Winter/Spring

The is the final on-line L-S alumni newsletter of the year. So here's what has been happening at your alma mater since the last report.

First of all, as those of you who live in Massachusetts know, we have basically had no spring. It got washed away. Rain, rain, and more rain. One can only imagine how the roof in the old building would have held up. Not too well, I'm sure. But even the new building has sprung a few leaks. A genetic L-S condition?

Anyway, there have been some bright spots amidst the gloom.

We are now completing our first year in the new building. The major downside of our new digs is that neither students nor teachers cross paths with the same frequency as in the old place. Perhaps this is inevitable in a larger building. But we have come a long way in acclimating ourselves to the new surroundings and making it ours. And the project is slowly getting finished, from the shrinking punch-list to landscaping to the artificial turf fields. We even won a prestigious national award for building projects. The best news: L-S lives! Come for a visit!

Moreover, some of our white walls have recently been "warmed up" a bit by the hanging of full-size digital reproductions of some of the murals from the old school. This was very much appreciated by many upperclassman and faculty. And other displays are being considered to help preserve the history and memory of the old school. It's an amazing thought that within three years, there will be no students (and fewer and fewer teachers) who will even remember there ever was another building.

A celebration for the 50th anniversary of L-S is in the planning stages for some time in 2006. Stay tuned.

The big news came about a month ago. By a slim margin (94 votes in one case), voters approved an override for L-S. Had the high school failed to get this financial infusion, the consequences would have been very serious, with resulting teacher layoffs, rising class sizes, and serious hits to the extracurricular/sports budget. We are now breathing a little easier on Lincoln Road, and feel grateful our town communities still strongly support the high school. We have already been able to hire some additional teachers and counselors for next year.

And speaking of teachers, we have one retiree this year, a woman whose name has long been synonymous with the French program at L-S: Karen Fritsche. Madame Fritsche may decide to do an emeritus year at L-S. So, soon-to-be retired, yes. But gone? Non! We hope not. Merci,Madame Fritische for all your many years of dedicated service!

There have been a number of sports triumphs (see a link to the sports scoreboard elsewhere on the alumni page), L-S also did well in in some of our non-athletic activities. Our new robotics club picked up an award at a large competition. Ocean Science took first place. Dyad also took 1st place in New England and The Forum, the school newspaper, took 3rd prize

By the way, there has been some discussion about student use during school of certain devices that probably didn't exist when you went to school: cellphones and iPods, To what extend should their use be regulated or restricted? Hmm. And of course there is still the continuing conversation over whether kids should be allowed to eat in the halls. Some things never change.

Despite the gloom outside, L-S has been a busy beehive of activity these past several months. There have been more assemblies in the new Rogers/Kirshner auditorium that anyone can recall in a comparable space of time--and the topics have been stunning in their range: eating disorders, Navaho Code Talker, oratory competitions, drug addiction, the arts, environmental issues, the Holocaust, film festivals, dance presentations. The list goes on and on. Major school trips this year have taken students to D.C, Belize, Honduras, Italy, and our own Deep South. And oh yes, our new smaller theater, dubbed "The Other Place," had its debut recently with a very powerful student-faculty production of "The Laramie Project."

Now we are all prommed out and only graduation awaits. Please consider attending. It's always nice to see alumni there. It will be held on Thursday June 2, at Featherland field, on Concord Rd., in Sudbury, at 6 pm.

So spring has finally arrived. All the trees are leafed out....well...except for one. It seemed the Tulip Poplar, grown from the seed of a mother tree at Hyde Park, FDR's New York Estate, and given to L-S by the Class of 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of WWII, did not survive. It had been transplanted to the school grounds after growing for 10 years in art teacher Anne Walker's back yard. A tree expert examined it and declared it dead, dead, dead. But, hey, not so fast. This is L-S, after all. In the last two weeks, buds and small leaves have begun appearing, on this 60th anniversary of the world war. Go little tree!

With spring, comes hope.

Have a great summer everyone!

Bill Schechter/ History Dept.

********

PLEASE FORWARD A COPY OF THIS L-S NEWSLETTER TO YOUR
L-S FRIENDS! HELP US TO EXPAND OUR ALUMNI DATABASE AND COMMUNITY!!

-Please note that we are now listing contact information or links to class reunion pages. Send these to us!

-See the link to the Forum for more news.

-Finally, please check out Superintendent/Principal John Ritchie's greeting to alumni.

Send us your feedback! What would you like to see on the alumni web site?.
E-mail Bill Schechter with your suggestions: bill_schechter@lsrhs.net

Return to the Newsletter Index