Weekly Update 11/10

Dear NCHS Family,

I hope that everyone had a great first quarter.  Grades are now available for viewing. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher. We are here to support and provide feedback. I hope that the second marking period is even better than the first.  

Veteran’s Day:

For Veterans Day, we conducted interviews for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. This year, students interviewed Marine Colonel Nicholas J.Sheppard who served in WWII, Korea and through most of the Cold War, and Army Captain John Engel who served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm and through much of the 1990’s. The interviews are being produced and recorded with the close cooperation of Mr. Staffaroni, several US History students and the TV Broadcasting program and took place this morning in the Wagner Room. Thank you to our Veterans that participated in the project, and thank you to all of the Veterans for your service.

NCHS Athletics:

The Athletic Department sponsored a National Letter of Intent (NLI) signing ceremony on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. The NLI is a document signed by students making an athletic commitment to an NCAA Division 1 or 2 college or university. The NLI indicates a student athlete’s commitment to a particular school. This event was offered to any senior athlete signing a National Letter of Intent to receive athletic aid or any senior athlete with a “likely letter” from an Ivy League school. A “likely letter” is the Ivy League’s version of a commitment letter to an athlete.

The Courant:

I always try and share student work and the Courant is a wonderful example of the excellent student work that our kids produce.  To see the website for the Courant, click here.

NCTV Weekly Announcements:

Vaping article:

Click on this link to see a brief article on Vaping and what parents need to know. We always want to provide parents with resources that can help them.

I look forward to seeing you at the many events throughout the year.

As always, thank you for your support!

Be well and stay healthy NCHS!

Bill Egan

Upcoming Events:

11/14 PFA 12th Gr Networking Mtg 9:30 a.m.

11/17-18 9th & 10th grade Musical, Bye, Bye Birdie

Pictures from around NCHS:

Department News:

Administrator’s Perspective:

Tuesday, November 7th was a Professional Learning Day. Mr. Gusitsch takes a snapshot of the day at NCHS and focuses on the importance of quality PD in his blog this week. Feel free to check it out, here.

English Department:  

Quarter 1 is in the books!  This past week the English Department was abuzz (bee pun, explained later) with student conferencing and writing as students met with their teachers to make changes to their final drafts.   The Writing Center, in particular, was packed with students eager to edit.

In classroom tidbits, AP Lit students with Mr. Remley are writing their own Canterbury Tales in an attempt to mirror the verse and ironical wit of Chaucer, in UCONN Senior English and Film with Ms. Weeks, students were analyzing concepts of visual culture. (Photo below)

Outside the classroom, the students of Charity Link finished their fundraiser where students donated money to a teacher’s cause.  If that cause raised the most money, the teacher would wear the dreaded penguin costume for the day.  Sadly, triumphantly, Mr. Remley’s own charity, The Yale Children’s Hospital won the day, narrowly beating out The New Canaan Bee Club.  True to his word, Mr. Remley waddled to class that day.

Science Department News:

AP Biology students are shown building respirometers.

Honors Biology students investigated the structure and function of cell membranes through a lab involving bubbles.

Biology students used the Maker Space in the library to create models of cells, which they then used to investigate the structure and function of the cell membrane.

Earth Science students are completing a unit on data presentation using graphs.  Activities included using a bowling ball to calculate speed as the slope of a distance vs. time graph, and by using a PhET software simulation to investigate density as mass divided by volume.

Astronomy students viewed a brief planetarium show on the night sky in which it was compared to our view at the beginning of the semester in August.  Several students have attended an open house at the Rolnick Observatory in Westport, and the class will hold two evening observations in the next few weeks - one to observe stars and the second to observe the moon through the telescope.

VPA News:

Photography classes experienced the prolific artwork of newly recognized artist, Vivian Maier. They watched a screening of John Maloof's 2012 documentary, "Finding Vivian Maier". Following the movie, they traveled up to the Westport Art Center to experience her photographs up close. Students will be recreating her unique style in an upcoming 'reflective self-portrait' photo shoot.

NCHS Theater presents Bye Bye Birdie on November 17 @ 7pm, November 18 @ 2pm & 7pm. All performances will be held at the New Canaan High School Auditorium. Tickets are $15 and $18 and may be purchased online at www.newcanaanhighschooltheatre.com

Cast of Bye Bye Birdie

World Language:

French

To celebrate National French Week Mrs. Chillington's French 2 Honors class invited Mrs. Spaulding's French 2 class to a breakfast à la française. While the  students enjoyed chocolat chaud, jus d'orange, croissants and baguettes they conversed in French.

Madarin

On Friday, the Mandarin students travelled into NYC to visit the MET. While at the MET they learned about Calligraphy, a topic they have been studying in class. A wonderful day and a memorable trip!