Weekly Update 10/14
Dear NCHS Family,
This week was our annual Spirit Week and the students did not disappoint in showing their school spirit. They are so creative and so proud of New Canaan High School. I have included some pictures from around NCHS showing their enthusiasm this week.
My hope is that we get the entire school to come to the bonfire tonight, Homecoming game tomorrow and the dance tomorrow night. Please encourage your child to attend and join in the school spirit.
The Pep Rally was so much fun today. Check out some pictures from today. As always, you can see what is happening by following @NCHS_CT on twitter.
Pictures from around NCHS:
Upcoming Events:
10/15 Homecoming Game -- 1:30 pm Dunning
10/15 Homecoming Dance/Ice Cream Social -- 7:00 -10:00 pm Gym
10/18 Parent Networking Grade 9 -- 9:30 am Wagner Room
10/20 Parent Networking Grade 12 -- 9:30 am Wagner Room
10/20 Parent Networking Grade 12 -- 9:30 am Wagner Room
Wishing you all the best,
Bill Egan
Department News:
Social Studies Department News:
The AP Comparative Government class used the new Collaborative lab in the library to create visuals representing the institutions of the UK government. Working in groups, students decided to do an homage to British culture with a wink towards the Hundred Acre Woods and honouring their favourite sport - football.
The class also used the space as a way of narrowing down topics for their policy paper research. Based on the positive feedback from the students, they are looking forward to using this space again. Thank you to the librarians for creating this lab!
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Several Social Studies teachers (see pictures below), in the spirit of election season, dressed as suffragettes for Spirit Week costume day.
Students in AP world classes completed their three day symposium on Absolutism. They discussed the proper form of leadership and the level of involvement of the leader in religion, the economy and daily lives of his/her people. The symposium had representation from around the world including North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
The American Studies class is examining the Bill of Rights + 14th and 15th Amendments through speed dating! (See pictures below) In preparation for a research paper on court cases that challenged the interpretation of one of these amendments, students became experts on one amendment and through a series of "speed dating" rounds, learned about the other amendments.
In preparation for Veterans Day this year we would like to connect with a few more Veterans who are willing to talk with students about their service in one or more of our US History, AP US History and American Studies classes. Over the past several years we have had the great fortune to have many local Veterans speak with classes throughout the day, and we would love to continue the tradition. If you or someone you know has served and would be willing to meet and talk with our students in an informal setting for one or two class periods on November 11, please contact robert.stevenson@ncps-k12.org.
Science Department News:
Our Physics classes have just started their third unit of the year this week. The unit ,“Projectile Motion”, is always one of the favorites for our students. The first lab of the unit focuses on force vectors and creating force diagrams. Students below are using a variety of masses to determine the force that is exerted on two scales and then create a vector diagram that they will use to graphically analyse the resulting forces.
Our biology classes are wrapping up their introductory unit focusing on Biochemistry principles that will be the basis for future study on cellular processes during the first semester. Students have just completed creatimg models of macromolecules such as carbohydrates and lipids to visualize ideas of monomer vs. polymer. As part of this unit, students utilize color indicators to test for and identify organic compounds in a variety of solutions. 
World Language Department News:
Mandarin language students are very busy learning the language and culture these days. Level 2 language students are learning school-related vocabulary from names of classes and classrooms to school-related activities. Level 3 students are learning all about the Chinese language in Chinese! They have been talking about tones, idioms, the two written languages, dialects and where Chinese is spoken. Finally, level 4 students are learning about Chinese and Western holidays, Chinese customs and how families celebrate the main holidays in China. With the next units fast approaching, students in all levels will be making movies about their respective units. They will be able to create a movie entirely in Chinese and present their “productions” to the class.
Here is an example of one section of a recent PowerPoint made by a student in level 3.
我最喜欢学中文因为我觉得中文是很有趣，也是很有用。我学简体字的中文，和我学了中文四年了。我喜欢学中文因为如果我说中文说的流利，我可以去中华人民共和国和做买卖。中国是一个经济的超级大国，所以我做买卖上海。上海是中国的经济中心，有很多商店和大公司。每个星期我做两个小时的中文功课。在我门的中文课，我门要看看对话，也说很多简体字的中文。我们也做多阅读理解。
VPA
The intro to photography classes are beginning their unit on "Shutter Speed" with a focus on "freeze the action" compositions. Today we warmed up for the pep rally with the school spirit excitement in the air, literally. Students leaped into the air and posed while their peers used a fast shutter speed to capture the action mid-jump.
Art Teachers Do Costume Day: The American Tourist
(Ms. McDonagh, Ms. Sinski and Ms. Core)
