Newsworthies
2004-2005
May
- The team of Nakul Dawra ('06), Paul Dovydaitis ('05), Cory Kendall ('06), and Alex Volfson ('06) won first place at the Association for Computing Machinery High School Programming contest at Fitchburg State College on May 12. Twelve teams competed from around the state.
- At the 2005 MA State Science Fair, the following honors were taken: Fish and Richardson Patent Award: Carolyn Purington; First Place: Elizabeth Glasson, Carolyn Purington, Juel Sheridan, and Allison Smyth; Second Place: Nakul Dawra, and Jonathan Gurwitz; Honorable Mention: Laura Firstenberg, Cory Kendall, and Sasha David & Philip Davidson (team); Pauline J. Lamarche Memorial Award*: Jonathan Gurwitz. *Given in memory of former Mass Academy Principal Pauline J. Lamarche.
April
- Alex Chin ('06) won honors for his submission to "Letters About Literature,"a national expository writing competition sponsored in our state by the Massachusetts Center for the Book.
March
- The following 10 juniors won prizes at the MA Regional Science Fair and will represent the school at the State Finals at MIT: Second Place: Nakul Dawra, Corey Kendall and Allison Smyth; Third Place: Jonathon Gurwitz, Elizabeth Glasson, Carolyn Purington, and Mason Tang; Fourth Place: Benjamin Adler, Laura Firstenberg, and Juel Sheridan. The team of Sasha David and Philip Davidson, nominated by the Academy, will also compete at MIT on behalf of the school.
- Rosemary Metcalf ('05) represented the Academy as principal flutist in the 2005 Massachusetts All-State Concert Band at Symphony Hall in Boston on Saturday, March 19.
- Brian Demers ('05) has been appointed to a one-year term as Youth Director-at-Large to the National Board of Directors of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). The Board comprises 25 members drawn from across the nation.
February
- Bernadette Samko ('05) earned Finalist standing in the 2005 National Merit Scholarship Program
January
- The team of Sam Carrell, Cali O'Connor, Carolyn Purington and Stephen Ursprung won a Regional Outstanding Designation in the 7th Annual High School Mathematical Modeling Contest sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP). 250 teams nationwide competed. A Regional Outstanding Designation goes to teams in the top 10%.
December
- Laura Firstenberg won 1st place in slip jigs and fast hornpipes, 2nd place in light jigs, and 3rd place in reels at the Advanced Beginner level in the 2004 Holly Feis (Irish Step Dancing Competition) in December.
November
- Brian Benson won 3rd place with his 12lb robot--Gone Postal--in the House of NERC (Northeast Robotics Club) competition in Allentown, PA (16-17 October).
October
- Laura Firstenberg won second place in Photography at the Westford Regional Art Event 2004 Exhibit and placed third in the fast hornpipes and the slig jigs at the Advanced Beginner level in the 2004 Harvest Time Feis (Irish Step Dancing Competition, 10/04)
- Elizabeth Baran ('05) and Vijay Ravichandran ('05) were selected Siemens/Westinghouse Semi-Finalists (2004-05). Baran's research dealt with coral bleaching; Ravichandran examined a mutant protein. There were 18 semi-finalists in MA; 332 nationwide.
- The WPI/Mass Academy FIRST Robotics team won the 'Most Futuristic Design' award and scored 9th of 27 teams at Bash at the Beach in Old Lyme, CT on Saturday 2 October. Participating Seniors: Rachel Johnson, Garrett Cavanaugh, Chris Scully, Alex Levy, Dave Merritt, and Jake Portnoy; Juniors: Laura Firstenberg, Mason Tang, Cali O'Connor, Liz Glasson, Brian Benson, Yiwei She, Stephanie Fuller, John Brattin, and Andrew Bennett
- Brian Donovan '05 won an award from HACE (Hispanics Achieving and Celebrating Excellence) for his academic achievements. HACE will honor 30 students of Hispanic descent in the Worcester area this year on Wednesday 6 October at a celebration sponsored by Quinsigamond Community College.
September
- The WPI/MA Academy FIRST Robotics Team won first place at the River Rage competition in Manchester, NH, Saturday 11 September 2004. Participating were Academy seniors: Alex Levy and Garrett Cavanaugh; and Academy juniors: Nick Alden, John Brattin, Elyse Bailey, Sasha David, Laura Firstenberg, Stephanie Fuller, Elizabeth Glasson, Justin Lui, Cali O'Connor, Yiweh She, Natasha Sivananjaiah, Mason Tang, and Alex Volfson. Watch one of the matches.
July
- Allison Smyth ('06) won the first place award for "Fastest Reaction Time" in her car at the Jr. Dragster Nationals in Bristol, TN (7/11-17).
Last modified: Oct 05, 2005, 10:16 EDT