Greater Lowell Technical High School

Greater Lowell Tech’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” Themed Float wins City of Lights 2019 Mayor’s Award – Best of Parade

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Greater Lowell Technical High School
Superintendent Joseph Mastrocola
250 Pawtucket Blvd.,
Tyngsborough, MA 01879

For Immediate Release

Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Greater Lowell Tech Students’ “A Charlie Brown Christmas” Themed Float wins City of Lights 2019 Mayor’s Award

Greater Lowell is Best of Parade!

LOWELL — Superintendent Joseph Mastrocola is pleased to share that the “Charlie Brown Christmas” themed float built by Greater Lowell Tech students won the Mayor’s Award for Best of Parade at the 31st Annual City of Lights Holiday Parade earlier today.

Thousands of spectators attended the parade Saturday in downtown Lowell, which featured various floats, music, marching bands and performances. 

“Students always look forward to the challenge of designing and building a float for the parade, which provides a special opportunity for them to collaborate with peers in other technical programs and showcase their hard work to the public,” Superintendent Mastrocola said. “It’s also a fun, festive project that allows students to celebrate the holidays, use their creativity and skills and contribute to a meaningful community event.”

Students and staff began planning their design for the float in early October, which depicted various scenes from the “A Charlie Brown Christmas” television special and featured “Lucy’s Snow Globe Stand” in honor of the parade’s theme: Festival of Snow Globes. The entire project was overseen by carpentry instructor Patrick Couillard.

Carpentry students at the school framed all of the wooden structures of the float, installed lighting and detailed the trim; CADD students used Peanut character illustrations to create a file for the carpentry CNC cutting machine; Painting and Design students painted the float’s structure and characters; Electrical students wired all of the lighting and generator connections; and Plumbing students threaded the rod fixture holders for the props and speaker stands on the float.

“The project required teamwork and helped me gain a better understanding of having to work with other trades on a project,” said Brady Huard, a senior, of Dracut, who helped frame the float and build the Snoopy house and snow globe stand. 

As students worked with peers from various programs on the float, they also gained a better understanding of what it is like to work with subcontractors.

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Greater Lowell Tech Students Participate in STEM Week Activities

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Greater Lowell Technical High School
Superintendent Joseph Mastrocola
250 Pawtucket Boulevard,
Tyngsborough, MA 01879

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019

Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Greater Lowell Tech Students Participate in STEM Week Activities

TYNGSBOROUGH — Superintendent Joseph Mastrocola is pleased to announce that Greater Lowell Technical High School students explored the science, technology, engineering and math fields last week during STEM Week.

GLTHS participated in the Massachusetts STEM Week Challenge 2019 from Oct. 21-25, as part of the statewide effort to boost the interest, awareness and ability for all learners to envision themselves in STEM education and employment opportunities.

The theme for the second-annual statewide STEM Week was “See Yourself in STEM.” 

“We need more young people to see themselves in STEM careers, and last week’s activities gave students terrific experience in these fields,” Mastrocola said. “It was great to see so much hands-on learning, as well as students taking part in special projects that will benefit the entire school community and residents of Lowell.”

Instructors participating in STEM Week included Coordinator of STEM Outreach and Academic Success Lorrie Campbell, history teachers Jennifer Parkhurst and Karen Washington, science teachers Kelly Griffin and Nate Howe, and math teachers Judy Moran, Stacey O’Keefe, Devin McInerney, Helen Sullivan and Andrea Collins.

In history classes, students considered how integrated electronics have become in peoples’ lives, how dependent people have become on technology and how electronics help us. They defined what an electronic is, and described the typical components of common electronic devices.

Science students participated in a two-day laboratory experiment, setting up a simulation of the copper etching process for creating circuit boards found in many electronic components. They were shown that this manufacturing process creates e-waste that requires proper disposal. The students considered the pros and cons of various disposal methods for the virtual water created in their circuit board simulation.

In math classes, students defined e-waste and discussed the high volume of the e-waste problem. They identified familiar examples of common products designed with planned obsolescence versus those designed to last. Students evaluated trade-offs associated with the usage of electronics.

Several special projects were also undertaken by students during the week, including Information Technology students in Paul McNeil and Steven King’s classes. Students were chosen to present the projects to school administrators and other staff members who visited classrooms to observe STEM Week activities.

McNeil’s students installed a KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) switch and additional cables to the new Windows computers and a new Apple Mac mini computer. The switch allows students to use a single workstation to control multiple computers with the touch of a button.

Students can use the workstation to learn about building iPhone and Apple apps. More advanced students can explore the curriculum developed by Apple for the Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles with Swift that the Greater Lowell School Committee sent McNeil to Austin, Texas this past summer to learn. The curriculum is used to prepare the students for the AP Computer Science exam and the App Development with Swift Certification Level 1.

The presenter for the project was Information Technology sophomore Abbey Gingras, of Dracut.

King’s student’s worked on a GLTech AR app, which uses Augmented Reality to display a video representing Greater Lowell Tech programs on posters that can be hung anywhere in the school. To use the app, students point their iPhone at one of the technical program posters and the poster turns into a video for the appropriate shop.

DVC (Design & Visual Communications) students created the posters. The app is currently in the Apple beta testing and review process, and the school hopes to have it available for all to download from the App Store within the next two weeks.

Presenters for the project included Information Technology senior Andrew Seak, of Lowell. 

Engineering teacher Susan Youens has also been working with her students, including senior engineering student Shayla Som, of Lowell, on the design of a multi-function building to support youth sports at Shedd Park in South Lowell.

The building will serve as Som’s Term 1 project. She is serving as the main drafter/designer of the plans for the building, which is expected be open for the summer and spring sports seasons.

The project is based off a community service idea to create a new concession stand with bathrooms for the park, which Som said she chose as a way to gain real-world experience in architectural and civil engineering. 

Now that STEM Week activities have concluded, students will participate in a real-world problem to solve in the form of a cell phone recycling program. It will allow students to receive hands-on experience with reducing e-waste. Boxes within the school will be set up to collect old cell phones, preventing them from ending up in a landfill.

The program is being run by Carol Chisolm’s math and science cluster departments. It will conclude on National Recycling Day, which falls on Friday, Nov. 15.

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Photos: Greater Lowell Tech Holds Go Red For Women Event

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Greater Lowell Technical High School
Superintendent Joseph Mastrocola
250 Pawtucket Boulevard,
Tyngsborough, MA 01879

For Immediate Release

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Greater Lowell Tech Holds Go Red For Women Event

TYNGSBOROUGH — To recognize women’s heart health, Greater Lowell Tech, in conjunction with the American Heart Association, held a Go Red For Women event on Friday focused on promoting healthy living and heart health wellness.

On Friday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., students, often dressed in red, set up informational booths to educate their peers and guests — including GLTHS Lowell School Committee member George W. O’Hare, state Rep. Sheila Harrington and Dunstable Selectman Leah D. Basbanes — about the importance of heart health, especially for women. This is the second year GLTHS has held a Go Red For Women event.

Go Red for Women is the American Heart Association’s campaign for females that aims to increase women’s heart health awareness and serve as a catalyst for change to improve the lives of women throughout the world.

The American Heart Association reports that cardiovascular diseases continue to be women’s greatest health threat, with nearly 80 percent of cardiac events able to be prevented.

“So many women aren’t as aware of the signs of a heart attack and heart health,” said American Heart Association representative Jamie Aspenson. “Go Red For Women is a way to promote heart health throughout February. I can’t say enough about how great of an event this is for the entire greater Lowell community.”

At one station, Culinary Arts juniors Olivia Reis and Jordan Cruz, both of Lowell, were giving out zucchini oat walnut chocolate chip cookies, comparing the nutrition level to that of a Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie. The latter contained more calories, sugar and saturated fat, while the zucchini cookie added more than double the amount of fiber.

“Walnuts and oats, they’re really good for your heart health because they help lower your cholesterol,” Culinary Arts instructor Janice Musko said. “Our goal with this project was to not only have students learn about nutrition, but to create something that was just as tasty as the Tollhouse cookie, and I think they did a great job of accomplishing that.”

At another booth, Medical Assisting students were demonstrating how to properly administer CPR in the event that someone with heart disease, a respiratory illness, or who experienced trauma lost consciousness.

“It’s such an important skill to be able to do to increase the chances of survival,” said junior Delaney Griffin, of Tyngsborough. “With healthy choices the hope is that you can prevent being in a situation, like cardiac arrest, where you need CPR.”

Programming and Web Development students demonstrated how to use BMI and blood pressure tracking apps, while Cosmetology students provided tips for stress relief while offering hand massages and Paraffin wax treatment. Attendees could also receive a yoga lesson, gain information about the opioid reversal drug Narcan by Trinity EMS and learn about services available through the CVS MinuteClinic.

“We’re excited to partner with the American Heart Association on this important initiative to ensure that both men and women understand the importance of cardiovascular health,” Superintendent Mastrocola said. “This was another great event and students did a great job presenting to their peers and guests on their topic.”

The event featured a collaboration with a number of industry representatives, showcasing the strong array of partnerships developed between GLTHS and private industry.

Internally, several students in different concentration areas were involved in the effort, including culinary students working with hospitality students to distribute healthy, portioned snacks in the cafeteria and health assisting students working with medical assisting students on presentations. SkillsUSA students were also working to welcome guests as they arrived.

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Tyngsborough Police Charge Greater Lowell Technical High School Student with Selling Marijuana to Other Students

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TyngsboroughPD2

Tyngsborough Police Department
Chief Richard D. Howe
20 Westford Road
Tyngsborough, MA 01879

For Immediate Release

Friday, April 7, 2017

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Tyngsborough Police Charge Greater Lowell Technical High School Student with Selling Marijuana to Other Students

TYNGSBOROUGH — Police Chief Richard D. Howe reports that the Tyngsborough Police Department will summons a student at the Greater Lowell Technical High School after he was found to be allegedly selling desserts laced with marijuana to other students at the school.

The suspect, a JUVENILE MALE, AGE 16, OF DRACUT will appear in Middlesex County Juvenile Court-Lowell at a later date, charged with:

  • Distribution of a Class D Substance
  • Juvenile in Possession of a Class D Substance (Citation)

Police were notified by administrators at Greater Lowell Technical High School that a student was found be allegedly selling marijuana-laced brownies to other students. Police initiated an investigation, which led to the 16-year-old suspect being charged.

Tyngsborough Police Department School Resource Officer Sgt. Steve R. Manning worked closely with Greater Lowell Superintendent/Director Roger Bourgeois and school faculty in the investigation.

“Marijuana is not legal for children to buy, possess, or sell, and the Tyngsborough Police Department will not tolerate its presence or distribution in our schools,” Chief Howe said. “The town of Tyngsborough is home to four secondary schools, and we are proud of the strong teamwork and collaboration that exists among our organizations. The safety, security, and welfare of our students is our first priority at all times.”

These are allegations. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty.

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