2014 Trebuchet Day – photo courtesy of NHS AP Physics Teacher Heather Waterman
submitted by Nipmuc Regional High School Junior Evan Offord
On the morning of May 19th, Nipmuc embraced its annual, albeit medieval, tradition of Trebuchet Day. This is the day where all students, Juniors and Seniors, in Engineering and Physics show off the Trebuchets they have been making in class as a celebration during the culmination of a long and exciting year.
A Trebuchet is very much like a catapult, and the students can see important the aspects of the Physics they learned that year in their contraption, such as Kinematics and Torque. The students arrived at the school at a regular time of 7:30, but soon migrated to the front-recreational field, manned with trebuchets, as well as material comforts for a long day: Lawn Chairs, Blankets, and Stereos were among the items brought.
The Trebuchets were judged on four categories: Hang Time, Distance, Accuracy, and Spirit. The trebuchets were decorated and even the students themselves got into the spirit category, dressing according to the theme they had chosen. For example, in the Spirit category, one group adorned everything they represented in red, white, and blue. They performed and sung the national anthem with their instruments and vocals (Ateha Bailly). Throughout the day, field hockey balls were launched and each category was measured, where each winning group could claim bragging rights and such. In the interest of friendly competition, no official prizes were given.
While this seemed to be a very eventful and exciting day for the students, the more important theme remains; being able to put scientific theories learned in the classroom into the real world is what makes Nipmuc such a special place to learn.
UPTON DAILY 