Patch Northborough, MA --Information courtesy of Algonquin Principal Tom Mead
Here is a list of the Spring *There It Is* Geography winners. 12^th grade first place winners: Adam Klein and Katie Pyne. 12^th grade second place winners: Brennan Burns and Joe Grieco. 10^th grade first place winners: Sean O’Neil and Nate Chen. 10^th grade second place winners: Jonathan Cahill and Alex Sabel. Katie Salt hosts this semiannual event.
At the New England Scholastic Press Association’s (NESPA) yearly conference at Boston University on May 3, *The Harbinger* was awarded second place in the “All New England” category for large school newspapers. All of the issues of the last year were evaluated for content, writing, photography, and design, and, for the first time in a long time, our student newspaper placed as one of the top scholastic papers in New England. The Harbinger was the highest placing Massachusetts newspaper. This year’s editorial board was led by Editors-in-Chief Maggie Kiley and David Azzariti along with Managing Editor Meaghan Winter.
The following students earned individual special achievement awards: Sports Photo: Jordan McStay, junior; Feature Photo: Jes Sheldon, senior; Bylined Column: Meaghan Winter, senior; Informational Graphic: Olivia Giorlandino, junior; Informational Graphic: Olivia Giorlandino & Sam Wheeler, juniors; News Story: Maggie Kiley, senior; Sports Story: Dan Fishbein, sophomore; Cartoon: Garrett Maglio, sophomore.
Members of *The Harbinger* staff attended workshops on writing, interviewing, design, and social media at the one-day conference. Adviser Lindsay Coppens presented on The Power of Infographics and Using the Maestro Process.
*Algonquin Girls Track* is the Class A district champion, and the first Algonquin district champions in any sport for the year.
Christine Thompson, Biotechnology instructor, was awarded the NEF Grant for Vernier LabQuest and SpectroVis in the amount of $800 for next year.
The Northborough/Southborough Special Education Parents Advisory Council (*NSPAC*) will hold its final meeting of the year on June 4 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the ARHS Library for elections and planning.
Several members of the Algonquin Community were honored at NSPAC’s annual Go the Distance Awards Night on April 30. Honorees included Lorraine Zanini, Sherry Nolan-Hess, Felecia Rutigliano, Lisa Connery, Linda Pardee, Marie Porteus, John Barry, Mike Mocerino, Courtney Balacco and Jason Lessard.
Five Algonquin students recently attended the *DECA International Development Conference* in Anaheim, CA, to compete against 15,000 other students from around the world. Standouts include Junior Peter Scorzelli who received a medal for top test score in his event and sophomore Nathan Ding who received 2 medals: one for top test score and one for event finalist in his event.
*The Robotics Team* traveled to the FIRST Robotics International Championship in St. Louis, Missouri in late April (24-27). The team placed 17th in their division of 100 teams. The next competition for the team is the Battlecry at WPI. George Clarke is the school’s advisor for the Robotics Team.
On Wednesday, May 15, just before this week’s Junior Prom, juniors Danielle Fucci, Meagan Hermanspan, Devon Ryan, and freshmen Darby Foster, Isabelle Seppa, and Mike Tascione*,* acting as Peer Leaders, distributed to each Junior a letter written by a Northborough or Southborough 5^th grade student, reminding them not to drink and drive on the night of their prom. A request was made to each elementary school in the district to have their 5^th grade students, who have completed the DARE program this year, create very poignant post cards and letters pleading with our students to stay alcohol/drug free, thus allowing them to have a memorable prom night.
An added bonus this year was that a Southborough 5^th grade teacher made copies of their students’ letters and hung on to them for 6 years, so that those juniors could receive their own letters from themselves. This simple but powerful project was initiated as a way to have another tool that encouraged our students to stay safe and drug free. Jean Fedak advises the Peer Leaders.
The *Community Action Program* (CAP) and the *Algonquin Chamber Choir* performed May 14 for the Community Dinner/Hawaiian Luau at the Northborough Senior Center. Students helped to cook and serve the meal, provided music, and made presentations to the seniors and their guests. The Chamber Choir will perform for the Memorial Day ceremonies in Northborough, and the Camerata Singers will perform for the Memorial Day ceremonies in Southborough. Eileen Palmer and Jason Lessard advise the CAP program, and Kathrine Waters is the choral director. Reported by Patch 2 days ago.