BY ABBY FOX

Jacqui Watts knew during her last semester at Boston University this spring that she wanted to get out of the house and do something fun, and interesting, after graduation.
So when the East Greenwich resident (and 2005 EGHS grad) received her bachelor’s degree last Sunday, following four years of studying biology and psychology, Watts could tell her friends that she had arranged a pretty cool plan for the summer – biking all the way to Santa Barbara, Calif., through bikeandbuild.org, and helping build affordable housing along the way.

BY HAYLEY SULLIVAN

For any doubters in the possibility of love at first sight, Tony and Lucy Ventura of East Greenwich have a story to convince you otherwise: Theirs.
It’s a story that begins in 1935, when  Lucy and Tony met at St. Anthony’s Church, a Portuguese Church in West Warwick, where Tony was an alter boy.  Lucy took one look at him and told her sister “he’s going to be my boyfriend!”  Soon after meeting, Tony began visiting Lucy at her house on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  Reflective of the times, the two were never without a chaperone during their courtship.  After dating for close to a year, Tony at 20 years old, asked Lucy, 19, to be his wife.  They were married on a Saturday and went to work the following Monday, sparing the indulgence of a honeymoon. 

Photo: Abby Fox

Seven eighth-grade French students at Cole Junior High scored big on the National French Contest, taken in March. One, Caitlyn Mason, was won first place in Rhode Island for her score.
Back row: Gwen Luvara placed eighth in Rhode Island, Kayla Olsen placed 18, and Alexandra Fugere placed fifth in Rhode Island. Front row: Alice Palmer was ranked second in the state, and seventh in the United States, while Caitlyn Mason, in the pink beret, was first in the state and sixth in the nation.
Not pictured are Sam Greene, who placed fourth in the state, and Arlene Sit, who was 11.
“I was very pleased,” their teacher Linda Alix said.
 

Photo: Abby Fox

Some prom attendees this year know in advance they aren’t drinking, such as junior Kaileen Streker, here with drug counselor Bob Houghtaling. “It just doesn’t happen,” she said, in her group of friends. “Everyone hangs out.”
Kristin Purvis agreed with her. “It’s going to be there; it doesn’t offend me. Other people are going to, but I don’t have to,” she said. “I don’t want to lose control of myself and do something that I’ll regret the next day. I want to make sure I can drive, if no one else can.” Another junior, Rachel Wollin, said, “I know a lot of kids have been talking about it – I just don’t get it. I’m completely 100 percent against it. There’s no point.” She and her boyfriend have plans to watch movies afterward, she said.
Drug counselor Bob Houghtaling said, “There are some kids that view it [drinking] as a rite of passage and there are parents saying it’s OK to break the law, as long as you break the law safely, and that creates a double message.”
 

The Academy Players’ “The Music Man” opened last weekend at East Greenwich High School. The show is directed by Paul Morin and stars Staci Morin as Marian the librarian and Steven Bartholomew as Professor Harold Hill. The show has one more weekend: May 7, 8 and 9 at 8 p.m. and May 10 at 2 p.m. 

Photo: Abby Fox

East Greenwich High School’s study hall being cancelled next year – to meet the state mandate that schools over more instructional hours – means other classes may be bursting with students, and Stacey Munzert’s pottery elective is no exception. Friday, Munzert had 23 students making clay all day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., to raise money for next year’s art supplies. Already, nearly 200 students have signed up for Ceramics I and II, a big jump over last year’s attendance, and Munzert isn’t sure she’s going to have enough in her $1,000-budget to serve everyone. Munzert invites the public to buy the students’ output at the first Main Street Stroll on June 11, by stopping by the school – her classroom is Room 200 – or at Ivy Day at the high school on May 29. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Here, she works the wheel with Lexi White and Kaeli O’Connell.