Weekly Cougar News
ConVal High School Happenings - November 6, 2020
Message From Principal McKillop
I want to start off by thanking the parents/guardians who were able to join us last night for our virtual Open House. I had the chance to briefly address families before teachers began their mini virtual sessions.
Teachers were excited to interact with parents and share information about their courses. Parents appreciated the opportunity to interact with their students' teachers and have their questions answered. (Please see the more extensive report on our virtual Open House below.)
If you were unable to attend last night, please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's respective teachers via email.
Earlier today, grade 9 and 10 students participated in the NWEA assessment for Math. Thank you to our LITS team that coordinated the tests and helped troubleshoot questions.
Please be sure to see all of the important information listed below. There are many great things going on at ConVal, especially in our physical and virtual classrooms!
In the spirit of gratitude (please see more in the School Counseling section below), please know how thankful I am to be a part of such a wonderful school community that truly cares about all students.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Heather
Email: conval.highschool@conval.edu
Website: cvhs.convalsd.net
Location: 184 Hancock Road, Peterborough, NH, USA
Phone: (603) 924-3869
Upcoming Important Dates:
- Wednesday, November 11, 2020 - Veterans Day (no school)
- Friday, November 13, 2020 - NWEA Test Make-Ups, End of Quarter 1
Virtual Open House A Success With Parents
A virtual Open House was held at ConVal High School on Thursday, November 5. The Open House began with a brief introductory meeting with Principal Heather McKillop.
McKillop spoke admiringly about student resilience in the face of a prolonged pandemic and lauded the excellent job teachers were doing to ensure student engagement and learning under difficult circumstances. She also played the ConVal Fight Song that had been recorded the previous week during a music rehearsal in the cafeteria.
Following the introduction, parents and guardians had the opportunity to meet with all classroom teachers in a sequence of staggered Zoom meetings that mimicked their students' daily schedules. Teachers shared important information about their classes, including in-person and remote learning expectations, curricular goals, as well as grading policies and procedures.
As one of the parents wrote in an email to Principal McKillop after the event: "I just wanted to say thank you to you and your team for figuring out such a creative way to host an open house for the CVHS community. It was very well done and well organized. I sincerely appreciate the staff who have already done so much for our students, giving up a night to zoom with us.
The presentations given tonight by the teachers through the use of technology and google classroom to demonstrate "how" our children are being delivered education in this new hybrid setting, was truly impressive.I am hoping that the CV 'fight song' video can be shared with the greater community, as that was the highlight of my night to see students (and staff) in action!"
The 30-second ConVal Fight Song video can be found online by clicking this link.
School Counseling Information
Gratitude
With Thanksgiving approaching at the end of the month, thanks and gratitude tends to be a natural theme during the month of November. It is also a great time to point out that regularly practicing gratitude is a habit that has outsize benefits to overall mental wellbeing. As we move through the month of November, it can be worth exploring how we as individuals, families and a school community acknowledge the things that we are thankful for in a conscious way. We’ve included a calendar with daily gratitude prompts for consideration. Additionally, here is a link to a great resource with many tools and strategies for developing a gratitude practice: https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-exercises/
College Deadline Reminders
Seniors that have December and January deadlines should plan to connect with their counselor prior to the Thanksgiving break/remote period. Remember, as we approach regular decision deadlines, this is the busiest time for counselors submitting materials on students’ behalf. Recommendation requests and transcript requests should be submitted through Naviance at least 4 weeks prior to the college’s deadline to ensure adequate time for your teachers/counselor to prepare recommendations and for your counselor to gather and submit school based documents to support your application. Of course, students have up until their deadline to submit their actual application. Your school counselor is more than happy to help if you have questions.
SAT Scores
Students that took the SAT on Oct. 14th are beginning to be notified as to the availability of their scores. Students that testing during the accommodated testing window or on the make up day may not yet have their scores available. Scores are accessed through the College Board website (https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores). If there is a chance that a student may already have an existing College Board account, efforts should be made to access it to avoid potentially creating a duplicate account. Otherwise, students can create an account to access scores. If help is needed with accessing scores, please contact the College Board directly at 866-756-7346.
Winter sports information from the Athletic Director
During our remote period, members of the Blue and Gold Cohorts would be allowed to combine and form teams. Currently, all ConVal High School winter sports programs would participate in a competitive limited regional NHIAA sanctioned schedule.
Any ConVal High School athlete who participates must sign a COVID waiver (interscholastic competition of high and medium risk sports would require no competition of club sports except at the discretion of the administration). The athlete, as well as siblings or household members, would be required to learn remotely until after their final competition, followed by a 14-day quarantine before they can return to in-person learning.
The following timeline was approved by the NHIAA’s Executive Council:
- 11/30/20-12/11/20: Phase 1 and Phase 2 conditioning/skills and drills activities for all sports
- 12/14/20-1/10/21: Team practice sessions
- 1/11/21: First date to play games
This plan will be re-evaluated prior to and during these dates if COVID cases increase in our area.
Click here to register for Winter sports
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Athletic Director John Reitnauer (jreitnauer@conval.edu).
Southwestern NH Fall Virtual Job and Internship Fair
Attention high school students and families!
Franklin Pierce University and New Hampshire Employment Security are partnering to bring their first virtual Job and Internship Fair to you, November 12, 2020, from 4:30-6:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to explore available openings in different career pathways.
Employers from all industries will be represented, including Healthcare & Science, Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement, Sports Media & Business. If you are interested in this event which is being held virtually, please register today. This event is free, but employers and job seekers MUST register.
Instructions will be sent to enter the virtual job fair and an employer listing will be posted here closer to the event date.
During the Event:
Virtually explore and engage with a wide variety of employers
Participate by logging in from any computer or laptop. (A link with instructions will be sent to the email you register with prior to the event.)
Talk with recruiters via live video or text
Resumes can be uploaded and sent directly to the company representative while you are talking
There is no cost to participate in the virtual hiring event
Before the event:
Register with your name and email address by clicking the appropriate button to the right.
Check back here to view participating employers – more are being added daily!
You can test your computer ahead of time by visiting this page.
Questions can be emailed to: jobfair@nhes.nh.gov
Running Start Program
The Running Start registration portal, DualEnroll.com, is now open. November 6 is the deadline to register, and no late registrations will be accepted. If your student is enrolled in any of the classes below, please make sure to register. These college credits from the Community College System of NH (CCSNH) are available to your student at no cost to you, through both the Governor’s STEM scholarship and the support of the ConVal School Board.
Students will be watching a short video in their Running Start approved classes regarding how to register and then start the process by logging in here. There is also a parent/guardian video for more information available at this link. Once your student has started the registration process, parents & guardians will receive an email to approve the registration (only if the student is under 18).
If you have any questions regarding the process or Running Start as a whole, you can contact Jennifer Kiley at jkiley@conval.edu or support@dualenroll.com.