Suzanne CohenStaff Writer

Last June, rising seniors were told that the senior paper, a lengthy, in-depth literary analysis, had been eliminated and that they would be required to write eight individual papers instead. Many teachers said that a senior paper would still be a part of their curricula, just not a graduation requirement. However, this year, the senior paper has been officially reinstated as a manda-tory assignment.

Last year, the Curriculum Committee of the Stamford Pub-lic Schools hired consultant Faye

Guage from the Connecticut Writ-ing Project. She helped revise the English curriculum that Stamford had modeled after that of the Fair-field Public Schools. The new cur-riculum that she helped revise in-stated the eight paper requirement and eliminated the lengthy senior paper.

Many teachers didn’t agree with the curriculum change. “The consensus from the English teach-ers was that they felt [the senior

paper] showed the students’ writ-ing accomplishments,” English Department Head Mrs. Strom said.

The teachers brought the issue to Mrs. Strom, who then discussed it with Principal Ms. Figluizzi. Mrs. Strom, Ms. Figluizzi, and Tenth Grade Administrator Ms. Nordin, who is also the adminis-trator in charge of overseeing the English Department, agreed to re-instate the senior paper. “It is valu-able for students to demonstrate they are proficient, and the senior paper is a way [for them] to dem-onstrate [their proficiency],” Ms. Nordin said.

Before the paper could be rein-stated, Mrs. Strom, Ms. Figluizzi, and Ms. Nordin were required to request permission from the Stam-ford Public Schools’ English cur-riculum coordinator to establish a different curriculum from the one offered by Stamford High School. (Stamford High is still using the eight paper curriculum.) The cur-riculum coordinator approved the curriculum change at Westhill and the senior paper was reinstated.

“I was strongly in favor of the reinstatement of the senior paper. I think the senior paper and the senior speech are two universal Westhill experiences that every Westhill senior should experi-ence,” English teacher Ms. Wheel-er, who teaches two senior classes, said.

Rather than adding a ninth pa-per to the curriculum, one of the eight papers assigned throughout the year will be the senior paper and will follow specific guidelines that the English teachers are cur-rently in the process of setting.

According to Mrs. Strom, all senior English classes will have a similar assignment, but Ad-vanced Placement (AP) classes must meet higher expectations. AP classes will do more research and be more thorough when writ-ing their papers.

Senior James Rossi said, “[The senior paper is] not that big of a deal, as long as it’s not a huge part of our grade.”

Senior Michael Holland felt differently. “The senior paper should be reinstated, but the eight paper requirement should be elim-inated,” he said.

Although there are different opinions about the reinstatement, one thing is clear: all seniors are now required to write a senior pa-per at the end of the year.

Good MonthBad Month

Column byNaomi Sabbah and Joely Mass

Bacon lovers, who are now able to satisfy their bacon craving at any time and place. Jones Soda Com-pany, known for its ham, turkey, and green pea-flavored drinks, has just come out with a new bacon-flavored soda that will transform a breakfast that was once tedious into a quick, on-the-go treat. If eating bacon wasn’t already in-dulgent enough, bacon lovers can now enjoy their favorite fattening snack without straining themselves chewing.

Grandma Ruth Flowers, a 69-year old DJ who goes by the name “Mamy Rock.” Flowers recently played her first gig in the United States at Anaheim’s Electro Fes-tival. The senior citizen didn’t become interested in DJing until visiting a nightclub for her grand-son’s birthday in 2005, but now you can find her jamming out at all the local night clubs. Talk about a groovin’ granny!

Good Month for... Bad Month for...

Demi Lovato, who checked her-self into a rehabilitation center on November 1 due to “emotional and physical issues.” While some are proud of her courage in acknowl-edging that she has a problem, oth-ers have brushed her off as just an-other teen star getting into trouble. Could ex-boyfriend and tour mate Joe Jonas’s new girlfriend Ashley Greene, who is tagging along on their world tour, have had some-thing to do with it? Or is Demi just the next Lindsay Lohan?

Firefighters, who will be working overtime on Thanksgiving. While the month of November brings tur-key dinners and sentimental family gatherings, it also doubles the like-lihood of kitchen fires compared to any other day of the year. So in-stead of enjoying a relaxing family meal, firefighters will be busy en-suring that everyone else’s holiday is enjoyable.

School attendance, which has dropped drastically this month. During the week of November 9, when the highly anticipated Xbox game Black Ops came out, teen-age gamers worldwide pushed all thoughts of school aside, choos-ing to stay home and play instead. Then, on November 18, thousands of Harry Potter fans chose to skip school and camp out in front of the nearest movie theater featuring the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. We know you wish you were at Hogwarts, but you’re just a Mug-gle. Go back to Westhill.

Kiara Kalloway, Sydney Olshan, and Anna Schlessinger / Head Illus-trator, Illustrator, and Managing Editor

5NEWS November 2010www.thewestwordonline.com

“The consensus from the English teachers was that they felt [the senior paper] showed the stu-dents’ writing accomplishments.”

—English Department Head Mrs. Strom

Senior paper reinstatedLady Gaga fans, who can now smell like their favorite pop su-perstar. The singer, known for her outlandish appearance and unpredictable performances, an-nounced on November 12 she will be launching a signature perfume in the spring of 2012. While many wonder what sort of scent Gaga will produce, we know for certain it will be whimsical and out of the ordinary. Knowing Gaga, she could make the smell of dog ma-nure glamorous.

Writer’S BlOCK After previously removing the requirement for a senior paper, the English cur-riculum has been changed again, this time to reinstate it.

Kiara Kallaway / Head Illustrator