Projects for the Student-Faculty Administration (SFA) have begun to ramp up after months of planning, welcoming new members, and forming subcommittees.

“This is the best year we have had in terms of teacher and student participation, we have the most teachers we have ever had,” said special education teacher Carolyn Fertig, the faculty chair for SFA. 

According to Fertig, there is significantly more staff participation on SFA this year than last year. This is largely due to the Newton Teachers Association strike decreasing the amount of teacher involvement. 

Senior Alissa Kraus, SFA student co-chair, said most of the group’s work is done in subcommittees dedicated to a specific aspect of North’s learning environment. 

This year’s subcommittees consist of Mental Health, Sustainability, Bathrooms, Advisory, and Advanced Placement (AP)Testing. 

North’s mental health subcommittee is committed to improving access to mental health resources and enhancing counselor-student relationships, Kraus said.

Kraus added that the subcommittee plans to introduce a service dog to the school, establish a mental health day, and offer professional development for teachers in order to better support students’ mental well-being. 

The sustainability subcommittee collaborates with other student organizations to foster a more eco-friendly school. 

According to junior May Bunton a committee member, “In the sustainability committee, we’re working on getting the carpentry students to build bike covers for the bike racks, so when it’s raining or snowing, kid’s bikes aren’t covered in snow.” 

“So far this year, the committees have worked a lot on a newly proposed bill about AP exams,” said Fertig.

Fertig added that the AP Testing subcommittee is working towards improving the experience for students taking AP tests. The current focus is to excuse any absences on the days of AP Testing to reduce the overall stress of the exams. 

This year’s initiatives also include reintroducing composting and ensuring that all students have access to water bottles, Bunton added.

This SFA plans to enhance the quality of bathrooms at North by ensuring that they are accessible and meet the needs of all groups within the school community, they are also focused on implementing a system for reporting restroom cleanliness issues and ensuring that menstrual products are consistently available. 

The SFA also launched an Advisory subcommittee focused on enhancing the student experience during Advisory and fostering stronger connections between students. The group will work on initiatives to make Advisory more engaging, inclusive, and supportive for everyone involved.