“I felt so ashamed when I heard of the scandals in Ireland,” said Father Nicholas Smith, the Pastor at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Wakefield.

  Similar to many Catholics and devout priests the molestation in Ireland has left the faithful with feelings of anger and embarrassment.

  Father Smith had always remembered as a youth how admired the clergy were.

  With the surfacing of sexual abuse in the Irish Dioceses the country seems to be very different

  “I couldn’t tell you how sad it is for me to think that the Ireland I grew up in doesn’t exist anymore,” said Smith

  “Everyone considered the priesthood because of how highly they were thought of in Ireland,” recalled Smith. “Priests would come to the High Schools and make pitches about their own order.”

  Yet, with the emergence of clergy abuse, many see Irish Catholic Church as a fallen icon. Church attendance has dropped to new lows, and the new reaction of Irish citizens is to request their name be removed from the baptismal records and sever all affiliation with the Church

  “To think that the Church which dominated our lives probably too much is now irrelevant to people today saddens me immensely,” said Smith.

  After the flood of allegations in Europe, on April 21^st Pope Benedict XVI vowed “Church action” addressing those gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Benedict’s actions concerning sexual abuse have substantially differed from his predecessors.

  “It will probably consist of something that the American bishops did in America,” says Father Nick, “which is a zero tolerance policy.”

  On his trip to America in 2008, Pope Benedict did something which had never been done before. Unlike the late Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict faced the scandals head on. Recently in Malta, the Pope met and wept with victims of sexual abuse by clergy.

   “Everybody was crying, I told him my name was Joseph, and he had tears in his eyes,” Joseph Magro, one of the victims, told the Associated Press.

  While the Pope has made significant efforts to right the ship that is the Catholic Church many critics still remain skeptical of what, if any, action will be taken.

  Despite the Pope’s efforts, many still call for the Pope’s resignation.

  “There are people who say that’s not enough. The poor Pope is doing the best he can but that’s not enough,” says Smith. “No matter what he does there will be people who will say that’s not enough

  Unlike the sexual abuse scandals in America where 81 percent of the reported incidents involved a male youth as the victim, the incidents in Ireland include high profile clergy in some cases fathering children.

  The Catholic Church in Ireland has been so shaken by the scandals that three Irish bishops have resigned and two more have offered their resignations due to their lack of action in the abuse scandals. Still others call for the resignation of Irish Cardinal Sean Brady.

  In Germany, another country rocked by scandal, Bishop Walter Mixa of Augsburg offered to step down due to allegations of beating children. Mixa believes his resignation will give his diocese a “new start”. Others, such as resigned Irish Bishop Moriaty claim “renewal must begin with accepting responsibility for the past.”

  The Catholic Church for all of its greatness and charity still bears the scars of its past failing. Compared to the atrocities committed by the church in the past the sexual abuse scandals are only a footnote in the history books.

  The Church has been responsible for corruption, mass murder, and the halting of science

  “You know, Jesus chose twelve apostles, one denied him and one betrayed him and so two out of 12”, said Smith, “All the way down through time there is always that little element of failure and turning their back on Jesus and the message.  And it’s always been there.”

  According to an article run by the Associated Press, sexual abuse by clergy is not just a problem in the Catholic Church.

  In the article, three major insurance companies which insure cover the majority of Protestant churches in America revealed astounding statistics.

  On average these companies process 260 claims of children being sexually abused by protestant clergy and staff annually. In comparison, since 1950 roughly 13,000 credible American accusations have been brought against the Vatican or 228 reports per year.

  While the Catholic Church has been targeted by the media statistics show that 32 two more children are abused in protestant denominations each year.

  The actual number of incidents in both religions probably is higher due to unreported abuse.

  Father John Coughlin in New York told FOX News “Let’s be clear: the report of abuse in Protestant Churches in no way clears guilty members of the Catholic Church.”

  Statistics show that molestation of youth is not only a problem in the Catholic Church. Abuse happens everywhere, in church, sports, schools, and communities.

  “Forty five years ago when I was ordained a priest if I heard a story of a priest fiddling around with someone or doing something inappropriate he probably be reported to the bishop,” said Smith, “and the bishop would give him a telling off and that was it but it was dealt with as sin but you are forgiven.”

  The latest scandals have shown that this may longer be the case with the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

  Rather than reading an interesting, thought provoking piece of literature, most students prefer to spend hours on end updating and checking their Facebook pages at home and during school.

    “I think part of the reason is that life today is too complex and fast paced,” said SKHS English teacher Mrs. O’Keefe. “Another reason that feeds into the first is technology, which provides a constant distraction and the opportunity to do many things at once.”

  A poll taken by the associated press in 2007 showed that one in four people did not read a single book in the past year.

    “I feel that students don’t like to read because it’s something that school forces upon them from the first grade,” said SKHS Senior Pat Hayes. “Then it becomes homework and kids don’t like that kind of stuff.”

   People today have phones that allow them to surf the web, listen to music and watch TV all at the same time.

  Some worry that being able to do these things on lightning fast networking systems however, has shortened the average American’s attention span.

  “I was watching a show on PBS about the affects of multi-tasking on the brain,” said O’Keefe. “It literally shortens the attention span, and that obviously has an effect on both reading and writing.”

  An American Academy of Pediatrics 2004 study suggests that children that watch television from a young age are more likely to have short attention spans. The AAP recommends that children under the age of two not be exposed to television and that older children not spend more than two hours in front of the television or the computer.

  However, according to KidsHealth.org, the average child watches 28 hours of TV a week and spends as much time on the computer or playing video games.

  Although TV, videogames and surfing the web take up the majority of student’s attention, the one thing that seems to eat up an even larger amount of student’s time is Facebook.

  “I  feel [Facebook] is definitely a 

contributor to me not reading,” said Hayes.

  Since 2006, anyone over the age of 13 with an email address has been able to join Facebook, the world’s most popular social networking website.

  According to Facebook.com, there are more than 400 million members and half of them log on at least once a day. The site also says that the average user spends more than 55 minutes logged on each day.

  “My computer stays on most of the time, and usually at least one tab is on Facebook,” admits Hayes.

  Facebook has become the way to stay connected within the last few years. Many bands have used it to promote their music, many charities have used it to promote  causes, and even businesses have used it to advertise.

  Since its implementation in 2008, more than 80,000 websites have implemented Facebook Connect, which allows even more users to share content, since its implementation in 2008.

  Hayes and O’Keefe both believe there are benefits to having a Facebook page.

   “I see some advantages to them for connecting to and keeping up with friends,” says O’Keefe who personally does not have a Facebook page. They also both agree that there are negative effects.

   “Some people can be a little too involved in Facebook,” said Hayes.

  Cyber bullying, exploitation, and even Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD) are just some of the problems to name a few.

  Despite the constant distraction of keeping up with friends on Facebook, some students understand that it is important to read other books besides Facebook.

  “I like to try to read every school night, for just a little bit at least,” says Hayes. Although Hayes doesn’t always enjoy the assigned reading, he usually is in the middle of at least three books at a given time.

  The Alliance for Excellent Education, an organization run out of Washington D.C., believes that roughly six million middle and high school students can not read at an acceptable level. In fact the Alliance reports that they believe that more than 30 percent of students entering the ninth grade in the United States will need help with reading.

  “I would have to say about 25 percent of students do complete the (assigned) reading,” said Mrs. O’Keefe. However, she added that “(A good amount of) students use internet sites to get information on the book.”

  Keeping students interested in reading is the key to smarter generation. O’Keefe believes that reading is critical to gaining knowledge.

  “I have always believed that the way to a strong vocabulary is through reading,” says the English teacher. “Constant exposure to words in different contexts is the only way to make them a part of one’s own knowledge base.” 

  “I think the change would have to take place long before the high school level,” said Hayes. “Something would have to be done to keep the excitement in reading, because we were all excited when we first read a book but over the years that excitement dulls, and that just drains the fun from reading.

  “I found a specific author I liked and I always got into his books and that’s how I kept reading,” said Hayes.

 “He just thought it was the greatest idea ever. And it kind of was.”

  Senior Emily Cotter is speaking about her classmate Shane McLoughlin, who recently proposed a new idea for this year’s Model United Nations Conference.

    The Council of Elrond is the newest addition to the Model UN, and the first ever fantasy committee to take place.

  In its twentieth year, The SK Model UN discussed global issues such as child soldiers, U.S. economic aid to Africa, fixing failed states, and others.  In addition, committees this year talk about issues from the Lord of the Rings series.

  The Council of Elrond is inspired by the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. In the series, the people of Middle Earth meet to discuss and decide the fate of the ring of power.

  McLoughlin took his passion for Lord of the Rings to Mr. Matteson, who is in charge of running the conference.

  “[Matteson] actually indulged it, and we talked about how sick it would be,” Cotter said. “The next thing we knew it was a real committee.”

  The teacher was not the only one intrigued by the idea of a fantasy committee. Many students proved to be interested as well. In fact, new roles had to be added in order for everyone to have a spot on the committee.

  The topics that were discussed at the council are: what to do with the ring of power, deforestation of Fangorn Forest, and the refugee crisis in Rohan.

  The Fangorn Forest plays an important role in transportation throughout the whole series, and it is also home to the Ents, who are walking talking trees.

  The refugee crisis is due to evil forces driving people from their homes in Rohan.

  Many have indulged themselves in the fantasies of Middle Earth by watching the popular movies directed by Peter Jackson.   The Council in the movie, however, differs from the book.

  In the novel, fate brought the attendees of the council together, whereas in the movies, they were summoned due to the Ring being found.

  As with any council, some sort of knowledge was necessary to partake in the debate, depending on one’s role.

  “The only thing that is really necessary is an interest in it,” says Cotter, “because if you are interested in it, you will probably try harder to understand it.”

  Wholehearted Lord of the Rings fan who wished to participate a great deal, assumed more important roles.  Those who prefer to not be so involved took on lighter roles, and so they need not be as well-read on Tolkien’s work.

  The new council attracted many new faces to Model UN. Students who would not normally engage in the annual event are signing up and enthusiastic.

  Model UN is growing in popularity, and today more than 400,000 students participate at the middle school, high school, and college level.

  Cotter hopes that this new and unique take on Model UN will affect future conferences.

  “I hope it happens more often now. People could use some fantasy I think.”

Michael Casey in St. George's Uniform

By Michael Matthews

 “My parents said that they instantly knew once we were on campus that they wanted me to go to the school,” said a South Kingstown native who is a junior at St. George’s Academy.

  Tucked away in Middletown, Rhode Island, on 125 acres of land the elite prep school St. George’s School stands above the sweeping vistas of Easton’s Beach, the Sakonnet River and the Atlantic Ocean.

  “St. George’s is a great school in my opinion with excellent teachers and a student run government,” according to Casey               

  Each class at the school consists of no more than 12 students allowing for more individual instruction.

  “Teachers live on campus, which means they are almost always available to help you when you need it,” said Casey.

  “Also, having smaller class sizes, 8-12 students, makes sure that students pay attention in class which leaves no time to slack off.”

  Casey attended public schools throughout his educational career leading up to his sophomore year. After graduating from Curtis Corner Middle School in 2007, Casey attended South Kingstown High School where he was a member of the school soccer team. As the season progressed, Casey saw a substantial rise in varsity playing time.

  When the school year came to a close, one of Casey’s fellow freshman teammate told him about his decision to attend St. George’s for athletics. Upon hearing about the private school, Casey’s interest grew.

  At St. George’s, students are given the option to live at home or on campus. For a boarding student the cost of attendance per year is $43,000. For a student who lives at home the tuition costs $29,400 a year. In comparison, Yale University in Connecticut weighs in at $36,500 for yearly tuition.

  Since attending St. George’s, Casey has been recruited by top league Universities including Georgetown.

  According to The Boarding School Review, St. George’s is among the top twenty boarding schools in the nation in SAT scores and selectivity categories.

  “I was told by the administration at St. George’s that it is not easy to get into St. George’s as an incoming sophomore,” said Casey. “I was told that 10 of the 150 applicants to join St. George’s as a sophomore would be accepted.

  “To be completely honest, I know that soccer helped me out getting in [at St. George’s.]”

  During lunch at St. George’s, students may hang-out on the “Hilltop” and watch waves crash on the First, Second and Third Beaches.

   “St. George’s alumni present many scholarships each year to students in need of them,” said Casey’s Parents. “Mike is on a half scholarship which helps a lot, but is goes to show how many students receive these financial aids.”

   Private schools such as Prout and Hendricken value their education at roughly $11,000 for students in the form of tuition, uniforms and school books. A large part in the decision of schools comes from tradition and the parents.

  Many athletes from South Kingstown, including Casey decided to further their athletic career by attending prestigious high school level academies where the chances of recognition are much higher than at a Prout level school.

  Attending a school such as St. George’s who’s athletic teams are a part of the Independent School League (ISL) and the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) allow students to contend athletically against other teams across New England.  

“I think that the average student at St. George’s  is more athletic than the average athlete at SK because we all have to play competitive sports all year. Also, some students come to SG specifically to play a sport, such as soccer, basketball, swim, etc,” said Casey.

  As a requirement students must play a sport, be a trainer or manager, or conduct a service project to fulfill their physical education requirement as no physical education classes are offered at the academy.

  Despite all the glamour of St. George’s’ ivied buildings the decision and transition process for many is difficult, according to Casey.

  “It was hard leaving my friends and hometown school for a where I knew two people,” said the St. George’s junior.

“A great thing about St. George’s is that there are no cliques or groups, because everyone hangs out with everyone.”

  “It is nice to be able to walk into school, on the way to the all you can eat breakfast, and seeing nearly all the faculty and students, who know your name and have no problem going out of their way to say “hey,” or “how’s it goin!” said Casey.  

  While the decision to go to a private school is important to the student it comes to the consent of his or her parents, as well as the financial burden of roughly $40,000.
                                                                                                                                                                                               “After seeing the academic opportunities that St. George’s students receive after high-school I could not help but send my kid there,” said Casey’s parents.

   “Before my son’s freshman year I had never heard of St. George’s, yet the beautiful campus on the water with the vast campus and tree-lined entrance, leaves you not able to forget it.”

  “That can be recycled!” shouts SKHS senior Alisha Daniels.

   “It doesn’t matter—the janitors throw it all in the same garbage bin anyway,” retorts Sweet.

  At SKHS, going green has become a new fad. Everyday students are seen carrying around their aluminum water bottles, helping Mr. O’Malley in the garden and of course recycling.

  Students for Justice president Emily Cotter has worked extremely hard over her time at SKHS to place recycling bins in every classroom at the school.

  During Cotter’s sophomore year she found, “stacks and stacks of bins in the first floor storage area were not being used.”

  Cotter and the other members of Students for Justice decided to gather up the recycling bins and placed them in every classroom.

  Now, a typical class room will contain two recycling bins: one for paper materials and one for plastic materials. Additionally, the cafeteria contains two 55 gallon plastic bottle recycling bins, located on opposite sides in the center of the cafeteria.

  On most days, however, a number of recycling bins appear to be overfilling with bottles and paper, just waiting to be sent off to the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Center to be recycled.

  “Janitors won’t dispose of the recyclables because it is not in their contract,” said Cotter.

  The custodians tell another story.

   “If the bins are sorted correctly I don’t have an issue recycling,” said SKHS custodian Laurie Ricks. “However, I can’t speak for others.”

  According to SKHS Head Custodian Carol Leahy, “Recycling has been an issue” at the high school.

“Some custodians’ feel they should not be responsible for it because it is an added task for them to do,” Leahy said.

  Many students, however, seem unaware of the time and effort it takes to properly recycle the so called “recycled items” in the recycling bins.

  Students often place food and other unwanted items into the recycling bins. Therefore, in order for the custodians to properly dispose of the recycled items, they are forced to sort through each individual bin to ensure that all of the items can be recycled.

  “We have paper recycling bins containing food, so we end up trashing the bins all together,” said Leahy.

  SKHS principal Mr. McCarthy said that the custodians are only expected to recycle materials that are properly sorted.

  “I don’t think it’s their responsibility if a bin has a little bit of everything—they should just throw it in the trash,”  McCarthy said.

  Nonetheless, Cotter contends the recycling bins are constantly overflowing with bottles, paper and other materials. Some members of Students for Justice have taken their own initiative to dispose of the recycling bins themselves.

  “During my sophomore year we would go on Fridays and bring the recycling bins outside of the cafeteria where the dumpsters are,” said Cotter.

  Cotter said that she and the rest of Students for Justice have not been able to keep up with the recycling process solely by themselves.

   “It is tough to have the recycling program with only five people,” Cotter said. “It is almost impossible.”

  Leahy said that the custodians at SKHS are on a tight schedule and do not have the time to sort through every recycling bin. Therefore, she said, recycling at SKHS cannot be a reality unless students begin to properly dispose of recyclable and un-recyclable materials.

  “We are happy to do our part, but it’s hard,” Leahy said.

  Despite the extra work, Mr. McCarthy said that “he has received a commitment from the custodians that they will recycle.”

  If SKHS is ever going to have an effective recycling program, McCarthy added, students need to do their part and place materials in their proper bins

  Despite its failures at SKHS, other regional schools have effective recycling programs.

  Pioneer Valley Regional High School, Northfield Massachusetts, which is north-west of Boston has had an effective recycling program for 3-4 years.

  “We compost paper and food waste and recycle bottles and cans,” said PVRHS principal Bill Wehrli.

  Wehrli believes PVRHS’s  recycling program has grown to be successful because “there are three sets of bins in 25 different locations throughout the school.”

  Wehrli knows that students will throw away paper, bottles or trash in the bin that is to their convenience. Therefore, Wehrli strategically places three bins in every location, allowing to students to dispose of materials correctly, without forcing them to go out of their way.

  PVRHS’s recycling program has proved to be successful because they have reduced their waste by 80 percent. Plus, Wherli said the school has “saved a fair amount of money,”  and he thinks the recycling program is “tremendous.”

  As seen at PVRHS, a public high school can have an effective recycling program. But, cooperation between students and faculty is essential.

  “If we want to have a recycling program at SKHS, students and teachers need to be involved,” said Cotter.

  SKHS senior Alexis Howland does not believe in the new guideline given to teachers, which states that students are not allowed to leave advisory for anything other than the bathroom.

  Many say this new guideline has caused problems for students, as advisory may be the time to visit guidance or other important things.

  Liz Spink, another SKHS senior, also believes students should be allowed to leave advisory.

  “You should be allowed to leave advisory to go to Guidance and other areas,” said Spink.

  Even some teachers agree with the students.

  “I think that its [advisory leaving] ridiculous because quite often, it’s the only free time students have,” said Ms. Bjorness-Sodhi, whose daughter is a senior at the school.  “And if you need to get paperwork in the library, get signatures, or do colleges work, they can’t.”

  Many days of the week , however, the guidance office remains open after school  for students to meet with counselors and take care of such tasks.  

  The department head of guidance, Ms. Majeika, says that advisory is more of a time to create a personal connection between the student and the advisory teacher.

  “One of the tenets of the Rhode Island Department of Education is that they didn’t tell you to do it one way, they gave you some ideas, but the emphasis was on the fact that someone besides the school counselor would be in the building, available for that student to connect to,” said Majeika.

  Majeika also states that SKHS decided to use the homeroom model, so that students would ideally have the same advisor for four years.

  Librarian Ms. Lavin, for most part, agrees with Majeika.

  Lavin says, “I believe it’s a good policy in general, but exceptions should be

Lavin says, “I believe it’s a good policy in general, but exceptions should be allowed in case of emergency.”

Majeika also stated that she currently participates in an Advisory Steering Committee.  The committee is formed in part by Mrs. Majeika, Mr. McCarthy, Mrs. Klenk, and Ms. Fagan.

  Formed when Advisory began (around five to six years ago, according to Mrs. Majeika), the committee determines what goes on in Advisory.

  “Another use for Advisory is as a vehicle for Guidance and other areas of the school to get important things out to students such as report cards or transcripts,” Majeika said.

  “Your advisor has access to your grades, can talk to you about your grades, can talk to you about your schedule, and when it [Advisory] started.  We actually developed a notebook of ideas of activities that were grade specific,”  said Mrs. Majeika.

  According to Ms. Lavin, the advisory policy is good because, for example, “Guidance stays open until at least 3:00 p.m.”

  According to multiple guidance counselors, not many students take advantage of the fact that guidance usually stays open until 3:00 p.m., and even until 6:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.

  Also, Lavin says, “If teachers are involved with a number of students, and more students come in to do work, the original students are marginalized.”

  Majeika understands the need for the other things students must do, but she emphasizes the personal connection.

  “In order for advisory period to accomplish what it needed to do, students needed to be in their advisory period, not wandering the hall, not doing errands in the hall,” said Majeika.

  When asked specifically about coming down to Guidance, Ms. Majeika says that advisory is a time for students to establish the personal connection, not to get important things done.

  While Mrs. Majeika says she “appreciates” the idea of people having only Advisory to see a counselor, she focuses more on the “personal connection” idea of Advisory.

  The idea of a “personal connection” does not go over well with Bjorness-Sodhi and Howland, however, Bjorness-Sodhi said, “Let me ask you this: As a senior, don’t you think that there’s more to be done than establishing a connection?  I think that if you’ve been with an advisory teacher for four years, there have been countless opportunities to establish a connection.”

   “Kids in general should be able to leave because if you have something to do, you can’t leave class,” Howland said, “and advisory is a good time to do that.”

  Administrators believe that the events that take place at school functions reflect poorly on the students, school and community.

  Ms. Windley, a retired teacher from SK, and member of the community believes “it is demoralizing” to the students who partake in the type of dance.

  In the past parents and teachers pushed for a ban on grinding but with lisle success.

  Those who pushed for the change believe the dance is degrading to the students.   They say that social status and reputations places unfair pressure on kids to partake in the dancing. Many find such dancing to be a sexual act that will make it more likely for kids to partake in sex.

  While administration and parents believe it to be a victory, numerous students disagree with the result.

  “I don’t think grinding is sexual at all,” says senior Jeff Booth.

  “There is a lot of pressure on the administration from parents to take action,” says one student, ”but would they rather have us go out on a Friday night, get drunk and have sex.”

  In a conversation an SKHS sophomore, Richard Woo, stated that, “grinding is unique to our generation…while our parents swing danced, high schoolers today grind.”

  In response, a junior, Morgan Stafford said that, “[Adults] are judging it blindly, because each generation acts differently.

I’m not going to say its the best type of dance, but nobody will go if they are not allowed to dance that way.”

  While most students agree that it could be inappropriate, they agree that the way students dance should not be limited by adults.

  Jacob Sargent admitted that he personally finds grinding unattractive, but states that, “The adults shouldn’t restrict our personal freedom of expression.”

  Many students interviewed said that they would not go to the dances if they were not allowed to grind.

  Sophomore Zachary Campo said, “I will never go to a dance again.”

 SKHS senior Seth Noon agreed that, “Nobody is going to go, but it needed to be done because of the pressure put on some kids.”

  Jeff Booth, however, thinks that the rule, “Is pretty stupid, no one is going to go, and then there will be no more dances.”

  Dances are the major fundraiser for a class, and most of the revenue acquired from these dances goes toward junior and senior prom as well as the senior class trip.   The junior class is planning the annual “Pulse” dance for February, but students wonder whether or not enough tickets will be sold to hold the event.

  If a class does not raise a large sum of money, the prices for the prom tickets will be much higher, and the location for these events will be less glamorous than it would have been.   Some students wonder if they will be able to afford the tickets to the prom.

Michael Mulroy says, “It isn’t really necessary, but administration thinks it is.”

  Administration have decide it is now time to enforce the policy that appears in the  school’s Student Agenda.

  While the school has always had a disciplinary policy regarding students who are tardy to school, the policy was revised for this school year.

  The policy states that “South Kingstown High School does not distinguish between excused and unexcused tardies… After more than ten tardies to school students will lose the privilege of participating in extra-curricular activities, field trips, and [if they are a senior] will lose parking privileges.”

  Administration predicts that 55 to 60 students, including winter season athletes will be affected by the enforcement of the policy. Athletes who take part in a winter or spring sports this year should take warning, as during the five days of social probation they will not be allowed to practice, participate in games, or even travel with the team, which could result in the students’ dismissal from the team.

    If the student is late to school within the five days of his or her social probation, however, he or she will lose all privileges for the entirety of the semester.

    Prior to January 4, all students who arrived late to school more than 10 times before Holiday Break will be given a warning. If the students are late an additional time they will receive social probation.

  Assistant Principal Mr. Cronin explained that, “the students with more than 10 tardies will be treated as if they have only been late nine times. The next late will be considered their tenth.”

  In the future, at the closure of every semester, each student’s record will be wiped clean. After January 25^th, everyone will have zero tardy arrivals to school on their record.

In the past, the school has struggled to implement punishment for students who have been tardy to or absent from school.  

  Many students point out the lack of penalty after receiving a letter in the mail from the school concerning the number of times they have arrived late to school. Others question whether or not this policy will differ from those in the past.

    “The first semester could act as a warning,” said Mr. Cronin, “since after we return to school there will only be ten days of classes left before exams begin.”

Emma Christian kneels down to paint the bottom portion of the wall leading into a class room door.

  On Monday, January 18, Mrs. Colao’s G period sociology class completed a service learning project where the outcome benefited the school as a whole.

  For the class’ mid-term, Colao suggested the idea of doing a class service project together rather than doing separate community service hours on their own time.  With the support of the administration and the excitement of the class, the project came together.

  Andrew Figgins, a senior in Colao’s class said that the project “was rad.”

  The date the G period class chose was Martin Luther King Day, where the students used over 40 gallons of white paint to freshen up the Technology and Social Studies hallway on the second floor.  The chosen project name was “Fresh Paint.”

  SKHS senior, Katherine Tsiatas said, “[Painting] should be done to the rest of the school.”

  The sociology class comprised of juniors and seniors, worked from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with the help of senior Ben Sevey’s father, a painter, who donated brushes, paint trays, painting mats as well as other necessary supplies.

  The sociology class was not the only one who volunteered to paint that day.  Seniors Molly Reilly and Neil Redmond contributed their time that day alongside social studies teacher Mr. Taber.

  The following morning, the class alongside the other volunteers used dark blue paint to leave their handprint marks on the wall of the hallway leading to the back of the library.  Next to each handprint the students and teachers signed their name and graduation year.

  Though the project “Fresh Paint” was not optional, due to the fact that this project was the class’ mid-term, the students all participated in making a change in the school for the better.

  “This experience brought our class closer together,” said senior Emma Christian with a smile on her face.

“We think it went well,” said senior class officer Marissa McMahon.  “We made the ballots because we as class officers have similar opinions, and we wanted to make sure all of the class was represented.”

Ideas on the ballot include a hiking trip to Mt. Washington, a trip to Six Flags, and a “mystery ride.”  A “mystery ride” means that students would get onto a bus and be taken to various different activities, which have not yet been revealed by the Class Officers.

Results of the senior trip vote will be forthcoming, according to McMahon.