Dear Medfield High School community members:
I hope this letter finds you enjoying the summer. We have just concluded a terrific year at Medfield High School, which included awards, state and national recognitions, and a state championship. We are proud of our students, both current and past.
This year’s graduating class was special indeed. Of the 230 graduating seniors, 96% will continue on to colleges across the country. These schools include Harvard, MIT, Penn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, The Berklee College of Music, and the Rhode Island School of Design, among others. Senior Ida Xu was a finalist for The Presidential Scholars Award (one of just 140 students nationwide) and was also named to the All National Symphony Orchestra, and senior Rachel Thornton was a National Merit Scholarship winner. MHS students were quite busy away from school as well. Senior Ben Bushnell took his first solo flight and will study Aviation Technology at Purdue University. Freshman Addison Chung qualified for the U.S. Junior National Gymnastic team and will spend his summer at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and sophomore Sid Arun will represent Massachusetts in the National High School Chess Championship in Orlando this summer. These are just a few examples of the many talented students who walk through our halls each day.
MHS received several state and national awards this past year. The 2013 MCAS scores were once again among the top 5% in the state and all MHS students received passing scores in the subjects of English, science and math. In addition, the College Board notified us that MHS had the highest Advanced Placement test scores in the entire Commonwealth. For the second consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report awarded MHS with the Gold Award, the highest award given to a public high school. This publication has MHS ranked among the top 200 in the country and in the top 10 in the state.
Our athletic department continued its run of excellence. The Warriors brought home Tri-Valley League titles in Girls’ Basketball, Boys’ Hockey, Boys’ Lacrosse and Boys’ Tennis. The Boys’ Indoor Track team won the Tri-Valley League meet and coaches Evan Moon (Boys’ Tennis), John Isaf (Boys’ Lacrosse) and the late George Callahan (Boys’ Golf) were named TVL Coach of the Year in their respective sports. The Boy’s Hockey team had a historic season as they reached the state title game at the Garden for the first time in school history and the Boys’ Lacrosse team avenged last season’s championship title loss by winning this year’s state championship in June. The Warriors have now won an amazing 18 state titles since the year 2000 in eight different sports.
Success has followed many of our alums as well. Broadway performer Uzo Aduba (’99) continued her ascent into stardom as she played a major role and was nominated for an Emmy for her part in the series “Orange is the New Black.” Alums Jake McDermott (’10), Peter Gill (’11) and Garrett Read (’11) helped lead Tufts University to the DIII Men’s Lacrosse National Championship in May, and we inducted longtime community supporters and siblings Thomas Kelly (’73) and Nancy Kelly Lavin (’74) into the MHS Hall of Excellence. There is no shortage of MHS alums on staff as Susan (Flynn) Curtis (’82), Ashley Estes (’07) and Amanda Santucci (’04) will be joining us at MHS this year. Other alums on staff include Sarah (Cain) Brown (’91), Adam Coyle (’99), Jon Dunn (’94), John Kendall (’02), Anne (Vozzella) Lodge (’98), Evan Moon (’05), John Panciocco (’88), Sarah (Buckley) Rodenhi (’96), Ann Marie (Fratolillo) Sabra (’89), and Thomas Woods (’04). What a great impression these adults make on our students on a daily basis and I’m excited that 13 students from the Class of 2013 have already declared education as their major in college.
Though we’ve experienced a great deal of success, our staff is committed to finding new and exciting ways to engage students in the classroom. Next year, we will continue incorporating tablets and other devices into the classroom as our 1:1 program expands into more grades. Over the summer, more than 20 MHS teachers will spend over 250 hours developing and refining our curriculum to ensure that we are providing the best learning opportunities and experiences for all of our students. This is important work and I want to thank our staff for their efforts.
Recognizing the small world in which we live, we’ll expand opportunities for students who are interested in acquiring international experience. In February, we’ll send students to the Dominican Republic to participate in a community service program. This trip is in addition to the other travel opportunities we offer to France, Spain and China. Our new Global Citizenship program is designed to foster students’ global awareness, and in so doing, provide MHS students with the essential skills needed to successfully contribute to an increasingly globalized society. We will continue to focus on these and other 21st century skills.
The level of achievement we’ve reached could not take place without the support provided by the Medfield School Committee, the MHS PTO and the Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE). These parent groups have helped to establish an environment where teachers are encouraged to create and students are allowed to explore and grow in an exciting and engaging learning environment. This is our recipe for success.
I want to sincerely thank our students, families, and alums for your continued support and wish you a safe and relaxing summer vacation.
Best,
Robert Parga
*For the latest MHS news, follow Robert Parga on Twitter @MedfieldHS
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