Schools

2 Grades at Minuteman High School Return to In-Person Learning

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Minuteman High School sophomores Olivia O’Neill and Annie Bronson work on a carpentry project on March 1, 2021. The following information was provided by Minuteman High School:

March 2021

Dear Minuteman High School Community,

We’re beginning the month on an exciting note: We’ve safely brought back more students for daily in-person learning and we’ve begun the acceptance process for next year’s ninth graders. It was a great feeling to welcome more students back into our new building on March 1, when we increased to two grades of students receiving in-person instruction. Safety and science have been at the forefront of our planning, and the commitment of students and staff to wear masks and follow safety precautions is allowing students to learn in a safe and healthy environment. There is no replacement for in-person learning, which is critical for growing academic, career technical education (CTE), and social-emotional skills – along with fostering a sense of normalcy.

Schools

See the Deadline for Applying to Minuteman High School

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Students from Watertown looking to get into Minuteman High School must send in their application by the March 15 deadline. The town is not one of the nine member communities, so students cannot apply for the priority deadline. Minuteman sent out the following announcement:

The priority deadline for students living within Minuteman High School’s nine member communities to apply for admission for next school year is Monday, February 15, 2021.  

Minuteman’s nine member communities are Acton, Arlington, Bolton, Concord, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington, Needham, and Stow. Visit https://minuteman.org/admissions to apply or obtain more details about the admissions process. View a video tour of Minuteman High School. 

To meet the February 15 priority deadline, member-town student applicants should have submitted an online application, recommendation form, the last two years of school records (grades, attendance, conduct), and have conducted an interview with a representative from Minuteman.

Schools

Minuteman Teacher Receives Award from National Group

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Minuteman High School design and visual communications teacher Allison Barry won an award from NOCTI. The following information was provided by Minuteman High School:

Allison Barry, a Design and Visual Communications teacher at Minuteman High School, is the winner of the 2020 Carl J. Schaefer Memorial CTE Teacher Award from NOCTI, the nation’s largest provider of industry partner certifications and industry-based credentials for career and technical education programs.

The award was established in 2013 to honor Dr. Carl J. Schaefer. As a lifelong champion in career and technical education (CTE), he gained national recognition as a CTE educator and author. He was also one of NOCTI’s founding fathers. This memorial award is a tribute to Dr. Schaefer’s memory and recognizes an outstanding CTE teacher or CTE teacher candidate.

Charity

Minuteman Students Cook Meals for 200 in Need for Thanksgiving

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The following announcement was provided by Food Link:

This Thanksgiving, 200 food insecure residents of eastern Massachusetts will receive a traditional Thanksgiving meal with ingredients rescued by Food Link, cooked by students from Minuteman High School, and delivered by Food Link volunteers. Food Link, a food rescue organization serving eastern Massachusetts, has partnered for the 2020-21 school year with Minuteman High School, a regional career technical education high school in Lexington, to create nutritious meals for neighboring communities that are grappling with food insecurity. Through this collaboration, Food Link is rescuing food from grocery stores, produce markets, farms, and distributors and delivering it to Minuteman High School where culinary arts students create meals based on the ingredients they receive. These meals will then be shared with organizations feeding those in need. 

“Food Link has rescued 820,000 pounds of food since the pandemic began to address the growing need in our communities,” said DeAnne Dupont, Executive Director of Food Link. “This partnership allows us to take fresh, nutritious food and create meals to share with organizations such as after, low-income housing facilities and food pantries.”

Minuteman’s culinary arts students operate a restaurant at the school, which is typically open to the public but is only open to staff temporarily due to COVID-19 protocols. The partnership with Food Link provides culinary arts students a different population base for which to cook and bake meals.

Schools

Minuteman Superintendent Wins Award for Commitment to Safety

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Minuteman High School Superintendent Dr. Edward Bouquillon accepts the Schettini Award during the virtual ceremony on November 17, 2020. The following announcement was provided by Minuteman High School:

Edward A. Bouquillon, Superintendent-Director for the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District, received the eleventh-annual Dr. Patrick A. Schettini Jr. Memorial Award from the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY), Inc., for his longstanding commitment to safety of the students and staff at Minuteman. 

More than 120 school superintendents, police chiefs and fire chiefs joined Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and members of MPY to honor Dr. Bouquillon in a virtual ceremony. The annual event brings together staff from the district attorney’s office, law enforcement, educators, and community leaders to collaborate on student safety, juvenile justice, and crime prevention strategies. 

“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized for our commitment to the safety and health of our students and staff,” Bouquillon said. 

In selecting Dr. Bouquillon for the 2020 award, MPY cited the integration of security cameras, tap-card systems, information technology infrastructure, and other innovative and cost-effective security features in the new Minuteman High School building that opened in September 2019. 

“Security and safety were foremost in our minds as we worked with students, staff and our architects, from Kaestle Boos Associates, to create a welcoming, yet secure, learning environment,” Bouquillon said. “It’s the work of my committed team, and our shared dedication to fostering a safe environment, which has allowed Minuteman to become a leader in school safety design and implementation. We thank our partners in the law enforcement, first responders, and firefighting communities for their collaboration in this important effort.” 

The Schettini Award, named after the late Reading schools superintendent, is presented annually to a school superintendent, fire chief or police chief for their commitment to the health and safety of students in their communities. 

“We are continually impressed with Minuteman’s commitment to proactively address safety and social-emotional support for students,” said Margie Daniels, executive director of MPY.

Minuteman High School

Minuteman Offering Virtual Info Sessions for Parents, Private Tours

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Minuteman High School vocational technical school in Lexington. The following information was provided by Minuteman High School:

Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School will hold both in-person and virtual events this fall for parents and students interested in attending the career technical education (CTE) high school for the 2021-2022 school year. Students are choosing Minuteman in significantly higher numbers, which earlier this year resulted in a waiting list from the district’s member towns. Visit minuteman.org/admissions for the latest information. Due to the COVID-19 health and safety protocols, Minuteman is operating under a hybrid learning model for the current school year, meaning one grade of students is in the building each week to engage in hands-on CTE learning in one of its 18 career majors, including biotechnology, automotive, engineering, cosmetology, and many others.

Schools

Minuteman’s Peer Leadership Program Flourishes Despite Pandemic

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Minuteman High School students Annalise Linden of Waltham and Day Kolz of Wayland craft hearts and other decorative items for the school’s Kindness Week that was held in February. The following information was provided by Minuteman High School, and was written by Judy Bass:

During the spring closure caused by the pandemic, students in Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School’s Peer Leadership Program continued to find ways to stay connected and serve as role models for younger students. The program is one of many activities beyond the classroom that encourages students to cultivate their maturity, sense of responsibility and character in ways that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. “The students gain a sense of why it’s important to make positive connections with people,” said English teacher Terri O’Brien, who is a co-advisor of the Peer Leadership Program. “We put a lot of emphasis on the idea that they can create the culture of the school through their example.

Police/Fire

See the Watertown Students Who Made Minuteman’s Honor Roll

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Minuteman High School vocational technical school in Lexington. The following information was provided by Minuteman High School:

Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School has released the names of the students who were named to High Honor Roll and Honor Roll for the third quarter of the academic year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Term 3 was extended into early May. The 132 students on High Honor Roll and 128 students on Honor Roll reside in the following communities: Acton, Arlington, Belmont, Bolton, Boxborough, Brookline, Burlington, Carlisle, Concord, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington, Lincoln, Needham, Newton, Reading, Stow, Sudbury, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Westford, Weston, Wilmington, and Woburn. WATERTOWN 

High Honors 

Rouaa Alwaz, Biotechnology, Grade 12Mahnoor Bibi, Health Assisting, Grade 9Zoha Bibi, Health Assisting, Grade 11Dayane Coutinho, Plumbing, Grade 11Izadora Karla Goncalves, Health Assisting, Grade 11Saleena Khan, Health Assisting, Grade 9Elizabeth Linarte, Biotechnology, Grade 12Lilyrose Love, Health Assisting, Grade 11Autumn Sivitis-Camara, Early Education, Grade 11Gabriel Tulipano, Programming and Web Development, Grade 11

 Honors 

Maria DeFreitas, Early Education, Grade 11David Doyle, Advanced Manufacturing, Grade 10Shane Gleason, Health Assisting, Grade 9Fahad Khan, Programming and Web Development, Grade 12Connor Mackenzie, Programming and Web Development, Grade 9Vasiliki Marandianos, Culinary Arts, Grade 12Ava Martin, Design and Visual Communications, Grade 9Michael McNamara, Carpentry, Grade 12Theodore Surenian, Programming and Web Development, Grade 11

See the entire Term 3 Honor Roll list by clicking here.