The class of 2010 celebrates at the WA graduation

Yet no one had more anticipation than those of the class of 2010. For them, this ceremony marked an end to eighteen years of dependence, childhood, and high school, but at the same time it represented a beginning to responsibility, adulthood, and the future.

Lauren Casey celebrates.

After the tradition of “Pomp and Circumstance” ended, the graduates took their seats and Principal James P. Antonelli commenced his speech. His main theme was honor. He asserted that no matter where the future may take those of the class of 2010, they must all maintain their moral duties.

The next section of the ceremony was the recognition of the valedictorian and salutatorian, Alice Chan and Audrey Tiew. Each of their guidance counselors gave a few praising words to them.

The following event was the introduction of the 2010 class officers: Cassandra Gilling (President), John Wells (Vice-President), Carolyn Meklenburg (Secretary), and Cameron Close (Treasurer).

After that, Jennifer Louise Torto, the Class of 2010 speaker, gave her speech. She spoke of the inevitable changes that everyone progressed through while journeying through high school.

Then, Superintendent Everett V. Olsen Jr. congratulated the successes of the graduates and urged them to strive for similar triumphs in the future.

Beach balls flew in the air during the graduation ceremony Friday night.

However, in the midst of the excitement, the students, faculty, and guests payed tribute to Marchand. Three balloons were released into the air for her legacy, which had resonated throughout all of the speeches as well.

After the Class of 2010, had officially graduated high school, their class song, “One Love” by Bob Marley, streamed out of their instruments, voices, and most importantly their hearts. In fact, graduate and musician Jon McNamara revised pieces of the song to pay tribute to Marchand.

The final speaker was Class President Cassie Gilling. She encouraged the class to work hard at any venture that each individual may enter into, for the class of 2010 represents the future.

Finally, the hats flew into the air. Their journeys were finally over, yet at the same time they had also ultimately begun.

Chamber Music, the Westford Academy Theater Arts’ submission to the Massachusetts Drama Guild State Festival, was declared winner during the Semi Final Round of the competition on Saturday March 13, 2010.  WATA will now advance to the State Finals to be held in Boston at the John Hancock during the dates of March 25^th to March 27^th.  This great achievement was accomplished through a collective effort from the technical theater team as well as the actors and actresses that participated in the production.

Beyond the initial success of moving onto the next round in the competition, the WATA Set Design Team was named to the All Star Cast for Excellence in Technical Theater: Set Design.  The team was composed of Kate Sulka, Jordan Welch, Dan Bubin, Bobby Esposito, and Emily Moler.

In addition to the Set Design Team’s all star recognition, the Costume Design Team was also named to the All Star Cast for Excellence in Technical Theater: Costume Design.  The team members include Liza Gosselin, Karilyn Howe, Lizzy Benway and Carter McAlister.

Furthermore, two actresses from the Westford Academy production were recognized for Excellence in acting and named to the All Star Cast.  Both Kristen McCusker and Jennifer Torto were the recipients of this honor.

The Theater Arts department will present Chamber Music one last time at Westford Academy on Tuesday, Mach 23^rd at 8:00 PM.  Be sure to support this all-star cast of WA students as they prepare to compete for the State title.

Westford Academy senior Ryan Mumford has been elected to play in the first ever Massachusetts State Hockey Coaches Association (MSHCA) High School All-Star Hockey game. Mumford will be representing the Northern All-Stars as they play the Southern All-Stars on Saturday, March 20th. The game will be played at Tsongas Arena in Lowell at 3:00 PM. Tickets are $10 and admission pays for the all-star game as well as the Lowell Devils vs. Portland Pirates AHL game at 7:00 PM.

While Mumford has been elected to the roster, he has the opportunity to be voted into the starting lineup. To vote for Mumford, text ALLSTAR8 to 24587. To purchase tickets to the game and support Ryan, visit the website, www.lowelldevilshockey.com/tickets/mscha_allstar.php.

Mumford is extremely excited to have the opportunity to play in this game. Mumford considers it a great honor as he was voted in by all Massachusetts high school coaches. Mumford described it as “a good accomplishment,” and said it “means a lot to be considered to be one of the top 45 players in Massachusetts.” One reason why Mumford might be so ecstatic to play in this game is his immense love for the game.

While describing how he felt when he was playing, Mumford said that hockey is “exciting to play,” and when he is on the ice, Mumford “forgets about everything else, and just focuses on hockey.” No matter why Mumford is looking forward to playing in the game, he would like to be voted into the starting line-up.

Mumford, who will be playing forward for the team, has been playing hockey for over ten years. His interest in hockey arose when he was only two years old. Mumford’s babysitter took him ice-skating, and his love of hockey has grown ever since.

Mumford, who captained the WA Varsity Hockey team this year, plays for two club teams in addition to playing for WA. Mumford said that the biggest challenge he had to overcome in hockey came this year. Before the season, Mumford believed that WA’s team wasn’t strong as it was “young,” but he was proud, as he believed that they turned it around together as a team, and that they turned out far better than he once thought.

After this year, Mumford is “undecided” on what he would like to do, either play for his college or just play club. Mumford “is leaning towards club,” but will “definitely be continuing with hockey.”

The cast of Chamber Music will advance to the semi-finals round of the 2010 Massachusetts Drama Guild State Festival after a great performance during Preliminary round on Sunday Febuary 28th, hosted by Naraganset Middle School in  Baldwinville, MA. In addition to being named Festival Winner, Westford Academy received five All Star Cast awards for both acting and technical aspects of the production.

In addition to the performance for the Semi-Final round on March 13th here at WA, there will also be a performace on March 11th at 8:00 PM, unrelated to the competition.

The entire cast, comprised of: Cassie Gilling, Katie Wright, Teresa Langford, John Manning, Courtney Ravalese, Jennifer Torto, Craig Sandler, Mark Fingerhut, Barbara Morrison, Kristen McCusker, Tara Hurley, and Hannah Caldwell were admitted to the all star cast for Excellence in Ensemble Acting. Both Kristen McCusker and John Manning also received a second nomination to the All Star Cast for their Excellence in Acting.

Members of the Set Design Team Kate Sulka, Bobby Esposito, Jordan Welch, Dan Bubin, and Emily Moler were commended for Excellence in Technical Theater: Set Design and were also named to the All Star Cast. Also named to the All Star Cast was Greg Alexandropolous recognized for Excellence in Music Composition for the music he wrote for the production.

Now the cast will compete against Billerica High School, Acton-Boxborough High School, Sharon High School, Lynnfield High School and North Andover High School for the chance to be one of the twelve schools to perform at the John Hancock Theater in Boston for the final round of the state festival.

Westford is still coping with the death of senior Olivia Marchand. On Monday, February 1, 2010 her father fatally shot her, shot and wounded her mother Jody Marchand, and then took his own life. Jody Marchand survived and is recovering at UMASS Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

In the wake of such a tragedy, friends of Marchand have been focusing on her life and her “fun loving, easygoing and caring” attitude.

All WA seniors Nicole Kibblehouse and Stephanie Benowitz, close friends of Marchand, did was laugh as they reminisced about their favorite moments with Marchand.

“It was always an adventure with her,” Benowitz began by saying.

Kibblehouse smiled as she recalled a time when Marchand had helped make light of a difficult situation. One occasion involved a fight with her mom in the Westford Academy school parking lot.

“She thought I was skipping school,” laughed Kibblehouse, “Liv made it that much easier because she was like, ‘don’t take it seriously.”

Kibblehouse said that this memory was like so many others from Marchand’s life; Kibblehouse and Benowitz spoke at length about how she could be easygoing about the most intimidating of situations, helping her friends to calm down.

“There was never a situation she wasn’t optimistic about,” said Benowitz.

At the candlelight vigil that Westford Academy seniors participated in during school on Thursday, February 4, Kibblehouse talked about how excited Marchand was for the future, especially attending the University of Vermont.

Other students used this opportunity to tell their favorite stories about Marchand, making the crowd of otherwise somber students laugh and smile.

St. Catherine’s church in Westford and Westford Academy held services in her honor on Saturday, February 6. Kibblehouse made a memorable speech and spoke about her friend’s upbeat outlook on life.

She was passionate about horseback riding and it showed in the way she cared for her horse. Benowitz smiled as she recalled how lovingly Marchand had braided her horse’s mane.

Both Kibblehouse and Benowitz stressed how close Marchand and her mother, Jody, were. They said that on many occasions Marchand would sacrifice a Friday night out to make sure her mother was not lonely. Kibblehouse admired that Marchand would invite friends to come with her and her mother to see a movie at their favorite theater, Chunky’s.

Kibblehouse said that Marchand’s constant efforts to make sure those around her were comfortable and happy did not end with her mother.

“We were with all these people that I didn’t know, but she made me feel like I knew all of them,” said Benowitz about a concert they went to with Marchand’s friends from Littleton.

Indeed, friends of Marchand speak a lot about how relaxed she was around new people and how her friendliness was something they will remember her by.

At the candlelight vigil at Westford Academy and an impromptu student gathering in the Performing Arts Center afterwards, students and friends of Marchand shared all they had learned from her life.

Kibblehouse said that one thing she has learned from Marchand is that you cannot have the attitude that you already know who a person is based on his or her exterior.

“Liv knew you could figure out who someone is if you ask them the right questions,” said Kibblehouse.

Benowitz said that Marchand has taught her to cherish those around her and to live your life with passion, as she said Marchand always did.

“We all think that we’re invincible, but, really, every day counts,” said Benowitz. “Everybody will cherish everyone so much more… Kids who I stopped saying hi to in the hallway, I say hi to again.”

Kibblehouse agreed that she has already changed since Marchand’s death, saying, “I thought that would never happen, but the fact that it did happen makes me look at life differently.”

In the aftermath of the recent tragedy in Westford, the school community is coming together in an effort to come to terms with the loss of senior Olivia Marchand.

The Westford Academy administration and staff have been collaborating to provide a supportive environment. On Tuesday, February 2nd the guidance department stayed at the school until 11 pm to be available for any grieving students.

Students stop to read the messages their peers have written to Marchand.

The school will not be open again tonight, but the guidance department will still be providing assistance for both students and faculty throughout the days to come.

In the past few days the PAC has been open during school as a gathering space for those in need, but starting tomorrow, Westford Academy will revert back to the regular schedule. Students will still be allowed to leave their classes should they need to, although starting tomorrow they will need hallway passes.

Tomorrow February 4th is an advisory day, and seniors will be participating in a candlelight vigil for Marchand during the long block.

Students reading messages left by their peers for Marchand.

Large pieces of paper have been placed at various locations around Westford Academy. Students are welcome to sign and write messages in remembrance of Marchand. Individual students have been dyeing their hair a variety of colors in her honor.

On Saturday, February 6th Westford Academy will also be holding a memorial service. The event is from 3:00-4:00 pm in the PAC for all those wishing to attend. Principal Jim Antonelli will be sending out a newsletter with details about the service.

A gift left for Marchand by one of her peers.

The school is also discussing the possibility of a memorial scholarship in honor of Marchand. This scholarship is not official yet, as the Marchand family needs to give their permission. This scholarship would be awarded every year to a student who demonstrated similar interests and aspirations.

When Westford Academy was preparing for the NEASC visit this fall they had a lot to do. One of the many things, was to develop a set of rubrics, which were to be used school wide.

These rubrics would provide a more consistent grading system for teachers and students alike, and would ensure that all teachers were on the same page.

For this task, a committee was created.

English teacher Janet Keirstead was one of the co-chairs of the mission and expectation committee along with history teacher Chris Connole, and was in charge of leading the group that put the rubrics together.

As part of this committee she played a role in developing the mission statement, but also in the development of the school rubrics.

Keirstead said that one of the biggest struggles was, “how do you find something that can be applied across the board?”.

To help with this, the committee tried to divvy up the rubrics as best as they could.

The committee itself consists of 17 teachers and had teachers from every department.

Keirstead said the committee, “tried to pair up people with the rubric that we thought would best apply to that department.”

Although the final NEASC report will not be in until the end of the year, they did give some initial feedback.

Assistant Principal Adam Goldberg said, “They wanted to urge Westford Academy to continue the conversation relevant to school wide rubrics, but they also applauded us for starting the journey.”

Goldberg also said that NEASC recognizes how hard it is to put school wide rubrics in place, and there are not many other schools that have them fully implemented.

Keirstead said that she could understand why NEASC was a little critical of the rubrics. She believes that because they are so new, that is likely why it is one of the areas where Westford Academy is the weakest.

As a teacher Keirstead even said herself, “I am struggling with the implantation of them and find myself not using them as often as I should.”

Westford Academy can only go up from here.

In future years, students should look for the rubrics to be used much more often in all of their classes, and at this point it looks as if the rubrics will keep being improved and revised as the years go on.

Rec Basketball is an extremely popular winter sport. In town tons of kids sign up each year to play. The rules and regulations of rec basketball are the same as any other game of basketball.

At www.westfordhoops.com they have a chart of recent game results for each grade level, and even calendar print-outs of each team’s schedule.

Rec basketball gives any kid the opportunity to practice and play on a team against friends. Each team is given a different color jersey and number, and most of the team names have to do with this color.

Lisa Vallone has been a dedicated rec basketball player since third grade. After watching basketball games on TV, and playing with friends she decided to play rec.

Vallone has once a week games and practices on her own time outside when the weather is nice. Her favorite thing to do is play with friends and not just alone. The choice of rec over school came when she decided she did not want to play too intensely because she did not have enough time to practice that hard.

Rec basketball has everyone practice together first then teams are chosen in order to even the playing level out. So that one team is not way better than another. Vallone does not really mind when she is not placed on a team with her friends because she knows she will play them in a game eventually.

Rec basketball is less intense and anyone can play without getting cut from the team. It is less of a commitment than a school team. The practices are limited to once a week and weekly games.

“It is fun to play against my friends not too competitively but we still try,” said Valone.

Vallone’s favorite memory of rec basketball came when she was chosen for the all-stars team in seventh grade. This is a side team that you play along with your normal rec ball team. The team is made up of one deserving player from each individual team that coaches nominate.

Another wonderful memory she has of rec ball was during freshman year when she scored a winning basket in double overtime. She says she will never forget doing that and always hopes to do that again.

Her team this year is not off to the best start with their 0-4 record but are hoping to improve. The team includes no seniors so Vallone is the oldest one on it. She is number 10 and her team is violet. Her coach is Mr. Templeton. Vallone plans to continue playing basketball throughout senior year but then stopping after that and not continuing into college.

Vallone’s favorite things that she used to do at practices were the quick drills. She liked practicing shooting and running quickly. From starting in third grade to now being a junior she feels that she has improved greatly from these practices.

Winning is important but is not what counts to Vallone. She likes being able to play against friends and not take it too seriously. Winning used to matter more when she was younger but as she got older it was more about just having fun.

Along with playing rec basketball, Vallone also coached it for two years. She and one other person coached girls third through fifth grade rec basketball.

“Coaching basketball was so fun because I really enjoy helping kids improve their skills, and it was a nice change to watch and help rather than myself playing,” said Valone.

Staff Writer

Cafe Night, one of last year’s biggest hits, is rapidly approaching. English teachers and co-coordinators, Jeffrey Kucaj and Jessica Lang, are working together with students to put the finishing touches on this upcoming event.

Most people have not heard of Cafe Night, since the first one was only last year. Lang and Kucaj both agree last year’s event was a hit, and they both hope this one will be too.

Cafe Night is sponsored by two of Westford Academy’s clubs, Guitar Club, headed by Kucaj, and Beyond Words, the Academy’s literary magazine headed by Lang.

Unlike last year, Lang and Kucaj agreed with students to have auditions, since last year there was the issue of time management. Students, along with Kucaj and Lang, decided to be the judges. They were looking for stage presence, originality, and appeal, just to name a few attributes.

Ticket prices are $5 per person, and $8 at the door. Tickets are on sale now for Cafe Night during lunch blocks. Proceeds from Cafe Night will go to Haiti, to fund their recent earthquake.

Adam Ciampi, who will be performing for the event, believes this year’s event will be more successful than last year since there are more sets and therefore more entertainment.

Kucaj will also be performing along with English teacher, Brain Mahoney. They will be singing and playing guitar, but they decided to keep the song names a secret. Regarding their rehearsals, Kucaj said, “I think this year, the audience will know not to expect too much from us. Our talent level is mostly the same.”

Lang is confident that Cafe Night, if it is repeated every year, will encourage the Arts, and it will become “…part of the school culture and fabric of WA. It’s great to see different students all coming together to celebrate art, music and literature.”

The Disney trip is a Westford Academy tradition that has been going on for more than a decade. Underclassmen anticipate it, while seniors count down to it.

After last year’s trip, people began claiming that the trip would no longer continue for future classes. James Antonelli, Westford Academy’s principal, said, “it is a rumor.”

Antonelli also explained that they will continue with the tradition as long as the school committee still believes it is a good idea.

Seniors leave for Disney World before finals every year and about 75% of the total senior class attend.

“It is an independent trip,” said Betsy Murphy, one of the trip coordinators and a guidance counselor at Westford Academy. Most of the students on the trip wake up early and can enjoy Disney World as they please as long as they make their midnight curfew.

Murphy also mentioned that there are some expectations that every student must meet in order to have that privilege. Any senior who has had a suspension that school year will not be able to attend. For students who have had an in school suspension they have the option to do community service to be able to go.

Drugs, smoking, and alcohol are not tolerated during the trip and there are heavy consequences for such behavior, like possibly having to catch the next flight back to Westford. Also, there is a risk of being excluded from senior week activities.

This year they are planning to fly together on Jet Blue straight from Boston to Orlando. They always stay at the All-Star Resorts and they each receive passes that allow them to go in and out of all the different parks in Disney World.

Overall, it is considered a highlight of a Westford Academy student’s senior year.

“I fully support the trip and love that our WA students have something to look forward to in their senior year,” said Antonelli.