[divider]Sophomore Class[/divider]
Sophomore class president Maya Mathews
Q: What do you hope to change at North?
A: As president, there isn’t much to change; the job is kind of to be the face of the school. However, I hope I could change people’s opinions on what’s cool; nowadays people get so caught up in what’s cool that they actually keep themselves from having any fun. For example, the student council hosted a dance on June 10 of last year, and people might have thought that it’s not cool to go to school functions like that. In reality, the decorations looked great, we had a sweet DJ, and all the money we raised went straight back to the Class of 2019 funds. So in my opinion, that’s pretty cool. You make money for yourself and have fun.
Q: How do you plan to implement these changes?
A: The school says that it’s very much kid-run, but everything has to be approved by a teacher or administrator first. I personally think that instead of going through that whole process, there should be just some set rules in place so that whole back-and-forth of emailing doesn’t waste so much time. For example, the student council was going to host a movie night last year, but no one ever responded on when and how we would be allowed to do it. Thus, we weren’t able to fulfill the task. I’ve heard a lot of people, like sports teams with bake sales, have this issue as well. Basically, if a student wants to take charge of something, they should be given the rules and guidelines first and then be able to take the reins the rest of the way.
Q: If you were forced to choose, what single issue is most important to you?
A: The biggest thing I want to work on as president is changing the spirit of the class. I want people to have a sense of pride in being a Tiger, and I want them to want to support fellow Tigers. For example, it’d be awesome if people enjoyed and looked forward to school events and went with friends. In other words, it should be cool to enjoy school events and fundraisers. School pride is not something you need to graduate, but it definitely makes high school a little more pleasant. Plus you create memories and lifelong friendships at school-wide events; it brings the class together. So that’s my big goal as I’m in office, alongside raising money for our junior and senior proms.
Sophomore class vice president Ashley Wang
Q: What are your goals for your time as vice president?
A: My goal as vice president is to do as much fundraising as possible in order to make junior and senior prom the best they can be. I know fundraising is a big issue for many classes because the events aren’t run well or aren’t fun, so I plan to help make the events more successful by contributing my ideas and making events fun for the whole entire grade.
Sophomore class vice president Ava Waters
Q: What do you hope to change at North?
A: I hope to change how students perceive school. Everyone dreads going to school because of homework, stress, old-fashioned rules, and even teachers. I will definitely try to change the culture of our school and make it more welcoming and positive without being too cheesy. I think a lot of it also ties in with homework; I would love to make a statement about homework and balancing everything else that goes on in a busy high schooler’s life.
Q: How do you plan to implement these changes?
A: I can implement these changes by advocating for the class and following through with plans. I will help with any school events we hold for our class, most definitely get feedback from other students, and take suggestions for any fundraising ideas.
Q: If you were forced to choose, what single issue is most important to you?
A: As much as Newton, and especially North, excels academically, athletically, and artistically, I think how we’re taught material and assigned homework should be changed. We already go to school every day at 7:50, which is too early for my liking, and work extremely hard to get good grades and become successful. We also change our work style for each class because each teacher has different requirements.
I also don’t think having someone just stand at the front of the class, reciting facts, and then forcing students to memorize them is an effective way of teaching. No one remembers anything about what was on their test a week later, and who is to blame? Our education system bases grades off of “who can memorize facts the best,” not where and when we apply our knowledge. I think more interactive activities, rather than copying down three pages of notes, are more memorable and easier to understand. Running these ideas across teachers if they comes up or getting a group to raise awareness about how much students are held accountable nowadays are possible solutions.
Q: What are your goals for your time as vice president?
A: My goals are to fundraise for prom and to better myself at being in a student government position. It will help me improve how I communicate and share ideas, just like being part of a real organization. But I definitely want to raise a ton of money for junior prom and senior prom and continue the great course we’re on from last year’s student government.
Other sophomore class vice presidents: Morgan Britt-Webb and Talia Attar.
[divider]Junior Class[/divider]
Junior class president Eliza Inder
Q: What would you like to change at North?
A: What I would most like to change at North is the way class events are perceived. As class president, I would like to inspire whole class participation so that our events are successful.
Q: What are your goals for your time as class president?
A: For junior year, I would most like to focus on prom. It is a major event for our class, and I would like to make it the best it can be.
Junior class vice president Sara Buchwald
Q: What would you like to change at North?
A: Although being a vice president is focused more on fundraising, a change I would like to make at North would be to reduce the stress of students. Everyone I talk to is always stressed for one reason or another, and they don’t have time to do things that they enjoy that would make them happier and less stressed out. The school, the teachers, and the students need to find a way to make this possible without sacrificing our class agenda and education.
Q: How do you plan to implement these changes?
A: To implement these changes, I will express my ideas and beliefs to the Student Faculty Administration (SFA), which works on these issues and provides them with support in any way possible.
Q: If you were forced to choose, what single issue is most important to you?
A: If I were to choose an issue that is most important to me, I would definitely have to go with the racism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia that is present at our school. North is viewed as a progressive school, and the majority of us value the diversity in our school. But there are still some who, for some reason, think that people are lesser because of their sexuality, race, or religion, which is ridiculous. I’m glad our school has begun to put so much emphasis on this problem because our school is great, but fixing this hate and ignorance will make us even better.
Q: What are your goals as vice president?
A: My goals for my time as vice president are to plan a bunch of fun successful fundraisers and to plan a great prom while making the ticket prices affordable for everyone.
Other junior class vice presidents: Spencer Checkoway, Elizabeth Davis, and Carson Takoka.
[divider]Senior Class[/divider]
Senior class president Emily Szeto
Q: What do you hope to change at North?
A: At North, I hope to find ways to reduce stress levels, and I also hope to find ways to unite students.
Q: How do you plan to implement these changes?
A: I think it’s no secret that one of the main problems that students face in school is stress. We’re expected to juggle homework, studying, sports, and extracurriculars, while trying to squeeze in a social life. In order to reduce stress, I plan to have more days like “Free Cookie Day.” This is very easy to arrange, and something as simple as a cookie can make someone’s day. If I can do something simple to help someone forget about their stress for a few minutes, why not do it?
Q: If you were forced to choose, what single issue is most important to you?
A: I also want to find ways to unite students because I feel like our class is divided. I believe that it’s important to meet and create connections with new people, so I want to have more active class events such as class wide Capture the Flag or Movie Night on the field. It’ll be fun for everyone to see each other beyond the classroom setting.
Q: What are your goals for your time as class president?
During freshman year Step-Up day, Jen Price, our former principal, motivated us to leave North better than we found it, and to say the least, that’s what student government intends to do. We are brainstorming ways to help the students and to better the school.
Senior class vice president Gregory Brumberg
Q: What are your goals for your time as vice president?
As vice president, I will fundraise and plan for prom. In the SFA, I can share my opinion and suggest ideas for how to help our school. For SCR, I bring the voice of the students to the school committee meeting in the ed center.
Q: What do you hope to change at North?
I want to make our school greener. A permanent recycling program would be nice, as well as composting. Whenever a new policy is being discussed either in school committee or SFA, I will suggest a green implication or how the policy can be made greener.
Senior class vice president Noah Stonehill
Q: What do you hope to change here at North?
A: I hope to change the library policy here at North. I’ve seen people get kicked out for as little as talking too loud or eating a little snack. I disagree with the policies and hope to change them.
Q: How do you plan on implementing these changes?
A: I plan on implementing these changes on the SFA. My goal is to pass a bill with library policy reform.
Q: What are your goals for your time as vice president?
A: My main goals as vice president and as an SFA member are to pass the library reform, keep the class budget balanced, and to put on great class events.
Other senior class vice president: Tamara Kahhale.