Taking on the AP Challenge

Juniors Krystina SanSoucie,
Meaghan Roche, Morgan Poe, and
Nicole Scott discuss a passage
in an AP Language and
Composition session.

As students registered for their classes during the spring of 2011, they were often reminded of the benefits of taking courses that would challenge them. Likewise, teachers and counselors also told our students that if they chose a rigorous course of study, they should be prepared to make a true commitment to those classes. On Saturday morning, 50 students in Advanced Placement English classes stepped up to that challenge.

Arriving at Nipmuc at 7am on Saturday morning, these students resisted the urge to sleep late or take the morning off in favor of taking part in a day-long study session. As part of the grant received from the Massachusetts Math and Science Initiative, students in Advanced Placement English, math, and science courses are offered three Saturday study sessions to help prepare them for the course-ending test. These sessions, provided in collaboration with Marlboro High School, Blackstone Valley Technical High School, and Milford High School, allow our students a chance to collaborate with students and teachers from different schools in an effort to improve their preparation for the test.

As we boarded the bus on Saturday morning to head to Marlboro High School, I was very proud to see the energy and determination of Nipmuc's students. Joined by English teachers - Mrs. Kyrka and Mr. Michael Clements - the students worked diligently through four sessions on topics ranging from test-taking strategies to rhetorical devices to writing an effective argument.

As always, I was proud of the way our students represented our school. The quality of their questions, the insight of their comments, and their willingness to collaborate were a great representation of the high quality work they do each day at our school.