Dean College Announces Members of Golden Key International Honour Society
FRANKLIN, MA (05/12/2020)-- Dean College is pleased to announce the students who have been named members of the Golden Key International Honour Society for the spring semester, including:
Sarah McQuiston of Winchendon, MA.
The Golden Key International Honour Society is the world's largest international collegiate honor society for graduate and undergraduate students, and has strong relationships with over 400 universities around the world. The Dean College chapter believes that being a part of Golden Key means joining diverse community of academic achievers. The 407th Golden Key chapter, Dean College was officially chartered in Spring 2012.
GOLDEN KEY INTERNATIONAL HONOUR SOCIETY ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for membership in Golden Key, a student must:
- Be a full-time student at Dean College.
- Be registered in a bachelor's degree program at the time of selection.
- Be of junior or senior standing at the time of selection.
- Be in the top 15% of the bachelor's degree students in each of the junior and senior classes.
- Have at least a 3.500 cumulative GPA.
- Earn no grades of "RW," "RP," "RF," "WF" or "I" in any preceding semester.
- Complete at least 75% of attempted credits in the semester immediately prior to the semester in which the student is being considered for nomination to Golden Key.
- Have a college judicial record free of suspension or probation or other judicial or academic disciplinary action.
Winchendon CAC Offers Lawn Space to Recognize Graduating Seniors
Families of graduating Murdock High School seniors are invited to place a sign or banner on the front lawn of the Winchendon CAC at 273 Central St., Winchendon. Signs can be handmade or professionally printed, and may include a photo, a name, a message, or whatever shows your pride in your graduate. Contact the CAC at 978-297-1667 for more information.
Winchendon Public Schools Delivering Meals to Students During School Closings
The Winchendon food services department and the district administration are collaborating with First Student Transportation to deliver meals to Winchendon Public Schools students at designated pick-up times and places around the town.
Monday through Thursday, students receive a bagged breakfast and lunch. On Fridays, students are given three breakfasts and three lunches to cover meals on Saturday and Sunday. Families are asked to bring a bag or box from home to carry the multiple meal packages.
As of March 25, the updated pick-up times and locations are as follows:
10:00-10:15 Waterville Plaza
10:20-10:30 Toy Town Condos/ 250-260 Spring Circle
10:35-10:50 Rite Aid ( now Walgreens parking lot)
10:55-11:05 Goodrich Drive
11:10-11:20 Reedy Drive
11:25-11:35 Pearl Drive
If you have any questions related to this process, please contact Superintendant Joan Landers at 978-616-1451 or by email at jlanders@winchendonk12.org.
Schools will be closed for the remainder of the school year by order of Governor Baker.
Celebrating the Monty Tech Class of 2020
FITCHBURG---- Seniors everywhere are facing the news that the end of their high school experience just won’t measure up to expectations they have formed from a lifetime of watching those before them. There won’t be a prom. There won’t be senior cookouts, or traditional motorcades. Senior trips and beach weeks are cancelled, too. They won’t have those final days in the hallways with their friends. They won’t be saying goodbye and thank you to a favorite teacher that truly changed the course of their lives. This is a year that is now marked by loss, but if Principal Tom Browne has anything to say about it, the Monty Tech Class of 2020 will not leave without getting the recognition they so deserve.
Principal Browne has more than 27 years in education, organizing and presiding over 17 graduation ceremonies. He has celebrated every student accomplishment, and marked little moments of achievement along the way, too. So it seems only natural then that he would lay out a plan to recognize this outstanding group of graduates in a big, big way.
First, every Senior should receive a yearbook at no cost. This could only be accomplished if the community would donate or “sponsor” a yearbook for every student. Parents, friends of students, and even employers donated to support this effort, and in only four days, the school received more than $13,000 and accomplished this lofty goal.
Next up – scholarships. Each year the Monty Tech Foundation hosts two fundraisers – a golf tournament in the Fall and the Superintendent’s Dinner in the Spring. These events raise money for the Student Scholarship Fund, and all proceeds are awarded to the graduating class that year. Unfortunately, neither event happened this year. The golf tournament simply did not garner enough interest, and the recent pandemic forced school closures and so the popular Superintendent’s Dinner did not happen – a first in 33 years! How could we ensure these graduates would still receive the scholarships they deserve? Once again, Principal Browne and his leadership team called on the community for donations large and small. The school is still collecting donations through an online platform (www.bidpal.net/montytech), receiving donations ranging from $10 - $500 thus far. While the school may not achieve the $35,000 goal, thanks to so many generous people who continue to donate, scholarships will be awarded this year.
Yard signs and banners! Banners celebrating the Class of 2020 are displayed at high schools in the area, while homes across North Central Massachusetts are proudly displaying senior yard signs – a sign of support and recognition for a student now working virtually to complete senior assignments. While they are no longer working and learning at Monty Tech, these students may be at home taking AP exams, completing final projects, or balancing studies with employment in front line, essential roles. A sign is the least we can do. So Principal Brown organized more than 80 volunteers who decorated their cars, collected yard signs and set out to distribute more than 330 signs across eighteen cities and towns. Students and families seemed so grateful for the gesture, and an opportunity to connect with Monty Tech once again, posting pictures of their graduates and yard signs proudly on the school’s Facebook page.
Senior parade! While the students may be feeling a sense of loss, so, too, are the faculty and staff at Monty Tech. Teachers have ramped up their instruction, to include online learning opportunities across all subjects, and are looking forward to senior sign-out, where they will see students in groups of 10 as they collect their belongings and say goodbye to the classrooms and shops they have spent the last 4 years in. But seeing students in groups of ten, who are hurried in and out of the building is not an ideal goodbye. To that end, Principal Browne proposed a senior parade, calling students back to the school Friday evening, May 22nd from 7:00 – 8:00pm. Monty Tech faculty and staff will line a parade route, rounding the expansive campus, cheering students as they loop the school, waving goodbye to high school and heading out into college and career pathways that they are well-prepared for and eager to begin.
Finally, Principal Browne turned his attention to graduation. With schools considering drive-by ceremonies, virtual graduations, and even drive-in movie theaters serving as a backdrop, Monty Tech seniors and families were surveyed and elected to postpone graduation until a more traditional ceremony might be possible. Following the model adopted by the United States Air Force Academy, Monty Tech is designing a similar ceremony, which will be held on Wednesday, July 29th at 6:00pm on the school’s football field. While adhering to any social distancing guidelines in place at the time, the school’s leadership team hopes to deliver a graduation ceremony these students can be proud of – a creative ending fitting for a Monty Tech graduate.
Congratulations to seniors everywhere, and a special congratulations to the Monty Tech students celebrated in so many ways.