The Souhegan Scoop

As we approach Town Election Day on Tuesday, March 11, I want to take a moment to highlight the importance of civic engagement in our community. With Souhegan serving as a polling place, this is a great opportunity to reflect on the role we all play in shaping the future. Whether you’re voting for the first time or have participated in many elections, your voice matters. Below, you’ll find key information on voter eligibility, registration, and important district initiatives on the ballot this year.

Who Can Vote? If you are 18 years of age or older on Election Day, you are eligible to vote.

📌 Click here for information on voter registration and absentee ballots.

To help residents stay informed, Voting Guides have been added to the district website, detailing several SAU 39 initiatives on the ballot this year. We also invite you to explore the SAU 39 Framework for Success, which outlines our district’s vision and priorities.

📌 Visit our website to review the guides and learn more.

Civic engagement is vital to a thriving community, and voting is one of the most powerful ways to contribute to positive change. Thank you for being an engaged member of our community! We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on March 12.

Warmly,

Dana

Additional event information is available via this interactive Trumba calendar. Click here for the official SAU 39 school year calendar. Additional event information is available via this interactive Trumba calendar.

Help save lives by donating blood! Join us in the Souhegan High School Gym on Friday, March 14th, from 9AM. to 2PM. Appointments are required, and donors must be 18 or older. Click here to learn more and schedule your appointment today!

Don’t miss your chance to see this incredible production! There are four opportunities to catch the show:
🎟 Friday, March 21st @ 7 PM
🎟 Saturday, March 22nd @ 2 PM & 7 PM
🎟 Sunday, March 23rd @ 2 PM

Starting March 10, grab your tickets in advance at the SHS School Store, Moulton’s, The Homestead, or purchase them now online at souhegantheatre.ludus.com.

This week on council we voted against passing the proposal to open up off campus to Sophomores second semester. Our next meeting will be Monday, 3/10 at 3:00 in Info Center.

Stay in the loop with all things Souhegan Performing Arts! Check out the latest March 5 issue of the Performing Arts Newsletter for all the exciting updates. Click here to see what’s happening!

Click here to view available community service opportunities!

All students at SHS are required to complete community service hours in order to graduate. Information about the community service requirement as well as instructions for submitting hours can be found on our website.

Come see the Teen Space Changes!

We've made some changes and we think you'll like them. The Teen Space has moved to a new location on the main floor. Come visit us and see what we've done!

The Amherst Lions Club 51st Pancake Breakfast is happening on April 13th from 8 AM to 12 Noon at Wilkins School, Amherst, NH.

Amherst Lions' Annual Fire & Ice Chili Competition

Senior Eddie Barnes won second place in the People's Choice category at the Amherst Lions' annual Fire & Ice chili competition last month (Feb 7). Attendees liked his chili recipe that "left a hint of coffee".

(Photo by SHS Student Lucie Hodgdon.)

The Student Services Newsletter for March will be published in the Scoop on Friday, March 14th and will include information about upcoming SAT and PSAT 10 testing on April 9th, among other topics. Meanwhile, here is some information regarding a couple of upcoming dates:

Due to power outages during the school day that impacted student’s ability to assemble scholarship application deadline materials, the deadline has been extended to Monday. Applications will be due in Student Services by the end of the school day (3pm).

Students at Souhegan will be taking the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) in classes on March 12th. The YRBS is a national survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) every two years among representative samples of 9th through 12th grade students. This is an anonymous survey and survey results will be pooled with other Southern NH high schools. The YRBS has been administered at Souhegan since 1995. The results from the survey will allow our school and community organizations to better support the development of our youth through education and programming. It is a digital survey, so students are asked to have their devices with them on Wednesday the 12th.

To view questions, please visit the Youth Risk Behavior Survey website HERE. Additional information regarding the YRBS can be found on the NH Department of Health and Human Services website.

If you would prefer that your child does not participate in this survey, please complete the opt out form available HERE and returned (to Student Services or via email to mpaul@sau39.org) by Monday, March 10th.

Registration has opened for Destination College - a free program offered by Granite Edvance for high school juniors and their families. Destination College attendees can participate in a variety of free college planning workshops, learn tips about the college application process from experts in the field, attend a college fair and more! Destination College is scheduled for Saturday, April 5th at Southern NH University. Click here for more information or to register.

The next Senior Project panel will take place soon! Seniors need to share their pre-panel reflection letters with their panel by Tuesday, March 25. Panel meetings will take place after school on Thursday, March 27. This is the third of our four panel meetings so seniors should be well on their way to completing many of the required competencies by this time. Seniors will have a Senior Project work day on Wednesday, April 9. This will be a chance for students to actionize the feedback they receive from the March 27 panel meetings. More information about this work day will be forthcoming. Presentations will take place on Thursday, May 29, and Friday, May 30. Seniors or parents must notify the Senior Project Coordinators (rlemieux@sau39.org or kmaddock@sau39.org) about possible scheduling conflicts by Friday, April 18.

Meet the wonderful and talented staff members of SHS!

Tim Cotreau

What is your role at Souhegan?

Director of School Counseling

How long have you been with Souhegan?

This is my 14th year at Souhegan. I've been here since the fall of 2010, but spent one year as the Director of Counseling for the ConVal School District during the pandemic.

What do you love about your job?

First off, you'd be hard pressed to find a high school in the Northeast with a more vibrant school culture than Souhegan. I think that comes from the courage to empower students to really make this place their own, which in turn makes this a community that they're proud of. I'm thankful every day for all that the students, my colleagues and the community put in to make this place special.

With that said, high school can be very tough. You're encouraged to push yourself and leave your comfort zone, and that can be amplified by the multitude of challenges that life throws at students and families. As someone involved with school counseling, I've enjoyed helping students find the support and strength they need to persevere and move in the direction of their dreams. I've been doing this long enough now that I've run into alumni who are out being successful in careers that they aspired to as 9th graders. It is rewarding to see what students go on to accomplish in spite of challenges they've encountered along the way, and it's been a great privilege to assist them on that journey.

What do you like to do outside of work?

My favorite thing to do is spend time with my family. My three kids and my dog keep my wife and I pretty busy these days. When I'm not following them around to their sports and activities, I like to do endurance (rowing & cycling, mostly) and adventure sports (ice climbing, backcountry skiing). Lately, I've been really enjoying mountain biking. I raced a 100 mile mountain bike race last summer called the Leadville 100, and was just a few min. slower than Lance Armstrong - which I will take with me to my grave. This year I'm hoping to do a 24 hour mountain bike race in August, but we'll see...

If you were given one wish what would it be?

I'm not really sure. To live a long, healthy and happy life. But is that three wishes? Maybe, to start, my one wish would be to have three wishes.

Do you have a favorite quote or mantra?

Live. Laugh. Love. If you know, you know.

Huge congrats to Kaleb Morgan for taking 2nd place at the NHIAA Bowling Individual Tournament!

Had a great day at MOC last Saturday! Souhegan finished 10th out of 37 teams in the co-ed division and 8th out of 27 teams in the Girls Division.

Placement of wrestlers heading to New England's in Providence next weekend:

Isabelle Brandt - 2nd

Jack Kaler - 3rd

Additional place winners:

Ava Burbee - 3rd

Ben Smiley - 4th

Gabe Holt - 4th

Chase Knuckles - 6th

Congrats to Chase Knuckles for punching his ticket to the finals with his 100th win!

The Souhegan Robotics team had a strong showing in the qualifying rounds at the New England FIRST Granite State District Event, securing the position of Alliance 4 Captain. With the support of our alliance partners, Team Phoenix 4-H Robotics Club and MV RoboPride, we maintained our momentum and finished 3rd overall, as the last team eliminated in the semifinals. Notably, we became the first team in six years to disrupt an opposing alliance’s undefeated streak—a milestone achievement for our team!

We were also honored to receive a Judge’s Award. The Creativity Award recognized our innovative LED display, which provides real-time signals indicating the robot’s actions on the field, along with a visual timer for the drive team.

Website: https://www.sau39.org/shs
Location: 412 Boston Post Road, Amherst, NH, USA
Phone: (603) 673-9940
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/souheganhs
Twitter: @SouheganHS