Raider Family News
December, 2022
Meet the English Language Arts Department
Number of Department Members: 11
Collective Years of Teaching: 277
Collective Years of Teaching at Somerset/SBRHS: 188
Number of Post Graduate Degrees Held: 15
Types of Post Graduate Degrees: Master of Arts. Master of Education, Master of Science, and Master of Art in Teaching all in Secondary English Education. Master of Arts in Theater Education, Master of Arts in Literacy, Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership/Administration, All But Dissertation in Educational Leadership, and Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership.
Department Vision: In the English Department, ALL students will be able to read critically, think independently, and communicate in a variety of media for a wide range of audiences. Furthermore, it is through close reading, collaborative discussion, and defendable interpretations of diverse characters, challenging situations, multiple points of view, various places and time frames, and rich ideas found in the best works of fiction, non-fiction, and non-print literary works, that students come to understand and practice the competencies embedded in our Vision of The Graduate.
It's all about the story....
English teachers love and respect “story” as central to the art and craft of teaching English language, literature, and composition. And so, we share, discuss, and analyze stories with our students that are fictional, factual, historical, reflective and/or speculative. These stories may be organized by genre; short story, memoir, novel, drama, literary non-fiction, live performance, and film or television. These stories may be written, filmed, acted, danced, sung, mimed and any other way in which a story can be communicated. These stories engage us and our students in the exploration of diverse story tellers, characters, places, times, cultures, perspectives, ideas, relationships, and conflicts. With our encouragement, these stories can also inspire our students to become story tellers.
A Global Curriculum...
Since we arrived at our new school in 2014, the English Department has worked diligently to expand the scope of our curriculum to reflect and honor the rich and diverse body of literature in our globalized culture. Even if we are unable to travel physically, we can travel through literary investigation.
That being said, teachers in this department do love to travel physically. This traveling does contribute to what we do in the classroom.
Dr. Doucette recently asked his department about their own travels and then compiled a list of destinations. Below is the list of places ELA staff have been and cultures experienced. In many instances, teachers reference them in their teaching: most of the USA, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Monaco, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, The Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, Canada, The Azores, Mexico, China, Turkey, Ecuador, The Virgin Islands, Bermuda, and Iceland.
More about the stars of the ELA Department:
* Chris Silva: is the advisor to the Literature Club, has been a member and Assistant Chair on two visiting NEASC committees, has occasionally been a guest conductor for The Case High School Theatre Company, was a teacher in the 2022 Summer ELA Academy this past August, and has attended the St. Johnsbury Summer Academy for AP Lit.
* Nicole Copeland: is advisor for the Diversity Club, co-advisor for the Breeze with Ben Chase,
and co-advisor for the Student Council and Peer Leadership with Sherri Gosson, was a teacher in the 2022 Summer ELA Academy this past August, has attended the St. Johnsbury Summer
Academy for AP Language and Composition, and has been a Reader and Scorer for the AP
English Language and Composition Exam.
* Sherri Gosson: is a co-advisor for the Student Council and Peer Leadership with Nicole
Copeland, is a member of the scholarship committee and a founding teacher of English IV
Capstone option.
* Ben Chase: is co-advisor for the school newspaper, The Breeze, with Ms. Copeland, taught at the ELA Summer Enrichment program this year, Speech and Debate Coach, a founding teacher of English IV Capstone option (with Sherri Gosson), has attended the St. Johnsbury Summer Academy for AP Lang and AP Lit, was a teacher in the 2022 Summer ELA Academy this past August, and has attended the MassCUE conference.
* Mike Fallon: was a teacher in the 2022 Summer ELA Academy this past August and continues to be the Coordinator for Raiders Reaching Out Clothing Drive.
* Christina Burgmyer: Advisor to Girl Up, the new Creative Arts Literary Magazine, Teacher
in Summer ELA Academy 2022, Former Somerset High School Field Hockey player and avid fan, and has attended the St. Johnsbury Summer Academy for AP Lit.
* Charlene Murray: attended a workshop on dyslexia and participated with the scheduling committee. Also, Mrs. Murray is a Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer and an expert in all things from the Medieval Period.
* Katie Davis: Was a volunteer cheering coach for nine years, and was past advisor for Student
Council and Peer Leadership.
* Kathi Hoyle: Developed our elective Speech and Debate course and is 9th grade class advisor. Particular interest in all things Shakespeare.
* Neville Barry: On a one-year leave of absence. An Americanist to the core.
* Dr. Ed Doucette: English Content Coordinator, English, Reading, and ESL teacher.
2022 Wellness Fair was a Great Success
Shrek is Coming to SBRHS
SBRHS students accepted into the SEMMEA Sr. District Music Festival
On Saturday, November 19, auditions were held for the Southeastern Massachusetts Music Educators Association's (SEMMEA) Sr. District Festival. In total, 886 students auditioned across the region to earn a place in this prestigious festival.
We are thrilled to announce that three SBRHS music students were accepted into the SEMMEA Sr. District Music Festival:
- Erin Rausch - Sr. District Treble Chorus
- Roman Raposo - Sr. District Band & MMEA All-State Recommendation
- Rachel Uon - Sr. District Mixed Chorus
These students will now go on to represent our school at the Sr. District festival on January 6th and 7th here at SBRHS! Additionally, Roman will now go on to audition for a slot in the MMEA Allstate festival in late January. Congratulations Eric, Roman and Rachel!
Winter Sports Wellness Night
SBRHS Winter Concert
Student/Staff Recognition
Each month we are recognizing students and staff who exemplify the skills and competencies that we value in our SBRHS Vision of the Graduate. This month's skill is Independence. Who do you know in our SBRHS community that demonstrates independence in the classroom, as a leader or participant in an extracurricular activity or, just in life in general? Or, does this staff or student encourage you to achieve independence in an area of your education? If someone who you thought was academic also demonstrates their independence at SBRHS, include that person's name in this new list. If someone new comes to mind, we want to hear from you too. If you have not yet participated, we hope you will think about filling out the Google Form this month. Last month, we recognized students and staff members for their academics. Randomly selected, we want to honor one of the students and staff members that were recognized for academics. They are:
Student: Kyle Comeau
Staff Member: Tanya McCarthy
Winter Wonderland Showcase is Back
Raider the Elf is on the Loose
'Twas finally December of this calendar year
Will Raider not join us? (It was something we feared)
But Raider is back, SBRHS's own elf
Though not the kind that comes on the shelf.
This elf carries magic, he carries good cheers,
And he is always on video, so don't touch him, my dears.
This year our Case Rally—it was so much fun
Pirates, Shrek, Oz--but the Avengers got it done!
Each day in December, Raider will find a place to hide
Will he brave the cold weather, or just stay inside?
Take a Selfie and make sure it’s Raider you’re with
And send your Google Form to Ms. Smith.
Every day you will find him in a new location,
We will play this game until December vacation.
On December 23, we will raffle a small prize
To someone who finds him with their eagle eyes.
Happy holidays to all, we hope you give our game a try
Let's have a great December & bid 2022 GOOD BYE!
Selfie's should be sent using the form. There will be one faculty winner and three student winners. Good luck. The more you participate the greater your chances are of winning prizes (gift cards/Raider merch).
After School Late Bus
COVID Tests Available for all students
through the month of December in the main office if anyone would like one. We will also have them available outside the Student Dining Center during lunches on December 23, 2022. These are complementary tests--it is not required that anyone tests over December break.