2016 Senior Essay Finalist: Shannon Kingsley

In a poem about maturation, growth, and seizing opportunity, my favorite poet, Katherine Larson, writes, "Metamorphosis will make you ugly. I answer: Radiance will change its name." Metamorphosis — a change, a transformation — occurs as a response to our environment or because of an inner desire or compulsion to transform oneself into something new. Metamorphosis and opportunity prove inextricably linked for one cannot change without the opportunities to transform oneself. In this manner, North Attleboro High School has provided us with the environment for our metamorphosis.

By the final weeks of senior year, it is tempting to dismiss high school and its conventions as mundane, each day a tedious continuation of the last. We wake up, we go to school, we attend after-school activities, we go home, we complete homework into the wee hours. For the past four years, our lives have been dictated by the alarm clock that sounds at 6:00 a.m. — or, for those like myself who are particularly fond of the snooze button, 6:15 a.m., pushing 6:30 — and the bells in B-flat that ring every forty-nine minutes between classes. Each one of us has experienced the strain of this repetition in recent months as we felt ready to split our cocoons and free ourselves from the confines of high school. 

But I challenge all of you to look beyond the monotony, to forget the drama and negativity that remain inescapable aspects of high school, and to focus instead on the amazing experiences that North Attleboro High School has offered us. I challenge all of you to view these last four years as a blessing, an opportunity to undergo metamorphosis in a safe space supported by incredibly dedicated teachers and surrounded by the friends with whom we have shared the high and lows, the successes and failures, the triumphs and embarrassments.  

At North, we illustrate on a regular basis the ineffable bonds woven in these hallways and classrooms and the incredible ways in which one human being — and sometimes one gesture —impacts the life of another person. Last year, when I befriended a freshman who sat alone at lunchtime, I felt pleased to help a fellow student. Yet, it was she who profoundly affected my life, totally upending my own concept of courage and showing me the power of perseverance.  Last spring, as I precariously carried a box of pea plants through the corridor, the cast-offs of a biology experiment, a boy stopped to ask if he could take one of the plants home to his mother.  “She will just love this,” he said. In one brief exchange, he taught me about kindness. This year, expounding on the life mysteries in Waiting for Godot, Mrs. Andersen showed me how literature represents the stories of ourselves — because without the ability to tell our own stories, we are lost. And recently, when I got dumped two weeks before senior prom, two administrators demonstrated compassion and, equally as important, the benefit of humor in an awkward situation. These represent experiences unique to NAHS. And, as you reflect on your own experiences at North, you no doubt will conclude that our community of students and teachers conveys crucial life lessons beyond the basics of the classroom. We may not all hang out together outside of school — sometimes we even resist saying hello to each other in the hall —but we all share this common connection. We also have befriended the same teachers, learned the nuances of pickle ball, suffered the same discomfort of squeezing into the freshmen pit, and enjoyed the same endearingly cheesy jokes by Mr. Rizzo during the in-school Holiday Concert.  Of the roughly 3.3 million seniors graduating from the nation’s high schools this year, we, the NAHS Class of 2016, represent about 280 of these high school seniors, making the bonds of our metamorphosis very special.

Our eagerness to shed the comforts of high school stems, in part, from the fact that our metamorphosis is complete and we are prepared for the real world. Admittedly, this metamorphosis has not always been pretty. We bombed tests, quarreled with our friends, failed at times to work our hardest at practices, skipped music lessons, doubted ourselves, sometimes doubted each other, learned how much we have yet to learn, struggled to temper our idealistic views. Yet, the way that our metamorphosis ultimately shapes, transforms, and redefines us —broadening our perspectives and altering our perceptions — proves more exceptional than any single ugly event during the process. I answer, writes Larson, Radiance will change its name.  Like the narrator in Larson’s poem who chooses to radiate, we all possess the capacity to live positively and function as positive forces in others’ lives.

So, I challenge all of you to radiate. Be inspired by your metamorphosis at North. Shed high school with a positive outlook. Begin the rest of your life with an excitement for the future.  Be brilliant. Be bold. Be confident. As Katherine Larson writes at her poem’s conclusion, “You haven’t much time — risk it all." 

2016 Senior Essay Finalist: Shannon Kingsley

In a poem about maturation, growth, and seizing opportunity, my favorite poet, Katherine Larson, writes, Metamorphosis will make you ugly. I answer: Radiance will change its name. Metamorphosis — a change, a transformation — occurs as a response to our environment or because of an inner desire or compulsion to transform oneself into something new. Metamorphosis and opportunity prove inextricably linked for one cannot change without the opportunities to transform oneself. In this manner, North Attleboro High School has provided us with the environment for our metamorphosis. 

By the final weeks of senior year, it is tempting to dismiss high school and its conventions as mundane, each day a tedious continuation of the last. We wake up, we go to school, we attend after-school activities, we go home, we complete homework into the wee hours. For the past four years, our lives have been dictated by the alarm clock that sounds at 6:00 a.m. — or, for those like myself who are particularly fond of the snooze button, 6:15 a.m., pushing 6:30 — and the bells in B-flat that ring every forty-nine minutes between classes. Each one of us has experienced the strain of this repetition in recent months as we felt ready to split our cocoons and free ourselves from the confines of high school. 

But I challenge all of you to look beyond the monotony, to forget the drama and negativity that remain inescapable aspects of high school, and to focus instead on the amazing experiences that North Attleboro High School has offered us. I challenge all of you to view these last four years as a blessing, an opportunity to undergo metamorphosis in a safe space supported by incredibly dedicated teachers and surrounded by the friends with whom we have shared the high and lows, the successes and failures, the triumphs and embarrassments.  

At North, we illustrate on a regular basis the ineffable bonds woven in these hallways and classrooms and the incredible ways in which one human being — and sometimes one gesture —impacts the life of another person. Last year, when I befriended a freshman who sat alone at lunchtime, I felt pleased to help a fellow student. Yet, it was she who profoundly affected my life, totally upending my own concept of courage and showing me the power of perseverance.  Last spring, as I precariously carried a box of pea plants through the corridor, the cast-offs of a biology experiment, a boy stopped to ask if he could take one of the plants home to his mother.  “She will just love this,” he said. In one brief exchange, he taught me about kindness. This year, expounding on the life mysteries in Waiting for Godot, Mrs. Andersen showed me how literature represents the stories of ourselves — because without the ability to tell our own stories, we are lost. And recently, when I got dumped two weeks before senior prom, two administrators demonstrated compassion and, equally as important, the benefit of humor in an awkward situation. These represent experiences unique to NAHS. And, as you reflect on your own experiences at North, you no doubt will conclude that our community of students and teachers conveys crucial life lessons beyond the basics of the classroom. We may not all hang out
together outside of school — sometimes we even resist saying hello to each other in the hall —
but we all share this common connection. We also have befriended the same teachers, learned
the nuances of pickle ball, suffered the same discomfort of squeezing into the freshmen pit, and
enjoyed the same endearingly cheesy jokes by Mr. Rizzo during the in-school Holiday Concert.
Of the roughly 3.3 million seniors graduating from the nation’s high schools this year, we, the
NAHS Class of 2016, represent about 280 of these high school seniors, making the bonds of our
metamorphosis very special.

Our eagerness to shed the comforts of high school stems, in part, from the fact that our metamorphosis is complete and we are prepared for the real world. Admittedly, this metamorphosis has not always been pretty. We bombed tests, quarreled with our friends, failed at times to work our hardest at practices, skipped music lessons, doubted ourselves, sometimes doubted each other, learned how much we have yet to learn, struggled to temper our idealistic views. Yet, the way that our metamorphosis ultimately shapes, transforms, and redefines us —broadening our perspectives and altering our perceptions — proves more exceptional than any single ugly event during the process. I answer, writes Larson, Radiance will change its name.  Like the narrator in Larson’s poem who chooses to radiate, we all possess the capacity to live positively and function as positive forces in others’ lives.

So, I challenge all of you to radiate. Be inspired by your metamorphosis at North. Shed high school with a positive outlook. Begin the rest of your life with an excitement for the future.  Be brilliant. Be bold. Be confident. As Katherine Larson writes at her poem’s conclusion, “You haven’t much time — risk it all." 

2016 Senior Essay Finalist: Randy Wentworth

North Attleboro High School has contributed several aspects to my life that I am forever grateful for. I have gained friendships that will last a lifetime, experiences with some of the best teachers, knowledge stemming from a myriad of classes, and an opportunity to join some of the most interesting clubs and sports teams available. Although the stresses of AP classes, swim practices and meets, and other clubs like Math League and Model Senate may have been overwhelming, I would not have wanted it any other way. By participating in so many of the given opportunities presented by NAHS, I was able to form strong bonds with others and learn more than I could ever imagine about all these different activities and about myself. The most valuable lesson that I learned, however, was how to fail.

            Failure may, at first, seem like a scary word, but I am able to accept it for the blessing that it is. Before high school, life seemed almost like a cakewalk. All these participation awards and straight A’s in elementary and middle school made me feel practically invincible. It really was not until high school when I finally tasted a dose of reality. I failed here, and I failed a lot. I ran for a class officer position on three separate occasions, and failed all three times. I got cut from the baseball team not once, but twice. I lost our freshman football team the most important game of season against our rival, Attleboro. I got rejected by my top college, and like any other teenage boy, I had my fair share of woes with romantic relationships. After each and every one of these failures, I thought that my life was over and that I could never be successful. However, I realized that I needed to use these failures as motivation to succeed because in real life, there are no participation awards, and I would need to work hard to get where I wanted to be. This helped me to bounce back and achieve success in other areas such as becoming the captain of the swim team, getting into the honors program at a college, and getting elected as a representative for Student Government Day. Although these achievements dawned happiness and pride onto me, I still managed to fail in some aspects of life no matter how hard I worked. If I worked so hard, then what was the cause for this? What was the reason? How could I make sense of this? The answer to these questions is actually fairly simple; it happens. In life, failure is bound to find everybody at some point or another, yet here I am still standing tall and speaking in front of all these fine scholars, and we are all about to graduate high school.

Some typical speakers may say that they see future doctors, lawyers, CEOs, etc. before them here today, and whether this is true or not, this is not what I see. Our class will not be defined by our job titles, our successes or achievements, and, most importantly, our failures. Instead, we will be recognised for how we are as people. We will be remembered for our caring actions toward friends and strangers, our unique jokes that would make the room erupt into laughter, our debates that would challenge each other and open up our minds, and our great times together. As we move from this steppingstone onto the next chapter in our lives, I would like to finish by saying that you should  never lose yourself in your successes or in your failures, no matter how minute or grand, because the most important and valuable asset that you can contribute to others is being your own genuine self.

2016 Senior Essay Entry: Ashley Lamoureux

The dynamic of life at North depends on the performance of the students in all areas: academics, athletics, and the arts. In my opinion, it is these opportunities for participation that make North Attleboro High School a truly unique and wonderful place. My experience at North was defined by my participation in various facets of our school. It was through these activities that I became friends with many different people and learned several valuable life lessons. I know that the lessons instilled in me through these experiences have shaped me into the person I am today and will continue to guide me in the future.

              As a self-diagnosed over-achiever, I constantly push myself to achieve more when it comes to academics. One valuable lesson that I have learned through my higher level courses is that Life is Not a Competition. My group of close friends happens to consist of students in the top 10-20% of our class. Naturally, we share many classes and teachers. It can be quite easy for someone like me to become mentally self-destructive and depressed when constantly comparing myself to the others who are also over-achievers. Through my struggles in my math classes to my failure to infiltrate the class top ten, I have learned that comparing myself to others will not help me to improve: it will only bring me down. I discovered that to be successful and to find happiness I must work to better myself instead of trying to be better than someone else.

              In my struggles with math I learned a valuable life lesson: The Importance of Integrity. In my junior year I signed up for Honors level Trig/Pre-Calculus. When I entered the class I knew that it would be difficult for me to do well. A couple of weeks in I was given the option to drop to level one. Aside from the numerous scheduling issues that move would cause, one of which was dropping concert band, I felt as though dropping the class would feel as if I quit. I felt as though I had already made a commitment to take the class. Quitting has never really been my style, but I could quit and receive a higher average in the level one class or stay and fight for a good grade in the honors level. In the end, I decided to stay in the higher level class. Even though I did not do as well as I would have in another level, I learned that I am capable of doing math and completing an insanely difficult class. Through this struggle I learned that following through on one’s commitments and having the integrity to finish strong despite the outcome, is an essential part of succeeding in life.

             Along with my participation in academics at North, I was also present in the Athletic Department. The summer before my freshman year I decided to try out for the field hockey team. Those two weeks consisted of the most mentally and physically exhausting days of my life. To me, all of the pain, pasta, and ice packs I put into that week became worth it when I found out that I had made the team. The Act of Persevering is something that I learned at North before my high school career even started. My participation on the field hockey team showed me that I am stronger than I believe. Even after running a suicide down the field, exhausted and in pain, I learned that I can hop back on the end line and run another one and then go to marching band rehearsal and march a couple of miles. Learning perseverance has allowed me to become more self- confident that even when I think I cannot, I know that I can.

             Along with playing field hockey for four years, I participated on the swim team for four years.  It was through my position as Captain for my senior season that I discovered that There is a Difference Between Being in Charge and Being a Leader. At first I was unsure how to lead the members of the swim team. I tried many different approaches and nothing felt quite right. It felt like I was yelling at people to do what I wanted and having them not listen. Working with the team led me to discover that leadership is more than holding a title or telling people what to do. I learned how to lead by example and to not just yell, but to show. Leadership also means putting others first. Caring for the well-being of the swimmers, more than simply wanting them to follow me, helped me to become someone worth following.

         My participation in the Music Department has been an amazing influence on my life. I learned that creating art or music is not easy. True art is an expression of emotions. It moves and changes and allows others to express themselves through it. In order to truly learn an instrument or to succeed in life, one must have a great deal of Self- Discipline. The students of the music department work tirelessly to train their voices, their ears, and their muscles in order to be better musicians. After school everyday of the week, the music hallway is always full of people practicing for various ensembles or drilling scales and rhythms. To these students, music is not an activity to join, but a way of life. Participation in the Music and Art departments means more than just showing up. In addition to discipline, a person must have Dedication in order to produce amazing art. The devotion and genuine love for music that I have seen in others has taught me that dedication can better my performance in any area and in turn, bring me happiness. I have discovered that doing what I love and loving what I do is the best way to lead a fulfilled life.

           I truly believe that the programs at North Attleboro High School would not have this amazing affect on students without the efforts of our faculty and staff. They truly exemplify dedication.  You can see how much they put of themselves into every performance and competition. My time at North has been shaped by so many of these individuals and their programs. I am confident that I will be capable of handling any problems that I may face in the future because of the lessons I have been taught through my time and participation at North Attleboro High School. 

2016 Senior Essay Entry: Lauren Ruddy

     “The most important lessons are not necessarily the ones you will learn as part of the curriculum.” A fresh-faced, wide-eyed fourteen-year-old entering high school for the first time, I had received this statement as advice. At the time, I was not sure what it meant, but, four years, later, I’ve found it to be incredibly truthful. This is my story.

*****

     Since I first learned to talk, people have asked me what I want to be when I grow up. At five, my answer was “a singer.” After I realized that I am not as great at singing as I once believed I was, I changed my mind, insisting that I wanted to be a fashion designer. Eventually, I accepted that this was probably an unrealistic choice, and now, at seventeen years old, my answer to the

“Who do you want to be when you grow up?” question is this: Who knows?

     What I do know, however, is what society dictates that I should be, as well as what my friends and family are encouraging me to be. Having exhibited an interest in science since my bowl haircut days (a very, very long time ago), I have found that most people I’ve talked to about this problem – deciding what I want to be when I grow up – are encouraging me to become a doctor, a scientist, or an engineer. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I am thankful for their support. I still love science, but over the course of these past four years, I’ve fallen in love with English, with psychology, and with French. Right now, I have absolutely no idea what I want to major in, or what I will one day decide to achieve. The pressure to go to medical school, become a doctor, and make a six-figure salary looms large. Yet, as I chose which colleges to apply to, or which majors to consider, what I remembered was this: The most important lessons are not necessarily the ones we learn as part of the traditional curriculum.

     When I took AP Biology two years ago, I had underestimated the difficulty of the class.

Following the first test, Mr. Duluk told us a story in an effort to encourage us.  With a passion for art and drawing, he wanted to pursue a career as an artist, but when guidance put him into physiology instead of physics, he found himself falling in love with biology. He knew he would become a doctor. Eventually, however, Mr. Duluk began to help professors set up labs for the lower level classes, and when his professors were late, he would go out and begin to teach the class. He loved it. At that point, he had received the highest MCAT score out of all of the

Providence College pre-med students, and he had received acceptance letters from some of the most prestigious medical schools. Though it proved an extremely difficult decision, he evidently chose to teach.

     At the time Mr. Duluk told us this story, it did not really make a lot of sense to me. Like me, he has the intelligence to do nearly anything he wants. So why would he choose to become a teacher over becoming a doctor? Yet, as the year went on, it quickly became evident to me that he had made the right choice. As you have walked by his classroom, you might have heard him playing songs about the pancreas, or see him dancing, arms thrashing wildly, trying to show his students how a protein’s structure suits its function. His choices reflect the things he loves.

Energetic, passionate, and enthusiastic, Mr. Duluk is proof that making choices based on what you love is more important than making choices for superficial reasons.

     Of course, learning about the function of a plant’s vascular cambium, how to write a strong argumentative essay, or how to calculate the derivative of an inverse trigonometric function may all be important. However, I think the most important lesson I learned in high school was this:

Do what makes you happy. My experience in Mr. Duluk’s classroom is only one of many similar stories in which I’ve learned something thanks to an interaction with a teacher or with a classmate. I feel humbled and happy to have spent my time at North Attleboro High School, and I am thankful to be surrounded by teachers I respect and admire, friends I will never forget, and family members who have supported me for the past eighteen years, and who I know will continue to support me in all of my future endeavors, whatever they may be. I don’t know where I’ll be ten, or twenty, or thirty years from now. But I know I’ll figure it out.

 Lauren Ruddy

Class of 2016

2016 Senior Essay Competition

2016 Senior Essay Competition

Every year, the English Department here at NAHS holds an essay competition  aimed at giving all graduating seniors the opportunity to write a valedictory essay, much like the speeches delivered by the top two students at graduation on June 3rd. All graduating seniors are encouraged to submit an essay.  The essays will be read by teachers in the English Department and the student who writes the most outstanding essay is recognized during the awards assembly with English Department's Senior Essayist Award.

Essay prompts:

1. How has NAHS impacted you as a person?
2. What experiences have you had here that you will always remember?
3. How has the school helped you develop strong bonds with classmates, teachers and/or the community?

Strong essays will:

• have a clear central idea that ties the whole essay together
• use language eloquently and effectively to convey meaning
• follow all conventions of standard written English
• be written for a school-appropriate audience
• be of a length of at least a page and no longer than three pages. (12 pt font, double spaced, 1 inch margins)
• be typed, saved, and submitted as a Word document attached to an email sent to jscozzaro@naschools.net by 2:00 PM on Friday May 13th, 2016.

When you submit your essay, you will receive an email confirming receipt of your submission.  If you do not receive this email confirmation, see Mr. Scozzaro in the main office as soon as you can.

Submissions may be posted to the school’s blog, http://nahsrockets.blogspot.com/  with the student's permission.

Senior Class President's Welcome

The beginning of September marks the period where it’s time to put down the grill tongs and boogie boards and pick up a pencil and some paper. It marks the time where we transition back into “students” and we have to wake up before the sun comes out. It is the time where four different classes come together with the common goal of achieving academic success under the roof of North Attleboro High School.

At the start of every school year, the intimidation factor is at an all-time high. Even for students who have walked the halls for 3 years prior, nobody knows what to expect when they first step foot onto school grounds. Will my teachers be nice? Will I like the atmosphere in the class? Will I have a lot of homework? Whether you’re an incoming freshman or a high-and-mighty senior, we all are a bit nervous for the first day back.

It isn’t long before jitters go away, and the comfort begins to set in. It isn’t just the teachers that help with the nerves however; it’s your fellow students that travel the same halls. They are there to assist and guide as best as possible, and to help make the experience as beneficial as they can. They can relate and communicate with you, regardless of your age, race, gender, or religion. There’s a reason it’s called a student body and not bodies; because we all come together to help make the new school year as awesome as the last.

So welcome back to all the sophomores, juniors and seniors! And a warm welcome to all of the new freshman who will be joining us this year as well! Together we can rally up the spirit and energy to make this year one to remember. With the power and unity that I know we have, we can achieve greatness. Go North, and GO BIG RED!

Your Senior Class President,

Chris LaVallee