Ashland November 2016

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Page 16 Local Town Pages www.ashlandtownnews.com November 2016 Breaking the Barriers By Neha Shabeer, Sophomore, Ashland High School President and Co-founder, Breaking the Barriers Every day we are faced with barriers: walls of prejudice others put up, bricks that we build around ourselves setting our own limits and the glass box society places upon us. Now there is a new Ashland High School (AHS) club, Breaking the Barriers (BTB), which focuses on destroying these invisible walls in the Ashland community. $ CLEANOUT COUPON 25 ONE COUPON PER CLEANOUT. *$100 MINIMUM. $ OFF 25 OFF We load & take everything! JUNK it N W!US ® PRO-JUNK-REMOVAL We junk cars, *ONE ITEM OR MULTIPLE TRUCK LOADS* trucks, vans, “We empty - the Junk Bag” boats, RVs, (3 cubic yards) Call for Price Buy at store – Fill it – We empty & Leave it campers, etc… Homes • Apartments • Businesses • Yard waste Pools • Boilers • Hot Tubs • Sheds Removed • Appliances toll free * Fully Insured * Call Tom Cassidy $ 25 1-855-533-JUNK (5865) $ OFF 25 OFF 1-508-308-2279 (Cell) www.junkitnow.us What is BTB? BTB is a community service and leadership club supported by Drug Free Communities (DFC) funding, inspiring youth to make healthy choices and giving them the skills to become a leader. The goal of the club is to shatter the stereotypical mold of complacent teenagers and make a positive change in the lives of students through service activities and leadership. The main events for the club’s first year include conducting a leadership program with the Mindess Student Council, planning a regional youth summit with the Metrowest Substance Abuse Prevention Alliance, volunteering at PTOsponsored Kids Night Out, and attending the one-week CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) conference in Washington D.C. As the youth sector of the Decisions at Every Turn (DAET) Coalition, members will also be attending DAET meetings, dedicated to creating a safe and healthy Ashland by preventing and solving problems that lead to youth substance abuse. Additionally, BTB will assist with the AHS Student Taking a Noble Direction (STAND) positive social norms campaign. BTB has a very busy and fun year planned and has sights set on having a leadership summit for AHS students and a workshop with Girl Scouts in the future. Pushing Through Barriers Although, as president and co-founder of BTB, I can say that our path to becoming a fully established club wasn’t easy. We faced our own hurdles and barriers, which we pushed through. In June, we proposed the name of our club to be STAND (after the Students Taking a Noble Direction campaign) at a DEAT meeting, and it was shut down due to various issues. Not succumbing to defeat, we began brainstorming new club names. After a tight race between Breaking the Barriers BTB founders (Photo/submitted) and the Positivity Pandas, Breaking the Barriers, thankfully, won. This new name represents our redefined vision for our leadership and community service-oriented club. An afternoon of glue, glitter and construction paper later, we had created our first Club Fair poster for the freshmen orientations held last June and August. At those two orientations, we received 38 emails from prospective members. From there, countless emails were exchanged between DEAT leaders, AHS administration and BTB club founders over the course of the summer. Soon it was time to put aside administrative work and make the club official! We had several founders’ meetings to outline our club constitution, meetings with DAET heads to discuss the vision of the club, and a search for a qualified and passionate faculty advisor. Once all of that work was done, it was time for the real battle: publicizing the new club. Marketing the New Club From speaking at the homecoming rally, to sneakily hanging posters on the back of bathroom stall doors for forced viewership, to being on the morning announcements, we were practically a marketing team. On our posters we advertised food at all meetings, building a youth leadership program, taking a week-long trip to D.C., and community service at every meeting and event. Our publicity worked! We had our first official club meeting on Oct. 5 with around 40 students attending! The involvement was incredible, and we hope to see all those faces again. We are a new, growing club always looking for different opinions, so we always welcome new members. I believe that this is going to be the beginning of many successful years for BTB, and hope that our story inspires others to do what they are passionate about. I would like to thank the other five founders of the club: Haley Boccuzzi (BTB publicist), Liz Cahill, Selma Chamime, Stephanie Moscaritolo and Annabelle Rutherford (BTB secretary). A special shout out to the amazing women at DEAT who have tirelessly helped us throughout this process: Elizabeth Byrnes, Betsy Emberly, Kristen French and Amy Turncliff. Also thanks to our wonderful AHS Principal, Kelley St. Coeur, who has always supported us. Last but not least, a huge thank you to our advisor, Lindsay Hogan, who always lends a hand and a bright smile and listens to the ramblings of us crazy founders! Please feel free to contact me at shabeerneh@ashland.k12.ma.us for any questions or comments about BTB. For more about the world through my eyes, keep reading my monthly column :) Thanksgiving Day Feast 2016 TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING BUFFET Served 12:00PM - 5:00PM $28.95* Adults $16.95* Children Seatings: 12:00pm/12:30pm 1:00pm/2:00pm 2:30pm/3:00pm EARLY BIRD THANKSGIVING BRUNCH Served 10:00AM - 12:00PM $22.95* Adults $14.95* Children Seatings: 10:00am/10:30am 11:00am *Prices do not include tax, beverage or gratuity 20 Pleasant Street, Millis, MA 02054 www.caffeprimavera.com • 508-376-2026 John’s family owned and operated for 45 years Birkenstock repair center Superior Shoe & Boot Repair 21E CharlEs strEEt, holliston, Ma 01746 839a Main strEEt (rt. 20), WalthaM, Ma CErtifiED in PEDorthiCs/orthoPEDiC shoE MoDs sPECializing in laDiEs high hEEl tiP rEPlaCEMEnt tall Horse riding Boot Zipper specialist www.superiorshoerepair.com John ElhiloW, C.PED, o.s.t. (508) 429-2038 Happy Thanksgiving
November 2016 Local Town Pages www.ashlandtownnews.com Page 17 AHS Names Commended Students for 2017 Front row (l to r): Jennifer McMahon (guidance counselor), Kelley St. Coeur (principal), Abigail Kidson, Haley Rao, Caitlin Keaveny, Jessica Moses, Kristen Mahoney, Jessica Wright and Beverly Chase (guidance counselor). Back row: Julia Doucette, Colin Dunn, Zachary Greenstein, Bradley Colarusso, Adela Lin, Brian Garrigan (guidance counselor) and Cory McGann (guidance counselor). (Photo/submitted) Ashland High School Principal Kelley St. Coeur announced that the following students have been named Commended Students in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program: Bradley Colarusso, Julia Doucette, Colin Dunn, Zachary Greenstein, Caitlin Keaveny, Abigail Kidson, Adela Lin, Kristen Mahoney, Jessica Moses, Haley Rao and Jessica Wright. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, was presented to these scholastically talented students by Principal St. Coeur and their guidance counselors on September 20. Approximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2017 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of the more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2017 competition by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSATNMSQT). “The young men and women named Commended Students are some of the most academically gifted at Ashland High School and their accomplishments reach far beyond the NMSC,” St. Coeur said. “This is the largest group of Commended students I can remember in my time at AHS. I am proud of their academic achievement and what each of them brings to Ashland High School each day. I have no doubt these young adults have bright futures ahead of them.” Finding the Hope PLEASE RECYCLE By Rev. Larry Iannetti, Pastor, Federated Church of Ashland A little more than a generation or two ago, the world seemed much bigger than it does today. News and images of what was happening in far off places took days and sometimes weeks, to reach us. Newspapers were our primary sources of information, with occasional timely reports on the radio or on the evening news from the three major networks. Hurricanes, earthquakes and wars, political events, famines or floods, did not have the immediate impact then that they do today because they seemed so far away. Today, we receive live media streaming on our televisions, computers, smart phones and even our wrist devices. We get live coverage of the aftermath of hurricane Matthew as it devastates Haiti, images of bleeding children whose parents’ have been killed in Aleppo, Syria, the aftermath images of missile exchanges between Israel and Palestine, a Tsunami hitting the coast of Japan and the melt down of a nuclear reactor. There was a time when danger and tragedy seemed much farther away than it does today. We are forced to come to the realization that the world seems to be a much more fragile place today than it once was. It is easy to understand why it might seem overwhelming and leave us feeling fearful, depressed and powerless. While it might be tempting to try and withdraw, to isolate ourselves as a nation, to grow weary worrying, and to become numb to the heartache and tragedy facing our neighbors in far off places and lands, we need to be careful we do not lose perspective. We need to become aware that for every tragic event there are heroes and heroines, people who rise to the occasion, selfless people who roll up their sleeves, console their neighbor, sacrifice themselves out of love and compassion for others. The volunteers who cleaned the shore birds along the Gulf coast, the medical professional and caregivers who nursed the injured after the marathon bombing, the countless volunteer church groups that helped rebuild New Orleans, the doctors without borders medical professionals who respond to need around the world, are all inspiring examples of the best of us. Humanity has great resilience, a determination to overcome adversity, to heal and mend, to rebuild and restore, and to begin again in the aftermath of great loss. While the media streams the news and images of death, destruction and tragedy, it does not offer us a complete picture, for it often leaves out the news and images of recovery, self-sacrifice, the faces of heroes and heroines who help to heal the world’s brokenness. Come be inspired and find the best in yourself and in others at the Federated Church of Ashland. We gather every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. We are located at 118 Main St., across from the Town Hall where there is plenty of parking. Classes offered in: Calculus Pre-Calculus High School Geometry Algebra I, II MATH 360 Who is Math360 for? A math learner who wants to learn from an experienced high school Math teacher Small classroom, big impact. Personalized attention. 508-309-6398 Math360us@gmail.com Gardener Plus Your old fashioned perennial gardener FALL & SPRING CLEAN-UPS Planting Pruning Weeding Mulching ~Call for our full list of services~ Washington Barbalho 508.881.2264 ASHLAND HANDYMAN TILE Detailed & Meticulous DECKS Reasonable Rates SIDING MARBLE Call Mauricio GUTTERS 508-202-8602 PAINTING KITCHENS BATHROOMS REMODELING POWER WASHING MA HIC.#169427
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Ashland November 2016

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