Principal Notes: Advancing in the Arts, Athletics and Science

Information courtesy of Tom Mead, principal of Algonquin Regional High School

Musical Notes: The Algonquin jazz bands participated in the Central District MAJE (Massachusetts Association of Jazz Educators) Festival on Wednesday, March 13. ARHS Jazz II, under the direction of Henry Morel, received a silver medal. ARHS Jazz I, under the direction of Eric Vincent, received a gold
medal, and performed in the state finals on Saturday, March 23.

Athletic Support: In a rousing winter season for Algonquin Athletics, the two athletic office forces were honored with much deserved accolades. Susan Baburins receives her award on March 21 as the 2012-2013 MSSADA Athletic Assistant of the Year, and Fran Whitten receives the District E NIAAA
State Award of Merit. On April 5 Whitten receives the MIAA John E. Young Distinguished Service award.

Community Action Program: Students helped mentor students at the Melican and Zeh schools, participated in a ballroom dancing event at the Senior Center and prepared meals for seniors and CAP families.
 
ARHS Best Buddies: This best buddies event is an annual event.  DJ Matt Palmer (2014) had everyone out on the dance floor to the latest beats and
fan Brother's Supermarket of Westborough. About 50 members of Best Buddies from ARHS and Marlborough  High School thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

R-Word Campaign 2013:  ARHS Best Buddies will be launching their R-Word Awareness Campaign later paintings in the cafeteria, sale of bracelets saying "ARHS- End the R-Word"  "I See You!!" and pledge word describe our classmates and friends with many abilities.

Central Artery: The following students participated in this year’s Youth Art Month exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum, sponsored by Sargent Art Supplies and the Massachusetts Art Education Association. Samatha Panzera’s photograph claimed the Grand Prize in the exhibit, which is a trip to
New York City for Sam, her mom, and her art teacher to visit museums.
Students: LiPing Lin, Casey Petrone, Lauren McKie, Claudia Capria, Emily Coffman, Logan Dion, Jordan McStay,  Samantha Panzera, Abby Mahmoud, Dan Martins-Ferreira, Kate Bakkala, Brady Dyer, Joanna McNulty.

Local artist and Assumption College professor Tom Grady came to the classes to give a talk on portrait painting, including works from his project, 100 Portraits, in which he painted a person of every age, from a few months to 100, over the course of a year. It was well attended by 32 students, a handful of whom will be participating in this year’s Memory Project. The visit was organized and sponsored by our National Art Honor Society. Michelle Sheppard, George Hancin, and Danielle DeCiero teach art.

Good Chemistry: On March 2, a group of 12 AP Chemistry students participated in a state chemistry exam at Westborough HS. Two students placed and moved on to the National Exam given on April 13. Students taking this exam must be prepared to move on to the national training camp
held at the Air Force Academy in June and be eligible to travel to the international competitions. The two students moving on are Jonathan Tsai (2013) and Anushka Dasgupta (2015).

Eli’s Coming: The Yale Ballroom Dance Team came to Algonquin to put on a show and conduct a dance workshop on March 12. A select audience of PE students, World Language students, and town seniors attended the affair. Priscilla Sena, Class of 2013, organized the event, and collaborated with Annie Yao, Algonquin 2011 and Yale 2015. Annie is a member of the Yale Ballroom Dance Team, and is a Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry major at Yale. Yvonne Endara is advisor to the Algonquin Ballroom Dance Club.

Winners at DECA: 87 students participated in DECA State 2013 held on March 14-16 at the Marriott Copley Hotel Conference Center in Boston. Nathan Ding (Business Financial Services) and the team of Lauren Travers and Maggie Kiley (Marketing Communications) won first place trophies. Peter Scorzelli, Tyler Fagan, James Officer, Erin Healey & Anna Wendt, Brooks Gingrich, Paul Nardone, and the lip dubbing video trio of Sam Huddart, Nick Zanghi, and Giles Ober all won third place trophies. Michelle Tontodonato is the department chair.

Frisbee Throwing Robots: Algonquin Team 1100 moves on from their terrific showing at WPI in Worcester to Boston University’s Agannis Arena for the FIRST Robotics Competition on March 21-23. The team has already qualified for the international competition in St. Louis later this spring. George Clarke is the ARHS connection to Team 1100. The team is supported by several corporate sponsors.

French Ambassadors: For two weeks in March, Algonquin was the base camp for a group of 28 French High School (lycee) students from St. Etienne, France. The students stayed with host families, attended classes, and went on excursions. We are considering adopting the school in France as a sister school,
with back-and-forth visits in the future. Lauren Osepchuk, French Teacher at Algonquin, organized the visit.

Acting Dramahawks: Algonquin’s entry to the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival was God of Carnage, a play about two couples who meet to resolve a dispute between their elementary children, with mixed
results. All four actors – Cassidy Tatten, Nicky Fox, Josh Telepman, and Brennan Burns won acting awards as an ensemble, and Katy Pyne won an award for stage management. Maura Morrison teaches drama at Algonquin, and directed this play.