By Lily Zarr, News editor
Leap of Faith
“Leap of Faith,” a play written and directed by senior Mason Kitzis, was performed in the Lab Theater on Feb. 11 and 12 to both an in-person audience of parents and a virtual audience via YouTube livestream. To make the play accessible to all, South Stage adjusted its set design and learned how to film the play while performing in front of a live audience. The play centers around Eliza, a high school senior navigating tumultuous friendships and first love while preparing for college.
“‘Leap of Faith’ is told in a much better way on camera because it allows [the audience] to really see the emotions on people’s faces even if we have masks on. … We love a live audience, but this also works,” – Sara Tomas (sophomore)
“That truly is special to me, to be able to go from something that I’m just typing out of my computer to then have something that hundreds and thousands of people hopefully will see,” – Mason Kitzis (senior)
School Committee Meeting
During its Feb. 7 meeting, the Newton School Committee voted to accept a $175,000 donation from the Newton Schools Foundation to fund grants for teachers to improve teaching practices and training that aims to address inequity. The committee also discussed a revision to the high school graduation requirements that would weigh each full-year class as 12 credits instead of the current five, with a new total of 243 credits needed to graduate instead of the current 100.
“The revisions to the point totals assigned to each full course make tracking credit towards graduation easier … [and] eliminate the need for fractional points and different weighting for different class types.” Toby Romer, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education
“The Newton Schools Foundation is going to give Newton Public Schools the most money [it has] ever had before. … It’s great that we’re getting more funding,” – Jane Shen (senior)
Tom Brady retires
After 22 seasons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement on Feb. 1. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots, where he quickly became one of the most accomplished football players. Among his many achievements, Brady holds the record for total games won, at 243, including his seven Super Bowl victories, another record.
“He picked a great time to retire. He was still good, but the league’s changing. The modern quarterback is very different than what Tom Brady originally was and still is,” – Will Freudenheim (junior)
“He’s the greatest quarterback of all time, and everyone in New England will appreciate the six Super Bowls he brought,” – Benjamin Rishikof (junior)
