Clubs – AHS NEWSPAPER

AHS Student Directs Coming-of-Age Film, ‘Horizon’

June 9, 2025

Abby Chachus || STAFF WRITER

AHS Film Club president Scott Strellis is working on directing his first original film, Horizon. Far from a simple project, Horizon has and will continue to use up a lot of time for preparation and collaboration.

For Strellis, filmmaking has always been more than a hobby. “[Film Club has] been doing a lot of short films, preparing for this throughout the years,” he explained. Now, as director of his first film, he is putting all those lessons into practice. “Directing is mainly about being as creative as possible, communicating well with others, and finding a good workflow,” Strellis said.

Horizon tells the heartfelt story of a teenager grappling with loss and responsibility. “It’s a coming-of-age sailing film,” Strellis said. “The main character tries to find out what his identity is through sailing, because he’s had some hardship with loved ones passing away, and he has to take a lot of responsibility for himself, in terms of growing up.”

While Horizon is Strellis’s first time directing a project, it’s not his first experience on a film set. Two years ago, he helped with little things in the creation of Bonsai, another student film. That experience, along with the support of the AHS community, has been very valuable in helping him learn the skills he needs to create his own movie. “The resources at the high school let me show all my creative ideas and really help with the workflow,” said Strellis.

Collaboration is important to the creation of Horizon. Strellis is working with senior Ben Murfitt and sophomore Rohit Perugupalli to write the script and put it all together.

“Since I am not as experienced with playwriting, it has been an enlightening and educational experience,” said Perugupalli. He also explained that overall, the experience has been pretty positive.

Faculty advisor Daniel Brennan, who previously guided the Bonsai project, is offering mentorship, and former student Nate Allen has provided advice and encouragement as well.

“There’s a QR code on the forms [hanging around school]. We did the major casting already, but we’ll always have open parts for extras and those who just want to stop by for cameos,” Strellis said.

Warrior Friends Grows Friendships at AHS

December 13, 2024

By Diya Manikandan
STAFF WRITER

Warrior Friends is a completely student-run organization, aside from occasional assistance from gym teacher and advisor, William Beauchesne. Its members work towards helping neurotypical and neurodivergent groups form connections. The leadership committee meets weekly to decide activities and plans for the next club meeting. So far, Warrior Friends members have introduced themselves and gotten to know each other, played games, colored, and most recently, had a kickball tournament.

According to a Harvard Health article on neurodiversity, the word “neurodiverse” refers to “the diversity of all people, but it is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as other neurological or developmental conditions” (Baumer).

Club president Jordan Shirley said, “I hope to normalize differences between people. I feel like people see certain individuals in the hallways and call them weird, but they are as normal as everyone else.”

“The thing that I’ve noticed the most is the diversity of the population of students at school,” said Beauschesne. “Seeing some students be able to make friendships with certain other groups of students has been very gratifying in terms of developing friendships.”

Members of the Warrior Friends appreciate opportunities to meet new friends and make the neurodiverse community feel welcome. “[Warrior Friends] is a really cool experience to help people and make new connections,” said sophomore Samantha Cashman.

Even from the few meetings held so far, familiarity is already forming between club members. “The biggest growth I’ve seen, as the weeks have gone by, is that just by meeting once a week, friendships are starting to establish and grow,” Beauchesne said. “This isn’t just in H Block; I’ve noticed this in the cafeteria, and in class, so people are now more connected with the neurodiverse community and they’re able to recognize them and include them in more.”

Senior club member Christina Preston encourages students to join the club. “It’s an amazing opportunity to build relationships and make these amazing kids feel seen and loved, and make them feel like a part of the school community,” she said.

Follow Warrior Friends at @warrior_friends_forever to get a glimpse of the club’s activities and see how you can join!

Articles Clubs Community Trending

AHS Students Travel and Serve with Global Pathways

November 13, 2024

Anushka Dole

ONLINE EDITOR

AHS students are going to Japan over February vacation and Costa Rica over April vacation as part of the Global Pathways program.

The Global Pathways program is an AHS club and three-year experience that is open to students starting sophomore year. This year, the Japan trip is open to all AHS students, while the Costa Rica trip is specific to Global Pathways students.

Global Pathways is an immersive experience that allows students to explore international life and develop a global lens through which they can view the world. Over the course of three years, students embark upon at least one international travel experience, which can take place over a school trip or a trip with friends or family.

However, the Global Pathways trips are different from a typical venture of casual tourism. Daniel Brennan, a staff advisor of Global Pathways, elaborated on the distinction between the two. “There’s a difference between a traveler and a tourist. When we’re tourists, we’re…using a lot of resources and not necessarily adding much to the place that we’re traveling to,” Brennan said. He went on to clarify that the goal of a Global Pathways travel experience is to broaden student perspective through community engagement in international communities.

“What we’re looking for in the program is more of an immersive experience where we’re…interacting with community members…and doing things that aid that community, ” Brennan said.

During the Global Pathways 2019 Costa Rica trip, students worked on a community service project that aimed to bring drinkable water to regions that didn’t have access to it, and during the 2024 Thailand trip, students worked in elephant sanctuaries. During the upcoming Costa Rica trip, students will continue the initiative. The Japan trip doesn’t have community service built into the travel plan, so Global Pathways students may seek to fulfill their required “glocal” – globally minded local service – elsewhere.

Even for students who are unable to partake in the international trips, various global activities are offered by the program. Judy Elkotory, a senior and one of the leaders of the program, detailed the many activities that were designed for the program over the years:

“We helped plan [the winter fundraiser]…we planned to do a movie night with hot cocoa in the cafeteria…. [and] we also started painting the rock…because our theme last year was saving the ocean.”

Each year, Global Pathways adopts a new theme centered around one of the seventeen of the United Nations (UN) sustainable goals, and student leaders like Elkotory design activities related to the theme. Elkotory mentioned that the program has also collaborated with the exchange program that brought international students to AHS.

“[We attended] Korean exchange H-blocks…and we got to do Ddakji, like [the] squares [game]…from Squid Game…[and] we had Vietnamese students also come in and talk about their school life back in Vietnam and their food and culture,” she said.

Global Pathways continues to draw new sophomores each year who are eager to embark on their global journeys. Connor McGovern, a sophomore and new member of Global Pathways, spoke about his enthusiasm for gaining a global perspective by joining the program. “I thought it’d be really interesting to talk to people from other countries and get to travel to other countries and do service… . It shows you how many different places there are in the world and gives you… a sense of your options for the future,” McGovern said.

Each student’s journey in Global Pathways is a unique experience, and this is by design. Brennan highlighted that ultimately, students are the ones to define their own adventures in the program.

“We try hard to make it so that students can kind of make [the program] their own. We call it ‘walking their own global path’,” Brennan said.

Articles Clubs Community Education

AHS Students Showcase School Community Involvement

November 13, 2024

Shreya Soni

STAFF WRITER

Though often confused as the same thing, the Student Government Association (SGA) and class boards are two different leadership bodies that tackle different issues in AHS.

There are a multitude of opportunities at AHS to get involved in the community as a leader, two of which are SGA and class boards. SGA is responsible for solving problems involving the school as a whole and prevalent town issues, while class boards aim to solve problems involving their respective grades. If you are a student interested in tackling the issues concerning the entire student body, SGA is the perfect place to showcase this passion.

“One of the responsibilities of the student government is to participate in 10 community events,” said senior Daniel Shin, the SGA president. These events include attending a School Committee meeting to gain more knowledge about problems that the student body and faculty have faced, and the annual holiday fun drive, which provides gifts for low-income students at AHS during the holiday season. A notable event that SGA is responsible for organizing is the pep rally, which Shin mentions has benefitted the student body by fostering school spirit and a sense of community.

As a four-year member of the SGA, Shin has seen the positive impact that it has had on school rules and his peers, emphasizing the pivotal role that SGA plays in vocalizing student opinions. “We’re the only club that revises school policies and has direct communication with administration,” he said, “[and we have] helped to get feedback on policies and formulate them”. One of these policies that SGA has been instrumental in modifying is the bullying policy, which can be viewed online in the student handbook.

However, if you’re a student wishing to take on a less ambitious goal and provide an impact specific to your grade, joining a class board is a great option.

“Some of the responsibilities of the boards are to be consistent with attending meetings and to be prepared to share ideas,” said Akshara Vijay, a sophomore and member of the Sophomore Board. A member of the Freshman Board last year, Vijay decided to join the board once again so that she could work with other motivated students to solve the pressing issues in her grade and plan out events for them.

“Last year, the freshman board planned out the freshman dance,” Vijay mentioned. “And this year, we are going to do fundraisers to raise money for events like field trips, such as a field trip to Boston or Six Flags.” Another initiative that the board has been interested in pursuing is finding volunteer opportunities for students, such as working at the snack shack at football games and setting up a donation booth during lunch time to promote community events.

As a result of the dedication and perseverance of the class boards, Vijay has noticed that her grade has become “more inclusive and united,” with many individuals fostering friendships with other students that they hadn’t interacted with before.

Because the deadline to apply for these committees has passed for this year, students can support them by attending their respective events. Additionally, interested students can find out more information by asking the faculty advisors or student members and applying next year in September.

Club Spotlight: Ink Magazine

November 13, 2024

Avery Slaughter

STAFF WRITER

ANDOVERVIEW sat down with Ink Magazine co-Editor-in-Chief Keira D’Angelo to discuss the literary club’s purpose and impact within AHS.

When and where is it?

Thursdays after school, Room 222.

What does a typical club meeting look like?

It depends what we’re working on. The past couple of weeks, it’s been us trying to figure out how we’re going to get this year up and going. We have a lot of ideas for different themes we could do for our magazine. Last week, we were working on how to publicize, so we were talking about flyers and social media and stuff like that. But it’s all still up in the air as of right now. This Thursday, we’re gonna solidify some stuff [and] make it more intentional.

How will students who attend benefit from this club?

We’re a literary magazine, so we do a lot of art stuff. We’ll pick a theme, and then you can submit anything from photographs to short stories. A lot of people submit poems, and a lot of people submit drawings. You’ll benefit from learning what it’s like to be in a published magazine. You’ll also learn how to be creative within a theme. I think that’s a lot of what holds people back from submitting. They feel like the theme isn’t what they fit in to, but it can be interpreted in so many different ways and I’m sure whatever you’ve created will be totally fine.

How does the club impact and contribute to the Andover High community?

I think it offers a creative outlet for a lot of people, because a lot of clubs here are very STEM-based. It’s all very, “this is what’s gonna look good on college apps or resumes,” and I think it’s really important to have a place where you can go to just have fun at the end of the day. I think a lot people can benefit from just letting their STEM side take a break and letting their creative side take over a bit.

Ink is currently looking for submissions to the magazine (which has no theme at this time). Please email your pieces to ahs.ink.magazine@gmail.com!

Articles Arts Clubs Community Events Trending

‘Into the Woods’ Expands with New Characters

November 13, 2024

Janaesa Macasaet

STAFF WRITER

Andover High School’s fall musical, “Into the Woods,” incorporates new fairytale characters into the beloved 1986 Stephen Sondheim musical, adding more roles.

The new characters Hansel, Gretel, Goldilocks, Rumpelstiltskin, the Huntsman, and Tom Thumb each shed light on views never seen before. Director of Theater Arts Susan Choquette previously directed the musical 18 years ago, and has once again decided to add new characters to challenge the cast and include more people in the production.

While “Into the Woods” has many feature roles, there is no ensemble. Gabriel Cordio, a freshman playing Rumpelstiltskin, finds the new characters make the stage and songs sound fuller.

“On the stage, all the fairytale characters are going to be in their costumes, so it’s cool to see there’s Rumpelstiltskin, there’s Goldilocks… It helps fill out the play. [Because] “Into the Woods” is all the fairytales combined, adding more is going to look cooler,” said Cordio.

Many find the addition of new characters to be beneficial to give more people a chance to participate in the show. In addition to supporting upperclassmen who plan to pursue theater beyond high school, the production also provides underclassmen, especially freshmen like Cordio, valuable opportunities––even in smaller roles.

“It allows the Drama Guild to be more inclusive,” said Grace Armstrong, a sophomore playing Goldilocks. “I think they added the parts to show that you [could] still be in the production even if you don’t have a main role.”

The lack of ensemble in the original “Into the Woods” leaves out many possibilities––the incorporation of new characters explores these possibilities.

“I think it creates a larger world,” Choquette said. “To expand the world, especially when the giant starts to wreak havoc… the giant impacts more characters than are in our focus. There’s a whole kingdom out there that’s being affected.”

Armstrong echoed this opinion, pointing out that the added characters give the audiences different perspectives and reactions to the conflicts in the musical.

Nonetheless, the addition of new characters does not come without a lack of challenges. Without direct guidance from the original script, actors must research and explore the resources given to them by Choquette in order to depict their characters the right way.

“When you’re trying to portray a character that’s not in the actual play, you have to make sure you portray the character, but also not take away from the actual story,” said Cordio.

Some roles, on the other hand, have a different type of challenge altogether. Armstrong mentioned that as Goldilocks, she doesn’t have any lines, making it difficult to show different emotions. Some actors must rely on body language to portray their characters.

Despite these unique challenges, the fundamental work stays the same. All roles require research, whether the role is a fictional character or one that has always been part of the script, according to Choquette.

“I hope this experience has given actors in this show some practice doing that research, because the next play they do, they’re going to have to do the same thing,” said Choquette. “What they can’t find, they get to add. And that’s really the fun of being an actor.”

Still, when choosing new characters, Choquette made sure they contributed to the original musical’s theme. They go into unfamiliar territory, which creates conflict and drives the story.

“They go into the woods, wherever that is, in search of something…they get in trouble, and a lot of these characters share that,” said Choquette.

Articles Clubs Community Events

AHS Team to Conduct Particle Physics Experiment at DESY

October 7, 2024

By Tommy Kruecker-Green
Opinions Editor

It all began when senior Richard Chen, discovered the competition at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. He attempted to recruit classmates but initially found little interest. Richard then approached Daniel Donovan, a physics teacher and the Physics Club advisor, and later, the team of eight’s mentor. Donovan’s initial response was skeptical. “He was like, this is an absolutely crazy idea, and it’s never going to happen,” joked senior Jaiden Li.

But the team – Theo Buckridge, Richard Chen, Samyak Jain, Jaiden Li, Daniel Lin, Zach Medjamia, Hari Palaniyappan, Robert Zhu – known as the SPEEDers (Smith-Purcell Effect Emission Determination) persevered. They began working on their proposal at the start of the following school year, brainstorming a number of ideas before settling on Smith-Purcell radiation. This lesser-known phenomenon, first discovered in the 1950s by Smith and Purcell, occurs when a beam of electrons passes over a metal grating, causing the emission of light.

The team’s proposal focuses on the unique properties of Smith-Purcell radiation. “It’s a non-intrusive method of diagnosing a beamline,” explained Li. A beamline is a line in a particle accelerator along which particles travel, and “diagnosing” means measuring its properties. “Essentially, that means that it’s very safe to conduct, and there’s also potential applications in healthcare with regards to X-rays.”

STAFF PHOTO / Tommy Kruecker-Green
Winners of “Beamline for Schools” competition, along with AHS physics teachers Mr. Donovan, Ms. Givens, and Principal D’Andrea and Superintendent Dr. Parvey

The non-intrusive nature of Smith-Purcell radiation in measuring an electron beam is a key advantage. “When you run the electron [beam], you don’t actually run the electrons through the grating; you run it over [the grating], and so the beam continues on,” Zhu clarified. This means scientists can measure the beam’s properties without disrupting it, keeping the beam intact for other uses like medical treatments. To develop their proposal, the team gained access to a library of physics papers through the school librarian, John Bérubé. They also used Onshape, a cloud-based CAD (computer-aided design) software, to create 3D models of their experimental setup. Li got involved just a week before the submission deadline to create this computer simulation.

Remarkably, the team completed their final proposal in just one week. “It was a very last-minute thing,” admitted Zhu.

At DESY, the team, accompanied by Donovan, and physics teacher, Cynthia Givens, had plans to run an electron beam over their designed grating and observe the resulting Smith-Purcell radiation. “We’re pretty much just gonna be running the beam and trying to observe the Smith-Purcell radiation,” said Zhu before they left for Germany. “And we’re gonna be tweaking things and trying to see if it matches our predictions for how much we’ll see, what we’ll see, what frequency, and so on.”

The students have ambitious goals after observing the radiation. They hope to code a simulation for GEANT4, a toolkit used by CERN for simulating particle interactions. “The thing with the Smith-Purcell effect is that there isn’t a module for it in GEANT4,” said junior Buckridge. “So we would be the first to code that.”

The team sees this once-in-a-lifetime trip as an opportunity to experience the international scientific community firsthand. “It’s just really great to have experience working with these tools that actual scientists use in the actual field,” said Zhu. “We definitely want to learn more about what the scientific community is like outside of just Andover or outside of just the U.S,” Li added.

Club Spotlight: Garden Club

May 6, 2024

By Anusha Sambangi
CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF

AHS’ Garden Club works around the year in the courtyard and grows products sometimes used in the AHS cafeteria.

The Garden Club, which started in 2021, maintains the courtyard by pulling weeds, keeping the soil healthy, and planting crops. In addition to flowers and herbs, the club plants a variety of vegetables and fruits, most of which are donated to the AHS cafeteria or local food banks. This year, the club is also using a growing kit for Lion’s Mane Mushrooms, and planning to bring back the tea garden.

Hannah Lehmann, cofounder of the Garden Club and AHS senior, explained that they hoped to “revamp the garden” at AHS after fostering one in middle school. “Garden Club students are involved in all aspects of planning, maintaining, and harvesting the garden,” said Melanie Cutler, science teacher and Garden Club advisor. According to Cutler, students also work on creating seed orders and budgets, fertilizing, and pest management.

Alexis Valenti, science teacher, and Garden Club advisor, mentioned that the current focus of the club includes getting the soil tested. Lehmann added that they are also “working on getting seedlings started for transplant later in the year.” During the winter and fall months, students typically “..make a list of seeds to order and plot out the garden beds” according to AHS junior Emily Tsai.

AHS’ garden is organic, meaning that all aspects of the garden, including fertilizers, are natural. “We try to take good care of our soil with natural fertilizers and compost,” said Valenti, “We [also] don’t use pesticides, so we use alternatives like pepper spray.”

In the past, students have created food and drink from garden harvests. “[Garden Club] students would drink tea at their morning meetings from plants they grew in the garden,” explained Cutler.

“We [also] have a tradition where we make pies and bring them in,” mentioned Tsai, “It started out being pies made with things we grew in the garden like pumpkins and berries and even radishes, but now it’s expanded beyond that.” Cutler and Valenti also share a love for the pie-making tradition. “Some were–how shall I say it– memorably odd but others were fantastic!” explained Valenti.

The Garden Club meets every Wednesday after school in room 219, and are always open to new members joining.

AHS Seaperch competes at regional contest

May 6, 2024

By Anya Gorovits
STAFF WRITER

Seaperch, an AHS club, sent their two teams to a regional competition in Cambridge on April 10th. The Jellyfish, one of the teams, won 5th place, while the other team, the Orcas, tied for 2nd. Unfortunately, neither team qualified for nationals this year.

Seaperch is a robotics competition where high school teams’ robots from around the world are put through complex obstacle courses and are judged on time and completion of difficult tasks. Students use PBC pipes, wires, and motors to create a remotely controlled vehicle. This may sound similar to many other robotics competitions, such as the AHS Robotics Club (ARC), but there’s a catch: the entire competition is underwater.

The team has always scored well and is “pretty exceptional”, according to AHS Seaperch’s founder and advisor, Daniel Donovan.

Seaperch competitions consist of two parts, an obstacle course and a challenge course. For the obstacle course, the robots must maneuver themselves through 5 hoops and back as fast as they can. The path totals around 20 feet. The challenge course, however, is much more complicated.

“This competition, the challenge is modeled after collecting samples using a remotely operated vehicle like a deep submersible,” said Donovan. He chose to start the club after receiving an email from a US Navy representative. The Seaperch program, run by Robo Nation, is entitled to promote students’ interest in marine design.

This year’s challenge course requires the robots to pick up rocks and sensors, open a door, and place the objects inside a small space. They earn points from different tasks and are given 10 minutes to gain as many points as possible. During the competition, students stand on the side of a pool and control their robots as they find their way through the water. There are two competitions each year. Teams first compete regionally, and if they qualify, they compete again at nationals.

Though Seaperch robotics may still sound similar to normal robotics, Seaperch robots don’t require any programming at all. According to Donovan, “Robotics is more complicated. These are simpler devices, but they’re working in a more complicated setting.” Though no programming is needed, students must learn about buoyancy, waterproofing, and how to operate underwater to create a successful robot. They learn a lot about the marine environment as well as engineering.

Most Seaperch members are also in robotics. Junior Canyu Li said Seaperch is “way less time-intensive, and way less material-intensive than normal robotics.” She explained that the more relaxed setting makes Seaperch a very fun club.

Senior Luke Stump describes Seaperch as a “mini robotics,” saying it leaves a lot of room for creativity.

AHS has had a Seaperch team for about 10 years and has placed 1st or 2nd at regionals and gone to nationals almost every year. Nationals typically take place at the University of Maryland. Last year, the team rented a van and drove down to compete. A couple of years ago, the team won 3rd place in the country.

Articles Clubs Community Events

Students learn how to “Stop The Bleed”

January 25, 2024

By Julia Rodenberger
STAFF WRITER

AHS students received certificates in stopping traumatic bleeding after training offered by emergency room professionals during H4 on December 5.

Medical Opportunities Club, led by juniors Laksmhi Jayaprakash and Shriyaa Anandakumar, partnered with the Lawrence General Hospital to host Stop the Bleed: a nationwide campaign sponsored by the American College of Surgeons to address death by blood loss. Abigail Wertz, the program general of the trauma program at Lawrence General Hospital, led the free instruction alongside two emergency room nurses.

Attendees were provided the opportunity to step away if sensitive to gore; however, no real images of blood were shown. Trainers utilized rubber tubes with faux flesh wounds to demonstrate how to administer tourniquets and gauze onto severe injuries including lacerations, impalements, and amputation.

STAFF PHOTO / Julia Rodenberger
Students listen intently to the Stop The Bleed presentation.

Jayaprakash and Anandakumar began volunteering in the Emergency Center at Lawrence General Hospital this past summer, through which they were introduced to Stop the Bleed. “When I took the class at Lawrence General, there were people of various age groups,” Anandakumar elaborated. “It’s not just for students. Anybody can take it; it’s an important skill.”

The H-Block was open to all, drawing students and staff with varying interests beyond traditional medicine. Attendance numbers surpassed 20 participants.

Junior Dylan Moses participated in Stop the Bleed with aspirations to work for the Coast Guard in Search and Rescue. “First aid plays a big role in those fields,” Mose stated.

Moses expanded on the importance of first aid experience for high school communities.

“Unfortunately there’s been a number of school shootings, and individuals with gunshot wounds could be saved through treatment that is taught here,” Moses added. “I just want to be well vested in first aid in case I encounter problems in my life.”

Wertz repeatedly emphasized that traumatic bleeding is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States. Following a period of instruction, attendees were able to work firsthand with the faux medical supplies under supervision from Wertz and the two nurses.

While at Lawrence General Hospital, Jayaprakash and Anandakumar also volunteered briefly in the maternity and pediatric centers, respectively. In creating the Modern Opportunities Club in Fall of 2023, they aimed to explore the diversity of careers in the medical field. “We wanted to really delve into that in the club and explore everything else other than just doctor and nurse,” Jayaprakash elaborated.

Medical Opportunities Club meets every Wednesday at 3:00 pm in room 220, with opportunities for members to engage in various research projects. “The first one—you’ll see it on the H block—is a research campaign to analyze vaping in the student body,” Jayaprakash explained. “We’re working with the principal and the school administration to tackle the vaping problem.”
Jayaprakash hopes that Stop the Bleed will become a recurring event for AHS through continued partnership between the Medical Opportunities Club, Lawrence General Hospital, and AHS administration. “That would be amazing,” Jayaprakash said.