10/20 Weekly Update
Dear NCHS Family,
Fire Drill:
At approximately 10:15a.m. today we carried out a Fire Drill at New Canaan High School. Stan Sarafin, head custodian, the high school administration, and Geoff Lambert, School Resource Officer joined me in facilitating this unannounced drill.
The students and staff followed our procedures very well. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 203-594-4686.
Vaping:
Please remember to have conversations with your children about the dangers of Vaping. In addition to the dangers(link to previous message from Janet Reed), students will be suspended for 5 days if they choose to vape here at school. Working together, we can convince our children of the dangers of vaping. We have included the slide below on our TV announcements.
Just a reminder that next week is Spirit Week and we want to make sure the students have a great time, respect themselves, each other and the community. We hope that everyone enjoys the week, stays safe and we win all of the athletic contests that we participate in. To see my letter and activities for Homecoming Week, click here.
One Second everyday!
We continually add to our one second everyday video. Click below to see the latest.
Be well and stay healthy NCHS!
Bill Egan
Upcoming Events:
10/19- 21 Fall Play, The Miracle Worker
10/23-27 Spirit Week & Pep Rally
10/27 Bonfire 6:30 pm
10/28 Homecoming Football Game, Dunning 2 pm
10/28 Homecoming Dance 7 pm
Pictures from around NCHS:
Administrator’s Perspective:
This week, Mr. Gusitsch reflects on the Penguin Suit Challenge Charity event. It is sure to be a fun, spirited event for a good cause! Feel free to check it out, here.
From the Senior Internship Program:
The Senior Internship Program has grown substantially in the eight years it has been in existence. We are expecting around 300 senior students to participate this spring. We are looking for companies/organizations in a 15-mile radius of New Canaan that would be able to host a student for 3 weeks. The dates of our Internship Program are May 22-June 13/15, 2018. It is scheduled to end on June 13, but with snow days, it could be extended. If you would like more information or you know a company/organization that could participate please email Heather Bianco at heather.bianco@ncps-k12.org. Please check out the SIP website at https://sites.google.com/ncps-k12.org/nchs-sip/home
Department News:
VPA:
Theater: Please join the NCHS Theater program for performances of “The Miracle Worker” on October 19 & 20 @ 7pm and October 21 @ 2pm & 7pm. All performances will be held at the New Canaan High School Auditorium and seating will be on stage. Tickets are limited and may be purchased online at www.newcanaanhighschooltheatre.com.
Athletics:
The girls' Golf Team was honored last night by the Fairfield County Sports Commission, as the New Canaan representative for Sportsperson of the Year. Here is a photo of the girls who were able to attend the dinner.
Spike Ball in period 8 Physical Education class:
School Counseling:
We are in our busiest week as college reps arrive to meet with seniors every ½ hour all day long. We are using every space we can find to accommodate the students wishing to speak with the reps and hear about college life in their chosen schools. As we get to the final week before early deadlines, counselors are helping students to polish applications, review essays and order transcripts while completing recommendations.
Counselors are also working with students who may feel that their current placement in classes needs to be changed in the upcoming quarter. We ask that students begin with a conversation with the teacher to determine what more they can do and to get another perspective when evaluating whether a level change is warranted.
Science:
NCHS budding meteorologists were hard at work making their very own anemometers. An anemometer measures wind speed. In Ms. Pivovar’s class, they discovered it was pretty windy that day.
Math:
The NCHS Math Team had its first match on October 4th. The team did quite well, and we currently sit in 8th place out of 26 teams. Their next match will be in early November. Good luck Math Team!!
Integrated Geometry just finished up their systems of linear equations and linear inequalities unit and had to apply these concepts to real world situations.
M3 Algebra 2 just finished up their unit on quadratic functions and had to decide if they should solve a quadratic using completing the square, quadratic formula, using square roots, factoring or graphing.
In M3 Precalculus students are discussing the limits of functions. Students now understand the Mean Girls movie quote,"The limit does not exist!"
Geometry Math Center students were given the opportunity to work on any prior skill they felt needed refreshing and learned how highlighters, diagrams and circling key words help in most situations.
Students in M2 PreCalculus investigated how transformations affect the graph of a piecewise function in Desmos graphing software. This included reflections over the x-axis, reflections over the y-axis, vertical stretches and shrinks, horizontal stretches and shrinks, vertical translations and horizontal translations, They used the observations made from the graphs to write a general rule for transformations.
Social Studies:
Students in Ms. Greco’s Global History II class have been looking at the French Revolution as a case study of attempts to put the ideas of the Enlightenment into action. Below, two groups are presenting some of their findings from the moderate phase of that Revolution.
Ms. Bacon’s US History students read a diary entry from an immigrant worker named Thomas O'Donnell and discussed the hardships and issues he and other immigrants faced working in factories and living in tenements in cities. Students then wrote advice columns to this immigrant worker from either the perspective of Andrew Carnegie after reading "The Gospel of Wealth" or Samuel Gompers after reading his speech “What Does the Working Man Want?” in terms of how or if O’Donnell can improve his current situation. They then discussed the different views on labor, poverty, and the Gilded Age in general based on these two perspectives. Finally, they started a discussion on who is responsible for the success of the worker - employer, the worker himself, the government - etc., leading us into our next unit of the Progressive Era. Below are a couple of examples from this point of view exercise.
Students in AP Government are tackling federalism controversies as they conclude their Federalism unit. They research Connecticut as well as three other states and compare how laws differ from state to state as well as how the national government treats the issue. This year, students are looking at issues such as gun control laws, speed limits, education policy, and immigration. They will present their issues using a multimedia product that they create which will include powerpoints, videos, websites and a children's book.
We are now in the process of having juniors apply for the summer internship at Voices of 911 here in New Canaan. See Mr. Webb for information or questions. VOICES helps families heal after tragedy, a vital mission that began after 9/11. Today, the organization continues to address the long-term needs of those impacted by 9/11, commemorates the 2,977 lives lost, and promotes national preparedness. In addition, through VOICES Center of Excellence for Community Resilience, we conduct research and training as well as assist communities impacted by other tragedies.
CTE News:
In Mr. Zambarano’s Woodworking class students just finished their hand tools project and have begun learning safety around the power tools.
Robotics class students just finished learning basic coding commands. They are now building a basic claw-bot which they will attach the input and output devices they just learned how to program. The goal is to have a robot travel around the room and not bump into anything.
This week in Ms. Zilly’s Baking & Pastry Arts class, lab groups developed their own artisan bread recipes. They spent 3 long days kneading, proofing and baking some very unique and delicious loaves. On Thursday, the students got to critique and sample each other’s hard work!
Child Development students presented two lessons one on Fall Leaves, and another on Dr. Seuss and The Lorax which the preschoolers loved.
In the Baking & Pastry Art class students continued working with pate choux and made Ganache and cream filled swans.
Journalism - Students are working on the first print issue of the year, which is scheduled to come out next Friday, October 27th. They're using Adobe InDesign to lay out the 12-page issue and create the different graphics and charts. Some of the stories are already up on the Courant's website, nchscourant.com.
TV Broadcasting - Students are learning about the different types of camera movements and shooting angles they can use to make their videos more creative. They're currently watching an episode of the hit TV show Lost to see how professionals use them throughout the show.
Advanced TV Broadcasting - NCTV has been quite busy the past couple weeks - they've broadcast two live news shows, recorded last night's play, The Miracle Worker, and have a football game tonight against Trinity Catholic. If you can't make the game, NCTV is streaming it LIVE so you can watch it here. Also, today's The Morning Announcements can be viewed below, which include boy's soccer big upset of Ridgefield.
Library:
