Wellesley High student raises funds for menstrual equality

January 6, 2022 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

Did you know that 1 out of 5 teenagers in the US has struggled to afford period products or was not able to purchase them at all, according to a study by PERIOD (a menstrual advocacy organization) and Thinks, Inc. (an education and consumer site)? When Wellesley High School junior Siena Cohen found out, she decided to do something about it right here at home. Cohen has set up a non-profit organization called the Menstrual Equality Fund and is raising money to make menstrual products free at WHS.

The idea behind menstrual equity, a concept that has been around for several years, is that people should have access to products that are affordable and accessible, particularly in public settings. Supporters point out that it’s high time for menstrual products to join soap and toilet paper as hygiene items that are free in public restrooms.

Nationwide, fewer than a dozen states require public schools to stock free products. Last November, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed a bill making that state the most recent to require its public schools and colleges to do so. As for Massachusetts, a bill that would provide free products to students currently is making its way through the State House. Known as the I AM bill, and presented by Massachusetts State Senator Patricia Jehlen, and Representative Christine Barber, the bill has yet to make it to the governor’s desk. In nearby Rhode Island, a bill passed unanimously last June that will allow public school students to have access to menstrual products for free starting this year.

Since she isn’t willing to wait around for the state to act, Cohen has moved forward with her plans. All monies collected through the Menstrual Equality Fund will go toward ensuring dispensers in all four girls’ bathrooms at Wellesley High School will be stocked with free, 100% organic, cotton pads and tampons. In addition to asking for monetary donations, Cohen and other volunteers sell pins during school lunch blocks.

Cohen in an email said, “No student should be punished or forced to miss class because of their period. By making menstrual products free, and therefore more accessible, we can ensure that the needs of all students, no matter the financial state, are taken care of.”

Should the bill pass through the Massachusetts legislature, Menstrual Equality Fund’s work will be done here. Until then, Cohen asks everyone to, “Help WHS go with the flow!”

HOW TO DONATE

Scan the QR code below or click on the link to donate. Menstrual Equality Fund also accept donations via Venmo @siena-cohen (4884). The group’s fundraising goal is $2,300, and they are getting close.

Follow Menstrual Equality Fund on Instagram @menstrualequality.whs for updates.

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=3HMSTQS27GEGC

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Game back on for Wellesley High winter sports

January 3, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley High School, which last week suspended winter athletics in light of a COVID-19 spike among athletes, has announced that practices are back as of Tuesday. Outdoor and indoor competitions resume on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

Wellesley High School, fall 2020 The Wellesley Public School system and Wellesley Health Department met to assess the situation and agreed that athletics could resume if a number of rules were followed. These include using locker rooms only for changing, not for storing stuff (the hockey locker rooms at Boston Sports Institute won’t be used at all), masking applies for coaches and athletes for indoor sports, and spectators are restricted to two adults per athlete at home contests.

The school system is working to reschedule canceled events.

Wellesley Public Schools reopened on Monday after holiday break.

Thank you to Wellesley Public School parents and students who gave us a heads up on this information! Always feel welcome to pass along memos from the schools, etc.: [email protected]

Wellesley Athlete of the Week articles

Select Board to weigh track-and-field lights referendum pitch; NRC digging into schools proposal

January 1, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Here’s the latest twist in the long-running discussion in Wellesley about whether to approve lights at the high school track and field: A citizen has proposed a non-binding referendum on the lights and the Select Board has this on its agenda for its Jan. 3 meeting.

Resident Laurance Stuntz submitted a petition signed by about 30 people asking the Select Board to consider putting a non-binding referendum on the town ballot for March 1. It would provide an opportunity for all voters to weigh in on the policy question of “should there be lights at the field or not.”

As the referendum would be non-binding, the Natural Resources Commission (NRC)—the land owner—would not be compelled to adhere to the results.

The topic of lights at the field has been the subject of involved studies and meetings over the past few years, including at the start of 2021. It’s also been a subject of discussion at numerous NRC meetings of late, with the Wellesley School Committee making its proposal over the span of meetings in November and December.

Consultants working with the School Committee have been given time to explain the ins and outs of the latest lighting and sound technology, and neighbors opposed to the lights recently shared a presentation arguing for the NRC to stick to its mission of preserving and protecting the town’s parks and conservation areas.

The NRC at its Dec. 14 meeting (see Wellesley Media recording about 30 minutes in) discussed the school system’s proposal, and where to go from here, for the better part of two hours.

NRC Chair Raina McManus raised concerns of a “trust deficit” with neighbors. “It’s hard because we did permit this with no lights and now we’re asking people to think, oh maybe there should be lights. That’s a difficult starting point.”

Based on feedback heard from the public, NRC member Jay McHale lamented: “I don’t hear a lot of room for compromise, which is going to make our job very difficult.”

NRC member Laura Robert kept returning to the idea of possibly scaling things way back, saying the original goal was to have a few community events at night, not dozens. That maybe this would satisfy enough in town, including neighbors whose part of Wellesley has seen many changes in recent years.

Toward the end of the meeting McManus said: “We’ve never really had a project like this before us. It is a monumental decision for the town, so we need to take our time and do it right.”

It’s the time and effort that has been taken in recent months and years that has proponents of lights worn out at this point. Stuntz, a Recreation Commission member speaking as a resident who lives not far from the high school, said the process has “gone on long enough” and that “it’s time for the NRC to vote on whether to move forward with the proposal that the School Committee put forward…”

The NRC isn’t ready to do that yet. In the end, members agreed to take a closer look at the School Committee proposal’s impact on the property subject by subject (traffic, natural resources, noise, etc.), and continue to listen to various perspectives (including the Wellesley High School Council on Jan. 6). NRC members acknowledged the school proposal does address land use issues in detail, but that it needs to take a closer look at whether the proposal satisfies its criteria.

We’ve got all of 2022 to come to a resolution.

COVID crisis forces Wellesley High to suspend winter sports season; Wellesley Rec having hiatus, too

December 30, 2021 by Bob Brown 12 Comments

Wellesley High School has announced the suspension of its winter sports season due to rising COVID-19 cases across the school and within its sports teams.

“After consultation with the Wellesley Public Schools Administration and the Wellesley Health Department regarding the increase of positive Covid cases and in particular the major increase of cases on our athletic teams we have come to the conclusion that we will need to suspend the winter season until further notice. This means no in person practices, games, meets or competitions,” according to a school statement.

Athletic Director John Brown says families were notified of the decision on Wednesday night, and that he hopes the suspension will not last long.

news vans at wellesley high cuz of sports season — Bad Wellesley happenings are always a local TV news magnet

The news, issued during the school’s holiday break, drew attention from local TV news stations, which flocked to the high school in their vans on Thursday.

Last year COVID-19 forced local high schools to split their sports seasons into four instead of three, and teams had to abide by modified rules that included mask wearing and more.

Wellesley Public Schools’ COVID dashboard shows 29 positive cases at the high school over the past two weeks.

Public School teachers and staff can test for COVID-19 before returning to school after the holiday break. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will distribute rapid tests to districts over the New Year’s weekend.

raider sculpture at wellesley high

Wellesley Recreation hiatus

Wellesley’s Recreation Department has been communicating with the Health Department, too.

Rec has announced that all of its “programs, activities, and rentals have been postponed for a minimum of two weeks as of Friday, December 31st.” The hope, after reassessing in a couple of weeks, will be to resume activities in the third week of January.

More: Wellesley Health Dept. warns most of us will get COVID-19; schools brace for return from holidays

Wellesley Athlete of the Week articles

Wellesley Athlete of the Week: Lily Jin

December 3, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Wellesley Athlete of the Week is made possible with sponsorship support from Deland, Gibson Insurance. The family-owned and operated business has carried on this Wellesley tradition for over 30 years.

Athlete of the Week: Lily Jin

Sport: Cross Country/Track and Field

Year: Sophomore

Pump-Up Song: Salute by Little Mix or New Romantics by Taylor Swift

Favorite Class: Pre-Calculus

Siblings: Younger brother in seventh grade

Lily Jin started running in middle school, when after the mini marathon in sixth grade she realized she could run longer distances, and was fast as well. She soon joined the local Waltham Track Club, where she began running competitively.

“I didn’t even know competitive running was a thing,” she said, “but I really liked it so I continued on the middle school track and cross country teams and then at the high school.”

Last year, Jin made it to the All-State Championship during the outdoor track season in the mile race, which she cites as her greatest athletic accomplishment. Not only did she just participate, she came eleventh in the state with a 5:09 mile as just a freshman.

lily jin — Wellesley High School sophomore Lily Jin had a standout cross country season, most recently placing sixth at the Division 1 All-State Championship. Photo courtesy of Bay State Running.

This year, the girls’ cross country team came third in the state with Jin as their top runner. Last year, as a freshman, Jin ran a blazing 19:44 5K, and this year, she set her sights even higher. She won the sophomore race by almost a minute at the highly competitive Twilight Invitational, came in third at the Bay State Conference Championship, won the Division 1B Championship, and came in sixth in the Division 1 All-State Championship, where she obliterated her previous personal record by more than a minute by finishing the 5K in 18:30.

Jin is a determined hard worker who gives 100% effort in every race and workout. “Crossing the finish line is the best part of running when you can see the culmination of all your hard work,” she said.

In addition to being a standout runner, Jin encapsulates what makes a great teammate. “My favorite aspect of running is the team element,” she said. “When you have a great team, that’s all that matters.”

Junior cross country captain Grace Wheelan sees Jin as a leader by example. “Lily is such a positive person to have on the team and comes to every single practice with a smile on her face. She works so hard consistently and inspires everyone around her to give 100% effort,” she said. “[Jin] also cares so deeply about every single one of her teammates and makes everyone feel like a valued part of the team.”

On meet days, Jin likes to eat a hearty and healthy breakfast filled with carbs and ride with her mom to the race. “I warm up with the team 45 minutes before the race and then I roll out and stretch. I make sure to triple tie my shoes and have everything prepared the night before to make sure my warmup goes smoothly” she said.

Outside of running, Jin likes reading, watching movies, spending time with friends, and taking walks.

Jin looks up to many “local legend” runners like Natick’s Grace Connolly, who now runs at Stanford, Holliston’s Carmen Luisi, and her friend Ellie Shea from Belmont. She hopes to continue running throughout her life, saying, “I hope to run competitively in college and someday, when I’m older, run the Boston Marathon. That’s a big goal of mine.”

Article written by The Bradford’s Caroline Thornton.

Wellesley students come up big as National Merit semifinalists

November 19, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Six Wellesley High School seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists, making them eligible to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 95% of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

Congratulations to Wellesley’s own National Merit Scholarship semifinalists:

Doyoung A. Ahn
Jacob S. Landau
Andrew J. Ng
Grace H. Olson
Yonas E. Schneider
Meilin Song

Wellesley High, Dana Hall student-athletes sign letters of intent

November 14, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Some of Wellesley’s top high school athletes this past week signed national letters of intent to continue playing sports at 4-year colleges.

Alanna Dumulac, a star women’s lacrosse player for Wellesley High, has committed to play for Davidson College.

Max Stakun-Pickering, a track & field leader for Wellesley High and winner of the Outdoor Nationals decathlon over the summer, will bring his talents to the University of North Carolina.

Alanna Dumalac (Davidson Lacrosse) and Max Stakun-Pickering — Max Stakun-Pickering (UNC, track & field) and Alanna Dumalac (Davidson lacrosse)

Dana Hall School in Wellesley is celebrating student-athlete Keira McGrath, who signed her national letter of intent to swim for Loyola University Maryland. A resident of Charlestown, McGrath set a school record for the 100 meter breast stroke at 1:10.63.

More: Wellesley Athlete of the Week