I am writing this in response to an article I recently read, titled “The Pledge of Allegiance needs to be left behind.”
The Pledge is grossly misrepresented by this article. The article declares that the Pledge is plagued by an irredeemable past of xenophobia and racism, and because of that past’s incompatibility with modern day values, the Pledge should be left behind. However, this line of reasoning overlooks the inherent value a speech like the Pledge of Allegiance has to us today.
Whether it be issues with WiFi connectivity that impede lesson plans, recycling programs that leave students and teachers confused about how to best dispose of waste or athletic facilities that are unsafe and non-ADA compliant, there are many aspects of Algonquin that can be improved. Although these things may not always be in our control, as in the examples listed above, as members of the Algonquin community, our power comes from our voices.
While we may not be able to improve WiFi connectivity overnight, ensure that the new athletic complex is built or create a seamless recycling system, it is through our involvement in the Algonquin community that we can create positive change. For those of you old enough to vote for or against the new athletic complex, make your voices heard by voting for what you believe is the best decision for our community. Others can get involved with local politics by seeking out local representatives or attending town meetings. For those looking to improve the environment or simply personal recycling habits, you can focus on reducing waste or seeking
out opportunities for trash clean-ups and other environmentally conscious activities.
Getting involved in clubs or organizations on Algonquin’s campus is a great way to explore new passions and fight for change at our school. Whether it be through joining the Green Earth Club, which encourages sustainable practices like reusing and recycling, or becoming a staff writer for the Harbinger so you can share your opinion on important topics, Algonquin’s variety of student-run organizations allows us students to make a difference in our community and explore our passions freely.
Algonquin will always have room for improvement--there will always be challenges we face as a community--but the more we utilize our voices and power in numbers, the more we can make individual and widespread changes. Working together and fighting for what we are passionate about is how we improve as a school and community, so finding your voice and your place within the school can make all the difference.
Though maintaining a tradition with dark origins may cause discomfort, I would argue that instead of focusing on the Pledge’s troubled past, why not use the Pledge as an instrument of unity? We should separate the beliefs of those living in the 1890s from the Pledge, and embrace the value of the speech itself.
When we recite the Pledge of Allegiance, we swear our allegiance to our republic and to each other. We swear to uphold our democratic processes, and above all to remain loyal to each other as fellow citizens. That loyalty is something we as a country desperately need. America is spiraling into political tribalism as politics seeps into personal life, and both the left and right sides of the political aisle rip apart the middle, driving even politically moderate Americans apart. Perhaps the Pledge of Allegiance will be a start to closing that gap, so that we can once again see each other as fellow Americans, rather than rivals.
Gavin Moran Class of 2023PRINT EDITORS
SOPHIA MURRAY Editor-in-Chief
JULA UTZSCHNEIDER Editor-in-Chief
RIYA MAHANTA Managing Editor
KATHERINE WU Online Editor
PRIYA MARALIGA Photo Editor
KATY O’CONNELL Photo Editor
ELLIE O’CONNOR News Editor
ZOE MANOUSOS A&E Editor
AVA ARCONA Assistant News Editor
EDITORS
JOCELINE GIRON Multimedia Editor
MARYGRACE SARRASIN News Editor
AMELIA SINCLAIR News Editor
JEFFREY DRATCH Opinion Editor
ASSISTANT EDITORS
EMILY HARMON Online
SOPHIE HJERPE News
GRACE BOUZAN Sports
ANANYA PANDIT A&E
KATE MICHEL A&E
HANNE BRABANDER A&E
LILA SHIELDS Opinion
ARIELLE CHIN Opinion
CASS MELO Opinion
The Harbinger strives to: Report in a legal, objective, accurate and ethical manner; Be fair and impartial in its coverage;
Accurately portray the culture of the student body; Give voice to the students of Algonquin; Entertain and start conversation; Maintain professional standards
Sahana Sivarajan, Luke Utzschneider, Adrian Mathew
CJ Bourbeau, Joe Lamburn, Owen Jones
Lili Torres, Jaclyn Faulconer, Niamh O’Sullivan, Vivian Simopoulos, Natalo Maggiolino, Satoshi Conway, Jasmine Yee, Andrew Hodge, Hannah Albers, Yusuf Ali, Grace Ammon, Owen Cacciatore, Sarah Coldwell, Katie Cullen, Alice Galvao, Katie Jennings, Aiden Johnson, Altea Mehillaj, Mia Nicosia, Ayan Niyogi, Maria Paradise, Madeline Peoples, Zara Shaikh, Jack Stiles, Arnav Thube, Calla Torres, Ava Wilde, Jason Wong, Kelvin Crispo, Sophia Lalau, Kartiki Sarangdhar, Danny Schanzer, Colin Kearney, Ava Ellis, Lillian Johnson, Anna Bellville, Betsy Bertonazzi, Sophia Khan, Ela Or, Dayeon Lee, Caroline Lou, Linda Hu, Meredith Wu, Karma Bebawy, Sania Hasan, Grace Herdman, Tamara Tymoshevska
Lindsay Coppens & Michelle Sheppard
The Harbinger is the official news publication produced by Algonquin Regional High School students. The Harbinger has been established as a designated public forum to inform readers as well as for the discussion of issues of concern to their audience. The Harbinger is not reviewed or restrained by school officials prior to publication or distribution.
Because school officials do not engage in prior review, and the content of The Harbinger is determined by and reflects only the views of the student staff, its editorial board assumes complete legal liability for the content of its publication.
The expression of opinions by readers is encouraged through letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 300 words, must be signed, and must include the writer’s phone number for verification. Letters may be submitted to arhsharbinger@gmail.com.
Organizations interested in advertising in The Harbinger should contact editors for rates and policies. Advertising that appears in the publication is not necessarily endorsed by The Harbinger or its staff members. Concerns about published errors may be submitted to arhsharbinger@gmail.com. Staff members strive to correct errors prior to publication; however, if a significant error is printed, editors will determine the manner of a correction.
Typography and layout are done entirely by the staff which distributes approximately 1,500 copies to the school community, paid subscribers and advertisers. The Harbinger is printed by School Paper Express.
The Harbinger is affilliated with The New England Scholastic Press Association, The Columbia Scholastic Press Association and The National Scholastic Press Association.
WIFI PROBLEMS
38
06 10 24 27
GONKPLEX
A look at the proposed athletic complex and its impacts on students and the surrounding community
OPINION
tardy policies, lower voting age, importance of silencing your inner critic
NEWS
reevaluating discipline, WiFi problems, Q&A with Bevan, National Banner Award, sexual assault, recycling, Grace Jo, unleveled courses, AP classes
PROFILES
therapy dogs
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Tartuffe, music teachers performing, AWC Open Mic, Jazz Night, Zach Newbould, being funny in a foreign language, Rail Trail, Brothers on Three, Boba Bros, Top 5
35
SPORTS coaches help athletes destress, Gonkplex, Rafael Knapp, girls’ hockey
Algonquin began implementing various new attendance policies, especially surrounding tardies, in the fall of 2021. While a policy hoping to decrease tardiness sounds like a great idea in theory, it is being executed in a poor way, prioritizing punishment over presence in class.
Students who have three unexcused tardies per term will receive one detention, while five tardies per term warrant two detentions and a loss of senior privileges for 20 days, according to page 32 of the Student Handbook. These policies allow for very little room for mistakes and expect students to always be on time for school. Making students stay after for a detention can cause them to miss their after school activities, such as clubs or sports, which are what keep some students going and feeling connected to Algonquin.
What administrators didn’t take into account when creating these policies is that many students don’t have power over something out of their control happening, such as morning traffic, accidents or emergencies, and the three tardy policy is just not lenient enough. In a Harbinger survey of 149 students via Google Forms on December 12-15, 2022, students were asked “Do you think the new ARHS
tardy policies (disciplinary action taken after 3 tardies per term) put in place are fair to students?” 57% of respondents answered believe the policies are “completely unfair” or “somewhat unfair.” This input shows the common belief schoolwide that tardy policies need to be revisited.
It is impossible to predict the obstacles students face on their way to school, and this can cause students to be late to school. Additionally, when asked “If you have had a tardy this year: why were you late to school,” 67% of respondents answered “Traffic/ problem encountered on the way to school.”
When I wake up and leave my house with sufficient time to get to school, sometimes I face construction, excessive traffic, car accidents or car troubles that cause me to arrive at school late. Although these circumstances might make me just five minutes late to school, it still counts as an unexcused absence, ultimately affecting my attendance record.
In the same survey, students were asked “If you have had a tardy this year, how late were you to school? (If you were tardy more than once, on average, how late were you?)” Out of 88 respondents, 76% said they were less than ten minutes late, a time that causes students to miss very little class time, but still leads to detention.
Additionally, as mentioned in class meetings at the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year, these tardiness policies have been put in place in order
to ensure that students are spending as much time learning and in class as possible.
But the way that the disciplinary actions are conducted by administrators completely contradicts this idea. The majority of the time, students will be called down to administrators’ offices during class time to discuss their tardies and receive discipline. However, a policy designed to make sure students aren’t missing class and maximizing their time learning leads students to end up missing more class time discussing these tardies.
The true hypocrisy present in our school’s tardy policy is the real reason why it should be eliminated or changed. There needs to be more leeway in these policies, allowing students to at least explain themselves for why they were late, possibly eliminating disciplinary action. Allowing students a 5-10 minute grace period that won’t affect their attendance would also create a more fair school environment.
Being present in class and learning is extremely important to achieving a quality education. However, the current attendance policies at Algonquin surrounding tardies do not take many factors into account, and are not ultimately fair to students.
This article was published in Feb. 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
Although America’s government supposedly runs on democracy, this privilege is typically withheld from youth. However, at this year’s Southborough Town Meeting, voters will be tasked with the question addressed by many cities and towns across the country: should 16 and 17 year-olds have the right to vote? The answer needs to be yes.
On March 25, St. Mark’s School senior James Nichols-Worley will present a Warrant Article to Town Meeting attendees, aiming to expand Southborough’s voting age in town-wide elections to 17 year-olds, following in the footsteps of several Massachusetts towns and cities, including Boston, whose city council approved an amendment in November 2022.
Political participation in our community at a younger age would be an incredible privilege and opportunity for youth. While some critics believe those under 18 are not yet qualified to vote, the truth is 16 year-olds already participate in many adult responsibilities including driving, filing taxes and, as recorded in a 2022 Bureau of Labor Statistics Report, over half of young Americans hold jobs, many of which are in their own communities. If they can handle those responsibilities due to their maturity level, who is to say they shouldn’t be able to exercise that responsibility in a way that supports their community?
The majority of individuals who would be eligible to vote at 17, if this proposition is passed, would be juniors and seniors in high school. Expanding the right to vote for engaged and educated students helps reinforce their civics education. If teenagers are able to participate in democracy while still attending school, they will be able to build better voting habits which may continue throughout their lives.
While some may believe that adults have nothing to gain from the cause, that is not the case. Allowing young individuals to participate in their town’s democracy has the power to unify a community and create stronger connections between individuals. Those teenagers are then likely to feel closer to their hometown as they get older, and therefore have more interest in staying in town to become a long-term resident and taxpayer.
Local Massachusetts State Representative Kate Donaghue has worked with teens and high schoolers for many years and always encouraged young people to be active in democracy.
“I think there are many advantages to giving 16 and 17 year-olds the ability to vote in town elections,” Donaghue said. “There are teens who aren’t paying much attention to what’s happening in their town, but there are also some older residents who
aren’t.”
Expansion of the voting age is often criticized based on misconceptions of teenagers. According to a 2019 survey by Western New England University, only 42% of Massachusetts residents support an expansion of the local election voting age below 18, with the most common rationale against this proposal being that they lack the knowledge and maturity for the process.
“Young voters care about how we run our schools, the quality of our town, and we are qualified to give back to our community,” Nichols-Worley said via email. “Young voters will always rise to the expectations we give them, and I have great expectations.”
According to Vote16USA, a youth activist group which advocates for expansion of the voting age, a number of studies show there is no cognitive difference between 16 year-olds and adults, as people’s decision-making process fully matures by the age of 16.
While the decision would only impact local elections and town meetings, there are still many important issues present at the local level. This year, a main agenda item being decided on is the Algonquin Athletic Complex, where one topic of discussion is the turf fields being put in: who better to vote on it than those who will have to play sports on it?
While many cities in Massachusetts, including Cambridge and Somerville, have proposed legislation to lower their voting age, if passed these new policies still need to be approved by the Massachusetts state legislature. It’s important to note that even if this particular warrant is passed in Southborough, it most likely will not go into effect immediately. The towns of Ashfield and Shelburne, Massachusetts, who, as reported in the Greenfield Recorder, passed the decision back in 2017, have still not been approved by the State House.
Due to the fact that this petition has only been submitted in Southborough, Northborough residents will not be impacted, but they are still welcome to join in on the statewide efforts. Nichols-Worley hopes to launch a door-to-door campaign in favor of the warrant, and plans to canvass across Southborough with other youth, encouraging voters to support the initiative.
“People say young voters are not ready to exercise our right,” Nichols-Worley said. “This is us saying yes we are.”
To learn more or join in the cause, read the full petition and explanation on MySouthborough, or contact Nichols-Worley by email at centralmass@ ydma.org or on Twitter.
This article was published in Feb. 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
We all have our own inner critic whether we realize it or not. It’s the looming voice in our head that enjoys polluting our mind with negative ideas. As high schoolers, many of us have experienced the feeling of not being good enough.
In a 2019 study by Pew Research Center, 61% of teens say they feel a lot of academic pressure, 29% express insecurities regarding appearance, 28% say they fixate on fitting in, 21% express pressure to be involved in extracurricular activities and 21% feel pressured to excel in sports.
The notion that we must be able to satisfy the expectations placed upon us by our teachers, friends, peers, family, and most notably ourselves, negatively affects our self image and leads us down a path of doubt and self-sabotage.
Oftentimes, it is difficult to refrain from comparing ourselves to others because the perpetuating stereotype of “the perfect teenager” is constantly being reinforced on social media and around school. Whether it’s hearing the perfect scores our classmates receive on their assessments or seeing our peers get accepted into their dream college, preventing the comparison between ourselves and
others is not an easy feat.
Sometimes, our inner critic can push us to be our “best selves” by reminding us to keep working hard in order to achieve our dreams. However, when we fall short of those goals we set for ourselves, our inner critic can become unhealthy and toxic by cementing the idea that we are a failure. It is important to find a balance between pushing ourselves to the best of our ability while still accepting that we can fail to meet our original goals.
According to an article published on “Verywell Mind,” a website dedicated to mental health and psychology awareness, negative thoughts can affect our mood and lead to mental health conditions such as social anxiety, depression, stress and low self-esteem. Although silencing our inner critic may take immense patience and perseverance, the long-term goal is to ultimately free ourselves from the restraints of negative beliefs and boost our confidence and compassion.
According to a “Forbes” article titled, “Taming Your Inner Critic: 7 Steps To Silencing The Negativity,” practicing self-awareness, empathy and improvement are all beneficial ways to combat negative mindsets. Practicing mindfulness can help alleviate negative emotions and boost self-awareness by allowing one to be more in tune with their intrusive
thoughts. When we recognize the reason behind how we are feeling, we can take control over those thoughts and replace them with realistic and positive truths.
Coping with criticism and accepting our flaws does not mean we need to deceive ourselves and invalidate our own emotions. In actuality, it requires us to pause, take a step back and set realistic and achievable goals for ourselves. We need to provide ourselves with leniency by allowing room for growth in all areas of our life.
It is important to remember that we are all humans who are prone to make mistakes. Everyone has to go through the same process of growing up and adjusting to new situations, as well as partaking in new experiences. We are shaped by our own unique attributes and personalities, therefore, we shouldn’t look towards others’ achievements and accolades as a sign that we are any less than they are. After all, it is fallacious to believe that we can be “perfect” human beings in a world composed entirely of imperfect individuals.
This article was published in March 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
Lili Torres YeeKilling coyotes does not solve the population problem by
Fast fashion’s rapid growth is deadly by Luke Utzschneider
Sports should not be prioritized over art by Jasmine
In recent months, students and staff have been frustrated with inconsistent access to the building’s WiFi due to problems in the network configuration, which the Information Technology department is working to resolve with the help of a third party diagnostic team.
According to a Harbinger survey of 160 students conducted through Google Forms from Dec.12-15, 99% of respondents said they have had WiFi issues during class this year, with 81% saying the building’s WiFi is worse this year compared to last school year. Both students and faculty have expressed frustration with their inability to consistently access the internet.
The district’s Director of Information Technology Ryan O’Leary attributes problems with WiFi connectivity to work that was done over the summer to improve security and enhance performance.
“There were significant changes implemented to the layout of all networks for the sake of data and system security, as well as (as ironic as it seems) performance enhancements to compensate for the increasing use of video streaming in district classrooms today,” O’Leary said in an interview via email.
“Once user awareness training had been settled, it became very apparent that there was something seriously amiss regarding connectivity in the H and B wings of the building.”
Principal Sean Bevan believes the network issues have greatly challenged students and teachers and understands their frustration.
“The WiFi issues have affected our school in a handful of different ways, a lot of which have a common denominator of how frustrations can be high,” Bevan said. “Students and teachers alike want to be able to do their best work and internet access is almost as important as many of our other utilities like running water or electricity so when you don’t have access to it and you’ve grown used to having access to it, not having access to it feels like a real imposition.”
World Languages Department Head Emily Squires agrees that WiFi is essential in the classroom, especially because of a shift to and reliance on digital technology for teaching and learning.
“All of our content is digital now; we are entering this era of students being perfectly fine with accessing all their texts, content and assignments, fully on their devices,” Squires said. “For the language department, we use videos and audios that we find [online] so students can have some authentic resources or
comprehensible input. We depend on that because that’s where you will find the authentic materials.”
According to Squires, the most challenging part is that connectivity issues do not allow teachers to plan or run their classes effectively.
“The most frustrating thing is that you can’t depend on a regular routine; a teacher wants to walk in and open class with an agenda and then be able
to use their links and stuff set up or tabbed up for the class,” Squires said. “Ideally you could just start class like that. Day in and day out, at least three people in this department have been completely unable to do that effectively.”
WiFi issues have hindered the learning experience in one specific classroom to the extent that one World Languages teacher had to change classrooms due to the network issues.
“Mr. Greenwald changed his room because he could not effectively teach in the way he wanted to,” Squires said. “A daily routine, getting into a groove, being able to have the lessons flow for the teacher and the students is needed, and students should be able to fully participate in what they need to do and not have to worry about the WiFi.”
In addition to challenges created by the network issues, there have been significant challenges for the IT team while trying to solve the problem.
“The largest single challenge the current IT team is facing is the lack of proper, or updated documentation from previous years,” O’Leary said via email. “Any slight issue or equipment failure first requires a serious investigation as to the nature of the device’s intended purpose to begin with, which can take considerable time away from the speed of res-
olution.”
According to Bevan, many quantitative and qualitative steps have been taken to identify the issues and resolve the network problems.
“Students have seen surveys from me, teachers have received surveys from me, and I met with students and the student advisory council about the WiFi issues,” Bevan said. “A few things simultaneously are happening, but one big one is to have an outside party who is coming in to diagnose the system issues and produce a report that tells our tech team what the issues are and how to remedy them.”
Although the network configuration is the primary source of concern, there was a widespread internet outage in the building during midterm exams on Jan. 17. As stated in an email Bevan sent out to students and staff that day, the internet outage was the result of a “DDOS attack.”
“A ‘DoS Attack’ (or DDoS, which has become synonymous, although slightly different) has become an umbrella term for any malicious activity that is intended to deny access to a service (Denial of Service Attack),” O’Leary said via email. “Not only was WiFi affected, but all network traffic entering or exiting the building was brought down, since the target of the attack was ARHS’s main internet fire-
wall...We were able to quickly determine the nature of the attack from a combination of staff experience and system logs, and authorities were contacted immediately.”
According to Bevan, the school has invested in hardware to prevent further attacks on the network.
“Sometimes what can happen is people will send an attack at our network and it can disrupt the network and slow down the network,” Bevan said. “We have a piece of hardware now that we are installing that should create a level of protection against those kinds of attacks that we never had before. Our hope is that in combination with the new hardware and the diagnostic team we should be able to improve the experience for students and adults.”
Teachers and students have expressed concerns not only about how inconsistent connectivity impacts daily teaching and learning but also how upcoming MCAS exams could be affected. According to Bevan, precautions are also being taken to accommodate these computer-based tests.
“I have been meeting with my administrative teams that plan MCAS, and we are communicating with the technology team to make sure they know what dates those are or when we’re planning on having them and that we have uninterrupted wireless for those tests which are computer-based,” Bevan said.
Bevan emphasized that administrators and the IT team are doing their best to resolve the issues.
“I think people maybe don’t fully understand how hard our tech team is working to try and fix this issue and that the frustration that our students and staff may feel also is the frustration the tech team shares as well,” Bevan said. “It is puzzling to everyone so our tech team is working hard every day to try and respond to teacher reports of wireless trouble and to respond to student reports of frustrations or trouble. So it’s not for lack of trying; it’s just we haven’t found the exact right diagnosis for what the issues are or the right solutions for what that diagnosis will be.”
Although the issues are not resolved yet, there are ways students and staff can help the situation including turning off the personal hot-spot feature on phones.
“The Wireless Access Points (WAPs) in the ceiling are designed to throw interfering signals in an attempt to disrupt what it sees as a ‘Rogue Access Point,’...and the interference generated both siderails the investigation from the original underlying issue, as well as steals that radio signal away from providing connectivity for others in your class, hence compounding the problem,” O’Leary said via email. “So please leave your hot-spot off. You may have a little better speed for yourself, but everyone else who is struggling is put in a worse situation.”
Bevan is optimistic the WiFi issues will improve soon.
“The diagnostic report will tell us something and then along with that we will find out what the solution is,” Bevan said. “If it’s as simple as making a couple of small changes that have massive impacts I would be pretty excited about that; the relief would be immediate.”
A new regulation that requires all Massachusetts public schools to take additional steps to re-engage students before using suspensions was put into place on Nov. 8, 2022, in an effort to increase time in class and to support students through alternatives such as conflict resolution, community service and mediation.
The regulation is part of the larger Act Addressing Barriers to Care for Mental Health, which was developed at the state level. According to the Massachusetts Legislature, the change is due to an amendment to section 37 of the Act, requiring schools to pursue alternative methods for discipline, rather than the previous recommendation to “consider” other options before a suspension. These alternatives can include community service projects or loss of social privileges as ways to develop long-term skills. This regulation does not extend to students facing felony or assault charges.
“One of the features of this act was for schools to be a little bit more flexible in dealing with student behavior issues,” Principal Sean Bevan said. “Specifically to require schools to be more innovative in how they respond to student disciplinary issues by reducing how much time students spend out of the classroom.”
Assistant Principal Janet Brown sees the policy change as a way for ARHS administration to support students, instead of relying on suspensions as a punishment.
“The administrative team already, philosophically, has that same belief system as the Commonwealth [of Massachusetts],” Brown said. “We are very careful and cautious about removing a student from the learning environment, and we’re getting better. A lot of students who are removed from the learning environment have other struggles, not just whatever
the infraction was. So our job, fundamentally, is to support students in learning the behaviors that will help them develop into successful adults.”
While those in disciplinary situations may experience more complex plans to address behavior, Bevan hopes the changes go unnoticed by the majority of students and families due to discretion. Through alternative solutions such as community service, the changes described within the new regulation emphasize the importance of conflict resolution, mediation and collaboration.
“I think that a student would find in disciplinary situations that their administrators are working at the root cause of the infraction,” Brown said. “They will see individualized programs developed for students who have significant infractions that ensure the safety of the community and the growth of the student.”
The new policy intends to increase equity in schools as well, a value that aligns with the ARHS administration’s goals.
“Not every student in the building has somebody to champion them, even in the midst of a misstep,” Brown said. “So what this law does is, and it’s something I believe very, very strongly in, is it helps us champion for that student. Struggling students need to be in school as much as possible, and sometimes, that’s the population that’s more likely to get suspended, since [suspensions] can unequally impact students of different socio-economic groupings.”
While the regulation requires schools to use alternative consequences for behavioral issues, suspensions are still a viable option when there are extenuating circumstances as to why a student is being disciplined.
“There are a lot of things that a student can do
that we still have the ability to suspend,” Bevan said. “Anything related to health or safety or anything that would represent a significant disruption to the school environment, we have the ability to suspend for. And also, if we’ve already tried other avenues to redirect a student’s behavior, and those aren’t working, suspension is still an option.”
Additionally, the punishment for a discipline issue varies depending on the circumstances and those involved. Finding balance is key, according to Bevan. “[Disciplining students is] all situation by situation,” Bevan said. “We don’t have any sentencing guidelines where we say if you do this one behavior, this is the exact consequences you get. But whenever there’s a double offense or there are some times where there’s a victim associated, a student who was the recipient of really poor behavior on another student’s behalf, we don’t want to be course-correcting so much that the victim in those situations doesn’t feel supported.”
Bevan sees the updated regulation as a turning point in how Massachusetts schools view discipline and the impacts it can have on students. As schools move away from suspensions, he hopes they can continue to help students develop.
“I think that increasingly, schools are looking at discipline as a process for students to grow, and less as a mechanism to achieve a penalty or justice for a student who’s done something unwise,” Bevan said. “I think it’s more in line with my personal view as an educator, that we’re here to teach students how to be functional and healthy adults that contribute to their community.”
This article was published in Feb. 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
This year, Special Olympics awarded Algonquin with the National Banner Award, recognizing the school’s high standards for inclusion and equity and continuing its status as a Unified Champion school.
To receive the award, schools must meet 10 national standards, developed by Special Olympics, that reflect inclusive leadership. Once a school receives the National Banner Award, it is given the status of a Unified Champion School. ARHS is one of only 12 schools in Massachusetts and 164 in the country who were selected for the award, which was announced to students at the pep rally on Nov. 23. Although the award was first received in 2019, schools were invited to reapply last September, according to Best Buddies Adviser Kevin Hausmann.
“[The award is] a recognition that the place where you’re being educated sees people for their abilities and wants to include them in all aspects of life,” Hausmann said. “I think it’s great that we’re renewing our commitment and renewing our recognition.”
The ARHS Best Buddies chapter adviser and Special Education teacher Caitlin Hynes believes that the award is a reflection of the efforts put in by all students and staff who help create an inclusive environment at ARHS.
“I think everyone is happy that Algonquin is being recognized,” Hynes said. “We’re really lucky to have so many opportunities that I think the award is secondary to everyone just being happy about what’s available. But when you’re recognized for all your efforts, it does help you feel a little more motivated to keep going.”
One of the ten national standards states the requirement for inclusive extracurriculars for all students. Various Unified sports, the Unified Singing club and Best Buddies are among some that are offered. The first ARHS Unified track team was started by students and began in 2012. Hausmann emphasizes the importance of student-driven lead-
ership and believes it is one of the major factors that contributed to ARHS receiving the award this year.
“[Unified Sports started] because of the students 10 years ago, and the students who are still leading it really deserve the recognition for being inclusive and wanting to see opportunities for their peers with intellectual disabilities,” Hausmann said.
To reapply for the National Banner Award last fall, ARHS was required to send an application that demonstrated the ten national standards.
“It was really a couple of days of sitting down to just tell the stories or the anecdotes of all the good things that our school does,” Hausmann said. “So it wasn’t like we had to go and compete for [the award], we just had to submit a portfolio.”
The COVID pandemic posed challenges for all students, especially for those with disabilities, according to Hausmann. Despite the remote and hybrid learning models from the 2020-2021 school year, massive efforts were made by students and faculty to continue unification and inclusion, which was important to recognize when reapplying for the National Banner Award.
“The past couple years were arguably two of the most challenging years we’ve all faced as a society and as a school, but yet, we kept our high standards,” Hausmann said. “We kept our highest standards of wanting to make sure that people are socially engaged and involved in sports and in all aspects of high school life, despite the fact that we were all remote for months. We were able to make Best Buddies work, and we made Unified Track work.”
Hynes encourages students to continue to join Unified extracurriculars and create an impact.
“We have a lot of students outside of some of the special-ed or Unified programs that may not totally be aware of what’s available,” Hynes said. “There’s a variety of opportunities available to students that meet their social needs and their interests, and we’re always looking for more people to be involved, so don’t be afraid to find out.”
This article was published in Jan. 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
Sexual harassment and assault are problems which, according to local statistics and national averages, disproportionately affect high school girls. Algonquin aims to address these issues through a combination of support systems and consent-positive curricula.
In 2019, a Harbinger survey of 236 students found that 15% of ARHS students had been sexually assaulted in some way. Today, four years later, sexual harassment and assault statistics remain just as concerning. According to a 2022 Harbinger survey of 160 students conducted through Google Forms between Dec. 12 to Dec. 15, 17% of Algonquin students say they’ve experienced sexual assault.
According to Principal Sean Bevan, although student reports are infrequent, any alleged incident of sexual harassment or assault brought to administration immediately becomes the top priority. In the case of a report, Bevan promptly involves the Title IX Coordinator, local law enforcement and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), as it would constitute a form of abuse.
“It’s the kind of thing that when it comes to our attention, we drop everything,” Bevan said.
According to the survey, 10% of respondents said they had experienced sexual harassment, assault or abuse while at school. Senior Jaclyn Faulconer is among those whose assault occurred on school property.
“I was assaulted once in this school during school
hours,” Faulconer said. “It definitely made me scared to come to school, because I knew that person would continue to assault me or retaliate if I reported it.”
Despite her fears, Faulconer did report the incident to an assistant principal, which was her first step in feeling comfortable in school again; however, the experience had a lasting negative impact on her.
“It definitely affected me,” Faulconer said. “I became very skittish to be around everyone. But I think the administration handled it the best that they could have done.”
Sexual harassment is a more common experience than assault, especially among females in the Algonquin community. The US Department of State’s Sexual Harassment Policy defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. According to the Harbinger survey, 54% of female students responded that they had experienced sexual harassment.
Senior Jay Guarino, a non-binary victim of sexual assault, was not surprised by these statistics.
“[The survey results] make sense, unfortunately,” Guarino said. “It sucks that we as people are often desensitized to [sexual assault], but I feel like it’s fairly common. There’s a good percentage of people who don’t even realize it happened to them.”
Although freshman Lana Ingerslev believes sexual harassment, such as catcalling, occurs more frequently in crowded cities, she has also experienced it in her hometown since middle school.
“I’ve gotten honked at twice while running in Northborough in seventh or eighth grade,” Ingerslev
said. “It’s not fun.”
The effects of sexual harassment vary drastically depending on the person. Some Algonquin students are able to ignore or brush off the harassment altogether, but for others, it is much harder to forget.
“I’m a lot more cautious [after experiencing catcalling],” an anonymous sophomore said. “I’m a lot more self-conscious. I’m a lot more self aware. I take a lot more care of my safety and sometimes I carry a self-defense keychain.”
Junior Oliver Kubik has often experienced and felt uncomfortable by the way some students turn sexual comments into jokes.
“If [the punchline is] sexual harassment, it’s not the right thing, in my opinion,” Kubik said. “Sexual harassment is not a joking matter.”
In order to promote consent-positive education, sophomore health classes dedicate a unit to discuss its importance. Junior Milla Santos reflected on the unit as being a good learning experience and believes it is an important topic to learn about.
“We watched a video comparing consent to drinking tea,” Santos said. “I thought it was a good way of showing it, even though I already knew what consent was.”
According to health teacher Melissa Arvanigian, health education at Algonquin tends not to go into specifics about sexual assault, but works to provide students with the tools they need to find help, including the importance of sharing what happened with a trusted adult and going to a hospital right away for a rape kit.
“I always say I don’t care if you guys are complete-
Community strives to support, educate students about sexual assault and harassment
ly just about to do something and one person decides they’re not comfortable, you need to respect that because no means no,” Arvanigian said. “But also being advanced upon without your consent is definitely something that you should be speaking to somebody else about. Don’t just sit back and think it’s okay for someone to touch you when you don’t feel comfortable. It’s your own body. People need to understand that, and they need to respect that.”
According to the US Department of Justice’s definition of dating violence, it is an act of violence committed by a person who is or has been in a romantic or intimate relationship with the victim. In addition to consent, students learn about the importance of healthy relationships in their sophomore health classes to understand the development of abusive environments.
“I do what’s called the progression of an unhealthy relationship with an acting skit,” Arvanigian said. “I show them all the warning signs from how innocent it looks in the beginning to how it progresses to pretty severe towards the end.”
Sexual assault is also covered in other parts of Algonquin’s curriculum, particularly in the English department through some of the texts read in various courses. English teacher John Frederick addresses the topic with books in some of his courses.
“Literature is a reflection of life and interesting stories often have adversity involved, just like in life,” Frederick said. “I think it’s important to address what obstacles we face in life, how to better deal with it, or prevent it from happening.”
One book he often incorporates into his Freshman
English classes is the 2016 novel “Beartown,” whose plot follows the rape of a 15 year-old girl perpetrated by another student and the ensuing controversy. Fredrick hopes to be able to teach all of his students about the importance of consent.
“I hope my students leave the room saying there is no excuse for it,” Frederick said. “It’s not the girl’s fault. It doesn’t matter what she is wearing, or what time of day it is, or where she is or how much she had to drink.”
With the recent release of “She Said,” a film about the journalistic coverage of sexual assault in Hollywood, conversations about the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault have been reignited both in and outside the classroom.
“It’s something that I think is important to talk about,” Frederick said. “I’ve never been afraid to talk about tough issues with young adults. I think there is a way to handle those conversations that is appropriate, that’s respectful, and not intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable.”
While jokes may not seem harmful on the surface, unwelcome comments are a form of harassment. The Teach.com article “How to Talk to Your Students about Harassment” recommends telling the harasser to stop the joke or unwelcome behavior, writing down details about the encounter and reporting it to a trusted adult or administrator.
“Students should always go to any trusted adult,” Bevan said. “They need to let an administrator know right away, so we can make sure they are safe and get the help and support that they need.”
Since its origin in 2006 with the introduction of white paper recycling, Algonquin’s recycling programs have undergone numerous changes due to new initiatives and decreased participation rates. Presently, ARHS uses the single-stream recycling program, and both students and staff recognize a need for change to make the program more effective.
The single-stream program is a system where all recyclable materials, including white paper, are collected together by the company E.L. Harvey and then sorted at their facility.
Currently, Algonquin uses a colored-bin system in each of the classrooms to denote which bins go to recycling and which bins go to trash. According to facilities director Mike Gorman, black and gray bins are for trash and green and blue bins are for recycling. Recycling bins should be accompanied by signs describing what can and cannot be placed into single-stream bins.
According to a Harbinger audit in early March of 55 randomly selected classrooms from all hallways, signage was inconsistent from classroom to classroom, and 40% of classrooms had an incorrect number of bins (either too few or too many trash and/ or recycling bins), which could lead to confusion for students and teachers.
Materials that are properly recycled must not be contaminated by non-recyclable materials, which poses challenges particularly in a school environment. If custodians see any food in either a green or blue recycling bin, the entire bin is considered contaminated and thrown out with the trash.
“[The custodians] used to try to hand pick it when [the amount we were recycling] first started dwindling, but it got to be so much labor and it was ridiculous and no one is even paying attention, but that’s where the students can step in, the teachers can step in,” Gorman said. “We are still recycling if [people dispose of their waste] properly.”
Twice a week, ARHS sends a 20-yard container of recyclable materials to E.L. Harvey; however, according to Gorman, this is significantly less than the 45-yard containers ARHS was once exporting in the same time frame. The switch from the 45-yard containers to 20-yard containers occurred in 2018. Recyclables are collected from green and blue recycling bins by janitorial staff and deposited into these containers.
Due to the lack of buyers for recycled materials in Massachusetts, a sizable portion of Algonquin’s recyclables is sent by E.L. Harvey to a local power plant in Millbury called Wheelabrator, where they are incinerated to generate electricity which we buy back at the standard rate.
“It’s getting harder and harder to find a place in Massachusetts to take the recyclables…Our trash does go and it does get turned into electricity and we do buy off the grid,” Gorman said. “It’s kind of a round-a-bout way of recycling.”
Although the colored bins are meant to encourage recycling within the school, some students and staff members believe that there is a lack of effective communication about the bins.
Senior co-president of the Green Earth Club Lee Gould expresses a need for better communication about the color-coded recycling bins.
“I think definitely we can specify which bins are for recycling and which ones are for trash,” Gould said. “Having students understand fully what materials can be recycled, more than just a little poster because no one really looks at that.”
According to a Harbinger survey of 160 students conducted via Google Forms from Dec. 12 through 15, 53% of respondents said they could sometimes differentiate between recycling and trash bins and 32% of respondents reported they are never able to differentiate between the two bins.
Gorman believes that student involvement in recycling programs is essential to the success of the single stream process.
“It’s really up to the student body to get involved,” Gorman said. “The reason why the system has failed is because the student body lost interest. It takes a whole village and it has to be driven by the students.”
According to the Harbinger survey, 73% of respondents reported that they always recycle at home, while only 15% of respondents reported that they always recycle at Algonquin.
Part of this disparity may be due to a lack of information about the recycling programs, as 42% of
respondents said they do not know what the term “single-stream recycling” means and 89% of respondents reported that if they knew more about recycling at Algonquin, they would be more inclined to recycle.
Gorman hopes to see not only students further their participation in Algonquin’s recycling program, but also teachers. He urges teachers to limit the amount of bins in their classrooms to one recycling bin and one trash bin; if a teacher has too many or not enough, he recommends they seek out a mem-
ber of facilities to sort out the issue.
Gorman believes that if teachers instruct students on how to correctly use the bins within their classrooms, students will be more likely to follow these expectations. If teachers have any questions, Gorman encourages them to seek him out to ask them.
“If there’s not a picture [in a classroom], because some might be missing, it’d be up to the teacher to say ‘Can we have another [single-stream diagram] put back up?’” Gorman said. “The responsibility goes on the whole team, students included… I’ve recom-
Recyclable Materials
Trash & Waste Materials
mended a couple of times that the student body get behind it and get back into recycling, promote it, educate it and drive it.”
Junior Sasha Sheydvasser is particularly passionate about protecting the environment and has been working with Gorman and other faculty members to create new compost and recycling initiatives. She feels frustrated by the current state of recycling at ARHS and is inspired to promote better programs.
“Recycling is really bad at our school,” Sheydvassar said. “Basically, I see a lot of things in the trash that are recyclable, and also a lot of things in the recycling bin that are trash, which makes it bad for everyone because there is just so much that is wasted.”
The single-stream program, which was instituted in 2014, introduced the green recycling bins, in which all recyclable materials can be deposited.
In 2006, Algonquin introduced white paper recycling bins, which were in service until 2019 when the company responsible for collecting the paper, Midwest Paper Retriever, canceled their services. From that point forward, white paper was incorporated into the school’s single-stream program.
Gorman explained that it was the Science department who coordinated the former white paper recycling efforts until the end of the program in 2019.
Despite local efforts, Environmental Science teacher Chrissy Connolly explained that a lack of effective recycling programs nationwide makes it difficult for schools to recycle effectively.
“Recycling in the world is disappointing, which therefore makes our school recycling not so good either,” Connolly said. “We were, in the past, led to believe that there was a lot more recycling happening than there really is. So the reality is most plastic
will not be recycled, no matter what. If you put it in the recycling bin, it is not being recycled, whether it’s from your home, or school. It’s not just the school’s problem, this is a country-wide or a worldwide problem.”
Although recycling effectively is challenging due to limited resources and access to quality programs, some students and staff are particularly passionate about reviving recycling and encouraging more sustainable lifestyles in general.
The Green Earth Club, led by Gould and senior co-president Ellie Westphal, hopes to organize a recycling drive later this year to encourage recycling of specific materials.
“Ellie and I were planning on hosting a recycling drive for one specific kind of recycling,” Gould said. “It could be like ‘Okay, we’re collecting recyclable paper,’ so then there’s not a lot of confusion on what
materials can be recycled. We would make that very clear and get students to think about the things that they use every day that can [be recycled].”
Sheydvasser’s efforts to create student-led recycling programs began in middle school.
“In Trottier Middle School, I tried to create a compost bin during lunch, because a lot of things that were thrown away were compostable,” Sheydvasser said. “I have a compost bin at home, so I know how this process works, and it’s really cool. The amount of trash in those trash bins was sad to look at, honestly.”
“I talked to different administrations about it, and what I learned was that there was a composting program beforehand, it just didn’t work,” Sheydvasser said. “Trottier tried to do things and it failed, same thing with Algonquin. It works for some time, but then it just goes because of people not supporting it…I still need to figure out how to get people together so that it’s sustainable.”
Over recent years there have been conservation and waste reduction projects in the cafeteria, led by cafeteria manager Dianne Cofer. One specific initiative she has worked on is their ongoing effort to introduce some reusable silverware during lunch; however, she noticed a pattern of students routinely disposing of the silverware along with their trays.
“A lot of [the struggle] is funding, because you have to purchase all silverware and as your supply dwindles you have to keep purchasing,” Cofer said.
Cofer, however, does not rule out a return to these programs or others like them.
“Anything’s possible and it’s really got to have the students’ buy-in to support it and to utilize it the way it’s meant to be utilized,” Cofer said.
Gorman believes that change in the recycling program at Algonquin is possible, but only if supported by the whole community.
Single-stream is ARHS’s only program, but communication issues impede its effectiveness
2019 Midwest Paper Retriever cancels its services, eliminating white paper recycling at ARHS
2014
Single-stream recycling is introduced, along with a color-coded bin system
2006 Algonquin introduces white paper recycling as its first recycling programBefore students enter the cafeteria for their lunch, many pairs of recycling and trash cans are spread throughout the area.
“Support from the teachers is huge,” Gorman said. “Without the support of the whole community we’re going to end up just where we are [again].”
While recycling programs are imperfect, Connolly recommends that students and staff focus more on trying to reduce their waste in general, so there isn’t as much of a need to rely on recycling programs. Connolly recommends starting with reusable water bottles and cups.
“It requires a little more effort, as in you have to not lose it and you have to carry it around and you have to wash it, but there are plenty of options these days for reusable containers and cups and mugs,” Connolly said.
Gould also encourages waste reduction in addition to recycling.
“I think there’s a lot of things that people can do individually,” Gould said. “Recycling at home is a big one, but I also think just reducing your waste in general is a much better way to go because even if you separate your trash from your recycling, you take it to your local recycling station, only about five to six percent of plastic, in particular, is being recycled, and that’s a really disheartening number.”
Gould believes small changes to daily habits can have a big environmental impact.
“If you’re going to Starbucks or Dunkin’, bring your own mug,” Gould said. “Avoid disposable plastic as much as possible. If you are packing a lunch, you can use Tupperware instead of a plastic bag, which is what I use. I wash them day after day and you don’t have to throw them away.”
According to Gould, improved knowledge about recyclable materials could help community members recycle more effectively.
“There are some recyclables that are more effectively recycled than others,” Gould said. “Plastic is one of the worst ones…but paper and cardboard certainly get recycled more frequently, especially corrugated cardboard, the thicker kind. When people are doing the recycling, of course it’s important to try to recycle as much as possible, but there are certain materials that you can rely on more to be recycled.”
Sheydvasser encourages students to advocate for the change they want to see at ARHS.
“People should do their own research and fact check research on important things,” Sheydvasser said. “If we look at it from an external perspective, recycling affects all of us because it affects the environment.”
Replace recyclable items with resuable ones such as water bottles and cups
When packing lunch, use Tupperware instead of plastic bags
North Korean refugee Grace Jo visited Algonquin on Feb. 7 to discuss her experiences growing up in North Korea, fleeing to China and ultimately finding refuge in America.
Jo was born in North Korea during the Great Famine of the ’90s to a middle-class family and lived in a small village in the mountains. She fled the country when she was 7 years old and stayed in China for 10 years before escaping to the United States.
During her time in North Korea, Jo endured starvation, threats and loss of family members at the hands of the oppressive government.
“Our middle class family, we were not able to get the supplies from the government,” Jo said. “We had to find our own way to survive in the country…In the beginning, we struggled a lot and we were starving, and we were drinking only cold water for 10 days, without any food.”
Social Studies teacher Gina Johnston invited Jo to speak after guest speaker Daniel Di Martino’s February 2022 presentation about socialism in Venezuela had sparked controversy.
“Last year, people didn’t believe how bad socialism is in Venezuela,” Johnston said. “When [Di Martino] was speaking, we had people that were like, ‘oh, it’s not that bad in Venezuela.’ But when you talk about North Korea, everyone knows their government is really bad to their people.”
While juniors were required to attend Jo’s presentation, it was open for all students who were interested in listening. Johnston believes all students can benefit from hearing stories like Jo’s.
“Human rights issues should cover every curriculum,” Johnston said. “When it’s something as a human rights violation, it’s okay to miss a day of class.”
One of Jo’s earliest memories was when her father illegally crossed the Chinese border for food from their distant relatives. Once government officials found out about these trips, Jo’s life began to change forever.
“The third time [he crossed the border], when he returned the next morning, one of the people in the village found out, and they reported my father to the government,” Jo said. “Those officers…they were collecting everything and taking it away from us.”
After enduring loss after loss, Jo’s mother decided there had to be better opportunities out there and Jo fled to China with her mother and sister. According to Jo, she first realized the difference between life in North Korea and the rest of the world after seeing a dog.
“He was fed by one of the big containers, mixed with white rice and pork meat soup,” Jo said. “The dog was smelling it a little bit and he didn’t like it,
so he was standing there…I was so curious about this world. We were fighting so hard; my father died and we were trying to look for food so hard, and my brother and my grandmother died without one single potato to eat. But that dog doesn’t like to eat that white rice and meat soup, and the owner is giving that good rice and meat soup to the dog.”
Jo was repatriated and imprisoned in China twice, and she received the initial encouragement to share her story during one of these prison stays.
“I was in the Chinese prison for 13 months and I met so many ladies,” Jo said. “One of the ladies, she came to me and told me…it’s time for them to go back to North Korea, so they’re going back, but they know they will not be able to survive and come back again. But she had a feeling that I would survive. So she said, ‘if you go out from this difficult moment and have freedom, please tell the world that North Koreans are suffering and dying. And even though I will die, I will not regret it because people will remember us.’”
Johnston hopes students will be inspired by Jo’s message and use it to expand their worldviews.
“Hopefully they learn what life is like beyond our borders,” Johnston said. “None of us can travel to North Korea. And they can’t travel here. So it would be amazing for [students] just to take one thing and
go, oh my goodness…we’re just so used to our life that we have no idea about the world beyond ours.”
Currently, Jo attends Savannah College of Art and Design and is majoring in interior design.
“I’m hoping to become a great interior designer later and go back to my country and rebuild the villages and cities,” Jo said.
Jo urges students to hear her story and cherish their rights.
“[In America,] I can dream about my future life,” Jo said. “Please protect the freedom in your country.”
This article was published in Feb. 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
Algonquin predominantly offers leveled courses, but still offers the opportunity to take mixed-level and unleveled courses which can foster additional academic benefits by allowing students to grow and learn together.
Algonquin often relies on the tradition of ability-based grouping, creating levels that are designed to reflect students’ skill level. These levels fall into three categories: college prep, honors and advanced placement (AP). However, there are several exceptions to this norm; all freshmen are enrolled in unleveled United States History I, and there are various mixed-level electives as well as open honors-level courses. An unleveled course is a class open to all where students will receive college prep credit; a mixed-level elective course is one that has students taking the class at an honors level and college prep.
According to Principal Sean Bevan, leveling can unintentionally lead to many challenges.
“[Leveled classes] can really stifle a student’s growth sometimes,” Bevan said. “It can make a student feel like they are only a certain level or ability and that it’s a fixed feature of their personality and strengths, and not something they can grow through.”
According to the 2021 Novak Education article, “What You Need to Know About Deleveling,” ability-based level courses potentially facilitate a system that can eliminate the possibility for students to learn in a diverse classroom, preventing many learners from accessing advanced coursework with their peers.
In recent years, many ARHS courses have experimented with deleveling, aiming to create a more inclusive environment– a safe space for all students to thrive.
During the 2018-2019 school year, the U.S. History I course underwent a drastic curriculum change and switched to an unleveled class, prioritizing skillbased learning experience opening potential pathways for students. U.S. History I teacher Kristen Turner believes the course emphasizes the potential
successes of unleveled classes.
“We [U.S. I teachers] were focused on providing an equitable place where kids can all succeed,” Turner said.
In the Social Studies department, all electives are stand-alone courses only offered at the honors level, but are open to everyone without a prerequisite. Department Head Brittany Burns prioritizes equity and access for these courses, as she believes it is important that all students have access to high level, rigorous curricula.
“[Members of the Social Studies department] felt like, with those courses in particular, what was most important was the level of interest,” Burns said. “It is more about meeting standards and looking at personal growth rather than a specific criteria or level.”
According to Burns, before adapting the electives to be open honors-level courses, the college prep level electives would often not receive enough interest to run during any given semester. Thus, many students missed out on learning about a topic they were interested in.
“It is important to offer opportunities for all students to learn and to succeed and to show their knowledge and growth,” Burns said.
Another practice that challenges the tradition of leveled classes is that of mixed-level courses. After many years of Journalism running as separate honors and college prep courses, it has been taught as a mixed-leveled course for several years with college prep and honors-level students in the same class.
“Leveling has a lot to do with self-perception,” Journalism teacher Lindsay Coppens said. “For the students who are traditionally honors-level students, it is beneficial to have an opportunity to be in
a class with students who have different experiences and viewpoints, and vice versa.”
Having a combined class is the best of both worlds according to Coppens. It allows her to teach the same content and skill building material, while having the ability to be flexible with certain students if need be.
“The offering of the levels gets them in the door,” Coppens said. “Once they’re in the room it provides them the ability to make the choices that are best for them as learners.”
Other English electives such as Silenced Voices and Creative Writing have also been taught as mixed-level classes. According to English Department Head Jane Betar, the philosophy of unleveling and mixed-level classes is a conversation currently being discussed by teachers in the English department.
“I’d be really curious to have a team of teachers study [unleveling freshman year] a little bit more and see what happens if we put it into place,” Betar said.
Freshman English teacher Rebecca Pratt believes unleveling should be heavily considered for the course in the future to ease students into the transition to high school.
“Unleveled courses give a more even playing field to allow students to get used to high school,” Pratt said. “I think having a mix of students is good for all students to engage with different personalities and abilities across the board.”
Deleveling can open the doors to opportunities.
“The research has shown that students do well in unleveled classes, and we were happy to test that out and for it to be true,” Turner said. “We have found there to be no drawbacks and only benefits.”
Teachers explore how deleveling can promote more learningFreshman Cooper Veron receives help with his online work in US History I teacher Justin McKay’s classroom. US History I has been an unleveled course since the 2018-2019 school year and is taken by all freshmen.
Tempted by the ability to earn a higher GPA and potentially earn college credits, the majority of ARHS students take at least one Advanced Placement (AP) class before they graduate. However, the heavy workload and sometimes overwhelming schedules lead to increased stress levels for many students.
According to a Harbinger survey of 160 students conducted through Google Forms from Dec. 12 to Dec. 15, 90% of respondents say they will take at least one of College Board’s AP courses during high school, with 32% of respondents planning to take six or more AP classes. According to the 2022-2023 School Profile, ARHS currently offers 23 AP courses; in 2022, 447 students took a combined 926 AP exams, with 86% of students earning a score of 3 or higher.
With the cost of receiving a college education on the rise, 88% of survey respondents said they take AP classes to potentially earn college credit. According to AP Calculus teacher Sean McGrath, some students take AP Calculus hoping to bypass a math course in college.
“The side benefit [of taking AP Calculus] is that students that don’t go into science and engineering can take the AP exam and do well, so there’s a chance their college will offer them credit,” McGrath said. “They have the luxury of not taking a math
class.”
In addition to earning college credit, AP students can also benefit from AP classes by experiencing advanced, college-level rigor and material. Twenty-six percent of survey respondents identified the ability to take a more rigorous course as a reason for taking AP classes.
According to AP Biology teacher Elisa Drake, her class provides a much more in-depth understanding of biology along with practice in the self-discipline needed to succeed in college.
“While it is not a true college course, I do believe that [AP Biology] is really good preparation for college-level work,” Drake said. “You have to be really good with time management and study techniques, especially when going into science in college.”
According to Drake, taking rigorous courses like AP Biology can help students prepare for the transition to college, after taking the time to practice the necessary skills with their high school teachers
“When you get to college, you don’t necessarily get a professor who teaches you how to study,” Drake said.
Senior Cameron Jackson will have completed eight AP courses (AP U.S History, AP World History, AP Language and Composition, AP Biology, AP Computer Science A, AP Literature, AP Physics C and AP Calculus BC) in total by the time he graduates. He takes all these courses to challenge himself, but also because of his interests and his plans to become an engineer in the future.
“[Taking AP classes] is a good experience for col-
lege,” Jackson said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s good to prepare myself.”
Even though taking AP classes has many benefits, they come with the expectation of a significant workload. According to the Harbinger survey, 91% of students say their AP classes have “somewhat more work” or “significantly more work” than their honors or college prep level classes.
For some students, especially those who choose to take multiple AP classes, the extra work can come with additional stress.
“People tend to be much more stressed in their junior and senior years, but they also understand the consequences associated with their actions and they take more responsibility with all the work,” Drake said.
AP French teacher Lauren Osepchuk witnesses the hard-work and stress of her students in her own class. She believes students work hard in and outside of their classes, but tries to ensure that AP French is still enjoyable. She also emphasizes that students should take the level course that is the right challenge for them.
“From my perspective, I’m able to see some of my students do [AP courses], but I don’t think it’s for everybody,” Osepchuk said.
In addition to opportunities for more advanced classes, many students take AP classes to improve their GPA, even if they are not especially interested in the subject matter. According to the Harbinger survey, 59% of AP students say they take AP classes because they are passionate about the subject mat-
78% 1%
For the GPA points
To potentially earn college credits
To make my transcript more competitive
In 2022, 447 students took 926 total AP exams for an average of 2 AP exams per student
26% students conducted through Google Forms from Dec. 12 to Dec. 15"
GRAPHIC KATIA NICHOLSON86% earned a score of 3 or higher
ter, and over 90% of AP students say they take AP classes to increase their GPA.
“It would be nice if everybody who was in AP Calculus actually liked it,” McGrath said. “Most students do, but students who end up in AP Calculus are very good at math whether they like it or not.”
Many AP teachers are aware of their students’ stress levels and try to enforce balance in their class rigor. In her AP Biology class, Dr. Christine Thompson tries to prevent students from having school-related stress on vacations by avoiding long-weekend homework and tests on Mondays.
“I feel [vacations] are a time to refresh, reset and spend time with family,” Thompson said. “The school year is when students can do the work.”
Director of Guidance Lisa Connery and the other guidance counselors also play a supportive role when it comes to individual students.
“That’s really what [the academic role of guidance is] all about, it’s helping students to strike a balance in their courses,” Connery said. “One, identify where their interests lie and their passions lie, and then look at what are our strengths, and how can we take all that information and balance it with areas we maybe have to work a little harder.”
McGrath tries to help his students feel prepared for college not only by taking his tests, but also taking the upcoming AP exam so they earn college credit.
“It’s important to not ‘trick’ students during tests,” McGrath said. “It’s important for students to know what’s going to be on the test so they can prepare
for the right things…so I try to be as upfront as I can.”
With so many other stresses that may be influencing students’ lives, it is important that students enroll in AP classes primarily because they enjoy learning about that subject, according to Thompson.
“I don’t want students to be anxious and afraid of things in my class,” Thompson said. “I think that students need to take AP classes that they are passionate about and have a realistic course load.”
This article was published in Feb. 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
32% of survey respondents will take 6 or more AP classes by the time they graduate 188 students were AP scholars (had a score of 3 or higher on 3+ AP exams), with an average scholar score of 4.11
*According to Google Forms survey data and the ARHS 2022-2023 school profile
I am really interested in the subject My parents expected me to My friends were taking the class I wanted more rigorous coursework
The dogs of some ARHS teachers have been trained to become certified therapy dogs as a resource to help with student stress and bring more joy to the building.
Melican Middle School Principal Michelle Karb, a trainer for Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, Inc and a member of the organization’s board of directors, led a district-sponsored therapy dog training workshop on Nov. 8, providing teachers with an opportunity to begin the extensive process of certifying their dogs to be able to work with students.
“There has been a lot of research that shows that being in the presence of a dog can help calm people,” Karb said. “Some of the feel-good hormones like Oxytocin and Serotonin can really increase in the presence of a dog.”
In addition to helping students regulate stress and minimize anxiety, therapy dogs provide companionship and low-stress connections for students.
“Providing a non-judgmental living thing to support students and help them form connections with other kids is a real benefit,” Karb said.
Principal Sean Bevan sees the many benefits of therapy dogs as well; however, he takes into account the comfort and safety of all students.
“We do want to be mindful that not every student is excited to interact with a dog,” Bevan said. “Not every student loves dogs. Some are fearful of dogs.”
According to a Harbinger survey of 160 students conducted through Google Forms from Dec. 12 to Dec. 15, 69% of respondents say they have personally benefited from having a service dog at Algonquin and 78% say they like the idea of having more service dogs in the building.
English teacher Sara Stein has a Havanese named Peppah who she believes is perfect for the program.
“Peppah has brought a lot of people joy,” Stein
said. “She used to go visit my grandfather in the nursing home; she visits my parents who are aging. She’s good at it.”
Stein believes more dogs at ARHS benefit the community in many ways.
“I think it does show a commitment to supporting students’ and staffs’ social emotional health, and I think that is something that we are going to be focused on for the years to come.”
Peppah, a 9 year-old Havanese, joins English teacher Sara Stein on Fridays in H203 as a new therapy dog. Stein translated for Peppah.
“I live locally in Southborough, so I have two favorite places to walk: [one is] the Southborough golf course where I can run off leash in the wintertime with my friends. I also like to do something my family calls ‘the big loop’ where I walk down White Bagley Road [in Southborough]. It is thrilling because the cars go so fast by me, and it’s along a trail on the reservoir where there are a lot of excellent smells.”
American Mutt, 6 year-old Maple Jane, has recently gone through therapy dog training in order to accompany art teacher Rebecca Duffy on Tuesdays in her classroom, C206.
“Her hobbies and secret talents are that she never eats the kids’ toys, which is pretty cool,” Duffy said. “She always knows if someone is sad. She also likes to rescue people from dancing.”
Labrador Retriever Parker is a community icon and beloved therapy dog, who joins Joann Amberson every day in the library.
“We call him ‘Perfect Parker;’ his name says that he doesn’t have any bad habits, none that I’d complain about,” Amberson said. “His favorite place is Algonquin. He is here 35 hours a week. He loves to walk basically anywhere, and he loves the snow and rubbing his back in it.”
Business teacher Patricia Riley’s Yorkie, Molly, has lately undergone therapy dog training to join classes on Wednesdays in E110.
“Whenever we pull up to ARHS, she gets super excited since she loves meeting new people,” Riley said.
Sake, the English Black Labrador Retriever in H201, joins English teacher Kathleen Clark on Mondays as a new therapy dog, putting her previous years of seeing-eye-dog training to use.
“She has many secret talents,” Clark said. “She was supposed to be an assistance dog at Guiding Eyes for the Blind. She was there for a year, and then she flunked out. Then they picked her up at NEADS Service Dogs, where she got even more obedience training on top of that. So, I would say her hidden talents are that she brings me my phone when I get a text, and she picks up my glasses for me. If the kids in class drop a pencil, she knows how to get it and bring it to them. She’s pretty smart.”
Milo, a 1 year-old Cunucu, has enjoyed his new duty as a therapy dog since joining adjustment counselor Kelly Viera on Wednesdays in room H214.
“He loves running. We have a fenced in backyard and he sprints around the yard,” Viera said. “He can shake hands and he can sniff [out treats].”
Teddy, a Cockapoo, has become a therapy dog and will be in Applied Arts and Technology teacher Kristine Norrman’s classroom in room C105 on Mondays and Thursdays.
“We just love having him in the classroom and seeing kids open up who don’t normally make small talk,” Norrman said. “Students that are very quiet will come up from the back of the room and spend some time with him. It’s been quite lovely.”
Bruno, an 11-year-old rescue dog from Sterling, MA, has recently joined the Algonquin community as a therapy dog in his owner Angela Moll’s classroom. Bruno is available on Day 6 in H123.
“It gets [him] out of the house,” Moll said. “He’s excited to be a therapy dog because he actually loves people. He will walk up and down [the aisles]; it’s too bad he’s 11 and not five.”
As ARHS approaches the last term of the school year, Principal Sean Bevan reflects on semester one and outlines goals for the end of the year.
What are some of the most important things you and your team would like to work on this semester?
“We will be finding out in the next several weeks whether or not the Algonquin athletic project will be funded…That will really dictate a great deal about what the rest of the year looks like, including how we plan for parking, how we plan for graduation, what the fall sports season looks like, what the timeline for completion of the athletic project is and all of those things…And then, in terribly unglamorous news for students, we’re doing this re-accreditation process. So, every 10 years, every high school and college goes through a process of examining what’s working about their school, what’s not, and they write this lengthy report that a team of educators reads to provide us feedback on things we might want to think about.”
What do you think went well during the first half of the school year? What do you think could be improved or continued to be worked on?
“One of my hopes this year was to talk with staff more about lesson planning and less about the structures of school that [students] experienced in the pandemic…This year, we’ve been having a lot of conversations about attendance, which we talked about a lot early in the year, as well as bell schedules and cell phones. I’m happy where we are on that, but it hasn’t really allowed us to have some of those instructional conversations about what teaching and learning look like best. I think we’ll have time to do that more this semester.”
What do you think students and teachers should be most excited about going into the rest of the school year?
“I think we can all look back with a sense of pride that we rebounded really nicely from the pandemic...I give our students a great deal of credit that they all just came back with a sense of purpose and came back to work…I think if someone just came into our school and hadn’t known we were in a pandemic right before this year, it would feel like a very ordinary year in a lot of ways.”
WiFi connectivity has been an ongoing issue this school year. What have you and your team been working on so far in response to this problem and what are you are planning to do?
“That continues to be a challenge and it’s very frustrating. It’s frustrating right from every student in the building to the teachers and the administrators. Our technology team continues to work on it. As I understand it, it’s an issue with multiple sources, so there’s not a singular solution that will fix it easily...What I’m understanding is there’s been some small, incremental improvements but not the enormous, immediate improvement that we’d all hoped for. So they’re going to continue to work on that and continue to give me updates on it.”
In addition to WiFi issues, there have been problems with the intercom system and bells. How are you and your team working on this and what are some of your plans to fix these issues?
“The team tells me that they’re not totally sure why that continues to happen. It might be related to the network issues. The bells and the intercom are serviced by an outside company, so they come
in to help us. That can be hard when you have somebody from outside the building who isn’t totally familiar with all of your technological systems. They’re trying to troubleshoot what they think might be the issue, which might also be related to our existing issues, so I think they’re kind of intermingled.”
Many students and community members are currently thinking about the proposed athletic complex, Gonkplex. What are your thoughts on the complex? If it doesn’t go through, what are your next steps?
“I’m hopeful that it gets funded because I think our athletics facility just isn’t up to the same high standards as the rest of our building and teachers and the quality that we want. Also I think that it’s just not healthy or safe or ADA compliant…I’m also excited that there will be pieces of that new facility that would be new to us. As for what we are going to do if it doesn’t get funded, I think we’ll just have to come back to the drawing board and try to find ways to make it work with our current facility. However, there’s just not too many ways we can continue to renovate this very old facility. It’s not so much if we need to do a renovation, it’s when.”
Is there anything else you would like to add?
“I’ve been here at a time when the school has undergone a great deal of change. We went from the Tomahawks to the Titans, and that seems like a long time ago but it wasn’t…In three years we’ve seen a great deal of change, and I’m hoping next year we can have another year where it’s stable and kids are having an enjoyable high school experience.”
After a school day full of teaching students, Algonquin’s music teachers showcase their passions and talents by performing themselves.
Performing Arts teachers Eric Vincent and Olivia Goliger channel their respective passions for guitar and singing into their own performances, which brings them joy and influences their work in the classroom.
“It gives [teachers] real life experience working with other professionals in the area where they can bring the ideas back to the students here,” Fine and Performing Arts department head Amy Collins said. “It also keeps their skills fresh and engaging.”
Vincent performs frequently, whether it be with a seven piece band at weddings, at private parties or doing freelance work. Vincent said he does a fair amount of one-off gigs and even musical theater work.
“I love that I can make a living with two of my passions of teaching and music,” Vincent said.
Goliger sings with the exclusive Boston Symphony Orchestra. According to Goliger, the audition process to join this prestigious orchestra was extensive and challenging.
“[The audition] was probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, but the payoff was really good,” Goliger said.
Having the opportunity to be a part of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) brings Goliger joy and the ability to bring knowledge back to her students.
According to Vincent, while teaching and performing are both very rewarding, they both come at a cost.
“The hard part of being a performing musician and being a teacher is the opposite schedule,” Vincent said. “I’m up by 5:45 for work on school days but weekend nights are late nights. It’s a hard shift coming back on Mondays.”
SUBMITTED ERIC VINCENT
Goliger shares the struggle of a tightly-packed schedule.
“Time management is a very large part of my life, but [my work with the BSO is] so rewarding,” Goliger said.
Although teaching full time and performing with the BSO can be strenuous, Goliger feeds off of her two passions.
“In the first few years of my teaching, I wasn’t doing any performing myself and it was something that I very much needed to have,” Goliger said. “Teacher Ms. Goliger gets fulfilled by being with the students and teaching. Then there is the performer Ms. Goliger that needs to also be honored.”
Goliger is proud of her accomplishments and values the unique opportunities singing has brought her, such as being chosen to perform the National Anthem at a Red Sox game.
“To be on the field at Fenway and sing in front of 40,000 people while being televised was really cool,” Goliger said.
Having a teacher who is also a performer impacts Vincent’s and Goliger’s teaching methods, as well as their students’ learning.
“I think [teaching and performing] help each other,” Vincent said. “I think I would go crazy if I didn’t have that outlet of performing.”
The teachers’ professional connections can bene-
fit their students. Goliger has had the opportunity to bring the BSO’s world-renowned conductor, James Burton, to class to work with her students.
“I equate it to Tom Brady coming to work with the football team because it’s the same kind of level as the Patriots and the Boston Symphony Orchestra,” Goliger said. “It certainly helps the students.”
Both Vincent and Goliger believe the teacher-performer balancing act is difficult but rewarding and necessary.
“I’m very proud of both of my roles as a teacher and as a performer and seek to be excellent in each area,” Goliger said.
This article was published in March 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
(Top left) To finish off his solo, freshman Thomas Schuler gets ready to strike the drums. On March 1, multiple jazz bands played alongside tenor saxophonist Tucker Antell.
(Top right) Seniors Jay Guarino and Camilly Fernandes perform original songs during the Algonquin Writing Center Open Mic Night on Feb. 10.
(Middle) On March 1, senior Noah Labelle plays a duet alongside tenor saxophonist Tucker Antell.
Class of 2021 alumnus Zach Newbould competed on “The Voice” this past season, quickly becoming a fan-favorite before being eliminated during the Battle round by coach Camila Cabello.
Newbould auditioned for “The Voice” when he was 15 years old but was denied prior to going on the show. The producers invited him back to compete this season, making the audition process faster.
“I got my few songs and did an online audition,” Newbould said. “They passed me through, and from then on, there’s really not much preparation. You go, learn the song and perform it within a week.”
Going into the show, Newbould had Blake Shelton as his first choice and Cabello as his third choice. When selecting a coach, he had the option between Cabello and his second choice, Gwen Stefani.
“I wanted to pick Gwen to begin with,” Newbould said. “She was my second pick…but I had this gut feeling I was supposed to go with Camila.”
Zach Newbould’s brother, sophomore Jack Newbould, enjoyed being able to preview the audition before it aired.
“I got to see ‘The Voice’ earlier on,” Jack Newbould said. “That was cool because it was before anyone else saw it on TV. I knew the results a month early, but it was hard to keep a secret.”
According to Zach Newbould, his audition experience was dreamlike.
“The moment that the coaches turned around, my whole body just went numb and I was just like, ‘Holy…that actually just happened,’” Newbould said. “It was like when something happens that’s so surreal that you don’t believe it yet. It was like I was looking at two holograms, because you see these people all the time but you never actually see them in person.”
SUBMITTED ZACH NEWBOULD
Lincoln Street Elementary school chorus teacher Katrina Whalen first inspired Newbould to pursue singing.
“We all had to take chorus in elementary school and I wasn’t even really into singing back then,” Newbould said. “I would sing at home, but Mrs. Whalen was the one to give me my first chorus solo, which really got me started.”
Whalen remembers being surprised by Newbould’s voice.
“I had in my mind who was going to audition and who I might choose from,” Whalen said. “Zach was a bit of a surprise because he was so quiet, but I remember distinctly, when I heard him singing I was like, ‘I need to find a way to make sure he has a solo because this is a beautiful voice.’”
Although Newbould wishes he was able to stay on “The Voice” longer, he appreciates how much he gained from the experience.
“Meeting all the other musicians and just being put in that atmosphere makes you so much better,” Newbould said. “You pick up little things from different artists and start applying it all to yourself.”
His time on “The Voice” led to new opportunities for the young artist.
“The best part is the fact that I can make music my job now because [“The Voice”] made it so much easier to get gigs,” Newbould said. “Everyone really loves to hear that you were on ‘The Voice,’ so it just opened up that avenue.”
As of Feb. 27, Newbould has released one song on Spotify, titled “Blue Lights,” which was inspired by a realization he had when hanging out with friends.
“After ‘The Voice,’ I just sat down and started thinking,” Newbould said. “I realized that I was out
in California doing [the show] whereas my friends were at college. We all met back up and still get along but we’re all a little bit different and that’s what inspired the idea. It was basically just about all the things I’m going to miss, getting older even though I’m not old yet.”
Newbould has been writing more original music, which he plans to release soon.
“His room’s right next to mine, so I just hear him singing all the time,” Jack Newbould said. “I hear him coming up with stuff late at night. He’ll be singing, keeping me up.”
Whalen is proud of Newbould.
“It was just really exciting, not for his accomplishments, but just the fact that he’s out there following his dreams,” Whalen said. “That’s the really exciting part for me. He is doing what he wants to do and that’s what makes me the happiest.”
Newbould is hopeful and passionate about a career in music.
“I want to be able to release my own music and make a living off that,” Newbould said. “I want to tell people stories and get a bunch of listeners, have people want to come see me and be able to sell out venues.”
This article was published in March 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
“Tumblr, Doctor Martens, Taylor Swift, The 1975,” jokes frontman Matthew “Matty” Healy of the prominent English band The 1975, during their live tour, “At Their Very Best” in 2022.
Healy is referring to the fact that pop culture trends have a funny way of working in cycles; with the revival of the prominent 90s-infused Tumblr aesthetic– characterized by Doc Martens, high-top Converse, heavy eyeliner and angsty music– many people wonder, are we really turning the clock back to 2014? The resurgence of The 1975 is no exception to this current trend with their new release, “Being Funny in a Foreign Language” (BFIAFL), a phenomenal blast to the past in a reinvented way.
Released on Oct. 14, the highly anticipated and surprisingly short 43-minute, 11-track album shocked fans as The 1975 is known for its longer projects. For many, this album represented a lyrical shift for the band as lead singer Healy partially moved away from his witty introspection and socio-political critique of the online interpersonal experience. Instead, BFIAFL subscribes to the message that perhaps love can save us after all.
The aptly named opening track on each of their five albums, “The 1975,” has been a new rendition of the same song; Healy has described this pattern as the band giving a “status update.” The introductory song for BFIAFL is a perfect start to the record and an enjoyable stand-alone track as well– it features an orchestral amalgamation of fast-paced pianos and fractured lyrics, finishing with a slower, smoother brass refrain.
The theme of maturity and growing up is heavily reflected in the first song and throughout the album’s duration. In a 2022 interview with the New York Times, Healy shared his mindset on going into the production of their new album after their negatively critiqued 2020 record, “Notes On A Conditional Form.”
“The hangover that I have from all of the postmodernism of my previous work,” Healy said. “I can’t be bothered doing that right now.”
While The 1975 is well-known for not sticking to one singular genre, another significant change for this album is the visible switch from their usual computerized pop and electrified song style to a tech-shy, guitar-heavy “polaroid,” as Healy called it. Working alongside producer Jack Antonoff, widely regarded for collaborating on projects with singers Lorde and Taylor Swift, the British foursome challenged themselves to have one main rule:
“Play it and record it,” Healy said in the interview. “Real instruments. You can always find something in a computer that can do the job. Let’s just not do that.”
This rule is reflected in the first promotional single for the album, “Part of the Band,” a minimalist, stripped-back guitar-centric folk song that echoes the style of Bon Iver. My favorite part of the song is when it climaxes with a billowing musical interlude near the end that follows with insanely catchy and self-critical lyrics. I enjoy the newer acoustic songs on this record, such as “Wintering” and “When We Are Together,” as it is emblematic of the band’s wide range and ability.
On the other end of the spectrum, the lively “Looking For Somebody (To Love)” explodes in an 80s-fashion, with spirited synths, vibrant guitars and a vibey sax as the band dips into a much more familiar sound. “Happiness” follows suit as a glistening groovy song with jazzy percussion and an exquisite saxophone solo accompanied by Healy’s strong voice. Both of these songs are intoxicatingly upbeat and are continuously stuck on a loop in my head–whenever they play, I want to get up and dance.
The album winds down with my favorite song overall, the penultimate duet “About You,” a saccharine shoegaze-influenced ballad with hazy saxo-
phones and descending orchestral strings; the song is a continuation of one of the band’s most famous songs, “Robbers,” off their 2013 self-titled record. Here, Healy and Carly Holt, the wife of lead guitarist Adam Hann, sing about the revelatory nature of a past relationship: “There was something about you that now I can’t remember / It’s the same damn thing that made my heart surrender.”
It is safe to say that with the reemergence of The 1975’s influence and the nod to “Robbers,” the song considered the pinnacle of the alternative/indie Tumblr identity back in its day, Healy is not going anywhere anytime soon. “Being Funny in a Foreign Language” is one of the best albums of 2022 and perfectly exemplifies the band’s growth and lasting potential.
This review was published in Jan. 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
If you are looking for a delicious brick-oven flatbread pizza, The Rail Trail Flatbread Co., located at 33 Main Street Hudson, has you covered. Between their carefully designed building, and a variety of flavorful dishes across their menu, they are more than just a restaurant.
Although a flatbread restaurant by name, Rail Trail has a variety of other popular food items, including juicy burgers, fresh salads and plentiful appetizers. Their winter seasonal menu includes a stuffed mushroom flatbread, fried lasagna, honey beet salad, crispy ribs and pastrami melt.
Opened in 2012, every detail was carefully hand-crafted in order to create a welcoming atmosphere for all customers. Their classic brick oven and wooden bar are dimly lit, creating a pleasant ambiance within the family-friendly restaurant.
Furthermore, the flatbreads are made using their signature sourdough, which has been passed down through generations for over a century, giving it a rustic feel. The yummy flatbreads have a distinct smoky taste, difficult to find at other restaurants.
Rail Trail does an amazing job with accommodations for dietary restrictions and allergies. They have many gluten-free and vegan options on the menu,
such as gluten-free flatbread dough, bread, burger buns and beer.
During my most recent visit, my table shared the house-made mozzarella sticks. Served with hot marinara sauce, the cheesy appetizer was cooked to perfection. This delicious appetizer can be ordered in two sizes, a regular ($12.50) or a large ($23.50). We ordered the large size, which came with 12 gooey bites that satisfied everyone in my party.
For an entree, my table ordered the large farmers market flatbread ($24.75), a favorite of mine. It was served with a crushed tomato base, topped with fresh zucchini, broccoli, caramelized onions, kalamata olives, artichokes and garlic, and finished with
the house-blend cheese.
While some may be stuffed after their generous servings, anyone hoping for dessert is in the right place. The Rail Trail is situated in the heart of Hudson, surrounded by many popular dessert locations, but ice cream from their other business, the New City Microcreamery, may be ordered right from the restaurant.
Overall, Rail Trail is the place to go if you’re looking for fresh, good food, no matter the occasion. I can’t wait for my next meal here!
This review was published in Dec. 2022 on arhsharbinger.com.
Set in 2016, Abe Streep’s non-fiction book “Brothers on Three” conveys the fascinating journey where a group of high school boys living on a Native American reservation play basketball not just to win, but for a bigger cause.
Following the Arlee Warriors’ historic season, the book includes details about basketball along with challenges Native Americans face on the Flathead Indian Reservation. In this book, two starters, Phil Malatare and Will Mesteth, go from high school basketball legends to local heroes as they play basketball to raise awareness for suicide.
Throughout the story, several of the athletes face difficulties such as racism from opposing teams, the pressures of growing up and the possibility of their futures. Navigating these difficulties leads to struggles. For example, after making a bad pass that cost his team an important game, Phil fell into a downward spiral that left him trapped in his room for weeks questioning his entire life.
With several engaging interviews and anecdotes that convey life on a modern-day Native American reservation, Streep masterfully crafts a story that accurately depicts the struggles many Native
Americans face. As a former writer for the New York Times, Streep is excellent at providing voices to the unheard. Before publishing “Brothers on Three,” Streep primarily based his works on underrepresented communities.
This book has received well-deserved recognition from critics and readers alike.
Although the novel is very detailed and focuses solely on basketball in the early portion, the pow-
erful message sneaks itself in later. This book is perfect for the young adult reading level; it has the right mix of entertainment and advocacy for a cause.
“Brothers on Three” is not a cliché book about high school basketball, but rather an expertly-crafted book about community and how teammates become “family.” It will leave you enthusiastic about this legendary basketball team.
Hello everyone, and welcome to The Boba Bros! Our names are Luke Utzschneider and Yahya Ibrahimi, and as friends who love a good boba, we are always looking for new places to try. Each month, we are going to be trying a boba spot, rating it based on different factors and seeing how it holds up against others. For the month of November, we tried An Nam Vietnamese Grill, located in Marlborough. Without further ado, let’s get into this review.
TEA: 8/10
The two of us ordered mango milk tea and brown sugar milk tea. The mango flavor really came through, without being overly sweet. Additionally, we were pleasantly surprised by the small chunks of mango in the drink. The brown sugar milk tea had a rich brown sugar flavor, without losing the taste of the tea. The sides of the cup were coated in the brown sugar syrup which added extra flavor. The drinks also had the perfect creamy milk texture that you would expect from a good bubble tea.
BOBA: 9/10
While the tea had great flavor, the tapioca pearls themselves really shined. They were the perfect consistency; not mushy, yet not hard. They had the perfect chew to them. This is up there with some of the best cooked boba we have ever tried. Addition-
ally, they gave enough boba so that there was some with every sip.
MENU/PRICE: 8/10
An Nam Vietnamese Grill has a pretty diverse selection of bubble teas, including the classics and flavors we have never seen before. Two flavors that sounded really good were coconut and redbean. In addition to their unique bubble tea, An Nam Vietnamese grill also has a wide selection of classic Vietnamese food such as banh mi, sandwich with meat and pickled vegetables, and pho, a traditional brothbased noodle soup. The prices are not bad either, especially for the bubble teas which were $4.95, which is a little below the average for one drink at other places.
LOCATION: 9/10
This restaurant is located in a somewhat busy plaza next to Savers and Ocean State Job Lot, and was pretty easy to find. The inside of the restaurant is modern and clean, and the workers were very friendly. The place was not particularly busy inside and the drinks were ready in just a couple minutes.
OVERALL: 8.5/10
We were very pleasantly surprised by this small restaurant, and will definitely be going back there soon. If you are looking for a new spot to get good, quick boba then this is the place for you.
This blog was published in Dec. 2022 on arhsharbinger.com.
One common occurrence remains a staple for the typical day in a life for people in Massachusetts: a stop at Dunkin’ Donuts. From their warm coffee to cool Refreshers, Dunkin’ has established itself as the core of what America runs on with roughly 1,100 locations in our state alone. Given the numerous Dunkin’ products carried around each morning by students and teachers alike, it is safe to say that Algonquin runs on Dunkin’ too. With that in mind, isn’t it about time we establish our top five picks for their best donuts?
Even though most holiday donuts are not offered year-round, they are still a great option when the season calls for them. During October, Dunkin’ offers a Halloween themed spider donut and they offer a heart-shaped brownie batter filled donut for Valentine’s Day. These holiday donuts give a different taste and style from the usual donuts; however, it is disappointing that you cannot order them as
frequently as the regular Dunkin’ staples.
The Chocolate Frosted donut is a classic sweet option for all donut lovers. The vanilla cake topped with chocolate icing is the perfect combination. The chocolate doesn’t overpower the pastry flavor and adds a hint of richness. The classic flavor is light so you can enjoy each bite. While considered a basic choice, the Chocolate Frosted donut is still a great option for all chocolate lovers and embodies the ideal amount of sweetness.
The often overlooked and misjudged Boston Kreme donut is an essential facet of the Dunkin’ experience. According to William Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, in 2003, the Boston Kreme donut was officially made the state donut of Massachusetts. The donuts feature a creamy custard filling topped with a sweet chocolate frosting. These donuts are a pillowy perfection.
The Glazed donut is the perfect classic go-to pas-
Top
Top 5 Pasta Shapes
by Niamh O’Sullivan & Emily HarmonTop 5 Party Songs by Cass
MeloTop 5 Condiments
try for those with a sweet tooth. The even distribution of the saccharine mouth-watering sugary glaze is a must. Glazed donuts are not too dense, have a chewy consistency and are topped with a glossy coating that melts in your mouth. Besides being sticky, these donuts are an excellent classic for the potentially indecisive customer or a reliable favorite for a regular.
These flavorful donuts are picture-perfect with their dense vanilla cake and vibrant strawberry icing. Their sweet frosting tastes similar to strawberry milk, and they are topped with colorful sprinkles for a bit of extra fun. These delicious pastries are a Dunkin’ classic, and there is a reason they have stayed a fixture on their menu since the 1950s. With a perfect balance between their sweetness and fruitiness, they deserve to be number one on our list!
This blog was published in Jan. 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
Top 5 School Lunches
by by Zach Ely, Luke Utzschneider & Nick KleinRead these stories and more in our Top 5 Section:
An old story of family betrayal with a surprise ending to capture all came to the stage in the winter performance “Tartuffe.” Three performances were held in the Black Box theater on March 9, 10 and 11. Various cast members shared insights regarding their roles in preparation for Tartuffe.
“Tartuffe was written a while ago, during the regency era,” senior Alex Reineke, who played Madame Pernelle, said. “It’s pretty fun and it has a lot of really good commentary on society. It’s also written in verse, which makes memorizing lines easier.”
“I’m enjoying learning the expressions and how to portray the different emotions because it’s definitely different than on a stage with music,” sophomore Viviana Lebel, who played Mariane, said.
“I love being able to express myself through my lines and express this character onstage who is very challenging to portray,” junior Justice Huang, who played Tartuffe, said. “His personality traits are nothing like my own and it really forces me to step out of my comfort zone.”
“It’s always just fun to be up there and act and be a part of the show in a major way,” senior Daniel Boush, who played Orgon, said. “Being friends with everyone in the cast is also really fun and going to all the rehearsals and hanging out with everyone.”
“It’s been really close-knit because of all of the exercises we do every day,” Lebel said. “Since most people have done musical theater the past couple of years already, we’re all really comfortable around each other. It’s very relaxed and there’s no judgment.”
As student-athletes struggle with stress and mental health, coaches work to support their teams and create fun environments where students find joy in competing.
While all students face academic and social pressures during school hours, student-athletes add at least two hours to each school day and many weekends, too, with practices and competitions. The pressure to perform well can build up as long seasons progress. Many ARHS coaches keep their players’ stress in mind and find ways to help them cope while having fun.
“You’ve got kids that are not only anxious about their friends and their social circles, but they’re being asked to do so much in school,” girls’ varsity soccer coach and English teacher John Frederick said.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), 31.9% of all high school student-athletes possess some sort of anxiety disorder, with 8.3% of them suffering severe impairments.
The issue of mental health is more talked about than ever in connection with high school, college and professional sports. Likewise, there will be an event, “Supporting Athletes’ Mental Health: A Team Effort,” after school on Feb. 9 to discuss ways to support athletes.
Frederick and other coaches acknowledge their athletes’ struggles and work hard to support their players by embracing the core values and life lessons sports have to offer.
“Everyone has a bad day, everyone goes through it at different times, and the ability to put your team first, whether it’s a student or a coach, it’s very important,” three-sport coach and health and fitness teacher Kristen Morcone said.
Coaches who are teachers and were student-athletes themselves like Morcone, Frederick and Jon Cahill, who played football at ARHS and is a member of the football and baseball coaching staff, understand how a long season and the pressures of school work can impact athletes.
“At the beginning of a season, there is a lot of
excitement,” Cahill said. “Then as the season goes on things start to slow down, the energy level goes down, and that could be a result of school work increasing.”
Cahill appreciates the efforts student-athletes put in after long school days.
“For some sports, you go right after school, then you get home and eat dinner, then you’ve got to go do school work for a few hours,” Cahill said.
With the stress of school, life and sports, it may be hard to find ways to relax. According to TeensHealth, changing the way you look at a scenario or problem into something more positive and relaxing, while practicing mindfulness can help reshape a person’s emotions and ways of thinking.
“I also think music helps a lot, playlists and stuff,” Morcone said. “It’s a good time to be silly and be a kid again.”
Frederick has learned from his experience as a student-athlete what was not discussed in the past when he was a student, and focuses more on providing a fun environment for his athletes.
“When I was here, mental health, mental well being, mental illness; these were not terms that were thrown around or really used,” Frederick said.
Morcone has a similar philosophy when coaching girls’ softball, basketball and volleyball.
“I just constantly remind [my students] that high
school is a time you have to enjoy,” Morcone said. “It goes by far too quickly.”
Above all, coaches want athletes to remember that participating in sports should be fun and release more stress than they cause.
“The basketball court, the hockey rink, the soccer field, wherever it may be, needs to be a place of release and joy,” Frederick said. This article was published in Jan. 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
Senior Rafael Knapp made history as the first Algonquin wrestler to win the All-States meet, which took place on Feb. 25 at Reading High School and followed it up with a New England Wrestling Tournament title in the 170-lb division, the culmination of years of hard work and dedication.
Knapp has been wrestling since he was 8 years old and continues his training with both the Algonquin team and his club team at Doughboy Wrestling Club. In the postseason, Knapp moved through Division I Sectionals, then Divisionals, where he finished in the top six, qualifying to compete at the All-State meet.
When it came to the final match at All-States, Knapp said he had a bit of a leg up having previously wrestled senior Gabriel Thomasson from Norton High School in a club tournament.
Knapp spoke highly of Thomasson, praising his hard work and dedication, but in the match itself Knapp knew what he had to do.
“Going into the match I knew I had to get my attacks, my shots,” Knapp said. “I went right after him right away. Once I started to build a lead I thrived off of it and scored more points throughout the match. I made it a lopsided score.”
Knapp defeated Thomasson 15-5. The title win validated the hard work Knapp has put in for years.
“At the end of the day it’s just a plaque to tell me how hard I worked and it paid off,” Knapp said. “I guess it was more of a relief. I know that through what I do I’m at the level to win stuff like that, but to actually go out and do it meant a lot. I felt like I was making my family proud.”
Following the All-State meet, Knapp won the New England Wrestling Tournament title on March 4. The championship included the top seven Massachusetts wrestlers and the top three wrestlers from the rest of New England.
Knapp has been wrestling since elementary school and continues his training with both the Algonquin team and his club team at Doughboy Wrestling Club. Knapp’s ARHS coach Brian Kramer is proud of Knapp’s accomplishments and what they mean to the program.
“It’s good for kids on the team so they can see what it takes, that this is possible, not this fictional high in the sky goal,” Kramer said. “They saw it and it’s concrete.”
Knapp is known by his coach and teammates for being endlessly dedicated. Knapp’s training includes five days a week practicing with his team, matches on Saturdays, practices with his club on Sundays and personal workout sessions on his own, including lifting weights and running.
“It’s hard to comprehend how much work he has
put into it, whether it’s what he eats or how he is working out outside of practice,” Kramer said.
Just like everyone else, Knapp had to start somewhere. From age eight he was on the mat wrestling with his dad by his side. Knapp values the support of his father, who was a high school and collegiate wrestler and a wrestling coach.
“I thank my dad most,” Knapp said. “He’s been not only super supportive but pushed me to be better. Also my club, I go up there a lot and there is a really good set of coaches; they’ve pushed me to get better.”
Knapp also credits his younger brother and fellow ARHS wrestler, sophomore Paulo Knapp, for push-
ing him to improve.
“I was drilling with him the whole season and I helped him, but he helped me to become a better wrestler,” Knapp said. “I get to teach him to be better with my accomplishments.”
Now that Knapp has reached the top of his game with his All-State and New England Wrestling Tournament wins he is looking forward to the future, including attending the University at Buffalo for Division I wrestling.
“This has kind of been the goal since eighth grade,” Knapp said. “I really wanted to wrestle at the Division I level.”
During Knapp’s junior year he placed at a national tournament with his club team and he started to be able to see his future unfold before him.
“I really started to get some recognition and then that fall I kept doing well and started talking to a few coaches and then made my decision with University at Buffalo,” Knapp said.
Knapp is excited to challenge himself and hopeful for a strong start in college.
“I’m excited to hopefully be able to start [on the Buffalo team] so my family and friends can see me on TV wrestling,” Knapp said.
This article was published in March 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
Michelle is everything we could have asked for in a real-estate agent. From the first day we met to discuss listing our house to accepting an above asking offer the day after listing, and all the way through to closing, she prepared us for every step. She priced the house right, suggested the best time frame for listing, provided a stager, and a timeline of tasks that would make the sale transition seamless with no issues to be brought up before clos-ing. There are many positives but what stood out the most was her response time and actions that were precise and immediate She impressed us so much that no only have we strongly recommended her to others for listing their homes but also if they need to buy to use her as well. A sincere thank you to Michelle for making a difficult life experience easy.”
– Peter and Joanne Czechowicz 491
With a cracked and crumbling track, muddy fields, spotty lighting and stands that not all fans can access, while Algonquin has a proud athletic tradition, many coaches and athletes dream of facilities they can be proud of, too.
A highly anticipated $7.5 million proposal for an outdoor athletic complex renovation, nicknamed the “Gonkplex,” seeks to bring sweeping changes to Algonquin athletics.
Approval for funding of the Gonkplex project’s construction will be determined this spring after votes at Northborough and Southborough town meetings. If the project passes in both towns, construction could begin at the end of this school year.
The Athletic Complex Project Committee began its early planning stages in the spring of 2022 after ten years of community discussion of updated facilities, including a turf field. The committee is currently working towards receiving funding approval from the towns of Northborough (approximately $4.7 million) and Southborough (approximately $2.8 million) in order to begin construction. Most elements of the current complex are aging or have already surpassed their expected lifespans. Additionally, the stadium’s spectator stands are not handicap accessible.
“Our facility has served us really well, and we got a lot of really great usage out of it, and we have a lot of great memories as a result of the service it provided,” Principal Sean Bevan said. “But it’s at the end of its useful life, and so now we want to make sure we have an athletic complex that meets our high standards and the needs of our students; that’s both for our athletics program students, but also our physical education classes and for community members.”
Algonquin students and members of the Northborough-Southborough communities have long anticipated changes to the athletic complex. A Track and Turf Committee composed of coaches and community members was established in 2013, but the discussion had been shelved until recently. The current Athletic Complex Project Committee first
announced their Gonkplex proposal at the Northborough-Southborough Regional School Committee open meeting on April 12, 2022.
A brand new track, two turf fields, bleachers, lights, tennis courts, pickleball and basketball courts, arts pavilion and lacrosse wall along with a new press box and concession building are predicted to cost $7.5 million with construction to begin during spring of 2023 at the earliest.
One of the major components of the Gonkplex includes the addition of two new turf fields. The Richard Walsh Varsity Field in the stadium and the JV practice field were first installed in the ‘70s, and are set to be replaced.
“There are a lot of opportunities we are missing out on,” instructional support aid and football coach Jon Cahill said. “We have to be careful with grass fields, and I would like to see all of the teams uti-
lizing the facilities with the fields, as it is beneficial to us.”
Grass fields require certain upkeep with lawn-mowing and resting the field, which is when the grass and dirt needs time to regenerate between usage. The annual cost to maintain the grass fields is $90,000. The committee estimates it will cost $1015 thousand a year to maintain the turf fields.
Some Algonquin teams, such as girls’ varsity field hockey, drive to nearby turf fields for their every-
day practices. The field hockey team’s use of The New England Baseball Complex’s turf facility costs approximately $9,000 a season and is covered by the athletic department and the team’s booster association. Other teams use turf on a per diem basis when necessary due to inclement weather or poor field conditions.
And as many surrounding schools have already made the switch from grass to turf, athletes see the Gonkplex as a way to keep up with competi-
tion. ARHS is only one of three Midland Wachusett league teams that does not have a turf field.
“When you practice on grass fields and perform on turf fields, it’s very different,” senior Katie Cullen said, a member of the Athletic Complex Project Committee and girls’ varsity soccer and lacrosse teams.
Former coach and athletic director Richard Walsh, the namesake for the varsity field, also views the turf field as a priority.
“A lot of these schools that we play against, compete against, have upgraded their fields over a period of years,” Walsh said. “You can also play on turf fields in the bad weather, maybe the rainy weather, rather than postponing and going back to doing it on your grass field.”
In addition, without a turf field, ARHS is currently unable to host MIAA tournament games for most fall or spring field sports.
Surrounding the varsity field is Algonquin’s track. Originally laid out in 1994, it is well past a track’s typical 18 year life span. With the deteriorating state the track is in today, Algonquin has not met the MIAA standards in order to host events for the spring track season.
“[With an updated track,] I think we will now have the ability to host MIAA sporting events as well,” Athletic Director Mike Mocerino said. “We don’t [currently] have the ability to hold our track events, but we will now have the ability to hold track meets. I just think that this will give us the ability to host bigger events than right now.”
The current track around Algonquin’s varsity field. COURTESY JON CAHILL
Although the majority of the Gonkplex elements directly benefit athletes, interests outside of sports were also taken into consideration. Part of the plans include an amphitheater that would be used for musical performances and student artwork displays.
“There’s an amphitheater there that I’m really hopeful for because I think it’s a nice addition to the facility,” Bevan said. “That wouldn’t be a huge added cost, but we would get a lot of usage out of it.”
Initial discussion surrounding the updated athletic complex began in 2013, but the Athletic Complex Project Committee, made up of 17 members including student-athletes, coaches, administration and community members, has set the project into motion during the past year.
“The planning stages have gone pretty smoothly,” Bevan said. “This has been, for many years, just in conversation, but it’s never actually progressed as far along to the stage as it is now…A lot of the planning, and the identification of what the needs are, and the working with the engineering firm to develop a plan that looks like it would meet all those needs, those steps have all occurred.”
The committee is at a point where the future of the Gonkplex will be determined by the votes from the community, with newly-launched Instagram and Twitter pages promoting the project.
The initiation of construction will be decided at the spring town meetings for Northborough and Southborough, in April and March, respectively. The committee estimates that the cost per year per household will be approximately $85 to $90.
“We’re going to need the community’s full support on this,” Cahill said. “We will need the full support of people who live in Northborough and Southborough.”
Despite many positive opinions about the proposal, there are still mixed feelings surrounding it. English teacher and Northborough resident Jane Betar, while acknowledging the necessity for certain aspects of the Gonkplex, specifically the track and ADA compliant stands, has doubts.
“I feel like it is a grand plan at a challenging time,” Betar said. “I feel like it could be scaled down … Our economy isn’t great. We pay high taxes in Northborough as it is, and I would like to see the essentials improved.”
Walsh, who was the Algonquin athletic director for 10 years and football coach for 23 years, shares similar views on what should be prioritized in order to get the project passed.
“I think it’s important to make sure that on this new project that we emphasize the things that we really need first,” Walsh said. “It would be nice to have them all, but in trying to get [everything,] we may not be able to get them at all.”
In February, the Harbinger interviewed students and staff in a Roving Reporter to gather opinions on the project, and found that some were concerned about the cost or the potential disruptions to fall sports.
“My concern is staffing and funding,” cafeteria staff Pam Hodge said. “Once it is done, how will it be maintained? While it is being renovated, how will the teams play?”
“Some [of the athletic complex] should be renovated and I know the tennis courts are kind of rough,” freshman Abigail Wood said. “… The money could be better spent fixing the school WiFi or intercoms.”
If approval is secured, a contract will be finalized and the timeline for the Gonkplex’s construction will be brief, according to the committee. With construction beginning this spring, it is expected to conclude in September.
“We’re hoping that we can break ground sometime in June,” Mocerino said. “If that is the case and everything goes well, we were told that there’s a potential to be ready to go for this fall. We’re talking about a months-long timeline, but we understand that things can happen along the process. So we’re going to be planning as we go, in case.”
Mocerino is optimistic that disruption to fall sports will be minimal.
“We might have to have a couple sporting events [such as] football or maybe potentially soccer that might have to play on the road,” Mocerino said. “But we have the capability with all of our lower fields that we can come up with a schedule that limits the disruption … So we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure we can keep our sports teams on campus, and if we have to adjust, have a schedule that will adjust accordingly.”
The future of Gonkplex depends on the towns voting to fund the project.
“Our school committee is in support of the change, and so the funding is really the most important piece to come next,” Bevan said.
Right now, the project is estimated to cost about $7.5 million, which would mainly be raised through
The current tennis courts are cracked and uneven, forming puddles and potentially dangerous situations. COURTESY JON CAHILLtaxes from Northborough and Southborough. This cost would be split between the towns according to the school enrollment percentages over the last four years, with Northborough to cover about $4.7 million (62.33%) and $2.8 million for Southborough (37.67%).
“A cost like what they’re looking at, which is greater than $7 million, is not the kind of cost we can absorb in our what we call the operating budget,” Bevan said. “So it would require town members to come out and vote from each town based on the proportion of students who enroll here from each town. That’s how that would break down.”
While the funding can not be officially finalized until after approval, the estimates give the community an idea of the scale of the project. Algonquin students were presented with the information during class meetings on Feb. 16 to help increase awareness in the community of the proposal and associated costs.
“Right now [the committee] is making sure that both towns are getting accurate information and spreading awareness,” Mocernino said. “I think we have a long way to go because there is going to be a price tag associated with both towns.”
The upcoming town meeting for Southborough is scheduled for March 25 and April 25 for Northbor-
Do you feel it is beneficial or necessary to have a new athletic complex?
Jackson Redfern, junior
“I do believe it’s beneficial for Algonquin to have a new athletic complex for many reasons. I feel like it’s safer and it will help our sports teams be more competitive. Also the ADA-compliant stands will help lots of people.”
ough.
“The community has to come out and vote about whether or not it will be funded by each of the two towns,” Bevan said. “So that’s where I think it’s going to be important for the school department and the towns to work togethser.”
More details on the specific athletic complex elements can be found on the Gonkplex website, run by the Athletic Complex Project Committee.
CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS JULA UTZSCHNEIDER & GRACE BOUZAN
Read more about the Gonkplex proposal here:
“Not completely. Some should be renovated and I know the tennis courts are kind of rough...The money could be better spent fixing the school WiFi or intercoms.”
Juliana Loizeaux, sophomore
“It is necessary for safety. The track isn’t safe right now and it’s falling apart, but also the field is hard to play on. Some sports have to travel off-campus to play, which isn’t convenient.”
COMPILED BY KATIE CULLEN, MADELINE PEOPLES & GRACE AMMON Abigail Wood, freshman
What was a highlight of this season for the team?
“Making it to regionals. That was very exciting because we didn’t think we would but then we did.”
What is coming up for the team and what do you think next season will look like?
“Next season I think we’ll learn from the skills this season and figure out what will work and what will not work.”
How was the season overall?
“It was pretty good. We got a new coach this year and we lost a lot of seniors last year, but we picked it up and came together as a team.”
What’s coming up for the team and what do you think next year will look like?
“I think it’ll be good because we’ll have known our coach for longer. We really got to know her this season, so it’ll be an easier transition.”
What was a highlight of this season for the team?
“I’d say the biggest one for the whole team was our league meet. Though we didn’t place as a team, we didn’t win the league meet or anything, almost everyone went home with medals and we had one team place as League All-Stars, our 4x200 relay team.”
How was the season overall? What worked for your team and what did not work?
“Overall, our team did really well. Our girls’ team didn’t have that many people so we didn’t do as well as we thought we were going to do. For boys, we got first in our league which is very good. We had a lot of sickness throughout the first couple weeks and throughout the year, so not everyone was able to perform their best. But as the season progressed, we all improved exceptionally well. Most of us got our lifetime bests and if not we got our season best times.”
What was the most challenging part of this season?
“Definitely working on being able to score points. We are definitely more of a defensive, athletic team, so just getting the ball in the hoop more than the other team was definitely a struggle at the very beginning [of the season]. We had to figure out different offenses and [determine] which work best for us. We figured it out a couple weeks in and we’ve been cruising since then.”
How was the season overall?
“I couldn’t be more happy to spend my senior year with this awesome team. We all bonded to form a family that helped us succeed this winter. At every race we were by far the loudest team on the hill cheering on our teammates and friends. Even though the weather was not the best this winter and the snow was barely there, our coaches made every practice have a purpose for us to succeed.”
What was the most challenging part of this season?
“I honestly think the weather. Skiing is definitely a weather dependent sport and our first three races were canceled because we didn’t have enough snow. So I think it was definitely a concern at the beginning of the year not knowing whether or not we would even be able to have enough races.”
PHOTO DANNY SCHANZER PHOTO LILLIAN JOHNSON PHOTO DANNY SCHANZERThe defending state champion girls’ hockey team exceeded expectations by making it to the ‘Elite Eight’ round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) playoffs, ending with a 18-4-1 record, after having to rebuild with a team made up of nearly half freshmen.
The team entered the tournament ranked #5 and moved through the playoffs with a first round 2-1 overtime win against Natick High School, followed by a 4-3 win against #12 Dedham High School, and ultimately a 3-0 loss to #4 Canton High School.
The team of 19 players, led by senior captains Olivia Bower of Hudson and Kaitlin Mathews of Nashoba, along with assistant captains juniors Bryn Domolky of Algonquin and Emily Johns of Clinton, had eight freshmen entering into this season. The team has players from Algonquin, AMSA, Hudson, Nashoba and Clinton.
“At the beginning of the year [having a team with freshmen making up almost half of the players] was a challenge because they had to adjust to the team spirit and the team rules,” Domolky said. “I think building that bond is really important because when you don’t have any chemistry off the ice it’s hard to have playing chemistry on the ice.”
For the 2023 season, along with having a team with a lot of new players, the team also had a new head coach. Former assistant coach Tina Beauchemin stepped into a new role as head coach.
“[Beauchemin] couldn’t have done a more amazing job,” Domolky said. “[She is] definitely a huge reason why we got so far. She knows so much about hockey and her coaching skills are just outstanding.”
Junior Linda Hu felt the team was able to come together throughout the season on and off the ice.
“We had an amazing season,” Hu said. “We had great team chemistry this year; we felt like a family. I know we didn’t go all the way to the [TD] Garden but I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished as a team. [Not only] our scores, but also the emotional aspect of it.”
While the overall season consisted of numerous
“We moved the bar this year, winning the conference and a playoff game in the state tournament for the first time in six years. We’re only graduating four players so I expect that the boys will be able to continue what we built this year and should be competing at [TD] Garden around this time next year.”
victories, a game that stood out to both Domolky and sophomore Betsy Bertonazzi was their firstround playoff game against Natick High School with a final score of 2-1. Freshman Brenna Joyce scored the winning goal in overtime.
“We were able to come back as a team late in the game and win it,” Bertonazzi said. “That was kind of a theme that happened this year. If we went down we were able to come back as a team, and come back strong to win together.”
During the game against Natick, Mathews made 27 saves. Domolky cited her as a player who really shone this season.
“[Mathews] really just stepped up to the plate and took initiative…she just played phenomenal,” Domolky said.
Bertonazzi, Domolky and Hu all stressed the strong bond created between teammates.
“If I could change anything about this season it would be to have more time, because I think that our team was very successful and I just loved the
bond that this specific group of girls had,” Domolky said. “We’re going to miss our seniors so much and although our season went on longer than just the regular season, I really wish that I had more time with the girls and I’m sure a bunch of them could say the same as well because our bond was just so tight.”
This article was published in March 2023 on arhsharbinger.com.
What is your team dynamic like and how do you work together?
“The dynamics for track are always a little bit different because of the different events that people participate in. For instance, my distance crew has a different dynamic than the [sprinters], but something that we all have in common is that we’re always supportive of each other.”
The Titans girls’ hockey team lines up on the ice to listen to the National Anthem in the Sweet 16 playoff game. PHOTO ANNA BELLVILLE PHOTO BETSY BERTONAZZI
