SY 2022-23
Winter Pep Rally, MHS’s First
By Kaitlyn Richards | Mar. 13, 2023
On Friday, February 17, Millis High School had its first-ever winter pep rally. The new rendition of the pep rally is completely different from the traditional event in the fall. The pep rally featured many new games and competitions including a paper airplane competition, a handstand contest, and a hula hoop competition.
The competitions all saw a wide variety of winners with the seniors winning two events and the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen all winning one. The senior class took the lead quickly by winning the knockout contest and the relay race. The other three classes caught up when the junior Jen Scolponeti won the hula hoop contest, sophomore Andy Veres won the three-point shoot-off, and freshman Gabby Kramer won the handstand contest.
By far, one of the student's favorite competitions to watch was the paper airplane competition. The airplanes were judged based on how far they could fly and then how accurately they could hit a target. At the end of the competition, each competitor showed off their plane to the staff. The staff then voted on the winner for best design. The winner of best design by far was senior Frankie Pizzarella’s airplane.
At the rally, each winter sports team and performing arts groups were called down to be recognized by the school. Also, student achievements and the students of the month were announced.
The pep rally was very well received by the students and staff. Sophomore student Abby Wallace said, “I really enjoyed the new winter pep rally. I'm glad that they switched up the games and competitions from the fall rally. It made it more entertaining.” Hopefully, this can become a new annual event for Millis High School.
Massachusetts Takes Big Step Towards Progression
By Macy Cyr | Jan. 23, 2023 Photo courtesy of Nancy Lane/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool
Massachusetts welcomed Maura Healey as governor on January 5, 2023. Not only the first elected woman as governor, but the first openly lesbian governor in Massachusetts. Healey is accompanied by her lieutenant governor Kim Driscoll, as they are Massachusetts’s first elected female team.
Senator Karen Spilka, the president of the senate expressed, “Today is a historic day in our commonwealth’s history. As only the third woman senate president in our history, it is a distinct honor and privilege to administer the oath of office to the first elected woman governor of the commonwealth.” She then continues, “And that’s not all, It Doesn’t end there. The first woman team elected governor and lieutenant governor.”
Prior, Healey has been in Massachusetts since college: first graduating from Harvard in 1992 and then Northeastern University in 1998 with a doctorate’s degree in law. She was later elected Attorney General in 2014 and again in 2018. Her platform is focused on housing, public transportation, the clean energy economy, and job training.
The inauguration took place during the first joint session of 2023 and of the 193rd general court where members of both the house and senate gathered to welcome these women. Members of all political parties were visibly enthusiastic about the arrival of Healey. Crowded by representatives waiting to shake her hand and congratulate her, it was almost difficult to walk to the front of the room.
Starting at 11:45, the almost 2 hour event brought a look at what it was like to be in the room of the legislature during such an event. With a few recesses, the pledge of allegiance, national anthem, and prayer to god, this meeting that seems to be a pattern from the past was a step into progression.
In her speech after being sworn in, Healey expresses her love for the state. Lucky enough to hear her long line of family from Massachusetts, we also hear her convey how this state has brought such amazing opportunities for her, “We were the first to guarantee that healthcare is universal, and 20 years later that love is too.” Assuming that Maura Healey is proud of herself and her state, she should be just as proud of how she is stepping into this vital job in our state legislature.
“She seems like a really fun person, and it’s cool to see a person like her represent this demographic in our government,” sophomore Logan Manning said.
Chaos: McCarthy Eventually Triumphant in Historic House Vote
By Kaitlyn Richards | Jan. 23, 2023
The United States House of Representatives failed to elect a new Speaker of the House on their first ballot for the first time in over 100 years. Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy attempted fifteen times to win the Speaker position. McCarthy remained confident throughout the four days in his ability to convince GOP “rebels'' into voting for him.
On the third day of debate, Republicans in opposition to McCarthy faced backlash from their fellow GOP members. The GOP opposition was frustrated with the lack of decisions being made on the floor. The controversial adjournment after the first day of debating further fueled their frustration with McCarthy. Some Republicans including Lauren Boebert, a representative from Colorado, and Bob Good, a representative from Virginia, stated that they would “never vote” for McCarthy to be Speaker of the House. Fortunately, after the third day, McCarthy was even closer to winning the election.
On Saturday, January 7th, the final day of debate, there was huge turmoil between McCarthy and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz as he was the last vote needed for McCarthy to clinch the position. With the frustration and exhaustion that built up over the week, some members of the House were seen lunging at Gaetz in anger.
“The Speaker of the House elections were extremely chaotic to watch. At points it got very confusing to understand what was going on. A streamlined election would have been much better.” said sophomore student Avery Covitz about the election.
The Democrats remained consistent in voting for minority party leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York, in allegiance to their political party. This was the complete opposite for the GOP who voted all over the place. At times during the multiple votes, the Republicans nominated more than two Speaker of the House contenders. Also, to delay the votes even more, some Republican representatives voted for former President Donald Trump or voted “present.”
“Historically the election has always been quicker,” said history teacher Ms. Ziemba when asked her thoughts about the election. “It always goes with the flow. Each party has who they want in mind to be their leader. The number of days this election took was definitely unprecedented.”
When asked about the chaos on the House floor, Ms. Ziemba recalled the time when Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker. “When former Speaker Pelosi was elected, there might have been a few no votes from the Democrats but she had plenty of votes and it was a smooth down-to-business transition. This time it was very awkward. There was verbal hostility on the floor and there were some very close physical encounters.”
President Biden seemed to be watching the election closely as the decision will have a huge impact on his legislative priorities. The House went four whole days without having any representatives because no members could be sworn in without a Speaker.
McCarthy promised the Republicans to tackle budget issues in future House bills. These issues are not currently on the Democrat’s agenda. McCarthy’s view on the budget may also cause further problems down the road for the other representatives.
On the final day of debate, McCarthy was able to get the required votes needed to win the Speaker election and he and the other representatives were sworn in that night.
Photo below: Rep. Kevin McCarthy swears in as House Speaker of the House on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo / Andrew Harnik)
A Spirited Week of Competition and Costumes
By Kaitlyn Richards | Nov. 16, 2022
Spirit week was a big hit this year at MHS! There were many fun activities and themes that were decided by the Student Council. The theme days saw a huge number of participants throughout the week. The week started on Monday, October 28 with pajama day. It continued throughout the week with USA day on Tuesday, Hawaiian day on Wednesday, Thursday was “GroutFit” day, and closing out the week on Friday was Millis pride day. Even some teachers dressed up for the week!
The week also included many exciting lunch games. The games occurred during the first and second lunch every day. All four grades were competing against each other for spirit week points. The activities included corn hole, bobbing for apples, eating donuts off of a string, spike ball, and egg toss.
On Friday, The Student Council members for each class were able to show off the hard work they did on their class banners which were showcased at the annual Pep Rally. Members of each class walked out holding their banners with a fun theme song playing in the background. Some of the classes even had their members doing some fun flips and tricks to entertain the crowd.
“We’ve seen the pep rally indoors before as middle schoolers, but this year as high school students the gym had a different energy to it. The excitement from everyone was awesome” said sophomore student Madi Adams. “I really enjoyed watching all the competitions and the announcement of the winner of spirit week.”
After the banners were showcased, the competitions began. The Pep Rally competitions turned out to be a great time. The first competition was a combination of different relay race style events. The seniors ended up winning the races. The intensity turned up in the gym once the tug of war started. The rounds started when the senior class competed against the freshman class and the sophomore class competed against the junior class. Both the seniors and the juniors won their preliminary rounds. Then the freshmen and the sophomore classes faced off and the sophomores won. In the final round the juniors faced the seniors and the seniors won.
At the end of the pep rally the winner of spirit week was announced. The seniors took the win for the entire week!
Students Dancing in the Aisles: Mohawk Council’s Assembly educates MHS on Indigenous culture, the Nipmuc tribe, traditional songs and dances
By Kaitlyn Richards | Oct. 25, 2022
On Friday October 21, the Mohawk Council arranged an assembly to spotlight the culture of the Nipmuc people. The assembly was performed by Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr. and his nephew Dayshawn. Gaines's goal is to focus on bringing back the traditional Indigenous culture to the Native Americans who may have abandoned or forgotten parts of their native culture.
Gaines is a member of the Nipmuc nation. He is a public speaker, educator, and Indigenous rights activist. Gaines is also a traditional dancer and singer. Gaines taught Millis High School students about the different cultural and daily practices of the Nipmucs. Gaines also highlighted the importance of nature to Native Americans. Unfortunately Gaines stated that there were only around 2,500 members of the Nipmuc tribe remaining.
Gaines showed Millis High School students traditional songs and dances. He even allowed the students to participate in a “snake dance” and in a “round dance.” The two dances were being danced by the students and Dayshawn while Gaines sang a traditional Nipmuc song. Also, Gaines's nephew Dayshawn performed a dance that showed the four cardinal directions. Prior to the dances, Gaines also highlighted the wrongdoings that the colonists did against the Native Americans. He taught the students about the King Philip's War, which was one of the deadliest wars against the Native Americans in American history.
“As a teacher I want to continue to bring indigenous learning opportunities to the students and staff. It's one thing to talk about indigenous people and their culture but it's another things to give students a hands on experience.” said Mr. Fallon, advisor of the Mohawk council. “I thought the assembly went great! I thought that our speaker was engaging, insightful, and I thought that he had great energy.”
“As teachers," Fallon continued, "we need to be able to find the natural instances in our curriculum where we can teach about indigenous history. It's our job as educators to be able to create more opportunities for students to learn.”
The assembly gave Millis High School students the opportunity to appreciate and to be educated about cultures that are different from their own. Gaines brought many of his creations to the auditorium for students to look at. He brought traditional Nipmuc clothing, wooden tools, and he even brought different animal skins.
Sophomore student Avery Covitz said that “I’m very thankful that we got the opportunity to meet Andre, a member of the Nipmuc tribe and that he was willing and excited to share and educate us about his incredible culture.”
Overall, the assembly was very well received by the students and the staff of Millis High School. Many students and teachers agree that this was one of the best assemblies Millis High School has seen in a while.