Lunchtime at SLA: Time For a Change?

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Students at South Lancaster Academy have a wide range of opinions on life at SLA. In a recent poll, students were asked to share their desires for possible school improvements. Topics such as the school uniform policy, the lack of certain sports and the desire for more off-campus activities were at the top of the list. Students would also like to have Wi-fi available and access to Atlantic Union College campus gyms and pool.

Students have stated their desire to have more class electives offered, as well as AP options and actual college class opportunities to start building college credits.

SLA has made an agreement with Mount Wachusett Community College to allow high school students to take college classes at their campuses for only $30 a class. These credits will be transferable to any college in Massachusetts or any university. As for the AP classes, Mr. Lambert has added two AP history classes to the curriculum; AP Government and AP European History. Many students are eager to take these two new classes next year.

So since students are always complaing and asking for something new, SLA Pioneer decided to investigate what wishes are possible and n0t possible for the SLA students.

Many students would like to have the opportunity to buy lunch at school instead of packing it at home or going without. The Pioneer sat down with SLA treasurer Mrs. Daum to ask her a couple of questions on whether or not having an actual cafeteria would be possible or if students could bring back hot lunches. The answers were very straightforward. The two main reasons are because the school does not have a current food service license and the second is because of money.

For SLA to get a food service license, it would be at least $100 just for the permit. There are multiple steps for the school to take if they would like to get a food service permit. The first is to submit a copy of the Certificate of Occupancy (C.O.) for intended use. The next would be to provide a floor plan and request an appointment for plan review. The final step would be to submit a food service application to the Health Division, pay the proper fees and schedule an initial inspection. The school would have to renew it’s food service permit every year and there would be regular and impromptu inspections.

Another reason the school is not going to have a cafeteria anytime soon is because of cost. For the school to even think about getting a food service permit, the school would have to purchase standardized equipment to operate. To have our equipment become standardized it would cost somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000. Also, if the school got a cafeteria they would have to add extra personal, which would cost more money. The equipment would have to be sterilized after every use as well.

The school used to do hot lunches; the Sivers were in charge of the program a few years ago, with their own food service permit. They could serve food at the school because they prepared it at their restaurant. Classes can only service hot lunch now if the food is prepared and pre-packaged before it gets to school. Taco Bell was an excellent fundraiser for the Eighth Grade class, but it is now shut down. Pizza is also another good example of food that is prepared and pre-packaged before it gets to school. Hot lunch used to be a good fundraiser for classes but now it’s a much tougher option to provide to raise funds. A cafeteria at SLA would be nice, but in reality it is way too expensive for SLA to even think about right now. Students will just have to continue on for now as they have been for the past few years.

2013 SA Election Spotlight: Lydia Felt

Photo Courtesy of Kaitlyn Hutchins

Planning for the 2012-13 school year is already well under way, and one of the organizations include the SLA Student Association. There are seven offices that need to be filled for next school year: President, Vice President, Pastor, Secretary, Treasurer, Sergent-at-Arms and Public Relations.

President, Vice President and Pastor are the three major offices, and to run for these three students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or higher, no major discipline issues in the previous semester and a minimum of 70% in attendance grades from the previous semester.

Minor offices include Secretary, Treasurer, Sergent-at-Arms and Public Relations. To run for one of these offices, students must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.50 or higher, no major discipline issues in the previous semester and a minimum of 70%  in attendance grades from the previous semester.

Submission for candidacy is due a week from Friday, May 11, 2012. So far, no one has submitted to run for S.A. Junior Lydia Felt is getting her application approved to run for President and there are rumors that junior Jennifer Sierra will be running for Pastor.

The SLA Pioneer sat down with Lydia Felt and asked her what her future plans are concerning the school and what she plans to do differently as the potential S.A. President next year.

SLA Pioneer: Why should students vote for you? What makes you different from other candidates?

Lydia Felt: “I really want the students to look forward to S.A. events and I want them to know that SLA is a fun place to be. I’ve had experience in S.A. and have served in other major offices already. I have  a lot of good plans for the future.”

SLA Pioneer: What events do you plan to do next year?

Lydia Felt: ” I want to bring back the S.L.A.M. teams so we can have a competition throughout the school year. I want to bring back the Chunky’s and Six Flags outings as well.”

S.L.A.M. stands for SLA Mash, meaning that the entire high school will be mixed with each other and compete against each other. It has been a few years since the SLAM teams were used but it still brings up fond memories. It was an excellent way for new students to break into the school and feel welcome. Some of the events were tug-of-war, relay races, art competitions, etc.

SLA Pioneer: Do you plan to fundraise over the summer so S.A. has more funds for events?

Lydia Felt: “I would like to. My ideas include car washes and a snack bar.”

SLA Pioneer: Do you plan on having an activity for every holiday?

Lydia Felt: “Yes. The S.L.A.M. teams would have different themed activities throughout the year.”

SLA Pioneer: Are you going to have two separate events for the Handshake and Fall Picnic? Or are you going to combine them, like the 2011-2012 S.A.’s president, Harrington Brown, did?

Lydia Felt: “I want the Handshake to be at school and for Fall Picnic I would like to go somewhere off campus; but it depends on how much money we have.”

SLA Pioneer: How do you plan on representing the voice of the students to the administration of the school?

Lydia Felt: “I want the students to have an active voice. I want their opinions and suggestions and I will go to the administration and tell them this is what the Academy students want. I will actively work with them to figure out how to find a solution.”

Lydia Felt has big plans for the 2012-2013 school year and she is going to try to accomplish them all if she wins the election. She also needs good officers to back her up and accomplish her goals. So far no one else is running for any SA office. Students! Step up! Be the change you want to see at SLA!

National Honor Society Lends a Helping Hand to Others

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

South Lancaster Academy’s very own National Honor Society, also known as N.H.S., is participating in a non-perishable food drive through WHEAT Community Services, located in Clinton, MA. The object of the drive is to get as much non-perishable food from donators and supporters as possible. Announcements have gone out to Browning Elementary, Sterling Church, College Church, Village Church, Lancaster Portuguese Church and the Leominster English Church.

WHEAT Community Services was created in 1982 when volunteers decided to help out the less fortunate. Wheat Community Services provides needs in the towns of Sterling, Lancaster, Berlin, Bolton and Clinton. WHEAT assists low income people with food, clothing, temporary shelter, legal aid, helps with rent, fuel costs and utilities, and provides support for abused women.

Last year was the first year N.H.S. took part in WHEAT Community Services non-perishable food drive. Mrs. Hodder was eager to talk about N.H.S.’s participation. “I wanted to have the students participate in a local community service and to help out our local businesses. It was nice to be involved in our local community.”

N.H.S.’s Public Relations officer, Lydia Felt, said “It’s a great outreach and you can really see how thankful people are when you deliver the food.”

The deadline for the non-perishable food drive is May 15,2012. If you would like to participate, you can stop by Browning Elementary or South Lancaster Academy and drop off any non-perishable food that you have at your disposal. If you have any questions you can contact Mrs. Robidoux or Mrs. Hodder at (978) 368-8544.

Last year was very promising and rewarding for the students on N.H.S. and hopefully this year will bring about the same results!

A Successful Red Carpet Banquet

Photo Courtesy of Lisa Gifford

On Sunday, April 1, 2012, the Senior class of South Lancasster hosted a Red Carpet Banquet at the Chan Shun Dining Hall on the AUC campus from 6pm to 9pm. It appeared to be a success with good food and enjoyable company all around? There was a silent auction, many spotlight performances from the Senior class,  a couple of solos at the beginning of the banquet, a trumpeter, three songs performed by Vocé and Maria and Wayne Hazen drew an amazing picture of Jesus and the school bell in front of George Hill. The picture brought forth many compliments and a sense of awe that they were able to draw it so well, so quickly.They are giving the picture to the school as a gift.

The banquet was a fundraiser for the Seniors but also for the purchase of a new school bus. Tickets were $30 a piece and that price was split 50/50. $15 for the senior class per ticket and $15 for the bus per ticket. All additional donations went to the bus fund. About 230 people went to the banquet, many more than the senior class had been expecting. The banquet was quite a success. The school received around $11,000 in donations for the new school bus that will soon be purchased for the 2012-13 school year.

When asked about whether students that participated in the banquet liked it or not, the answers were relatively positive.

Sophomore Allura Milliron said “I thought it was nice. The food was really good but it wasn’t that entertaining if you weren’t with someone.”

Senior Lucero Castellanos said “We did really well. The food was good.”

Senior Rachel Ebers was surprised at how much of a success the banquet was. “It was better than I thought it would be. I was reallly hoping that it didn’t turn out to be a big fail but it didn’t; it was nice.”

The attire for  the banquet was formal and all ranges of this guideline were present; from semi-formal to black tie formal. It was exciting and refreshing to see so many people come out and eagerly help the school and the Senior class. Everyone present seemed to thoroughly enjoy their time spent at the banquet.

A photographer, Martha Martinez, who generously volunteered her time,  was walking around taking pictures. The plan is for her to come into SLA and have the students pick which pictures they like and order them.

All in all, the Red Carpet Banquet was a great success and very enjoyable. It helped increase funds for the bus by $11,000 and helped the Seniors to achieve their price goal for going on their class trip. Have fun in Florida!

SLA Announces Advanced Placement Classes for 2012-13 School Year

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

South Lancaster Academy is a small, private school where students don’t have an excessive amount of money laying around… so when teachers like Mr. Lambert decide to start teaching Advanced Placement classes, it’s a big deal. Students are excited about Mr. Lambert’s plan to offer new classes for advanced placement credit next year and are eager to take them. Other teachers like Mrs. Brahmia and Mr. Bisson have shown insterest in giving advanced placement classes as well, and may so in the future. Mr. Bisson says “I would be interested in giving advanced placement classes but I am not planning on it for this next school year.”

Mrs. Vandenbroek’s words show interest but also give good reasons on why we haven’t had advanced placement classes before.  “I would like to see advanced placement classes at SLA but I know it is difficult because of students’ schedules and it would take up more of the teachers’ time.”

Mr. Lambert stated he will be offering two courses: A.P. Government and A.P. European History. Nothing is finalized but “I’ve followed the application process to the “T” and there shouldn’t be any reason for them to reject the two classes” Mr. Lambert said eagerly.  Mr. Lambert has submitted a syllabus for each class to The Collegeboard for review. He should know sometime in April whether or not the classes will be approved.

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

There is an approval process that students have to go through to take the A.P. classes being offered; it’s based on the student’s GPA and Iowa test scores. For the A.P. Government class, students will be placed in the same classroom regardless of the track they take. A.P. students will be given different  assignments to prepare for the official Collegeboard test at the end of the year.

Mr. Lambert is nice enough to have created a plan to provide A.P. students a “safety net” as well. If an A.P. student fails the CollegeBoard test at the end of the year, the student doesn’t get the A.P. credit, but Mr. Lambert will let the student drop down to the college prep Government class final and get credit for that.

Junior Helio Ferreira said “I think these classes will be cool and give us a chance to get ahead of the competition”, when asked about the future A.P. classes.

Junior Kofi Omane says “I’m excited that he’s giving them but I wish they had been offered earlier.”

Sophomore Pablo Huerfano said “I am definitely taking them and I’m really happy that he’s offering those classes.”

Mr. Lambert is also trying to start a Springboard program in the near future as well, which is an honors class system for Seventh and Eighth graders to help them prepare for A.P. classes in high school.

Many students are excited about next years A.P. history classes being offered and are planning on attempting to get in at least one . Good luck!