Student Feature Friday: Melissa Wojnowski Honored at Worcester County Superintendents' Association Scholars Luncheon

WCSA Honoree Melissa Wojnowski
with Mr. Clements and Dr. Maruszczak

On Tuesday afternoon Dr. Maruszczak and I had the privilege of attending the annual Worcester County Superintendents' Association Scholars' Luncheon to honor some of the top achieving students in Central Massachusetts. We were joined by Nipmuc's representative and honoree, senior Melissa Wojnowski. Melissa is a phenomenal student who has earned a place as one of the top achievers in the Class of 2015. She has excelled in all of her academics at Nipmuc, including her participation in eight Advanced Placement courses. She is the recipient of the Bausch and Lomb Science Award, the Columbia Book Award, and has been recognized as an AP Scholar. In addition to her academic achievements, Melissa has received the Girl Scout Silver Award, participated in Camp Reach through WPI, and was part of a World Challenge Expedition to Ecuador. She has also summited the peak of Mt. Rumiñahui (15,489ft.) in Cotopaxi National Park in Ecuador. She is diligent, ambitious, humble, and personable. I was proud to have her serve as Nipmuc's representative.

Held at The College of the Holy Cross, the luncheon provided the chance for honored students from each high school to be recognized and awarded a gift. In the program each student printed a favorite quote. Melissa's quote came from Abraham Lincoln and stated, "Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition." Fitting words from someone who is truly worthy of this honor.

Included below is my interview with Melissa:

Q: What subjects/disciplines are most interesting to you?
A:  Biomedical engineering is something in which I have always been interested academically (biology being one of my favorite scholastic subjects).  However, I have since been inspired to love not just biology, but the biographies that accompany it, and I want to pursue biomedical engineering to give people the biological opportunity to live life fully, pursue their passions, and in doing so continue their own biographies.

Q: What colleges are at the top of your list for next year?
A:  WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) has been my dream school since the sixth grade. However, if I am fortunate enough to be accepted to my reach schools (Duke and Brown) both have very enthusiastic and individualized biomedical engineering programs which I would seriously consider alongside that which is offered by WPI.

Q: What does it mean to you to be honored by the Worcester County Superintendents’ Association with this honor?
A:  Receiving such an honor from the Worcester County Superintendents' Association means a great deal to me; I deeply appreciate the recognition of my devotion to studies, and even more so appreciate the opportunity to represent the district.

Q: What was the most memorable part of the event?
A:  For me, the most memorable part of the event was the reading of the honorees' biographies as they were recognized, specifically the parts which addressed the students' non-scholastic passions and feats.  It gave a personal depth to the of the honorees and reminded me of how significant our passions are in defining not just the scholars as which we were being recognized, but furthermore the people we have and will continue to become.

Announcements January 5 - 9, 2015

Morning Announcements
Ski Club is cancelled today - Wednesday, 1/7 - due to inclement weather.  The next trip is Wednesday, January 14th.

Have you thanked a veteran recently?  Here's your chance!  Notecards for veterans at the Massachusetts Soldier's Home are being collected in the main office.  Make one at home and bring it in or stop by the media center this Friday, 1/9, during breaks and make one there.  All materials will be provided.  Questions can be directed to Dean Sheehan.

Attention NHS members - the following meetings are mandatory. 

• NHS E-board Meeting - tomorrow, Wednesday, 1/7. 
• NHS monthly meeting - Thursday, 1/8

Attention Nipmuc Ski Club Members! There will be a mandatory student informational meeting held tomorrow, January 6th at 2 p.m. in the cafeteria.  You must attend this meeting to be prepared for the first ski trip on Wednesday, January 7th.

Did you know that Nipmuc DECA has a Twitter page?  What about an Instagram?  Follow us  @nipmucdeca on Instagram and @nipmuc_deca on Twitter and come down to the school store and receive a free Nipmuc DECA wrist band. 

Attention any boys interested in playing lacrosse this spring. There is a meeting right after school today (1/5) in Mr. Merten's room, B334.  See Jacob Hess, Charlie Ciantra, or Pat Carey with any questions.

News from the Athletic Department
It's a busy week for the boys and girls basketball teams -
Tonight (1/5) Boys vs. Grafton
Wednesday (1/7) Girls vs. Douglas
Friday (1/9) Girls vs. BMR
Sunday (1/11) Girls vs. Northbridge at 1 & 2:30
Come support the teams!

Help Wanted - Nipmuc STEM Alumni Fair

Please review the following message to Nipmuc alums who are studying or working in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics. We'd love to have you visit us to support our students!

Dear Nipmuc Alums - 

I’m excited to contact you regarding Nipmuc’s STEM Scholars Program. Last year Nipmuc began a program that provides students with collegiate and professional STEM learning experiences. As part of this year’s program, we are looking to connect our students with recent Nipmuc grads involved with STEM who can share their experiences in colleges and universities. 

On January 8 from 5pm – 7pm, we are holding a STEM Alumni Fair at Nipmuc to give you the chance to share your experiences. Take this opportunity to help our students by talking about what it takes to be ready for college, introducing our students to your field of study, sharing important information about college, and answering their questions about life after Nipmuc. 

The event will include a casual, fair-like setting during which Nipmuc students will introduce themselves and ask you about your experience in college and/or workplace. The second hour of the fair will include panel presentations (for those graduates who are interested) to explore topics in more depth. 

Please complete this form if you are able to help. 

Email me directly with any questions. Also, feel free to share this with other Nipmuc grads! More information about the STEM Scholars Program can be found here. 

Thank you for your support!  

John K. Clements

Principal 

Nipmuc Regional High School

@NipmucNews

Please complete this form to participate:

 

Feature Friday: Charlie Ciantra and Chelsea Gorius

Nipmuc's DECA volunteers with faculty members
Ryan Cody and Gary Perras

If you've read my "Feature Friday" posts, you know how impressed I am with the range of accomplishments of our students. One of the areas that is most impressive is the capacity of our students and their volunteer efforts. At any given time there are more than ten student-run fundraisers, community-building events, or volunteer campaigns being run by students. As the scope of their projects grows, so too does their positive impact on others.

The most recent example of this excellence in volunteerism is the DECA Volleyball Lock-in event that benefits pancreatic cancer awareness and research. Now in its 4th year, the all night volleyball tournament is as successful as ever. Organized by students to raise funds and awareness to fight pancreatic cancer, the event is also one of the highlights of our students' school year.

After weeks of planning, last Friday seniors Charlie Ciantra and Chelsea Gorius ran this overnight event for approximately 300 Nipmuc students. With support from parents, local businesses, and faculty chaperones, the students played volleyball, enjoyed great food, watched movies, and had a great time for a wonderful cause. Through their efforts the event raised more than $2,000.

I asked Charlie and Chelsea to talk to me about the event and what it means to them.

Charlie Ciantra

Q. How did you become involved with this event? What is its significance to you? 
A. I got involved with this event my sophomore year. That year my sister was running it as a DECA project and decided she wanted to hand it off to me. This project had gone to the international competition twice and I had huge shoes to fill. As my partners I picked Jacob Hess and Lauren Campbell.  We worked tirelessly on this project and even added a second event to it - a tournament for the middle school students. When the state competition came we gave it our all, but sadly lost. After that we decided the project had run its course but that we could still do a Lock- In as a fundraiser for DECA and donate 25% of the proceeds to PanCan (A group that supports pancreatic Cancer research). 

    This event has significance in my life. Personally I don't have any family members who have passed away from pancreatic cancer, but I have had family members pass away from other cancers. From that experience I know that it is an extremely difficult process to go through. That is the reason you do these events - to raise money and be able to help the families and the people who have this awful disease.

Q. What lessons about leadership and entrepreneurship did you learn through this organizing this event for two years? 

A. Through this project I have learned so many great skills that are going to help me with the rest of my life. These skills range from small, simple things to life lessons and skills that will help me in future careers. Some of the small things include:  how to write a business email, how to call companies and ask for donations, and how to set up meetings with people. These all seem like pretty basic tasks but when you actually have to do them they are a lot more complicated than expected. The bigger life lessons include leadership skills, public speaking skills and overall people skills. These skills are things that are going to help me be able to reach my goals in the future. 

Chelsea Gorius

Q.  What does this event mean to Nipmuc DECA? 
A.  This event is very important to Nipmuc DECA.  This event is easily the club’s biggest fundraiser.  The event has become such an anticipated event in the school so it is definitely important to DECA  members to make sure it runs smoothly.  We have to make sure it goes well not only because it is a form of advertising for DECA and for kids to join, but also because the event is geared toward spreading awareness for pancreatic cancer.  Even though it is such a large event for the school and the club, the awareness for Pancreatic Cancer that it brings is easily the main reason we enjoy holding it every year.  All of DECA e-board loves to host this event because of those reasons and everyone on e-board did an amazing job in getting this event ready, everyone did such a good job and I am so honored to be president this great group of people.

Q.    What is the greatest challenge and reward of running the DECA lock-in? 

A.     The greatest challenges of running the lock-in are keeping it organized.  Making sure the auditorium has movies set up, making sure the media center has enough things to keep kids busy, and making sure the volleyball games are running on a timely basis.  In previous years it was a struggle to make sure that the courts were always filled and that the tournament kept pushing forward.  This year we were able to make sure that games were always going on.   The greatest reward is seeing that we did it! That all of DECA e-board came together and put on this great event.  We were able to spread awareness about Pancreatic Cancer and make donations to help the cause.  In addition to that we were able to get more kids in the school, especially freshman, to become aware of DECA and hopefully increase our membership.  Knowing we did a good job though is definitely a reward, especially when people in the school come up to me, Charlie, or any other e-board member and tell us how much fun it was and how well organized it was.  The Nipmuc community is such a great place it makes putting on this event and all the hard work well worth it.

Announcements December 15 - 19, 2014

Morning Announcements
Tonight's varsity basketball game will be a white out!  Come to support our team and wear all white to show that support!

Did you know that Nipmuc DECA has a Twitter page?  What about Instagram?  Follow us @nipmudeca on Instagram and @nipmuc_deca on Twitter.  And come down to the school store and receive a FREE Nipmuc DECA wrist band! 

Attention Nipmuc Ski Club Members! There will be a MANDATORY student informational meeting held on Tuesday, January 6th at 2 p.m. in the cafeteria.  You must attend this meeting to be prepared for the first ski trip on Wednesday, January 7th.

Attention to all those who purchased candles through the Class of 2017 Yankee Candle fundraiser - The candles are in!  Please pick them up in Mrs. Moloney's room G311 as soon as possible.

All girls interested in trying out for softball this spring:  A meeting will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, 12/16, at 2:10 in room 114.  If you cannot make it, please see Mrs. Curtis in the media center Tuesday during your break.

National Honor Society potential candidates:  Service hours must be completed by 12/20 and portfolios are due on January 14th.

Service opportunities - Mr. Maloney needs help inputting names in a computer for a race.  The Warrior's Club needs concession stand workers.  Please see Mrs. Kyrka in room 217 to sign up.

There will be a donation box in the lobby until December 19th collecting children's books for homeless shelters in MA.  Please bring in any books in good condition to donate to this cause.

Hope and Comfort, Inc. and Nipmuc Junior Sarah Plutnicki are working together to create a toiletry drive for the United Parish Food Pantry in Upton.  Donations are appreciated.  The most needed items are:  soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper and tissues.  There is a donation box for items in the Nipmuc main office.  The deadline to donate is Monday, December 15th.  Please contact Sarah Plutnicki for more information about the drive.

Applications are available in the office and on the school website for the January Drivers Education Classroom Program.  Classes will be held beginning on January 13th on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. for 5 weeks.

News from the Athletic Department
Show your Warrior Spirit! 

To show our appreciation for the fantastic support for our football, boys' and girls' soccer teams in the playoffs - the admission fee for the first four basketball games.  Thursday, 12/18 through Friday, January 2nd will be $1 with student I.D.!!

Basketball game times this year - JV start is 5 p.m. and varisty is 6:30 p.m. 

The athletic department will be collecting nonperishable food items (to be donated to a local food bank) during the month of December. 



School Counseling Center Announcements

Seniors, every year Nipmuc seniors have the opportunity to apply for thousands of dollars worth of scholarships. Start checking Naviance regularly for information about available scholarships and see Mrs. Hefez if you have any questions.

If you would like to train to become a lifeguard or would like a job as a lifeguard, please stop by the School Counseling Center for more details. You can make as much as $550/week!!

There will be a representative from the University of Hartford here today - Monday, December 15^th at 8:30 in the Gathering Room. Please sign up in the School Counseling Center if you are interested in attending.

A representative from Lincoln Technical Institute will be here on Thursday, December 18^th at 10:30 in the Gathering Room. Please sign up in the School Counseling Center if you are interested in attending.

All students are reminded to check out the school counseling blog for information on college open houses, SAT/ACT information and general SCC announcements.