TMHS Principal's Newsletter
DECEMBER 2018
From the Principal's Desk - Kristen S. Vogel
On December 19th the Senior Project Committee presented to the Class of 2019 the opportunity to pursue an internship, do a research project, or perform a community service project in an area they are passionate or interested in learning more about during the fourth quarter of their senior year. We began this program last year with the Class of 2018. We had 115 of the 240 seniors participate during the fourth quarter. The committee surveyed students and faculty at the end of the last year to find out what worked and where they could improve the experience for the students. One change that came directly from the feedback was that the project should start in early April, at the beginning of fourth quarter, not after April vacation. Seniors reported last year that the senior project experience allowed them to explore a career that they had an interest in and for some confirmed the idea of pursuing it and for others it convinced them they should think about another career. We also had students engage in projects that improved our school community through the painting of large murals. This is an experience that is available to all seniors, even if a senior is taking multiple AP courses. We have designed this program to allow for students to come in as they finish up their AP courses and pursue a senior project. Senior project is experiential learning that other area high schools in the Merrimack Valley do not offer their students. Please encourage your senior to explore and apply for this amazing opportunity! All of us here at TMHS can be a resource and are more than willing to help them think through and prepare their project. There will be a parent information night for senior parents on Wednesday, January 9th at 7:00pm. Below is the link to the Senior Project presentation and the link to the Senior Project website.
https://sites.google.com/tewksbury.k12.ma.us/tmhs-senior-project/home
Mandatory Social Host Meeting - Thursday, February 28, 2019
Mark your calendars for Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 7:15pm! If you are the parent of a junior who is planning on attending the junior prom, you and your student are required to attend this presentation by District Attorney Marian Ryan and Police Chief Tim Sheehan on Social Host Law and Underage Drinking. Students will not be allowed to purchase tickets to the junior prom if they and a parent have not attended the presentation.
Seniors and senior parents who did not attend the presentation last year and are planning on participating in Senior Week this year, MUST attend the presentation this year. Seniors will not be allowed to purchase tickets to Senior Week activities if they do not attend the presentation.
TMHS Ping Pong Tournament
On Friday, December 21st, 210 students and faculty participated in our first annual community ping pong tournament! In the morning there were elimination heats by region to get to the final 32 and the championship round! Each round starting with the round of 32 was six minutes and the player with the highest score at the end of the six minutes or who ever got a score of 21 first, was the winner! The final two players to play for the championship were Mihir Bagul and Mr. Cusick. The final rounds took place in the gym in front of the entire school! The First Annual TMHS Holiday Ping Pong Challenge winner was Mr. Fran Cusick! Below are some pictures of the fun event!
Community Giving
For the holiday season, many of our sports teams and faculty adopted at least one local family to support with gifts and food. Each team adopted a family and worked together to purchase gifts on their list so that there would be presents under the tree on Christmas morning. In total, our students adopted families! At TMHS, kindness, gratitude and engagement with your community are priorities and an integral part of our school culture. This idea came from one of our seniors and MIAA Student Ambassadors, Michael Polimeno. Mike came up with this idea after talking with other student ambassadors in the fall and asked if we could help him to organize this program. This is an example of a student inititative that was a huge success!
December Hats Off Award
Congratulations to Elizabeth Ezekiel'19 and Alexander Sousa'19 who have been nominated for the Tewksbury Rotary Club December Hats Off Award. The award recognizes those students who have distinguished themselves academically, have contributed to the co-curricular program at the High School, and have been actively involved in the community. The students were honored at a Rotary Club luncheon held on Thursday, December 13th at the Tewksbury Country Club.
Fine and Performing Arts Department News
Art News
The TMHS Art classes Literacy tree made in conjunction with Mr. Zimmerman and the Larrabee Library has been on display the month of December. This year’s tree was based upon “Snow”, a children’s holiday book written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz. Thank you to our talented contributing artists on a job well done! Special thanks to Sansan Nguyen (senior) and Jessica Lisiecki (junior) for their design work.
The TMHS Theatre Company sponsored an open mic on Friday, December 14th, at Cafe Sicilia. Members of Ms. Arnold’s Senior Art Studio had artwork on display. Thanks to all for a lovely evening!
Congratulations to Sofia Calandrello (senior) for being accepted into the Drexel University High School Contest Exhibition for her photograph “Twenty One Pilots”! The exhibit is February 9- March 3, 2019 at the photography program gallery in Philadelphia.
Music News
Congratulations to Ms. Ware and the TMHS Band & Chorus for an excellent performance at their Winter Concert! The event was held at the high school on December 13th in the Dr. Christine L. McGrath Performing Arts Center. The ensembles performed many holiday-themed songs that set a festive tone for the season. Ms. Ware also took the groups Christmas Caroling on December 18th. They first went to the Heatherwood Retirement Community. There, they met the Wynn Middle School band and performed several famous Christmas Carols for the residents that attended. The Wynn Middle School was the next destination for the groups. It was a day full of holiday spirit and cheer!
TMHS Theatre Company
The Fine and Performing Arts hall has been a flurry of activity. The TMHS Theatre Company’s production of The Outsiders was a great success! Thank you to Ms. Scarpa, Ms. Ware, and Mr. Crepeau for all their hard work and the amazing opportunities they continue to provide our students. A huge congratulations to Connor Mangan (senior) for directing the production! We look forward to following your future endeavors. The Dr. Christine L. McGrath Performing Arts Center at TMHS was transformed into 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma. The cast brought to life the social and economic struggles depicted in the classic S.E. Hinton novel The Outsiders. Members of the Painting 2 class and Technical Theatre class displayed an exhibit of 1950’s cars and promotional show posters.
The TMHS Theatre Company is busy preparing for the Spring musical Godspell to be held April 25-27th at TMHS. Tickets are $7 for students and senior citizens and $10 for adults. Please mark your calendars!
Journalism Class Visits Boston
TMHS PAC is in Need of Donations
TMHS PAC is in need of donations for two upcoming PAC sponsored events, Trivia Night held in March and our Annual Calendar Raffle held in April, both of which raise money for scholarships, All Night Long graduation party and arts and enrichment programs. We are looking for items that would make for a good raffle items. Some suggestions are
- Gift Baskets
- Gift Certificates
- Gift Cards
- Lottery Tickets
- Electronics
- Sporting/Theater/Concert Tickets
- Attraction Tickets
These are just some suggestions. Anything you think that would be an appropriate raffle item would be greatly appreciated. Cash donations are always welcomed.
We are sending this out early and often, to get as many donations as possible. Maybe during your holiday shopping you may see something to purchase to donate or perhaps that holiday gift you received that you will not use?
Click here to make a donation.
TMHS PAC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All gifts to the TMHS PAC are considered tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. When you make a tax deductible donation, we can provide you with a receipt if requested. Thank you.
Guidance Department News
At this time 61.4% of the graduating class has submitted their college applications. Senior students need to be aware of the deadlines that will be approaching after the new year. Students who would like to submit applications during the regular submission process, should be making an appointment with their counselors to ensure they apply on time.
This year TMHS was fortunate to have two schools provide on-site decision days for our students. Southern New Hampshire University admitted to 12 students and offered a total of $814,000 in scholarships to all accepted students. All students who met with the admissions representative from Rivier University were offered admission. Rivier will send those students their scholarship and aid packages after the new year.
All senior students should be actively pursuing scholarship opportunities at this time. The Tewksbury community scholarship is now available for students to complete. The deadline to return a completed application is February 15, 2019. Students should visit their Naviance accounts or the Guidance webpage to view available scholarships.
The PSAT results are in Guidance for students to pick up during lunch and before or after school. For juniors the results are a wonderful tool to guide your preparation for the SAT exam in March. We encourage students to visit Khan academy, which has exclusive rights to SAT preparation. TMHS is holding the SAT exam in March. Since space is limited we encourage students to sign up early on the CollegeBoard website.
TMHS is pleased to offer the Innovation Pathways Engineering program for students currently enrolled in the sophomore and freshman classes. Approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, this program will require students to take Engineering 1 & 2, as well as an Academic Skills and Strategies course. Students accepted into this program will spend time preparing resumes, practicing job skills, and participating in a variety of college and career readiness activities. With the assistance of the Greater Lowell Workforce Development Board, students enrolled in this program will be placed into internships during the summer between their junior and senior year.
Academic Decathlon News
On Saturday, November 17th, TMHS hosted the Academic Decathlon Regional Competition. Two hundred students from nineteen schools faced off to test their knowledge of the 1960’s. Students were tested in seven subjects: Mathematics, Social Science, Science, Literature, Music, Art, and Economics. Sophomore Kunal Pal earned 1st place in Mathematics, Honors Division and 2nd place in Social Science, Honors Division. Freshman Angelina Georgacopoulos earned 3rd place in Literature, Honors Division.
The TMHS Academic Decathlon team and Ms. Kelleher would like to thank Principal Kristen Vogel, Ms. Nancy O’Hare, Mr. Jason Stamp and his team, and Mr. Roland Patterson for their support in making this event a success. Also, a big shout-out to our student volunteers: Matt Martins, Kristina Russell and Ari Daw. Please find a photo shoot from the event below.
Academic Decathlon Team
National Honor Society Website
Calendar of Events
January
2 School Reopens
9 Senior Project Parent Information Meeting 7:00pm
18 Half Day - Teacher Workshop
18 Admin Chat 7:30am
21 No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
24 Hats Off Luncheon 12:15pm TCC
28 School Council Meeting 3:00pm
31 8th Grade Parent Night 6:00pm
Tewksbury Memorial High School
Website: https://www.tewksbury.k12.ma.us/high/
Location: 320 Pleasant Street, Tewksbury, MA, United States
Phone: 978-640-7825
Twitter: @tmhstweets