Friday, September 7, 2012
Acton’s students are adjusting to changes that include a new advisory program at the high school, stricter nutritional guidelines in all the lunchrooms, and several staffing shifts.
Last week, students in all five of Acton’s elementary schools, the junior high and senior high donned backpacks and took their places in their respective classrooms. All students were subject to a few changes that will be in effect this school year: At the high school level, the following changes have occurred: At RJ Grey, several adjustments have been made to meet the needs of 7th and 8th grade students: Acton Public Schools five elementary schools have seen some changes as well: "The goal," said Principal Chris Whitbeck, “is to improve our teaching practice and therefore improve student learning.”
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Acton police, principal caution parents to safeguard kids, selves during “celebration season.”
For the seniors at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, prom and graduation are nearly here. Both events mark important rites of passage as teens take definitive steps toward becoming adults, and celebrate the childhoods they are leaving behind. But while previous generations’ celebrations may have involved partying with friends while adults looked the other way, the prom night and graduation celebrations of today have become more complicated than in years past. Research indicates that the so-called celebration season—the months of April, May and June—is the most dangerous time for teens. In fact, a survey conducted by the Century Council indicates that a third of all car accidents involving teens each year occur during those months, and…
Friday, May 13, 2011
Acton students log a great deal of time doing homework. Is this time well spent?
In March, the documentary Race to Nowhere was shown at the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School. In the audience were approximately 750 parents, students and other interested locals. The film addresses what its director, Vicki Abeles, feels is the current state of affairs for our children: overscheduling, unrealistic demands to perform, lack of adequate sleep, competition in all areas, and intense pressure to position oneself to gain acceptance to prestigious colleges. Within a week of the film’s showing, parent, Alex Horovitz, penned a letter and sent it to all of the Acton schools’ principals and the town’s school committee members. The topic: Homework. In his letter, Horovitz writes, “I am asking that you take the bold step of …
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Cancer benefit at Nara Park raises $3,000 for the Acton Relay for Life.
Mariah Chang, Senior at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School killed two birds with one stone on Saturday, April 30th. She shined the spotlight on some local artists, providing them with a venue, a cause and an audience to hear their music along with promoting cancer awareness. As part of the Acton’s Relay for Life program, Chang organized a “concert to fight cancer.” One hour’s worth of entertainment brought in $3,000 dollars of donations. Local band No Soap Radio performed: Steven Robertson, Eugene Mundowa, Devon Murphy, Chris LoPiccolo, Bill Grady and Devon DiPaolo. Local music artists Connor Fischelis performed, along with the local dance group “Dance 2 Save.” “I’ve watched multiple people in my life struggle with cancer – some of them…
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Annual Senior Volunteer Day's student participants enjoy camaraderie, "sense of accomplishment."
“Work hard, play hard” was the theme of the day for the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School seniors who participated in the school’s annual Senior Community Service Day on Friday, taking the day off from school to do service projects and enjoying a day with their friends in the process. Held primarily at sites in Acton and Boxborough, and at one in Sudbury, the event has grown to the extent that adults at some locations have come to count on the students' yearly visit to help with tasks ranging from outdoor work like mulching and raking to jobs indoors at several schools and Acton Memorial Library, among other locations. According to Kay Steeves, the student/faculty support coordinator at ABRHS, the annual event started in 1995 when then…
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Ryan McDonald and Thulani Denaro Allow Just One Score.
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School’s baseball team played its first game in 10 days (due to rain) and the Colonials came out with a 3-1 win, their first of the season, at Concord-Carlisle High School (0-4). “In the last two games we had, we’ve had five errors in each game,” said A-B coach Patrick Grucela, “and today we had none, so we played a very clean game.” Acton-Boxborough’s, Brian Bowler, hit off an Alex Gutwillg pitch, nailing a two-run double deep into center field in the bottom of the second. Thulani Denaro scored from third and Devin Santilli from first base, putting A-B (1-2) ahead two to none. The team added its third score in the bottom of the fifth, again against Gutwillg, when Jared Tamulynas ran across the plate from a …
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Acton High School band heading to the big leagues.
Two weeks ago, Acton-Boxborough junior Colin McKinley got an “out-of-the-blue” phone call from a public relations director representing the Berklee College of Music, inquiring if his band, Stereo Bliss, would be interested in performing in a competition dubbed “The Berklee College of Music Battle of the High School Bands.” “They just called my phone and said they heard about our band and heard that we are really talented and was hoping that we would be able to play their competition,” said McKinley. The competition will take place in Boston at the Middle East rock club Sunday, April 17, and will feature high school bands from the New England area. Tickets are $12 and Stereo Bliss will open the show at 1 p.m. Stereo Bliss is made up of a …
Monday, April 4, 2011
The ABRHS Science Team came in first place at the Framingham State Science Olympiad competition. The team will be heading to Wisconsin for the national competition in May.
The Acton-Boxborough Science Team is heading to the University of Wisconsin to compete in the National Science Olympiad May 19 – 22. The team placed first on Saturday, March 19, at the Massachusetts Science Olympiad at Framingham State University. The team of 20 students, coached by Biology teacher, Brian Dempsey, competed against 41 other teams in the state Olympiad and took home first place in 10 events. What is the Science Olympiad? The Science Olympiad, a nonprofit organization interesting in exciting k-12 students in science, has designed the National Science Olympiad as a way to teach students to become better problem solvers in a competitive setting by encouraging cooperative team scenarios. Team members work together to build, …
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Local theater, school committee meeting, free fitness and live jazz.
School Committee: 1). The Acton/Acton-Boxborough School Committees Negotiations Subcommittee: Public Hearing on Acton Public School Choice Program will meet at 8 a.m. at the R.J. Grey Junior High School. Theater: 2). The Open Door Theatre presents: Once on this Island. The play will take place at 2:30 p.m. at the R.J. Grey Junior High School. Free Fitness: 3). The Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Fitness Center will have free admission from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Evening Entertainment: 4). Johnny Hoy and The Bluefish--Dance Party will perform at the Acton Jazz Cafe at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15. Science Museum: 5). Head over to the Science Museums for NanoScience with Brandeis University. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., meet members of the Brandeis …
Friday, April 1, 2011
It's April Fool's Day. Got any good trick planned?
April Fools Day: 1). Well, today is April Fool's and we have some snow on the ground. What a silly joke. If you have any fun and interesting April Fools stories, share them with our readers by leaving a comment below. Meetings: 2). The Open Space Committee will meet from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in room 126 of the Town Hall. 3). The SPED Advocates Meeting will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Conference Room of the Acton Memorial Library. Sports: 4). Click here for the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Games going on today. Evening Entertainment: 5). The Open Door Theatre presents: Once on this Island. The play will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the R.J. Grey Junior High School.
Elizabeth Krol
12:23 am on Saturday, September 8, 2012
Could someone please inform us how the elimination of the half team meets the needs of students? Thank you. more ›