WESTFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
2016/2017
Student & Staff Accomplishments
PARCC/MCAS Results: Spring 2016
Percentage of Students Scoring Proficient or Higher
(District/State Comparison)
Grade-Span
Subject
District
State
3-8
3-8
3-8
HS
HS
HS
ELA
Math
Science
ELA
Math
Science
86
83
76.5
99
97
96
NA
NA
44
91
78
73
All Massachusetts schools and districts with sufficient data are classified into one of five accountability and assistance levels (1-5),
with the highest performing in Level 1 and lowest performing in Level 5. In general, a district is classified into the level of its lowest
performing school, unless the district was independently classified into Level 4 or 5 as a result of action by the Board of Elementary
and Secondary Education.
School
Abbot School
Day School
John A. Crisafulli School
Blanchard School
Stony Brook School
Westford Academy
Westford Public Schools
School Type
Elementary
Elementary
Elementary
Middle
Middle
High School
All
Accountability/Assistance Level
Level 1
Level 1
Level 1
Level 1
Level 1
Level 1
Level 1
ELEMENTARY
Nabnasset School
 During monthly community meetings, new RISE books were introduced. Classroom teachers received copies of the books to
facilitate discussions on Respect, Include, Safety and Encouragement.
 In honor of American Education Week in November, Nabnasset welcomed popular children’s author Renata Bowers. During
assemblies and classroom visits, Mrs. Bowers shared her Frieda B. book series. She reminded the students to dream big and bold,
that they are “free to be unique” and “have important stories to tell.”
 On Thursday, September 15th, the Nabnasset School participated in "International Dot Day," which celebrates the beautiful
picture book, The Dot by Peter Reynolds. Students wore dot-themed clothing to school on this special day, and explored the
story's powerful themes of bravery, creativity, and self-expression. Students and staff participated in activities and events
throughout the school day that were silly, creative, and unforgettable as the now classic book.
 The Nabnasset school community came together during the Race for Education on a brisk fall morning of fitness, fun and school
spirit. Students and staff members walked, jogged and ran as families cheered them on. Many students took breaks at the jump
rope station, hula hoop station and the dance station.
 This year’s Field Day theme is “I choose kindness, what's your superpower?" In order to prepare for this special day, Nabnasset
th
students participated in The Great Kindness Challenge from January 22 through February 18 by performing as many acts of
kindness as possible during that time. Students were given a “Kindness Calendar” and were encouraged to perform a special act
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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of kindness each day. At the end of each week, any student who performed at least one act of kindness received a personalized
"heart," which was used to form a giant rainbow that was displayed on a beautiful "Great Kindness Challenge" bulletin board
outside the gym.
Nabnasset after school clubs provided additional learning opportunities for our young students. Nabnasset expanded choices to
include: Mindful Kids Club, Sign Language Club, First Grade Book Club, Second Grade Book Club, First Grade Math Club, and
Second Grade Math Club.
The Nabnasset and Abbot School communities were brought together for a sister school Family Literacy Night on March 2, 2017.
Staff members facilitated small book discussion groups to talk about the book Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech. Over
100 participants also enjoyed a variety of culminating activities.
Extended Day Kindergarten students are participating in the Rainbow Snack program by the Healthy Kids Coalition. During weekly
visits to the classroom, volunteers “show and tell” featured vegetables and fruits. Each week brings a new adventure in a new
color.
Nabnasset First grade teachers enhanced the Sky Patterns Science unit by inviting The Museum of Science for an “in house” field
trip. Students enjoyed going inside the star labs to observe stars and planets.
Mrs. MacKinnon and Mrs. Reynolds created a Guidance Blog to share information and resources –
https://nabnassetguidance.blogspot.com.
Abbot School
 September kicked off with the Nabnasset and Abbot Teachers playing against the Harlem Wizards. This fundraising event raised
spirits and over $300O.00 in honor of Matthew Roberge.
 Nabnasset and Abbot students celebrated DOT Day – every student designed “their dot” and recognized the importance of each
individual.
 In November, every student participated in the Race for Education. The Abbot Community raised almost $13,000 for enrichment
programs, mini-grants for classroom teachers, iPads, and more.
 Abbot School teacher Ruth Freeman is piloting a MakerSpace Classroom. This model offers the teacher and students tremendous
opportunities for creative exploration and innovative approaches to demonstrating mastery and application of concepts. It is a
student centered, exciting, and inspirational approach to teaching and learning.
 Abbot teachers participated in Professional Development and a book study on Guided Math protocols. They are delving into the
Guided Math Model of teaching. This small group instruction model allows teachers to meet with all children for targeted
instruction. It allows students ample opportunities for enrichment math when specific skills are strong and for supports when
remediation or additional practice is needed.
 Abbot teachers and parents are offering students opportunities to extend their day by participating in before and after school
clubs. Club offerings include: Newspaper Club, Chess Club, Walking/jogging Club, Coding Club, Lego Club, and the Language Club.
 The Abbot School Store features a Compassion Corner each month. Students generously donate their change for various causes.
Students have contributed donations to the Westford Museum, 800 cans to the Westford Food Pantry, the Lowell Humane
Society, Birthday gifts for homeless children, funding for the Matt Davidopoulos Service Dog, and other community based
organizations.
 The January Pennies for Patients drive raised almost $2000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
 Over 50 Abbot students participate in Student Council. The council gives students a voice in developing a positive school culture,
policies, spirit days, and community action plans.
 In January, Pravar Mukkala won the Abbot Geography Bee and went on to represent the school in the regional competition.
Rita Edwards Miller School
 The Miller School held its annual Dance for A Cause on Friday September 30, 2016 and raised over 600 for the Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation.
 Evening events such as grade level Math & Science Nights and Bingo for Books were held throughout the fall and early winter.
 Miller School hosts two movie nights, one in the fall and a second in the spring. The children enjoyed watching The Minions and
Finding Dory.
 The K-5 elementary schools collaborated on the fundraiser Race for Education. Our school reached our goal of 10,000 and raised
$10.460. Because the children met our school goal Mr. Sardella and Mrs. Pobuk colored their hair purple! Money from this
fundraiser will support Arts & Education programs.
 A selection of Miller teachers volunteered to participate in an online book study group. The teachers read and discussed Jessica
Minnehan’s The Behavior Code.
 A Courtyard Spruce Up day was held on Saturday October 15. Parents, children and staff worked together to remove old brush
and branches, lay down mulch in the raised garden beds and dig an area for the spring butterfly garden.
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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 Miller and Day collaborated to offer the second Miller/Day Halloween Party. This was held on Friday October 29 at the Stony
Brook Middle School.
 The school hosted a well-attended Chinese New Year celebration on January 26, 2017 that was completely organized by parents.
During the evening there were craft projects for the children, plenty of food and traditional Chinese dance and musical
performances.
 Miller School held its first ever Sweetheart Dance on February 10, 2017 in commemoration of Valentine’s Day. Children invited a
special someone to this formal dance. There was a photo booth, plenty of dancing and a special cake.
 During Town Meeting Miller parent and author Mark Bowers read his newly published story, Sully the Squirrel Explores Boston.
Norman E. Day School
 The Day School raised $13,578 during school-wide Race For Education fundraiser.
 Grade four student Lexi Nolan volunteers with Forgotten Angels, a shelter for cats in Westford. In the past twelve months, she
has volunteered at adoption events, helped to organize several fundraisers, fostered seven cats and started the Meow Meow Kitty
Club, a group of children that offer cat-sitting services to raise funds for the organization. In 2016, her work helped raise more
than $3,700 for the Forgotten Angels shelter.
 Student Senate is sponsoring Special Olympics with students making a monetary donation to participate in a spring mini-Olympics
during designated recess time.
 Through selflessness and extreme generosity school collected 871 food items for the annual Food Drive in November with all
items donated to the Westford Food Pantry.
 In 2016, Day School was recognized as the 20th best elementary school in Massachusetts by schooldigger.com.
 Sanhita Lothe, Kaylee Moore, Addison Chandler and Andrew Tang attended New Student Orientation and provided insight relative
to their own experiences when they were new students to Westford and Day School.
 Grade Five Math Club finished in first place in On-line Math League Competition with a perfect score of 180 points.
 Grade five students Aakansh Mysore, Emily Sun and Amita Vellal each attained a perfect score upon completion of three On-line
Math League contests as part of the grade five Math Club.
 The top three scorers for the grade three and four Math Clubs after participation in the On-line Math League contests are:
Grade three- Hansen Shieh, Brian Cross, and Saanvi Jha & Grade four- Vivaan Chhabra, Emily Wang and Ananya Atri
 Grade five student Henry Longtin was crowned champion at the fifth annual Day School National Geography Bee.
 Students Tony Babineau, Jack Herrmann and Odin Scott were members of the Westford Pop Warner Football Jr. Ghosts D Team
that was undefeated and won the New England championship.
 Day School parents bllu Catalano and Nishitha Foster designed and offered an extended day Arts & Literature Club for interested
students.
 Grade four student Rithvik Senthilraja completed a persuasive essay convincing school administration to organize an extended day
Sports Club for 26 students participating in Basketball, Soccer and flag football coordinated by grade five teacher Laurie Hummer
and Teacher Assistant Diane Nolan.
 Twenty-one staff members participated in a “Lost At School” study group examining how best to support the needs of all students
within our inclusive school community.
 Math Interventionist Marjorie Masse recognized by Inspired2Educate, selected as recipient of the Inspire to Educate Award a
national program sponsored by the PeopleAdmin Company. Marjorie received a $1,000 honorarium and school will receive a
$1,000 grant to purchase materials and supplies.
 100 students participated in the annual STEM fair that featured the projects of 100 students who investigated scientific inquiry
questions or completed engineering projects.
 Kate Middlemiss from the Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation led a motivational assembly about the power of kindness. The
foundation donated books with themes of kindness to the Day School library. A Buddy Bench was donated to the Day School for
outdoor installation.
 Members of Ms. Morton's fifth grade class celebrated Valentine's Day writing individual messages of kindness to each Day School
student. Third, fourth, and fifth grade students were surprised by sticky notes on their lockers with messages such as "I have faith
in you and your dreams!" Students also went the extra mile writing personalized messages to each staff member in the building.
 Day School won second place in the Youth Division for its entry in the annual Westford Regency Festival of Trees. Students and
staff celebrated a week of kindness by challenging themselves to be mindful of doing random acts for others at home and school.
Each doily on the tree represented a kind act. Raised money to fund one of the weekly brunches hosted by the Joseph Middlemiss
Big Heart Foundation for parents and families of pediatric patients at Boston Children's Hospital. School Nurse Cheryl Carpenter
spearheaded the compassion project and Teacher Assistant Mary Agneta donated the tree.
 Day School third grader Clara Anderson and Miller School first grader Caden Anderson presented a $1,000 check for the Miller and
Day PTO. The generous donation was funded through the Cummings Properties Employee Directed Giving Program.
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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 Ten staff members volunteered to create a SEAT (Social Emotional Approach Team) with the mission statement: to identify and
implement consistent practice, supports and communication to enhance the development of student social and emotional wellbeing.
 Core Value poster contest winners:
Respect: grade five students Arya Vadassery and Rahi Patel
Responsibility: grade five student Nikhil Singh
Communication: grade five student Marisa Cline
Participation: grade five student Joshua Lawrence
 Nineteen staff members actively participated in the “Guided Math” study group examining this best practice in Math.
Col. John Robinson School
 Robinson School students organized and implemented several service-learning projects this year including: collecting donations
for the food pantry, hat and mitten drive, and the upcoming pet supply drive.
 Students participated in our first Race for Education, a fundraiser organized by our PTO to raise money for enrichment programs
and technology. Together we ran almost 500 miles as a school.
 Students and staff participated in school community projects such as coins for kindness, staff shout out, and thankful turkeys.
These projects promote kindness and our mission to create a nurturing environment.
 Students and staff participated in our annual Holiday Sing-a-Long in December.
 Second graders are preparing for their upcoming musical, “Colors: We're Better Together” on Friday, March 24, 2017 at 1:45. The
musical is about a box of crayons learning to get along.
 Pre-First and First graders are beginning to prepare for their upcoming musical “America: Of Thee We Sing" on Friday, May 5, 2017
at 1:45. This year the Cameron Music Makers Choir will join Robinson School students.
 Robinson and Crisafulli Schools will join together to host the Robifulli Springfest for families on May 11.
 Robinson School Field Day Committee has planned a full day of events based on “Theme Parks.” Students will participate in 14
different activities throughout the day.
 First grade students met regularly with fourth graders from Crisafulli to promote reading. Students from Crisafulli are paired
together with first graders where they read and complete projects together.
 Robinson School is excited to begin their second year of gardening thanks to Fresh Start Gardens. Robinson students will plant a
number of greens in April and will harvest them for consumption in our cafeteria this May.
 Teachers spent time during staff meetings learning more about Responsive Classroom and Morning Meeting to further support a
positive classroom and school environment
 The PTO has sponsored several enrichment activities such as Bubbleology and Movie Night. They also assisted with successful
fundraisers including Square 1 Art, Shoe Box Recycling, Book Fair, and Race for Education.
 Robinson School teachers hosted classroom teachers from Crisafulli in January to observe and share instructional practices related
to their implementation of Guided Math.
 As part of our CARE to Read program, the administration read four books throughout the school year to support our core values of
community, acceptance, responsibility and excellence. Each book emphasized a different core value.
 Robinson School launched a Facebook page in February to increase communication with families and the community of Westford.
To date, we have over 100 followers.
John A. Crisafulli School
 The composting program continues in all grade levels and the kitchen. Each day the students and kitchen staff put compostable
materials in a separate bucket to be collected by a volunteer who brings it to a local farm. We also continue with our recycling
efforts in the cafeteria and classrooms.
 The Student Council ran a successful compassion project from April to June, “Fill JAC’s House” Compassion Project. The students
and staff collected new and gently used blankets, towels and pet beds. The donations went to two local animal shelters
 The first “Race for Education” took place on November 23 at the Crisafulli School, along with the other K-5 schools in the district.
The funds raised will support technology (e.g., Chromebooks, iPads, etc.), enrichment programs, field trips, Book Room Books
(leveled library) and special events. Students walked around a designated area and had the opportunity to participate in other fun
activities such as hula hooping, dancing and resting. As a school community, we “raced” to celebrate our efforts towards the
funds we raised for our school and to show how appreciative we were to belong to a supportive community. We had a terrific
day!
 Each day we continue to have daily announcements, which are announced by office staff and students and include a “Daily Good.”
We have announced students who performed random acts of kindness, for example a student who have picked up the floor
during dismissal, helped another student during a fire alarm or holding the door for others and using kind and caring language.
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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We also compliment the accomplishments of our students who have participated in artistic performances such as concerts, plays
or readings. The staff also shares “Daily Goods” about each other to express their appreciation.
The students participate in monthly community meetings that focus on PAWS – Power of our Words, Acceptance of Others,
Willingness to Help Others and Self-Control. A literature book is read that supports PAWS and rich discussions take place to
reinforce the importance of being respectful community members. We have had student performances by the Student Council to
introduce our Community Compassion projects, a visit from Westford Academy students to share their thoughts on teamwork and
good sportsmanship and a visit from Safe Routes to School to focus on Bicycle Safety.
Six fourth grade classes at Crisafulli have continued with the Book Buddy Program with five first grade classrooms at Robinson
School. A great community connection!
The fifth grade play “The Wizard of OZ” is in production and we look forward to the June performances.
The Crisafulli School participated in the PTO “Shoe Box Recycling” and continues to collect “Box Tops for Education.”
The students at Crisafulli created cards for Veteran’s for a Veteran’s Day breakfast held at a local senior center.
Two Crisafulli Grade Five students were accepted and will participate in the Massachusetts All-State Treble Chorus.
Gardens came to JAC! Crisafulli worked with Fresh Start Food Gardens to have a raised bed garden installed at JAC. Two
additional gardens were installed at JAC through collaboration with Fresh Start Food Gardens, Lowell General Hospital and WPS.
The two additional gardens are being generously underwritten by Lowell General Hospital in their quest to promote healthy living.
We harvested kale, lettuce, chives, basil and 800 carrots. The produce was shared with our café staff, which created delicious,
treats for all of JAC. The gardens will continue in the Spring and Fall of 2017.
Grants were awarded at Crisafulli in the Fall of 2016
Melissa Quattrocchi received a USB SuperCharger for the art room from the Ipevo Corporation. It makes it possible for her to
charge 4 iPads simultaneously keep all iPads fully charged and ready to use in lessons.
The Crisafulli Staff donated 3 paper boxes of Halloween candy to Operation Shoebox, an organization that creates care packages
for our troops overseas.
In September the Crisafulli Community Meeting focused on accepting differences. The student’s listened to Giraffes Can’t Dance.
Students created a hash-tag (#) to share something unique about them.
The staff participated in half-day training by Dianne Walsh, LISW from Perkins Behavioral Health to focus on teaching strategies to
implement within their classrooms for elementary students who have been diagnosed with attention issues.
Crisafulli is taking Next-Generation MCAS (computer-based testing) during April and May. The staff will participate in school level
professional development for successful implementation of the new Next-Generation MCAS.
The Crisafulli and Robinson Schools will hold a fun fundraiser in May “Robifulli PTO Family Festival” to raise funds for technology
and the leveled book room.
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Blanchard Middle School
 The Blanchard School was ranked No. 9 of the “Best Public Middle Schools in Massachusetts” by Niche, which compiled
achievement scores, demographics, student and parent input.
 In the fall, Blanchard was featured as the #1 middle school in Massachusetts on msn.com.
 Eighth grade students Jamie Corr and Katelyn Ditto served as student representatives on the Blanchard School Advisory Council.
Thank you, Jamie and Katelyn, for providing a voice for the student body. Claire O’Brien was elected as a new parent
representative to the Blanchard School Advisory Council.
 Boston Celtic Kelly Olynyk surprised Blanchard sixth graders with a visit during the first week of school! Thank you to the Ross
family and Trevor Reid for making this memorable experience possible!
 Blanchard Peer Leaders, with advisors Lisa Searl and Jodie Voutselas, held a food drive which collected over 300 items for the
Westford Food Pantry.
 Blanchard Theatre Arts, under the direction of Mrs. Karen Sacco, hosted the annual Blanchard’s Got Talent in October and
performed Grease! to a sold out audience in December.
 Blanchard established a school Challenge Success team to discuss changes in practice that will promote student engagement. The
team is comprised of Tim Hislop, Melissa Moreau, Kelly Diette, Michelle Shenton, Kristen Warner, Paige Leone, Jennifer Vozzella,
and parent, Chris Sanders.
 The Rajiv Paluri Courtyard underwent extensive renovations thanks to a grant provided by the Doherty family. Donations were
also provided by Fletcher granite, Stony Brook Acres, and many Blanchard parents.
 The website schooldigger.com ranked Blanchard #2 of 468 middle schools in the state, following the release of the 2015-2016
PARCC and MCAS scores from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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 During the holiday season, Blanchard Peer Leaders donated 300 articles of clothing and blankets to local families through their
Blanket the Valley drive in partnership with the Lowell Wish Project.
 Several summer renovations enhanced the school facility, including: an expansion of the student fitness center, the creation of an
innovative new Guidance classroom, and the addition of new movable furniture to the learning commons.
 Blanchard Student Council partnered with local nonprofit, For the Love of Erika, for this year's holiday toy drive. Blanchard
provided the organization’s largest donation with 350 toys!
 Blanchard Peer Leaders held their second annual Paws for a Cause fundraiser to support The Humane Society and local animal
shelters.
 Michelle Shenton and Ken Bogacz visited Stony Brook School to conduct a guest lesson incorporating robots to teach data
collection and coding.
 Melissa Moreau, Danielle Hillenberg, Natalie Sandore, Jonathan Morgan, Kim Humphrey and Vicki Garino led professional
development workshops on various topics in mindfulness.
 Blanchard parents presented to sixth grade science classes on various topics in science, technology, and engineering in the real
world.
 Kelly Diette and Tim Hislop represented the middle schools on the District Curriculum Accommodation Plan Committee.
 Over 200 new young adult titles were added to the Blanchard library’s collection.
 Spanish Teacher Trish Brumbaugh was selected for the University of Chicago's Outstanding Educator Award. Teachers are selected
from hundreds of letters that students write about teachers who have changed their lives and taught them to re-imagine texts and
think beyond the borders of the classroom.
 Siobhan Waitr and Paula McNiff represented Blanchard on the district’s Homework Committee.
 Kathir Meyyappan was honored at John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth for his outstanding performance on a
college readiness exam as a seventh grader.
 Music teacher Debra Benschneider performed with the Boston Pops.
 Ken Bogacz, Michelle Shenton, and Karen Sacco presented at the MASSCue conference, where educators from across the state
gather to share innovative approaches to digital learning.
 Katherine Dawson, Leslie Moesta, Melissa Moreau, and Tim Hislop formed a study group to discuss best practices and procedures
in delivering multi-tiered interventions to struggling learners.
 Lori Swain, Derek Parker, Jenny Lawton, and Leslie Moesta obtained Safety Care certification.
 Through a donation from the MSPTO, a rock climbing wall was installed in the gymnasium. Physical Education Teacher Jonathan
Morgan completed an intensive rock climbing course through Project Adventure.
 Tricia Ward and Tim Hislop served on the district Educator Evaluation Committee.
 Kelly Diette, Melissa Moreau, Carolyn Jerzylo, and Tim Hislop presented “Legal Aspects and Best Practices in Special Education,
504, and RTI” to Blanchard staff.
 Karen Halley and Amy Bailey presented a professional development workshop, Strategies to Support English Language Learners,
to Blanchard faculty in the fall.
 Middlesex Partnership for Youth presented Navigating the Cyber World to students and parents in the fall.
 Guidance staff Katherine Dawson, Lisa Searl, Paige Leone, and Mrs. Jodie Voutselas coordinated with Massachusetts Aggression
Reduction Center to bring in speakers on the topic of bullying to address students in grades 6-8.
 The Blanchard Math Team, with coaches Kristen Warner and Michelle Shenton, advanced to the state level competition following
a first place finish at districts.
 Nancy Close accompanied a group of eighth grade STEM students to an engineering expo at Olin College.
 The annual December Round the World event featured performances from vocal, theatre, and foreign language students alongside
teachers Lizette Greaves, Karen Sacco, Trish Brumbaugh, Marie Paradis and Debra Benschneider.
 Mrs. Ottesen and members of the Orchestra performed a holiday courtyard performance for parents and staff. Visitors enjoyed
coffee and treats from treats from the student-run Garden Café.
 With help from Sustainable Westford, Project H2O students led by Lizette Greaves, raised funds to install a refillable water bottle
station at Blanchard.
 Blanchard nurse Charity MacDonald led the "Blanchard Has Heart" campaign during the month of February.
 Sixteen students performed in the Eastern District Music Festival this year! Close to 1000 students from the Eastern District
auditioned for the highly selective band, chorus, and orchestra ensembles. Congratulations to the following students chosen to
participate: Michael Chen, Joseph Gu, Luke Heitkamp, Jason Liang, Ivan Sung, Taylor Shea, Emma Brazinski, Olivia Dunn, Nathan
Ely, Diya Godavarti, Sreenidhi Kamal, Athena Lewin, Sarah Matthew, Marissa Sacco, Thomas Sanders, and Anika Saxena. We are
extremely proud of all of the students who prepared for this opportunity. Thank you Mrs. Ottesen, Mrs. Garino, and Mrs.
Benschneider!
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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 School Psychologist and certified Safety Care trainer, Melissa Moreau led professional development workshops for Blanchard staff
on research-based strategies that support positive interactions with all students.
 Charity MacDonald accompanied a group of Blanchard Students to the Massachusetts Brian Injury Associations Advocacy Day in
Boston.
 Megan Tierney was selected to serve as Westford's ambassador to Project 351, a statewide student service and leadership
initiative.
 During the first trimester, the Blanchard Honored Citizens program recognized the following students for modeling core values of
respect, opportunity, cooperation, kindness, and service: Nathan Bott, Audrey Masterson, William Roncone and Lillian Whitehead,
Kai Krishnan Arun Rajhesh, Sahar Kapasi, Peter Crosby, Nishita Appana, Lauren Whelan, Jackie Berk, and Kathir Meyyanappan,
Emma Brazinski, Ashley Enis, Catelyn Jarrett, Viraj Jayaraman, Ashjot Kaur, Danny McInerny, Kaitlyn Rybicki and Patrick Zheng.
 Aaditi Padhi placed first in the school-wide National Geographic Bee and advanced to the state competition.
 School Psychologist Melissa Moreau taught the University of Westford seminar Topics in Special Education.
 Carolyn Jerzylo and Allison Sartini served on the district Classroom of the Future Committee.
Stony Brook Middle School
 Stony Brook Student Council led a generous effort to collect non-perishable items for the Westford Food Pantry through their
“Can the Principals” campaign. They filled the offices of both Principal Dr. Chew and Assistant Principal Mr. McElhinney over a
three-week period leaving only their chairs uncovered with cans or boxes. The Lowell Sun did a wonderful feature article on their
work and the Westford Food Pantry presented them with a special certificate of appreciation.
 Stony Brook Student Council also collaborated with Faculty to develop a SB Creative day designed to take place later this spring.
During the event, students and teachers will co-teach mini-lessons in workshop environments and facilitate activities throughout
the building focusing on hobbies and special interests that are not typically included in the regular school day. Weather
permitting activities will take place both outside and inside and include topics like yoga, alternative individual and team sports,
chess and other critical thinking board games, origami and various other arts and crafts, and developing simple food recipes.
 The Service Learning Club has been working closely with Fresh Start Gardens to breathe new life into the Stony Brook Gardens.
Last spring, new beds were installed and the students have been working with local farmers from Fresh Start to nurture and
harvest wonderful produce that has been used in our cafeteria and featured regularly in our Tuesday Taste Test specials.
th
 8 grade Students Amy Jiang, Sithara Sonnathi, Elizabeth Padron, Alyssa Zhang, and Felicia Quan collaborated with Art teacher,
Ms. Siobhan Morris, and Physical Education teacher, Ms. Beth Gutteridge, to develop and create a beautiful mural of mountains
from around the world in our fitness center as the backdrop of our newly installed climbing wall.
 Stony Brook continues to see great success with its spring chapter of “Girls on the Run”. The Girls on the Run curriculum is
designed to address challenges and obstacles that can affect middle-school girls emotional and physical well-being. They are
addressed by empowering them to make thoughtful and healthy decisions. Girls are encouraged to examine and gain a better
understanding of who they are, and what is important to them. Once they have a deeper awareness of their individual values, we
look at the role of teams and healthy relationships. Lastly, the girls explore how they can positively connect with and shape the
world. Girls on the Run is a non-profit organization that inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experiencebased curriculum which creatively integrates running. This 12 week program combines training for a 5K running event with lesson
plans designed to promote positive choices and an active lifestyle. Due to our longstanding relationship with the organization they
sought us out as a potential site for the Spring 5K, which is the culminating event at the end of the season with all other GOTR
Teams throughout MA. We look forward to hosting this in the future. As in the past 2 seasons, this year’s GOTR group will be
invited to participate in the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) relay in Boston on Saturday, April 15th. This is an opportunity for
the girls to participate in a relay race allowing them to cross over the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
 Stony Brook Theater Arts produced a wonderful production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods in December to three packed
performances for the general public. Additionally, they were able to perform the 20-minute Prologue as a live trailer to each of
the grades during 3 separate assemblies prior to opening night. This spring, SBTA students are collaborating to present
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream as the Stony Brook entry in the METG Middle School One-Act festival.
 Stony Brook congratulates all music students who had the courage to audition for the MMEA Eastern District Music Festival
performance at this year at Lincoln-Sudbury High School. Over 1000 students from the Eastern District auditioned with only 472
of the students being accepted to participate in the band, chorus, or orchestra ensembles. The following Stony Brook students
were chosen to participate in this highly competitive music festival: (Orchestra) Daniel Hu, Kelly Kim, Jonathan Ran, and Alyssa
Zhang; (Band) Felicia Quan and Koko Xu; and (Chorus) Fabian Arnold, Katie Carlson, Lilly Carter, Richa Juvekar, Fiza Khan, Amanda
Moynihan, Cordelia Redmond, Caroline Riemer, Alex Ross, and Katy Stuparu.
 Nitish Kaza was recognized at a ceremony in October at Johns Hopkins University for his outstanding high achievement in
assessments that determine eligibility for participation in their Center for Talented Youth program.
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 Suraj Rajiv is Stony Brook’s 2017 National Geography Bee school champion. His exam score also qualified him as a semi-finalist for
the State level competition in April 2017.
 Twenty-four (24) students participated in the school-round MathCounts exam in January with the top ten scores advancing to
represent Stony Brook at the chapter level in February. Max Xu, Amy Jiang, Jiahong Xu, and Nitish Kaza were in the team
competition while Suraj Rajiv, Alpana Bakshi, Vamsi Vetsa, Evan Zhang, Divij Kunaparaju and Richa Juvekar represented Stony
Brook in the individual competitions. The Stony Brook team placed 3rd overall out of 19 teams in the Northeast Chapter Round
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and advanced to the 2017 Massachusetts MathCounts State Competition. During the State Competition, Stony Brook ranked 9
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place improving from last year’s 14 place. Max Xu ranked 17 in the individual state competition which is the best individual
result from Stony Brook in the last five years of participation.
 Stony Brook Librarian, Ms. Nicole Smith, has created an exciting and inviting MakerSpace area within our library called the
Innovation Lab. It is available to all students and many teachers have been able to bring classes to the space to kick start projects
or conduct mini-lessons expanding the strategies and opportunities throughout the building helping us to develop Stony Brook
School as maker-centered learning environment.
 Stony Brook Adjustment Counselor, Ms. Roberta Oehley, developed and will be presenting an evening program for Stony Brook
Families entitled “Your Digital Footprint: Making the best on-line choices." The presentation and discussion is scheduled for
March 30 from 6-7pm at Stony Brook and focuses on student's use of technology, Netiquette, safety, on-line reputation and the
various messages being sent.
HIGH SCHOOL
Westford Academy
 Class of 2017 - Valedictorian: Vennela Mannava & Salutatorian: Amanda Li
 Most Worthy Representatives
2016 Gregory Szypko, Hannah Rosenstein
2017 Max McGinty, Camille Desrochers
2018 Isaac Knight, Elizabeth Arnold
2019 Cameron Ditto, Julianne Lee
 Special Awards
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 Westford Academy was ranked 8 in the Niche 2017 Best School Districts in Boston Metro.
 2017 National Merit & Achievement Programs
Finalists: 9
Semi-finalists: 12
Commended: 40
National Hispanic Program: 3
 2016 AP Performance
In May 2016, 401 students took 780 AP exams in 17 subjects.
96.5% earned scores of 3 or better.
AP National Scholars: 13
AP Scholars with Distinction: 68
AP Scholars with Honors: 43
AP Scholars: 51
Business/DECA
 896 students from 10 local schools competed at UMass Lowell this winter. WA students won 24 out of 28 1st-place awards. There
was a possible 182 awards to win and WA students won 123 of them. We beat last year's record with a younger group. 170 WA
students qualified for the next round: DECA's State Career Development Conference being held at Boston's Marriott at Copley
Place on March 9-11. Approximately 4000 students from DECA clubs throughout Massachusetts will be competing to qualify and
represent the state at the International Competition held in Anaheim, CA in April.
Foreign Language
German:
 National German Examination 2017 Hall of Fame
 Westford Academy German students were recently informed of the results of the 2017 National German Examination given to
over 26,000 students nationally. This year was another great year for W.A. with a record number of awards: 54 students are
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eligible for a free trip to Germany; 65 students scored at or above 90 percentile; 98 students scored at or above the 80
percentile.
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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Students will be honored at the AATG (American Association of Teachers of German) Banquet in the Spring, and at the W.A.
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Foreign Language Awards Night in May. Students who scored at or above the 90 percentile are eligible for an all-expense paid
home-stay/study trip to Germany. The awarded students are: (these are percentiles, not percentages!)
 GERMAN V
Gold Medal (9 students): Carolyn Hitelman (99), Victoria Lee (98), Marie Levandier (97), Ryan Harm (95), Samantha Stettner (95),
Keely Craig (95), Jason Kottas (94), Kaleigh Kuehl (94), Claire Widmann (94)
Silver Medal (4 students): Liza Bernard (89), Logan Kuehl (89), Elizabeth Deloia (85), Brian Zhao (85)
 GERMAN IV
Gold Medal (6 students): Sean Doherty (99), Riky Luetjen (97), Sophie Wieselquist (92), Dominique Kaluscha (91), Sarah McKinley
(91), Tim Feehrer (90)
Silver Medal (7 students): Stephen Townsend (89), Ally McCabe (88), Ian Kim (85), Emily Crossley (82), Maxwell Kazman (81),
Philip Mrozinski (80), Matt Vlach (80)
 GERMAN III
Gold Medal (15 students): Jason Ward (99), Eamon Jorgensen (98), Marcos Acosta (98), Patrick Ward (97), Lily Geller (97), Renee
Sawka (96), Matt Mantenuto (95), Matt Doherty (94), Pratyusha Mulpur (94), Suzanne Levandier (93), Matt Anderson (92), Anya
Lamarre-Anderson (92), Quinton Center (92), Lindsay Blais (90), Caoimhe Chan (90)
Silver Medal (14 students): Max Gormley (88), Zoe Tatarka (88), Thomas Cutbill (87), Tommy Deluca (87), Charles Zhang (87),
Manning Gallant (86), Eunice Pak (86), Swetha Yalamanchili (86), Owen McGee (84), Deanna Schroeder (84), Kevin Bruskiewitz
(83), Quentin Proulx (83), Matt Tortora (81), Renee Owen (80)
 GERMAN II
Gold Medal (35 students): Sarah Schneller (99), Eva Plankey (99), Audrija Sarkar (99), Maia Bolko (99), Shannon Fletcher (99),
Elizabeth Engdahl (98), Sam Musante(98), Liam Sullivan (98), Matt Keefer (97), Jessica Liu (97), Zach Roberts (97), Lameem Akbor
(97), Breila O’Malley (97), Zoe McCarthy (96), Collin Pickersgill (96), Avery Gillett (96), Mukul Gore (96), Arnab Kirtania (96), Bryce
Fan (95), Michael Pristin (95), Anshu Punreddy (95), Hanna Westerheim (95), Declan Morse (94), Dan Stewart (94), Ali Walter
(94), Neha Kotagiri (93), Max Bombardieri (92), Colin McGinn (92), Soumya Vadicharla (92), Amelia Cohen (91), Zara Sarkar (91),
Hannah Seyffert (91), Dan Kogan (90), Jack Pappas (90), Josh Rosenstein (90)
Silver Medal (8 students): Rory Sullivan (88), Siri Westerheim (88), Lexi Krzywicki (87), Nathan Schmidt (87), Leo Kiefer (85),
Mason Tuomala (85), Lasya Dutta (83), Katie Hendl (83)
 Congratulations to these outstanding students and their Middle School and High School teachers Lizette Greaves, Colin Ashby,
Kristin Gillett, and Tim Welch.
History and Social Sciences
 Massachusetts History Day 2017 Winners: It is with great pride that we announce the winners of the Massachusetts History Day
competition that took place last Saturday, March 4th at two locations. Westford was represented at both- Blanchard Middle
School students competed in the Greater Boston competition at Stoneham High School and Westford Academy students in the
Northeast Division held at Beverly High School. This year’s theme was Taking a Stand in History. Our students successfully
represented how various historical figures took a stand and significantly impacted the course of history! The students who placed
on Saturday go onto District National History Day (NHD) competition being held at Stoneham High School on Saturday, April 1st
and winners of that competition qualify to compete at the national level held at the University of Maryland on June 11-15th, 2017.
Westford Academy’s entire NHD team placed this year! In the senior group performance category, Anisha Mathew and Emma
Couillard placed second for their presentation titled; Chicago's Reformer and America's Progressive: Jane Addams and Taking a
Stand for Women and Children. In the senior individual performance category, Kynza Khimani placed first for her performance
titled, Frida Kahlo: Taking a Stand Against Gender Norms. In the senior group website category, Reena Caplan and Katherine Hendl
placed third for their website titled, The United States Takes A Stand: The XYZ Affair. All these students did an amazing job of
illustrating independence, perseverance, intellectual curiosity and creativity in their efforts! We are proud of their efforts and look
forward to the districts in April! For more info, http://www.masshistoryday.com/
Science
 Students continue to score well on the Science, Technology, and Engineering MCAS with 68% at the advanced level compared to
29% at the state level and 96% proficient or higher compared to 73% at the state level. Our science, technology, and engineering
program at Westford Academy is strong and performs extraordinarily well compared to the state and quite well when compared
to our DCL neighbors.
 WA has expanded science department course offerings to include the study of environmental science, including Advanced
Placement Environmental Science.
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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 Medha Palnati, a member of the WA Science Team, took first place in the Dana Foundation Design a Brain Experiment
competition, an accomplishment that was awarded a $500 prize.
Visual and Performing Arts
Art
 Please join the Art Department in acknowledging the students listed below for their winning art entries in the Boston Globe Scholastic
Art & Writing Awards competition. This statewide competition offers students a chance to compete for awards designated GOLD KEY,
SILVER KEY and HONORABLE MENTION. Congratulations go out to the following: Priya Banerjee (SK, HM, HM), Allie Bohenko (HM),
Courtney Cadogan (GK), Antonio Cammalleri (GK, GK), Caroline Chaffiotte (SK, HM, HM), Shannon Chen (SK),
 Helen Copp (HM), Myles Cripanuk (HM), Meghan Donohue (SK), Joyce Downey (GK, GK, SK, HM), Cindy Huang (HM), Mohak Jain
(SK), Jason Jung (GK), Sana Kapasi (HM), Piper Marmion (HM), Ian Martel (HM), Forrest Meng (SK portfolio), Greg Montemurro
(HM), Gwen Morten (HM), Lisa Nakanishi (GK), Olivia Overington (GK), Gwen Riemer (HM), Lucia Shao (SK, HM), Claire Song (HM),
Katherine Walker (SK), Hannah Wang (HM) and Alice Yun (HM).
Music
 Westford Academy is sending nine students to the Eastern District Music Festival in March 2017 at Lincoln-Sudbury High School:
Shreya Bose and Timothy Ye (Band), Shannon Fletcher, Lexi Krzywicki and Lucy Xiao (Orchestra) and Zoe McCarthy, Nicole
Nightingale, Kayla Stone, and Megan Wagner (Chorus).
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 The following students will participate in the All State Music Festival held in Boston on March 9-11 :
 Jamie Cheng (Violin), John Crossley (Bass), Richard Davis (Viola), Hamsaa Kumar (Soprano), Marie Levandier (Soprano), Grace Pu
(Violin), Lucia Shao (Violin), Devon Whitney (Alto), Jessica Wong (Violin), Alex Zhang (Violin).
Theater Arts
 Westford Academy Theater Arts' production of FEN was named WINNER at the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild's
Preliminary Round held at Joseph Case High School this weekend. WATA will now perform at 3:30 PM on Saturday, March 18 at
the Semi Final Round held at Westford Academy.
 In addition to the production's advancement to the Semi Finals, eight Westford Academy Students were named to the ALL STAR
COMPANY including:
Maddie Corvino for EXCELLENCE IN ACTING for her roles of Boy, Geoffrey, Margaret, Vocalist & Guitarist
Emily Harde and Robin Miller for EXCELLENCE IN TECHINICAL DESIGN: PROPERTY DESIGN
Leah Donovan and Devin Payne for EXCELLENCE IN TECHNICAL DESIGN: LIGHTING DESIGN
Kaleigh Kuehl, Leah Donovan, and Sarah McKinley for EXCELLENCE IN TECHNICAL THEATER: SET DESIGN
Catherine Crimmins for EXCELLENCE IN ACTING for her roles as Japanese Businessman, Nell & May
Athletics
Spring 2016 Season
 Boys volleyball team claimed the 2016 MIAA North Sectional Championship for the first time in school history.
 Girls Tennis won the MIAA D1 North Sectional Championship.
 Boys lacrosse, girls lacrosse, boys and girls tennis, baseball, softball and boys volleyball all qualified for the MIAA postseason
tournament.
 Approximately 1,300 student athlete participants competed during the 2015-2016 school year at Westford Academy.
Fall 2016 Season
 Field Hockey, Boys Cross Country, and Cheerleading all won DCL Championships in the fall Season.
 Field hockey, girls volleyball, girls soccer, football, cross country all qualified for the MIAA tournament.
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 Football defeated Acton Boxboro for the 3 year in a row in the annual Thanksgiving rivalry game.
Winter 2016-2017 Season
 Girls Basketball, Girls Ice Hockey, Boys and Girls Swimming/Diving, Wrestling, Nordic Skiing, Alpine Skiing and Gymnastics all
qualified for the MIAA Tournament.
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 Girls Swimming and Diving Repeated as MIAA D1 State Champions. This is their 5 State Championship out of the last six years.
They also were crowned MIAA North Sectional Champions and Dual Country League Meet Champions en route to the State
Championship!
 Girls swimming, girls ice hockey, and girls basketball were all Dual County League regular season Champions.
Other Items:
 Angela Alibrandi and Camille Desrochers were selected as the National Girls and Women in Sports Day Representatives for
Westford Academy for 2017.
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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 The Westford Academy Athletic Booster Club awarded grants to the athletic department for a field renovation of Peter Arthur
Diamond and re-grade of the varsity softball field here at WA.
 The new Westford Academy scoreboard was awarded through the Middlesex Savings Bank Grant program for scoreboards.
Westford Academy was selected as the 2016 recipient.
Clubs, Activities and Misc
Project Purple
 Westford Project Purple submitted an entry into the Herren Project's - Project Purple Initiative - National Video Contest in
December. On January 2nd, they were notified that their entry placed 2nd in this NATIONAL contest! This year, the group, led by
advisors Melanie Jozokos & Laurie Rybicki challenged the student body, as well as some teachers, to come up with their best
"mannequin challenge". Adam Gagne's social media marketing class met this challenge and submitted the best scenario. Project
Purple student leader, Abby Benting, then added the group's message to it for the final product. It was certainly a group effort
and we are so PROUD of all involved!
WA Guidance Department
 In December, the Westford Academy Guidance Department hosted the Career Exploration Breakfast for the entire junior and
sophomore classes - 850 students! This event gives students the opportunity to select two careers of interest and then spend
time in a small group with a professional in that field. Speakers share their interests, educational background, and skills that are
needed to perform their jobs. The goal of this School to Careers program is to help students connect academic schoolwork to
career readiness and awareness beyond Westford Academy. We are grateful for the 47 speakers who spent their valuable time
with our students! Students report that this was an extremely worthwhile experience!
Westford Public Schools – 2016/2017 Student & Staff Accomplishments – As of 3/21/2017
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