School Activities

Hillary Beaton: Free Press School Activities editor

This year Weymouth High’s junior class celebrated their prom in the gold café on April 30th. The theme was city life in New York and it was a great turnout. A few juniors have given their thoughts on the night:

“I think junior prom definitely something that everyone should experience. Even though it’s in the cafeteria, it’s still a lot of fun and its nice to see everyone all dressed up!”
-Lauren Rogerson

“I had so much fun with all of my friends and I think everyone should go to their junior prom just to have fun.” –Stephanie Young

“It was put together well and was definitely better than the rest of the dances I’ve been to in high school.” – Lauren Spellman

“Although the decorations were sparse I had a blast!” – Alli Masley

“I had a lot more fun than I thought I would! I wish they would of given us free water though. For $25 dollars a ticket! I was at the bubbler every other song.”
-Dennis Campbell

An overall look at the dance, everyone had lots of fun. My two cents added in was that our officers did well planning the dance, even though it was the day before the SATs. It was also a great turn out; more people came than I had anticipated. Let’s hope next year's junior and senior prom is just as fun!

Caitlin Fitzgerald: Assistant Editor-In-Chief

Going to Europe in itself is amazing but going with your friends sans parents and some very laid back chaperones (who of course took very good care of us) is even better. I recently spent eight blissful days in Greece on the EF Tour with Ms. Kames, our resident Sign Language teacher. Along with Ms. Kames Mr. Cole, Ms. Brennan and Mr. Kowalski they took along forty two students for the trip of a lifetime.
We started off for our journey on a four hour long bus ride to the JFK airport in New York City. From there we took on the longest leg of our journey, an eight hour plane ride to Munich, Germany. In the German airport we raced from terminal to terminal to catch our next flight, a four hour ride straight into Athens.

Four hours later our journey to Greece was complete and our vacation had started. Our hotel was the Palmyra Beach Resort located in Glyfada, a suburb about forty five minutes outside of Athens located right on a beach. And about five steps away from the center of town.

The first day was a chill out day, we met our guide, Antonio who later gave us all different nicknames to remember us by. We checked into the hotel, saw our rooms and went into town to do a bit of shopping and experience Greece for the first time. The people were friendly and the food was amazing. We soon headed back to the hotel for the night.

The next day we headed into Athens to see the Acropolis. A random fact not a lot of people know about Athens, there are stray dogs everywhere. In fact they're called the "pets of Athens". The Acropolis is magnificent, pictures do not do it justice. The Parthenon is the center temple, dedicated to Athena, the protectress of the city. To the left is a temple split in half, dedicated to Athena on one side and Poseidon
on the other. Not only are these amazing buildings up there but so is an amazing view of all of Athens.

After the tour we went to Cintacma Square, a center shopping district in Athens. The shopping was good and again so was the food. There were of course those black market dealers with purses and perfume, selling all of it for a very low price. And you were able to haggle it, a bonus.

The next day we went to Delphi, where the oracle once stood. We hiked up the ruins and saw all we could to where an amazing town once stood. It was completely located on a mountainside and the view was gorgeous. The town below the ruins was quaint and the shop keepers again friendly. Instead of dogs, the pets of Delphi were cats. And so we headed back to our hotel after a few hours in Delphi, about to begin the next leg of our journey early the next morning.

At seven a.m the next day we boarded our cruise, the Aquamarine, in Athens. A small cruise compared to those we're used too from the U.S but none the less still fun. Our first port of call was Mykonos were we stayed for only a few hours but admired the island's unimaginable beauty and hospitality. And rather large birds as well.

The night life on the cruise was very varied. Some went to sleep early, others went to the disco until curfew, some just walked around on deck, and others ate. The disco was fun, they played old American music mixed with more recent. The waiters were friendly and by the end of our cruise knew our names and our favorite drinks.

The next day was Ancient Ephesus in Turkey. Another early morning but completely worth it. We saw more ruins, just as beautiful as the others we had seen. Turkish shop keepers were more pushy than Greeks but still had some entertainment to them. I received not one but two marriage proposals and so did my friend.

The next stop was Patmos Island where we did some more shopping, haggling was easier on the islands than the shops and seeing the island. It was as beautiful as the others we had seen and so different from what we were used too.

Later that day we landed in Santorini, a cliff edged island that's well known for being where the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed. I participated in the excursion, hiking the volcano and swimming in the sea. The hike was nothing I wasn't used too and the view was breathtaking. The water was warmer than it was here and as clear as glass. We stuck our hands in a hot hole on the volcano, it's still active to this day and saw a one of a kind view. The island of Santorini was amazing itself. To get to town we had to take a bus up the serpentine road, the view getting better and better as we went higher. The town was on the edge of cliffs. With what little time we had there I had ice cream and did some shopping. The cable cart ride down was even more amazing because the sun was setting and we all got some amazing pictures.

Rhodes was the most unusual island we went too and for one reason, we realized how little modesty Europeans have compared to Americans. The island is encased by a wall, built in the Middle Ages and used to house the Knights Templar. Ancient ruins stand side by side with modern shops in the town, the overall affect making it gorgeous and one of a kind.

Our last day came too swiftly and we disembarked from the cruise and went back to Athens for the day to do some last minute gift shopping and sight seeing. We went on another tour to Posedien's temple and saw a last amazing view of the Greek coast line.

Overall, the trip to Greece was an unforgettable one and an amazing experience. Being over there opened eyes to how big the world really is and we saw something older than our young country is, much older. It was an unforgettable experience but still home is where the heart is.

Marissa Sliney: Free Press Arts and Entertainment editor:

The classes set up to battle out their differences in a tournament of strength and determination, known as Battle of the Classes. Four teams, one representing each class, prepared for the seven games that would forever decide which class is the best, or at least until next year. This year a portion of all of the money raised from tickets went to the Have a Heart for Haiti fundraiser. In this medley of games the Seniors came out victorious.

          The beginning of the tournament showed promise for a first time Battle of the Classes audience member. Walking into the gym, there were crowds of pumped up students, teams preparing to put on a show, and a man in a banana suit. Our hosts for the afternoon were Brian Valovcin and Tyler O’Donnell; and for those who can’t get enough of Tyler's charisma he will also be hosting the Variety Show on April 8^th. Casey Duggan sang the national anthem, and the dance team performed, then the winners of the best decorated section were declared.

          Freshmen- 1^st with “Freshmen on fire”

          Sophomores- 2^nd

          Seniors- 3^rd

          Juniors- 4^th

          Soon after this the games commenced; the Seniors blasted through the dizzy bat, and took the win for the first game. They kept their energetic spirit up through a game of freeze dance and not only stole the win for the round but are (unofficially) the best dancers. The third and final game for the first half was a strange, more violent variation of tug-o-war (steal the bacon) but instead of a rope the struggle was over a blanket. The task was to retrieve this blanket as close to the player’s corner in a limited time. For those who decided not to attend the assembly you missed a sanctioned, full contact wrestling match between teams for a blanky. The first three games did not show much promise for the Sophomores who remained in last place. At the end of the first half of games the score tallied up to;

          Seniors- 15

          Juniors- 13

          Freshmen- 12

          Sophomores- 9

          Next the dance team got the crowd excited for more games in a half time performance. The tournament resumed with a pie eating contest, in which each person had to eat through whip cream and recover a piece of gum, chew the gum and blow a bubble. The Sophomores won back their honor and won the game. With two more games until the final round the Sophomore class managed to bring up their score with a game of musical chairs.

          Before the final games the dance team peformed for the crowd one last time and the score was tallied up to;

                   Seniors- 22

                   Juniors- 23

                   Sophomores- 17

                   Freshmen-17

          The first round of tug-o-war was between the Seniors and the Juniors. The Seniors won and moved on to the next round. Next the Freshmen and Sophomores dueled it out and the Sophomores carried on to go one on one with the Seniors.

          Before the final event the Juniors and the Freshmen went head to head for an extra point. The Juniors received the point and the Freshmen were left with 18 points. The clash between the Seniors and the Sophomores sealed the victory for the Seniors. They won by only one point. So at the end of the day the Seniors were our champions, and the final scores were;

                   Seniors- 26

                   Juniors- 25

                   Sophomores- 19

                   Freshman- 18

Hillary Beaton: Free Press School Activities editor

Classes:

 Freshman Class

Officers:

President- Jared Berman

Vice President- Tom Hickey

Secretary- Meghan Butler

Treasurer- Phil Ang

Teacher Advisors:

 Ms. Montgomery

Ms. Clancy

Sophomore Class

Officers:

President- Kurt Joyce

Vice President- Eileen Coleman

Katie Coleman

Kristen Kelly

Teacher Advisors:

Ms. Stefaney

Ms. Slack

Current Events:

Selling Super Fan shirts and fleece Weymouth blankets.

Junior Class

Officers:

President- Makenzie Murray

Vice President- Jill Corcoran

Secretary- Maddie Manning

Treasurer- Rajeev Chabria

Historian- Tammy Nguyen

Teacher Advisors:

Mrs. Morgan

Mr. Rand

Mr. Stuart

Junior Prom is on Friday, April 30th in the Gold Cafeteria. Dues must be paid before buying tickets.

Senior Class

Officers:

President- Ivonne Cruz

Vice President- Emily Liebert

Secretary- Caryn MacDonald

Treasurer- Brian Valovcin

Historian- Andrea Lockhead

Teacher Advisors:

Ms. Bell

Ms. Bonner

Clubs and Activities:

GSA- Gay Straight Alliance meets on Mondays with Ms. Burke in room 004

Eco Club- Meets on Mondays with Mrs. DeWitt

Free Press- Meets on Mondays with Mr. Rand and Ms. Slack in room 125

Anime Club- Meets with Mrs. Whitner

Hiking Club- Meets most Tuesdays with Mr. Rand and Mr. Bunker in room 125 check out the facebook page: WHS Hiking Club for updates

Student Senate- Meets Tuesdays with Mr. Murphy

Engineering/Astronomy Club- Meets Tuesdays with Mrs. Cost and Mr. Collins in room 3014. It is a combined club of engineering and astronomy club from last year

Glee Club (Show Choir)- Meets Wednesdays with Mr. Shirosky in chorus room

Amnesty International- Meets Thursdays with Mr. Rand and Mr. Schlicting in either room 125 or 122

  Alex Papadopoulos- Free Press Staff:

     SADD is a group whose goal is to raise the awareness of destructive decisions in our society towards the student body. Members of SADD work to raise money to hold programs to teach students the consequences of destructive decisions and how to prevent them for occurring. The SADD officers are Ben Goodwin (President), Amanda McCaffrey (Vice President), Jess Bolzano (Secretary), and Smit Patel (Treasurer). So far this year SADD has taken a seat belt survey before school, to see how many people actually wear seatbelts on their way to school. These results will be coming out soon.

  
Coming up, SADD will be selling tickets for the Battle of the Bands, which will help raise money for pole banners in the parking lot to help raise the awareness of wearing seatbelts. Short videos will also be produced to show the negative effects of tobacco from the 84 - which is an organization that helps fight tobacco use amongst youth in Massachusetts. Mrs. Boczanowski, WHS’s Health teacher who is the adviser of SADD, is encouraging her students to take a survey on the84.org. Currently, there is a banner outside of the maroon office, which alerts students to buckle up. SADD always welcomes new members to help raise the awareness of destructive decisions; come on by the health room across from the gym every Thursday after school.