Valley Breeze

north smithfield blackstone woonsocket edition | valley breeze | JanUary 22-28, 2015 in our schools 9 Allow me to sum up January at NSHS for you: midterm exams, the end of second quarter, and every student crossing their fingers for a snow day. Fortunately, Northmen are nearing the end of the nail-biting stress that characterizes exam week. Students have been penciling in multiple-choice bubbles and scrambling to finish timed essays since Tuesday morning, and all of that will come to an end by tomorrow afternoon. While midterm exams may be just about finished, it's around that time when many juniors have begun taking a different exam: the SAT. Students can register for the March 14 test by Feb. 13, or sign up to take the May 2 test by April 6. I recommend pur- chasing an SAT study guide – you know, one of those giant practice books that looks like it took half a tree to make – to any student who plans on taking the exam. It is a good idea for any soon-to-be test takers to start flipping through the study guide as soon as possible because believe me, there is plenty of information in there, and that review will help a lot more than one may think. Although college-bound seniors have gotten their SAT tests out of the way by now, they currently have to worry about applying for financial aid. Families who plan on applying for financial aid should be filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), and filing them as soon as they can. It is best to get FAFSA forms in sooner as opposed to later because many types of financial aid (mainly need- based aid, which includes grants, loans and work-study programs) are limited and are awarded on a first-come, first- served basis. Because of this, the sooner a student's FAFSA is fully processed and released to their school's financial aid administrators, the higher their chances of receiving con- sideration for the maximum amount of financial aid for which they may be eligible. In other words – don't procras- tinate. While academics and the future have been a priority for the Northmen lately, it is not all they have been up to. Last Saturday, the NSHS Jazz band boarded a bus and took a trip down to the URI Fine Arts Center for the annual RIMEA High School Jazz Fest. The festival went on for much of the morning and afternoon, and was attended by schools from all over the state. Our jazz band certainly represented the NSHS music program well, earning a supe- rior (the highest ranking) for their excellent execution of the three pieces they played. The constructive criticism they received will only help the group become even better than they currently are, which will surely make for a success- ful festival season this year. As for other upcoming events, the NSHS Math Team will be competing in a math meet at Burrillville High School on Wednesday, Jan. 28. It will take place from 2:15 to 5 p.m., and is the perfect opportunity for Northmen to show that it pays to do your math homework. With second quarter enjoy- ing its final hours, it appears as if we have at last reached the midpoint of the 2014-2015 school year. The question is, how do all you Northmen see it? The glass can be viewed as either half empty, or half full. In our case, is the year already halfway over, or do we still have two never-ending quarters left? NSHS students balance academics and activities at school year halfway point At North Smithfield High School amanda levenson PROVIDENCE – A char- ter public school fair will be held Thursday, Jan. 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Times2 STEM Academy, 50 Filmore St., Providence. The fair is free and open to the public. Families will have the opportunity to speak with school representatives, apply for admission, and learn more about the Rhode Island League of Charter School's 18 charter public schools in Rhode Island. For more information, contact Steve Nardelli at 401-831-3700, ext. 114, or stevenardelli@rich- arterschools.com . Public charter school fair Jan. 29 BLACKSTONE – The fol- lowing Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School students have been named to the first quarter honor roll. GrAde 8: HiGH HoNorS: meagan brodeur, Jenna castelluccio, cameron ce- rundolo, Jack clem, isabella colla- mati, claire collins, madison durand, kelly fitzgerald, Juliana Gambach, Jenna Gauthier, hayley Gervais, Jacob heldenbergh, kayla isaac, Joseph martinelli, mikayla martinelli, Juliana moniz, colin norcross-Joyce, alex- andra Patterson, lauren rainone, antonia spellman, rebecca st. amant, benjamin st. Gelais, alex staples, madison tubman, elizabeth volpe, thomas watson, cameron werning HoNorS: diogo andrade, ethan blake, cole bolduc, madeleine carey, alisha cournoyer, sean fitzgerald, lilly hetzel, sarah house, bridget humphries, kelsey humphries, andre Jarret, abigail ladison, Jacques leclaire, Jarrod mccarthy, Jason mccarthy, dominic mezzadri, alexyss milot, hannah Peloquin, Gavin Picard, styles Pickering, benjamin Pimenta, katelyn Platt, abigail Putnam, Jesse ranslow, cameron riordan, katelyn vecchione GrAde 7 HiGH HoNorS: zoe bergeron, aaron bolduc, margaret boone, nicholas bruneault, Jacob chaplin, laina cleaves, trinity collette, Jessica connolly, abigail cook, megan dakai, Jordyn decosta, luke delucia, nicho- las Grilli, morgan Grumbach, emily kalajian, Jared loiselle, maggie long, marah Paquette, carissa Penta, wal- ter Pickering, kylie Poirier, daniel Pol- lock, Jordan staples, ethan stearman, rebecca swenson, makayla tompkins, lauren wagner, ashley whalen HoNorS: James ahearn, daniel ar- senault, arthur axon, zachary barron, erin brown, maribeth buteau, isa- bella casucci, danielle catalano, ian chartier, kendall corkran, elizabeth correia, alyssa davis, danielle dexter, elizabeth dicecco, Jacob dunton, Jessica farley, ruth Gillihan, evan hagerty, mallory harper, alivia har- rison, henry hawkins, shayleigh hollis, dylan huff, emma kane, christopher kearnan, Jada lebron-mussulli, alexia lemieux, marissa martello, aiden mc- donough, craig myers, nicole norman- din, ashlyn novio, nicholas oliveira, kaitlyn osborne, Julia Poirier, ashley Purdon, katrina rockwell, meghan salley, stephanie spear, logan taft, nathan taylor, wesley truscott, emma winkler GrAde 6 HiGH HoNorS: trent allan, Jessica brodeur, ryan caddell, Jada-Jane chapman, alana clancy, anthony estes, keeley farmer, ellie Gervais, sophia Guertin, avry Guilbert, natalie hawkins, nicholas kirby, ava lanoue, Jordan lavalley, Jacob law, victoria lemieux, antonia marino, Gabriele martinelli, shaylah mccarthy, bethany mclaughlin, shea mcnamara, Jacob Purinton, sarah scott, christina swen- son, hayley vecchione HoNorS: George alexandropoulos, mazie barr, roger belanger, riley bourque, aaron canali, angelo card- arelli, carrie chase, Joshua connolly, logan cook, maranda cournoyer, tyler crenshaw, charles dakai, thomas deguire, zachary desrosiers, erin diehl, nicholas fortier-anderson, ian foster, samuel foster, briana harper, Joshua harper, evan hollander, olivia Jacques, Joshua Johnson, lauren Juba, Jenna kearnan, tyler l'etalien, emma labonte, walter lukasiewicz, molly magri, evan markle, matthew martinelli, logan maynard, sera mazzone, taylor mazzuchelli, noah mccarthy, rachel morrisson, Grace moschetto, Jillian newcomb, Julia normandin, connor Purinton, hailey Purinton, benjamin Putnam, zofia st. Gelais, Paige st. laurent, sean tasker, Grant vandyke, sara vargas, Julia vinacco, nicholas vinacco, matteo walrath, ryan werning, andrew wildes Hartnett Middle School lists first quarter honor roll Good SHepHerd CAtHoliC reGioNAl SCHool'S Students of the Month for December are, in front from left, Alexis Robillard, grade 3; Julianna Handrahan, grade 5; Sara Bonnett, grade 4; in rear, Kate Oupravanh, grade 7; Benjamin Happenny, grade 6; Hunter Choquet, grade 8; Kasey Croteau, grade 6; Brad Plamondon, grade 7. Good Shepherd Students of the Month

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