Superintendent's Newsletter

Jonathan Costas, Assistant Executive Director from EdAdvance, met with administrators to identify what it means to prepare EVERY student for learning, life and work beyond school. Administrators examined and reflected in what effective, higher order student engagement is and looks like, and how digital resources support rigorous instruction. “This was a day we’ll spent! Thank you, Jonathan."

Seymour High School Link Crew, led by teachers, Mrs. Monaco and Mrs. Verchili, oriented the new high school freshman class. One hundred and fifteen incoming freshman students participated in many fun activities, getting to know one another, and visiting classrooms. There are approximately forty link crew student leaders who organized the activities. Thank you to everyone who helped to make the high school freshman orientation so much fun for all.

Many students and families attended the Seymour Middle School sixth grade orientation with Mr. O’Rourke, our new SMS Principal, and Ms. Reynolds. Assistant Principal. Mr. O’Rourke’s weekly communication letter will be emailed to SMS families every Sunday at 5:00 pm. Welcome sixth graders-our newest Cougars!

Cathy Federowicz, Athletic Director, prepares for the fall season: football, volleyball, girls and boys soccer, girls swim team, boys and girls cross country, dance and cheerleading too. Come out to support our teams. Go Seymour Wildcats!

Both Reading and Language Arts Consultants for the Seymour Public School District, Darlene O’Callaghan and Eleanor Brasche spent time during the summer to prepare for the new school year. This school year teachers in kindergarten through grade three will be receiving reading materials and resources from our mandated curriculum, Into Reading.

We are very proud that Chatfield-LoPresti School received School of Distinction recognition for placing in the top 10 percent in 2 categories for the 2022-23 Next Generation Accountability Results.

Those categories were:

Category 2c - Highest Growth – All Students – Math

CLS scored 85.6 for the percentage of possible points earned for Indicator 2c on the 2022-23 Next Generation Accountability Results by our Grade 4 and Grade 5 students. The minimum value for that distinction is listed as 83.49, which our 85.6 exceeds.

Category 2d - Highest Growth – High Needs – Math

CLS scored 82.9 for the percentage of possible points earned for Indicator 2d on the 2022-23 Next Generation Accountability Results by our Grade 4 and Grade 5 students. The minimum value for that distinction is listed as 79.51, which our 82.9 exceeds.

Our grade 4 and grade 5 students had individual targets determined based on their previous year’s Smarter Balanced Assessment results. In both categories we had a high percentage of grade 4 and grade 5 students who either came close or even exceeded their individual targeted growth goals in mathematics.

Nicole Fearon, Seymour’s Teacher of the Year, welcomed teachers, with her opening remarks on education, rigor, and engaging students each and everyday at the Convocation which was held on Monday for all staff. Nicole is truly a Seymour Staff Champion, and we are excited to have her as this year’s Seymour’s Teacher of the Year!

We wished our students and staff a happy first day! We are grateful for everything you have already accomplished, and we know you are going to do great things this school year. We can’t wait to see all that you achieve. Have a great year!

The family of Ann and Frank Conroy made a donation of $1200.00 to the Seymour Public Schools. Superintendent, Dr. Susan Compton, recommended to the Board that the donation of $1200.00 be specifically used for the SMS Band Program, under the direction of Sarah Quinn, to purchase two marching snare drums and harnesses and one marching bass drum with carrier and harness. to the Seymour Public Schools. Also, the family of Ann and Frank Conroy are thrilled to be able to support the building of a recording studio to support the music program at Seymour High School through the Frank and Ann Conroy Fund for the Joy of Music administered through the Valley Community Foundation.

Congratulations! Senior Class Representative, Sophia Motyl and Junior Class Representative, Kaitlyn Hamilton were recognized recently by Mrs. Caroline Sweeney, Student Council Advisor, Mr. Jim Freund, SHS Principal, and Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Compton at the October 2nd Board of Education meeting. Thank you Sophia and Kaitlyn for supporting our schools and your commitment. We greatly appreciate all you do!

Our tennis courts at SHS have been resurfaced; thank you to all involved.

Dr. Susan Compton, Mary Sue Feige, Stacey Long, and Meagan Krushinski, spent the day with Dr. Tom Nobili from Partners in Education - Rethinking and Reinventing Educator Evaluation in Connecticut. The workshop heightened our thinking about getting students to think about their learning, making thinking visible, the importance of coaching, and why coaching is important to improve instruction and student learning.

Elba Llantin-Cruz, Professional Learning Specialist from ACES, shares her expertise in helping build teacher capacity to support multilingual learners. The training included teachers from SHS, SMS, Bungay and Chatfield-LoPresti School. She also presented at faculty meetings for both elementary schools as teachers developed a shared understanding of multilanguage learners’ readiness for learning, an understanding of an multilanguage learners’ language and social emotional experiences, and the importance of scaffolds during instruction for all learners. Thank you, Elba, for being part of our learning experience!

We wanted to take a moment to offer a big KUDOS to our Counseling Team for hosting a viewing of Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age on Monday night. The presentation was well received, and those who attended were treated to popcorn and snacks courtesy of the Counseling Team.

Seymour Middle School ignited school spirit at its first PEP Rally on Tuesday, November 21st. Students cheered for the fall sports teams, and our Cheerleaders performed to help create an electric atmosphere. The event was a hit, fostering unity and enthusiasm throughout the SMS community. Go team!

In Mrs. Scarpa’s 8th-grade science class, students recently immersed themselves in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) curriculum. The focal point of their exploration was the chemical equations and reactions mini-unit, culminating in the lively Balloon Blow Up Experiment. Through hands-on participation, students not only absorbed scientific principles but also had a blast, turning theoretical knowledge into a memorable experience. This approach transformed the learning space into a vibrant hub of curiosity and discovery, showcasing the power of interactive science education in shaping understanding and enthusiasm.

As an extension of their current unit on Ancient Egypt, the 7th grade enjoyed a Cultural Arts Assembly on Monday, November 20th. Having Fun with Pyramids & Pharaohs was a unique, lively, and engaging educational program that provided our students with a dynamic approach to learning about ancient Egyptian life. This fast-paced program focused on exploring what everyday life was like for ancient Egyptians and offered our students the opportunity to have a hands-on experience.

91 teams from across the state came to SMS Saturday, November 4th for the first debate of the season for the Connecticut Middle School Debate League. The motion for debate was "This House Supports School Uniforms." The open level debaters also argued whether cursive reading and writing should be taught and whether homework should be eliminated in grades K-5.

60 Teams were in the Novice Division and 31 Teams were in the Open Division. Each team consisted of 3 debaters. Seymour entered 2 Novice teams. Four of the six Seymour Debaters had never participated in a tournament before.

At the end of the day, our results were as follows:

• The Seymour Teams won all 4 of their Debates.

• The team of Marleigh Stewart, Lexi Klisus and Ada Guzman earned the number 1 ranking of all 60 Novice Teams.

• Marleigh Stewart was the top scoring individual debater as measured by her speaker scores. There were 179 Novice Debaters that finished behind Marleigh.

• Seymour's other Novice Team of Kenzie Blood, Isabella Hanson and Kylie Gibson were also undefeated and finished among the top ten teams in the tournament.

This is a fantastic job by our Seymour Debate Team!

The SMS Fall Bonfire was a big hit, as families came together for an evening of warmth and community. More than 300 s'mores were joyfully devoured, adding a sweet touch to the night. A heartfelt thank you goes to our dedicated Custodians for their hard work in making the event seamless. DJ Mike Nimons kept the atmosphere lively with great music, setting the perfect tone for the festivities. Special recognition is extended to Sandy Hokunson and Cathy Smarz for their efforts in preparing the delicious s'mores, and a big shoutout to the Parent Council for generously providing the essential ingredients—chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows.

Nathan Carbajal - Recognized by the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) which was initiated in 1983 by the College Board to identify outstanding Hispanic high school students and to share information about these academically well-prepared students with subscribing colleges and universities. Each year, the NHRP identified approximately 7,000 of the highest-scoring Hispanic students from a nationwide total of approximately 250,000 high school juniors who took the PSAT/NMSQT.

AP Scholars with Distinction - Granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. Jay Patel, and Jillian Sullivan.

APScholars - Granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams. Ramses Aquilina, Kaylee, Cabezas, Elizabeth Eng, Robert Goodrich, Madeline Hink, Neal Kapadia, Shayam Khan, and Lindsey Machnicz.

The four students pictured (Left to right: Elizabeth Eng, Ramses Aquilina, Jay Patel, and Robert Goodrich) were nominated by teachers and school counselors to attend Boys State and Girls State this summer. They spent six nights at the University of New Haven, where they learned about the operation of local, county, and state governments. Boys State and Girls State are nationwide programs that were started over 80 years ago.

The students were sponsored by the local American Legion Post 10, and they attended the Post's meeting on October 25th to share their experiences. We thank the American Legion for sponsoring the students and are very proud of them for being nominated and attending.

Gohar Khan, our 2017 Valedictorian, was recently invited to the white house. Due to his involvement with the educational technology space, he was invited to their brief on Artificial Intelligence. We are all proud of this outstanding Wildcat.

Members of the Student Council Volunteered their time on election day helping the Registrar of Voters

Environmental and HOPE Clubs have done some wonderful clean-ups!

Congratulations to our Seymour Lady Wildcats. They were recognized for their performance on the soccer field this season. Sophia Motyl received All NVLs and Jillian Keough and Ariana Rivera received All Copper. Go Wildcats!

Congratulations to Seymour's Kylie McKirryher who had an outstanding finish to her season. Kylie won gold in the backstroke and silver in the fly at the State Class S Championship. She finished her impressive season with 2 bronze medals at the State Opens.

SHS Coach Gary Freeman was named the NVL Boys Soccer Assistant Coach of the Year (8-0-1, 28 goals for and 3 goals against).

We would like to recognize the 2023 inductees into the Seymour Athletic Hall of Fame.

Our classes recognized our Veterans and Fallen Heroes, below is a list of some of the activities that occurred in our classrooms throughout the day.

• American Flags lined the driveway

• World Language – The French classes took a glimpse of the gravity of D-Day at the Normandy beaches and the Liberation of Paris in 1944. Other classes created posters depicting veterans and things associated with them, they will be using Spanish words to describe their posters to the rest of the class.

• The Business Department

• will be studying Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) that support veterans as well as veteran-owned businesses.

• Career Life Skills and Personal Finance students will be exploring careers in the different branches of the military and the corresponding pay.

• Intro to Business students will be exploring the many veteran-owned companies and the non-profit organizations supporting wounded vets.

• The Science Department

• The evolution of medicine and its effects on veterans and conflicts

• Some classes will participate in virtual veteran museum tours

• Zoology class will research how different animals are used in the military.

• Anatomy & AP Biology – Students will research requirements, education and salaries and tasks of military medics.

• Math Department, depending on the class and teacher

• For Veteran’s Day students will match research and match descriptions of the different medals as well as the important days like D-Day, Armistice Day, etc. Each match will give them a corresponding number to fill in clues to a sudoku puzzle which they will complete at the end.

• Students will be given a table of statistics for several of the wars that the U.S. has been involved in. These stats include casualty numbers, US population, number of soldiers involved, amount of money allocated, etc. and the students need to calculate several quantities to answer some questions (i.e. which war spent the most money per soldier? what percentage of the population were classified as casualties in the Civil War?)

• Algebra 2 classes will watch a short video on the history of Veteran’s Day and then answer some questions. Stats will do a cryptogram that ties into the decoding used during WWII.

• Geometry classes will spend time looking and talking about the ASVAB test and what kind of math they are expected to know in the military to be successful.

• Social Studies – Flags will be placed along the driveway

• In the American Government class, they will be examining the services provided to veterans through congressional committees as that is where the scope & sequence of our curriculum will be falling at that time.

• English Department - Students will be given wartime reading passages and asked relevant questions about the reading and the war referenced in the reading.

• Special Education – Students will write letters to veterans (veteran information will be provided for those who do not know any). They will take a virtual tour of Arlington National Cemetery

• Visual Arts classes will participate in the Military Card Challenge where they will make holiday cards to be sent to veterans in VA hospitals throughout the US.

We send our appreciation to all of our Veterans.

The replacement of our gym floor has begun, and we hope to have the work completed by the end of December.