News
Board Awards
Board Awards
January 19, 2010
Academics
Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship: The College Board recognizes students whose High Selection Index places them among the top 5% of more than one million students who took the preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in the fall of 2008. The following are Conard and Hall High Schools National Merit Commended students: Rakhi Agrawal, Maya Blake, Charles Brooks, Samuel Chase, Jesse Cooper, Rachel Doyle, Albert Engel, David Feigenbaum, Brian Fitzsousa, Paul Franklin, Gavriella Fried, Gabrielle Gaulin, Duo Gong, Jenna Goodman, Adam Helitzer, Elise Hopkins, Leah Igdalsky, James Jerram, Elizabeth Karas, Ashley Kunnummel, Brian Lebow, Sean Lemkey, Hien Luu, Boyu Ma, Madeline Mailly, Talya Markus, Shaun McGann, Zoe Mendal, Nicole Rivilis, Robert Rockmore, Daniel Schulwolf, Connor Scott, Alexandra Silverman, Trent Sinatro, Prescott Sun, Nicholas Volpe, Lia Weintraub, Rebecca Zweifler.
National Merit Semifinalist: To qualify as a semifinalist, the following Conard and Hall High School students scored among the top 1% of juniors who took the PSAT test in the fall of 2008. All of the 16,000 semi-finalists are now eligible to become finalists and then continue in competition for some 8,200 Merit Scholarships awards. The following students have qualified: Gabrielle Gaulin, Madeline Mailly, Jake Mertens, Rebecca Zweifler.
AP Scholar Award: This award is given to those students who have completed 3 or more AP exams with grades 3 or higher. The following students have qualified: Joshua Adler, Gabriela Aquila, Alexandra Arpaia, Maya Blake, Franklin Brand, Kevin Carlson, Rachel Doyle, Katharine Evans, Ross Fishman, Daniel Francoeur, Daniel Fry, Dianne Gan, Marguerite Gilles, Jenna Goodman, Duo Gong, Paul Hovey, Leah Igdalsky, Owen Insel, Meredith Jeremiah, James Jerram, Brian Lebow, Minh Leu, Talya Markus, Zoe Mendal, Ian Milne, Julia Pazniokas, Sarah Rosenblum, Mbengi Saila-Ngita, Jeremy Schmitt, Michael Schramm, Daniel Schulwolf, Connor Scott, Alexandra Silverman, Prescott Sun, Michael Swietek, Marisa Taddei, Geyang Tao, Lam Tu, Nicholas Volpe, Lia Weintraub, Lauren Witte.
AP Scholar with Honor: This award is given to students who earn an average of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and grades 3 or higher on 4 or more AP Exams. The following students have qualified: Rakhi Agrawal, Albert Engel, Brian Fitzsousa, Raquel Garcia-Morales, David Goldman, Adam Helitzer, Elizabeth Karas, Sean Lemkey, Hannah Lerner, Jonathan Margulis, Jake Mertens, Meghan Negus, Rebecca Salzman-Fiske, Kimberly Schreiber, Kalsoom Shahbaz, Torrance Shepardson, Sarah Zemlock.
AP Scholar with Distinction: This award is granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more exams. The following students have qualified for this award: Jesse Abels, Kenneth Brand, Sam Chase, Jesse Cooper, David Feigenbaum, Gabrielle Gaulin, Elise Hopkins, Katherine Logue, Hien Luu, Boyu Ma, Madeline Mailly, Oliver Porter, Nicole Rivilis, Robert Rockmore, Brooke Schuman, Yuankai Shen, Rebecca Zweifler.
National Council of Teachers of English: The Achievement Awards in Writing are conferred by NCTE in recognition for excellence in writing by high school juniors. Winners demonstrate writing ability in two forms; first, in a sample of their best writing, in any form or genre, drafted and revised over time; and second, in an impromptu essay on a subject set by the national committee and responded to by all candidates in a supervised 2- hour timed writing period. Two judges, a high school teacher and a college English professor read all compositions. The judges looked for writing that demonstrated effective and imaginative language use to inform and move the audience. Nationally, 876 students were honored but only 10 CT students were recognized. Hall student Leah Igdalsky was awarded a Certificate for Superior Writing.
eesmarts Essay Contest: Congratulations to Alexander DellaBianca, a fifth grade student at Whiting Lane, for being named a finalist in the 2009 eesmartsEssay Contest presented by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund. Alexander’s essay was selected from more than four hundred essays submitted statewide. His essay was titled “The CFL”, a creative essay about a talking compact fluorescent light bulb who offered suggestions on how Alexander’s family could significantly save on their electric bills. In addition to being recognized at a state awards ceremony held at the Legislative Office Building, Alexander also received a $50.00 savings bond.
Connecticut Reading Association: Congratulations to Smith School reading specialist Rachele Schiappa, for being named the recipient of the distinguished Outstanding Reading Educator Award from the Connecticut Reading Association. This award recognizes a reading educator who is certified in the area of reading and demonstrates an understanding of the foundation of reading and utilizes current strategies and techniques as well as contributes to the profession in a way that is characterized by exceptional service. A committee of experts in the field of reading chose Ms. Schiappa from a group of highly qualified and deserving candidates. The award was presented at the CRA conference in November.
Mathematical Association of America: The AMC Grade 8 (AMC8) is a 25- question,
40-minute exam. The content of the exam focuses on middle school mathematics, and it is designed to assess the development and enhancement of problem-solving skills. Many problems are intended to challenge students by offering problem-solving experiences beyond those provided in most middle school mathematics classes. By virtue of their scores, the following King Philip, Sedgwick, and Bristow students have earned Gold Medal status from the Mathematical Association of America: Sean Aspell,
Ilan Desai-Geller, Samuel Prescott, William Wang, and Mary Whelan.
TODOS: Mathematics For All: TODOS-Mathematics for All is a non-profit organization that advocates for an equitable and high quality education for all students, in particular Latino/Hispanic students. CASIO partners with TODOS every year to provide this recognition to students across the nation. Each year, Hispanic/Latino students in grades 5-12 are selected through a teacher recommendation and application process for this award by virtue of their demonstrated excellent achievement in the discipline of mathematics. Nicholas Ramos, a senior at Conard High School, received a certificate and a CASIO graphing calculator in recognition of his accomplishments.
National Council of Social Studies: Congratulations to Hall High School social studies teacher Liz Devine for receiving the 2009-2010 “Outstanding Secondary Social Studies Teacher of the Year”award from the National Council of Social Studies. Mrs. Devine was presented with the award at the annual NCSS conference in Atlanta in November where she also presented a workshop. She was also recognized and presented another workshop at the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies conference in October. Mrs. Devine was chosen for this award for her excellence in teaching AP US History, American Government, American Studies, and Human Rights. Mrs. Devine is the organizer of the Hall High School human rights coalition, and has supervised activities such as Empty Bowls, Pennies for Peace, and Red Hand Day. Mrs. Devine has also served as a mentor for many beginning teachers. Congratulations!
FIRST Lego League: Fifth grade Smith students and one Smith alumnus won First Place for Robot Design and earned a spot at the State tournament at CCSU. Judges interviewed the team to learn their strategies for solving missions and for their understanding of the design process. They also evaluated the robot’s mechanical design, degree of innovation, and programming effectiveness to further assess overall design quality. The students have enjoyed learning about Lego robotics for the past 2 years and have spent countless hours in school and on the weekends getting ready for these tournaments. Congratulations to the following students representing the Smith School Lego Team: Rexford Dorchester, Claire Fagan, Kenneth Galm, Prithvi Guddera, Sarah Healy, Brendan Horan, Lucian Mark, Pablo Miras-DeSimone, Roselyn Moreno, Ruth Tian, Jose Vasquez, and Tyler Lauretti.
Technology Student Association: The Technology Student Association is the only student organization devoted exclusively to the needs of students interested in technology. TSA’s membership includes over 150,000 middle and high school students in 2,000 schools spanning 47 states. The Association fosters personal growth, leadership, and opportunities in technology, innovation, design, and engineering. Congratulations to Sedgwick Middle School students Tyler Lauretti, Joseph Presing (currently at Conard), and Joseph Sanborn, for taking 5th Place at the National Convention for participating in their Leadership Challenge. Participants had to work in teams to develop a plan of action that addressed a specific challenging situation provided on-site. Under time constraints, finalists developed a plan for a second situation and then made a team presentation. Tyler Lauretti went on to take 2nd Place in the Communication Challenge. Participants had to write, design, and produce (1) a newsletter that promoted their chapter’s activities, (2) an effective sponsor support request on chapter letterhead, and (3) a business card. Semifinalists worked creatively under constraints to design a solution to an on-site problem. Kudos to Sedgwick’s team for making such a fine showing at the National Convention!
Athletics
All-State: All-State student athletes have distinguished themselves as elite athletes in their sports in the state of CT. The criteria for All-State recognition varies from sport to sport. Criteria in individual sports are dependent upon overall placement in state championship meets while team sport individuals are nominated and selected by the state coaches of that sport. The following Conard and Hall students have been recognized by the CT High School Coaches’ Association for outstanding ability in their sports:
All State Swimming: Sabrina Jin-Corcoran, Eliza Maciag, Sarah Mantz, Catherine Misczuk, Haley Sinatro, Jessie Ustjanauskas
All State Soccer (boys): Shaun McGann,
All State Soccer (girls): Emily Babcock (and All New England Honors), Taylor Matzke
All State Cross Country (boys): Michael Conway (and All New England Honors), Daniel Francoeur (and All New England Honors), Luke Perron (and All New England Honors),
All State Cross Country (girls): Aubrey Waggoner
All State Field Hockey: Danielle Lindgren, Alexandria Merked
Michelle Vibberts earned academic all-state honors by having a high GPA and playing varsity field hockey.
All-State Football: Michael Hanson, Jonathan Esposito
All-State Volleyball: Dianne Gan
National Soccer Coaches Association: The Conard High School Girls Soccer Team has been selected as the recipient of the NSCAA Team Academic Award for 2008-09. This achievement is based on the overall GPA of the team. Nick Moffo, the head coach, will accept the award on the team’s behalf along with Captains Stephanie O’Brien, Gabriela Mota, Alexandra Berent and Alexa Arnold.
Hartford Courant: Each year the Hartford Courant sports writers pick the top players for various sports in the state based on positions and talent. Congratulations to the following students for being named to All-Courant teams:
All- Courant Team Soccer: Alexandra Berent, Patrick Gosselin, Rebecca Lewis, Ryan Perkins
All -Courant Team Cross Country: Michael Conway, Daniel Francoeur, Jeffrey Lipsman, Luke Perron, Morgan Roche, Sarah Vossler, Aubrey Waggoner
All -Courant Team Football: Brady Collins, Peter deHertogh, Ryan deLoureiro Jonathan Esposito, Jonathan Estronza, Mike Hanson, Ian Johnese
All- Courant Team Volleyball: Dianne Gan
Leadership
“Build No Fences Award”: The Bridge Family Center presented the “Build No Fences Award” to Hall High School social worker Christine Bivona. This award is given to a member of the West Hartford community who has worked selflessly with all agencies that provide services that support healthy development of our youth and families.
The CT Association of Schools: The statewide 2009 Challenge to Educational Citizenship Award was given to the Conard and Hall High School Unified Theater Program for developing and implementing a program that demonstrates good citizenship, a commitment to others, civic awareness, leadership, responsibility and teamwork, and that provides opportunities for students to help others. Unified Theater is an inclusive musical theater production that equally features the talents of students with and without special needs. Unified Theater is a totally student directed, stage managed and choreographed production. Unified Theater serves both its members and the community by addressing fears and breaking down negative stereotypes of both teenagers and people with special needs. A special thank you to Conard science teacher Keely Connery and students Abigail Condon, and Steven Roemer: Keely has been the advisor to the Conard/Hall Unified Theater Program for the past 5 years – Keely’s daughter, Micaela, started Unified Theater in 2002 when she was a sophomore at Conard. Abigail was the unified theater producer for 08-09 and also 09-10 and Steven has been a very involved actor for the past four years.
The CT Association of Public School Superintendents: Congratulations to Hall student Leah Igdalsky and Conard student Chaldea Stewart for being selected to receive the CAPSS Superintendent/Student Recognition Award. This award is bestowed upon an individual who demonstrates leadership service to his or her school, academic prowess, and service to others in their community. Leah is the President of both the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society. She is co-captain of the Model UN Team, President of the Human Rights Coalition, and an attorney for the Mock Trial Team. Chaldea has done volunteer work at the Hoffman Summerwood Community, The Cove Center for Grieving Children, and has worked as a youth cheerleading and track assistant. She has also served as a member of Empty Bowls and has supported a town-wide “Going Green” effort and has utilized her knowledge as a Department of Public Works volunteer by assisting with hazardous waste collections.
Boy Scouts of America: Eagle Scout is the highest-ranking award given to only a select few for their demonstration of leadership and service. Only about 4% of Scouts have earned the rank since 1911. To earn the Eagle Scout rank, a boy scout must fulfill requirements in the areas of leadership, service, and outdoor skills. A number of specific skills are required to advance through the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, Star, Life, and Eagle. Conard students Caleb Gallops and James Jerram have been awarded the rank of Eagle Scout from the Boy Scouts of America.
Conservation Challenge: This year, Wolcott Elementary School became the grand winner of the West Hartford Public School Conservation Challenge. As a school, Wolcott reduced their total electrical energy consumption by 32%! Wolcott School was successful because the student body approached the Conservation Challenge with great effort and a plan. The student leaders for this project were Michael Lee, Wolcott School President, and Matthew Cariseo, the Wolcott Energy Czar. Thanks to their leadership, Wolcott School and all of its students, teachers, and parents were great caretakers of the earth. Matthew continues to monitor electrical usage at the school.
The Arts
Organization of American Kodaly Educators: The following Braeburn and Sedgwick students were chosen from 1000 submitted recordings to be a part of the OAKE National Choirs.
From Braeburn for the National Children’s Choir: Hannah Beazoglou, Madison Carr, Abigail Conner and Elizabeth Ladd.
From Sedgwick for the National Youth Choir: Anna Lafreniere, Emily Lafreniere, Paul Lafreniere, Carlie Musto, and Alyssa Stokes.
They will perform at the Organization of American Kodaly Educators National Conference in Dallas, TX in March 2010.
American High School Theater Festival: Hall High School drama department, under the direction of Sean Harris, has been selected to perform in the world’s largest and most prestigious arts festival in the world as part of the American High School Theater Festival. Each August, Edinburgh, Scotland, becomes the stage for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which includes over 1,800 different performances of music, theater, dance, and comedy. Visitors can view performances all over the city. Hall High School, long recognized for their entertaining and innovative productions, was selected by the AHSTF program. The nation’s top high school theater programs are nominated by directors from state, regional and national high schools. Applications are reviewed by the AHSTF Board of Advisors made up of college drama professionals. Top high school programs are identified based on their most recent bodies of work, honors and awards, technical ability, community involvement, philosophies and recommendations. Here with us tonight to accept on behalf of the Hall High School drama department is theater teacher, Sean Harris.
Mary Lou Williams Competition: Alma Macbride was one of 2 winners at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Mary Lou Williams Competition. Alma performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in November, 2009. At the age of 8, Mary Lou Williams was known as “the little piano girl.” She was billed as “the girl who swings the band,” and went on to become one of the finest musicians in jazz history, male or female. In celebration of Mary Lou’s 100th birthday, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis invited female jazz pianists age 15 or under from the entire country to submit a DVD of their performance of one of Mary Lou Williams’ piano features. Alma was one of 2 finalists chosen for their dedication and artistry. She selected by a panel of judges that included the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s piano chair, Dan Nimmer.
CABE Awards
The Connecticut Boards of Education has honored school districts with the Award of Excellence in Education Communications since 1975. Their goal is to identify and honor employees in school districts and communities for outstanding communication.
The following projects have been chosen as Award Winners:
In the category of Parent/Student Handbook
WHPS Whiting Lane School Parent Handbook and School Directory
Submitted by Lesley McKay and Amy LaRose
In the category of Course Selection Guide
WHPS LifeLearn Adult Summer 2009
Submitted by David Downes, Ruth Kozlowski, Amy LaRose, Karen Reale
In the category of Special Projects
WHPS Music for the Heart, Food for the Soul
Submitted by Haig Shahverdian, Amy LaRose
Over 12,000 food items were donated to the West Hartford Food Pantry as a result of Music for the Heart, Food for the Soul.
The following projects have been chosen as Honorable Mention:
In the category of Newsletter
WHPS The Hoot Whiting Lane School Newsletter
Submitted by Johanna Cleary, Kimberly Greenwell
In the category of Parent/Student Handbook
WHPS Edward W. Morley School Parent/Student Handbook
Submitted by Ellen Stokoe
In the category of Website
Sedgwick Middle School, Creating a Bi-Lingual Website
Submitted by Benjamin Skaught, Juan Melián, Kathy LaBombard