Student Representative Report – March 25th School Committee Meeting

by Katherine Dunham, SHS Student Representative to the School Committee

So far, March has really been a month of preparation: preparation for the spring musical, MCAS, and even next year. Preparations for the high school spring sports season has been especially noteworthy. This winter’s weather definitely was an obstacle in starting tryouts last week but it didn’t hold any team back. Girls tennis held gym practices before school while baseball could be seen passing in the high school’s lower parking lot or practicing bunting in a 30 foot circle of grass they found on Fenton field.

Despite these unusual circumstances, the number of spring athletes remained high and everyone is ready to begin the season. The MIAA has made the unprecedented decision to move all contests back at least a week.

Anticipating a season as successful as the last two, SHS student council is already planning for their spring pep rally. The pep rally will be held in Deconto stadium and the surrounding track. All spring sports will be celebrated and students will be allowed to participate in games and field events. The date of the pep rally will be determined by the weather, but student council is optimistically planning for early May.

Planning has also begun for this year’s graduation ceremony. Soon, the Senior Class Officers, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Hall, SHS administrators, and a graduation committee will meet to organize the first graduation to be held in the Deconto Stadium.

Graduation and everything that comes after it is definitely on every senior’s mind. College decisions have really started rolling in this past week. Dr. Booras and all of SHS are very excited about how the Class of 2015 has met and even exceeded expectations in getting into the country’s most competitive schools.

 

Another huge congrats to senior Lily Barter for being recognized as a National Merit Commended Scholar. She is a great representation of SHS and an even better friend.

Juniors who qualified for National Honor Society are busy filling out their applications and getting signatures. The faculty counsel will meet to review these applications on April 8th and the NHS induction ceremony is planned for May 14th. The current National Honor Society is organizing a fun and creative fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Administrators and NHS members will be stationed in the parking lot one morning before school, asking for any spare change that student driver’s can find in their cars. Students who donate will be given a late pass to be redeemed for a tardy on any day. NHS officers and administrators will be meeting this Friday to plan for the event.

Sophomores are currently being interviewed for peer leadership positions. Those who are selected will be able to go on the Bournedale retreat scheduled for later this Spring. Sophomores are also busy getting ready for the ELA MCAS held from March 31 to April 2nd. The STEM Academy will also have ELA MCAS on these days.

STEM is already looking forward to their Art Show the first week of June. There, students will be showcasing the many art projects they’ve completed this year. STEM has been really focusing on the integration of the arts. On March 13, the UMass Provost and members of their staff visited the STEM Academy. They interviewed students, looked at student work, and interacted with the STEM and SHS teachers who teach art, engineering, or elective classes. At the end of the day, they were incredibly impressed with all these classes and the way they were integrated into the Core Curriculum.

Students from both the STEM Academy and SHS are very busy with the final rehearsals for KTC’s spring production: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. A short video preview of the musical can be found on Sandwich Learns Together. Performances are this weekend – Friday and Saturday night at 7 and Sunday afternoon at 2 – and the weekend of April 10th – Friday and Saturday at 7. Everyone at SHS is very excited to see the play this Friday on opening night and see what all our talented classmates have been working so hard on. So please, everyone come out and support KTC and the KTC Tech Crew at at least one of their performances.

Wing School students also had the opportunity to put on a Spring musical. To celebrate Dr. Seuss day, Wing teacher, Ms. Novero, choreographed an adaptation of Seussical the Musical which was performed by 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Wing students have also been busy working on everything from designing earthquake houses and leprechaun traps to writing autobiographies and creative stories on Google Docs.

Rehearsals continue for the Forestdale Falcon Theater Company’s production of the Little Mermaid. Students have been rehearsing each day after school with Mrs. Slagle in preparation for the May 1st opening. Additionally, planning has begun for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Forestdale School. A group of faculty members along with the grade 6 student council have begun to look at ways to celebrate the anniversary. We’ll have more information at future meetings. Last week, Chinese Acrobats performed for students through the generosity of the Forestdale PTA. Students were amazed by the feats of strength, flexibility and balance they saw. Kindergarten registration ended last week. Mr. Smith was very excited to see next year’s kindergarten students in the school and their eager anticipation to start at Forestdale next year.

This week, at Oak Ridge, the Oak Ridge PTA is sponsoring its Spring Book Fair. On Friday, a Family Fun Night is being held and volunteers are still needed. To get ready for MCAS, please check Oak Ridge’s Principal Newsletter. Listed there are the MCAS schedules as well as reminders for children to get a good sleep the night before MCAS and have a good breakfast the morning of. Oak Ridge parent-teacher conferences will take place on April 7th and 8th. Please call the school to arrange a conference.

There is definitely a lot to look forward to at the Sandwich schools this Spring and I am so excited to see how all this careful preparation pays off. I think one of the best examples of hard work, practice, and preparation paying off will be the performances of KTC’s musical this weekend. I know I said it before, but everyone has worked so hard so please come and see this musical which I am sure will be just as great as the previous plays. Thanks!