Region In Review
November 10, 2022
On November 3rd, elementary students from Booth Free School, Washington Primary School, and Burnham School traveled to Shepaug Valley School to take part in their first presentation inside the new state-of-the-art Planetarium.
Students took part in viewing the high-resolution photographs from the James Webb Space Telescope; images that contain objects existing approximately 400 million years after the Big Bang, as well as experiencing a flight to the moon to view the lunar phases, and watching a short film titled The Incredible Sun.
Senior Project Spotlight
Abigail Creech - Aquaculture for the Ocean
I absolutely love saltwater aquariums -- the wide variety of colors and energy in these tanks has always enchanted me. Unfortunately, many of the species that live within these aquariums -- especially soft corals -- are taken from the oceans. In a world where coral reefs are declining at such an alarming rate, it is vital that fishkeepers stop this practice and begin the aquaculture of corals instead. For my senior project, I plan to study SPS (small-polyp stony) corals within a home aquarium, create a superior method for the home growth of these corals, and present my findings at the Shepaug World Affairs Forum in 2023.
Grace Coutu - The Preservation of Life in Death
Grace Coutu's senior project is entitled "The Preservation of Life in Death." In the course of the next few months, she will be identifying and researching individuals buried at the Washington Green Cemetery. After compiling summaries of their lives, she will be visiting the cemetery to clean and preserve the physical memory of the deceased: their tombstones. By completing these two activities, Grace can then share the stories of the deceased with the community and preserve their memory for years to come.
School Spirit Halloween
Students and teachers at Shepaug took part in the school-wide celebration of Halloween and wore costumes to celebrate the spooky holiday.
Middle School Girls Cross Country Team Captures State Title
The middle school girls cross country team capped off an impressive season with their first-ever state championship at the 29th Middle School XC Championships at Wickham Park. Running with only five girls for the majority of the season (the base requirement to field a competitive team) left very little room for error, but Lillian Casini, Vienna Carew, Ella Duman, Brianna Johnson, and Jade Santos proved themselves time and time again, taking down one team after the other.
Throughout the season opposing coaches commented on the incredible teamwork the girls showed -- running in a pack together, often finishing one right after the other. When these coaches learned that the Spartans who had just conquered their teams were only in seventh grade, they were surprised and a little dismayed at the prospect of having to face them again the next year. The addition of Natalie Orletski, another seventh grader, who returned from an injury in time to join the rest of the team at the State Championship, should only fuel opposing teams' worries. Taking on over 30 teams, given a less-than-favorable starting position, Carew, Casini, Duman, Orletski, Johnson, and Santos ran down their opponents in a stunning show of force.
Out of 208 runners, Spartans took 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 17th, and 22nd place. Their closest competitor was 20 points off their mark. These girls showed up, put in the work, believed in themselves, supported each other, and have put all their competitors on notice that they are a force to be reckoned with, and with one more year left in middle school, they'll be back for more next year.
Celebration of Young Photographers
Shepaug students had four works selected to be exhibited at ASAP!’s 12th Annual Celebration of Young Photographers. ASAP!’s annual event provides students in grades 6-12 the opportunity to participate in a large scale professional art exhibition and juried show. A panel of professional photographers selected sixty photos to be included in an exhibition at Bryan Memorial Town Hall in Washington Depot on Sunday, November 13th at 2:00 pm.
Griffin Blum - Grade 10
“Splash of Color”
Annabelle Churyk - Grade 11
“Ocean Thrill”
Maggie Pouder - Grade 9
“In The Snow Ring”
Machine Learning
Robotics students build remote-controlled claw-bots to stack cups and move them from one place to another. While practicing precision driving through obstacle courses they must carefully manipulate the robot's claws to prevent crushing the cups as they are being transported. In addition, the students utilize problem-solving skills when the mechanics don’t work correctly or when the program does not behave as it was coded.
Fliers & Upcoming Events
Region 12 Calendar
November 14 - Long Range Planning Committee Meeting, SVS, 6pm
November 14 - PTO Meeting, SVS, 6:30pm
November 14 - Board of Education Meeting, SVS, 7pm
November 16 - Parent Visitation Day, BFS, BS, WPS
November 18 & 19 - Shepaug Dramatics - Almost, Maine, SVS, 7pm
November 23-25 - Thanksgiving Recess
November 28 - Curriculum & Educational Programming Committee Meeting, SVS, 6pm
November 28 - Board of Education Meeting, SVS, 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: www.region-12.org
Location: 11A School Street, PO Box 386 Washington Depot, CT 06794
Phone: 860-868-6100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shepaug-Regional-School-District-12-153899298123985/
Twitter: @Region12Schools