COVID-19 cases start as Billerica schools enter their fourth week wickedlocal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wickedlocal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sean Furbush and Carolin Zorrilla
Submitted to the Billerica Minuteman
For far too long, our history has been taught through lenses too few and too narrow.
In our classrooms, diversity should not be a token, but a vessel upon which we may tell the colorful tales of our nation and of our world. Yet, for reasons only determined behind the closed doors of educational bureaucracies, it is something that continues to be neglected in the face of calls for curricular reforms here in Massachusetts.
In recent years, our frameworks have served as one of the main examples of what not to do when implementing diversity into the classroom.
Kimberly Manyanga
Submitted to the Billerica Minuteman
Amid the heatwave we found ourselves in at the end of July, my privilege was continually brought to my awareness.
From my adequately air-conditioned home to my equally air-conditioned workplace, I have the privilege of living comfortably during a heatwave. So much that I rarely have to think about the temperature until I step outside, and when I do I can choose to step right back into my room, my sanctuary.
Many across the country don’t have that privilege right now.
The disparities in income and race when it comes to air-conditioning access are devastating. Lower-income and minority communities are the most vulnerable right now by the numbers, especially managing this heatwave during a pandemic. Multiple health organizations cite this unequal access to cooling as a threat to public health.
Doug Hastings
Submitted to the Billerica Minuteman
Sophomore Naomi Boldebuck’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth inning catapulted the Billerica Memorial High softball team to the Saturday, June 26, Div. 1 North championship in Peabody.
The Indians will face the Tanners at 1 p.m. at the Kiley School softball field.
The second-seeded Peabody squad is undefeated, with a 17-0 record and has defeated three Merrimack Valley Conference teams on its way to the title game.
The Tanners beat Haverhill 6-0, topped Methuen 6-3, and defeated Andover on Thursday, 6-0.
BMHS defeated Woburn and Arlington before edging North Andover 2-1, at the Marshall Middle School.
Kimberly Manyanga
Something like a cultural shift has swept over the atmosphere at Billerica Memorial High School.
As we continue to navigate through this unconventional year, my peers and I have noticed many hopeful signs of increased awareness and support for mental health here at school.
Especially as we recently shifted from hybrid learning to full-time, in-person learning.
For one, the school has implicated a 40-minute period during the school day where students can either recharge and do independent work or leave class for pull-out support. This can include going down to guidance, or to one of the other support staff in the building and talking, or seeking help in any form.