State House

GLTS STEAM Students Visit State House for MassCUE Learning Showcase 

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Greater Lawrence Technical School
Superintendent John Lavoie
57 River Rd, Andover,
MA 01810

For Immediate Release

Monday, June 17, 2019

Contact: Jessica Sacco
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

GLTS STEAM Students Visit State House for MassCUE Learning Showcase 

LAWRENCE — Superintendent John Lavoie is pleased to announce that 10th grade STEAM students joined their peers throughout the state at a Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE) Education Evolution learning showcase.

MassCUE works with educators throughout the state to effectively integrate technology into classrooms through professional learning opportunities, including specialized webinars, workshops, camps and more.

On June 5, Cameron Anderson, of Methuen; Nathan Quirindongo, Emily Then and Yasmerlin Ortega, all of Lawrence, along with STEAM instructors Tim Jones and Caroline McCullough visited the State House’s Hall of Flags to present on their “Syria Bioreacter” project.

For their project, students were tasked with using STEAM concepts to answer the question: “How can we help Syrians make medication in a time of war?” To do so, they put themselves in the shoes of Syrian people — thinking about the current civil war, which they first learned about in history class — to determine what would be feasible to create.

They came up with the idea to make a bioreactor from recycled materials that could grow and then deliver medication to those in need. Students worked on all facets of the project in biotech, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and English.

They made the “broth,” which grows algae and bacteria to make the medicinal liquid in biotech, and in electrical engineering, they created a motor that moves the medicine through the device to be administered. The actual building of the contraption occurred in mechanical engineering. Then, in English class, students wrote letters to congressmen and women in Massachusetts to make them aware of the issues unfolding in Syria.

“This was a great opportunity for students to not only showcase their work, but to interact with their peers from around the state who share similar interests,” said STEAM instructor Marla Hilderbrand-Chae, who organized the GLTS trip to the State House. “Everyone took something away from the event that we all can use as we continue to explore ideas and concepts over the next couple of years in the STEAM Innovation Lab.”

About the GLTS STEAM Innovation Program:

The Science Technology Engineering Arts Math (STEAM) Innovation Program is in its second year of implementation at GLTS and blends the technical thinking of a scientist or engineer with that of an artist or designer.

The program is unique because it fully integrates the career areas of biotechnology and engineering with core academic subjects and music. Students learn technical, academic and soft skills by working on projects in teams to investigate and find possible solutions to real-world problems.

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Easton Middle School Students to Present at Statehouse Learning Showcase

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Easton Public Schools
Dr. Lisha Cabral, Superintendent
50 Oliver St.
North Easton, MA 02356

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Easton Middle School Students to Present at Statehouse Learning Showcase

EASTON — Superintendent Lisha Cabral is pleased to share that four Easton Middle School students will present videos they created using green screen technology at the State House this June.

Four students, sixth grader Anthony Rhodes; seventh grader Antonia Saade; sixth grader Robert Dobbin; and seventh grader Isabel Domenico, will give presentations to legislators at Education Evolution, a learning showcase, in the Hall of Flags at the State House on Wednesday, June 5. The students will be accompanied at the showcase by Jessica Garbowski, a media specialist at Easton Middle School, and Jeanne Baxter, a sixth grade teacher.

The showcase is being held by Massachusetts Computer Using Educators (MassCUE), a Massachusetts affiliate of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

Students will give presentations at the showcase about projects and coursework they’ve completed with the assistance of various technologies. The goal of the event is to highlight the technology available to support children and teens in the classroom as they become global citizens. Groups of between two and four students were selected to present after an application process earlier this school year.

All four Easton Middle School students will present projects they created in their sixth grade social studies class under the guidance of their teacher, Jeanne Baxter. The students used a “Think Tank,” an innovative classroom space with flexible furniture, collaborative devices and state-of-the-art technology including iPad Minis with tripods, Chromebooks, Chromecasts, a Promethean Interactive panel, green screens and six smart TVs, to create videos about topics such as Ancient Greece and early man. The students researched their topics for their videos, wrote scripts, created storyboards, acted and edited their videos.

“These students are thrilled to have the opportunity to present their projects to their representatives and explain how this technology enhanced their learning of these topics,” Garbowski said. “Integrating this technology into their studies has allowed them to be creative and brought their analysis of these civilizations to another level.”

Across the state, 40 student groups were chosen to present in the showcase.

“It’s an honor that our students were selected to share some of the work we’re doing here at Easton Public Schools to bring technology into the classroom to supplement and augment student learning,” Superintendent Cabral said. “It’s also thrilling to see how excited our middle school students were to use this technology to create these projects and elevate their studies.”

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Hull High School AP Spanish Students Visit State House for Annual MIRA Luncheon

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Hull Public Schools
Michael F. Devine, Superintendent
180 Harborview Road
Hull, MA 02045

For Immediate Release

Friday, Jan. 4, 2019

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

Hull High School AP Spanish Students Visit State House for Annual MIRA Luncheon 

Front row, left to right: Seniors Sean Healey, Jessica Goode, Krista Carpenter and Katie Punchard. Back row, left to right: State Rep. Joan Meschino, seniors Michael DelGuidice, Leah Dunn, Hannah Lees, Alyssa Albert and Spanish teacher Elizabeth Wescott. (Courtesy Photo Hull High School)

HULL — To wrap up their first unit of study, Hull High School AP Spanish students traveled to the State House for a real-life lesson on immigration and citizenship.

On Nov. 20, AP Spanish seniors Sean Healey, Jessica Goode, Krista Carpenter, Katie Punchard, Leah Dunn, Hannah Lees and Alyssa Albert, along with teacher Elizabeth Wescott, attended the Our Shared Table luncheon. The event was hosted by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) — the largest coalition in New England promoting the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees.

The annual luncheon celebrates newly sworn-in and aspiring U.S. citizens. During the students’ first semester, they completed a unit on “Personal and Public Identities,” where they worked on a project about the Hull’s immigrant community, and in the process came upon MIRA.

Given students’ excitement and dedication to the project, Wescott reached out to MIRA for a potential field trip opportunity, who invited them to the State House for the Our Shared Table event.

During the luncheon, the students served food and were able to listen to speeches about immigration and citizenship, including one from U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and immigrants from the Boston area who are working to help their communities. Students also got to practice their Spanish with some of the MIRA employees and immigrants, and tie their work back to their studies on global challenges and contemporary life and families and communities.

“AP Spanish students enjoyed the field trip and were also able to make connections to their curriculum with an authentic and memorable experience,” Wescott said. “I was so impressed with students’ maturity, enthusiasm and initiative. It was a great day.”

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Arlington Youth Health and Safety Coalition Meets with State Leaders to Discuss Prevention of Underage Drinking

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Retained by the Town of Arlington Health and Human Services Department

Town of Arlington
Department of Health and Human Services
Christine Bongiorno, Director
27 Maple St.
Arlington, MA 02476

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, June 5, 2016

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

Arlington Youth Health and Safety Coalition Meets with State Leaders to Discuss Prevention of Underage Drinking 

Left to right: AYHSC Director Karen Koretsky, junior Ellie Egan, sophomore Maire Beck and AYHSC Coordinator Anna Collins (Courtesy Photo)

ARLINGTON — Director Karen Koretsky is pleased to announce that representatives from the Arlington Youth Health and Safety Coalition presented a Prevention Position Paper containing evidence based actions to prevent underage drinking to legislators last month.

On April 5, student members of the coalition, alongside community leaders from Somerville, Cambridge, and Everett traveled to the State House to present their Prevention Position Paper. Arlington’s state Sen. Cindy Friedman and state. Rep. Sean Garballey were in attendance.

The paper reflected information gathered from some of the region’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, which are administered to high schools each year. Results from the June 2017 survey confirmed the percentage of students who have experimented and use alcohol.

Percentage of students who have consumed alcohol within the past 30 days:

  • Arlington: 27.9 percent
  • Cambridge: 32 percent
  • Everett: 17.5 percent
  • Somerville: 19 percent

Percentage of students who have tried alcohol:

  • Arlington: 57.1 percent
  • Cambridge: 53 percent
  • Everett: 38.2 percent
  • Somerville: 44 percent

Underage drinking is an integral focus of the Substance Abuse Prevention Collaborative. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the younger people are when they first consume alcohol, the worse the outcomes are for their overall health and brain development, and the more likely they will be to develop an alcohol addiction. Youth Risk Behavior Surveys administered in Arlington, Cambridge, Everett and Somerville indicate that the most common ways for youth to obtain alcohol is by having an older sibling or friend provide it to them or by using a fake ID.

“If our communities can eliminate these risk factors, we can foster a healthier and safer environment for our youth,” Koretsky said. “By working with key stakeholders in the state, we hope to implement positive change in all communities to prevent underage drinking.”

During the meeting at the State House, SAPC youth leaders recommended three strategies to reduce youth alcohol use and ways to implement these strategies.

1. Increase barriers in order to reduce youth access of alcohol.

  • Change punishment for providing to minors to include something that is more easily enforced (loss of a license, etc.)
  • Require establishments that sell alcohol to have strict protocols, including scanning IDs (and have employees complete training to recognize fake identification). Refusing out of state IDs would be an included safeguard or requiring two forms of ID.
  • Urge liquor retailers to refuse to sell to those with out of state identification.

2. Increase youth understanding of the widespread harm that alcohol causes.

  • Create PSAs, posters and campaigns that emphasize positive social norms.
  • Increase advertisement restrictions, especially on social media.

3. Reduce youth exposure to alcohol.

  • Alcohol placement restrictions.
  • MBTA ban on alcohol advertisements.

Arlington students, junior Ellie Egan and sophomore Maire Beck, also spoke about the work they’re spearheading in Arlington, including a “Sticker Shock” campaign, where community, youth and alcohol retailers worked together to prevent minors from obtaining alcohol and their “Majority Rules” positive social norm campaign at Arlington High School.

The meeting concluded with an open discussion between the students and elected officials about what they are doing to reduce underage drinking, and what they hope to do in the future.

For more information about Arlington Youth Health and Safety Coalition or to volunteer, contact Koretsky at 781-316-3179 or [email protected] To find out more, visit them on Facebook here.

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