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Merri Brown Retires and WA Preschool comes to an end
June 10th, 2011Michelle Thompson
Staff Writer
Merri Brown, teacher of Child Development II and the preschool at Westford Academy is retiring at the end of this school year. The preschool teacher has been working at WA for fifteen years, and has taught not only the preschoolers but also the high school students enrolled in Child Development II and in earlier years, those students in Child Development I. She has created a close bond with the high school students, who in essence, she teaches to take over her preschool class.
Merri Brown, Child Development II and Preschool teacher will be retiring at the end of this school year.
Brown first came to Westford Academy when the job, previously held by Mr. Haight’s wife, opened up. She had worked as a preschool teacher at Roudenbush before coming to WA. She thought that working at Westford Academy as a Child Development teacher and working with the preschoolers would be a great opportunity because she could work with both the preschoolers and the high school students.
“It’s always very exciting, not only to watch the preschool kids grow, but also to see the high school kids grow and get comfortable in the classroom,” said Brown.
Working at WA has also helped Brown with becoming closer to the whole community. Brown has had students that have gone through her preschool class and then gone through the Westford school system and visited her as students who attend WA. She has had an impact on the whole community by teaching not only the preschool children, but also the high school kids.
“Meeting the families has also been really special,” said Brown.
Brown has created a wonderful preschool experience for her students that choose to participate in the WA preschool. They learn a lot, not only from Brown but also from the students that work with them everyday. Coming to the preschool at WA is different from a regular preschool, but the students benefit a lot.
“I’m very proud of the preschool and the level of education that we are able to provide them with,” said Brown.
The Child Development II class will be eliminated from the course selections next year and the preschool will no longer be running. Many students have really enjoyed taking the class and working with the little kids, but this will be the last year anyone can take it.
“It is going to be a loss for the community; the preschoolers are able to learn from the high school students, but the high school students also really learn a lot from the preschoolers, ” said Brown.
One of Brown’s favorite times working at WA was in her first year here. Her son was a senior at the time and she was able to enter into his environment and see him in school. She remembers having her son tell her about the school and help her get used to the way things are done at Westford Academy and him getting her used to the high school’s way of doing things.
Another favorite part of the job working in the preschool has been working with the WA students. Brown would probably not have gotten to experience working with both age groups in a different program, so the Westford Academy preschool is truly unique.
“I’ll mostly miss the involvement with the high school students,” said Brown.
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And the Winners Are…
June 8th, 2011For the Class of 2012…
President: Richa Kaul
Vice President: Jessica Bishop
Secretary: Brendan Sullivan
Treasurer: Sandeep Garikapati running against Devin Bornstein
Student Council Representatives: Alexis Jacobson, Emily Koerner, Katie Perrone, Jennifer Rigby, Christian Yip and Thomas Yorke
For the Class of 2013…
President: Nathan Rigione running against Jillian Chrysikos, Andrew Dunne, Jerome Falcone and Mike Murphy
Vice President: Dan Bugos running against Alaina Baker, Thomas Ellis, Courtney Kennedy, Julia Van Dam and Evan Wang
Secretary: Leah Giacalone running against Maddie Cady and Kevin Chen
Treasurer: Chiraag Lathia running against Katie Ernst, Shreya Makkapati and Bailey Mongillo
Student Council Representatives: Emily Borst, Taylor Freud, Ashley Geary, Tasneem Bhindarwala, Thomas Grondine and Aneena Patel running against Taleen Kalajian and Ashley Gauthier
For the Class of 2014…
President: David Ran running against Allison Avery, Zach Gross, Andrew Manzi, Chris Pandiscio, Rohan Rastogi and Brendan Ryan
Vice President: Akshay Bhardwaj running against Erin Cullen and Ryan Maher
Secretary: Kelsey Anderson running against Brite Chuang, Amelia Shein and Alexa Sullivan
Treasurer: Henry Jiang runnning against Aditi Patil, Nicole Pristin, Matthew Ruelle and Chris Sullivan
Student Council Representatives: Natalie Bishop, Abby Cianciolo, Allia Connolly, Joseph Greene, Glynn Johnson, and Kate Whitney runnning against Eric Sporel
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April Vacation: One Week and Nothing to Do…
April 12th, 2011Michelle Thompson
Staff Writer
During April Vacation, many students complain that by the end of the week there is nothing fun to do. Here are a few suggestions for curing your April Vacation boredom:
1. Support the WA teams…
Softball is playing at 11:00 on April 19 vs. Chelmsford High School
Girls Lacrosse is playing at 12:00 on April 19 vs. Lowell High School
Baseball is playing at 10:00 on April 20 vs. Dracut High School
Boys Volleyball is playing at 11:00 on April 20 vs. Chelmsford High School
Boys Lacrosse is playing at 10:00 on April 21 vs. Groton-Dunstable Regional
2.There are a ton of new movies coming out during the April Vacation week:
Scream 4: If you like scary movies, this one is for you! The Ghostface Killer and Sidney Prescott are back again in this movie that stars Neve Campbell Courtney Cox and David Arquette.
Rio: It’s a cute cartoon about two birds that decide to go on a big adventure starring Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway and George Lopez.
Madea’s Big Happy Family: A comedy written by, directed by and starring Tyler Perry about Madea’s funny family.
Water for Elephants: Starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, this movie is about a student who decides to join the circus after his parents are killed.
3. For those brave enough to venture out to Boston…
Many students are going to Newbury Street and Copley Center to shop, get something to eat, and hang out. The Prudential Center Mall is fun to hang out in and close to many other attractions, like Fenway Park and Boston Common. There are many restaurants to go to as well, including P.F. Chang’s, California Pizza, and many other moderately priced restaurants.
Also, you can go to the Charles Playhouse and see Blue Man Group. They play every day at 8 and they have additional times on their website. Tickets can get pricy, sometimes over $100 if you sit right up front, but the show is very entertaining and worth the trip.
The Red Sox are playing… so if you can manage to get tickets that is another fun thing to do to get psyched for Spring. The Red Sox are playing at Fenway Park on April 16, 17, and 18 in the early afternoon against the Blue Jays and it is sure to be a fun day if you can get tickets.
4. Some are sticking to the classics…
Many students say they will be going to the mall, eating at W.H.O.P., or just hanging out at their friends houses.
5. Seniors– get ready to make decisions about college!
Many seniors will be taking their April vacation to make their final decisions about where they want to go to college next year. Visiting campuses and filling out paperwork will surely be filling a lot of many of the seniors’ time.
Jim Antonelli: Principal and WA Graduate
March 30th, 2011Michelle Thompson
Staff Writer
James Antonelli, principal at Westford Academy, graduated from WA in the class of 1986. He has been a coach, a computer and business teacher, a dean of student activities, assistant principal, and is currently the principal. He returned to the school after his injury in college and has not looked back since. Antonelli was a student who really enjoyed his high school years.
“I had a wonderful experience at Westford Academy. I enjoyed my high school experience much better than my college experience. A lot of folks say the opposite,” said Antonelli.
When Antonelli was a junior in college at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, he got hurt playing football. He called Al Duffet and acquired a job as the freshman football coach. This is how he got his first taste of educating at WA.
As a student, Antonelli was very involved in athletics. He was on the football, wrestling, and track teams and became captain of both football and wrestling.
Antonelli's Yearbook Photo
“It really taught me about leadership, perseverance, being tough and winning and losing,” said Antonelli about his role on the sports teams.
One of Antonelli’s favorite parts of high school and participating on the teams was the camaraderie that was formed with his teammates and the whole class.
“I had good teachers, I made good connections, life-long connections with a lot of folks, a lot of teachers that really had an impact on my life,” said Antonelli.
Although Antonelli was an athletic type of student, he also believes that education is very important. He says he wishes that he had spread himself out a little bit more into some different types of classes and clubs like the National Honor Society and student council. Antonelli describes himself as a solid student who was dedicated to his academics.
Antonelli knew his German teacher, Michael Joyce, well after the afternoons that he would stay after and study with him. Over the years, the two have built a very solid friendship.
“When he would come in for an explanation of something or just to ask a question, we would work and he would get up and every single time he would say thank you. Even when he was being talked about as a possibility for being the principal of this school, I remember bringing that up because that isn’t something that always happens. He was just a nice young man—he really was,” Joyce said.
Antonelli recently became the first principal to go on the foreign exchange when he traveled to Germany last year.
“Even all those years later his German came back to haunt him,” Joyce said.
When Antonelli was a student, Westford was less developed than it is now.
“There was Market Basket, gas stations, and Kimball’s. And we never really went too far,” said Antonelli.
Some of his teachers and mentors helped Antonelli decide that he wanted to return to WA. Bill Cody was Antonelli’s mentor and inspiration to become a teacher. Ed Scollan and Michael Parent were also a help to Antonelli in coming back to WA.
“Mr. Scollan is just a great teacher, great mentor, great friend,” said Antonelli.
Antonelli went to Salem State to get his teaching degree and has not looked back since. He then returned to WA as a computer and business teacher. He later became the dean of student activities and held that position for six years. He was then the assistant principal and he is now and has been for the past four years the principal of WA.
In between these jobs Antonelli also spent eighteen months working in sales. He says he did not enjoy it as much and returned to WA because other jobs were not as good as the one he has now.
Antonelli’s favorite job at WA was being a teacher. He was able to form great relationships with the students and he really appreciated and enjoyed that part of teaching. As a principal he says that people really don’t get to see him unless they are in trouble and he thinks he is seen as mostly a disciplinarian-type figure. He does not like this appearance although he has very high standards for all of his students. He encourages students to stop by his office and introduce themselves.
He has also had a few tough experiences. Antonelli remembers when he returned to WA and he had to evaluate his CP Biology teacher, Sally Haberman. He says that she was very respectful and appreciative but it was still one of the hardest parts of being back at WA as a faculty member.
James Antonelli, Principal at Westford Academy
However, being a member of the Westford community for many years has helped Antonelli a lot. The closeness and the traditions that the Westford community values can be hard for some of the newer faculty members to learn. Having known them since his school years is a definite advantage.
Teachers like Chris Gosselin, Pat Gendron and Scott Cruikshank remind Antonelli of himself as a new staff member at WA. They are also all graduates and have returned to WA as a part of the staff. He takes it as a compliment when a teacher returns because he likes to know that other students also enjoyed their experiences enough to return.
There have been some big changes in WA since Antonelli was a student. The size of the student body went from around 900 to about 1600 students. While Antonelli likes the growth, he also says that it makes it that much harder to get to know all of the kids by name.
Antonelli has had a great experience at WA but says there is still a lot of work to be done. In the future Antonelli says that he would like to put together a committee of students that could give him input about what he can do to improve their experience at WA. This year, he is planning on meeting with a group of outgoing seniors and a group of underclassmen to listen to their ideas about stress, balancing high school activities with school work and other ways to make WA even better.
“Westford Academy blood runs through his veins. He really he loves this place– it has meant a lot to him in his life and he continues to want to make a difference in the lives of the kids at the school,” Joyce said.
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WA Graduate and Faculty Member: Chris Gosselin
March 23rd, 2011
Michelle Thompson
Staff Writer
Chris Gosselin, graduate of the class of 2005 grew up in Westford Massachusetts and has recently taken a job at Westford Academy as an interim English teacher. He has been a part of the Westford community since he moved in the second grade to attend the Robinson Elementary school. He now teaches Rebecca Ingerslev’s English 11, CP1 and CP2, 9 Honors classes and Children’s Theater with Michael Towers.
As a student, Gosselin was a part of the music and theater departments, but he did not play any sports. In high school, Gosselin says that he was hardworking, but not an AP student, got good grades, and was very serious. Although math was never his strong subject, he always enjoyed English and eventually decided to pursue a career in teaching English.
Gosselin's Senior Yearbook Picture
As a teacher, Gosselin has a relaxed class and wants every class to be a little bit different. He believes that running his class in a more relaxed and interesting way, the students will stay engaged and are more likely to succeed.
“I like to keep people on their toes,” said Gosselin.
Gosselin started the Future Educators of America club when he was in high school. He says it was all so that he would have a good reason to go on an internship in an elementary school during his senior year.
He remembers the Senior Trip to Disney World as one of his favorite high school memories. The pizza party with Mickey Mouse was one of the memorable parts of the trip.
He also remembers having senior privileges for the first time.
“We went to Dunkin’ Donuts on the first day and we felt so cool,” said Gosselin.
Gosselin says that he had some really great teachers in high school. The people who inspired him to pursue a career in teaching were WA’s Mr. Betlencourt and Michael Towers. His sophomore English teacher, Janet Keirstead is another inspiration to Gosselin.
“They are intelligent, capable, smart teachers who are a lot of fun,” said Gosselin of the English Department.
Gosselin is also playfully made fun of by some of the faculty members.
“Mr. Coward makes fun of me all the time because I am a former student,” said Gosselin.
Gosselin attended St. Michael’s College in Vermont after he graduated from WA and he received his Bachelor’s of Art degree in English there. He also got his Masters of the Arts from Simmons.
His decision to return to WA as a faculty member was made by the tough job market and his love of Westford. Gosselin wanted to return to Westford after some time away. Working at Westford Academy has provided Gosselin with lots of options for the future, whether he stays at Westford Academy or if he goes somewhere else.
Gosselin is currently teaching at WA
Gosselin has seen many changes in WA since he graduated six years ago. There are a lot more students, more technology, and a different principal. Jim Antonelli, who was the dean when Gosselin was a student, also served as a great role model. Gosselin has also gotten to know Patrick Gendron as they are now co-workers, although they were never friends or in the same social group in high school.
Gosselin says that while knowing the town of Westford so well has given him an advantage and has helped him really commit himself, it can also serve as a disadvantage. His sister was a senior last year and it was difficult to teach some of her friends in his classes.
Gosselin is very happy to be an English teacher and enjoys working in Westford, the town he grew up in.
“It is an honor to be able to share books with students,” said Gosselin.
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