Weekly Cougar News
ConVal High School Happenings - April 1, 2022
Message From Principal McKillop
Today marks the end of quarter three for our students. It is hard to believe it is April 1st and we have just 10 weeks left of the 2021-2022 school year.
As the photos and quick notes from classes in Mathematics, Science, German, Health & Wellness, Art and Music as well as several ATC programs show, our students continue to work hard in and out of the classroom. In a further return to educational normalcy at ConVal, we are welcoming guest speakers back into the building to enrich and augment instruction.
I was very grateful to join lacrosse practice on Monday evening and participate as a guest coach on Wednesday afternoon. I look forward to supporting our teams and co-curricular activities this spring as events start beginning.
I am excited to share that next Monday, Mr. Erik Thibault will join our community in the capacity of Interim Assistant Principal through the remainder of the academic school year. He looks forward to working with and supporting our students, families, and staff.
Monday, April 4th is our next optional parent meeting in the ConVal library. The meeting will solicit your input on the Director of Athletics and Co-Curriculars position, so please consider joining us. Mr. Thibault will accompany me to the parent meeting, so you will have an opportunity to meet him.
Finally, I would like to draw your attention to this week's featured alumna Alisha Birk (Class of 2015). Read her inspiring story from overcoming adversity, with the help of committed educators from the ConVal community who supported her during an exceedingly difficult senior year, to becoming an MD candidate at Stanford University.
Enjoy the sun this weekend!
Best,
Heather
Upcoming Important Dates and Events
- April 4: Student focus group on Director of Athletics and Co-Curriculars position (2:30 pm in the library)
- April 4: Parent Meeting (6:00 pm in the library)
- April 7-9: All-State Music Festival
- April 8: Educators Rising Conference
- April 8: Adult Diploma Program Application Deadline
Classrooms At ConVal
Snapshots from the week
After a warmup exercise at the beginning of class, mathematics teacher Ashley Riendeau explained trinomial factoring to her students in Algebra 2. A trinomial equation is a polynomial equation that involves three terms.
Science teacher Valerie Moran gave a presentation to her Biology students about the role of the DNA code in determining an organism’s traits. Part of the discussion were the structure of DNA, including composition, shape, and anti-parallel strands, as well as the composition of chromosomes and the protection within eukaryotic cells.
Cindi Hodgdon's AP German class worked with guest speaker Antje Duvekot (standing) to come up with German lyrics for a song. The project required students to properly use similes and metaphors, German figurative language and personification. The final song title was "Irmadillos Traum" ("Irmadillo's Dream").
Physical education teachers Nate Gagne and Amanda Carey put Health & Wellness I students through a rotation of timed cardio warmup exercises (alternating high skip and long skip, lateral shuffle, run, and walk) before picking teams for half-court handball practice.
Art teacher Karrie Mitschmyer conferenced individually with each of her students in 3D Studio Art to assist them with their midterm presentations. All students researched a variety of 3D artists and created slideshows that include both their research and examples of their studio/sketchbook practice from quarter 3. Presentations of this work are part of their midterm and presented to a body of their peers to improve public speaking skills.
George Robinson, the Director of Athletic Bands at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, was a guest speaker in Jim Wickham's Concert Bands class on Wednesday. Using their music sight reading skills, the students practiced the Franklin Pierce fight song.
ConVal senior and saxophone player Dhanesh Airi plans to attend Franklin Pierce in the fall and will be part of the Athletic Band.
As a good-natured April Fool's prank, students in Eric Bowman's AP US History class declared a "Dress like Mr. Bowman" day and showed up to school in outfits resembling his, including his trademark polo T-shirts and even fake glasses! They then surprised librarians Rachael Bowman (left) and Ashley Jones (right) with a visit.
Featured Alum: From ConVal To Stanford - Alisha Birk (Class of 2015)
Alisha Birk was inspired to pursue a career in medicine by an internship and the STEM classes that she took during her senior year — all while experiencing homelessness and battling an illness. Since then, Alisha has completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Bioengineering at Stanford University and is now pursuing a medical degree at Stanford. Read her inspiring story of resilience here.
Applied Technology Center Programs
Students in Mr. Levesque's Digital Photo I class this week presented their Memento Photo Project for classroom critique. In this project, students were asked to choose a personally meaningful memento from home, an object with a story behind it. Six pictures of the memento were taken, in different locations and setups, and uploaded to the students' Google Classroom folders.
During the classroom critique, students observed such details about the photos as the creative use of depth of field, imaginative lighting, artistic use of the f-stop, or the use of a "Dutch angle."
The final chosen photo will be uploaded to the student's blog, accompanied by a short story about the importance of this object and the memory it holds.
Students in Manufacturing III who are taking advantage of the welding class through Phaze Welding Technology Center have been working on increasing their skills with stick, mig, and tig welding. One of the challenges instructor Dan Guillou sets for the students is to create an unbreakable bond between two aluminum cans. More advanced students are also working with the CNC plasma cutter; senior Steven Van Etten recently created the structure that houses the fire extinguisher on the center’s mobile welding truck. Students will soon be preparing to participate in a state-wide competition where they can measure their skills against their peers in the state.
The Contoocook Valley, Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative and Mascenic School Districts are pleased to announce that the Region 14 Applied Technology Center (ATC) was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from Stanley Black & Decker.
The $10,000 grant is part of Stanley Black & Decker's Empower Makers Global Impact Challenge and will benefit ATC's Construction Trades Program. The grant supports vocational skills training and reskilling programs in the construction and manufacturing sectors.
Funding will be used to expand the Construction Trades Program to include career pathways in the electrical and plumbing fields for the 2022-23 school year.
"This support for the Construction Trades program will have a tangible impact on closing the workforce gap, and we’re grateful to Stanley Black and Decker for their contribution,” Conval Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders said. “Opening career pathways is core to the ATC’s mission and I’m glad that it will benefit from this chance to work toward that goal through this funding.”
Athletic and Co-Curricular Updates
Spring 2022 Sports Registration continues to be open. All of our spring athletic schedules and updates can be found on the ConVal athletics website. Please come out and support our athletes and their coaches.
Tickets to the ConVal Senior Prom/Masquerade Ball (see poster below) will be sold on April 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 20 and May 3 and 5 during TASC in the English area outside of Room 224.
If you have any questions, please contact Director of Athletics and Co-Curriculars John Reitnauer at jreitnauer@conval.edu.
Focus Groups On Position of Director of Athletics and Co-Curriculars
There will be a variety of forums with specific groups to gather information from the staff, students, and the community about what each of these stakeholder groups are looking for in the Director of Athletics and Co-Curricular Activities position.
Please join us for the parent focus group on Monday, April 4, at 6:00 pm in the ConVal Library.
If you are unable to attend one of the scheduled focus group meetings but would like to provide feedback on what you envision the Director of Athletics and Co-Curricular Activities would demonstrate as an effective leader in the ConVal community, please submit written input using this link by Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 12:00 pm.
Thank you, we look forward to your feedback!
April School Counseling Newsletter
Highlights this month include: a link to the recording of the March "Early College Planning Session" presented by school counselors and the NH Higher Education Assistance Foundation (NHHEAF), an announcement that school counselors will be delivering lessons about the college application process to all juniors during TASC in April, and an invitation to juniors to visit New England College on April 19 (permission slips are due April 15).
There is also a reminder that all scholarship applications by seniors are due in the School Counseling office by April 20.
Breakfast and Lunch Menus
Class of '23 Merchandise and Bumper Sticker Fundraiser
The store is open until April 3, click here to place an order. Please note: You can choose to have the items mailed to you OR choose to pick up your order here at ConVal High School toward the end of April.
Also, show your ConVal pride on your water bottle, computer, or vehicle! Bumper stickers are $5 — cash or check payable to "Class of 2023."
Class of '24 Spring Vendor & Craft Fair
COVID-19 Update
ConVal Regional High School
Location: 184 Hancock Road, Peterborough, NH 03458 (map)
Phone: (603) 924-3869
Email: conval.highschool@conval.edu
Website: cvhs.convalsd.net