Weekly Cougar News
ConVal High School Happenings - February 10, 2023
Message from Principal McKillop
Good Afternoon, Cougar Nation!
What an exciting week on campus — in addition to the second full week of semester 2 classes, there has been quite a bit going on. I am particularly proud of our students who have been recognized in various ways. Please see more below!
Last Friday, two student vocalists participated in the highly competitive Jazz All-State Festival that was held at Pinkerton Academy in Derry. The week before that, 27 ConVal Band members performed at the Keene Jazz Invitational. There are more details in the "Spotlight on Music" section below, including a link to a short video clip of the band performing "Mr. Blue Sky."
ConVal Theatre Arts students have been working hard after school preparing for the production of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We hope to see you at a performance next week. More details about performance dates, times, and ticket ordering information can be found below.
Our students have the opportunity this month to explore elective course options for the 2023-2024 school year by checking out the electives fair online. Please click here to access a web post with links to many exciting classes that may be of interest.
We have quite a busy afternoon and evening planned on campus. Best of luck to our teams competing at home and away. I look forward to cheering on our boy's basketball team in just a few hours. Have a great weekend, and GO COUGARS!
Best,
Heather
Table of Contents
Upcoming Dates and Events
Student Recognitions
Classroom Snapshots
Spotlight on Music
Theatre Arts Presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Region 14 Applied Careers & Technical Education
School Counseling News
Crisis Text Line
Athletic, Co-Curricular and Club Updates
Book Group News
Help Wanted
Upcoming Important Dates and Events
- ATC Community and School Tours: February 13-18 from 8am-2pm
- Winter Play: February 16 (7pm), February 17 (7pm), February 18 (2pm & 7pm)
- February 17: 8th Grade Career Fair 9:30-11:15am
- February 20: Parent Night for Rising 9th Graders
- February 21: Book Club Meeting in the ConVal Library 2:30pm
- February 23: Spring Open House 6:30-8:00pm
- Winter Break: February 27-March 3
Student Recognitions
The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers announced the winners of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Congratulations to the nine students who received Gold Keys, Silver Keys, and Honorable Mention recognitions in the following categories:
Ceramics & Glass
- Audrey Lang (“Blueberry Pint,” Gold Key; “Oranges,” Honorable Mention)
- Garret Rousseau (“Pitcher,” Gold Key)
- Ava Solod (“Peace Tea Inspired Teapot Set,” Gold Key)
Digital Art
- Maggie Fry (“Buzzzzz,” Honorable Mention), Kalyn Ross (“Eyes,” Silver Key)
Drawing & Illustration
- Ruthie Cassidy (“Emotional Migraine,” Honorable Mention), Autumn Dahl (“Autumn’s Mom,” Honorable Mention)
Painting
- Leigha Psiras ("Among The Crowd,” Honorable Mention)
Each year, Scholastic Arts partners with more than 100 arts organizations across the country to bring the Awards to local communities. Submissions are juried by luminaries in the visual arts, some of whom are past award recipients. Panelists look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.
Congratulations to Esther Janis who has been nominated for an American Vision Award by the regional New Hampshire Scholastic Arts awards committee. Janis received the nomination for her photograph “Finding Youth.” American Vision Award nominees must have a Gold Key work with an original, authentic voice or vision. For the adjudication panel, Janis’ photograph stood out as a “Best in Show” representative for the year’s Scholastic Arts Awards exhibition which took place on February 5. Congratulations, Esther, for this first-ever recognition by a ConVal High School student!
On Tuesday, February 7, the World Language Department announced the January World Language Students of the Month — for German: Kai Flynn and Nik Kelson; for Spanish: Anthony Coppo.
These students have demonstrated the keys to being successful language learners. They have consistently shown a positive attitude and a willingness to take academic risks. They have also demonstrated perseverance and curiosity and proven themselves to be successful collaborators. Congratulations, all!
Congratulations to the January recipients of the CARES Awards:
- Freshmen: Sophia Aiken, Isaac Clough, Chloe Gallagher, Olivia Michaels, Ema Richardson
- Sophomores: Amanda Bergeron, Ashley Biathrow, Willow Middleton, Emiel Sefuentes, Luis Torres
- Juniors: Ruthie Cassidy, Hunter Contois, Jen Hopkins, Kaili Kozlowski, Colin Pellettieri
- Seniors: Morgan Beamont, Sean Cronin, Ryan Gorman, Eva Lopez, Elyssa Naylor, Raiven Lewis
Congratulations, all, for modeling exemplary behavior and demonstrating the actions described in the ConVal C.A.R.E.S. (Community, Adaptability, Respect, Engagement, and/or Safety) behavior matrix.
Classroom Snapshots
Ms. Croteau's Biology Class
Students in Ms. Croteau's Biology class learned about lateral reading and click restraint from our Library Media Specialists Ms. Jones and Mrs. Bowman. Students used this new knowledge to research if viruses were alive for an argumentative CER paragraph.
Ms. Hagan's Health & Wellness Class
Students in Mrs. Hagan's Health and Wellness 1 started class with a whole group cardio warm up. Then students began high intensity interval training to build their cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
Spotlight on Music 🔦
27 ConVal Band members performed at the Keene Jazz Invitational on Friday, January 27. The students performed "Mr. Blue Sky," "What A Wonderful World," and "Big Noise from Winnetka." Click here for a brief video of their performance.
The highly competitive Jazz All-State Festival took place at Pinkerton Academy in Derry February 2-4. Two ConVal students were part of the 2023 Honors Jazz Choir that performed "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly," "Peace," "Beautiful Friendship," "Love Letters," and "Mad Heaven."
Theatre Arts Presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Thursday, February 16 at 7:00 pm
- Friday, February 17 at 7:00 pm
- Saturday, February 18 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Tickets available at the door and online at our.show/cvhs/dream.
Region 14 Applied Technology Center
To access the information about the CTE programs at the Region 14 Applied Technology Center, please click this link.
Students in Manufacturing II are preparing to welcome student visitors from area elementary and middle schools next week by creating small take home projects. Other projects include creating large dice as well as trivets.
Students in Gil Morris's robotics class are building and coding robots that will use their claw arms to pick up nuclear waste (small blocks). Students are working independently or in teams.
ConVal High School Counseling
Course Selection Process Starts For 2023-2024
Course selection for the 2023-24 school year is well under way! Students entered their course selections in PowerSchool this week, and school counselors will have follow-up meetings with students over the next several weeks. For other school counseling news, please follow this link: February 2023 Counseling.
In a crisis? Text HOME to 741741
You can also reach out by typing @CrisisTextLine on Facebook Messenger.
The service is here for any type of crisis and is available 24/7 for high-quality, text-based mental health support.
A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from a secure online platform.
Reach out to get the help you need.
Athletic and Co-Curricular Updates
Upcoming in Athletics and Co-curriculars:
Big News:
Claws for a Cause
February 15th
Conval Gymnasium
What: Varsity-Varsity Basketball Game vs. Souhegan High School
Purpose: Support the local charity, Break the Silence which works to build awareness and supply resources for mental health treatment
When: 5:00 pm Girls Varsity 7:00 pm Boys Varsity
General Admission: $3 students/senior citizens $5 Adults
Featuring:
ConVal Spirit Team
T-Shirts will be sold at the event for $15
Half-time 50/50 raffles and a half-time progression shot challenge to win big money
Mascot Dance Battles
It’s a Purple Out so wear purple and/or buy a purple Claws for Cause T-shirt at the game
Please consider joining us for what will be the community event of the year.
Coaches Needed: We are looking for a Boys Lacrosse Coach and a Girls Tennis coach for this spring. Please see our SAU jobs postings to apply or reach out to kproctor@conval.edu with any questions.
Book Group News
Book Group Meets February 21
The Peterborough Town Library/ConVal High School Book Group will meet on February 21 after school at 2:30pm in the CVHS library to discuss Trevor Noah's Born a Crime. There's still time to read the book and there are copies available for checkout. We usually meet for around an hour to talk about the book. There will be snacks! Questions? Stop by the library or email the librarians (ajones@conval.edu and/or rbowman@conval.edu).
Looking for Substitutes, Paraprofessionals
The ConVal School District is looking for substitute teachers and paraprofessionals.
The qualifications for employment as a substitute teacher or paraprofessional are as follows:
- Teaching experience not required
- Ability to work well with children and adults
- High school diploma or GED required
- At least 21 years of age
An appropriate certification or permission is required for long-term sub assignments.
To apply, please follow this link to the District’s online application system.
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