SHS Newsletter
December 2022
ADMINISTRATION'S MESSAGE
Hello SHS Families,
We hope this finds you well. This week we are getting ready for the production of Alice in Wonderland, the FFA Holiday Sale, winter sports beginning, and cheering on our favorite teams in the World Cup. As we visit classrooms, students are engaged and working hard. It really is a wonderful time of year.
We hope you stay healthy and stress free throughout the holidays. Please enjoy reading about the many great things happening at SHS this month and celebrating our student achievements.
Happy Holidays!
Ms. Apanovitch, Principal
Mr. Dobi, Assistant Principal
Mrs. Insero, Assistant Principal
FALL PLAY
DECEMBER 8th & 9th BELL SCHEDULE
FREE MEALS END DECEMBER 1st
FREE MEALS END THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022
PAID MEALS START FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2022
Just a reminder that free breakfast and free lunch for all students ends December 1, 2022. On December 2, 2022 the district will begin charging for meals again.
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH MEAL PRICES
BREAKFAST LUNCH
AWS and MCA $2.10 $3.00
SMS and SHS $2.10 $3.25/$3.50
Reduced Price $0.30 $0.40
Milk - 8 OZ $0.50
If you have been notified this school year that you qualify for free or reduced price meals, you will continue to receive them. You do not need to reapply.
FREE AND REDUCED PRICE MEAL APPLICATION INFORMATION
We encourage families who are in need of financial assistance (and who have not done so already), to complete and submit the confidential Free and Reduced Price Meal Application to ensure meal benefits are available for students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
Parents or guardians can submit this application in person to the Determining Official, Jamie Berry, located in Central Office or mail to her attention at 350 Mountain Road, Suffield CT 06078, or email it to her at jberry@suffield.org. The application is available online in the Food Service portion of the website. The application includes detailed instructions on how to complete and submit it. Applications can be submitted at any point in the school year as household income may change during the year.
Additional information and the application can be found by clicking on the below link:
Free or Reduced Price Meals Application
How to make PAYMENTS INTO your child’s ACCOUNT
Online Payment
Setup a FREE account at https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ using:
· child’s name
· student ID number
· school zip code
o AWS and SHS = 06093
o MIS and SMS = 06078
You can track your child(ren)’s purchases and balance even if you don't use it for payment. Families may prepay using a credit card at https://www.myschoolbucks.com/.
Please note: a convenience fee is added each time a deposit is made to the account. (You can distribute the payment among multiple children.) This is a bank fee and does not profit Suffield Public Schools or Aramark.
Cash or Check
· Send a check, made payable to "Suffield Food Service", or cash in an envelope with the student’s full name, student ID number, and room number.
o McAlister and Spaulding students should give the envelope to their teacher.
o Middle and high school students can give the envelope to the cashier in the cafeteria.
· You can use one check for multiple students at the same school. If you have children at different schools, please send in separate checks for each school.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Bill Hoff
Suffield High School is pleased to invite all Suffield Middle School and Suffield High School parents, guardians and students to a virtual College/Future Planning Presentation on Thursday December 1, 2022 at 6:00pm
Topics to be covered include but not limited to:
College application process 2yr/4yr
Common Application
Teacher letters of recommendation
Naviance - College Search
Standardized Testing
Staying Organized/Deadlines
Resume
NCAA
Career/Technical Schools
Military
ASVAB
Suffield High School Counselors will answer questions regarding topics sent in advance. Please use the link below to register for the event and to submit your questions.
To attend this event please sign in on 12/1/22 at 6:00pm using the Zoom Meeting information below:
Join Zoom Meet
College Future Planning Night Zoom Link
Meeting ID: 818 2099 6173
Passcode: Hydnv6
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,81820996173#,,,,*274332# US (Chicago)
+16469313860,,81820996173#,,,,*274332# US
Dial by your location
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 931 3860 US
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 818 2099 6173
Passcode: 274332
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kBxnZGi2d
Attention Seniors and Parents,
The Connecticut Automatic Admissions Program (CAAP) offers students automatic admission to participating Connecticut Colleges and Universities (listed below) based on high school grade point average and / or percentile class ranking, both calculated using the College Board’s formula for calculating GPA. You may view the calculation here. Suffield Public Schools will be calculating these CAAP GPA's in February. Students will be notified if their CAAP GPA falls within the threshold for percentile ranking at 70, meaning that the top 30% of grade 12 students are eligible to apply for automatic admission.
The deadline to apply for automatic admission to the fall 2023 entering class is May 1, 2023.
· Central Connecticut State University
· Eastern Connecticut State University
· Southern Connecticut State University
· Western Connecticut State University
· Mitchell College
· University of Bridgeport
· University of New Haven
· University of Saint Joseph
What is automatic admission?
Automatic admission means that, should you choose, by completing a simplified, free application for each of the colleges and universities you wish to be admitted to, you will automatically receive a letter of acceptance and details about financial aid awarded if you choose to attend. In order to be eligible for federal and other kinds of financial aid, you will need to file a FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The deadline for completing the FAFSA is June 30, 2023, but you are encouraged to apply before the Connecticut deadline, which is February 15, 2023. You should also refer to two Connecticut resources, the FAFSA Family Guide and the Virtual FAFSA Completion Sessions.
High School Partnership Program (HSPP)
Asnuntuck’s Admissions Office is now accepting applications for any student seeking to participate in the High School Partnership Program (HSPP) for the spring 2023 semester. Please click on the following for a description of the HSPP program. HSPP Below are details and reminders regarding the HSPP application process.
NEW students will need to complete the free online HSPP application by going to the dual enrollment application portal. Attached is a step-by-step guide that walks a student through the application, and this YouTube video will show a student how to complete the application as well. It is strongly encouraged students use the attached instructions or video when completing the application, as it is important they submit the application accurately. Additionally, students should not use their high school-issued email when creating their application account due to firewall and security parameters. Using a personal email address on the application is recommended. Lastly, students will need their Social Security Number to complete the application if they are comfortable providing it.
NOTE: If a student previously created an account in the application portal, they need to contact the admissions office (as-admissions@asnuntuck.edu) before moving forward so that we can manually add the HSPP application to their account. They should not be creating a new account.
RETURNING students (a student who is currently taking a class through HSPP or previously completed a course through HSPP) should complete the attached fillable PDF ‘HSPP RETURNING STUDENT FORM’ document. A returning student does NOT complete the online application given they previously completed one. Once the returning student completes the ‘ACC HSPP RETURNING STUDENT FORM’ document, the counselor will be required to insert the student’s GPA and provide their electronic signature on the form before emailing back to me. It is critical this form be submitted by the counselor, not by the student, so as to confirm the counselor signed it and verified the GPA. We will not accept the completed form from the student, only from the counselor. Returning students forms should be submitted to: as-admissions@asnuntuck.edu
The HSPP student will have access to choose from this list of spring 2023 courses that are available on a space-available basis. Select ‘Spring 2023’ from the Term drop-down menu; Select ‘Asnuntuck CC’ from the College drop-down menu; and select ‘Open’ and ‘Credit’ to generate a list of available college-credit courses. Scroll down slightly and click ‘Get Courses’. All HSPP applications (both for new and returning students) must be submitted by Wednesday, December 21st. Information about how/when the students will register for their free class will be communicated immediately following the Christmas holiday. The first day of the spring 2023 semester is Friday, January 20th.
Respectfully,
The SHS School Counseling Department
Gina Garfield 6-12 Team Leader
Victoria Deming
Kristina Kochanek
Robert St. Amand
AGRISCIENCE UPDATE
On November 4th, seven Suffield FFA Career Development Event teams went to UConn to compete at the state level. We had students participating in Floriculture, Nursery Landscape, Livestock Evaluation, Horse Evaluation, Meats Evaluation, Poultry Evaluation and Dairy Foods competitions. Among these teams, the Floriculture, Nursery Landscape and Livestock Evaluation teams placed first in the state of Connecticut earning them the opportunity to compete at the National competition next year.
In Floriculture Joan Mascena ‘23 placed fourth individually, Molly Katzman ‘23 placed fifth, Maddie Hulivitch ‘23 placed eighth and Katie Bachiochi ‘23 placed tenth. Nursery Landscape secured top 3 on the individual scoreboard with Samantha Wysocki ‘24 placing first, Katy Cross ‘25 placing second, Lincolin Marshus ‘25 placing third and Olivia Perez ‘24 placing seventh. In Livestock Evaluation Kandace Royce ‘24 placed second individually, Trista LaForge ‘24 placed third, Luca Ortiz ‘25 placed sixth and Braydon Natitus ‘26 placed ninth.
Next year, these 3 teams will be going to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis to represent Connecticut at the national competitions. Congratulations to the winning teams!
The FFA Citizenship Committee is running a clothing drive from December 5th to December 9th. They are mainly looking for winter coats, gloves, scarves or sweatshirts, but any donation is appreciated. Donations can be dropped off in the wagon in front of the Large Animal Facility. Thank you for your support!
The FFA Holiday Sale will be going on during December 6th-9th from 8am-6pm in the Large Animal Facility. Please see the Suffield FFA Holiday Sale website for details and feel free to come into the sale room or call (860) 668-3817 to place an order.
Upcoming Events
Holiday Sale and Farmer’s Market - December 3rd, 2022 10:00am-1:00pm
Annual FFA Holiday Make & Take Wreath Night - December 5th, 2022 6:00pm-8:00pm
Annual Suffield FFA Holiday Sale - December 6th-December 9th 8:00am-6:00pm
Senior Capstone Night - January 26, 2023
CLASSROOM CLIPS
Mock Trial in Mr. Dudeck's Business Law class
Photo by Aiden Ring '26 in Mr. Kudrle's Digital Photography class
Smorgasbord of student made foods from throughout the world in Miss Blais' AP Human Geography class
MUSIC HONORS & CONCERT
Congratulations to the following students who participated in the NCCC Music Festival in November!
Kameron Aldridge, Meghan Beach, Thomas Bishop, Camille Fawthrop, McKenna LePage, Beatrice Marcavitch, KathyJo Percoski, Ash Richardson-White, Lelia Risdon, Heidi Storey, Kylie Tinnirella, Nayandeep Tummalapally, Benjamin Whitehouse
Congratulations to the following students who were accepted into the Connecticut Music Educators Association Northern Region Honor Band: Tommy Bishop, Keith Griswold, Heidi Storey, Nayandeep Tummalapally
WORLD LANGUAGE HONOR SOCIETY
“Allez les Bleus!”...“Go USA!” Whether you are a USA soccer fan or not, the World Language Honor Society is making sure all of Suffield High knows about the World Cup, which is happening right now in Qatar. Two rounds of competitions (Group Stage and Round of 16), will end in one student and one faculty winner after the World Cup Final on December 18th. Two “Watch Parties” were held to support interest in the international tournament, as well as student appearances on SHS TV morning announcements to update our SHS community on the World Cup games. Juniors Matt Legg and Giuseppe Lagana have been instrumental in these efforts.
SUFFIELD SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL
The Suffield Sustainability Council is back and better than ever! Walk to the Hart was only the beginning for us. We are now introducing a schoolwide composting system. We are partnering with Blue Earth, a commercial composting company, to reduce our food waste and help our environment. You may remember that we previously introduced a school based composting system, so how is this different? Blue Earth gives us a more effective way to compost rather than the restrictive rules we had in place before, now “anything that grows goes”. This means everything from apples to pizza can be composted. Be on the lookout starting December 5th in the commons for our new green composting bins!
FILM & VIDEO PROGRAM
In photo: Mr. Casinghino, Lauren Knowles, Dylan True, Sam Beaudoin, Andrew Organ, and Jackson Dapo with the award plaque for Second Prize in the national Just Drive Social Media Campaign for Safe Driving.
The Film and Video program at Suffield High School has undertaken a number of initiatives over recent months. Students are producing many pieces for use in the Morning Update show, including program openers (with a new animated sequence by Seneca Arnold), public service announcements, and promotional messages for school groups. Currently, students in the Video and TV Studio Production class are in the process of launching a new segment for Morning Update, Talk Show Thursday, in which students will converse with different members of our community, from school and beyond. In Intro to Film and Video, students are now writing and producing their own concepts for movies or TV shows, which include either complete trailers or full scenes from their creations.
Last year, our Advanced Film and Video class undertook a major project by creating a social media campaign for Safe Driving, and the group took second place in the Connecticut division of this national competition. This award came with a $7000 prize which will benefit further PSA endeavors at our school. Work continues on a variety of public service initiatives, as well as new submissions for the Student News program sponsored by Fox 61. Suffield students have been nominees and taken top prizes for that competition, and this year there are projects currently in the pipeline by our advanced students, who plan on submitting their completed pieces in the coming weeks.
Finally, you might see students visiting your classes with cameras in hand, since the Video and TV Studio production students are also producing a number of promo and informational videos about courses here at SHS. Phil Akpinar, Lauren Knowles, Emma Sheldon, Keller Tobey, Annie Vincent, Tasos Kyris, Will Winiarski, Dylan True, and T.J. Roberts are hard at work crafting videos for use in the course selection process. If you see them in your class, give them a word of encouragement!
LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER UPDATE
Did you know that the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) has standards for librarians and students? Yes, we do! School library standards include the following foundational principles: Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, Engage. These standards encourage librarians, students, teachers, and administrators to Think, Create, Share, and Grow.
So let’s take a peek at what is happening in your library on a weekly basis that exemplify the AASL principles:
Every day there is a steady number of students from all grades who come in to check out books from our library collection;
Every day during various class periods and lunch waves, student volunteers who belong to the Teen Library Club help out with a variety of tasks that make our library a wonderful space and to support our library programming;
Every day during Wildcat, student volunteers who are SWAT members work on fixing chromebooks for their peers, and devise new ways to integrate technology efficiently;
On Wednesdays and Thursdays during Wildcat, Mrs. Casinghino teaches small group digital citizenship classes to grade 9 students;
On Fridays during Wildcat, the library runs Makerspace workshops that promote social and emotional well-being, problem-solving, creativity, and help foster new friendships.
This month, look forward to a gingerbread house challenge and card making workshops.
And of course, there have been many collaborative endeavors between our library and classes: from podcast recording to research skills to exploring the impact our social media use has on our mental health.
And lastly, here is this month’s book recommendation from Mrs. Casinghino:
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir just won the National Book Award for Young Adult Literature. Here is what the National Book Award judges had to say about the book : “In unflinching prose, All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir layers grief and love in a complex exploration of how we hurt each other and how buried traumas can cloud all. Seamlessly traversing from Lahore, Pakistan to Juniper, California, Tahir has created a compelling cross-generational story where characters are interconnected in their search for community. All My Rage is of the moment, urgent in its honest depiction of abuse, debt, and the significance of forgiveness.”
I couldn’t agree more! An absolute must-read! Come and check it out!
Keep reading, Wildcats!
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTION
Congratulations to the newly inducted National Honor Society members.
ROTARY STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
Congratulations Cecelia Partain
Mrs. Schrager said, "Cecelia has always been one of my hardest working students. Not only does she strive for academic success, but she dedicates her time and energy to many social issues. For example, she is committed to teaching our school about environmental issues and sustainability strategies. She is also passionate about anti racist, anti biased causes, and is always reading, learning, and applying what she has learned to help make Suffield High School a more inclusive, and safe environment."
Congratulations Jaylanis Rodriguez-Bermudez
Mrs. Forrest said, "Jaylanis is exceptional in a class full of lots of distractions. She probably is seldom nominated for these awards because she doesn't call attention to herself. Jaylanis is extremely polite, works great with others, and basically will do anything when asked."
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE KINDNESS AWARD
Congratulations Reana Ivanov and Timothy Tkacz!
Mr. Ferreira wrote, “We have a student in our chorus class, and Reana is always ready to help her. One day, while I was out, Reana taught this student how to play "Happy Birthday" on the piano. When I came back, she encouraged this student to perform it and was helping her every step of the way. She knows exactly how to interact with students... in a way that makes them feel included and capable.”
Miss Blais wrote, “Not only is Tim actively engaged in all class activities, Tim has been a welcoming and positive force within the classroom improving the environment for everyone! He brightens individuals' days by involving them in conversations, making sure everyone is included in projects/group work and giving positive recognition in both verbal and non-verbal ways. He is a pleasure to have in class!”
YEARBOOK PHOTOS
Information regarding senior photos for the yearbook may be found on the Class of 2023 Google Classroom. The photo submission portal is now open. Senior photos are due by December 1st, 2022. To submit photos, click here and use access code: wildcat.
If you have any photos throughout the school year that you'd like included in the yearbook, please share them with our yearbook staff by uploading them here.
If you have any questions about the yearbook, please email Mr. Alexander: balexander@suffield.org.
FALL ATHLETE HONORS
Congratulations to the following Fall Athletes on their All Conference, All State and even All New England recognitions!!!
Field Hockey
Emma Sheldon - All Conference
Rowan Shanahan - All Conference
Camryn Bernier - All Conference
Girls Cross Country
Emma Conway - All Conference
Boys Cross Country
Griffin Mandirola - All Conference, All State, All New England
Keller Tobey - All Conference, All State
Andrew Organ - All Conference, All State
Donovan Koukal-Kollie - All Conference
Joseph Colangelo - All Conference
Volleyball
Sienna Potvin - All Conference, All State
Summer Potvin - All Conference, All State
Kyah Quitno - All Conference
Girls Soccer
Bryanna Tinnirella - All Conference
Olivia Matthews - All Conference, All State
Kayleigh Mahannah - All Conference
Alicia Wertman - All Conference
Boys Soccer
Timmy Tkacz - All Conference, All State, All New England
Tyson Tucker - All Conference
Nick Van Cott - All Conference
Ryan Sunshine - All Conference
WEATHER RELATED SCHOOL CLOSURES & DELAYS
Weather related school closures and delays will be communicated through the SPS School Messenger System. To receive notifications via email, phone call or text message be sure your information is correct in your student's PowerSchool account.
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1060 Sheldon Street
West Suffield, CT 06093
Phone: 860-668-3810
Fax: 860-668-3037