April, 2010
Greta Mills, HHS math teacher, has been awarded The Christa McAuliff Sabbatical for 2010-2011. The Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical Program was created in honor of an exceptional teacher to recognize other exceptional teachers -- to reward them and inspire them to greater achievements. The goal of the program is to allow teachers time-off to explore, investigate, network and to bring back to their own classrooms, and to other teachers, new insights and a depth of experience which will positively impact education in New Hampshire.
Here is a brief synopsis of her project:
TITLE: Students as mathematicians - making real-world applications truly realistic.
During the 2010 - 2011 academic year, I will be using this Sabbatical opportunity to connect with industries and schools to investigate authentic, interesting problems that can be adapted to the mathematics classroom. I will develop activities in modeling with mathematics for all secondary levels, based on my experiences developing and implementing the curriculum for the course in mathematical modeling for HHS students who have completed Calculus. The activities would focus on identifying interesting and open-ended problems which students would explore and resolve in collaborative groups. The goal by the end of the year is to work with five different schools, in two classrooms each, to pilot week-long mini-units that address a particular curricular goal in each classroom while giving the students the opportunity to do as mathematicians do: develop skills in research, modeling, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. I have already had several schools contact me to participate in this professional exchange of ideas.
41 HHS choral students traveled to NYC, rehearsing for two days at Lincoln Center and performing Dona Nobis Pacem in Carnegie Hall on Sat., April 17. Their performance was part of Distinguished Concerts International with a renowned guest conductor and full orchestra. The students began extra rehearsals in October and the culmination of their hard work was a spectacular event in New York's most celebrated concert venue.
Congratulations to the 28 HHS music students who participated in the NH All State Music Festival in Concord April 8 - 10. 13 singers and 15 instrumentalists were selected through a rigorous audition process to perform in one of the select All State Band, Women's Choir, Mixed Choir, and Orchestra ensembles. Several of our students were high scorers and held first chairs. The culminating concerts were presented at the Capitol Center for the Arts.
March
The HHS debate teams put in a huge effort at preparation for the Iroquois Regional Debate Tournament (including teams from four states) and achieved great results. One of the HHS debate teams won one of the two bids to compete at Nationals. They were also each recognized as Arthur N. Rupe Foundation Scholars by the National Forensic League and the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation. A second teamt was named the alternate team to the two bid-winning teams. The third team achieved a top seven finish. The topic of the tournament was “Resolved: Affirmative action to promote equal opportunity in the United States is justified.”
The National Tournament takes place in Kansas City, Missouri in June and our students are very excited to compete. This is an amazing accomplishment for any team, but for a first year debate team this is exceptional.
February
Congratulations to the boys & girls Nordic Ski teams for their State Championship awards.
Hanover Debate Team won many honors at the Vermont State Championship Debate Tournament. HHS students won Best Speaker In The State, 4th Place Speaker In The State, State Tournament Championship Finalists, the 2nd Place Overall Team and the 1st Place State Championship Novice Team.
Here's the WCAX TV news story and 2 minute video segment of the final round (click on the video link on this page):
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=11953909
Hanover High School art students have been selected to participate in the AVA Gallery and Art Center Second Annual "Best of the Upper Valley High School Invitational Art Show". Some Hanover students have received recognition for the excellence of their artwork. The Opening Reception and Award Ceremony is tonight, February 12, 5-7PM. The exhibit will be up at AVA through March 5. Please come see some fabulous art created by Hanover High School students and students from other area high schools.
January
U.S. News and World Report has selected Hanover High School as one of the best schools in the United States. Hanover High School is a Silver Medal winner and has been recognized by U.S News and World Report for the past three years. http://www.usnews.com/sections/education/high-schools
Greta Mills, an HHS math teacher, is a finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) from the State of New Hampshire. The PAEMST program identifies outstanding mathematics and science teachers who qualify to serve as models for their colleagues. Greta was one of two math teachers recognized in New Hampshire. Her candidacy will be moved to the national level. Hanover High School is proud to have two previous PAEMST winners, Jeanine King and Kevin Lavigne.
http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/Curriculum/
Congratulations to our Chemistry and Physics Problem Solving (CAPPS) students who competed in the UVM TASC (Technology and Science Connection) contest. Each year the students are given a design challenge by TASC. This year the challenge was particularly difficult. The students had to build a machine(s) that moved as many apples as possible from the trees in the Orchard to the Market Apple Bin in three five-minute runs. Power for the machine was derived from “wind” blown by no more than two standard window box fans. Many competitors were not able to bring a working machine. None of our four machines were working days before the competition, but Mr. Lavigne and the students worked nights and weekends to bring four working machines to the competition.
The students placed:
1st & 2nd IBM Overall Performance Award
3rd place in the General Dynamics Efficiency award
2nd place in the IEEE Design Profit Score Award
2nd place in the Pizzagalli Performance Bushels Delivered Award
1st place in the NRG Table Award