Cultural Diversity Night Interview

An interview with Dr. Croteau by Emily Flanagan and Shannon Chu

Q:  What is Cultural Diversity Night about?

A:  A way to celebrate different cultures.

Q:  How can you participate?

You can sign up to show an aspect of your culture(craft, skill, or geography), perform (dance, sing, or play an instrument),or  bring in food that reflects culture. Attending is also participating. There will be lots of fun events such as learning to dance, playing instruments and eating food. Mr. Bucco has put together a cakewalk which is similar to musical chairs, but you win cakes. There will also be a fashion show, and raffles you can participate in.

Q:  What booths are going to be there?

A:  There will be food in the cafeteria. Crafts and artifacts in the gymnasium. In the HUB you will have access to digital shows and green screens.  Performances will be held in the auditorium.Q:  Is this the first time?

A:  This is the first time that Wood Hill and High Plain have done this event.

Q:  Is there any adult participation?

A:  Yes. Adults will be making food, doing henna, demonstrating music and musical instruments. Both families and teachers will be participating.

Q:  Why are we having this event?

A:  Because such a high percentage of students who identify with other cultures. You will be able to see different aspects of their cultures that you may not notice during the school day.

6 West Mural

By : Jaden Julia

There is a new mural on 6 West. It is at the entrance of it in the hallway. We wanted to find out more about it. We interviewed Miss Marfleet who is the 6 West special needs teacher.

Q: What is the mural about?

A: It's about Andover.

Q: What is the theme of the mural?

A :The theme is friendship and community.

Q: Who is painting the mural?

A: 6 West students are painting the mural.

Q: What is the team doing with the senior center?

A: We shared our artifacts with the seniors and the seniors came up with there own artifacts to share.

Q: How long will it take to complete?

A: On April 12 the seniors are coming to see the mural.

Q: When did they started?

A: It was started March 15.

Super Science At Work

By: Emily Flanagan and Shannon Chu

On Saturday, March 18, the Andover Middle School Science Fair was held in the High School Cafeteria. All the students that participated made excellent projects. The science fair was for students from grades 6-8. A few high school students made exhibition projects. Examples of some projects at the science fair are Making Solar Cells From Household Objects, Forces of Adhesion, How do Dogs React to Music, Happy Plant Monitor, and Heat Produced By Gas, Electric, and Wood Fireplaces. Those are just a few of the amazing projects at the science fair. After the fair, a group of students were selected to go on to the Regional Science Fair. If you are a science fan, then you should definitely think about a project you can enter in the Science Fair next year.

MA FLA Competition

By Julia Benjamin and Nadia Shah


The MaFla competition Was a world language-based contest open to 7th and 8th graders. Every year there’s a different theme that the contestants have to base their entries on. This year, the theme was “languages transform individuals into communities”. There were three sections to the competition; a video, a poster, and an essay. There are winners in each category.
The 7th graders were each required to create a poster for the contest, and in Sra. V’s class, the 7th graders also made a video. These were judged by many of the teachers before being narrowed down to 5, that will be submitted to the state. The seventh grade winners were Ella Brockelman, Eunchai Kang, Owen Chen, Lizzie Gilmartin, and Olivia Dionisio. The video winners were Simran Bajaj and Isabel Tu.
For the 8th grade, they entered essays into the contest. The winners were John Lee, Abby Chou, Namya Saini, Rohini Josh, and Polina Malinovskaya. The posters are very artistic and thoughtful, and the essays brought many new perspectives on the theme.

Starry Night

By Iliana Brouillette

The eighth grade final dance took place on Friday. Wood Hills' student government organized the whole night. They transformed the cafeteria into a starry far away place with tons of twinkling lights. DJ Riya Sharma played amazing tunes throughout the night. All the proceeds are going to the Dana Farber Institute for Cancer Research. Mr. Di Gloria announced that they had met their donation goal for night. A special shout out to the girls in student government who made the night possible: Vasu Thirumalai, Puloma Bishnu, Inhye Kang, Songy Choi, Jessica Liao and Polina Malinovskaya.

Deadline Extended for Yearbook Orders

By Iliana Brouillette

The new yearbook is nearly complete with all of the memories we've made this year. The former deadline to order your yearbook was Monday, March 20. Mrs. Veznaian has extended the deadline until Friday, March 24. You no longer can order online  but you can still put in a paper order. You can find forms in the office, on Mrs. Veznaians' door (on 8 east) and in all homeroom teachers.  Cost is $35 a book. Be sure to order your yearbook before Friday or you'll risk not getting one at all.

Buddy Up

By Lisa and Madeline Shin

Interview with Mrs. Billings, the Buddy Up program coordinator:

Buddy Up is an after school peer tutoring program, in which Wood Hill mentors form grades 6,7, and 8 along with a few high school alumni offer homework help and games to High Plain students. Originally, Buddy Up was only for the High Plain students that were learning to speak English, but now, any High Plain student can participate in the program. This program was started at WHMS during the winter of 2013 by a group of bilingual students in Mrs. Billings' class. They wanted to be role models to younger kids, who were learning English. Initially progress was a little slow, as they gained only twelve members in the first year. Fortunately, last year, the program grew to about 90 members. This year, Buddy Up has already gained 26 new members.

This program helps build a relationship between the Wood Hill Mentors and the younger High Plain students. The Mentors learn how to be patient and kind, while the younger students learn new skills! It’s basically a win-win! The Buddy Up motto is “I can show you how to do something, but I can’t do it for you.” Not only that, the Buddy Up mentors make sure not to put any pressure on the elementary children. This helps the elementary students learn that failing isn’t that bad, and it makes Buddy Up more exciting to go to. 

Just for a little shoutout, the Buddy Up program wants more boy mentors for the younger students who are boys. The boys feel more comfortable with mentors who are their same gender. Also, you can join the Buddy Up program anytime you want, as long as it fits your schedule just pick up your application form from Mrs. Billings.

Packed Audience for Grease

By: Emily Flanagan

The musical Grease was so well supported. On both Friday and Saturday nights, the auditorium was filled to capacity. Families of all the actors, actresses, and stage crew attended the play. Other townspeople, who had no kids member participating in the play, also attended.  Many of guests sent Candy Congrats or messages to the actors, actresses, and stage crew members. Candy Congrats are boxes of conversation hearts that people add a message to. Some of these families had friends in Grease, but many just came to support everyone who put in countless hours to make Grease the smashing success it was. Those who came on the second night received a special surprise during the scene "Freddy My Love" Mr. Bucco appeared dressed in a pink bathrobe and shower cap and handed Marty (Megan Gallagher) her "bridal bouquet." Everyone who came enjoyed the play, and we were grateful for the support.

Get your SPIRIT ON!!!!!!!!

By: Emily Flanagan and Shannon Chu

Next week get ready to get your SPIRIT ON!!! On Monday wear all sorts of Boston gear, on Tuesday is Twin Day so find a friend who looks like you and dress the same, Wednesday is college support day, support your favorite college team,Thursday is mis-match day, you know that purple shirt with those bright yellow pants, that your mom won’t let you wear because they “don’t match” well that’s the perfect Thursday outfit. Friday is your favorite save all things green because it's Saint. Patrick's day, all things green are perfect for Friday. The homeroom with the most spirit will win a special prize. Mr. Bucco is keeping the surprise a super secret, so get ready for some AWESOME SPIRIT and some AWESOME PRIZES.