Administrators head to classrooms to tackle bullying threat

Shanice White, Reporter

            During the week of March 14, Englewood High School Principal Jonathan Fore and Assistant Principal Bobby Thomas visited every English classroom to discuss the dangers of bullying and violence in the school. These visits were made to see what advice students could give to the administration that will help prevent confrontations and bullying within the school. Fore told classes that the school had recorded more fights this year than in previous years. In a recent girl fight in “Dysfunction Junction”, bystanders both videotaped the fight and blocked teacher access. This precipitated the principals’ need to address the issues in “town hall” settings.

            “I wanted to be able to talk with students in small groups. I also wanted a way to get student-generated ideas to improve the situation,” said Fore.

            During these visits, Fore and Thomas explained that the consequences for bullying and fighting have changed and that students may not realize that “for every action, there’s a reaction.”

            “I think when people fight, it’s for show because they know people will watch. It’s like two entertainers putting on a show,” said junior Tiara Fulton.

             The state definition of bullying states, “A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and overtime, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself.” Both principals asked the classes to raise their hands if the definition could have ever applied to them. The majority of the students in the classes did raise their hands. Having then raised student awareness, the principals also talked about how bullies can leave evidentiary trails online through social networking, YouTube, or on their own cell phones since text messages can be accessed through service providers.

            “There is a lot of bullying at this school and I think there needs to be more enforcement from staff,” said sophomore Craig Stevens.

            Some of the suggestions that students gave included needing activities and programs that focus on accepting differences like True Colors, Rachel’s Challenge, SWAT, and If You Really Knew Me, identifying the main instigators and dealing with them, peer meditation, and teachers building better relationships with students so they can feel they can tell them anything.

            “My guess is that EHS will try to implement most, if not all of the ideas. We are using the information from the class meetings as a basis for planning our bullying prevention program,” said Fore.

Englewood Idol Pictures

Letter from Ms. Noraddin

As for gender balance between generations, it varies.
I grew up in a science town where all of my friends had at least one parent that was a scientist. No one ever told me that math and science would be hard for me because I was a girl (although my mom was told that many times growing up). I was very focused through HS and undergrad to become a biochemist. I remember one of the senior PhD scientists in my summer research group told me that if she had the option to rethink her path, then she would. She is about my parents’ age and has her PhD in biochemistry. She was a role model and an inspiration for where I wanted to be in my life. She said that she wished she had stopped with just a master’s degree because she felt like a bad mom. PhD scientists have to work long hours and travel to a lot of conferences to give talks and present posters. If she just had her master’s, then she could have better hours and travel less. This really made me think about my choices. I felt that I was still on the right track. I didn’t want to “give up” on what I thought was my ultimate dream. [Off topic: My greatest advise is to stay flexible about your ultimate dreams and follow your own path to happiness.] My dream changed. I moved to CU Boulder for the PhD program in biochemistry. My best friend from high school also came to CU Boulder for the physical chemistry program. Historically, these were both male dominated fields. However, my class of Fall 2004 was almost perfectly 50-50! It was a big deal to have so many women in the sciences that are considered harder (mainly math-based sciences of chemistry and physics). Look forward to Fall 2005 and the numbers were no longer equal.

Many of the girls in my class, including myself, found that the PhD program was not the right fit. Two of us left to get our master’s in education. One got married and left the program. I lost touch with the rest of the girls, but none of the boys left the program. My main decision was made by the fact that I enjoyed making a difference when I was teaching chemistry at the college level. Having a family is also very important to me, so having the life and schedule of a teacher is much more family friendly. I find myself taking on the traditional roles of my parents and their generation as a whole. I realize that I will never make as much as my husband. He is a telecommunication engineer and has many more opportunities for salary increases. Those are the sacrifices you make to do something you love (teaching). :)

My best friend made it through the PhD program and has a well-paying job in San Fran. Yet she still likes the traditional female roles. She is just waiting for her fiancé to make enough money so she can quit working and make babies. I also see differences between my friends that are married and those that are still single. My married friends almost all match the format of women in lower-paying jobs and the men being the main breadwinners. My single friends have a different perspective. They don’t have anyone to support him or her, so they push even harder to be the biggest and best in their field.

Growing up, my dad supported the family and the little money brought in by
my mother, who owned her own small speech therapy business, was our “spending” money. They always told my sister and me that she was the reason we got to go school shopping or to go to Disney World. It was a nice way to show that she may make less, but it was still special and important for our family. My mom had a traditionally female job, while my dad was a highly technical nuclear engineer who focuses on the strength of materials. My dad goes to international conferences several times a year. All of the scientists go with their wives… with the exception of one. There is one female PhD scientist in my dad’s international field. Isn’t that amazing? Therefore, women may be increasing their presences in the math and sciences, but there are still fields that we have not broken into yet.

You asked if gender balance is important. I guess so. I think it is more important to be happy. I could be a PhD scientist like my dad, if I wanted to be. I could also make a lot more money if I used even my undergrad degree in the science field. However, it is more important to be happy. Teaching makes me happy. I did not choose teaching because it is a traditionally female profession. I certainly never felt that it was one of my only options. Regardless of gender, I feel almost every occupation is available. What matters is that people choose the path that fits them best. I won’t say that my dad’s field is at a loss due to the lack of women. I also don’t believe that my dad is gender-based in any way when hiring new members to his team. This is the generation where people are hired based on merit, or at least that is what I see.

--Ms. Noraddin

PirateTV Episode 7

Seussical the Musical Pictures

Farewell to Mr. Ambron

Imagine being head of a theatre department. Imagine, over a period of six to eight weeks, spending hours upon hours after the school day reading through play scripts, telling the actors and actresses where they need to be at each moment of the play, and running through the play several times until it is more than perfect. Imagine staying at the school until as late as midnight each night during the week leading up to the show, then showing up to teach at seven a.m. the next morning. Now, try imagining going through that process 110 times. To do so would be to step into the shoes of Mr. Bill Ambron, who has headed the Englewood High School drama department for the last 30 years.


In 1981, Englewood High School was in need of a new drama teacher.
“The program was strong during the 15 years that Jack Fisher ran it. Mr. Price, [who was principal at the time], needed someone to build the program back up,” Ambron said. So how did Bill Ambron, the baseball junkie who had never even seen a play in high school, come to be the man that would turn the drama department around?

“I had planned on playing baseball in college while I earned my degree, then figure out where I was going to go from there,” Ambron said. “Well, 119 players were trying out for 15 spots. They cut 90 of us on the first day.” Once baseball was out of the question, Ambron had to figure out what he was going to do instead.

“I took a girl to a play at my college. The lights and everything were so cool. I told her, ‘That’s what I’m going to do.’ She said, ‘What makes you think you can do that?’ I responded, ‘Honey, I’ve been acting all my life.’” And so, a theatre extraordinaire was born.

Thirty-three years and over 100 productions later, Ambron has done more than he ever thought possible.

“When I was in college I had a list of 50 plays I wanted to direct in my life-time. It only took me 15 years to get there,” Ambron said. He has always just tried to take it one year at a time, always thinking about who he is going to be building the plays around in the following year. However, now there is no “following year.” The people of Englewood have asked the same question several times: Is Mr. Ambron really retiring?

“I know I could do this for 10 more years if I wanted to,” Ambron said. “I’ve had my time. I’ve had my 30 years of memories. It’s time for someone else to come in and make their own memories.”

Still, it is hard for people to imagine what Englewood will be like without the voice of Ambron booming throughout the auditorium.

“I have been going to plays directed by Mr. Ambron for a long time” City Councilman Randy Penn said. “He knows how to get the kids to perform at the top level. He really brings out the talent in all of the kids.”

For Ambron, the past 30 years have been everything that he could have wanted and more.

“I’ve been able to earn my livelihood doing something that I enjoyed so much in college,” Ambron said. “Every Saturday night when the show closes and I’m putting away the costumes in my classroom, I think to myself, ‘Am I crazy?’ Other teachers were at home relaxing, and I was at the school cleaning up after the show. It has been an enriching experience, but it has been a tremendous amount of work.” But as Mr. Ambron has learned in his time as a marathon runner and drama teacher, hard work is what brings true happiness.


“When the audience sees opening night and sees all the hard work that the kids have put into the show, it’s all worth it,” Ambron said. “It really is a magical moment when you get out there in front of hundreds of people. It’s amazing to see it happen.”