Bobcat Bulletin
SWHS Newsletter March/April 2020
Welome to the Bobcat Bulletin!
Message from the Principal
Dear SWHS Families,
I hope this newsletter finds you and your family well and I hope the April break provided some time for families to receive a bit of rest. In finalizing this edition of the Bobcat Bulletin, it occurred to me that the last issue sent to families was done under the "old normal." "Normal" is very different now as compared to then. A prime example of which, as you undoubtedly know, is that we remain in distance-learning mode for the time-being until at least May 20.
In the midst of these challenging times, I expect there to be curiosity regarding culminating events. The optimist in me hopes that we will will still be able to hold our end of the year events. The realist in me, however, is braced for the unfortunate possibility that many (or all) of our traditional end of the year activities will have to be cancelled. For any events that have alternative plans, these will be shared with families in future communications.
Our unity and support for students and for each other has never been more needed; especially for the Class of 2020 who have looked forward to the signature experiences which typically conclude the senior year of high school. To the Class of 2020, this was not the way to conclude your senior year. Just like your families, we as a faculty and staff can only imagine the emotions you are feeling. Please know, we are thinking of you. Stay strong and we will get through this together...because we are all in this together.
Speaking of strong...as many of you may know, several members of the Class of 2020 put together a special video. If you have not viewed it, please click here.
In the meanwhile, these are the topics in this issue of the Bobcat Bulletin:
- School Counseling News & Updates
- College Board Information for AP Courses
- Class of 2021: The Capstone Experience
- Winter Sports Update & Spring Sports Registration Reminder
Be safe and be well.
Frank Rizzuto
Principal
School Counseling News and Updates
Grades 9-11: April is a month where school counselors tend to work closely with students and families regarding finalizing course and level requests for the next school year. Students can check on their course requests by following the directions below. Please reach out to your school counselor with any questions or concerns:
- Log into your PowerSchool account
- Scroll down the Navigation menu on the left hand side of your screen and click on Class Registration
- The student’s requested courses for the 2020-2021 school year should display on the screen
For more information, please visit the SWHS Course Catalog at swhscourses.org which contains course descriptions, graduation requirement charts, and other important policies.
Grade 11: A foundational aspect of school counselors’ work with Grade 11 students and families is the “Junior Planning Meeting." During this meeting, school counselors, students, and parents/guardians discuss the academic progress, social/emotional health, and career future planning goals for the student. In the past few weeks school counselors have been holding these meetings virtually via the telephone and/or Google Platform and have been having success. If you have missed any of the school counselor invitations for this meeting, please reach out to your school counselor.
Grade 12: Scholarships are still being continually added and updated within the Naviance Scholarship page. Though some scholarships are asking for school official signatures, stamps, seals, or other physical items that are not accessible during this school shutdown, that should not deter a student from applying, as many organizations are likely to abandon this demand or accept an alternate acknowledgement. Mrs. Carty, in the Career Center can be contacted at lcarty@swindsor.k12.ct.us with any questions.
College Board Information for AP Courses
- Student resources for the online AP exams: When students log in to AP Classroom, they will now see free-response questions that can help them practice their knowledge and skills as they prepare for this year's AP Exams. They will see scoring criteria to help them revise their responses and they can get direct feedback from their teachers. Students should also be using the YouTube AP classes and review materials that are widely popular: AP YouTube course schedule and information
- Please share the Parent Webinar on AP changes archived from April 16. Parent Webinar Archived
Class of 2021: The Capstone Experience
Before our departure from school, the Class of 2021 assembled in February with our lead Capstone advisors to learn about the Capstone process. Since that meeting much has changed with regard to our normal routines but we wanted to provide parents/guardians of the Class of 2021 with information regarding Capstone, a South Windsor High School graduation requirement.
The completion of a Capstone Project has been a graduation requirement at South Windsor High School for multiple years now. Students are asked to demonstrate their ability to apply key knowledge and skills by planning, completing, and presenting a culminating project linked to one or more areas of personal interest.
During the process, each student is supported by a faculty adviser. Juniors may now begin reaching out to faculty members to ask them to be their capstone advisor for the 2020-21 school year. Juniors can contact teachers using email, or google classroom, to request that they serve as their advisor. Please remember that most certified staff members are available to serve as Capstone advisors, but can only accept approximately 3-5 students on a first come, first served basis. Students who are working on group projects must share the same advisor. Juniors will have until May 18th to request an advisor. If a student has not selected an advisor by that date, one will be assigned to the student. For students interested in requesting Mrs. Davies, Mrs. Lang, or Mrs. Larson as an advisor, please email Mrs. Devaney at edevaney@swindsor.k12.ct.us. Please be aware that these teachers will not begin reviewing proposals until after they return from leave.
Possible directions for students to choose include completing a job shadow, designing a community impact project, or pursuing a student interest project. At the end of the process students submit written work and present their learning to a panel of faculty members. Below you will find a link to our Capstone website which may provide you and your child with helpful information. http://highschool.southwindsorschools.org/for_students/capstone
If you have any questions about the requirements, please contact one of the SWHS Capstone coordinators or Associate Principal Liz Devaney.
Mrs. Walsh: kwalsh@swindsor.k12.ct.us
Mr. Richards: wrichards@swindsor.k12.ct.us
Mrs. Liz Devaney: edevaney@swindsor.k12.ct.us
SWHS 2019-2020 Winter Sports Highlights
For some much needed positive news, below is a list of the winter teams and/or student-athletes who received recognition:
Cheerleading won the CCC East Division Championship and placed 2nd overall out of 28 CCC schools that competed. The team finished 5th in the Class L State Competition out of 28 schools and had five team members named All-Conference: Melissa Sullivan, Carlyn Burba, Ava Aceti, Kayla Ryan and Veronica Veilleux. In addition, Melissa Sullivan and Carlyn Burba were named All-State.
Dance traveled to Orlando, Florida in early March to compete in the Dance Nationals.
Girls Basketball team member Maria Galley was named All-Conference.
Wrestling team members Will Kasek and Ben Waldo were named All-Conference.
Gymnastics team member Erin Dunn was named All-State and All-Conference Individual All-Around 1st team. Audrey Manning was named All-State and All-Conference Individual All-Around 1st team, while Maddie Hawthorne was named All-Conference Individual Balance Beam 2nd team.
Girls Co-Op Ice Hockey team member Caitlyn Caldon was named All-State and All-Conference, while Samantha Ostrowski was named All-Conference.
Boys Ice Hockey team member Ryan Feher was named All-Conference and 2nd team All-State, while Sean O’Connor was named All-Conference.
Boys Swimming & Diving had several award recipients as follows:
All-Conference 200 Yard Medley Relay: Daniel Savidge, Cooper Castellone, Charles Keen, & Andrew Bell.
All-Conference 200 Yard IM: Cooper Castellone
All-Conference 1 mtr Diving: Andrew Bell
All-Conference 100 Yard Butterfly: Charles Keen
All-Conference 500 Yard Freestyle: Daniel Savidge
All-Conference 100 Yard Breaststroke: Cooper Castellone
All-Conference 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: Pranav Appikatla, Charles Keen, Cooper Castellone, & Daniel Savidge
ADDITIONAL GOOD NEWS:
South Windsor High School was recently named a Safe Sports School by The National Athletic Trainer's Association (NATA). This is a great honor for South Windsor High School and a credit of the hard work put in by our school's athletic trainer, Scott Myrick. There are only a handful of schools in Connecticut that receive this award each year!
NCAA Eligibility:
The CIAC has been communicating with the NCAA eligibility center to understand how initial student-athlete eligibility may be impacted by COVID-19. The NCAA has been very responsive and have recently published an update to initial eligibility. The following link was provided to schools by the CIAC.