Revolutionary News
The Principal’s Newsletter
________________________________________________________
The Minuteman Girls Soccer Team is
CRUSHING IT!
Jack Dillon
Principal
Revolutionary News
The Principal’s Newsletter about
Minuteman;
A Modern American High School
Mark Your Calendar
November 4-6…..………..……..……….…..MCAS
November 9-10…………………….MCAS Retest
November 11….…………………….Veterans Day
School/Offices Closed
November 12……………………...Showcase Day
November 17…………………..….Showcase Day
11:21 am Early Dismissal
November 22…………………..…….…Career Day
1:00-4:00 pm
November 25-27………..Thanksgiving Recess
December 7………..Early Dismissal 12:42 pm
December 8…………2 Hour Delayed Opening
December 24-25……..School/Offices Closed
December 24-31…………………..Winter Break
December 31……………………….Offices Closed
The girls soccer team won the State Vocational
Championship on Monday, November 2nd! The girls
battled the perennial champion Norfolk Aggie for 80
minutes, ending regulation play in a 0-0 tie. Within the
second minute of sudden death, Saba Challant scored
off an amazing pass from Kentra Vellom, sealing the
win for the Lady Mustangs. This game marked the 12th
shutout of the season for Haley Rice. The team enters
the State Tournament on Friday, November 5th at
Minuteman at 2:00 pm.
Inside this Issue
Minuteman Sports
Minuteman’s Career Day
Lieutenant Governor Polito
A.L.I.C.E. School Safety
Hall of Fame
Horticulture Happenings
MCAS Performance
Environmental Science and Technology
Guidance Department Update
Admissions
Non-Discrimination. Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,
sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity in its programs or activities, including its admissions and employment practices. The
School District does not tolerate harassment or discrimination. An individual has been designated to coordinate compliance under Title IX and
Section 504 and may be contacted through the Superintendent’s Office, 758 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421, (781) 861-6500, ext. 7360.
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Visit our student run Fife and Drum Restaurant
Open Tuesday through Friday
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Homecoming
The Minuteman football
team defeated Chelsea High
School with a final score of
16 – 14. The Minuteman
girls soccer team dominated
Pope John 6 – 1.
The Minuteman boys soccer
team fought hard against
Innovation Academy.
Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito
Visits Minuteman
Lieutenant Governor, Karyn Polito expressed support for
vocational technical education when she delivered the keynote
address at the Advisory Committee Dinner at Minuteman High
School on October 14th. “The work you do is so valuable to all of
us”, Polito said. She spoke to an audience of 225 business and
municipal leaders, plus members of the Minuteman staff. She
emphasized the important role that vocational education plays in
workforce development and economic growth. Polito added that
she wanted to celebrate the success achieved by Minuteman in
offering its students a competitive advantage due to its
academics and challenging hands-on technical instruction.
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Minuteman High School
Career Day / Open House
November 22nd from 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Explore all fifteen of our career and technical education programs.
Each area will showcase hands-on activities.
Environmental Science and Technology
The Environmental Science and Technology seniors and sophomores recently
completed a four day overnight field trip to the Noble View Outdoor Center in Russell,
MA. The center is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). The students enjoyed
a beautiful view overlooking the city of Springfield, and an array of hiking trails. They
began with a visit to McLaughlin Fish Hatchery, and then helped Trustees of
Reservation’s Land of Providence in Holyoke. In addition, they conducted research of
local agriculture at the New England Pavilions at the Big E. Their trip ended with a visit
to Mr. Wilbur, in his new position with Gloucester Maritime Heritage Museum. The
trip was both fun and educational.
Believe it or not, Minuteman students have created
a fishing club. Junior, Brian Courtney has been the
backbone of the group and there are approximately
fourteen members. Their first trip was to Walden
Pond and they have more trips in the works.
There has been talk about an ice fishing trip in the
winter, as well as a striped bass trip in the spring.
The students meet once per month to talk about their
fishing stories. Mrs. Bruno, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Romano
and Mr. Tildsley are the adult advisors of the club.
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Minuteman Military
The National Honor Society is running a collection for
Minuteman graduates that went into the military.
Donations can be dropped off in the Library through
November 30th. Recommended donations: batteries,
writing material, DVDs, CDs, toothbrushes, toothpaste,
floss, mouthwash, paracord bracelets, dark colored
socks, books, baby wipes, candy, gum etc.
Arlington Eats Program The sophomore class is sponsoring a food drive for the
Arlington Eats Program. Canned goods, cereal, pasta etc. Donations can be placed in the
boxes in front of the school store in the cafeteria. All donations will be picked up on the
afternoon of November 13th.
Minuteman Bakery
Thanksgiving
Pie Sale
Please visit the Minuteman
bakery to place your order
Pick up on
November 23rd and 24th
by 1:00 pm.
Apple, Blueberry, Cherry,
Custard, Mincemeat and
Pumpkin Pies
$8.00 each
WELCOME TO
MINUTEMAN
School Nurse
Susan Moser
AV / Helpdesk
Technician
Ry Nan
CONGRATULATIONS
To our Interim Director of
Special Education
Amy Perreault
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Hall of Fame
On Saturday, October 17th Master of Ceremonies John Fusco honored the 2015 inductees
into Minuteman’s Hall of Fame. Distinguished alumni, athletes, coaches, teams and other
individuals whose service has made significant contributions to the Minuteman High School
District and surrounding communities were celebrated. The ceremony was held at the
Montvale Plaza in Stoneham.
Front row left to right: Dana Ham, Kristin Herman White, Richard Glynn, Jason Crowdle, A.J Loprete.
Back row left to right: Tawiah Buor, Ian Tosti, Niles Radl, Richard Dean, Dave Santos, Ceasar Veal, Dereck
Smith, James Young, David Edwards, Royce Veal. Not pictured: James Amara, George Curt.
SCHOOL SAFETY
Coming this December in coordination with the Lexington Police Department and the
Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, Minuteman will be implementing the
first two stages of ALICE to the entire staff at Minuteman. ALICE, which stands for Alert,
Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate is a research-based program being implemented at
schools and universities across the country. The staff will be presented with an informational
slideshow followed by real life tactical training.
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Guidance Department Update
The Guidance Department hit the ground
running this fall. They helped students make
necessary adjustments to schedules, and
introduced the freshmen to Naviance, a college
and career software program. In addition,
Naviance was introduced to the juniors who did
not have the introductory workshop last spring.
Students in all four grades have access to this
program, which has two college search
programs, a career exploratory program, as
well as information and videos about hundreds
of careers and colleges.
In September, Guidance Counselors spoke with
the seniors about planning for life after
Minuteman. A few weeks later they presented
the same information to the students families.
Both sets of presentations included information
about applying to college, standardized testing,
financial aid, and career information. Seniors
are now meeting with their counselors
individually to develop their personal plans.
Juniors, and many sophomores, took the PSAT
in October. College Board is unveiling a
reformatted SAT in March. The PSAT reflected
the change in the test. It was a longer exam
than students took in years past. The students
did great while testing for close to four hours,
with just five minute breaks between sections.
They will get their scores in the winter; in the
past, College Board has sent the scores before
December vacation. Also in October, on the
same day as the PSAT, The Guidance
Department hosted a college fair. More than 50
colleges and universities spoke with
sophomores, juniors, and seniors about their
schools. Many colleges praised Minuteman
students, and said they were polite, interested,
and asked great questions. Students
appreciated having the opportunity to speak
with college representatives during the school
day. Overall, it was a very successful fair.
Minuteman High School Sees Improved MCAS Performance!
LEXINGTON – Minuteman High School
improved its performance on MCAS tests this
year, with that improvement extending to all
disciplines and all student subgroups. Results
of the test were reported this month by the
Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education (DESE). “In many cases the
improvement was significant.” said William J.
Blake, Jr., Minuteman’s Director of Curriculum,
Instruction and Assessment. “Improvement
was particularly significant for our students
with disabilities.” Minuteman is an awardwinning regional high school located in
Lexington. Minuteman gives students a
competitive advantage by delivering robust
academics and powerful career and technical
skills in more than one dozen career majors.
This combination gives students a competitive
edge in the new economy. More than 60% of
the school’s graduates typically pursue a postsecondary education. The Minuteman district
includes 16 member communities: Acton,
Arlington, Belmont, Bolton, Boxborough,
Carlisle, Concord, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington,
Lincoln, Needham, Stow, Sudbury, Wayland,
and Weston. Minuteman is an accredited
member of the New England Association of
Schools & Colleges (NEASC).
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Admissions 2015
During October student ambassadors visited
our partner district middle schools, telling 8th
grade students about the competitive
advantage Minuteman offers to the right kind
of student. Ms. O’Brien and Ms. Nagle
developed student ambassadors’ professional
skills, helping craft speeches and preparing
them to dress the role of an ambassador. The
students Ms. O’Brien and Ms. Nagle selected,
not only helped manage presentation details,
they also spoke with convincing sincerity. “Our
students are our best asset and our best
recruiters” said Mr. Clement.
This year a record 1,300 8th grade students
expressed an interest in attending our
November Showcase Days. By all accounts, the
work of our student ambassadors exceeded our expectations and they set a high standard for future student
ambassadors. Special thanks to Ms. O’Brien, Ms. Nagle and the student ambassadors who went out to middle
schools. Our next task is creating engaging Showcase and Career Day / Open House presentations. We will do
great!
Horticulture’s Recent Renovation
Before
After
“We began our island renovation project in September and are very pleased with the results. Our staff and students
worked with Steve Davis, Ideal Block (Advisory Member), to discuss new techniques and products being used in the
industry today. The new planting consists of low maintenance deciduous and evergreen plants. Many are native to New
England and have four season interest. We are very proud of the work our students did to beautify this area. Be sure to
take a look next time you’re on campus.” Sarah Ard and Peter Kelleher, Horticulture Instructors. Students: Kaylah
Bennett, Connor Coakley, Hannah English, Tom Grennon, Okorie Alfred, Alicia Benway, Brent Boudrot, Max Busa, Angelo
Butera, Natania DuFresne, Justin deSouza, Lisa French, Ricky Gottschalk, John Goudy, Ducan MadLean, Sam Placid, Lola
Clemente, Jeff Connell, Nick DuLong, Tim White, Martin Matthew, Gannon Adanavage.
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Seaport World Trade Center March 16 – 20, 2016
Greenhouse Project
Congratulations Minuteman Varsity Golf Team!
For the past thirteen years, the Minuteman Varsity
Golf team has been one of the strongest sports teams
in school history, as evidenced by their qualifying for
the MIAA State Tournament in each of those thirteen
years. That streak continued this year, as the Varsity
Golf team would only lose one match all season,
securing their fourteenth consecutive tournament
birth along the way – that’s fourteen straight years of
a .500 or better record. Unfortunately, that lone
blemish on the golf team’s record cost them the CAC
league title. The Minuteman golfers had to settle for
second place in the CAC, a placing they also matched
in the CAC league tournament. Second place,
however, is not what this team will be remembered
for. Last year, as you may recall, the golf team
ventured to the State Vocational Golf Tournament in
Gardner, MA and walked away with Minuteman’s first
ever State Vocational Golf Championship. The
question was, could they repeat? The golfers took it
upon themselves to travel over an hour to Acushnet,
MA to play a practice round the weekend before the
tournament, in the hopes of gaining a competitive
advantage on a course they had never played before.
Two days later they returned to Acushnet to compete
in the tournament itself, and their preparation paid
off. Alex Surdan led the team by posting the lowest
score of the tournament, a three over par 75 – Alex
was named Low Medalist.
Also chipping in for the team score were captain, Liam
Moore (78), Ryan Connearney (81), Jason English (89),
and Chris Leary (89). Together, they managed to best
last year’s winning score as they secured
Minuteman’s second consecutive State Vocational
Golf Championship. The season of historic play ended
on Friday, October 23rd in an epic competition in the
annual students versus faculty golf match. This year’s
varsity team knocked off the teachers for only the
third time in school history; they did so by adding
remaining varsity members Nick Caldwell, Greg
Gobiel, and Matt Spallone into the mix. Friday was
also the day that Coach Donovan and our AD, Mrs.
Plater, let the team know that their season was being
extended by one day. The MIAA had just awarded the
Varsity Golf team the MIAA Division III Team
Sportsmanship Award for 2015, and the team had
been invited to accept the award at the State Golf
Championship awards ceremony in Cummaquid, MA.
The Sportsmanship Award reads, “Awarded in
Recognition of High Standards of Ethics and Integrity
in Interscholastic Athletics – Leadership by example
becomes a model for all.” This year the golf team set
out to win matches and titles, and ended up being
role models. Not a bad year.
Greg Donovan—Coach
2015 Division III North
Boys Golf Team Sportsmanship Award
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Faculty Softball Game
Family Fun Day
Team Gray defeats Team Blue in dramatic fashion!
A few weeks ago, over twenty staff members and their families got together in Woburn to rekindle the
annual Minuteman Faculty Softball Game. It was a great game that ended with a BBQ at Mr. Dillon’s house.
Team Blue with Mr. Dillon on the mound, featured Mr. Gray (LF), Mr. Guarino (1st Base), Mrs. Maglio
(Catcher), Mrs. Murphy (2nd Base), Mr. Clement (RF), Mr. Romano (3rd Base) and a dynamic Mr. Fusco (SS).
Team Gray with Mr. T. on the mound featured Mr. Caruso (CF), Mr. Murphy (LF), Mrs. Plater (2nd Base),
Mrs. Devereaux (RF), Mrs. Ofria (1st Base), Mr. Girouard (3rd Base) and Mr. Sheerin (SS).
The game was a 4-inning war with several thrilling feats of athleticism coming from both dugouts! Mr.
Dillon led the way in the Power Department with 4 Moon Shot Homeruns along with Mr. Romano, Mr.
Fusco, Mr. Girouard and Mr. Murphy not far behind with 2 HRs each.
On the defensive side of the diamond it was Fusco and Romano controlling the hot corner for Team Blue
early on, but with an unfortunate injury to Romano, and some heavy fatigue setting in on Fusco, Team Gray
quickly caught up to tie the game late in the final inning. That’s when Mr. Murphy stepped to the plate and
blasted a walk-off game winning homerun, ending all hope for the Blue team and sealing the 24 to 23
Victory for Team Gray!
Team Gray 24 ~ Team Blue 23
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