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WA graduate to teacher: Mr. Gendron
June 16th, 2011By Lauren Hartnett
Staff Writer
Patrick Gendron’s first year of teaching at WA is coming to an end next week. But he is no stranger to the school; he graduated here 6 years ago. You may be thinking, “Why would anyone ever want to come back to high school?” But Gendron has always thought he’d be a PE teacher, and even though coming to WA was unexpected he couldn’t be happier with the results.
Gendron was influenced to be a teacher by his mother, who taught at Abbott and Day Schools here in Westford. His old PE teachers also influenced him, some who still teach here at WA today. He wanted to be a physical education teacher specifically because of his own interests though. PE has always been his favorite subject in school, and that hasn’t changed since he went to WA.
“I could never sit in an office, that’s why I decided I wanted to be a Phys Ed teacher. [I like] being active all day,” said Gendron.
As for coming back to his old school, he says it’s a little weird seeing the teachers who taught him in the work environment. He was taught by the same people he works with now, such as Maria Henderson and Jim Antonelli, whom he had for his classes before he graduated. But he appreciates the people because some of them, like Shaun Hart, helped him get his job here at WA.
“When I was looking for a place to do student teaching, Mr. Hart basically took me under his wing,” said Gendron. Hart helped him get a student teacher job at WA, and without him he probably wouldn’t have been able to come back and teach here.
Westford Academy isn’t completely the same as when Gendron went to school here, though. Even if it didn’t change much, Gendron says there are more PE options now than when he was a student here. Current students now have shorter lunches too, due to the growing population of the school.
With more options in PE for him to teach, it seems like it’s the perfect job for Gendron. Not only does he love his job, but also he loves being able to stay in this “great community” we call Westford, where he grew up and where he will hopefully continue to be.
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Rain, rain, here to stay, when will there be another sunny day?
May 23rd, 2011By Lauren Hartnett
Staff Writer
The past few weeks have seen little sun here in Westford, with rainstorms almost every day. And the weather isn’t lightening up yet- there is supposed to be even more rain tomorrow and over the weekend. Upset? You’re not alone, most people groan at the thought of rain and another dark and gloomy day.
Some people actually get depressed when the weather is dark, like when it rains or in the winter when there isn’t a lot of sunlight. These people could have Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Affective Disorder [S.A.D.] is a disease that causes people to become depressed and moody during certain parts of the year, usually in winter. So, you would think since it’s spring and everyone’s more active now that this wouldn’t be a problem.
Wrong. All these days of rain are having the same affect on people as the winter does on people with S.A.D.. Years of research and testing have confirmed that weather really does have an affect on people’s moods. One of the reasons why the rain may be making everyone feel more down and moody, or feeling less active and not being able to concentrate, is the lack of vitamin D. People usually get vitamin D from the being outside and soaking in the sun. But currently, the only thing to soak in outside is the rain.
Another way weather can affect you now is not only making you feel sad and irritable, but also causing disturbances of sleep. Several people last week woke up during thunderstorms in the middle of the night. Something about the humidity and the lack of light makes people feel uncomfortable and disturb their sleep cycle. Not only that, but when it’s raining the whole outside is dark. When people’s eyes detect darkness, their brain releases melatonin, which establishes the sleep cycle. That release of melatonin is one of the main reasons why people always feel tired when it rains. Even though you may feel more tired than usual, most are unable to fall asleep easily during dark and gloomy weather.
However, this is not always the case. For some people, they sleep more than usual but still are sulking and drowsy during the day. A lot of time people with S.A.D. can lose interest in usual activities, or feel antisocial. Sometimes people crave carbohydrates and eat a lot of pasta and bread, which in turn makes them gain weight.
S.A.D. is most common during the winter. Also, the disease is usually found in woman. Most of the time, people with S.A.D. get the disease symptoms when they’re between 15-58, so if you’ve been feeling down with the weather lately it may be because you have S.A.D. But this condition is treatable; you can get light therapy or antidepressants to help you. Or, you can just hope for the rain to lighten up and the sun to come out tomorrow.
All in all, rain does not have a positive affect on people. It doesn’t feel “normal” to us, like a sunny day. Even if you don’t have S.A.D., most people can agree on the fact that they enjoy the sunlight more than the rain. The fact that you can be active outside in the light is one of the main reasons for this. So, how are we supposed to cope during this next week of rain? Well, you can try listening to upbeat music to give your body more energy. Also, if you read you’re brain is being active, which may start to wake you up. So don’t give up! This rain depression will soon be over once the summer comes, but for now we just have to seize every chance we get to be in the sunlight and hang in there.
Augustana’s New Self-titled Album is a Dud
May 5th, 2011By Lauren Hartnett
Staff Writer
Augustana, an alternative rock band from San Diego, CA, just released their new self-titled album. The band’s fourth full-length album consists of calm melodies and meaningful lyrics. But in general, the album winded up being mediocre.
Augustana is most known for their hit song Boston, which was popular 6 years ago when their first album came out. You’ll probably recognize the song if you listen to it, if not by name. But each of Augustana’s albums sounds completely different from the last, so their new CD barely sounds anything like their first album that Boston was on. Augustana changes their music sound so much it’s really hard to recognize them once you hear them again years later. It also seems, that over the years their sound has changed from upbeat tunes to more soft melodies.
Their new sound makes them unique, but I’m sure many fans will be upset that they have changed so much. People expecting one thing will most likely not be satisfied with the album’s results. Whether you dig Augustana’s new sound or not, you can’t deny how much they’ve progressed over their years of being a band.
However, no songs really stood out to me on the album; they all sounded the same and sort of blended into each other. On one hand, that could count like a good thing. The songs blending into each other made it seem like the album was telling one long story. But I would have rather heard some variety in the music.
If I were to recommend one song to listen to or download, I would recommend Counting Stars. Counting Stars is a little faster paced and has a beautiful meaning behind it. The song is about a girl, of curse, and how the narrator is waiting or “counting the stars” until they can be together again. It’s sweet and catchy. Augustana’s experience with the music industry is shown through their songs. Each song off the latest album is filled with meaning, not just catchy beats and “fun” lyrics.
Even with the meaning behind their songs, the album was just average. I already have forgotten some of the songs since they sound so much like each other. The songs are so slow and soothing, so it makes it hard to pay attention to them sometimes. Because of this, it makes the album forgetful and I doubt the songs would stand out on the radio.
Overall, I’d give the album 2.5 out of 5 stars. The best song to listen to would be Counting Stars (which I recommend you look up on Youtube). If you like Augustana’s new sound, I would suggest looking at other bands like Secondhand Serenade or The Fray. If you don’t, just wait until their new album. Maybe they will change their sound once again.
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Emily Raczelowski shares her passion and love for track
March 29th, 2011Lauren Hartnett
Staff Writer
Have you ever had something that was so close and important to you that you never would want to give it up? That’s exactly how Emily Raczelowski feels about track.
“Track really affects my life because it’s just to get away from the rest of my life,” said Raczelowski. “It’s my happy place!”
Emily Raczelowski during a hurdles event
Whether you’ve seen Raczelowski throwing shot put, running the relay, or simply on the WA morning announcements you know she is no stranger to the spotlight. She even won the Most Athletic superlative, which pleased her immensely.
“That’s almost what I want to be known as here, I’m definitely an athlete and that’s just like, my image I guess. And others see that in me,” said Raczelowski.
But track isn’t just a sport to Emily, it’s also a place where she can become closer with her friends on the team. The track team is very close, whether it be before the track meet, during the meet, or even when the season ends. You’ll always find teammates hanging out together, which shows how dedicated and tight the track team is.
Track is like a life-long challenge for Raczelowski. She has the ability to test herself during track meets and set goals for herself. Ever since her freshmen year in high school, Raczelowski has been frequently involved with track. She went from running the open 200 relays in freshmen year to becoming one of the track captains this year. Along the way she broke WA’s school indoor shot put record, which is now at 36 ft 11 inches.
But her goals for track haven’t run out yet. In the near future Raczelowski has her hopes set on breaking some more school track records. Later on she wants to take place in the Heptathlon and get back into participating in the hurdles.
“I also want to work on my training,” said Raczelowski. “I want to get as strong as I can and as fast as I can to get in the best possible shape I can be in to do my sport.”
One of Raczelowski’s favorite track events to participate in is the hurdles. Even though she is strongest at throwing, she enjoys racing much more.
“It’s way more exciting,” said Raczelowski. “I have people cheering for me and everyone’s supportive.”
While racing she can feel her adrenaline pumping with excitement. Especially while jumping hurdles, because it not only takes speed but skill.
Her favorite track event in all though, is the relays. With the four people running one race the position can change drastically, causing suspense.
“It’s full of adrenaline and full of energy and I just love it,” said Raczelowski.
When Raczelowski steps up for her part of the race in the relay she loves to hear all the people cheering around her and giving her support.
“When I’m the last person and everyone’s cheering for me to catch the person in front of me, it feels so good, everyone’s counting on me and it’s just the greatest,” she said.
Raczelowski had a chance to witness all the track athletes unite together last year when Liv Marchand died. A few days after the tragic incident, one of the most well known track events was taking place. Before the track meet all the track athletes made bracelets to honor Liv. Then when they went to the meet everyone was wearing the bracelets and representing her.
“I was kind of moved by how everyone was doing this,” said Raczelowski. “We were almost brought together by it.”
That very night was when Raczelowski broke the school’s shot put record.
“I was so proud of myself,” she said. “I remember in my freshmen health class I was writing down the goal I wanted to do in highscool and I said that I wanted to break the school’s shot put record, and I did. I just felt like that was the day, I felt so good,” said Raczelowski.
Emily Raczelowski wants to participate in track for as long as she lives. Track is apart of her life, and she doesn’t ever want to give it up.
“I just want to make a name for myself, I guess,” said Raczelowski. “I just want to be that person that when coaches are talking about a good track athlete, a dedicated athlete, I want them to refer back to me.”
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The Adjustment Bureau: Review
March 8th, 2011
The Adjustment Bur eau, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt
by Lauren Hartnett
Staff Writer
The film, The Adjustment Bureau, follows the life of one man, David Harris, who mistakenly comes in contact with a special department of men who control people’s lives, the Adjustment Bureau.
These men- all decked in fedora hats- begin to chase Harris for knowing of their existence. They tell him that certain decisions he makes in life will affect not only his, but others lives as well. So what is he to do, follow his own heart or follow the fate that has been laid out for him?
Matt Damon, who played the main character of David Harris in the movie, did a terrific job of making his acting seem believable. You may know Matt Damon from True Grit, another thriller that was released last year. Damon did not exaggerate his emotions like most actors tend to do in films, he just seemed like an average guy. Well, an average guy being chased by fate changing men in matching hats and suits.
British actress, Emily Blunt, known from her other films like The Devil Wears Prada, portrayed Damon’s love interest in the movie. Blunt and Damon’s chemistry felt natural together, adding to the romance aspect of the movie.
The main question to be answered, however, is who exactly were these men in fedora hats? They carried books that could somehow show a person’s fate. But who are they really, and what can they do? Are they good, evil, or a bit of both? How did they become part of the department? And most importantly, how can they control our destiny?
All the questions are answered as the movie goes on, building suspense and grabbing the attention of the audience.
Overall, I thought the movie was amazing. The storyline was original and there was never had a dull moment. The growing romance between Damon and Blunts characters, as well as the mystery of the Adjustment Bureau department, made the audience yearn for more. Combining a bit of dry humor, romance, and thrilling action made this movie enjoyable to watch.
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