TURNERS FALLS — Students and staff want to help prospective students “find their Thunder” at Great Falls Middle School and Turners Falls High School.
With the “Find Your Thunder School Showcase” on Thursday, March 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the middle and high school at 222 Turnpike Road will present information on academics, extracurriculars, sports and community service offerings, with students and staff running tables and activities.
According to the event flyer, students and staff will discuss academic offerings, such as Advanced Placement (AP) and honors courses, along with the Innovation Career Pathways Program. Extracurriculars, like the drama club and student government, and sports, like the championship-winning softball and soccer teams, will have representatives in attendance.
The event is open to all current Great Falls Middle School and Turners Falls High School students and their families, along with prospective students and their families.
“People will be able to go around and actually see what the different things are,” said Assistant Principal Adam Graves. “We’ll share so many things — our band, chorus, theater, athletics — between the high school and middle school, so they’ll be able to get that taste of it.”
The event is spearheaded by National Honor Society students and their advisors, Melissa Delorenzo and Meghan Keane. Junior Keira Feeley said the event was rebranded from a spring open house. The name, Find Your Thunder, was inspired by the school mascot.
Feeley wants to highlight the school’s value for students like herself.
“I just want that night to be about what Turners as a whole … has to offer for people, for students and for anybody,” Feeley said. “You can become who you want to be in Turners.”
Senior Shayly Martin Ovalle said those who attend will find that the academics are challenging for students, but as a student nearing graduation and having been accepted to Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the challenge is what helped her thrive.
“Personally, that’s what I like about this school. I’ve been challenged in many different aspects that let me grow into a person to be able to apply to schools that I didn’t think I should apply to before,” Martin Ovalle said about her academic journey. She voiced her gratitude to her math and science teachers in particular.
Feeley also mentioned how interconnected students are in activities.
“I love having a small school. I love knowing everybody’s name. I love having such a tight-knit community of where I may not see this person for sports, but I’ll see them in my AP class or I’ll see them somewhere else,” she said.
Martin Ovalle said she’ll be at the event as part of the National Honor Society, but she also plans to offer information on other activities like Global Glimpse, a study abroad program, and she will be translating Spanish for families who may need it.
By the end of the night, Feeley said she wants families of prospective students to know that they’ll be “pushed to the max,” and for students to see how teachers want to bring out their potential. Martin Ovalle said she wants attendees to see the history of people who have loved the school and who have made an impact in their communities, as well as the impact that teachers have on their students.
“You take their lessons out in the world, which is something that I want the students who are coming to take with them,” she said. “They’re not just learning how to find the slope of a line. They’re learning [how] this is going to be challenging now, but you’ll take this part and use it in the future.”