NFA World
by Geoff
Serra
Class
of 2008, Coronation Class Superlatives: Most
energetic: Liz Auwood and Jacob Chamberlain;
Class athletes: RJ Evans and Lindsay Makowicki;
Class Writers: Sara Ingle and Kevin Lee; Best Dressed: Tashon Davis and Heather Ouellette.
“I’m looking for a school with aeronautical engineering, a
good science program, a great English department, and a marching band,” said
upper Matt Jones, working his way through the college fair in Alumni Gym
on March 27. It was a date with future
educational possibilities for all 10th and 11th graders
who talked with representatives from over100 colleges, universities, and
community colleges. Lower, Darien
Thomas, says she came to “look” and “get an early start,” and with schools
from all over New England and New York, and some as far away as Pennsylvania,
North Carolina, and Georgia, the college fair gave Thomas a good beginning to
the college search.
At the college fair, an annual event for the past 10 years, NFA
students continue to impress representatives with their good preparation,
attitude, and behavior. Elina
Vandenberg, Guidance secretary and Nick Bolt, Audio-visual and Media Support Specialist work especially hard to
coordinate this event. In the
afternoon, representatives met over lunch with guidance personnel in the
Ensemble Room of the Frank Center, and they viewed the new version “I am NFA,”
a video, featuring many voices in the NFA community speaking about the NFA
experience.
Larry Rich, Director of Guidance, says "We are
fortunate to have so many college reps who value our students and support them
through their participation in the college fair. It is a win-win event for students and for the colleges."
The Environmental Club and Project Outreach partnered on April 2 for NFA Kick
Butts Day. Students cleaned the greens on Chelsea Parade to coincide with the
national celebration of this event to spread awareness about the dangers of
smoking and second hand smoke. Participating were seniors Tiffany
Shaffer, Brynn Dougherty, Tim Burgess, Jessica Beaudoin, Whitney
Hamlin, and Julianna Ye; uppers Tom Teixeira and Joy Thoma; and lower Travis
Laflamme,
Sitting patiently in Norton gym, uppers Nick Mills and Jeremy Camacho waited to
donate at the blood drive April 2nd. Both had turned 17 within the past month and reflected upon their
motivation. Mills, who has had first
hand experience with family members as blood recipients, commented that he was
“looking to give back” and “help others out.”
Camacho, agreed, noting that there’s a “shortage of blood,” and he
wished to “support the community.”
Upper Mary Musial, found her first time as a blood
donor “easy.”
Joanne
Krekian of the Red Cross says that a single
donation of blood has the potential to save three lives. With 62 donated pints of blood, the NFA
community impacted a large number of recipients. Krekian praised NFA students saying, “They do a great job of
recruiting and volunteering.” Hats off
to all the Wildcat “lifesavers.”
NFA students were at the Family Health and Fun Expo at the Norwich
Comfort Suites on March 30. Ninth
grader, Alexandria Estrada; lowers Krista
Stankiewicz , Cassie Evanuk and, Dayna Frazer; upper Joy Thoma; and seniors Brenner Green and Brynn
Dougherty ran the children’s activity table and
played a giant tic tac toe and a giant frog game with children. Project Outreach
volunteers had spent the week designing and painting the giant tic-tac toe
board and giant wooden frog which kids fed flies to win a lollipop. Most popular, though, was face painting. NFA students
painted balloons, snakes, hearts, cats, rainbows, flowers, New York Yankee and
Boston Red Sox logos, and more on the faces of over 100 children.
Wildcat congratulations to Peggy Weaver and members
of her Advanced Placement Statistics class for placing statewide in the
American Statistical Association poster contest. Lauren Pappa won third place for her poster “Reported Cases of
Lyme Disease Through the Years.”
Honorable mention went to each of the following groups of seniors: Amy
Jurcyk, Callan Gruber, and Zachary Schmidt for “NFL Passer
Rating: What Makes a Team Win?; to Brandon Moffit and Kirk
Medrzychowski for “Days NFA Students are Most Commonly Absent”; and to RJ
Evans and Lindsay Makowicki for “Is there A Normal Distribution for
Free Throw Percentage in the NBA.”
The NFA Parent Council seeks about 30 volunteers to
chaperone the post senior prom party.
If interested, e-mail ernestmarvin@yahoo.com
with your name and phone number. You
will be notified of a mandatory chaperone meeting in early June.
Still short of funds for the post prom party, the Parent
Council is seeking donations or contributions. One way to help is to participate in the Dumpster Day Fund
Raiser, 8 to 11 a.m., May 10, Clean out your attic, garage, and basement,
and for a small donation, dispose of your trash in the dumpster in front of
Main.
Wildcat Billboard:
For all regularly scheduled Varsity Athletic
events, consult the NFA Web site, Athletics tab, Schedule link.
Safety Committee Meeting, 2:30-3:30p.m., April 7, Room
6203, Latham.
Drivers Education Parents Night, 6-8 p.m, April 8, back
cafeteria Tirrell.
Tri-M Honor Society Induction Ceremony, 7-8p.m., April 8,
Ensemble Room, Frank Center
Parents of Students of Color Meeting,
5:30-7:30 p.m., April 9, Community Room, Latham.
Dance Team Banquet, 6-8 p.m., April 9,
back cafeteria, Tirrell.
Athletic Diversity Meeting, 5-7p.m., April 10, Room 6109,
Latham.
ACT Testing, 7:30 a.m. to 1p.m., April 12, Cranston.
Call to mind the following words by child
activist and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, Marian Wright
Edelman: “Service is what life is all
about.”
Geoff Serra teaches English at NFA. Reach him at serrag@norwichfreeacademy.com
