East Granby High School Newsletter
October 2015
Principal's Newsletter
Dear Students, Parents, Guardians and Friends of EGHS,
This is our first newsletter of the school year. The first two months of school have been quite eventful. For example, just a couple of weeks prior to the opening of school EGHS was named by Newsweek Magazine as one of the top 500 high schools in the United States, out of a possible 30,000. This is a considerable recognition for our schools, district, students, teachers, parents and community.
The opening of school was relatively uneventful. We held a freshman orientation just before school started and then an open house for the high school the first week of school.
Then we had a transformer fire. We evacuated the building, and once we understood the nature of the repairs required, we then dismissed the students to go home. We spend a lot of time on safety drills, and on this particular day, it paid off. The staff and students evacuated very quickly, and we were able to account for everyone in the building a just a few minutes. Thank you to all staff and students for their cooperation.
Fall sports are well underway. (See more on that below). It was great to so many people at the soccer under the lights event last Friday night. Congrats to the Boys’ and Girls’ teams for their 1-0 victories.
Parent Advisory
We need parents! Several times each year the school administrators and parents gather for coffee and cider and share important information regarding student achievement, curriculum, policy, and related issues at the high school. We would love to see you at our next event on Wednesday, November 18th at 7:00 p.m. in the high school library. Starting this year, all juniors will now be required to take the SAT’s across the state of Connecticut. The new revised SAT has been rewritten and is significantly different from the SAT’s that have been given up to this year. This test will replace the SBAC tests that were given last year. At the parent advisory, we would like as many parents as possible in attendance in order to broaden our collective understanding of this new test. All 9-11th grade students will be impacted by these changes. We will also review data from last year’s statewide and national assessments. Hope to see you there!
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter.
David Peling Sr.
Principal EGHS
Bonfire - Wednesday Night, Octobert 21st
Blackout Dance - Friday Night, October 23rd
Freshman Parent Group - Wednesday, November 4th, 7:00 pm EGHS library
Veterans’ Day Recognition at EGHS - Tuesday, November 10th
Parent Advisory - all parents welcome grades 9-12 - Thursday, November 12th, 7:00 pm EGHS library
Parent Conferences - December 2nd, 3rd and 4th
CHECK OUT OUR STUDENTS!
First Day Photos
EG Travels Happenings
EG Travels is off to a great start this year! We kicked off the occasion with the sale of almost 200 dozen donuts. We will be following this fundraiser with an Autumn installment of The Thrilla on the Hilla this November 13th. Students will face off again against the faculty to retain their May, 2015 title! We've aptly entitled this event...the Faculty Brings the Heat! Do not miss out on the fun!
We are thrilled to announce we will be offering a trip to Quebec for the final weekend of January. This trip will include a great visit to the Parliament House, Old Town Quebec, the Aquarium, the Ice Hotel, and the Ecole de cirque. If last year's trip was great, this one is sure to be amazing! The final cost has not been determined, but it should be between $500-$600. As soon as we have a final itinerary and cost breakdown, we will send out an email to all parents. Hope to see some of you attend!
Our Europe trip is only 175 days away! We cannot be more excited! France and Spain and memories to last a lifetime will change your child's life forever. If you are interested in joining us, go to EFTours.com. Our tour code is 1744611CF. We have established a scholarship fund that will be used to help subsidize the costs for a deserving student. If you would like more information, we encourage you to check it out. Anyone who may be interested in contributing to the scholarship fund should make checks payable to East Granby High School and forward them to Mrs. Ash at your convenience.
Field Trips
Students of Mrs. Ash's French classes and Mrs. Dugre's Art classes recently visited the Hillstead Museum and La Petite France Bakery in French. Highlights of the day included a French speaking tour guide who conducted the house walk through completely in French. After seeing the house, many of the students took part in an art experience where they were able to create their own impressionist paintings in the artist's workshop.
Here is a look at our students' NYC adventure... On September 16th, students experienced the MET Museum, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Broadway's "Finding Neverland" and the Hard Rock Cafe.
IN OUR CLASSROOMS...
Art
The art room is packed with students this year! Crafts has topped out at almost thirty kids. Currently, they are working on paper quilling, which is the art of coiling and shaping narrow paper strips to create a design. This is their last paper manipulation project; they have already complete polish paper cutting and origami. The Ceramics students are also well into their year, they have explored pinch pots and have moved into coil forms. The Advanced Ceramics students have been working on life like sea shells, vase faces, and free choice pieces. Drawing I students are enjoying taking small objects and enlarging them to larger then life pieces. We are moving into portraits and facial structure next then adding some pumpkin fun into the mix. Finally, the AP Art History students are learning about Ancient Greece and exploring the architecture and sculptural attributes that heavily influenced art for the rest of time.
Language Arts
EGHS's 2015 issue of Voices Literary Magazine is now available on-line! Clink the link below to enjoy artwork, poetry and prose from our students. Did you know that you can order a hard copy of this magazine? Just contact Deborah Ott (dott@eastgranby.k12.ct.us) for more information.
Science
In chemistry, we brought in a little fun this week! In order to practice one of the new concepts the students were learning, we adapted the game Battleship to become Electron Configuration Battleship, Woohoo!!!. True competition took place, in addition to solidifying their understanding of the concept, of course! You can tell from their serious and not so serious expressions that fun was had by all!!
Foods
The Foods Classes were happy to prepare refreshments for the Open House in September. They will be having the first soup sale of the year on October 28!
Child Development
In Child Development class, students enjoyed hearing from Mrs.Cahill about taking on the requirements and responsibilities of a foster family for very young children. This class will soon be looking for families with toddlers, to sign up for our child study and care program to begin in December.
Fashion and Clothing Construction
The Fashion and Clothing Construction class is beginning preparations for their Fashion Show which will be open to the public, and held in January.
World Language
By Señora Duffy and Señora Mullane
The students of Honors Spanish IV celebrated El Día de Independencia on September 16 with a presentation of the Mexican celebration and the history of its Independence Day. Each year on the night of September 15th, at around eleven in the evening, the President of Mexico rings the bell of the National Palace in Mexico City. After the ringing of the bell, he repeats a shout of patriotism based upon the "Grito de Dolores". On the morning of September 16th the national troops parade in the Zócalo and its outskirts.
Alex Geer, Nicki Gosselin and Kaelyn Ludwig baked a "Mexican Wedding cake" to share with the class to celebrate this historic day in Mexican history.
Physical Education
The CT Physical Fitness Assessment will be given to all sophomores on Oct. 27 and 28. This includes the sit and reach test for flexibility, push up test for muscle strength, curl up test for muscle endurance and pacer run for cardiovascular endurance. If your child has a medical condition that will prohibit him or her from taking the test, please provide Mrs. DeFlaun with a medical note. Please encourage your child to prepare for this by participating in some physical activity.
Music
Congratulations to Sarah Calano, Kylie Geer, Claire Newhall, Ivana Prats, Jenna Sheridan, and Jesse Worlund! They will be participating in the NCCC Music Festival at Stafford High School on November 17th and Nov. 19th! The concert is November 19th at 7:00 PM and is open to the public. Tickets are $8.00 and may be purchased at the door. Sarah will play bass clarinet with the band and Kylie, Claire, Ivana, Jenna, and Jesse will sing in the Choir.
Save the date for the High School Winter Concert on Thursday, Dececember 3rd at 7:00 PM. Our concert is free and open to the public!
The first meeting of the East Granby Music Parents Association is Monday, October 19th at 6:30 PM in the Band room. The association is open to all Middle and High School Band, Choir, and Color Guard parents.
The High School Band and MS/HS Color Guard will perform with the UMASS Amherst Minuteman Marching Band as part of UMASS Band Day at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on Saturday, October 24th. The event is open to the public and tickets may be purchased that day at the stadium. The UMASS football team will play Toledo at 3:00 PM. Over 4,000 band members took the field at last year's event.
Good luck to Alexander Cannon, Mazwi Cele, Ivana Prats, and Jenna Sheridan! They will be auditioning for the CMEA Northern Region High School Music Festival. The audition is Saturday, November 21st at Avon High School.
Guidance
The School Counseling Department has been meeting with their seniors!
Mrs. Phelan and Mrs. Durao have been helping seniors as they continue their postsecondary planning. Students are creating resumes and requesting recommendations from teachers. Seniors have also been hard at work filling out their Commonapp and writing their college essays.
Seniors continue to make appointments to see your school counselors!
Upcoming Events:
• PSAT's are Wed Oct 14th! They are recommended for all juniors who are considering applying to college. They are also open to sophomores who have completed geometry. The cost is $20. Please see Mrs. Phelan or Mrs. Durao if there is an issue with the ability to pay the fee. (fee waivers are available for qualifying students)
• The Guidance Department will be taking a group of students to ACM’s Aerospace Industry “Future WorkForce Opportunities” Fair on Thursday, October 22nd. Please sign-up in the office.
CRUSADER CHATTER
Cross Country
The girls and boys cross country team's season is winding down for the year. They have two championship meets left, NCCC's which are on Saturday October 21st at Windsor Locks High School and the Class S State Championships on October 31st at Wickham Park in Manchester Connecticut. This year was a rebuilding year with a very young team with a lot of promise over the next few years. We had a large number of freshman come out for the team and we are only graduating two seniors, Haley Comstock and Ailing Li. Both teams are currently 3-9 going into NCCC with 3 teams that were very close calls during the season. We are looking to pick up two of those wins at NCCC's. Freshman Nate Orkney and junior Jonathan Kelly were the number one and two finishers on the boys side for the entire year. Rounding out the top five was sophomore Jason Marin, freshman Jack Tubridy, and sophomore Justin Lacharite.
On the girls team sophomore Allie Davis lead all the meets coming in first in East Windsor against Enfield. Senior Haley Comstock, sophomore Kylie Geer, sophomore Megan Hacia, and freshman Emily Frascona rounded out the top 5 for the season. The teams also had a bit of "fun" this year as they participated in the 5th Annual Sloper Relay in Southington. The runners created relay teams of four members each teammate and completed a 1.5 mile run with the last 100 meters a muddy downhill. Some of the freshman boys opted to stay nice and clean and avoided the mud pits, but in the end with hugs from their teammates everyone was muddy! Congratulations to the 2015 XC Team! Best of luck in NCCC's & States!
NCCC Championship @ Windsor Locks HS (Sat. 10/24)
1:45 - Girls' Varsity
2:30 - Boys' Varsity
3:15 - Girls' JV
4:00 - Boys' JV
CIAC State Championships @ Wickham Park (Sat. 10/31)
Class S Girls 11:25 (Bolton, Classical, East Granby, East Windsor, Somers, SMSA, Windsor Locks)
Class S Boys 12:00 (Bolton, Classical, East Granby, East Windsor, SMSA, Stafford)
The Mudder
Before....
And After
The Meets
Swimming
The East Granby Girls Varsity Swim Team is off to a fast start with 5 wins under their belt to 3 losses under first year head coach Mr. Scott Chambers. The team has had impressive wins against Suffield, East Hartford, Immaculate, Bulkeley, and Torrington. They have suffered defeats by Sacred Heart, Haddam –Killingworth, and Plainville.
When asked how the team has doubled their win performance from last season, Coach Chambers was quick to respond by “hard work, depth, determination, and swimming to our potential.” Coach Chambers has instilled a winning attitude among the girls by a team concept model that each swimmer plays a vital role on the team. The team is led by Senior Co-Captain Olivia Morris who has qualified for States in the 200 IM and 100 Butterfly. Olivia Brody has qualified in the 50 and 100 Free. The team practices every day at Windsor Locks pool from 3:00PM-5:00PM.
In September the team did a swim a thon to raise funds to purchase much needed new equipment. The girls raised close to $3,000. We were able to purchase new team warm ups, hand paddles, kick boards, pull buoys, and back packs for each swimmer to store the new equipment. “Senior Night” will be held on October 27th against Suffield at 5:00PM. We will be honoring our graduating seniors, Olivia Morris and Helena Brody. Coach Chambers is quick to point out that there is still much swimming to be done this season. With remaining meets against Windsor, Enfield/Fermi/Somers, Suffield, and Haddam-Killing-Worth they hope to improve in the win column.
The team will end their season with an Award Banquet on Sunday November 22nd at the Hop Meadow Country Club in Simsbury.
Boys' Soccer
Girls Soccer
The young East Granby Girl's Varsity Soccer Team has been working hard to play the best game of soccer possible! The most important aspect is that the student scholars are a dedicated, group of young athletes, that take a lot of pride in playing soccer for their high school!
One highlight of the season was playing a Home soccer match under the lights on October 16th!
On a crisp autumn evening the soccer players warmed up in anticipation of having the honor to play under the lights, in front of the entire East Granby community! Many thanks to the Booster Club for setting up an exciting atmosphere with everything from hot chocolate to baked potatoes!
The East Granby girls soccer players have experienced tremendous growth over the season! We are experiencing a strong second half of the soccer season, with a fantastic win over Strafford 1-0, under the lights! The team is excited to continue on a journey of becoming better individual players and playing together as a team sharing the great game of soccer while taking pride in playing for East Granby High School!
BONFIRE!!!!
Seniors getting ready for the annual Bonfire on October 21st
National Honor Society
By Lynn Ash
If you have any questions regarding the Peer to Peer Tutoring Program, please feel free to contact Lynn Ash, lash@eastgranby.k12.ct.us, or Mathew Ryan, mryan@eastgranby.k12.ct.us.. We would be happy to work out a schedule that works best for the needs of your child.
Connecticut Youth Forum meetings and events are open to all East Granby students (certain events may have limits on how many students can attend).For information, check out the bulletin board in the main hallway, talk to one of our enthusiastic participants or see Mrs. Downes. The next regular Connecticut Youth Forum meeting is on October 20th, 2015.
Future Business Leaders of America
Future Business Leaders of America is a national co-curricula organization that promotes leadership skills among high school students. Competitions and conferences, both at the state, regional, and national levels offer students exciting opportunities to exchange ideas and meet other future leaders.
Mathletes
Check out our Mathletes, Amanda Samuel, Sarah Martin, Olivia Morris and Sarah Soucy.
There will be a taping of As Schools Match Wits on November 14th at 2:30pm.
Yearbook
It's yearbook season...isn't it always??? Of course it is because we want the East Granby High School Yearbook to improve with every year! Seniors should be in the process of already submitting their senior portraits, baby photos, third page photos and senior quotes via Google Classroom Yearbook. If you have not signed up for the Classroom Yearbook yet, your access code is 1iawz. Please do so immediately because if we do not have your photos, you will not be represented in the Yearbook! If you have not had a Lifetouch photo or independent photo taken and need one, please see Mrs. Ash ASAP. She will happily shoot a portrait for you so that you have a beautiful image to take home and use for the yearbook. Let's all work together to create the best yearbook possible this year. It all starts with you!