North Attleboro High School Alumni Association

December 2006

North Attleboro High School
Alumni Association
Fall Newsletter

Greetings from the President:

Eighteen months ago, a group of NAHS alumni met with High School Principal Robert Gay to discuss the possibility of forming an alumni association. We’re happy that we did, and we’re proud of our mission to build and strengthen the community of NAHS graduates and to explore opportunities to enhance the educational experience of current and future NAHS students. We’re pleased with our progress. We hope to use this e-newsletter as a means to keep you informed about the association and the many wonderful things happening each day at North High. Please bookmark www.NAHSAlumni.org as one of your favorites, and pass this along to a friend. Keep in touch, and enjoy the upcoming holidays.

Mitch MacDonald ‘79

Association News

The Association was recently granted status as a 501(c)3 organization, which means that donations to the NAHS AA are tax deductible. We hope to collect enough funds to make a substantial donation to enhance technology at the High School. Visit our website to learn more about making a donation.
We invite you to make our website the hub for all class reunion planning. Join the classes of 1956, 1958, 1986 and 1996 who have established direct links to help in all aspects of your planning.
It is easy to update your personal information so that your classmates can get in contact with you. The number of daily hits registered at www.NAHSAlumni.org continues to rise—don’t be left behind!
Plans are underway to establish an NAHS Alumni Hall of Fame that would recognize prominent alumni. Stay tuned for information about how to nominate a deserving alumnus (a).

The 3 A’s at NAHS

Academics: Five members of the class of 2007 have been named National Merit Scholarship Program Commended Students. Congratulations to Patrick DeSantis, Donald Fairbanks, Michael Handzo, Brittany Pereira and Melissa Swithers.

Arts: The NAHS Theatre Company completed its annual Dance-A-Thon in early October and performed “Harvey”—Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize winning comedy on November 17th & 18th. The NAHS Music Department presented its Fall Concert in mid-October. The Cobb Theater was filled and the audience was delighted by the wonderful performance. The Winter Concert is scheduled for December 14th at 7:00 PM in the Cobb Theater. Tickets are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and senior citizens.

Athletics: Big Red athletics teams enjoyed successful fall seasons. Here are the final records of fall varsity teams: Boys’ Soccer: 9-8-2; Girls’ Soccer: 10-7-3; Golf: 11-7; Boys’ Cross Country: 7-1; Girls’ Cross Country: 5-4; Volleyball: 9-9; Field Hockey: 2-14-2; Football 8-2.

Faculty Spotlight

Tara Bennett ’94 has joined the NAHS faculty to replace long-time Science Fair mentor Mr. David Vito, who retired last spring. Tara comes back to North High with an impressive resume. She earned her B.S. in Biology from Dartmouth College (’98), then her Masters in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University (’03). Tara then taught high school science at Norwell HS before a six-year stint at Harvard University, where she ran an outreach program in Biology for HS teachers and students. Next, Tara taught at Framingham HS and then Norton HS before joining the NAHS Science Department this fall. Tara teaches Biology I and II and helps with the Science Fair Program. Welcome back, Tara!

Deb (Dalton) Charette ’80 was recently inducted into the Eastern Connecticut State University Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of back-to-back national champion softball teams. Deb and her teammates will also be inducted into both the NCAA and AIAW Halls of Fame early next year. Deb has taught Phys. Ed. at NAHS since 1987 and led the Girls’ basketball team to the 1991 State Championship.

North Alumni News and Announcements

James Gideon Gaudette ’93 is the new assistant principal at Martin School. Derek Folan ’93 is the new assistant principal at Franklin HS. Derek had been a member of the English Dept. at NAHS for six years. In addition, Derek and his wife Karen just celebrated the birth of their second child, Madison Ellen Folan ’24? on 10/16/06. Keith Lapointe ’93 and his wife Melanie (Moore) ’93 also celebrated the arrival of their first child, Reagan Elizabeth. Congratulations to the Folans and the Lapointes. TJ Rizzo ’01 is the new Band Director at NAHS.

What else is going on? To share news about your accomplishments, births, marriages, promotions, or anything else you feel is newsworthy, send your notes to jjohnson@naschools.net and we will publish them in our next e-newsletter.

Finally, please remember to log on to www.NAHSalumni.org to update your personal information!