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JUNE 2006Volume 25, No. 11, June 7, 2006 NEWS
Budget cuts will lead to creative staffing solutions next year at Dayby A. G. and J. L. As the 2006 – ‘07 school year approaches, many changes are being made to the organization of the teams. There will be staff cuts, teachers switching teams and/or grades, new team names, different team organizations, and a new computer lab. Next year, there will be two teams with only two teachers. On these teams each teacher will teach two subjects. For example, in the seventh grade, one team will have Roseanna Baack for science and math, and Sheila Dugan for English and social studies. “The concern I have is that it’s a lot of work to teach a subject that you are not fully acquainted with,” said Baack when asked what she thought of the team she is going be teaching on. Principal Gina Healy said, “For sixth graders, being on a two-teacher team will be a much more natural transition from elementary school.” Healy is taking an optimistic approach to the two-teacher teams. “I am looking forward to the learnings we are going to get from the two-teacher teams... I think there are advantages to two person teams.” When asked what these advantages were, Healy responded, “It is a smaller group of students the teachers are working with.” She explained that teachers teaching two subjects will be able to connect the material in each subject. “The more we can interconnect things, the deeper the learning will be.” Healy assured that the reorganization in staff will not increase class sizes in any grade. Then, Healy explained how she selected teachers for the two teacher teams. She said that the selected teachers “...have both taught two subjects in the past ...[and] have strong expertise in two subjects.” The principal also said that she does not expect any complaints from parents of students on the new, two-teacher teams. In fact, she said that some parents have expressed interest for their child to be on a two-teacher team. As well as the addition of 2 two-teacher teams, three cuts were made to the staff, two in the eighth grade and one in the sixth grade. Healy said, “I wanted to retain all of my professional status teachers...the teachers are very committed to what they are doing.” The team names will also be changing, but there is currently no information on what they will be.
CASA - Court Appointed Special Advocates - champion kids’ rightsby J. T. More then 20 years ago, a Seattle juvenile judge realized that some of the decisions he was making in court were made without the information he needed to make a fair decision. He thought up the idea of having trained volunteers to speak up for a child’s best interests in court. He began a program, and soon it spread across the country as other judges saw how well it was working. This program was the beginning of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Now, there are more than 900 CASA programs running around the country. 393 court systems use these programs in 47 different states. There are as many as 62,000 CASA volunteers who are working to make sure that abused and neglected children receive better treatment after they go to court. The volunteers are there for each child, as well as advising the court in making a decision serving the child’s best interests. There are three main services CASA volunteers perform.
A case is often recommended for CASA involvement when there is abuse or mistreatment involved. A lawyer often has to handle many cases at once, and they cannot afford to focus on one specific case, especially children involved in a case. Social workers do focus on one case, but they can change a lot. CASA can provide a stable element in a child’s life, an element that will stick up for the child against their parents in court, but is there for the whole family outside of court. To do the best they can for the child, CASA volunteers must do a lot of research .They do not just depend on the court reports. They meet with each family member face to face, and get to know them. They look up history and background, and speak to therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, and teachers. If there are medicine or drugs involved, they would even look up the specifics of that medicine or drug, as well as other options. Whatever they do, they do it to make a family work better together so that they can support and provide for their children. Not only do children benefit from CASA, but the volunteers benefit too. They learn a lot doing this work and knowing someone needs them. “I think that a CASA volunteer serves more as a personal contact, somebody who children can feel safe with, who they can feel comfortable with, who they can swear with if they have to, or let their guard down if they have to,” said Premelia Lindor, a New Hampshire volunteer. Although the majority of judges support CASA, there are some who have mixed feelings. It is often hard for a judge to remain neutral with CASA officials involved, because they speak for the child and the child alone. The judge must remember not to depend only on the CASA official, but also to remember the other side. It is sometimes complicated, but all in all judges support CASA. After all, it was a judge who started it. The United States Department of Justice has supported CASA since 1985 through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. In 1991 CASA was named an “exemplary national program in juvenile delinquency prevention” by the Department of Justice. CASA itself works from many different boards and other groups. These include the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the American Bar Association, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention mentioned above. It is supported both vocally and through the media by many national leaders around the U.S. To meet, plan, and make changes in their program, there is a National CASA Conference every year. This year is the 29th anniversary of the conference.
Teachers say farewellYears of experience lost as Beardall and Hart and newcomers Bacigalupi and Stepnowsky leave Dayby Victoria Goldman and A. R. “It’s your school, make it the best possible,” were the words of 8th grade science teacher, John Hart. At the end of this year, four teachers will be leaving the school: Nicholas Bacigalupi, Nancy Beardall, John Hart, and Matthew Stepnowsky. Hart will be retiring after 24 years of working at the school. He is thinking of traveling to Europe and China. Hart’s feelings about leaving are bittersweet because he feels like a part of him is being left behind, but he is excited to try new things. “If you have the chance, I hope you dance,” said Nancy Beardall who will be departing at the end of the school year. Beardall will be training students as mentors for the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program. She will also be presenting at two conferences in Long Beach, California and Bratislava, Slovakia. Most of the time Beardall will be writing her dissertation and she hopes to earn her Ph. D. by this time next year. Beardall has loved teaching at F. A. Day and likes how she continued to work with her middle school students in high school through the MVP program. She says that middle school students have a lot of energy, and that’s one of the reasons she enjoys working with them. Matthew Stepnowsky will be leaving at the end of the year as well, but he will be substituting three days a week next year. Stepnowsky is getting married this summer and plans on getting his Master’s Degree and Ph. D. in English. He is happy that he will still be connected. Stepnowsky hopes that he will still be able to coach soccer. Nicholas Bacigalupi will not be returning to F. A. Day next year either. He wants to continue teaching, but is not sure where he will be working next year. Many teachers were released this year because of budget cuts, so there aren’t many teaching jobs available. Bacigalupi is disappointed that he is leaving because he really likes F. A. Day and sees a lot of potential in the students. He wishes he could help prepare the future 8th graders for high school.
End of the year plans begin to emergeby V. G. and A. R. The last day of school will be Thursday, June the 22nd, and it will be a half day (no lunches, no late buses). The sixth grade has many plans to finish the year. On June the 21st, students and teachers will participate in a field day. There will be many outdoor events and each teacher will divide the teams into groups. The teams will rotate around to every activity. If it is raining on June the 21st, there will be activities in the school planned. Field day will take up the first two periods. After field day, there might be a movie in the auditorium. Specifically, “The Odyssey” because it has to do with subjects in school. The seventh grade teachers are planning the 7th grade end of the year cook-out. The event will most likely take place during the last few days of school. First kids will have a choice of either going swimming at the Gath pool, or playing an organized game outside. Games will include basketball, football, and tennis. After either swimming or playing games, there will be an all-grade cook-out. Teachers are still unsure of the specifics, but many students are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the event. As for the eighth grade, they have a lot of events planned. Starting with graduation. On Tuesday, June the 20th, there will be the Moving On ceremony. Students will get their certificates of completion and hear from the principal, teachers, and other students. Then, later that night, 8th graders will come back to the school for the Farewell Dance. Prior to those events, the 8th graders will also have gone to Good Times for their end of the year event. Further, individual teams will be doing their own things. Blue Team is having their own team party, while Green Team will be having a breakfast party at Hawthorne Park and a retirement party for John Hart. The Orange Team is planning a pancake breakfast and awards ceremony for the actual last day [Assisting in the preparation of this article were E. G., E. K., and J. S.].
Ix-nay on the iPods?by C. A.-L. Nancy Cohen, the Green Team social studies teacher, is firmly against bringing iPods into school. “How do I say this diplomatically?” she said when asked her opinion regarding iPods. “I can’t imagine why students are allowed to bring a personal music device to school.” Cohen says she knows of “...1, if not 2, iPods that were stolen,” on the Green Team alone, and some that were not only stolen, but also purposely damaged. She says, “It’s totally beyond me.” Cohen is a supporter of a no iPod rule in schools, because, she says, if the iPod is there, it will be stolen. “It’s more of an issue of ‘I want it, you have it’,” she says. Students have differing opinions on the matter. Z. T., a Green Team student, agrees with Cohen, saying that in most cases iPods should not be brought to school because, “A lot of people flaunt their iPods.” P. D., another Green Teamer, has an opposing opinion: He says that iPods are students’ responsibility, and that kids can bring them to school, excepting that said kids “...don’t be stupid and leave [the iPod] in your backpack.” S. B., a Blue Teamer, says “I fully support iPod in schools.” B. M. of the Orange Team, said that he supports iPods in schools, but that “...if it is the choice of the student to bring their iPod into school, then it is also the choice of the student to have their iPod stolen, and they shouldn’t blame the administration for it.” J. T., also of the Green Team, says the iPod problem lies with the parents, because a child loses his/her iPod “...and you know what the parents do? They buy [the kid] another one.” Thefts are not limited to MP3 players. Over the past few weeks at least 5 cell phones have been stolen as well. A few of these, after their service was canceled, were found in the woods next to Day, though many are still lost. One of the lost cell phones belonged to Blue Team science teacher S. G., whose cell phone, she says, was placed in a plastic container in the far end of her classroom. She says that, in order to have taken the cell phone, a thief would have had to actually search her room for it, and take it, along with the $20 that were also in the container. “I’m beyond angry,” she says. After much addressing of the student body and many requests for her cell phone to be returned, she found the SIM card on her desk and was forced to buy a new phone. John Hart, the science teacher for the Green Team, said in a recent class lecture that he would gladly press charges against any student who stole an iPod or cell phone from him. But regarding students who lose their iPods at school, he declares that “...if you leave it in your backpack, and someone steals it, that’s your fault.” Principal Gina Healy says that “I can understand” students wanting to bring their iPods into school so that they can listen to them afterward, but that, “ Frankly, any electronic device has no place in school.” Healy says that, though she knows little about them, she does appreciate iPods, but realizes that it has its place: outside of school. Similarly, she says that she loves great quantities of cash, but would be equally indisposed to bringing said great quantities into a school environment. Basically, Healy says, “We don’t want you to bring them to school.” Healy also pointed to the Expectations for Student Behavior packet. In the packet, on the second bullet of the section “Care of Building and Property”, it says, “Student should leave their valuables at home. This includes collector cards (such as basketball cards), radios and other electronic equipment, and large sums of money. The school cannot assume responsibility if these possessions are damaged or lost [...].” A copy of the packet was given to every student at the beginning of the year.
A blue governor in a red stateby M. D. “Politics in this country, in the world, have to shift. Issues are no longer left vs. right, liberal vs. conservative, Democrat vs. Republican, and I say this as a very proud Democrat. More issues need to be viewed through the prism of the future vs. the past”, says Mark R. Warner, former governor of Virginia. Although there is talk that Warner may run for President in 2008, he has not confirmed or denied this ambition. On Monday, April the 3rd at 6PM Warner spoke at The Forum at the Kennedy School of Government s Institute of Politics. Warner, who is often described as a blue governor in a red state, was Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2002 to 2006. Warner was elected as the first Democratic governor in more than ten years in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was unable to run for a second term because Virginia is the only state in the country with a one-term governor restriction. Warner left office with an 80% approval rating. As Governor of Virginia, Warner’s greatest achievement was in education. He has helped to give inner city and rural schools experienced teachers. Virginia now also gets kids who are potentially not going to college into community colleges. This is to help set them on a career path. Warner is also proud that while governor he enabled more people to live the American dream by creating jobs in rural areas. When asked about running for president, Warner replied, “I think there is an enormous yearning for some fresh ideas [in] this debate and I have a lot of them that don’t fit into conventional boxes. I look forward to at least issuing some of these ideas.”
Governors express concern about educationFormer Massachusetts governors speak at MassINC forumby M. D. and M. W. MassINC (The Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth) celebrated its 10th anniversary with a forum entitled “View from the Corner Office”. The forum was held in Fanueil Hall on Thursday, May the 25th at 4PM. Present at the forum were former Massachusetts governors Paul Cellucci, Michael Dukakis, and Jane Swift. Former governor William Weld appeared via video and Tim King, son of former governor Edward King, read a note from his father. The program began with Ian Bolwes, president and CEO of MassINC, welcoming the governors and the audience to the 10th anniversary forum. Next on the program Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston, gave a greeting from Boston to the governors and a short talk on how MassINC has affected so many people in Massachusetts. Tim King was called upon to read a statement from his father Edward King, because the elder King was unable to appear due to health concerns. Next, Robert Keough, the moderator, and the Governors took the stage. “We re going to talk about the American Dream: the American Dream ought to be within reach of every American,” began Keough. The discussion with the Governors focused on challenges facing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Topics discussed were public safety, housing, jobs, cost of living, the economy of the state, education and health care. “We need to do a better job making sure more people have adequate access to health care,” said Cellucci. “We need to continue to empower parents and individual teachers to do more to drive for higher levels of success,” said Swift. All attending Governors agreed on the need to improve the quality of public education. Dukakis spoke about private colleges versus state colleges. He said, “You’ve got to be very concerned about higher education.” The Forum concluded with a 15-minute question and answer session. All audience members and the media were welcome to ask questions. The 3 attending Governors responded to each question. At the end of the session the audience was invited to a reception held at Ned Devine’s in Quincy Market.
“Take Back the Night” employs a community walk to convey a serious messageby A. H. and G. T. Around 80 students, teachers and parents joined to walk from Newton North to the City Hall on Monday, May the 22nd. This was a walk, to promote gender respect, prevent sexual harassment and teen dating abuse sponsored by MVP, Newton’s Mentors in Violence Prevention students. On the short walk there, many people held high solid color flags, light blue, yellow, along with several other colors. The majority of people held long thin candles or flashlights, pointing upward. Once everyone arrived at City Hall people gathered to hear several speeches. This march, “Take Back The Night” was hosted by Newton North High School (NNHS) and Newton South High School (NSHS) students who are part of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program. The purpose of the MVP program is to teach younger students (such as ones from Day, Bigelow, Oak Hill and Brown) about dating violence, gender harassment, gender stereotypes, and to inspire them to become activists. Day’s own Nancy Beardall along with other Newton School staff and Newton students started the Newton MVP program in 1998. These founders adapted the program from its original version when Jackson Katz and his colleagues founded it at Northeastern University. The program began with only 12 NNHS students as MVPs. Today, more than 200 students from NNHS and NSHS participate in teaching 950 middle school students. Once the group arrived at City Hall, several of the MVP leaders from both NNHS and NSHS spoke on the steps of City Hall about the history, purpose, and goals of the MVP program. Nancy Beardall came up to the microphone twice: once to introduce the MVP leaders, and, again, to congratulate the MVPs on their accomplishments and state her pride. After 6 speakers, an MVP leader read “Youth”, a short poem by Langston Hughes. The MVP students then came up to the microphone to answer questions from the marchers. After all questions were answered, the marchers were invited to come up to the City Hall steps so the press that was present could take a picture. The marchers showed themselves to be spirited and supportive of this event. “Take Back The Night” will continue next year and become an annual event. [Also assisting in the preparation of this article was M. W.]. Youth We have tomorrow -- A. H. for THE DAYTIME
Day teacher experiences Katrina’s devastation first-handby M. W. Although Hurricane Katrina is over, it has left behind unthinkable damage. Michael Voron, a Day Bridge Program teacher, visited New Orleans, Louisiana in the 2nd weekend of May. He originally went because of an annual Jazz Fest, a cultural event running for 35 years. Another reason he went though, was he wanted to spend some money, helping victims of Hurricane Katrina in destroyed areas. At that moment, he found New Orleans completely chaotic. Areas near the levy are completely destroyed, and it doesn’t seem as though much has been done to fix it. The French Quarter downtown, which is mainly the tourist section of town, is in worse shape than Voron expected. In this area, the businesses are still boarded up, and there is trash all over the place. Also, there are not many police around to stop crime, and other illegal actions. One morning, Voron saw a shooting, without the police showing up. Another example of what’s going on there, is when a car accident took place, but unfortunately it took about 10 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Voron summed everything up by saying the public services are falling apart. When asked what his thoughts were on the situation in New Orleans at the moment, Voron expressed great concern. He described the situation as unacceptable, and a disgrace that the country is spending money overseas in war, but they are not doing everything possible to help Americans “...in our own soil and land.” Voron had talked to people who were a part of the crisis, and they told him that they were upset about how the situation was left, and ignored. Victims are confused, and are wondering why nothing else is being done to help them [Assisting in the preparation of this article was L. W.].
DAYTIME elects Grannan , Quigley, Co-editors-in-chiefby J. L. and A. G. Following a democratic election in the seventh grade Write-Way class, the new co-editors in chief of THE DAYTIME for the 2006-’07 school year were elected on Thursday, May the 25th. On the first ballot, S. Q. was elected as co-editor-in-chief. Then, Z. G. was elected on the second ballot. The vote results were then approved by the Editorial Board at their regular weekly meeting the next day. According to senior advisor, Robert Provencher, “I have the greatest respect for both S. Q. and Z. G. and very much look forward to working with them.” Now that the election has been conducted, Provencher will recommend to the board the editors and managers for next year.
Last day of school, report cards, and the first day of schoolby DAYTIME staff The last day of school this year will be Thursday, June the 22nd (teachers have to report for their last day on Friday, June the 23rd). The 22nd will be a half day with no late buses but lunches will be served. The three grades have planned special end-of-the-year celebrations [see story PAGE ONE]. The final report card will be mailed home. Look for them to show up somewhere around the first week in July. If parents have not received report cards by the middle of July, they should contact the Main Office (617 559 9100). It may be that a report card is being held up because of an unsatisfied obligation. The first day of school for the 2006 - ‘07 academic year will be Thursday, September the 7th (teachers will have been at work since Tuesday, September the 5th]. Thursday the 7th will be a full day of school with lunches served.
Platinum Team suffers lossby A. B. and A. C. A very valuable reef tank, created and maintained by the Platinum Team and by the Coral Reef Club, suffered grave damage during a recent power outage. At the start of the year, Tom Barner, Platinum Team science/social studies teacher, began a coral reef tank. Throughout the year, the tank grew more and more diverse with fish, crabs and coral. As students in Barner’s homeroom walked in on the morning of Monday, May the 22nd, they saw that the tank was unusually cloudy. According to Barner, a blackout during the weekend caused the electricity supplying the tank to go out. All of the fish died due to change in temperature. Fortunately though, all of the crabs and coral survived. Students have begun to donate money to Barner for buying new fish in the future. “The coral tank is a great thing in the community and it was a shame to see what happened. I hope he can get the tank up and running soon,” said M. D., a Platinum Team student.
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Last updated: September 16, 2006