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Changes made to English department’s summer reading
June 8th, 2011By Jenna Lee
Staff Writer
As we all know, every Westford Academy student is required to complete summer reading for English. The summer reading list, up to this year, had been constant and unchanged. For the summer of 2011, however, the program went through slight changes. For example, the required novel for freshmen A Separate Peace by John Knowles is now replaced by Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. Future honors sophomores no longer have to read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Here is the full list for the year 2011-2012:
English 9 CP I & II Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
English 9 Honors Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen and The Chosen by Chaim Potok
English 10 CP I & II The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
English 10 Honors The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
English 11 CP I & II Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
English 11 Honors Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and The Awakening by Kate Chopin
English 12 CP I & II Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Honors 12 Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A.P. English Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Catch 22by Joseph Heller
There have been some mixed reviews about the program’s changes. Many sophomores who had to put up with the challenging, classic novel by Charles Dickens don’t think it’s fair that the novel is no longer required for future sophomores.
Lisa Li, a sophomore, says, “Great Expectations was the hardest and longest book I ever had to read for school. It kind of annoys me that I had to read it and freshmen don’t have to.”
Others, however, have a different opinion about the changes.
Adithi Iyengar, a junior, says, “I really liked One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. It was one of my favorite novels I had to read for school. Although it’s not required anymore, I recommend it to anyone.”
Anita Goldberg, the Curriculum Coordinator for the English department, explains why the changes have been made.
“Every few years the English department reviews the summer reading lists. The teachers make recommendations and suggestions regarding the texts. The department then comes to a consensus as to what is most appropriate for each grade level. Our goal is to provide books of merit as well as of interest,” said Goldberg.
Whether you are content or anxious about the changes of the summer reading list, one thing is certain: you are required to read it. So buy the book or books, sit on a cozy chair, and read away!
Westford Academy’s Breakdancing Club
April 26th, 2011
Jenna Lee
Staff Writer
It started with watching YouTube videos and learning the moves and progressed to forming an official club at Westford Academy. The Breakdancing Club, combined with students from WA and other towns, was formed last year by junior Tak Wong. They practice once or twice a week in the school and every Saturday at the Westford Dance Center studio.
When asked how the club was formed, Ben Ngai, a junior, said “This club started when we all realized we had an interest in breakdancing and we wanted to practice it together.” By learning new moves from YouTube videos and from each other, the members improve their breakdancing skills every week.
Members practicing at the dance studio
The play was declared a state finalist winner at the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s 80th Annual State Finals in Boston on April 2. The three breakdancers from the play, Tak Wong, Ben Ngai, and Chris Horsey, received an award for Choreography in the ‘All-Star Cast Nominations’. Wong, who won 2nd place last year and 1st this year for WA Idol by breakdancing, comments,“Being part of WATA in the play ‘J.Caes’ was a great experience and it was an awesome way or meeting new people”.
Everyone is invited to join the club any time, and no prior skills are necessary. “We do accept beginners and new members”, Wong says, “as long as they are willing to commit and practice.” The Breakdancing Club also has their own facebook page called “Westford Bboy/Bgirl/Freerunning” which currently has sixty-four members.
Just Go With It: Worth Seeing or No?
March 8th, 2011
by Jenna Lee
Staff Writer
A few weeks ago, the movie Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston was released in theaters. Since my favorite movie genre was romantic comedy, I gave it a try.
Fun Fact: it’s actually a remake of a Bollywood film starring Katrina Kaif.
Here’s a short summary:
Danny Maccabee (Sandler) is a plastic surgeon who gets women using a simple strategy: pretending that he is unhappily married. He tricks every woman he meets to fall for him using only his fake wedding ring he finally finds his “perfect girl”, Palmer (Brooklyn Decker). They go on a date and everything goes as planned until she finds his fake wedding ring in his pocket. He makes up the story that he’s married but he’s getting a divorce: therefore, he convinces his secretary (Aniston) to act as his soon-to-be-divorced wife.
This was my third movie that I watched starring Adam Sandler: the first two were “50 First Dates” and “The Wedding Singer”. Both movies were pleasant to watch as it made me laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time.
I realized how talented Sandler was with his egg-shaped head: his actions and words were amusing despite the mild stupidity-he deserved to be called the man of comedy, in my opinion. Just Go With It is probably in the middle of the two movies I previously mentioned: better than 50 First Dates, but only decent compared to The Wedding Singer.
I know the acting of Jennifer Aniston very well, because of the TV show Friends, which I still love! She’s one of the best comedy actresses out there who can show a true down-to-earth character. It was no different with this movie, as she and Sandler had obvious chemistry throughout the movie.
First of all, it’s a classic movie, which means there’s not much of a surprise: the plot is predictable and you can easily guess what’s going to happen next. It’s entertaining with a couple of good laughs.
If you’re not a fan of Adam Sandler comedies or you’re expecting a deep revelation in the plot, then maybe you’d want to think twice whether this movie is right for you or not.
Overall, I enjoyed Just Go With It and it was worth seeing. It’s a feel-good love story with hilarious moments that’ll make your two hours feel well spent.
So if you’re looking for a classic date movie that you would want to watch with your girlfriend/boyfriend or you just want to laugh away the stress of a long week, then this movie is perfect for you.
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Oscars 2011
March 4th, 2011
By Jenna Lee
Staff Writer
Sunday, February 27th was the biggest night for films that fought hard all year in box office battles: every actor, actress, and director had the potential to walk with the home with the trophy along with recognition from the Hollywood industry. Hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco, the 83rd Annual Academy Awards was a night to remember for many.
Oscar Winners of 2011-
BEST PICTURE: The King’s Speech
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Christian Bale (The Fighter)
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Toy Story 3
ART DIRECTION: Alice in Wonderland
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Inception
COSTUME DESIGN: Alice in Wonderland
DIRECTING: Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Inside Job
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: Strangers No More
FILM EDITING: The Social Network
FOREIGN LANGUAGE: In a Better World
MAKEUP: The Wolfman
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE): The Social Network
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG): Toy Story 3
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED): The Lost Thing
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION): God of Love
SOUND EDITING: Inception
SOUND MIXING: Inception
VISUAL EFFECTS: Inception
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY): The Social Network
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY): The King’s Speech
“The King’s Speech” obviously ruled the night with a staggering twelve nominations and four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Colin Firth who portrayed King George VI of England during World War II.
Overall, most of the films mentioned were outstanding: some could have had better recognition, such as “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” or even the animated kids movie “How to Train Your Dragon”.
New anticipated movies are coming out soon, such as “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”, and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”. For Twilight fans, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” is another highly anticipated movie. Hopefully, one of the named movies will reach its way to win an Oscar for 84th Academy Awards in 2012.
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A Hands-on Experience in Child Development
December 16th, 2010By Jenna Lee
Staff Writer
As you walk around the halls of Westford Academy, you may have noticed many students carrying babies strapped in baby car seats. You might wonder which class they are taking. It is no other than Child Development.
A Baby Think It Over model
In the Child Development I course, or CDI, many topics include Families & Parenting, Pregnancy, Labor & Delivery, and Birth Defects. While CDI focuses on infants, Child Development II involves a hand-on experience with preschoolers and discussion when they are not present.
Three teachers who teach Child Development are Melanie Jozokos, Merri Brown, and Rick McElhinney. Jozokos and McElhinney teach Child Development I while Brown teaches Child Development II.
One of the main activities in Child Development I is Baby Think It Over by Realityworks, a real-to-life infant simulator used to provide hands-on experience of parenting an infant. Although the babies are plastic, they are not any different from real babies; just like real babies, they sleep, wake up, and cry. Students are responsible for taking care of the infants by changing diapers, burping, rocking, feeding, and much more.
The students taking Child Development are not all girls. Jozokos says, “There are a few brave male students who take this class-it’s a good perspective on gender roles and I think it scares them!”
Brown has been teaching Child Development II for fifteen years. A typical day in the class is spent taking care of the preschoolers in the mornings. Brown says, “Westford Academy students work here hands-on so it’s not a typical class where students take notes and have tests. They work with kids and create their own preschool lessons.”
In afternoon classes, Brown comments, “When the little kids aren’t here, we talk about things relating problems we see in the preschool; we use the children as basis for the curriculum.”
According to Jozokos, who has been teaching Child Development I for five years, there have been rumors that the Child Development is a scary class. One activity in the class that may have stimulated the rumors is watching the childbirth video. “But it’s not as scary as some people make it out to be!” Jozokos claims.
Child Development is a good hands-on experience for those who are planning on a career path involving young children, or even parenting. Jozokos says, “It is a very valuable class…and really fun!”
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Mark Your Calendars for the Epic Finale of Harry Potter
October 30th, 2010
Staff Writer
Part 1 of the seventh and final adventure in the Harry Potter film series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, is coming out on November 19, 2010. That’s only a few days away!
Part one begins as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley leave Hogwarts to track down the Horcruxes that will destroy Lord Voldemort’s immortality. As Voldemort’s power grows stronger and the Dark Forces eventually take over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, it’s up to the trio to save the Wizarding World from chaos and destruction.
Lisa Li, a sophomore, is one of the many millions of Harry Potter book and movie fans that can’t wait for the movie to come out.
“I’ve read all of the books and the last one was the most exciting. I have really high expectations for the Harry Potter 7 movie and I know this will be better than the others,” said Li.
Li also states, “I understand that the story for the last book is very long, and they split it into two movies to generate excitement, but I just know that after watching the first one I will feel empty for a whole year before the second one comes out.”
Directed by David Yates, the final Harry Potter movie will reveal the ultimate battle between Harry Potter and Voldemort, which has been Potter’s fate ever since he became “the Boy Who Lived”.
Alicia Desrochers, a junior, comments about her favorite characters of the Harry Potter series. She says, “Snape is creepy, but I love how he develops toward the end of the series. And you have to appreciate Harry Potter: he always does things for the right reasons even if it’s dangerous.”
Desrochers is already looking forward to watching the movie coming out in November.
“I am going to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at midnight and I’m going to dress up in full costume as Harry Potter,” said Desrochers.
Part 2 of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows” will be released eight months after Part 1 in July 15, 2011.
The German Exchange: Experience of a Lifetime
October 13th, 2010By Jenna Lee
Staff Writer
This summer, seventeen WA German students spent six weeks in Europe. They visited countries such as Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.
While touring Europe, the students met students from German schools and quickly became friends after sharing everyday culture and language. They also befriended their German families during the forty-two days of the trip.
Westford Academy’s German teacher Herr Mike Joyce founded the German Exchange Program thirty years ago and has been continuously organizing the trip for his German students every year. He believes the program changes their lives and improves their German language.
“They found they can take care of themselves and operate in any foreign environment; basically any country in the world. Not to mention their confidence skyrockets!” said Joyce.
For the exchange program of 2010, Herr Joyce said, “This was one of the greatest groups ever. Not only did we meet the chancellor of Germany, but Principal Antonelli came with us this summer.”
When asked about the highlight of the whole trip, Eric Zhang, a senior, said, “The best part of the trip was solidifying lifetime friendships. It’s nuts to think about, but the truth is that I was closer to my friends and my family in Germany than I was with a lot of peers at home. After just a few short weeks! Yet now I know that it’s possible.”
In the south (Untergriesbach), the students went to Munich and had a sober visit to the concentration camp in Dachau. They toured the Bavarian National Forest and saw many indigenous species of animals in the region. They also visited the charming city of Passau on the Danube as well as the university city of Regensburg.
In the north (Northeim), the students went to Berlin and saw many historic attractions such as the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate. They were fortunate to catch a glimpse of Germany’s Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel.
They toured other major places such as Bremen, Bremerhaven, and Hamburg.
Finally, the Austria tour included traveling to the capital Vienna: many highlights of Vienna include Schoenbrunn Palace, Prater Amusement Park, and the Hundertwasser house.
Outside of Vienna, the students visited Hallstatt, a gorgeous town nestled in the Dachstein Alps, and Salzburg, the famous city where the Sound of Music starring Julie Andrews was filmed.
Stephanie Gagnon, a junior, comments on the trip: “I learned that sometimes, in the thick of things, we need to take a step back and enjoy the life that’s rushing by us. And that we can’t take ourselves too seriously- there’s time to be mature and old when we’re older, but right now it’s time to be the kids we are. And I learned that we can never take things for granted – they might be taken from us without warning. But I mostly learned how to live life to the fullest, and enjoy every second of it because the little things are what matter the most”.
Between the tours, the students enjoyed many planned activities such as parties, swimming and rock-climbing, restaurants, cinemas, and museum visits.
Laurianne Posch, a junior, valued the lesson of friendship from the program. “Not only did the German exchange program allow me to meet tons of people in other countries; I also made friends from Westford Academy who I never thought I would be friends with. Now, we’re a really close group, almost a family. It’s really amazing how close you can get to people after spending six weeks with them.”
Zhang exclaims he is “homesick” for Germany. In response to whether he recommends this trip to students taking German, he says, “Don’t think twice about it, you WON’T get a chance like this again in your LIFE! By far the single greatest experience you will ever have at WA and it will exceed your expectations in every way possible.”
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