Dear Reader:

Welcome back to Pomperaug! We at the Phoenix have been working hard for the past few weeks to get this issue out to you. We’ve been writing and interviewing. We’ve been lurking in the resource center trying to hunt down unsuspecting new teachers for photos (maintaining what has apparently become a tradition here at the Phoenix...). We’ve been sending out online surveys about passports, selling baked goods so we can afford to print issues, emailing teachers, meeting with administrators, and cutting deadlines close. And here it is: the first issue of the year! Two new staff members were especially helpful in creating this issue. Sophomores Christy Dzubay and Marlee Breakstone have joined the editorial staff as Associate Editors, and I’m so happy to have them! They’ll be editing articles all year as well as working on article ideas and helping make decisions at the Phoenix.Senior Editor Caroline Crocco is also back to manage the magazine with me and edit articles. The Phoenixhas never had such a large editorial staff, and if this first issue is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, I know working with them will be great.

I have to say, I’m pretty proud of this issue. A year ago, I was distributing my first issue of the Phoenixas editor, and I know I’ve learned so much since then. I wasn’t nearlyas flustered and overwhelmed by putting this together as I was a year ago (not to say that I wasn’t at all overwhelmed this time around...). Last year, our first issue covered a tonof changes at Pomperaug, from the new schedules to new lockers to 18 new teachers. I think things have calmed down a bit at Pomperaug since then. However, as there are every year, there were some changes this September: passports, four new teachers, and a new Director of Guidance, to name a few. All of these changes are covered in this issue. We’ve also got ten students’ summer vacations stories (page 7), a report on local politics (page 13), sports updates (page 15), interviews with college freshmen (page 13), and more. So get reading, and let us know what you think of this issue by emailing staff@phsphoenix.com or commenting on our Facebook page (facebook.com/phsphoenix)!

Sincerely,

Rebecca Beilinson

Editor