Wells for Sudan

By Adam Liberty

Mrs. Moskal , the eighth grade history teacher, has her Plus Time Social Studies class hold one fundraiser each quarter. All the money that she and the students raise will go to a non-profit organization called Water for Sudan, which gathers money to help build wells in Sudan. Having wells is critical for business, schools, and just everyday life. It means less travel in the brutally hot weather.

The class is trying to raise $5,000. Her class has already raised $750 and expects to get at least $745 each quarter. They held a carnival on November 5, 2011 in our cafeteria from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Her class is currently reading the book Water for Sudan that was written by Salva Dut. Mrs. Moskal says “the book has really made the kids realize what they have, and they want to give back.”

Mrs. Moskal was unsure about when the next fundraiser would take place and how they would be raising the money. When asked about her concern to if the other fundraisers would as successful as the first she replied, “We are successful no matter what, the kids have learned that they can change the world.” She also says it will take all year to raise a sufficient amount of money.

Math Is: $#%!

By Kaylee Foote

This year Hopkinton High School has decided to start their own chapter of the Math Honor Society. The two main goals of the society are to recognize people for their superior math achievements, and to promote math so that more people will get interested in it.

Since this is the first year of the society at the high school, the students that are part of it are chosen by leader of the society. And after that first year, the students from last year get to choose who is in the society.

Math is cool!

18 and Able!

By Kara McCluskey

It’s voting season! And many 18 year olds are now finding themselves able to vote for the first time.

Is it really important for young people to vote? Mrs. Sintros, who teaches Civics at Hopkinton High School, believes 18 year olds “are the least represented in our political system. They’re our future and are more educated than they’re given credit for.” She believes that voting in general is important because “it is habit forming and it allows people to become more involved in the political process.”

So what do 18 year olds think about being able to vote? Senior Laura Jones, who recently turned 18, said, “I’m so excited! I’m excited to get my voice out there and be heard.” Karissa Hazen had similar feelings, “I am really excited to vote. I finally have an opinion when it comes to our government, and that’s really important. I can finally make a difference.”

Jones and Hazen, like Mrs. Sintros, also expressed the belief that it's important for young people to vote. Jones believes that “it’s really important; the youth controls the future.” Hazen said, “I think it’s extremely important. It’s important because we can make a difference in how our country functions. Also our generation has a much different outlook on how things should be than older generations. [In voting,] we can get our opinions out there to be heard.”

A Day in the Life of Brian

By Justin Tracy


Today we had an interview with one of our favorite school janitors, Brian. His work starts at six in the morning. First he unlocks all the doors except for the teacher’s room, then turns on all the lights. He then sets up all the tables and chairs. After that he sweeps and auto sweeps the gym. He checks to see if there are any teacher, or office requests. Once he’s checked, he starts on grounds keeping. When he starts this it is somewhere between eight and eleven. If there is enough trash in bins then he takes the trash out and replaces the bags. With this, he also cleans the tables and chairs if needed. Some people might be wondering about the recycling; we found out that the Interact Club takes care of that. On a normal day Brian gets out at 2:30.

Brian does not work on the weekends, unless, of course, there is a snowstorm. Then it can take anywhere from an hour to five hours to shovel and snow blow all the walkways and side walks. The town plows the parking lot and all roads. Brian can tell how much snow there is because he only lives two miles away. When students have the summer off Brian does not. He works all through the summer. During the summer Brian comes in with four other people and they take all the furniture out of the rooms and wash down everything and wash wax the floors. They also clean the walls and replace lights if needed.

We asked him out of all the tasks he does on a regular basis what is the easiest. He replied, saying unlocking the doors is the easiest. The hardest thing he said is setting up the voting booths and any special events. He said that each bleacher is about one hundred pounds per step. The final part of his job is just regular maintenance. That can include anything from bringing the office paper to replacing lights. That is the conclusion of a day in the life of Brian.

Clash of the Titans

By Cody White

For the past three years Hopkinton High School has hosted a basketball game called the Clash of the Titans. Every year so far the faculty has won against the team that has challenged them. This year the students are playing the faculty with hopes to end the teacher’s reign of the basketball court. The teachers have played the bus drivers, and student’s parents. The closest game so far was between the dominating faculty and the parents of students in the school.

The Clash of the Titans was created to raise money for the Special Olympics and for the senior class. Mr. O’Dougherty has been a huge help for raising money for the Special Olympics. There has been a great turn out in the past for basketball game raising a good wad of money.

The game is being held on November 10^th in the HMHS gymnasium. Everyone is encouraged to go support the seniors and the faculty in what should be a great match up. There will be a concession stand outside the gym run by the freshmen to raise money for their class. It will be a fun event for family and friends for only 3 dollars. It’ll be a game you won’t want to miss.

Hopkinton and Fall Mountain, Kickin' That Cancer Out!!!

By Brian Scala
On October 14, 2010, the first ever Kick Out for Cancer event was held at Fall Mountain High School in Charleston, New Hampshire. Four soccer teams participated in order to help raise funds for cancer awareness. Funds were gathered by collecting admission from families who chose to attend the game. The proceeds from the concession sales were also donated.

Fall Mountain’s JV and varsity boys soccer team played against the visiting Hopkinton Hawks. Each team was given different colored t-shirts for jerseys, with each different color representing something with significance to cancer awareness. Hopkinton’s varsity squad was dressed in lavender, which represents all those who have survived cancer, and the JV team was wearing light blue, which symbolizes prostate cancer. The Fall Mountain varsity team was wearing teal, which represented ovarian cancer, and the JV team was dressed in darker blue, which represented thyroid cancer.

During the varsity game, the hawks played quick possession soccer and made numerous baseline runs. This style of play overwhelmed the Fall Mountain team and they quickly resorted to just kicking the ball out of bounds. This resulted in three goal scoring corner kicks for Hopkinton. The fourth and final goal for Hopkinton was unassisted and was scored by Steven Auger.

The final score came out to be 4-2 with Hopkinton on top. Overall, the game and the fundraiser was a complete success, and there has been talk about making one game a year a fundraiser for worthy causes.

Hope For Haiti

By Ashley Tibbetts

Musicians at Hopkinton High have many opportunities to display their talents. Hopkinton High students have the opportunity too participate in Steel Pan; the steel pan is an instrument we associate with the Caribbean and the sounds of Calypso and Soca music rather than with classical music. The origin of the steel pan can be traced back to slavery in the Caribbean and grew from many instruments.

November 7^th there will be a concert held at the Hopkinton Town Library at 2 pm. This concert is being held to benefit Partners in Health, founded by Paul Farmer, to support on going work in Haiti. Paul Farmer wrote the book “Mountains Beyond Mountains” (a Haitian book) a compelling and inspiring book that shows what great works one person can do, it being from Harvard to Haiti.

The Hopkinton Steel Pan will be playing a well-known Haitian song called “Yellow Bird”. Not only will they be playing these songs but they will also be talking about the history of these songs.

Following that on November 11^th, Hopkinton police chief Pecora will be at Flanders Field where there will be a ceremony for the veterans of war. Here there will be a choir singing many songs one being “America The Beautiful”.

Don't want to go to college? Here is an idea.

Joshua Isabelle


For the high school students who don’t have the money, grades or just don’t want to go to college, there are other choices such as getting a full time job. It’s not always a loss in choosing to avoid going to college. A Degree would defiantly help you get a well paying job depending on the major you chose but it doesn’t always work out for everyone. After college students may have a loan to pay off and that could take a few years. High school grads can get a full time job and in the years they would have spent in college they may get raises or promotions.

Prototek Sheet Metal Fabrication LLC. in Contoocook New Hampshire takes pride in hiring high school grads. Larry Hilton, Shop Foreman, says, “They are young and full of energy”. Hilton explains that training younger people is much easier then experienced workers because they don’t claim they already know what to do. When using dangerous equipment like a four-inch grinder and the TimeSaver employees must follow directions exactly how they are given. One mistake could end up with someone in the emergency room, and this can be avoided by hiring of attentive eighteen year olds.

The start off pay is $8.00 an hour. Over time workers may grow their knowledge of the shop and develop their skills in other areas of this individual work place. This may lead to a raise in their pay, usually at $.50 intervals. A high school student working twenty hours a week and making progress can, over time, make up to $10.00 an hour as explained by Hilton. While in college there are fewer opportunities to make this amount of money.

A New Face in Hopkinton High

By Justin Tracy

Today we sat down with Carolyn Lynch who is conducting a student internship with one of our history teachers, Mr. Krogman.

First things first: How long has Ms. Lynch been here? Ms. Lynch states that this will have been her first year interning with Mr. Krogman. Ms. Lynch also tells us that she plans to stay with us until January of this year. One thing we wanted to know was if she had gone to college. Ms. Lynch tells us that she did four years at Michigan State University, and received a Bachelors Degree in the English department.

We then asked some down to earth questions. Such as does Ms. Lynch like it here? She replied saying that she found it “interesting” and that she likes the students. Ms. Lynch also said that it is “fun to be in high school.” There was still one important question left to answer. Do you like Mr. Krogman? Ms. Lynch responded with a prompt “Yes, he is very thorough, and he keeps it fresh!”

To summarize Miss Carolyn Lynch’s story. This is her first year doing a student internship at Hopkinton High, and she plans to leave in January. She did four years at Michigan State University and earned a Bachelors Degree in the English department. Ms. Lynch likes being back in high school, and she enjoys interning under Mr. Krogman.

Graduates Will Learn A Language

By: Breanna Ostrander

“Everyone can learn a language,” states Michelle Cotnior, a French teacher at Hopkinton High School. Cotnior is all for the new requirements for a modern language. As of the new 2010 school year, students in 9th grade at Hopkinton High School are now required to take two years of a language. A choice of French, Spanish and German is offered. There are many different opinions about this new graduating requirement. Many of the teachers think that having a second language is not only important for college résumés, but also to get a bigger picture of the world outside of the United States. Leanne Hassett, Hopkinton High School Spanish teacher, confirmed, “A world language is a wonderful thing to have, but it can also be a challenge.” There are many students who find languages to be a challenge and drop out, but this is now not option for freshman.

When asked, many students believe that it should be their choice whether they take a modern language or not. Now that it is forced upon them, they feel as if it will not be an enjoyable experience. There is one possible way to get out of the language you are taking; but that is by taking the next available language that is offered. Every year, Hopkinton High School switched the offered language for students from French to Spanish. Therefore, if you are in Spanish and next year Spanish is being offered, there is no way to get out of taking Spanish. This has aggravated students, who believe if they want to try a different language they should be able to.

For those who are now required to take a language, there are a few tips on being successful with your studies. “Study everyday. Practice using the Internet or listening to the language,” Cotnior believes that taking a head on approach will give great rewards. From those students in higher levels on a modern language, they will also agree that studying everyday is an important skill to master. One student gave the recommendation of studying in little segments of time instead of cramming the night before because that is how more information is retained. “If you don’t have any bricks, you cannot build a house,” stated Hassett when asked about studying habits and vocabulary usage. Students need to be able to identify the best way for them to study and utilize that knowledge. An anonymous source gave a few words of encouragement stating that “Success isn’t just a grade on a test, but how you feel about what you’ve learned, and how you continue to use that information.”

Lights, Camera, ACT-ion!

By Kara McCluskey

On November 19^th and 20^th the Hopkinton High School Drama Club will be putting on a series of one-act plays. The topics of these plays are centered around dreams and nightmares. Putting on a play, or in this case plays, takes a lot of work. The students dedicate about an hour of time, four days a week, into these plays.

But preparing to put on a play is not just about going over lines. The actors and actresses involved need something to work with. The building of sets also takes a lot of time and effort. This task is accomplished over 3 weekend days. This year in addition to sets, the drama club is also working on creating something to be projected on a screen.

When asked what her goals for the outcome of the plays were, the head of drama club Ms. Gelineau, who has been at the school for four years, described how she wants the students to learn and have fun at the same time and she especially wants to continue the great program that Mrs. Allen started.

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