Sports: week of January 31st through February 6th

January 31st
9:00am
Indoor track and field meet at UNH

February 1st
6:15pm
Wrestling match at Pinkerton Academy

February 2nd
3:30pm
Boys freshman basketball game at West against John Stark

5:00pm
Boys JV basketball game at West against John Stark
Girls JV basketball game against John Stark at John Stark

6:30pm
Boys varsity basketball game at West against John Stark
Girls varsity basketball game against John Stark at John Stark

February 3rd
4:30pm
Boys freshman basketball game against Timberlane at Timberlane
Ice hockey game at the JFK Ice Arena

February 5th
2:30pm
Alpine ski meet at Gunstock Mount.

3:30pm
Boys freshman basketball game against Oyster River at Oyster River

5:00pm
Boys JV basketball game against Oyster River at Oyster River
Girls JV basketball game at West against Oyster River

6:30pm
Boys varsity basketball game against Oyster River at Oyster River
Girls varsity basketball game at West against Oyster River

February 6th
6:00pm
Ice hockey game at the JFK Ice Arena

Track and field city meet!

By: Alexandria Nelson

The boys and girls, indoor track and field teams competed on January 17th at the UNH indoor track and field against Memorial, Central, and Trinity! Both the West girls and boys had great showings at this meet, the girls finishing 2nd of the four teams and the guys finishing 4th of the four teams.

 For the boys, they earned there points from, freshman Max Frazier taking first place in the 3000 meter run with a time of 10 minutes 25 seconds,  senior Myles Gomes-Boisvert taking 3rd in the 300 meter dash with a time of  41 seconds, sophomore Dominic Girard taking 3rd in the 1500 meter run with a time of  4 minutes 57 seconds, (again) Myles Gomes-Boisvert taking first in High jump with a jump hight of  5 feet 4 inches, (once again) Myles Gomes-Boisvert taking 3rd in the long jump with a jump distance of  16 feet 7 inches, and senior Matt Brouillet taking 2nd in shot put with a throw of  40 feet 1 inch.

For the girls, they earned points from, senior Alexandria Nelson taking 1st in the shot put with a throw of 31 feet 9 inches, freshman Julia Robitaille taking 2nd in the 3000 meter run with a time of 11 minutes 5 seconds, (again) Julia Robitaille taking 1st in the 1500 meter run with a time of 5 minutes 4 seconds, freshman Corinne Robitaille taking 2nd place in the 55 meter dash with a time of 7.5 seconds,  (again) Corinne Robitaille taking 1st in the 600 meter run with a time of  1 minute 49 seconds, Kelsey Shooter taking 3rd in the 600 meter run with a time of 1 minute 55 seconds, and the 4x400 meter relay team comprised of  Julia, Kelsey, Habiba, and Corinne took 2nd with a time of  4 minutes 41 seconds.

Great job to the ladies and gentlemen of the West Track and field teams and good luck to those who qualified for the meet on Sunday, January 23rd starting at 9:00am at the UNH indoor track and field!

Sports: week of January 24th through 30th

January 25th
10:00am
Alpine ski meet @ mount. Sunapee

January 26th
3:30pm
Boys freshman basketball game at West VS. Con Val

5:00pm
Boys JV basketball game VS Timberlane at Timberlane
Girls Varsity basketball game at West VS. Timberlane

6:30pm
Boys varsity basketball game VS Timberlane at Timberlane

January 28th
4:00pm
Boys freshmen basketball game at West VS Hanover

January 29th
3:30pm
Alpine ski meet @ Pats Peak

5:00pm
Boys JV basketball game at West VS Kingswood
Girls JV basketball game VS Kingswood at Kingswood

5:45pm
Swim meet @ SNHU

6:30pm
Boys varsity basketball game at West VS Kingswood
Girls varsity basketball game VS Kingswood at Kingswood

January 30th
10:00am
Wresteling match @ Concord High School

JV and Varsity girls basketball games, WEST WINS!

On January 6th at 5pm in the West gymnasium, the West girls JV basketball team played against Kennett high school girls JV basketball team. Our young ladies took this game as a massive win, West 42 points, Kennett 7 points! JV head coach Greg Cotreau says,"Aliyah Norman scored 15 points, Alyssa Hanel scored 12 points and Lejla Hodzic scored 10 points!". Great job to all the JV team ladies and keep up the hard work!

Also, on January 6th at 6:30 in the West gymnasium, the West varsity girls basketball team played against Kennett high school Girls varsity basketball team. These ladies got there second win in a row of the season at this game, West 50 points, Kennett 39 points! Varsity assistant coach Greg Cotreau says,"Taylor Ricard scored 12 points, all 3-pointers and also had 5 rebounds. Emily Keefe scored 9 points, had 7 rebounds and 7 assists, and Mikayla Kaul scored 8 points!". Good job to all the varsity team ladies, lets go get three in a row now, you got this!

By: Alexandria Nelson

Sports: week of January 10th through 16th

January 11th
6:15 pm
Wrestling match at Pinkerton Academy

January 12th
5:00pm
Boys JV basketball game at West VS Hollis-Brookline
Girls JV basketball game VS Hollis-Brookline at Hollis-Brookline

6:30
Boys varsity basketball game at West VS Hollis-Brookline
Girls varsity basketball game VS Hollis-Brookline at Hollis-Brookline

January 13th
3:00pm
Ice Hockey match at Pinkerton Academy

3:30
Alpine ski meet at pats peak

January 14th
4:00pm
Boys freshman basketball game at west VS Timberlane

5:00pm
Ice hockey match at Oyster River

6:00pm
Girls varsity basketball game VS Timberlane at Timberlane

January 15th
5:00pm
Boys JV basketball game VS Bishop Brady at Bishop Brady
Girls JV basketball game at West VS Con Val

5:45pm
Swim meet at Southern New Hampshire University

6:30pm
Boys varsity basketball game VS Bishop Brady at Bishop Brady
Girls varsity basketball game at West VS Con Val

7:00pm
Gymnastics meet at Londonderry athletics

January 16th
10:00pm
Wrestling meet at Goffstown

Varsity girls basketball game, WEST WON!

On January, 4th at 6:30pm in the West gymnasium, the West girls varsity basketball team played against Goffstown high school girls varsity basketball team. Our ladies won the game, West 52 points, Goffstown 42 points! Varsity girls assistant coach, Greg Cotreau says, " Emily Keefe had a triple double - 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, Mikayla Kaul had 14 points, 11 rebounds, Taylor Ricard had 14 points, 9 of those points were from 3-pointers, and Kasey Thurmond and Katie Brockway played excellent defense for us!". Amazing job ladies, keep up the hard work!

By: Alexandria Nelson

Sports: week of January 3rd through 9th

January 3rd
3:00pm
Gymnastics meet at Goffstown

January 4th
3:30pm
Boys freshman basketball game at west VS Merrimack

5:00pm 
Boys JV basketball game VS Goffstown at Goffstown
Girls JV basketball game at West VS Goffstown

6:30pm
Boys varsity basketball game VS Goffstown at Goffstown
Girls varsity basketball game at West VS Goffstown

January 6th
3:30
Boys freshmen basketball game at West VS Merrimack Valley

4:00pm
Ice Hockey match at West Side Arena

5:00pm
Boys JV basketball game VS Kennett at Kennett
Girls JV basketball game at West VS Kennett

6:30pm
Boys Varsity basketball game VS Kennett at Kennett
Girls Varisty basketball game at West VS Kennett

January 8th
2pm
Alpine ski meet at Mount. Sunapee

5:45pm
Swim meet at SNHU

January 9th
5:00pm
Wrestling meet at Manchester Memorial

Sports: week of December 27th 2015 through January 2nd 2016

December 27th- winter track and field meet against All schools at the UNH in Durham indoor track and field starting at 1pm
December 30th- gymnastics meet against all schools at Pinkerton Academy starting at 9am
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
January 2nd- wrestling match against all schools at Keene High school starting at 9am
January 2nd- winter track and field meet against All schools at the UNH in Durham indoor track and field starting at 1pm

Track and field meet

On Saturday, December 19th, the girls and boys of the West High track and field team competed at the Dartmouth college indoor track and field facility!

The boys were one of 17 teams to compete and had one big showing for the shot put by senior, Matt Brouillet with a throw of  42 feet 1 inch placing him 5th in that event at this meet and qualified him for the division 2 championship meet! Also, a big personal feat for one of the boys was junior Sam Avard in the 1000 mater run, taking 14 seconds off of his personal best, finishing in 3 minutes and 27.52 seconds! Good job to the entire boys indoor track and field boys team!

The girls were one of 15 teams to compete and had multiple girls score points for the team, including, freshman, Corinne Robitaille in the 600 meter run, placing 3rd with a finishing time of  1 minute and 44.42 seconds! Another big finisher for the girls was freshman, Julia Robitaille in the 3000 meter run, placing 1st with a finishing time of 10 minutes 45.17 seconds which also happened to beat the schools prior record in the 3000 meter run, set by Kristin Johnson back in January 2007 which was a finishing time of 10 minutes 46.1 seconds! With these finished, both of the Robitaille girls qualified for the division 2 championship meet in there finished events! Also, some personal feats for the girls team was, senior Alexandria Nelson in the shot put with a throw of 24 feet and 4.25 inches, also setting a personal best in the shot put was sophomore, Pheona Barret wish a throw of  19 feet 11 inches! Good job to the entire girls indoor track and field girls team!

By: Alexandria Nelson

(Freshman Julia Robitaille running the 3000 meter run)

Photo taken by Ashley Nelson

Wrestling meet

On Saturday, December 19th at 8:30am, West High wrestler, junior, Markus Joseph, competed at the Nor' Easter wresteling tournament. Markus competed in the 152lb weight class with a three win one lose record, finishing with second place! Great job Markus! Can't wait to see what you do next!

-Alexandria Nelson

Sports: week of December 20th through 26th

December 20th 
6:00 pm

Ice hockey VS St. Thomas Aquinas at St. Thomas Aquinas

December 21st
3:30 pm  

Boys freshman basketball at West VS  Oyster River High School

4:30pm
Ice hockey at Berlin

5:00pm
Boys JV basketball game at West VS Oyster River

Girls JV basketball game VS Oyster River at Oyster River

6:30pm
Boys Varsity basketball game at West VS Oyster River

Girls Varsity basketball game VS Oyster River at Oyster River

7:00 pm

Gymnastics - Meet at Nashua North with Dover, Spaulding, Nashua South

Congratulations to West's JV Ice Hockey team on their win against Kearsage's JV team!! They traveled to Andover, NH and competed last night at Proctor Academy around 7:30 pm. West lead the game with a 3-0 lead until the end of second period where they let down a couple goals. The final score closed at 5-2 and West came back home with their first win of the season. Again, congratulations and the rest of West is wishing you luck this Friday at your home game against Pinkerton academy!

Parkside Assembly at West!

By Emily Guiffra

Theater Knights and the Music Department are teaming up for an assembly Friday on December 18th, 2015. Parkside will be visiting West to see a presentation on the music and theatre programs. Which will be presented in the Auditorium!
Ms.Wilks is the music department teacher and Ms.Holmes is the theater department teacher as well as an English teacher.
I talked with Ms.Wilks to get a better understanding of the assembly.
"This is an annual assembly. Which is usually after the instrumental concert. We usually have the stands and the set up from the night before, so it makes things easier. We do an assembly for Parkside because it shows what the music department is like at West. The auditorium is a good opportunity for Parkside because the sound is different."
It seems like a lot of the time we take the auditorium for granted. Parkside Middle school doesn't have one, so usually the first thing they notice is the different sound.
The groups performing are Band, Jazz band, Chamber, and Orchestra. Or as Ms.Wilks says, "Capsuel of what we do."

Wrestling match

On Monday, December 14th at 6:15pm the wrestling team traveled to Pinkerton Academy, where Freshman, Amman Mahir had his first match and this is what his coach, David Langlois, had to say, "In his wrestling debut, Freshman Amman Mahir, won all four of his Junior varsity matches.  Three by pin fall as he defeated wrestlers from Division I, Timberlane and Pinkerton." Congratulations on a great start Amman Mahir, we look forward to what you will be able to achieve through out this season and your years here at West High!

-Alexandria Nelson

Wrestling match

On Saturday, December 12th at 9am the wrestling team kicked off their season with a match at Souhegan High school! 3 of our strong athletes competed and worked hard to show West High pride at this wrestling match which should always be gratefully recognized! Wrestling coach, David Langlois says,"Two first year wrestlers, Freshman, Joey Rutherford and Sophomore, Chris Withington, worked hard in their two matches each and veteran wrestler, Junior, Markus Joseph, placed 4th out of 10 in the 160 lbs weight class with a record of 4 wins and 2 losses, including 3 victories by pin." Great job guys! This is just the beginning of what will be a great season! Keep working hard, you guys got this!

-Alexandria Nelson

JV girls basketball game

On Friday, December 11th at 4:00pm the girls JV basketball team kicked off their season by playing at home against Pembroke Academy! Our girls fought hard but found their is much to improve on, understandably after their very first game and being it was against a team that is expected to do very well this year. With that is mind, the scores were, Pembroke Academy- 37 and West- 12. JV head coach Greg Cotreau says "Turnovers in this game proved costly. To many long, not crisp passes led to several lay ups for Pembroke. If we can limit our turnovers, we'll improve greatly." Greg does have much hope for this year and thinks the girls could do very well as the season goes on! Greg also wanted to recognize Freshman, Alyssa Hanel for leading the team scoring wise with 7 points! Great job to all of the girls JV basketball team for this well fought battle and remember, keep your heads up, there are many more battles to come! Keep working hard, we believe in you!

-Alexandria Nelson

Varsity girls basketball game

On Friday, December 11th at 5:30pm the girls Varsity basketball team kicked off their season by playing at home against Pembroke Academy! Our girls fought hard, but like the JV girls team, they have much to improve on. And again, Pembroke is a team that is expected to do very well over all this year. Again, with this in mind, the scores were, Pembroke- 42 and West- 20. Assistant coach of the varsity team Greg Cotreau says, "we missed a lot of open shots, the third quarter is what hurt us in this game. If we make some of those shots and score a bit in the third quarter, the outcome could have  been different."  Again, Greg has much hope this year and thinks the girls could do very well as the season goes on! Greg also wanted to recognize Junior, Emily Keefe for leading the team scoring wise with 9 points! Great job to all of the girls varsity team for this well fought battle and remember, keep your heads up, there are many more battles to come! Keep working hard, we believe in you!

-Alexandria Nelson

Faculty Talent Show

By: Samuel Gagne, Becka St Cyr, Brittany Prive

    On December 11th, starting at 6:30 p.m. the first ever West High Faculty Talent Show will take place in the Robert A. Bains auditorium. Admission is $5 per person. Many of the faculty members will be showing off their talent to the school. Right now there are about 11 acts and during intermission there will be a bake sale. Acts include singing, dancing, and other amazing performances.
    "Teachers are always asking students to put themselves out there. This is teachers finally putting themselves out there," said Ms. Joy, explaining why the faculty talent is taking place, "I think it is amazing that the teachers are putting themselves out there." All of the teachers say that they are very excited for the talent show, and hope to see everyone there.
   Mrs. Balch, Mr. Motika, Munchkin Melodies and the  Weststreet Dance crew will be performing. Come by to see these amazing performances and witness the event of your life. "Be gentle, and remember we are doing this for you guys because we care about you," said Ms. Joy. You won't want to miss it!


   Mrs. Passanissi and Ms. Joy performed two acts together. One act of friendship, and another while dancing to "All About that Bass". Ms. Dubois twirled her baton. The Munchkin Melodies did a little skit with their hands and feet. Mr. Yusef sang his heart out to "All I Want For Christmas", but that isn't the only thing people noticed. People also noticed his green t-shirt and santa boxers! Mrs. Balch awed the crowd with a self-written poem. Ms. Joy and Ms. Mahone told their stories about break ups. Mrs. Francoeur played the piano and sang two songs, one in memory of her Dad, and one for the spirit of West. The Weststreet Dance Crew rocked the show by dancing to Uptown Funk, The Whip, and Gangnam Style. The West Side Story group danced with masks on, while making fun of some of the staff. And lastly, Mr. Moktika played with an old buddy of his. The crowd loved them. The crowd even got Mr. Motika to sing!!

The Faculty Talent Show was a great experience. It brought teachers and students together. Great job to all of the performers. With the success with this years first ever Faculty Talent Show, there is bound to be another!

Great job to everyone!

NAHS IS IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT!!!

NAHS, National Art Honor Society, will be selling their holiday Canedeers!! They will be sold in the cafe during all periods December 14-18 for $.75, all handmade by NAHS members! Make sure to grab some for your friends and help out NAHS!

Sports: week of December 13th through 19th

December 14th- Wrestling match against Pinkerton academy at Pinkerton academy starting at 6:15
December 17th- Gymnastics competition against Salem Athletics, Central, and Memorial High schools at Salem Athletics starting at 7pm
December 17th- varsity girls basketball game against Portsmouth High Athletics at the Portsmouth High gymnasium starting at 7pm
December 18th- JV boys basketball game against Portsmouth High Athletics at the west Gymnasium starting at 5pm
December 18th- JV girls basketball game against Portsmouth High Athletics at the Portsmouth High gymnasium starting at 5pm
December 18th varsity boys basketball game against Portsmouth High Athletics at the west gymnasium starting at 6:30pm
December 18th- Ice Hockey game against Pinkerton academy at the JFK Ice Arena starting at 4:30
December 19th- Wrestling match against all schools (Nor'easter invitational) at Hollis-Brookline gymnasium starting at 8:30am
December 19th- freshman boys basketball game against Memorial high school at Memorial High School starting at 10am
December 19th- girls and boys track and field meet against all schools at Dartmouth College indoor track and field starting at 12pm

Toys for tots, teachers success!

For the second year in a row, Mrs. Silver was in charge of a fundraiser that the teachers participated in on Wednesday, November 25th. Our proud West high teachers had a jeans day to raise money for the Toys for Tots organization! They successfully collected $520, and a big box of toys! Mrs. Silver, when received the money got many more toys with the $520 the teachers raised to add more to the schools (already) big box of toys! This was all proudly brought to the Toys for Tots organization on Wednesday, December 2nd!

The mission of the Toys for Tots Program is to collect new toys during the months of October, November, and December each year. They distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community. The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through receiving a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate childeren.Toys for Tots is here to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joys of Christmas, to play a role in the development of one of the nation’s most valuable resource, the children. Uniting all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution, and to contribute to better communities in the future!

It is great that the west teachers got to participate in this great cause for the less fortunate and hopefully get to continue through the years with this great organization! Great job teachers!

By: Alexandria Nelson 

Sports: week of December 6th through 12th

December 11th- girls JV basketball game against Pembroke Academy at the Pembroke Academy gymnasium starting at 4pm
December 11th- girls varsity basketball game against Pembroke Academy at the Pembroke Academy gymnasium starting at 5:30pm
December 12th- Wrestling match against Souhegan High school and Millford's High School at the Souhegan gymnasium starting at 9am

Weekly sports games/matches/meets updates

Starting the week for December 6th, each week, on Thursdays, there will be an updated weeks schedule posted for Sunday though Saturday. These updates will show sports teams games, matches, and/or meets, with times and places these events are going on! Look out for these updates and show your support and cheer on our hardworking West High sports teams and athletes!

By: Alexandria Nelson

Turkey Trot Results Are In!

By Emily Guiffra

Congratulations to the winners of the 2015 Turkey Trot! Coming in first place for student males was Eshun Farooq who timed seven (7) minutes and thirty seven (37) seconds! Placing first for student females was Julia Robitalle who timed eight (8) minutes and nine (9) seconds! First place for male teachers was Mr. Motika who timed nine (9) minutes and thirty nine (39) seconds! First place for female teachers was Ms. Simard who timed ten (10) minutes and fourty eight (48) seconds! 

Thank you to all who participated! 

Cross Country New England's Meet!!!

By: Alexandria Nelson

Congratulations to Freshmen, Julia Robitaille for making it all the way to the Cross Country New England's Meet! Today, Saturday, Noverber 14th at Thetford Academy in Thetford Vermont at 11:30am, Julia raced against the best of the best girls runners and placed 35th out of  250 girl runners with a finishing time of  20 minutes and 7 seconds! Also, she was the only Manchester NH girl runner that made it to this meet, blowing other Manchester Schools Cross country runners out of the water and she is only a freshmen! Lucky to have Julia at West with us, look out for her in coming seasons and years to see what this amazing young lady will do next! Great job Julia!

Heroin Assembly

Heroin. 6 letters. 3 syllables. 1 word. 1 very strong word. Heroin. What comes to mind when you hear that? Needles? Drugs? That's what most people think. But, there is so much more to heroin. It is much deeper on the inside.

On September 21st and 22nd, Chris Hickey, a Manchester firefighter and EMT came in and spoke to the school about heroin. His goal was to scare us by showing graphic pictures and get it through our heads that this stuff isn't funny and we shouldn't mess with it.

In his slide show, there were very real pictures, true facts, and heart breaking stories. Chris Hickey taught us that not only heroin, but many other drugs are also very dangerous. He showed us different ways it looks, and different ways its used. He told us about the short term and long term effects. The short term effects consist of: the high you get, the rush you feel, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, and itching. The long terms effects can cause damage on the inside and outside. It causes heart problems, eats at your flesh, and tears at your skin. They also include deterioration of brain matter, muscle and bone pain, collapsed veins, arthritis, bad teeth, weak immune system, and insomnia. Many users are also so high that they share needles and get AIDS. Users may also have withdrawals which include shaking, and sweating.

Chris Hickey made a very big impact at West High. During his presentations many students had to leave the room. Chris Hickey, wasn't offended. He wanted to frighten us. He showed us the real pictures, he told us the real stories because he wanted to protect us. Chris Hickey wants to stop the Heroin War.

I believe that we need more people like Chris Hickey because he is one person, trying to make an impact on thousands of people. He is just one person, against all odds. He helps people, he saves people. I believe that we need more graphic presentations because it scares us, to the point where we don't even want to remember the things we saw. We don't want to do these dangerous drugs because of the things it has done to other people.



By: Becka St. Cyr

14th ANNUAL TURKEY TROT

By: Ivi Hernandez 

Do you like being part of your community? Do you want to make a difference in someone's life? West is calling all turkey runners for the 14th annual Turkey trot! This event is held every year to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. This foundation grants kids with life-threatening illnesses their wishes, it can be any wish from going on a vacation to meeting someone they have always wanted to.  

 The Turkey trot this year will take place on November 20th during West's Service week. This is a great opportunity to help the Make A Wish Foundation and to give back to your community and school for all the great things they provide you. It's also a chance for you to show off your super running speed! But lets face it, will someone actually beat last years winner of the race, Ehsun Farooq? On that day students and staff will begin the race on the checkered starting line painted in front of the school on Notre Dame Avenue. After every runner (or walker) is done with the 1.8 mile race, they will be able to eat food sponsored by local businesses. Run the race, or walk the race! It doesn't matter, giving to your community and making a child's wish come true is the objective in this yearly event. Not only does this event contribute to the Make A Wish foundation, but it also brings the students, teachers, and staff together here at West High School. 

Check back after November 20th to stay updated on how much money was raised and who the winners  of the race will be!

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

11/16 - 11/21- SERVICE WEEK (all after school activities)      Monday- Clean-Up Day (after school)
      Tuesday- Step-Down Day (3:00-4:15)
      Wednesday- Spaghetti Supper after school Play (4:30-7 @ cafe)
      Thursday- Hillsborough County Nursing Home (3:30-4:30)
      Friday- Baking for the Community (after school)      
      Saturday- Salvation Army

11/18 -11/21- Theater Knights production: Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
    11/18 Wednesday- 3:00 p.m. Senior Citizens Free
         Thursday-Saturday- Showings @ 7 p.m. in Auditorium

11/20/15 Friday- TURKEY TROT!!! 8:30 A.M.!!!
11/24/15 Tuesday- STEAM Ahead Open House @ 6:00 p.m.
12/2/15 Wednesday- Double B Bell Schedule for Professor Richard Haynes
12/10/15 Thursday- Winter Choral Concert @ 6:30 p.m. in Aud.
12/11/15 Friday- Faculty Talent Show
12/17/15 Thursday- Winter Instrumental Concert @ 6:30 p.m. in Aud.

Winter sports tryouts

Cross country meet of champions!!

By: Alexandria Nelson

On November 7th, Ehsun Farooq and Julia Robitaille, participated in the cross country meet of champions! They raced at Nashua South High School, both being ones of 157 runners for either of there races! Ehsun ran a time of  16 minutes and 22 seconds, finishing in thirtieth place for the boys race! Julia ran a time of 19 minutes, and 1 second, finishing in nineteenth place for the girls race! With this race, Julia is moving on to the New England's meet, being held at Thetford Academy in Thetford, VT on Thursday, November 12th, starting gun goes off at 11:30 am! Great race Ehsun and Julia and good luck to Julia at New England's!

Division 2 cross country meet!

By: Alexandria Nelson

On October 31st, 2015, the West High Cross Country teams competed in the division 2 meet! Top finisher for the boys was, Ehsun Farooq, placing 10th out of 151 runners, with a time of 16 minutes, 57 seconds! Top finisher for the girls was, Julia Robitaille, placing 10th out of 143 runners, with a time of 19 minutes, 24 seconds! Go cheer these two amazing runners on, they will be competing again on November 7th, 2015, at Nashua South High School for the meet of champions! Julia starts her race off at 2:30pm and Ehsun starts his race off at 3:20pm! Both, the entire, girls and boys West Cross Country teams did amazing and constantly worked so hard for what they do for themselves and for all of us here at West! Finally, a huge wish of luck to Julia Robitaille and Ehsun Farooq at the Meet of Champions!

Advice Column

By Sophia Jones

Hey Sophia Jones, I need your advice on this situation I'm in. My mom and dad are getting a divorce and they said I could choose who I live with. I don't want to hurt my mom and choose to live with my dad, but I don't want to hurt my dad and choose my mom. I'm really close with my dad, but I love my mom. I don't know what to do. 

    ~Anonymous

Hi! I am happy to hear from you, you can email me at any time! Personally, I think you shouldn't worry about who you will be hurting. As bad as that sounds, I think that you should worry about yourself. Your mom and dad will love you either way. You are in a difficult situation as are they. Go with your gut, and in the end everything will be okay. It's very natural to feel the way you are feeling. I understand that you do not want to hurt your mom or your dad. You need to remember that they do not need to be taken care of. They are adults and should be taking care of you. If you know that the best place for you to live is at your dad's house then you should make the best choice for yourself. Or maybe vice versa. Be strong and lots of love,

         -xoxo Sophia Jones 

Upcoming Winter Sports!

By: Alexandria Nelson

In the up coming season of winter, west has many sports teams that are looking for returning and new students to participate in sports such as, basketball (JV and Varsity girls teams and freshmen, JV and varsity boys teams), wrestling, swimming, gymnastics, cheerleading, indoor track and field (girls and boys teams) and hockey. Never thought about sports being for you? Think about it now! Give something a try! Be able to tell yourself you gave something a shot whether you liked it and were good at it or not, at least you gave it a try! You might think that maybe you aren't the best at a sport but you like doing the sport and working with the people, why not stick with it and enjoy your time a bit more here at West High! Any student can do any one of any of these sports, no one is limiting you except, maybe, yourselves.

Helping out, one can at a time.

By: Miya Gagne
West High School hosts many different events throughout each school year. Between pep rallies and the infamous prom, West High covers it all. Each year we host the canned food drive. This year the canned food drive will be going on from November 2nd through the 23rd. Last year it was a huge success donating 529 canned food items and $900 to the New Horizons Food Pantry. The food will be donated the day before Thanksgiving Wednesday, November 25. Helping others in need by donating food has strengthened our community.
 Students at West enjoy participating in the canned food drive and are preparing for an upcoming one. Students can donate cans in their period B class. During the time of the food drive, students can find out information about helping the cause by listening and watching West View. There will be current information updated regularly. Another way to access information would be to look for the posters that will be hung up all around the building. 
Every year West High strives to beat the number of cans donated the previous year. Our goal keeps increasing because each year we manage to contribute more and more cans. Do you think we can beat last years goal? We would hope your answer would be yes. We can by helping out, one can at a time. 

NJROTC Of 2015

Since last year ROTC has made numerous changes and improved. Now under the command of senior , Cadet Lieutenant Commander Laura Svitak, the Unit has already completed a lot of fantastic and fun filled events this school year.

Recently the unit underwent a challenging Basic Leadership Camp, a weekend to challenge the new incoming cadets capability to join as well as for the staff and troop leader to test them in a leadership role. Overall the majority of the cadets said it was the best B.L.T. they've had so far.   

[Here we have cadet Lieutenant JG Sebastien Jean-francios

Troop Leader of Delta Platoon, listing off names of cadets for the nights fire watch.]

[ Early morning PT, all the platoons reported to the meeting for exercise, and we do not go lightly on them, we put them through a very challenging Physical morning to build them up physically and mentally]

[ TL’s and A.T.L’s are the Jr versions of our nation’s military Drill instructors. Although not as Strict or Strenuous. These cadets are not to be taken lightly.

A platoon of new cadets is assigned to each pair of T.L and A.T.L where they will eat, sleep and learn for a full weekend from these experienced cadets] [ Middle: Bradley Ewing Right: Sebastien Jean-francois left: Mike Jones

National Honor Society 

By Emily Guiffra

  Also known as "NHS" is the club that is ran by Mrs.Passanisi, who has been running this club for three(3) years now. She is the state advisor for this particular association. This is a great club to be involved with, they host many different events and then some. They host the Charity Ball, which is their biggest event. Then they hold a fall and spring conference for NHS members around the state. They also sell popcorn every Friday in the cafe!
    In order to be a member of the National Honor Society you have to a junior or senior with a 3.5 accumlitive GPA. You also go through an applicaton process, and also get reccomendations from teachers, employeers, and coaches. An essay is also required.
   In order to stay in NHS you need regular community and NHS service and regular attendance to peer tutoring. You get rewarded with field trips and it looks really nice on a college application!
  If you have any questions ask Mrs.Passanisi in room 328!

West's Halloween Spirit

By Kelvin Nguyen

Halloween, a holiday full of ghosts, costumes, tricks, treats, and more importantly, candy, is a super fun and spooky time celebrated by many. This year, West High's Senior Class is hosting a trick-or-treat event on Halloween day, October 31 at West from 2:00-4:00 PM. People will walk through the spooky hallways that have been decorated for the event. There will also be students positioned in the hallways to scare and give out candy to the people walking by. Even the marching band gets to participate in the merriment. On October 23, for their last half-time show performance, the band got to dress up in their costumes and play in them.

pictures courtesy of Becka St. Cyr and Alexandria Nelson

West High Blood Drive

by Becka St. Cyr

On October 22, 2015 the Senior Class held a blood drive run by the Red Cross in the West Gymnasium. They had pizza, bagels, soda, water, juice, and many other snacks for people who donated and helped out. Many juniors and seniors donated, as well as faculty here at West. 

A junior named Sarah answered a few questions for the newspaper, "I donated because it's a good thing to do. It can save someone's life. I drank two bottles of water before and all this week I have been eating beef. It didn't hurt much, it felt like just a little prick and the woman who took my blood made me very comfortable. I am very happy I did this and I would do it again."

A senior named Hannah also answered some questions before she donated, "I haven't donated yet, I'm still waiting my turn but I'm donating because it helps everybody. If you have healthy blood, you might as well share it with someone in need. I did it last year, it didn't hurt then. This morning I had a good breakfast and drank four bottles of water. Also, while waiting for my turn I have been doing homework."

The new student-teacher, Ms. Frisella, answered questions while she was donating, "I feel it is an important thing to do. I mean, my Dad is alive because someone donated blood that he needed and he was able to get it. The feeling wasn't awful, but it wasn't pleasant. I wasn't scared because it wasn't my first time and I probably would do it again."

"I did not donate this year because I am helping run it. We are doing very well, some no shows, but we aren't done yet. I think this is a great thing because it brings the school and community together," senior class officer Lauren reported.

From New Hampshire, the Red Cross gets about 200 pints of blood daily. They get 1 pint of blood from each person. They only have 1 location in New Hampshire but they travel to high schools, colleges, town halls, and anywhere that has a big room. They send their bood to their ab in Massachusetts. There, they seperate the blood and this can take up to 3 days. From there it gets brought to the hospitals. You are only eligble to donate every 56 days because thats how long it takes for your red blood cells to replinish in your body. If you have low iron or an illness you cannot donate. Also, if you have traveled or gotten a tattoo, you cannot donate within a year.

Overall, the Blood Drive was a huge success. They did run a little late, but they were also short staffed. In the end, there was approximately 100 people who donated. There were even people there just for their friends as moral support. It was fun, people were laughing, talking, eating food, and having a good time. 

West High Boys Varsity Soccer

- Sanjay Gurung

Soccer at west is very unique and diverse. We have players from different parts of the world with different background, culture and traditions. With all these players coming together to share their perspective and the love for this beautiful game of soccer, it makes them more than just a team. It's more like a family. Everyone seems to enjoy themselves, whether they are at practice, game or even at school.
West started their season with 3-0 win at home vs. Portsmouth but they fell short in making the playoffs with the record of 3-12-1. Most of the players said " It was an unlucky season, as most of the players did their best but couldn't get the result they wanted. It's a season that taught us lot of lessons and hopefully we can look back and learn from it."
West may not have a big success in a recent years but they are definitely working harder under coach Hector to reach their goals. Coach Hector, who is from Colombia started coaching varsity soccer last year, wants to help the kids and introduce the culture of soccer in Manchester, especially West side, as many kids don't have the opportunity to show their talent.
If you are planning on playing soccer for Blue Knights  next year, I would strongly recommend you to attend indoor soccer at Parkside Middle School, which will start on Nov. 9th.
You don't need to pay any fees, because is all FREE!!.

-Middle school starts from 5:30 - 7 pm.
-High school starts from 7-9 pm.

West Boys Hockey

By Brigitte Boss

Enjoy watching Ice Hockey? Have you ever thought of playing? West is looking for boys and/or girls willing to!! Don't worry if you've never played before, we can teach you! It's a fun sport regardless if you're new to it or not. Beginning November 30th, 2015, West will be holding tryouts for the JV team at JFK (located on 303 Beech St. Manchester, NH 03103). Soon after, the first game will be held at home, JFK, on December 16th against Pinkerton. For more information talk to Mrs. Dumais, West's athletic director- sdumais@mansd.org.

Make The Grade

                                                                          Brittany Prive

   Wouldn't it be crazy to win a free car? Well now you get a chance to! If you get good grades you get a chance to enter into a raffle for a chance to win. You have to be attending a high school in Manchester. One student from one school will win. No one will know the official winner until the name is drawn.
   In order to win you must make honors or high honors or principals list. The raffle is hosted and sponsored by Auto Fair. The 2016 winner will receive a brand new Honda Civic. The remaining 11 finalist will receive an iPad mini,a bose soundlink color, and a $100 NBT bank gift card.
   In order to enter you must bring original letter of recognition from the Mayor to Auto Fair Honda, Ford or Hyundai.You must also get a photo copy to sales associate and fill out the entry(s) forms. Manchester West, Memorial and Central High School all have a chance to win if grades are up to par. 
   The dead line to submit original letter of recognition from the mayor is May 22nd 2016 at 6:00pm. The better grades you have the more likely you are to win. Principals list will be nominated 3 times, high honors will be nominated twice, and honors will be nominated once. The winner is responsible for all taxes, registration and associates costs. The winner must also have a valid drivers license and if the winner is under 18 years of age the car must go in parent/guardians name.

New Advice Column

By Sophia Jones

Welcome to West's new newspaper! We would like to introduce the advice column! If you need someone's advice on a situation you're in or having any problems with things at school or at home, Sophia will help! Just email her at askingsophiajones@gmail.com! 

Theatre Knights

    On November 18th-21st the Theatre Knights will be putting on their fall production. This years fall production is "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean," by Ed Gracyk."Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean," is about an all-female fan group called the disciples, that worships James Dean. They all meet together at an old five and dime restaurant to commemorate the 20th anniversary of James Dean's death. On Wednesday the 18th, the show will be at 3:00 in the auditorium. On the 19th-21st the show will be at 7:00p.m. in the auditorium. Tickets cost $5 for students, and $10 for adults. Senior citizens are free on the 18th, with a spaghetti supper that follows.
    The all-female fan group is made up of six people. Juanita is played by Peya Urena, Mona is played by Hannah Simpson, Joanne is played by Hannah Perdue, along with others. Come by to see the amazing talent and hard work.

WHS Cross Country

By: Alexandria Nelson

On October 20th, not far from our home, the West High Cross Country team traveled to Saint Anselm College for an 8 team meet. West's top finisher for the boys is the well know senior, Ehsun Farooq, placing 2nd out of 79 boy runners with a time of 17 minutes 21 seconds! West's top finisher for the girls that you may not know very well now but definitely will soon is, freshmen, Julia Robitaille, who placed 4th out of 54 runners with a time of 20 minutes 25 seconds! Great job to everyone on the Cross Country team for their work to get where they are today! The team has one more regular season meet, the Division 2 Varsity Meet, being held at Derryfield Park (Louis Israel Martel Dr, Manchester, NH 03104)on Saturday, October 31st. Girls race, gun goes off at 11:30 am and the boys race, gun goes off at 12:10 pm, come support the team and especially the seniors, being that for most of them it will probably be their last cross country meet for West.

WELCOME TO THE NEW WHS NEWSPAPER!


VERY EXCITING!