Region In Review
December 23, 2021
On Thursday, December 2nd, Shepaug chorus students traveled to New York City to perform at the historic Radio City Music Hall and were the opening for the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular!!
Civic Activities at the Elementary Schools
Helping our local communities is a great way to engage our students in real-life service learning opportunities. Most recently, students at the elementary schools held food drives for their respective local food banks.
Becoming an active part of the community promotes the application of caring, kindness, and service to others. The more students show support for others, the more invested they become in the workings of the community and are more likely as adults to give back to their communities.
Go Clawbots Go!
Robotics students build Clawbots and program remote controllers to operate them.
Watch Out for the Coat Drive!
Thank you to the Region 12 community for taking the time
to bring donations to the various locations in the area!
Elementary Students Celebrate the Holidays
The center of our communities is where the real action happens. With the holiday season upon us, our Region 12 communities did not disappoint. Decorations and beautiful lights filled our towns while our school chorus groups enthusiastically performed at the Holiday in the Depot with the tree lighting ceremony.
Peer Leaders
Shepaug kicked off the Spartan Ambassador Leadership program with 8th graders who visited the John Dorr Nature Laboratory in Bethlehem. Students experienced leadership and team-building activities in tandem with John Dorr students and completed the Odyssey Challenge Course!
Holiday in the Depot
SVP (Shepaug Valley Partnership) students participated in Holiday in the Depot, helping to create the exceptional layout and to support the tightly-knit community we live in.
Winter Concert
Shepaug’s talented chorus and band students performed a wonderful Winter Concert of festive classics and pop hits. Thank you for a fantastic evening of uplifting music, beautiful voices, and holiday cheer!
Senior Project Spotlight
Julia Ninno - The Artistry of Tattooing
Julia Ninno’s senior project is entitled The Artistry of Tattooing. For her project Julia is learning about different tattoo styles and different art mediums to bring them to life. Julia has been learning about the rules of different tattoo styles including: Japanese Traditional, Geometric Designs, American Traditional, Illustrative, New School, and Black and Grey Realism, and why each one is significant to a person. Julia’s project will also explore body art throughout different cultures and history and how they represent the cultural identity of those people.
The primary goal of Julia’s project is to expand her knowledge in the art world since art has been an important part of her life and is a hopeful career path. As Julia explores tattooing as a career path, it will help her understand the steps to become a tattoo artist. Julia is meeting and interviewing tattoo artists about their journey to their careers. She has also begun creating art pieces for different tattoo styles and is planning a gallery walk to display her artwork at Shepaug in the early Spring.
Volunteer First Responder Spotlight
James McDonough has been a volunteer EMT with Washington Ambulance Association in Washington for nearly 10 years. Beginning as a certified EMT in college, Jim volunteers to give back to a selfless town that he adopted as his home 18 years ago. Jim shares that his favorite part about being a first responder is “the feeling that you're doing something for the community.”
Outside of volunteering, Jim is a teacher at Shepaug Valley School where he continuously inspires his students with his compassion for the residents of Region 12. During his free time, Jim likes to participate in various outdoor activities with his wife and his dog, Spinach.
A big thank you to Jim McDonough for the outstanding work that he continues to do for the Region 12 community!
The above story is part of Brendan Kelly's senior project in which he is
featuring local volunteer first responders from our community.
#HourOfCode
During Computer Science Education week students were invited to participate in the Hour of Code challenge, in which they had the opportunity to be entered into a raffle of prizes. To compete, students completed an hour of coding and received one raffle ticket for each hour spent coding.
Hour of Code winners include Mrs. Wright, Talullah Schifini, Nathan Fisher, Penny Wollowick,
Elizabeth Creech, Sarah Moon, Liam Seamans, James Kersten, Addison Rickmers, and Liam McGuire!!
Homemade Sauerkraut
Laura McKinney of Riverbank Farm led a class on how to make lacto-fermented sauerkraut in Shepaug's agriscience kitchen.
Fliers & Upcoming Events
Region 12 Calendar
December 24-January 2 - Holiday Recess
January 3 - Kindergarten Registration begins and continues through the month of January
Follow Region 12 on our social media channels for updates and information!
The Region 12 community educates, challenges, and inspires all learners to become compassionate, creative, and courageous individuals who are empowered by the knowledge, character, and perseverance to achieve their greatest potential within the global society.
Email: rir@region-12.org
Website: www.region-12.org
Location: 11A School Street, PO Box 386 Washington Depot, CT 06794
Phone: 860-868-6100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shepaug-Regional-School-District-12-153899298123985/
Twitter: @Region12Schools
The chorus’ first public performance since Covid was eagerly anticipated and was filled with seasonal songs beautifully presented to the many townspeople. Thank you to our chorus teacher, Jennifer Doiron, and to the students for their wonderful performance and for spreading joy during this busy time of the year.