The Souhegan Scoop
April 12, 2024
Upcoming Events
Additional event information is available via this interactive Trumba calendar. Click here for the official SAU 39 school year calendar. Additional event information is available via this interactive Trumba calendar.
Community-Wide Announcements & Reminders
School Start Time Survey
On April 8, 2024 Superintendent Berry emailed a Memo regarding School Start Time. In it he explained that another round of data collection would take place this year. For this year’s survey, SAU 39 is partnering with industry leaders in data collection, Qualtrics/Isobar Public Sector, to assist with survey design, deployment, and analysis. We will be deploying the survey to families, staff, and students on April 11, 2024, and closing the survey on April 18, 2024. The results of the survey will be communicated back to families following the April 30, 2024 board meeting.
Students at SHS will receive the survey on Monday, April 15 to complete during Advisory time.
Progress Reports
Progress Reports for MS2 are now available in PowerSchool. If you have any questions about course scores or comments, we encourage you to contact the teacher. As a reminder, course scores in semester 2 and year-long courses continue to evolve and the final course score that is designated on a student’s transcript is not determined until the end of the course in June. Clarity on a student’s learning progress is particularly important as we enter the final reporting period of the school year.
NHSAS
Students in grade 11 will be taking the NHSAS Science exam, our state accountability measure, on Friday, May 17th from 8:30 am to 9:45 am.
In addition to being our required state test, NHSAS Science is an important assessment that provides real-time information on students’ performance as related to grade-level expectations in science. We receive test results the afternoon of the test and teachers are able to use this information to target instruction through the end of the school year and beyond.
This information provides students, teachers, and administration:
A measure of student mastery of content and skills in various scientific disciplines
A tool for measuring the degree to which students are meeting high school expectations and are college- and career-ready
Information to guide future instruction in the classroom
As a school, we are required to have a 95% participation rate. Any missed assessments below the 95% district and school participation requirement will be counted as zero scores for state accountability. Zero entered as student scores will significantly impact our school and district-level test results and our teachers’ ability to gain accurate data. This 90-minute assessment provides the school with valuable information regarding our students and the curriculum.
Thank you for your continued support of science education at Souhegan High School.
Tom Sawyer Foundation
The Tom Sawyer Foundation was created to keep Tom’s legacy as a teacher and coach alive. Honoring Tom’s lifework, we seek to support exceptional students dedicated to athletics, invested in our community, and prepared to become our future educators and coach alive. Honoring Tom’s lifework, we seek to support exceptional students dedicated to athletics, invested in our community, and prepared to become our future educators.
Click here to learn more about the foundation and upcoming fundraising events.
PTA Play - Matilda the Musical
The 70th annual PTA play, "Matilda the Musical", is coming to Souhegan April 11th-14th! All proceeds from the event go to PTA initiatives like teacher grants and curriculum enrichment. Tickets are available at: https://buy.stripe.com/dR6dU5fk2clIfRu149. We hope to see you there!
Spring Showcase
Souhegan Performing Arts Presents: Spring Showcase! This event will feature solos and group performances from students in the performing arts programs at Souhegan. There will be bands, vocal groups, and soloists performing music of their choosing. This event is free and open to the public, and is on Wednesday, April 17th at 7 PM in the SHS theatre.
SAU39 Student Art Show
Children's Book Donation
Hi Everyone! My name is Sophia Lunati and I am a junior studying nursing at Rivier University in Nashua. I am coordinating a book drive to donate to the Dartmouth Hitchcock Pediatrics department for the little ones in the hospital to bring home with them!
With that being said, if anyone has some kids’ books they are looking to get rid of, please email me or my sister Stella Lunati at slunati@rivier.edu and stella.lunati@student39.org.
There will be a drop off location at Souhegan High School near the front office coordinated by Souhegan senior Stella Lunati as well for any students or parents who are also interested in donating!
School Highlights
NHIAA Scholar Athlete Ceremony
The annual NHIAA and NHADA Scholar Athlete Awards were held on Monday, April 1, 2024. This award is presented each year to high school seniors who have excelled in athletics as well as academics while demonstrating outstanding school and community spirit and leadership. Congratulation, Sabers!
Saber Spotlight
Click here to view slides from the Saber Spotlight that was held on Monday, April 8.
Solar Eclipse Photo Contest
Submit photos to Sarah Kunyosying in the Info Center at skunyosying@sau39.org by April 19 to enter.
The Info Center is recycling eclipse glasses!
Please bring your eclipse glasses to the Info Center and drop them in the labeled box! They will be donated to areas in Latin America for use during the next eclipse!
Student Services
AP Exams
AP Exams begin on May 6th (the first full week of May). An email with more information will go out to students next week containing more detail, but we want to make sure that students are aware of when the AP Exams are scheduled for the subjects they are taking. If there are questions with regard to AP Exams, please reach out to Tim Cotreau who coordinates College Board exams.
Monthly Newsletter
Please find the April Student Services newsletter here. Highlights include Career & Technical Education acceptances, Volunteer NH Info for Community Service Opportunities, Resources for Seniors transitioning to life after high school, some summer opportunities for 11th grade students.
Senior Year Notes
Senior Project
Seniors need to have completed their applied piece by the Applied Piece panel meeting next Thursday, April 18. Once they have successfully completed this checkpoint they may begin working on their final presentation which will take place on May 23 or 24. Parents who have scheduling conflicts or requests during either of these days should fill out this form by Friday, April 12. We cannot guarantee that requests made after this time can be honored. If students have not finished their project by April 18th, they will not present on May 23 and 24. Late presentations will be scheduled based on panel and parent availability anytime between May 28 and June 7th. Please reach out to Kathy Maddock and Ryan Lemieux with any questions.
Community News
Community Service Opportunities
Click here to view available community service opportunities!
Get To Know SHS!
Meet the wonderful and talented staff members of SHS!
Tara Pompeo
What is your role at Souhegan?
I'm a Classroom Assistant and I get to work as a math tutor in the Learning Commons.
How long have you been with Souhegan?
This is my seventh year here!
What do you love about your job?
Everything.
I love the kids. They amaze me every day with their brilliance, humor, kindness and insight.
The Learning Commons is a place for everyone at Souhegan, so students come in to work in groups, hang with friends and get help with math or JLPs or whatever they need. I get to be there while they discuss who the real monster is in Frankenstein or explain Physics to each other. I get to see pictures of their prom dresses and the eclipse photos they took. I get to hear their answers to our Question of the Day, which always provides for great conversation. And I get to do math with them, which I think is a blast, even if, especially at first, they don't always agree. I love it when their math table time ends with an "I feel like I can conquer anything after I did all that!" (GJ 1/23/24) or even an "I actually didn't hate this that much." (AD, 10/16/23)
I love the staff. They are rock stars and I can't believe I have the great fortune to walk the same halls as them. They are so smart and caring and so extremely dedicated to students and to each other. I'm grateful that my own kids each spent four years at Souhegan and got to learn from the best teachers in the world.
And Matt and JoAnn...they are amazing! The vibe that Matt has created in the Learning Commons and the collaboration that it allows for is so much fun to be a part of. And getting to sit next to JoAnn and learn from her expertise and her steadfast calmness is a gift.
I love everything about my job.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Road trips and live music.
If you were given one wish what would it be?
I wish that everybody would value public education for what it is - the most important thing we do in this country.
Do you have a favorite quote or mantra?
It's not a race.
Community Council
Saber Nation
Prom Committee
Prom tickets will be on sale from April 15th to April 30th! Tickets can be purchased at the School Store during Lunch and Advisory and are $75 each. You can pay using cards, check or cash.
Yearbook Club
This may be your last chance to purchase a yearbook online! Don’t miss out!
Pre-Med Club
We are organizing a month-long toy drive for children in the hospital! Please show your support and bring in new toys; you can give them to your advisor. On April 25th, the advisory that has collected the most toys will win a pizza party!
Best Buddies
The Best Buddies Friendship Walk is on May 11th!
Please register if you plan on walking in Concord, so you can start getting donations, after $50 in donations you get a t-shirt! It will have you make a personal page so you can send the link to anyone you know, and the money will go under your page for fundraising but go toward our team total. It is similar to anyone who has fundraised for sports. The team name is Souhegan Sabers. Make sure to type Souhegan Sabers in the box under ‘Join a team’. Then it will ask for personal info which will create your own page to collect donations.
Athletics
NCAA Initial Eligibility for College-Bound Student Athletes
Are you a student-athlete dreaming of playing your sport at the NCAA level? Invest in your future and spend an hour on Wednesday, May 8, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Eastern time, understanding the requirements and how to prepare for NCAA certification. Join NCAA Eligibility Center staff, who will walk you through what you need to do to compete at the NCAA Division I, II or III level. Staff will be answering questions live during the presentation, so come prepared to learn how to take your game to the next level! Click here to register.
SHS Baseball
Brody Smith pitched a perfect game in the first outing of the season for baseball on 4/10! He threw 47 pitches in 5 innings in the 14-0 win over the defending champions Hillos-Brookline.
Sabers Baseball soaking up the sun and the wins in Florida!
Contact us!
Website: https://www.sau39.org/shs
Location: 412 Boston Post Road, Amherst, NH, USA
Phone: (603) 673-9940
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/souheganhs
Twitter: @SouheganHS