And So it Begins: The Nashoba Cup

And So it Begins: The Nashoba Cup

Nashoba Cup. It’s a phrase that has been ringing through the halls of Nashoba since the beginning of the school year. Finally, the competition students have been patiently waiting for has begun.

The Nashoba Cup has been in the works since last May when John Vasington, now a freshman at Indiana University, presented the idea to the school’s Leadership Board. The Board immediately backed Vasington’s idea and The Cup started to take form. When students first got back to school, there were whispers of The Cup, but no one really knew what it was. However, on October 9th, a special edition of video announcements took place to introduce The Nashoba Cup to students and staff at the school.

Max Drugge and Casey Hallberg anchored on the live broadcast to present The Cup to the school. This edition of the announcements is sure to be memorable. It included a live Twitter Q&A, and special guests from Shaws. Shaws graciously volunteered to sponsor the cup, granted a $400 check to the winning class, and brought in a delicious cake for the news team and Nashoba Cup Committee to eat.

On the announcements, Max and Casey outlined what the Nashoba Cup is, and how to win.  The whole purpose of The Cup is to integrate the school’s core values, or the ICARE statement, into the lives of students. ICARE stands for integrity, communicate, achieve, relate, and engage. By incorporating these values into students’ everyday lives, Nashoba will become a more positive and encouraging environment.

The way The Cup works is by creating a point system and the class that has the most points by the end of each quarter will win a prize; whichever class has the most points by the end of the year wins The Nashoba Cup. There are many different ways to earn points based on the ICARE statement. When a faculty member sees a student doing an act of integrity, he/she can give the student a 10 point integrity coupon. Students can also earn points by participating in after-school clubs and sports, making the Honor Roll, volunteering and participating in community service, and attending after school events such as sports games and dances.

So far the Nashoba Cup has turned out to be a huge success. Mrs. Carter, a member of the Nashoba Cup committee, feels that so far the Cup is working exactly as it was intended to. She comments, “I think the launch of Nashoba Cup was epic and I would love to see that momentum continue. It has been great to see the increased participation of students in Nashoba events and I hope that it continues to improve our school community and spirit.”

Another teacher who is a strong supporter of The Nashoba Cup is Mr. Andreopoulos. He comments “I think so far, so good. The Homecoming Dance is probably the best dance we’ve ever had. It’s the best I’ve ever seen in my six years at Nashoba, so there’s proof that [The Cup] is working. I think we could probably bring our school spirit up a bit but I think this is a great way to do it. At the end of the quarter when people get rewards for what they’ve done, I bet it will take off even further.”

While students are also supporters of The Cup, they have their critiques about it as well. But mostly, their eyes are on the prize. When asked about his thoughts on The Nashoba Cup, Drew Burrows had one major thing to say: “Sophomores should win.” However, he has mixed feelings for The Cup. He says, “It’s a great challenge that makes students strive to be better people but it’s confusing and poorly set up.”

Junior Julia Wachtel adds that “No one takes it seriously enough, and I think teachers aren’t giving out as much integrity points as they could be.” 

However, Maddy Keough remarks that “I think everyone will do great, but SENIORS WILL WIN.”

Overall, The Cup has been a great success. Point totals are in the hundreds and all of the classes are close in the ranks. The Nashoba Cup Committee has come out with plenty of ways to earn points and is constantly thinking of many more. Who will be the winning class of the year? Only time will tell.