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In the month of March, course selection has started and students are beginning to meet with guidance counselors to choose their classes for the upcoming school year.  Northwestern High School students have the opportunity to look into classes that match up with their interests and passions. 

Every student has different interests, but NWR7 High School has a wide variety of options to choose from.  There are many courses offered in many different categories, including Language Arts, Science, Technology, Music, Art, World Language, Culinary, Business and more.  

Although students are required to take four core classes to graduate (Math, Science, English, Social Studies), electives are also available. Electives are an opportunity for students to receive additional credits to graduate while also exploring their interests.  While some students may already know what they want to do once they get out of high school, those who are unsure can look into electives that spark their interest and see if that steers them in a certain direction. 

The course selection process involves meeting with a school counselor. If any student were to have any questions about classes, or if they need help finding classes that match their interest,  the school counselors are there to help students and make sure they are satisfied with their course choices. The counselors are  Mrs. Davidson (9th grade A-Z), Mrs. Dressel (10-12 A-G),  Mrs. Foote (10-12 G-L) and Mrs. McHugh (10-12 L-Z). 

Mrs. Dressel says she is willing to help kids find the right classes. "If they have questions…I can steer them into classes that I think would be appropriate to kind of help them get some knowledge in that area." 

No matter what position a student is in, a student can easily find a class that's right for them. Mrs. Dressel believes there are many opportunities for students. "I think our school does a very good job at offering a lot of opportunities for students…There's tons of options and electives they can take," she says. She also says there are a few unique classes our school has, including business classes and Mythbusters. She also mentioned that our school has a banking program that students can choose to work at. "There's not a lot of schools that have a bank," Mrs. Dressel says.

For the 2023-2024 school year, there are a few new course options for students that were not available in past years.  A few of them include Forensics II (a second class following Forensics I), Cultural Studies Chinese (a full year course studying Chinese culture) and Music Technology. 

Brianna Bois, a sophomore at NWR7 High School, has a love for science and music. Her current favorite classes are Choir and Biology. She enjoys singing and likes how Biology is so much different from her other classes. "It just teaches you a lot of things that you wouldn't know in any other class," Brianna says. 

Brianna also feels that our school is very inclusive, and students don't need prior experience to join a class that interests you.  "I feel like our school is flexible… you're not left out," she says. "If one kid wants to do band and they've never done it before, you can obviously learn,"  A few of her choices for classes next year are Forensics, Environmental Science, Music Technology and Choir. 

Course selection may happen every year, but each time more students may find new opportunities and new classes that fit their interests.

Alex Borelli, a senior at Northwestern Regional 7, is about to begin his Kindness in Motion project for the third year in a row. 

Every year since his sophomore year of high school, Alex has taken advantage of superintendent Dr. Judy Palmer’s Kindness in Motion program to collect school-wide donations for Friendly Hands Food Bank in Torrington. Friendly Hands is the largest food bank in Northwest Connecticut, and has been collecting food for over 30 years.

Kindness in Motion is a program created by Dr. Palmer that gives students the opportunity to give back to the community. Students propose their idea and if the idea is approved, they receive a $100 grant. Alex has had his idea approved all three years he’s been doing it, and is “incredibly grateful for Dr. Palmer’s generosity. She makes [his] project possible.” 

For his project, for a few weeks in late March/early April, Alex sets up boxes in high school homerooms and makes an announcement explaining his project. “It’s been a great experience,” Alex says. “I hope we get a good turn out again this year.” 

Students are invited to donate dry goods and canned items or money in their homerooms, and in exchange they receive raffle tickets. The three to four winners of the raffle at the end of the donation period will receive a variety of gift cards including Amazon, Dunkin, and Starbucks. Alex says “the incentive is really important, because, yes, everyone wants to help out, but sometimes they just need that extra push.” 

Alex just finished filling out the grant application for his project, and expects to start gathering donations within the next month. With the help of his friends, including girlfriend Maddie Adams (senior), when the donation period is over, Alex will bring all the money and food to Friendly Hands. 

“It feels really good to help out,” says Maddie. “And I’m very proud of Alex for all his hard work to make this happen.”

When asked if he would ever consider expanding the project further into the community, Alex said “It’s definitely something I’d love to do-- it may not be possible this year since it’s happening so soon, but in college it would be a great way to get involved.”

Alex started this in 2021 because of his Capstone project, which inspired the idea. It was because of his passion for giving back, though, that made this fundraiser such an on-going success. After Capstone, Alex was able to continue the project thanks to the school-wide Kindness in Motion program.

Through this project, Alex has been able to donate over $1,000 over the last three years to help people in need. His friends, family, and peers all agree that he has made a huge impact in helping to feed his community. When he goes to college, Alex hopes to continue this project, extending his help to communities across the country. But even if it doesn’t work out in the future, Alex is incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to help out as much as he can in his own home town, and thanks his friends, family, and Dr. Palmer for their overwhelming support.

If you’d like to donate to Friendly Hands Food Drive, Alex will begin collecting food and money in homerooms soon. Keep an ear out over the morning announcements for updates on dates and potential prizes for raffle winners.

Stacey Zematis is a Northwestern Regional High School softball and basketball coach. In past years, the Northwestern softball team has excelled and has coached many players that have gone on to be D1 in softball for college. 

Overall,. Coach Zematis  has been coaching for 22 years and has had over 8 wins. Some of her achievements in previous years have consisted of going to semi-finals and receiving Coach of the Year. When asked her about what she expected from this year's upcoming season, she stated “expecting to improve skill level and have fun. It’s not always about the skill coming into the season, it’s about what you learn during it”. She hopes to achieve these and says she has big hopes for this year's team. She also stated that the team has many goals for themselves this year, some of which include, “making it far in state tournaments because that has always been her goal.” 

Coach Zematis holds her team to much higher standards and expectations, this is often why she comes out on top and has so many wins. She says that there is a much lower number of players on the team this year trying out, but the group she has is willing to work hard and with a little dedication and heart for the game, she knows they will go far into the season. 

Last year, she had 7 seniors leave and she explained that “we have people choosing other sports or not playing all together.” She hopes that even though there is a lack of players, that it won't stop them from reaching their goals this season. Zematis has many achievements, but hopes that before she retires as a coach that she will win another Berkshire League title. Maybe this year's team could make that happen. 

While there are 12 teams in the Berkshire League, Coach Zematis says that determination makes Northwestern stand out above them all. The toughest competitors this year are Thomaston and Nonnewaug. However, she has been able to beat them in previous years and doesn't expect to give up her winning title this year. 

One of her players, Sandra Carfiro said that although there are so few players, that with some hard work and dedication, in the end, they won’t let the numbers stop them from winning. When asked if she had concerns about this upcoming season and how it is different from last year, she said that “the only difference is players, but the drive to win and hard work is still there. We just have to work harder than everyone else.” Although the Northwestern varsity softball team is facing a shortage of bodies, they are expected to get far into the season and hope to achieve all of their goals this season. 

           Another player, Grace Curtiss is a sophomore and expects that her team will do great despite this bump in the road. She said that in past years they have always had an excess amount of pitchers, and this year there is close to none. She stated, “I've pitched in past years but I'm not sure if I have the experience and talent to keep up with other pitchers in the league. It makes me nervous to play in games.” Pitching is a huge part of the game and without pitchers, you simply can't keep up. 

All in all the Northwestern team has a few minor bumps in the road, but they won't let them get in the way of winning, just like they have in past years. With the great coaching staff they have in Stacey Zematis and the dedication her players have, Northwestern expects to see another berkshire league title.

In the fall of 2020, students began to return back to school. While there were quite a few changes, such as wearing masks and the new hybrid style of school, free lunches were a big change. At Northwestern Regional 7, free lunches were introduced in the fall of 2020, and have been in place since, with only a couple months of paid lunches between 2022 and 23.
The biggest question of this is why are they free? With the community returning back to “normal” after Covid-19, the students expected the lunches to go back, but instead they remained. Wendy Brown, the head of the cafeteria at NWR7 says, “The free school meals program that began at the beginning of the pandemic has helped ensure that thousands of students have access to nutritious food which is an essential component of learning, and has provided a financial break for many families.” 

Additionally, once the lunches became free, students began to believe the quality of the lunches had decreased. For example, in previous years, there was a salad bar with a wide variety of toppings, a sandwich bar, a fruit bar, and hot lunch. Now, there is hot lunch, a sandwich bar and pre-packed salads. 

Emma Spencer, a senior at NWR7 says, “I think that there is a good variety, but they are not very filling.” One concern the students have is whether or not the lunches are big enough proportions with enough nutritional value. While they follow the recommended guidelines for the five food groups, the portion sizes are small. For example, Emma describes one of the regular meals, “Sometimes, we will only get two bosco sticks with a handful of salad. You can always grab a fruit on the side, but they typically have the same fruits everyday, like pineapple and applesauce.” Students do not want to eat the same sides everyday. 

Wendy Brown speaks upon the planning that goes into school lunches and the nutritional value, “There are a lot of steps and things to consider when creating a school food menu, whether it's breakfast or lunch.  School meals are overseen by the federal government under the USDA and the NSLP (national school lunch program). We have to follow their strict guidelines that tell us all the nutritionals that are in the healthy range for each age group of students from Pre-K to Elementary to High School.  There are different amounts of things such as sodium, fat, sugar and calories that each student is allowed on a daily/weekly basis and all must be figured in when making a menu.”  Brown shows that she values the student’s wellbeing, “School meals are very important to students.  For some, the meals here at school may be the only ones they get in the day.” 

The recommended daily calorie intake for high schoolers is about 2,200 for girls and 2,800 for boys. With calories being energy, it is important to make sure students are well fed. One of the breakfasts provided at NWR7 is a fruit frudel, choice of fruit, and milk. This meal is under 400 calories. The lunches are typically under 500 calories, leaving us at about 900 calories. That leaves 1,300 left for girls and 1,900 for boys. According to Global News, it is typical for dinners to have 700 calories. This leaves students underfed, especially if families are unable to afford voluminous, nutritious dinners. According to Feeding America, “9 million children in America face hunger in 2021. That’s 1 in 8 kids at risk for hunger.” Many children rely on school meals for proper nutrition. 

Emma suggests, “They should have bigger portions. It always seems to be bread or cheese. They should have more nutritional value, such as more protein.” Again, it is important that schools are fulfilling the recommended five food groups plate, which students believe NWR7 needs to focus more on. 

In response to the student’s wishing they had bigger portions, Brown adds, “One thing I know is that kids wish lunches were bigger and always want to know why they HAVE to take a fruit/juice/veggie to make their meal complete (even if they aren't going to eat it).” Brown also mentions, “If we do not follow the guidelines, we can lose all the funding that helps pay for the products we serve at school.” The schools have little control over what the lunches can contain due to regulations and funds, but they follow all of the guidelines.    

Nearing the start of Northwestern’s annual Foreign Language Week is the ‘Top of the Hill Chef Competition’ taking place on March 30 at 5pm. This event began last year with a major turnout amongst friendly competition.

‘Foreign Language Week,’ is an annual celebration of NWR7’s language classes. Events include origami, short foreign films, foreign architecture sticker puzzles, and more. But last year, the head of NWR7’s National Foreign Language Honor Society (NFLHS) club, Sarah Viets, started a new tradition with the goal to create “a way to incorporate food into Foreign Language Week celebrations that involved a bit of competition and fun.” 

“Last year was a success!” Viets accounted. “There was a lot of positive feedback.” One competitor from the competition in 2022, Meagan Spielman, said, “The competition was a great turnout last year and we had a lot of great food. It was nice to see all the people that came to try it. There were a lot more people than I expected to come.” Spielman baked Polish cookies filled with jelly, and came close to a win in the ‘sweets’ category.

Even though Spielman did not win the ‘Top of the Hill Chef’ title, she applauds her “bestest friend,” and this author, Emma Spencer, for her “deserved” win, thanks to her popular fried rice. 

There were about 50 audience members who tasted foreign food for an hour, and 15 students participated as chefs. The NWR7 students created all sorts of foods, from savory to sweet, and dishes from China to Italy. And the tickets to try all of these flavors were at the cost of $3. 

For the year of 2023, Viets decided to increase the cost to $5. Still she argues that this is a decent price for more than a full meal of endless samples. 

Not only is this a fun competition for Viets and the competitors, but the money raised goes towards a cause. With the help of the seniors and juniors in NFLHS, Viets formulated a way to promote Foreign Language and also raise money for their sponsor student, Ian Jimenez, in Oaxaca, Mexico. This funding goes towards his school tuition and any supplies needed to get through his academic year.

Both years of competitions have and will continue to support Jimenez. The only difference is the competitors this year: students versus faculty. Viets chose to include this twist to “get the staff involved. We hope it will be more fun and just as successful!” Viets replied. 

Viets expects the turn out to outweigh last year, with “80 people tasting all the wonderful dishes!” Spielman thinks “we’ll be more successful because this time teachers will be going. This will attract people to come.” 

So far, NFLHS students have recruited and even signed up themselves, to amass a total of 17 chefs. Of that, there are 12 students and 5 faculty members. 

Most students are not intimidated by their adult competitors. “There is a reason they’re teachers and not chefs!” Spielman jokes. Clearly, Viets has created the perfect recipe for this competition, and she cannot wait to see more friendly rivalry in the years following.

Every year Northwestern Regional 7 celebrates Ag Week. This year, the celebration is from March 20th- March 24th. On the other hand, FFA (Future Farmers of America) Week is in the Month of February . These two weeks are commonly confused amongst many students. 

This year Ms. Woodworth, an agriculture education teacher in the middle and high school, is running the Ag Week with her Products and Processing class.  They willl be decorating, doing spirit days, and other fun activities and giveaways. Ms.Woodworth stated “National Ag Week is a time to help educate people about where their food and fiber comes from, products, and appreciate the value that Ag plays in our lives.” It is said a lot that not many people really know the truth about where their products and foods all really come from. For instance, believe it or not, almost every food consumed by Americans is made from the help of corn. 

Some other favorite traditions performed during Ag Week is the creation and selling of merchandise. Each Ag class comes up with their own t-shirt design and wears it during Ag Week- activities for students to raise money or donate to our chapter. Last year, they made dog treats for local animal shelters. This year, they will be giving beautiful potted flowers to a nursing home nearby, along with gifts to family owned farms and agricultural businesses nearby. This will be done on National Ag Day -  March 21st.

However, in February, FFA week is celebrated by FFA chapters around America. It can easily be confused with Ag week for many people-especially those who have not participated in FFA before. FFA week has its similarities but also its differences when it comes to celebrating it.

So what is the difference between the two? Ms. Woodworth explained, “Chapters around the country celebrate and share with others about what the FFA Organization, how it has changed, improved and impacted agriculture and agricultural education.” 

Some things performed by FFA members on FFA week are basically the same as Ag week, but other things may focus on the FFA Organization rather than just agriculture. For example, FFA members can attend workshops- these can be agricultural or leadership related.

All in all, Ag week and FFA week are both celebrated here at Northwestern Regional 7 High School in Winsted, CT. Both are important, yet different in their own ways, and have been a tradition here during the months of February and March.

Track and Field season is almost here and the team needs players. Mr. Campbell, the Varsity head coach for track and field is coming off of an undefeated season and plans to do the same this year. 

The first track meets are still to be determined. As of this Saturday, track and field will start up for this coming spring. 

If students want to sign up, they must be open to trying new events, such as running, jumping, and throwing. These are the three main exercises that make up track and field. If a person likes running, then doing the 100, 200, and 400 is your type. If a person were to want to jump, then they could be interested in long jump, high jump, or pole vault. And if you would like to throw you can do disc, shot put, and javelin. 

The 2022 track and field team last year went undefeated by going 8-0, blowing out all of the other teams. “We had a great team last year,” said Coach Campbell, “but we also have a lot of returning players, so I feel as though we are ready for another undefeated season.”

Coach Campbell said that Track will initially start on April 4, so the team is at the moment getting ready with conditioning and agility work. William Teller, one of Campbell's assistant coaches, has strength and conditioning before practice so the team usually lifts weights and stretches before the start of practice so that nobody pulls any muscles. Campbell said he doesn't know how many bodies he has on the roster yet but “we definitely are going to be a BL (Berkshire League) champ kind of team again this year.” 

Campbell was asked about who are teams to beat this year, and he said “Nonnewaug boys would be good and Thomaston boys have good throwers and sprinters, and also Litchfield with their sprinters, so it will be a good battle this season.” When asked about what his favorite event to watch is, Campbell responded with “4 x 4 because I love the pace of the race and how it really shows athleticism.” Campbell about how long he's been the varsity head coach, he said how hes been coaching the boys team for about 23 years and that he started the program in 1994. For the girls it's been about 20 years. 

Benny Silano, a Senior track star at Northwestern, says“We had a great season last year, everybody was having fun and that was great for team morale.” “My favorite thing to take away from the season were the bus rides. We would have a big speaker and just bump into some NWA, and DMX." When asked about his favorite event Benny said, “4x1 by far because of how we made it all the way to states and really put our school on the maps” the 4x1 team placed first for their heat but lost in the final heat by placing 6th in States. The team plans to win the BL and win states.

Northwestern Region 7 seniors will be graduating in three months. That means in approximately three months, roughly 150 kids will be entering the world as adults. 

Mr. Gary Franklin, the principal of Northwestern Region 7 in Winsted, Connecticut, says that when he was younger he dreamt of being one of three things: either a school teacher, sports broadcaster, or a DJ. Now he is a principal, which shows how much can  change in 12 years. 

Seniors may have thought 12 years ago they wanted to be a firefighter or a veterinarian and now they are going into school to pursue careers and becoming nurses, teachers, or even joining the air force or going to trade schools. 

The class of 2023 is going to be the first graduating class to be graduating before the end of the school year. Mr Franklin shared his excitement for the graduating student and had explained on how exited he is to call every students name and being able to hand their diploma to them and shake their hand for the last time. 

Before the end of the year is here, Mr Franklin wanted to share some advice to the graduating class his advice was “to make sure to take a step back to relax and make sure that you enjoy the journey before you reach your destination.” 

This year’s graduation will be held at the Warner Theater in Torrington on June 14th at 7pm.

About a month ago, Northwestern High School put five screens in the lunchroom. At first, students and faculty alike were simply confused. They did not know what the screens would be used for. Now, the screens are causing quite a stir in the school. 

“Money could have been used for something else, something better,” says senior Sasha Caracciolo. 

Other students such as freshman Mason Conkling share similar views, “It is a waste of money, we should put money into better causes such as sports.”

 Out of the 20 people interviewed, 18 of them shared a directly negative opinion. The frustration shown by the students is evident, “It's just the taxpayer's money,” freshman Levi Swanson says. It must be noted, this is not completely true. NWR7 obtained the screens from the lunch room revenue, which is separate from the schools budget.

Other students find issues with the utilization of the televisions, “They’re fixing a problem that was never a problem. The lunch is in 12 font, so no one can read it anyway,” says freshman Willow Byrne. 

 Freshman Nate Stotler explains how Region 7 can spend money on other causes, “They should make the water status green instead.” 

Not all opinions were negative. The business department, who was part of the process of obtaining the screens says, “We got them using the food service revenue.” 

 Mrs. Bailey continues, “We may be able to find a use for them in the future.”

When interviewing members of the faculty, some decided to remain anonymous. They will be referred to as “unnamed faculty member 1, and unnamed faculty member 2.” Unnamed faculty member 1 shares opinions of optimism for the screens, “the screens in the lunch room seem like a very good idea when communicating what is available for lunch and breakfast.” This person's hope is an outlier compared to the other results. 

On the other hand, unnamed faculty member 2 shared negative thoughts, “It is a waste of money,” They continue, “Maybe we can use the money towards Chromebooks for kids who don’t have them anymore.” 

Member 1 shared similar opinions when it came to other uses the school can put money towards, “It may be nice if the school spent money on things that directly impacted student learning.” 

When asked if the teachers matter more than the televisions, both shared the same view. They believe the teachers matter more. The overwhelming majority of students and other members of the school agree teachers matter more. “We should spend money on teachers compared to TVs,” freshman Nela Leon adds. 

 Some students believe others may revolt, “I see the screens hanging low, they will be punched by the end of the week,” says  freshman Julia Reinert. 

Although a tyrannical rebellion is unlikely, nobody else shared Reinert's opinion. “I do not think a revolt is likely,” says unnamed faculty member 2. 

Destroying the screens may be viewed as an extreme measure. More moderate opinions are trying to find ways to utilize the screens. Unnamed faculty member 2 suggests, “Maybe we can use the screens to show sports events.”

As time has gone on, more televisions have appeared. Another one was just installed in the main hallway of the high school. “I was a little shocked to see it there, and I feel like having it in the high school is good,” says sophomore Ella Gannon. 

To reiterate, the televisions added to Region 7’s lunch room are very unliked by the community. Although some people are trying to make the best of the situation, and find ways to utilize the screens.