Paper Mill students Maddy Hamel, Beckett Van Heynigen, and Kimber Allen and Assistant Principal Laura Creanza. Back row- Dr. Cynthia Kennedy, Principal, and Melissa VanHeynigen, Visual Arts teacher. (Photo by Amy Porter)
WESTFIELD – Paper Mill Elementary School students, Principal Dr. Cynthia Kennedy, Vice Principal Laura Creanza and Visual Arts teacher Melissa VanHeynigen started Monday’s School Committee meeting off joyfully by reporting on a recent field trip to the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts.
Paper Mill students Maddy Hamel, Beckett VanHeynigen and Kimber Allen, began by thanking the Westfield Foundation for Education for a grant that made the trip possible. Melissa VanHeynigen said the artwork they saw helped the students to learn about visual thinking strategies.
Westfield High School students also gave a report on the activities ramping up as the school year draws to a close, including a shout out to this weekend’s Drama Club production of “Footloose the Musical,” with shows on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Junior Aiden Chisholm announced the results of the state Science Fair, in which he participated and received a third place award with his partner Brendan Morrissey for their project, “Analysis of Microbes Cultured from Keys of a Computer.”
Other students that received awards, included Eric Bone and Jackson Diltz, who will be attending the INTEL International Science Fair in June for “Magnetic Helmets vs. Electromagnet Helmets.”
WHS Science Fair second place winner Donald Chang earned a $20,000 UMASS Amherst Scholarship and an Honorable Mention for “The Purification Effect of Graphene Covered Sand on Macromolecules.” Chisholm said Chang was “lucky,” because he plans to attend UMass Amherst in the fall anyway.
Adrian Orszulak and Kristen Stawasz received a third place honor for “Designing a Lead Test Kit: A Solution to the Shortcomings of Others,” as did John Peloquin for “How clean is your shower pouf?” An Honorable Mention also went to Kyle McCaffery for “Conductivity and Weight, Copper, Aluminum, Maybe Both.”
“Great work by everyone involved and a huge thank you to Mrs. McKay, Mrs. Sweeney, Mrs. Aldrich and the rest of the Science Department for all of their help,” wrote Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski in posting about the awards.
The student representatives also reminded the School Committee that this is Teacher Appreciation Week.
