Whittier tech

Whittier Tech Students Place in National SkillsUSA Competition

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Maureen Lynch, Superintendent
115 Amesbury Line Road
Haverhill, MA 01830

For Immediate Release

Friday, July 6, 2018

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

Whittier Tech Students Place in National SkillsUSA Competition

HAVERHILL — Superintendent Maureen Lynch is pleased to announce that two Whittier Tech teams earned bronze medals at the SkillsUSA national competition last week.

Students who earned gold at the SkillsUSA state competition in April moved onto the national round on June 25-30 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Whittier Tech rising seniors Larissa Havey, of Amesbury, Emily Shal, of Amesbury, and Allasandra Thompson, of Haverhill, earned bronze for their career pathways showcase in health occupations for their “Music and Memory” program, which benefits patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in nursing homes.

“I have never felt so much joy in my life, not only being able to represent my school, but being able to care for these residents. We put so much time and effort in trying to improve their quality of life,” said Havey. “Overall, Kentucky wasn’t about winning. It was about getting to experience this joy and memories with the people.”

Graduating seniors Tyler Paolucci, of Georgetown, Jacklyn Verrette, of Haverhill, and Mackenzie Maguire, of Merrimac, also earned bronze in the career pathways showcase in the industrial and engineering technology cluster for their CAD design of Whittier’s new Allied Health Center.

“I am beyond happy to have placed. When I heard that our team earned bronze, I felt like I was going to the moon I jumped so high,” Paolucci said. “This was a six-month long project and the outcome is amazing. We love Whittier so much and as seniors we wanted to leave our mark on the school somehow, so this new Allied Health Center really has our spin on it.”

During the competition, students presented their projects to a panel of judges and were judged in a number of areas, including speaking skills, community impact, demonstration of technical skills and integration of business and industry.

“The six students who placed in the national competition demonstrated unbelievable teamwork, commitment and passion throughout their projects and over the last several months participating in SkillsUSA,” said Whittier’s SkillsUSA Co-adviser Jane Moskevitz. “Our teams had some stiff competition from 40 other teams and for them to place is reflective of the superb work they completed. They should be proud, and know that they have the academic and technical skills to excel outside of Whittier.”

Rising seniors Kaitlyn Cook, Ethan Rousseau and Adam Bellville — all of Haverhill — also have reason to be proud of their work in the chapter display category. This season marked the first time in 16 years that Whittier entered a team in this section of the competition, with the three earning seventh place out of 44 teams. Projects had to represent this year’s theme — “Job-Ready Day One.”

“Just to make it to nationals is an accomplishment, and these students should be so proud of their hard work,” Moskevitz said. “We’ve learned so much this year just seeing what other teams produced and we’re confident we’ll be back next year.”

SkillsUSA is a partnership of vocational-technical and career students, teachers and industry leaders who work together to promote and ensure a skilled workforce in the U.S. More than 395,000 middle school, high school and college students and professional members are enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occupations.

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U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Visits Whittier Tech for Memorial Day Presentation

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Maureen Lynch, Superintendent
115 Amesbury Line Road
Haverhill, MA 01830

For Immediate Release

Thursday, May 24, 2018

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

U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Visits Whittier Tech for Memorial Day Presentation

HAVERHILL — As Whittier Tech students prepare for Memorial Day weekend, they were reminded of the significance of the holiday at a presentation this week led by retired U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Mike Devin — a speaker for the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes program.

A nonprofit organization, Massachusetts Fallen Heroes honors soldiers from the state who have been killed in combat and supports their Gold Star families. Since 9/11, 286 soldiers from Massachusetts have lost their lives, including five from Haverhill and one graduate from Whittier Tech, Evan O’Neill, who died at age 19 in 2003, fighting in Afghanistan.

Principal Chris Laganas welcomed students and staff to the assembly in the gymnasium on Monday, May 21. Whittier’s chorus sang, “The Star Spangled Banner” and a moving video leading up to Devin’s speech showed Gold Star family members talking about their loved ones and the recognition they deserve.

“Amid the barbecues, take a moment to reflect upon those who sacrificed their lives for our country,” Devin told students. “Take a moment to look up and think about Pvt. First Class Evan O’Neill who sat in this same gym.”

Gathered together on the bleachers, more than half of Whittier’s 1,300 students raised their hands when asked if they had a family member who has served in the military. “If your family member made it home, they were lucky,” Devin said.

As part of his presentation to Whittier, Devin shared how he enlisted in the Marine Corps after college when he saw members honor his dad at his funeral.

“It was a sense of camaraderie I wanted to be part of,” he said.

The day before he shipped out to Afghanistan he received news that one of his close friends had stepped on a roadside bomb and lost both of his legs. He was dispatched to the same location, and eventually stepped on an improvised explosive device himself, but luckily it did not detonate.

He spent a year in Afghanistan training Afghan soldiers, followed by four years in Mexico where he trained infantry to fight the drug cartels.

After the assembly, students said they appreciated the overall message and several approached Devin to shake his hand.

“I thought it was nice the way he mentioned Evan O’Neill, and how he told us to enjoy the day, but thank everyone we see who served, to just say thank you for their service,” said freshman Keily Martinez, of Haverhill. “I also liked hearing how the Gold Star families support each other.”

Members of Whittier’s Student Government, led by advisers James Donahue, Jr. and Andrew Cherouvis, brought the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes program to Whittier.

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Whittier Tech Students Compete in Boston Eco-Carpentry Challenge

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Maureen Lynch, Superintendent
115 Amesbury Line Road
Haverhill, MA 01830

For Immediate Release

Thursday, May 24, 2018

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

Whittier Tech Students Compete in Boston Eco-Carpentry Challenge

HAVERHILL — Whittier Tech carpentry students turned trash into treasure for this month’s Boston Eco-Carpentry Challenge, taking a pile of discarded office furniture and creating two carnival games.

The annual contest promotes recycling and gives students the opportunity to showcase their creativity by transforming old pieces into something new.

Over the past three months, 22 sophomores and one senior took apart cabinets, tables and office partitions that were given to Whittier by The Furniture Trust, a nonprofit that puts on the challenge. They used those supplies to build Skeeball and Plinko games.

To create the games, students used lathes to make the 4-inch balls that players roll up the Skeeball table, and they also crafted pucks that get placed at the top wall of the Plinko game then slip down the slotted walls to earn points.

Students had their work judged against eight other participating schools during the challenge event on May 10 at District Hall in Boston. A team of judges awarded the Whittier team with the Best Craftsmanship award. This is the fourth year Whittier has entered the competition

“The students had a great time and our entry was swarmed with people all night playing our games and admiring the other items they had made,” said Carpentry Teacher Mark Whittier, who worked with students during the project. “The Eco-Carpentry Challenge illustrates the value of recycling and allows students to hone the skills they’ve learned in the classroom to create fun projects that can be used long after the furniture’s original lifespan.”

Participating carpentry students include: sophomores Ethan Burridge, of Groveland, Dylan Fraize, of Amesbury, Jyrell Ruiz, of Lawrence, Aristotle Campbell, of Merrimac, Max Ouellette, of Newbury, Cody Hadley, Brendan Gallagher, Angelica Cintron, Ricky Flores, Nathan Charoux, Siarra Cronin, Jared Recillas, Angel Alvarado, Alanna Stafford, Tyler Wetherbee, Emily Wilson, Nicholas Glynn, Cody Littlefield, Adam Taschereau, Brian Skaff, Killian Barry and senior Desiree Michaud, all of Haverhill.

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Whittier Tech Students Place in State SkillsUSA Competition

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Maureen Lynch, Superintendent
115 Amesbury Line Road
Haverhill, MA 01830

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

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

Whittier Tech Students Place in State SkillsUSA Competition

HAVERHILL — Whitter Tech students shined at this year’s statewide SkillsUSA competition, bringing home 14 gold, six silver and six bronze medals.

Also, for the first time in Whittier’s history, a student has been elected as a state officer. Lauren Fitzgerald, a sophomore studying health occupations from Salisbury, earned a spot on the SkillsUSA 2018-19 State Executive Council.

The gold medalists will advance to the national competition on June 25-30 in Louisville, Kentucky. Students were recognized for their accomplishments at Whittier’s annual Advisory Board dinner on May 3, where more than 200 industry and business leaders were in attendance.

“I don’t know if it can get any better than this,” said Whittier’s SkillsUSA Co-adviser Jane Moskevitz. “This is what Whittier is really all about. Our students shined and it was just awesome. They’ve all been working diligently since last year at this. My hope is that this level of success inspires more underclassmen to get involved.”

Ninety-two Whittier students attended the three-day event with 3,000 participants, the largest educational gathering in the state, hosted at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center.

After completing presentations, students were grilled by judges and confidently answered questions about their vocational-technical educations and the impact their careers would have on their communities.

“It was truly a testimony to how hard work really pays off,” Moskevitz said. “I am grateful to the many staff members who helped prepare our students, and my co-adviser Bruce Boisselle for his assistance throughout the event.”

Among the big winners were health occupations students who created a “Music and Memory” program to benefit dementia patients at area nursing homes, CAD students who designed Whittier’s new Allied Health Center and culinary arts students who created “The Energizer” food truck.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of vocational-technical and career students, teachers and industry leaders who work together to promote and ensure a skilled workforce in the U.S. More than 395,000 high school, college and middle school students and professional members are enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occupations.

Whittier’s student medalists are:

GOLD

  • Senior Nicholas Hardy, Georgetown – Collision Repair
  • Senior Samuel Brindle, Merrimac – CNC Technician
  • Junior Kaitlyn Cook, Haverhill; Junior Ethan Rousseau, Haverhill; Junior Adam Bellville, Haverhill – Chapter Display
  • Junior Allasandra Thompson, Haverhill; Junior Emily Shal, Amesbury; Junior Larissa Havey, Amesbury – Career Pathways Showcase – Health Services Cluster
  • Senior Tyler Paolucci, Georgetown; Senior Jacklyn Verrette, Haverhill; Senior Mackenzie Maguire, Merrimac – Career Pathways Showcase – Industrial & Engineering Technology Cluster
  • Senior Caroline Hailson, Haverhill; Senior Logan Slevoski, Georgetown; Senior Makayla Larochelle, Methuen – Career Pathways Showcase – Natural Resources/Agriculture/ Food Cluster

SILVER 

  • Junior Sarah Cote, Haverhill; Junior Melisa Cepeda, Haverhill; Junior Ashley Greene, Salisbury – Career Pathways Showcase – Human Services Cluster
  • Senior Macy Joubert, Salisbury; Senior Elizabeth Jarmolowicz, Amesbury; Senior Nathaniel Bacon, Haverhill – Career Pathways Showcase – Arts  Communication Cluster

BRONZE

  • Senior Michael McAuliffe, Haverhill; Senior Andrew Buzzell, Merrimac; Senior Thomas Tanzella, West Newbury; Senior Sean Putnam, Ipswich – Team Build
  • Senior Phillip Colladay, Ipswich; Senior Patrick Greenler, Georgetown – Urban Search & Rescue

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