Region In Review
May 31, 2019 - Shepaug Focus
Alliance Française of Northwestern Connecticut Junior and Senior Award Winners
Sienna Moore and Sofia Mancinone were the winners of the Alliance Française of Northwestern Connecticut Junior and Senior Awards. The Alliance Française is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and culture around the world. The competition for this award was open to one junior and one senior studying French in Litchfield County or the towns of Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Middlebury, Monroe, Naugatuck, New Fairfield, Newtown, Oxford, Sherman, Southbury, or Waterbury. Sofia plans to use French, along with Spanish, in her future as a medical provider and will be studying at Villanova University. Sienna is considering study abroad programs to expand her French and is taking AP French next year. Both students received a $500 scholarship.
UCONN Early College Experience Award Winner
Congratulations to J. Mark Peters, social studies teacher at Shepaug, for winning the Instructor Award for Excellence in Course Instruction presented by UCONN in April this year. Peters was one of four winners to receive the 2018-2019 professional development award. Mark was chosen from thousands of instructors and administrators in the UCONN ECE (Early College Experience) community. Mark teaches the Advanced Placement/UCONN ECE European History course at Shepaug.
2019 Congressional Art Competition
Shepaug had not one but two winners in the 2019 Congressional Art Competition for Connecticut's Fifth District. Mahelet Steinmetz's treetop photo took 2nd Place while Julia Sinatra's chalk pastel of a spiral staircase came in 3rd. Both students will have their work displayed in U. S. Representative Jahana Hayes' Congressional Offices in Washington, D.C. and Waterbury respectively for the next year.
Shepaug Scholar Athletes
Congratulations to Ethan Hibbard and Abigail Gorra earning the 2019 Shepaug Scholar-Athlete Award!
Theatre Season Wrap Up
On Wednesday, May 29th, Shepaug Dramatics finished its 2018/19 season with its attendance to the Seven Angels Theatre Annual Halo Awards, an annual awards ceremony dedicated to honoring talent, both on and off stage, in student productions across the state of Connecticut. Shepaug Valley School received a total of ten nominations across its two theatrical productions of the season. Tegan Anderson (‘19) was recognized as the winner for Best Scenic Design and Bridget Snyder (‘19) won for Best Leading Actress in a Contemporary Play.
The first production of the 2018/19 season was Shepaug’s interpretation of Steve Martin’s modern comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile. A fictional work investigating the origins of genius, Martin’s play sees Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein meet in extraordinary circumstances filled with side-splitting humor, philosophical dialogue, and a dynamic plethora of supporting characters. At the 2019 Halo Awards, Bridget Snyder (‘19), Wilson King (‘19), Ellie Schmus (‘19), Jake Diller (‘20), and Wyatt King (‘22) all received acting nominations for their performances in Picasso. In addition, Tegan Anderson (‘19) received nominations for Best Scenic Design and Best Props Design, alongside Kayleigh McKay (‘19). Alexa Kotas (‘21) was nominated for her work on costume design. Picasso at the Lapin Agile also received a nomination for one of the night’s top honors, Best Contemporary Play.
At the ceremony, all schools are invited to perform song and dance routines from musical productions from the year. Shepaug students performed the opening number from Big Fish, “Be the Hero,” and its corresponding dance routine, “The Alabama Stomp,” both of which received a standing ovation from the student audience at the Palace Theatre. For her work on Big Fish, Tegan Anderson (‘19) was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Contemporary Musical.
Shepaug Dramatics thanks theatrical director Tim DeRosa, choreographer Rebecca Rasmussen, technical director Doug Winkel, and musical director Sandy Kleinser for their tireless work on the productions from this year. The dramatics program also receives an immense amount of support from parent and community volunteers that allows for students to perform to the best of their ability.
Finally, the Shepaug drama program is sad to say goodbye to the group of graduating seniors on both the cast and crew who contributed to productions this year: Tegan Anderson, Thomas Bachelier, Julia Billings, Wilson King, Devon Langworthy, Kayleigh McKay, Timothy Murphy, Ellie Schmus, and Bridget Snyder. We wish them luck on their plans post-graduation!
Article submitted by Wilson King
Calculus Day
Ethan Hibbard and Wilson King are pictured as they represented Shepaug at Calculus Day. Calculus Day is a local high school math competition. Ethan and Wilson earned second place in their grouping. Additionally, Wilson King and Nadia Ostrosky won the electronic answering portion of the competition called Kahoot. Shepaug earned second place in school spirit. Calculus Day was a great success for all students and staff involved!
Group photo: Nadia Ostrosky, Devon O'Dwyer, Grace Harty, Wilson King, Ethan Southard, Mrs. Flaherty, Ethan Hibbard
FFA Charter: Constitution & Bylaws
As part of the agriscience educational experience, the State of Connecticut recognizes a three-circle model within the educational model for agriscience learning. This three circle model involves the agriscience classroom and lab, SAE (Supervised Agriculture Experience) and Future Farmers of America (FFA), the largest educational youth leadership organization in the United States. The FFA leadership portion is student driven and owned. It is continually being shaped by the students along with the guidance of FFA advisor, Ms. Trovato.
On May 1st, Shepaug’s inaugural agriscience students took their first step toward ownership of the FFA experience with the signing of their inaugural Shepaug FFA Charter. The Charter outlines Shepaug's FFA Constitution and By-Laws. This document serves at the local level with a foundation of principles, authority guidelines, & objectives. It is a fluid document that may be amended as the need may arise with a two-thirds vote by our student leaders through parliamentary procedure applying Robert’s Rules of Order. Agriscience students at Shepaug are given ownership over this document’s contents which include fifteen foundational tenets, student membership, the Shepaug FFA emblem, FFA degrees, privileges, officer roles, and respective duties & committees. The document was designed to reflect Shepaug’s Core Values and Guiding Beliefs and reflect State & National FFA Foundation Values.
On June 1st, Shepaug’s Inaugural class will be honored in a brief ceremony at the State FFA Convention at UCONN.
Junior Class Scholarship Recipients
The Shepaug Valley School PTO continues to make a positive impact on our student body and the community as a whole. In addition to honoring several seniors through scholarships, this year the PTO raised money to assist students in pursuing collegiate programs. Students submitted essays describing the programs they are pursuing and how it connects to their future.
The PTO has selected three recipients from the junior class to receive $500 scholarships to pursue collegiate summer programs! Please join us in congratulating Jayden Cornwall, Lily Schur, and Aaryuj Trehan.
Students were selected based on their essay score and the impact of the program toward future goals. Jayden Cornwall is attending flight school in Oxford and Danbury, Lily Schur will be representing Shepaug Valley School at Girls State at Post University at the end of June, and Aaryuj Trehan will be attending the Pre-Med program at UCONN’s Storrs campus.
Thank you for the PTO for their continued support of our student body and congratulations to our scholarship winners!
Congratulations to Wilson King
Wilson King's essay, "From Dictatorship to Democracy: The Power of Cooperation in Military Interventions" bested all other submissions to win the American Foreign Service Association's National High School Essay competition. His research paper--written as a side project--explored the dynamics of 30 years of American diplomatic strategy. As the national winner, Wilson received full tuition for a semester-at-sea, a $2,500 cash award, and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for him and his family to meet with U.S. State Department staff. Wilson was sponsored in this effort by Humanities teacher Wendy Youngblood, who cited Wilson's intellectual curiosity and drive as a motivator for her own teaching. Thanks to Wilson, the Shepaug library will receive 10 copies of the book Inside a US Embassy. Shepaug wishes its valedictorian a great adventure, both at the State Department and at sea. We are proud of you!
Sports Update
Shepaug Valley High School has had several spring athletes named First Team Berkshire League All-Stars in their respective sports.
Track & Field:
Gavin Block
Cameron Brown
Nathan Douskey
Erik Lindblom
Tennis
Emma Kassis
Abigail Gorra
Rebecca Racz
Mahelet Steinmetz
Softball
Lucy Puskas
Baseball
Ethan Hibbard
Chancellor Dutcher
Joseph Brunelli
Dominic Perachi
Teams have completed their regular season schedules and now are in CIAC State Tournament competition.
Shepaug’s girls' tennis team, the Berkshire League champions, beat Westbrook High School, before losing in the second round to league rival Litchfield.
Shepaug’s softball team beat University/Classical Magnet in a first-round tournament game and will travel to league rival Wamogo for a second-round game on May 30.
Shepaug’s boys' tennis team competed in the CIAC State Tournament on May 23rd, and had a successful regular season, posting an even 8-8 won/loss record.
Shepaug’s golf team sent two golfers to the May 28th Berkshire League All-Star tournament and finished their regular season schedule with a victory over Nonnewaug.
Shepaug’s track and field teams will compete in the Class S Championships in New Britain on May 30th, and hope to qualify for the June 3rd State Open Championships at Willowbrook Park.
Shepaug’s baseball team, the Berkshire League champions, beat St. Bernard in the first round of the CIAC tournament. They will host league rivals Thomaston at Ted Alex Field in the second round on May 30th.
Gavin McCabe placed 6th in Class S coming off a double ankle injury jumping 11’6” in pole vault.
Cameron Brown placed 3rd running 15.54 in the 110m hurdles. He placed 5th in the 300m hurdles at 41.55. Cameron moves on to State Opens on Monday.
Gavin Block ran 50.45 for fourth place in the 400 meters advancing to State Opens.
Olivia Tibbatts ran 62.13 in the 400m for 6th place.
The boys 4x400 team of Cameron Brown, Mark Desrochers , Nate Douskey, and Gavin Block placed 6th.
Come see the Shepaug Valley School Art Exhibit on display at the Judy Black Gallery in Washington Depot from May 30th - June 7th!
Thank you to Verizon for keeping our students safe!
Verizon donated and installed boosters at each of our schools to improve communications.
Fliers & Upcoming Events
Region 12 Calendar
June 3rd - SVS PTO Meeting, Room A4, 6pm
June 3rd - Board of Education Meeting, SVS Library, 7pm
June 4th - SVS 5th Grade Orientation
June 5th - SVS Senior Scholarship Night, SVS Auditorium, 7pm
June 6th - BS Aloha Day
June 6th - SVS 5th Grade Parent Orientation, SVS Library, 7pm
June 7th - SVS Athletic Awards Night, SVS Auditorium, 7pm
June 10th - BOE Building Committee Meeting, SVS Library, 5pm
June 10th - BFS Aloha Day
June 12th - WPS REACH Concert, 5pm
June 13th - WPS Aloha Day
June 14th - Early Dismissal for Students Only
June 14th - SVS 8th Grade Promotion, SVS Auditorium, 7pm
June 15th - SVS Class of 2019 Graduation, 10am
June 17th - Last Day of School, Early Dismissal
June 17th - BOE Policies Committee Meeting, SVS Library, 6pm
June 17th - BOE Facilities Committee Meeting, SVS Library, 6pm
June 17th - Board of Education Meeting, SVS Library, 7pm
Follow Region 12 on our social media channels for updates and information!
The Region 12 community educates, challenges, and inspires all learners to become compassionate, creative, and courageous individuals who are empowered by the knowledge, character, and perseverance to achieve their greatest potential within the global society.
Email: rir@region-12.org
Website: region-12.org/
Location: 11A School Street, PO Box 386 Washington Depot, CT 06794
Phone: 860-868-6100
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