A classic snow day begins with the news. The television news stations probably receive their most views during the winter because everyone wants to know if school is closed.  For people with a snow day, they may choose to go back to sleep. Others immediately run outside to build a snow man, snow angel, or shovel. After the morning activities, it is time to curl up next to the fire place and read a nice book.As most of you know, Newton had a snow day last Wednesday. I began shoveling at 11:30 a.m., but didn't finish until 5:00 p.m. Shoveling walkways and sidewalks only took about an hour and a…

I’m no mathematician, but I put some estimates together: a semester at Newton South is approximately five months and there are about 95-105 days in the first semester. A permit to park in the student parking lot at South is $200 a semester. So, if there are 105 days a semester, it costs about $1.90 a day to park at school. If there are 95 days, it costs about $2.11. Regardless of the exact number of days in a semester, the semester cost for a parking pass is too much.  As a driver myself, a parking pass is necessary. Regardless of what time I get to school, I am guaranteed a spot because I …

When a person walks into a bank, he/she is watched on a security camera. Someone else can walk into a CVS and watch themselves on a small TV screen. Perhaps one day students and faculty at Newton South will be in a similar situation. Every person has mixed feelings about security cameras and it's possible not everyone is looking at all the good that can come from the them. South has theft problems--it is a simple and true statement. Cell phones, wallets and iPods are the top stolen items from locker rooms, unlocked classrooms, and unlocked cars. If a locker is not locked, a teacher does not …

This time of year, high school seniors are not only receiving gifts, many are also receiving letters from various colleges and universities; acceptance and rejection letters. While some may receive good news, others are receiving coal in their stockings; in other words, we are being deferred or rejected from schools. There are two parts to the college admission processes: the first is the actual application, which includes essays, supplements and grade reports. The decisions and waiting for the mail is the second part. Some of us are in that kick-off stage, but most of us are in that final …

Last week, a student at Newton North brought a butane lighter to school that resembled a weapon. When another student caught a glimpse of the lighter, North went into lockdown. Newton schools do not often have life-threatening issues during the school day. Someone may pull a fire alarm at some point during the year, but that is about as serious as it gets. At Newton South, I am never concerned about safety. I don't believe there is a safety problem at South because of the supervision throughout the school; a student can turn a corner and a campus aide or other adult will be standing there. …

You may think that high school students only care about their school work, friends and weekends. But from mid-November to mid-March many Newton South High School students devote at least two hours a week to giving back to the community. These students, including myself, volunteer as coaches for the Newton Athletic Association (NAA), a competitive basketball league for Newton kids grades 3-9 divided up into teams and sub-leagues depending on age. Each team has a one-hour practice once a week and games are played on Saturdays and Sundays.   Most of the students who coach played in NAA at …

There are four things in my life I dislike more than anything else: traffic, summer temperatures, the middle seat on an airplane and the lack of light in the winter. I don't know how my peers at South feel about traffic or summer heat, but I know the lack of light in the winter is a common dislike among the student body. Most students at South wake up when it is still dark outside, and for those students or parents who wake up when it is already light, consider yourself lucky. When the sky finally becomes bright, the vast majority of South students are sitting--or slouching--at a desk trying …

Wednesdays are probably the day I least look forward to. The first four blocks of the day are my academic blocks, which means I have four blocks straight of actual learning. For me, that is no fun at all, as I like having some sort of a free period in the morning or early afternoon. It is like recess, which I miss terribly and would do anything to have it back. But last Wednesday was far from normal. At the end of the day, the school held a pep rally; roughly 1700 students gathered in the field house for the annual event. It was a sea of orange and blue as students showed off their school …

When I was making the transition to high school, I was excited about the independence and leniency of faculty. Now, three and a half years later, I'm not satisfied. In the November issue of The Lion's Roar, the student-run newspaper at South, an article mentioned that the South Senate is working to allow cell-phone use in class. I don't know the exact terms of the possible negotiation, but I know my opinion: yes, allow it! Of course, there should be some conditions, but why not? Currently, cell phones can only be used in the student center, the commons, or outside. Some faculty members don't …

A few weeks ago, the Class of 2011 gave a collective sigh of relief—as "early decision day" finally passed. Many colleges that offer the early action/early decision plan for freshmen applicants assign November 1 as the deadline for application materials. So what is the benefit of this? I think of it like the class after a quiz or a test, when the question running through everyone's head is, "are we going to get the quiz back?" Similar to that anxiety, students who apply early action have the privilege of receiving their admission decision earlier than those who apply regular action. Of course…

Welcome to "From the Halls of Newton South," a new, weekly column on Newton Patch where I will share some of the news from Newton South High School. As a senior at South, the majority of the column's focus will be on what is happening in the classrooms and other areas of the school. Rather than sharing the gossip between people, I will only express my thoughts on situations or events that involve a larger group of students or the school itself. So, if you are looking to read about what happened between person A and person B in the library last Thursday, you will have to look elsewhere. …