Summer 2014 Rambler - Shawsheen Valley Technical High School

A Newsletter About Shawsheen Valley Technical High School
S U M M E R
2 0 1 4
1 0 0 C o o k S t r e e t
B i l l e r i c a, M A 0 1 8 2 1
w w w. s h a w s h e e n t e c h . o r g
Bedford - Billerica - Burlington - Tewksbury - Wilmington
What’s Inside
Page One
Shawsheen Tech Impresses
at SkillsUSA National Finals
Eight Advance to
SkillsUSA Nationals
Page Three
~ Announcement ~
Page Four
Focus On Students
Page Five
Medeiros Honored for
Illustration Talents
Shawsheen Tech impresses
at SkillsUSA national finals
Several Shawsheen Valley Technical High School students competed at the
national SkillsUSA finals last weekend in Kansas City and the group once again
impressed on the national stage.
Tewksbury resident and senior Bryant Bonaiuto won a gold medal for medical
assisting. It’s the third medical assisting gold medal in the past four years for
Shawsheen.
Bonaiuto, who will attend the University of New England in Maine this fall, will
pursue a career as a physician’s assistant.
Bonaiuto’s gold-medal performance saw competitors circulate through nine
different stations and performed tasks that included medication calculation and
administration, taking an EKG, application of Steri-strips using sterile technique
and performing a urinalysis.
Shawsheen earned a silver medal thanks to the team works competition.
Representing the school was senior carpentry student Scott Browne of Tewksbury,
senior electrician Dylan King of Billerica, senior plumber Nickolas Hoar of Billerica
and junior masonry student Andrew Langone of Tewksbury, the foursome finished
continued on page 3
Students Create Bell Stand
for Fallen Soldiers
Another Fine Year for
Automotive Department
Page Seven
Duo Shines at
Automotive Competition
Experts Give Students
at Shawsheen a Treat
Page Eight
Shawsheen Tech Students Build
New Case for Historic Artifact
~ You Should Know ~
EIGHT ADVANCE TO SKILLSUSA NATIONALS
Shawsheen Valley Technical High School sent eight students to the SkillsUSA
national finals in Kansas City in June.
At the recent state finals, more than 80 Shawsheen competitors vied for a spot
at nationals. Amazingly, 77 of those students from Shawsheen finished in the top
10 of their respective categories.
“I was very impressed with the way the students did,” said Heidi Lloyd,
Shawsheen’s advisor for SkillsUSA. “It was unbelievable.” The school totaled 29
medals, eight gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze.
“These are 15, 16 and 17-year-old students,” Lloyd said. “That’s pretty substantial
when you think about it
Three Billerica residents, three Tewksbury residents along with a Bedford
and Wilmington resident will represent Shawsheen at nationals after first-place
performances at the state finals.
Shawsheen’s Team Works group of senior carpentry student Scott Browne of
Tewksbury, senior electrician Dylan King of Billerica, senior plumber Nickolas Hoar
of Billerica and junior masonry student Andrew Langone of Tewksbury finished
first.
one
Page Six
Corcoran Heads to Syracuse
Ready for Success
continued on page 2
Eight Advance to SkillsUSA Nationals
continued from bottom of page 1
Junior Lauren Liscio of Wilmington
will represent Shawsheen as a state
officer. Liscio earned the spot after
being elected at the state event.
Next year, Liscio will play a key role in
organizing the SkillsUSA competitions
and also has the privilege of attending
a leadership conference in Washington.
“She’s going to do a great job,” Lloyd
said.
Other gold-medal winners included
senior Bryant Bonaiuto of Tewksbury
in medical assisting, junior Jeannette
Lavine of Bedford in medical math and
sophomore Alex Hamilton of Billerica,
who was the pin design winner.
Bringing home silver medals
for Shawsheen was senior Joseph
Maguire of Burlington in diesel
equipment technology, senior T.J.
Barriss of Bedford in plumbing,
junior Taylor McNeil of Tewksbury
in medical assisting, junior Jasmyn
Mirabel of Tewksbury in medical math,
junior Skyla Mulvey of Tewksbury in
action skills, senior Jason Mahoney
of Billerica in HVAC & Refrigeration,
senior Bethany Scott of Tewksbury
in the category of health occupation
professional portfolio and the
entrepreneurship quartet of business
technology students and Billerica
residents Charles Foster (senior), Ryan
Cormier (senior), Michael Quinones
(junior) and Olivier Duprez (junior).
Adding third-place performances and earning bronze were senior
Nicole Woodward of Billerica in prepared speech, senior James Gibb of
Wilmington in masonry, junior Kaitlyn
O’Shea of Billerica in employment
skills application, freshman Siobhan
Reidy of Wilmington in career choice
commentary, senior Adam Rovinelli of
Burlington and senior Michael Pelosi of
Wilmington in mechatronics and the
Health Knowledge Bowl team of junior
Skylar Jacques of Tewksbury and sophomores Kaitlyn Fraser, Katlyn Vocell and
Nicolas Troisi, all of Billerica. 
Tewksbury resident and Shawsheen Tech senior Bryant Bonaiuto
earned a gold medal in medical assisting at the SkillsUSA state finals,
earning a trip to the nationals in June. COURTESY PHOTO
two
Wilmington resident and Shawsheen Tech junior Lauren Liscio
was named a state officer at the SkillsUSA state finals, earning a
trip to the nationals in June. COURTESY PHOTO
Billerica resident and Shawsheen Tech sophomore Alex Hamilton was the pin design
winner at the SkillsUSA state finals, earning
a trip to the nationals in June. COURTESY
PHOTO
Bedford resident and Shawsheen Tech junior Jeannette Lavine earned a gold medal in medical math at the
SkillsUSA state finals, earning a trip to the nationals in June. COURTESY PHOTO
Members of the Team Works group that earned a gold medal at the SkillsUSA
state finals included Scott Browne and Andrew Langone of Tewksbury and
Dylan King and Nickolas Hoar of Billerica. COURTESY PHOTO
Announcement
Shawsheen receives
approval from the
Department of Elementary
& Secondary Education to
offer two new programs:
Programing & Web Design
and Marketing.
Ask your Guidance Councelor
for more information.
Summer 2014
Shawsheen Tech impresses at SkillsUSA
National Finals
continued from top of page 1
behind a school from Vermont.
All four team members have
bright futures ahead. Browne hopes
to some day become a firefighter
or a police officer after enlisting in
the military. King will attend the
University of Massachusetts at Lowell
for electrical engineering. Hoar will
study business and hopes to become
a general contractor after attending
the University of Massachusetts at
Dartmouth and Langone hopes to
study sports management or history
in college after graduating from high
school next spring.
Junior Jeannette Lavine of Bedford
competed in medical math and
finished ninth in the country. Lavine
was required to perform complex,
multistep math calculations used in
healthcare. This included medication
dosage calculation, the use of ratio
and proportion, calculating and
applying percentages and conversion
of metric measurements to household
equivalents. After graduating next
spring from Shawsheen, Lavine hopes
to attend college and study nursing
with hopes of becoming a trauma
nurse.
Sophomore Alex Hamilton of
Billerica also competed, placing in
the top 20 among 42 other students
that competed in the State Pin Design
Competition. Hamilton’s pin design was
chosen out of more than 200 entries to
represent Massachusetts at nationals.
All members of the Massachusetts
delegation at the conference were
given his pin to wear during opening
and closing ceremonies.
Superintendent/Director
Charles
Lyons stated “We are very proud of the
national recognition and awards these
technicians, artisans and craftsmen
have received. Their accomplishments
reflect the high quality instruction
they acquired from their teachers.” 
www.shawsheentech.org
100 Cook Street
Billerica, MA 01821
(978) 667-2111
Managing Editor: Carissa Karakaedos
Assistant Superintendent-Director
Design by:
Sheryl A. Evans
Creative Designer
www.Evans-Studios.com
Shawsheen Valley Regional School
District School Committee
Deborah Kostas, Treasurer
Glenn McIntyre
Billerica
Kenneth L. Buffum, Chairman
Paula McShane-Lambert, Vice Chairman
Burlington Robert Gallagher, Secretary
Paul V. Gedick
Tewksbury Patricia W. Meuse, Esq.
Michael Kelley
Wilmington James M. Gillis
Robert G. Peterson, Esq.
Shawsheen Valley Technical High School admits students
and makes available to them its advantages, privileges
and courses of study without regard to race, color, sex,
religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation
or disability.
Members of the Shawsheen Valley Technical High School team that attended the SkillsUSA national finals included Carpentry Instructor, Rick
Weadick and Plumbing Instructor, Matt Gillis. Back Row, from left: Nick Hoar, Plumber, Billerica; Andrew Langone, Mason Tewksbury;
Dylan King, Electrician, Billerica; Alex Hamilton, State Pin Winner, Billerica. Front Row, from left: Scott Browne, Carpenter, Tewksbury;
Jeannette Lavine, Medical Math, Bedford; Lauren Liscio, Graphic Arts, State Officer Elect, Wilmington; Bryant Bonaiuto, Medical Assisting,
Tewksbury; Health Technology Instructor Karen Meister and Graphic Arts Instructor/Chapter Advisor Heidi Lloyd. COURTESY PHOTO
three
Bedford
Four students at Shawsheen Valley Tech were recognized for their citizenship and their accomplishments as March and April,
“Seniors of the Month.” Criteria for the award, presented by the Billerica Elks, included scholastic achievement, vocational technical
ability, character, leadership and community service.
Rachel McLaren of Wilmington and Remy Fletcher of
Billerica were recently honored as April’s Seniors of the
Month at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School.
Rachel McLaren, was a member of the plumbing shop at
Shawsheen and has been a well-rounded
member of the student body for four years.
An excellent athlete, Rachel has been a
member of the Ram soccer, ice hockey and
lacrosse teams. Rachel helped the hockey
team make its first-ever state tournament
appearance this winter and was also a key
player on a soccer team that is annually one
of the state’s best in Division 3.
In the classroom, Rachel was a standout as
well, maintaining a grade-point average of
3.76 and being ranked within the top 15 percent of her class.
She is going to attend Nichols College in the fall to major in
both accounting and international business. Rachel isn’t ready
for her athletic career to be over just yet and hopes to play soccer
and lacrosse at Nichols.
Rachel also took advantage of Shawsheen’s valuable
cooperative education program, working at FW Webb in
Bedford, a job that she will work right up until she leaves for
college.
Outside of school, Rachel enjoys photography and collects
snow globes.
Amy Gibson a Billerica resident, studied culinary arts and
hopes to make a career out of the field.
She’ll be preparing to attend the prestigious
Johnson and Wales University in Providence,
R.I. to pursue restaurant management.
Amy enters college with an impressive
resume. She won a silver medal at the
SkillsUSA district competition and earned a
trip to the state finals with a chance to qualify
for the national finals.
Success isn’t anything new to Amy, who
has been an honor roll student throughout
her high school career and has been a member of the National
Honor Society for the past two years.
Amy was also honored with a John and Abigail Adams
Scholarship earlier this year and a Citizenship Award as a junior.
At school, Amy was a member of Shawsheen’s Book Club and
participated in the valuable cooperative education program,
working at Stone Bridge Assisted Living in Burlington.
Outside of school, Amy also stays busy. She volunteers at the
Billerica Public Library and has been a coffee barista at her local
church since her freshman year. In her free time, Amy also enjoys
reading, babysitting, biking and, of course, cooking.
Remy Fletcher, of Billerica, was one of the school’s top
electrical students.
Ranked within the top 10 of his class
academically, Remy has been an honor roll
student throughout his Shawsheen career
and was a member of the National Honor
Society. He has also enjoyed many of the
benefits of being a student at Shawsheen,
participating in the cooperative education
program, working at electrical companies in
both Westford and Tyngsborough.
Remy will attend Nichols College in the fall
and hopes to pursue a career in sports management.
Remy likes to stay active and enjoys fishing, golf and playing
basketball. In the fall, Remy completed his third season of varsity golf at Shawsheen and was one of the league’s top players
with regular scores in the 30s. Remy is planning to play golf at
Nichols. 
four
Jesse Petrino and Amy Gibson were honored by
Shawsheen Valley Technical High School as Seniors of the
Month for March.
Jesse Petrino, of Billerica, has a bright future ahead of him.
He plans to study computer/electrical
engineering at Merrimack College in
North Andover after graduating as one of
Shawsheen’s most talented students in
electronics.
An honor roll student since arriving at the
school and is a member of both the National
Honor Society and the National Technical
Honor Society, Petrino has been active
outside of the classroom.
He has been on the school’s robotics and
trebuchet teams and has been a student-teacher in Shawsheen’s
Project Explore, an after-school program offered during the
months of January and March for Shawsheen’s community
middle school students. Students rotate through 12 career areas
creating a project over a four-week cycle.
Jesse also participated in the cooperative education program
at the school, working at Coriant Systems in Chelmsford since his
junior year.
This year, Jesse earned a John and Abigail Adams Scholarship.
Outside of school, Jesse volunteers at the Patriot Dog Rescue
organization.
MEDEIROS HONORED FOR ILLUSTRATION TALENTS
Elizabeth Medeiros initially decided to
attend Shawsheen Valley Technical High
School to be become a nurse.
But after seeing all that the school
had to offer, Elizabeth
did something that many
Shawsheen Tech students
do early in their academic
career. She changed her
mind and discovered a
passion she never knew she
had.
In the fall, the Tewksbury
resident and Shawsheen
senior will attend Mass Art
to hopefully build a career
in graphic design and
eventually become an art
director.
Recently, Elizabeth was
honored in two illustration competitions.
First, she was picked as a finalist
through Billerica Ventures to be the
illustrator for the children’s book “The
Adventures of Giggles and Owen.” While
she wasn’t selected for that honor, she
actually came in second place and won
the right to illustrate the activity book
and coloring book that will accompany
the children’s book.
“A great honor and opportunity for a
young illustrator on her way to college,”
said Michael Azevedo, one of Elizabeth’s
teachers at Shawsheen. “The series’
author, Shirley Holdman,
and her team will oversee
the project and work closely
with Liz.”
Elizabeth will sign a
contract and get paid for her
work on “The Adventures of
Giggles and Owen,” just like
any professional illustrator
would.
“It’s great,” Michael said.
“There was no difference
between this and a realworld project where the job
came in, we talked it over
with the client and a bunch
of students came up with characters
and submitted them to the client. The
client then picked the ones that best
represented their product.”
Elizabeth also received honorable
mention for another illustration contest,
a poster project run by Middlesex
Partnership for Youth run by the District
Attorney’s Office.
“I had never really entered a contest
before so I was really kind of surprised,”
she said.
For the contest for the book, Elizabeth
had to do illustration of dogs and other
animals.
“I did a few illustrations of dogs and
a rabbit,” Elizabeth said. “They were on
display in the Billerica cable TV office. I
really like to illustrate.”
While Elizabeth was surprised with her
success, Michael wasn’t.
“It’s great to have a student compete at
this level,” he said. “She works hard and
gets the job done. She loves being at the
school and learning.”
As Elizabeth prepares for her future
at Mass Art, she is thankful for the
opportunities she received at Shawsheen
Tech.
“Even in the first few weeks, I figured
out that nursing wasn’t what I wanted to
do,” she said. “I ended up switching and
doing Design and Visual Communication.
That’s just where I felt at home. You can
do anything you want and as long as you
work for it. Instead of heading straight
down a path of being a teacher or a nurse,
you can make a job out of anything.” 
STUDENTS CREATE BELL STAND FOR FALLEN SOLDIERS
Technology students Chelsea Grant of
Tewksbury and Ryan Botnick of Billerica,
Graphics student Sarah Woodworth
of Tewksbury and Metal Fabrication
students Darien Lavino of Tewksbury,
Alex Guarino of Wilmington and Connor
Joyce of Tewksbury as being
“instrumental” in making
the stand a success.
“I wanted this thing right,”
Leahy added. “I wanted it to
be impressive.”
A quick look at the finished product made it clear
that Leahy accomplished
his goal. The stand includes
a gold bell with a large eagle on top of it.
The stand also includes
an American flag with one
of the stars colored gold
instead of white.
“That’s in honor of the gold-star
mothers,” said Leahy, who was in the
construction business for more than 40
years before turning to teaching. “Those
are mothers who lost a child in the war.”
Leahy admits with a laugh, that the
project took on a life of its own as the
students
enthusiastically
became involved.
“They used to borrow
a bell from someone else,”
said Leahy. “They sent us a
picture of the stand they
used to borrow and we just
got carried away with this
thing. It’s very important.”
Leahy said the different
areas of study at Shawsheen
all helping out made the bell
project even more special.
“We should do everything collectively,” he said.
“We’re one school and everybody should
be proud of it.” 
five
Students at Shawsheen Valley Technical
High School recently designed and manufactured a bell stand for the Wilmington
Department of Veteran Services.
The bell is rung for the fallen American
soldiers each Memorial Day and
Shawsheen instructor Stephen Leahy
was thrilled that his students were given
the opportunity to contribute to a worthy
project.
“I thought it was awesome,” said Leahy.
“The veterans, especially the fallen
heroes, are very important. Those are
guys that gave their lives for us.”
Leahy and a host of students at
the school worked hard on the bell
stand and several different shops
at the school pitched in including
Auto Collision, Carpentry, Design
and Visual Communications, Graphic
Communication, Machine Tool Technology and Metal Fabrication.
Leahy mentioned Machine Tool
CORCORAN HEADS TO SYRACUSE READY FOR SUCCESS
Shawsheen Tech instructor Jim Bagtaz
always knew there was something a little
different about Kirby Corcoran.
“What impressed me most about Kirby
was her determination without really
having to be pushed,” said Bagtaz. “She’d
take tasks that were assigned to her, hit
the mark and then go beyond
that without needing any
guidance or direction from
me.”
This fall, Corcoran will attend Syracuse University with
a resume full of impressive
accomplishments.
She was an athlete at
Shawsheen, playing goalie
for the Ram girls hockey team
that qualified for the state
tournament this winter for the
first time in the brief history
of the program. Corcoran also won a gold
medal for customer service this year at
the SkillsUSA regional competition.
“She’s very well-rounded and she has a
great personality,” Bagtaz said. “But at the
same time she’s grounded.”
While many of Corcoran’s accomplishments are easy to explain, there are a few
others that she earned at Shawsheen
Tech that aren’t so simple.
This year, Corcoran earned certifica-
tions in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel,
PowerPoint and Microsoft Expert. She’s
the first Shawsheen student to ever earn
these four certifications.
“It’s a big feat,” Bagtaz said. “She’s got
the whole package.”
In order to be certified, students must
pass an “intense” curriculum
according to Bagtaz and
then a practical test that requires students to pass performance-based tests that
involve several tasks.
The Expert certification,
says Bagtaz, goes “well
beyond the stuff that normal,
everyday people use.”
“Not many people
actually get to that level,”
Bagtaz said. “It is very
challenging.”
Bagtaz said the certification is valuable
for many reasons.
“This is primarily for the software
knowledge you would use in any
business,” Bagtaz said, “whether it be in
an office or running your own business.”
Bagtaz said the ability to earn these
certifications help separate Shawsheen
Tech students from students at other
schools.
“It’s one of the things we love to
offer the students here at the Business
Technology program,” he added. “Not
only is it rewarding for them, but it looks
incredible on their resume and when
these students go out to [cooperative
education] jobs, they sometimes have
more skills than the people that actually
work at these jobs do.”
Bagtaz admits, when he earned his
Microsoft Word certification in 2007, it
cost him $100 to take the test. In the case
of Shawsheen students, the test-taking
process is covered by the school and
students can take the exam up to three
times.
“It’s amazing to have these students
come out of high school or be in high
school and have these certifications on
their resume, it’s mind-blowing,” Bagtaz
added.
Bagtaz said Corcoran might be the first
student to earn the certifications, but she
certainly won’t be the last. He spoke of a
sophomore that is currently on the road
to earning the certifications as well.
As for Corcoran’s future, Bagtaz is
both optimistic and excited about her
possibilities.
“With her background in sports, with
all of this experience under her belt and
with her academics, she is in a position to
be very successful,” he added. 
ANOTHER FINE YEAR FOR AUTOMOTIVE DEPARTMENT
six
Tyler Malandain had already received
plenty of benefits from receiving an education at Shawsheen Valley Technical
High School.
Recently, during an end-of-the-year
ceremony for the automotive department, the Billerica resident received what
amounts to icing on the cake.
As part of a tradition that sees the program hand out awards to deserving students, Malandain received a tool box donated by NAPA Auto Parts of Wilmington
and Tewksbury. Shawsheen automotive
instructor John Morrison estimates the
tool box is worth more than $200.
Several other prizes were also presented to 10th and 11th grade students
with local vendors such as Auto Part
International of Woburn, Superior Tire
of Arlington and Carquest Auto Parts of
Billerica contributing money or other
prizes.
Morrison said the awards aren’t always given to the top students academically, but also students that work
hard, improve and represent the school
well during their jobs with Shawsheen’s
Cooperative
Education
Program.
Malandain does his coop work with
Rick’s Automotive in Billerica.
“Tyler is a super student,” Morrison
said. “He really deserves it. All of these
guys work hard in shop all year. This is a Tyler Malandain of Billerica (left) stands with Mike Leombruno of NAPA
after Malandain recently received a tool box from NAPA. COURTESY PHOTO
way of rewarding them.”
It was an exciting year for Shawsheen’s
automotive department for another reafessional in the automotive industry and
son as the students earned Automotive
provides students with their first indusService Excellence (ASE) Student
try-recognized certification through the
Certifications, passing a written test for
National Institute for Automotive Service
the distinction.
Excellence.
An ASE Student Certification is the first
Student certification is valid for two
step in building a career as a service proyears from the date the test was taken. 
DUO SHINES AT AUTOMOTIVE COMPETITION
For recent Shawsheen Valley Technical
High School graduates George Dailey
and Scott Mellen, the problem-solving
skills and real-world experiences they
learned as automotive students paid off
in a big way at an event held in May.
Annually, Shawsheen Tech participates
in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills
competition, a nationwide automotive
technology competition for high
school juniors and seniors interested in
pursuing careers as automotive service
technicians.
The competition tests students’
automotive knowledge, workmanship
and problem-solving abilities with a
written test and a hands-on race against
the clock to diagnose and properly repair
an intentionally “bugged” vehicle.
All participants begin with an online
exam. The 10 highest-scoring two-person
teams are selected to advance to the
state finals for the hands-on competition,
where each team must correctly
diagnose and repair a deliberately
bugged vehicle.
Dailey, of Billerica, and Mellen, of
Wilmington, advanced to the state
finals after outstanding scores on their
exams and went on to finish seventh
overall in the hands-on contest.
“They are both top-notch students,”
said automotive instructor Ben Hurley.
“These guys are really into the field.
They’re great students to have in the
Senior George Dailey of Billerica (left) and Scott Mellen of Wilmington
classroom.”
At the state finals in Norwood, Mellen (right) stand with Automotive Instructor Ben Hurley. Dailey and Mellen
and Dailey had to work on a Ford Fiesta. recently finished seventh at a competition that involved competitors
Although not finishing with the fastest throughout the state. Photo by Greg Bendel.
time, the Shawsheen students were
Each year, more than 10,000 students
successful in getting the car to start.
representing more than 950 automotive
“It was great diagnostic work and
technology programs in all 50 states
problem solving,” Hurley said. “And they
compete in this event according to AAA.
got some nice tools and jackets out of it.”
In 2011, a record-high $12 million in
Hurley also thanked General Manager
scholarships was offered at both state
Mark Fermanian of Gervais Ford in Ayer
and national levels to Ford/AAA Student
for donating a vehicle for the students to
Auto Skills competitors. 
practice with prior to the competition.
EXPERTS GIVE STUDENTS AT
SHAWSHEEN A TREAT
actually cutting
parts,” Retelle
said. “They also
demonstrated
various types of
drills, taps, and
end mills, all Shawsheen instructors Larry Retelle and Tony Bazzinotti stand with students and machine technology experts
used in our in- Bob Fields (OSG Cutting Tools – Field Technical Manager), Murray Pitchman (Spincraft of Billerica – Quality
Manager) and Greg Mills (Owner of Mills Machine in Lawrence). COURTESY PHOTO.
dustry.”
reasons, including to help spread the
After the visiting experts demonstrated
word about the industry.
the application of each individual tool, the
“There aren’t a lot of students that
tools were passed around to provide the
come to Shawsheen Tech and say ‘I want
students with hands-on experience. The
to study machine technology’ because
visitors also provided students with severmost people don’t know what it is,” he exal handouts that will be useful to students
plained. “We try to educate the students
in their remaining years at Shawsheen as
and parents that there are abundant opwell as when they enter industry.
portunities out there, but to have actual
Pitchman talked with the students
guys from industry come in and tell them
about the requirements to be successful
that is just great.”
in the modern Machine Technology in Of the 17 juniors in the shop, 14 of
dustry.
them are currently taking advantage of
“He also spoke about all the great opthe school’s cooperative education proportunities available in various areas of
gram and are working in the machine
this fascinating industry,” said Retelle.
technology field.
“This was a great learning experience for
“This is a great learning experience for
our students on various levels.”
these students,” added Retelle. 
Retelle said the visits are good for many
seven
The Machine Technology Department
at Shawsheen Valley Technical High
School hosted several experts from industry on May 16th. The guests included Greg Mills (owner of Mills Machine),
Bob Fields (OSG Tooling Company) and
Murray Pitchman (Spincraft company),
who spoke to the permanent freshmen
and sophomores in the shop.
“We have technical visitors come in
every year to visit with our students,”
said Larry Retelle, a machine technology instructor at Shawsheen. “In addition,
we take the students on a field trip to a
company in our industry. These students
also visted Methods Machine in Sudbury.
[Methods Machine] hosted a student day
called ‘Metal Storm’ in which they will had
50 machines set up doing various hightech operations. Some students also visited Spincraft of Billerica in the fall, which
makes high tech parts for the space shuttle industry.”
During the visit, Fields provided demonstrations with latest technology in cutting tools.
“This presentation included some
sample tools as well as videos of tools
Shawsheen Tech students build new case
for historic artifact By Jon Bishop Town Crier Correspondent
oldest male resident, who would
then pass it onto someone else.
According to Dave Marcus,
a member of the Tewksbury
Historical Society, the publisher of
the Boston Post came up with the
idea.
“He decided to provide it because
it would allow his newspaper to
become more widely-read,” he said.
“So it was a successful, because it of
course increased their circulation.”
Shawsheen Tech students Zachary Rourke from Wilmington (right), and Tyler “They had [the Cane] all over
Tranni from Billerica (right) join head instructor for the woodworking shop
New England,” Marcus said.
Richard Woodlock from Chelmsford. Both of the students are in the 10th grade.
He said that they use a replica,
The students created the beautiful case for the Boston Post Cane to house it and
because the real Cane is located at
acknowledge each guardian. Courtesy Photo
Tewksbury Library and cannot be
The Tewksbury Historical Society preremoved. Its top is gold and could attract
sented Marsha Durso, 100, with the
criminals.
Boston Post Cane. Durso is Tewksbury’s
It’s display case is also new, having
oldest resident and spends time at the
recently been built by students from
Blaire House, which is where she received
Shawsheen Technical High School.
the award.
Marcus said that when they received
The Boston Post Cane tradition began
the Cane, they noticed some names were
in 1909, and it was initially given to the
missing. So Ken Mauser, the Treasurer,
eight
Community Services
Shawsheen Valley Technical High School
100 Cook Street
Billerica, MA 01821
“put a lot of effort into finding out names
that were on it.”
But the “society could never figure out
who dropped the ball a couple years
ago,” Marcus said. They assumed that the
oldest person at the time neither wanted
the Cane nor the recognition.
Anna Ippolito, the 2013 recipient,
passed away in May at age 102. 
You Should Know
SEPTEMBER
2 9th Grade ONLY
2 Shawsheen Golf Tournamant
Scholarship Fundraiser
3 All Students
10 9th Grade Parent Orientation
OCTOBER
1 Fall Advisory Meeting
13 NO SCHOOL
23 College and Career Fair