MacDuffie students put on a great show Friday, Feb. 7 in celebration of the Lunar New Year. Students rang in the Year of the Rat with song, dance, dumplings and bubble tea. Â PengCheng “Louis” Lu ’20 captured photos of the event.
Last night’s Fall Sports Awards was a great time to reflect on the many successes of the fall season. Our student-athletes received both individual and team recognition for their dedicated work on the field, on the court, on the course and for their attitudes as teammates. Congratulations to all!
Fall team achievements:
Girls’ Varisty soccer, SENE Champions
Girls’ Varsity Volleyball, New England #6 Seed and Quarter Finalists
Individual Awards, Cross Country:
SENE-All League
Ian Hua ’20
Alison Jackson ’20
Matt Jiang ’22
Marie Hua ’21
Judy Zhu ’21
Clara LaChance ’23
CISAC Championship Award Recipients
Ian Hua ’20
Alison Jackson ’20
Matt Jiang ’22
Madeline LeChance ’20
Individual Awards, Girls’ Soccer
New England Junior All-Star
Kasia Ludkiewicz ’21
Jillian Ouimet ’21
Western New England All-Star
Grace Drost ’20
Jordyn Shepard ’20
Kasia Ludkiewicz ’21
SENE All-League 1st Team
Grace Drost ’20
Jordyn Shepard ’20
Kasia Ludkiewicz ’21
Jillian Ouimet ’21
SENE All-League 2nd Team
Madeline Niedbala ’22
Sara Avery ’23
SENE All-League Honorable Mention
Cassidy Lu ’20
Individual Awards, Boys’ Soccer
New England Senior All-Star
Sarvar Akhmedov ’20
Western New England All-star
Sarvar Akhmedov ’20
Alberto Duque ’21
SENE All-League 1st Team
Sarvar Akhmedov ’20
Adael Alarcon ’22
SENE All-League 2nd Team
Alberto Duque ’21
SENE All-League Honorable Mention
Adam Stetson ’24
Individual Awards, Volleyball
New England All-LeagueÂ
Kacey Deecher ’20
New England Honorable MentionÂ
Maya Levine ’20
New England All-StarÂ
Kacey Deecher ’20
Chloe DeAngelis
Most Valuable Player
Kasia Ludkiewicz ’21, Girls’ Soccer
Alberto Duque ’21, Boys’ Soccer
Alison Jackson ’20, Cross Country
Ian Hua ’20, Cross Country
Kacey Deecher ’20, Volleyball
Most Improved Player
Akana Nakamura ’21, Girls’ Soccer
Paul Biernat ’23, Boys’ Soccer
Pitt Pongpittayapa ’20, Cross Country
Lal Yuksel ’22, Volleyball
Coaches Award
Jillian Ouimet ’21, Girls’ Soccer
Adam Stetson ’24, Boys’ Soccer
Matt Jiang ’21, Cross Country
Chloe DeAngelis ’20, Volleyball
Player’s Choice Award
Megan Jacques ’20, Girls’ Soccer
Sarvar Akhmedov ’20, Boys’ Soccer
Daiki Akita ’20, Cross Country
Maya Levine ’20, Volleyball
Tuesday, October 22, middle schoolers took a very “gloves-on” approach to their studies. Students spent time exploring one of archaeology’s greatest treasures: the trash! A lot can be learned about a civilization by analyzing its waste, and the MacDuffie community is no exception. With an understanding of stratigraphy, students could assess which items were thrown away more recently than others and they used their supreme sleuthing skills to identify where each bag of trash had come from. It was a very smelly and informative adventure!
The Middle School had perfect weather for its annual Excursion Thursday, making up for a rainy cancelation last year. All 31 students and a number of MacDuffie teachers and faculty made their way to Dufrense Park for a full day of get-to-know-you activities, community building, cooperative learning, and good old-fashioned play. During the outing, students worked together to problem solve a number of challenges, showing out-of-the-box thinking and demonstrating the trust, respect, and communication that make the middle school community so special. Students battled in blindfolded landmines, untangled human knots, and made difficult choices like Fortnite or Minecraft, Harry Potter or Percy Jackson – all with a smile. At the center of it all was the idea that everyone in the community had a space and a voice, and students shared their unique personality with the creation of puzzle-pieces which will be on display in the Middle School Lounge. It was a great day for all involved!
Last night’s academic convocation celebrated the stunning success of our students in the classroom, but it also celebrated the way our experiences within the classroom can have a stunning impact on our lives.
At last night’s ceremony, Head of School Steve Griffin announced the permanent renaming of our 10th Grade Departmental Award in Visual Arts. Ms. Hastings then had the honor of bestowing the Jo-Ann Hastings Award to its first recipient, Marie Hua.
“The Jo-Ann Hastings Award in the Visual Arts recognizes the contribution of Jo-Ann Hastings, MacDuffie Visual Art teacher from 1986 to 2019. This award recognizes the qualities that Ms. Hastings encourages: technical excellence, creativity, and the understanding that through perseverance, one can always improve one’s artwork,” said Griffin.
As Ms. Hastings enters retirement after 33 years, she brings with her a magnolia tree gifted during the ceremony.
These are some photographs of last night’s academic convocation. A complete honor roll list is forthcoming.