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The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

Connor Billington

Connor Billington, Staff Writer

My name is Connor Billington, I am a Junior and this is my third year on the Ghostwriter. When I’m not in school, and not doing my homework, I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, playing games, video and board alike, and listening to music. I also like dancing and enjoy cross country skiing in the winter time, an interest I express as part of the WA Nordic Ski team. My goal as part of this newspaper is to bring important articles to the attention of the student body and help create and live up to the high quality standard for all of our publications.

All content by Connor Billington
The shift from typed to written essays is being discussed in English and history classes.

Use of AI writing in civics papers stirs conversation about the place of AI in school

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Jun 10, 2025

Over the past two years, AI has made such strides in accuracy and realism that its capabilities have become closer and closer to that of humans. With its advances, the ethics concerning AI usage are being...

In modern society, teenagers rely so heavily on social media that it is beginning to take a toll on the mental health of the younger population.

Jozokos leads panel impelling reduced exposure of children to social media

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
May 15, 2025

Social media is an aspect of life ingrained in the culture of modern humanity, especially in younger generations. According to a study done by Pew Research Center, over 90% of teens use some platform of...

WATA performers and crew pose for a group photo at the METG.

In fine feather, WATA’s “Stupid … Bird” achieves spot at METG finals

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Apr 15, 2025

Westford Academy Theater Arts' (WATA) performance of "Stupid ... Bird" took them from being preliminary round victors, to semifinal champions, to finalists at the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild...

The signature pink bracelet that Kathi Sullivan offers to spectators at her events reads: "~ Taylor Lee Meyer ~ I'm here 4 a reason".

Sullivan’s Message: an urgent PSA to parents and their children

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Mar 26, 2025

Kathi Sullivan, co-founder of Sullivan's Message, shared her story with the freshman and sophomore classes about dealing with alcohol abuse on Wednesday, March 19 during an advisory block. She spoke about...

Sperry, having been part of the Boy Scout troop 195 since first grade, is taking his final steps towards the highest rank achievable as Eagle Scout.

Meet your math drill sergeant: Sperry organizes SAT boot camp

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Mar 18, 2025

The SAT is a daunting task and a part of nearly two million high school students' academic experiences every year. Especially at an educationally competitive school like Westford Academy, the SAT is a...

Official album cover of 'Automatic'. Provided by Spotify

Automatic: Nothing new for The Lumineers, still worth a listen

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Mar 7, 2025

Multi-platinum folk-pop band The Lumineers released their fifth studio album, Automatic on Feb. 14, 2025. The album enlisted the help of producers Simone Felice and David Baran, the same duo that worked...

Attendees gather in the cafeteria to enjoy a festive meal together.

Setting foot into the year of the snake, Asian culture club celebrates the Lunar New Year under new administration

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Feb 26, 2025

The representative red ribbons and banners have adorned the halls of WA yet again this year, bringing in cheery crowds, music, noise and commotion, every corridor of WA was crammed with something different...

Exercise and academics should not be thought of as separate things, but both as parts of one whole lifestyle used to improve one's self unitedly.

The role of exercise in student welfare

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Feb 3, 2025

Exercise is a fundamental part of any healthy lifestyle. The way people exercise greatly impacts how their entire body functions as all human body parts work in conjunction to make people function properly,...

WA freshman Thomas Sears faces off against Doug Tamilio, pinning him to win the match.

WA wrestling overpowers Lincoln-Sudbury 44-32 with dominating late game wins

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Feb 1, 2025

With a strong final score of 44-32, Westford Academy Wrestling, the Westford Academy varsity wrestling team kept up their game against Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (LS) in their meet on Thursday...

One of the main pushes for a change to the school start times is to improve the welfare of the students, but a later school end time can mean missing out on potential time in the sun which leads to different health issues.

The perils of a later school start time

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Jan 12, 2025

School start times has been a hot topic at WA for a very long time, and the possibility of them changing is seeming more and more likely as the concept gets tossed around with a surprising amount of support....

A stage production of Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol', one of the most popular family holiday musicals.

Top 7 shows and performances to attend before Christmas

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Dec 10, 2024

Approximately 90% of Americans celebrate Christmas, and in the lead up to such a special holiday, there is nothing better to do than to go see a cheery holiday play, ballet, or musical. Here is a list...

Mars is the closest thing to being considered habitable aside from our own planet, Earth. But there will still be years more of research before living there can become possible, but at that point, it won't be necessary.

The drawbacks of space travel as a global objective

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Nov 29, 2024

Ever since the Sputnik launch in 1957 and the first moon landing in 1969 with Apollo 11, scientists have been increasingly ambitious with their galactic goals, especially as the plausibility of moving...

The site of the Westford Knight carving lies just on the side of Depot Street where it has a plaque and a sculpture dedicated to it.

The history and mystery of our local legend, the Westford Knight

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Nov 20, 2024

The Westford Knight is one of Westford's most well-known landmarks, but the historical background of the carving is much less commonly known. The puzzling stone carving's place of residence is on the side...

Kumar poses with a portion of the SASA cabinet after a meeting.

Kumar expands the English curriculum and representation with Asian-American literature

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Oct 29, 2024

English teacher and South Asian Student Association (SASA) club advisor Rashmi Kumar has been working at WA since 2002 and has brought her goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion, (DEI) to the WA community...

Sulka (right)instructs actors Holway (middle), Lee (left) and senior Aubrie Rose (middle-left) in their roles, Scorpius, Albus, and Delphi, respectively. One of the major focuses in Sulka's instructions is the use of emphasis to make phrases more comedic, serious, or intimidating.

Behind the scenes of WATA’s ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Sep 7, 2024

Sulka (right)instructs actors Holway (middle), Lee (left) and senior Aubrie Rose (middle-left) in their roles, Scorpius, Albus, and Delphi, respectively. One of the major focuses in Sulka's instructions...

Billerica Memorial High School (BMHS) senior and football team running back, Judd Dorival runs the ball down the field making the second touchdown for BMHS in the first five minutes of the game.

WA endures a harsh loss at their first home football game, scoring 35-14

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Sep 22, 2024

After a crushing 14-0 victory against Lowell High School, on Sept. 20 WA Football lost 35-14 to Billerica Memorial High School (BMHS) at their first home game, an outcome which resulted mostly from a few...

A common question students ask themselves as they embark on the 2024-2025 school year with budget cuts having been enacted.

How much has WA really changed since budget cuts?

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Sep 16, 2024

Throughout the 2023-24 school year, the WA community was faced with the looming threat of budget cuts that would cut certain classes and increase class sizes. As May began, things began to grow more...

Girardi sits in her classroom, room 217, ready to get to work on this new school year.

Class of 2027’s new advisor aims to keep stress low for the new school year

Connor Billington, Social Media Manager
Sep 7, 2024

With a new class advisor, biology teacher Jennifer Girardi, the WA class of 2027 will strap on for their 2024-2025 school year. This year, Girardi will be working alongside health and wellness teacher...

Lucy, one of the main characters in the series, leaves her vault, a futuristic nuclear fallout shelter, for the first time.

‘Fallout’: one of the best video game to television adaptations of the decade

Connor Billington, Staff Writer
May 16, 2024

Faithfully adapting a video game to a television series is no small task, especially with a fandom as dedicated as that of the post apocalyptic survival role playing game (RPG), Fallout. Amongst similar...

Mr. Sitarski teaches Freshman Algebra I  at WA.

Sitarski’s trivia fascination proves to be not so trivial

Connor Billington, Staff Writer
May 13, 2024

Teachers at WA often go their entire careers without students knowing the spectacular stories of their past. For example, math teacher Frank Sitarski is a life-long trivia enthusiast who has been a fan...

Junior Kathryn Portante

Student spotlight: Kathryn Portante

Connor Billington, Staff Writer
May 12, 2024

Junior Kathryn Portante is an aspiring classical archeologist who seeks a field of study specializing in ancient Roman culture. She spends her time fitting in her many extra-curricular activities some...

Art portfolio by senior Emily FitzPatrick, which received an honorable mention from the Scholastic Art Awards.

WA students win several Scholastic Art Awards

Connor Billington, Staff Writer
Mar 17, 2024

WA students have won a multitude of awards across a large variety of subjects such as sports and theater. However, art awards often go under the radar because they aren’t a huge public event. The Scholastic...

Boys' Basketball players ready for the game to start.

WA Boys’ Basketball takes 43-47 loss to Cambridge Rindge & Latin School

Connor Billington, Staff Writer
Feb 4, 2024

Westford Academy Boys’ Basketball suffered their seventh loss of the season by a score of 43-47 on Friday, Feb. 2 at a home game against Cambridge Rindge & Latin School (CRLS), making their season...

Scientific data shows that spending time in nature can relieve stress, anxiety and even depression.

Cirrus: bringing students outside for almost 50 years

Connor Billington, Staff Writer
Jan 15, 2024

Oftentimes, high school students tend to overlook the benefits of physical activity, especially in the outdoors. However, for students and advisors of the WA Cirrus club, going outdoors has proved to be...

WA Nordic skiers hard at work.

Nordic Ski sets off with big goals for the 2023-2024 season

Connor Billington, Staff Writer
Nov 27, 2023

Last year, the WA Nordic Ski team blew the majority of the competition out of the water. Now as the snow starts to fall, History teacher and head coach Andrew Norander sets out to meet, or better yet,...

Sawyer smiles with his violin in the band room.

Zachary Sawyer ecstatic to start his first year at WA on a good note

Zachary Sawyer is WA’s new orchestra teacher, joining the music department staff with many years of musical experience. Recently, the Ghostwriter got a chance to interview him and unlock a few deeper...

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