East Granby High School Newsletter
December 2015/January 2016
PRINCIPAL'S NEWSLETTER
January 11, 2016
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I have a few announcements to share. First, EGHS has once again received a national recognition (College Board Honor Roll) by the College Board for increasing enrollment in Advanced Placement classes while maintaining a high level of achievement. This is the second year in a row that we have received this honor. Only a handful of Connecticut high schools earn this annual recognition. This award speaks to our schools’ deep commitment at all levels (K-12), broad community and family support, and the efforts of all staff and students to continuously improve.
Second, I want to remind everyone that the new statewide assessment for 11th grade students will now be the SAT. On March 2nd, all Connecticut high school juniors will take this test. This one day assessment will replace the Smarter Balanced 11th grade assessments (SBAC), given last year. EGHS is offering a SAT review class during second period each day. All juniors are welcome to enroll. Please contact your son’s or daughter’s school counselor to see if they can work this class into their schedule, or for more information regarding the SAT. See more information regarding this below.
I recently attended the annual New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) conference in Boston. One of the keynote speakers spoke about the role of new technologies and how disruptive they could potentially be to our future workforce. There were videos of artificial intelligence, robots, drones, self-driving cars, etc. One implication is that much of the work that we currently do with human labor will be done by machines in the future. Imagine an entire fast food restaurant run by a single robot. Is this a second industrial revolution?
The purpose of these presentations is help those of us that are responsible for preparing young people for their future to understand that the nature of work may be changing in coming decades. In addition to the traditional content and skills, this manifests itself in our current curriculum in three ways. First, there is greater emphasis on the student as a learner. We are preparing students for future jobs that may not exist yet. They are likely going to have to be “lifelong learners.” Second, there is greater emphasis on 21st century skills. In today’s world, being able to successfully work on-line, to create and collaborate with others across time and space, are important skills now and in the future. Finally, we are working on the dispositions that many experts believe are just as important as content and skills, such as resilience, curiosity, integrity, and willingness to engage in hard work. Do they have an open mindset? Can we help your son or daughter to discover what really interests him or her? All of these attributes are highly sought after by future employers.
There are many wonderful things happening here at EGHS. Please enjoy the rest of the newsletter.
Best Regards,
Dave Peling Sr.
No School - Monday, January 18th
MIDTERMS
Tuesday, January 19th
Period 1 at 8-10am
Period 2 at 10:15-12:15pm
Wednesday, January 20th
Period 3 at 8-10am
Period 4 at 10:15-12:15pm
Thursday, January 21st
Period 5 at 8-10am
Period 6 at 10:15-12:15pm
Friday, january 22nd
Period 7 at 8-10am
Make up exams 10:15-12:15pm
No School - Friday, February 12th
No School - Monday, February 15th - Friday, February 19th
Snow Ball Dance - Saturday, February 6th
CHECK OUT OUR STUDENTS!
Congratulations to Sarah Martin who is the December Rotary Club Student of the Month!
Congratulations to Emily Farmer who is the January Rotary Club Student of the Month!
Congratulations to Alex Cannon and Mazwi Cele! Both were accepted to the CMEA Northern Region High School Music Festival! Alex will perform with the Band and Mazwi will perform with the Orchestra. Both boys were also invited to audition for the All-State Festival in January. Way to go!!
Congratulations to senior Amanda Samuel! Amanda will receive the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) Arts Award for the Performing Arts onTuesday, April 5 during a ceremony and banquet held at the Aqua Turf. Amanda has excelled at the oboe, representing East Granby High School at the Connecticut Music Educator's Association (CMEA) Northern Region High School Festival, All-State Festival, North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC) Music Festival, and the University of Massachusetts Honor Band Festival. She took first place in the brass/woodwind division of the 2014 Musical Club of Hartford's High School Scholarship Competition. Amanda is currently the principal oboe of the Connecticut Youth Symphony and that she's also performed with the Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble.
SPIRIT WEEK
COMMUNITY
EAST GRANBY ALUMNI WEBPAGE
We would like to keep you informed about events here at East Granby High School. Please fill out the Alumni Contact Form on the webpage.
IN OUR CLASSROOMS...
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Yep, this is the beginning of CPR. The end result was 11 students being certified. Congratulations to Mary Beron, Ashley Boateng, Evan DePamphilis, Alexandria Geer, Nicole Gosselin, Luke Gourin, Nathan Langmeier, Kaelyn Ludwig, Tyler Petrunti, Britania Tulloch, and Ryan Woods.
Did you know that East Granby's health curriculum is way ahead of the learning curve? As of the next school year, CPR will be a state mandate for all students graduating from high school. We have been offering CPR in our schools since the early 1980s.
AP Candidates Participate in UCONN Essay Contest
Every year, the University of Connecticut hosts the prestigious Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Essay Contest. Some of you may remember that just a few years back, one of our own, Cara Zagaja, took first place in that contest, state-wide! This year, thirty-four 11th Grade AP English Language candidates wrote thoughtful essays for submission, and we wish them all the best of luck. Results will be announced in January, with a culminating event on the UCONN campus on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
EGHS's 2015 issue of Voices Literary Magazine is now available on-line! Clink the link below to enjoy artwork, poetry and prose from our students. Did you know that you can order a hard copy of this magazine? Just contact Deborah Ott (dott@eastgranby.k12.ct.us) for more information.
FOODS
Foods class members are getting ready for their final cooking experience this week. One teacher or parent per cooking group will be invited to a delightful meal. Bon Appetite!
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
The Child Development Class is learning a lot and having a fabulous time with this year’s Toddler Time Child Study program. You never know what to expect from the toddlers, each day is an adventure. Class members Sarah, Helena, Sabrina, Cassie, Kim and Vanessa have proven to be quite skillful in working with young children, and planning activities that should bring good memories to the children attending our program.
FASHION AND CLOTHING DESIGN
The Fabrics class presented their Music Through Fashion Show on Thursday January 7 at 5pm. With preshow guitar music by class member Eric LaBrecque. Class member Kelsey Roy, Tiffany Wilkinson, Gabby Jones, Emily Marceau, Paul Dube, Dylan Finegan- Cole, and Cedric Pickering contributed to the show in many different ways. What's most important in our lives is the good deeds we do, the care we show to one another, and the use of all of our talents and abilities. Thank You to all the people who helped out, participated in rehearsals and the actual show, and attended the Fashion Show. Thank you to Mr. Tonino, Ailing Li, Vanessa Newman, Josh Akpan, Johnny, Helena Brody, Brianna Ramos, Kiarra Murdock, Tajianna Ledford, Eve White, Alexis Gelinas and Taylor LaVoie, for their participation! I hope you feel blessed and appreciated.
WORLD LANGUAGE
By Señora Duffy
The Spanish III students along with Señora Duffy spread some holiday cheer through the halls of EGMS and EGHS singing Spanish "Jingle Bells" on December 23rd. Los "villancicos", or Christmas songs, are a popular tradition in Spain and many Latin American countries before December 25th.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
Students taking Advanced Manufacturing attended a field trip to CBS Manufacturing, a local aerospace manufacturing firm. The CEO and owners greeted the students and delivered an informative presentation about the company, its products, the future of manufacturing, and a career outlook for the industry in CT. Split into two groups, the owners gave students a comprehensive inside look at the aerospace manufacturing facility. Students were shown all aspects of the shop floor, engineering, CNC and manual machining, aerospace parts in various states of manufacturing, blueprints, fixtures, and inspection with the latest programmable coordinate measuring machines. The students, Mr. Johnson, and Ms. Jennings would like to thank the owners and employees of CBS manufacturing for providing such an informative and relevant tour of their facility.
MUSIC
Kylie Geer, Claire Newhall, Ivana Prats, Jenna Sheridan, and Jesse Worlund represented East Granby in the North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC) Music Festival at Stafford High School on Nov. 17 and Nov. 19! They performed with over 150 members in the Choir, joining students from Bolton, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield (High), Granby, Somers, Stafford, Suffield, and Windsor Locks. This year's Choir was under the direction of Rachael Allen from Westbrook High School. It was an amazing performance! Congratulations once again to our students!
GUIDANCE
The Guidance Department is in the midst of the college application season with seniors. Many regular decision deadlines are approaching. Students are working closely with their school counselor to get the job done. Acceptances are rolling!!
Guidance Happenings:
· The PSAT scores have arrived and your results can be viewed on collegeboard.com. Students will also receive a paper score report in the mail at the end of January. Please contact your school counselor with any questions!
· Junior post-secondary planning meetings are underway with your school counselor. These are discussions about plans after graduation and how to get you there. If you have not scheduled a meeting with your school counselor, please do so!
· Thursday, February 25th at 6:30pm is Junior Post-Secondary Planning Night in the high school library. Juniors and their parents are invited and will be receiving an invitation in the mail. This is a great opportunity for students and parents to learn valuable information about the college process, military options and the workforce. We hope to see you there!
· The 2016 redesigned SAT dates are as follows: March 5, May 7, and June 4. Juniors please begin to sign up for the March or May test on collegeboard.com. This SAT test is different than the one we administer for the state on March 2nd. The links below will give dates/deadlines as well as how to register for the test. See your school counselor with any questions.
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/dates-deadlines
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/online-registration-help
· Sophomores will be taking the “Do What You Are” personality type inventory in the next few months. The “Do What You Are” has helped hundreds of thousands of people find truly satisfying work. “Do What You Are” introduces Personality Type - how you process information, make decisions and interact with the world around you - and shows you which of the 16 types describes you best!
· The annual EGHS Career Fair will be held this year on April 5th at 9:30am for our freshman, sophomores and junior classes in the High School gym. As we begin to plan this wonderful event we ask any parents or professionals in the community to contact the guidance office if you are interested in being a presenter. We have had such wonderful professionals over the past 3 years and we hope to continue educating our students through our community volunteers.
CONNECTICUT SAT FAMILY BROCHURE
BOYS BASKETBALL
Boys Basketball has gotten off to a fantastic start, with both the JV and Varsity teams already equaling their win totals from all of last year after only the first 5 games. With several close contests, the boys have shown resiliency in battling through to get their first 3 wins for varsity and first 2 wins for JV. The goal is to play significant games in March in the state tournament. So far Nick Fersch is averaging 34 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists per game, and is only 55 points away from being the fifth boy in school history to reach 1000 points. The rest of the players are stepping up as we have seen significant impacts from Connor Rosenberger, Ryan Vanags, Sean Brunelle and Justin Lacharite. Come support the boys' teams as try to work their way back into the team state tournament in March.