Winchendon Weekly News -- September 15, 2023

From the Desk of Dr. Goguen - Superintendant's Update September 19, 2023

Enroll Your Child in Head Start

Enrollment is now open for the Winchendon Head Start program. The Pre-School program has many openings for local families. For complete information, see one of the flyers linked below:

Head Start (English)

Head Start (Español)

Ten Sizer students excel in Leadership Initiative Summer Internships

This past summer, 10 Sizer School students participated in the Leadership Initiatives Internship Program, working in law offices, laboratories and more, gaining hands-on professional experience.

According to the Leadership Initiatives Executive Director Marshall Bailly, "We were beyond privileged to work with 10 students from Sizer this year, and these students were constantly some of the most passionate, dedicated, and motivated leaders we worked with all summer."

Sizer School partners with Leadership Initiatives, a nonprofit agency that offers in-person and online internships to offer Sizer students experiential opportunities that will help them reach their future goals.

Participants were Trysta Amoakohene, Makayla Barry-Robinson and Alexander Guy of Fitchburg; Selasi Sampedey, Daphne Gregoire, and Skyler McKenna of Leominster; Adrian Mason of Ashburnham, Bennett Meeker of Gardner, Abigail Munn of Lunenburg, and Caitlin Foley of Phillipston.

Seniors Caitlin Foley and Bennett Meeker and Junior Alexander Guy all participated in an Advanced Medical and Public Health Internship. They helped diagnose a real patient and developed a public health campaign. They learned clinical skills in phlebotomy, ultrasound, and intubation procedures. Guy also learned cardiopulmonary resuscitation, suturing, and venipuncture procedures.

"This was a once in a lifetime experience and opportunity," said Meeker.

Meeker, along with the rest of his peers participating in Leadership Initiatives, traveled to Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

"Not only did I have the best roommate, I had an awesome team lead and team to work with throughout the week,” he said.”I also met a lot of other new people - they come from all over America and even outside of the US. I learned a lot about the world from the people I met."

Ninth grade student Daphne Gregoire received a hands-on introduction to public health, security, law and business by consulting with mentors in various fields of work.

Senior Trysta Amoakohene interned with Harden Law PLLC, collaborating with top law experts to prepare an expert witness for trial.

"My favorite part was being able to go into an official courtroom and do actual witness preparation with a real client, asking questions using facts I had obtained from the case," said Amoakohene. "We worked under Washington, DC attorney, Brandi Harden, who is everything I want to be. The Advanced Law & Trial Internship solidified that after high school I want to study criminal justice and criminology and after college I will go to law school."

Senior Adrian Pagan and 11th grade student Skyler McKenna both did a National Security & Intelligence Internship where they helped develop counterterrorism measures with Borno State University in Northern Nigeria, earned grant money to implement their security solutions, and received intelligence and security training from former top officials from the NSA, Pentagon, and U.S. Military.

Abigail Munn, a Sizer junior, collaborated with a group of premier researchers, professors, and professionals in the fields of neuroscience and neuroethics during her Neuroscience internship. Munn synthesized neuroscience knowledge into an ethical analysis for cutting-edge neuroscience research and engaged in interactive, cross-cultural activities and discussions about cognitive neuroscience and neuroethics through a biopsychosocial lens.

Seniors Selasi Sampedey and Makayla Barry-Robinson did an International Leadership & Business Internship collaborating with business and development experts to improve the infrastructure and marketing strategy of a business in the developing world.

"What I enjoyed most about the internship was working with a group of students who were just as determined to help someone create a business as I was," said Barry-Robinson.

At Sizer School, education is future focused, providing students with experiences and opportunities that bring them closer to achieving their individual goals.

"I would recommend Leadership Initiatives to whoever wants to challenge themselves and grow doing what they love. And also, for anybody who is still unsure about what they want to do," said Barry-Robinson.

Amoakohene agreed, "I would recommend trying a [Leadership Initiative] internship because it fully immerses you in that field and can help you decide what you want to do in the future."

Sizer School is currently accepting applications for grades 7, 8 and 9 for students wishing to transfer to Sizer School for the 2023-2024 school year. Apply now at www.sizerschool.org.