WEEKLY COUGAR NEWS

Good Afternoon, Cougar Nation!

Last Friday and today, our NHS members virtually joined classrooms at Pierce, Francestown, Dublin, and Hancock Elementary Schools to participate in Read Across America. It was so nice for our students to engage with students in some of our elementary schools to celebrate the joy of reading!

Included below are updated copies of the district calendar and the cohort calendar that I shared with you last week. After our two week March vacation, our school will engage in a week of remote learning from March 29-April 2. We will welcome back members of our blue cohort who are participating in our hybrid plan on Monday, April 5.

Don't forget that you can now order ConVal gear online! The first order will be submitted on March 31. Please see more information below. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Deb Coyne at dcoyne@conval.edu.

Congratulations to our Unified Basketball team who ended their skills and drills season with an inter-squad scrimmage this week. The coach reported a good time was had by all, which is captured in the pictures below!

There are so many exciting and interesting things happening in classrooms. Scroll down below to see what students were working on in Ms. Muncy's Biology class this week!

I wish all students and staff a very well-deserved two-week vacation. Get off those screens, check in on those you care about, and find some time to relax.

Best,

Heather

Email: conval.highschool@conval.edu
Website: http://cvhs.convalsd.net/
Phone: 603 924-3869

ConVal has launched two surveys, both of which can be found at ConValSurveys.com and are open to families of students who attend district schools, as well as residents of the nine towns ConVal serves.

Parents and/or guardians of students who currently attend the district can find the family-oriented survey here.

Residents of Antrim, Bennington, Dublin, Francestown, Greenfield, Hancock, Peterborough, Sharon, and Temple who do not have children currently attending ConVal schools are encouraged to complete the community-oriented survey here.

March 15-26, 2021 - School vacation

April 5, 2021 - Students return to the hybrid model

April 14, 2021 - SATs for 11th Grade (Remote Flex day for Grades 9, 10, 12)

June 2, 2021 - Underclassman Awards (Virtual -6:30 pm)

June 9, 2021 - Senior Scholarship and Awards Night (6:00pm)

District Calendar

CVHS Cohort Calendar

The Unified Basketball team finished out their Skills and Drills practices with a hard fought inter-squad scrimmage. There were 10 new players added to the team this year! The team is looking forward to next season and hopefully a full slate of games.

As we are well aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has put up significant barriers to our ability to gather informally and share with one another the stories of our lives. In order for us to reconnect as a school community, for the remainder of the year, the ConVal News will include a new spotlight segment: "Our Amazing Seniors."

The segment will highlight the many great achievements that our seniors are attaining — both in and out of school, either working by themselves or through their personal engagement in community events.

Please see the first of these featurettes below and submit your student's unique story to Lisa Pelkey at lpelkey@conval.edu by Tuesday of every week.

Our CVHS community is celebrating Women's History Month this March. This year's theme, as determined by the National Women's History Alliance, focuses on the suffragettes: Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to Be Silenced. When considering the contributions of these women and so many others, the running theme is of perseverance. As writer Maya Angelou said, "You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” These words ring as true now, with the many challenges we are facing, as they did when she first shared them.

Please consider exploring some of the women the CVHS library is spotlighting in the Women's History Month Collection. There are multiple modes of media included in this resource. Interested in the contributions of women from NH? Check out the Influential New Hampshire Women page put together by USA Today.

Read Across America is a day in March to celebrate the joys of reading. It is meant to bring awareness to the importance of reading in education and help motivate kids to read more. This year, NHS members virtually joined classrooms at Pierce, Francestown, Dublin, and Hancock Elementary Schools on Friday March 5th and March 10th to celebrate this day. As a part of Read Across America, NHS members chose children's stories to read to each class. They then prepared activities based on their stories for the different classes to participate in.

April 14th SATs for Juniors

The 11th grade students will take the Digital SAT with Essay on Wednesday, April 14th as part of the mandatory testing required by the NH Department of Education. Students DO NOT need to register for this SAT date, registration is managed by the Dept. of Education. An email was sent last Friday to all 11th grade students and their parent/guardian email last Friday with some additional information, and we will share additional logistical information as the date approaches in early April. Since it is a digital exam, any student that has been having issues with their chromebook (ex. charging issues, stuck key, touchpad issues, etc) that they’ve been living with, may want to reach out to our LITS staff to remedy them.

Senior Scholarship Applications/Recommendations

The counseling office has been receiving inquiries about attaching teacher recommendations to the scholarship applications. If a student wants to include a letter that their teacher has prepared for them already for the college admission process, when they submit their scholarship application materials they should indicate which teacher letters they would like included with the application. If the student is using external recommendations (ex. coach, community service organization, etc) then they should provide a copy of the recommendation letter with their materials. Scholarship Applications are due to Ms. Whitaker by April 29th at 2pm.

Graduation Information/Cap And Gown Orders Due

The ConVal School Board approved the graduation date for the Class of 2021. Graduation ceremonies will be held on Friday, June 11, starting at 6:00 pm.

We currently anticipate that each graduate will be able to invite up to four guests to the outdoor event. In consultation with the ConVal COVID-19 Monitoring Team, we will notify graduates if they can bring additional guests.

If you have not yet ordered your cap and gown, please do so now, as time is running out. Please go to Jostons.com to place your order. Once you at the website, please scroll down to select the mini package if you only chose to order cap and gown. Caps and gowns are now priced at $29.00. If there is a financial need please email Mrs. Coyne at dcoyne@conval.edu.

Educators Rising NH Competition

Congratulations to Julia Donovan, who earned 1st place in the Educators Rising NH competition in the Creative Lecture Senior Level NH category. Julia, a second year Careers in Education student, will have the opportunity to move on to the virtual Educators Rising national competition in June.

In addition to continuing her outstanding academic record, senior Madilyn Cilley did not let the coronavirus pandemic this past year stop her from pursuing a professional career in dance. Maddy has been busy helping out at her dance studio in Bedford where she participates in a preprofessional program, dancing and rehearsing between 25 and 30 hours a week. Beyond her own work, she volunteers as an assistant teacher 6 hours a week for the younger dance classes.

In the fall, Maddy was selected as both the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Snow Queen in the Nutcracker ballet at the Palace Theater in Manchester. And this winter, she was selected as an outstanding soloist for the regional festival through RDA (Regional Dance America) along with Snow White in their spring performance at the Palace theater.

Maddy has been admitted into several very strong dance programs for college. Congratulations, Maddy, on being a Conval Amazing Senior!

Ms. Anna Muncy’s Biology classes practiced their microscope skills this week. In this introductory lab, students observed prepared slides of animal and plant cells and also made their own slides from thin layers of onion. They recorded their observations in the form of scientific drawings.

Congratulations Eva Calcutt on finishing 22nd at the Nordic Skiing Meet of Champions on March 9th.

Last Friday the girls' basketball team hosted Lebanon, played well, but lost in the Division 2 preliminary round of the state tournament. Congratulations on a fine season!

As our winter sports season comes to a close, it's time to begin thinking about spring sports registration. Athletes can be registered on FamilyID, and the spring sports proposal will be discussed at the school board meeting on March 16th.

The ConVal School Store has moved online. Visitors can find everything from ConVal-branded t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, jackets, hoodies, hats, and even CV-branded face masks!

Winter orders are accepted until March 31, 2021. After that date, all ordered apparel is printed or embroidered, and completed orders will be delivered to ConVal High School.

Click here to place your order.

Please click here to view the NH Covid 211 website

Please click here to view March 2021 Flyer.