Volume 73 No. 4
Coach Bob Sawj'er and his wife traveled to
Greenville, Nortli Carolina on November 1.
Coach Sawyer was honored witli a $50,000
endowment given in his name to East Carolina
University. John Tudor, a former swimmer,
honored Coach Sawj'er with the endowment.
Though Tudor graduated from Smitli High
School, he trained with Coach Sawyer outside
of school for several years.
Tliere will be ample opportunities to the Gold
and Silver Madrigals perform between the
Tlianksgiving and Winter Holidays. During
tliis period of time tire two groups will be giv-
mg more that 20 prefomiances to a wide vari
ety of audiences. Currently tlte choral depart
ment is focusing its energ)' on preparing to
perfonn a major modem classical woric, the
Pinkham Christmas Cantata with double brass
choir and organ. The Gold and Silver Madri
gals as well as the Advanced Choms will per
fonn this piece. Advanced Choms is also
woridng on a variety of folk carols from around
the world.
Tlie following seniors were inducted into
Grimsley's chapter of the National Honor So-
ciefr' on November20: Alex Anderson. Daniel
Benjamin. Leon Bochkis. Pegg)' Biuws. Ted
Chen .Hester DeCasper. Meaghan Graves,
Betsey Hirschfeld, David Lemon. Andrew
Marin. Ben Messmer. Jil Murray. Simon
Newman. Sunjun Park. Sarali Roberts. Eliza
beth Sheffield, Dylan Thurston, Bn'an Will
iams. Kelly Youngken. and Patty Yu.
Tlie Grimsley Amiy JROTC will be having
an open house on December 8 from 2:00-4:00
P.M.Cadets and parents will recieve refresh
ments w'hile tliey listen to cadet staff briefings
and view infomtative displays. The Drill Team
will perform both fancy and regulation drills.
Grimsley High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
Decembers, 1996
Buczinsky leaves Grimsley
and teaching profession
By Meganne Raines
Reporter
There has recently been a noticeable
quiet emanating from room 201 of the
main building. One of Grimsley's most
dynamic teachers is gone.
Mr. Buczinsky, an English teacher at
Grimsley, confimred one month ago
that he resigned from teaching. His
official last day at Grimsley was No
vember 22. 1996. Mr. Buczinsky
moved to Chicago, Illinois, to live
near his brother.
Mr. Buczinsky views his resigna
tion as an opportunity to act deci
sively and to stand up for a personal
belief He feels tliat the Guilford
County School System s motto “Chil
dren First,” has been reduced to only
a slogan by the indignities in tlie sys
tem. He claims that tlie school sys
tem does not encourage energy or
creativity. Mr. Buczinsky said, "
What tltey mean by teaching is not
what I mean by teaching.”
Recent controversy over "The
Old Gringo" has added to Mr.
Buczinsky’s dismay with the school
system. However, despite the
countless hours he spent defending
the novel, the opposition to the
book was not a major factor in his
decision. Mr. Buczinks3''s resolu
tion to leave was based on what he
viewed as a lack of support demon
strated during the book review process
and especially at the public hearing last
month. This event sealed Mr.
Buczinsky’s decision to resign. The dis
pute about "The Old Gringo" began
when Grimsley parents opposed the
book. Mr. Buczinsky does not hold any
thing against these people; in fact, he
expressed a strong respect for tliem.
The metaphor which Mr. Buczinsky
chooses to describe his situation is that
of a dinghy. Teachers are in a dinghy boat,
being pulled by a larger ship, the adminis
tration. When tire central administration
did not support Mr. Buczinsky, the dinghy
was cut away, left to drift alone.
Mr. Buczinsky’s departure for Chicago
is a reunion of two brothers. He and his
younger sibling plan to work together,
blending business and creative writing.
L
—la
tU" ' ' ;
Mr. Buczinsky rcs|>nitls to a Ulscussioh m an l.B.
English 11 class.
Mr. Buczinksy wants to be a writer, an
occupation that cannot share time with
his teaching job. Mr. Buczinsky’s new
career will provide him with more time
to himself, a valuable benefit that grad
ing endless stacks of student work does
not provide.
Mr. Buczinsky w'ill be free from te
dious hours of paperwork, but his students
will be left without a teacher whom many
like and respect. The International Bac
calaureate classes will most likely have
to face an instructor who has not had the
necessaty- l.B. training.
While some students have recently
letimed of Mr. Buczinsky’s resignation and
others do not have a strong opinion, the
overall student response to Mr.
Buczinsky’s departure is ver}' remorseful.
On the day Buczinsky announced his de
cision, students could be seen crying in lire
hallways. Freshman Emily Butler said,
"I’m verv' sad because he's the best
teacher I’ve ever had and I've learned
more from him than from any other
teacher.” Issac Kuo, a junior in one of
Mr. Buczinsky’s l.B. classes, shares
Butler’s sadness. “Although I've only
had him for a couple months I’ve
learned a lot and 1 can really see that
he cares about his students. I wish that
he didn’t have to leave, ’ said Kuo.
However, many of Mr. Buczinsky’s
students expressed that they are happy
for him and respect his decision. Mor
gan Laughlin, a junior emolled in the
l.B. class, said, “If he’s going to be
happy then I’d rather him leave than
stay here and be miserable.”
Another emotion expressed by
Grimsley students is one of confu
sion. Jessica Fuller, a freshman,
respects Mr. Buczinsky’s passion
for learning and teaching, but she
questions his decision to resign.
"He seems like he w'ould be a great
teacher, but leaving his students in
the middle of the year seems to go
against his zest for learning and his job
as a teacher.” said Fuller.
Mr. Buczinsky hopes his life in
Chicago will be a time of great, new
adventure. However,this adventure
will not involve Mr. Buczinsky getting
married. One rumor at Grimsley
claims that he is already engaged. An
other bit of hearsay that has reached
students is that the administration
forced Buczinsky to step down. Both
of these rumors are completely false.
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LJ
Dating
Violence
pages 6-7
WNites
in the
Water
page 11