Good Afternoon, Cougar Nation!

I am pictured this week with my youngest son. I had the privilege of attending several home games on campus and was able to bring both of my boys to a few of them!

Last Saturday, I attended the car wash on campus during the day, and the musical in the evening. The car wash was well organized, and the play — the musical The Pirate Queen — was fantastic. Our students are so talented!

On Wednesday afternoon, I watched our students as they departed by bus to Austria. I'm am so excited for our students to participate in this exchange and am grateful to Frau Hodgdon, Frau Concannon, and Mr. Heider for leading and chaperoning our students. There is a section below that shares some further details about their trip and some photos. I appreciate the updates via email from our chaperones and can't wait to hear more when everyone returns!

Please be sure to pay attention to the information below about the summer academy that will be held at the high school this year. The dates and contact information for questions are shared below.

It is a beautiful day today and I look forward to supporting our students this afternoon at baseball, softball, and lacrosse.

I wish you all a healthy and happy break. I will look forward to welcoming back our students in May.

Best,

Heather

Student Achievements

Classroom Snapshots

Exchange Program Students Leave for Germany, Austria

ConVal School Nurse Newsletter

Region 14 Applied Careers & Technical Education

School Counseling News

Athletic, Co-Curricular and Club Updates

ConVal Summer Academy

School Vacation Week

MAXT Afterschool STEM Workshops

Cecilia Ensemble Auditions

Stomp Rockets

Help Wanted

• April 24 - 28: Spring Break
• May 2: AP Psychology
• May 3: AP English Literature & Composition
• May 4: AP Statistics
• May 5: AP US History
• May 8: AP Calculus
• May 9: AP English Language and Composition & AP Physics C: Mechanics
• May 10: AP Biology
• May 11: AP World History: Modern
• May 12: AP German Language and Culture
  

Last weekend, the ConVal Youth and Government Group attended the Youth Legislative Session. Two ConVal students received awards: Senior Eva McCullough received the award for Most Outstanding Senator and Junior Gabby Ramsden was one of three people to receive Best Legislation for her bill. Ramsden was also sworn in as the 2024 New Hampshire YMCA Youth Governor and will be traveling to Washington DC in June for a national conference. Congratulations to all of the participants of Youth and Government for their hard work.

Congratulations to sophomore Dylan Farrell, who took home the prize for best model at this year's NH chapter of the American Institute of Architects Excellence in Architecture Design Awards. According to their website, "the AIANH Excellence in Architecture Awards Program was instituted in 1983 for the purpose of providing public and professional recognition for architectural projects of design excellence. Each entry is judged by an assembled group of professional peers based on the following criteria: overall design excellence including aesthetics, clarity, creativity, appropriate functionality, sustainability, building performance, and appropriateness with regard to fulfilling the client's program."

Congratulations to the four students who were inducted to the National Technical Honor Society on April 20, 2023! Matthew Cutting, Jennifer Hopkins, Aeva McCullough-Szehi, and Keegan Ross were inducted for demonstrating academic prowess in their career and technical education classes as well as being community-minded. These students were joined by previously inducted students as they pledged to continue to uphold these high standards.

Big things are happening in Mrs. Mitschmyer’s 3D studio art class this week. Students are working collaboratively to build cardboard vehicles for this year’s Children and the Arts festival happening on Saturday, May 20. The theme this year is “Things That Go Vrooom” and these sculptures will be found all around downtown Peterborough.

Local author Sy Montgomery and illustrator Matt Patterson talked all about turtles in a presentation to students in Ms. Young's Biology classes, Mr. Putnam's Aesthetic and Ideas class, and Mrs. Tebbetts' 2D Studio Art class. While the talk focused primarily on the wonder of turtles, the presenters also delved into Patterson's medium choice and Montgomery writing process. Turtley-awesome fact: turtle shells are made of the same protein that forms our nails and hair--keratin.

In Anne Clifton-Waite’s AP Biology Class, students learned how to use DNA analysis to determine whether someone is a morning lark or night owl. The DNA analysis involves examining specific genetic markers, in this case the PER3 gene which has two variants: a long allele and a short allele. Individuals with the long allele tend to be morning types, while those with the short allele are more likely to be night owls. The procedure that students learned is the PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, test.

For more than 20 years, the ConVal High School-Akademisches Gymnasium exchange has facilitated successful abroad experiences for students of both schools. In October, ConVal families hosted 21 students from Salzburg. Now more than a dozen ConVal students are on their way to Germany and Austria for a 10-day return trip. After saying goodbye to families and friends on Wednesday, the group's first destination was a stopover on Thursday in Iceland where they spent a day exploring the island's unique landscape and rich history of maritime exploration.

Course selection for the 2023-24 school year is nearing completion! Students entered their course selections in PowerSchool this week, and school counselors will have follow-up meetings with students over the next several weeks. For other school counseling news, please follow this link: APRIL 2023 School Counseling Newsletter.

You can also reach out by typing @CrisisTextLine on Facebook Messenger.

The service is here for any type of crisis and is available 24/7 for high-quality, text-based mental health support.

A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from a secure online platform.

Reach out to get the help you need.

Big News: Big thank you to all the families that supported the baseball team last week at Fisher Cats Stadium. The experience was great for the athletes, coaches, and families.

Big News: ConVal Athletics is looking for a head coach for boys soccer. Please see our jobs posting on our district website.

Upcoming Events:

April 21: Baseball and Softball will be home hosting Plymouth.

April 21: Boy Lacrosse will be hosting Spaulding on Stadium field at 4:00pm.

April 25: ConVal Track and Field will be hosting a meet over April break. Come on out and enjoy a great day on the track. If you have any interest in volunteering at the meet please email Kevin Proctor at kproctor@conval.edu.

In honor of Earth Day (April 22), the National Honor Society hosted a campus clean-up for students who were passionate about making our school grounds and community a cleaner place. Eighteen students participated in the trash cleanup. They filled over 4 large trash bags during their sweep of the campus grounds and popular trail. Students hope to make this an annual tradition at ConVal and increase participation next year!

ConVal High School Summer Academy offers students the opportunity to recover graduation requirement credits as well as take enrichment courses for credit. Classes are free to incoming and current ConVal High School students on a first-come, first-served basis. If space allows, rising 7th and 8th-grade students in the ConVal district may participate in Summer Academy enrichment classes but will not be eligible for credit.

Please fill out the Summer Academy registration form to register and indicate course preferences; use a separate registration form for each student you are enrolling. ConVal Summer Academy reserves the right to cancel any course that does not meet minimum course enrollment requirements.

Additional Information:

• Who: Incoming and current ConVal High School students on a first-come, first-served basis. Students may register for one or two sessions based on their needs and interests.
• What: Click here for Summer Academy course descriptions.
• Where: ConVal High School
• When: July 5 – August 3, 2023, Monday through Thursday (due to the July 4th holiday, classes will only be held Wednesday, 7/5, and Thursday, 7/6, the first week)
  • Session 1: 8:00 am – 10:00 am, and
  • Session 2: 10:15 am – 12:15 pm.
• How: Transportation and lunch will be provided. Buses will arrive before Session 1 and will depart after Session 2; there will be no mid-morning bus run.

If you have questions about Summer Academy, please contact Rachael Bowman at rbowman@conval.edu.

The ConVal School District is looking for substitute teachers and paraprofessionals.

The qualifications for employment as a substitute teacher or paraprofessional are as follows:

• Teaching experience not required
• Ability to work well with children and adults
• High school diploma or GED required
• At least 21 years of age

An appropriate certification or permission is required for long-term sub assignments.

To apply, please follow this link to the District’s online application system.

ConVal Regional High School

Location: 184 Hancock Road, Peterborough, NH 03458 (map)

Phone: (603) 924-3869

Email: conval.highschool@conval.edu

Website: cvhs.convalsd.net