Wanna know what’s scarier than the fact that I can roam the earth in 27 days? Being stalked by people who you never thought had a bad bone in their body as they lay on your lawn for hours, drinking rainwater, and surviving off the landscape. Their sole mission:  to spray you with a super soaker.

Paranoia has struck the seniors of HHS, making them wary of even walking outside in fear that an assailant is waiting patiently for them to come by. Senior Assassin has begun and for those of you who don’t know what it is, get your head out of your book and listen to any conversation between seniors. Six hundred dollars is on the line, 140 students enter, one leaves with the money. The object of the game is to shoot your target with a squirt gun outside of school. When you get them, they are eliminated and can no longer attain the jackpot. Whoever they had as a target now becomes your next victim. Matt Baressi and Mike Vigneaux, the headmasters behind this game of death, are carrying on a tradition held each spring at HHS for several years.  You can follow the drama on Twitter #HanoverSA2015.

At least 30 people are out so far and I haven’t left my safe house to go to the bathroom in four days and I’m running out of hot cups. I  managed to get some quotes via pneumatic tubes and carrier pigeon messages.

“I got destroyed,” said Ally Cerone. Her assassin, Breanna Harris, waited outside Ally’s house in the rain and muck for days on end, but finally got her when Ally made the mistake of going to the supermarket where Breanna works. “She followed me down the aisles until she got me.”

Kenny Croke says the games are both exciting and scary. Kenny hasn’t been eliminated yet and felt the ceasefire declared the day of Junior Prom has calmed everyone down somewhat.

I developed some tips in my bomb shelter on not getting out so listen here:

1. If you have a dog, let them out before you take a step outside. This way if anyone’s camping around your house, you’ll know and your dog will eat them.

2. If you have a sibling or parent who leaves before you, let them out to see if the area is clear.

3. Always look for someone tailing you because they could strike the second you get out of your motor vehicle.

4. Keep a squirt gun, water bottle, or really anything with water in it to throw at your assailant at an hour of vulnerability. You don’t want to be empty-handed facing down the loaded barrel of a water pistol.

Well there’s my senior assassin article. Gotta keep this ending short because my bunker generator is running out of power any second. Wish me luck.

Longer days, warmer weather and the disappearance of snow       (finally) can only mean one thing: prom season is here once again. Friday, April 10th dawned grey and drizzly, but the dour weather did nothing to dull the excitement of the junior class on the early release day. Students and teachers alike could feel the anticipation of a night long awaited and the 12 pm bell signifying the end of the day could not come soon enough.

Just a few hours later at 5:30, students began to arrive at the school for pictures on the red carpet that led from the front doors into the cafeteria. They were looking a heck of a lot better than they had when they came to school that morning. Family, friends, teachers, and photographers lined the carpet like paparazzi. Once all of the couples had made their debut and had the compulsory picture taken as they made their way through the crowd, the five coach buses that stood waiting in the parking lot opened their doors.  The boarding and transit went smoothly and at 7 pm  sharp, students arrived at the venue: the Quincy Mariott Hotel.

The ballroom was beautiful, with glistening chandeliers, a  large dance floor, and vases of bright blue hydrangeas on every table. The order of events began with dinner, a buffet offering pasta, mashed potatoes, mac n’ cheese, salad, chicken, and rolls. After fueling up for a long night of busting moves on the dance floor, DJ and HHS senior Molly Minnehan started working her magic. Almost everyone was up and dancing for the whole night, and the music choices brought even the shyest attendees out of their shells.  Songs ranged from typical rap songs to classics including Bust a Move, Ain’t No Holla Back Girl, September, and Drunk in Love. Who doesn’t love a little Beyonce? Sophomores, juniors, and seniors were all represented at the dance, as well as a few students from other schools.

About halfway through the night, a hush came over the room as the prom court was announced. Teachers voted but many agreed that the winners definitely deserved their titles. Prom court for girls included Jessica Gardiner, Junior Class President Sarah Ryan, and Emily Rose Manser. The boys were Peter Crowley, Noah Clapp, and Josh Justice-Pope. The prom queen sash was given to Caroline O’Rourke, and the king’s crown was soon on the head of Max Meallo.

After a few more songs, the night came to an end and the buses were once again loaded for the return trip. Overall, it was a great night and I will remember this experience for years to come.

A special thanks to our class officers Sarah Ryan (president), John Carroll (vice president), Emma Devine (treasurer), and Emma Hardy (secretary), along with class advisors Ms. Turner and Mrs. Bostwick for organizing such a successful event! Also, thanks to our chaperones Ms. Emerson, Ms. Fay, Ms. Bossong, Ms. Pavao, Mr. Mahoney, Mrs. Halloran, Mrs. McHugh, Mrs. Abban, Mr. Galligan, Mr. Barrett and Mr. Paquette.

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Email your prom pictures to smchugh@hanoverschools.org and we’ll include them in the slideshow!

The freshman and junior classes spent the last week taking a battery of new standardized tests referred to as the PARCC exams. PARCC is an acronym for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, which is a consortium of 13 states of which Massachusetts is a prominent member. The tests assessed both English and Math knowledge in a way previously not seen by most students. In a departure from the MCAS, the Math exams  focus on content from a specific course such as Geometry or Algebra (as opposed to testing everything learned in grade 10). Keeping with the structure of the MCAS, the English portion of the exam will be grade- specific (for example, a 9th grade section and 10th grade section).

A small pilot involving two sophomore English classes took a version of this exam last year. This year, juniors had to take the exam instead. Sophomores were exempt because the MCAS is still the graduation requirement for their class. As a matter of fact, the current MCAS exams taken in high school “will continue to be a graduation requirement through the class of 2019,” according to Mrs. St. Ives, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for the district. While administering the exam to grades 9 and 11 is “still voluntary,” it is highly encouraged by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to do so.

While the tests may be new to students, it’s important to realize that many classes here at HHS have been recently reworked and realigned to the new Common Core standards, which PARCC is designed to assess. According to St. Ives, “any changes in classes would have more to do with pacing than content.” That’s the reason why it is so important for students here and across the state to participate in these pilot exams, even if they don’t technically count. Just like when the MCAS was first introduced years ago, the pilot exams help the state refine the test and schools adjust their teaching.

Many freshmen were not happy about having to take these exams and were quite vocal in their disapproval when I spoke them. Cam McAuley (better known in his role as Frederick in The Sound of Music) summed up the opinions of many I talked by simply saying, “I did not enjoy taking this test. Not at all.” The math section of the exam took some major heat with Caroline Cleary describing it as being “stupidly difficult” and Ava Whitney complaining that “some of the math questions we weren’t taught how to do.” The English section of the PARCC fared slightly better, with Cleary saying the “English essays were better than MCAS” and Whitney admitting that she enjoyedthe narrative essay.  The narrative essay is a section not seen on the MCAS exam.

I also spoke to some juniors who had plenty to say about the experience of taking PARCC. Dante Nicotera told me that he was philosophically opposed to the exam and that he originally wanted to opt out of taking the exam citing concerns about missing class in the month before AP Exams. Late March and the month of April are considered hallowed time in the eyes of most AP teachers and to miss class at that point often results in a torrent of makeup work. Andrea Bilton took a slightly more optimistic view. While she “hated being required to take a test that doesn’t officially count for anything,” she said “I think future high schoolers would definitely benefit from taking the PARCC instead of MCAS.” The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary education agrees with Bilton’s assessment because Mrs. St. Ives told me the PARCC  is “designed to build on the strengths of MCAS and add additional features such as innovative technology-based items and more open-ended, performance based tasks.”

The PARCC exams have also only just begun for the year. Freshmen and juniors will both have to take them again on May 14 and May 15. These exams will be end of year exams in both English and Math. In future years, the eventual statewide goal is for students to take these exams online using a secure computer program. When districts make that transition depends “on their technology readiness with both hardware and software,” according to St. Ives. For Hanover, it is not known at this point in time when that will be.

I wrote an article earlier this year about music and all of its benefits — there are plenty such as helping your mood and relaxing your body. Two Hanover High students have found another good thing that music can do. By collecting used iPods for an organization called Music and Memory, seniors Ceara McLaughlin and Mike Vigneaux hope to help patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Founded in 2006, Music and Movement brings the donated iPods and other digital music players to nursing homes and care facilities across the country. They train caregivers to create personalized playlists for patients. A video clip of Henry, from a 2012 documentary called Alive Inside: a Story of Music and Movement, shows one of the residents reawakened by listening to his Cab Calloway favorites.

According to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America website, music can help patients in many ways. It can remind them of past memories, put them at ease and even motivate them to move their bodies or do other activities.  The music stimulates the brain and, although their memories are sadly deteriorating, the tempos and beats can keep them going through hard times. In late stages of Alzheimer’s, many people lose the ability to express love or affection for ones they hold dear, yet they can move to a beat until extremely late in the cycle of the disease.

Different music can have different effects on people, the website states. These effects are categorized as stimulative or sedative. Stimulative music promotes movements while sedative music can help for bedtime or during activities that cause agitation because of its relaxing properties.

Alzheimer’s and dementia are horrifying things: diseases which slowly deteriorate all that you have learned in life.  Emotions, movement, memories can all disappear. I think if you haven’t already donated an iPod, it would be a huge help to a patient in need.

“Nothing stops or cures the disease, but for some reason, music can be really helpful in bringing back memories,” said McLaughlin. “My grandfather was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, so it’s important to me.”

More than 20 iPods have been collected in the HHS drive.

For more information on Music and Memory or to make a donation, visit www.musicandmemory.org

Life is a big deal. I know you think you’ve been living it all this time but you really haven’t. You’ve been living with the training wheels of life and the idea that those wheels are stripped off the second you throw that cap in the air is horrifying. The idea of the Credit for Life Fair is to lessen the fear of that blow known as graduation and make things feel a bit more manageable.  Real life is still going to be tough, there’s no doubt about it. But from someone whose view on the world and his career afterward has been less than cheery lately, I feel a fraction better after attending the fair.

About 75 juniors and seniors from HHS took part in the third-annual fair, held March 16 at Cardinal Cushing School. Students imagine we are about 24 years old and have to manage our money on our own. Each student is given a portfolio and a career, plus the average salary for that career. (I was an actor, making $40,520 a year — this is before I become a big  star, of course). We also receive a savings account, credit score, and some student loan or credit card debt. Since all of this varies from student to student, some start out in better financial shape than others, which is unfortunate but also realistic. (I had $2,200 in savings and a student loan payment of $150 a month.) You then go to booths for various things such as transportation, clothing, nutrition, housing and other things of the sort. At each booth, business people from the community give realistic options for us to choose from, such as purchasing a flashy Mustang or a basic Honda, or a no-frills cell phone versus the latest smartphone. You can also get a part-time job which will increase your income and ability to spend on other assets, or a roommate to split expenses with. Isn’t life fun!!!?? Sigh. Spending money from a credit card is also another option but I always stay away from those.

At one booth, we had to go through a professional job interview. At another book we got a “reality check.” By spinning the wheel of chance, students might get a winning lottery ticket or big inheritance. But other things they can get are straight garbage, like a flat tire or medical expense, adding more costs to an already tight budget. I got hit with a $50 doctor bill.

Once you went to all the booths and picked all your choices, you got to sit down with a counselor who would tally up all your expenses and see if you broke even. If you didn’t, you’d have to look back on all of your choices and make changes, over and over again if necessary, until your budget wasn’t a bust. Luckily I broke even on the first try with $86 to spare.

“The fair was really eye-opening because I realized I’m probably going to be broke,” said junior Emma Riley.  “Thanks S Bank.”

Junior Angela Mirasola said the fair was very informative and “a great opportunity for all students.” The one thing she would change is the how deals were given. During the fair, a cowbell was rung for limited time offers, but people would rush to the booth and it would get chaotic.

Overall, the Credit For Life Fair was pretty realistic. There were some expenses we were required to pay that I wouldn’t have chosen in real life, such as a gym membership. And some students chose roommates that they readily admit they’d never live with in real life. But going through the process of making a budget and weighing expenses was extremely informative and very helpful.

The fair is organized each year by Mrs. Pereira, who teaches Accounting, Marketing, and Internship, and Mrs. Hansen, who teaches Internship, School-to-Work and Microsoft Office. Mrs. Pereira felt the fair was a fantastic interactive learning experience and she enjoyed how many students gained insight into adult expenses. She noted that many were shocked at how expensive everything was. Mrs. P loves the collaboration from both the community and school.

The musical ensembles here at Hanover High School participated in the adjudicated MICCA Festival March 27-28. The MICCA Festival is an opportunity for groups to perform in front of a panel of judges to receive feedback from a source other than their director. The judges are usually professors in prominent college music departments and they all have a great deal of musical aptitude and intelligence. In fact, after the performance, one of the judges will host a clinic with the group and give them tips on how to improve to the next level of play. In addition to a live clinic from one the judges, directors receive the taped commentary of the three judges along with any notes they took. As far scoring and medal placement is concerned, it is done against a standardized rubric used by all the judges and not in comparison to the other groups in attendance at that particular venue. The possible awards a group can earn include the Medal of Merit, Bronze Medal, Silver Medal, and the Gold Medal.

Symphonic Band competed Friday night at Foxboro High School. They performed the same three songs they did at the HHS Spring Concert and ones they have been working on since the beginning of January. First was the march Fairest of the Fair by John Phillip Sousa, next up was Loch Lomond by Frank Ticheli, and concluding the set was Themes from Green Bushes by Percy Grainger. One of the requirements of the MICCA Festival is to have a variety of different genres represented in your band’s repertoire which is something the Symphonic Band definitely accomplished. Ultimately, the months of effort put in was rewarded by the Band receiving a Silver Medal. The Band has not received Silver since 2009, in Mr. Ketchen’s second year as Band Director. It’s even more of an accomplishment considering the fact the Band has a new director this year, Mr. Harden.

Concert Chorus and Vox competed on Saturday afternoon at Norwood High School. Concert Chorus performed At The River by Aaron Copland; Danny Boy, a traditional folk song arranged by Julie Knowles; and Sing and We Chant It by Thomas Morley. Vox, the audition-based elite women’s choir of HHS, performed Didn’ My Lord Deliver Daniel, arranged by Jennifer Alsup King, Ave Maria by Franz Biebel, and Ching a Ring Chaw by Aaron Copland. During Ave Maria, senior Jaime Savage, junior Melanie Armstrong, and sophomore Katie Scott all soloed. Similar to the Band, Vox and Concert Chorus have been rehearsing their songs since January. Ultimately, Concert Chorus got a Bronze Medal, and Vox got a Silver Medal. The Choruses show much promise under the leadership of their new director Mr. Schnelle and we can only expect even better results in the future.

The next performance of Symphonic Band, Concert Chorus, and Vox will be at the Williamsburg (Va.) festival April 16-19. It’s the first weekend of April Vacation and is the Music Department’s biennial trip. It’s another adjudicated festival and the groups will be busy at work for the next two weeks polishing their repertoires to get ready for the competition.

On Saturday, March 28, the Hanover High School Robotics team participated in both the Botball Tournament and Botfest Exhibition at UMass Lowell.  Seniors David Raab and Nick Ricciarelli and freshman Spencer Kubicki represented the team at the Botball tournament.  At Botfest, a robotics exhibition, sophomore Matt Blanchard displayed his prototype for a high- speed Rubik’s cube solver with the help of Nao, Hanover School District’s humanoid robot.

 Botball Tournament

The theme of this year’s tournament was mining minerals in the Southwestern United States.  The goal was to design, build, and program two autonomous robots to collect randomly scattered ‘minerals’, bring them to specific areas of the board, and sort them by color. The items were at different heights and they were various sizes, shapes and colors.  Each match lasted two minutes.  David, who will attend Rensselaer in the fall and Nick, who will attend RIT, were in the pit.  The team was able to make it through the seeding rounds and enter the double elimination match.  In the first match, Hanover’s robot “Arnie” started too soon and lost to Chelmsford High.  In the second match, Hanover defeated Innovation Academy.  The third match was lost to Veazie High School after Hanover’s robot “Maria” got thrown off course by a bump in the arena floor.

It was great to see the engineering design process at work.  Each match led to design adjustments, refining of code, and improved performance.  David and Nick quickly analyzed each situation and reacted swiftly to fix any problems and increase their chances of success.     

The final results have not been posted, but the team clearly improved since last year’s first try at Botball.  Last year, the team was eliminated after the second game and this year they weren’t eliminated until after the third game.  Most importantly, the students gained valuable skills in design, programming, engineering, time management, teamwork, refining, diagramming, strategizing and project management.  Hanover High School was also able to acquire two new robot platforms and hundreds of sensors and motors that can be used by Engineering Classes as well as the robotics team.  The software is installed in the Engineering lab for any student with an interest.  Hanover High also received complete standards- based curriculum resources to use with all engineering students.

Botfest Exhibition

Last year, for the Botfest Exhibition, Matt Blanchard created a Lego robot that could solve a Rubik’s cube.  Matt continued his quest this year and began online communication with David Gilday, the principal engineer at ARM in Cambridge, England.  Gilday is the co-creator of the world’s fastest Rubik’s cube-solving robot, “Cubestormer III.”  The “Cubestormer III” can solve the Rubik’s cube in 3.253 seconds. 

The Rubik’s cube solution is an algorithm; therefore, a robot can be programmed to follow a specific pattern of movements to solve the cube after scanning each side and determining the original positions of the colors.  Matt began work on a prototype for his own high-speed Rubik’s cube-solving robot which he displayed at this year’s exhibition.  Matt hopes to create the fastest one in North America by the time he is a senior in high school.  Incidentally, Matt himself is also a competitive Rubik’s Cube solver; he can solve the puzzle in 18.68 seconds. 

Special Thanks

• For the second year in a row, the team received a grant from NASA and UMass Lowell’s Community Partnership Program that covered $1,700 of the fee for Botball ($2,200 total).  The fee covers all materials, robots, and tournament expenses.
• Grants from the Hanover Foundation for Educational Enrichment ($1,800) and Walmart ($500) allowed the purchase of seven EV3 Lego robots that were used to build a prototype for a high-speed Rubik’s cube-solver for the exhibition.  The EV3 robots will be also be used in engineering courses at the high school.
• The humanoid robot, Nao, which assisted Matt at Botfest, was purchased for the district by the PTO.

Let’s get one thing clear: I like picking out new clothes and looking nice just as much as the next person, but high fashion is definitely not my forte. So when I signed up to walk as a model in the Fashion Club’s yearly show, I was a bit apprehensive. Anyone who knows seniors Haley Martin and Bruna Dacosta (or even sees them in the halls, for that matter) is well aware that they are a fashion force to be reckoned with. Haley was awarded Most Unique Stye and Bruna claimed Best Dressed in this year’s senior superlatives. No surprise there, these girls founded Hanover High School’s Fashion Club their junior year and already had one wildly successful fashion show under their belt. I had no doubt that they would pull off another fantastic show . . . my only worry was making it down the runway in one piece!

As I prepared for the show Saturday, I quickly learned that the models came in a  wide range of age and experience. Some girls, along with many of the hair and makeup experts, hailed from Hanover’s Fashion Focus program. Fashion Focus is a modeling and finishing agency owned by the emcee of the show, Maria Wood. Some of us weren’t so seasoned in the fashion show life, however, and some of these faces may look more familiar to

the average HHS student. Mr. Perry, Mr. Hopkins, Mrs. Curley, Ms. Fay, Mrs. Abban, Mrs. Gately, Mrs. Boyle, Mrs. Emerson, Mr. Sousa, Mrs. Curtis, Mrs. Fraser and Mrs. Gallagher from guidance agreed to strut their stuff for the catwalk. Mr. Paquette and Mr. Galligan stole the show, and we even got to meet mini Emersons, Coates, Pereiras, Dhomees, Abbans, Curtises, McHugh and Paquettes (that’s right . . . who knew Mr. Paquette had such adorable kids?!).  Haley and Bruna managed to show off all of the clothing and accessories that had been donated for the night by local boutiques, including Olivia Rose and No Rest for Bridget for children, Habit and Ku De Ta for juniors, and Tuxedo Time and Lyn Evans for the adults.

The doors opened at 5:00 pm sharp for pop-up shopping with the boutiques which were represented in the show, mocktails, and cupcakes. As viewers were happily chatting away, the real excitement was going on backstage. Models had been at the school for hours, prepping for their minute-long debut. The first stop was to pick up the outfit we would actually be wearing and cross our fingers as we tried it on for size. Back into real clothes for hair and makeup, which took place in the band and fitness rooms, respectively. Hair was done by a mix of professionals and students alike, but every person who left the room was completely transformed. The theme of the show was bohemian, so styles included braids, long curls, and messy up-dos. Makeup artists similarly went with an artistic approach and tried to match outfit and face. Finally, outfits and finishing touches were pulled together and the show was ready to begin at 6 pm.

The younger kids took the catwalk first, navigating the series of

twists, turns, and poses much better than myself. Juniors were next, and went in categories by store. I loved seeing the skill everyone had and watching them come to life when the lights were turned on them! The adults were probably the funniest to watch. I never expected to see the man who teaches me poetry strutting down the runway in a bright orange cheetah tie! Anyone who has been listening to the announcements lately is probably dying to hear about the Ms. Fay versus Mrs. Abban style

showdown. Both ladies looked absolutely amazing and fully embraced their time to shine. However, although Mrs. Abban walked with the poise and grace of a true model, I’ve got to give this one to Ms. Fay. From her posing in the Egyptian at the beginning to her sassy moves on the platform, no one could compete with the ‘tude she pulled off.  Other highlights included Mr. Perry with a salmon pocket hanky, two hockey players walking out their coach’s son, and Ms. (soon to be Mrs.) Pavao and fiance ending the show as a boho bride and groom.

All proceeds from the show went to a scholarship for girls just like Haley and Bruna who love fashion and want to pursue it as a career. After being a part of their show and witnessing them in action, I know that after graduating this year Haley and Bruna will no doubt find success. An when they do, I know I’ll be in the front row of their fashion shows!

After learning about a famed installation sculpture, Mrs. Curley’s Ceramics and Sculpture II class decided to create their own version. Their work, on display in the Multipurpose Room Friday, was inspired by “The Dinner Party” created by Judy Chicago from 1974-1979. The original installation is a ceremonial banquet representing 1,038 women in history. On tables are 39 place settings, each dedicated to a notable woman from ancient to modern times. The floor and banners on the walls honor additional women. The installation has been part of the permanent collection at the Brooklyn Museum in New York since 2007.

In our students’ version, each of the 22 place settings represented a different artist they chose to study, from Raphael and Degas to Dali and Warhol. Students worked on their creations for more than a month, focusing on translating the artist’s style into their plate, cup and utensils.

According to Mrs. Curley,  the place setting project has been done with some of her past classes, but this is the first time she did the banquet on such a grand scale.

“I have a great group this year and I knew they were capable,” she said.

Great job to all of the students. The artwork was incredible! (so was the chocolate bark)

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