When COVID shut down Judge Memorial’s in-person learning and all students went online, the school lost something: community. Traditions that had been around for decades, such as stomps, coffee house, and the Bulldog Press were hit hard. Many struggled to come back, with some failing to fully recover at all. However, instead of failing to return to its former glory, the Judge student community has evolved. And in several ways, this year is looking to be the first normal year since before the shutdown of 2020 began. A combination of revived tradition in a return to pre-COVID activities and a new “golden age” of different student-led groups (Black Student Union, Student Ambassadors, and Chemistry Club to name a few) is bringing the Judge Memorial student community back into the distinction it once had. We, the Bulldog Press, are a prime example: our transition away from print media towards the world of fast-paced digital news has launched our newspaper into a new era that will be able to keep up coverage of the student body.
Furthermore, an argument could be made that the 2023-24 school year will be like no other that has come before it. Proof of this can be spotted when looking at our incoming freshmen. At 174 students, the class will be the most populous in the school, and the largest since the pinnacle of Judge attendance in the years before covid. Judge is growing, and with greater size comes the possibility of further diversity and change in community and culture from years past. Moreover, somewhere between 15 and 20 teachers and administrators left their jobs. This allowed the school to hire a host of new educators, creating a fresh teaching and leadership scene at Judge. Their potential to be incredible leaders in our institution is already being felt: Assistant Dean Mr. Nassersaed runs a revamped after school detention system, English Teacher Ms. Abby helps proctor Student Government, and Science Teacher Mr. McKnight helps out on Cross Country.
On top of these additional new teachers, administrators, and students, this year boasts an incredible roster of student body leaders. Dean of Students Mathew Doughlas has formed a robust base of premiers with the creation of the Bulldog Leadership Team (BLT), a group combining the efforts of Student Ambassadors, Peer Ministry, and Student Government. I was able to sit down with Mr. Douglas after the group last met on Monday, August 14th, and heard his thoughts on the year ahead.
Ted: Please state your name and position.
Matthew: Dean Douglas, Dean of Students here at Judge.
Ted: How do you expect this school year to be different from other school years?
Matthew: I’m really looking forward to the school year cuz we’ve got an incredible group of student leaders who are going to be sort of the paragon’s of everything we want for all of our student body going forward, so I’m pretty excited to see what and how they do it this year.
Ted: That’s awesome. There’s obviously been a lot of turnover in the teachers and a lot – 174 new freshmen. How do you think that’s going to affect the school and the community?
Matthew: So certainly turnover is always a fact of life in schools. And it’s always sad to see colleagues depart. That being said, you know, just like any other place, we really want our people to go and they have different aspirations, they want to work at different schools, absolutely God bless and Godspeed.
Ted: That’s great. What words come to mind when you think about starting the new year?
Matthew: You know, I always think of the renaissance, because you’ve got this opportunity to remake something that has been here for 103 years. And we’ve got this great tradition. But now we have an opportunity to make it new, unique, and something special for our graduating seniors this year.
