Students from HHS's Amnesty International chapter met with US Representative Paul Hodes and staff from the offices of US Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu to ask them to help solve the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. Helen Jack, class of 2008, writes:
"Since the conflict in Sudan began, 2.5 million Darfuris have been driven from their homes. That is twice the population of New Hampshire. Amnesty wants the US to pressure the government of Sudan to allow UN peacekeepers to operate freely. Congressman Hodes seemed extremely glad that high school students were bringing the conflict in Darfur to his attention, and he agreed to send Amnesty's letter to the State Department. Staff for Senators Gregg and Sununu promised to bring the issue to the Senators' attention, and HHS Amnesty plans to continue to pressure the offices. The offices were forced to acknowledge that the conflict in Darfur is important to the people of New Hampshire, their constituents."
Diksha Gautham, Becky Turkington, Olivia Jovine, Julia Murdza and Helen Jack made up the delegation. Later Helen was appointed the Amnesty International Legislative Coordinator for New Hampshire. She will be overseeing all Amnesty communication with NH elected officials, training Amnesty groups statewide on how to lobby, and leading lobby delegations over the next few years.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
PARTICIPATING IN DEMOCRACY
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
SCIENCE TEACHERS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE; LAVIGNE SPEAKS ON LEGOS, ENGINEERING
Dan Falcone, chair of the Science Department, writes: The National Science Teachers Association conference came to Boston in March, and HHS teachers were there! Six science teachers from the high school traveled down to enjoy workshops on new technology for exposing students to science, listen to nationally-renowned speakers, and ogle the products and services (and freebies!) at the exhibition booths.
Our own chemistry teacher Kevin Lavigne presented a talk entitled, “Legos: The NXT Generation." Kevin detailed the abilities of the new NXT Lego system to engage students in competitions involving engineering principles and programming. He is pictured with some of his ardent fans (left to right, John Phipps, Carl Mehrbach, Kevin Lavigne, Dan Falcone, Casey Milender.)
BONNIE STEBBINS, STAFF MEMBER OF THE MONTH
HHS's Council (made up of students, staff and members of the community) has named Bonnie Stebbins as the Staff Member of the Month for April.
The award read: "Bonnie, who is the head custodian here, is an omnipresent feature in our halls. She works tirelessly, yet always cheerfully, to make our physical plant run smoothly. Whenever anyone – staff or student – has a need, she happily helps them with it. She always has a smile on her face as she helps with the pragmatics of our institution. For all her hard work, we definitely think Bonnie Stebbins deserves to be chosen as Staff Member of the Month."
Council also named teacher Sally Hair as Staff Member of the Month.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
JAZZ AND STRINGS TRAVEL TO MIDDLE SCHOOL
Ms. Armstrong of the HHS Music Department writes: "The HHS Jazz Band and String Ensemble performed for the Richmond Middle School staff and students during their school assembly time in early April. It was a wonderful opportunity for the HHS groups to showcase some of the music they will be performing during their upcoming exchange tour to Germany over Spring Break. And the middle school students were excited to see what lies ahead for them musically when they reach the high school!"
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
EQUESTRIANS AT HANOVER HIGH
Three HHS students traveled to Massachusetts to compete in Interscholastic Equestrian Association finals covering five New England states on April 5. Anna Johnson, class of 2011, placed seventh out of twenty-four riders in her class and "everyone rode well," says rider and team manager Mary Adelaide Brakenridge, class of 2008. She writes:
" At our competitions riders are randomly assigned horses provided by the hosting team, rather than bringing their own. This tests the riders' skill at assessing and handling the individual quirks of the horses they draw. It can be quite challenging to put in a good performance without having any prior knowledge of the horse! For jumping classes, riders are allowed two practice jumps on their assigned horses, but for 'flat' classes (without jumps), riders simply mount up and enter the show ring.
"Ten HHS students ride on our team, along with students from Richmond Middle School, Lebanon High School and others. We were organized last year through Dartmouth College's Community Riding Program. Our New England zone will host National Finals at the Big E in Springfield MA."
And here is the rest of it.
MATH TEAMS WIN FIRST, THIRD AT WINDSOR
Coaches Greta Mills and Eve Ermer write: "Congratulations to the math teams for their outstanding performances at the meet at Windsor High School on April 3. The Senior Division fielded two full teams with Hanover B placing first and Hanover A placing third. HHS's team in the Intermediate division placed first.
"In addition, we participated in a third meet by mail due to a snow day. Hanover A Seniors and Hanover Intermediate both placed first!
"High scorers on the senior team were Yukun Gao, Anqi Ren, Savannah Wallace and Nick Sinnott-Armstrong. High Scorers on the Intermediate Team were Luke Hansen , Sucharita Jayanti, Xavier Stone and Scout Wallace."
The photo shows HHS's Math Resource Center where students are welcome to study and meet with math teachers.
Monday, April 7, 2008
QUIZ BOWL: CLEAN SWEEP IN BOTH STATES
Coach Bill Murphy writes: "The Quiz Bowl team had a fantastic weekend as they won both the Vermont Scholars Bowl on Saturday April 5 and the New Hampshire Quiz Bowl League Championship on Sunday April 6.
"Saturday's team of Dylan Matthews, Travers Rhodes, Finola Prendergast, Nick Sinnott-Armstrong, Nick O'Leary and Aaron Watanabe defeated South Burlington (320-185), Champlain Valley (330-230), and Essex (370-210) in Vermont.
"On Sunday Phil Tosteson substituted for an ailing Finola Prendergast and the team went undefeated with wins over Phillips Exeter, Londonderry and five other New Hampshire teams.
"Dylan, Travers and Finola were chosen for the Vermont all-star team at the Panasonic Academic Challenge at Disney World in June. The two Nicks will be part of the New Hampshire team at Disney.
"We all should be very proud of what the team members have accomplished this year!"
Friday, April 4, 2008
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TESTING IN CYBERSPACE
Those instructions on the whiteboard show that national annual testing for Spanish students has entered cyberspace. HHS students studying honors Spanish have taken advantage of the new National Spanish Exam which for the past three years has been given entirely on line. The 150 students taking the exam can log in weeks ahead and practice on their own as much or as little as they wish. On the two exam days classes come to the computer lab, enter elaborate security codes, and take the two 40-minute sections of the test itself.
On the first day they answer written questions about grammar and vocabulary. On the second day they listen to online recordings of spoken Spanish and type in their responses. The exam allows them to measure themselves alongside 89,000 Spanish students nationwide, and to earn certificates when the scores are announced in May at HHS's Foreign Language banquet. Scores don't count for grades at HHS. The exam is administered by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
Cara Wallace-Lee, who oversaw the exam for the computer lab, writes: "I’ve been able to plan around some of the regular challenges that arise, such as setting up the home page using the Firefox browser (more cooperative), monitoring the computer equipment, on-the-spot troubleshooting, and reminding students to slow down and pay attention to the instructions.
"The positives of an online exam are less of a chance of having lost or damaged tests, no need to ship out completed exams, and quicker turnaround for test results. The security of the Quia.com online system makes scoring, notifying teachers and awarding prizes much simpler."
Thursday, April 3, 2008
OPERATION DAY'S WORK TO RAISE MONEY FOR HEALTH CLINIC IN BURUNDI
Operation Day's Work, a student-run international organization, signed up 200 HHS students who will volunteer to work for a day in May to raise money for a community health center in the African nation of Burundi. At the fair explaining Operation Day's work, students signed volunteer sheets, sampled African foods and watched videos from Burundi. On May 14 the volunteers will leave school for a day, work in local odd jobs, and donate their pay to Operation Day's Work. All of the money workers make will be donated to the Kigutu Community Health Center, a clinic that provides primary care to the people of rural Kigutu, Burundi.
Senior Helen Jack writes: "Burundi is the poorest country in the world. The majority of the population lacks basic health care, and the HIV/AIDS infection rate is extremely high. The health center, run by the Hanover, New Hampshire-based Village Health Works, provides essential primary care for up to 20,000 people in and around the rural, mountainous village. A volunteer's day of work will help save the lives of people in Burundi."
Operation Day's Work was founded in Norway forty years ago. Since 1998 the US Agency for International Development has supported the activities of ODW at United States schools.
SIGNS OF SPRING: COUNCIL ELECTIONS
Each spring HHS students and staff vote for new members of the Council, the school's governing body. Council is made up of students (the majority of seats), staff, and citizens of Hanover and Norwich. At its Friday morning meeting Council discusses a wide variety of school policies, and considers changes in the school's handbook. The text of the handbook can be found on the main page of the HHS web site.
