4/5 Weekly Update
Dear NCHS Family,
I hope that everyone enjoys the well-deserved break and that you all have the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. This should be a homework free week so that students have time to rest, de-stress and recharge. Some classes preparing for AP exams might have some work, but that should be the exception and not the rule.
Hackathon:
A dozen NCHS students participated in the 2nd Annual HACKATHON, held in the Wagner Room on Tuesday, April 3. The brainchild of senior Thomas Freiberg, students worked in teams on self-designed coding or robotics projects. Two students spent the day learning Ableton, a digital audio workstation designed to create music, and the Push, the launchpad instrument that supports Ableton. They will be spending their internship with Mrs. Moody teaching the Ableton to the Advanced Music Tech classes.
Throughout the day, speakers from various digital and information technology fields shared their experiences and insights with the group. The morning began with Graham Lampen, IT Service Manager for JetBlue, and Anthony Buzzeo, a professional musician and educator, shared his experiences in sound engineering and providing direction to companies entering the digital space to deploy new products. Finally, Jeffrey Richlin, president of Richlin Machinery, demonstrated industrial robotics. All speakers connected with our Music Tech and Career & Technical Education teachers and will be returning to speak with classes.
School Climate Survey 2018
New Canaan Public Schools are committed to making our schools safe, welcoming and engaging places for our students to learn. Ongoing feedback about our learning environments is essential to our continued ability to provide the best possible educational experience for our students. Therefore, we will be conducting a School Climate Survey to gather input from students (grades 3-12), faculty, and parents about the school climate in our schools. The survey asks questions about the the extent to which students feel emotionally and physically safe, connected, and engaged in learning.
The survey takes about 10-15 minutes to finish and is completely anonymous. No personally identifiable information is required, and we use an outside agency, The Center for School Climate and Learning, to administer the survey and collect and analyze the results. Parents have been notified about the upcoming survey and have been given an option to review a copy of the survey before it is administered to the students. The surveys will be given the week of April 16, 2018. The State of Connecticut has mandated that a school climate survey be given at least every other year, and our last one was administered in 2016. The survey is optional, but we hope that you will participate as your feedback is important to us.
Civics Classes Participate in “The Courts Project”
“The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, …”
~Article III § 1, U.S. Constitution
In this project, groups were tasked with researching one of the 13 most historic Courts in history. Courts were referred by the last name of the sitting Chief Justice as a way of indicating shifts in judicial action. Students studied the justices (the most important justices are not always the Chief Justice) and their decisions, and then determined what impact this Court had on American history.
NCPS Innovation Night was a great success. Here are some pictures from the evening!
NCHS April Students of the Month
Congratulations to:
Seniors - Charles Burns, Fatima Sonday
Juniors - Stephanie Murphy, Luke Rwambuya
Sophomores - Cate Brown, George Whiteley
Freshmen - Ben Clay, Will Dathan
NCHS Staff of the Month coming soon:
SAT Schedule:
4/24 In-School SAT
Juniors report to school at 7:30 AM for testing (lunch will be available)
A modified Day D school day -- for all grades -- will begin at 12:24 PM
Pd 7 12:24 – 1:12 PM
Pd 8 1:17 – 2:05 PM
Be well and stay healthy NCHS!
Bill Egan
Upcoming Events:
4/9 -13 April Break
4/14 ACT - NCHS
4/16 BOE Meeting 7pm Wagner Rm
4/17 12th Grade Networking 9:30 a.m. Wagner Rm
4/18 9th Grade Networking 9:30 a.m. Wagner Rm
4/20 Jr Prom, Giovanni’s 7pm
One Second Everyday:
Department News:
Social Studies:
Early this week, students in Global History II classes analyzed World War I propaganda posters posted throughout the Social Studies hallways. The activity provides one piece to our analysis of changes in warfare and the far-reaching impact of total war on society. Students in several sections have also been examining period photographs, poems, letters, statistics, and interviews to incorporate into their analysis of the impact of “the Great War” aka “the War to End All Wars”.
On Tuesday this week, the League of Women Voters and the Registrar of Voters helped register many students during all three lunch waves.
On Wednesday, New Canaan High School Alumnus 2003, Max Calfo, visited AP European classes to talk with students about the rise of Hitler and the Holocaust. Max is a history teacher in Montville, NJ.
Also on Wednesday, students in all Civics classes held an in-school field trip to conduct a Supreme Court cases roundtable in the Wagner Room. During several periods before lunch students met to assess changes and developments in the Supreme Court over its history, looking specifically to tie the Court’s history to the work of the current Roberts’ Court.
Math:
Students in Integrated Geometry have been finding surface area and volume of three dimensional figures as well as composite figures. They have been discussing when you use surface area versus volume, for example, when painting an object they would use surface area. M3 Precalculus has been working on conic figures and being able to write their equations from details of the graph or being able to give details and graph from an equation. M3 Algebra 2 has been working on arithmetic and geometric sequences and will be moving onto series after break.
The NCHS Math Team participated in the 44th Connecticut State Association of Mathematics Leagues meet at Bristol Eastern High School. Out of 14 schools that participated in the medium division, we placed 6th. Great job to all the members of the team that participated throughout the year!!
VPA:
The New Canaan High School Art Visual and Performing Arts Department recognized seniors, Nicholas LaMorte and Erik Cohen, for the Connecticut Association of Schools Outstanding Arts Awards. They were honored at the 23rd Annual High School Outstanding Arts Awards Banquet in upstate Connecticut on Tuesday night. “CAS annually honors two outstanding seniors from each of the member high schools who excel in the performing or visual arts and possess qualities of scholarship and leadership”.
Nicholas LaMorte has demonstrated excellence in the NCHS Film program, of which he’s been participating in film classes and has been an avid member of the Film Club since 2015. Currently, he’s a co-leader of the film club and setting an example for those who eagerly pursuing filmmaking at NCHS. Nick’s creative approach to storytelling through cinema is also recognized under this prestigious award.
Erik Cohen has committed to an unwavering amount of dedication and excellence with the NCHS Music Department. He’s been a devoted member of the Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, and Music Tech. He’s been featured in many NCHS musicals, often playing alongside professional musicians. Erik’s passion for music and incredible dedication to the NCHS Music program is what earned him the 2018 CAS award.
Congratulations to both seniors!
Library:
Click on this link to read the library update!
