Laker Nation News - 12-15-23
Laker Nation is a busy place as we wrap up the year 2023. We honor 54 members of the class of 2024 who have qualified for the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship, which pays tuition for four years in a Massachusetts state college or university. These students qualified through their exemplary academic performance on state MCAS tests in their high school career. Congratulations!!
This past Monday, students in the Art of Healthy Living and Psychology paired up for a collaborative project, Art Therapy. Former graduate, Amanda Medas, spoke with students via zoom about her education and her background as an art therapist and shared dome methods she incorporates into her practice. Students were exposed to the benefits of art therapy both in the presentation and with a pinch pot project in which they used clay to create their pot and incorporated symbols of personality and future career plans.
Congratulations to Morgan Hayward, the recipient of the Superintendent’s Award for Excellence and the Francis W. Gallishaw Scholarship. The event was held at UMASS Dartmouth and she was honored with other award winners in the schools of the South Coast Education Collaborative.
The holiday cheer continues with a holiday spirit week! Celebrate with us by dressing up for the following days.
Monday - Holiday PJ Day
Tuesday - Grinch day
Wednesday - Ugly Sweater Day
Thursday - Heatmiser vs Snowmiser Day, wear summer clothes or bundle up in winter clothes
Friday - Holiday Hat Day
158 of our DECA students will be attending the District 8 DECA Conference on January 4th and 5th. They completed their first part of the competition at school on Tuesday with a 100 question multiple choice exam based on their business category. They will complete their role plays in Hyannis to attempt to qualify for the State competition in March. We wish them all the best!
Spring Musical: It has been announced and all Dancing Queens rejoice; the Apponequet Players will be performing Mamma Mia for this year’s spring musical! Auditions are Monday December 18th and Tuesday December 19th at 2:30 pm in the auditorium. All are Welcome!
December Holidays:
We have been celebrating December by sharing facts about the major holidays of the month. Last week we honored and shared knowledge about Hanukkah through our morning announcements and digital signage. This week we feature the Christmas celebration. A few facts shared:
Christmas is a Christian festival that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe was the son of God. For most people, it takes place every year on 25 December - the day that the Roman Catholic Church chose to mark Jesus’ birthday. But, in fact, no one actually knows the exact date Jesus was born! Orthodox Christians, such as in Russia, the Ukraine and Romania, and Greece, Christmas Day falls on 7 January.
You’ve heard of Santa but - there are many more around the world! In Italy, for example, a kind witch called La Befana is said to fly around on a broomstick delivering toys to children! And in Iceland, children leave shoes under the window for 13 mischievous trolls called the Yule Lads. If the child has been good, they’ll find sweets in their shoes - but if they’ve been bad, the Yule lads will leave them a rotten potato! And in Austria, Krampus, the half-man, half-goat comes around to drag the bad ones away.
Trivia: (see answers at the end) Quiz your students- they should know!
What is the highest grossing Christmas film of all time?
All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas would equal how many gifts?
The first song played in space, in 1965, was a Xmas song.
What colorful and frustrating toy was the largest selling Christmas toy in 1980, sold for $1.99, but now sells for nearly $10.
Next week will feature facts about the celebration of Kwanzaa.
Winter Concert
The LIFE Club Leadership Team attended the Youth Summit 2023 hosted by the Special Olympics MA/Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools. This event allowed the LIFE leaders to meet and engage in meaningful discussions with other unified sports and inclusive club leaders from across the state. Youth leaders were able to share ideas about their school culture, how to be an effective leader, and how to create action and advocacy. Special guest speaker James Day Keith, starring in the movie Champions, spoke about how his participation in unified sports and clubs empowered him to achieve great accomplishments. Everyone in attendance had a wonderful time and bonded over their shared desire to make their school and the world a more inclusive place for everyone. Saty tuned- the LIFE Club will be hosting a movie night of Champions in January!
Core Value Recipients:
Ryan Levesque - Honor
Henry Svirtunas - Honor
Aneil Barnick - Achievement
Shahin Zakeri - Random Act of Kindness
Joey Cannizzaro - Honor
James Cook - Honor
Jayson Morin - Achievement
Tristyn Dockendorff - Random Act of Kindness
Aiden McNeil - Honor
Luis DeJesus - Resilience
Lily Rogers - Random Act of Kindness
Molly McCarthy - Random Act of Kindness
Lily Bertoncini - Honor
Olivia Pereira - Honor
Amelia Turner - Honor
Collin McNaught - Honor
Judson Cardinali - Achievement
Julian Raposo - Achievement
Logan Moniz - Achievement
Sophia Munroe - Achievement
William Sergio - Resilience
Here is a list of clubs to join:
Student Government (class)
Student Council - J. Solomon, L. Mordini
Art, Share, Travel Club - K. Lima
Chorus/Select Choirs - E. Ledwith
DECA - F. Rosa, J. Cronin
LIFE (Lakers) - N. Briggs
Environmental Club - K. Marshall
Game Club/SHAPE - J. Giorlando
GSA (Gay/Straight Alliance) - K. Desrosiers
Math Team - S. Pacheco
NHS (National Honor Society)-by invite - B. Ferreira
Tech and Engineering Club - J. Mare
Unified Basketball - N. Briggs
Yearbook - K. Desrosiers
All Booked at Apponequet - J. O’Brien
*Debate Club - M. Macek- New!
* Programming - coming soon
Events and opportunities
We are so grateful for your support of the Laker Care Closet which stocks items for students with unmet needs or unexpected "situations" so that they may be able to better focus on school and achieve.
Please visit our regularly updated wishlist for needed items!
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2EJ3DPB697U1O?ref_=wl_share
Varsity Winter Sports Standings: Boys Basketball 0-1-0, Girls Basketball 2-1-0 , Boys Swim 0-1-0, Girls Swim 1-0-0, Boys Ice Hockey 0-2-0, Girls Ice Hockey 1-0-0, Boys Indoor Track 0-0-0 and Girls Indoor Track 0-0-0.
Please check www.southcoastconference.org for all of our contest schedules and join us for exciting competition and please see the daily announcements on the ARHS website for shoutouts to our students.
Student dismissal: Please visit freelake.org and choose the Apponequet website. Click on the “ARHS Parent Dismissal button” and complete the form to dismiss your student.
Reminder of Driving Instructions for Parents/Guardians
Drop Off - The school opens at 7:00 am and students are supervised in the Lecture Hall until the bell rings at 7:30 am.
Please note that both entrances are open for drop off this year. Vehicles must exit by the same side as they entered and are cautioned to drive carefully as our student drivers enter the building from the parking lot. Please contact the Main Office or SRO Bartholomew with any questions.
Pick Up - We continue to ask parents and guardians to park when arriving for pick up to ensure that cars do not block the bus lanes and Howland Road. If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Main Office or SRO Bartholomew.
Upcoming Dates:
December 22- Half-Day
Accidentally wandered onto the island of Lord of the Flies in Grade 9 English!
Then wandered into the path of the motion detectors in Honors Physics as they replicated velocity to graphs
Trivia Answers:
What is the highest grossing Christmas film of all time? The Grinch (2018)
All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas would equal how many gifts? (364)
The first song played in space, in 1965, was a Xmas song. (Jingle Bells)
What colorful and frustrating toy was the largest selling Christmas toy in 1980, sold for $1.99, but now sells for nearly $10. (Rubik’s Cube)