From Principal Mark Awdycki:

It is hard to believe that it took until the last two weeks of this school year to finally have almost all of you together in our school building as a class. However, I can tell you that those two weeks were some of the most spirited, fun, connected weeks I have been a part of in my almost 14 years at Millis High School. Collectively, you lifted the energy of the building and reminded all of us how special this school is when we join together for a common cause. No one does it better.

It’s been my great pleasure to be school counselor to many of you and now principal to this entire group of students, who have given so much back to Millis High School. The leadership amongst this class is amongst the strongest I’ve seen in my time at Millis High, and you have been outstanding representatives and ambassadors for our school. You have blazed a new path in what I know has been a difficult and uncertain time for so many, and the resilience and strength you have all shown along the way is going to give you the wings you need to soar in your future accomplishments.

You’ve stuck together as a class, and I would say, in spite of the separations you’ve had from each other over the past 13 months, have come together as one of the closest knit groups of students I’ve seen here in my time in Millis. I could not be more proud of you as a group. Thank you for all the new traditions you have brought to us and for the wonderful sense of community you have instilled in all of us. This school and town will always be your home, and we cannot wait to watch you flourish in your journey ahead. Congratulations to the Class of 2021!

Congratulations to the graduate, Mitchell White, and to the retiree, Dr. Joel White!

Happy Retirement, “Doc White”,

MHS Physics Teacher!

By Jaden Adams

How long have you been teaching in Millis High School?

• I have been teaching here for six years

What were you doing before teaching here, and how did it impact your decision to teach in Millis?

• I received my PhD in biology from Florida State

• Engaged in “academic route”

• Post doctoral research into faculty at university (research at Tufts Medical)

• Started a company (stopped research at Tufts to pursue company)

2008 (recession, company crashed) → had been out of academic research and it was hard to get back into it. Then I saw an email from school district about substitution (covered for a teacher, which led to my teaching Anatomy in Millis HS full time.)

Was there a point early on that you knew teaching was for you?

- Had taught during graduate school due because graduate students need money

- Taught at Tufts for Medical Neuro Anatomy

- Teaching at a highschool level (preferred the gateway into subject)

How would you describe your experience as a teacher here at MHS?

- I have really enjoyed it, enjoyed the students first and foremost

- Faculty and friendships made (science faculty specifically but the faculty at large as well)

- Liked the people at MHS

What is a memorable experience from your years of teaching here you will never forget?

- Faculty variety shows

- Physics class built trebuchets

- Awards ceremonies (recognizing students for their academic achievements)

How has Covid-19 shaped/changed you as a teacher?

- Forced a certain amount of flexibility (had to learn a number of new things)

- On demand learning

- Connection with students has been difficult (full remote)

Would you call this school year one of the hardest of your career?

- Yes

What led you to your decision to retire from teaching?

- Mitchell’s graduation

- House is too big, time for family to downsize

- Wife’s job means she can be anywhere

- Going to move down to the Cape

What will you miss the most/least about teaching?

- Interaction with students (most)

- Grading (least)

What are your plans for retirement?

- Cape Cod, sailing (previous experience), race the car/working on the car, volunteer tutor (kids in underprivileged situations), no classroom teaching

Will you continue to dabble in music? (jazz band, guitar, etc)

- I play the Bass, want to find a local band

- currently plays in a swing band

- volunteer group for Shriners Hospital for Children

What are you looking forward to most about retirement?

- More in control of the day to day schedule (less dictation of time),

- you get to decide what you do and don’t want to do

What differences do you see between yourself when you first started teaching versus now?

- Very relaxed, don’t get mad, overtime has become a more relaxed figure

- All students are different, students are all going through different things, makes me more accepting and understanding (perhaps to a fault)

Any last words of advice for your fellow teachers/students at MHS?

- When things get to normal, try to get back to enjoying school

Performing during a Pandemic

by Maddie Miga

In December 2020, Millis High School’s Terpsichore performed their first covid-friendly production of the Nutcracker. Overall the performance was a success, with seniors such as Livi Calais stating that “it’s been very different adapting! I am very grateful that we’ve had the opportunity to keep on dancing and having fun, especially because it’s my last Nutcracker.”

Even before this year’s Nutcracker was fully organized, we dancers were already planning for the annual spring recital. By helping Ms. Copice, the director of Terpsichore, we were able to have our first spring recital with a live audience in over a year. The Nutcracker had strictly allowed no audience members due to the winter having an increase in covid cases. But the expansion of vaccinations and protocols followed was a huge help in the dance community. Terpsichore was able to schedule weekly practices and dress rehearsals in preparation for the performance. While things began looking up for us, following safety guidelines majorly impacted the recital altogether. Changes in class size and the number of dancers in each piece were adjusted to prevent breaking any regulations, as well as having each dancer continue to wear face masks.

In addition, Terpsichore is a club that’s offered to both high school and middle school. Because of this, the separate grade levels were forced to practice only with those either in middle or high school. Though we were able to perform together the day of the show, this affected how rehearsals were scheduled, so high school students wouldn’t be with any middle schoolers.

As one of the dancers in Terpsichore, I’m extremely grateful to have performed twice this year during an unpredictable time. We dancers give a huge thank you to Ms. Copice and everyone who supported Terpsichore.

Congratulations to Terpsichore’s seniors: Julia Albert, Jenna Butch, Livi Calais, Kathryn Nolan, Emma Tomlin, and Helena Zammarchi, and all the other dancers, on a beautiful performance this year!

Leo's Club Continues Through COVID

26 February 2021By Maddie Miga

As many people have found creative ways to give back while staying safe, so has the Millis High School Leos. Run by Mr. Caulfield, an English teacher at MHS, our program is designed for all students to collaborate and help one another on volunteer projects. Due to the difficulties of social distancing and keeping one another out of harm’s way, Caulfield states, “Without there being events, the Leos have focused more on goods rather than services. Under the leadership of Grace Jewett and Abby Miller and with help of so many more, they have done successful food, toiletry, detergent, toy, and gift card drives. It's great that despite the challenging circumstances, they have found ways to serve the community.” From the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year to now, all of us Leos have been planning and helping others on one another’s ideas to support our community.

In the early fall of 2020, our team wasted no time on getting to work. Our toiletry and Halloween drives for the Millis Food Pantry, being the first fundraisers of the school year, were successful, to say the least. With the help of old and new members, we were able to accommodate numerous supplies of canned goods and hygienic items for those in need.

As the 2020 holiday season began, so did our Giving Tree fundraiser and Gift Card drive. Our goal of collecting different toys, gift cards, and other items wouldn’t have been possible without all of us Junior Lions.

So far in the new year, we’ve held an influential Detergent Drive and are continuing to keep providing for our community. Joining the Millis High School Leos Club is a beneficial way to give back to friends and gain experience in organizing fundraisers. Not only is our program open to everyone, but we are always looking for new members! Due to current circumstances, our club meets every Wednesday from 12:40 to 1 on Zoom. If you’re a high school student who enjoys helping and collaborating with others, we hope to see you there!

Concerning the MHS Newspaper's Name Change

22 December 2020
*This statement is excerpted from a letter by our editor Callie Cassidy. You can find the full letter on the Mascot page.

The decision to change our name is not a response to anything particularly new happening within our school community. Every year since I have gone here, and I am sure for many more, petitions have been brought forth to change the name of our mascot. Our decision as a team is not a mandate to the school itself, nor is it an endorsement or prescription for any future actions taken by the school committee. In fact, we have been discussing the decision to change our name since Mr. Carter first opened the conversation during my very first meeting as editor—way back in October.

This is a decision we made as a team to make an effort to include more input from the people we write our newspaper for, you. We want to hear your ideas for our new name, which you can submit on our Twitter and Instagram pages. We hope that by personalizing the name of our newspaper to this generation of Millis students, we can enhance our mission to represent your voices. The Millis High School Newspaper was not always called The Mohawk Post. The newspaper has only printed under that name for about ten years. Our traditional name is The Crimson Letter, which, if our readers who value that sort of thing desire it to be so, we may return to in the future.

A Very Merry Common Ground Update

By Nic Davies, 21 Dec. 2020

Times like these are tough for so many people, and those in the LGBTQ+ community are no exception. Of course, to cope with these difficulties, the Millis Common Ground has formed a tighter community and is currently planning many activities as a team.

The first thing the group had planned were presentations on pronouns and how to be a good ally to the LGBTQ+ community. Participants split up into breakout groups to create presentations on each subject, and the hope is that these presentations will be shown in a future advisory session. There have been many other activities following that, including the decoration of the bulletin board and more to come.

Several Millis alumni (who were previously members of MHS Common Ground) came to visit and speak to the current members. They gave their insight on college life and how accepting college can be compared to high school. For example, pronouns are a lot more important when college comes, since many introductory sessions often start with people's names and pronouns. The alumni left the group in good spirits and good hands, feeling optimistic about the future of the community.

This creative group has come up with many ideas as to what activities it may take on in the future. Discussions about a potential book group and mentor project were made during the last meeting, which will hopefully come to fruition soon. Until the next project this group takes on, please support it and strive to become an accepting ally to all!

Chorus Check-In: Virtual Edition!

By Nic Davies, 21 Dec. 2020

As anyone can imagine, running a school chorus virtually is a difficult task--just ask chorus director Mark Femino. But despite all the challenges, he has done an exceptional job conducting these musically-talented students through the first four months of this strange school year.

Of course, besides singing, the students got to dip their feet into some music theory basics. Something that Mr. Femino conducted this year were lessons on topics such as solfege and intervals, which proved to be very useful yet tough for several students. Sight-reading was also heavily touched upon, which introduced a website called “Noteflight” for everyone to write their own sight-reading excerpts and improve their musical prowess. The genius hour is also hinted to make a return, granting students the ability to exercise their creativity and learn new instruments and songs to their heart's content.

Singing-wise, it's not a chorus unless there's at least a pinch of group repertoire. The students chose a couple of songs to learn live and record in their own time. Fitting for the winter season, they first recorded "Vuelie" from the soundtrack of Disney's Frozen, a tricky piece with multiple parts happening all at once. Just as complex is an a cappella arrangement of The Beatles' "Because," which required the students to record two different choral parts; one featuring the actual lyrics and one serving as an instrumental to back it up. Both are currently in the process of getting recorded and edited, so please look forward to it and support the chorus and Femino in their future endeavors.

A Familiar Face: Mr. Awdycki is the New MHS Principal

By Julianne Roy, 1 Dec. 2020

Throughout the years that Mr. Awdycki has worked at Millis, he has helped hundreds of students get through the hardest parts of high school. He is a vital part of the high school in general, and as one of only two school guidance counselors he has also helped students by just being there to listen. In his job, he has always been busy, but now he will be even more busy. Mr. Awdycki is becoming the new Principal, replacing Mr. Mullaney, who is becoming the new Superintendent.

Mr. Awdycki is from Gardener, Massachusetts. It is known as the Furniture city, or more specifically, the Chair city. In front of the Elementary school he went to, there is the second largest chair in the US. After high school, he went to UMass and Salem State later on where he studied for Sports Management. While at UMass, Mr. Awdycki lived right across the hall from the Millis Middle/High School Health teacher Mr. Phinney, and then after college they lived together in an apartment.

Mr. Awdycki’s first job was at the Red Sox as a public relations manager. Then he drifted into the Pawtucket Red Sox team, which was very similar to what his role with the Red Sox was like. His next job took him back to his former college as Athletic Media Relations for UMass. Out of all the jobs he had before, this was by far his favorite one. His favorite part was probably being able to be a sports announcer at a few of the football games.

Then, Mr. Awdycki went to the Bruins to do Media Relations. He realised that, although many people may think of the players as something other than human, they are just people. He had normal conversations with the players, and some of them were very bright. He got the chance to go all over the country and meet all sorts of people.

After four years of this, though, Mr. Awdycki felt that he wasn’t doing all that he could be doing for people in general. In an interview he said, “I felt like, at that time, I could be doing so much more to help people.” That is when he decided to become part of a school system. The first school he worked at was Arlington, then Hingham, then finally he came to Millis. Millis is a much smaller school than both of the other schools he had been working at, but he loved it. His experience with the students and staff was amazing, he simply loved the atmosphere.

After working for a few years at Millis, he studied to become a principal, but he never found a position that he wanted to take. He didn’t want to leave Millis. When he heard that Mr. Mullaney was leaving his position, he felt that it was his chance to become principal. “This is my chance to use the degree in the school I love.” He said in the interview. It felt a bit wrong to him that at a school that was so closely connected to each other that there could be someone from the outside coming into the school system as principal. During this trying time, changing the principal is already a big change and he feels that if the principal is someone people already know, it will make the transition easier.

As principal, he plans to make sure that both the students and parents are supported in any way that the school can. When Covid-19 hit, it caught all of us off guard, and having the whole family home made a lot of problems for many families. This is disregarding the fact that almost 16 million people in America lost their jobs from February to June. Because Millis is such a small town, it becomes part of the school system’s job to help families get through this tough time. He wants to listen to what people have to say because this is a big part of how he can learn to adjust to his new position. He wants to see what works and what doesn’t, because no one really knows what works right now.

Last year was a little bit of a mess from an educational point of view, so there is a big gap in the education of all of the students. The challenge of the year, according to Mr. Awdycki, is trying to get all of the students to the level they need to be at without overwhelming them. All of the students learn at different speeds, so it makes it difficult to balance challenging advanced students, with students that learn at slower paces. It’s also important to make sure all of the staff, community, and students are emotionally and mentally okay. Teachers have been working all the time in school, and outside of school, many of them have admitted that this year has been harder than their first year of teaching! They have been working relentlessly looking for new ways to improve their classes and try new things. Mr. Awdycki wants to give all of the tools and support they need and encourage them to keep working hard the way they have been for all of these grueling months. Mr. Awdycki wants to bring stability to the school, and make sure that everyone is supported in all of the ways they need.

“It’s We”: A Portrait of Nancy Gustafson as Superintendent

by Callie Cassidy, Editor, "The Mohawk Post"

When I set out to write this piece in celebration of Nancy Gustafson's fourteen-year tenure as the district superintendent, I expected to end up with a simple profile of a prominent figure in our school system. I miscalculated, both in the nature of the job of superintendent and the subject herself. What I should have seen from the start, knowing this town and Mrs. Gustafson, is that this article was always going to be about community (a word which, between the two of us, was used 17 times in our short conversation). Every question I asked about Mrs. Gustafson's time and work in our schools was met with praise of our teachers, support staff, and the "synergy" between the town and the schools, especially in the context of this year.

So, who is the Millis community? I asked for that in one word, but I wasn't surprised when I got four: "Small School, Big Family" Mrs. Gustafson said, "and then we've expanded it to be Small Town, Big Family, because the parents and the community are very supportive, and there's a very good synergy back and forth."

This theme remained as, among words like "building", "collaborative", and "team", the story of Millis began to unfold. The go-to description of this town is "Small Town, Big Family", as the last fourteen years have seen the growth and development of the strengths of our small size.

"We focus on character," Mrs. Gustafson told me, "a lot of character building, not just academics." She told me of the team effort ("And it's all been a team effort, it's not about me as the superintendent") to personalize student learning and develop a relationship connection that leads to a "deep knowledge" of every single student, including their interests, goals, growths, "everything we can know about a student, ideally." Though it may sound, by her own admission, "corny in a way", Mrs. Gustafson believes the legacy of the team is a culture that "helps kids become their best selves."

But I began to suspect that perhaps Nancy Gustafson’s own role in that mission was being downplayed when I experienced myself just how much it shone through in our conversation. Even when responding to questions about herself and the town, Mrs. Gustafson still managed to reach out to and connect to me.

"I read voraciously—and I know you read a lot," she slipped into a discussion about graduation speeches. All in all, we spent nearly five minutes talking about my experiences in Millis and my future. Even more striking, these were the moments I saw Mrs. Gustafson really respond to. I found myself afterward a little astonished that I live and grew up in a school district where everyone, even a superintendent who oversees the education of 1200 kids, knows me personally. But then, that's doing Nancy Gustafson and her Millis a disservice.

She describes the feeling of watching kids grow from kindergarten to graduation, or names the "support of the community for the education of the children" at the opening of the new Clyde Brown Elementary as her favorite memory. She reflects with pride student discussions in which "you could see them becoming scholars", showing just how much love our superintendent has for our small school, big family. Over the past fourteen years she has worked for and with us. Millis has become a tight-knit, personally-connected, character-driven community dedicated to the growth, grit, and skills of the next generations of Millis-bred leaders, scholars, and above all, people. As Mrs. Gustafson herself said, "I like to think that's what we've been all about."

So what’s next? For the Millis school system, great things, as Mrs. Gustafson made clear.

"I think Mr. Mullaney is a phenomenal person and a great leader," she told me, "and I have confidence that his approach will allow the schools to continue to be a learning organization that's constantly focused on improving."

One of those improvements is more "real-world learning", such as the new engineering course in the high school. Focusing on applications in the real world will make sure kids "have a sense of what's possible out there, career-wise." This philosophy makes a lot of sense coming from Mrs. Gustafson, who told me about her high school senior year in Boulder, taking classes like Field Botany and Applied Sociology at the nearby University of Colorado, crafting a senior year all about her own interests.

“That’s kind of what we’re trying to move towards in Millis, and that’s what I want to be able to provide for students, a way that the schools serve them and let them explore their interests and look at real-world applications of those interests. A kind of a launchpad to the world.”

What, then, is next in store for the woman who was that curious high school senior, now a retired superintendent? Though it may come as a surprise, Mrs. Gustafson told me she loves working with people. Her ideal job: mentoring other administrators or working with pre-service college kids who are becoming teachers.

"I'd like to think I can give back. I've learned so much over the years from the people I've worked with," she said, "I've learned so much being in teacher's classrooms and observing the wonderful teaching that they do. I would love to give back, and help others." And it's only natural, seeing how passionate Mrs. Gustafson has been about teamwork, collaboration, and community that her retirement will continue to play a supporting role in developing those missions.

Still, after all this talk about the schools and the cooperation that built them, you must be wondering, did I learn anything about Nancy Gustafson that wasn't also about Millis?

"I have a granddaughter, who's a little more than two and a half, and I'd love to spend some time with her," she told me, smiling.

And we wish her the best on that, and any other endeavors she may embark on in this next stage of her life.

Welcome Mr. Mullaney! Millis High School Principal, now our new MPS Superintendent!

by Ben Pudelka, Features Editor

Following a vote from the School Committee last October, Principal Robert Mullaney was selected as the new Millis school system superintendent. He will replace Nancy Gustafson who had held the position for 12 years prior. Gustafson chose to stay for the difficult decision of how the COVID-19 situation would be handled in Millis. She will be replaced by Bob Mullaney effective December 1st. The school system will absolutely miss the retiring Gustafson who has been a part of this system for over a decade.

Mr. Mullaney will have a new task in the Millis school system as the new superintendent of schools. He served as the principal of the Millis high school system for 14 years and will continue his involvement within the Millis school system as the school district’s top position. Taking his place as the new interim principal will be Mark Awdycki, one of the current guidance counselors in the Millis High school system. The many changes in high holding positions in the school system will come with a new shift in how the system is run as a whole.

The retirement of Nancy Gustafson as the superintendent of schools will cause some getting used to, especially after her long service at that position. However, while we congratulate Ms.Gustafson for her achievements and time as superintendent, we will be welcoming in a new superintendent into the school system in Robert Mullaney. All members of the school board, as well as all the students in the Millis school system, will be looking forward to the new chapter with Mr. Mullaney as the MPS Superintendent.

Performing during a Pandemic: An update on “The Nutcracker”

By Maddie Miga

“There’s no taking days off. We’re as good as our last performance, and you’re constantly working to be better every day.” (Misty Copeland)

Terpsichore has been living by this quote from Misty Copeland, an American ballet dancer, since the beginning of quarantine. Ms. Stephanie Copice, director of Terpsichore and Millis High School’s chemistry and biology teacher, has been working tirelessly to give our school an annual performance of The Nutcracker.

Before quarantine, dancers had been rehearsing pieces for the Spring Recital. When the world went into shutdown, Terpsichore kept pushing. In the beginning, we were able to rehearse dances while using Zoom and Google Meets.

Livi Calais, a senior at Millis High who’s danced with Terpsichore for many years now, says “it’s been very different adapting! I am very grateful that we’ve had the opportunity to keep on dancing and having fun with all of you, especially because it’s my last Nutcracker.”

Other senior performers, such as Kathryn Nolan, agree that “right now everyone is having to make compromises, which is what we had to do this year. But we are making the best of it and at least we get to dance.”

After a few months, our dance club was able to progress by holding rehearsals outside in the Millis High School courtyard. While remaining a six feet distance from each other and wearing our masks, this gave us dancers a glimpse of hope that The Nutcracker would be possible. Although some of us were concerned about not being able to perform this winter, no one had any idea of how fortunate things would soon turn out.

Once Millis proceeded into hybrid, Terpsichore was welcomed back to practicing in the auditorium. Though The Nutcracker won’t be produced like years before, Ms. Copice and dancers have been able to think “outside of the box” as to including an audience in our show. Each dance included in our recital has been filmed and edited into one video for others to enjoy. After weeks of quarantining costumes and rearranging choreography to meet COVID guidelines, this year’s performance will be successful.

As a dancer with Terpsichore for six years, it was inevitable for us to work towards a recital during a global pandemic. Ms. Copice has always challenged us to give it our best shot. We cannot be more grateful for the time and effort she’s put into this year’s show.

Students, teachers, and anyone with an appreciation for the arts can buy a copy of The Nutcracker. Congratulations to Terpsichore’s seniors: Julia Albert, Jenna Butch, Livi Calais, Kathryn Nolan, Emma Tomlin, and Helena Zammarchi, and all the dancers on a beautiful performance this year!

Meet The Mohawk Post Editorial Board for 2020-2021!

Editor-in-Chief: Callie Cassidy

Arts Editor: Nic Davies

Copy Editor: Julianne Roy

Features Editor: Ben Pudelka

Social Media Manager: Maddie Miga

Still looking for more writers, artists, and people interested in covering Sports and taking photographs!

Interested? Please email The Mohawk Post!