teaching | The Hawk

By Billy Hersey, ‘27 and Siena Oliver ‘27

Hawk editors

As our seniors look toward new beginnings, many can’t help but look back on their fond memories of our community. Students who replied to The Hawk senior survey said they would miss many things about their time at HHS. A common theme among responses was that students would miss their friends, teachers and sports.

“I will miss the teachers that showed up every day and cared about us deeply,” said Thomas Perkins. For Noey Giardina, it will be the lunch ladies. For April Hamilton and Adrian Nickerson, it’s the art classes and teachers. James Bison will miss “Doc.” Michael Sawaya will miss “hanging out with the office ladies.” Samantha Ferguson said: “I’ll miss my friends and my favorite teachers.” Sophie Schiller echoed that sentiment and added that she’ll miss her coaches too.

Connor McCue will greatly miss the atmosphere at HHS and the people. “They do a great job at creating a positive environment that people want to be a part of.”

Many seniors are sad to be separated from their friends and will cherish the memories they have made with each other. Max Aikins will miss “classes with my friends who are going to different schools.” Scott Theriault will be sad to end “socializing with the people I’ve grown up with.” Cat Reinhart said she’ll miss “seeing everyone in 6th period library every day.”

“I’ll miss having my friends around me all the time and just being able to drive a mile or two to see them,” said Grace Witt. Madi Pongratz agreed. “I’ll miss seeing everyone together in one place because once we graduate we won’t see a lot of these people ever again,” she said.

Sports are a huge part of life at HHS, leading to lifelong connections and great memories. During the Class of 2025’s time at HHS, girls soccer won the state championship in 2022 and made it to the finals in 2024. Boys hockey won the state title at the TD Garden in 2022 and returned to the finals in 2024. Rugby made it to the state finals in 2022 and 2024. Girls Lacrosse reached the final four in 2024. Football made it to the state semifinals in 2022 and 2024, and to the Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium in 2023.

Abby Hanna, who played softball and hockey, will miss her teammates and coaches. Max Goitia will miss playing rugby; for Matt Jenkins, it’s soccer, and for Cam Fish it’s baseball. Addison Baldinelli will miss playing field hockey and performing with the dance team.

Liz Curtis will miss field hockey the most. “Being part of the team has been such a huge part of my high school experience!” she said.

Aidan Boutin, who played football and rugby for four years and wrestled for three, said he will miss the opportunities to practice and compete with close friends. “It deeply saddens me that I will never be able to suit up and play with my childhood friends ever again.”

Watching sports was as memorable as playing, according to Ava Good and Ava Puzzangara.

Clubs, community service and performing arts provided fond memories for many students. Tyler Neville said he will miss “performing at concerts for the symphonic and marching band.” Julia Fitzgerald, who counted band and tennis among her activities, said she will miss the friends she made inside and outside the classroom. “Even if I keep them up in college,” she said, “I know I will miss their presence.”

While the Class of ‘25 will embark on different paths, hopefully their memories of friendship, guidance and support will bolster them in whatever they take on next. It is clear that, for many students, their time at HHS has left an indelible mark.

“Over the past eight years since I moved here in 4th grade, I have gotten to know the people around me here in Hanover and I have grown to love it,” said Lochlan Garvey. “Being able to come to school every day and be surrounded by this community that we have created over the past years has been a gift and I am going to miss it terribly.”

By Danny, Campbell, ’27

Staff Writer

So I bet most of you are aware of the fact that on November 6th, the people of Massachusetts voted in favor of getting rid of MCAS as a graduation requirement. I personally believe this was a great decision, since it means that students won’t have to worry about not getting their diploma for scoring poorly on it. However, I think we still have to take the standardized tests seriously because of how much they still can affect students and our school.

The MCAS, or Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, is a series of standardized tests created in 1993. Starting in third grade, all students take tests in English Language Arts and Math. A Science, Technology and Engineering exam is given in grades five and eight. Civics is administered to 8th graders and biology is given to 9th graders. Passing the tests had been a requirement for a diploma in Massachusetts, while schools used the data to evaluate teaching and learning. After the vote, the graduation requirement has been removed, but schools are still giving the tests to collect information.

But how did this movement to remove the MCAS graduation requirement get onto the ballot in the first place? You see, this movement was started by a mom in Lexington and the Massachusetts Teachers Association because they felt like MCAS was unfair to students who don’t take tests well. The movement was further spread by Adriana Mason and another mom from Hanover who helped to get the word out locally and get the question on the ballot.

One of the main concerns that went into having MCAS as a graduation requirement is the belief that students with special needs are treated unfairly by the system. I can relate to this concern from personal experience; while I was in elementary and middle school, I was given extra support in my classes to address my needs. However, when you are taking the MCAS, you are not allowed to have the same extra support you have had for the entire year. This would cause issues for students, who might have to take the high school tests repeatedly to finally earn a passing grade and qualify for their diploma. Teachers were forced to spend a lot of time each year preparing students for MCAS. It is either that or risk having students unprepared for test day.

Between 2003 and 2024, 400-450 students left HHS without their diploma, according to Mason. This large number has to do with their MCAS grades, and many of the students impacted were students with disabilities. Most students with disabilities already have hard lives, and not being able to get their diploma made their lives unfairly harder. Without a diploma, your job opportunities are reduced. You cannot go to college or into the military, and you cannot become a police officer or firefighter. Thankfully, with this law passing, students who graduated HHS from the 2003-2024 are able to now receive their diploma.

With all of that being said, and with the ELA test taking place at the high school this week, it leads me back to my question, “should we still be worried about the MCAS?” I will say once more that I am beyond glad that this law has passed, and I have NO complaints about this vote. However, as a sophomore, it feels very anti-climactic after being told numerous times since middle school that the 10th grade MCAS was the extremely important one that would determine whether or not I received a diploma. Now, the test feels just like an extra thing to do.

Still, my final verdict is that while MCAS shouldn’t be treated AS seriously as it was in previous years, I do believe students should still try to do well. The test results will be used to check in on how students are doing in school, and to make sure that teachers are successfully providing instruction in important skills. All of this can now be done without stressing out students yearround.

featured image: https://www.boston.com/news/education/2021/09/21/mcas-scores-2021-pandemic/

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Tag Archives: teaching

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