Hanover High students got a taste of ancient Rome on May 16 when engineering classes built and raced chariots and competed in other ancient games. Spectators, happy to be out of class on a beautiful day, surrounded the field in front of the school. The teams of students competed in several events, including driving a chariot blindfolded, guided only by the passenger’s instructions, and using student-made catapults and slingshots to hit a target.  Doc DeFranzo played the part of Caesar, dressed in full Roman toga, crown and sandals. The HHS band played rousing music to accompany the games.
As Engineering teacher Mr. Faria said in announcing the event, “Rome has not seen excitement at this level since the last invasion of the barbarian hordes.”

Every year, the Hanover High Sophomores put together an auction to raise money for their collective class funds, and 2014 marked the start yet another auction endeavor. It was the Class of 2016’s turn to step up to the plate and plan an auction of its own. The respective class always does their best to put new twists on the auction to make it their own, and this year, the current sophomores decided to take a step in a new direction and hold a silent auction at the Hanover Mall for the first time ever. The auction was held in the center of the mall on April 12th, and in addition to the silent auction, the class also designed an auction website, where their auction items were available for bidding online from April 5th-12th.

On April 12th, all of the Class of 2016’s dedicated student council members gathered at the Mall and proudly displayed all of the items they had collected to auction. All afternoon, they greeted bidders, showcased items, and walked the entire length of the mall distributing flyers. The most popular aspect of the auction was a special wheel borrowed from the mall’s event department- the wheel was labeled with many different kinds of candy and gum, and for a dollar, someone could spin the wheel and win the coordinating prize! Class members even spent their own time creating custom Easter baskets filled with candy and stuffed bunnies, placing them in a raffle where tickets only cost one dollar. The auction ran from 12 until 7 pm, and caught the attention of many of Hanover’s citizens and mall employees. The afternoon proved to be both successful and fun, for the class’s members took great enthusiasm in encouraging mall customers to visit the auction, even writing out advertisements and placing them in plastic eggs to scatter around the mall, luring both children and adults alike to the auction site. The class advisor, Diane Turner, joined in the fun, calling out to all of the passing families and directing them to the auction tables and “Candy Wheel of Wonder.”

At the end of the day, the sophomores packed up their supplies with satisfaction, for they had rounded up over $2,000 in winning bids and had put smiles on the faces of dozens of children, parents, bidders, and even simple bystanders throughout the day.
But it took intensive planning to pull off such an event, and student council spent an extensive amount of time designing flyers, writing letters, planning details, designing the website, meeting with a Hanover Mall event coordinator, and even visiting, emailing, and calling countless businesses on their own time outside of school. The members of the Class of 2016’s StuCo worked extremely hard to get their items donated from some of Hanover’s generous businesses, and even some of the students and families. A few of the Class’s proudest accumulations was a Fender Guitar, donated by Crossroads Music, Celtics and Red Sox Tickets, acquired by John Carroll, and a round of Golf at Harmon and a Calloway Golf Bag, both donated by Austin Beringer. And these are only a few of the generous donations acquired by the class! Not only were the donators of the auction items very generous, but the bidders were, as well. All of those who bid were clear supporters of Hanover High and it’s Class of 2016, sometimes placing bids even higher than the item’s initial value.

Sunday May 4th dawned sunny and mild, perfect weather for for a dedicated group of Hanover High School students planning to complete Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger. After meeting at the Braintree train station at 7 o’clock sharp, the various student council and National Honors Society members participating wiped any remaining drowsiness from their eyes and boarded the train which would carry them to Boston Common, the starting and ending location of the walk. The route itself was 20 miles and wound through the surrounding towns of Boston, Newton, Watertown, Brookline, and Cambridge. This year was the 46th annual Walk for Hunger, and an astonishing 43,000 people came together to participate. Project Bread’s aim in the walk is to raise awareness for the issue of hunger in Massachusetts and raise funds for their continuing anti-hunger work in the state. Shockingly, the food insecurity rate in Massachusetts rose 80 percent from what it was in 2000, and there are 200,000 children in the state who have parents earning less than $11 an hour, making it hard for many families to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Thankfully, this year’s fundraiser raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, including $450 contributed by the Hanover High School team. That money will be put toward educating local students about healthy choices, providing reduced-price school lunches to children of struggling families, staffing school kitchens with nutritionists and health-conscious chefs, and connecting local farmers with school lunchrooms.

This was my first time participating in the Walk for Hunger, and I really enjoyed being part of something so significant. People had traveled from all over the state to participate, and many walkers sported stickers proudly labeling them as veterans of 20 or even 30 walks. It was really interesting to read the signs posted along the way bearing information about hunger in Massachusetts, most of which came as a huge surprise to me. Walking through the suburbs of Boston gave me a chance to see a part of the city I had never visited, and the Boston College and Harvard University campuses provided a beautiful backdrop to portions of the route. Project Bread’s volunteers cheered for walkers at street corners all along the way, and helped keep me motivated with their megaphones, signs, and catchy songs. I considered myself to be in pretty good shape being in the midst of track and field season, however, in all honesty I was feeling pretty exhausted by mile 19. Thankfully, the sun broke through the clouds and everyone’s mood lifted when we saw the balloon arch finish line in the distance. I picked up the pace and when my feet crossed the finish line I was filled with personal pride. We had walked almost an entire marathon and in the process raised awareness and funds for an important cause. That night, as I rested my aching limbs, I knew I would be returning for my second walk for hunger next year.