The Mohawk Post The Voice of Millis High School SENIOR EDITION: Congratulations Class of 2018 Millis High School Announces Valedictorian Nick Steiner and Salutatorian Elana Carleton From Millis High School Principal Robert Mullaney: Millis High School is proud to announce the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for its graduating Class of 2018. Nicholas Steiner will be recognized at graduation ceremonies as the Class Valedictorian. Nicholas achieved the highest cumulative grade point average for the class. He is a member of Millis High School’s Chorus and National Honor Society. He has been the recipient of the Harvard Book Award and the George Washington University Medal for Excellence in Science. Nicholas is very active at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts where he has been a member of the Broadway Lads and Broadway Light Musical Theater Troupe. He has performed in various musicals including Shrek, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Spamalot, and Les Miserables, and has served as accompanist for a number of shows. Nick will be attending Northeastern University where he will study engineering and also pursue vocal performance. Nicholas is the son of Brian and Christine Steiner of Millis. Elana Carleton is Millis High School’s Salutatorian. Elana has been an active member of Leo’s Club, Amnesty Club, and Chemistry Club. She is president of Common Ground and secretary of National Honor Society. She was the recipient of the Barnard College Book Award. She has also been involved as a tutor and has participated in over two hundred hours of community service in high school. Elana will be majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Commonwealth College of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Elana is the daughter of Robert and Donna Carleton of Millis. Millis High School will graduate a class of 109 students during its 115th commencement exercises on June 7 at 6:30 PM in the Millis High School gymnasium. “The Mohawk Post” receives Superior Achievement Award Congrats and Good Luck to Senior Co-Editors Justin Matthews and Emily Miga At the New England Scholastic Press Association’s Spring Conference, the Millis High School Newspaper, The Mohawk Post, received a ‘Superior Achievement’ ​ award for the Class IV division. Senior Co-Editors Justin Matthews and Emily Miga were very pleased. They have been part of the newspaper throughout high school, attended NESPA conferences in the past, where the paper received awards of merit. Over the time that Justin and Emily have been involved in the newspaper, the newsprint editions have expanded from once a year to four times a year. The paper also includes a number of features sections (Arts, Sports, “In Focus”) as well as columnists who review everything from video games and concerts to books and movies. Thanks for all your help, Justin and Emily! Good luck in college! If you are interested in joining the Mohawk Post next year, contact Co-Editors Anna Pasquantonio ([email protected]) or ​ ​ Madison Schofield ([email protected]). ​ ​ Inside this Edition: Terpsichore……………………………………………………………6 Senior Projects Highlights…………………………………………...2, 3 3D Printing…………………………………………………………...6 Student Travelogues, Outdoor Pursuits White Water Trip…………….3 Book, Music & Movie Reviews………………………………….......5 Mrs. Sears Class……………………………………………………….3 Music & Book Review……………………………………………….7 Sports and Seniors Signing, ……………………….....…………….. ..4 Senior Word Search by Molly Andrews……………………………...7 A Message from Coach Kraby………………………………………..4 Cartoon by Lauren Taylor………………………………………….....7 The Arts: Show, Read-a-Latte, TV Emmys…………………………...5 Senior Shout Outs!.......................……………………………………8 Summer Reading Link……………………………….……..…….….5 Photographers for this issue include Adriana Arguijo Gutierrez, Madison Notes from the Band & Chorus……………………………………….6 Schofield, Lauren Taylor, Mrs. Divver, and authors From the Prom From the Outdoor Pursuits trip Seniors in the Library Coming down the hall ​ JUNE 2018 The Mohawk Post Page 2 of 8 Senior Projects Exhibitions arranged by Madison Schofield ​ ​ Bathroom Bacteria Growth by Rebecca Azir Millis High School Seniors Rebecca Azir a​ nd Elizabeth Lucas are looking forward to graduation and the culmination of a year long study they have conducted titled “The Impact of Small Scale Sanitation Procedures on Overall Bathroom Bacteria Growth.” This project, which ultimately became a team senior project at Millis High School, started as a final project in their AP Biology and Chemistry II classes at the end of their junior year. With STEM careers being an area of high-need, science teachers at Millis High School are continually looking for ways to increase student exposure to real science and science processes. In both Chemistry II and AP Biology, the students are asked to develop and test a hypothesis as their final project for the year. By providing students with 4-8 weeks to explore a single research focus, the students will start to develop an appreciation for the iterative nature of science and how there are no “right” answers, just data that support conclusions. Elizabeth and Rebecca were enrolled in both courses, so they teamed up and worked on a project that could span both content areas. They were curious whether or not a few simple sanitation measures, such as touchless paper towel dispensers and hand sanitizer dispensers in the bathrooms, would improve overall sanitation in the high school bathrooms over the course of a school day. As they worked to develop their question and protocols, the two realized that in order to follow through on this project, they were going to need a great deal more of time and financial resources. Thus what started as an end-of-year project morphed into their senior project. Elizabeth and Rebecca’s project is unique to MHS senior projects because it is one of the only team projects to have gained approval by the senior project board in recent years, as well as the first science research project. Over the course of their 13 months’ work, they have experienced all components of scientific research, including, but not limited to, generating unique research ideas, designing protocols to address research questions and ideas, working with superiors and building supervisors to receive permission to conduct protocols, adjusting protocols when circumstances change, finally conducting the revised protocols and analyzing results. Ultimately, they devised a culture procedure where they swabbed bathrooms and incubated a nutrient broth so as to grow the bacteria. Then they utilized the school’s spectrophotometer to assess bacterial concentration. They cultured before implementation of sanitation procedures as well as after to ascertain if a difference existed. One unexpected part of this experience was finding funding. As part of their project goals, these budding scientists wrote (and were turned down for) about 15 grants, solicited donations (thank you very much to Eye Works in Millis for supporting women in science), as well as conducted a fundraiser at numerous local events to fund their project. They were able to raise enough money to purchase the supplies necessary to gather, culture, and test bacterial concentrations in two of the ladies’ restrooms at the high school using the spectrophotometer, buy and install touchless paper towel dispensers, toilet seat covers, and hand sanitizers. The results indicated, with a few anomalies, that there was a clear growth in bacteria in bathrooms throughout the school day and that the new devices installed in the test environment significantly reduced the growth of bacteria. Elizabeth and Rebecca openly stated that they have truly expanded their understanding of what goes into scientific research. It is not just having an idea and writing a procedure. There are so many more aspects that can delay or even derail a project along the way. As they both hope to head into STEM fields, each feels more prepared to take on research at the collegiate and graduate level. If you are interested in more information contact Rebecca at [email protected] or Elizabeth at [email protected]. Julia Krauss’s Middle School Spelling Bee For her senior project, Julia Krauss planned and hosted this year’s annual National Honor Society’s Middle School spelling bee. The event took place on April 25 and was an immense success. Isabella Briones (grade 5) won the 5th and 6th grade title and Zoe Cabrel (grade 7) took home the 7th and 8th grade crown. Julia would like to thank “everyone who helped to make my senior project a success! It could not have been done without the help of some amazing people.” Cleaning the Charles by Ben Clark ​ ​ If you’ve ever canoed down the Charles River on a hot summer day, then you undoubtedly know the ​ peaceful beauty the slow moving river provides. The Charles has also served as a border between Millis and Medfield, and is full of history dating all the way back to the Pilgrims’ landing. Not only is the river aesthetically pleasing for us and a geographical marker, but it also serves as an essential part of the ecosystem built around it. The Charles is as a home for all walks of life: from fish to birds, plants, mammals, bacteria and more. Unfortunately, it’s now hard to miss the trash that litters the banks and water of the Charles River in Millis. This harms all the plants and animals that rely on the river for their survival, and it’s an eyesore for the town’s residents. For my senior project, I decided to clean up the Charles. With thorough planning, I was able to organize a group of volunteers to go out onto the river in canoes and collect trash. Although it was easy in execution, the project did not come without its fair share of obstacles. The main issue was the cold weather, which pushed my project back to April break. However, many of my volunteers were very accommodating, and we were able to finish it before break had ended.