All athletes are invited to attend a conditioning/weightlifting program during the fall and winter sports seasons.

The first meeting for this program is essential to any student interested in being a part of this program.

The first meeting will be on September 9th in room 313 at 2:15 p.m.

Photo Credit: http://www.fitco.co.za/images/Training%20Programs/lg_brad-squat.jpg

Ms. Gruwell is a typical new teacher, afraid herself of what she is going to find in her new school which is Wilson High in Long Beach, CA. In fact, at the beginning of her journey, her students gave her a month or two before she’d give up on them and leave. That fortunately wasn’t the case. She refuses to give up on the students, believing they are a lost cause in need of help.

The students that Ms. Gruwell had were the ones expected to drop out of high school and never make their way to graduation. That perception all changed when Ms. Gruwell had faith in these kids. Every other teacher doubted them, never giving them a chance.

Ms. Gruwell actually got to know her students, she realized that these kids are in an undeclared war. There’s a war that is going on because of the different races. Everyone has to stick up for their background.

These kids live in neighborhoods surrounded by gangsters and drug dealers. Most of them have seen their friend shot, if not have been shot themselves. The girls have been molested, and abused both physically and mentally.

Ms. Gruwell changes from a stranger into a mother-like figure, listening and caring for the students. They finally have the chance to speak their opinions, without feeling like they will be judged. The classroom became a place to open up and seek help.

The students also brighten up in the classroom, as they read about books that relate to their own situations. They also travel to many places to get first-hand experience. They even meet a number of people who change their lives. One is Miep Geis, she tells these students that they are the heroes. It is surprising when the students hear that, because no one had even given them such an honor.

Thanks to the visit from Miep Geis, the students believe they can change the world. That is when they start writing journal entries inspired by Zlata Filipovic, a 15 year old girl who went through her own war in Bosnia. She believed that writing helps to escape from the horrific lives some have. Each student picked one journal entry that they thought changed their life.

The title “Freedom Writers” comes from learning about the Freedom Riders. While taking a field trip to Washington, the boys and girls of all races walking hand in hand, realizing that Martin Luther King Jr’s dream came true as they were it.

Photo Credit: http://www.visionmagazine.com/archives/0807/images/Freedom-Writers.jpg

PHOTO: James Amato, WRHSmedia

I started off my summer with this young adult title from last year. I had heard a lot of good press about this book, and had seen it prominently displayed in Woodland’s library/media center. Written by the author of the acclaimed Uglies series, this novel imagines a world where World War I is fought not between the Central and the Allied powers, but rather between the Clankers and the Darwinists. The Clanker countries (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottomans, etc.) use all sorts of menacing steam-punk machinery and weapons to fight their battles. The Darwinists (France, Britain, Russia. etc.) use fantastical biologically engineered animals in their everyday lives, as well as in their war, for in this alternate 1914, Charles Darwin and his disciples have been perfecting DNA manipulation for almost half a century. The Leviathan of the title is a great white whale that floats with hydrogen, and is used as a flying warship.

The story alternates between the two main characters: Aleksandar Ferdinand, the (fictional) orphaned son of the assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on the run from those who killed his parents; and Deryn Sharp, a Scottish commoner who disguises herself as a boy in order to join the British Air Service. Their paths eventually convene, as the war explodes onto the world stage. The point of view of the story continually alternates back and forth between Aleksandar and Deryn, even after their paths coincide late in the story. The action is briskly paced, and takes place in a wholly realized and imagined alternate world, where enemies are divided by their respective faiths in machinery or altered nature. However, as is the trend in YA literature, this book is only the first of a series, so there is no real resolution in this novel.

Leviathan book trailer

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf, 2009 (U.S.))

Much like the rest of the world, I fell under the spell of the late Stieg Larsson’s icy thriller, originally published in Sweden in 2005, after the author’s death. Disgraced financial writer Mikael Blomkvist, facing three months of jail time after being set up on a libel charge, is summoned to a remote island community by retired Swedish millionaire business magnate, Henrik Vanger, who offers Blonkvist an unusually proposition: if the writer helps Vanger with a 40 year old unsolved disappearance of his niece Harriet, Vanger will give him the evidence Blomkvist needs to clear his name.

As Blomkvist works through a harsh Swedish winter, he enlists the help of Lisbeth Salander, an enigmatic, antisocial, tattooed and pierced computer hacker and world class investigator. Emotionally damaged, Salander eventually begins to befriend and trust Blomkvist, and together, they work to uncover an increasingly bizarre family criminal mystery.

Expertly paced and brilliantly suspenseful, with one of the most original female characters in contemporary literature, believe the hype: this book refuses to be put down until it is completed.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball by Bill Madden (Harper, 2010)

Coming just about two months before his death, this definitive biography of George Steinbrenner, the principal owner of the New York Yankees since 1973, provides a welcome antidote to the recent revisionist history of Steinbrenner’s loose cannon ownership of the most famous franchise in sports. Spanning Steinbrenner’s nearly four decades as baseball’s most (in)famous owner, Madden details Steinbrenner at his worst (his impetuous firing of manager after manager until Joe Torre’s wildly successful run from 1996 until 2007; his petty and sometimes cruel treatment of employees) and his best (determinedly building of the Yankees into a dynasty; his quiet support of many charities, including New York’s Silver Shield Foundation). Madden, a veteran baseball reporter for the New York Daily News, relied on his thirty-odd years of friendship with Steinbrenner, as well as access to recently unearthed daily recordings of Gabe Paul, Steinbrenner’s first president of the Yankees. The result is a stranger-than-fiction account of the last of a his kind owner, and the dynasty that he built in the South Bronx.

George Steinbrenner’s Greatest Moments

Ball Four by Jim Bouton (World Publishing Co., 1970)

Finally, continuing with a baseball theme during these waning dog days of summer, I finally got around to reading a book that I’ve been meaning to read for a long time – Jim Bouton’s classic baseball diary, Ball Four. I came across a hardcover edition of the book from 1970 at a used book sale, and decided that it was high time that I read this book. Written by Jim Bouton, who came up in the early 1960s as a winning pitching with the New York Yankees, Ball Four documents Bouton’s 1969 season with the expansion Seattle Pilots, who only existed for that one season, beforebecoming the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970. His arm recovering from injury, Bouton documents his attempts to regain some of his earlier success as a relatively older (31 ) pitcher, trying to master a new pitch (the inscrutable knuckle ball). However, Bouton also documented the boozing, brawling,carousing, cursing, and locker hijinks he witnessed with the Pilots and with the heralded Yankees. While these stories nary raise an eyebrow in our era of Deadspin.com and ESPN News, back in 1970, Bouton’s book was seen as anathema by the commissioner to the writers and down to the players, who clung to the old mantra “What you see here, what you say here, what you do here, let it stay here.” Bouton’s book even earned him a 28 year exile from Yankee Stadium, ended finally on Old Timers Day in 1998.

More than just a tell-all book about baseball, Bouton’s book provides a thoughtful reflection on triumphs and fears of an athlete who is not sure if he can still play this game. It is also an insight into why baseball hold such a grip on men, young and old.

ESPN Segment on Ball Four

Photo Credit: Sandy Pantaleo

Brandon Fowler participated in both the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles. Although he was unable to place in the top 8 for the 110 meter, Fowler finished second in the 300 meter with a time of 39.65 seconds, earning 8 points for Woodland. Fowler’s performance also earned him a spot in the New England track meet.

The Hawks finished the day 29th in the field with 10 points. Woodland was third amongst NVL teams at the meet with Derby finishing 9^th with 20 points and Seymour finishing 20^th with 13 points. Notre Dame of West Haven won the meet with a total of 36 points.

Dan Park also did well, finishing 7^th in the triple jump event, earning Woodland 2 points in the process. Sophomore Scott Lang finished 16^th in the javelin throw and junior Kyle Cranney finished 16^th as well in the 1600 meter run.

Brittany Battis represented Woodland in the pole vault event, setting a personal record of 10 feet as she tied for 10th place.

Woodland’s 4×800 meter relay team of Kyle Cranney, Adam Baz, Tyler Murphy, and Eric Dietz finished 20^th with a time of 8:26.50.

Woodland as a whole finished the season well. As the competition increasingly got better, the Hawks consistently performed well.

Although Brandon Fowler has one more meet to participate in, the season is over for the rest of the Hawks. Woodland will be loosing a lot of key seniors next season, but the expectations will still be set high.

Photo Credit: http://www.arcola.k12.il.us/HS/Sports/Track/TrackHomePage_files/image001.jpg

Now, I love me a good Spirit Shovel. I love Spirit Week, and the transformation of the hallways into foreign lands made of crepe and cardboard. I love the reliable tradition of Senior Night, and the prom. I love my Advisory. I love senior year. That’s why I propose getting rid of it.

Well, not entirely, and not for everyone. But as any teacher who teaches a senior class with regularly empty seats, decreasing work quality, and a constant cacophony of “Can we go outside?” can attest, senior year at Woodland Regional High School needs some serious reconsideration. “What? Not my seniors! My senior love learning, even in the 4^th marking period!” Really? According to March’s attendance records, there were 37 different seniors with one unexcused tardy that month, and 24 different seniors with more than one unexcused tardies.

As for excused tardies, a whopping 54 different seniors had at least one, while 47 more different seniors were late, but excused, more than one day in March. But at least these kids made a cursory attempt to get here. 31 of their classmates knocked off at least one day during March, while another 13 skipped more than one day. And lenient parents (or skilled mimics) excused 57 seniors for at least one day during that month, while another 52 were called out more than one day. Hardly a rapt audience … and we still have the rest of May and June to get through! Rumors abound of Senior Skip Day 2 – a nice break from taking a break.

Now, is this to say that the seniors are a shiftless, lazy lot, who have no use for school? Of course not – we all know enough seniors completing wonderful senior projects, helming charitable events, achieving final athletic glories, and still mining academic gold in their classrooms.

But one only needs to look at the above attendance records (April’s records would not be completely representative, since there is a weeklong vacation during the month), or listen to anecdotal evidence from senior teachers, to realize that many seniors do not feel a compulsion to be here anymore, at least not during the second semester.

Many college-bound seniors have wrapped up their acceptance long ago, and future military men and women have likewise made their arrangements. With the exception of having to pass English and Civics, many seniors quite simply do not need to be here, at least not to prove their academic acumen.

Now again, this is not the case for all 12^th graders – there are those who need more than the minimum classes and/or credits to graduate, or who need to take a rigorous schedule to gain acceptance to their chosen college and program. And it would be wrong to ignore the fact that many of our seniors quite simply want to learn, even when the June sun is shining, and the beach is sounding its siren song.

But why force all seniors to acquiesce to the outmoded notion of four years in a high school building? As the rest of the world outside of Woodland’s walls continually and rapidly evolves, the school stubbornly clings to the status quo. True, some of the reasons for this are due to forces beyond the school’s control, mostly notably financial constraints. But there are alternatives that are definitely worth considering, to remain competitive with other highs schools, and to remain socially and academically relevant.

According to a recent essay (published February 28^th) written by Walter Kirn in The New York Times Magazine,  Utah Republican State Senator Chris Buttars proposed that the state consider partially eliminating 12^th grade. The impetus for this idea is, unfortunately, financial rather than academic (the state faces a $700 million deficit, and it is hypothesized that this move could save the state anywhere from $70 – $105 million), but it is not without some merit.

The plan would allow students who complete their high school credits in three years to leave high school. Where they would go next is not exactly clear, but roaming the hallways, hanging out in the parking lot, and logging four and a half hours at their lockers or in the bathroom would not be options.

State Senator Buttars is not the only one who is proposing this idea. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is planning on granting $1.5 million to a project organized by the National Center on Education and the Economy that would spring kids from high school after the 10^th grade, and allow them to begin academic work at a local community college.

Outraged critics of this idea should consider that similar programs exist in nations such as Denmark, Finland, France, and Singapore – countries whose school systems often outrank the United States’ in global rankings. It is important to note that both of these plans would be optional; any student who planned on attending a four year college would need his or her senior year classes.

Another option that is currently working in many high schools right here in Connecticut is a senior internship program. One of the goals of senior year of high school is to prepare students for the so-called “real world.” Rather than forcing our seniors to swelter away in a classroom, or lamenting when they don’t show, why not get them out into the real world?

Wilton High School sets hundreds of their seniors up with internships at local, Westchester Country, and New York City businesses for the last five weeks of the school year. Darien High School is piloting a similar program this year, and Greenwich High School places approximately 500 seniors a year in real world, business experiences. The seniors who are eligible for internship placement have completed their coursework with a minimum GPA, and usually have to meet some sort of attendance and discipline requirements.

Students gain valuable work and life experience, while still meeting and working with a mentor from their high school. Furthermore, with hundreds of seniors out of the physical building for the end of the year, tardies, absences, referrals, and inclass apathy would vanish out the door with the seniors.

This can only help teacher morale at the end of a hectic school year. Now, the aforementioned high schools exist in a very different socio-economic environment than Region 16, so financial constraints might make this a mere pipe-dream for Woodland’s seniors. But any possible avenue towards a program like those at other schools should be explored.

Finally, one other aspect of the senior conundrum that should be reconsidered is the curriculum itself. Why is it that some seniors do not feel any compulsion to exert themselves, or, in some cases, show up at all, to their senior classes? Now, this is not to advocate allowing the inmates to run Arkham, but as a school, we do owe it to our students to ensure that they are always learning and applying anew, and not just doing the same thing for the fourth time.

Students who have weathered the four year odyssey of high school should be allowed to moor their brains in stimulating electives or elective-like classes. Stretch the mind and soul a bit more by applying three-and-a-half years of learning to mythology studies, or film classes, or a concentration on modern warfare or human rights issues.

The arguments against the elimination of senior year often focus on fears of destroying such precious American institutions as Pep Rallies and the Senior Prom. Looked at pragmatically, it is tough to justify tax payer dollars solely funding a year-long victory lap. In these dire economic times, it is not a high school’s responsibility to fill their seniors’ social calendars; it’s supposed to be filling their hearts and minds. That being said, none of the above options need to be mutually exclusive of the standard high school institutions. Students who choose, if given the option, to leave high school early can always attend the prom and other senior events, if allowed to. But it stands to reason that if a student is willing to forgo his or her senior year, he or she is mature enough to understand that he or she is making certain sacrifices, certain senior events perhaps being among them. And there is no reason why students who are completing internships would not be able to still partake in all of the senior year bacchanalia; perhaps with a busier and more intellectually active workload, they may avoid some of the Dionysian aspects that would normally go along with it.

Like most aspects of public education, it would probably take a monumental sea change or act of god to affect a change to business as usual – four years of high school, come hell or high water. Like so many of our American institutions in these rapidly changing times, it is time to reconsider the American senior year. Our 12^th grades deserve it, and, more importantly, need it.

Photo Credit: http://www.fastweb.com/nfs/fastweb/attachment_images/0000/2171/iStock_000000822246XSmall-procrastination_crop380w.JPG?1240346801