ConVal Library Hosts Tech Women Ambassadors EventThe NH Tech Alliance presents a Tech Womens Ambassador event at ConVal. The Alliance focuses on building a strong community of female professionals who are planning an area of Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) as a career or area of study.
WGBS Students Visit WMUR StudiosGreat Brook School students who are involved in the production of the WGBS morning show went on a field trip to the studios of WMUR in Manchester.
Mascenic Students Tour Region 14 ATCJen Kiley welcomed 20 students from Mascenic High School who toured CTE programs with their principal John Barth and school counseling director Brent Clanin. Mascenic is now a part of ConVal's ATC Region 14; the school was previously aligned with Milford's CTE Program.
Nature Walk At Pierce ElementaryStudents at Pierce Elementary School in Bennington take a Friday morning nature walk with members from the Harris Center for Conservation Education.
Farmer Brad Delivers Gift Of PumpkinsFrancestown resident farmer Brad Bull donated pumpkins to Francestown Elementary School so each student could carve one for Halloween! Thanks Farmer Brad!
Professional Development TrainingDuring the PD Day on October 14, district teachers met to attend a workshop on Keys To Literacy. The program helps teachers design learning experiences that have the greatest impact on student learning in the areas of phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and writing.
On behalf of the entire staff, I want to thank the members of the community who have reached out to support our District. The outpouring of emails, phone calls, and personal visits has been a model of kindness and compassion for all of us. Responding to a crisis is done on a case-by-case situation, dependent on what school and community is most affected by the incident, what is most developmentally appropriate for the students involved, and what we are able to share with students, staff, and community members. Balancing this, in conjunction with the desire to both be as transparent as possible and simultaneously afford people privacy, is at the very best an extraordinary challenge.
Whenever there is a tragedy that has the potential to impact our schools we work in conjunction with our school counseling staff to determine the best course of action. At times, this may include contacting outside community and state agencies and working with emergency responders. Often times, we reallocate personnel for a period of time to be sure that resources are available for students and staff where they are most needed.
I would also like to acknowledge that asking questions and sharing ideas or concerns is an important part of the process; however, if we don’t learn of the questions or concerns, we are unable to incorporate that information when we debrief our response. Please reach out directly through email or phone to any administrator involved in managing the crisis. Please understand that if you share questions, concerns, or information on social media, it does not necessarily filter to us, instead, it has the potential to perpetuate inaccurate information, and does not help us to use the information shared to improve processes for our students, staff, and community.
Is it really going to snow?!
Yep, it looks like our first real snow event is may come this evening into tomorrow morning. With that, I just want to remind people about how snow delays and cancellations are decided.
The steps outlined below are generally the steps I take when I make a weather-related decision, but my thought process is entirely about student safety. I know that hundreds of teenage drivers are going to be driving to school and thousands of children are going to be boarding buses, and this thought is always at the center of my decision. I recognize that more notice is better, because as a parent, I understand the time needed to make childcare arrangements and the inconvenience of having routines and schedules interrupted.
Beginning in early November, I follow the weather at the National Weather Service. As a storm event develops, I watch for changes and look at the times that the storm is likely to occur and how long it might last.
As the storm grows closer, I may consult with a number of other people, including the bus company, road agents, other local school systems, and, depending on the anticipated severity of the storm, the State DOT.
At times, with the forecast and information that I have, I can make the call the night before. Sometimes, the storm pattern changes so frequently that I have to wait to see what is going to happen.
I appreciate that everyone has a different outlook on traveling in varying weather conditions. If, as a parent, you decide to keep your student home during a weather event please just give your child’s school a call to let them know.
Retirements
This time of year often brings announcements of retirements for June of 2020. This year is no exception. The following members of our school community will be retiring at the end of the school year. Jim Elder, Principal of Great Brook School, Dana Wood, Science teacher at ConVal High School, Andy Bills, Graphics teacher at ConVal High School, Marilyn Bracket, paraprofessional at Peterborough Elementary School, Lise Lemieux, ConVal School District Nurse, Marcia DeSteuben, Librarian at Peterborough Elementary School, Tim Markley, Human Resource Director, Mary Hopgood, Grade 8 teacher at South Meadow School, and Gib West, former Principal and English teacher at ConVal High School. We are grateful for the service that each provided the ConVal School District. While we are sad to see all of our colleagues leave the District, we are excited for each of them as they begin the next chapter of their lives.
Budget
We have begun the budgeting process for the 2020-2021 school year. By the end of next week, we will have budget-related documents uploaded to our website. These will be updated regularly as we move through the budget process. The 2020-2021 budget looks to advance our present Strategic Plan. Should you have questions please do not hesitate to reach out. I will work to regularly update you as part of my communications over the next several months.
Thank you for your continued support of our students, our staff, and our ConVal community.
Difficult times always give me pause. After the immediate needs have passed, I try to always remember how important kindness and compassion are. The last month has been the most difficult for our District in my 10 years, but I have watched and seen example after example of compassion and kindness. We all feel tragedy, whether we are directly connected or on the periphery, and our ability to model kindness and compassion for our communities, our students, and each other has been a reminder of what it means when someone says “We Are ConVal”.
As always please do not hesitate to reach out at any time, for any reason.
ConVal High School Senior and New Hampshire Youth Poet Laureate, Rachel Sturges, was invited to read her poetry as an opening speaker to kick off the New Hampshire Governor’s Arts Awards. The event was held at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord.
The New Hampshire Governor Arts Awards are honorary awards that recognize outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in New Hampshire.
The 2019 Awards were given in the following categories: Arts Education, Arts in Health, Creative Communities, Distinguished Arts Leadership, Folk Heritage, Individual Arts Champion, and the Lotte Jacobi Living Treasure Award.
ConVal Regional High School Principal Michelle Voto announced today that senior Liam McCall has been named a Commended Student in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2020 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards,
Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2020 competition by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”
McCall is the son of Eric and Christine McCall of Peterborough.
ConVal senior and New Hampshire’s Youth Poet Laureate, Rachel Sturges, recently read from her poems at the Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough. The event was sponsored by the Peterborough Poetry Project.
Alice Fogel, the New Hampshire Poet Laureate, introduced Rachel and the other speakers saying the idea for a NH Youth Poet Laureate position came to her at the suggestion of a New Hampshire teacher. In her role as poetry advocate, she decided to initiate the position through the NH State Council on the Arts as a way of bringing poetry to more people. Rachel explained that in her role she is focused on using social media to attract young people to poetry events around the state.
Ms. Fogel described the three young poets reading as “Not trying to draw attention to themselves but to poetry” by expressing “eloquent complications” of life and drawing on the support of teachers and other writers. In introducing Rachel, Ms. Fogel described her poetry as “looking outward from herself at the world and understanding the complexities [through her] unique and creative” poems.
The NHYPL is an honorary one-year unpaid position held by NH high school students with a dedication to excellence in writing, and who have the enthusiasm to heighten the visibility and value of poetry by and for young people in New Hampshire.
The Peterborough Poetry Project is currently hosting a contest with the theme of New Hampshire (past, present, future, or fantasy). Deadline: September 30th. Details for the contest are at: peterboroughpoetryproject.org/contests.
In attendance at the reading were ConVal teachers Ben Putnam, Jason Lambert, Eric Bowman, and ConVal Librarian Rachael Bowman.
On behalf of the entire staff, I want to thank the members of the community who have reached out to support our District. The outpouring of emails, phone calls, and personal visits has been a model of kindness and compassion for all of us. Responding to a crisis is done on a case-by-case situation, dependent on what school and community is most affected by the incident, what is most developmentally appropriate for the students involved, and what we are able to share with students, staff, and community members. Balancing this, in conjunction with the desire to both be as transparent as possible and simultaneously afford people privacy, is at the very best an extraordinary challenge.
Whenever there is a tragedy that has the potential to impact our schools we work in conjunction with our school counseling staff to determine the best course of action. At times, this may include contacting outside community and state agencies and working with emergency responders. Often times, we reallocate personnel for a period of time to be sure that resources are available for students and staff where they are most needed.
I would also like to acknowledge that asking questions and sharing ideas or concerns is an important part of the process; however, if we don’t learn of the questions or concerns, we are unable to incorporate that information when we debrief our response. Please reach out directly through email or phone to any administrator involved in managing the crisis. Please understand that if you share questions, concerns, or information on social media, it does not necessarily filter to us, instead, it has the potential to perpetuate inaccurate information, and does not help us to use the information shared to improve processes for our students, staff, and community.
Is it really going to snow?!
Yep, it looks like our first real snow event is may come this evening into tomorrow morning. With that, I just want to remind people about how snow delays and cancellations are decided.
The steps outlined below are generally the steps I take when I make a weather-related decision, but my thought process is entirely about student safety. I know that hundreds of teenage drivers are going to be driving to school and thousands of children are going to be boarding buses, and this thought is always at the center of my decision. I recognize that more notice is better, because as a parent, I understand the time needed to make childcare arrangements and the inconvenience of having routines and schedules interrupted.
Beginning in early November, I follow the weather at the National Weather Service. As a storm event develops, I watch for changes and look at the times that the storm is likely to occur and how long it might last.
As the storm grows closer, I may consult with a number of other people, including the bus company, road agents, other local school systems, and, depending on the anticipated severity of the storm, the State DOT.
At times, with the forecast and information that I have, I can make the call the night before. Sometimes, the storm pattern changes so frequently that I have to wait to see what is going to happen.
I appreciate that everyone has a different outlook on traveling in varying weather conditions. If, as a parent, you decide to keep your student home during a weather event please just give your child’s school a call to let them know.
Retirements
This time of year often brings announcements of retirements for June of 2020. This year is no exception. The following members of our school community will be retiring at the end of the school year. Jim Elder, Principal of Great Brook School, Dana Wood, Science teacher at ConVal High School, Andy Bills, Graphics teacher at ConVal High School, Marilyn Bracket, paraprofessional at Peterborough Elementary School, Lise Lemieux, ConVal School District Nurse, Marcia DeSteuben, Librarian at Peterborough Elementary School, Tim Markley, Human Resource Director, Mary Hopgood, Grade 8 teacher at South Meadow School, and Gib West, former Principal and English teacher at ConVal High School. We are grateful for the service that each provided the ConVal School District. While we are sad to see all of our colleagues leave the District, we are excited for each of them as they begin the next chapter of their lives.
Budget
We have begun the budgeting process for the 2020-2021 school year. By the end of next week, we will have budget-related documents uploaded to our website. These will be updated regularly as we move through the budget process. The 2020-2021 budget looks to advance our present Strategic Plan. Should you have questions please do not hesitate to reach out. I will work to regularly update you as part of my communications over the next several months.
Thank you for your continued support of our students, our staff, and our ConVal community.
Difficult times always give me pause. After the immediate needs have passed, I try to always remember how important kindness and compassion are. The last month has been the most difficult for our District in my 10 years, but I have watched and seen example after example of compassion and kindness. We all feel tragedy, whether we are directly connected or on the periphery, and our ability to model kindness and compassion for our communities, our students, and each other has been a reminder of what it means when someone says “We Are ConVal”.
As always please do not hesitate to reach out at any time, for any reason.
If you are interested in skiing Crotched Mountain this season, consider the Crotched Mountain Ski Club!
For as little as $129 — rentals and lessons are extra —, students can ski on five Mondays starting in January, then earn a Peak Pass for the rest of the season, which is a season pass to 14 Peak resorts.
The Late Bus arrives at GBS everyday at approximately 4:15 pm and travels to Bennington to drop off across from Pierce at 4:25 pm, then travels to Francestown to drop off in town at 4:40 pm, then to Hancock to drop off at 4:55 pm.
ConVal Library Hosts Tech Women Ambassadors Event The NH Tech Alliance presents a Tech Womens Ambassador event at ConVal. The Alliance focuses on building a strong community of female professionals who are planning an area of Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) as a career or area of study.
WGBS Students Visit WMUR Studios Great Brook School students who are involved in the production of the WGBS morning show went on a field trip to the studios of WMUR in Manchester.
Mascenic Students Tour Region 14 ATC Jen Kiley welcomed 20 students from Mascenic High School who toured CTE programs with their principal John Barth and school counseling director Brent Clanin. Mascenic is now a part of ConVal's ATC Region 14; the school was previously aligned with Milford's CTE Program.
Nature Walk At Pierce Elementary Students at Pierce Elementary School in Bennington take a Friday morning nature walk with members from the Harris Center for Conservation Education.
Farmer Brad Delivers Gift Of Pumpkins Francestown resident farmer Brad Bull donated pumpkins to Francestown Elementary School so each student could carve one for Halloween! Thanks Farmer Brad!
Professional Development Training During the PD Day on October 14, district teachers met to attend a workshop on Keys To Literacy. The program helps teachers design learning experiences that have the greatest impact on student learning in the areas of phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and writing.
