Weekly Update 9/22
Dear NCHS Family,
Monday night is our annual Open House. Freshmen Parent Orientation will begin at 6:30 pm and the first bell is at 7:15 pm. Open House is co-sponsored by NCHS and the Parent Faculty Association (PFA). This event provides an opportunity for you to become acquainted with the high school's Program of Study and to meet your child’s teachers. The evening's format does not allow for individual parent-teacher conferences, but such meetings can always be arranged at mutually convenient time in the future. Please click here for more about Open House. Also, please plan to arrive early as it is one of the busiest evenings of the year.
As always, thank you for your support!
Wishing you all the best,
Bill Egan
Upcoming Events:
9/25 Freshmen Parents Orientation 6:30 pm
9/25 Open House for all grades 7:15 pm
9/26 PFA 11th Grade Networking
9/29 Club & Activity Fair for underclassmen
Pictures from around NCHS:
Department News:
Administrator’s Perspective:
Mr. Gusitsch continues a four week blog series on stakeholders in education with part three, focusing on “Faculty & Staff” and the role of partnerships within the schools. Feel free to check it out, here.
School Counseling:
The first few weeks of school are a mad rush for the school counselors. The week before school begins, counselors review student schedules for conflicts and errors prior to their release to the school as a whole. On the first day of school, counselors had the pleasure of meeting with their freshmen and helping them to understand their schedules, lunch and the geography of the building. We explained how and when to meet with their counselors and the kind of issues and concerns that may arise that we could assist them with.
While the freshmen are transitioning into the school, the seniors are starting to look toward transitioning out. Counselors talked to seniors in their English classes about the process of ordering transcripts, making senior appointments, matching Naviance and Common App and talking to teachers about writing recommendations. In turn, the counselors also met with parents to explain much of the same.
The college reps are starting to arrive and seniors are attending the sessions and engaging in discussions about what life may look like for them next year.
Math:
Students in M3 Introduction to Calculus discussed questions which begin with what, when and why in class. As questions in this course become more complex, it is important to reflect on the processes needed and available to us to solve problems. Students discussed specifically relating to the topic of complex rational expressions: What methods do we have available to use in the solving process? Why should we complete a problem this way versus another way? Do we really know when would it better to use one solving method versus another? What work is necessary for full credit? The days of having to solve a problem one way and only the way the teacher does it is over. Simply put, more solving options, more student choice, more success!
Social Studies:
Students from Ms. Goldhawk's period 6 Civics class gratefully accepted this year’s gracious gift of pocket Constitutions from Susan Socci and the New Canaan chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Constitutions arrived just in time for Constitution Day and are already being put to great use in classes. Thanks to the D.A.R. students in our Civics and Government classes have instant access to our country’s most important contract for their classwork and beyond.
CTE News:
Things are in full swing in Ms. Zilly's CTE courses this week. The Foods and Nutrition classes are becoming "Quick Bread" Pros making muffins, scones and waffles. Baking & Pastry Arts did a project comparing box mix and homemade baked goods; I think homemade won! Lastly, the Interior Design class is getting their basic skills down learning about the principles and elements of design and creating their own color wheels.
Intro to TV Broadcasting - Students recently learned how to shoot video properly on their phones and the different types of accessories that can help produce better videos. They are now out "in the field" working on a sequence video- shooting video out of order so they can assemble it back in order during the editing process.
Advanced TV Broadcasting - NCTV aired another live broadcast this morning, which can be viewed here. And coming up later, NCTV will broadcasttonight's football game LIVE at 7PM from Dunning Stadium. If you can't make the game, you can always watch it from your computer, tablet or phone with this link: New Canaan Rams vs. Trumbull Golden Eagles. You can also follow the score on NCTV 78's Twitter account: @NCTV78.
Journalism - Students recently completed story proposals and now have their story assignments. Having just finished an-class interviewing workshop, students are ready to head out and interview their sources. Returning Courant students have published a lot of new content which can be read at nchscourant.com or via the Courant's twitter account: @NCHSCourant.
Library:
