In March, four of the Martha’s Vineyard masters swim team made the journey to Harvard’s Blodgett pool for two weekends of competition at the New England Short Course Yards Championships. More than 770 swimmers from every New England state and as far away as California competed; 48 New England and three National records were set.

Each month, regional high school students will be signing up to compete in a monthly engineering meet. At the meet students will be issued a design challenge, and will work in teams of two to three to meet that challenge. After 45 minutes, the designs will be evaluated, and the meet winners will be determined.

The February challenge was to create a water wheel that would turn the most times in response to a stream of water. The number of revolutions in a set time was measured to determine the winner. The following teams were winners:

Michael Zide, a former Island resident, Vineyard Gazette photographer and current instructor at the Hallmark Institute of Photography, will present images of the Vineyard landscape and lead a photography discussion at the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton on Tuesday, April 23. The lecture, An Exploration of Time, Fact and Imagination: the Changing World of Landscape Photography, will feature black-and-white landscapes from Mr. Zide’s time on the Vineyard between 1969 and 1982.

For a buck a shuck and a dance with Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish, the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group has Saturday night covered.

It’s Sheepapalooza time again. On Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Farm Institute is reveling in all things sheepie.

Morning chores begin at 9 a.m., followed by sheep shearing with Andy Rice, fiber arts, lunch (play with sheep, eat sheep), farm tours and sheep herding demonstrations.

The event takes place rain or shine. Cost is $10 per family, or $5 per individual.

For more details, visit farminstitute.org or call 508-627-7007.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower will reach its peak in the early hours of Monday morning. One can expect to see a couple of meteors if you are patient and willing to commit a half hour to looking up.

There are about a dozen meteor showers each year and the Lyrid is a favorite. The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Lyra, hence its name. Lyra rises in the east at about 10 p.m., but meteors can occur at any time.

The best viewing is around 2 a.m. The Lyrid meteor shower is not as reliable as some other showers. You may see just a few or as many as 90 in an hour.

Once towering, now crumbling, the cliff at Lucy Vincent Beach has inspired artists and photographers throughout the world. Beginning this weekend Featherstone Center for the Arts will showcase artwork featuring the Chilmark beach and its famous cliff in both its present and past formations. The theme was suggested by Linda Ziegler, and provides an opportunity to reflect on the ways the landmark has been documented in various mediums, from painting and photography to sculpture, poetry and music. An opening reception will take place Sunday, April 21 from 4 to 6 p.m.

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

It is that time of the year again! Any visitor to a wide variety of beaches can find roping that marks off the places where piping plovers, American oystercatchers and least terns nest. The first two species are back and the first oystercatcher nests are now present — the first one was reported on April 13. Plover nests will not be far behind. And the least terns will return to their nesting colonies in early May.

Oliver Filley and Margaret Hibbard of Edgartown and Alexander Dimovich and Lucas Pisano of Vineyard Haven were named to the fall 2012 dean's list at Savannah College of Art and Design.