Panther Press
Newsletter of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School
Welcome!
May 5, 2024 - Volume 6 - ISSUE 28
Welcome to the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Newsletter! It is designed to keep everyone (parents, students, staff, and community members) informed of the many events that are happening in and around the school. It contains links, pictures, and videos so that you have a more interactive experience and the ability to learn more about various topics.
Communication is incredibly important to understanding so we ask that you share our news as much as possible. We also welcome feedback! It is the only way to continuously improve. So, please interact, get involved, and let us know what you think by contacting us and sharing our news!
Important Dates to Plan
May 6: Chemistry AP Exam
May 7: Statistics AP Exam
May 8: Computer Science & English Literature AP Exams
May 9: Environmental Science & Psychology AP Exams
May 10: European History, Macroeconomics & US History AP Exams
May 13: Calculus AP Exam
May 14: English Language AP Exam
May 16: Biology AP Exam
May 17: Physics AP Exam
May 21: Spring into the Arts 5-7pm
May 21 - 22: Math MCAS Grade 10 Students
May 24: Last Day for Seniors
May 24: Senior Prom - more information to follow
May 27: No School - Memorial Day
May 28: Senior Sunset 6:30PM - 8:30PM - more information to follow
May 29: Senior Quarter 4 Report Cards available on Parent Portal
May 29: Mandatory Graduation Rehearsal for Seniors 9:00AM
May 29: Senior District Parade 11:00AM
May 29: Scholarship Night 6:30PM - 8:00PM
May 30: Mandatory Graduation Rehearsal for Seniors 9:00AM
May 30: Senior Cookout following Graduation Rehearsal
May 30: CES Graduation 6:00PM
May 31: WHRHS Graduation 6:00PM
June 1: WHRHS Graduation Rain Date 12:30PM
June 4-5: Biology MCAS Grade 9 Students
June 7: District Early Release - Grading Day (WHRHS 10:15 dismissal)
June 10: Underclassman Class Elections - more information to follow
June 11: Underclassman Awards 7:30AM
June 12: Volleyball Tournament and Sophomore Cookout
June 13: District Early Release - Last Day of School (WHRHS 10:15 dismissal)
June 13: Quarter 4 Report Cards available on Parent Portal
Yearbook Orders!
Don't forget to order/reserve your yearbook while supplies last. We have given the publisher a final count and when we sell out there is no way to order more. Order now to reserve your copy.
Click the link below.
Important Senior (parent/guardian) Information
Please find the following important informational items linked below. As always, do not hesitate to contact us if there are any questions or concerns.
Accomodations!
There is often confusion about what happens regarding existing accommodations when students graduate high school. This can cause additional stress and even create doubt concerning possible next steps. Check out this graphic below that gives a few brief bullet points in this area. Be sure to look into these for more detail if they pertain to you or your situation. A special shout out to Mrs. Buteau for creating this graphic to share!
Boston National College Fair
On Friday, school counselors were happy to bring 133 members of the junior class to the Boston National College Fair. Students had a chance to speak with college admissions representatives from hundreds of colleges across the country and around the world. Part of our Panther Pathways Initiative, this is one of the many components of our comprehensive school counseling program dedicated to career/post-secondary planning.
AP Exams
WHRHS AP Exam Schedule 2024
Financial Aid 101
Parents of high school juniors, click here to register for the May 8th webinar from MEFA - Financial Aid 101. You will learn about:
Financial aid applications
Types of financial aid
Factors that determine your aid eligibility
How colleges determine the amount of aide to offer
Financial aid offers
Look Who Made the Cover of the MASCA Counselor’s Notebook!
Ziva and the WHRHS School Counseling Team!
Mrs. Kaitlyn Robichaud, WHRHS Adjustment Counselor
If you have any questions, please reach out for assistance.
School Counselors:
Mr. Amado
Ms. Rivera (Administrative Assistant)
School Adjustment Counselors:
Mrs. Siden: Grades 10 & 12
Mrs. Robichaud: Grades 9 & 11
Transition Room Counselors
Our next Senior Showcase Artist is the multi-talented Max Chauppetta. Max will be attending Syracuse University for film in the fall. The work of each Senior Showcase Artist from the past four years can be seen by following the link below or QR Code. In addition, we hope you will come celebrate all of the Senior Showcase artists and many more at the Spring into the Arts Exhibition on May 21st from 5-7 pm in the WHRHS library. In addition to art work by K-12 there will be activities, raffles, and student musical performances.
The night will also feature Plates for Pantries created by students and Chili made by culinary students, both benefiting local food pantries,
Josiah Spence
Josiah has taken several art classes during his time at Whitman-Hanson and worked very hard in all of them.
Click on the link below to view some of his 2-D and 3-D creations.
Library/Media Center - Ms. Catherine Shaw
Viewing Sunspots in Astronomy
Mr. Kozak and Ms. Smith's Astronomy classes went outside today to view sunspots on two different telescopes. The students had to demonstrate hands-on capabilities of using shadows and not the sun, to align the image. The Sun is at solar maximum and lots of sunspots were observed!
Modeling in AP Environmental Science
Students in Mr. Dukeman’s AP Environmental Science class used marshmallows to model ozone depletion. In another activity, students went outside and used lichens as a bioindicator of air quality.
Biology MCAS Review Opportunity
All students taking the Biology MCAS on Tuesday June 4th and Wednesday June 5th are invited to attend after school review sessions. Ms. Folan, a biology teacher here at WH, will be running review sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour after school beginning on May 7th in room 304. Sessions will start at 1:45 and end at 2:45. Students are welcome to attend any and all sessions if they are taking the Biology MCAS in June. If there are any questions, please contact me at theresa.scott@whrsd.org or your student’s school counselor.
Students can also access previously released MCAS questions on the DESE website as a way to prepare at home. http://mcas.pearsonsupport.com/released-items/science/
Good luck to our AP Science students!!!!
May 6th starts AP testing at the high school and our AP Science students (Chemistry, Environmental Science, Biology, and Physics) have been working incredibly hard all year long to master rigorous content. We wish them all the best as they celebrate their learning on their AP exams!
Mr. Robert Davidson
Students in Mr. Walsh's Sociology class analyzed yearbooks from the Whitman Hanson archives to understand how culture changes within a local town and school. Students then related their findings to sociological concepts of cultural change, material and nonmaterial culture.
Getting back to the spring season, you can find the MIAA power rankings updated each Tuesday and Friday at 11am at www.miaa.net.
Our baseball team is in the hunt to make a deep run but their first focus is on the league title as they go into this week just one game behind Plymouth North in the fight for the crown. The Panthers travel to Plymouth on Tuesday for a 4pm pitch. They will bring some momentum with them after recording a come from behind 5-4 win over Silver Lake on Steve Swinhart Day and a 9-0 win at Scituate. In the win over Scituate Evan Yakavonis threw a complete game shutout while David McNaught turned in a gritty performance on the hill against Silver Lake.
Our softball team enjoyed its best week of the season taking 2 out of 3. Taryn Leonard drove in five runs on three hits to lead WH past Scituate 15-0 on Friday. Leonard hit a grand slam to left field in the third inning, scoring four runs, and doubled in the second inning, scoring one. Whitman-Hanson scored 10 runs in the third inning on the way to victory. Cami Walsh, Cass Briggs, Kaylee Butterfield, Abby Norton all lead the offense for Whitman Hanson as well, while Katelyn Hagerty had a key eye at plate drawing three walks. Alyssa Anderson earned the win for Whitman-Hanson. She gave up two hits and zero runs over three innings, striking out five and walking none. Morgan Nascarella tossed two innings of scoreless ball for Whitman-Hanson Regional Panthers in relief. The right-handed pitcher gave up two hits, striking out one and walking none. The Panthers are now 3-9 on the season and will host Plymouth North, Tuesday afternoon at 4pm at Whitman Hanson.
The girls lacrosse team won two close games at the end of the week to improve to 7-5 on the season and 3-5 in the Patriot League. It was Senior Day on Saturday where the Panthers beat Bridgewater Raynham, 8-6 and the seniors really stepped up. Captain Bailey Kelly (5 goals), Senior Maddy Geagan (2 goals), Shannon Balfe (2 Goals), Eva Nunes (2 assists), Lillie MacKinnon (1 assist). Senior Liv Godwin had another strong day in goal with 14 saves. The entire defense did a great job limiting BR’s top scorer to 1 goal. Captains and Seniors Jac Bourgelas and Hannah Battell led the way with Maddie Fitzgerald and ground ball master, Cam MacCallum joining them. The draw team with a mix of players had a strong second half (Mave Gavin, Abby Nash, Franny Rufinni, Shannon Balfe and Bailey Kelly). The Panthers also had a thrilling overtime win against Quincy as Freshman Maeve Gavin had 4 goals, including the overtime goal. Up next is a Patriot League opponent, Plymouth South at home on Wednesday.
The boys lacrosse team plays one of the toughest schedules in the state so the record may not be the best, but they are firmly in control of a playoff spot. The Panthers battled cross town rival Abington on Saturday but came up a goal short, 10-9. Gavin McCarthy (3G), James Whitman (2G, 1A), Connor McCarthy (1G, 1A), Finn Olszewski (1G, 1A), Luke Tropeano (2G) and Joe Concannon (1A) provided the offense while David MacNeil continues to play great in net.
The Girls Track and Field (0-4) hosted Plymouth North Wednesday afternoon and were downed by the Eagles 76-60. Highlights for the Panthers included wins for Senior Brianna Codio in both the Shot Put (29' 7") and Discus (85' 5"). Other winners included Junior McKenna McCarthy (Mile, 6:01.96), Senior Captain Leila Keaney (100 Hurdles, 18.84) and Junior Bella Furtado (Triple Jump, 28' 10.25".) Katie Silva had a great day scoring in three events (400 Meter Run, Long Jump and Triple Jump) while both Juniors Molly Burnett (100- and 200-Meter Run) and Willa McKay (400 Meter Run and HighJump) scored in two events.
The Boys Track and Field team hosted a track meet against the team from Plymouth North. A hard fought battle with many season best performances ended with Plymouth North winning 71 to 65. Winning events for the Panthers were Senior Captain Jake Cappelletti who won the 110 High Hurdles and the Long Jump. Senior Captain Alex Kahayias won the Javelin and the 800. Sophomore Ben Andrews won the 2 Mile. Sophomore Lucas Hamilton won the High Jump. Junior Brady Markowski won the Shot Put. The 4 x 100 relay team comprised of Junior Luke McLaughlin, Junior Matt Lee, Sophomore Lucas Hamilton and Sophomore Kevin Brzuszek also won. Whitman Hanson 0-4 will look for its first win of the season Tuesday against Duxbury High School.
Our girls tennis team is also in a fight for a playoff spot. The team has show great progress and character as they represent us so well with each match. I want to give a special shout out to Alyson Tobias who has the unenviable task of taking on the other team's top player each match. I wish more people could come watch how she fights and puts on a tremendous effort every match. We have watched her really blossom over the last 4 years and has really left a mark on our school and program. The highlight of the week for the team was the performance of our two double teams against North Quincy. Sophie Ennis and Maddy Morris won 6-2,6-3 and Delaney Hughes and Rachel Boulger won 6-3,7-6(7-4).
The boys tennis team picked up a much needed win against Silver Lake this week recording its 4th win of the season, 3-2 against Silver Lake. Mateo Santalucia won at first singles (6–1, 6–1) as did Brady Wright at second singles (6–1, 6-3). Tristan Baker and Ryan Hathaway also won their match, at First Doubles (6-0, 6-2).
Contact Us
Email: christopher.jones@whrsd.org
Website: https://whs.whrsd.org/
Location: 600 Franklin Street, Whitman, MA, USA
Phone: (781) 618-7020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrCSJones
Twitter: @DrCSJones