Grafton Globe Newspaper
Winter 2020 Edition
For the first time since 2014, the Grafton football team failed to win a playoff game.
The team fell to the Marlboro Panthers in the first round of the Division 4 Central Massachusetts playoffs by the score of 20-13. Grafton, down 20-0 in the waning moments of the third quarter, staged a comeback in the final 12 minutes of the contest, scoring two touchdowns in the final quarter. The Panthers, unfortunately, recovered an onside kick attempt, sealing the Indians’ fate. Nonetheless, it was a successful season for Grafton, who went 6-2 in the regular season and 7-4 overall. The Indians have made the playoffs in each of last four seasons. 2017 marked the third straight year in which the Indians hosted a playoff game at home. Head coach Chris McMahon agrees. “We look at the quality of competition we played this year, and eight of the 11 we played this year were playoff teams,” said McMahon. “You have to say it’s a success. It’s not where we want to be, but it’s certainly a positive in terms of ‘Look, finishing 6-2 with those eight games is pretty impressive.’” There were memorable moments galore in the 2017 season, even if that list doesn’t include a district championship. Twice, the team rallied back from 14-point deficits to win, against Leicester and Northbridge. A 7-0 win in the Homecoming game against Tantasqua, along with a 33-13 blowout of Uxbridge on Senior Night were also games to be remembered from 2017. McMahon’s personal favorite will be the regular season finale against Northbridge, a rival of Grafton. “Anytime you go down to Northbridge to play on a Friday night, the atmosphere’s great down there,” said McMahon. “[Northbridge] always bring a great team, and it was their Senior Night.” “We were down 14 points, and the kids just kept battling, and battling, and battling… We completely took over in the second half… That game was, in many ways, a signature win. To go down to Northbridge on a Friday night and to win, that’s pretty special. It’s something we haven’t done many times around here.” The departing seniors were able to go out as winners. In the annual Thanksgiving day game against the Millbury Woolies, the Indians prevailed for the third consecutive year by the score of 14-7, capping off yet another successful campaign.
0 Comments
Maddie Murphy is verbally committed to Boston College to play for the Eagles’ soccer team.
Now, her time as a goalie in high school is all but over, as the girls’ soccer team lost a heartbreaker to the Nashoba Chieftains by the score of 1-0. The girls’ season was filled with success, despite the team moving up from Division 3 to Division 1 to face even tougher competition. In the regular season, the Indians went 15-3. The girls throttled the Doherty Highlanders by the score of 9-1 in the first round of the Central Massachusetts district playoffs on November 3rd. “The bigger schools were really strong, but we competed really well with them,” said the senior. “It was really cool to play against a bigger school with a lot of fans.” The next Tuesday saw the girls make the trip to Bolton to face off against Nashoba in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, the Chieftains would score the only goal of the game, prevailing over the Indians. “It was sad to end in the quarterfinals, but we battled hard against Nashoba,” said Murphy. “We battled really, really well… I was really proud of the girls.” Taking on a leadership role was, for Murphy, what she’ll remember most about the 2017 season. “I was really happy to play with all of these new faces,” said Murphy. “Everyone was really positive. We all had so much fun, and it was just a really good time.” It’s most certainly not the way senior Brendan Donohue wanted to end his high school soccer career. A 5-1 loss to the Westboro Rangers on November 6th knocked the boys’ soccer team out of the Central Massachusetts playoffs. The loss marked the end of the 2017 season for the boys. For Donohue, however, the year is going to be remembered not for the way it ended, but for all the remarkable victories the team pulled off. “We went undefeated in conference play,” said the starting goalie. “We beat a really good team in Tantasqua. Whenever you’re able to beat Millbury twice in a season, that’s a good result.” According to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, the boys’ team went 16-2 in the regular season, winning their first 13 games in a row to start the campaign. Grafton went on to play the North Middlesex Patriots in the first round of the District playoffs. After downing North Middlesex 3-0 on November 3rd, Grafton headed to Westboro the following Monday. The two teams had faced off on October 19th, the Rangers having handed Grafton their first loss of the season in that contest. Injuries, however, began to build up for the Indians. To Donohue, Westboro's biggest advantages were having a healthier team and having the same matchup in the regular season. “I think [Westboro] playing us before really helped them,” said Donohue. “Looking back, it’s definitely one that you want back and one you wonder if you could play different.” “If you had some guys healthy, it could’ve been different. It was a tough game.” Being a senior, the playoff exit meant that Donohue had played his final game in a Grafton uniform. Since then, he has spent time looking back on all the memories he made with his friends, coaches, and teammates. “The people that I’ve played with, I’ve played with since I was 10, 11 years old,” said Donohue. “It’s the friendships, the relationships, that I’ve made and really coming out as a true leader on the team are what I think have helped me as a player.” I am a wild Moon Child,
I am sneaky and crafty, a trickster they call me. And when I am caught please know, The moon made me do it. I dance with the thunder, I cry with the rain, I howl with my brothers a grand old tune, But only to my sweet Moon, Which can only be heard in the fall of the night. I race with the wind, I dance with stars, I sing with the oceans. But only in the shadows. In the sun, I am someone else. I am forced to smile when I don’t want to, I am forced to cry when I wish not to. I hate the shining light, that others just love. How in the sun they grow tall, they grow tall of hate, They grow tall of greed, and I feel small, very small. But in the night, in all it’s glory, I dance, I laugh, I party. My hair’s a mess, my clothes are rags, my eyes ablaze, And I simply could care less. No one knows this me, and they might be surprised to see, How I am the lead wolf of my own pack. I howl, I scratch, I bite, I scream, with all of my might, But only in the night. And I can guarantee you I am happy, I feel love and peace with myself. For I am a wild Moon Child. Perhaps one of the most stressful holidays for anyone in retail has to be Black Friday. You might find it ironic that stores are full of customers looking to save a little money on Christmas gifts the day after they spend time with their families and give thanks.
While the customers rushing in is stressful and the lines meeting at the back of the store might make anyone scream, the worst part of the holiday rush has to be the coupons. I am an employee of a company known for its excessive coupons. One given out for the early portion of Black Friday allowed customers to save ten dollars off their purchase. It lasted from Thanksgiving to 1PM on Black Friday, after which the system stopped accepting it. Now ten dollars doesn’t seem like a lot, right? After all, it is only a little more than a meal at a local fast food joint. However, one would be wrong if they didn’t think customers wouldn’t throw a fit over it, even after it expired. Management decided to accept the deal up until 3PM, when corporate called and told the store to shut it down. After the store stopped accepting it, customers were irate. They would refuse to purchase their $70 order over ten dollars, even while still receiving 15% off. Some would even ask associates to call management over, only to receive the same answer. Normally, this level of difficulty isn’t an issue, as workers generally want to remedy to issue for the customer. The workers do their best to remedy the issue and explain why they can no longer accept their coupon, yet the employees are still treated as if they know nothing and want to steal the customer's money. No—they don’t care if the coupon works. The success of the corporation as a whole does not impact a teenager’s life. If it were the employee’s choice, they would give it to you and send you on your merry way. However, they refuse to risk their job so you can save the same amount of money it takes to buy your kids a Happy Meal or two. For those of the faint of heart, never work on Black Friday. The amount of customers who enter the store well after 10PM is astounding. Not to say that their business is bad—many of the people are extremely pleasant—although, one would think by that point the rush would have subsided. That is where they’re wrong. Along with that, the store ends up being a mess of epic proportions. The morning of the following Saturday is almost completely dedicated to cleanup. Even with all the cleaning, many still attempt to utilize the expired coupon over a day after the store stopped accepting it, and will make a scene over it. Don’t mistake this as a rant against customers—it is not. I merely request that if you do shop on Black Friday, know the the employee will likely have been there for at least six hours, or remain there for another eight. They want nothing more than to help you save money in any way possible, so treat them with respect. They are not out to get you in any way, they’re trying to get through their night so they can head home and rest. They don’t want to be waiting to get through a line as much as you do not want to be waiting 30 minutes in line. It is a long and stressful day for everyone involved. On Thursday, November 2nd, a few brave seniors stepped up to the stage in hopes of being hypnotized by the famous Dan Candell. As fearful, yet excited eyes watched from the audience, nobody expected the laughter of a lifetime. But what exactly is hypnosis?
Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis is not the usual act of falling asleep because of a necklace swinging rhythmically back and forth. In fact, it is a state of heightened concentration in which the mind has absolute free will. In this state, however, our minds have an overwhelming capacity to respond to commands given. Believe it or not, we have all been hypnotized by own will at least once in our life. For example, while watching a TV show or reading a book, you may tend to tune out any outside noise or movements due to a heightened concentration on the book or show. You are hypnotized by whatever it is you are preoccupied by. In our daily life, we must take into account logic and the way the world works. Because of this, our decision making is inductive. However, while hypnotized, our reasoning dissolves, causing our decision making become the opposite, or deductive. Once the subject hears the instruction, their mind is directed only towards that command and nothing else. Cool, right? Stefan Banach once said, “Mathematics is the most beautiful and most powerful creation of the human spirit.” Here at Grafton High School, we host a wonderful group of aspiring students who plan on making this idea into a reality. The GHS Math Team is a very successful club of students who wish to expand and exercise their expertise in mathematics at a competitive level. While many might assume that the Math Team is just another average club, if you take a closer look, you just might see it as a lot more. If you’re interested in joining the Math Team, it may be helpful to know what we do. The GHS Math Team practices different types of math problems, and competes in competitions against Math Teams from other school districts. Unlike the majority of Teams here at GHS, the Math Team has no JV/Freshman Team; we only have a Varsity Team. Luckily, we have found great success on the Math Team, regardless of a member’s grade or math ability. The Math Team has no prerequisite, so anyone can be a part of our Team, even if they feel as if they are terrible at math. On our Team, we never discriminate based on a person’s level of expertise in mathematics, as we pride ourselves with our members’ love for the subject. Our Math Team competes in competitions against other schools throughout the year. We have a total of four competitions every year. The competition, or meet, is split in two parts, the individual and Team round. We split our entire Team into mini Teams of five people, each consisting of at least one member who has an understanding of all topics that the Teams will be asked. During the individual round, each person competes in three of the five different categories. These are chosen before the competition begins. At the start of this category round, students are given a three question test and scrap paper. The students will then have ten minutes to complete the three question test, relating only to the topic of the category. The questions range from easy to hard, and are scored respectively. In all, the entire category is six points, where the first and easiest question is one point, the second, medium-difficulty question is two points, and the third and most difficult question is three points. Usually, the first question is easy enough to solve using basic math and common sense, while the third question is complex, where not only the topic must be understood, but a higher level of logic is required to complete the question accurately. We always try our best to make sure that every person gets to compete in the category they are proficient in, allowing us to have the highest possibility to gain points. In all, the highest score a participant can receive is an eighteen, which is extremely impressive. The second part of the competition is the Team round. The mini Teams that we created at the beginning of the first round meet up for the final part of the competition. The Teams are given a final test, which consists of ten questions. Once again, the test must be completed in ten minutes, and scrap paper is provided. This time however, the entire five person Team must work together to finish each question, and calculators are allowed to simplify work. Due to the fact that there are five students, the questions on the Team round are each worth one point and have a moderate difficulty. There are a total of ten questions, which are similar to questions seen in the individual rounds. Once testing finishes, competitors are given snacks to munch on while the scores are totaled up. After the scores have been officiated, the highest scorers of the meet are announced followed by what school they represent. The winning schools of each division are then announced, which is dependent on the scores of the highest scoring mini-Team of that school. The winning Team is determined first by the highest Team round scores, then by the combined individual scores of each member of the Team. Grafton is a division C school, but we hope to get to division B by the end of the school year. Competitors who consistently get eighteen points for their school win monetary prizes at the end of the season. Overall, the Math Team is an incredible club. Aside from the competitions and math, we always have so much fun! I know plenty of people who constantly ask me if they are good enough for the Team, and my simple response is yes. The experience of doing math and learning in a friendly environment is the best part of Math Team, but the math part is fun too! We guarantee you will have an amazing time participating in the competitions. If there is any advice to be given, it is not to psych yourself up too much. If you would like to join, all you have to do is come to our practice meets. We always welcome new members at any meeting. Being on the Math Team is never a large time commitment, and we encourage everybody to participate in whatever they can. We are always open to making accommodations for anyone who wishes to be a part of our Team. Our practice meets are always Wednesdays during extended block in the Student Activities Room. Be on a lookout for the next practice meet and come join us to learn more! Joining the Math Team is a great decision, and I suggest that if you are a lover of math, you join Math Team too. The Math Team is always looking for more members, so if you want to join, be on the lookout for our next Math Team practice by following us on Twitter @GHS_MathTeam, or on Instagram @GHS_MathTeam. Email the president of the club, Raunit Kohli, at [email protected], with any questions at all, and he will get back to you as soon as possible. We hope you consider joining us on Math Team and remember if you got a problem, √-1 can solve them! -Raunit Kohli GHS Math Team President This year, Grafton High School showcased the play, Charlotte's Web, the weekend of November 17-19. As a spectator of one of their rehearsals, I can assure you this play is one of the finest productions that the theatre program has ever produced. Shawn Bajwa notes that this is the best play that he has ever taken part in. The actors and actresses are all extraordinarily talented and hardworking, and the backstage crew works extremely hard to make sure that everything runs smoothly as well. Abi Seely, one of the costume and makeup personnel helps sort through the many outfits. She works to make all the actors and actresses look beautiful on the stage. She says that her favorite part of the play is making the costumes, and doing the actors’ and actresses’ makeup. Thanks to the backstage crew, the costumes and stage props are absolutely incredible. Best of all is Megan Paluzzi’s six-legged jacket where her dabs are six times as savage. Paluzzi stars as Charlotte, the spider in the play. She does a phenomenal job of acting as a motherly figure to the cast both on and off the stage. Even the backstage crew adores her, most of them saying that she is a wonderful actress who puts her all into everything she does and looks to bring people together. However, Paluzzi is not the only one stealing the hearts of the audience. Gabby Costa, playing Templeton the Rat, has done eleven musicals. According to Costa, this will be her first major role. Costa fits the role of Templeton perfectly, and her costume embodies who Templeton the Rat is as a character. In addition to the success of these wonderful actresses, the freshmen have taken on their roles in the play with the grace of their full-fledged upperclassmen actors and actresses. When asked, Paluzzi said that even she looks up to all the freshmen for going above and beyond. They always bring new ideas to the play. One such freshman, Chase Landry, who plays the role of the little brother, says that this is his one of the best plays he has done and is very excited for his role. As a witness of the freshmen's performances during practice, they definitely take the Grafton High School Theatre by storm. Many of the theatre kids have said they enjoy their lengthy rehearsals, where they work tirelessly to perfect their performance. This intense work ethic is in place so they can put on the best show possible. If Charlotte’s Web was any indication of the talent the theatre program possesses, the student body has quite the treat to look forward to in the spring musical. |
Grafton Globe NewspaperStudent created articles in a student run digital newspaper. CategoriesArchives
February 2020
CategoriesHumans of Grafton High |