We're Hall Ears

Dear Hall Students and Families,

Welcome to our weekly newsletter, We're Hall Ears! The goal of this newsletter is to provide you with important updates, career and volunteer opportunities, celebrations of student achievements, and information on clubs and extracurricular activities. Use this as a way to learn about the many opportunities available to our Hall Students.

Want to see your club or event featured in this newsletter? Complete the Newsletter Feature Request form!

If you have any questions about the materials in this newsletter, reach out to Mr. Wallace (james_wallace@whps.org)

Thank you Hall for your support of last week's Spring Blood Drive! It was a very successful event. In total, 56 donors checked into the blood drive and 43 units of blood were collected. This easily surpassed our goal of 35 units, and it means that Hall helped up to 129 patients in need in just one blood drive! Collectively, we had a tremendous positive impact. We look forward to doing it again in the Fall!

The Hall Robotics Team wrapped up their 24-25 season with not one but two of their robots qualifying for the CT State VEX Championships on February 24th and 25th. This is the first time ever since expanding to multiple teams in 2018 that Hall has sent more than one team to the regional championships. While the teams did not advance into the elimination rounds, their team skills scores ranked them 37th and 40th of the over 80 teams in attendance. While the season has ended for now, the team is already excitedly planning for the 25-26 season!

Hall SafeGrad is hosting the following restaurant fundraisers to raise money for the 2025 SafeGrad night.

• Dom's Broad Street Eatery - Saturday, March 15th: Rise and dine for a great cause! Join us at Dom's Broad Street Eatery to support SafeGrad— a fun, safe, all-night celebration for the Class of 2025!

• Harry's Bishops Corner - Monday, March 24th: Help us raise some dough! Join us at Harry's Bishops Corner for dinner or takeout. A portion of the day's total sales will be donated to Hall's Safe Grad Party.

Come enjoy Hall High School's acclaimed jazz bands, singers, and dancers, as they shine in the 67th annual production of Pops 'n Jazz, a classic West Hartford institution. The performances begin on March 21st, with additional evening shows on March 22nd, 27th, 28th, and 29th. Doors open at 6:30pm each night, and the curtain rises at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available now!

Join us on May 1st, from 6-8pm in the West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium, for Sparks Fly! Students from Hall and Conard are joining to showcase their talents through open mic and artwork exhibitions. Come celebrate with our vibrant artistic community featuring local businesses and artwork from student entrepreneurs! Proceeds to benefit The Nature Conservancy.

Attention Hall Students! Captain Joel Fulsang is Connecticut's Army National Guard Cyber Operations Officer. He and some his team members will be joining us at hall on Tuesday, 3/18, from 10am to 2pm to help you learn more about Cybersecurity. Registration is required for this visit, and space is limited! Register here!

What is the Fund for the Common Good?

• Each year, through an educational grants process, students are invited to consider the common good and develop a project in support of the concept.
• Typical considerations might be access to healthy foods and safe water; racial, religious, socio/economic, ethnic equity; environmental preservation; or affordable housing.
• Any approved group of two or more Hall students may submit a project proposal. If the proposal is accepted by the Student Committee, the Fund covers project costs. Then, the group undertakes the project and, upon completion, submits a report that is filed in a public archive.
  
  

Take advantage of this opportunity to fund projects that make a difference in your community! Reach to Mr. Wallace (james_wallace@whps.org)with any questions.

Joining a club is an incredible way to get more involved in your Hall community! See the 2024/2025 Club Booklet, or visit Mr. Wallace in the Career Center for more information on starting or joining a club. Here are some highlights!

• Girls of Color Writing Group: The Girls of Color Writing Group will have a meeting this Monday, March 10th, from 2:30pm to 3:45pm in room S110. We will make vision boards and collages. All are welcome to attend! Please see Ms. Clermony or Ms. Hettiarachchi with questions.
• Hall Debate Team: Debate clubs provide a unique and stimulating platform for honing essential skills that are highly valued for students. Students on the Hall debate team enhance their communication and critical thinking skills, while fostering leadership skills. Join the Google Classroom for more information! (Classroom code: 4eptjfj)
• Robotics Club: This club is made up of several sub-teams all working in parallel to create a VEX robot for the current year's VEX Robotics Competition. Throughout the year, teams work through an iterative design process to improve upon their prototype for each competition. If you are interested in hands-on building, engineering design, programming, or project-management, this is the club for you. New members are welcome year-round!

Congratulations to our Hall Debate team members on their recent performances at the CDA Debate Tournament. Eleanor Farquhar won first place!

Congratulations to Hall Robotics on their performance at the CT State VEX Championships!

Photos from our Spring Blood Drive!

Stay tuned for more issues of We're Hall Ears every Monday! If you would like your club or club event to be featured in the newsletter, please send a brief description of your request to Mr. Wallace (james_wallace@whps.org).

Warm regards,
James Wallace
Student Activities Coordinator