At Minuteman High School, students receive an education that prepares them to enter the career of their choice as job-ready, rigorously trained young professionals. One key goal of their education is to familiarize them with possible career paths that intrigue them and will use their skills.

With that aim in mind, a group of about 40 students in the electrical, plumbing, carpentry and metal fabrication programs at Minuteman recently participated in Youth Remodeling Career Day at the Bolton Fairgrounds in Lancaster, an event that allowed them to learn about careers in the remodeling industry and have mock interviews with experts.

Showcase Day for in-district eighth graders was Thursday, Nov. 21. Students are encouraged to apply for admission now by visiting www.minuteman.org and going to the Admissions tab on the home page.

The hands-on, practical nature of this endeavor made it especially valuable for the students, as did the chance for them to speak one-to-one with representatives from prominent companies specializing in all aspects of remodeling. Seventeen other schools took part as well.

From left are Needham Selectman Dan Matthews, Minuteman Superintendent-Director Edward A. Bouquillon, state Sen. Cindy Friedman, state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority Jack McCarthy, Ford Spalding, chair of the Minuteman School Building Committee, and state Rep. Michelle Ciccolo. / Judy Bass photo

“The Long and Winding Road” by the Beatles kept echoing for state Sen. Cindy Friedman. For her, the song illustrated the extended process that led to rebuilding Minuteman High School.

Friedman, who spoke Oct. 4, at the school's grand opening and ribbon cutting, told the crowd that she kept thinking of that wistful 1970 ballad because the journey from the new building’s inception in November 2008 to its completion 11 years later followed such a road -- protracted, sometimes frustrating and strewn with pitfalls and hurdles.

Artist's rendering of the new Minuteman High School, courtesy of Kaestle Boos Associates Inc.

An inviting Student Union, a theater outfitted with an impressive array of professional-grade features, and a spacious restaurant with a café, a bakery sales area and a patio that seats two dozen guests are some of the marquee elements in a new school building in Lexington. Although it probably sounds more like a college facility, it’s actually the new, state-of-the-art, visually striking $145 million Minuteman High School, which opened its doors to students for the first time Sept. 3.

So far, according to two top Minuteman administrators, the transition from the old building to the new one has been an invigorating experience that is going extremely smoothly.

“The staff are very excited,” said Minuteman Superintendent-Director Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon, the primary driving force behind getting the new building approved and constructed. “There’s a little anxiety about coming into a new place. It’s been a transition, but a pretty exciting one. My leadership team and the teachers have been patient and accommodating.”

Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School aims to make a healthy breakfast and lunch available to all students. As a result, free and reduced meals are available every school day.

Minuteman uses the district website, www.minuteman.org, to inform Minuteman families of the availability of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.

The eligibility criteria for free and reduced priced meals are set by the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines. Find the complete chart for eligibility criteria online >> 

Bouquillon

Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon was recently chosen as a semifinalist for the 2019 Superintendent of the Year Award given by the National Association of School Superintendents.

Superintendent-director of Minuteman High School since 2007, he recently presided over the most notable and far-reaching achievement of his tenure there – the opening of a new, $145-million school, a project that took more than a decade from inception to completion.

Bouquillon was nominated by Ford Spalding, the Dover representative to the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District and chair of the Minuteman School Building Committee.

Artist's rendering of the new Minuteman High School, courtesy of Kaestle Boos Associates Inc.

 When students arrive at Minuteman High School on Sept. 3, it will mark the start of a new school year – and the beginning of an exciting, even historic, era for Minuteman.

On that day, the doors will swing open for the first time at the new Minuteman High School, a $145 million, state-of-the-art facility 11 years in the making.

“It’s all I hoped for and more,” said Minuteman’s superintendent-director, Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon, who shepherded the project from conception to completion. “It exceeded my expectations in regard to design, quality and the practical, efficient use of space.

“It’s a beautiful place. The students are going to be surprised at how much it resembles a college.”

Minuteman High School hosted a career fair recently for its students and alumni, bringing them together with representatives from local companies and organizations that are seeking new employees with top-notch workplace skills -- as well as a high-caliber career and technical education which makes them job-ready from day one.

“The employer turnout was terrific,” said Minuteman Coordinator of Workforce and Economic Development Joseph Pitta.

In just four or five days, he recalled, 50 display tables had been snapped up.

With a flurry of goodbyes and heartfelt expressions of gratitude to parents, teachers and friends, 115 members of the Class of 2019 graduated from Minuteman High School in commencement exercises held at Lowell Memorial Auditorium on June 7.

The event marked a milestone for the school itself, as well as the students, because this is the last graduating class to occupy the old Minuteman High School building. A new, state-of-the-art, $145 million Minuteman High School is scheduled to open in less than three months.

Minuteman Superintendent Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon addressed the graduates about the importance of making choices rather than “overthinking” and settling for the status quo by default. Referring to Robert Frost’s classic poem, “The Road Not Taken,” which he said is taped to his office wall, Dr. Bouquillon urged the graduates to “choose and go forward, choose and choose purposefully.”

Students from Minuteman High School in Lexington earned 14 medals at the SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference in April.

SkillsUSA is a national organization that allows students in career and technical education to compete in a host of rigorous technical and leadership competitions.

Minuteman’s SkillsUSA chapter advisers are instructors Terry Regan and Alice Ofria.

The medal winners from Minuteman, their hometowns, grade level, technical program at Minuteman, the category they competed in and medals were:

Three students from Minuteman High School in Lexington earned awards recently at the 89^th Future Farmers of America (FFA) convention at the Sturbridge Host Hotel. 

Nadi Khadka of Arlington and Rouaa Alwaz of Watertown and won first place in the category of Environmental and Natural Resources Systems. 

Will McPhee of Winchester won third place in the category of Plant Systems.

Oliver Leventhal, left, and Ethan Masters, both of Arlington, with their award-winning posters. / Photo by Allison Barry

Two Minuteman High School students have been honored in the 2019 Safe Jobs for Youth poster contest sponsored by the Massachusetts Youth Employment and Safety Team and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health.

This year, 216 posters were submitted to the contest by 14- to 19-year-olds.

The students from Minuteman were Oliver Leventhal, who finished in second place and was awarded $300 for his poster titled “Youth Have Rights,” and Ethan Masters, who received an honorable mention for his poster, “Teens Get Hurt on the Job.”

Both students are sophomores from Arlington who are majoring in design and visual communications at Minuteman. Their instructor is Allison Barry.

Minuteman High School plans to hold an all-alumni reunion at the school on Wednesday, May 8, from 5 to 8 p.m., just a few months before the opening of the newly constructed school later this year.

Alumni, students, past employees, current employees and members of the Minuteman Parent Association are welcome to attend.

It will be an evening of reminiscing and giving a final farewell to the existing Minuteman building. Light refreshments and appetizers prepared by the culinary-arts students and staff will be served.

A $20 fee per person covers the cost of hosting this event.

Ellie Vail

Minuteman High School has selected four outstanding students for the second term of the this school year -- freshman Marwa Alwaz of Watertown, sophomore Ellie Vail of Arlington, junior Evan Nardone of Wakefield and senior Jared Burke of Waltham.

Students of the Term are honored from each grade level based upon nominations from the staff. The criteria include character, attendance, improvement and academic success, Assistant Principal Brian Tildsley said in a March 22 news release.

All four attended a luncheon in their honor with Principal Jack Dillon at the Fife & Drum Restaurant at Minuteman recently and were given certificates in recognition of their achievement.

Enterprising students from Minuteman High School have created an intricate, triple-themed project as their entry in the SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference, to take place from April 25 to 27 in Marlborough.

SkillsUSA is a national organization that allows students in career and technical education to compete in a host of rigorous competitions. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded for first, second and third place, respectively.

Sage Romano, a senior from Woburn; Jen Mills, a senior from Waltham; and Ella Doyle, a sophomore from Arlington, joined forces to do a project that illustrates career and technical education promotion, patriotism and citizenship, and community service.

All three students, shown at right with their quilt, are majoring in environmental science at Minuteman.

UMass Lowell has been awarded a $116,000 competitive skills capital grant in partnership with the Minuteman Regional Vocational School District in Lexington. The presentation was made by Governor Charlie Baker during a recent ceremony at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School in Billerica.

The grant to UMass Lowell was among 31 skills capital grants totaling nearly $3.3 million that were presented that day.

According to Mass.gov, “The goal of the skills capital grants is to help high schools, colleges and other educational institutions invest in the most up-to-date training equipment to give their students an advantage when they continue in their chosen field or particular area of study. The skills capital grants cover a broad array of fields, from construction and engineering to health-care and hospitality. In the past three years, the Baker-Polito Administration has awarded nearly $50 million to high schools, colleges and other educational institutions across the Commonwealth.”