Weekly Update 4/6

Dear NCHS Family,

Our Homework policy will continue with this break. There will not be any assignments due upon return from break (at least for two days) nor will there be any tests. The hope is that families can spend more meaningful time together and that students are not focused on their work.

Our college level courses may require additional work depending on the pace and time of the year.  Also, if study guides or other work has been assigned over an extended time period students might want to take this opportunity to complete the work.

This respite does not preclude students from using the time to catch up or get ahead on some work. It is merely trying to put the focus on where it should be during a break, with family.

Graduation:

NCHS Graduation is set for Tuesday, June 20, 2017. We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2017!

Student Obligations and Senior Internship:

Seniors planning to go out on internship must be in good standing in all classes on May 1st.  Good standing means, no outstanding assignments for any class, a passing grade of 65 or higher, and no non-appealable loss of credit in any class.   Please be sure all delinquent assignments and assessments have been resolved in time for them to be corrected and recorded by May 1.

Also to note, Mrs. Pescatello will not be available to accept fine payments, return of books and other obligations during the week of April 17.  

NC Color Run:

The NC Color Run is quickly approaching – taking place on Sat, April 29th.  This event is a fundraiser for the NCHS Scholarship Foundation.  Our hope is that every high school student will raise $100 through their personal fundraising pages.  I ask that you please encourage your child to do his/her part.  Donations may be made through their page, or simply by clicking below:

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

The NC Color Run takes the place of the door-to-door campaign of years past.

Click below for more information on:

·   How you can support to the NCSF.

·   Register for the NC Color Run.

·   Volunteer at the NC Color Run.

·   How your student can benefit from the NCSF.

As always, thank you for your support!

Be well and stay healthy NCHS! I hope that you enjoy the break!

Bill Egan

Upcoming Events:

4/7 End of third quarter
4/10 Spring Vacation, school resumes 4/17
4/17 Board of Ed Meeting, 7:00 pm Wagner Room

4/18 PFA Grade 9 Networking 9:30 am Wagner Room

4/21 Junior Prom 7-11 pm Italian Center Stamford

Pictures from around NCHS:

Department News:

World Language:

The first International Day at NCHS was hosted yesterday by the World Language department for period 5 classes, and today for all other classes. Students had the opportunity to visit China, the Roman Empire, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Spain, Argentina, Peru, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and France during their WL class period.

In each of the host countries, students decorated their classrooms, presented projects to visiting classes on different aspects of the culture of their featured country, and organized games.
Students were able to learn something new about the different countries they visited and they enjoyed listening to the traditional music and dance of the host countries. Of course, the highlight was the wide variety of foods from around the world! From the Caribbean to South and Central America students enjoyed eating flan, tres leches cake, Cuban sugar cookies, empanadas, quesadillas, chichi morada, locrio de pollo, arroz con frijoles while drinking “virgin” mojitos, Mexican spicy hot chocolate, horchata ( milk flavored with almonds),  morir soñando (oranges, milk, sugar and ice), jugo de chinola ( passion fruit juice) and assorted Caribbean sodas.

From China the students sampled sesame noodles and rice. From Imperial Rome came assorted dried fruits, honey nut cookies and breads. And finally from the European countries of Spain and France, students tasted a variety of cheeses, chocolates, French pastries, cookies and crepes.

By all accounts, the first International Day was a tremendous success and it promises to become a yearly celebration!

English Department News:

Spring us upon us -- which means several of our department events to sponsor and promote literature are nearly upon us!

This is your last chance to submit work for consideration to the NCHS literary magazine Spectator. Poetry, short stories, essays and art can be submitted by email to nchs.spectator@ncps-k12.org.  No submissions will be considered for this year's magazine after Monday, April 17th.  If you are interested in submitting, this weekend is the last chance.

Poetry Fest will be held Tuesday, April 25th at 7 p.m. in the Wagner Room.  NCHS students are invited to submit a poem to Ms. Hamill that they will read that evening.  All poems will be published in the program and each writer will read his/her poem aloud; group poems are allowed.  Awards will be given for Best Poem, Best Use of Imagery, Most Artful Use of Language, and Best Performance of a Poem.  All are welcome to join this celebration of poetry!  Snacks and drinks will be served! Please submit poems to Ms. Hamill at Maggie.Hamill@ncps-k12.org by Friday, April 21st by 2 p.m.

Conor Grennan visit set for May 26th!  If you haven’t heard yet, the NCHS English department is sponsoring an intergenerational read of Conor Grennan’s book, Little Princes.  The author will visit on Friday, May 26th with discussion groups to follow. Copies are on reserve in the library.

Have a wonderful break!

CTE Department News:

Mrs. O'Connor's Civil Engineering & Architecture students took a field trip to Saxe to check out the construction going on and how it relates to what they are currently working on, a commercial renovation of a library.

Mrs. O'Connor's Set Design class worked on their designed recycling bin.

Mrs. O'Connor's Advanced Woodworking students worked on turning pens and their cutting board projects.

In Mrs. O'Connor's Advanced Woodworking III course the focus was on finishing the chair project that was designed by the student.

Mrs. O'Connor's Basic Woodworking students worked on the design and construction of their C02 Dragsters.

Mrs. O'Connor’s 3D Animation course students have been working on Autodesk Maya to create a bouncing ball but also had a visit from George Schermer a freelance CG Animator who has worked on projects from commercials to movies such as Ice Age, Turbo, Puss and Boots, and Rio 2.

Mr. Zambarano’s Robotics class finished 6 lessons from basic input output functions to using variables in coding. Their final project was to create a robot that would move around the room without getting stuck. Students used bump and limit switches, light sensors, potentiometers, gyroscopic sensors to perform this task.

This week in Foods & Nutrition, Ms Zilly's classes are cooking up delicious dishes that incorporate vegetables. Students made zucchini muffins, potato latkes, lentil soup and one class even convinced Ms. Zilly to let them make a decadent chocolate carrot cake; it does have 3 cups of shredded carrots in it.... Delish

VPA News:

At the Connecticut High School Outstanding Arts Awards Banquet this week, seniors Jason Campe and Connor McDevitt were the Honorees from New Canaan High School.
Here is a photo of them with teachers Leo Ficks and Jennifer Sinski.

Math Department News:  

The NCHS Math Team participated in the Connecticut State Association of Mathematics Leagues State Meet on April 6 at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs.  Bhaskar Abhiraman, Michael St. George, Andrew Shizari, Jai Ansh, Daniel Lu, and Nick Stiles were our team members, and they competed against the best mathematical talent in the state.  While they did not place in the top three in our division, they did a fantastic job working as a team all season!

Library update:

Ms. Whiting and Ms. Luhtala are proud to announce the new library blog!