Amity Board of Education News

On behalf of all members of the Board of Education, we congratulate the Class of 2023 on their successful commencement from Amity Regional High School. We appreciate all you have brought to our Amity community for the past six years and wish you continued success in your future endeavors.

The Amity Regional School District Board of Education and Board Communications Committee hosted its first Community Forum on May 22, 2023. The purpose of the community forum was to prompt an open, civil exchange of questions and ideas between our parents and students and members of the Board and school administration. The broad focus topic of our first forum was ACADEMICS. Approximately 40 people attended, including families of incoming 7th grade students. Panelists who spoke that evening were – Mr. Hauser, Ms. Burke, Dr. Tracy, Mr. Brant, Ms. LaPlante, Mr. Purcaro, Dr. Byars, and Mr. Davis. While any question related to academics was entertained, most questions focused on five topics: AP classes and the college application process and acceptance; middle school leveled classes – particularly math levels; middle school transition – specifically grade 6 into 7; choices in electives at both middle and high school – particularly STEM and computer science electives; and the wide differences in teacher grading practices. The Board and Communications Committee intends to host additional Community Forums next year.

The Board of Education adopted one new policy at its last meeting. The new Policy 5114.2 – Participation in Extracurricular Activities – codifies the Board’s belief that extracurricular activities are an essential component to a comprehensive high school experience while acknowledging that extracurricular activities and athletics are a privilege contingent on students’ attendance and behavior. In particular, the policy sets the expectation that students must attend school on the day of an extracurricular activity/game unless special permission from the Principal or Athletic Director has been issued. The policy also codifies that students who engage in significant or recurring incidents of negative behavior are subject to escalating penalties and possible removal from an athletic team or extracurricular activity.

This year, ONE BOOK/ONE AMITY (OBOA), Amity’s summer reading program, will be linked to the Portrait of the Graduate, asking students in grades 7-12 to begin thinking about how each characteristic plays a role in a summer reading book of their choice. This means students can read any book of their choice, fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel, audiobook, and make a connection to one of the Portrait of a Graduate characteristics: communicator, collaborator, empathizer, problem solver, and planner. All information regarding this program was revealed to all Amity students on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, as students watched a reveal video and received a Portrait of a Graduate bookmark. This bookmark had a QR code on the back which included all of the necessary information for parents and students.

On May 15, 2023, members of the Senior class began their participation in either the off-campus UELP job-shadowing opportunities or on-campus Student Interest Projects that students designed for themselves. After three weeks of self-guided learning, the Seniors returned to campus on June 2, 2023, for the Senior Presentation exhibition, in which seniors presented information about their projects to groups of students in grades 9-11. This was the first time ARHS has had all Seniors participate in the program, and the feedback from faculty and students was that the program and presentations were a huge success. We thank everyone from the greater BOWA community for their support for this learning opportunity – the hospitality and willingness of our businesses and institutions to accept our interns is essential to the success of this program.

Amity’s student newspaper, The Trident, has been selected for the 1st place award for schools of between 1,000-1,700 students in the American Scholastic Press Association’s annual student newspaper competition. This is the second year in a row that The Trident has been the 1st place winner. Congratulations to The Trident’s writing and editing staff on another year of top-notch student journalism!

Students in grade 5 from Bethany, Orange, and Woodbridge were invited to the high school on May 31, 2023 for the annual BOWA STEAM Day event. Students and staff from the middle and high schools held demonstrations in various locations to showcase the interesting and exciting opportunities in STEAM that elementary students will have in the future at Amity. Hundreds of students were on site for the event and feedback from the BOW schools was extremely positive. High school teachers, Angelo Amato and Jessica Zamachaj, were responsible for organizing this wonderful event.

Website: https://www.amityregion5.org
Location: 25 Newton Road, Woodbridge, CT, USA
Phone: 203-397-4811
Facebook: facebook.com/amityreg5