a city about 3 miles south of Fallujah. One of the hardships that Bunnag experienced was a lack of clean water. To make up for this, he and other soldiers had to take “Navy Showers.” “You rinse your body off, shut the water off, soap up, and then rinse. That would be your shower,” explained Bunnag. Very often he would have to clean himself using bottled water or baby wipes, if running water was unavailable. And during the winter, hot water was extremely rare. Bunnag’s responsibilities included maintaining his unit’s weapons, and instructing on their use and distribution. He was directly involved with the invasion of Fallujah, and later on, with the city’s election. During this time, Bunnag described not sleeping for “two to three days, if we had back-to-back convoys.” On a typical day, Bunnag would awake at 2 or 3AM to transport weapons to the armory. After several more hours of sleep, he would have a quick breakfast with his unit at around 6AM. He would return to the armory to be notified of the day’s schedule, before his 8:30 AM meeting. His job consisted exclusively of combat work, so he did not have much contact with children during his months in Iraq. Cheesecake Brooke cleanup is scheduledGreen Decade gives environmental report at Newton Free Library Solar panels to be installed on schoolsby J. T. There will be a clean-up of the area around Cheesecake Brooke, on Tuesday, June the 21st. Organized, and led, by Jade Team science teacher, A. R., the cleanup will start at 2:00, and end at 4:00. All students are welcome to participate. On the 23rd of May in the Newton Public Library the Green Decade, a Newton environmental group, held a meeting with several other environmental groups in Newton to discuss environmental progress in Newton. Mayor David Cohen spoke, along with representatives of many other programs and groups. Solar panels are being put on several schools, Newton South High School included. A goal of Cohen’s is to have solar panels put on all of Newton’s schools, beginning with middle schools. Solar panels save both energy and money, and they don’t pollute. “Clean sources and energy can be productively put to use, both economically and for our program.” Cohen comments. They are also beneficial for another reason: oil in the US is running out. Cohen believes that people must stop depending on it and start looking for sources like wind and solar energy. “We have been spending and will continue spending money for alternative sources of energy,” Cohen says. Also, not many people recycle their paper in Newton. A new slogan is being started, which will be spread around Newton on pamphlets. “If you can rip it, you can recycle it,” the slogan reads. Recycling in Newton can significantly increase if more paper is recycled. It doesn’t cost any more, either. For recyclers to pick up one ton of recyclable material from someone’s house costs the same as 1000 tons of recyclable material. If people don’t recycle their paper, more trees will be cut down, which is terrible for the environment. The objective for Newton is to recycle at least 50% of their paper. “The goal is to make Newton an environmentally responsible city,” Cohen said. Robert Rooney, a commissioner of the Department of Public Works, says that, “Public Works has a huge responsibility in the quality of life of a city. There are 5 operational divisions in Public Works. Each has several initiatives. In the Fleet Maintenance division, they are purchasing and studying several cars to see how good they are for the environment. So far they have studied and tested a hybrid vehicle and two electric vehicles, which are not put on the market yet. They plan to study a compressed natural gas vehicle. Natural gas vehicles have very few emissions, the most being water. Other goals of the divisions are to clean up polluted, abandoned lots, redesign pipes to go under trees, saving ground water, testing drain water, and experimenting with better street lights. Katherine Gekas, part of the Energy Commission, believes that in order to implement these plans, the community needs to get involved. A fund is also needed, to help purchase renewable energy. Beverly Droz, part of the Green Decade Coalition, says, “We need to create a city in balance with the natural world.” 7th grade to see HERvoices presentation thanks to Day alumnaby A. G. and J. L. “ HERvoices; From Sindh” is a presentation which will be introduced to the 7th grade on Wednesday, June the 15th. HERvoices is said to break down the barrier between the audience and the presenters, and to provide a common ground. It is a slideshow presentation in which Sindhi women and girls speak their opinions about common topics, such as education, motherhood, and war. Their opinions are unique and are important for students to hear, so that they can be aware of what is going on in the Middle East. The Sindh region is a community that was split up between Pakistan and India when Pakistan’s borders were newly formed. Today the majority of the Sindhi who live in Pakistan are followers of Islam. They practice their culture of Sufism, which is devoted to non-violence and peaceful living. This touring presentation, indeed the entire HERvoices foundation, was developed by Emma Reinhardt, a Day Blue Team alumna, and has been made possible through her generosity and a DAYTIME grant. Canobie out, Boston Harbor in 8th grade opts for ODYSSEY cruise to end yearby A. H.-B. Despite many years of tradition, Day students will no longer travel to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire for an end-of-year trip. But the 8th grade has a different, and what many believe will be a more exciting, plan to wrap up the school year. On June the 23rd all 8th grade students and faculty will enjoy a cruise on Boston Harbor’s luxurious cruise ship THE ODYSSEY. “We could have gone back to Canobie,” said Orange Team science teacher Mark Murphy, who has assisted in organizing the trip, “but the 8th grade faculty…decided to consider new things.” The fee for the day’s activities is $45, a startlingly high cost, which, according to Murphy, is one of the major offsets of the cruise. But had the grade chosen to return to Canobie, the trip would have been equally, if not more, expensive. “Three years ago we did this trip,” said Green Team math teacher E. S., “and it was a really nice way to end the school year.” Teachers are crossing their fingers for clear skies and warm weather, which will enable people to spend time outside, on the upper deck of the ship. But not even a few storm clouds will be able to ruin the day. The 3-decked boat will provide a number of activities in which students can engage. A deejay has been hired for the event and dancing will be available for all that choose. Many feel that the cruise is a far more appropriate way to end the year because the entire grade will remain together throughout the day, as opposed to Canobie, when students became scattered throughout the park. Four retiring faculty members represent many years of service to Newton studentsby A. H.-B. The weather has finally reached a steady warmth, the last leaf has turned to a vibrant green, and the homework level is slowly dwindling. All of these are signs that the school year is drawing to a close. And although many look forward to the school-free months of summer, the end of the year also means the bidding farewell of several faculty members who will not be returning in the fall. Retirees include: M. C., A. C., P. M., and B. W. Murphy has been teaching for 25 years, 22 of which were in the Newton Public Schools system. She spent her first 10 years in Newton in the Special Education department at Mason-Rice, where she was a reading specialist as well as a special educator. She will be departing this June after 12 years at Day, also filling the position of reading specialist and learning center teacher. Through her work, Murphy assisted her students in accomplishing their goals by providing them with constant support and encouragement. As many of the students with whom Murphy worked were dealing with more challenging situations, she regularly received great gratification from seeing her students succeed. Murphy described the rewarding experience of seeing former students return to Day after having graduated from prestigious universities, who, when at Day, doubted their capabilities of attending a college at all. “To come to work each day has been a pleasure and a joy,” said Murphy, who had the opportunity to work with all 3 grades throughout the years. She remains forever thankful for the endless support that she received from colleagues, “...from the offices, to the gymnasium, to every classroom in between.” Murphy has no doubt treasured her experience at Day and will thoroughly miss the students and faculty, but she is equally excited for the coming years. “While teaching I always felt that I could use just a little more time,” Murphy said, “but now the clock won’t be the central part of my day.” She looks forward to spending more time with her family, particularly having more of a role in the lives of her grandsons. Pursuing her interests more exclusively is high on Murphy’s list of priorities, now that she will have the extensive free time. She is an experienced golf player, and during the coming years, Murphy hopes to spend more time playing golf for pleasure, as well as playing competitively. In addition, Murphy plans to travel often, and she has already arranged a trip to visit family in the Southwest for 4-5 months. She will spend the remaining 8 months Cape Cod. “I would like to help to bring a little more happiness to someone else’s life,” said Murphy, who will dedicate much of her time during the coming years to charitable work. In a prepared statement to THE DAYTIME, Crosby extended, “...many thanks to the inspirational students, dedicated staff, and supportive families in our Day community; I feel honored to have been part of your wonderful world for 23 years.” She continued, “Countless memories of wonderful families and treasured experiences are stored in my heart and will guide me as I continue my journey! On behalf of the entire Crosby family, thank you for everything!” When asked for statements regarding their time at Day, Wentworth and Chaffee declined comment. Newton Free Library Spring Fling library fundraiser, hosted by Bill Novak, features six authorsDay students will benefit, as will all who use the Newton Freeby B. H.-M. and A. R. Bill Novak hosted this year’s library fundraiser on Saturday, May the 14th, 2005. With authors Leslie Epstein, Atul Gawande, Jennifer Haigh, Joan Leegant, Seth Mnookin and Leigh Montville, Novak honored them by reading parts from their books and held a silent auction with hors d’oeuvres. The cast of Newton North’s “Bye, Bye Birdie” performed songs from their production. Author Seth Mnookin was a former Bigelow student, who also worked on North’s NEWTONITE and an assortment of others. He now works for Vanity Fair magazine and writes books about the media. As a matter of Day history, Mnookin is credited with giving the nickname “ Prov.” to THE DAYTIME ’s senior advisor, Robert Provencher, when he taught at Bigelow. Author Leigh Montville wrote for THE BOSTON GLOBE ’s sports for 21 years and Novak says that Montville was there so long and wrote sports so well that some people think that he is still there. He also wrote for other papers in sports and writes sports books, including a biography of Ted Williams. Author Atul Gawande started his book, A SURGEON’S NOTES ON IMPERFECT SCIENCE, while training to be a surgeon. The book consists of his notes on what happens in the operating room, his thoughts on science and medicine, and how mistakes happen in medicine. Some of the stories are gory because he believes that gore hooks the reader. There are also some funny and strange stories. Author Joan Leegant wrote the book, AN HOUR IN PARADISE. The book contains short stories about Jewish characters, in Israel and in the U. S. There are also stories about rabbis and people involved in Jewish religion. Leegant believes that a lot of feelings come from this book. “Some stories are sad and you cry, others are happy and you laugh,” she comments. When a youngster, Leegant would write short stories; when she grew up, she put her writing to the side and became a lawyer. Then she picked up writing fiction stories around the age of 39. Author Jennifer Haigh wrote two books called, MRS. KIMBLE, and BARKER TOWERS. Haigh invented the two stories, although Barker Towers takes place in her home town. BARKER TOWERS is a story about a family in the 1940’s living in a coal miner town. the reader becomes attached to the book as the read and get older with the family and learn of the family’s hardships. MRS. KIMBLE is a story about a man who keeps on getting married. Each wife that he marries tells a different part of the story. In the end each part comes together. Author Leslie Epstien wrote a book about the Hollocaust called KING OF THE JEWS. He went to Yale and Oxford where he began to write fiction. Epstien is also a big baseball fan. Day’s STANDUP visits Boston ’s South End thanks to MYTOWNby C. A. Acronyms ruled as Day’s Hispanic/African-American affinity group, Students Taking Action Nobly At Day And Understanding Their Possibilities (STANDUP) were afforded an opportunity to tour Boston’s South End by members of the Multicultural Youth Tours Of What's Now (MYTOWN) on Wednesday, May the 4th. While everyone is aware of Paul Revere and other famous residents of the South End, the Day students were taken on a 45-minute tour of those less well known areas of the South End, which focused on Asians, Africans, and Hispanics, and their contributions in Boston. The first stop was Tent City, an unusual name for an affordable housing complex. A few years back the government wanted to turn empty space next to Copley Place into expensive apartments. The people who were already living there pitched tents and protested. They wanted affordable housing complexes where anyone could live. They succeeded in convincing the government to put up affordable housing which they named the Tent City complex. Now the people who live there have access to everywhere, like Back Bay Station, Copley Place, and restaurants, just five minutes away. The next stop was Mel King’s house. He was the first African- American man to clear the primaries in a run for mayor. He didn’t win, but he set a bold example. The 78-year old man accomplished some great things in lJune 19, 2005on. It is a multi-racial, multi- issue, international organization. His goal was for racial and economic justice, and the uniting of people of diverse ethnic, religious, economic and political backgrounds. With the help of King, the Rainbow Coalition is well-known. The 23-year old tour guide pointed out that Victorian architecture predominates in the South End because the English majority were trying to imitate the architecture of London. One historic structure contained Charlie’s Sandwich Shop, a hit with the students. MYTOWN takes young teens, between the ages of 14 and 18, from different neighborhoods of Boston, and turns them into experts on the South End. The trip was chaperoned by O. I.-M., J. K., K.-M. N., A. S.-W., and K. W. ***** STANDUP members hear success story of Pete Urquidiby C. A. Pete Urquidi, a successful Mexican-American from Texas, recently shared his tactics for success with members of Day’s Latino/African-American affinity group, Students Taking Action Nobly At Day And Understanding Their Possibilities (STANDUP). Urquidi, who used to work as a bond trader, recalled the life skills he developed beginning in the 8th grade, including problem-solving, vocabulary, writing skills, math and basic science skills. And, on Friday, May the 13th, he shared with STANDUP members his concerns about students trying their best so they can have access to public and private scholarship sources. According to Urquidi, his own life experiences and new standardized tests [such as Massachusetts’ MCAS] have demonstrated to him the need for skills development. Born in Texas and reared in Northern California, Urquidi lived with his mom and his older brother. By 8th grade, he began to develop an interest in science. In high school, he competed in a variety of science fairs and worked two to three jobs just to help his family out. He graduated in 1988 as valedictorian at Alisal High School. His hard work took him from the projects to an Ivy League campus. Urquidi graduated he graduated representative from Princeton in 1992, and in 1995 he graduated with an MBA in finance from Columbia Business School. His first job was on Wall Street as a high yield/distressed bond trader for Morgan Stanley, a job which necessitated world travel. During his speech, Urquidi focused on the steps to college. He repeatedly told the 8th grade STANDUP members that without a college degree, there would be no access to certain jobs, and no broadening of an individual’s perspective. Urquidi talked about the good things and the bad things about college. He said that college doesn't make a person better then any one else, and a college degree doesn’t guarantee a person a job. Urquidi gave the whole group some follow up items to keep in mind. Successes tips:
Komow Book Fund nears 3G’sby DAYTIME staff According to Day’s librarian, Randy Meyer, donations to the Josephine Komow Memorial Book Fund are approaching $3,000. Money realized will be put toward a number of new books, including:
Josephine Komow was the librarian in Day’s Ralph Morse Memorial Library for many years, whose recent death was memorialized on May the 1st. Senior staff member Robert Provencher, senior advisor of this newspaper, is heading an effort to name Day’s auditorium in Komow’s honor. Komow was a patron of the arts who attended every Day production almost up to the time of her death. Contributions to the book fund may be sent c/o Meyer at F. A. Day. W.O.R.D. brings home four Red Carpet AwardsW.O.R.D., THE DAYTIME ’s video arm, received multiple NEW-TV Red Carpet Awards on Thursday, May the 19th for its outstanding achievements. It won: * Red Carpet Award of Excellence for Short Subject - A Journey to India, Diya Berger, producer (Day Middle School) * Red Carpet Award of Excellence for Creativity - a tie Total Broadcast I, Jules Belamarich, producer (Day Middle School) and Trip to Sewers, James Golin and Max Neusenbaum, producer (Day Middle School) * Red Carpet Award of Excellence for Youth Program - Trip to Sewers, James Golin and Max Neusenbaum, producers (Day Middle School) The NEW-TV Red Carpet Awards are a series of awards that recognize the achievements of students that show technological and film making excellence in Newton. They are awarded to school television shows that demonstrate such excellence. Tim Teelin, advisor to W.O.R.D., had this to say, “Many people take for granted the incredible work that students do on W.O.R.D. W.O.R.D. does extremely well compared to other middle schools and high schools throughout New England. W.O.R.D. has won awards locally, as well as thoughout all of New England. We’re one of the few shows that go out daily. I’m very proud of all of the kids who volunteer their time.” There were 40 entries from many different schools, a tenth of which were submitted by W.O.R.D. Each of them won an award, “Which is just excellent,” There are many more projects, created by both teachers and students, that could win awards. I am very proud of the work that has been produced this year. according to Teelin. Jade Team visits Boston’s Museum of Fine Art; Museum exhibit brings Egyptian studies to lifeby V. G. and A. R. The Jade Team’s students’ footsteps echoed as they walked down the long halls peering into the glass cabinets containing ancient Egyptian artifacts on the 3rd and the 4th of May. Each glass cabinet contained pieces of human history from thousands of years ago. The Jade Team was escorted through the rooms with a tour guide explaining each artifact and telling interesting stories about them. The Jade Team students glanced at mummies, pictures and sculptures of pharaohs, ancient jewelry, and much more. “The MFA was an artistic trip, where we saw many pieces of beautiful jewelry and skillfully crafted Egyptian artifacts,” says Jade team student, C. J. The first room was filled with pictures of pharaohs. In the middle of the room stood a huge stone statue made of alabaster fitted back together by archaeologists. Although parts of its body were missing, one could see what it would have looked like in its day. Busts surrounded the back of room. A huge painting took up the back of the room. Students were taught how the men were painted tan and the women were yellow because the men worked in the sun. The more powerful the person was, the bigger they were. The second room had a reconstruction of a bedroom of a pharaoh. Dazzling jewelry covered the walls in bright shades of green, blue, and red. Slabs of stone with hieroglyphics engraved in them were spread all across one side of the room. A screen in the corner in the room showed what one of the rooms in the tomb would have looked like when it was first built, then what it would have looked like as the years went on and the tomb was robbed. A headdress covered in gold was preserved in a glass box. Imagine walking into a room with a huge dome in the middle. To the left was an ancient sarcophagus with an intricate eye on the side so the person could see out. The room next to it had beautiful turquoise jewelry in it, miniature statues, and other colorful artifacts. The next room was thrilling and forbidding because it had a real mummies in it. One of the mummies was covered just in cloth, though the other had many more layers. The room right down the stairs had a large heavy shield in it and tiny earrings with little animals hanging from then. The next room was very chilly so that the artifacts would stay in the best condition possible. This room had a huge solid stone statue. 2 more mummies, one of a child and the other of an adult stood erect. Both of these mummies had a picture of the person’s face on top of them. In the middle was all the different covers that would go over the mummy and the cases that the mummy would go in. Each was covered in bright colors and was decorated all over. Hundreds of miniature statues of mummies were in a small bowl with the mummies. The last room had some more jewelry and small stone containers and pitchers. Also, a small model of a pyramid glistened in the room. Once out of the museum all of the students were able to go out for lunch. 5-WITS provides a social studies experience for the Jade Teamby V. G. and A. R. The door slid open and their flashlight beams bounced off the dusty walls. There was excitement, anxiety and nervous feelings coming from a group of Jade Team students. Suddenly their flashlights shook, and one by one the lights went out. It was pitch black and everyone was becoming scared. Then out of no where popped a big head with a loud, discerning voice. Everyone screamed and huddled together. The students listened as the head spoke. If they wanted to leave the tomb...alive...they would have to complete some brain teasers. On, Tuesday and Wednesday, the 3rd and 4th of May, Jade Team students broke up into groups within their homerooms, and set out on the quest to 5-WITS. 5-WITS was created by a graduate from MIT and a graduate from Harvard University. The two men wanted to re-create a tomb, and so they made one from this century with three rooms, full of challenges. Each room is equipped with lights and sound boxes making the room seem more like one of this century, than a real tomb from ancient Egypt. The Jade Team students relaxed and began their first challenge. This was the old tomb of an ancient king of Egypt, who, when he died, added booby traps to help prevent grave robbers. As the students began to feel around the room, they were able to explore more. There were hieroglyphics on the walls and sculptors placed around the students. Plus, a wall of water was making a steady fall into a fish tank, although it had no top and the walls were made of clay, making the scene translucent. Dust floated around the students as they pushed buttons that they had to find on the walls. Each time a button was pushed, it would turn red and glow. Finally after approximately twenty buttons had been pushed, another brain teaser was assigned. The students would have to see if they had the strength of an ox and push the king’s statue back to the wall. This was done easily and, once again, they had to complete another teaser. They listened as the old king played a tune, then they had to play the tune back by tapping pads on the walls. The Jade Teamers completed the problem and were able to move on to the next room. The next room was much smaller than the first room. There wasn’t anything in it except a huge dais on the floor and two smaller ones on the walls. The daises had to be changed to look like each other, so the students ran around the room replacing tiles on the dais upon the floor to match the dais on the wall. they quickly completed that challenge and moved on to a new one. By taking apart a mini-pyramid and only moving one piece at a time the Jade Teamers completed their next task. The old pharaoh congratulated their success and the door slid open to the next room. The next room was almost empty except for a sarcophagus. The Jade Teamers worked quickly in this room. If they did not complete their next task, of setting the pharaoh free, they would not leave. They worked on figuring out the puzzles in the walls. Suddenly, a sound went off and then all went black. a single light shone on the ceiling as the pharaoh's body was lowered down into the sarcophagus. Everyone watched in silence...incapable of speech. The pharaoh’s voice came back and said that, since he was free, and so they were free to go. A last door opened and the Jade students were let back out into the lobby of 5-WITS.
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