Clubs – AHS NEWSPAPER

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.

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 Offers New Club: Academic Focus Group

March 5, 2024

By Abby Chachus
STAFF WRITER

A new club has arrived at AHS: The Academic Focus which aims to help students succeed.

The club meets biweekly on Wednesdays from 3:00 to 3:45 pm in room 222 and focuses on individually created, partner-focused, and technology-free learning. The weekly goals of the club are adapted for each attendee. The club also pairs the students with each other to keep everyone organized and on track, and enforces a no-technology rule to preserve focus among students.

According to one of the club leaders, Luca Molea, “The importance of our club is to help other students like ourselves to regain control of their learning, by creating a cycle of setting goals, monitoring performance, and reflecting on what worked and what didn’t. We open up our members’ minds to self-regulated learning and learn how to focus and complete assignments without getting distracted.”

The club was created because the leaders realized that, in creating a place that students could learn better, they could help people in the position that they are in now.

This club takes the time to set individual goals for each club attendee. The expectation is to come in ready to work and improve on school work and your mindset.

The club bases its strategy on “accountability partners”, someone that you are paired with that makes sure you are working productively and you do the same for them.

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.

Computer Fusion Club seeks donations of devices for schools in need

December 11, 2023

By Harry Guo
LAYOUT EDITOR

The Computer Fusion Club, an Andover-based branch of the World Computer Exchange, is currently seeking donations of any devices, including speakers, webcams, laptops, and desktops.

The World Computer Exchange is a non-profit organization that refurbishes and sends locally donated computers to schools in need around the globe, mostly in Africa and Central and South America.

“Unusable computers are taken apart,” said Sharayu Josh, the club leader. “Those that can be sent are repaired and refurbished.” The club is also exploring the possibility of selling metal scraps to raise funds for a cart to carry the computers.
If you are interested in donating or volunteering, please contact Sharayu Josh (sjosh2025@student.andoverma.us) or Dr. Bezaire (marianne.bezaire@andoverma.us) or visit the website https://worldcomputerexchange.org/

Articles Club of the Month

Club of the Month: Black Student Union

May 23, 2022

Avi Shapira
ONLINE EDITOR

Black Student Union (BSU) was started at the beginning of this school year by Gabrielle Erawoc and Jainaba Conteh. In BSU, students have discussions about Black issues in Andover High School and share their experiences. When students bring up concerns, the club takes action to fix them.

During February, BSU talked about a famous Black person every day in the morning announcements, and they hope to do similar projects in the future.

BSU member Aisosa Oviasogie described the club as a very welcoming place. “[BSU is] a good place to comfortably talk about your experiences,” Oviasogie said.

BSU meets every Tuesday after school in room 301. Meetings run until 3:30 p.m. For more information about BSU, you can email the club leaders: jconteh2023@k12.andoverma.us and gerawoc2023@k12.andoverma.us.

Articles Arts

Ink Editors, Advisor Reflect on the Magazine’s Progress Thus Far

May 23, 2022

Anusha Sambangi
STAFF WRITER

After a successful year, the leadership of Ink, Andover High School’s literary magazine, expresses their pride in this year’s activities, as well as hopes for the future of the magazine.

From poems to artwork, Ink offers an outlet for students to express their opinions and feelings in an artistic way. The club meets every Tuesday after school and has released two issues this year. Co-editors Abinaya Ganesh and Avanthika Suryadevara run the club, along with teacher advisors Erin Niles, Rachel Gelinas, and Eric Pellerin.

Several years ago, a literary magazine called Fonts existed within AHS but was ultimately discontinued. In 2018, AHS’s main news magazine, The Warrior, was split into separate bodies. One of these bodies took the Warrior title and has now become Ink. According to Ganesh, “leadership last year started the transition into a literary magazine, and now [they are] Ink Magazine.”

COURTESY PHOTO / Ink Magazine
The cover of the first issue of Ink Magazine, with a picture drawn by Mars Tasiopoulos

Ganesh and Suryadevara are both very proud of Ink’s progress this year. “We have really evolved from what the magazine was in the past,” said Suryadevara, “[we] shift[ed] from research-based articles and some art to much more creativity.” Ganesh shared similar ideas and also added that this year has been a learning experience and was challenging at first. However, after a few months of brainstorming and hard work, Ink magazine was back on track.

“My favorite part about running the club is getting to hear all the unique expressions of the student voice,” said Niles. Niles has been a part of AHS’s literary magazine since 2019 and is very happy with the progress that has been made on the style and goals of the literary magazine. She explained that Ink has shifted into “a real literary magazine” this year and expressed her particular interest in the poetry showcased. “We don’t often digest a lot of art in literature in our lives,” Niles said, and Ink magazine is a great way for students to include art in their school lives.

For the co-editors, running this magazine after the leadership of seniors graduating was demanding but memorable. “Publishing our first issue was one of my proudest moments,” said Ganesh. “There were many moments in working on our winter issue where we had to scrap everything we were working on and start over with a new perspective.”

Suryadevara enjoys seeing all the different types of artwork that AHS students submit and publish the most. “When the first submissions start to trickle in, it always makes me so excited and I can’t wait to see how the final version of the magazine will turn out,” she said.

When asked about plans for Ink magazine’s future, Suryadevara said she hopes to get two or three issues out every year, and possibly even special editions such as poetry-exclusive issues. Suryadevera said, “I am really happy with what we accomplished this year and I’m excited to see where we go next year!”

You can find Ink Magazine issues with any English teacher and in room 112. Submit art or writing that you are proud of to the email ahs.ink.magazine@gmail.com at any time.

Articles Community

AHS Wins First Place at Model United Nations Competition

April 7, 2022

Melody Tang
STAFF WRITER

Andover’s Model United Nations (MUN) won first place at an in-person MUN conference hosted by Tufts University, which lasted from Friday, March 11 to Sunday, March 13.

Students from seven schools in Massachusetts, including Andover High School, met at Tufts University to participate in a MUN conference known as Tufts Model United Nations (TUMUN).

TUMUN consisted of five committees debating five different topics, several of which AHS students were successful in. “Overall, it was challenging and fun,” said AHS sophomore Ria Vaishnavi, who attended TUMUN representing Kenya. “A lot of the weekend was spent working, negotiating, and managing my [committee]. The [AHS] team did really well, [and] a lot of us won awards.”

With nine AHS participants winning awards and the team winning Best Large Delegation Award, AHS MUN did very well at the conference. Junior Oscar Gillette, who is one of AHS MUN’s presidents and also a participant in TUMUN, added that “despite being mostly beginners going up against established teams, AHS delegates won first place in three out of the five committees.”

Additionally, Gillette is excited about the progress of this team. “I saw this [year] as a rebuilding year for the club,” stated Gilette. “Fortunately, I got to see this team grow from asking what Model UN is to winning a major conference!”

COURTESY PHOTO / Michael McCarthy
AHS Model United Nations members hold the awards they won from Tufts’ Model United Nations conference.

After hearing about the opportunity to attend TUMUN, AHS MUN members were delighted. “There’s just that face-to-face interaction when you debate and try to reach compromises that can’t be beat—it can’t be replicated online,” said AHS MUN coordinator and teacher Michael McCarthy.

After the team decided against attending Harvard’s MUN conference (HMUN) in January due to public health concerns, AHS MUN applied to other conferences in hopes of finding an opportunity to compete. On February 11, Tufts University informed the club that they were invited to attend the conference.

AHS MUN meets on Fridays 3-4 pm. At a normal meeting, you’d find delegates, or students representing specific counties, debating their countries’ views on a given topic and proposing resolutions. Conferences like TUMUN, which last several days and are hosted by larger schools, are events the members look forward to every year. “[These conferences are] far more formal,” said McCarthy. “[The participants] have to kind of be on their toes a little bit; it’s [the real deal].”

Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Pending at AHS

March 7, 2022

Angela Mac
STAFF WRITER

The Andover High School Environmental Club is resuming progress on electric vehicle charging stations after a year’s delay.

Over the past year, the AHS Environmental Club has been working with Andover’s sustainability coordinator, Dr. Losick-Yang, to install 100 percent renewable electric vehicle charging stations (EV charging stations) near the field house. The club was waiting for approval of a state grant called MassEVIP, which gave AHS charging stations for free. Now having that approval, things are moving forward.

The project started at the beginning of school last year. The foundations and wires were installed in the summer and early fall and ChargePoint, the company the Environmental Club is working with, will ship the chargers to AHS. Each charger is a Dual-Port Station, meaning it’s one station that charges two vehicles.

Eva Mckone, Co-President of the Environmental Club, stated that “as of early spring, they’re actually gonna start digging the ground [for the EV charging stations].”

The chargers will be powered by the energy that is used by AHS.

“The school is powered by 100% solar from western Mass,” said Mckone. “Power from the school would transfer to the chargers so it would be 100% renewable.”

STAFF PHOTO / Angela Mac
Environmental Club co-presidents Courtney Duffy (left) and Eva McKone (right) stand by the wires for AHS’ future EV charging stations

Members of the AHS Environmental Club have worked together to make this project come to life. A small group from the club negotiated and developed a pricing strategy and created a proposal for the town that was approved by the Andover School Committee. Losick-Yang wrote the grant application for the EV charging stations. Alongside Losick-Yang, the AHS Environmental Club worked closely with Janet Nicosia, director of facilities for Andover.

The EV charging station at AHS will be a public area for anyone to use, not just students and faculty of AHS. Along with being public, EV charging stations are much faster than the chargers some may have at home.

John Jannetti, another Environmental Club advisor, said that “[his] charger at home is very, very slow [and] it takes 6 and half hours to get a 25-mile charge. These charging stations [take] two hours.”

The rise of electric vehicle ownership is also one of the reasons AHS has decided to install these chargers.

Currently, there will only be one EV charging station installed but it is possible AHS will install more in the future.

Melanie Cutler, a club advisor of the Environmental Club, emphasized that “we have to prove first that [the EV charging station] is viable, and that the town’s not going to lose money on the deal.” Cutler stated, “we tried to come up with a dollar amount that would break even so that it pays for itself.” Those that use the EV charging station will have to pay a fee each time they use it. This money will cover the cost of the expenses that were used to install it.

Minda Reidy is a teacher that owns a Tesla and has a charger at home. Running out of battery isn’t a concern of hers since her commute to school is very short. However, Reidy knows people that “have had to use [her] charger because they didn’t have one available [at AHS], so [having one at AHS] would make things a lot easier.” Once installed, the EV charging station will benefit those that have electric vehicles but also those that plan on buying one in the future.

Editor’s note: As of March 21, 2022, the electric charging stations have been installed at AHS