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Westborough schools adopt calendar with holidays
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Vol. 51 | No. 10 | March 7, 2025
These students saw California burning. Then they got to work
Library repair project just below $14 million
By Maureen Sullivan Assistant Editor
Westborough | 6
WESTBOROUGH – Over the past several months, Westborough Public Schools and the School Committee have examined the school calendar, looking at ways to observe religious holidays without causing too much interruption in the school year. In the version of the 2025-2026 calendar approved by the School Committee on Feb. 26, religious holidays such as Diwali, Eid al-Fitr and Rosh Hashanah are
Shrewsbury eyes $186.64 million FY26 budget
Shrewsbury | 7 Michael Murphy was a worldclass athletic trainer
Calendar | 19
Select Board mulls future of old Town Hall, current Fire Station By Evan Walsh Managing Editor NORTHBOROUGH – Two underutilized spaces in downtown Northborough were recently topics of discussion. During the Select Board’s Feb. 24 meeting, Chair Mitch Cohen proposed creating a Municipal Building Re-Use Committee, designed to look at future uses (or re-uses) for 4 West Main Street and 11 Pierce Street, two downtown buildings located within walking distance that are (or soon will be) underutilized. Located along Route 20, 4 West Main Street was once the site of Northborough’s Town Hall. The 1860s-era building at the address was destroyed in a 1985 fire. A replica was constructed that housed restaurants and offices over the years, and the town took ownership of the property in 2023. Though 11 Pierce Street is home to Town Hall | 5
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The Oak Student Council decided to make a difference. (Photo/Evan Walsh)
By Evan Walsh Managing Editor SHREWSBURY – After watching wildfires rip through California, these Oak Middle School students simply couldn’t remain idle. While others felt helpless viewing the January wildfires in the Golden State — an event that burned over 50,000 acres of land near the Palisades, destroyed over 18,000 structures, and killed over 20 — a cadre of seventh- and eighth-grade students on Oak’s Student Council decided to act. Within weeks, the group organized “Coins for Cali,” which raised over $3,000 for those affected by the blaze. “We saw the live footage and you could see the fire, the devastation, all the fire burning, people being forced to move out of their homes. That just made me think that if that happened here, I don’t know how I’d deal with that — losing everything I own, everything I’ve worked
Westborough | 8
for, and having to start over again from scratch,” said Student Council member Abhiraaj Konduru. “Even if it was just something small, I thought it’d go a long way.” Several buckets were set up in the lunchroom, with one belonging to each “team” (class) at Oak. The Student Council challenged each team to collect the most change, and quarters, nickels, and pennies began to accumulate. But, in a twist that inspired competition, teams could place bills in their opponents’ buckets, subtracting from their total. Ask any student — the competition was fierce. “When it’s competition, that’s when people get moving. It really upped the standard for how many donations were collected,” said Grahitha Sandeep, another member of Student Council. “I knew that if something happened here, someone would step up for me. We
March Move-in Specials Beat the Spring Rush — Call to Learn More! AN ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY
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Algonquin girls hockey’s promising season meets early end
Northborough | 27
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Fire | 18
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