Norwell High School Clippers Student Accomplishments FEBRUARY 2012 Congratulations to Allison Weiler Boston Globe Art Show GOLD KEY AWARD Inside this issue: In Love with Math 2 Norwell Arts and Music Club News 2 Peer Education 2 On February 4th the Norwell High School Art Department held a reception for student displayed work at the South Shore Natural Science Center from 3-5 pm. Works included selections from all levels offered at the high school and will be hanging throughout the month of February. Media highlighted in the show ranges from painting to digital photography, and includes a wide variety of subject matter! The Art Department s Traveling Art Exhibit will be moving to the MA State House and will be on display at Doric Hall from January 31 st to February 10 th. The following students will have work on exhibit. Amanda Harding, Sabrina Smith, Alex Titelbaum, Briana Gentry, Shirin Tehrani, Elizabeth Basso, Jessica Knudsen, Sarah D Ambrosia, Madison Maduri, Jonathan Cannon, Katherine Snyder, Allison Weiler, Laura Kardok, Julianne Mariano, Madeline Eaves, Jessie Westergard, Anna Barger, Emily Milliken, Taylor Rober, and Connor Davies. The Art Club recently had Jewelry Maker in as an artist in residence thanks to a grant from the Norwell Education Foundation. Andrea Williams,a local artist from from Cohasset, came to the NHS Art Room to work with our interested students. Pieces made by Amanda Geagea, Meghan Ayles and Katie Gilroy were entered into the Boston Globe Scholastic Awards. We are anxiously awaiting those results. Norwell Arts and Music Answer to the Question of the Month Skype in South Africa Travel with Ms Adams to Costa Rica 3 5 5 6
STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS Page 2 Question of the How Many Advanced Placement Courses does Norwell High School offer? Junior State of America The Junior State of America is enjoying another fun year of debates and thought talks. JSA encourages students to present pro and con arguments on current topics of interest including the merits of extending the school year, mandatory drug testing for co-curricular activities and legalizing dueling. The club meets regularly to debate, as well as conduct thought talks, open forums on current issues. The club is student run, with President Abby Smith providing the leadership to this year's group. This year Norwell JSA participated in the Northeast Fall State conference in Boston, which was a weekend full of debates with students from around New England and New York. In February, 20 students are participating in JSA Winter Congress in Washington DC, where they will argue for and against mock legislation in a simulation of Congress. For more information on the Junior State of America please contact teacher advisor John Goniatis john.goniatis@norwellschools.org. PEER Our peer educators have been busy this winter. They have completed their first elementary visit and taught the students a meditative relaxation exercise to help with stress. They are gearing up for their second visit this week. They have led their advisories in meaningful X-Day lessons and will have more opportunities to discuss topics with their advisories throughout the school year. SENIOR CLASS by Lauren Burke and Ben Gordon The senior class has started the year off on a strong foot, having already raised over $1000 at the first annual Haunted House. High. The town wide event drew crowds from all ages and set the precedent for future Haunted High fundraisers. The next fundraiser the class hosted was the Holiday Coffee House. Another big event will be the first ever Mr Norwell in March. The Class of 2012 maybe nearing the end of their high school career, but they continue to show their creativity and ambition with every event. MOCK TRIAL Norwell's budding lawyers and witnesses have been practicing hard for the upcoming mock trial season. Lead by Senior co-captains Siobhan Murphy and Steven McClelland, this year's team is poised to have a great season. This year's case revolves around a school bullying issue, touching on real-life scenarios. The students prepare both the defense and plaintiff cases, and then compete against other area schools. The first trial is January 26th against Whitman-Hanson, the second trial is February 2nd against Rockland, and the final preliminary round trial is February 9th against Thayer Academy. The mock trial team is advised by John Goniatis and Norwell attorney Gary Thomas. For more information on the Massachusetts Mock Trial program, please contact john.goniatis@norwellschools.org.
STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS Page 3 THEATRE The Fourth Wall Players are in the process of preparing this year's festival offering. The show is Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit. Colleen Fitzgibbons has been cast in the principal role as a John Donne scholar diagnosed with advanced metastatic ovarian cancer. The play tells the story of the final few months of her life and her attempts to come to terms with death. Colleen is surrounded by an able cast and performances will be at NHS on the 1st and 2nd of March and at Bourne High School on the 3rd where the 4WPs will compete in a field of eight schools for the right to advance to the semi-finals of the festival. MUSIC The music department is hard at work preparing for its season of solo and ensemble music! The next two major concerts are our annual Small Ensemble Nights, which will be held on February 9th and 16th at 7pm in the NHS Auditorium. Admission, as always, is free of charge and open to the public. Also, congratulations to Liz Allen, Rachael Caldwell, Joe Daddio, Kevin Luo, Maggie Masterson, Siobhan Murphy and Lisa Patrolia for their selection to perform at the first annual Bridgewater State University Honor Band, under Northwestern University conductor Dr. Timothy Robblee. Last but not least, student vocal and instrumental ensembles will be performing in the community this spring, at locations like the Council on Aging, Linden Ponds and more. If you are interested in bringing a group of vocalists or instrumentalists to your event, please contact Mr. O'Briant at john.obriant@norwellschools.org! The next NSAS meeting (2/7, 7pm in the NMS Community Room)
Page 4 STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN LOVE WITH MATH Congratulations to our new MU ALPHA THETA Mathematics Honor Society members: Isabella Abelite, Emily Bernard, Sarah Ciardi, Conor Davies, Katherine Gilroy, Casey Hill, Julia Kirslis, Alex Kopacz, Joseph Lynch, Reed Markham, Kevin Luo and Graham Van Goffrier Students in Mary-Ellen Connor and Powell Vacha s honors geometry classes built towers with wooden coffee stirrers and white glue. The annual challenge is to follow the given specifications and build the most efficient tower. Scoring is based on strength to weight ratio. In first place this year was Robert Chin s tower with a ratio of 2021:1. Emma Basso and Erin Kelly placed second with a ratio of 1457:1. Their tower held 110 pounds making it the strongest of the day. Third place went to Charlie Callahan and Zack Harty. Photos: Sean Lewis tower held over 100 pounds as it was tested to destruction. Kyle Richards and Catherine Sheedy worked together, placing sixth with a ratio of 1200:1. BIOTECHNOLOGY with Mrs. Provenzano Twenty-two seniors who take the senior elective science course in biotechnology traveled to Bridgewater State University on January 11. They participated in an all day event sponsored by MassBioEd called Biotech Futures: A Career Exploration for BioTeach students. The students selected to perform two, from a choice of seven, cutting edge biotechnology laboratory modules and were instructed by college professors. Among the choices were Investigating Photosynthesis Utilizing Algae Balls, The Human Involuntary Reflex Response, and the Use of Flourescence Spectroscopy in Science. Students actively engaged in doing the laboratory work. In addition to performing lab investigations, the students were also presented with two lectures about job opportunities in the actively growing industry of biotechnology. Keynote speaker, David Mantus of Seres Health, Inc. offered the students a stunningly entertaining and informative session about the value, the worldwide need, and the fun of studying science.
Videoconferencing South Africa This month, students in Andrea Keating and Gwen Higgins freshmen World History class conducted an interview in South Africa. They didn t need to take an 8,000-mile international flight, but instead video conferenced with Africa from a classroom at Norwell High. Bill Taylor, an American living in South Africa, answered students questions from his office in Cape Town, using Skype s free video conferencing service. As part of their studies on African Imperialism, students asked Taylor questions about race relations, the economy, safari animals, the language, local foods, and sports. Taylor talked about how race relations have improved since apartheid ended in 1994 and how the country s economy has developed to become the 7 th strongest in the world. He also talked about The Big Five dangerous animals on safari, the 26 types of sharks in Africa and scenic Table Mountain. Taylor joked that was he missed most, other than his family in the U.S., is Reese s Peanut butter Cups, which are not available in South Africa. ANSWER: Norwell High School 18 South Street Norwell, MA 02061 Phone: 781-659 659-8808 www.norwellschools.org/nhs NHS offers 16 AP courses.
Mrs. Sulc s Advanced Placement English Literature class visited the JFK Museum and studied documents from the Ernest Hemingway collection. COSTA RICA WHEN: FEBRUARY 2013 FOR: STUDENTS IN SPANISH LEVEL 3 OR HIGHER TO VIEW TOUR INFORMATION, ITINERARY AND COST OF TRIP PLEASE VISIT EXPLORICA.COM AND ENTER THE TOUR CENTER ID: adams-365 (*At the top of the Explorica website click on Sign up and it will bring you to where you enter the tour center id.) SIGN UP DEADLINE: APRIL 1st 2012 INFORMATIONAL MEETING ON MARCH 6th @ 7:15PM IN THE LITTLE THEATER